Disclaimer: I don't own fate series nor pokemon, they are property of Alaya, Arceus, and ultimately Zelretch.
And with that words said, I welcome you back dear spectator to my reality marble, where all my ideas come to life, enjoy.
As the first rays of the sun from the morning started heating my face, I quickly started waking from my slumber. The first thing my eyes saw was not the familiar comforts of my room, nor was the shed where I sometimes would stay the night when I got too busy tinkering with machines or practicing my magecraft. What greeted me instead was a vast expanse of wilderness, devoid of any signs of civilization. The lush green forest stretched out in all directions.
After a long day of physical activity, sleeping on the hard ground left me feeling stiff and sore. Hoping to relieve some of the stiffness in my body, I started to do some stretching.
After finishing the light movements, I inhaled deeply. That was a mistake. An already familiar pungent scent was the first thing to enter my nostrils, making me feel instantaneous regret smelling the air.
The nauseating smell came from the fruit Ralts had spread through the perimeter to act as a repellent for unwanted visitors. Although it had lost some of its potency compared with tonight, the smell was still enough to make me cringe.
Thinking about Rats, I looked to the side from where I had slept, and there she was, resting beside where I had slept. Every so often, her breathing would abruptly accelerate, and her feet would twitch; sometimes, she would mumble a soft sound reminiscent of her name.
It was clear she was having a nightmare.
An impulsive part of me wanted to wake her up and put an end to her bad dream. But a more rational part of me pointed out that she would probably need as much sleep as possible. It was preferable for her to continue sleeping through the nightmare if it meant she would have more energy to tackle the day.
Walking away from her, I decided to stop wasting daylight and start making this day productive. "First things first, I need to attend to the problem with my magecraft," I thought to myself as I settled on top of a boulder with my legs crossed. Closing my eyes, I began my search for the preexisting circuits in my body, but it proved to be a futile endeavor. Despite diving deeper and deeper, there was no trace of them to be found.
After exhausting the safest options, I prepared myself to convert some of my nerves into makeshift circuits. They were unreliable in combat, as a great deal of attention was needed to keep them from irreparably damaging my nervous system.
But at least with them, I would at least be able to trace and reinforce a weapon that, in turn, I could use to defend myself.
If Rin knew that I was going to turn back to cannibalizing my nerves, she would be beyond irate; however, taking this risk was necessary to ensure the safety of me and my companions.
It was too dangerous to use them in direct combat, but at least with them, I would be able to trace and reinforce a weapon beforehand that, in turn, I could use to defend myself.
closing my eyes and taking a deep breath, I focused on my breathing, letting my thoughts drift away as I cleared my mind. Little by little, my senses shut down; the rustling of leaves in the wind started to fade; I couldn't feel my clothes brushing against my skin, the heat of the sun, or the chilly morning wind; every sense gradually vanished. Until I couldn't get any sensory information about the world around me anymore,
Only then could I feel it; I wasn't able to put it into words. It was something that was inherently in the world but couldn't be accessed through sight, hearing, touch, or any other sense; it simply transcended our flawed mortal perception.
It was intertwined with reality so tightly that it seemed frankly impossible for one to exist without the other, but they did were separate. In the same way that a blueprint is an essential part of a building without necessarily being part of it, the world of ideas is an essential component of reality without necessarily being part of it.
And so, my consciousness, which found itself trapped in this limbo between reality and the world of ideas, I willed them, vestiges of the world of ideas to start moving, and by doing so, they unavoidably changed reality.
As the mystery actualized in the real world, my sensorial deprivation was abruptly cut short by the apparition of a pain that didn't travel through my nervous system but came from my very soul, traveling all the way to my brain.
That was not a problem; the rest of the process didn't need so much concentration anymore; it was just to endure the agonizing pain while keeping the maturing nerve circuit stable.
Or so it should have been, before I knew it, the recently created circuit got out of control starting to greedily suck energy from the surrounding area.
Said energy was unlike anything I had felt before. I didn't know how or why, but the energy currently entering my body wasn't like my world's mana; it was similar in nature but ultimately different.
The energy continued uncontrollably flowing inside me, only to be violently expelled from my body. This cycle continued for a while before starting to recede. The continuous flow got slower and steadier, making the pain much more bearable.
After what seemed an eternity, the energy exchanged between me and the world stabilized but didn't disappear. It continued slowly and steadily, moving the energy inside and outside of my body. It was still painful, but only mildly.
After pondering for some time, I decided to try and do some thaumaturgy. I knew it was beyond stupid; I almost just died a few seconds ago. But something inside of me told me that it wasn't going to kill me, and I was ready to bet my life on that feeling.
Without wasting any more time, I tried to trace something from my reality marble. I immediately felt the energy leaving my body with a spike of pain. and it failed. It wasn't that the mystery didn't actualize; the energy flowed through all of my body and went through the seven steps of tracing, and the result of all that was nothing.
Frustrated, I immediately tried to use a different spell, but I couldn't control the energy to do so. For some reason, the entire flow of energy in my body was perturbed after trying to trace something; I had to wait for a second before it stabilized again, allowing me to manipulate it once more.
During the following hour, I dedicated myself to exhaustively researching how this strange energy worked.
From it I learned various things; the first was that once the energy was used for something, it would upset the flow of the rest of energy in my body, making me unable to cast any other thing; The second thing I discovered was that I actually have a limited pool of energy it naturally restitutes to a certain limit where the amount of energy that gets inside my body is the same that gets out. And the last and most infuriating one was that outside of structural analysis and projection (in a limited way), none of my other spells seemed to work.
Before I could start another round of research, a soft voice echoed in my head, "What are you doing?"
I turned to look at the recently awoken Ralts, who was curiously staring at me from under her bangs when I immediately noticed the strange smell she gave off, it was that of a serene winter forest under the light of the moon. "It seems I have at least recovered my magic perception."
"I was training," I answer shortly to the expectant Ralts.
"What is training?" she telepathically asked, slightly tilting her head, making me give her a look of disbelief.
At my stare, she started shifting, trying to escape from my sight, as if she had done something wrong. "Sometimes I forget that we are from different worlds with how easy communicate with her is"; I decided to quickly explain to her what training was, before she fainted from embarrassment, "Well, it's when you do something over and over again to get better at it, for example, If you train your muscles by doing series of repetitive movements, they grow stronger."
As soon as the word "stronger" escaped my lips, Ralts' attention snapped to me as her now visible eyes stabbed my figure; in them, I could see shock akin to that of someone hearing the secrets of the universe. as proof of her ongoing mental break down the scent she was giving twitched a little.
"You can get stronger just by just doing the same over and over again?". She asked, skeptical about what her ears had just heard.
"Yes, though it's not exactly as you say it, there are limits at how strong you can get for example…" I tried to correct her misconception, but it was useless; she stopped listening once I said yes.
"Train me, please" she pleaded "make me stronger, strong enough to never be afraid again, strong enough to fight, to fight against this unfair world" her voice reverbed in my head with a determination I haven't heard in her voice since we met. Gone was her typical shy demeanor, and in her eyes, a flame burned with determination.
An image of my past flashed through my mind's eye, a little red-haired boy with an expressionless face asking a slim and tall black-haired man, "Please, old man, teach me magic." I couldn't avoid finding the similarities between both scenes.
"Leave it to me," I replied, feeling a sense of purpose ignite within me. "I'll make you the strongest Pokémon that ever lived." At my words, Ralts' face brightened like the sun.
The emotive moment was abruptly cut short by the loud sound of a stomach rumbling, making the normal shy self of Ralts come back in full force.
As if trying to retort to the previous noise, my stomach also rumbled, complaining at the lack of food, making my face heat a little.
Clearing my throat to break the awkward silence, I brought up the issue of our empty stomachs. "Any ideas on where we can find some food?" I asked, hoping that Ralts might have some source of food she could share with me.
She nodded, pointing in a specific direction. "There's a stream over there, and we can also find some berry trees along the way."
And so, we set our way to the stream...
-scene end- As we ventured further into the dense forest, time seemed to fly by quickly. Following Ralts' guide, we stumbled upon numerous fruitful trees, each offering a different kind of exotic fruit. I made sure to pick a great variety of them, after all, I would have to separate the ones that were safe to eat from the ones that weren't.
With my jumper serving as a makeshift basket, I filled it to the brim with an assortment of colorful berries from various trees.
To be safe, on my other hand, I held a long and sturdy stick, prepared to defend myself against any wild creatures that might cross our path.
Ralts, on the other hand, cradled a yellow fruit from a peculiar tree in her two armless appendages. Its putrid smell wafted around us, and I assumed it was to help mask our scent from any potential predators lurking in the forest.
As we navigated through the dense forest, we did not follow a direct path. When I inquired about this with Ralts, she explained that it was too risky to venture into other pokemon territories. They tended to be really territorial.
Sometimes, we would even have to take a detour, making our path even more haphazard. because of the presence of other pokemon that we were able to perceive thanks to Ralts' ability to feel emotions, and my ability to sense magic through smell.
After some time, I decided to ask her something that had been bugging me since last night. I knew that a forest infested with dangerous creatures wasn't the safest place to talk, but I couldn't help but ask anyway.
"Yesterday you mentioned non-pokemon" I started, being careful to keep my voice low "are those non-pokemon similar to me?" I asked, hoping to find some clue about other humans in this world, or if they existed at all.
"I don't know, sorry. You are after all the first non-pokemon I have seen in all my life," her soft voice sounded in my head.
"So there isn't any clue about where other humans are or if there are any at all."
"I am starting to think I am the only human in this whole world."
On second thought, it wasn't so strange that there weren't any other humans.
What were the possibilities of humans even existing here? The life forms that inhabited this world could have followed an entirely different evolutionary path than those on Earth, or they could have been created by a divine force beyond my comprehension. It was even possible that life had spontaneously arisen here without any outside intervention at all.
It would also explain why I haven't seen any earthly animal, plant, or insect here. It was entirely possible that they simply did not exist in this world, and if they did, they probably would have gone extinct long ago in the fierce competition against the pokemon.
As I continued pondering about my situation in this world, a soft gurgling started making its way from the direction in which we were going. The forest started thinning out and the vegetation was a tad different from the one we had been seeing through our way here
We followed the sound's directions, and it didn't take long before we got to its origin. The stream, if it could be called that, was wider than I had imagined. Its waters lazily flowed, making a soft sound as they continued their course.
The water was crystal clear and shallow near the coast, allowing us to see the bottom, but as I looked toward the middle, it was so deep that it wasn't visible anymore.
But what really surprised me about the scene was not the river or the breathtaking scenery, but the vast array of Pokémon congregating in the area. My heart raced as I contemplated grabbing Ralts and making a run for it. But as if sensing my dismay, Ralts reassured me with a calming voice in my mind.
"Don't worry," she spoke softly, "we won't be attacked here. Nobody wants to offend the king of the river."
"King of the river?" I asked incredulously.
"He's a very powerful Pokémon that inhabits this river," she explained. "He doesn't like loud noises, so as long as nobody initiates a fight, he won't wake up. And trust me, nobody wants to see him awake."
I took a deep breath and let Ralts' words sink in. It was hard to believe that all these Pokémon were peacefully coexisting in one place.
"Is it normal for Pokémon to coexist like this?" I asked Ralts.
"Not really," she answered. "Pokémon tend to be very self-centered, and the stronger they are, the more they isolate themselves from their peers. That's why you don't see packs of Pokémon in their last form."
"Last form?" I asked, intrigued by the unfamiliar term.
"We Pokémon evolve into different forms as we get stronger," Ralts explained. "Sometimes it changes our appearance, and sometimes it does not. It's a natural process of growth and development."
I hummed at her answer as I continued watching the pokemon near the river; some of them were similar to animals from Earth, like a cream-furred foal with a flame mane or a bipedal blue-skinned turtle with a furry tail and ears.
While others were like nothing I have seen before, like a white furball with legs and arms and a strange blue-skinned reptilian with spots and a big bud on its back, this would definitely be a paradise for magus, who would do whatever it took to get their hands on these strange creatures for research.
I quickly noticed that I was not the only one watching them; they were also cautiously looking at us, more specifically in my direction.
Without paying much attention to them, we made our way to a vacant area. Once we arrived at a more isolated place, we took some time to rehydrate ourselves and wash the dirt from our bodies.
Afterward, I proceeded to analyze the fruit that we had gathered on our journey, separating the edible from the poisonous ones. I was pleasantly surprised to discover that the majority of them were edible.
After discarding the ones that weren't apt for consumption and washing the remaining ones, I also collected some stones and analyzed them, searching for the ones that would be useful for later. At my side, Ralts seemed lost in her thoughts, alternately eyeing the other pokemon and the center of the river.
"We need to get out of here quickly" her voice sounded quite alarmed in my head, I didn't even hesitate before picking up all my things, scooping her in my arms, and starting to do a mad dash as far as I could from the river.
When I was about to enter into the thick of the forest, a loud splashing sound assaulted my ears, making me instinctively turn my head to look at the source of the sound, there I could see a giant serpentine-like dragon. Its body was covered by vibrant blue, large scales. Its underbelly was a lighter shade of blue, and it had sharp, pointed fins on its back, tail, and under its chin.
It started attacking indiscriminately at every pokemon with a speed that seemed unthinkable given its enormous body. But I didn't stay to watch; that would have been too dangerous. I just continued sprinting along the path we had previously taken, leaving behind the cacophony of battle sounds and the piercing cries of suffering of the pokemon who were caught by "the king of the river."
I didn't really know how to feel about these pokemon being brutally murdered; a little part of me wanted to try and save them even though I currently didn't have any chance against that giant snake, but another part of me considered that this was just their way of life. Some day one of those pokemon that run away would become strong enough, and then it would do the same, continuing the cycle. This was just the course of nature; they were guided through a path of bloody evolution.
A deep voice inside of me questioned if I would have also run away if instead of pokemon they were humans if I had stayed and put my and Ralts life at risk to try to save the life of some strangers or if I would just abandoned them to their own devices.
To save a couple of humans or to keep my partner safe, I gritted my teeth as my brain forced me to weigh both options. On one side of the scale, I had the option to keep chasing my dream of being a hero, but the price would probably be my life and Ralts's; on the other side, I had the option of prioritizing Ralts's survival. But it would be hypocritical of me to take the second option; wasn't I, after all, leaving all those pokemon behind? If Ralts was capable of behaving like a human, wouldn't it also mean that all of those pokemon were the same? The guilt was starting to become unbearable the more I thought about it; I really wanted to go back...
"Don't worry, he doesn't normally go far from the stream." Ralts must have sensed my dismay as she tried to reassure me, "And if he comes for us, I will protect you." At those words, I couldn't help but blink. Why would she do that? I wasn't able to understand what she found in me that was worth protecting.
Her words took me back to my past, as it was starting to become a habit lately. This time the scene wasn't from my childhood but from the holy grail war, the image of a certain blonde knight, about the partnership we formed, the battles we traversed, and how in the end I have failed her.
I couldn't let the same thing happen again, to allow my desire to be a hero to put my partner at risk. With a newfound determination, I quickened my pace toward safety, pushing my troubled thoughts to the back of my mind.
-scene end-
By the time we reached our safe haven, the sun had already positioned at its highest point, signing that it was already midday.
I approached a nearby tree and carefully set down all the items I had gathered. As Ralts followed me closely, I couldn't help but notice her expectant glances.
Whenever I looked her way, she would quickly avert her gaze. But when I turned my back, I could feel her eyes fixed on me. Chuckling softly, I decided to speak to her.
"Well, it's time to begin training," I said. Suddenly, her head snapped towards me and her eyes widened in anticipation.
"First, let me evaluate your abilities," I continued. Pointing towards a few boulders, "make those boulders levitate for as long as you can".
She diligently followed my instruction. The particular soft pink glow enveloped three of the stones slowly but surely, the stones began to rise from the ground, ascending a few meters before hovering in place.
I watched intently, silently counting the seconds as she struggled to maintain her concentration. But as I reached the count of twenty-six, the glow around the rocks flickered and faded away, causing them to drop back down with a resounding plop. Ralts slumped forward, panting and utterly exhausted from the exertion.
After giving her five minutes to recuperate I could feel her energy had recovered, "This time, let's see if you can lift some lighter objects," again she was only able to make three objects levitate, but this time she was able to hold them for longer, about three minutes before being unable to keep them afloat anymore.
After leaving her to rest for some minutes I sent her to do the next exercise this time to circle the tree for as long as she could, again the result was underwhelming after five minutes she was again utterly exhausted.
After leaving her to rest some more we moved to the next one, I asked her to make the boulderers levitate but this time to shoot them at a tree that was 25 meters from us. She concentrated hard, sending the three boulders hurtling through the air toward the distant tree. Unfortunately, only one of them hit the mark, and even that one barely made it.
I was thinking of more advanced tests but we would have to cut them short. We were just going to stick to the basics until we had built enough resistance and power to move to more complex exercises.
I observed two things about Ralts during our training sessions. Firstly, I noticed that the time it takes for her to fully recover after exhausting her energy reserves has been increasing progressively. Secondly, I have also noticed that whether she is using her telekinesis or performing a physical task, the source of her energy pool seems to be the same.
After giving her the instruction to just alternate between using her telekinesis to lift the rocks from her first attempt, and circling the tree. I settled onto the rock I had been using as a chair earlier this morning and started doing the task I had planned for this day, to create tools
I closed my eyes and started meditating, breath in, breath out, breath in… When I opened my eyes again, the scenery had transformed. The lush forest was gone, replaced by a vast expanse of barren land. Swords of different shape size and colors were littered on the ground. crystal cogs floated in the sky, and they were in constant motion as if being carried by a gentle breeze. The sky was clear, yet the setting sun cast a warm, orange glow over everything.
I admired a little my inner world before closing my eyes again and changing my perspective, when I opened my eyes again I was in a different place of my reality marble, in front of me was what I was searching a piece of sharpened stone.
This was a rock tool called biface, it was used before the era of the metals when humans and their antecessors still depended on rocks to make tools, this one, in particular, has not even belonged to a human but to a neanderthal who had lived sixty-five-thousand years ago, a particularly skilled one at that.
Picking the stone tool in my hand I admired it a little. It had a flat, elongated shape with a pointed end and sharp edges on both sides, with a size of around thirty centimeters in length.
Nodding to myself I started going through the seven steps of tracing and forming a connection with the tool, little by little the traits of the previous owner of the tool started bleeding into my mind, personality, memories, and more importantly experiences. Every memory that this tool lived with its owner was temporally ingrained into my brain.
After getting what I needed I closed my eyes, and when I opened them again, I was once more in the forest sitting on the boulder. Behind me, Ralts was circling the tree while heavenly panting, but her eyes continued fiercely determined.
Picking up two of the stones I had gathered near the river I started analyzing them, once I got the information, I wanted I started using my recently acquired skills, hitting one against the other, one was used as a hammer while the more fragile one was the material of work. Each precise strike removed a piece of stone, guided by experience that wasn't mine,
once the general shape was set and the platforms were created I changed to another rook, this one smaller and precisely hit specific points of the recently formed platforms removing stone flakes that I stored for later use,
after finishing, I admired the piece of work a little before taking another stone and start repeating the whole process
it took me a while to finish shaping all the rocks I gathered at the riverside into stone tools. once I finished that I took the sharpest of the recently made bifaces and the wooden stick and walked into the forest.
- change of Pov-
I was exhausted, my breathing was ragged as my heart pounded in my chest. Until now this training thing had been nothing but an absolute torture, but I could take it, I would do whatever to become stronger.
I continued lapping around the tree as I forced my shaky legs to keep moving beyond the fatigue until I couldn't anymore. Once I was unable to continue, I laid on the floor as I desperately tried to catch my breath
I had already lost count of the number of times I had repeated each exercise, the only thing I knew is that it was taking really long for me to recover, even though I was having longer breaks I still felt less energized to do the same tasks than during the first tries. It was getting harder and harder to continue.
Once my breath had stabilized, I went from lying to a sitting position, and from there I could see Shiro who was hitting stones against each other. It's been a while since he had started doing so, his training was very different from mine, but he seemed to be making progress. I couldn't help but wonder what kind of training he was doing.
He then proceeded to abruptly stand up and go to the forest, I looked bewildered at where he had gone, from there thuds sound started coming. A little curious about what he was doing I focused my senses on his feelings. Even though I was able to recognize its presence as Shiro's it was really different from the one he normally had.
I realized that there was a lot about Shiro that I didn't know, the only thing I knew about him was that he has also lost his home and that was alone In this forest. a part of me was curious about him and his situation but I also knew that if needed to know something he would tell me, he was that kind of… creature? Anyway, it didn't matter, I was sure I could believe in him, and I would do my best so he could believe in me too. After all, weren't we partners?
I didn't need him to tell me his past to get to know him, with time I would eventually get to that point.
As I continued thinking about Shiro, I noticed that it had been a while since the constant thuds stopped, it didn't take much time before he made his way back, on his hand was a new piece of wood, and on his other was a brunch of those plants which grow on the floor. I wanted to keep watching what he was doing, but I had my own training to do. I couldn't wait to see the results
-change of Pov -
Once I had collected the materials that I needed for a bow I started the process of its creation.
Examining with detail the piece of wood I had selected I started cutting the exceeding parts making sure that the piece had a size similar to the height from the ground to my chin.
Once that was done, I proceeded to thin out the future arms of the bow leaving the centerpiece untouched, which was going to be the handle of the bow.
The process of thinning out the arms was done in two steps, first I would cut the ventral part of the piece, which would be the part that would look to me when I tensed the bow, the dorsal part was left untouched as those would be the fibers in charge of supporting the tension applied when I pulled the string.
once I reached the center of the branch, I would start thinning out the sides of the wood piece making it take a pointed shape toward the ends of the arms.
From time to time I would use structural grasping to check that the bending was uniform and force of the tension would be evenly reparteed through both arms.
After having finished craving the wood bow, I let it dry on a flat stone surface, stacking some stones on top of it so that it did not curl.
Next, I moved to separate the natural fiber from the plants I had gathered previously, once I finished I also left them to dry next to the recently craved body of the bow.
Letting out a satisfied sigh contented with the result of my work I turned to look at Ralts, she looked utterly worn out and covered in dust as she struggled to catch her breath while slowly circling the tree.
"Well, that is enough for today" I informed her, it wouldn't do if she was too tired tomorrow, it would negatively impact on our survival chances.
"I can continue" her voice rang in my mind full of determination, sounding unexpectedly composed. in contrast with her poor state, it sounded completely well, almost ready to continue
"No, that's enough for today" I stated firmly "rest is also an important part of training".
she was reluctant to stop, but in the end, her fatigue outweighed her determination to continue.
Walking to the shadow of the only tree in a few meters, we sat together under the shade that it casted. I had left some fruits there earlier, so we picked them and began eating. Ralts devoured her fruit with a voracious appetite at an unimaginable speed considering the small size of her body. I couldn't help but wonder where did all that food go, but that opened a whole new can of worms about pokemon anatomy that I didn't feel like knowing.
Ralts devoured her fruit with a voracious appetite, her small body quickly consuming it at an astonishing speed. I couldn't help but wonder where all the food went inside her,
While I was looking at her eating, I decided to ask about her thought on the training.
"Well, how was the training" I inquired
"exhausting" At my question she replied curtly without stopping her assault on our provisions, getting a chuckle out of me
"So, when" she started while wearily looking at me "when will I notice the change? I don't feel any stronger now," she asked letting show her anxiety about results.
I reached for a plump, green fruit from the pile in front of us, taking a big bite. It was soft and juicy, with a tangy, acidic taste that reminded me of a banana. After swallowing, I replied, "It will take time before you can see the difference. You need to be patient and consistent in order to get results."
As I responded, I noticed a shift in her demeanor. Her mood seemed to drop slightly, and her expression darkened for a moment. However, this change was short-lived, and the fiery glint in her eyes soon returned.
Intrigued by this reaction, I continued to observe her expression for a while. Eventually, she broke the silence by asking me something.
"What about you?" she asked, her voice betraying a hint of interest. "How was your training?"
I furrowed my brow, trying to understand what 'training' she was talking about. "Training?" I repeated, puzzled.
She nodded, expectant for an answer. "Yes, that thing where you hit a stone with another."
Recognition dawned on me, and I laughed. "Ohhh, that was not training. I was creating some tools."
"Tools?" she repeated, her expression still confused. it seemed she also lacked the concept of tool
I nodded before giving her a brief explanation "a tool is something you use to make a task easier"
"I see," she said, her eyes brightening with understanding. "So, are there tools that make training easier?"
"Yes, but believe me when I say you actually want the opposite, tools that make training harder, more complex, or difficult. After all, the harder you train, the greater the results."
I could swear that at my answer her milky white face paled even more, but the fire in her eyes didn't waver. I didn't have any doubt that if I asked her to train until she passed out, she would do it without asking.
Her attitude towards the training was impressive, and it was evident that she was committed to improving. However, her behavior also raised some doubts.
It didn't take long before we finished our meal, at that moment I decided to make my question
"Ralts, can I ask you something?" I inquired. A serious expression taking place on my face "Why do you want to become stronger?"
At first, the answer seemed obvious, in a hostile environment, strength was a crucial asset for survival. But as I thought more deeply about it, I realized that there must be limits to how far one was willing to go in pursuit of strength.
While I understood the desire to be strong, the level of obsession that Ralts displayed was concerning. being focused on getting stronger wasn't necessarily a bad thing, but the extent to which she was taking it was far from normal.
the refreshing afternoon wind blew lightly, rustling the leaves of the nearby trees, The sun was setting on the horizon, casting its last light rays on her face, allowing me to better appreciate her features. Her expression shifted to one of bitterness, and her gaze turned hollow.
"Since I can remember, I have always been on the losing side," she began, her voice heavy with emotion. "I lost my house, my family, my future, my hope. At one point, I was certain that I was going to lose my life, and I found that I didn't even care."
A shallow chuckle reverberated in my mind as she spoke. "When I asked myself why this was happening to me, I found the answer. It was something that I didn't want to accept: that I was weak. I was going to die not because I had bad luck or I deserved it for something I had done, but simply because the creature in front of me was stronger and worthier than me - a weakling with nothing left to survive."
"But then, you saved me," she continued, her voice trembling slightly. "You decided to stay with me, to become my partner, and with that, everything changed. For the first time in years, I had hope. I had companionship, and also... something to lose."
Her tone grew more resolute and her eyes acquired a determined almost obsessive glint as she went on "I wish for strength so that nothing will ever be taken away from me again by this cruel world"
"I see, if that is your answer then as I said before you can count on me to help you, after all, we are partners, aren't we?" I really wanted to tell her that it wasn't her fault, that sometimes even all the strength in the world wouldn't be enough, but I knew she wouldn't see it like that.
In her mind, she was the only one at fault for her own disgrace, and it was not as if I couldn't understand the feeling.
As our conversation came to an end, we began to prepare for the night ahead. I gathered a fresh batch of leaves to make our bed while Ralts worked on spreading pieces of the yellow fruit. The air around us soon became saturated with its pungent smell, causing my nose to wrinkle and my stomach to churn. I struggled to keep the contents of my stomach down, feeling like I might retch at any moment. The smell was even worse than I remembered from the last time.
But as I lay down on the bed of leaves next to Ralts, I began to adjust to the odor, though it still lingered in the air. Thankfully, it wouldn't be too much of a hindrance to our sleep. I gazed up at the sky, watching as the colors shifted from orange to purple and finally to a deep blue. The stars began to twinkle overhead, and I couldn't help but feel a sense of peace wash over me.
Stargazing had always been an activity that I enjoyed, I and Kiritsugu would do it all the time when I was a kid. The feelings of how small your problems are compared to the immensity of the sky.
Even though a lot of time had passed since I started trying to sleep I just couldn't just quite conciliate dream, not after everything that had happened today, and the smell did it even more difficult
Turning my head to look a Ralts I could see she wasn't asleep yet, instead, she was looking at the sky quietly, caught in her thoughts.
So I decided to try and strike up a conversation, seeing as we weren't asleep yet
"hey Ralts, could you tell me more about pokemon and non-pokemon partnership"
"I don't know a lot about that I only heard about them through stories, but I know they do journey together, to the non-pokemon It gives them a powerful companion, and to the pokemon, it helps them become stronger"
That didn't do much to help me know how could I help her
I figured out that it would be better if asked from the beginning
"How do pokemon gets stronger?" I already knew that
"fighting" she answered quickly "if there is something that is ingrained in every pokemon's instinct, no matter their intelligence, size, or appearance it is that the more we fight the stronger we get"
As she spoke, I couldn't help but think about the implications of what she was saying. It explained the often-violent behavior of pokemon, as fighting was just a natural part of their nature.
However, it also meant that they derived a benefit from it and something told me it was not mere experience, this in turn could lead to them becoming surplus hunters. The killing could simply be a byproduct of this process, and over time, it could become ingrained in their behavior.
The thought was unsettling, but it seems this was the reality of the world we lived in. sooner or later we would also need to start looking for opponents for Ralts to fight and improve, after all, weakness only invites problems.
"Do you have any idea of how can I help you to become stronger outside of training?"
Her delicate white limb tapped against her chin; a look of deep concentration etched on her face. I waited patiently for her to collect her thoughts. And then abruptly her eyes shot open wide
Finally, she spoke. "When we were fighting against the pink thing, there was a moment you ordered me to attack. At that moment, it felt easier and my attack felt more powerful."
I nodded, recalling the moment she was referring to. "Yes, I remember that moment. Your attack was certainly stronger and faster, even though the rocks you used were almost the same size as when I asked you to shoot at the tree earlier."
A faint smile played on Ralts's lips as she looked at me, her eyes shining with excitement. "So maybe," she said, "if you gave me specific orders it would make my attacks stronger"
I see, maybe they worked the same that a magus aria, by giving her a specific order I was helping her to focus and control her energy better. That is something that we will definitely need to test tomorrow
As I contemplated the potential implications of this discovery, a soft yawn from Ralts reminded me of the late hour. It was time to rest. I closed my eyes and focused on self-hypnosis, easing myself into a peaceful slumber. As I drifted off, my mind wandered into a dream, vividly recalling the past of a certain petite creature.
Main story words count: 7121
Short stories words count: 1536
Omake 1 (canon)
Another version of the attack on the stream
As the forest started thinning out, the gurgling of the stream began permeating my ears. As we advanced, the stream became easier and easier to see. Once we were a few steps toward the coast of the stream, the occupants of the place started to become visible. The number was higher than usual.
"That is not a good thing; the more crowded, the more chances to annoy the king of the river."
Sensing the spike of anxiety in my partner, I decided to give him some calming words. After all, if he picked up a fight here, it would put us in a dire situation.
"Don't worry," I spoke to him, "we won't be attacked here. Nobody wants to offend the king of the river."
"King of the river?" he asked incredulously; at this point, it was obvious he was not from here. Every living being who needed water to live knew about the king of the river.
"He's a very powerful Pokémon that inhabits this river," I explained. "He doesn't like loud noises, so as long as nobody initiates a fight, he won't wake up. And trust me, nobody wants to see him awake."
At my words, he took a deep breath and started scanning the scenery again; after that, he once again turned to me.
"Is it normal for Pokémon to coexist like this?" he asked.
"Not really," I answered. "Pokémon tend to be very self-centered, and the stronger they are, the more they isolate themselves from their peers. That's why you don't see packs of Pokémon in their last form."
If the world were like this, I had no doubt that it would be a better place, but such a thing was impossible for us pokemon.
The peaceful coexistence wasn't anything more than a mirage, a fake, the truth was that all of these pokemon were just afraid to wake up the king of the river.
And if he wasn't here... well, the source of water was a critical location for us, so the ensuing chaos and bloodshed to crown a new king would be inevitable.
"Last form?" he asked abruptly, cutting off my dark thoughts.
"We Pokémon evolve into different forms as we get stronger," I decided to explain. "Sometimes it changes our appearance, and sometimes it does not. It's a natural process of growth and development."
He hummed for a moment and then continued to gaze at the pokemon for a bit longer, but while he seemed to be just admiring them to someone like me, who could feel emotions, the actual truth was something else.
His eyes were scrutinizing their vulnerabilities, assessing their strengths, and searching for ways to guarantee a victory should fighting become necessary.
I also noticed that he was not the only one watching them; they were also cautiously looking at him; some of them were admiring gazes, others were curious, and others were ones of complete distrust.
Ignoring the eyes falling upon us, we made our way to a vacant area. Once we arrived at a more isolated place, we took some time to rehydrate ourselves and wash the dirt from our bodies.
after that he proceeded to pick fruits and look at them for a moment before tossing them to his left or right, forming two mounds of fruit, after that he started picking the ones on his left and submerging them in the river, only to put it back on the thing he used to carry them in the first place until there wasn't any left,
Once he finished his strange task, he started picking up stones. Seeing how he was just behaving strangely, I decided to shift my focus to a more pressing matter: keeping us out of trouble.
extending my sense to the surrounding area, I started to feel the emotions of all the pokemon in the area...
When I picked up a presence, I knew very well, it was awakened and radiating bloodlust.
"We need to get out of here quickly," I alarmedly informed Shiro; he didn't lose a second, quickly picking up all his things and me into his arms, before running away from the place.
It had become a habit for him to carry me whenever any trouble arose, and I couldn't decide how to feel about it. Part of me was pleased that he was so concerned for my safety, but another part of me couldn't help feeling insulted. It seemed as though he doubted my ability to survive on my own, which was frustrating. After all, I had managed to survive in this forest by myself for a long time before he arrived.
When we were about to enter into the thick of the forest, a loud splashing sound assaulted my ears. There he was in all his splendor, the king of the river, as he eyed his would-be preys before diving into them.
not wanting to risk our safety. Shiro decided to widen our distance again, leaving behind the cries of pain of those who weren't able to escape reserved through the forest.
at that a feeling started emanating from him, it grew stronger and stronger with every step he took. It was a feeling I knew very well, one with which I had lived for a long time, helplessness.
"Don't worry, he doesn't normally go far from the stream." I tried to reassure him, "And if he comes for us, I will protect you."
I reminded him of my pledge that I was going to fight for his side even until the bitter end. it must have worked seeing how determination started radiating from him before he accelerated his pace to safety
Omake 2 (canon)
analysis of the biological and behavioral basis of the pokemon.
Pokemon, unlike human beings, are not only made up of matter but also of energy; although some recent studies seem to point out that human beings also possess minuscule amounts of this energy, this has yet to be proven.
Throughout their lives, pokemon increase their amount of energy through training or fighting until it reaches a critical level. reached this point, the energy is stabilized at what is known as a "stable level of circulating energy," or more commonly known as level. It is only at this point that this energy has an impact on the performance of the pokemon; before that, the energy is present but has not any effect on the pokemon.
However, it is believed that in the past this was different, being much higher, but at some point, it seems that the apparition of pokemon that had less ability to store energy but were more efficient at acquiring it ended up being better prepared for the challenges of the past that drove those pokemon to extinction. Although this topic is an interesting area of debate, it will be ignored in this paper for the sake of brevity.
The energy levels as they increase require more energy to form, so the ability to contain the energy of a pokemon is an important factor. However, when the pokemon are born, in other words, when they are in their first form, they theoretically would only be able to absorb and store up to approximately forty-five to fifty levels of energy.
In contrast with the previously exposed, it is well known that the limit of levels that a pokemon can get during his life is one hundred, so how is this possible?
This is possible due to a mechanism called evolution. Evolution is a process after which a pokemon may or may not change its appearance and obtain an increase in strength, but it also has another effect on its constitution, which is to increase the capacity of storing energy by sacrificing part of its absorption capacity. A pokemon evolves a total of two times during its lifetime, and while the level at which this happens may vary from individual to individual, most evolve between levels thirty and sixty.
Speaking on the subject of evolution, it is also important to talk about...
Omake 3 (no canon)
As I delved deeper into my research, a voice interrupted my thoughts. I looked up to see Ralts, who had just woken up, staring at me with her big, curious eyes. But before I could even answer her, my nose was assaulted by an odor that could only be described as a mix of a pine tree and a polar bear's den. It was her scent, and it was strong.
"What are you doing?" Ralts asked telepathically, seemingly unaware of the stench emanating from her small body.
"I'm training," I responded, trying not to gag from the smell.
"What's training?" she inquired, tilting her head to the side. I couldn't help but chuckle at her innocent question.
"Well, it's when you do something over and over again to get better at it." Her eyes widened in fascination.
"So, you're getting stronger by doing the same thing every day?"
"Exactly!" I exclaimed, glad to have found a training partner in Ralts. "Now, if only I could find a way to train my nose to ignore your smell."
A/N: Chat GTP is funnier than me :C
author's note:
Hi there, I am using wh…
Sorry bad joke, I know. Anywhere here is chapter two, I must say that it took me a lot less time to write this one than the first one. While I had estimated that it would take me an entire month in the end to write this didn't take me more than two weeks to write this, you could say I had a lot of free time… :,,C
Anyway, let's talk about the chapter. Truth is that I am not sure if it was good; maybe I rushed it too much, and I was a bit unsure about some parts, especially the spiritual travel of Shiro to create his makeshift circuit and that part where he went all survival 101 course.
I must admit that I was heavily inspired by Plato's theory of forms to write that scene; it was like everything made sense, but then it stopped making it when I tried to explain all the magecraft system of fate world using it; there were too many inconsistencies. But as I liked how the scene turned out, I decided to leave it like that.
On the other hand, I have cut the explanation of Shiro creating his survival tool; at the beginning, I thought it would be cool, but then I realized that I was trying to write a story, not a survival manual for pokemon world (nice title for fanfic by the way).
Another problem I found is that it is difficult to reflect the personality of my two main characters. I can't help but feel that they are quite bland, especially in their dialogs, oh god it is probably the most embarrassing part of writing, every time I read them I can't help but cringe a little. But after a lot of writing and deleting "and asking for a lot of help to chat GTP" I think I was able to make it half decent, probably.
Another thing I did was to experiment with adding Ralts's POV; to be honest, the reason I did that was that I didn't know how to continue the scene from Shiro's perspective and just switched it; that made it easier; it was like making a discrete time skip.
Also, the final boss for the arc was introduced; pay your respects to the almighty king of the river. This one was based on all those players who stay on beginner's grounds to PK the new players.
Ralts training had also started, and as you may imagine, that can only mean that action scenes are coming soon, and indeed they are. This chapter, in my opinion, have lacked a lot of action, but I wanted to use it to world built a little and set up some things for the next episode. Part of me wanted to argue that I could have just made a time skip and give it as a part of the sum up of things, but I considered that to be the lazy way out.
And... I probably should have done so; how is it that I didn't consider it until I finished writing the chapter and was doing the author's note? Well, there's nothing I can do about it but learn from my mistakes; the next chapter will start with a time skip, jumping directly to the juicy part, so don't miss it!
Oh, I almost forgot. In the last part, I made a reference to dream-cycle but I really don't want to write it, it feels like too much work =C, at first it was supposed to be an omake but in the end, I decided to postpone it to the next chapters.
Let's talk about the omakes now as you have probably already read, and if you haven't, you should read at least the canon ones, I have implemented a new format, which is basically a scientific-styled explanation about certain aspects of the story. I thought it would be a good way to make it easier to explain things that are barely touched on in the story or of which the characters are not even aware yet.
Having finished with the story, let's talk a bit about the characters, as you can see I have really tried to make Shiro NOT emphasize with pokemon. It would turn into an absolute disaster if he did, imagine he trying to go on a hero quest about saving creatures whose only instinct is to beat the shit out of each other. Also, it is important for him to be kept as far away as possible from his dream of being a hero. My objective is, after all, to make Shiro more focused on protecting those around him. It will ultimately fall on Ralts to keep a lash on him.
On the other side, Ralts just continues, for now, her quest of growing stronger, and we will see how this continues. Though I am having a lot of trouble putting her personality into her decisions and dialogs, I know how I want her to be at the end of this introductory arc, but writing her actual personality is nothing short of an odyssey.
All that said about the story, let's go with the comments:
Zeraphin:
hey, I really liked the way you used Shirou, somewhat weak, but still able to defend himself, besides Ralts seems to me a good choice, although I had seen a fan art of Shirou with an Arturia Pikachu. (translated from Spanish to English)
Thanks, that was the idea; after all, I wanted him to be capable of solving problems, but not without difficulty and help.
Mr - Pxndx :
It's promising, keep it up. (translated from Spanish to English)
Thanks; I aim to please.
guiltyr2
An interesting start, what region does this take place in and is this pre-canon or is this set in Ash's time
Thanks for your comment, about the region I don't want to tell yet but with the information in this chapter you should have an idea of what region this is. Regarding the time it is pre-canon but in ash time, I would reveal more but it would end up being a spoiler, though at this pace I would probably reach 100.000 words before getting to that part. :C
Lokyloco :
Interesting premise, personally I would have liked to see Shirou with his Magic Circuits active, but I'm sure you have something planned with that so I'll wait to see where you take it.
Truth be told, if you hadn't said you don't speak English very well I wouldn't have noticed, I couldn't see any grammatical errors on my first read.
Without further ado, I'm quite interested in how this is going to continue. Curious if he's going to meet up with Ash and the gang or if for some reason Shirou is in the ancient era- like Akari.
Thanks for the chapter and the read. (translated from Spanish to English)
Thanks for your support, and in fact, you have quite correctly guessed that the reason why Shirou didn't have his circuits was that I had planned to replace them with something from that world. I guess that counts as a spoiler, In regard to the timeframe that same as the other commentary
DemonRaily
The idea to use bots to help in writing for a non-native speaker is something new to me, I myself am non native speaker as well so I understand how sometimes you can get stuck on expression or a phrase that does not translate into English.
Yes, their power is not something to be trifled with, they are going to take over the world after all, that said, thanks for your commentary!
Guest:
It's a good thing that the story won't turn into the weird pokemon x human one lmao. Regarding ralts it makes sense to use her due to being able to actually communicate with Shirou and being able to sense emotions which are good for someone who's not the best at expressing himself
Yes, that was one of the reasons why I chose Ralts; others will be disclosed further in the story. But while I say that I won't make it into a pokemon x human, a kiss to break the tension may be plausible [*insert morbid joke*], anyway, part of me wants to make this a good story, but an obscure part of me really desires to turn this into a bizarre story, so keep your mind bleach nearby; you never know when you will need it.
Guest:
I find the idea very interesting and well written so far. Looking forward to more.
Thanks for your support master this lowly one is grateful for your support.
With that, all said thanks to everyone who supported the story
Trino-de-la-gorda is out (I should really change my name lol)
Name: Shirou Emiya
Age: 16
level: ?/?
type: ?
Gender: male
Origin: sword
Element: sword
Abilities:
Energy sensibility (locked) ▹▹▹(unlocked)
Enchanced smelling
Enchanced sight
Unlimited blade work (locked)
Eye of the mind (false) B
Status: distorted, PSTD, depressed, strange world energy contamination (27%)
Team:
Ralts (Lvl5)
Name: none
Specie: Ralts
Evolve to: kirilla
Evolve from: none
Type: psychic/fairy
Age: 15
Level: 5 / 100
Gender: femeale
Skills:
Trace
Telepathy
Synchronize (locked) ▹▹▹ (unlocked)
Movements:
Psychic
Status: inferiority complex, PSTD, tired
Team:
Shirou (?)
Don't forget to comment ;)