Pokemon: Nuzlocke
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Chapter 2: A lesson in loss...
Forests around Celadon City
My eyes pop open to the sound of birds singing in the early light of sunrise. I blink several times as everything comes back to me. I sit up suddenly, rolling out of my sleeping bag, reaching down to my belt to feel the six Pokeballs resting there.
"It was all real…" I whisper, my eyes widening in surprise.
There were plenty of times as a kid, watching the anime, playing the games, that I dreamt about living in the Pokemon world. Here, now, it's actually come true. A literal dream come true…
'I need to get back to town to heal Odin and the Weedle I caught.' I think, as I start packing my sleeping bag away.
Last night was a weird situation. Right after I caught the Weedle, I got another alert about something called a Nuzlocke. I racked my brain as I tried to fall asleep about what that was, but nothing was coming to me. I felt like I'd maybe heard it at some point, but it was most likely years ago. Either way, a Nuzlocke seemed to be a set of rules that affected the world I now found myself in. I'd need to figure out the rules and find a way to work with them. Otherwise, I may find myself in a bad situation.
I finish shoving my bag into my backpack and crawl out of the little shelter I'd built. I take a look around, spotting a few different Pokemon rummaging around in the brush around me. I may not be able to catch anything in this area now, but I can definitely come back to train. I pull up the map on the C-Gear and start moving east towards the city. I notice that the forest area above Route 16, slightly west of Celadon, is flashing red on the map. Frowning, I tap the area hoping it'll tell me more. I flinch as a pop up jumps off the screen to float in front of me.
This area is locked for captures! Please collect the local badge to unlock!
'Ah. It's literally just the area I caught the Weedle in, not the entirety of Celadon City.' I think, swiping the popup away.
From the looks of it, it seems that the area around Celadon is made up of six distinct areas. Route 16, and the forests north and south of said route. On the east side is Route 8, the forests north and south of that route as well. Along the outskirts of the city is more forest, but each is a part of one of those forests. It seems that whatever this Nuzlocke is, it isn't quite so restricting as I'd feared last night. If I went further out, south, or even went east, I'd be free to catch more Pokemon as needed. I assumed that would lock those areas as well, though.
Especially looking at Route 8. It's between two different cities, both with gyms. If I lock it down with a catch, will I need both badges to unlock it? Better to be careful, and plan ahead. The last thing I want to do is end up in a situation where I can't handle myself.
'The world may be based on a children's show, but it is still filled with "monsters",' I think, as I make my way through the small forest.
EVENT NOTICE!
An over-leveled Pokemon has gone wild in this area! Be on the lookout for aggressive Pokemon!
I nearly jump from my skin at the sudden alert and pop up. I immediately drop down behind a tree and start looking around for any sight of a Pokemon higher leveled than the average for this area.
'The fuck is this!' I think, as I frantically peer around. 'This game keeps throwing curveballs at me, seemingly changing on a whim. What is an event notice?'
Bing!
An event notice is a notice that a local event is occurring.
I pause, looking at the new pop up. I'm extra confused because I've asked plenty of questions about the game so far, and never received an answer.
'What's a local event?' I ask, the pop up almost immediately replaced with a new one.
Bing!
A local event is a randomized event that occurs locally.
I could see immediately that while receiving some answers, it wasn't going to give them to me easily.
'Damn, fine! What's a fucking Nuzlocke!' I think furiously.
The lack of a pop up is the loudest silence I've ever seen. Somehow that sentence makes sense in context. I shake my head, before carefully moving around the tree where I had been waiting. I move from tree to tree and am getting really close to where I need to get to be out of the forest. Once I'm in the city I should be pretty safe from whatever event is happening. As I'm no more than twenty feet from the edge of the forest, I'm suddenly bowled over by a heavy red blur. I slam hard to the ground, rolling twice, before I stop, resting against a tree.
"Fuck…" I say, pushing myself to my hands and knees.
I look around, trying to see what hit me when I spot what might as well be my worst nightmare.
Spearow
Lvl 13 36/36 HP
A larger than average Spearow is watching me with beady eyes from a branch just a few feet above me. I start crawling away slowly, watching it as I get about eight feet away. I stand up, keeping my eyes on it the entire time. I glance towards my right making sure I haven't been turned around and can see that I'm still roughly in the right direction to get out of the forest. As soon as my eyes move back to the Spearow, it's a little red blur flying at my face.
'Fuck!' I think as I throw myself to the left at the last second, just barely dodging its attack.
I land hard on the ground, but quickly make it back to my feet and take off running. I dodge between trees, but I can hear the flapping of its wings as it quickly catches up to me. I try to dodge again, but the little red bullet slams hard into my back, knocking me forward and off my feet. Thankfully my backpack absorbed most of the blow, or else I may have broken something. I shove myself off the ground, trying to get back to my feet when it slams into my side. I feel a slight crunch as one of my ribs fractures or breaks.
"Gaah!" I scream, rolling on to my back.
The Spearow flies at my face, and I'm swatting at it with my hands, which leads to one of my fingers getting bitten really badly. I swing hard, slapping the Spearow away, but it doesn't even damage the damn thing. I reach down, grabbing the first Pokeball I have available, and click the little button to grow it, and release the Pokemon inside.
"Help Odin!" I yell, as he quickly forms from within the red beam of light.
Odin has just about half of his HP left and looks really woozy on his feet. That doesn't stop him from jumping forward, horn first, to slam into the Spearow as it flies back towards me. His Peck attack hits pretty hard, but not nearly enough to even the odds. As Odin lands again, two more HP drop from his counter. I manage to get to my feet, as the Spearow launches itself at Odin once more. The poor little Nidoran manages to dodge, giving me a moment to think.
'Maybe this will work!' I think, grabbing the second Pokeball from my belt.
I swipe the ball across my C-Gear, registering the Pokemon to me, and immediately type the first name I think of. I rear back, tossing it into the field of battle.
"Go Needle! Use String Shot! Odin, Focus Energy and then Peck!" I yell, hoping to capitalize on using two Pokemon at once.
Needle flashes out within the red light, landing on his tiny little pads. He immediately shoots sticky strings from his mouth, which thankfully catch the Spearow head on. The strands of webbing slow it down enough for Odin, who had focused, to slam into it with a Peck.
CRITICAL HIT!
"Yes!" I yelled, pumping my hand in the air, before grunting from the pain in my side and chest. "P-Poison Sting, Needle!" I yell.
Needle launches himself, his sharp needle sliding right into the wing of the Spearow. The Spearow's HP, which was a little past halfway down, turns the same sickly purple that both Odin and Needle were contending. The Spearow slaps Needle away, as the poison does its first bit of damage. It doesn't drop that far, but Odin slams into it once more, knocking it to the ground.
"Again guys! String Shot, Focus Energy, and Peck!" I yell.
Needle shoots a thin spray of webbing from where he is lying not too far from the Spearow. The Spearow isn't able to react in time and is again snagged by the strands, slowing it down tremendously. Odin runs, launching himself into the air to slam another Peck into the Spearow, sending it's HP down into the red, knocking it out.
Event Battle Over!
Billy Lvl 2 +300 exp (421 till level 3)
Odin(Nidoran) Lvl 7 +160 exp
Level up! Odin is now Lvl 8 and needs 20 exp to level up again.
I drop to my knees, relief rushing into me. I can barely even see through the sharp pain in my side. The pain is nearly constant, throbbing with every beat of my heart, every breath I take. I push through the pain as best I can, turning to find Odin. I spot him laying on his side a half dozen feet away, breathing heavily. His HP has dipped into the red and is still steadily dropping. I grab his Pokeball, returning him as I swipe away the battle over alert.
As Odin is returned to the safety of his ball, I look further past him to find Needle. I spot him a little ways past the knocked out Spearow, and hit the button on his Pokeball to return him quickly. The light shoots out, hitting his tiny little body, the red light glancing off and shattering above him.
'What? Why…' I wonder, looking down at the ball.
I crawl as best I can to him, reaching out a shaking hand to feel his soft bulbous body.
"N-Needle?" I ask, shaking him lightly.
I cough, the sharp pain in my side slamming into me like a freight train as I spit up blood. I fall hard, landing on my already damaged side, my vision fading slowly to black.
"N-Needle...wake up…" I whisper as I fade away.
I never even noticed that his HP bar had hit zero.
Celadon Hospital
"Honey, wake up…" I hear, a soft voice passing through the darkness.
The voice seems almost recognizable, through the haze of sleep. The darkness is thick, almost suffocating, pressing down around me like a thick heavy blanket.
"Billy...wake up baby…" I hear again, the same voice barely filtering through the darkness.
With a snap, my eyes fill with light, the weight of the darkness lifting as I come back to the world of the living. The world is a blur at first, and all I can hear is the soft beeping of a nearby machine. I try to move, but I still feel weighed down.
"W-what? W-here?" I mumble, my tongue feeling sluggish and broken.
"Billy! You're awake, thank goodness." I hear a woman exclaim from next to me.
'Who...oh, my mother…' I think, trying to put together my surroundings.
"Billy, honey, you're in the Celadon hospital. You were attacked...Someone found you not far inside the forest." My mom explained as a nurse starts to adjust things on my other side.
My vision is starting to clear, and my body isn't quite so groggy anymore. I lift my head slightly, looking over at my mom. I move my tongue around and notice that it's no longer all weird and sluggish.
"What happened to Odin and Needle?" I ask, dreading the answer.
"The Rangers that investigated the incident said that you saved your Nidorans life. They said that you must have been in extreme pain, and still managed to return him to his Pokeball before the Poison could do more damage." She explains, looking down at her hands.
She wrings her hands several times, before continuing. "Your weedle didn't make it, Billy, I'm sorry."
Horror and sadness fill my body, the crushing despair causing tears to well up. "But he...he was fine during the battle! I...He…" I stop, not able to even put words to thought.
"The Rangers said that had you not used Weedle to double team the Spearow that you and Nidoran would likely have died." She explains further. "So in a way, he saved your life…"
The shock must have been evident on my face, as she continued. "The Rangers recreated the battle as part of the investigation. They are still trying to find out where the Spearow came from...They appear in the area quite often, but they tend to not be very strong this close to the city. They said it would most likely be another week before they have any real answers."
"A-another week?" I ask, stunned.
"Oh! I'm sorry honey, yes. Your rib was badly broken and had done some damage inside you. The Doctors thought it best to leave you medicated for the week to let it heal without you moving very much." She tells me. "I, well, I know that losing a week right at the start of your Pokemon journey must upset you even more, but you can make up the time…"
She reaches out, putting her hand on mine, squeezing gently. "That is if you still want to continue?"
"I...yeah," I reply lamely.
Giving my hand another squeeze, she stands up. "I'm going to go speak with a nurse, find out when you'll be able to leave. You should be cleared to eat normal food, so I'll grab you a sandwich on my way back?"
"Yes please," I reply, the mention of food makes my stomach clench with need.
A few short hours later I was finally allowed to leave. The Doctors gave me another check over and found that my rib was fully healed, and in the correct placement. My mother had brought my backpack and clothes in from where they had been kept at the front check-in area, so I quickly got dressed. It took me only a moment to notice that the Pokeball containing Odin was missing.
My mom must have eyes like a hawk, as she immediately spotted my rising panic. "Your Nidoran is at the Pokecenter. He was healed, and then returned to his ball till you could come to get him."
"Oh, thank you. Of course, that makes sense." I reply, strapping the belt on completely.
We walked in silence from the hospital to the Pokecenter, the day's events still quite heavy on my mind. Thankfully the walk wasn't quite so long as to become awkward. The doors opened automatically to welcome us in, the noise from all the trainers hanging out inside flowing out to us as we stepped through. I look around, seeing about fifteen to twenty trainers of all ages throughout the center. Thankfully I spot the counter as well and quickly make my way over to it.
"Hi, there! Welcome to the Celadon City Pokecenter! Do your Pokemon need healing?" Nurse Joy asks.
"Hi, um, I believe you have my Nidoran?" I ask her cheerfulness a stark contrast to how I was feeling.
"Oh!" She exclaims, covering her mouth with both hands. "Yes, you must be Billy. I'll be back in just one second."
She bustles off into the back through a swinging door, and I can hear her typing into a keyboard back there. I glance to the side, the black, wide eyes of her Chansey staring deep into my soul.
"Chansey!" It trills, bouncing as it speaks.
"Uhh...Yes?" I reply.
It bounces in place a few more times, it's large body jiggling like it's filled with jello.
'This is such a weird place…' I think as I watch its antics.
The door is pushed back open, Nurse Joy coming out with a small rectangular box covered in a black sheet. She sets it on the counter, a slight thump belaying its size. The noise in the center dies down quickly, filling with a few soft whispers. I feel the need to look around behind me, but I can nearly feel that I'm being stared at.
"Here is your Nidoran, Billy." Nurse Joy says, handing over his shrunken Pokeball.
I clip it to my belt in the first slot, not looking away from her eyes, as I try my best to ignore the silence behind me. She frowns, before motioning to the box under the black sheet. She reaches out, taking a corner, and pulls the sheet off. The box beneath it is a type of granite, or perhaps marble. On the front, an inscription reads 'Weedle', while on the top is a set of three prongs.
"Do you have your Weedle's Pokeball, Billy?" She asks softly.
I nod shakily, as I reach down and unclip the second slot Pokeball. I pass it over to her, trying to see through the tears in my eyes. She hits the button, causing it to grow to full size, before slipping it into the prongs facing me.
"I-is this…?" I ask, my voice a hushed whisper.
"Yes, honey." My mom replies from next to me. "I opted to have him cremated, and placed in an urn."
I nod, reaching out and lifting the heavy urn. I blink heavily, the tears in my eyes clearing slightly as I turn to leave. I stop, almost taking a small step back, but my mom places a hand softly on my back, urging me forward. The Trainers that had before been joyously enjoying their day, talking, laughing, had now lined up on both sides of the path from the counter to the door in silence. As I slowly walk, my Weedles final resting place in my arms, the Trainers bow at the waist as I go past.
"We're sorry for your loss."
A/N: A somber day in the world of Pokemon: Nuzlocke. I hope this chapter goes a long way towards explaining some of the underlying mechanics of the game world. I won't go into a deep discussion now about the rules, how they work, or how it's structured. Not only do I not want to write massive authors note, but I don't want to set anything in stone while I write the opening chapters. At least the first five or so. Because I just know the moment I set any new rule in place, I'll immediately find myself writing the next chapter, and wish I hadn't been so stringent. Instead, I'll set the rules as I go, and we shall build this world together.
Next chapter: Billy's journey starts again, after a major bump. He meets a new friend who has a secret and has a decision to make. Will he find the time to cope with his loss, or will he let it define him? Will he ever figure out that the game doesn't answer questions with cuss words in it?! Find out next time, on Pokemon! Nuzlocke!
