The Doomed Sprout
Chapter 7
A faint shimmer could be heard in a quiet and cold room. It seemed like a trio of Pokemon were waiting on the newcomer, welcoming them with a nod of the head. Celebi took a grasp of their surroundings, before speaking up.
« So, what's so important that I need to come over here ? I don't recall any of you helping me when I asked ! »
« Because there's been a change », one of them replied gravely.
« A change in the reality we chose. A leftover has been activated », continued the other one.
« Someone is interfering in a non-Pokemon way », the two said in unison.
Celebi's expression relaxed, becoming more pensive. « So… you're saying there's one of us that's altering things too much ? Has Palkia found any leads on who might be doing that ? »
« Palkia ? I am uncertain why you are bringing them up, have they been investigating on your request ? », the first one spoke, glaring at the pixie and emitting intimidating flames.
« ..Never mind that. Why did you call me here ? »
« Because you are the best equipped to deal with this situation, aside from him. You can go to the past to find what happened, which one of us is responsible, and we can trust you not to tell him your findings »
« … I expect a reward of some sort », Celebi grumbled.
« WE WILL PREPARE ONE », said the last Pokemon who had been silent this whole time, the echoing voice making the others wince, the room growing even colder. « NOW, GO ! »
There was a saying, back then in Fen's previous home. ''Let music wash away your soul'', it was said. Something about how music would affect one's mind and heart, tugging at them to make them feel emotions and let things out, letting them get over their emotional turmoil. Well, although Fen couldn't be sure, seeing Lumin cry while walking about with a song using low tones and a slow rhythm definitely seemed pretty close to what the saying implied. Sera was mouth agape over the situation, while Fen was mostly pretending not to notice. The Shinx's life has been quite tumultuous lately, after all, no thanks to them, so what if he needs a little time to let his emotions flow?
Sera eventually looked away from the teary-eyed Pokemon, nudging Fen.
« What's going on ? Is the noise hurting him or something ? »
« He's not in pain. Well, he is, but not from the song. Just give him some time, he'll get back to normal soon enough ». The Nidoran couldn't help but feel proud, who knew human music was good enough to even affect Pokemon ? Now she was curious how they would react to hearing the tunes from the games…
« He'd better be, his aura is wavering... », pouted the Eevee. Seeing no response from Fen, she looked towards the Nidoran, only to see her crying softly as well, making her groan in frustration.
« Whatever you two have going on, deal with it quickly, we're supposed to avoid drawing attention ! ». Neither of them responded, leaving Sera's tail to flicker with anger, as she gave up and decided to lead the group instead. At least one of them still had a working mind in this group.
As the hours passed, the group was slowly making their way through the forest, the music thankfully having the same effect as during their last trip, with all the Pokemon simply staring from a distance, refusing to approach this strange occurrence for fear of what might happen. As teary-eyed as Lumin was, his presence probably helped on that front too… Sera still had no clue how that Nidoran managed to tame such a scary Pokemon, without even realizing how impressive it was, too !
The Eevee took another look at Lumin, who had eventually stopped sobbing, but whose head was still hung down. It was hard for her to sense nearby auras as long as she stayed near him, but she'll have to make do since he's the one carrying the music around. As she focused on her surroundings, Sera took note of how many Pokemon were just following them, though, as Fen had told her, none of them was close enough to be a threat. She sensed further, looking for any place to stay, be it a cave, a tunnel, a-
« There's more of them ! Over here ! », the Eevee exclaimed, dashing forward, completely forgetting about needing to stay close.
Fen jumped in surprise, standing upright for a second, before falling over. Lumin seemed irritated, but got close to the Nidoran, waiting for him to follow. Together, they ran after the Eevee that had almost disappeared from view, her shine being the only trace they could follow consistently.
« Hang on, Sera ! What are you talking about ! », Fen yelled out, making her best effort not to trip on roots and bushes along the way, with the occasional terrified Pokemon being shoved away by Lumin.
« Outcasts ! Over there ! », she replied in a hurry. « Their aura is fading, they could be in- »
Whatever Sera was trying to say was overwhelmed by the sound of trees breaking over a large explosion. She quickly turned around, swerving between her two companions to get away from the danger. By whatever miracle, Lumin was fast enough to bite her tail, keeping her close as Fen turned off the music, before signaling to the others to follow her inside a hollow tree. The tree was already inhabited by a group of Pikipeks, huddled near the back of the hole, though their survival instinct was much more focused on avoiding whatever caused the big explosion, rather than casting off intruders. Sera was still trying to run away from Lumin's jaw, to no avail, before a frustrated Fen knocked on her head in an attempt to calm her down, to no avail, making her even more hysterical.
The explosions continued for a while, with different noises and screams from a few Pokemon that were likely trapped in whatever was going on. Fen took a look at Lumin, seeming perfectly calm if a bit on edge, ready to jump at anything to bite…. Swipe them off. Now wasn't the time to let fear take over. She went closer to the Shinx, whispering something to him before leaving the nest, taking one last look at the Pikipeks inside to make sure they were still in the same state as before. Once she felt certain things would remain the same when she came back, the Nidoran steeled herself and rushed out. Her human mind demanded information, and she was going to get it from its source.
Sometimes, people forget things. That's part of life, and it's a common situation to be in. A lost jacket, not realizing your keys are in your pocket, this sort of thing. For Fen, though, it was more like forgetting that Pokemon still had animal instincts and would absolutely trample you if you were in the way out of dangerous situations. Also, the fact that, in this world, people probably don't make bombs to blow up in the middle of a dense forest multiple… centuries (Millenias ?) after humanity's extinction, and that it's likely just a Ribombee being a bit too excited. Because, of course, there are walking bombs everywhere in this forsaken world. Meanwhile, Lumin would count as a walking torch... which sounds less scary than it actually is.
Anyway, what this all alludes to is that Fen was expecting to see a destroyed site devoid of life. Instead, she found a destroyed site with a multitude of Pokemon lying on the ground and one very loud Lurantis destroying a dozen trees at once in an attempt to find more Pokemon hiding in them, and apparently succeeding, finding a duo of Chargabugs. They attempt to strike back but the Lurantis simply shooed them away before piercing them with a Razor Leaf, which keept going and annihilated yet another tree. Whoever that Lurantis was, it was way above the usual strength level of that jungle, that much was clear. Too much destruction, and having everyone run away terrified does not seem like regular everyday behavior. Granted, that was her human mind talking, she still had a lot to learn about Pokemon, though starting now seemed…
Fen jumped to the side, the Razor Leaf passing right on her side, cutting a wound on her front leg. She'd been thinking too much and forgot to keep a low profile ! That Lurantis had now spotted the intruder and was looking to deal with her quickly. Fen scrambled onto her paws and ran straight back towards the tree, with some backup, they could-
«Gah ! », she screamed as a Solar Blade fell down on the ground near her, the explosion tossing her aside. The Lurantis's piercing cry tore through the cloud of dust, growing closer as Fen struggled to make sense of where she landed. She couldn't go back to the others, not when they'd likely be blown up before even knowing what was going on ! She'd need to lose that Pokemon somewhere else…
« What in the world is this jungle... », she pested, standing back up, her leg wound seemed to have gotten worse from the blast, so limping would have to do. First the nest of a dangerous Pokemon, now this, she thought, I really hope it's the same Pokemon and not two different living bombs.
Fen turned left, hurrying away while the cloud of dust remained. At least that species wasn't one with incredible vision or smell. Losing visual contact was the first priority-
Another Razor Leaf flew over the Nidoran, slicing clean yet another tree, which began falling backward, prompting her to turn direction once again, while a major ''thud'' could be heard. She really, really needed to lose that Pokemon soon. She started zig-zagging through the trees, taking a note from Sera's book and completely shutting down her worries about any other Pokemon living around these parts. They'd all run away from the Lurantis too, anyways !
Ducking and weaving with a bloodied paw, in unknown territory, while still not being fully comfortable with four-legged movement, wasn't going to be enough, sadly, and as Fen did a splendid job at avoiding remaining in line of sight from the Pokemon's attacks, the exhaustion eventually piled up. From rushing, she went to limping and felt like she'd need to crawl soon. She was too tired to do anything else and too scared to fight back. Even if she managed to poison that Lurantis, she'd be dead before it did any good !
Fen had to accept that what she was doing wasn't working. She stopped for a second, trying to think about what she could do. Running wasn't an option, and hiding in a tree or shrub won't work. Fighting back wouldn't do much either. Most of the options were limited due to her injury… though that can be fixed ! That's right, there are actual ways to heal rapidly in this world, maybe they also recover stamina too ? The Nidoran focused, letting her sense of smell take over. There was sweat, close, and beyond that… Lots of life, some Pecha Berries that she could recognize, and something empty… Empty ? Well, it feels familiar anyway, like something cold… Hang on, the cold must come from somewhere below ! There's a cave there, and caves mean darkness, perfect to escape !
Fen hurriedly stood back up, her legs protesting in pain though she paid it no mind, she needed to get there ! She leaped forward, rolling down towards a small crevasse right next to a fallen tree. The Lurantis cried out once again, and as Fen looked its way, she could see the Solar Blade illuminating the sky. The Nidoran pushed herself inside the crevasse, falling inside without even knowing where the ground was, as a final explosion rang somewhere above. Exhausted and unable to see anything, the last of her strength left her body, and she closed her eyes.
« Is it gone ? »
« Yes. Well… for now, it's gone. It was following another Pokemon »
« Poor guy... »
« Don't say that ! It's their fault we're all hiding. Serves them right to be the target for once »
« ...Hey, guys ? »
« Come on, now, you know this wasn't normal ! »
« A strong Pokemon wakes up grumpy, goes on a rampage and eats a king-sized snack ? That seems pretty normal to me ! »
« That Lurantis didn't eat anything ! They just… blew everything up like they were trying to fight everyone in the whole jungle ! »
« Guys, I think something weird happened »
« Thanks, we didn't notice »
« Not that ! The Pokemon that was being chased. I think it came over here willingly »
« Who'd do that ? That's suicidal ! »
« Well… Remember what the chief said ? About curiosity being the main drive ? »
« ...Was it a shiny ? »
« I didn't check »
« Then, let's go. We need to find that Pokemon. Complete silence if we hear any explosive fighting, got it ? »
« Got it ! »