Chapter 1: Crossroads of Destiny
PoisonHeart Badge
~~~~~~~(I)~~~~~~~
That evening, Will returned to Professor Jenner to give him a quick situation update. Melia was safe, she'd be heading for Goldenwood Forest the next morning, and he would check up on her once more before she departed.
One relieved professor later, Will retreated back to his room, let Torchic and Poochyena out of their balls and then sat on the bed, letting his exhaustion wash over him.
The last twelve hours had gone by so fast, that he still hadn't processed everything that had happened. Maybe it was better if he just focused on the future for now and hope that his brain could handle putting all the pieces in the right place on its own.
A sharp yelp shook him from his thoughts and he looked over to see Poochyena quickly retreating from Torchic.
It wasn't hard to guess what happened.
"Torchic, listen," he said, rolling off the bed and kneeling next to his little firecracker. "You and I are going to have a little talk."
She raised one of her claws.
"Don't give me that," he sternly said. "You're good, but not on your own. We've got a lot of fights ahead of us. Someone will kick your ass if you keep up the attitude."
She responded with a sharp chirping sound that he couldn't place. It probably wasn't acceptance.
"I'm not going to tolerate you picking on your own team," Will continued.
She fluttered with her stubby wings and hopped a few inches towards him.
"Don't push me on that, I will bathe you before it's your time."
Poochyena stuck his head from underneath the bed and looked up at him with large, curious eyes.
Will reached down and held out his hand for the little thing to smell. He hoped it was an upgrade from the sewers. "We're fighting Venam tomorrow. We're going to win. That means we'll be very busy tomorrow."
Torchic didn't give him attitude on that, so he hoped the message was clear. He fed both of his Pokémon, got undressed, grabbed a quick shower and then went to sleep.
His thoughts drifted all over the place during the night. The dreams plagued him with disquieting vividness, but their specifics faded from his memory the second he started to wake up. He only remembered the faintest of outlines and the amount of mental energy they sucked away from him.
It was around 07:00 in the morning when he put on his clothes, recalled his Pokémon and headed downstairs.
Surprisingly, the lab wasn't as empty as he had expected. Some people were already crowding around the little shop, eager to get their battling supplies in order before they started their day.
A little girl stood in front of the main desk, tears silently running down her face as she stared at the ground.
Will frowned. He didn't see that often. A child crying without a sound was a child that knew it wouldn't get any sympathy or help. That didn't seem right in his world.
Time to investigate.
"Hey," he said, casually approaching the girl so he wouldn't frighten her. "What's wrong? Are you hurt?"
Quietly, through anguished hiccups and pained breaths, the girl told him that some guys had stolen her Starly.
Stolen. Her. Starly.
Anger formed a painful knot in his stomach.
"And…nobody…wants to…help…" the girl sobbed.
Will scowled, then looked up at the woman behind the desk. She was already hard at work answering phone calls and writing down details in her notebook, but apparently she'd also heard every word of their conversation, as she flashed him an apologetic look and shook her head.
Ah.
Will knelt down in front of the girl. "I'm going to get your Starly back," he told her.
She stared at him in disbelief. "H-How?"
"Violence," Will replied, his mouth moving just a bit faster than his brain. "Where are they?"
"They…they talked about taking her to the pier and s-s-selling her," she said, unable to keep from breaking down again. "I love her so much…I…I…"
The rest came out somewhat unintelligible, but Will got the gist.
It looked like some hooligans had taken the poor girl's Starly and were planning on selling her off. Time to rough 'em up, make sure they wouldn't be stealing anything ever again.
Will spent exactly one minute getting some preparations done, then spun on his heels and marched out of the lab, heading straight back towards the pier. A cautious little voice in the back of his mind told him that taking on several Pokémon thieves on his own wasn't exactly the best plan.
Counterpoint: if a bunch of lowlives had stooped so low as to steal a little Pokémon from a child, they probably couldn't hack it with any other victim.
Besides; someone had to interrupt them, if only to disturb their meeting and stall for time.
By now the rain had stopped, and visibility was better. Will actually recognized a few of the buildings he walked past from before. He only had a few square kilometers to check out, but he wouldn't have to do that alone.
According to the Pokedex, Poochyena had a very keen sense of smell. Before leaving, he'd asked the little Pooch to get some serious sniffing done. Now that it wasn't interested in chewing on his legs like he'd been planning on in the sewers, Poochyena was a lot calmer. With a full belly and a prey to chase after, he seemed all too happy to do as he was asked.
Poochyena spent a few seconds sniffing around, then uttered a rumbling growl and took off. He had quite a steady pace for such a little guy and Will broke into a jog to keep up.
Through an alleyway, around the corner, past a warehouse, over some poor schmuck's shoes and straight towards an unused pier without a ship in sight. There, a trio of guys on motorcycles were loudly debating amongst themselves what their next move was.
"Poochyena, come back," Will ordered in a low hiss, and the little Dark-type came bounding back for him. "Is that them?"
A little bark.
"That's a good boy," he said, making sure to give him a good scratch behind his ears. "Come on. Let's get them."
The three bikers were all gazing at the horizon, as if they were expecting pickup any moment. They had a little cage at their feet, containing a miserable-looking Pokémon.
The missing Starly, Will presumed.
"Alright, enough," one of the assholes shouted. "We're heading to the Badlands and that's that. They'll pay big bucks for this dumb overused bird."
Will's approach didn't go unnoticed. One of them turned around as Will came within battling range and nudged his buddies to alert them. "Hold on boys, looks like we have a little bit of trouble."
"Hmph. This punk? Easy," the third guy growled, stomping towards Will with malice in his eyes.
"Sic' em," Will said.
Poochyena bounded forwards, barking something fierce. The biker cursed and scrambled to send his own Pokémonout. His combatant of choice was a Bug-type Pokémon Will hadn't seen before.
He wasn't sure where the bikers had learned how to fight with their Pokemo, but they weren't particularly good at it.
Poochyena came in fast and low, nearly flying across the dock as he lunged for his foe. The Pokemon opened its toothed little mouth and sprayed a sticky bundle of ropes through the air, but Poochyena banked sharply and it missed him.
A second later, he fell upon the Bug-type and caught its neck in a vice grip. The Bug-type struggled against Poochyena's grip, but Poochyena merely solidified his grip with every twitch and every spasm his foe performed. Had the size difference not been so negligible, it would have broken free. As it was, no chance.
"Crap!" The guy snarled, recalling his Pokémon. "Yo, this is bad!"
But it was too late. Even as the trio backed up, some sort of personal yacht had arrived, and a pair of guys leapt from the boat to quickly tie her down.
Will cursed under his breath and sent out Torchic, too. He had to be fast - !
"The boat is here, let's get this over with!" One of them yelled. He bent down to snatch up Starly's cage, but a single bolt of Ember put a stop to that idea. As he screamed, clutching his burned hand, the other two turned to run.
"Nu-uh-uh. Don't fly away, little dove," someone giggled. What happened next, wasn't pleasant for Will's mind. Someone yelled in a foreign language, one that he'd never heard before, and it was as if the air around him stiffened. The air grew hot and uncomfortable and for a few, painful seconds, the ground grew increasingly unstable, to the point that Will neatly lost his balance completely.
A series of jagged rocks erupted from the water and impaled the yacht from below, half raising it out of the water as they did.
Will looked up to see a woman standing atop one of the warehouses. The air directly around her warped and crackled, not unlike the aura of a Pokémon. Her figure exuded power and force, and every fiber of Will's being screamed at him she was dangerous.
"Little dove, little dove, little dove," she said in an unsteady sing-song voice. "Pity dove. A bird can no longer fly with clipped wings. We can't have peasants like you running around. Do you think you'll just be able to do as you please? That's too bad. For you, at least."
As she stepped off the rooftop, she spoke again in that strange, dizzying language, and instead of plummeting to the ground like Venam had, her descent was calm and controlled, as if she were merely walking down a flight of stairs.
"Look at what we have here!" She said, addressing the trio of bikers with a smile that went from ear to ear. "A couple of no-good thugs trying to steal a poor pigeon. As punishment, you three shall be my faithful servants."
The guys exchanged looks among themselves, visibly frozen in fear.
"You shall stay with me at the Alvavors Ruins where you will learn to be proper men and servants!" The woman continued with manic glee. "Any objections?"
"Yeah, just one – " One of the thugs dared to speak up.
The woman pouted with exaggerated disappointment. A third time she spoke in that mysterious language, and the man started floating in the air as if lifted by a Psychic-type, bike and all.
As he sputtered in protest, the woman happily stepped towards the pier. "Great! I'll meet you back at the ruins, Charles."
"My name ain't Charles!" the man squeaked. "It's Rick1"
With a flicker of her wrist, the woman sent him flying away. "Goodbye Charles!"
One by one, she caught the other thugs in her invisible strings, lifting them up and across the rough waves of the sea.
"You too, Daniel. And how could I forget poor ol' Peter! I'll see you all at the ruins."
Will stayed very, very still, half-expecting the woman to turn on him too. The Starly, now freed from its cage, hopped away from the pier and towards the mainland, looking a bit ruffled, but otherwise unhurt.
"It seems Starly is doing fine," the woman said, still smiling. She turned towards Will, who noticed that she had yet to blink. "Hello there. My name is Karen! I'm…actually, let's keep that a little secret for now. Just giving out all the info in the beginning is boring and deprives mystery. Do you like my little stone creation?"
Will glanced over at the impaled yacht. He wasn't sure if there were still people onboard, but if there were…
"Magic is a beautiful thing," Karen continued, staring at the sight of destruction with naked adoration. "A beautiful thing humans tend to push away because they fear it. Have you ever heard of the Garufa?"
Will swallowed a lump in his throat, then shook his head. She acted nice and civilized, but…his gut told him that he really didn't want that to change.
"The Garufa were an ancient tribe that roamed the world centuries ago," she patiently explained. "They harvested Pokémon's power and sealed their soul along with their Pokémon's soul into a book. That allowed them to enhance their power and cast magic parallel to Pokémon's type. Oh, look at me ramble. Don't worry, it's funny!"
Will looked at the yacht again. He thought he could see someone's limb pressed up against the glass in the cockpit, unmoving.
Karen followed his gaze. "You don't suppose the driver of this ship survived this little…uproot. Hmph. They probably had family, but who cares about family anyway? I find stone much more lovely."
She laughed, and it was the most unhinged laughter Will had ever heard. A cold chill ran down his spine.
She's insane. She knows magic and she is completely insane.
"Starly, you are free now. Return to your trainer."
The Starly chirped happily, oblivious to what was going on. It spread its wings, hopped awkwardly a few times, then took off to the sky.
"I'll clean up the mess I created here," Karen continued. "You go and…finalize the request you started. I'm sure that girl will be thrilled to see that her beloved pigeon is safe from harm's way. Or, you know, lose that pigeon again because they're irresponsible. Whichever they see fit, I suppose."
"She's a child," he quietly protested.
Her eyes flashed back to him, dark and dangerous.
Will nodded and then slowly, taking great care not to move too suddenly, turned away from the insane woman with people-impaling magic.
By some cosmic fluke, he made it out alive.
"At least we know your nose works just fine," Will told Poochyena a few minutes later, making his way back to the terminal. "Great job by the way."
Poochyena barked happily in return. If he understood what just happened, it clearly didn't bother him.
They kept walking for another few minutes when suddenly, Poochyena halted, his ears twitching.
Will glanced down at him, curious. His mother had told him that she trusted her Sylveon's judgment more than her own. A Pokémon's senses were hard to fool, and the vast majority of them were sharper than those of human.
"What is it?" Will asked.
Poochyena uttered a low growl, then banked to the left, diving into an alleyway. With no other choice, Will went after him, hoping that he wasn't about to run headfirst into more trouble.
Poochyena trotted around a rusted fire exit and came at a stop in front of a pair of old dumpsters. At first Will didn't see what the issue was, When a faint growl began bubbling from Poochyena's throat however, Will circled around to the side.
A tiny, four-legged Pokémon sat rummaging through the garbage. Its purple was a sharp contrast to the dreary gray cityscape around it, although the spikes on its back suggested it wasn't completely defenseless.
Its large ears rotated around and it tilted its head. A sharp-looking spine poked out from between his ears.
"Ease up, Poochyena," Will ordered. Moving slowly, he undid his backpack and reached inside for the bag of food. "You hungry?"
It was nothing fancy, but he was sure that store-bought kibble would taste better than literal garbage. "Not judging. Just offering an alternative."
The little guy lunged for his hand and practically tore into the food, hungrily scarfing it down in seconds.
Poochyena fidgeted, his body stiff and alert. His dark eyes followed the purple critter's every move.
With his free hand, Will produced one of his Poke Balls and held it out for the Pokémon to smell. "What do you think? Come with us?"
Poochyena produced a sound somewhere between a growl and a whine.
"Don't be jealous, the more buddies you get, the less of Venam's Pokémon you have to solo."
Another whiny growl.
"Yeah, yeah…"
The wild Pokémon didn't run away or, more importantly, jab his pointy horn between Will's ribs. Bolstered by that moderate success, Will lightly tapped the Pokémon's head and watched as its body disappeared inside of the ball without a fuss.
And then there were three.
He returned to Gearen Lab, where the Starly had luckily managed to find its way back. The little girl, at least, was ecstatic to be reunited with her friend. She told Will to seek out the Help Center and then turned her full focus back to her little Pokémon, fuzzing over how dirty those thugs had let him become.
Will…decided against telling her what really happened.
The Garufa…perhaps he'd pay a visit to the library before he challenged Venam. He couldn't wait to tell Ren about what just happened. He was willing to bet that Ren would never believe him.
Using some of the prize money he ah…liberated from the Bikers, he bought himself a quick breakfast at the lab's general store and started planning his day.
From what he had gathered, Venam was a Poison-type trainer, meaning he was on a clock the second their fight started if he didn't diversify. Having a Pokémon with a resistance to Poison would even the odds and alleviate the pressure on the rest of his team.
His newest addition to his team was a Nidoran, a Poison-type as well. A solid candidate for a defensive battle, as any physical attacks had his poisonous spikes to contend with.
Nobody won any battles by defending though. He needed to think about offense as well. That part about physical attacks was a problem for him, too. Best to focus on ranged attacks. If he recalled correctly, Psychic-types were strong against Poison as well.
His brow furrowed. Come to think of it, Crescent's Pokémon had been a Psychic-type as well. It had levitated and teleported him, after all.
She was supposed to send you somewhere safe.
Will shoved himself back to his feet. Stop lingering, he berated himself. Focus.
He needed a breath of fresh air. He wasn't going to get that in the lab…or anywhere in Gearen City, for that matter. Time to hit the road and find that park.
If all the different directions were anything to go by, the south would be the way to go. He had seen a couple of trees on the other side of a bridge when he first passed by that area. Maybe that was a good place to start.
With Torchic on his heels, Will headed out. He almost managed to walk two kilometers before he looked over at the wrong person and got himself into another conflict.
"Time is money, and your money is mine!" The young lady exclaimed, before moving to rob him.
Will almost resisted the urge to smile when she saw that he wasn't planning to hand over his money and sent out her Pokémon to rough him up. It gave him another opportunity to test things with his Pokedex.
Her Wurmple, as a bug-type, didn't like it when Torchic decided that it looked tasty instead of threatening. After her initial horror, the woman managed to recall Wurmple just in time, and she tried some psychic tricks with her…her Mine Jr. next.
Poochyena, as a Dark-type, was much better suited to handle its beams of confusion than Torchic was. At that point, Poochyena was free to come at her as viciously as possible, straight-up ramming into the Mime Jr and seizing its neck in his jaws. The muscles around his neck were like little bands of iron, and before soon he was shaking the Mime around like a ragdoll.
"I thought the trainers in Gearen were supposed to be weak…" she said, deflated.
Will believed everybody learned a valuable lesson that day.
The park wasn't far away from that point. Before long, he passed through a small entryway flanked by what seemed to be the only trees in all of Gearen City. When he emerged on the other end of the entryway, he instantly felt a change in atmosphere.
The air was clean, for one, and the nonstop noise of the big city sounded distant and muffled. Gearen Park was a large semi-circle clearing in the middle of what was otherwise a dark forest. A large fountain dominated its central area. In any other city, it might have been ground zero for children playing with their Pokémon. Not in Gearen. Here, silence reigned.
Considering what had happened to the last child who'd been out with her Pokémon, perhaps the silence was a better alternative.
A flock of Spearrow flew overhead as Will made his way deeper into the clearing. Two yellow Psyducks waggled around the fountain, apparently following each other. Up ahead, in-between a field of tall grass and a rock outcropping, he saw a plantlike Pokémon with a large, yellow flower on its head float around.
He thought about catching it, but ultimately decided not to. This cove felt too peaceful to disturb. Besides; it looked like a Grass-type, and they wouldn't fare too well against Venam.
Will tugged at the shoulder straps of his backpack and headed towards the fountain. There, just as he was about to figure out if the water was drinkable or not, he spotted someone familiar.
"Melia!" He said, waving at the familiar figure kneeling in the grass.
She perked up when she heard her name and looked around for a moment. "Heyy, Will! Funny running into you here! Hold on jussst a sec!"
She brought her camera to her face. "Say cheese, Gossifleur!"
Gossifleur, in possession of an understanding of modern photography equal to Will's own, stared at Melia with a blank expression.
Melia giggled and took the photo nonetheless.
It probably didn't know what was happening, but it obviously liked Melia's presence, as it continued to peacefully drift around in her presence.
Melia glanced at her camera for a moment, then smiled brightly. "Oh, nice! These pictures turned out so well! This one is going right into my album~!" She happily put her camera down again. A little Pokémon that looked like it had only partially hatched from its egg waggled over towards it and put its stumpy little arms around the camera in a protective manner.
"I always feel revitalized when I get some quality snaps!" Melia explained.
"You like photography?" Will asked. He felt Torchic's warm little body brush its way past his right leg and towards Melia's Pokémon. Without thinking, he bent down and scooped her in his arms before she could do something decidedly unfriendly. "We're at peace today Torchic."
He sat it in her eyes. No peace. War, always.
"Oh, yes, it's my favorite hobby!" Melia replied. "Photography has always made me so happy. My dad bought me this awesome camera for my birthday last year! I've been using it ever since~!"
"That's so nice of him," Will replied, mustering a half-smile.
"What about you, do you like photography?" Melia asked.
"I…appreciate the art," Will replied. It wasn't technically a lie; he really did admire people who make a snapshot and encapsulate the pure essence of something they thought important. He simply wasn't one of those people himself. "I wish I were any good at it."
"Aww, that's so cool of you. Yeah, even if you don't partake in picture taking, you can still appreciate it," Melia said.
Will nodded, glad that she understood what he meant.
"I should show you my collection sometime! Actually, I do have something to show you." Melia rummaged around in her bag for a moment. "Here, take a look!"
She held out a picture of her Pokémon and it was just the most adorable thing Will had ever seen. It looked like Melia had visited a photobooth with her little guy and dressed him up. He wore a fancy bow tie, a crown that was larger than his actual body and even held a scepter – though it looked more like a microphone.
It was legitimately the cutest thing he'd seen in a looong while.
"Last year, my dad took me with him for a work trip to Sinnoh. After he was done, he took me to this place where you could dress up your Pokémon and take pictures. Look at my precious little boy, Hapi. Isn't he just so cute?"
"Look at that," he told Torchic. "Is that something you'd like?"
She started wriggling like mad in his hands, so he put her down on the ground again.
"Well, I think it's adorable," Will said.
"Aaahh…it was because of this picture that I realized my love for photography," Melia said, lovingly staring at the picture. She carefully stashed it away again. "Anyway, I have to finish up here soon, so I'll talk to you later."
"That's alright, I was glad to run into you here," Will said, and he meant it. Keeping himself busy and distracted was the best way to keep focused on the now – and Melia had a positive energy about her that was just really soothing to be near.
"Thanks for chatting, it was a lot of fun!" She said. "I hope we can catch up a little bit later before I..." her voice trailed off. "Nevermind. See ya later, Will."
"Later, Melia," he said, offering her a little wave. "Take care."
After that, Will went back on the hunt. He dropped by the Help Center as that little girl had suggested. It turned out to be a community building where people could submit their troubles and ask someone to help solve them. The Center, in turn, would use its network to find the most qualified person for the job and pay them to solve it.
Most of the jobs asked for were rather mundane. Extra help doing chores, a few clean-up projects nobody seemed interested in, stuff like that. Other requests seemed more catered to trainers, and offered substantial monetary rewards. Definitely something to keep in mind for the future.
From there, Will began making his way towards Venam's Gym along the northern edge of the city. The pristine face of the Chrisola Hotel kept towering over him no matter where he went. Though painfully expensive, the people there had their own problems that they deemed important enough to reach out to the Help Center. One of those problems even demanded the attention of a trainer.
Sensing a future opportunity to learn a bit more about the way Gearen worked, Will decided to at least figure out the best way to get to the hotel, just in case.
However, when he finally found himself standing in front of the hotel, something occurred to him. If this was the place where the rich or famous tended to hang out, they might know where Tesla was! Maybe she'd found someone at the Oceana's last location, or…or maybe she just had an update regarding the situation.
Will needed to know. He stepped forwards and the two large, glass doors slowly hissed open, revealing a massive atrium with an immaculate, white floor, two blue fountains and a series of well-decorated elevators in the back.
Behind the desk stood a man with a suit that looked like it cost more than the average trainer earned in an entire month. His moustache was perfectly groomed, with not a hair out of place, and his eyes were sharp and filled with suspicion.
"You! Can…I help you?" The man called out.
"Yes, I'm – "
"If you're looking for a reservation – "
"What, no I – "
"Let me make this simple for you. There's no way a punk like you would be able to afford our extremely opulent services."
"Wait, I just – "
The man got up from his chair, spread his palms on the desk and leered at Will across his moustache. "So please do me a favor and – "
"WEEEEEEEH!"
Will barely had the time to register that a trolley was racing towards him at breakneck speeds before it smashed into him with the velocity and mass of a bullet train.
Pain. Confusion. Stars swimming before his eyes.
He blinked slowly. He was on the floor. Why was he on the floor? How long had he been on the floor?
A girl's voice rang out from above him. "Owie powie kazowie, lowie! That hurt! Hey my guy, you alive?"
Will pulled himself together and slowly rolled himself on his stomach. That was the first time in his life he'd been hit by a runaway trolley. Neat, he could scratch that off his bucket list…
"M-Miss Blakeory! What on earth are you doing!" The moustached manager exclaimed. "How many times do I have to tell you not to use the trolleys in such a barbaric manner! And now you've gone and hit this hooligan with it! I pray to Arceus that they don't file a lawsuit!"
I am going to file my law straight up your suit so hard –
"Aw, quit worrying so much! Those scratches were already there! Besides, they got in the way of my trolley first! I should sue for the damage myself, hehe!"
His attempted-murderer seemed to be a girl in her late teens. Her shoulder length hair covered the right side of her face, but the parts Will could see seemed completely relaxed…and possibly amused.
She approached him and offered him a hand. "But for real, sorry for slamming my trolley into you like that! It was an accident…really!"
Will took her hand. She pulled him up with surprising strength,
"S'okay…" Will mumbled, taking a deep breath to test his ribs for any damage. So far so good.
"Heh, my name's – "
"Miss Blakeory, stop wasting your time with this street rat!" The moustached psycho exclaimed. "The helicopter you requested is waiting for you on the roof as we speak!"
Call me street rat again and I'll hang your moustache above my bed, Will thought. Of course, since the man would probably have him arrested the second he opened his mouth, he simply kept that to himself.
"Oh CRUD! I forgot I requested that," the girl sheepishly said. "I haven't even packed yet, hah. Val will kill me if I'm late again! Oh darn, what a bother. Eh, but who needs to pack when the world's your oyster! Because…well, you know what they say!"
Will stared at the girl, as did the moustache.
"…Miss Blakeory, what do they say?" The moustache carefully asked.
Miss Blakeory was pleasantly staring ahead of herself, her eyes unfocused. "Huh? I dunno what they say. I was asking you that?"
The man inhaled sharply and did not exhale again.
"Anyway, gotta go! But it was nice crashing into you!" The girl bumped her fist against Will's chest and then broke into a dead sprint towards one of the elevators.
The man watched her leave with a dead expression in his eyes, before turning his moustache on Will. "I need you to leave."
"I just wanted - "
The moustache lifted his finger. "If you do not leave I will have you escorted out by the police."
"On what grounds?" Will demanded, anger coming quick and hot.
"Jaywalking, trespassing, probably possession as well," the man exclaimed. "The longer you continue polluting our hotel, the more charges we'll be able to level at you."
The unreasonableness of it all built up inside of his chest, mixing with anger and rotting with the desperation at needing to hear from Tesla again.
He clenched his fists -
Keep up hope.
- and relaxed them again. He'd be shaming his mother and Tesla if he got himself stupidly arrested on bogus charges.
Without another word, Will turned around and left that miserable place.
It was time to go see Venam.
Thankfully, he'd about memorized the route he needed to take to her house. After a quick walk, he'd made it right back to the spot where she'd first crashed into his life.
Will walked into Venam's yard, then paused to read the large sign bolted into the ground in front of the Gym entrance.
"Official residence of an Aevium Gym Leader"
Will had to give it to her, Venam seemed like a tough girl. He wasn't sure if he'd want the entire city to know where he lived if he held such a high rank there.
He passed through the large, opulent door and the atmosphere did a complete one-eighty. It felt like he just wandered into a high-profile nightclub; rock music played blared through the speakers all around him and the hallway was decorated with albums, musical instruments and neon lights.
Will looked around in wonder. Was this what he could expect from the gym challenges? This could be fun!
With nobody around, he released all three members of his team from their balls. "Alright guys, huddle around. Time for a plan. I'm here, Nidoran. Pay attention. Listen up."
The facts: Venam had more Pokémon than him. She had more experience and she had the field advantage. She was headstrong, merciless and brutal. Simply playing defensively would get them nowhere.
Pokémon were smart creatures. They didn't understand his words, but they did grasp his meaning. He couldn't convey multiple sentences of tactics to them, but he could give them roles to play, things they could reconcile with their instincts when things got dire and they needed to react before he could make a decision.
They knew their weaknesses, so they had to play to their strengths. Will had a plan for that.
When they were all ready, Will made his way down a flight of stairs with brightly glowing steps, past an unoccupied desk and through what felt like a door that should have been guarded by a large, angry bouncer. He emerged at the top of a podium of sorts, overlooking an actual nightclub, complete with real people actually hanging out, dancing, singing and drinking.
This place wasn't like a nightclub, it actually was one.
Will rested his elbows on the guardrail and just…took in the sights. It was hard to believe that all of this was part of a gym. Was he supposed to battle Venam here? Amidst all these people?
"No pressure," he said to himself.
Wait a minute…he recognized that blonde ponytail. Was that Melia? Then, the guy standing next to her had to be Ren!
Will grinned, knowing that he wouldn't be making a fool out of himself in front of a bunch of strangers after all. He vaulted the guardrail and walked up to the pair. "Hey guys!"
Melia squeaked in surprise and spun around. "Oh, Will! You startled me."
Ren nodded at him.
Will nodded back.
"Ren dragged me here so that we could see the match!" Melia explained. "Exploring Goldenwood is cool and all, but this is where the real content is! Good luck, Will!"
"Yeah man, good luck with the battle against Venam!" Ren chimed in/ "She's a tough first battle. Most of the time, Venam wins, actually."
No pressure.
"Except against me, hehe," Mela said, folding her wrists behind her back and smiling innocently.
Ren snorted. "Yeah, but you've fought her so many times that you know how she fights. And Venam is too stubborn to do anything other than brute force things, so."
"Hehe, yeaaah," Melia conceded.
Brute force…that might actually be good to know "And the dance floor over there…"
"That's the puzzle you have to solve!" Melia said.
Ren jabbed a pointy finger at Will. "You have to dance, baby,"
He actually managed to make it sound cool too, which made it doubly sad when Melia started laughing.
Ren turned to her. "What? It's true. Find the right order, show you can dance, and you'll be accepted. Simple."
"I am ready to boogie," Will said, pouring as much determination into that sentence as he could. He thought it sounded pretty believable, too. It almost made him forget that he couldn't dance if his life depended on it.
He just had to ignore Melia's snickering.
Which he could.
Definitely.
Because he. Was going. To boogie.
~~~~~~~(II)~~~~~~~
Nim walked into the gym, and went unseen by all. Nim was a master of stealth.
She had arrived just in time, too. The newcomer – her amazing spy abilities had taught her his name was Will – had only just arrived as well and was struggling his way through Venam's usual puzzle.
Will struggled to boogie. It was sad, really. Painful even. It looked like he had cracked the code, but his attempts to dance his way through the pressure-sensitive tiles below was pitiful. Pitiful!
But that was okay. Nim was a good dancer. Everybody had room for improvement.
One of Venam's friends controlled the mechanism. Until he thought Will's boogie was boogie enough, the puzzle would not solve itself.
Nim plonked down on one of the stools at the bar, pulled a bottle of soda out of the fridge when the bartender wasn't looking, then began observing.
She knew things other people didn't. Part of that was because she was very smart. A bigger part was because other people were just human.
Nim knew things. Will stood out to her. She wasn't completely sure why. Probably because he was an outsider too.
Nim did not know why Will was an outsider. She did not yet know where he came from. So, with her soda in her hand, she started observing.
People laughed at Will. Some of them did so meanly. Others – like Venam's friends, Melia and Ren, did so in encouragement.
Will maintained his focus and tried again.
And again.
And again.
Nim finished her soda.
Will tried again.
It did not bode well; most of the people whom Venam wiped the floor with usually managed to get past her puzzle relatively easily. It was simple; step on six different tiles in the right order, but do so with style.
Style was easy. It was shallow. It could be bought, faked, stolen, cheated on and with.
Nim looked at Will and saw…not style. His clothes had holes in them. Small, but Nim could see them. When Nim looked at those holes, she thought of fire and brimstone.
Whoops…cheated again.
Nim sat up straighter. She made the empty bottle disappear and looked. Really looked.
Ren cheered harder than he usually did. Melia was being her normal self. Venam paid attention.
Aha! Venam rarely bothered to pay attention these days. Why would she, if the outcome was already determined?
But now Venam paid attention. She had expectations. Nim hoped those expectations weren't superior boogie skills.
Will tried again and did not show his frustration.
"Come on Will!" Melia yelled mirthfully. "I thought you could boogie?"
Nim saw the calculations in Will's eyes. Nim knew then and there that Will was about to make a giant fool out of himself.
He landed on tile 4. Left hand on hip, right pointing diagonally up. Hips shifted left. He jumped, landed on tipe 2. Right hand on hip, left pointing diagonally up. Hips shifted right, two times. He nearly tripped over his feet, but landed on the 3. There, right hand boogied up, then down, then up. He forgot the hip shakes. Finally, he leapt back at the 4. Right hand on hip, left diagonally up, but he switched it up, back to the left. Eyes filled with steely concentration.
It was almost too bad for Nim to bear. And yet…that steely determination was special. Something Nim found hard to describe.
But he did it! He barely maintained his balance, then leapt at the central pad again. The lights flashed several times in quick succession, then settled on him.
"Looks like the show's on!" Venam's voice came through the speakers. Then, the Poison-type leader herself entered the stage, complete with guitar and everything. "Let's get this started! Take the stage Will and we'll rock on!"
Now, Nim had never figured out why people had come to associate rocks with this type of music, but the sounds were pleasant enough to her ears, and this place felt alive to her. So many unbridled and naked emotions and sensations…how could anyone not enjoy that?
Will took the opposite side of Venam, where everybody could see his face. He smiled at Venam, but something was off. He smiled and yet, he didn't smile. He smiled but didn't. The emotion never reached his eyes.
Nim stared at him, puzzled. What she saw behind his eyes, made her feel upset.
"See, I'm usually the Gym Leader new trainers like you face," Venam said. "But newer trainers just never know how to deal with my Poison-type Pokémon. So when you were able to fight off those Trubbish and Garbodor like that, I was very impressed."
"Good luck Will!" The blond girl, Melia, shouted.
"Knock her DEAD!" The guy, Ren, joined in.
His comment shocked Nim! Did they expect Will to execute Venam? Surely that was not necessary?
Venam did not seem intimidated by the threat to her life. She casually lobbed a Poke Ball in the air and caught it again.
Nim wasn't impressed; she could do that with six Balls and no hands!
"Ah, whatever," Venam replied. "Looks like we got an audience. Hope you don't get performance anxiety! I won't be kind, so you better not be either! I, Venam, Gym Leader of East Gearen City will end your career before it even starts!"
And with that, the fight was on!
Immediately, Venam started the fight with a Pokemon Nim hadn't seen her use before, while Will sent out a Poochyena.
Venam's new Trubbish faced off against the lil' pooch. Both trainers immediately went all in with quick aggressive attacks.
Poochyena lunged towards his foe, baring a maw filled with fearsome teeth. Trubbish thrust its arms forwards and opened its maw, spraying a foul, purple gas across the area.
The poisonous gas was potent, but lower than air, and Poochyena leapt over the cloud of gas to escape the worst of it. It came down on the Trubbish and bit down on its arm, hard. It held on tight even as the Trubbish began to flail around, struggling to get it off.
Poochyena glared at its foe, its eyes glowing an intimidating shade of red, and Trubbish froze, if only for a moment. In that moment, Poochyena released its arm, darted to its rear and leapt atop its back.
"Shake him off Trubbish!" Venam yelled.
Her Poison-type hunched up its little shoulders and began shaking wildly.
"Release," Will ordered. "And again!"
Nim watched eagerly as Will took full advantage of Poochyena's smaller stature and greater flexibility. It ran circles around the Trubbish, slowly wearing it down with hit-and-run attacks.
"This again?" Venam demanded. "Fine, this is just the opening act. Trubbish, keep using Poison Gas!"
Nim had seen that before. Venam would flood the field with clouds of poison during the initial bout to give herself a crucial advantage later on. It was crude, but it tended to work, unless Will had a Steel-type with him.
As it was, Poochyena was a perfect counter to the slower Trubbish, and wore it down with several Bite attacks. Venam was forced to recall it before it could seriously hurt, and sent out her next Pokemon, the hardy Mareanie.
By that point, the Poison Gas had covered much of the podium, and the onlookers were forced to back away.
Poochyena was unsteady on its feet, interrupting his howls with sharp coughing sounds.
"That's good enough Poochyena," well done, Will said, recalling his Pokemon before it could take too much damage. He was forced to send out his next Pokemon amidst the noxious fumes.
It wasn't a Steel-type, but it was arguably a better choice. He sent out a male Nidoran next, packing a high resistance to the Poison-type and good deterrent to Mareanie's sharp spikes.
Under Will's orders, Nidoran lowered his head and charged straight at the Mareanie, ignoring the poison cloud and lining up his powerful horn for a solid blow.
The Mareanie hunched, wrapping its barbed limbs around its head to protect itself. Nidoran slammed into its fleshy cloak, but it was still a little thing and didn't pack the momentum to break through. They went back and forth like that, jabbing, poking, stabbing at each other relentlessly, each resistant to the other's poisons.
Something had to give.
"Break through Nidoran! Keep pushing!"
Slowly, the momentum shifted. Mareanie was forced on the defense. Problem was, it wasn't heavy enough to do the defending its evolved form could do. The relentless charges of its foe sent it reeling. It turned from a jousting match into a matter of who could outmuscle the other the longest.
Both were Poison-types, but Nidoran had force and momentum on its side. Panting, but determined, it finally delivered a blow savage enough to force Mareanie's spiked folds out of the way, exposing a tired, ragged face.
That was the weak spot, and Nidoran seized it. He slammed into the Mareanie with enough force to knock it backwards. It rolled across the floor and came to a sad halt at the edge of the podium. It struggled to rise again, but it could not, and Venam was forced to withdraw it.
Next, Venam sent out her Grimer. Grimer, the sludge Pokemon, was made out of sludge. Nidoran was a physical attacker with poisonous spikes. She didn't see this matchup going well.
The battles became faster and fiercer, but also a bit sloppier. Venam's tactic was attack, attack again and if enemy not defeated, attack all over again.
Against the tired Nidoran, it worked, but it took more damage than it should have. Will ended up having to recall Nidoran - he really should have caught more Pokemon - then sent out his last remaining Pokemon – a Fire-starter in the form of a Torchic. He wasted no time in having Torchic blast the weakened Grimer with a steady flow of Ember shards, forcing Venam to recall it as well.
One versus two. It had been three months since someone pressed Venam this much! Will might even be able to pull this off!
Venam's expression was one of complete focus as she sent out her Whirlipede.
A hard shell protected Whirlipede's body, but only on the outside. Because of that, it could roll itself into a ball and move around like that with deceptive speed, using its two barbed spikes as offensive weapons.
Torchic had a tough aura, but it was no Poison-type. If it got even nicked, it would be on a clock.
Venam knew that, too, and she enjoyed the heck out of it. Under her orders, the Whirlipede began moving furiously around the podium, attempting to run Torchic down.
It was a solid tactic, one Nim couldn't see Will countering easily. It kept aggressively trying to smash against the smaller, if more nimble Fire-type, throwing off its aim whenever it tried to counterattack. It couldn't peck or scratch for fear of hitting its spikes.
Nasty stuff.
And it happened as Nim had foreseen. Torchic was faster, until it wasn't fast enough. The Whirlipede landed a good hit on its head, stunning the Torchic long enough for Whirlipede to fully coil around it. Then, the Bug-type put on the squeeze.
Nim felt her pulse quicken. Torchic was strong and could dish out solid hits, but it was still a little starter and couldn't take hits in return. This was a new tactic, she was certain of that! Venam must not have liked her odds of getting hit by a stray Ember blast, and decided to take care of that threat in a different way.
"Watch your head, keep it out of cooking range," Venam warned her Pokémon.
It had to get out, or it wouldn't last. But it couldn't get out, because it didn't have a method of attacking. It needed air to make use of its internal fire and even if it could get an Ember off, Venam had already thought ahead.
Was this it?
Nim looked at Will's face. He was tense, and she could see his mind racing. He saw Torchic choking and gasping in pain, and Nim saw his thoughts fall apart again. She wouldn't pry further, wouldn't delve into his thoughts, but she knew nonetheless.
"Come on Torchic," Will called out. "They won't get the better of you!"
Torchic squirmed and kicked with its claws. Torchic opened its beak and spat a defiant, but weak Ember.
But Torchic didn't get free.
Then, Nim felt the air change, a certain tension that crept and crackled into the atmosphere. She, of course, knew what was about to happen, which made the reactions of the people around her all the more enjoyable.
White light erupted from Torchic and completely enveloped it. An enormous burst of energy went unnoticed by all the people in the crowd as Torchic's form shifted to become larger, stronger and more powerful. Its soul, always the last part to change, was confused at first, but quickly accepted the wealth of new information and possibilities its new form could attain. Now in possession of two large, powerful arms, the Combusken effortlessly pried apart the crushing coils of the Whirlipede and violently slammed its foe against the ground.
Will did not verbally react to his starter's evolution, but the big, goofy grin on his face told Nim all she needed to know. "Go for its head, before it can recover!" He ordered.
"Crap," Nim had heard Venam mutter. She raised her ball to recall her Pokémon, but hesitated to do so. "Quick, use Twineedle before – "
Too late. Combusken was faster and had a gnarly kick. Literally, it hopped in the air and brought the heel of tis clawed foot down atop Whirlipede's head.
The Bug-Pokémon stiffened, its several crawly leggies twitching a couple of times, before it went limp.
"Damnit," Venam hissed. She clenched her teeth, but the emotion emanating from her soul felt nothing like anger. "Seviper, it's all up to you!"
Venam's ace, her Sepiver, took the battlefield to face down Will's ace.
Nim shifted her weight from her left leg to her right, then back again. The serpentine Pokémonstared down its final foe for the fight, its vertical eyes calmly assessing the situation.
Will and Venam issued their orders, and the two Pokémon clashed together. Combusken took two large leaps backwards and unleashed a raging barrage of Ember flames from its beak. Seviper was agile though, and handily twisted and slid around the majority of the bolts. If it could get close enough to deliver a venamous (hihi) bite, it would be all over.
Atop the podium, encouraged by a dozen different people and driven by the pounding beat of the music, the gym's interior felt like an emotional blender. Excitement slammed into concern, trepidation battled apprehension and the all-consuming desire to win pressed down on all the others.
Seviper surged forwards, coiled sharply to the left in a feint and banked to the right to deliver a crushing bite. Faster than even Nim's mighty mind could register, Combusken delivered a rapid series of kicks straight at Seviper's face.
That did not stun it for long though. While it did create distance between the two, it was more of a stall tactic than anything else, and if Combusken couldn't damage Seviper enough to knock it out, Will would lose that fight.
Come on! Nim thought, but not too hard or the others would hear her. Stop defending! Start attacking!
There, just as she suspected. Another feint, this time to the right, and Seviper came in suddenly from the left. It attempted a venomous bite and Combusken was just barely able to deflect it…
…and in doing so, Seviper's fang graced its forearm, leaving a nasty cut.
Venom delivered.
Nim wrestled down the urge to start hopping up and down in frustration. Come on Will! See that? See that? You! Are! On! A! Clock!
Will's face was a mask of concentration, while Venam's expression betrayed that she knew what just happened. That toothy grin of hers wasn't very subtle.
As the two Pokémon battled, Combusken gradually grew slower, and less fierce. It started panting, and struggled to fend off the probing attacks Venam ordered.
Nim felt her stomach plummet. They'd fought so hard!
"That's it Seviper! Finish it off with our special! Use Venam's Kiss!"
The Seviper hissed, then struck – "
"Now!" Will shouted.
Combusken brought its arms together and grabbed a hold of Seviper's head, stopping her needlelike fangs mere inches from its face.
A burning aura welled up from Combusken's body, and Nim felt the room grow heater in seconds. That fiery aura! Could it be?"
Combusken roared, and the aura exploded outwards. Keeping Seviper's mouth forced open, it spat one final, Blaze-powered Ember barrage straight into its face and vulnerable gullet.
Venam's ace went mad, throwing itself to the floor and thrashing around. Smoke poured from its body as its life force and energy had depleted to such a level that it couldn't ward off the elemental damage anymore.
"Seviper, come back!" Venam snapped, before wisely recalling her Pokémon.
Her last Pokémon.
And that…was that! That! Was! That!
Nim nearly fainted from excitement.
"DANG!" Venam spanned, swinging her fist in anger. "But…that was so fun! You're a great trainer!"
The crowd went wild. People yelled and cheered. A dozen people threw their fists in the air. Melia and Ren were among the loudest.
"Woohoo!" Melia cried, her face red from excitement and effort as she gave it her all. "Go Will! You were amazing!"
"I can't believe I lost," Venam spat. "Damnit I had such a good record this block too! But man, FINALLY someone knows how to do shit around here! I'm so TIRED of all the Jessicas and the Timmys that show up with their prized Skwovet or Patrat. Only for me to obliterate them without even thinking."
Obliterate…
"Psh. Anyway, you deserve these!"
Venam trudged over and handed Will his very first badge! Hurray!
"The PoisonHeart Badge!" Venam said, taking Will's hand and pressing it into his palm. She grabbed his shoulder and gave him a good shake. "I'm tired, man. I'm heading back home. There was something I was supposed to give you for winning, but…sorry, I forgot. Oops."
"I got what I needed," Will replied. His voice was barely audible over the music, but he sounded sincere, which was the most important.
Will was sincere.
"Hah. I'll see you later, Will," Venam replied.
Yes, Nim thought. I am going to see you later.
Both of them went their separate ways. Neither of them noticed Nim standing near the front, precisely as Nim had hoped.
But she knew enough. It was time to leave.
Nim turned around. Nobody ever saw her melt away in the shadows.
~~~~~~~(III)~~~~~~~
Melia and Ren were waiting for him outside.
"Yay, congratulations on your win, Will! You were absolutely fantastic~!" Melia beamed at him.
"No one's beaten Venam in quite some time, so it was refreshing to see her lose," Ren chimed in. "What a time for Torchic to evolve. Hey, if you're strong enough to beat Venam, then you might want to consider challenging the league. Next gym is…" he looked around for a moment, orientating himself in the right direction. "Thataway, I think it's Sheridan Village."
Melia's brow knitted in concern. "Um, Ren…I think we're jumping the gun a little bit."
"Hmm?"
"Beating Venam is one thing, but fighting the leader of Sheridan Village is another."
It didn't take Ren long to consider that. "Yeah, you're right. I hear the leader there is a real pleb stomper."
"That's why Will needs to do a little more training before considering challenging him!" Melia continued. "Hey, Will, I have a small task to complete at Goldenwood Forest in a couple of hours. Why not join me? It's a great way to become a better trainer, and I hear there's a lot of cool Pokémon there for you to befriend."
She turned to leave, then paused. "If you do come with me, I'll let you in on a little secret too."
Well, he'd done what he came to achieve, and Melia was fun to be around. He didn't see why not. "Sounds fun. Let's do it."
"I'll be waiting for you on Route 1," Melia smiled. "See ya, Ren!"
The two watched her leave.
"Well, I should get back to the Magnolia Library," Ren eventually said. "I had research to do, after all."
"Hey, before you go, do you know something about the Garufa?" Will asked.
"The Garufa?" Ren thought about that. "Weren't they an ancient civilization who lived before us? I came across that name a couple of times. Why?"
"I met someone with an…interest in their culture," Will replied. "I hadn't heard of them before."
"Huh. Well, if I find something about them in a book, I'll let you know. Later!"
Will looked down at the little piece of metal Venam had handed him. The PoisonHeart badge, huh? It was a nice gesture, and having it in his possession would surely come in handy later, but it was just a means to an end.
The battle had been close. Much too close. If he was going to find and rescue his mother, he needed to be stronger. He needed to be better.
Still…his preparations had paid off, and Torchic had even evolved! All things considered, it was an outcome he could be satisfied with.
And…he'd had a lot of fun doing so. Maybe Melia and Ren were on to something after all.
~~~~~~~(IV)~~~~~~~
Author's Notes: It is HARD to try and describe even a tiny part of The Travolta in a world where there never was a Travolta.
About sidequests: they're a ton of fun, and when they're too funny to leave out I'll do my best to incorporate them into the story. If not, I'll only take the story-relevant side quests, or the side quests with potential to enrich the story's lore or develop the characters. Meeting Karen = very important. Fighting random Pokemon = not very important.
Anyway, since Rejuvenation's story chapters tend to be big, I think the format of 4 written parts per chapter, each around 10,000 words, is going to work out fine for now. That means the next update is going to wrap things up for Chapter 1.
And oh boy. I can't wait to write THAT one :)
As always, please let me know your thoughts, and I'll see you all with the next update!