EXPECT SIGNIFICANTLY LONGER TIME FOR UPDATES COME LATE SEPTEMBER ONWARDS. COLLEGE STARTS SOON AND THE MONEY STRUGGLES WILL BECOME REAL FOR ME, SO DON'T BE SURPRISED IF IT TAKES A WHILE TO UPLOAD. I'LL TRY TO RELEASE A COUPLE MORE CHAPTERS BEFORE MOVE-IN DAY.
"I don't feel like training today," Aine said lethargically, punting a pebble across to the other side of the cave.
"Same here. All this training lately has me feeling like hell," Baron added.
Both of them had been sore for the past few months from the running and fighting exercises their trainer had put them and himself through. Climb waterfalls, run miles, climb spires, punch rocks, fight blindfolded? Hell, all three of them trained so hard that they could barely stand, going lights out the moment they hit the floor. This had been going on for nearly four months! Aine and Baron were fighters but they needed their rest too. Their trainer was absolutely insane. Haona was the only one who wasn't dead sore all the time, preferring to go spend her time with the Absols up north.
It's because you're fighters. Yeah, right. Baron thought sourly, bringing up Riven's excuse for letting her off.
Riven stopped his morning exercises and scowled, "You want to take a break? Fine. But as soon as it's over, we're going to train into the ground again." The Gallade shuddered and gulped. "I suppose we could a trip to the other side of Forina. We haven't been over there much." They tended not to leave the area, focusing more on training rather than exploring. There was still a large section of the place they hadn't even seen yet.
Haona lazily chewed on a piece of dried meat. "Smartest idea you've had all day."
Riven shot her a look. "I guess you want no Swellow for the next month then?" That ought to straighten her up. He couldn't out stubborn her, so the only thing he could do was attack her weak point, her food.
She shot up instantly, growling. "I'm sorry. You're the best trainer in the world and I love you," she bit out. Stupid human. Denying her of the only non-tasteless meat in the entire place was cruel and uncalled for. What an ass.
"You're insulting me mentally aren't you? Ah, you are."
She growled and devoured her meat viciously, giving a glare chilling enough to cool lava. She didn't take kindly to blackmail. Her expression was glorious.
Riven smirked. "Glad you're on my side, Haona."
"I hate you," she grumbled and trotted out of the cave.
Unanimously agreeing to do some adventuring, Riven and his pokemon took a trip to the northeastern side of Forina for some sight-seeing, anxious to see what they would find. They witnessed the Altaria and Swablu flocks engage in their courting dance, forming a massive circle, white cottony wings everywhere. Magnificent sight. That is until they spotted Riven and chased him out with angry beak pecks, they didn't take too well to humans either.
Shiftry and Breloom were also found further into the forest there, calmly lounging around and doing whatever it was they did, while also giving Riven and his pokemon several warnings to back off. Apparently scaring off the Shroomish gave the big bad human a bit of a reputation among the Breloom population and Shiftry weren't very sociable in the first place, preferring to play tricks and spook the smaller pokemon. If that was what Nez was going to become, Will had to get ready because those pokemon were relentless.
The trip overall was a good experience, giving the group a taste of what another section of Forina was like, but it was time to head back.
Hours down the line later, the group were pummeled with hail and pouring rain, soaking them to the bone. It was highly unusual weather, and seemed to alternate between the two irregularly; it didn't seem like natural weather at all. Riven and Baron's teeth clattered together, naturally lacking fur like White Queen or an internal furnace like Aine(which did nothing to mitigate the rain, to her dismay). They looked around suspiciously when a booming voice was heard overhead.
"YOU THERE. HUMAN AND HIS COMPANIONS!" It shouted, voice loud and deep enough to pass for a fairly enormous pokemon. Riven drew his bow and his pokemon huddled around him, ready to fight. The clouds grew dark once more and hail began to fall. The voice returned above them, seemingly from the storm itself. If Riven didn't know any better, he'd say it was god.
"HUMAN! FACE ME AND HEAR MY WORDS! LOOK TOWARDS THE HEAVENS AND WATCH ME DESCEND!"
Riven strained his eyesight against the falling hail, which buffeted against his head and face, leaving tiny red marks where the ice struck him. As he watched, he noticed a tiny form descend, which appeared to be in the shape of a very small cloud. The trainer flipped open Charles, who scanned upwards and identified the cloud as a Castform. Riven suppressed the extreme desire to laugh, the pokemon's body and appearance didn't match its voice in the slightest. "What do you want?"
"WHAT IS IT I WANT? THAT IS AN EXCELLENT QUESTION!" The cloud shaped pokemon floated some thirty feet above them, circling around in the air, watching all four of them on the ground. "WHAT I WANT YOU CAN GIVE ME, HUMAN. I SEEK TO GET STRONGER AND TRIUMPH IN GLORIOUS BATTLE, WHERE MY GLORY, HONOR, AND PURPOSE RESIDES. MY GOAL IS TO CONQUER MY ENEMIES WITH UTTER GRACE AND SPLENDOR, DEMONSTRATING TO THE WORLD THAT I, AM THE GREATEST CASTFORM TO HAVE EVER LIVED!"
Riven and his pokemon exchanged looks while the Castform boomed above. He kept going on about honor and splendor, clearly indulging himself in being as loud as possible. Riven's brows furrowed hard enough to dig a hole into his skull.
"I WILL GAIN MY TRUE…"
"You think he's a little, you know, cu-coo?" Aine wondered.
"HONOR!"
"I honestly have no idea," Haona replied.
"He's a spirited one," Baron noted.
"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"
Riven nodded, still hearing the Castform's booming voice in his headset. "A little too much spirit, if you ask me." His ears felt like they were going to pop.
"AND THUS, I SHALL SEEK WORTHY OPPONENTS AND CRUSH THEM!" The Castform continued, oozing arrogance from every inch of its body, putting even Haona to shame. "NO LONGER WILL I BE KNOWN AS THE ONE WHO CHANGES THE WEATHER. NO. NO LONGER, I SAY! I SHALL BE KNOWN AS THE ONE WHO CONTROLS THE POWER OF THE HEAVENS THEMSELVES! THUNDER, SUN, RAIN, HAIL, BLIZZARDS, SANDSTORMS! I HOLD THE FORCES OF NATURE, AND I WILL USE THEM TO SMITE MY ENEMIES, AND DEFEAT ALL WHO STAND IN MY WAY!" He boasted, releasing a disgustingly arrogant laugh. Riven wrenched the headset off of his ears for a moment to check if his ears weren't bleeding.
"Man, he is loud. How could something so small be so noisy?" The Castform's booming voice could still be heard through the headphones, and they weren't even on Riven's ears. He placed them around his neck, and was still able to clearly make out words.
"SO, I HAVE TOLD YOU OF MY WANTS, WHAT SAY YOU, HUMAN?"
"Well, first you can stop shouting-"
"SPLENDID! BRING OUT THE POKEMON CAPTURE DEVICE, FOR I AM READY!"
"Wait, I didn't-"
"THERE IS NO TIME TO DILLY-DALLY, BOY. PRESENT TO ME MY SPHERICAL CHAMBER OF GREATNESS!" The cloudy arrogance bomb demanded.
Riven had no idea what to do. He asked his pokemon for help, because this was just downright bizarre.
Aine was too stunned at the Castform's sheer voice volume to formulate a response to her trainer's question. "Was I ever this loud?"
Baron snorted. "Was? Heh, you should have a battle cry match with him and see how many windows you can shatter. Eardrums can be argued for bonus points."
Aine gave Baron a flat look.
Haona snickered. "I'd like to see that." She looked back up at her trainer, who was still deciding whether to take the obnoxious little pokemon or leave him. "Give him a chance, I guess. He seems enthusiastic enough about it. Most wild pokemon don't usually take well to getting captured, if he wants to go willingly, I say you take it. But are you sure that isn't a Loudred?" She was holding her paws over the fur that covered her ear canals, clearly protecting her own tympanic membranes from spontaneously exploding.
Riven sighed in defeat, took out a pokeball and enlarged it. The little hyper voice floated down towards them, brimming with determination and confidence. At least he lifted that blasted hail, getting pummeled in the face with it wasn't fun.
"AT LAST! I SHALL BECOME THE STRONGEST CASTFORM IN THE WORLD HAHAHAHAHAHA!" He cackled before the pokeball struck him and was quickly sucked into it. The ball wiggled thrice before coming to a stop, then opened up by itself and out came the Loudred turned Castform again. "YES!" He exclaimed, inadvertently summoning more rain clouds.
Riven's scowl deepened as droplets began pelting him again. "Castform that doesn't seem to realize what a normal speaking voice is, can you not use rain dance again? I'm completely soaked and it isn't exactly toasty warm right now," he mentioned, shivering.
"OF COURSE." The clouds dispersed and the normal cloudy cover returned. Riven tapped the gray pokemon, who whipped around with a smile on his face. "YES, HUMAN TRAINER?"
Riven jumped back, a little startled. "Umm, now that neither rain nor hail is currently bombarding us, why don't you introduce yourself? First and foremost, what's your name?" The Castform drew in a large breath, but was quickly stopped by Riven. "My eardrums don't feel like committing suicide just yet. Being able to hear is wonderful, if you please." The trainer caught his Gallade's gratefully silent "thank you".
The Castform complied and finally lowered his voice. "I am glad you should ask. My name is… Boagrius. The. INDEFINITE!" He announced, prideful.
"Boagrius the indefinite?" Quite the title there.
"THAT IS CORRECT!"
"Right then… Boagrius. This is Haona, the Absol. Aine, the Combusken. And finally, Baron the Gallade. Everyone, this is Boagrius the… indefinite," Riven mentioned very awkwardly. Not only was the little Castform a serious offender to the ears with his extreme lack of an indoor voice, but his name was meant for someone that Riven expected to see single-handedly crushing an army, standing seven feet tall, with a big freaking sword.
"WONDERFUL! THESE ARE MY TEAMMATES YES?"
Riven nodded and bit his lip hard enough to bleed, trying his hardest not to snicker. The other three pokemon slowly waved back, probably on the verge of laughter like their trainer was.
Boagrius didn't stop.
"AHAHAHAHAHAHAH! TOGETHER, COMPANIONS, WE SHALL PUMMEL OUR FOES, CONTINUE ON OUR WONDROUS CRUSADE FOR GLORY AND TRIUMPH AGAINST ALL WHO WOULD OPPOSE US! ALL THE WHILE FIGHTING TYRANNY, HELPING THE INNOCENT, AND ENACTING RIGHTEOUS JUSTICE!" He rose in the air and summoned rain clouds again, starting another torrential downpour.
Riven held the bridge of his nose, exhaling deeply with thinning patience. "To think people have six of these..."
There were less than three weeks left until Gale came to pick Riven up.
She had called a few times, mostly to check up on him and warn him of anything going on in the region. So far, everything had been quiet, with no news of anything abnormal or horrifying; it was a good sign for the gym leaders and officials who had been tying their heads up in knots for the past few had been going great, it seemed.
That is until a dilemma had arisen and kicked him in the shins, so to speak. A grave one at that.
The Absols, whom Haona had befriended a few months earlier, came to speak with him concerning her. Their leader was a red Absol, a shiny, as the other trainers called them. His name was Sarim. Riven saw him in glimpses but never once met him face to face; he always remained in the background, flanked by two of the biggest Absols he'd ever seen. He didn't care if they sat outside and watched him all day, as long as they kept their distance and didn't bother him, he couldn't care less.
However, this time, Sarim had come to the grotto, completely alone and in the middle of the day, highly unusual behavior for wild dark types. The shiny pokemon carried himself with dignity and elegance, taking gentle steps forward. He stopped in front of Riven, who was making a new score of arrows at the moment.
The black-haired human paused his activity and put on his translator. "Sarim, what're you doing here? You don't usually get close… Not alone anyway. Where are the other two? You know, the giant ones with staring problems?"
The Absol's blue eyes bore into Riven, far more respectful and formal than the others that typically came to the cave. He was here on business, not just a casual stroll. Still, the quip made his eye twitch. "They did not come with me."
"Oh. I assume you didn't come here to observe the stupid human like most of the other Absols? I can hear the whispers you know, my ears function just fine." Riven said, going back to his work. "It's about Haona, isn't it?" Of course, what else would it be? It's not like they came for Aine or anything.
Sarim briefly stared up at the light filtering in from the small hole near the ceiling of the cave, watching the trickle of water flow down the rocks and into the small runoff of water in the center. "Yes. I have come to speak to you about our sister Absol," he stated calmly. "And I'm sorry about the insults, the rest do not trust humans."
"Hmph." Riven continued shaping and heating the shafts of the arrows. "What is it you want to speak about?"
"You and your pokemon have stayed here for quite some time, and have not proved to be a nuisance to us. We would not mind it if you remained here, you are a tolerable human that shares your kills with our kind."
Riven eyed him analytically. He wanted something from him. He just didn't know what it was. "What are you trying to tell me, Sarim? Don't sugarcoat it either. My bullshit sensor is surprisingly acute."
Sarim caught his gaze. What a crude human. But he is no fool. "Ah, Haona has told me you are not one for long-windedness."
"So she does pay attention. Straight to the point is the best option, since going in circles is about as riveting as watching paint dry," Riven said dryly.
"I do not understand what paint is but I assume it's not enjoyable to watch dry, yes?" Humans and their references were completely inane. How pokemon could even think about taking orders from them was even more so.
Riven knew Sarim was judging him. After all, Haona had done it so many times before. He let it slide, wild Absol being distrustful of humans was normal. He nodded in response.
"I thought as much. I dislike it as well, and so, I will speak my mind." He paused for a moment, thinking over what to say, careful not to anger the human holding a sharp object. "I wish for Haona to stay with us, where she belongs, in her parent's true home."
Riven stopped trimming the arrow shaft he was working on and set his knife down. "You want her to stay? Permanently?"
Idiot. If he hadn't meant permanently, he wouldn't have come in the first place.
"Well, yes. I can understand if this is hard for you. That is why I came here to ask for your blessing. You are her protector and guardian, and as such, this decision falls to you." He bowed his head in respect.
Riven huffed as he saw the Absol's gesture. "You don't have to do that, I'm not royalty or anything. I'm just another human here."
Sarim picked his head up, giving Riven a quizzical stare.
"Look, I'm only her trainer. She's my pokemon but I don't have absolute control over her. I can't decide whether she stays or goes, not fully at least. She's her own self and is entitled to her own decisions as much as anyone." The trainer breathed in deeply. "I don't want her to go. However, if she does decide to stay, I won't argue with that choice."
Sarim was pleasantly surprised. "I did not think humans would be so understanding," he admitted, forming a small smile on his lips.
"Don't get the wrong idea. Most humans are anything but that," Riven said sternly. "I just don't feel as if I should trample over her freedoms, because I wouldn't like it if someone trampled on mine. It's not about being understanding, it's about not being a hypocrite. Although… I would like to know why it is you want her to stay, apart from her being one of your kind."
The Absol stood up and settled himself over a rock, adjusting his position until he was comfortable enough. "I see. Well then, I believe I must tell you. As you know, she is part of our kind and seeing as there are not many of us, we would be delighted to have another Absol join us. Not only this, but she is female and could help even out the number of males to females in our group. Among… other things."
"Has she found a mate yet?" Riven asked, knowing exactly what Sarim was implying. If she had, then he really had no choice but to let her live her life.
Samuel had told him that one could not force a pokemon away from their mates without hurting them, much like a person from their true love. Riven didn't understand the concept in the slightest himself, but he figured it must be a deep emotional connection, and thus, very special.
"No. But there are many attempting to gain her affections, she is quite alluring to the younger ones," Sarim explained.
"Rebuilding the species is a logical goal. I can't really disregard that, Absol being on the endangered list considered."
"Endangered list?"
"There's a longer explanation, but let me put it simply. Your species is this close to dead." Riven held his thumb and index finger an inch apart. Birch had told him about the endangered list before, when he saw White Queen, but at that moment he thought Birch was a blundering fool who knew not what in the hell he was saying. It took Riven a while to understand it himself. Explaining it to a wild pokemon would just be a headache waiting to happen.
"This 'list' is not wrong then. There are very few of us left, when once there were many." The Absol stopped talking, purposely leaving out the rest.
"Humans did it. I know." Hunted down and exterminated, being viewed as bringers of catastrophe and death. Superstitions.
The red Absol apologized. "I thought you would take offense, being human yourself. Many men I have seen possess tempers that could be set alight with the drop of a berry."
Riven scoffed. If he had a hair-trigger temper, he'd have murdered all of his pokemon by now. They were difficult at the best of times.
"Sarim, I've seen things… in my lifetime. Things not many others of my 'kind', have. I know exactly what my species is capable of. We truly are despicable beings, as much as I'd like to refute that. It's hard to accept… but it's better than being delusional," the human admitted.
"The truth is a difficult thing to swallow. Some would prefer to take refuge in ignorance rather than face it. Commendable of you."
"I guess… I'll speak to her about your proposition, Sarim."
"Thank you. It is appreciated."
"No problem."
Sarim closed his eyes in recognition and stood up to walk away. He paused and turned back to the human, who showed absolutely no change in expression, once again immersed in fletching. "You don't have to leave her. You can stay here, with us, if you would like."
Riven gave the blue-eyed Absol a faint smile. "Sorry, but I don't think I could. I still have questions I need to find answers to; Forina was just a momentary reprieve. Besides, if I sat in one place too long, I'd lose my mind." The wild was relaxing, but there were still things he had to do. Surviving didn't mean living. He had survived for more than ten years, but he hadn't lived a single day. Enough was enough.
"I understand… When can I expect an answer from her?" He asked sincerely.
"Don't know, maybe in a few days. We need to give her time to think this through," Riven reasoned.
"Very well then. Good luck to you." The shiny stood up and calmly left the cave, joining up with two other Absol outside.
So they were here after all. Bastards.
He stopped his work and quietly sat in place, thinking about how Haona's loss could affect the team.
Baron would be devastated, but he was a Gallade; and was empathetic enough to know that if Haona felt like she belonged there with her kind, then he was in no position to argue. Aine would be sullen, but she was hardy and would recover in time. Boagrius would take it the best, being fairly new to the team and quite accepting himself.
He couldn't quite come to terms with how it would affect him though. It would be a melancholic farewell, surely, but if it meant Haona was happy, he was all for it. The notion of helping bring back the Absol species from the brink was also gratifying in itself, making the trainer feel like his sacrifice would contribute to something greater. Still, a selfish part of him silently hoped she would refuse Sarim's offer.
But that isn't how the world works. I know that.
When his pokemon returned to the cave-Boagrius' boisterous proclamations signaled their arrival- Riven called them over and informed them all of what it was Sarim had said.
Naturally, his Absol was torn. She felt like she belonged in both places, but knew she would eventually have to leave one for the other. Aine and Baron gave her their blessings, should she decide to stay, albeit in a very crestfallen tone. Boagrius actually managed to lower his voice and presented a gallant speech to the Absol about following one's heart and its desires.
Haona alternated between looking at the other pokemon and Riven, uncertainty evident in her features. Her trainer's face showed no hint of unease or sadness, just indifference as usual, but she knew that he'd be fine with whatever she chose. "I'll need some time to think about this," she mentioned, leaving the cave to go think. Aine nearly followed her but was held back by Baron, who shook his head.
"Let her clear her mind and decide," he said sadly.
Two days after that, Riven and Baron were on their usual food run when they spotted something gruesome and out of place.
They came upon the corpse of a decomposing Zangoose that didn't appear to be eaten or killed in a fight to the death, differing from the common way in which they were found dead. Many of them were killed by Seviper or eaten by the Salamence and Flygon that roamed Forina. But not this one. It was missing the entirety of its skin, pelt stripped clean off. As Riven got closer, he shielded his nose and examined the body, looking for puncture wounds.
The neck revealed no bite marks and the body itself was neither charred nor visibly torn into. However, the advanced stage of decomposition made it difficult to discern what could have killed it for sure.
Baron stepped away to avoid the smell. "What did this?"
Riven had to stand up and back away as well, the putrid stench of decomposing flesh making him gag. "No idea. The body is too far gone decomposing to tell if it was a wild pokemon or-"
"Human?"
"…Possibly." He knew for a fact that he hadn't killed this Zangoose. Whoever did this had knowledge on how to properly skin an animal. And no pokemon had any remote use for another pokemon's hide. The fact that they had only taken the pelt also worried Riven. A kill was not to go to waste, and Zangoose claws were far from useless.
Baron came to the next logical conclusion. "Poachers?"
Riven remained ominously silent, scanning the body. Baron had a point. Forina's seclusion, along with its abundance of uncommonly found pokemon, made it a prime target for poaching. It wasn't hard to put together that fact. They were a very real possibility, one that couldn't afford to be overlooked. With guns around, their lethality was much greater.
There's no way I'd be able to take more than one before I'd get riddled with holes. I can't risk any of my pokemons' lives. Knife and a make shift bow won't do it. Not anymore. Need to avoid direct confrontation at all costs.
"Baron, we need to be more careful. In case there are poachers around, tell Haona and Aine not to wander off too far, it could be dangerous. Check back at the cave and tell Boagrius not to shout so much, he'll understand."
The Gallade nodded and teleported away.
Riven searched the surrounding area but deemed it useless. The Zangoose had been dead for days now, any tracks the hunters might have left would be long gone.
Hunting runs were carried out in a much more cautious manner from then on, with both Baron and Riven keeping close eyes on prey as well as potential threats. Baron was used as an early warning device, being able to hear the thoughts of any humans, should they approach. But this was also a double-edged sword, stemming mainly from the fact that he heard the thoughts of many of the other forest dwellers as well, lessening his effectiveness. Still, it helped.
Boagrius remained in the air, high above the ground for a much more aerial view. Baron had a telepathic link set up with him just in case he spotted anything dangerous, whether it be Salamence or human. Aine and Haona stayed back at the grotto, protecting it in case any poachers got any bright ideas.
Riven remained on increasingly high alert, finding more and more corpses of fallen pokemon, skinned and left to rot. This unnerved him drastically and eventually posted a lookout during the night, alternating between himself, Baron, and Boagrius. Aine would be far too conspicuous with her orange colored feathers, and White Queen's fur was far too noticeable as well. He told them to remain inside and assist should anything come up.
It did.
One night -just a week before pickup- while all of them were resting, Baron alerted them, something was approaching. Riven rubbed the sleep out of his eyes and unsheathed his knife, hiding near the entrance of the cave, ready to strike. He motioned something with his hands.
Get ready. Once it comes through, destroy it.
Baron was on the other side, extending a blade, already channeling psychic energy through it. Aine was prepared to turn whatever came through that cave mouth into ash and Boagrius silently waited above them, sparking. It was when they saw white fur and a trail of blood enter the cave that they dropped their hostility.
An Absol? What?
Female, judging by the features. Circular blood splotches and large knife gashes on the left fur was nearly crimson, instead of the usual white. She had lost a substantial amount of blood. She doesn't have much time.
Riven picked her up gently and set her down on the rock near the improvised hearth, checking her wounds a bit more closely. Everyone was silent, except for Haona, who recognized the Absol instantly.
"Iara," she whispered, almost too low to hear. Iara was Sarim's mate, which meant something had happened to the group. From the looks of her wounds, she had barely escaped alive. "What happened?"
The injured dark type struggled against the pain to speak, "Attacked…don't know how…Korek…killed." She grunted in pain, tears forming in her eyes. "Sarim…captured."
Haona's eyes widened in shock, Korek was Sarim and Iara's pup. They killed a child? She growled, low and furious before taking off outside the cave.
"Haona! Stop! Don't be reckless!" Riven warned, but she was already gone. "Shit." He grabbed a couple of potions he had in his bag and applied them to Iara's wounds, the spray causing her to snarl in pain. Grave realization hit him; the potions weren't strong enough for wounds that deep. He needed to try other methods. "Baron, use heal pulse."
The psychic hesitated. Did he say heal pulse? "I've only just learned it, I haven't mastered it yet-"
"Do what you can. If you can slow the bleeding or close the wounds, that will be fine. Otherwise… Aine, stay with him for now."
"Why do you want me to stay?" The worried fire type questioned. The way Riven had said it sounded very ominous, like it was something to be avoided. She wanted to go look for Haona too. "I can help you look?"
"No, stay here. If Baron can't close the wounds, you're going to have to sear them shut. It will cause her unbearable pain. She might pass out, but she will scream her lungs out before that happens. Be ready, and don't stop until those wounds are closed." He placed both hands on the Combusken's shoulders, who looked very unsure of herself. "You can do this Aine. You too Baron, try your best. You're a field medic today, don't let her die. When you're done here, teleport to Boagrius. I'm going to follow the blood trail back and see what I can find." He took off outside the cave, Castform right behind him, unnaturally quiet.
Baron stood over the injured Absol and channeled all the energy he could into his hands, forming a small pink sphere of light. He closed his eyes, calming his mind and focusing solely on the wounds.
I can feel the damage…here. Torn tissues, skin, and muscle. Don't apply too much energy. Mend. Close the wound slowly. Undo the damage and nurture the skin back to health-
Baron's thoughts were cut off as the energy ball's glow waned. Nausea and light-headedness came over him, nearly breaking his focus.
Aine noticed his trembling hands and called out to him, "Bib, stop. You're putting too much mental strain on yourself!"
"I can do this!" He responded, pouring more energy into the ball, concentrating as hard as he could. The bullet wounds stopped bleeding and began to close, leaving behind reddened skin, not quite fully healed. The Gallade attempted to move onto the larger knife gashes but was unable to reform the energy ball. Using heal pulse without completely mastering the move presented great danger to the psychic, who was drawing vast amounts of his own energy to fuel the healing, leaving him disoriented and weak. On the verge of collapsing, he supported his weight on a rock adjacent to him.
Aine ordered him to rest, and focused her attention on the enormous gashes on the Absol's side. The slashes were horribly deep, dripping blood onto the floor. Aine swallowed and hesitated, looking into Bib's eyes, who nodded weakly. The Combusken walked over to Iara, flames rising up out of her beak.
"I'm sorry," she apologized solemnly.
Iara braced herself as the Combusken washed flame over her claw and leaned in, pressing the heated claw onto bare skin. The cave erupted in blood curling screams, echoing out onto the surrounding forest.
Riven sprinted along through the dark forest, following the blood trail when he heard screams ring through the forest behind him. He stopped for a moment, grimly realizing that Baron hadn't been able to fully close Iara's wounds. Aine was probably cauterizing the wounds now.
The pain of getting your injuries seared… No, don't think about that.
Cauterization was a necessary procedure at this point. It had to be done, there were no pokemon centers for miles and potions could only do so much. But he had no time to hesitate, he needed to move. Iara could wait.
The trail came to a large den, inside as dark and silent as the grave. The overpowering odor of iron clung in the air. That only meant one thing.
Blood. Lots of it.
Heading further in, he saw Haona standing in the middle of it, paws covered in blood, surrounded by dozens of Absol corpses. She simply stood there, unmoving and completely silent. It looked like she had been broken in two. Riven walked up to her and witnessed the carnage around the cave. Baby Absol, as well as mothers and fathers lay dead among the pile, all missing their horns and forehead gems. Bullet holes lined the walls.
"They're dead… All of them," Haona muttered in a shaky voice. She had spoken to most of them just days before. Played with the children. She was going to decide to stay and live among them, but now it was all for nothing. There were no Absols to stay with now. "If I had warned them… maybe they could have survived. It's my fault…" She lamented, feeling nothing but guilt.
Riven could not help but keep his gaze fixated on the dead pokemon. Innocents. These pokemon did nothing to humans. They stayed away, only wishing to live their lives. And the poachers killed them. All for what?
Just like then. Different people, same concept, no difference.
They won't get away. Not this time. I won't let them.
Haona was on the verge of breaking down when Riven began to walk away. "What are you going to do?" She asked, noticing a sudden change in behavior. Something seemed different about him, his walk wasn't nervous anymore, or alert like it usually was. It was relaxed, nearly predatory.
Her trainer looked back at her, expression colder than anything she had ever seen; there was no emotion, no remorse. Right eye once dark blue was now a vicious crimson, instilling fear into her very core. She backed away instinctively, an intense feeling of evil and malice loomed over her, almost like it came from Riven himself.
"Pay evil unto evil," he hissed, and left the cave.
Amy and Seab were currently relaxing on her porch swing after a long day of training, drinking some oran juice in the night air.
They had taken the trip back to Mauville to swing by Petalburg and challenge Norman, as well as return to saner country where large steel winged birds weren't trying to slash their heads off. Seab had finally gotten his wits about him and captured his third pokemon, an unexpected candidate really, surprising even Amy. The guy was scared of electric types, yet he swallowed that fear and captured one of the most unfriendly ones she knew, it was kind of awesome.
It was none other than Mauville's resident jerk, the Electrike under the bridge, Grumpy. At first, the electric type flat out refused the boy's proposition of making him stronger, shooting sparks to warn him off, then launching stray bolts as intimidation. Noting that it was of no use talking, Ren battled him, weakening Grumpy enough to successfully use a great ball to capture him. After persistent goading and several thunderbolts, Grumpy finally allowed Seab to command him. Years of protecting his territory meant that the Electrike was fairly experienced, easily catching up to Comet and Ren. He had also been apparently in need of a good battle, since he evolved right after trouncing an ace trainer that had challenged Seab.
Grumpy was much bigger, being a Manectric now. He was large enough to carry Seab, at incredibly fast speeds no less, which would be undeniably useful for quick getaways. Now he could keep up with Mila, who had also evolved recently, into a beautiful Altaria with magnificently fluffy wings (which made for heavenly pillows by the way).
Evolutions and battles aside, Amy and Seab didn't feel like heading to Petalburg yet. They were a little apprehensive about taking on Norman, especially after hearing the rather frightening tales from other traumatized trainers on how scary strong the leader was. They even came up with ridiculous stories straight out of a story book.
Some went that he beats people with that cane of his or that he wrestles Ursarings for fun. Others said that he had his Slaking chuck a staircase at a thief once, and that he swims through land. Probably the most ridiculous one was that a Seviper had bitten him, and went through three days of excruciating pain before finally dying. The crazy part was that everyone thought it was true and not a single soul questioned it. Norman was basically a monster, in simpler terms.
They decided to do something else before gathering up the valor to challenge him.
And so, both trainers had attended the Verdanturf Contest the previous day(watched, not participated), one of the first contests to be held since the Petalburg incident, where they noticed increased security and the presence of actual officials. They weren't the only ones a little spooked by that, everyone was somewhat nervous.
Regardless, they did get something interesting out of the contest, apart from the cool visuals and stuff. While they were sitting at the tables outside, a guy was handing out fliers to people, giving one to Amy. She held it up, scrutinizing the paper like she would a 90% off everything sale. "It says there's going to be a festival in two weeks."
"What festival? And where?" Seab questioned, handing a piece of cinnamon bread to Ren and Comet.
"Says here that there's going to be a race of some kind, and food, lots of food. Ohhhhhhhh! Drake's going to be one of the lead organizers! He's also going to personally hand the race winner a special prize!" Amy gushed, wrinkling the paper on accident.
"Drake?"
"Yeah! He's one of the elite four. Dragon type, really strong. I've seen some of his battles on TV against challengers, and I'll have you know, he is amazing." She dreamed of challenging him, picturing Mila and Drake's Salamence exchanging dragonbreaths and flamethrowers.
Seab didn't share her excitement but he was semi-interested in the event himself. After all, festivals were fun. "Where's it located then?"
Amy checked the location and her smile completely inverted. "Fuck." Had to be there didn't it?
"What?"
"Meteor Falls," the blonde said sourly, setting the wrinkled paper down on the table.
Seab was silent for a moment, processing the name through his brain. He threw his hands up. "Are you kidding me? Didn't we just come back from there?"
"Yeah…" Amy sighed heavily, recalling the absolute bitch that it was coming back to Mauville. Weeks of bike riding and then another trip through the desert followed by even more cycling. Neither of them felt like going back, even if they could make the deadline through more conventional methods of travel. Flying would take about two weeks, but her traveling companion didn't have a flying type of sufficient size yet, regretfully. Comet would probably get a hernia trying to fly him anywhere.
Maybe there's another way there, Seab thought. Then the answer hit him. "A psychic!"
Amy currently had a danish in her mouth, but that didn't stop her from raising an eyebrow, as if asking him if he had gone mad. She chewed her mouthful before speaking again, speaking while chewing was barbaric and disgusting. "What about a psychic?"
"They can teleport us there instantly," Seab stated flatly. Psychics could teleport anywhere as long as they knew the place or had a psychokinetic link or "lock" to teleport to. It was perfect, potentially saving them time and sparing them weeks of travel. Hurray for paying attention in class.
Amy considered it. Seab's idea wasn't a bad one, it only had one problem. "Whose going to teleport us there and back then? A random trainer? You know they'll want something in return."
"Hmmmm, you're right. Probably money or something," Seab suggested.
"We do have a pretty hefty sum… I mean, we haven't lost a battle in a long while and we haven't been dumping huge amounts of cash on stupid things," Amy said, skimming through her wallet.
Seab nodded. "I guess we can pay for a round trip if we asked any of the more experienced trainers. How much are the entry tickets?"
"Let's see… About two thousand each."
Urk. Expensive.
"That's a pretty large amount…"
"We can manage. Besides, if we go to the festival, we can hit two Taillow with one stone, head to the falls and you can nab a Bagon egg!" Amy beamed.
"You're still with that crazy Bagon idea? We are definitely not going to do that!" Seab thought that the girl had completely erased the thought of going to a dragon infested place on a suicide mission to grab a Bagon egg. He was sadly mistaken.
She frowned. "Why not? It's efficient. We can get two things done at the same time while we're at it."
"Efficient doesn't go with you." Impulsive and efficiency oriented could cause problems. It was a perfect formula for reckless behavior and getting killed.
"What're you trying to say? I'm all for efficiency. Everyone should. What's not to like about it?" Amy wondered, hands on her hips.
"Just because something seems efficient, doesn't mean it's a good idea. Trying to steal eggs under very dangerous overgrown pokemon that can fly and breathe fire isn't my definition of a good one," Seab said carefully. He'd told her this many times before but she was too stubborn to admit it. Now that Mila was an Altaria, Amy thought that pissing off Salamence was a perfectly viable option.
It was not, in any way, shape, or form.
The blonde frowned again. "You know what? I don't want to argue this anymore. If you want to miss out on an undeniably badass dragon type, that's your loss. But I still want to go to the festival." She took a vicious bite out of her danish and sauntered off to go see the contest winners.
Seab stared at the flier. Dragons were an ideal type for any trainer to have. But they were difficult to raise, and their size meant they had to eat a vast amount of food. Not to mention their aggression. Mila had become much more enthusiastic about fighting and a lot more ferocious during battles. Scary, to be honest.
Having a Salamence would be, indeed, awesome, but the acquiring part was too dangerous to be worth it.
I'll worry about it later.
He went to go join Amy and meet the contestants; obviously May wasn't there, which only made sense after what she went through. It was nice having the contests back though, since Seab hadn't ever seen one before, and they did, in fact, live up to all the hype and craze the Hoennites placed on them.
After getting a couple pictures, Amy dragged Seab to the pokemon center, holding him by the collar while she continued ahead.
"Amy, my legs work," the boy stated gruffly. She let him go and power-walked to the center, not stopping in the slightest. "Why are we here? We haven't battled anyone at all."
"Obviously we're here to flirt with Nurse Joy, and make pancakes," she said, voice dripping with sarcasm.
Common sense hit Seab upside the head, nearly warranting a face-wall. Find a psychic. Duh.
Although, Mauville wasn't exactly a good place to look for experienced trainers; many of the center's inhabitants were fairly young with two or three pokemon usually at the secondary evolutionary stage. Finding veterans was rare and those that were found there were usually foreigners who visited Hoenn from other regions, like Seab, or trainers returning home for a visit.
Amy did manage to find a guy in the dining area though. Mid-twenties, real shady sort and kinda devious looking. Not the first choice on Seab's trustworthy list, but it beat traveling to Slateport at least.
"So, you two want to go to Meteor Falls huh," he said, taking a spoonful of rice.
"That's right," Amy confirmed.
"Well, I could take you… But what's in it for me?"
Amy came to the most logical choice. "Money?"
"Money… Yes, money is good. Very good. I do like money, it's so… green."
His strange response didn't bother the blonde though. She was in negotiation mode at the moment."How does five thousand sound? Half for getting us there and half for bringing us back?"
The man's eyes narrowed into a thin squint. There was a long minute of silence. Seab expected him to say something profound or argue for a price hike. But all he did was blink furiously. "Yep! I'll do it, just wanted to see how long I could go without blinking."
Erm, what?
"Wait, so you weren't even going to argue for a price raise?" Amy blurted out.
"Nope!"
Amy was incredulous, he made no sense. "But… why?"
"Why? Girl, do you want me to raise the price? HMMMM? HMMMMM?"
"On second thought, I'll just shut up now," she squeaked.
"Yes, well. Blondie and Mr. Blues, just let me bring out my pokemon." He threw a dusk ball outwards and a purple ghost pokemon with red eyes and a large mischievous smirk on its face appeared. It cackled silently.
Amy and Seab froze. Numerous other trainers in the center nearly fell over. A flashing of pokedexes was seen, followed by many gasps. Some trainers pulled out charms that were supposed to ward off ghosts, holding them up like shields. The charms were totally useless of course but it was pretty funny nonetheless.
The Gengar's owner chuckled. "Now now, boys and girls, don't flatter Gengis too much. The attention will get to his ego, and ghosts can be proper tricksters, right Gengis?" The ghost's smirk seemed to widen, acknowledging the fact.
Amy folded her arms in annoyance. "A ghost? Come on, Seab. We're wasting our time." Unless the Gengar could teleport, they were going nowhere. The guy was an asshat.
"WAIT! Wrong one! Here, it's this one." Another pokeball shot forth, releasing a strange pink and blue pokemon. "This is Robbie, my Porygon2. It knows teleport so it can take you guys there." The man grinned widely and gave Amy and Seab a thumbs up.
Amy gave him a disdainful look,unconvinced, but filled him in anyway. He scratched his chin with his eyes closed, nodding at random intervals."OKAY! When the time comes, you let me know. Then, I'll take ya right away. Just gimme the money up front and we'll have no problem. Don't worry, I won't cheat you either, I'm not a-" He cut himself off. "That's not important. Anyway, my name is Styx. Pleasure to do business with you," he said, extending both arms out in a handshake gesture.
Amy and Seab both shook his hands, silently agreeing that this guy was not to be trusted too much.
Styx, I'll be sure to keep an eye on you… Seab thought suspiciously. Ren seemed to agree, glaring the Gengar down. That ghost's smirk was way too creepy, no wonder people avoided catching them.
I suppose it doesn't matter, since he's only going to take us there and bring us back, then we won't have to deal with him. Which is good, considering he seems like the questionable sort…
If things went bad, he just might have to bring out Grumpy and bolt out of there. Amy could manage fairly well with Mila. That dragonbreath was nothing to sneer at.
"Just don't try anything funny," Amy warned, glaring directly at the man, then at the Porygon. "Or my Grovyle's leaf blades might sever something important." An empty threat, but she had to look like she could carry through.
Styx grinned slyly, putting his hands in the air in a mock surrender. "Wouldn't dream of it, blondie."
Withdranwnmadness000: This is a combination of both the games and anime so, Ash is referenced but he won't appear. He's too busy doing stuff in Kalos, which going by the supposed age progression he should be at, he's like 16 or 17.
Pairings may not happen. Shipping and the like are dangers waters, friend. Best to tread lightly. That stuff is very serious business to some people. Getting torpedoed by Die with Our Ships isn't fun.
As for going back in the past, that will be explained later. Can't reveal too much here can I?
Connorxconnor: No, he's not a tyranitar. That… would be hard to explain. I assure you he is very much a person.
And just a warning for the future. I know that in canon, pokemon only know 4 moves. But as the meme goes, how can Alakazam remember everything but a fifth move? Doesn't make sense to me. They probably established that so pokemon wouldn't have 506978898058873243 moves on screen. Imagine having to scroll through 50 pages of moves? Online battles would take days and type coverage would be completely laughable.
Learning moves should be like learning a skill in real life. You can learn six languages. It might take a while, and be very frustrating, but yes you can. Pokemon must be exactly the same. However, learning too many moves can be a burden and leave less room for mastery of one specific attack, so it's preferable having a smaller movepool so the pokemon won't break its brain. Or spend large amounts of time training to hone techniques, unless a TM is used to instantly give the knowledge.