Hey all, Mr Scrone here, checking in for like, the first time. Just wanted to put out a general psa on the status of this fic, and touch base, that sort of thing. Heads up though, this note might be a bit lengthy so by all means just feel free to skip to the story itself lol,
theres really no impetus to read all this. So this fic started as a dare with a friend about who could get a pokemon fanfic to 50k words first, which kind of stopped happening then started up again when i was going through a dark time and was one of the few lifelines i had at the time. I didnt really flesh out a whole story plan until then, and thats when i went through and rehashed all the earlier chapters. As it stands now the story sits at about 50k words though is far from the finish line (we've only just beat gym 1 after all), i figure now's an appropriate time to get this out there. I 100% do plan to make it to the end (if only to see nat to that ending he so badly deserves), but i probably wont be on any sort of coherent updating schedule. Just be awares that the end will come, be it sooner or later.
As things are now, i'm still a bit skeevy on the majority of whats written so far, i've always wanted to redo everything before nat vs brock, trim it down and give it more cohesion, but im not yet sure if ill get to that before or after the story itself is finished. Plotwise itll all stay the same, but i feel like it could do with some trimming and shaping (i really wanted to put out a better description of viridian and have it be more like how pewter turned out, more like ba sin sei from avatar, a large city, with pewter being a much smaller and more nondescript mining town, but for the purposes of how things are heading it still reads fine either way). I consider Nat v Brock to be the end of act 1 in a 3 act structure. For the future of the fic, ive been writing with a story structure and plan since then (and i think it shows, the writing and tone all seems to flow better imo), so im hoping to maintain a better standard from now.
As for all your comments and whatnot, im so totes reading them (perhaps a bit more than is healthy haha), i really enjoy the feedback and appreciate it. I actually made a few points in the fic in direct response to some of them (daemaniac mentioned something about nat pls not being a bug trainer, so when he ended up catching yum yum the paras i added in some line about another bug pokemon, heh) and plan to keep that sort of thing up (queencitykid dw there will be zero lucario's in this fic. Ive tried to keep all the encounters and even the dialogue kanto-focused, as i figured someone raised there would be saying 'mew-dammit' instead of 'arceus-dammit' and all that sort of thing). So if youre reading it and you have any comments by all means lemme know! I'm not too big on replying to stuff because this thing has been a bit sporadic at times, but ill absolutely take it on board and see how i can incorporate it :)
As a heads up from now things are going to get dark. Like, i was in a real dark place when i made the story plan and it shows haha, i even now feel bad for some of the things that are going to happen, but then again i think at this point we are all well on board for all that grim, morally-bereft, gooey goodness. (tbh we had a dead 10 year old at chap 2 so i dont think anything moving forward will be too unpalatable ahaha).
Im not too huge on these authors notes, because i have a tendency to write too much or too little so i probably wont be doing a lot of them, despite every urge to put them at the end of each chapter and point out every little detail that might go unnoticed (ie, nat nicknaming paras yum yum after all the 'delectable' parasect mushroom delicacies hed enjoyed. And also as a sad sort of foreshadowing that it would end up being gobbled up by an onix. It was doomed from the moment nat named him im afraid). Even still it feels a bit gauche to point at every moment i feel clever and proclaim "look! Look at this! Look how clever i think i am" so i'll do my best to resist the temptation.
I think thats about it tbh, i really want to try and incorporate a better voice for all the pokemon and some more character, plus if you guys have any preference for what pokemon nat will add to his team lemme know, ill take it all under consideration, though keep in mind im trying to stick to more atypical pokemon for him (venonat dude, mother-freaking-venonat).
Alrighty then, ill shut up. Thanks for sticking this long, and all the support :)
Keep it cheesy, my fellow breezies!
Pain is a strange concept. It's a survival instinct designed to override everything else; happiness, sadness, thought and feeling, all bow down to the immeasurable power of pain. It's sole purpose is to help us, to keep us alive, so you should think of it positively. Pain is, after all, busting ass to keep us breathing. It's like a superhero that shows up no matter how trivial the situation. Hand on the stove? Don't worry, pain will be here to let us know not to do that. Sprain your ankle whilst running? Never fear, pain is here! Break some ribs, fingers and a plethora of other body parts? You'll never feel alone with a companion in pain, happily sitting by your bedside, more than a little satisfied with itself.
Pain is a teacher, ever vigilant, always willing to jump on our mistakes and reprimand us. To fear pain is to fear knowledge. The weak run from pain; The powerful learn from it.
To synopsize: Pain is a fucking bitch.
"Ugh". I'm nothing if not articulate.
Awareness crept up on me, painful muscle by muscle, starting at my hands and feet and making its leisurely journey up my limbs until it reached my head. Every muscle and bone, every nerve was awake, while I reunited with consciousness. But I did not move, ever obstinate - I resolved to keep my eyelids shut until the last possible moment I could stand it. With good reason too; My first attempt to open them met with merciless, blinding light and an ill-advised flinch.
'Silly Nat' pain scolded, 'you can't move yet.'
I shouted at the pain, 'You do not control me!'
I tried again to open my eyes, easier this time, more careful but no less painfully. Eventually the light settled behind my leaking eyes. Colour sharpened. Shape took form.
I was in a room. On a bed. There was a guy standing next to me.
'That's a good enough effort for attempt number two' I mused to myself, shutting my eyes once more.
I would have been more than happy to stay in that hard earned moment of peace, if not for the guy. Genius thought now was a good time to start speaking. So much for peace.
"You should try to take it easy." He said without sympathy.
'I was before you had to ruin it.' I thought venomously.
Oblivious he continued on, determined to contradict his own advice, "You have some fractured ribs and broken fingers which I've patched up, but you'll still need time to recover. It should only be a few days but I definitely, definitely want to have a few words with you A-S-A-P, which stands for 'as soon as possible' if you can't work out what an acronym is in your current state", he sniffed unhappily, "You didn't seem to have much food on you, so I s'pose I'll have to share mine and you'll need to repay me when you're more reticent, but don't think that just answering my questions is going to cut it, no-siree, every day you're here breathing my air and eating my food is another tally I add to the debts you owe me, capiche?" So my nurse-slash-tormentor was not a generous spirit. I filed that away for later. For now I returned to my pain, shaking it's head and tutting at me. I didn't fight it this time, letting it pull me to unconsciousness.
The next few encounters with sentience were as short and uncomfortable as the first, albeit blessedly absent my new acquaintance. Eventually I worked myself up to sitting in bed, and rewarded myself with an all new level of pain.
It invigorated me. I greedily held on to consciousness now, fighting the pain at every turn, staying awake for minutes, then hours. At last I was able to entertain a new feeling; Boredom.
Fortunately for me, my traitorous mind had just the remedy; Memory.
I remembered where I was and what had happened, and persistent lover, pain returned dressed in a different garb this time. Sorrow. Grief. Though not as loud as physical pain, they were still… well, painful.
I replayed it all in my head, Beelzebub's betrayal, Bumble's fear, Yum Yum's sacrifice. Eventually the anguish hurt more than my injuries.
This time I was glad for the distraction of the guy coming into my room.
"Can you speak yet?" He asked me, pacing back and forth.
I pondered it. 'Could I?'
He was unimpressed by my silence, so I decided to give him the greeting he deserved, "You... are a terrible host." Holy Mew, was that my voice? How long had I been out?
"If you don't like my hospitality," he gestured behind him, "there's your exit."
I scowled. It felt good to return to a familiar expression.
"I didn't think so. Who are you and why'd you show up on my door half dead? Do you work for the Waterflowers? Have they taken to sending idiot trainers to track me down now? Or is it someone else? Because I told that suit down in Saffron that my tech ain't for sale no more. Y'all think I'm going to sit quietly while my inventions are used the way your people are using them? I ain't going back with you and you're in no position to make me."
My eyebrow had been steadily rising throughout his emphatically gestured tirade, and now sat firmly at its peak by the time I was able to get a word in edgeways, "I'm sorry, who the fuck are you?"
That stopped him in his pacing. He peered down at me through thick rimmed glasses suspiciously. "Like you don't already know. This ain't Dixie street in downtown Cerulean here! Only reason a chump like you'd be out here is to find me! But ol' Billy's got some tricks, you know? Try anything and I'll have an Espeon snap your brain stem in half. And that goes for any of you agents out there listening in on this!" He leaned over me, raising his voice, "I may not have found any surveillance bugs in your stuff, but don't think I don't know about implants! Let me see if all your teeth are real!" He made grabby hands for my mouth.
Alarmed, I clamped down, gathering myself to try and remember where to start, "I know who you are Bill, and yes, I did come out here to find you, but no, I don't work for anyone. I'm a trainer, I only came up here to find you because… well, I didn't really have a good reason." Bill looked down at me unimpressed, so I continued, "Look, I was going to battle Misty but she went on a monthlong holiday, so I figured I'd come this side of the lake to train while I wait for her to get back. Obviously I don't work for anyone or I'd have been more prepared and wouldn't have ended up almost dead."
That seemed to resonate. He stopped invading my personal space at least, and returned to pacing anxiously. It was something I had picked up about Bill. He was the kind of guy I would normally tell to switch to decaf, except something told me he thought coffee was a government machination to keep the masses under control. Suddenly the whole 'off the grid' aspect of his made all too much sense. Bill started up again, "So what, you're just a chump trainer who was jumped by powerful pokemon? That makes sense," he muttered to himself, "You only had one badge on you, why would they send a trainer with one badge? Unless if you're only pretending to have one badge. But then if you only had one badge that explains why you were wiped out by the pokemon out here…" He muttered on too quiet for me to hear.
"Look, It wasn't wild pokemon who attacked me. It's actually something more up your alley by the looks of things Dexter." He frowned at the reference, but I sensed a vein of amusement beneath it, "There was a man, a trainer with a bag full to the brim of pokemon. He had a campsite set up, it looked like he'd been there a while. It had a vantage point of… this cave. To the west."
Bill nodded furiously, following along, "Yup, yup, Cerulean cave. That's a dark zone, no surveillance technology works anywhere near it. It makes sense that means there's something in there to survey."
His logic was sound, in a roundabout sort of fashion. "There's more. This guy, he was certainly dressed to impress. He had full black, with a big red 'R' on his shirt," Bill flailed at that, nervously scratching his stubbled cheek. He was a master of nuance. I leered at him suspiciously, "You know who they are don't you?"
Muttering to himself, Bill shifted his body away from me, tapping his fingers against his arm now, "They're bad, they're real bad. If you ain't heard of 'em, count yourself lucky."
Completely unimpressed with his display I glared at his back, "They killed my Parasect."
I saw him nodding from behind, "Yeah they'll do that to ya. Kill your Parasect, kill your starter, kill your family. Then they'll kill you. All for looking at 'em funny."
"And is there a point in this piece of theatre, where you actually tell me who they are?"
That got his attention, "Listen funny guy, I got no issue kicking you to go play with the wild ones outside. So keep a lid on the attitude." He turned back to face me, "this group call themselves Team Rocket."
I balked, 'This guy had to be joking right?'
"Team Rocket? They sound like cartoon gangsters."
He nodded along oblivious to my skepticism, "Yeah, gangsters, black ops, hunters. They got their fingers in everyone's pie, and dirt on just about every politician this side of the Safari Zone. At the moment they're branching out into populism, winning people over to their side. Helps with recruitment. I'd bet my dad's left nut they'll be making a big play soon. Though either way, I don't really got much to lose with those odds."
Bill was clearly mentally unhinged, I decided. I made a mental note to be wary around him, concluding the conversation with an audible yawn. He took the hint leaving me to rest, though I don't doubt he had more on his mind than interrogating me any further.
The rest of the week progressed at a Slowpoke's pace. Day 2 of consciousness saw me able to eat solid foods. Day 3 and I could stand and walk around, with a great deal of pain mind you. By the end of the week I was limping my way around his house (when he wasn't watching me like a Xatu), exploring whatever nook and cranny I could find.
I discovered room after room of locked doors. Maybe I wasn't as stealthy as I'd hoped.
Still it proved a nice distraction from things; It was a bad habit of mine, ignoring everything whenever things blew up in my face. Stubbornly refusing to address something when every instinct shouted at me to handle a situation that had gone so horribly wrong. Bill was the one who would prove to give me the kick I needed one afternoon as I was browsing through a bookcase in his room and heard an inhuman scream come from behind one of his locked doors.
Maybe it was the need to do something, or perhaps I'd already made a habit out of running towards tortured screams, but I soon found myself bracing against the wall opposite, cursing every legendary of every region. Or maybe it was because the lights had all gone out and that really impeded my ability to snoop. Take it how you want.
'If I break my foot then our debt is settled Bill'. I aimed a heel kick next to the door handle, crying out when it jarred my whole leg.
The wall surrounding the door creaked, but didn't give.
My ribs flared up again. Pain stood with me tutting.
"Mother fucking fuck dick Grimer fucking piece of shit!" I shouted at my failed second kick.
Another inhuman scream of agony resonated through the wood, this time mixed with another, higher pitched one.
Beedrill-fucking-dammit, that sounded like a little girl!
I clenched my jaw tight, bracing for a final kick.
This time the door had to give. I didn't think I had another kick in me.
I counted to 3.
Kicked.
Pain shot through my whole body, sending me to the floor.
The door held fast.
Angry tears may or may not have been rising to the surface, "Why won't you fucking open?!" I gasped out.
The light hanging above me blinked on in time with a fresh round of screams.
An idea came to me, so stupid I could have slapped myself if I wasn't already in enough pain. Plus, I suppose time was kind of the essence.
I gathered whatever energy I had left, aiming a very last kick for the drywall next to the door.
My heel made contact. It smashed through the wall like tough cardboard, leaving a hole large enough for me to reach through and unlock the door from the other side.
'Let's not tell Cooper about that' I thought to myself, limping through the open door.
'And let's definitely not tell anyone about that!' I added. Before me lay a writhing mass of blood and pink fur. It slowly rolled to look up at me and somehow I recognized what I was looking at instantly.
"Bill? Holy fucking… What the shit?!"
Blood spurted from his… mouth (it was hard to tell), when he tried to speak, "Gleuurghh…" A sick part of me wondered if this new form of communication wasn't preferable to his usual method.
Still, I guess wasn't going to just let him die.
He raised a weak arm that was covered in pink fluff, pointing at a computer sitting by the wall.
A quick perusal gave me the answers to questions unasked. This was apparently some pokemon transportation experiment gone freakishly bad. Right. Okay. The exact details of how that worked still eluded me, but the cause was there at least.
"What the hell am I supposed to do with all this Bill?!"
"Unngrreugh"
"Yes, thank you very helpful." I rolled my eyes.
I opened his notes, dating back from a year. 'Bloody fuck I don't have time to sift through all this.' I skimmed quickly, dread setting in when I learnt that of course Bill didn't organize them in the slightest.
January 12. Translation collar was a bust. Bad idea. Stupid. Clefairy just ended up speaking in a deep baritone. Entertaining though. Possible recreation value.
September 8. Redesigning pokeballs to store other things has proven surprisingly useful. I should have enough food and supplies to last me until I die. Pokemon based food however has had some… unforeseeable consequences. NOTE: Investigate living tissue reanimation.
"Auuugghcckk…" Bill was looking worse somehow. Plus he was spilling blood all over the carpet.
"Mew-damned my fault that you never organize anything." I grumbled.
June 5. Eevee have no reaction to moon stones. My Clefairy on the other hand was a little too inquisitive. Or maybe she did it on purpose? Need to keep a closer eye on her and make sure she don't putzy up another experiment.
Sweat dripped down my neck now, "It's hopeless! There's nothing in here that can help Bill!"
He waved his arm animatedly, "Gllaglllagghll!" Thrashing it violently at the computer I was hurriedly scrolling through.
Of course, he would be no help, he was a mess, "I don't know what that means you idiot! Try and communicate differently!"
That might have worked, he started smashing his arm on the ground. No, pressing it on the ground, motioning with whatever was left of his fingers. He extended one long digit and almost delicately, touched the ground. I had no idea what he was doing.
I checked the computer again, pressing down on all the buttons on his keyboard but nothing happened. Flailing helplessly, I accidently knocked an empty soda can off the desk, (because of course Bill ate shit at his workspace too).
I would have missed it if not for his messiness.
As I glanced down at the fallen can I noticed something red sitting next to the keyboard and for the second time that day almost slapped myself.
Sitting right in front of me was a big red 'push-me' looking son of a bitch button with the words "REVERT" written in big honking fat block letters.
"You've got to be fucking kidding me."
"Glluuuglrrruegh"
I scowled across at him, muttering darkly under my breath as I pressed the button gently, "Fat chance of him not bringing this up, I'm sure."
The result was instantaneous, a whirring sound came from what I had assumed was a funky looking closet, and continued for a few seconds before dying down.
Before me the mangled Clefable body was still. 'Did it work?'
My question was answered when Bill, pale and shaken, emerged from the closet brandishing a pokeball to return the Clefable to safety.
The red laser hit the pokemon but nothing happened.
Bill made a noncommittal grunt before trying again.
Still nothing happened. The Clefable lay unmoving.
The silence was palpable. Bill desperately tried again and again.
Eventually he gave up.
"Well…" I began, against my better judgement. "She's dead."
Something that always fascinates me about pain is how people deal with it so differently. Two identical people could go through the same pain, but come out the other end remarkably different.
Pain, more than anything, shows us what we're really like. Behind all the bullshit and all the lies, when we feel pain, we instinctively fall back on ourselves and our character flaws.
Bill for example, took to smoking. And I'm not talking cigarettes.
Obnoxious coughing echoed from the room he had sequestered himself in. It didn't take a genius to figure out what the bubbling sound was. The smell was enough of a giveaway. That or the metre-long bong he had brought in there with him, I suppose that probably was my first hint.
I left him to his proclivities; We hadn't spoken since the event, he had just stared at me in horror. Of course I'm not exactly going to stand around let some guy who'd just been sharing the body of a dead Clefable judge me, so I shrugged one shoulder and headed out to the kitchen for a drink.
He didn't even look at me when he swept past into the room he was currently occupying, but I expected as much.
It's funny how seeing him handle his own pain gave me the clarity for how I was going to do the same. He chose to distract himself from it, use outside means to drown it. Before I began this journey I probably would have called him weak for it, but with my own losses so fresh I understood the need to forget. I also probably wouldn't have realised how similarly I tended to behave, in my own way. Weakness had nothing to do with it. If torturing yourself over and over again in your head convinced you that you were strong, then by all means Hercules. Meanwhile Bill decided not to add to his misery; He'd rather sit back and let everything pass him by for a while. The dead don't care either way. They stay dead.
It was some much needed self reflection that I pondered while I wandered outside. The afternoon breeze was refreshing, and without noticing I had walked to the cliff edge.
I watched the sea below for while, admiring the way sunlight reflected off the top of the waves. Before this whole journey I had never even seen the ocean before. It felt like cheap compensation for what I'd had to pay.
"So…" I began at last. "I've got some tough choices to make," I spoke to nobody, but didn't pretend I wasn't imagining them listening. "I really would have liked your input on this sort of thing."
A shiver ran down my spine when the wind picked up slightly, drowning me out, "I really would have liked a lot of things…"
I looked down at my pokeballs: Artemis, Felicity, Beelzebub, Bumble.
If I wanted to survive as a trainer I needed pokemon who took orders. Pokemon who I could know and predict. Pokemon who I could master.
"I should never have kept him…" The words were snatched away by the breeze the moment I said them, but their impact resonated. It was true. I should never have been so naive to think it a good idea.
I thought back to Yum Yum, how well he had fit in the team. How he had taken orders and done everything in his power to help us all. He had deserved better. And that was all on me for playing at this without fully appreciating the stakes if I lost.
Don't get me wrong, I blamed myself entirely for what happened; It was my decision to head up this way, and my choices of whom I placed on my team. I could promise them that I wouldn't make impulsive decisions anymore, or that we could have the same type of relationship that Cooper managed with his team. But it would be a lie that even I couldn't sell.
I can't help but be who I am, and when I've already lost so much, why should I have to give up parts of myself too?
Though it doesn't mean I can't do the whole training thing. It just means I need to do it my way.
I could prepare my team to be strong. Strong enough to handle any impromptu decisions. Strong enough to beat anyone who thought they could stop us. Strong enough to survive.
Strong enough for their own good.
I knew the decision was made. I unclipped a single little red and white pokeball and released my upset insect on a ledge far below. I didn't bother explaining why; I had other pokemon to dedicate my time to. I just dropped his ball and smashed it underfoot.
Once more, I didn't look back.
It had been a month.
A month of hard, gruelling work.
We stayed close to the house at first, sparring with each other and perfecting their moves. The day that Felicity learnt Taunt was the day that Artemis learnt Signal Beam, each in their attempt to outdo the other. Of course whenever a pokemon was stupid enough to wander close they would team up and work in perfect unison. Artemis would fire from a distance, and Disable any that came too close; Felicity would draw their attention and nimbly avoid attacks, always waiting for the perfect moment to strike.
I still couldn't believe they were the same pokemon who had battled Cooper together all those months ago.
At the end of each day we would head inside so that I could heal their injuries with Bill's home-made device, and set up some food. Things were curt with Bill, in that 'I don't like you here in my house, but you saved my life and stay out of my way so I'll put up with it' sort of way. Still I knew his generosity came with an invoice. I had no idea what he would cash it in for, and for those two months I didn't care. I had pokemon to train after all.
We worked our assess off, and yes I do mean 'we'. Every day I trained with them myself, after all, that Rocket fight had been every bit my fight as much as it was theirs. If I could have taken him out before he released any pokemon, things would have been different.
As time went on, our little team became more deadly than I'd have ever expected. We stopped sticking by the house, instead venturing further and further into the wilds (though never west). We picked tougher and tougher fights, though we didn't always win. If anything it was because we didn't always win that we kept fighting.
One time Felicity was facing off against a pair of Pidgeotto; The closest she came to dying.
The night before had been buffeted by intense thunderstorms, blowing down branches and upsetting a great many wild pokemon. The following day of training was one of our toughest, against unrelenting numbers of agitated wild pokemon.
The others were done for the day, unable to even stand so I returned them to their balls, leaving me and my perpetually snooty cat.
"Only you could act as prim as you do when covered in mud," I shook my head at her.
I had long since realised that I would receive no response to these sorts of observations. She walked ahead of me, desperately trying not to limp on her bad paw. Dishevelled mud and fur making her look more like a gangly Raticate than anything else. If I'd had a death wish, I'd have been tempted to voice such opinions, but I'd needed to learn fast what was and wasn't advisable to make fun of around her.
'I still have the scars to prove it!' I scowled at the faded pink lines on my forearm.
It was a perpetually enigmatic dynamic that we had. She was constantly snubbing her nose at me, almost like nothing I ever did was good enough. The problem with that strategy of hers was that I'd never met someone who could outdo me in the art of disdain. If this little kitty thought she was the Beedrill's knees, she was in for one rude awakening.
It would sometimes lead to entire days of refusing to acknowledge the other's existence. She wouldn't take orders from me, but then why would I deem her worthy of an order?
I would share my food with her sitting on my lap purring, even letting me pet her, but it was in supercilious competition. It was a front, like families pretending to get along in front of relatives. Only we were the relatives. The petting and the affection was all a ruse covering mutual disdain, that only we knew. We were daring the other one to fall for it.
Of course, I did wonder if she felt perhaps a little less disdain for me than she did for everyone else. There were small signs, like how she hissed at Bill whenever he made some smartass comment towards me, or the way she always watched my back in a fight (never by obvious design of course, but she would always be the one who took out a pokemon or attack that would have hit me from behind).
So wrapped up in my thoughts I was, I didn't spot the attack until it had hit us, blowing us off our feet and slamming us into a tree. Felicity recovered first of course, pouncing for the shadows of some nearby roots before a very large, very ruffled looking Pidgeotto swooped down.
I had barely a second to duck, covering my head with my hands to receive a gash on my arm.
It cooed out angrily, having missed it's target and came around for a second shot. This time however, I was prepared, leaping to the side and hurling a rock I had grabbed straight up. If the sudden squawk of pain wasn't enough, the bird pokemon wobbled, crashing through a few low hanging branches before righting itself and taking off for the sky once more.
I didn't think for a second that it was gone, quickly grabbing my knife from my hip and picking up another fist sized rock in my other hand. The wind was almost immediately knocked out of me from a Quick Attack, causing me to very nearly drop both, while the Pidgeotto took its chance to finish me off.
If not for Felicity leaping out of the shadows, I'd be needing a neck-to-waist zipper right now. She bolted from her hiding spot, landing a Bite attack on the closest wing, and using her hind legs to claw away at the exposed underbelly. I was swiftly dropped and ignored, and because taking any chance provided for me seemed to be a philosophy that worked, I punched up with my hand holding the rock, managing a direct hit against the bird's head.
Of course that did little but piss the already irate Pidgeotto off, it gave Felicity a window to detach and slink away for another strike. Leaving me alone with a pissed off predator.
"Well that's certainly not kosher!" I bellowed, making for a nearby tree to duck behind. I almost didn't even feel the skin of my shoulder tearing beneath talons before I made it to the tree. Almost.
Quickly swallowed up by low hanging branches again, I had just enough time to scowl at my fresh new injuries before I was being blasted back by a huge Gust attack.
It was surreal, having the wind knocked out of me, by having wind knocked into me, but that's the world we live in.
I was lucky it didn't last long enough to blow me from cover. Through the gaps in branches I saw Felicity had found her opening, apparently leaping up from beneath the Pidgeotto to bite down on its throat. She must have also dug her claws in for a deadly Fury Swipes, considering the blood fountain that erupted.
'Just as well I'm behind these branches then. Blood takes so long to clean out of clothes.'
Everything settled. The Pidgeotto was well and truly dead, and before me sat my fierce and victorious beast, scowling down at her bloodied paws. I tried not to let her see me smile (she had picked that expression up from yours truly).
Of course she spotted my smirk instantly, though I spotted the obvious amusement in her eyes too. It was a stalemate, we knew we had the other caught out with genuine affection, so of course whoever played their hand first would be playing themself.
It really was a nice moment, trying not to laugh at what was clearly about to become the standoff of the century, overcome with relief from having survived a fight for our lives.
That's probably why we didn't notice the second Pidgeotto swoop down and slash it's talons against Felicity in a Mirror Move of her Fury Swipes.
The problem with Mirror Move was that it not only copied the previous move used by an enemy, it also copied the same damage inflicted, opening up a slew of gashes across Felicities fur. Considering her previous move had been deadly, that didn't bode well for her.
I had already begun running forwards them. Felicity was lost under a mass of feathers and motion.
I heard what might have been a yowl, but was difficult to discern beneath flapping and the Pidgeotto's victory cry.
I didn't really think about it; I tackled the flying fuckface, getting between it and Felicity to shield her with my body. Of course if I had thought about it I might have noticed the bright white light she had already begun shining.
Darkness swallowed it when I shut my eyes, still not processing what was happening. All I knew was that I had to get her away from the talons that were currently shredding my backpack!
I felt the atmosphere change, but rationalised that I was in shock.
I heard the unmistakable feline roar, but couldn't be sure over the sound of Pidgeotto.
I felt the body I was protecting shifting and grow to terrifying proportions, and that's when I caught a sense of what was up.
Then of course when I was lifted from beneath and tossed aside by an almost man-sized Persian I felt a little foolish.
'Well I'll be a Mankey's uncle!'
She stood 3 and a half foot high at the shoulder, with the alluringly sanguine ruby atop her forehead on par with my injured ribs. Her coat somehow managed to shine underneath all that grime, and beneath that she had grown some serious muscle. The power that hid just below the surface of those lithe muscles was unmistakeable. She was clearly a lot heavier too, but still managed to radiate an aura of lethal grace. Here was an apex predator, born to be worshipped.
I may have felt foolish, though not as foolish as the stunned Pidgeotto. It realised too late that it was in danger, unable to fly fast enough to escape the jaws of a much larger Bite attack.
In a new trick (that I couldn't wait to abuse), Felicity held it clenched in her jaws and proceeded to blast away, point blank, with a devastating Pay Day attack. Throwing so much money at the bird pokemon it might as well have been charging by the hour.
If it hadn't died within a few seconds of course.
I couldn't stop the broad grin that stretched my cheeks, "Nicely done Felicity! You do certainly have a penchant for theatrics, don't you?"
One triumphant roar later and she was turning on me, advancing slowly.
Predatory glint in her eye.
Tail raised straight up behind her signalling her intent.
I knew this game now though.
I raised an daring eyebrow, pointedly staring at the stains on her coat.
Her tail twitched.
I matched her gaze.
The threat was there; 'Who else would play your games like I do, cat?'
And the moment was over. She sat back on her haunches and licked away at her bloodied paws.
It was a futile effort of course, I'd have to use soap to wash that shit out of her fur, but I didn't dare mention it. As ever with Felicity; There were some things you wouldn't get away with.
I wouldn't say Bill warmed up to us over time, so much as he came to find us slightly less suspect. It would be more adept to put it as him seeing us less as living things and more as tools; Which was the closest thing you could liken to a compliment from him. For a guy who was suspicious of the dust in his room, to go from what would be considered a threat, to something that he could use, and in such a short period of time, was pretty big.
Contextually of course.
However by the end of the second month I was starting to worry about the accumulated debt I owed. Not financially of course, I should be so lucky. With Felicity's improved Pay Day I could pay outrageous sums (in coins, mind you). Unfortunately Bill wasn't the type to get much mileage out of currency, which really made me worry what other type of payment he'd want.
I knew without a doubt that he hadn't forgotten, with the 'more-than-occasional' hints he dropped. I also knew that his Espeon kept everything in the house monitored, and so I didn't dare entertain the idea of skipping out on my debt. Anytime the thought popped into my head I had to drown it out with the dirtiest, kinkiest fantasy I could conjure up. It wasn't such a regular occurrence, considering I spent the majority of my time outside training with my team, but it was often enough to bring me a small amount of sadistic joy whenever she would level me with an unimpressed glare.
Eventually though, after two months of training, my time at Bill's had to come to its end.
Artemis was making some sort of light-show for us in the garden one night by alternating between using Signal Beam and another newly acquired ability Psybeam. Felicity was snoozing by my side, using me for my body warmth and my final pokemon was-
"-Why don't you let your Pinsir outta it's ball when you ain't training?" Bill cut across my thoughts, nasally, piercing voice a deadly blade.
I debated whether or not to scowl, but decided I was too comfortable to give him the effort. "Because I'd rather not ruin such a serene moment. Take notes."
He rolled his eyes so high I wondered how he didn't spot that brain of his. "What's that supposed to mean Mr Smartass?"
'Yep, we're doing this again.' I begrudgingly turned to face him. "Beelzebub isn't tame. He would sooner rip your arm off then sit around doing anything else."
To his credit he didn't seem all too taken by surprise, mouth opening then shutting again. Eventually he probed further, "So how come I've seen this 'Beelzebub' of yours taking orders in battle? If he ain't tame he should be trying to run the show. It's the whole trust schtick you trainer types are always going on about. That's what it is right? The mutual trust that makes the bond for trainers and pokemon to understand each other? I knew of a guy down in Lavender who was looking into it and was getting close to some primo, big-time breakthrough. What was I saying? Right, yeah, your Pinsir takes orders, but don't trust you?"
He certainly was observant, I had to give him that. Then again giving the paranoid recluse props for noticing what his guest did on his property was probably a low bar. Either way he probably already had some idea of why Beelzebub listened to orders, so I figured I could enlighten him,
"Because he fears me."
My cheeks were splattered with droplets of spittle at Bill's snort. Distasteful as it was having him him mocking me, I figured it was for the best anyway. Our training took us to some dark places that still made me feel uneasy. Ultimately it had paid off, with Beelzebub's obedience. But that didn't mean I wanted to let people know how.
Sometimes I didn't even want to know how.
Bill had calmed down enough to wipe his face with the handkerchief he kept in his pocket and now leaned back enjoying the lights. I regarded him then, wondering what he'd seen that had broken him so much. There was no question he was a genius, I would have tried to pocket some of the inventions I found around the house if not for the ever vigilant Espeon. I wondered why he chose to live so far away from everyone he ever knew, and suspected that perhaps loneliness might have played a part in his hospitality. Even if all we ever did was trade barbs, that must still be better than nothing.
I wouldn't say he was warming to us, but I could feel myself warming to him a little.
"I'm going to be heading out tomorrow." I declared abruptly.
"Whaaa-?'
I clenched and unclenched my jaw tightly glaring at a patch of grass ahead of me, "Misty will be back by now and if she isn't then I need to get moving on. I've already wasted enough time here with you."
I didn't let myself see if he was hurt by the statement, but there was no mistaking his change of tone, "Well I'm so sorry your royal highness, if this free accommodation ain't up to your flowery standards."
"But it's not free, is it Bill?"
I saw from my peripheries that he was chewing on his thumbnail, struggling with some internal debate. I didn't have to patience to see which side won out in the end, getting up and dusting off, much to Felicity's displeasure.
That seemed to motivate him at least, "Well, there is something you can do for me. Now I ain't sure yet! Which is why I was waiting to see if I could get some sorta confirmation before I told you, but since you're being all pushy I guess It'd be fine to let you in on it."
Folding my arms and raising an eyebrow I waited on the details.
He spoke around the thumb he was still chewing around, "I'm working on a new project that might be able to transport pokemon from one computer to another. And it looks like I can use their energy forms when they're inside a pokeball, only there ain't no way to get that energy to re-materialize after it's been sent to the computer. I mean, I have tried everything. I've got so many Caterpie and Metapod stored on my systems now they're coming out my ass! They just won't seem to reform into living, solid tissue." He paused to see if I was following.
All too vividly unfortunately. I nodded so he began again, switching thumbs, "Right, now, see I heard of an experimental program, where some labcoats working for some suits managed to create an artificial intelligence-that means give it brains and stuff all from data, by the way. And see now this artificial intelligence is in the form of a pokemon that they've got stored on their systems, just floating around, minding its pokemony business and all that. And the labcoats are working on giving it a physical form out here in the non-cyber world."
I couldn't stop the scowl that spread across my face. There was no way that was possible, an artificially created pokemon? Scientists trying to give a computer program a physical body?
Bill held up his hands, "Whoa, whoah, Speedy Gonzalez! I can already see the cogs in your head working, but just stop and lemme finish for a moment, yeah? So this is all off the grid whisperings I hear around the web. I got no idea what's true and what's some overworked intern making shit up. All I know at this point, is that it's going down in Celadon. And since you're only sitting on Brock's badge I figure you'll be heading thataways eventually. So what I'm saying to you is that if you head to Celadon for me and check it out? We can call things square. I'm talking, if you get there and it's all just rumour, then we are kaput." He flashed me a thin lipped smile.
I already knew where this was going, cutting right to it, "And if it's real you want me to download the information for you to finish your little science experiment. All I have to do is head en route to Celadon and see how it goes from there?"
Bill winked at me, snapping a finger for good measure, "That's it man, that's I-T!"
I leered at him mulling it over. Then again there wasn't really any likelihood of this whole story being true. A pokemon made out of data sounded like a bad Unova movie. An idea began to take form, and I had to bite back a predatory grin, "And just how will you reach me if I happen to simply ignore you after I leave?"
Bill glared at me suspicious as the day we met, but was quickly overcome by the desire to boast, "Espeon can teleport anywhere across Kanto or Johto bucko. Don't think you'll be getting a clean getaway from her."
'There's not a brainiac alive who can resist a boast' I mused.
I finally allowed myself to grin, "Well in that case I'd be happy to help. Only, you'll need to agree to one thing." Bill's reaction seemed to be caught between suspicion and triumph. I ate it up, "If you want me to survive long enough to get you your information I'll need to make it back to Cerulean alive. I was just going to walk the long way back and figured if I died on the way that would be my fate, but now that I've got such an important mission, I don't think either of us want to take that chance. And now that we know how proficient your Espeon is at teleporting it should be an easy matter." I hit him with my most obviously false smile and watched him squirm.
It was obvious that Bill would have preferred not to draw attention to his Espeon teleporting me to the Cerulean centre, but knowing his penchant for suspecting the worst in people I found it easy to put the idea of my dying on the way back in his head.
If before he had a debate going on in his head, now it was a full blown screaming match, by the looks he was giving. He eventually agreed with me, folding his arms petulantly and nodding.
It did change my plans a bit though. Nighttime was the best time to go to avoid attention. Then again I had only decided to leave about 5 minutes ago so the adjustment wasn't too harsh.
I silently packed my stuff then returned my two girls to their pokeballs.
Bill's Espeon appeared silently. He held out a hand to shake goodbye, before quickly snatching it back having changed his mind. Ultimately he landed on a goodbye nod.
I scowled back at the reclusive genius.
The next thing I know the universe was spinning and I was dumped unceremoniously on my ass out the front of the Cerulean City pokemon centre.
"Oh Beedrill-fucking-Mew this place smells like shit!"
And right on cue my phone blew up with 2 months worth of messages and missed calls from BaeeeeXDXDXD\^_^/.