Welcome back to another chapter of Usurping! It's been a while, but that's because I am working on some online college courses for my new degree and I'm also doing some tutoring jobs. So I don't have as much time to write as I would like, but I am still working on the story unless stated otherwise. A reminder that if for whatever reason I cannot continue this story, I will upload an outline of what I had planned before completing it, but hopefully that shouldn't happen. I've also considered putting the events into a few chapters by themselves instead of drawing them out like I am now if that happens (like paraphrasing), but once again hopefully I should not have to do that, and if I do, I will say that and possibly make it a separate story.
Aside from that, my Deviantart account has gotten several notes which can be viewed at my page under the name wordwheels. With these notes, I have a much clearer idea of where the plot is going to go, although several major changes have been made. With this, I should no longer have to take breaks to make arcs for each chapter, although original ideas and outlines for that will remain up. So real life aside and without hiatuses, chapter should hopefully be coming faster.
Other than that, I do not own Pokémon, and see the author's notes for details.
7. Crumbling Id
The vision wasted no time transporting me to another room, something I recognized that someone's bedroom.
Who that someone was again clear as the woman sitting on the bed flew into focus.
That person was Erika, dressed in the same clothing she had on before.
Worry and distress were present in her eyes and on her pale face, but I could still easily tell who she was.
Yet another person sat across from Erika. That person may not have been there in my previous visions, but it was someone that I instinctively identified.
The blue eyes, long black hair, red shirt, black pants, and matching shoes belonged to none other than Sabrina.
Saffron's Gym Leader, feared for her tremendous psychic powers…
Yet she also had a softer side, helping him many people and even saving lives…
Her background as a psychologist, founder of and teacher at a school for supernatural power users, and even offering mental health and psych ward services to those who were in emergency situations cemented that…
And she inspired many people to do the same…
Yet I couldn't help feeling a bit of sadness upon seeing her.
I had nothing against Sabrina, and she didn't for me, but it was a bitter reminder of what could have been, but never could be…
I could have, and people wanted, no, expected, me to train under her…
That I could become the strongest supernatural user of all time with everything Sabrina offered…
Or at least she could help me with all my problems involving that…
But none of that came true…
Couldn't come true.
Would never come true.
Because it was all impossible.
With the way my supernatural powers worked, there was nothing Sabrina could do to help me.
And although my mental health issues were separate, and she could offer some help on that…
Being in a place where I was constantly reminded of what happened with my powers…
An area where the fact that I wasn't normal slapped me in the face…
It was the last location I would go for help…
Perhaps Sabrina understood that, as she didn't press the issue when the truth about my abilities was revealed, and I never brought it up with her…
Then again, she didn't seem too interested in training me, so perhaps that thought never crossed her mind…
Or perhaps she was too embroiled in her own conflicts…
Like the one right now.
My sadness melted away as my mind returned to that conflict.
And as a loud ringing sound pierced my ears.
The sound of a doorbell, and one that reverberated through the entire building.
Erika understandably cringed, and the noise was so deafening I probably would've done the same.
Surprise flashed in Sabrina's eyes, but she said she would get the doorbell.
Erika did not have time to protest as Sabrina walked out of the bedroom. I noticed at some point that her face had gone back to its normal coloring, but I had not been paying attention to exactly when.
That was what I got for being lost in my own thoughts.
But as Sabrina returned with a newcomer behind her, and Erika let the person come into the room, I wondered if my thoughts would envelop me again.
For although Erika and Sabrina did not know the person standing before them, I did.
A woman dressed in blue with a bit of white…
Long and slightly curly blue hair…
Golden earrings with a fishhook necklace…
And stoic but concerned blue eyes…
This was none other than Miranda, one of the first authority figures I'd met on my journey…
And one of the first to witness my bizarre power…
I wasn't sure if Miranda remembered the incident, but now the memories came flooding back to me…
Since Miranda was a member of the Coast Guard and at one point had been a harbor manager, she knew her way around boats…
So she sometimes helped out with trips involving larger ones, such as the famed SS Anne…
I had been in Vermillion's port when the SS Anne was having a party for Trainers…
I'd wanted to go, but originally had no tickets, and then the visions came saying that something would happen on the boat…
Of course I'd wanted to investigate, but there were no tickets left…
Other than an extra one held by a young girl named Crystal, who was frustrated and annoyed after the person she wanted to go with, Ethan, forgot about the party and couldn't make it…
Of course, that led to some other male Trainers badgering her in hopes of going in Ethan's place…
They were terribly easy to frighten off, and Crystal gave me the ticket in return… I stated that I didn't have to go with her if she didn't want, but she insisted I go as thanks…
Then there had been a series of difficult battles which I had won, and Crystal's thankfulness turned to admiration as she saw my strength…
Miranda had seen everything as well, and was completely confused…
She wasn't sure how a trainer could be as strong as me, considering I'd only just begun my training journey despite being older…
Yet regardless of what happened I was not there for Crystal, Miranda, or even the thrilling battles…
Instead, I was there in the event of my vision coming true…
Which it rapidly did.
For the SS Anne was attacked by countless evildoers, and there wasn't enough experienced Trainers to properly defend it…
It didn't look like the other Trainers would work together either, with many of them not knowing each other and becoming trembling messes on the boat…
But I was able to use my powers to control all the Trainers, make them much stronger than even a normal person, and forced them to work together to stop the attackers…
My powers extended to Miranda and the other authority figures too, but I didn't bother controlling them…
They knew what they were doing, so the strength was only for protection, and I would only control them if they got in the way…
Thankfully they didn't, and after the Trainers were rallied together, I took to the battlefield myself…
And although the Trainers won and the ship was saved, I had collapsed afterward…
Thankfully I was fine, but Miranda had been concerned…
She was even more concerned that I had effectively used poison and mind control to help the Trainers without their permission…
But considering it had been an emergency situation, everyone was safe and mostly unhurt, and I had had good intentions, she did not act against me…
I saw her more in my journey, but any large interactions ended there…
I wondered if Miranda had even remembered what happened, considering that it had been almost a decade ago…
But if she did, she gave no indication as she spoke to Erika and Sabrina…
She was a friend of the renowned police officer Jenny…
When Officer Jenny and her cohorts want to search for Holly, Miranda decided to join in…
Of course, Erika and Sabrina were unsure of how Miranda would help…
As an answer, Miranda grabbed something near her skirt.
She now deftly held the item in the left hand.
A yellow and white sphere, I realized. There was some black on the top of the sphere, but the bottom and center were pure white.
I understood exactly what that was, and I was sure Sabrina and Erika did too.
Any high-level Trainer did.
For this was an Ultra Ball, one of the most powerful resources available for the public. It wasn't the cheapest option, but it was so reliable that Trainers often used it to catch powerful Pokémon.
Like the one Miranda summoned when she tossed the ball into the air.
A creature appeared in a flash of white light, and I swore the creature sent chills down my spine…
There was no mistaking the light blue eyes…
Or the black in the center of what looked like a giant purple shell…
And even the webbed fingers and the purple clothes…
Yet there was a sash wrapped around the creature inside the shell that flowed like water…
A horn resembled something that would pierce the air, with a fin and sash matching the Pokémon's eyes…
White markings were on the creatures were headed, by far the darkest it had.
There was one species of Pokémon that looked like this, and its name immediately came to my mind.
Tapu Fini.
One of the guardians of Alola, a water deity, and one that had connections the realm of dead.
Those that were not afraid of Tapu Fini were honored or relieved to meet it.
And I had felt the same, once.
Yet all I could feel was sorrow.
Because Tapu Fini's connections to the dead only reminded me of my constant failures, and the people that waited for me there…
Yet I was torn for my thoughts as I listened to the three speak.
Sabrina and Erika had wanted to know why Tapu Fini was with Miranda, despite neither being anywhere near the Alola region where the Pokémon could be found.
They were given an answer clearer than anything Miranda could ever say.
One that would've made my eyes go wide.
A massive wave of supernatural power…
Flashing lights and echoed voices…
Seemingly unified with one's Pokémon…
And above all, a single word.
Vessel.
An honor granted to the chosen few…
A title meaning one was the eyes of a legendary Pokémon, and could use their power directly…
But in exchange, they had to aid the legendary Pokémon in their duties.
And with legendary Pokémon being gods, Vessels were considered the servants of the gods…
Vessel being something people who knew the true extent of my powers sometimes called me…
Even though the one that gave me my powers publicly held the title.
And the disabled typically were too weak to hold the legendary Pokémon's power themselves, with the few that managed to survive the initial transformation being dangerously unstable and at constant risk of death…
Something where I had seen the gruesome results happen right in front of me…
But I had been different and managed to work around it, figuring out how to grant myself a new body that could take the transformation…
And even before then, I did what I could and avoided transforming or even receiving a new form until I knew I could do it safely…
So people often called me other words.
Apotheosis.
A sign from Heaven.
Divine among mortals.
Goddess.
The truth is somewhere in between, so I just called myself an Archangel.
But I knew that if I was there, the power felt from Miranda would've been familiar.
Just as it was to Erika, even though she rarely used her Vessel powers.
Of course, I couldn't say whether my supernatural power would be familiar to them, though.
Most Vessels did not recognize me as such, with some not even noticing I had the power until I transformed, or even could.
Even then, many Vessels stated that the power was not what they were used to, but something greater, something stronger, and horrifyingly unfamiliar…
So perhaps I couldn't even be called a Vessel.
And it was a good thing I wasn't there in person.
Regardless, the conversation went on.
Miranda now explained Tapu Fini's abilities, and now she would use its ability to figure out a person's spiritual essence in order to read water and track Holly… It was like a scent hound, only using water coupled with supernatural abilities.
At first it seemed like the search would be futile, as Holly did not use any supernatural powers.
Or at least, was not known to.
Until Sabrina took out a green crystal and tossed it to Miranda.
If they could have, my eyes would have gone wide.
For this was no ordinary jewel.
Instead, Sabrina had just given Miranda a Shifting Gem.
This object allowed anyone to use magic and protect themselves by taking a stronger form.
And the gem did so by feeding into one's character and desires, one's essence, I could call it.
But after seeing them used and misused, especially by my close friends…
I hated them.
Because they gave magic to people who had no business having it, leading to terrible results.
Yet still…
There was no denying how useful Shifting Gems could be.
Such as people who normally wouldn't be able to defend themselves utilizing them for survival.
Or in the hands of someone like Sabrina, it could be a training tool to introduce magic safely.
And then there were those who performed acts of heroism and other virtues with their magic.
Complicating matters even more was the issue with my own power, which many had claimed was like a Shifting Gem…
Of course, it was more like I was reacting with and borrowing from my environment rather than taking a completely different form, but quite a few people didn't understand that…
And then I did it with the accusations of misusing my own power, that I shouldn't have it, or that I didn't really have magical power at all…
So I supposed I couldn't be too frustrated about Shifting Gems.
Even though I was certain Holly had misused or would misuse hers.
But if it helped with the search, so be it, and Miranda seemed to think the same.
For she had quickly gathered the supernatural material she needed, and Sabrina allowed her to keep the jewel.
After that, Miranda left the room, and it seemed there was now a glimmer of hope.
But as my vision faded away, I saw that hope was quashed as soon as it started.
Another image came of someone traveling, as the image moved at blinding pace.
However, I easily recognized the person as Holly.
The girl was still on top of her Shiftry, sprinting through the night and the grassy fields near Celadon.
The world still flew forward as the Pokémon ran. It was hard to pick out anything individually and I wondered if I was going to get dizzy.
Miraculously, Holly didn't. She didn't even seem tired, instead sitting up on the Shiftry, eyes bright and alert. I wondered if she had somehow managed to sneak in caffeine, or perhaps had gone to bed early.
But then again, depending on what rules Erika might've had, that might've been suspicious.
So perhaps Holly was just high on adrenaline, or excitement.
Regardless, her voice came out steady and strong.
"Stop, Shiftry."
The Pokémon immediately did so and the world slammed into my senses.
If I could I would've jumped back, but Holly did no such thing.
Instead, she smiled, and glanced around. Her gaze focused on something, and it took me a while to understand what she was looking at.
Only then did I feel a chill head down my spine.
For the place Holly had her gaze set on was loomed to her right. It was a gaping area full of uninviting darkness, almost resembling a cave.
Perhaps could be called a cave, if caves looked like old buildings or houses.
A man-made cave, that was what this was.
And that foreboding entrance led to the deepest darkest depths, where one could traverse cities rapidly and almost unnoticed. The seemingly ancient building didn't even have any guards, so those outside of it remained blissfully unaware of people moving back and forth.
No, Celadon's Underground Path was too dangerous for guards to take residence in. The wild Pokémon could be merciless, and the rouge Trainers that gathered, even more so. They wouldn't show much hesitation in attacking someone that was constantly on their territory. Then again, Pokémon and people passed through often without making any trouble, so perhaps there was no reason.
Whatever the case the entrance was empty now, and it didn't look like that would change anytime soon.
For Holly, the opportunity must've been perfect.
There was no mistaking the giant grin on her face, and the confidence that entered her voice.
"Head in there, Shiftry, and get to the exit as quickly as you can."
Without hesitation or even any nervousness, the Shiftry charged into the Underground Path. The world flew forth again, the darkness obscuring my vision.
I wasn't given any help to see this time, but I could vaguely make out the outlines of the Celadon Underground's multicolored floors.
There were also other vague shapes I could make out.
Such of the shadows that lurked in the darkness as the Shiftry raced by. They slunk around every corner, lying in wait as the Shiftry expertly sprinted around the area. More than once that it weaved around countless turns and snaking corridors. And more than once I thought the Pokémon would step into an ambush, and the shadows would gang up on it.
But not one dared go near.
Instead, they all just stayed in their areas as if there was nothing at all.
Even though this made so I couldn't figure out the details of the shadows, I knew what they were.
Rogue wild Pokémon.
Celadon's Underground was famous as a place for people and Pokémon to pass through from city to city, often without incident.
But it didn't stop those with nefarious intentions from gathering and causing trouble.
Or from various wild Pokémon from gathering and making it their home.
Such as the ones that were appearing now.
Considering Holly could be seen as invading their territory, I expected at least one of them to protest and attack.
Yet nothing happened, and Holly and her stolen Pokémon could fly by unimpeded.
I wasn't entirely sure why, but I could think of a few reasons.
Perhaps the wild Pokémon were frightened by Shiftry. I had heard tales of wild Pokémon being terrified of high-level Trainer's Pokémon, or even the Trainers themselves. And any Pokémon used by a Gym Leader was bound to be powerful in battle…
Or perhaps Holly was riding too fast for the wild Pokémon to catch her.
That was always a possibility.
Regardless, my thoughts were broken by single command.
"Wait, Shiftry."
My senses were assaulted again as the Pokémon slowed down,
If I could have, I thought it would've felt the wind on my face, as I realized I could see more grasslands on the way forward. The dark night sky seemingly stretched on forever, but neither Holly nor her Pokémon paid any attention.
But the instant I did, I knew exactly what they were.
Holly was at the end of the Underground, away from where the wild Pokémon were.
I wasn't sure how she got there, considering that there was usually a giant staircase between the entrance and exit to the building on top of the long walk. But maybe Holly had taken another way around. Or perhaps the staircase was no longer there. It had been a long time since I traversed the area, after all. Things could've easily changed. Or perhaps Shiftry had moved so fast that I hadn't seen were Holly went.
Yet the world outside the building lay sprawled ahead of Holly, almost beckoning her to come towards it.
But Holly did not answer the call, even with the exit the building looming ahead.
Instead, she slid off Shiftry and onto the ground, turning to face the opposite direction.
I was glad my visions prevented me from shuddering.
I wasn't sure why Holly was stopping so close to the exit, but it couldn't have been anything good.
However, I did not miss the look of confusion in Shiftry's eyes, and somehow Holly didn't either.
Yet she responded coolly.
"Don't worry, Shiftry. This something I need to do before we leave. I'll be back soon."
With that, Holly held up a Poké Ball again.
"Return, Shiftry."
A beam of red light shot out of the ball, and the Pokémon disappeared without protesting. It seemed that Holly would put the ball away, but she did no such thing.
Instead she put her hand over the front of the ball and slide it. I was alerted to attention as there was the sound of invisible curtains being closed. Holly rapidly attached the ball to her belt, hand staying at her side as though everything was completely normal.
But I knew everything wasn't normal.
And I wondered if the color would drain out of my face.
Pokémon normally had a slight view of what was going on in the outside world from their Poké Balls. It was enough for them to let themselves out of their Poké Balls if anything came up, observe the world as they were carried around, and even follow commands that a Trainer gave inside their Poké Balls. But there was a way to turn that process off, if for some reason the Trainer or the Pokémon didn't want it.
And that way was to close the metaphorical curtains.
Like what Holly had just done.
Whatever plan she was doing was something she didn't want Erika's Pokémon to see.
But here I still saw it.
Was forced to see it.
Even when Holly unaware.
And with me wishing I wouldn't.
I desperately wished as information could prevent what was going to happen.
By some miracle, Holly would be halted.
But there was nothing and no one, as Holly turned and headed briefly back into the direction that the shadows had been.
Confusion flooded through me as I wondered why she would head there without protection.
After all, doing that was almost suicide.
She'd already gotten into trouble once before, even if she wouldn't admit it…
Yet now she was heading straight back into the area she had just left, and had narrowly escaped before.
If Holly kept going, there would be no escaping.
Yet as rapidly as the thoughts swirled in my head, Holly halted.
I wondered if she was reconsidering, but I had a feeling that was impossible given how far she'd come.
And I got my answer almost as soon as I thought of my question.
For Holly slid her bag on the ground and her hand plunged into it. It didn't take her long before she found what she wanted, and a huge smile spread over her face.
When she pulled out the item, nausea seized hold of me.
If it wasn't for the vision, I would've vomited.
Or at least, started shaking.
For Holly was holding something in her hand I had never seen her with before the vision, yet now I recognized instantly.
It was a green crystal, matching the ones Sabrina and Miranda had held earlier.
Which meant it could only be one thing.
A Shifting Gem.
The Shifting Gem.
Another thing stolen so that Holly could use it for malicious purposes.
An object that marked Holly as another person misusing supernatural powers.
And the entire incident as a tragedy and catastrophe I could only helplessly watch.
Not that Holly saw the way.
Or even cared.
Instead her grin grew wide and I wondered how it could stay on her face.
The Shifting Gem began to glow white, and Holly was rapidly enveloped in the glow.
I knew Holly's body would begin to change as it was subject to the whims of the white light. While she was transforming, she would be protected, and enemies would be unable to get anywhere near her before she finished. When she was done, opponents would be subject to an assault of power far beyond any normal person. It was something that gave even the weakest security against many foes.
That was what unfailingly happened to everyone that used a Shifting Gem.
The transformation was something I used to enjoy seeing, with many becoming stronger and being able to protect themselves when they couldn't before.
But now with so many people being foolish with it, it was something I dreaded.
I wished I could look away.
But the vision ensured that I couldn't.
Perhaps it wouldn't have mattered.
Because I had a feeling I knew exactly what Holly was going to transform into.
But the light was still waiting to show me.
The glow had become brighter, like a Pokémon's evolution.
Or perhaps a mockery of one.
Yes, that's what it was.
Not that Pokémon evolutions could be mockery.
But I have heard stories of other monsters that were.
There was a tale where many people only had one monster, or at most, a few. These monsters could take higher forms via different influences, including the capitalizing on traits of their tamers. Those who were particularly powerful had their traits manifest as physical gifts that their monsters could use to become stronger than almost anyone had ever seen. But one of the wielders was a young boy that had the gift of courage. He had become selfish, his courage misguided. Unfortunately, the power reacted accordingly, for when his creature finally evolved, it turned into a rampaging mindless monster. Many were hurt, including the creature, and the rampages only stopped when it ran out of energy and couldn't maintain the form. Thankfully, everyone survived, but the boy was beside himself.
I sometimes heard it whispered as a cautionary tale, in order to not misuse Pokémons' power. They were very different from the creatures in the story, but the tragic results could be the same. Of course, since it seemed so fantastical, many dismissed it as just a fairy tale and did not listen.
Yet here I was seeing the tale unfold in front of me.
For Holly was the boy and his monster.
Without any of the remorse to make sure what happened in the story to the boy did not occur over and over.
Because no matter what, the Shifting Gem's power would respond to Holly's virtues that had been warped by her constant selfish wishes.
And it would turn her into a monster, and although she wouldn't be mindless, it would be almost like she was.
She would rampage everywhere, just like she had already begun to do normally.
And only innocent victims would be left in her wake.
Unlike the boy and his monster, there would be no means to revert, and no going back.
Because Holly was set in her ways even before she had her argument with Erika.
And this was just the ultimate confirmation.
Once she got that power, she would never let it go.
Now I was just seeing the beginning of the terrible results.
I had wished the change had been instant, like it had been for the boy and the monster in the story.
Yet it was anything but, and felt agonizingly slow.
Perhaps it was, considering it didn't seem like too much was happening.
But I knew the change was taking place nonetheless.
The first change being Holly's clothing.
Instead of the unassuming traveling clothing she had worn before, it was replaced by a new outfit thrust out in front of her. The outfit seemed to have many frills as it rippled at her waist, and I realized I was looking at parts of a dress. The dress flowed elegantly, with not even a thought spared to how out of place it looked in a simple public building used for moving back and forth. I knew most females who used Shifting Gems loved to wear dresses, despite how impractical they were in combat and how ridiculous they looked. I had never understood the concept, but I supposed I just wasn't that feminine.
What I did understand was something appearing in Holly's hand.
Something I wished I didn't understand.
For that something was a sword.
Even in the light, I could see that two bladed edges with a sweeping hilt.
I could also make out a pommel and that the sword was small and slender.
In Holly's left hand, I noticed a small round shield. It attached itself perfectly to her body via a strap on the back.
Even though Holly still was transforming, it was clear with these two items were.
A small sword and shield…
The sword having two bladed edges with a sweeping hilt…
And that noticeable pommel…
The weapon being something called a rapier, wielded by a girl with a sharp tongue to match…
It was just like the corrupted child in the nightmare…
No, this was the corrupted child in the nightmare.
Of course, the girl back then didn't have the dress, but Maria probably wasn't one for dresses either.
And this girl wasn't doomed or undead, but she may as well have been.
The tiniest traces of good had been destroyed the instant she made the decision to run away.
If there was any good in her to begin with.
And although this girl was still living, she could just wreak havoc in a different way.
Perhaps the fact that she had been forced into the transformation into a monster and the fact that she wasn't under control of anyone made it worse.
Because she there was no way she could be innocent.
When she was caught for wrongdoings…
If she was caught for her wrongdoings…
She would have no one to blame but herself, and no one would support her…
But Holly didn't seem to consider that as the transformation continued and a smile never left her face.
Within another minute, the white light dissipated, revealing all of the colors of Holly's new garb.
Her dress was indeed frilly and puffed out in front of her. But that was not what caught my eye. Instead there was the mix of colors. They all had separate layers but at the same time all blended together. I could pick out the colors easily, and realize they consisted of red, yellow and orange.
The colors of flames.
Like Holly was surrounded by flames.
She may as well have been surrounded by flames.
Now and always.
After all, fire was what had defined the girl in the nightmare as a person.
And that person had been Holly, just in a different way.
Why wouldn't it define Holly now?
But there was more to focus on.
Such as the infamous sword and shield.
The sword showed a silver sheen, with the red hilt meant to invoke the color of fire. However, all I could think was the color of blood, and I wouldn't put it past Holly to use it for that purpose. This shield's colors were bit more muted, but they still proudly displayed the colors of fire. There was mostly orange and yellow, but red was also thrown in. All the colors painted a picture of the shield as a burning flame. The color symbolism was so strong it looked like it could crackle, dance, and come to life. Granted, the shape wasn't quite right, as flames are not round. But the concept was clear.
But nowhere near as clear as what Holly did after that.
For Holly's countenance hardened, her eyes narrowed in concentration.
Bewilderment came again as I wondered what she could concentrate on. After all, she was alone and her sword and shield were pointed at nothing.
But then something happened.
A wordless command.
Followed by a roar that no creature could make.
A light that nothing man-made could replicate.
And a crackling louder than anything else in the world.
Holly's blade looked like it glowed with a color that once again reminded me of blood.
No, it did glow.
But glowing wasn't the right word.
This was stronger.
Brighter.
Harsher.
Hungrier.
Like fire.
As fire.
On fire.
Holly's sword was on fire.
The blood red flames had completely engulfed the object, flames greedily licking at the blade. I shuddered to think that the flames would soon mercilessly devour the metal, and Holly's hand along with it.
Yet they did no such thing. Instead, they seem to ripple almost quietly as they obediently awaited Holly's next command.
This was magic fire, so of course it played by its own rules.
But still…
Fire could be absolutely devastating in reckless or uncaring hands, to the point where it often did so much collateral damage that it typically outright banned with traditional weapons. The only times I'd ever heard people directly using fire as a weapon were stories of ancient history, someone trying to look cool but foolishly getting injured for their trouble, or feared acts of terrorism. Pokémon fire and magic was more controlled, but it could still cause tragic results if someone wasn't careful using it.
So what would Holly do with that power?
Whatever it was, she seemed to already know her answer.
Her concentrated gaze became confident and the gigantic grin appeared again.
She swung her sword around in the air, and I thought the building would catch on fire.
Perhaps embers would leap out and scatter everywhere, leading to bigger blazes in their wake.
Yet nothing of the sort happened.
Holly may as well have swung around a stick.
Because there was no fire at all.
Or even anything resembling a sword's cut.
But before I could ponder what just happened, my senses were bombarded by something else.
A wave of energy.
Invisible.
Silent.
And yet it washed over the entire building.
Flooded it more than water ever could.
And within that wave of energy…
There was something else.
Deceit.
Malice.
Aggression.
Rebelliousness.
Vindictiveness.
But above all…
The desire to cause pain and suffering, no matter who got caught in the way or what the consequences were…
And to do that for as long and as much as possible, like trying to please a beast whose ravenous hunger would never be satisfied…
Not that Holly cared.
Because that was her personality.
And the power was alive.
Listening to her character and desires, reacting accordingly.
Just like she wanted it and just like she knew it would.
Because that was what a Shifting Gem did.
And that was exactly why she taken it.
Whatever Holly was trying to do with it, only tragedy would result.
And as soon as those thoughts entered my head, I was shown just what kind of tragedy.
For as the wave inundated the building, there was another immediate effect.
The noise of something screeching pierced my ears, and although it seemed to be in the distance, it seemed like it was so close it was right near Holly.
Perhaps it was, considering how deafening the sound seemed.
But then Holly would be in danger, and she didn't show any signs of distress.
Rather, she was grinning ear to ear, even as she lowered the flaming sword.
Confusion briefly overtook me but my senses suddenly flew into focus.
Including more sounds that pierced my ears.
At that moment I wondered if nausea would seize hold of my stomach, but I was grateful that it probably wouldn't.
Because if it did my face would blanch and I would probably vomit everywhere.
For listening more told me just what type of sound of screeching was.
They were the cries of Pokémon.
It was impossible to tell what they were saying from a distance or what it was as every cry blended into one.
However, it was clear how they were feeling.
Combative.
Pugnacious.
Agitated.
Destructive.
Perhaps even murderous.
But I can only think of one word.
Suffering.
Anger now blazed through me, replacing the nausea and dread.
To think someone would indirectly hurt Pokémon that way!
And the poor Pokémon would be completely innocent as they no longer acted on their own!
They would never know the source of their distress!
Perhaps they would never be calmed down again!
If it could, my face would've twisted into a snarl.
Because I knew exactly why Holly had agitated these Pokémon.
It was so that no one could come after her.
Anyone who tried would be slowed down by her unwitting allies.
Even if that meant people being constantly hurt, maybe seriously.
Possibly fatally.
People like those police officers that were currently gathering forces to give chase.
Or even just innocent passerby.
Perhaps if I was there I would've yelled at Holly.
Or worse.
I wasn't watching a child Trainer run away!
I was watching a monster leave a trail of devastation!
A monster.
At that point, sorrow washed over me as easily as the wave had before.
The sorrow was so strong I swore I could feel a lump in my throat.
Even though the state I was in meant that there was probably nothing there and no tears would ever come.
And it was easy to understand why.
Because I knew no matter what she did, Holly would be the one that would suffer the most.
Regardless of what happened…
Even if she made it back alive, home, and safe…
With this action, a monster was all she would ever be.
Because she crossed the line from a mischievous child into someone that gambled with others' lives…
And I had just witnessed it, with nothing I could do…
Several more thoughts soared into my head, and was grateful I couldn't cringe.
They were all words.
Labels.
Probable descriptions of Holly.
Or anyone that would've acted like that.
But these words had another name.
Illness.
Diagnosis.
Something that I wasn't qualified to find or treat.
And yet the words scrolled through my head anyway, as if they were clawing desperately.
And I let them flow, feeling dragged under by the invisible claws hooked into me.
Conduct disorder.
Oppositional defiant disorder.
Probably both together.
Perhaps even sociopathy, although that seemed a bit too strong.
But no matter what Holly was described as, these words, and the labels all had one thing in common.
They meant that she would have extremely difficult time adjusting to normal life if she ever returned, even in the best scenario.
If adjusting wasn't almost or outright impossible.
And if what she did didn't bar her from adjusting at all.
And all I could do was let the sorrow threaten to overflow.
Of course this would happen and of course I would think those words.
I always did have an intense interest in psychology, and the research skills to match.
But then there was also…
There was also…
What happened…
What happened…
I became a Pokémon Trainer to get away from all that.
But now I was seeing it happen right in front of me.
And now it was just like before.
Helpless and desperate…
Tearing through any information I knew, any resource I could find…
Information to hope with…
Information to be at peace with…
To even indirectly treat it…
No, it was useless to think any of those thoughts.
Because I couldn't do any of those things, and I was a fool to think otherwise.
Because I was no therapist and never would be.
So there was a chance what I said meant nothing at all, because it was only in the realm of possibility.
I should focus on the things that weren't.
Like Holly.
The girl was still grinning, sword lowered at her side.
Within another second, though, the sword vanished, and she was back to the traveling clothing I had seen her in before.
Holly's grin never left her face and she simply nodded.
With that, she turned away and sprinted out of the building.
And I was leaving as well, as my vision yanked me away to another place.
Yet I had a feeling one thing would be consistent.
And it was my sorrow.
Author's notes:
-The name of the chapter comes from another Valkyrie Profile song. This one plays in the first and third games in the series. It usually plays when something sinister is happening, or about to. A particular scene that came to mind when writing this chapter was the bad ending of the third game. That ending is not really an ending but more glorified an extended game over, and doesn't even count towards 100% completion totals. However, the music plays throughout. At the beginning of the game, the protagonist Wylfred receives dark power from the Goddess Hel. Hel tells Wylfred to gather allies so that he may get revenge on other gods, specifically the titular Valkyrie. Wylfred believes the Valkyrie killed his father, leaving his family destroyed and destitute. This forms the basis of the game, and how the journey goes depends on the player's actions and how much they use the dark power. There are four endings in the game.
In the neutral ending, Wylfred discovers that the Valkyrie did not kill his father, but was impressed by both his and his father's power. She had a very good relationship with Wylfred's father, to the point where she saved Wylfred from being fatally injured at his father's request. Therefore, he no longer needs to take revenge, and has only been manipulated by Hel. However, Wylfred is too consumed in his revenge at that point, and ends up fighting anyway, to the point where his own father is killed again. In the best ending, the above is subtly implied, Hel is revealed to be the main villain instead, and her presence in the mortal world is destroyed, Wylfred gives up his revenge, his father survives in the afterlife, and when he finally meets the Valkyrie again in the postgame, they are on good terms and see each other as worthy opponents.
In the worst of the regular endings, Wylfred continues in his quest to destroy the Valkyrie. He succeeds in doing so after a long fight, but then discovers that his actions amounted to nothing. Even though he defeated her in battle, the Valkyrie can simply regenerate after a period of time, is effectively immortal, and that immortality can't be shattered by regular attacks. Since Wylfred neither knows how nor has the capacity to get around the regeneration, he is forced to watch as the Valkyrie gets to safety. He realizes he was manipulated by Hel, but he has no means of stopping her and it's too late for him to do anything. Since he failed in his quest and it stated that if he fails he will be forced into her domain, Wylfred is promptly killed by Hel's servant, Aliyth, and left to suffer forever.
However, the bad ending does away with all this, is completely hidden, and is very different from any of it.
And it has to do with what the dark power is.
The dark power makes allies extremely powerful and gives both them and Wylfred special abilities. However, the ally will die permanently after the mission, and of the player takes the worst of the regular endings, they will fight the fallen allies later in the final battle. Luckily, the player will have more than enough strength to take down their fallen allies even if they aren't aware of this. So it's tempting to use the power to win tough battles, except doing so is a huge mistake. Using the power again and again puts the player on a worse and worse path. This culminates in them getting to the worst regular ending, where Wylfred is guaranteed to die after a futile final battle.
But the game has another brutal reminder of how terrible using the dark power is.
And that reminder is the worst ending.
During most of the game the power has limits, but the game doesn't really tell the player. There is a subtle warning involving an extra scene with one of the gods, but nothing else. However, if the player ignores the scene and goes over the limit, the goddess Freya (who's the one in the warning scenes) will fight them an extra battle at the end of the current chapter. Unfortunately, this battle is not meant to be won, and is nearly impossible to win it anyway. Freya brings several warriors with her, and they are tougher than anything the player can reasonably encounter. Freya herself has maxed out stats (which is impossible to obtain for the player) and the dark power cannot be used during the fight. Once Freya defeats the player's team (or this somehow defeat her), the scene will transition and the music used for the chapter title will play. In this scene, Aliyth expresses disappointment that Freya killed Wylfred and his party. Hel reassures her, and wishes her better luck next time, but Aliyth still seems upset. After that, the player is kicked back to the title screen and the last save, or if they locked themselves in the ending (which is pretty easy to do because of that the end of the chapter), they then have to restart the game.
I picked the music because of the ominous tone, but also because of the scenarios in the third Valkyrie Profile game. Christine is effectively seeing the bad ending in the setup for the search for Holly and everything that takes place before and after that. And like Aliyth, Kristine expresses disappointment and frustration over what's happening, alongside several other negative emotions, after witnessing the entire thing and being rendered powerless. Those who have read Daughter's later chapters know that Kristine eventually encounters a similar situation that Wylfred does with Freya (with said situation even being slightly off of that scene). Finally, the idea of things getting worse and worse depending on certain dark powers being used and the desire for revenge also applied to the chapter. Even though Holly was not under the influence of dark powers or being manipulated at this point, the desire for revenge and wanting to do anything to get what she saw as hers was a huge part of her character. Not to mention the more Holly uses her desire for revenge and ability to deceive and hurt others (her dark power, so to speak), the more blinded she is by it and the worst things become. And Kristine, like the player, is watching things become worse and worse, unable to do anything and knowing that nothing good can come from it. So I thought the song, and the scenario referenced was extremely fitting.
-What Kristine sees comes from chapter 6 and seven of Daughter. The first scenario is almost exactly the same aside from the discussion being summarized. The second scenario is something that happens offscreen and has a few more parts to it that will be explained later chapters. However, it still taken directly from there, almost exactly the same as described, and still majorly impacts the story.
-Kristine's thoughts about Holly's possible diagnosis were originally not in the story at all, and Holly was never intended to receive any diagnosis. The reason is that changed was because I had another plot point for Holly, but I wasn't sure if it would work. I needed to test it out, there wasn't enough to make a draft, and I wasn't at the point market tested otherwise without abandoning what I was currently working on. So I posted it as a Reddit poll to a Pokémon fanfiction group and let those who knew Pokémon more help me decide. The poll was heavily in favor of the new plot point early on, although things started to get more even as the poll continued. Therefore, I started researching what it would be like if the new plot point was used.
However, I realized that in order to truly come to a decision, I had to do some more research to see if that plot made sense. The biggest thing that I had to research was what Holly's behavior actually was and what the prognosis was for it. I knew I had slightly unconsciously basted off of psychological disorders that I had encountered in my life, as well as the idea of someone being resistant to punishment and forming revenge seeking behavior as a result. I had no idea there was a name for it or if anything was close, or even if any realistic real-life equivalent existed. After some more research, I'd realize that I'd most likely accidentally written an extremely severe case of oppositional defiant disorder combined with conduct disorder. Unfortunately, I also found that while was possible for these individuals to lead a normal life, it was extremely difficult, especially in severe cases. The disorders were even more difficult to treat and even with treatment, the fight against them was basically an ongoing battle. In fact, some of the worst cases were deemed almost impossible to treat.
That's not to say someone could keep their disorders under control and live normally, but in a case like Holly's (where she had already done a lot of out-of-control things at a young age). This was especially so because the Trainer laws effectively gave her control over her own treatments (or even whether to be treated all) despite her being a child and not having the capacity to know any better. All this was compounded by the fact that she believed nothing was wrong with her and that it was all the people around her. So her leading a normal life, especially after everything she had done, was extremely unlikely to happen.
That answered the question about the plot point, and the remaining one was planned to be used somewhere else. I decided I wanted to bring in the probable diagnoses as foreshadowing for what was used, so they were mentioned here. However, since I'm not a psychologist and neither is Kristine, the chapter makes it clear that it's only a probable cause of her behavior rather than a definite one. At one point, Holly was going to be branded and called a sociopath (but not formally diagnosed). This was later discarded because she didn't fit all the symptoms medically, and it was an extremely harsh label to give someone otherwise (not to mention how difficult it is to diagnose sociopathy properly in the first place).
-Kristine's reason for like in psychology and researching it is the same as in real life. In real life of always had an intense liking for psychology and figuring out the human brain. There was a point where I considered studying it for career, but I had to be in school a lot (since it requires at least a Master's degree right after Bachelor's, which is about five to six years of schooling or more as opposed to three or four normally) so I chose not to. Additionally, there was certain things I felt like I didn't have the stomach for, such as abuse situations. However, my interest did lead to me taking several courses, and played into me becoming a teacher. It further out me realize that love the idea of communications which uses psychology indirectly in many different things (to the point where some of the major figures who study communications actually are in the field of psychology).
The other, darker, reasons Kristine she hints at are almost the same in real life. In real life, part of the reason I became interested in psychology was because of my own experiences with my family having psychological issues. These psychological issues mostly went untreated due to most of the members ignoring them. So I started researching them to find out what was happening and how to work through it on the receiving end, and also a sort of morbid curiosity. Later on this research extends to myself when I started realizing I also had some psychological issues (anxiety) and wanted to learn more.
It's also worth noting that for a long time, Holly was unconsciously based off of my own experiences with my family members that had those psychological disorders and how I reacted. Eventually, Holly grew to be her own character, and mercifully the other family members were never as bad as she is. However, the idea that she is based off of my experience with people that had psychological problem still exists. This is also why psychology features heavily in a lot of my stories, alternative universe or not.
-Sabrina's background as a psychologist and helping people with their supernatural powers as well as teaching them is based off of an interpretation of her character, but also some canon material. Her background is first discussed in Holly Rising, gone into detail in Diary, and brought up again briefly in Daughter. All of this is based slightly off of the anime, where having psychological problems and trouble controlling her power at the expense of other people is a huge part of her character. However, she's not doing it maliciously or even consciously, and the episodes where she appears are devoted to bringing her back to normal so she can get help and live a normal life. Even though she doesn't have that back story in usurping, I still imagine she would see people with those same issues, be in tune with that and the problems, and want to help others. Therefore, her back story was created.
Sabrina inspiring others to walk the same path was a reference to the metafiction Diary, specifically the main character Gracie. Gracie is in awe of and inspired by Sabrina's work when she meets her in Saffron. Gracie also heads the Saffron to hone her battle skills as a Pokémon citizen (since she is a Psychic Type Pokémon species, Gardevior and psychic Pokémon are Sabrina's specialty) and Sabrina decides to show her the various different services she provides. Gracie is at first startled by the supernatural equivalent of a mental ward, but is humbled one Sabrina explains what she is doing and why. The topic of being an emotional support Pokémon or even a Pokémon therapist comes up, as well as how badly most Trainers and their Pokémon need but are either unable or unwilling to receive them.
Gracie is inspired to become a Pokémon psychologist and one day train under Sabrina, but wants to start as an emotional support Pokémon. Sabrina agrees this is a good idea. However, since Gracie is on a journey around the regions due to having a vision of needing to protect someone, she can't do those things right now. Regardless, she promises to start that once her journey is over. Gracie's backstory was changed heavily between Diary and the stories between it, and since the letter story was metafiction, I could do this without messing up the lore. Luckily, Gracie going on journeys, becoming a Pokémon psychologist, and spending some time training under Sabrina still happened. But the difference was she had already become Pokémon psychologist, and her journey was shortened to something similar to the Mystery Dungeon games where she took on side missions to help people instead. Being inspired by Sabrina still happened, although she never became an emotional support Pokémon and just jumped to training as a psychologist.
It's also worth noting that Kristine was mentioned a lot in Gracie's original story despite not appearing in person much and never really speaking to Gracie. It really delved into Kristine's psychological issues and how much they affected her. This is mostly told to Gracie from the people close to and around Kristine, and a lot of the most talked about the rumors swirling around about Kristine's journey and the bad reputation she had gained. This was also one of the few times where Kristine's and origins were talked about, and how the journey had strained her relationship with them. This story also use the original version of Kristine's character, so she was a lot more ruthless instead just trying to get out of the way of conflict, and her supernatural abilities were connected to her mental health problems (which were much worse). Regardless, in addition to journeys being dangerous for even the most powerful Trainers, the theme was that Kristine needed someone like Gracie because of her mental health issues, and was not invincible Trainer people often thought of her as. At the end it was going to be revealed that Gracie was supposed to protect Kristine from herself, in addition to helping in battle.
However, that was changed so Kristine did not feature Gracie's journey at all aside from a few coincidences. Additionally, Gracie knew no more about Kristine than what an average person would know from the stories. Finally, the arc of protecting someone from themselves was given to someone else. Even then, it wasn't because the person was some sort of chosen one or any sort of divine nudging, but rather a series of unfortunate events and freak accidents. That person was then a choice based on the situation and the characteristics as a person. Even after that, the role was more support and helping the person comes to terms with what happened that it was protection and the person being dangerous.
-Kristine training under Sabrina and lamenting she couldn't is based on ideas that would've happened for Traveler. In original versions, Kristine knew she had powerful supernatural abilities. However, her mental health issues prevents her from using them (mainly anxiety and perfectionism, but also PTSD and sometimes milder depression). The reason was because people with mental health issues were treated like athletes that can perform physically because of an injury, permanent or temporary. Just like with physical injuries, the mental issues would heal, or least get to the point where the person could function easier. This was changed overall because of learning more about how mental health and treatment worked through my own treatment, and that some of it would not sense and would take a very long time. Mental health and supernatural powers are still connected, however, even if the connection is different.
In the original versions, Kristine's powers would manifest as something traditional, but with the ability to eventually use every supernatural ability (similar to how the canon but changed character Molly Hale is depicted in some of the other stories in Traveler). As a result, Sabrina would've been chosen to help Kristine both because both because of the former's background in mental health and teaching supernatural powers. This changed greatly when Kristine's supernatural powers themselves were changed (to more of a specialist that could use every supernatural power from gathering them from other sources, but can only do that and it was not something that was seen before and thus she could not receive professional help). This also was done because of the massive amount of time and effort it would take to learn everything, and also the fact that due to the way Kristine's mental health problems are, it was impossible for her to completely heal. So it was shades of other mental health and supernatural powers had nothing to do with each other. However, that didn't stop people from thinking the previous situation was what was going on (as evidenced by earlier chapters). Hence why Kristine laments that here.
-Miranda is a canon character, but she probably isn't someone that a lot of people would recognize. She is mentioned in Diary, but first appears in person in Daughter, so I will let daughter's description of her sum things up:
"-So Miranda is a canon character, although she may not be one people have heard of. Miranda appears in Pokémon: The First Movie: Mewtwo Strikes Back. Miranda also appears in that movie's remake, Mewtwo Strikes Back: Evolution. In her canon work, Miranda goes unnamed. However, a novelization of the movies reveals her name. Canonically, Miranda is known as the harbor manager in a place called Old Shore Wharf.
When many Trainers want to go to Mewtwo's location on New Island, Miranda appears when Officer Jenny tells the Trainers that would take them there has been canceled due to a raging storm. Miranda then tells the trainers of the deadly storm called the Winds of Water and that she fears the storm is happening again. In the Winds of Water, there were many deaths. However, the Pokémon grieved, and their tears somehow brought the dead back to life. Unfortunately, Miranda explains that the power doesn't exist in the modern day, and anyone who tries to brave the storm's water will not survive. If you trainers than contradict her, but she still tries to warn them.
Eventually, she watches with Officer Jenny as some of the Trainers head to New Island anyway. Officer Jenny threatens to place them under arrest, but Miranda stops her. She states that some Trainers have no fear, and to them, something like this is just one more challenge. Miranda explains that these Trainers follow their hearts, which will make them Pokémon Masters. She then wishes the Trainers luck. She did not appear again until the end of the movie. In their, Miranda is seen offering Trainers a place to stay in the harbor, and watches with a few others as the raging storm from the beginning miraculously clears up.
Her dialogue is noticeably different in the Japanese version. In the original Japanese version of the movie, she states that she has never seen such a bad storm. She also says that she speaks to seagulls to predict the weather, and that she doesn't want anyone to get hurt in the storm. The Japanese version also explained that she was deeply spiritual and believed in destiny. Her dialogue was likely changed because in the original version of the movie, there was a short intro scene of Mewtwo's past. Among the things in that scene were explaining Pokémon tears and their power. However, those scenes were not present in the international versions, so Miranda talks about Pokémon tears to fill in the gaps.
In some of the dubbed versions of the movies, Miranda speaks with an accent. The movie never says a kind of accent it is, but some dubs say it's French. I decided just to leave it unnamed here, because there was no confirmation of what it was. Miranda's appearance is slightly different between the original first movie and its remake. In the original first movie, she has the yellow round earrings that she uses here. In the remake, those were changed to fishhook earrings. I decided to combine the two appearances by having her where her original earrings but have the fishhook as a necklace. Also, although she works with Officer Jenny in canon material, it's never stated if the two are friends. However, there is a fan interpretation that they are, so I decided to make them friends here.
-Miranda's first appearance in Traveler was in the story Diary. I needed someone who had proficiency with water, and the more well-known candidates were either being used for something else or didn't make sense at that point in the story. Therefore, after going through a list of possible candidates, Miranda was chosen. From that point on, she was planned to make appearances in Traveler at different times. However, there was also an immediate change in her backstory.
In Diary, it was revealed that Miranda was part of the Coast Guard instead of the harbor manager. There were a couple of reasons for this. One is that a lot of the work previously allocated to harbor managers is done by the Coast Guard currently. Another reason is that she would be confined to the harbor as a harbor manager, when my planned role for her was for her to travel around. A final reason was that I wasn't sure if I wanted the harbor she originally managed to exist in Traveler, and I'm still not as of this writing. So she was given another job. As for why Miranda was here, when I decided I wanted an extra scene involving perforations were chasing after Holly, I needed someone that could be connected to Officer Jenny and the people searching but still be realistically in the area. Miranda once again fit that bill, and the rest of her appearance went on from there."
-The ship scene where Kristine saves people on SS Anne that Miranda is helping with this based on the anime. In daughter, it was never directly mentioned, but it comes in the play here. The author's notes from Daughter sum it up:
"-The original dialogue would have prompted Miranda to speak more as well. Upon Sabrina finishing what she knew, Miranda would relay a story of her own. She would tell a tale of a Trainer that was on a ship she was helping out with. This Trainer at first didn't seem special, but possessed a strength and deadly intelligence that was far beyond anything Miranda had seen. It also eclipsed all of the trailers that were on board, and Miranda took notice. All of a sudden, the ship was attacked by rogues. There were many trainers and Pokémon board, but they were too terrified to fight back or were otherwise fighting amongst themselves. This Trainer was near the front of the ship, and managed to somehow control every single Pokémon and Trainer on the ship and you get them to unite the rogues. The Trainer was able to successfully repel the attack and the ship itself was saved, but Miranda was left wondering what exactly the Trainer did and who the identity of the Trainer was. She thinks that this trainer may be the one the other two are referring to, and hopes the information helps them.
When Sabrina's explanation to Erika changed, Miranda's extra explanation was left out. This is because that Miranda and the Trainer in question know each other better, and Miranda gets more formation after the attack. So Miranda automatically knows who the Trainer is and how said Trainer controlled those on the ship. The methods that the Trainer uses to control the others is also different, so Miranda's words also are not the same. While I was originally going to try and put Miranda's explanation in anyway with some revised dialogue, I realized it would not make sense given what she knows versus what she knew in the original draft. Additionally, Sabrina was so vague that it was easy to see Miranda not making the connection to the Trainer she met on the ship. So that part was left out.
-For the curious, the story that Miranda was originally going to tell here is based off of the anime. In one episode, Ash and his friends get invited to a party on the SS Anne. However, it turns out to be a trap set by Team Rocket, and many members attack the ship. They start stealing Pokémon from the Trainers and endangering them. Ash manages to rally the Trainers to fight back and they are able to drive off Team Rocket. However, they aren't able to save the ship, and the ship sinks with them inside it. Luckily, Ash's group, as well as the villains Jesse and James, are able to escape, and there aren't any casualties mentioned.
The story told in Traveler is a different way on how that attack could've gone. Namely, it has the same idea, but with another Trainer that has a different personality, Pokémon, and experiences than Ash. Also, it plays more into the idea of what a lot of people might realistically do in that situation, since while in canon, the Trainers fight back pretty quickly, they could've just as easily not have been able to fight back due to fear or being confused on who the real enemy is. Combine that with some of the Trainers not being strong as the enemy, and the enemy being much better prepared, and the situation mentioned above is not unfeasible. Even though this ship situation was not a part of this chapter, it most likely will make an appearance later on in the series at some point, since it is a major part of said character's backstory."
-Kristine's relationship with Crystal was in the very beginning of Traveler, although it was never mentioned directly. How the relationship played out was one of the earliest ideas in Traveler as well. This relationship even extended as far back as pre-Traveler days. However, pre-Traveler, Kristine's character was quite different. Namely, she was the one on the receiving end of males harassing her because they wanted to get romantically involved with her. She would then use her magical powers to drive them away, and she was much younger but still a teenager. Although Kristine is shown to be annoyed, there were no permanent consequences and it was also played as comic relief. This is because that scenario with based off of Brock from the anime and other scenarios where that was depicted as being funny (there were a few other influences, such as Zelos from Tales of Symphonia, various Fire Emblem Games such as Sain from the seventh game and Gatrie from the ninth, and Jenon from Blaze Union).
However, as Kristine's character and story developed, I realized that really wasn't funny at all and there were darker implications. This was especially the case considering Kristine was much younger than all of the above characters mentioned, and thus was more impulsive with these dark implications following her into adulthood. Kristine gained a reputation of being standoffish, manipulative, and even cruel. The reality was that she was exactly opposite but only dropped the fact that when she felt comfortable, which wasn't too often considering the story's often grim and serious situations. Even when the truth was revealed, it was something she couldn't really live down. The fact that she also liked to fight was pointed out, and people were angry and concerned that she used violence when something less extreme could've been tried first (such as trying to talk someone down). All of this also stunted Kristine's emotional growth, meaning she had trouble getting into romantic relationships even though there are quite a few people genuinely and healthily interested in her. She also had trouble holding on to friendships, with no idea how to approach someone that had proper romantic interest. This got so bad one of Kristine's character arcs was learning to recognize and react properly to those feelings. It takes a lot of help from many people and she isn't able to enter into a romantic relationship until the very end several years later (with a person that's willing to wait for her until she's comfortable and loves her for who she is).
Part of this arc also involves teaching her how to properly make friends. While she's not cruel or manipulative and does care about others and wants to make sure they don't get hurt, she sees people as things she can use, respect and acknowledgment being something conditional (although she does give people who she thinks are deserving), friendships are formed out of convenience, and authority figures mostly aren't trusted. The art continues teaching her how to trust others, including authority figures. But it's something that still takes her years to figure out, there is a lot of treatment, and she still has issues with that in the end.
The final consequence of this was that Kristine hated how she looked and considered any beauty a curse. As a result, she tried to downplay any good looks, even if it was just something natural or a complement. It's implied to this led to an unnamed eating disorder, or at least trying to stunt her growth, because she is extremely underweight by the time her story starts despite there being no mention of it in the past. However, all of this was discarded as my real life experiences changed.
Not only did I realize I had no romantic interest in anyone for any reason (to the point where I identified as asexual and aromantic for a while until I got sick of using labels), I also had nothing that would automatically draw someone romantically to me. Furthermore, no one outwardly expressed any romantic interest towards me. There was a chance there could have been some crushes and things like that when I was younger, but it was mostly me misreading cues as romantic when they very well could not have been. I did try to express romantic interest in people when I was younger (around the time Kristine's pre-Traveler character was originally written), but since it was just intense crushes with the other person not reciprocating, it was mostly on my side and were eventually dropped.
With all this, romantic relationships was completely taken out of Kristine's character as a result. There were some characters that had crushes or other noninvasive examples, but otherwise no one approach to romantically either. It also helped that the Traveler version of Kristine started out much older than a lot of the cast (she was only a year to a few years older than most people before, and was still a child instead of an adult). Consequently, any romantic relationships she had with almost anyone would be awkward at best (and a bunch of other unfortunate implications at worst). Therefore, it would be easier to just choose not pursue them (although the idea of putting them aside until the other person was also a bit older was considered for a while). However, the general idea of someone being harassed for romantic reasons stuck, so it was used for Crystal. It also helps that Crystal is implied to have a romantic interest in her canon material (Ethan/Gold). Several characters bring it up, although thankfully nothing negative comes of it.
-Miranda's reaction was a bit different in the original version of hearing about Kristine's powers. In the original version, she was just relieved that Kristine was all right and amazed at the ability. However, considering Miranda is correct that Kristine was using poison and mind control (something that can be used in canon, although it has a bit of a different interpretation here), there would probably be more ethical concerns of there wasn't an emergency. Therefore, I decide that Miranda be concerned about choose not to pursue the matter for now. Readers of Kristine's other stories will know what she was using, and that she can and does use these abilities to make allies stronger. However, there are concerns that go along with that, and said concerns play into her other encounters. For example, in her backstory, she cannot stop a major character's death using the power, because the people she's with do not want it after hearing what it does, and she's basically left to fight on her own.
-A lot of Tapu Fini's are from canon, and it also was first shown in Daughter. To quote Daughter's author's notes:
"-Miranda's dialogue about how she performs the search was going to be much shorter originally. Tapu Fini wasn't going to appear at all, and Miranda wasn't going to show off her Vessel form. Instead, Miranda would simply say she was the Vessel of Tapu Fini, explain that she would find Holly by reading the water, and that would be it. However, I decided that Sabrina and Erika (and maybe the readers) would need some proof that Miranda is Tapu Fini's Vessel. It was also a good showcase what Vessels were and their powers. So, Miranda does a demonstration.
In the case of Miranda's explanation being longer, it was the case of me looking back at the writing and realizing I needed more. Originally, I didn't know the details other than Tapu Fini being able to read water and helping out with the search that way. However, I quickly realized this would run into the issues that are pointed out during the chapter. So I thought of some ways around it and put it in the chapter notes. The result was Miranda giving a full explanation, as well as a way around the issues.
Tapu Fini's initial description is taken from canon. There is one noticeable change, however. In canon games, Tapu Fini guards the land of Alola and still is associated with water. It lives on a place called Poni Island, and chooses a human to guard the island alongside it. This human then mostly remains on the island, serves as a challenge for younger Trainers, and earns the title of Kahuna. In Traveler, the system is completely overhauled, and humans are chosen to guard the land based on their abilities rather the locations. As a result, humans can be chosen from anywhere and guard all regions, but Tapu Fini and similar Pokémon to it are especially sacred to Alola.
Tapu Fini's ability to interact with the dead but not be completely associated with it is a reference to the anime. The ritual described as something that does happen there, but it's more like a trial. Nevertheless, several members of the main cast see deceased loved ones. In one particular case, the absence of a deceased loved one spurs a couple other main characters into action. Furthermore, since Tapu Fini does have the ability to interact with the dead, I also figured that having interact with peoples' souls and the essence of who they are would be feasible. It's implied Tapu Fini might be able to do this to some extent in the anime. This is because it's able to bring forth the deceased loved ones of the main characters, despite knowing none of them personally and therefore not knowing who their deceased loved ones would be."
Originally, Kristine is positive about Tapu Fini in the present, especially due to her connection with the dead and love of water. There was even a draft written of the scene where she would be saved by the Pokémon eventually chosen by it (similar to the scene where the protagonist of the Alola games is saved by Tapu Koko, becomes a powerful battler, and later captures it). Later on, this scene was not used as Kristine's powers were expanded to include all Pokémon instead of just a single legendary. Furthermore, I realized that although it would make sense for Kristine to originally like Tapu Fini, that probably wouldn't be the case afterward when so many had died and she blamed herself for it.
-Shifting Gems first appeared in Daughter, although they had notes from before that. Daughter's author's notes explained them more:
"-Shifting Gems are slightly based off of Pokémon canon, but they are more of a holdover of what Traveler used to be. In Traveler's very early days, back when it was another story called the Price of Rebirth, there was planned to be a character that used an item to transform into a stronger form. This item looked exactly like the Shifting Gems Sabrina mentions, with the stronger form being used to fight enemies and as an extra means of defense. In Traveler, this character no longer is in the story, even though something resembling said character exists, as do transformations for the new character. Eventually, I needed a way for non-magical characters to use magical power, so the transformations got put in Traveler, but in a different way.
Transforming using an item or using an item and then fighting with it does happen canonically in Pokémon, but not to humans. The closest would be Mega Evolution, where Trainers have a trinket and the Pokémon holds a stone. When the trinket and the stone are activated, the Pokémon takes on a stronger form. However, this can only be applied to certain Pokémon, with no way around it aside from hacking games. Later games introduced similar concepts that could be used by any Pokémon, but they were effectively more powerful attacks rather than the complete transformation. Transformation still made an appearance in later games, but as of this writing, these transformations just give Pokémon access to different attacks rather than making them stronger than those who can't transform.
-However, in the main inspiration for Shifting Gems comes from stories about something called magical girls. There are several different types of magical girls, but they all have one thing in common. They are seemingly ordinary people, mostly female teenagers, but they can transform into different versions of themselves using items or spells. These forms are much stronger, allowing them to fight monsters and other threats that regular humans cannot. Typically, the magical girls use the power to protect their homes and loved ones, but many times it's made clear that this can be very dangerous. At the time of Traveler's original incarnation, Price of Rebirth, I had done research on magical girls found the concept interesting. I eventually watched the magical girl show called Puella Magi Madoka Magica, decided I really liked it, and wanted to incorporate some of what was going on there into Price of Rebirth. While the show itself was not inserted into the story, the idea of people using items to gain magical powers when they normally would not have them, fighting when they normally would not be able to and gaining new abilities, and possibly even transforming into new forms, did. And with Pokémon eventually canonically doing this to an extent, it was easy to put it into the new version of Traveler."
-Kristine's power was seemingly similar to Shifting Gems are to becoming more powerful after supposedly taking a different form. However, it's revealed to be mainly her own power and reacting to different environments after borrowing whatever's there. Kristine originally had a less negative perception about Shifting Gems, but then the negative perception was introduced because she sees them being used and misused. The negative perception is only strengthened after she gets accused of misusing her own power or not having any. However, Kristine understands the need to fight for survival, commanding it to herself and the people thought of her, and softens up, meaning that she still has some positive or neutral associations.
-Vessels are my own creation, first appearing midway through Holly Rising after having some inspiration from canon a bit. They work exactly as Kristine describes, and even have their own page in the Deviantart notes (although the page has long since been outdated). Kristine's own power is be someone it was like in other stories, as well as some ideas that would've made it into prequel novel, Mold Breaker. In Holly Rising, at the time her first appearance was written, she did not possess Vessel power. Thus, no one recognizes her as such, although they do recognize her as someone with unfamiliar but tremendous power (with some people being rightly terrified). In later versions, it was changed so that she did have Vessel power, but since her power manifests differently and she can't properly transform, she is still not recognized. Even later on, since she is considered a different type of being entirely, people are hesitant to call her a Vessel. Because she fits the criteria of an Archangel, people call her that instead.
Kristine gaining a new type of body to compensate for physical disability and using that when transforming was thought of pretty early on. I was trying to figure out how she could take something similar to Vessel form and not die instantly from it or near instantly. It was also meant to be shown on screen into prequel novel, and might still be seen in the flashback. The idea of disabled people not becoming Vessels or being unable to wield the powers stably came from the idea that since capturing legendary Pokémon to take a lot of someone to begin with, wielding the power directly would be even more so. If people were already weakened by something, physically or mentally, it was easy to see it being too much in most cases.
This was used for story reasons as well, as Maria hates the Vessel system in Holly Rising, or even the idea of someone having that much power (ironically, she is one of those people and others hate her because she abuses that power). Maria is heavily implied to be a failed Vessel that tried to get the power of the legendary Missingno but couldn't harness it due to physical disability and psychological issues. It's also implied that she is responsible for making sure Missingno was captured and suffering in a zoo in Fushica. Side material about Maria would've confirmed this, and considering I'm still thinking about writing about her separately after what happened to the prologue, it still might. A particularly nasty example is with the canon character Zinnia. She has an unnamed disability in this universe, and it is confirmed to be something psychological. This unnamed psychological disorder is based off of her canon behavior, though like with Holly, I couldn't figure out what particular one described her. She still able to obtain the power of the Pokémon Rayquaza, unlike in canon (at least up until the release of Pokémon Masters and her side story there). Zinnia's able to harness the powers of a Vessel, but because of her disability and not changing her body, the power is unstable. Zinnia knows this, and when she is captured by the enemy (the Pokémon League), rather than be subject to whatever they decide to do with her, she decides to unleash her Vessel power to the point where she goes out of control.
Zinnia understands it will kill her, but the power will also do a massive amount of damage and demoralize her foes. She succeeds in what she's trying to do, with Kristine still haunted by the memory of what happened and being unable to stop it. She talks about this when their point of view is shown in Holly Rising. Story notes and the side story Diary, as well as the concept story Confession also reveals that Kristine is able to transform halfway, in a sense. After a certain event, she can transform into a rank-and-file angel using an item called the God Stone (which is a canon item in the Unova games, but went unused with no indication what it's supposed to be used for) and if certain other criteria is met. However, doing so instantly kills her afterward, but because of Arceus's power preventing the actual death from taking place, she instead goes into dormancy and a magically protected coma. After a large amount of time has passed, she awakens and appears without much explanation to the outside world.
It was meant to be directly stated that the reason this happens is because Arceus recognizes that Christine has the powers of a Vessel and is still an Archangel, but she cannot transform properly because she effectively has to force her body to do something it shouldn't. As a result, Kristine gets the underpowered form that needs extra help to even use and maintain, and she still has massive consequences when she does decide to wield the power. For a long time, this form was to be the only form that she would be able to use up until the final confrontation against Maria (when Kristine would have tapped into Arceus's power completely and got something stronger). However, her full form, the Archangel form mentioned in previous chapters, replaced it.
However, it's made clear that it still takes up a massive amount of power and she no longer has any protection against it. Therefore, overusing it truly welcome her and she saves it for last resorts (on top of the controversy with her powers to begin with, including both supposed lack of control and fear of people trying to misuse her power, which is something that Erika realizes in Daughter). Since it devoured no one has experienced before she has no help with it. Kristine's Archangel abilities, said abilities killing her if she overuses them, attacking with and being associated with light, being a servant of the gods (and being compared to being a god herself), controversy surrounding the powers, the powers not being something the others had seen were part also part of a different story pre-Traveler days where she had a similar power. In this story, there were a lot more negative connotations. One of the biggest ones that Kristine eventually became immortal by forcing a contract with an ancient original goddess character (the goddess was hesitant, but accepted the contract because Kristine made out of desperation and said goddess was impressed by Kristine's strength and seemingly pure intentions). What happened was she would resurrect instantly every time she was killed from anything (other than natural old-age, but that wasn't happening anytime soon because she was quite young). Consequently, Kristine didn't care if she got killed over and over, and can't increasingly risky situations where she would sacrifice herself constantly and manipulate as much as she could with her powers. The bar then became much more well-known and many more people were concerned about it. All of this is toned down significantly in Traveler (along with a lot of other dark implications) and the power is planned to take a completely and much more lighthearted direction entirely from what it originally was.
The underground have multicolored floors is based off of Pokémon Firered and Leafgreen (the remakes of Pokémon Red and Blue) where that was exactly the case. Erika's design is also based off of Pokémon Firered and Leafgreen, since Let's Go (the remakes and reimaging of Pokémon Yellow) was not released yet at the time she first appeared in both Holly Rising and Daughter. Even after that, I'm not particularly fond of the Let's Go art style even though I enjoyed the game. So no one has their updated appearances, and unless they only appeared on Let's Go, I do not plan on any future characters having them. Sabrina's design is based off of the Pokémon anime.
As for the rogue Pokémon, they're both based off of something in canon and my interpretations. It first happened in Daughter, so I will let the author's notes from that story explain:
"-The dialogue about the Underground originally was going to be much shorter. It was just going to be Erika mentioning that the place was dangerous because of all the rogues there, and now Holly had been attacked and rescued. It was changed for the same reason as Erika's thoughts about tragic journeys.
-Erika's experience as a young girl in the Underground is a mixture of both canon and my interpretations, as well as a few changes. The scenario is slightly based off of the anime. In the anime, Erika is attacked by a Grimer as a child. She notices a wild Gloom and asks it to help her. The Gloom somehow realizes she is in trouble, and sprays a repulsive stench that drives the Grimer away. Erika sincerely thanks the Gloom, allows it to join her team, and is inspired to become a Grass Type Pokémon Trainer. In the present day, the same Gloom is still on her team, and has become her strongest Pokémon in Gym battles.
In the anime, Erika being attacked as a child is not related to the Underground at all. It's not known where she is attacked, and she doesn't elaborate. The only thing that is known is that it's a dark and dreary place, evidenced by the background. So I changed it to her getting lost in the Underground Path to give her more of a personal reason for thinking the way she does in the argument, and to give her more of a reason for not wanting Holly to go there. While the player can't encounter wild Pokémon in the Underground, that was changed here so that Erika could still have her own encounter. Since the Underground has not been seen in the Traveler series yet, it's not yet known if wild Pokémon will just appear there naturally, or if they are passing through to get to somewhere else."
Later on, it was changed so wild Pokémon were in the Underground. However, there were a few other things that were accounted for. One was that I chose the Pokémon to be shadows in the distance because I didn't want to create new encounter tables for the Underground. In the grand scheme of things, it wouldn't matter what Pokémon Holly encountered in the Underground because she would be focusing on running past them. That doesn't mean that the type of Pokémon encountered in the Underground won't be detailed later on, though. Wild Pokémon not wanting to battle high leveled ones is slightly based off how repels work. In the games, Pokémon that are lower level than the first Pokémon in the player's party will not appear. It's not explained how repels work, but I figured making wild Pokémon afraid of the higher-level Pokémon made sense. There is also hidden dialogue implying that high-level Pokémon with their Trainers are respected by wild Pokémon (Dr. Footstep in the Sinnoh if the player shows him a Pokémon with maximum happiness). In the later games or Pokémon are encountered in the overworld, it is possible to run from a Pokémon using methods to increase the player's walking speed (either riding on a Pokémon or a bike, depending on the game). So I thought both of those explanations made sense as possible reasons for why the wild Pokémon would avoid Holly.
-Poké Balls having curtains and Pokémon scene out of them is a mixture of how Poké Balls work in canon and my own interpretations. It's not known how isolated Pokémon are in their balls. In the games, Pokémon don't even seem to be aware of what's going on around them until they're let out, although a few comments such as Cynthia mentioning that her Pokémon trembling inside their Poké Balls at the player's strength before battling them in Unova suggests otherwise. The anime seems to support this somewhat, although Pokémon pop out of their Poké Balls in response to something. The most famous example is Misty's Psyduck being silly, disobedient, and eager to go into battle when she tries to call on one of her other Pokémon and is near a battlefield (to the point where it was carried over into Let's Go). Another well-known example is Brock's Pokémon coming out on their own to drag him away when he tries to flirt with girls. Pokémon can also hear commands by their Trainers, and perform the actions upon being summoned outside of their Balls.
The manga Pokémon special has a much different interpretation, however. In this version, Pokémon can see outside of their Poké Balls and sometimes leave them at will. A Christmas Puppy, a late add to the Holly Rising timeline and originally not connected, used this interpretation. Holly Rising itself used something similar to the game interpretation, to the point where it became relevant to the plot late in the story. Diary used a mixture of the interpretations. Gracie goes into Poké Balls to rest during her journey despite being a Pokémon citizen and thus not needing one. She does enjoy taking a backseat once in a while and find out just so she can see what's going on will someone else's walking and explaining things to her. However, she finds the experience awkward and first to see and move by herself. Usurping didn't have its own interpretation of the time it was created, and I knew it would be necessary for Holly's stolen Pokémon to see where they are going and hear commands for getting her to her destination. At the same time, she would want to hide some things from them, so I didn't see it improbable that there will be some sort of curtains or means of hiding things from Pokémon when a Trainer wanted to do something that they didn't want them to see. This would be a mixture of theories.
-The cautionary tale that Kristine describes comes from the Digimon anime adventures. I was playing Digimon Cyber Sleuth on the side while plotting and writing this chapter, and instantly thought of the mentioned scene to go with Holly's transformation. This scene is well known, being extremely serious in what is usually considered a lighthearted show. In this scene, the characters all have the gifts Kristine describes exactly how she describes them. The boy with the gift of courage is the main character, and he wants his Digimon to evolve by any means necessary now that he has the gift. He starts training a lot and making his Digimon eat more despite everyone's protests (including from his Digimon). When the boy's Digimon goes up against another Digimon in a life or death fight, the monster has trouble fighting because of the boy going overboard before. Realizing his Digimon will die if things continue, the boy tries to jump in front of the fight to show courage and force his Digimon to evolve.
What ends up happening is that the boy's monster evolves but it's in a different form of an undead abomination known as SkullGreymon. This creature loses its mind attacks everyone, causing several injuries including to itself. The other is traveling with the boy try to use their own Digimon to stop the fighting, but they are unsuccessful. There's only more injuries, and no one has any way of halting the creature. Eventually, the monster stops rampaging, regains its sanity, and reverts to a previous form (changing forms at will is possible for Digimon provided certain conditions are met). Everyone is able to eventually recover, but it takes time to do so and the boy is very regretful. This scene is sometimes referenced in other fandoms, like Pokémon, but mostly as a joke. However, with Traveler itself being more a serious take, I saw it as a cautionary tale, even though the monsters and scenarios are different.
-Holly wearing a dress when transformed and Kristine's comments are based off of other magical girl shows, considering the concept for Shifting Gems was at least partially based off of magical girl transformations. At first I was going to use the same design that Holly had in the nightmare, but since this design was done via corruption and involuntary on Holly's part, I thought it would make more sense if she didn't look the same. I remembered that most magical girls had dresses when they transformed, despite how cumbersome that would be in combat and impractical overall. Then I remember that Holly's first appearance in Daughter was with her wearing a dress and a picture, and she didn't seem to dislike that. Therefore, I decided to use Holly wearing a dress.
-Kristine's comment about fire as a weapon, including the fact that it's banned in most places and it's often used for acts of terrorism is based off of real life, where it exactly the way she describes it. I wanted to look up how fire was used as a weapon because I wanted to try and develop Holly is a character if she were to directly fight using it. Since fire was a big part of her, I knew that she was going to in some capacity. However, I discovered that it was extremely unreliable and caused a lot of collateral damage, and then from information mentioned here. Granted, people in the Pokémon world have their Pokémon use fire as a weapon (and rarely, there will be other scenarios such as someone using fire in a magical attack). In these scenarios, no one bats an eye, so I decided to write that this type of fire was more controlled, but still do damage in the wrong hands, and some cases, it does.