X - new day or 24 hour or more time jump
— - 2 to 12 hour time jump
'Internal speaking'
'Flare mind talking'
"External speaking"
**** Start/End Pokespeek
Galvantula (Female)
Flare/Litwick (Female)
Shay/Dratini (Female)
Pierce/Starly (Male)
Void/Shuppet (Male)
Tamall/Skiddo (Male)
Meredith/Marill (Female)
The faint pop of bones was heard as she stretched her arms high over while seated on Tamall's back. Flare just alerted her that they were less than three sun movements away from that tree they climbed so long ago to get their first look at Matcha. Having just started to continue the trek they were on as Tamall had taken a pretty strong, poison bite from an Ekans earlier. August was mostly done so she didn't want to spend long before trucking back to a nice patch they had found, far from civilization, low on poison types, and with the small grove of sitrus trees.
Really the best thing for them would be to stay at minimum a day, visit the library during the day, do a few dumpster dives at night, a light sleep before dawn and leave. If they ever needed to return to Matcha again Tamall could maybe get there within a day. Plus it's not the greatest place to evaluate the additional rotund they have picked up. Aella was not planning on getting a balloon but he's here now, bouncing alongside Meredith enjoying the slow trotting pace Tamall has set.
How did she end up with a Jigglypuff or more like get a Jigglypuff thrown at her? Well, remember a long time ago when she ran into that parade of balloon Pokemon at the river, the one overly confident Igglybuff. Well, during the past three years he evolved and decided he was not going to be a shy singing fairy but a fighter. A fighter that was going to take on everything, including everything he couldn't take on putting his bunch in danger.
The matriarch, that one loan Wigglytuff, decided enough was enough. Aella was a 'familiar' face and kicked him from the bunch, literally. She knew it was like to be pretty much on your own out here, and Meredith became fast friends so the numbers went from six to seven… eight their numbers went to eight.
Arceus dammit what is she supposed to do with Void? He can't think, he can't feed himself, he can't evolve and she hates that he reminds her so much of where she came from. Pokemon and people that exist for nothing more than to be tools to use. Even though it really isn't his fault. No one can change where or how they're born.
She took a breath, and tried to focus on what she could do; for one, get Jigglypuff a name. So far he has rejected every option since it wasn't a sophisticated fighter name. He also did not seem to appreciate Flare's chosen name for him as, The Combative which Aella thought was hilariously fitting, because his ability is competitive. Two, grab research on trainer and travel equipment and hair dye. Three, Shay needed information on Brutal Swing and was just about to cross the 6 foot line.
Both her screens and Safeguard were about as good as they can get at the moment, Iron Head though not feasible, was formable and Thunder had improved just a touch.
Shay was a physical attacker through and through so getting her to learn Rain Dance or Sunny Day, even with its apparent advantages towards her other kin, she saw it as pointless. She was one who liked to fight solo, although she would still step in to protect her family, solo was often her choice. If the attack wasn't physical or had stupidly high damage like Thunder, or gave her the apparent advantage to get close and hinder as her screens or Leer… her interest thus the ability to learn it would be low.
Galvantula still needed time with her current list, Flare's base was starting to metallise, finally, and Aella is highly expecting her evolution will happen at nearly the same time they obtain total mental connection. It'll give her a buffer from any mental assault by Beheeyem and Malamar Team Rocket have manipulated into their misdeeds.
The heat of August has made her candle learning and teaching Heat Wave all the more possible and as such is doing wonders to Pierce's morale. A summer storm just like the one they witnessed in Gardenia so long ago, advanced his Whirlwind to join the rest of his moves that only needed to be practiced from time to time to keep relevant. This left him with the time to start trying to upgrade his Air Cutter to an Air Slash.
Pierce, thanks to his egg move, is the only one who has some understanding of the fighting type energy, had been left in charge of trying to teach a bouncing ball Brick Break. As of two days ago, there are now two bouncing balls trying to learn Brick Break. On that note, Tamall is keeping a close eye out for Cheri berries as an apology, for sticking two hyperactive souls on that poor bird (plus Aella can't take his glares any longer).
Aella had been blessed with the opportunity to cross out Splash from Meredith's known moves, Tamall's Frustration ebbs away more each day and there is hope by the time spring arrives Return will have replaced it. Aella has also learned that there 'yet to be named', also carries Frustration and though the first therapy session did not go well, she wanted to teach him the difference between positive and negative competitiveness and rivalry. (Having a rival or goal can help push you to do better, but it can be taken too far to obsession and self destruction)
The tree she, Joltic, Shay and Flare climbed to get their first view of civilization, was still a tall healthy Pinaceae tree that looked over Matcha's suburbs. She couldn't help the faint hint of pride of actually knowing that word this visit. Tamall wished to stay out among the trees to work on his perception of movement through the ground and foliage. Meredith was made to stay with him for her Refresh and, her refusal to sit in her ball at this moment and the fact she would be bored out of her mind in the library. A bored Marill was a 'getting into trouble' Marill.
Galvantula was almost tempted to protest staying in her ball. She had come through here last time not in her ball. Aella flatly reminded her that she was a Joltic then, and Flare was not skilled enough in the mind to allow her to follow from rooftops and walls during midday with nigh a second glance from passersby who glimpsed her presence. It was a possibility in the last town they slipped through, acting as a gateway to Gampa Canyon since they only went through in early dawn with many of the buildings made of the same dusty brown clay that wasn't too far off in color gradient, especially in the first rays of light. Shay figured out with the winding of fabric round her scales she could be a 'scarf' but with August's heat it wouldn't make sense.
Aella did not know Jigglypuff well enough, nore have control of his competitive nature to have him out and about in town and Void is…ahhh…Void. So her only companions on the hike down and visit to the library would be Flare and Pierce. (Jigglypuff would only join them when picking his name)
Same flower shop, same light, same donut shop, no -to-cross-the-street this year, probably still liked his donuts though. If she had that thing called money she'd get a chocolate one.
East Matcha Library still had that woody inviting feel. Busy but not crowded and an easy-going sensation kept her goosebumps at bay. She snagged a computer and started her search on basic trainer and travel supplies and branched out to more advanced and specialty stuff leaving Flare to categorize the information. They didn't need to know each item deeply. Just enough to fib and gull any conversation.
The League still didn't have a fourth Elite member, she wondered just how high the bar was. Reports of Team Rocket in Celadon were still just as prominent in the news as they were months ago. What was scary was the reported drop in league activity in the area. It was crazy how brazen they were being with Vermilion stating sightings. Aella sucked in a breath through her nose. That wicked woman that made her existence blabbed on the hope of future plans to expand and move the small outpost closer to the port under the hawk eyes of Lieutenant Surge. Those future plans may very well be happening now. Other than a few new warnings for new trainers there was nothing substantial.
Since he was in his ball he could learn to wait till Aella took a peek at hair dye. One could change their hair color to any they could imagine. There was semi-permanent wet that even had your hair growing in that color and a dry rub version that was lost when wet and was essentially a top coat that stuck to each individual strand and weirdly not your fingers, something to do with skin, cell repellent and hair follicle attractant. It was pretty much all gibberish to her but okay if it works, it works.
Thank goodness they arrived early; the sun was halfway across the sky by the time 'The Combative' (who they were starting to question if he should be called 'The Indecisive' instead) picked his name. Bhaltair, pronounced bal-tar, meaning strong fighter. It was a fitting name.
Flare gave her a quick ping of a reminder that they had yet to spot the librarian. Her past self would have just accepted it with a disappointed huff and left, but her current self had far more confidence. So much so that she could actually go up to a librarian without the fear of being found out of place clouding over her head.
"Hey there was a sweet old lady librarian here the last time I ahh came through." Aella sure did not look 13 (lifestyle nutrition limitations and being only 11 ½ will do that to yea) but with a little mental misdirection and six balls on her belt, it was enough that the unamused gent placing books haphazardly back on the shelf didn't bat an eye.
"Ohh you mean Lena… yea she passed away this spring," The sound that escaped was a cross between a Ohh and a Huh. She was melancholy, not even interacting with her for more than an hour back then and yet she had been an important person.
They'd never know they gifted her a path to a name. Aella, an unusual storm but plenty dangerous in its own right. That she was the first person Aella chose to interact with.
"Yea… you could visit her memorial garden though," Aella looked up to the guy whose name she'd never get, even if it was printed clearly on a tag. He clarified, "Yeah Lena was a big gardener and took in sick and injured grass pokemon so they turned her garden into a memorial."
A quick set of directions and Aella and a wobble from a fancy waxy metallic decoration on her pack and they were out the door. The 'wax' was moved subtly to her wide brim sun hat. Somewhere high above the buildings a Starly called.
Aella knew trees not flowers, unless they were medical, so she had no names for any of the hundreds of flowers she was looking at as she walked towards the archway gate leading into it, but they were pretty. Plenty of people mosied through the weaving lanes of flora. She took note of a few fields specifically for sparring bouts and plenty of grass types to catch though signage stated there was a section where catching was forbidden.
She felt the slight itch to release her own onto the battling fields. Gampa Canyon offered plenty of challenges and it was a chance to test the list of so far identified moves Bhaltair has. Granted Aella didn't see anything promising except Headbutt and Pound but Mud-Slap and Play Rough looked to be properly learned. Everything else…needed work.
'De̶̻͆x,' Aella sighed, her eyes gazed at the technological device attached to some of their hips. A Pokedex was a device given by the League to licensed kids that had turned 14, showing common sense in taking care of their pokemon, having earned a gym badge and generally showed promise in going much further. They could also be bought, not cheaply though. Plenty of parents did since it could work as a phone to keep in touch.
It allowed one to log their pokemons matches. There was nothing wrong with unregistered matches, you just couldn't wager the match and some trainers felt the need to register all their pokemon's matches.
Her footsteps walked her past some of the Butterfree and Pidgeot line and spotting ones from the Oddish (although not a single one of either its final evolutions), Parasect and she shuddered, unable to prevent it, when she saw a Weepinbell and some of its lower evolutions. Seeing Kanto pokemon was not surprising even the Hoppip from Johto didn't stand out.
No, what did stand out was that she was a 100% sure she saw a Sewaddle disappear under a leaf and that's not even the most stand out thing as say the swathes of Roselia walking around. Those were wild pokemon from Hoenn and Unova! Aella never sees wild pokemon from either of those two regions plus Kalos. She thought back to meeting Tamall, at least not in the normal sense. And she knew they were wild because there were signs all over the place stating you had to keep your pokemon in their ball or next to you.
She paused under a flowering dogwood and heard a rattling above and her first thought was Pineco since they for some reason, really don't like people standing under them but no, it's Seedot. For about half a minute she contemplated the thought of catching one. Shiftry weren't a joke when it came to power. They're referred to as a seesaw pokemon. Really powerful against some types but really weak against others. And she had the Leaf Stone to make it happen.
Yet she couldn't offer them a stable, safe life. Anyone that joined her would place a target on their back. She couldn't do that. So she walked on.
With so many Roselia you could only expect lots of Budew. She found a whole flower lane, naturally consisting of only roses, full of them waddling under the bushes and on the path. Bountiful trainers as well, they were great beginner pokemon. Easy temperament, simple care, budget-friendly…weren't they one of those notoriously short list of moves pokemon too? Aella simply watched the interactions then opted to take a less busy and well maintained course.
Her quiet wandering was interrupted when a Budew darted out from a bush barely 3 steps in front of her. Wobbling, a body not made for high speed, across the stone paved path only to faceplate on the exposed road. They didn't look too well off with leaves dyed a pasty yellow and a wilted top bud.
There were pokemon still recovering but they were in an off limits area, which is probably where this one was supposed to be. Aella internally hummed, 'well it would only be right…'
Delicate fingers wrapped around their base and lead to frantic wiggling. She didn't tighten her grip as Aella didn't know their past or triggers and the last thing she wanted was a full-blown panic attack. She brought them flush against her chest, supported on her forearm and that seemed to calm them. She let Flare intrude their mind for a second since Grass types were notorious for their gender ID'ing difficulty. 'Him̶̭̚.'
Aella nodded and got a chance to really observe his state and they actually seemed better than what she originally thought. A line of brow covered the edge of his bloom and the yellowing looked more from a lack of proper sunshine. Tamall's leaves that hung near his under belly had a similar tint but it didn't bother him. At least their flower petal bib had a healthy purple to it.
'…Purple? …' Aella made a 'Huh' sound before knowledge slapped her in the face.
'Waitwaitwaitwaitwaitwait!' She sucked in a breath to have to keep herself from swearing and startling the poor thing. She was holding a shiny Budew.
Why did they have a shiny one walking around out in the open? Did they not hear the warning that she just read online?
There had been warnings for young trainers encouraging them not to catch shinies that she read about shinies and Team Rocket having lately been targeting anyone with one. Even small institutions, like this one, were being encouraged to take precautions. This was not precautions, this was out in the open asking for trouble to show up.
Shinies aren't stronger or innately better fighters, but they do sell for a lot on the right market. The stolen are thrown through harsh obedience training to make them placid, then shipped them out to far lands like Kalos to sell them. Well, those of them that don't end up as a corpse on arrival. They make the most of it of course, selling the deceased scales, feathers, and bones as pricey souvenirs. I mean really where else do you think team rocket gets all its massive funds from?
Flare warbled in her mind, 'Vermilion Port, is int̷͛͜ẽ̴̱ṙ̴͉national sea go trav̴̼͘el,' and this was the connection they were looking for. Team Rocket was not dumb. They weren't collecting shinies without reason.
She found herself gazing at the serenity of the surroundings. Lena probably spent decades building this haven and all it would take is a day-no hours, for this place of love to become a graveyard. Bodies strewn about and ripped open. Red not from the roses but from blood on the leaves. Charcoal and chard flesh, the smell would coat the ground like lazy morning mist.
For one shiny. All for one shiny.
Their brazen mood lately concocted such images in her mind instead of just their stealthy snatching. The best course of action…was foggy. Leaving him here meant a stable life but one wrong person seeing him and posting about him online and this place of peace… Not to mention the hell he would endure when Team Rocket got their hands-on him, there wasn't really an if in that sentence.
By taking him with she wouldn't be adding a target onto Budew's back but she could never offer him an easy life
"That one's gonna be mine!" Aella snapped her head up to some young guy shouting as he stepped down the path they were on. His eyes zeroed in on her position, "Give it to me!"
Okay, this guy only spoke two sentences and he was already on Aella's hate list. Naturally it was only right for her to return his nasty attitude with her own, in the form of very adult swearing.
He grinded to a halt and his eyes widened at the fact that a girl, more than a head shorter than him, knew such a vulgar language. His pint size Furfrou shaking its exorberently designed coat and massive bedazzled collar.
Aella could feel the weight of her sun hat shift forward as a dollop of wax dripped into view. They both held their breath and hoped that would be it, but no this prick goes right back to stomping his feet that the shiny should be his and that he's the better trainer and that he'll prove it and…oh we're going to battle now.
Her nerves rattled for a second but his ire led to an unused Pokedex and his Furfrou trotted front and center with exaggerated steps. Two of the four Aella had on her were immediately out and Galvantula was the safe but probably not best option at the moment, so a whistle to the sky was her answer.
Pierce circled in front but didn't bother landing, "Of course he's mine, you realize quite a few avians don't like to say cooped up," truly how smart was this kid from what she read it was fairly basic knowledge.
She felt a 'whatever' build up in her throat at his childish response but instead encouraged Pierce to move fast. The arenas were set up to keep people from battling like this. The last thing she needed was someone important to show up to place a permanent mark on their record for doing something less than legal only to find out she didn't have a record.
The tips of feathers bloomed red before Agility sent him whipping upward. The poodle gave soft huffing barks. Aella thought it was weezing until they started turning in circles shaking their fur and now Aella was struggling not to weeze in laughter. Captivate, it was using Captivate.
It was a good beginning move except for two things. One, Pierce was not watching and two, Pierce was only interested in females and this Furfrou, based on the large growth between its back legs, was male.
'Needs new, haircut,' Flare informed them and Aella watched the subtle shift in his flight to snap a wing dotted in slicing stars down towards the dog. He shouted something about expensive damage and she would be paying for it. Aella heard stories on the forums about some rich trainers being pompous brats who whined, and complained about everything, even a little rain. And they spent Mommy and Daddy's money as…by the bucket full? Was that right or was it 'waterfall' that she read?
Small yips and hopping were followed by a burst of light that left her bird seeing spots. A light trailed high and the air became heated and sunlight bright. The brat shouted in displeasure at the dancing and mockery at her birds temporarily blindness.
With a bit of scrupulous precision, a Psychic nudge kept him skyborn, circling. It was dubious but so was this fight. Aella's temperature dropped as warped energy traveled down her spine to her arms. 'Again the shouting. He's almost worse than Sebastian with his Vigoroth.'
Budew jolted, making some sort of whine before quieting. 'Do not scare the child please,' Aella could feel the mental notes of response before she was yanked back to the match.
Pierce had purposely flown low, slowly drifting by, cawing. Furfrou huffed like it was above him though was clearly getting agitated. With his Agility off he was just asking to get swiped with a paw…which would end this fight right then and there because Revenge is fighting type, "There there! Hit it with our staller!"
Their 'staller' was the Furfrou having the audacity to throw Baby-Doll Eyes followed rapidly by a Thunder Wave he was too close to have any hope of dodging. Okay so the brat was smart, "High to the sky Pierce!"
"I'll show you why I own the courtyard, Giga Impact!" Nevermind the brat is not smart. As epic as it would be to take him down with the one hit of Revenge, Giga Impact was a lot. Granted, it was clearly learned through a technical machine and Furfrou had a very crude build up, it would still be like smacking into a brick wall.
"I guess with the Sunny Day in play, he can work on Heat Wave." And she was quick to relay this information to hers soaring above. It was nothing more than a really hot Gust but altering the wind current temperature required practice and knowledge about how heat and thermals work. Sunny Day sped up the progress by giving him warm air to work with.
Frufrou finished charging his Giga Impact and trotted forward only to stop moments later looking up at his target, shifting his eyes left and right before looking back at his owner and Aella could practically hear the words dancing in his head of 'how exactly am I supposed to hit that?'
"I'm just not sure how well that plan was thought through," she yelled, relishing the chance to return his mocking. He gave a pitiful angry response but hey, it wasn't her fault he was treating an aerial battle as a ground battle and very obviously losing because of it. They tried Swagger but Pierce just turned his eyes upward at the shout. Not once were the shocks running up and down his system enough to bring him down. Flare barely needed to assist in keeping him aloft, Galvantula's waves were far more intense.
The poodle started to pant and stumble at the waves of heat. He stood tall at the call of Dark Pulse and Aella correctly guessed half of his repertoire was learned through a technical machine.
It was already struggling to build up even one Dark Pulse, never mind the wide angle corkscrew descent Pierce was taking, leaving the dog struggling to gauge the distance. Wings carried a thin coating of energy yet her tuned eyes could see its fraudulent nature.
The brat couldn't spot it the first time he couldn't spot it the second time. Furfrou used Endeavor and she could hear the noisy pompous guy practically singing that this was why he always wins.
Aella just gives a ruthless grin and hollers, "Revenge!" and he could only watch, the color draining from his face, as Pierce twisted backwards into a front flip to grip his fur. The poodle was brought as high as he was tall before being violently released talons ripping through white fur staining it red.
There was silence from the brat when his dog didn't get up, "I suggest you head to the pokemon center now," she kept her voice eerily level. Pierce squawked when he was recalled suddenly. She'd apologize for that later. This was not a situation where they could afford to be hampered by Thunder Waves effects.
Aella held her tongue when the scare tactic didn't work. He just screamed at top volume on her cheating and 'Starlys can't know Revenge' speal. This was getting out of hand quickly, they needed to leave but she still had to do something about the Budew.
'Catch, take with, ball, wạ̶̄n̸̖̓t̴̯̆s he wants come, with, talk to, unders̸̪͋t̵̤͐and danger, area left if, skittish, valiant,' with each word Aella's hand moved towards the two spare balls on her belt. Placed to simply give the look of her being a teenager then that of someone looking under the age of ten with her height.
"Were having a rematch and I'm going to make sure you don't cheat you cheatin‐yeah pull out your next stupid‐what are you doing-no that's MINE! It wasn't even caught yet!? That is mine mine, IT'S MINE!" His emotions and words changed in flashes as screamed and raged in horror at the sight of her fingers clasping a pokeball from her belt only to tap it against the bud of the shiny in her arms. The ball shook in her hands as he continued to yell enough that his throat would be sore tomorrow. The click was drowned out but the stilling and button flash gave away a successful capture.
His screaming and stomping turned into charging forwards to take it himself. Aella's fluid shift placed her in a stance for a nasty hook to the jaw. It never happened. Instead some adult trainers grabbed the brat roughly by the shoulder. Yanking all the kids' momentum to turn to face him, "You need to stop," their tone was intense, assertive and straight to the point, "Your yelling is scaring all the pokemon in the area and you cannot be attacking other people. Furthermore this is not a battle zone."
Gloves for gardening hung off his belt and Aella could smell the mulch on his jean covered knees. He carried the standard six pokeballs so not League. She wanted to have a Flare to pry on whether or not he was a traveling trainer or just one who worked here but that would require less distance and really she didn't want to get closer to the brat.
He swore at the guy, leading to a raised eyebrow, and screamed pointing at Aella saying she stole his pokemon, "I found, convinced and caught him first," she muttered, holding up her catch.
The guy looked down at the brat he still had in his grip, "Well there have it. The pokemon has been caught, it's hers now. There's probably plenty of others of the-"
"NO I WANT THAT ONE," this kid screamed trying to wrench his arm away from his savor of getting a hook to the face but when that didn't work he started stomping the guys foot earning a hiss of pain and a shove to keep the kid within his grasp, but at arms length, preventing him from trying that again.
There was a sigh and restatement that 'the little lady' has already caught it and probably doesn't want to trade it either so he has to go find a different one. The words did nothing but incite his tantrum further. More walked over and with his increasing demands on how that Budew would be his in a description that was all very closely aligned to what Team Rocket does. Even being as socially inept as she was, Aella could feel the growing agitation among the group.
'Split,' Yep Aella agreed. They needed to leave now. This was going to draw an official. There were so many things that could be done that she did not want to deal with. So with the ensuing shouting match, she took that as a distraction and bolted.
Her sun hat flew back to hang by the string around her neck. Watchful eyes observed her retreating path from it, paying close attention to any other eyes that watched too close. Alleyways and side streets were her friends in a big but empty sidewalk town.
With the sun lower, but still bright, many we're going home leaving computers open in the library. That left ease in printing papers on the Budew line where, other than the final evolution needing a specific stone and their type, she honestly didn't know much about them. They were rarely seen outside contests.
'Leave, ing town, ?, bins check, ?'
'Not worth it.' Aella lets her mind voice back, and don't think she didn't notice the lack of distortion that had been appearing in Flare's mind's speech lately. It wasn't the only oddity she had spotted as of late, but she won't speak of such things, not until Flare's mind completely enveloped hers.
The moment they were properly surrounded by trees Aella had her First out and she scurried among the foliage above to retrieve the mouse and goat. Her deep ties with the candle made informing of their situation silent and quick. As smart as it would be to leave Aella didn't expect the brat to come this far, and she couldn't in good conscience leave the Budew's home without a proper talk of what it truly wanted to do.
**** and a perspective switch to Budew
Budew knew when he rematerialized he wouldn't be in the same place, yet for some reason he didn't expect there to still be greenery around him. He was told whatever life he lived now, going with them wouldn't lead to a more glamorous life. And staying due to his color he'd put the entire area in danger. His color, his dislike that left him an outcast, he may not be treated well by his podmates but he didn't want to be the reason for their demise.
Nice little lady that had picked him up had sat down just out of reach of him. She set her hat down and the decorations bubbled moving fluidly like some sort of slime. It gathered together becoming a flameless candle. That was the warped one that spoke through the mind of situations beyond his knowledge and tried to place words in ways so they could be fully understood, the truth and false never shrouded.
The flier with gray feathers, a different race then those of the tan race that Pluck at his and his podmates buds either for the cotton that grows on some but not his or nectar dew that also drips from them but does not drip from his. They-no he, the feathers were male framed (only pokemon or avid humans who spent years of study could identify gender by looks and not genitals), twitched as shocks still traveled down his frame. He'd seen humans give or brush a pokemon caught in paralysis inducing sparks to remove them. But she did neither, only apologize for the sudden recall.
The frown lengthened across his leafy face and he glanced to her bag laying face up, 'The Miss can't remove The Beak condition only have things for dangerous poison levels. My Liege and The Loud, not here now. Will fix when arrive, they arrive soon.' Budew turned his face that was pretty much his entire body to the silent mind speaker. Their use of warped energy to speak was so chaotic sounding compared to the fluent Psychic speech.
The Budew didn't like it but the bird, Pierce seemed hardly bothered by it, "So this is your meaning of not glamorous life and you answered my thought‐"
'Apologize thoughts on surface connection still there from noon day,' He had to stand there and process that sentence. She used the word 'connection' both for 'surface connection' and 'connection still there', odd but it is a warped one.
'The Miss want to assure you wish travel with us. Situation led to rushed decision. Know our life hard, survival foremost and gain target if found by Team Rocket.' Budew nodded his body yes he got some information like shinies being targeted and what staying there and being found potentially meant. The ghost's words pointed to more history with this infamous group but they lacked the time for such things when the fight wrapped up.
The ghost, asserting itself as named Flare and being her vassal relayed his wish to know more to his Miss.
—
It was definitely a past. Budew didn't know how it compared to other human pasts (he wasn't given the opportunity to learn much aside from a few grass types who took pity on him and taught him a few things) yet it definitely carried the weight of being more out there in terms of what normal human pasts should sound like.
There were temporary interruptions with introductions of My Liege, Galvantula, a spider of electric proportions, The Hoof, Tamall, a type matching one of his own with a strangely heavily mobile form and The Loud, Meredith, a very overly exuberant aquatic. There were more but distance from human settlements would need to be in place before they could join them.
Most of them had names and he could choose one too if he wanted one. The problem was he didn't know if he wanted one and yet all of that was besides the point of this slew of information.
This group they ran from was not nice and would never be nice so staying here in Matcha he quickly decided was not an option. Budew could live out in the wild but he did not feel brave enough for that, even if Flare stated multiple times his choice to selflessly leave his safety for the safety of those who never really treated him with kindness was truly brave, a soldier with a lot of Valor.
Budew was young but not so young that he knew with proper kindness by now he would have evolved. He knew so little yet he wasn't so little and still they were willing to take him in and teach him what they could. He would pay them back with what bravery he could.
**** and perspective switch back to Aella
Flare stated his final decision while the sun beat warm on her left. Though his need to pay them back felt a bit much, she graciously accepted his desire along with him joining the family.
X
Budew wasn't far off when he said he didn't know much as they found out early the next morning. Grass Whistle, Mind Reader and Grassy Glide. The third one was quite the surprise since it required being tutored. Apparently the story behind that one was his Poison Point earned him a win against a Cottonee giving him their place in a tutoring session by a Leavanny.
And you know what the other kicker is: the first two are egg moves, "Well at least he has all his egg moves unlocked," it wasn't really the greatest thing to hear considering an egg move was usually unlocked in 1 of 2 ways; accidentally during training or under an extremely stressful situation. The latter sounded far more likely considering Flare's interpretation of his past.
Aella planned to start him working alongside Tamall but he decided he needed to start by working on his own three moves on his own, to be more exact just Grassy Glide because the other two required a second pokemon to improve on.
'Synthesis, ?, Tutor, The Valiant done,' a paper of Budew's current evolution move list swirled around a flameless Flare, she learned her lesson the first time that fire burns paper. The remnants of that lesson still showed in the edges of Galvantula's evolution move list.
"Yea that was my other line of thought but Pierce really needs a break from trying to teach two exuberant balls of energy Brick Break and Water Sport would be really useful plus the oddity on that move and his evolutions," the shaking of papers was heard behind her as Flare brought the other ones to the air, "Roselia and Roserade can't learn Water Sport."
The blips of endless confusion mimicked her own, "I don't know and I'm pretty sure the only answer we're going to next time we hit a city is its going to be that scientists don't know either," Aella grumbled, shuffling to the right as Galvantula came bruising by with Shay hot on her legs sailing by at speeds that seemed impossible for a legless creature.
She'd let her own continue working on their current choice for another sun movement but then they had to get moving. They needed to take that clearing. It had everything they needed bountiful food for fall and protection from the cold winter winds.
X months have gone by
The crunch of freshly fallen snow was unnecessarily loud under stolen Team Rocket boots. It was after another large snowstorm having passed through the area leaving thigh deep fluffy powder.
With stretchy pants, regular jeans and Flare, Aella was able to keep the freeze off her skin. A sweater and gloves were really not enough for the middle of winter but again Flare came through as thinly spread hot wax on her back and chest. Shay assisted in her 'scarf form'. She basically just hung around Aella's neck wrapped in a woolen scarf as her disguise.
Tamall had never seen snow and enjoyed the frosty stuff for about four days before being informed that, "No, the temperature will not be getting any warmer for a long time, just colder from here."
The arena they had meticulously cleared for their shorter kin to practice in was buried again under breezy powder, "At least it's not the heavy wet kind," she sighed, releasing everyone (minus Void) but her first four who were the exception towards the required nighttime recall. Flare could not keep everyone warm and translated Galvantula's complaints on how hard it was to make a sturdy hammock that wouldn't snap from frost was exceedingly difficult, adding more weight did not help.
—
"Okay that's enough space to work with. Galvantula, Shay, Pierce, you'll start by running through your list, except fire move, no point in this weather. Pierce I want to see if we can make some more progress on Air Slash," Pierce rocked side to side. Ever since the weather got cold, progress on Heat Wave completely stopped and Flare could not expend her energy wastefully. Hunting was hard in the dead of winter, limiting souls. That was just going to have to wait till spring.
"Meredith and Bhaltair the rocks we'll be your target for your Iron Tail and you will be switching between Headbutt and Zen Headbutt. On Flares signal you will change to sparring to practice your Play Rough and Brick Break techniques," Aella looked to Meredith, "will see if today your Play Rough can be counted as learned. And if everything goes well we might be able to count both of your Brick Break as learned."
'If time Icy Wind, night.' The ghost's mind words were easily broadcasted over all of them.
"Good point both of them have made significant progress with the cold aiding them," Bhaltair had already learned a wobbly version of Icy Wind; he improved it at frightening speeds with the arrival of winter. Bhaltair and Meredith got along really well. So much so that Meredith learned the bare basics of Play Rough within two weeks of him joining the group, and the move Water Gun was rubbed off onto Bhaltair move list in return. He would have probably learned it as well by now but there was a certain thing that's been mentioned more than six times now called the weather.
It was strange having the weather have such a heavy effect on move training. But a lot of things were different this winter compared to the previous two. This year they had no mentor to turn to and no shelter when things got bad. No big Celadon city to sneak into to search the bins for wasted food.
Galvantula's electricity and bug, Pierce's flying, fighting and normal, Flare's mental moves, fire and the feast of souls in the form of live fish brought in by the dock workers. None of those things were affected by the cold and snow. Meredith's water moves were and Bhaltair recently gained one too. Now Pierce had Heat Wave and energy couldn't be wasted.
Aella had two grass types too now. Tamall had a thick enough coat that it wasn't affecting him as horribly as it could. But then there was her little Budew. Boy, he was trying hard even if he had to stay in her arms most of the time as of late to keep frostbite off his leaves.
No longer able to run around for Grassy Glide, the little bud pushed Water Sport till the potential danger of freezing water in his bud became too high and Aella commanded him to stop till spring. The bud then changed to babbling with Tamall, Pierce, Galvantula and any one else. Refusing to yield on the difficulty of learning Synthesis. Exhausting himself in his attempts to learn Swift. And burning himself out in the process of Flash. They were all terribly weak but there.
His determination to work as long as the rest even though he was far younger and far more strained by the cold was a valiant effort.
Valor is what they called him at times, a name he took to with pride.
Aella nodded to Valor and he returned it with vigor. Needing no direction she moved to her last, "Tamall, you'll continue to work on traveling through snow. I wanna see if we can get an improved Retaliate. If we can, we'll move to the next step of learning the beginnings of Take Down before winter ends."
She clapped her hands signaling their start.
—
With winter the sun became low fast. Aella blinked. She was feeling something lately. Soon. The feeling of soon, very soon. She knew what but didn't know what. It was subconscious, internal, beyond. She wanted to face it, subconsciously she started doing just that. Flare, Aella faced Flare. She had placed herself on a rock above the snow, the metals in her base shining. Her mental ghost's distortion was all but gone and the bond was stronger than ever. Tightening, tightening, straining, pressing, compresing?, sealing. Past the point of no return. And she liked it.
Evolution was eminent. Aella could feel it. The metal her vassal had meticulously collected was merging with her wax. They had seen one evolution in their life, Winnie's. Her firsts/My Liege was missed and will be forever forlorn. But this would not be missed. It would be seen, would be felt. They were they, they were she and she was she. Minds fully connected but souls separated, memories separated, different lines of thought but a complete bond meant the ability to see them to share them. Two and one. Both separate entities but together.
Aella was always good with spatial awareness. She always had a pretty good idea where her own were, even when she couldn't see them. Not though, she knew exactly where they were. Her synchronization with Flare led to Aella seeing the bonds she made with each of her family. This knowledge wasn't hidden either, her family knew she knew. It was an open acceptance.
A lamp floated on amalgamation of energies, far different than the identical methods then the Ghosts in the Shadow of the Tower imploy. Psychic kept her floating, Ghostly let her flow and Dark snapped in and out of existence to regulate the odd form of moment. Imperfect, new, untrained there would be quite a bit of work needed for her to move, fluidly and effortlessly.
Tied but choosing not to be tied to the ground with a Telekinesis stone. She without grace bobbed and waved to Aella's side. The connection altered taking on something more and energy swirled like eddies round her frame. She took in a breath and felt it enter like air in her mouth and throat as if it wasn't already home in her head.
Aella blinked yet it felt slow. No, she was just processing the world a little faster. Ghosts were one of the mind, naturally it had to be something they excelled at. The return for those benefits meant Flare could never really be torn from this mortal plane, as long as Aella lived of course. It was all around a great deal with one flaw. Flare must stay fed or she would drain Aella's own life from her soul. Why else did the League put so many warning labels on forming a bond with a Ghost.
She breathed again and raised a hand, energy of distortion flared and a Will-O-Wisp appeared in said hand. Almost as if Aella herself conjured it. She knows there's more and is excited to test the limits but for right now they will simply start with growing used to it. "We have plenty of time to learn." Aella said with chilling glee, her eyes glinting at the possibilities.
Chapter 17 will be released on July 1 2024
I am back, and I will be changing my upload schedule to an every other month schedule. This is due to the changes in my work life.
Thank You for reading
