Flinky: Hello world! It's Flinky, with a late and unusual update.
Red: So you admit it's late!
Flinky: Yep. Like I said in the previous chapter, I have finals (halfway through!). The next chapter will also be a little off schedule, but then it's summer and I'll have much more time to write.
Flinky: Second, this chapter is different. This is more of a side story following the adventures of Red's Pokémon. Tell me in the reviews if you would want to see more of these stories.
Red: So I'm not in it?
Flinky: You are, just it's not about you.
Red's Pokémon:
Ignite (Charmeleon)
Moves: Flamethrower, Metal Claw, Smokescreen, Dig
Blacklight (Umbreon)
Moves: Assurance, Bite, Shadow Ball, Quick Attack
Omni (Mew)
Moves: Every one except Judgement
Glow (Butterfree)
Moves: Gust, Bug Buzz, Sleep Powder, Tackle
Spark (Pikachu)
Moves: Thunderbolt, Discharge, Quick Attack, Nuzzle
Storm (Pidgeotto)
Moves: Wing Attack, Gust, Quick Attack, Steel Wing
"So, where's Red?" Ignite asked to his fellow Pokémon.
"He said that we deserved a break," Spark said, irritated that Ignite asked for the third time.
"No, I mean, where is he? I know he dropped us off at the Pokémon Center, but what's he doing now?"
"I heard that he's with Omni at the Hall of Origin," Storm said, helpfully. "Something about a meeting for remakes, and the author isn't allowed in. They're probably having a secret society meeting and will take over the world, but since Red loves us, we'll be on to-"
"Shut up Storm," said Ignite.
"If it was anyone else, that would be a shocker, but with Red, that's just a normal day," Glow commented.
"Can you guys keep it down? It's difficult enough to learn Psychic without a TM, let alone your commotion," Blacklight yelled.
"Come on. Red said he wanted us to relax for once, especially after the whole lighthouse fiasco," said Ignite.
"Well I for one don't want to fall back on my training."
"Blacklight, what happened to you? You used to be cool before you evolved," Ignite asked. He would be most concerned, because he knew Blacklight longer than everyone else in the group.
"I simply can't let that Espeon beat me in training."
Spark said, "You're a Dark-Type who's worried about a Psychic-Type. Just let that sink in."
"Humph."
There was an awkward silence, broken by Glow.
"So, what do you guys wanna do? We haven't had a day off in a long time."
"You know, we could-,"
Ignite was cut off by Spark.
"We will not have a tournament. We all know that you would win because you're Red's starter."
"Got any better ideas? My legs can't seem to stand still for much longer."
Spark laughed.
"You are becoming more and more like Red."
"False," Blacklight said. "Red has ADD, which means he can't focus. What you're thinking about is ADHD, which is when you can't focus and can't sit still."
"Whatever," Spark said.
Everyone left the room that Red rented for them. Since Ignite is somewhat humanoid, he is able to use the keys to some extent. Because no one was in the center but a sleeping Nurse Joy, they got out without too much staring or confusion. But before they left, Storm eyed the PC.
"Anyone know what a PC does? I heard Red talk about it inside my Pokéball, but not enough to know what it does."
Blacklight said "I know. I used it when I traveled with the other Red."
"Well what is it?" Ignite asked.
"You know how the limit or the amount of Pokémon a trainer is allowed to carry is six right?" Everyone nodded. "Well if you have more, the new Pokemon goes in there."
"How does a Pokémon fit inside a device like that?" Spark asked, curiously.
"The same way we fit inside a Pokéball. It's not that bad in there though. You basically just sit in a field, or whatever place he puts one of us in, and wait for Red to switch you with another Pokémon."
"So if Red gets another Pokémon, he'll switch on of us out?" Ignite asked, somewhat depressed.
"Yea, but trainers rarely put starters in a PC. Same goes for extremely strong ones, like Omni."
"So Ignite and Omni are safe?" Storm asked.
"Yea. But the time flies in there. We become digital, and time moves at the speed of energy. I don't get much of it, but that's what the first Red said. I went in once when he had three badges-"
"Badges?" Glow asked curiously.
"Yea, I don't feel like explaining what those are, so just assume that it takes about a week or two to get one. Anyways, he put me in for five seconds, and when I was out, he had six and was in Saffron City."
"Wow."
Ignite said "Are we going to get going or just stare at a digital box?"
"Alright," Storm said. Spark was right behind him, Glow catched up not wanting to be left behind, and Blacklight followed reluctantly. They left the center and entered the nearby forest looking for something to do.
They got their answer when they heard a Pokemon cry out, "Help! Help! My friend is in trouble!"
That was all the cue they needed. They ran/flew to the Pokemon calling out for help and saw a Sandslash in front of a cave.
"What's the matter?" Ignite asked, taking charge of the situation.
"My friend Scyther is trapped in there."
"How?"
"I don't know. I only heard him say that he's stuck and can't get out."
"But why can't you go get him?" asked Spark.
"That place is a maze, and I can't find my way through."
"Well, seeing as we don't have anything to do, I say we try to help," Ignite said.
"Okay," Spark and Storm said simultaneously.
Glow said "If it helps someone out, I'm in."
"It's just you Blacklight. What do you say?" Ignite asked.
"Well, it's illogical to be alone out here, so I guess I'll go."
"Alright, that's everyone. Let's get ready."
Sandslash looked at Ignite, before saying, "There's something you should know about this place. It's called a mystery dungeon. The layout changes a lot and it's multiple stories deep. It's easy to get lost in there"
"We understand," said Spark. "No matter how risky it is, there's still a Pokémon in danger and we have to help."
"You five are brave."
Storm said "Not brave, just impulsive, irrational, and cannot sense danger."
Sandslash didn't know what to say after that.
"Guys, you wanna go, or what?" Ignite asked, getting impatient.
Everyone (except for Blacklight) yelled out "YEA!"
Ignite went in first, with Glow behind him, then Storm, Spark, and Blacklight at the end.
The cave wasn't that dark. It was similar to Mt. Moon. There were a lot of Pokemon nearby, and 90% of them attacked the group. The group was much stronger than the wild Pokemon though, mainly because of Red's training.
"Heads!" yelled Spark as he shot a Thunderbolt over Blacklight knocking out a Golbat.
"So, how much longer?" Storm asked.
"Dunno. We'll get there when we get there," Ignite responded.
"What if you're not giving me a direct answer because you're an alien Ditto who's transformed into a head and is taking over the body of Ignite so you can take over the world and you're leading us to our doom?"
Blacklight said "Who let Storm watch Invasion of the Body Snatchers?"
Spark shifted uncomfortably. After that discussion they pressed on until they came across a staircase.
"Should we go down?" Glow asked.
"Don't see anything better to do," responded Ignite.
When they went down the stairs, something strange happened. The lights went from slightly dim to complete darkness. Seconds later, the darkness went away, but Ignite couldn't see any of his fellow Pokémon.
"What happened?"
He finished going down the stairs, since he couldn't go back up, and started looking for the others. The maze here didn't seem much different, apart from the obvious layout change.
After some searching, he found Storm.
POV Shift
Glow was following everyone when the darkness came. When it ended, she was all alone. There was no one but the Pokemon who tried to attack her in the previous floor.
"Guys? Can you hear me?"
There was no response, apart from a Rattata who tried to attack her, but fell asleep thanks to her Sleep Powder.
"Please? Anyone?"
Glow began to panic. If there was one thing she was scared of more than anything else, it was being alone.
"HELP! PLEASE!" she yelled again, but to no avail. She started frantically flying through the floor looking for her friends.
Finally, after searching around, she saw a black and yellow cat.
"Blacklight!"
POV Shift
Spark was having a good day. He was exploring, something he loved to do, with his best friend Storm, and surrounded by not-as-close friends, while trying to help a Pokemon in need. This was fun.
That changed when the darkness came. He couldn't see for a second, and when he was able, no one was around but the hostile Pokémon.
"Storm, where are you?" he asked. He was fairly sure that it was just a prank, but he didn't know for sure.
"Ignite? Glow? Blacklight?"
Now he was starting to worry, but he relaxed when he saw a fire, on the tail of a Charmeleon, who he assumed was Ignite.
"Hey!" Spark yelled.
POV Shift
Storm was starting to freak out. He was separated from Spark, and his other friends, for a while.
"This is probably the work of the Illuminati, trying to separate me from my friends…"
While he was flying, he came across a familiar Pikachu.
"Hey Spark? What happened?"
POV Shift
Blacklight hated everything today. He was forced onto a mission to help someone with no reward, then had to find his way through a maze, and now is separated from everyone else.
"Just great. Why couldn't I do some training instead of being in this place."
Just as he said that, two figures rounded the corner. They looked very similar, and both wore a lot of Red. Upon closer glance, Blacklight saw his two former trainers, Red and Fire.
"Blacklight!" Fire began. "We've been looking all over for you. I wanted to tell you that Arceus fixed Red's brainwashing, and now we're going to train you to be the strongest you can be."
"Yep. Sorry for what I did to you before, but I hope that we can put that behind us. We've agreed to train you a lot. You may become as strong as a legendary, if not, stronger!"
Blacklight thought This is like a dream. He wasn't far off from the truth.
Blacklight ran forward and used Quick Attack on Fire, knocking him back. But there was a glow, and when it subsided, a Zorua was in his place.
The other person/Pokémon cancelled his illusion to reveal a Zoroark.
"How did you see through our disguise?" Zoroark asked.
"Don't try to fool a Dark-Type. Plus, Red rarely talks at all, and never asks to be forgiven for something."
"You're good," Zorua said. "Maybe you could join us."
"What?"
Zoroark said, "It's obvious that you hate the others, but if you're with us, you can grow stronger without having to deal with them."
"Let me think... no. Red is an amazing trainer, and although the others annoy me, a lot, they have helped me."
"Like when?" asked Zorua.
"Right now. If you would be so kind as to turn around..."
They did so, met by four angry Pokémon. A Charmelon, Pikachu, Pidgeotto, and Butterfree. They all had an unconscious Zorua under them.
"Well, I guess it's my turn," Blacklight said, as he fired a Quick Attack at Zorua again. This time though, Zorua was knocked out.
"How did you all see through their illusions?" asked Zoroark.
"The reason is different for all of us." Ignite said. "For me, it's that Storm said that the darkness was a coincidence. The real Storm would go into some rant about a conspiracy theory."
Glow said "Blacklight looked like he was happy to see me, which never happened before."
"You know me so well," said Blacklight.
Storm began "I went on a rant about a conspiracy and Spark tolerated it. He wouldn't do that normally. Not to mention that the theory this time was accurate, when I said that everyone was separated by an illusion and that Spark may be a Ditto or Zor-"
"Storm, not now," said Spark.
"Fine…"
"Now, what do you want?" asked Ignite.
Just as he said that, a familiar Sandslash and not-so-familiar Scyther entered.
Sandslash began saying "Did you rob them ye…" He stopped when he saw the Pokémon together.
"Trying to rob us, huh? I think that's reason enough to attack," said Spark.
Red's Pokémon got into a battle stance, while the other group did the same. Ignite was the only one who didn't. Since he had the most experience, he played the trainer.
Ignite began giving commands "Spark, Thunderbolt on Scyther. Glow, use Sleep Powder on all of them. Storm, use Aerial Ace on Scyther. Blacklight-"
"I don't need to listen to you."
"Suit yourself."
All of the Pokemon attacked their targets. Sleep Powder worked on Sandslash, but no one else.
Because he was attacked by two super-effective attacks, Scyther lost consciousness.
"You guys are good. And your ace isn't even battling. However, I am far stronger than those buffoons," Zoroark said.
He charged and fired a Night Daze at Storm, who dodged it. Somehow though, the attack followed him and was hit him. Storm fell down, conscious, but severely injured.
That pissed Spark off.
"I WILL GET YOU!" he yelled.
Spark proceeded to fire numerous Thunderbolts and Thunders at Zoroark. When the barrage of attacks subsided, the target was nowhere to be seen.
"You shouldn't let your anger cloud your judgement," said Zoroark from behind Spark. Next thing he knew, he was knocked out by a Foul Play.
That just left Glow, Blacklight, and Ignite. Glow used Bug Buzz, but it didn't do any notable damage. Then, she was assaulted by a barrage of Night Dazes, knocking her out.
"Just you two. Want to give up now?" asked Zoroark.
"Never!" Ignite yelled. He fired a Flamethrower, which did the most damage to Zoroark since the battle started. In the blink of an eye, Zoroark appeared right in front of Ignite and used Night Slash. Ignite countered with Metal Claw, and they were stuck in a battle of strength.
Just as it seemed like Zoroark was going to win, Blacklight joined the fight. He fired a Shadow Ball, distracting Zoroark and giving Ignite enough time to recover. Both Ignite and Blacklight fired attacks at Zoroark, eventually knocking him out.
"All right!" yelled Ignite.
"I expected less of a challenge," said Blacklight. "This was supposed to be easy."
"Hey...could...you...help?"
They turned their heads to see Storm struggling. Ignite gave him an Oran Berry they found, and he had enough strength to stand and fly.
"Alright, thanks. Now, what do you want to do about these guys?" Storm pointed toward the Sandslash, Zoroark, and Scyther.
"I don't know," said Ignite. "Maybe we can have Red capture them? They seem strong, and if they're with Red they can't trick anyone."
"I agree. Any objections?" asked Storm.
Blacklight shook his head. Meanwhile, the other Pokémon were beginning to wake up, including the attackers. It didn't take long to knock them out again though.
Everyone took turns dragging a Pokémon back up. By the time they reached the exit, they were exhausted. Thankfully, they saw a Mew floating overhead.
"Hey Omni!" Ignite yelled.
She looked down and said via telepathy, "Hey, what happened to you guys? Red just sent me out to look for you. He's kinda worried."
"It's a long story," Ignite said. "Can you take us and these three Pokémon to the center?"
"Even the Dark-Type?" Omni asked in disgust.
"If you can, yes."
"I take offense to that," said Blacklight.
"I meant the new one. You're quiet enough to not be annyoing."
Spark mumbled under his breath "You're the one to talk."
"Alright, let's go!"
She came up close to them and made a flash of pink. When it subsided, they were behind the Pokemon Center, and in front of Red.
"Hey guys! How have you been on your day off?"
Ignite said "It was sorta fun," and Omni translated it.
"That's good to hear. Who are your new friends?"
"They're Pokémon robbers. We caught them trying to steal from us, so we knocked them out and are hoping you would capture them."
When the message went through Omni, Red said "Sure."
He took out three Pokéballs and threw one and Scyther, Sandslash, and Zoroark. They put up no resistance, and were captured instantly.
"Okay. Now, I expect you to only beat them up from time to time. Also, since I now have 9 Pokémon, some of you guys will have to go in the box. Sorry about that, but for some reason it's illegal to have more than 6 Pokémon at once. Does anyone volunteer to go in first, or will I have to decide? Also, I want to keep Ignite and Omni with me."
Storm and Spark looked at each other, before agreeing. They stepped forward and beckoned to be returned to their Pokéballs. Red did so, and looked around for other volunteers. Glow eventually got up and did the same as Storm and Spark.
After some moving around at the PC, Red had Ignite, Omni, Blacklight, Scyther, Zoroark, and Sandslash.
"Everyone, come on out!" yelled Red. He had Omni and Ignite beside him in case things went south.
Red's new Pokemon appeared.
"Okay, so I'm your trainer, Red. My friend here," he referenced to Ignite. "Drug you up and had me catch you so I can straighten you out, so, you'll be with me trying to free the Kanto region from Team Rocket."
Zoroark and Sandslash didn't really like having a trainer, but Scyther's eyes lit up when he heard the part about Team Rocket.
"Red, that's your name right?" he said. "Team Rocket captured me and offered me as a prize in a casino. I never was even won, they just put me there on display so people would gamble more money."
When Omni translated this, Red said "That's horrible! But good that you hate Team Rocket as much as we do. You'll probably get along with Spark, who was experimented on by them. As for the rest you you, you'll need to get used to being with me. The Pokéball makes it so you can't leave without my say, but I think you'll like it soon enough."
"Suuure…" Zoroark said.
"Now, if you haven't noticed, my Pokemon are all nicknamed, and you guys will be no exception. Scyther, how do you like Blade?"
Scyther nodded his head.
"Sandslash, how about… hmm… maybe Digger? Nah, some people may hear it the wrong way… Digrat? No, he's evil… Driver! That's it. Since you pretty much plow through the ground, it seems like a good idea."
Sandslash, who's now known as Driver, did look somewhat curious by the name.
"Zoroark, you're last. Dark-Types generally can have awesome nicknames. Shadow seems good."
The newly named Shadow looked like he couldn't care less.
"You'll accept it eventually. Now, all of you, return. Omni and Ignite too."
When Red called back all his Pokemon, he walked into the Center.
I wonder what they get into when I'm away… Meh. Probably just training or goofing off.
Flinky: And there it is. You may want to pay more attention from here on out to the chart at the top of the page that talks about the Pokémon Red has, because it will now show who he has on-hand prior to the chapter's events. Also, part of the reason I made this chapter was to show the character of the Pokémon. In case you couldn't tell, here's a basic description for each Pokémon:
Ignite- Impatient, leader
Blacklight- Loner, Grouch
Glow- Happy, can't stand being alone
Spark- Relaxed, close friends with Storm
Storm- Makes conspiracy theories, slightly annoying, close friends with Spark
