Green eyes blinked repeatedly as the professor watched Riven like one would a Noctowl twisting its head.
"That, Nathan, is a very interesting and divisive question. I'm a little astonished that a trainer would ask that. They're usually not too interested in many scientific aspects, they just get their pokemon and go. Or should I say, sprint out. Science is the last thing they care about, you should see what happens when you ask them about physics! Their heads practically roll off!"
"Same," Riven shrugged as the woman laughed heartily. "I won't lie and say I care about all the science behind it, but I would like to know. Should the science get a little… complicated—can you simplify it for me? An introductory biology lesson had me wracking my brain for a few days."
"I see," she nodded understandingly. "First, however, I want to know how you became so interested in this topic? Did you see your pokemon perform amazing feats and wonder, 'why can't I do that?'Truthfully, I believe every trainer out there has thought the same thing, wishing we could fly or blast our opponents with torrents of pressurized water. Silly dreams but common among all trainers. Settling for being trainers is the most we can do."
Juniper appeared melancholic, remembering younger days as a little girl wishing for the same.
Riven deliberated for a few seconds too long, purposely making it seem like he was thinking seriously hard about the subject. Honestly, it did feel kind of a dickish thing to do, lying to a pokemon professor and all. Still, appearances were important.
"I guess… It's just, well, every creature on this earth- in the sea, land, and sky- is a pokemon and can do all these crazy things-you know? And then there's us. Humans just don't fit. We're not durable, we can't shoot lightning bolts, or fireballs. Pokemon are just as intelligent as us, so why are we so different? Why do we have buildings and societies and pokemon don't? Why are we so weak?"
Juniper took a long, steadying breath. "There's not really a simple answer to that. Professor Rowan, a colleague of mine in the Sinnoh region, studies the evolution of pokemon in particular and how they adapt to their environment. He's currently in Alola studying the pokemon there. Anyway, getting sidetracked—um, in simple to understand terms, his theory is that humans split off from a common pokemon ancestor in the past. A weak, simian normal type, and since we had no redeeming qualities, we had to band together in order to survive."
She raised a finger in the air, which Omy traced in the air as she wiggled it. She extended tiny hooves trying to reach it.
"Back in the primal era it was assumed that there were far stronger pokemon roaming around, and they were absolutely not friendly by any means. The only reason pokemon are known as unaggressive today are because routes are policed by rangers-and to a smaller extent, trainers- to drive away the stronger ones further inland,. The ones closer to the routes are generally docile or relatively harmless. That's also the reason why there are fewer stronger pokemon in the wild, as a result of trainers removing the competition for them to grow in experience. The ones you do see in the wild are thus extremely strong and are likely to be impossible to train. The influx of humans and trainers have pushed wild pokemon populations to be comprised of primary and secondary evolutions, with a few incredibly strong and aggressive outliers."
"Aberrants," Riven added darkly. "I've seen what those can do."
"Those are a different matter entirely. Those pokemon… they shouldn't be that strong. They're a dangerous field of study. A few researchers who dared have already lost their lives," Juniper said, swallowing. "Regardless, this was important in the development of primitive humans. With more abundant predators, humans had to turn to pack behavior and technology to survive."
"Humans had to be smarter, but in a different way," Riven concluded. "Pokemon are intelligent… but because they're strong enough to defend themselves on their own, they didn't quite have to rely on the same tactics then?"
"Yes, exactly!"
Juniper gave a large smile, happy a trainer could somewhat follow her after two sentences. Such an event was rarer than a legendary it seemed. She'd always thought that if a trainer willingly came to ask her about her work she'd have to check if judgement day had arrived.
That glance she gave outside to see if fire and brimstone was raining down wasn't noticeable at all.
Riven nodded. He knew this, obviously. Considering the Remnant army and its squads employed the same tactics, he could give some very proper credence to the theory. You couldn't kill an Arcanine yourself, you'd die. Fast. Even with a weapon and armor, it couldn't protect you from fire-infused fangs or smoldering flames. You had to work together or die a fiery and horribly painful death.
So, in a way, Rowan's theory and assumptions were correct.
"And what about the perks that came with being a pokemon?" Riven asked. "Normal types can use quick attack and stuff. Humans can't."
Brown eyebrows furrowed as Juniper rested an elbow on the countertop, tapping a finger on her lip. She excused herself and went over to a cabinet, pulling out a file from the cabinets.
Returning, she handed him a dense bundle of pages. He flipped through the pages, squinting at some of the language found within. It might as well have come from another galaxy. With a completely lost expression he gave it right back to her. The professor couldn't help but chuckle.
"Dr. Rowan's theory on how humans could have lost their pokemon like traits, and why our method of reproduction developed." Juniper shook her head and made a face at it. "Although that, still makes researchers and other scientists lose their minds. Many a friendship and scientific partnership has met its end when discussing this very topic. It's so divisive that just asking about it will get the room crazier than a room full of toddlers and baby pokemon. Except with grown adults who, for the most part, are supposed to think rationally. I remember the last time I attended a debate, someone tried to sic their Charizard on another researcher. That led to an impromptu battle royale which the regional officials had to control."
"Did anything get destroyed?" Riven asked, interest piqued. Destruction was always an accurate assessment.
"Half the building, two marriages, and many, many egos," Juniper grinned wryly.
Riven snickered.
"And I thought discussions among trainers about who the best looking gym leader was bad. By the end of the discussion the route is unrecognizable and everyone hates each other. Half a building though? That's new."
"Unfortunately it's quite common. Old scientists get a little… antsy when their theories are questioned and take it as a personal offense. Human origins has become a bit of a dead Ponyta in the scientific pokemon research community," Juniper said with a defeated sigh. "Beating it just becomes an exercise in futility until we get more evidence suggesting otherwise. Right now we can just study pokemon and see whether that will uncover any more answers. Bisharp and the Pawniard colonies are a point of intrigue, if that interests you."
"What about them?" Just saying the name Bisharp seemed to cut him. Too many edges. Thinking about them having colonies made little shivers break out too. Colonies made up of little bundles of blades and death. And one big metal clad murdermon with armblades and little to no weakpoints as a leader. He wondered in what strange, demented corner of God's mind that seemed like a good idea.
"The way they form colonies and elect leaders shows that they're evolving human-like traits in the wild, even despite not having natural predators. They've begun to show more regimented movements and vastly intelligent techniques for dealing with predators. Even fire types steer clear of them."
Thinking about the red, black, and steel menaces thinking tactically was bad. Thinking about them forming their own societies and armies scared him in more ways than one.
"That's… that's terrifying," Riven managed, dazed. "I fought a Bisharp once. Without a type advantage. I'd say it went well, but that's a goddamn lie. I got my ass beat."
Juniper held in a giggle, no doubt having heard the same from many a lucky trainer who wandered into their nests and bit off more than they could chew.
"Yes, well, Pawniard colonies are threats that rangers absolutely implore that trainers stay far away from. Their metal coats prevent tranquilizers, so they all have to be fainted through battling. When a colony found its way into Opelucid, they all had to be fainted individually and relocated back into the wild. Some rangers and their pokemon still have the scars. Bisharp and Pawniard wounds can be horrible, the Pawniard are arguably more dangerous, preferring to stab rather than slash."
Riven almost laughed at himself. Dangerous? Try Scyther. Jagged blades did wonders for the skin. Helped…exfoliate—perfect for beautiful, impeccably scarred skin. Side effects may include severe bleeding and or death.
"Pawniards are nice and terrifying, but going back to the original discussion, say the ancestor wasn't a normal type and had a different typing… would that be possible? Would humans still be able to form societies even despite having the same capabilities as pokemon? Bisharp seem to be in the beginning stages, from what you say."
"I'm sure it's plausible. The normal type ancestor was just a guess, mainly because it was the most logical choice relative to how we are now. Should typings be involved in human evolution over hundreds of thousands of years… it wouldn't make too much sense that typings were somehow favored out. Losing something like that isn't beneficial to the organism at all. If humans had typings before, they would have them now. That's my assumption, anyway."
You're not too far off.
"What could cause humans to split off from pokemon? Even with typings and whatever it is they have?"
"A mutation, most likely. Humans take genetic traits from the mother and father, resulting in a wide range of phenotypes. The DNA in humans compared to pokemon is highly unstable—in a simple manner of speaking. It's not really but you can elect to think it is if it makes the analogy easier. Our interchangeability is something pokemon don't experience. Pokemon change in size, strength, and shape according to breeds-with some stronger than others- but they hardly look different. If you cross a Dewott and a Simipour, you don't get a mix of the two. You get either an Oshawott, or a Panpour. What carries over is what moves they can learn, oddly enough. Human babies… anything goes. We believe mutations are a large part of why humans are the way they are. Eevees have a similar genetic makeup and experience rather odd mutations themselves, some even giving way to new evolutions. Most pokemon have clearly defined genetic structures, in contrast. Treeckos have been the same since ancient times."
"So if say, a dark type human and a… I don't know, steel type had a child—it could be anything? And you wouldn't be able to tell?"
"Going by human genetics… yes. The appearance of the child could be a mix between the parents, but the pokemon traits… those could go either way." A wave of the hand. "According to what we observed, anyway; it's hard to test a theory that can't really be tested. We take what we know and extrapolate the best we can."
That was interesting. Very interesting. Riven had wondered how that'd work, and applying it to his own world, that certainly seemed to be the case. Female prisoners of war were often bound and gagged so they wouldn't end their own lives to escape what followed. When they gave birth, no one knew whether the child was one or the other. It was a mixed breed, not pure. The social stigma that resulted was prevalent in a lot of the other clan cities and often led to the deaths of the newborn children. Not so much in his own due to a lack of people, but it was a big deal elsewhere. They also didn't really take POWs as a rule of thumb. Extra mouths to feed led to food shortages, which were plentiful compared to actual, edible food.
So now that he thought about it, hiding as a dark type would have been useless. Someone would have figured out when fire didn't shoot out of their fingertips, regardless if they didn't know they were supposed to have dark type traits. His people were kept-no pun intended-in the dark; the rest of the world wasn't. Fighting really was the only choice.
He swallowed, getting somewhat an idea of how the types in humans came about, and how the clans could have first formed. Loyalty to a clan, or a group dynamic formed pride. Pride that could poison the minds of those within the group, leading to mistrust and prejudice. Unova certainly showed those traits with how foreigners were treated. And Sinnohans just about everywhere else, particularly Sinnohan trainers.
Typings just gave people a tangible, biological reason to hate one another and put themselves above the others. Pokemon didn't experience it in the same way because they didn't really think like humans did. At best pokemon hunted each other or foraged for food, ignoring most species. The only exceptions were human trained pokemon, which exhibited the same values as humans more often than not, but weren't nearly as biased.
Most were adverse to killing as well. Most. Severe loyalty was a fatal flaw, evidently.
Omy squirmed in his grasp and he set her down, mulling over it a bit more before slouching in his chair.
"Something wrong, Nathan?" She asked, green eyes concerned. "You look troubled."
"Ah, no. Just thinking over what you said. Thank you."
She smiled again.
"Okay then, I'm always happy to answer any scientific questions trainers might have. Goodness knows we could use more field-trained scientists. You can't really get a feel for pokemon unless you were a trainer yourself." Juniper eyed him as he remained quiet. "Is that all the questions you have for me? I'd find it a little difficult to believe you came such a long way for just a conversation. Seems excessive."
He shrugged, chuckling to himself. "I get very determined when something bugs me. Or if I want something. The information you gave was insightful, so I'd say it was pretty worth it. But…"
"But…?" She echoed, raising a wry brow.
Riven hesitated, face turning a little pink from embarrassment. He pointed at the Blitzle, who was too busy inspecting a nearby chair, licking it with her tongue. "I hate to do this and I know it's a little intrusive… Uh, professor, I need a place to stay for a while until I can put Omy in her pokeball. She nearly wandered off several times on the route and training around her can be dangerous. Should I fall asleep and she runs off and gets eaten…" He whispered something about Elesa murdering him. "Let's just say that'd be bad. I'd rather err on the side of caution. Here in the lab it's a safer environment. I'll help around the lab if you want? At least until your assistant returns?"
He hoped that was a good enough deal. Really, this place didn't have a pokemon center but it was quiet and secluded. Riven had noticed the healing machine in the corner of the room, so he figured it'd be good for some training sessions with his pokemon. Since they'd begun to move so frequently as well as residing primarily in cities, his pokemon hadn't gotten enough training in. Rust would set in if they didn't.
What he wasn't sure about was if Juniper was okay with letting a stranger stay here. And a man at that.
His worries were for naught as the scientist jumped much too eagerly at the offer. "That's wonderful! I need someone to help me feed the other pokemon, and they're often rowdy so I can't give them exercise myself. I have a lot of work to do so having help would cut down on my duties to let me focus. As you can see," she gestured down to her shirt, and with that, two large beautiful things, "my clothes get pretty dirty and singed. You can have the room my assistant is using for now. It might smell like girl, though I'm sure you don't mind."
"Girl is good. Smelling like vanilla is much better than route sweat."
Juniper smiled in understanding, scrunching her nose a little. "Oh, I know. You might want to use the shower right now, actually."
He sniffed himself and agreed.
"Heh, guess I do." With a polite bow of the head, Riven excused himself, taking Omy with him to get the stink off him. "Thank you."
"No problem! Get some rest!"
He set his things down in the room, which was personalized… well like a girl's. Rather than pay it any mind, he took out the extra pair of sweatpants and shirt that he'd packed and made his way to the restroom.
Now freshly out of the shower, Riven left Gale a message.
Staying at professor's for a few weeks. Going to get some dedicated training time so you don't call me a slacker. Omy needs to grow a bit before I put her in a pokeball. Can't assign training from deepest pits of hell yet. How's training? Don't kill Will. Cut off leg if being annoying. Take care. Update if things go to shit, thanks.
Setting the holo caster down, his gaze met Omy's, the little Blitzle being far too focused on him. She stood motionless at the bottom of the bed, looking up at him. They had a good minute long staring contest until she cried, he caved like a house of cards, and placed her on the bed. She took a moment to feel the softness, let out a snort, and decided that the floor was more comfortable.
He threw up his hands as she resumed staring at him.
"I don't get babies," Riven muttered as he felt baby Blitzle eyes dig into his back as he laid down.
And would you look at that, the bed did smell like vanilla.
The following morning he made sure to wake up early and see what Juniper had him do. She was still dressed in sleepwear and had dark circles under her eyes from working all night, but she generously showed him around and what to feed the pokemon.
Apparently the Emboar was a certain trainer's, though she wouldn't say who. Her Cinccino also made its appearance as it clambered out of the professor's room, rubbing sleep out of its eyes. Omy declared the fuzzy pokemon worthy of inspection.
After pokemon feeding-which also paid off because he could feed his team too-he headed to the center of the ranch, still under the watchful eye of the Emboar. Riven could tell it was very strong, and had a lot of battle experience under its belt, judging from the way it analyzed him and his pokemon. Too strong, in fact. He wondered whose it was.
He released everyone except Efrain, looking them over with a sadistic grin on his face.
Haona's face dipped as she saw Riven's far too toothy smile and tried to bolt. Baron instantly caught her, hauling her back in line.
"When we suffer, you suffer too," the Gallade joyously mentioned. The Absol spat back at him, kicking his leg with a paw.
"AGREED!" Boagrius added obnoxiously, his voice carrying over the field. "WHAT SHALL BE THE TRAINING HENCEFORTH, TRAINER HUMAN, SO THAT WE MAY CRUSH OUR FOES AND DANCE ON THEIR CORPSES!"
"But you don't have legs," Aine pointed out playfully, poking his squishy body with a claw. This didn't deter the cloud of energy as his boisterous grin only widened.
"IT'S A MANNER OF SPEAKING, MI'LADY! NOW THEN! THE TRAINING, YES?"
Riven raised an amused brow as they turned to face him expectantly. Within the next hour, he had them running drills around the complex and sparring each other. Unfortunately, his team wasn't built for defense, and thus couldn't wall anything if they tried. He'd accepted that a while ago, and with the addition of Omy in his future team, that reinforced the notion that he shouldn't build up their resistance and toughness. Getting used to hits wouldn't matter if they were squishy anyway.
Speed and strength would matter more in the long run, as well as the ability to think on the fly. And so offense became the center point of his training. Baron and Aine were generally good on that front from all the sparring they did while he was gone, but those were one on one fights, and more training never hurt.
Now that he was here and it was more likely that they'd be fighting in multi-enemy combat conditions, he had to get them used to being attacked from different angles. Being fighters and bipedal, Aine and Baron were well suited to the type of reflexes training he had in mind, so the focus was on Haona primarily.
Ordering Aine to shoot fire at her while Baron assaulted her up close, with Boagrius shooting weather balls and powder snows, he saw that a lot of Haona's moves required both space and momentum. Ice beam was the exception, and she had a bit of trouble hitting a fast moving target like Baron. Should there be a fast opponent that could pressure her at close range, like a Weavile, then Haona would have a largely difficult time recovering, let alone counteracting. Megahorn helped, but it was in the same vein as night slash, and required the use of her horn, which was limited by the rotation of her head. Maybe he could teach her iron tail to turn her tail into a weapon, while also covering Haona's and his own glaring weakness: fairies.
There also weren't really any dragonslayers on his team, nor did he think electricity would do anything against a dragon, so Omy was out. Haona was his best shot, and if she couldn't land her ice beams before tiring herself out, that'd put his entire team in jeopardy. Riven knew Gallades were capable of learning ice punch, though he had zero idea of how to teach Baron that. Last time he checked, ice punch wasn't a TM move. Maybe if Isole was here he'd think about it, had there not been a communications blackout with the other regions. Learning a new technique like that was also time consuming, and time was something he didn't have.
After reflexes training, he had Boagrius and Haona try and hit Baron as he teleported through the air, making himself as hard to hit as possible to work on their aim.
It was much like using a bow really, only beams didn't listen to gravity at the cost of giving up speed. He also tried to see if his theory could work with the Absol. Instead of using night slash in the way it was typically used, he tried to get Haona to manifest a blade of dark energy rather than cut with a momentary flash of it. His own experience with it helped pretty greatly, because he could directly explain the way the energy flowed through his own body, and what it took to visualize it.
Darkness was tricky to work with because it was like turning the intangible into something solid, and required less coaxing and more… imagination. There was a shape you wanted, and you kind of had to will it there with your mind, otherwise it'd slip away and dissolve. There wasn't any resistance, rather, the energy itself seemed to want to run away. The concept was similar to what Efrain had described of using sacred sword, only… different. The difference was hard to explain, but it made the two moves completely opposed in how they were able to be formed and used.
Haona seemed to grasp the general gist, showing difficulty with it since she fought primarily at an instinctual level compared to his fighters, who he'd trained to fight intelligently. Riven figured it'd get better in time.
When it came time to train Baron and Aine, he released Emile and gave the Pidgeot the permission to beat on them and use whatever cheap tactic he could think of. What followed was a very frustrated Gallade and Blaziken. Emile was a much older pokemon, and even if he hadn't had as much experience as the other two, he was a crafty one.
The bird played it just like a bird with the advantage should have, faking out aerial aces and approaches while blowing them back with gusts and slicing skin with air slash, rendering their fighting type attacks useless. Riven knew that birds presented a problem in his current line-up, and even with Efrain, dealing with them was tricky and beyond annoying. His selection of long range, super effective moves bar ice beam were slim to none. Omy would fix that, he hoped, but she was still far too young. From what he last checked, the Blitzle evolutionary line was stronger with physical attacks, but its special attack wasn't too far behind. That was good.
Baron still knew thunderbolt, which was a plus, but his usage of it was… well, abysmal. While it wasn't strong, it was strong enough to cause blinding pain(he tested it on himself), which gave Riven ideas. Instead of using it as an offensive move, he could use it as a short to medium range stall so Aine or Haona could move in quickly and clean up. At close range, Baron channeled the electricity around his fists for a brief moment before contact, producing a clap of electricity that exploded outward and allowed him to follow up on the opponent. In essence, a walking stun gun. Pretty useful.
Aine, on the other hand, needed to learn how to use her flames to zone effectively and cut off the enemy's chances of escape. Flaming punches and kicks were devastating but useless if she couldn't approach safely. She didn't even really have to use very strong flames, either.
Unless it was a rock type, walking into open flames was generally a bad idea for obvious reasons. Burns hurt, a lot. Water types tended to require being hydrated externally as well, and hot flames evaporated the water on their skin pretty effectively. Fire's effect was diminished on them, but the point was that they still had skin, meaning they were vulnerable. Heat also pressured the opponent and kept them uncomfortable. Battle wasn't just about who was stronger-a fact he proved when he managed to kill that Pangoro and defeated Efrain- but also about who could outsmart the other.
A brute could win a one versus one battle of straight confrontation. Riven didn't train his pokemon to do that, he trained his pokemon to turn that single battle into a three versus one dirt stomp that used whatever means to win.
Which was why when it came to his practice with Baron and Aine, he grabbed a fistful of kicked up dirt and lobbed it into Baron's face as he ducked under a flaming kick, spinning low to sweep the Gallade's legs out from under him with a quick attack enhanced kick. Aine even chastised him for not expecting it.
With a grunt, the Gallade flipped to his feet, a little irritated.
"I see you're training hard," Juniper said to Riven, who wiped the sweat off his forehead with a rag. Night had fallen already and the stars had emerged above the quiet little town. "You run your pokemon pretty ragged, I watched some of the training you did. Brutal close combat, and a little dirty. It's a little unorthodox for battling, though. Are you a double or triple battler?"
"I'm a whatever-happens-I'm-ready kind of battler," Riven responded with a friendly smile. "Can't always expect one on one battles, especially if you get jumped. So I prepare my pokemon for anything. If 1v1 is all they know, getting ganged up on would mean a swift defeat or hell, even death if it's that bad."
"Seems a little too specific, but I see your point. I was also surprised you actually fight your pokemon, that's nuts!"
"They hold back their punches," Riven explained instantly. "First few times were rough though."
"I'm sure they were," she laughed, greeting Omy as the filly pranced over to her and rubbed her mane on the professor's leg. The woman gave a sharp yelp as she was shocked momentarily. "Ah, her mane is starting to collect electricity. That's a good sign! Was she exposed to any during your training?"
Riven shot a dirty look at Baron. "Did you shock her?"
The Gallade put up his hands defensively. "Gall!"
"Right. I mean she is small enough to dismiss when training…" Riven's eyes began to dance. "Wait… Hey Baron, use thunderbolt on her. Weak one. Well, weaker than usual anyway."
The psychic punched him on his way over but listened regardless, summoning a fair bit of electricity with a finger. Omy didn't back away from the display, mesmerized instead. The lightning bolt absorbed into her mane and her tiny body flashed momentarily as a white light enveloped her legs.
The baby Blitzle gave an excited whinny and darted away into the forest like a pint sized bolt of lightning, leaving tiny little sparks in her way. The grass then caught fire in a straight line as she entered the tree line, rapidly spreading.
"Shit," Riven summarized accurately.
"Oh," Juniper remarked. "I swore she had lightning rod. Looks like she has motor drive instead. I'll go get a water pokemon, go find her!"
With a grumbled sigh, Riven went after the resident baby of the team.
He found the Blitzle scared out of her mind in the darkness of the forest, giving terrified whines as she wandered through. Her distressing naturally gave Riven a pretty good idea of where to find her, so he told the others to split off and search the area around the crying in case something popped out and wanted to turn Omy into a snack.
A little while later, Haona called out to the others with Omy in tow, having her follow behind, her head hung low. If Haona could carry her by the scruff of the neck, she would be. Riven kneeled down, having Aine give them some light, and stroked the growing mane of the Blitzle.
"Hey you. Elesa entrusted her dad's offspring to me. Should you get eaten she's going to have my ass, you know. Don't run off so suddenly like that, alright?" He kept his voice low and friendly, so she wouldn't think he was scolding her too hard. "We all make mistakes and you're young, so learn that the forest is a pretty scary place if you're young and foolish. I have plenty of experience, heh."
Omy didn't quite understand, but she let out a random spark. Good enough, he supposed.
When he got back, he checked his holo caster to see if Gale had replied.
Omy? Pffft I see your taste in names is getting worse.
He scoffed. Omy was a great name.
Will set me on fire today. I blew him off a building and had to use Kyne to save him. Hes making my blood pressure go up by the day.
Riven almost choked on his spit, fumbling with the keys.
What the hell is he doing to you?
Twenty minutes went by and the caster buzzed as he was getting ready to go to bed.
Hes CRAZY. I miss your training cause I just hate you for a while. Will makes me fear for my LIFE. I crushed a table today though! Btw(means by the way), people are getting suspicious of the trade block and telecommunications to other regions. Lots of complaints. UFOs worried.
Yeah, that wasn't surprising. He had a feeling people would start noticing that they couldn't export anything, and with the docks shutting down, no ferries were going out or in. In fact, he imagined the pokemon smuggling trade unique to Unova was losing its collective shit right about now. That hardly boded well for the authorities and could cause complications down the line.
Regardless, it wasn't his problem right now.
Alright. Keep your training up to get those wind powers up to speed. Dont slack with your other pokemon or theyll fall behind. Btw(did I use it right?) Emile is being a cock.
He raised a brow when she responded with something that looked like a face.
"The fuck...?"
For the next two weeks he continued training with his pokemon, working on their cohesion as a unit and how to use their moves more tactically in a battle. In truth, he was training them exactly like a dark type would fight. Call it pidgey-holing but it was effective. A distraction could prove just as useful as a solid hit. Fighting fair was for idiots.
Omy grew rather fast in two weeks, growing to nearly two feet in stature. The growth was damn surprising, and when he asked Juniper about it, she immediately took Omy to the lab. She spent nearly a day in there, coming out at night to show him the result with an incredibly happy smile on her face. Naturally, he was lost.
The Blitzle had gotten pokerus, a beneficial and symbiotic virus that infected pokemon and allowed them to grow twice as fast as they would normally. Juniper guessed she picked it up from her little expedition into the forest, and told him that exposing it to his other pokemon could help them grow faster as well.
They were a little skeptical about it though. Haona deemed it gross, and Baron rejected the offer immediately. Aine didn't mind, and Boagrius expressed an ear rupturing desire to become one with his tiny friends. In a few days, the two had come down with the virus too, and Omy's had since disappeared. Riven tried getting Efrain to partake in the accelerated growth, but apparently being half dead and made of metal didn't work well for viruses that needed living, non metallic hosts. Bummer.
Pokerus was awesome. Aine completely surged in training, her punches getting considerably stronger and faster compared to Baron's. Boagrius' attacks also increased in intensity, particularly his weather ball, although it didn't help his aim much. Omy had since then begun to form words and started to understand basic commands. Riven took her to the route outside Nuvema and had her beat some Watchogs into the dirt. He kind of cheated by having Baron boost her speed with thunderbolt, partly to get her used to teamwork and the speed that motor drive provided.
Soon enough she was dancing around the rodents fast enough to make their eyes spin before she careened into them like a cannon.
He kind of wished that thunderbolt TM was still around when Omy finally learned how to channel the electricity inside her and charge it on her mane, causing it to glow and flash brightly. Riven was even further pleased when Omy learned one of the most bullshit status effect moves known to the training world: thunder wave.
Many a trainer had expressed their desire to see the world eradicated of that blasted move.
Not only did it provide Omy with a way of weakening her opponent to make the fight easier—the move was also a godsend when hunting. All he had to do was teach Omy how to aim it, and then the poor pokemon flopped to the floor waiting for death.
Laziness was the mother of innovation, after all. Electric types were so unfair.
Juniper's assistant had also returned from her trip. She was a blonde girl with green eyes, a dopey expression and glasses. She wore a green hat on her head and a baggy orange jacket for the cold temperatures that had begun to settle over the region. Her name was Bianca.
Their first meeting went about as well as a match coming into contact with an open fuel canister. She went milk white as she saw him lounging around in her room with three menacing looking pokemon and a cute cloud, then immediately drew conclusions. Riven began to sweat as she looked down at his hands and saw him sharpening knives. On her bed. His natural scowl didn't help anything.
God damn it, Juniper probably forgot to tell her. That woman's head was in the clouds often, as expected of a scientist.
Bianca then screamed and summoned a large green snake that held its head high, regal red eyes staring down Riven's team with a soul piercing glare—a Serperior. The second pokeball flew out and a familiar blue simian emerged, which immediately stood in front of the girl and began to hiss. "Serperior, Simipour! A-attack! Hydro pump! Leaf Storm!"
"Hey, girl! Wai-"
Razor sharp leaves in the form of scales came off the Serperior's body, and with a whirl, began to swirl in the air, shredding paint off the walls and slicing into drawers. The Simipour's hydro pump rocketed forward with a boom, punching an enormous hole into the wall as Aine and Haona dodged, destroying the window and several trees as the attack kept going.
Baron formed a protective barrier against the leaf storm, breaking it to intercept the following leaf blade from the Serperior's tail with a psycho cut. Aine kicked outward with a fire wreathed foot, slamming it into the grass type's side, driving the Serperior back to Bianca's side with a pained hiss. She didn't press the attack, wary of the Simipour.
The girl wasn't stupid, because she ordered her pokemon to follow her back into the lab, where the area was less packed and Riven's fighters would have less of an advantage. However, that was with the assumption that he was here to kill her. Instead, Riven waited patiently as he heard high pitched yelling and hyperventilation coming from the lab, no doubt where Bianca was freaking out in front of Juniper.
He had his pokemon form a veritable wall in case she returned and tried to hydro pump them again. Brown and blonde poked out into the doorframe as Juniper and Bianca made eye contact with him. With a cautious wave, he invited them in.
Once inside, Bianca turned beet red. "Oh my god! I'm-I'm sooo sorry! I just thought that- I thought you and your pokemon- you, like, looked so dangerous and I… I'm really sorry please no hard feelings? And gosh why do you have so many knives!?"
Riven looked at Juniper, who just shrugged.
"It pays to be prepared?" He slowly got up in the half destroyed room and told his pokemon to relax. The shield wall came down and they seemed to breathe the same sigh of relief as their trainer. "I thought I was jumpy, name is Nathan. I'd say sorry for surprising you, but I expected you to be informed that I was staying in your room when you arrived. I'm sure no one totally forgot about that."
He shot a glare at Juniper, who looked far too pleased with the outcome. Joke was on her, she'd have to pay for the damn repairs.
Bianca clumsily came up to him and shook his hand with a little apprehension. "I'm Bianca, Professor Juniper's lead assistant." She frowned at the damage. "Aww, I destroyed my own room. That's a total bummer…"
Riven turned around to see the extent of the damage and the numerous amount of scales that were now permanent decorations in the wall. "I'd say it suits the place perfectly."
"D-don't make fun of me!"
"Well, I don't know, you did attack me…"
The blonde girl deflated like a balloon and apologized furiously to him again and his team, hanging her head in shame. "Can I have my bed back? I need to put my stuff back… That's ok, right? I mean if it isn't too much trouble I can just go somewhere else-"
He stopped her before she began apologizing again.
"No, that's alright. It was your room anyway. Although I don't think it'd be wise to sleep in a room with a giant hole in it."
"Uh, yeah! That's true. I really messed up, didn't I?"
"Don't worry about it too much," Juniper dismissed, waving her hand. "Simple mistake. Nathan has an effect on people. He might like knives a little too much but he's a nice boy that trains his pokemon very hard. He's helped a lot since you were gone, Bianca."
"Oh, really? That's totally awesome! Thanks!"
Riven gave her a polite smile. "No problem. Working around the ranch is pretty cool in and of itself. It's quiet out here too, I can see why people like it."
Bianca gave a wide grin, her embarrassment disappearing.
The professor tapped her on the shoulder and nodded once, motioning for them to follow her. Juniper moved them to another guest room. The interior was fairly barren, but at least it didn't have a hole in it. There were two beds across from another, with two dressers on the side for their clothes.
"I know you want your room back, Bianca, but Nathan's right. That room will be vacated until repairs are done. So here's the guest room. I hope you two don't have an issue sharing a room," Juniper said, raising a finger sternly. "You're both trainers, correct? Please don't break anything else."
Riven and Bianca nodded as they set their belongings down. Juniper's face softened as she turned to the younger girl, curious. "So, how did it go in Aspertia?"
"I saw Cheren again!" Bianca said cheerily. "He said some of the trainers at the school look promising, and the ones I gave their starters to are all from there! Isn't that cool?"
"And how is Cheren doing? He did say that being a gym leader is stressful. How's he now?"
Bianca went a little quiet. "Well, he said some weird things have been going on lately. He also said that Elesa hasn't been doing well, so he was concerned about that. Oh! Aspertia had more security and UFOs too. Maybe something is happening?"
"Team Plasma?" Juniper guessed.
Riven was very, very quiet. So they had no idea either, huh? Given they were in Nuvema town, as far removed from conflict as possible, he did expect a pokemon professor to be kept up to date with things. He listened further, seeing if he could learn anything else.
"Cheren is doing great though. He's excited for the Unova Challenger Rush in a month so he can finally test his old team again. It's going to be back in Nimbasa this time, but I hear that there was an accident there, so they might change it somewhere else. Elesa also doesn't seem to want to host it this time, I wonder why. That's odd of her, she's usually really up for that kind of stuff."
Her childhood companion and strongest pokemon just got murdered, Riven recalled to himself. Being a celebrity and keeping up appearances is hard when you're trying to grieve. She deserved peace to accept the loss and work through the pain, she really did, but for the sake of the region, she had to pretend like everything was fine. He saw her when he left Nimbasa, even through the smiles and the cool behavior, she was a wreck.
Burgh realized it too.
And no one else knew, constantly asking her if something was wrong, reminding her every day that her friend had died and no one cared. A spark of anger flared inside of him, though it was quickly snuffed out. There wasn't anything he could do about that. And it wasn't Juniper or Bianca's fault for not knowing. He listened to the two talk for a while, their voices lulling him to sleep as a whole day of training took its toll on him.
Four days later, Riven was directing his pokemons' usual training when Bianca came running out to him, frantic.
"Nathan! You need to see this! Someone's hijacked the news!"
Riven exchanged panicked looks with his team, returned his pokemon, and quickly followed the girl into the lab. When he entered, the television screen overhead was turned onto the Unovan News, with Juniper and Bianca glued to the screen. The blonde girl was biting her lip, while the professor's green eyes were hoping that this was a prank.
It wasn't.
A black-haired woman was seen on the podium, taking a resolving breath to collect her thoughts, dressed in formal attire. On her jacket she wore a lapel pin, on it the symbol of a team that not only sent Riven's stomach into the floor, but struck Bianca and the professor as well.
Plasma.
Riven immediately thought it was the Sayre followers, as they had impersonated the Plasmas before, and it very well could have been. There was no way to know yet. Hard, but scared brown eyes peered into the camera while the woman prepared herself.
"Hello, people of Unova. Trainers and non-trainers. My name is Sabine Fullon, I was the second in command of the non-violent Team Plasma Coalition. And seven weeks ago, an event took place which tarnished our very name and identity. Many of you have been wondering what has been occurring with the increased security in cities, and many cannot seem to remember."
Oh god. God no. They didn't. The UFOs couldn't have let her speak, they should have been monitoring her and the rest of the Plasmas. How was this happening? If this got out…
He dialed Allen's number frantically, eyes still glued to the screen.
"Seven weeks ago, during Elesa's tour in Nimbasa, murderers wore our uniform to commit deplorable acts, one of which was the murder of Elesa's lead Zebstrika, Lancer."
Bianca gasped, her friend Cheren's words now sinking in. Juniper made the connection a second later, her eyes widening when she looked at the girl in horrified realization. She mouthed something, unsure whether to comfort the girl or sit back.
Riven's jaw clenched. They were too engrossed to notice him calling.
"They framed us, and our leader betrayed our cause for petty scraps of paper and personal gain. I am here to tell you that not everything as it seems. Nimbasa was attacked by foreign terrorists and trainers! Dozens died. And do you guess what the UFOs did? What the authorities did?"
The holo caster rang, Riven desperately hoping Allen answered. Allen picked up, his voice distressed. "Prime? We are in up to our knees right now, what do you-"
"Look at the fucking television, Allen," Riven hissed lowly. "She shouldn't even know what happened! Did your people do this?"
"We're trying to find that out right now! Yates is fucking furious. She wasn't supposed to talk, this was supposed to be confidential, trust me. God damn it… someone must have talked. Everyone's scrambling, if I get an update I'll warn you. Wait… I can't talk now, they got a location on Sabine. Don't do anything reckless, please."
There were orders being given as the line went dead. Reckless? He was in Nuvema, with no way to get anywhere quick enough; he couldn't do anything.
"Shit," Riven whispered under his breath. Sabine continued to speak, clearing her throat.
"The UFOs hired a killer no better than the murderers who attacked Nimbasa to take care of the mess they didn't have the power to stop or prevent. What you're about to see is the kind of person that the authorities have placed their trust in. They cannot protect you."
His heart skipped a beat.
The image went black, and seconds later, another replaced it. Riven could see himself in the plaza, moments after the Plasma impersonators had killed Elesa's security team. Blood splashed and blades rent flesh as he saw his masked self tear through them, cutting them down with a chillingly casual stride. He didn't bother to spare the ones crying in agony either, swiftly ending their lives. At the time, he'd made it look like he was bored to unnerve the others around him, but here and now, the footage just painted him exactly like Sabine was accusing him—a cold blooded killer. He would have disabled the cameras, but Elesa's life hung in the balance and he had to make a choice. Even now he didn't regret that choice.
However, the video was taken completely out of context, and they didn't even bother to show what happened before or after, when everything descended into chaos.
Why? And where did they get the footage? The UFOs confiscated all the tapes.
Miles away, Gale and Will went white as they realized who they saw, the characteristic red blades giving Riven away. They weren't horrified by the sight, they were horrified by what it meant. They knew what had transpired that day and just how badly everything had gone, all of which paled in comparison to what would follow if this took.
Sabine came back to the screen. "And so you see, a mercenary who holds no regard for human life. He didn't even flinch as he tore a man in half! You cannot trust this man, this… thing. He must be brought to justice along with these terrorists. Remember this man and his Doublade, should you find him, bring him to justice, whatever way you can."
Riven's fist went white from the pressure he was closing it with.
"To people watching in Nimbasa, don't you wonder why your memory is hazy? Why you can't focus when you think about that time seven weeks ago? I have remained silent at the behest of the poor excuses for authority we have. But no longer. Our team is done being the pacifists we once were, and needs new leadership. Just like the authorities of this region! They illegally used mass amnesia on all of you, to sweep the events of this under the rug to not incite panic! Are we to believe that a gym leader was almost murdered and no one realized it? Instead of addressing the people they chose to cover it up and make it appear as if nothing happened! Wake up! Even now, you cannot contact your loved ones in other regions, trade is barred! Try it now, and you'll see!"
True to word, Juniper took out a phone, finding the call going to voicemail as she tried to call an associate outside of the region. She stared at the device as it played, her hands shaking. "The call… it-it isn't going through."
"Unova is alone!" Sabine's voice boomed, with it bringing a wave of dread. Then her voice dropped low and foreboding. "A new threat has arrived. A threat the world hasn't gotten yet rid of. We warned you all of the dangers of training. And now it's begun again. Humans misuse the gifts of pokemon, and now the Sayre followers have returned. I implore you, people of Unova, to take caution and remove your trust in the government, for they have failed you. Those years ago in Sinnoh, while gym leaders died and trainers were slaughtered, the government and the officials did nothing. Will you let them do the same this time, and watch this region go down in flames?"
Loud banging was heard as Sabine closed her eyes, wincing with each bang. Pistol shots cracked and booms that sounded distinctively like those of a hyper beam went off. A nearby door was heard getting smashed in, and suddenly three UFO agents apprehended her, the recording still running. There were agonized yells. An operative reached with a gloved hand and shut the recording off.
The laboratory was dead silent as Juniper and Bianca stood in place, shocked. They didn't even notice Riven leave.
Riven rushed back to his room, packing his things in as much of a hurry as he could. Silent fury rushed through him as an urge to find Sabine and drive a blade into her neck intensified by the second. He snarled as he left through the hole in Bianca's room, releasing Emile. With a beat of the wings, he was off.
Upon reaching the skies, Riven unleashed a rage filled scream, his fury drowned out by rushing winds. Removing the Diancie stone necklace from his neck, a kaleidoscope of colors appeared as negativity surged below. In just a manner of minutes, fear overtook an entire region.
Damn it. Damn it all.
Think about the implications of this and what happens when questionable decisions come to light. Try it, it's fun. Thought about it? Are you scared yet?
Mood whiplash is a fine thing.