DarkFoxKit: Well… we already broke our weekly streak.
Traveling Master: True, but to be fair, fanfiction was being weird last week and was down. So there wasn't much we could've done.
DarkFoxKit: And I think it's fine if we take it slow. It's probably a strange story for most people because of how we're using Mother 3 characters in a Pokemon fanfiction. But regardless, it's one we've already put a lot of time and effort into.
Traveling Master: Yup, so without further adieu, let's get this chapter started!
Chapter 3: Reunion
It was a cold, wet night as the rain began to pour. Flint and Boney had been out in the forest, searching for his wife and children. Boney was a Fire type, so being out in the cold rain wasn't good for him. But even so, the Houndour refused to stay at home, he wanted to find his family too. It warmed Flint's heart to see everyone from New Bark Village all out here, helping him find his family.
Some of the villagers used their Flying Pokemon to fly and scout out the forest. Others were using their Pokemon to scare away the dangerous wild Pokemon like Ekans and Rattata who were acting very agitated after the fire.
Eventually, Flint found Bronson standing in front of a fallen tree that was blocking the path.
"This tree must've fallen from lightning… well, I'd like to say that, but it looked more like something broke it rather than lightning striking it. There's no scorch mark on it. The fire didn't seem to have reached this far into the forest before the rain put it out," Bronson explained. "Nova didn't want to come out here in the rain, so I can't use her to just burn away the tree."
"I don't think fire would help much right now. The tree is too soaked from the rain, and with both Nova and Boney's fire hindered by it, it would take too long to burn away the tree," Flint disappointedly explained.
Flint surveyed the surrounding area, hoping to find another path, but there was none. He clenched his fists in frustration as he thought to himself. Why is everything so intent on getting in my way?! Hinawa and my sons are still out there!
"We can probably split into groups and see if we can find another way around," Tessie spoke up.
"And if we can't?" Flint frowned.
"Don't worry, Flint," Isaac spoke up as he had his Stantler and Quigsire next to him. "We'll move that tree out of the way."
Flint turned around, surprised to see not just Isaac, but Lighter and Fuel too. Bud and Lou were there too.
"Lighter? Are you sure you should be up and about right now?" Flint asked in concern.
"Far!" Lighter's Farfetch'd, Broil, nodded in agreement with Flint.
"It's gonna take a lot more than some slight burns to keep me down. You worry about finding Hinawa and your kids, leave the tree to us," Lighter answered with determination. "We have our Pokemon to help us out too."
"I know I can't do much, but I'm worried about Lucas, Claus, and Hinawa too," Fuel said. "I'll keep an eye on my dad to make sure he doesn't overdo it."
"We spotted a path towards the West, looks like it takes you on a longer path, but it's better than waiting here. Go on ahead while we try to clear the path here for when you find your family later," Isaac added. "And be careful Flint, the rain may have doused the forest fire, but we have no idea how the wild life will be out there. Some of them might still act hostile, so best be careful."
"Thank you for the warning," Flint replied. "But I'll be fine. You just be careful while you're dealing with the tree."
"Alright. Bruce, Swampy, let's get this tree off the path," Isaac instructed.
"Stantler," Bruce replied.
"Quaaag," Swampy yawned.
"Broil, help us out by using Cut," Lighter ordered.
The Farfetch'd nodded before it swung its leek at the tree. He wasn't strong enough to cut the entire tree, he had to trim it down to make it easier for Isaac, Lighter, Bruce, and Swampy to move it.
While they were doing that, Flint, Boney, Tessie, and a few others began walking to the path to the West. They were trying to find a way around the path the tree was blocking.
Flint and Boney found Jonel, another man from the village, looking up at a cliff. Jonel had a small brown creature next to him with a white stomach that had a big brown spot in the middle of the stomach, he had semi-long ears, and a fluffy tail with black rings around it. It was a Sentret.
Jonel's Sentret was using its tail to prop itself up and was looking up at the cliff.
"What's going on, Jonel?" Flint asked.
"Oh, Flint," Jonel looked at the cowboy. "Scouter noticed something unusual on the cliffs."
"What is it?" Flint questioned.
"Take a look…" Jonel pointed up. "There are large claw looking marks on the cliff. Some of the cliffs looked like they've been split open, like a damn earthquake went through here. At first I thought it might've been an isolated earthquake or something that went through here, but those claw marks says otherwise. There aren't that many Pokemon that can use Earthquake or make such a dent on a cliffside…"
"... Not many, except for one…" Flint grimly said. "We're near Mt. Silver… the home of the Tyranitar family."
"Yeah, but… aren't the Tyranitar peaceful Pokemon?" Jonel asked. "Why would they suddenly destroy part of the mountain?"
"I don't know." Flint frowned. "But with those kinds of claw marks left on rock… I can't think of any other Pokemon in the area that could even do that."
"I'm getting a bad feeling about this, Flint," Jonel warned. "Something bad is happening to the forest, the wild Pokemon, and to me…"
Flint raised an eyebrow at that last statement. Though Jonel had always been a bit of a self centered person, and he was likely worried something bad was going to happen to him. Though he wasn't nearly as bad as some people Flint knew, at least Jonel was out here helping them look for Hinawa and the kids.
"But that's not all," Jonel spoke up. "Scouter saw something else too, at the top of the cliffside."
"Sentret, Sentret," Scouter said, pointing up.
Boney suddenly began sniffing the air, despite the rain. Boney looked up as well, and he suddenly started howling. Flint, wondering what they were looking at, looked up at where Scouter was pointing. He saw a branch at the top of the cliff, and hanging on it looked like something red.
"What's going on here?" A new voice asked, causing Flint to turn and see a fairly older man approaching them wearing a white lab coat.
"Wess? What are you doing here?" Flint asked, not that he was ungrateful for an extra body to help, he wasn't exactly sure how the Pokemon Professor could help him.
"With all the commotion that's been happening, as well as news of your family still missing, I thought I see what assistance I could give," Wess answered.
"Rattata," A muffled noise came from inside of Wess's coat as a small purple rodent-like Pokemon poked its head out from the inside. "Ratta Ratta."
Wess liked having his Rattata help him around the lab as the little rodent Pokemon was able to scurry around quickly,and bring Wess what he needed. However, Flint couldn't help but notice that Wess's Rattata was a little unusual from the normal Rattata. Its whiskers, instead of being on its cheeks, they were on its nose that almost looked like a mustache. The tip of the Rattata's ears and tail had spiky fur on it, which normal Rattata didn't usually have. It was a little unusual, but Flint didn't really question it. It could just be that Wess's Rattata had a strange genetic mutation due to its parents. After all, Wess was a Pokemon Professor, he may have bred a slightly strange Rattata in his experiments. As far as Flint could see, it wasn't that much different from other Rattata. Though it didn't like to get wet, so that may explain why it was hiding under Wess's coat, trying to keep away from the rain.
"No offense, Wess, but aren't you a bit too old to be out here in the rain?" Jonel asked.
"Bah, if I was going to be afraid of a little rain, I would've retired ages ago," Wess answered before looking up towards the cliff and spotting the red object in the distance. "But it looks like you all found yourself stumped. Flint, I can already tell what you're thinking, and I don't doubt your determination, but even you can't climb up those cliffs. Maybe if it wasn't raining you might have a chance, but with how things are, it's too dangerous…but I think I know just the person with the right Pokemon who could help. Mind if I borrow your Houndour? I'd normally send Whiskers here to deliver my messages, but he's not very fond of the rain, as you can see."
Flint thought it was rather funny that Wess's Rattata refused to be out in the rain, when Boney, who was a Fire type, was out in the rain. But then again, Boney was a loyal Pokemon who was very worried about Hinawa and the kids.
"If you think Boney can be of use to you, then sure," Flint replied. "Boney, listen to Wess, he may be able to help us get to Hinawa and the kids."
Boney nodded as he approached the old Pokemon Professor.
"Alright, I know you've been to my place when Flint had visited a few times before, remember how to get there?" Wess asked as he saw the Houndour nodded. "Good. My son, even though he's mostly useless, will be able to help us here. Go fetch Duster and make sure he has his Pokemon with him."
Boney barked before nodding, recalling not only Wess's home, but also meeting with his son. Something always smelt strange about the father and son, but Boney never stayed long enough to find out. He never even interacted much with Duster's Pokemon, so he could only hope that the Pokemon would help him bring Duster back too. With much needed haste, Boney gave one last bark before dashing away, making his way back towards New Bark Village.
Boney raced past several of the villagers, being in a hurry. He wanted to get through the rainstorm, and get to Duster. Lightning flashed through the sky as the Houndour ran. Boney finally made it back to the village, and hurried into one of the bigger houses in the village. The house was where Wess lived, and kept his lab.
Boney entered the house and began sniffing around for Duster. His nose led him down into a basement. The Houndour was surprised that the basement looked so simple, yet there was something about it that made him a little uneasy. He wasn't sure what it was. Boney felt a part of him shivered in excitement, the part that he usually ignored because it wasn't a nature that his family approved of. His Dark typing would sometimes have Boney do things that he shouldn't do, and often get punished for it. Like stealing food, or digging up crops, or harassing the Mareep for the fun of it.
Boney quickly shook himself, though he unintentionally had water spread out from his fur when he did. He whined a little at that, but he remembered why he was here. He didn't have time to dawdle, his family needed him. Whatever it was that he was sensing could wait.
Boney's ears twitched when he heard snoring. He hurried to the corner of the room, finding a bum-looking man passed out on a small bed. Boney recognized this man, it was the one Wess wanted him to get.
Boney began barking loudly, hoping to wake the man up. But the man kept snoozing away, not seeming to even hear Boney's barking at all. Boney whined at this.
He sleeps deeper than a Snorlax! … But there's more than one way to wake a person up. Boney decided, letting a bit of his natural Dark typing take over for a moment.
Boney took a deep breath and spat out a tiny spark of flame. The tiny flame landed on the seat of the man's pants. The little flame grew more and more, until the man's entire butt was on fire.
At first Duster didn't seem to react, the only sound being his snoring. But then he started sniffing the air, at first he thought maybe his dad was cooking something for him. It made his stomach growl, the thought of a nice warm meal being made by his dad filled his stomach with hunger. But then the thought of his dad actually cooking something for him was so unbelievable, that it caused him to wake up, still unaware of the fire.
"Huh…Boney? What are you doing here? And what's that smell? And why…is it…hot?..." Duster slowly asked before looking behind him and finally noticing the flames.
A second passed before Duster jumped up, yelling and panicking over the flames covering his behind. Boney, realizing that this could cause a house fire, and the poor man could burn himself to death with how much he was panicking, quickly used his teeth to grab the man's long sleeve and pulled him out of the basement. He kept pulling Duster until they got outside in the rain, where the rain douse the flames.
Boney whined a little. Sorry about that. I didn't think that tiny flame would get that big before you woke up. You're such a deep sleeper that I thought you were in a coma, but somehow snoring.
"And I thought my mother was mischievous, but you really know how to light up the house," Boney heard a Pokemon snickering.
Boney turned towards the new Pokemon, seeing it laying on top of one of the shelf's, with its head resting on crossed arms, not giving any hint of hostility. Boney recalled hearing Professor Wess call this Pokemon Sneasel, but the Houndour himself had encountered normal Sneasel before, when they tried stealing food from their storage before. Normally they had black short fur, yellow gemstone on their forehead and chest, white claws and with one of their ears being longer and red, as with their tail. The only similarity this Sneasel had was sharing the same colored gemstone on their forehead and chest. Besides that, they were a completely different color, with the majority of their body being purple.
This was Boney's first time hearing the Sneasel speak, surprised to hear that it was female. He could usually smell if a Pokemon was male or female, but for some reason, Boney couldn't smell what gender this Sneasel was. Boney figured the reason why this Sneasel's color looked so different from a normal one was because it was one of those 'shiny' Pokemon he heard about. Extremely rare Pokemon that are born with different colors from the norm.
"What are you doing here? Come to steal what's in the house?" Boney grumbled. "No, I don't have time to deal with a thieving Pokemon, I need to get this man to come with me right away!"
"A thief? I would never!" The Sneasel let out a fake gasp, placing a claw against her own chest, only for her to start snickering once more. "If anything, you're the thief here, breaking into my home and setting my human on fire."
The Houndour was surprised to hear that. "Wait, your house? And… your human!? You belong to Duster!?"
"What? Did you think a random Sneasel would just be staying at this human house for no apparent reason?" The Sneasel snickered. "If I was here to steal, I'd get what I need and get out quickly rather than announcing my presence. For a Dark type, you seem pretty clueless with how stealing works."
"I may be a Dark type, but I was raised to be an honest, loyal partner!" Boney huffed.
The Sneasel was about to make another snide remark when she noticed Duster walking up to them, his pants soaked from the rain, though parts of it were burnt from the fire.
"Hey Boney, while it's always nice seeing you around, I don't appreciate waking up to my pants being lit on fire," Duster commented before kneeling down to get closer to Boney. "So what brings you here?"
Boney looked at Duster. "Hinawa, Lucas, and Claus are missing! There have been signs of a Tyranitar going wild and destroying parts of the mountain. I'm worried that my family got caught up in that. So we need your help. Wess sent me to get you, but you wouldn't wake up!"
Duster was nodding the whole time, listening to Boney and his barks. Once the Houndor had finished explaining himself, Duster got up as he crossed his arm. "...I have no idea what you are saying…Did Lucas fall down the well again?"
The Sneasel only laughed at his owner's response.
"I hate this damn language barrier!" Boney growled before he grabbed onto Duster's sleeves with his teeth and started pulling him. Just come with me! There's no time to try to get you to understand the situation!
"H-hey! What's gotten into you Boney?!" Duster shouted, pulling back his arm but was still being dragged away. He turned towards his Sneasel who was watching him with amusement. "Don't just stare, help me, Leblanc!"
"Oh, you want me to help? Okay~" The strange colored Sneasel, Leblanc, responded before stretching.
Once done stretching, she hopped off the shelf and landed gracefully on the floor. Boney gave a warning growl, expecting the Sneasel to interfere, but to both his and Duster's surprise, Leblanc used her own teeth to grab Duster's other sleeve and began dragging too.
"You can drop the surprised look, silly Houndour. I'm here to help~" Leblanc said through clenched teeth.
"Leblanc! Help me! Not Boney!" Duster shouted, now unable to give any resistance thanks to two Pokemon that were dragging him away.
"Thanks, but why are you helping me?" Boney asked the Sneasel.
"Come now, you said your family is in danger. I'm not completely heartless," Leblanc replied.
As Boney and Leblanc were dragging Duster out of the village, Duster began to realize that there were people out in the forest, they seemed to be looking for something. They looked worried too. Judging from how frantic Boney had been acting, to the point he was willing to burn Duster's pants earlier just to wake him up, Duster began to realize that this was likely an emergency rather than Boney just playing a prank on him.
When Duster began to grasp the situation, he started running on his own, glad he changed into appropriate clothes, as well as bringing his special bag with him. Boney and Leblanc didn't have to keep dragging him anymore. Instead, they were running ahead, leading Duster through the forest to where he needed to go. Duster rushed as quickly as he could, though it was a bit of a strain with his bad left leg. Thankfully, it wasn't long until Boney led him and Leblanc to the cliffside where Flint and Wess had been waiting.
Duster placed his hands on his knees, catching his breath as he waited to hear what his dad needed to say.
"Duster…it's about time you make yourself useful and use your special skills that I've been training you in," Wess abruptly stated.
"Good to see you too, dad," Duster replied after having caught his breath. "Was it necessary to send the Houndour for me?"
"If I didn't, you'd probably still be sleeping while the whole town was in a mess," Wess accused, knowing his son was indeed sleeping. "Anyways, now that you are here, you can help Flint here. Ah, you brought your Sneasel too, perfect."
Wess then quickly explained the situation to Duster and Leblanc, where Flint's family have yet to return, and with the strange red item up on the cliff side, as well as the damage and claw marks, they believe Flint can get to his family. Only problem was due to the rain, climbing the cliff was near impossible.
"And that's where you and your Sneasel can help," Wess stated. "You better not have been shirking off your training, we're going to need those skills of yours."
Duster sighed as he nodded, walking closer to the cliffside to get a better look. Leblanc hopped on his shoulder, analyzing the cliff too. After a minute Duster took a step back as he reached inside his bag, grabbing what looked like to be giant staple clips.
"Well Leblanc, might be a bit difficult, but nothing we can't handle. Ready?" Duster asked.
"Ready!" Leblanc answered, preparing herself while on Duster's right shoulder.
With that, Duster tossed half of the staple hooks high into the air towards the cliffside just as Lebanc leaped off Duster's shoulder, catching each of the hooks in the air. While she did this, Duster used the other half and started from the ground up, placing each staple hook one above the other and making a wall ladder. While he was going up, Leblanc clung to the cliff side, going a little upward until she was near the top, and started placing each hook into the side, going downward towards Duster. Just when the duo placed their last staple hook, they were both in the middle of the newly made ladder, perfectly vertical upon the cliffside.
Duster gave a quick scratch behind Leblanc's favorite spot, which was her ear. "Good job Leblanc, now let's go to the top."
The Sneasle nodded before climbing on Duster's shoulder, giving him more space to climb up. Once on top, Duster looked over the edge and waved over to Flint.
"Alright, that should do it. Both you and Boney should be able to climb up, I made it to where both human and certain Pokemon can use my staple hooks," Duster shouted. "Watch your step though, it's still raining."
"Flint, you and Boney go on ahead," Wess said. "I'll keep watch on everyone. I'm sure Isaac and Lighter are getting close to removing the tree as well. Though if those marks on the cliffside were made by a Tyranitar, you best be careful."
"Thanks," Flint replied. Though that special skill of Duster's is very… special alright. What could he be training for to be able to scale a cliff with staples of all things?
Well, whatever the case may be, Flint was just grateful Duster used it to help him get to the top of the cliff and get closer to finding his family. "Good job bringing Duster here, Boney. Now let's go get our family."
Boney barked as he nodded.
Flint began climbing up the ridiculously large staples. The Houndour was a bit hesitant on Duster's claim, but he needed to be there for Flint and for the others, so trusting Duster, Boney began climbing up. Much to his surprise, he was able to climb after Flint just fine. The staples seemed to jut out just enough for Boney's paws to be able to grip onto them.
Once Flint and Boney reached the top, they were surprised the rain started to let up. A cool wind began to blow through as the red object that was stuck on the branch was blown off. Boney jumped quickly, catching the red object with his mouth. The Houndour immediately realized the object was soft, like a cloth. And it had… Hinawa's smell, as well as the scent of the two children. There was the smell of a Grass type Pokemon too.
Boney quickly went over to Flint, showing him the red cloth. Flint bent down, taking the cloth into his hand. He frowned as he looked at the cloth.
"This… looks like something from Hinawa's dress…" Flint noted, feeling like the weight in his stomach had increased tenfold.
With the rain letting up, a few mole Pokemon began to pop up from the ground.
"Diglett, Dig, Diglett, Dig." The Pokemon called out, letting the other Diglett come up as well.
Boney looked at the Diglett and quickly went over to them. "Diglett, have you seen what happened here?"
The Diglett blinked as they looked at the Houndour.
"Didn't see much. Just tons of earthquakes, stomping something heavy, and loud roaring. Very loud, very scary." The Diglett replied.
"Sounds like they don't know too much about what happened. They were likely underground when the whole thing went down," Leblanc noted. She then saw an open path along the mountain side. "I don't see any other path, so that one might be their best shot."
Leblanc tugged slightly on Duster's shirt and pointed towards the path. "Looks like that's our best shot at finding your wife and kids."
"Duster, you don't need to come, you've done enough," Flint suggested, knowing about Duster's bad leg. "Boney and I can handle the rest."
"Don't worry about my leg," Duster replied, already guessing that's what Flint was concerned about. "Plus, with me and Leblanc, we should be able to find your wife and kids together. Plus, you might be needing more of my staple hooks, in case you need to climb higher. Besides, you'd be surprised at what I'm capable of. And Leblanc is stronger than she looks, she'll come in handy if we get into a battle with a hostile Pokemon."
"Thanks very much, Duster," Flint said, grateful for the help, though he hoped Duster didn't push himself too much. "Let's go. There should be a stone bridge connecting to the other side of the mountain that will lead us to my step father's cabin. That was where my family was staying."
Duster nodded. "Lead the way."
"Boney! Come boy!" Flint called.
Boney was by Flint's side in a heartbeat. Flint, Boney, Duster, and Leblanc began moving forward. But they stopped short when they saw… what looked like a couple of people wearing Swinub outfits, covering their faces with the Swinub helmets. They were working on what looked like some kind of machine. There was a control panel they were pressing buttons on. And there was… what may have been a Stantler, sleeping, or unconscious, on a large metal platform that appeared to be connected to the machine's control panel. The Stantler, however, looked very different. Half of its face looked to be metallic and silver. And the antler on the metallic side looked to have been replaced by a more metal version of the antler. Its back legs and flank looked to have been replaced by more metals, and its right leg was also replaced by a metallic looking leg. The Stantler almost looked like a strange hybrid between an organic and mechanical creature. There were Pokemon that were all mechanical, like Magnemite, but this didn't look normal.
"Hey Flint, what do you think they're doing?" Duster whispered, trying not to draw the Swinub helmets's attention.
Flint frowned. "I have no idea, but I don't like it. What did they do to that poor Stantler?"
"Well we shouldn't just sit here and let them do what they want to do to that poor thing!" Duster said, ready to move, only for Flint to place a hand on his shoulder.
"Wait, we can't just rush in, especially not knowing how hostile that Stantler might be. We need to get rid of those Swinub wearing guys first. Then we might be able to help the Stantler. You and your Sneasel go off to the side, use the cliff side to get the drop on them, I'll draw their attention, and we hit them in one go," Flint explained.
"I have to say, Flint, for someone who wasn't trained under my father, you seem to have a natural knack for… well, I guess I shouldn't say, you probably wouldn't like it," Duster remarked. "But I like your idea."
Flint wasn't sure what Duster had been implying, but he just hoped their idea would work. If I had known we'd run into such trouble, I would've brought my strongest partner with me instead of the family Houndour… I was hoping it'd be a simple tracking mission for my family, not a potential tough battle with a poor Stantler being… taken apart and put back together with unnatural things.
While Duster and Leblanc were making their way to the cliffside, Flint looked down at Boney. "I apologize, Boney. I know you weren't trained for battle, and you're still pretty young. We wanted you to be a good Pokemon who helped us around the farm and keep the Mareep from wandering off. But it looks like I'm going to need you to fight with me here."
Boney gave a nod to Flint. It was no secret that Flint and Hinawa had been concerned when they first saw Boney when they wanted a family Pokemon who would help them with the farm, and play with the children. But Boney had proven to be trustworthy around their children and the Mareep, and he hoped to be able to show he could also be trusted to battle alongside Flint.
"Alright, Boney, get ready to use Smog," Flint ordered as he took the scarf around his neck and brought it up to cover his nose and mouth. "We'll go for the Swinub guy on the right while Duster and his Pokemon go for the one on the left. Ready?"
Boney gave a quiet bark of confirmation.
Flint saw Duster and Leblanc on the cliffside. They were right over the Swinub guy on the left. Boney waited with anticipation for his partner's orders.
"Okay… now!" Flint quickly said.
Boney unleashed a dark purple smoke from his maw, covering the Swinub man on the right. The Swinub man let out a surprised squeal when he was suddenly covered in dark smoke and began coughing. Taking this chance, both Flint and Boney tackled the Swinub man on the right, with Flint locking his arms behind his back while Boney used Bite to hold the right leg down. Despite the sudden surprise attack, the second Swinub was about to pull some sort of weapon, only to suddenly be tackled on his backside. Flint looked up to see both Duster and Leblanc getting the jump on the second Swinub man.
With the two Swinub men pinned down, the Smog soon cleared after, giving Flint and Duster a chance to get a better look at these mysterious strangers. It was a strange sight for Flint, at a distance they looked like they were cosplaying at Swinub, but up close, the suit felt eerily real. Part of him wondered if this was truly a man wearing a suit.
"Should we interrogate them?" Duster asked Flint.
Before Flint could answer, the machine that was holding the Stantler began to spark all of a sudden. There was a strange whirring sound like a machine was being booted up.
Boney and Leblanc immediately sensed danger and they turned their attention on the cybernetic Stantler that was slowly raising up to its legs. The Swinub men, seeing that they were distracted, used this chance to push Duster and Leblanc off of them. The two Swinub men scrambled around as they quickly ran further into the mountains.
"Hey! Come back!" Duster shouted, distracted by the two Swinub men running away.
"Duster look out!" Flint warned.
Duster turned to see that the mechanized Stantler was now freed from its prison, but instead of showing gratitude or fear, all it showed was rage. Rising up on its hindlegs, the Stantler lunged forward, aiming to use Stomp on Duster. At the last second, Flint dove and pushed Duster away, both barely dodging the Stantler as it hit the ground, causing cracks to appear where Duster was moments ago.
"We can worry about those Swinub men later, right now we have a bigger problem," Flint stated as he got up, helping Duster shortly after.
The mechanized Stantler let out a strange noise, it was difficult to tell if it was screaming or roaring. The mechanical half of its face had a glowing blue eye that had replaced the original eye. It sickened Flint to see that.
Boney and Leblanc quickly ran in front of their partners, growling and hissing at the Stantler, trying to warn it to back off.
Steam was coming out of the Stantler's mechanized antler. The Stantler lowered its head.
"It's going to charge!" Flint warned, having seen his Mareep lowering their heads when they were about to use Tackle.
The cybernetic Stantler ran at them with its iron-like head. Duster and Leblanc were quick to move, but Boney had been too slow. The antlers stabbed into him, and the Houndour let out a whimper of pain. Though Boney noticed the attack didn't hurt as much as he thought it would. He tried to turn and push back at the Stantler's head with his own head. Boney glared right into the Stantler's eyes, one natural, and the other a strange, soulless glowing blue mechanical eye.
Flint, seeing that Boney was relatively okay, despite the attack, and was right up on the Stantler's face, decided to use this opportunity. "Boney! Use Leer! Weaken its defenses!"
The Houndour glared into the Stantler's eyes, and his own eyes glowed red. Despite being reconstructed into a half mechanical monster, the Stantler actually shivered at the glowing eyes.
The Stantler was about to react and shake the Houndour away, when suddenly it felt a sharp pain on its side. Turning away from Boney, it saw that Leblanc had punched its side, with her claws giving a red aura around them.
"Good job on the Rock Smash, Leblanc! Now use Taunt!" Duster order before turning towards Flint. "We'll keep it distracted, you keep having Boney weaken it. It looks like it's weak to Fighting type moves, so it's still Normal type, and maybe some Steel type."
Flint noted that if this Stantler was indeed Normal and Steel type, it had a huge weakness to Fighting. This could be their chance to knock it out.
"Alright then," Flint said.
Leblanc gave a smirk at the mechanized Stantler and held out her claws. "Is that the best you can do? You're so weak. I'd be dancing circles around you."
The Stantler glared at Leblanc angrily and ran towards her. Electricity was now sparking on the Stantler's antlers. The mechanical antler was letting out the electricity, coating its antlers and head.
"That looks like Wild Charge!" Flint warned. "Don't let it hit you!"
"Use Quick Attack to dodge it!" Duster quickly called out.
Leblanc didn't hesitate to shoot across the area, leaving behind a silver streak. The Stantler let out another wailing noise as it chased after the unusually colored Sneasel, still covered in electricity.
We have to be careful, this thing has some powerful moves. But we can't just keep running around it forever. Flint frowned as he was assessing the situation. We need to slow it down and weaken it so we can help it. But how? Duster said it's possible it may have some Steel typing due to the mech parts that's on it. If that's true, then it must also be weak to Fire. I wonder, can that mechanical eye allow it to see through smoke?
"Boney! Use your Smog, try to cover the entire area in it, but reduce the poison as much as you can!" Flint ordered.
Boney nodded. I'll try my best!
"Duster! You and Leblanc better hold your breath for this!" Flint warned, not wanting the other two to get poisoned by this.
Duster and Leblanc quickly covered their mouth and nose. As soon as they did, Boney took a deep breath and unleashed the biggest cloud of dark purple smoke that he could manage, covering the Stantler in thick smoke. Of course, if it was part Steel type, it was immune to Poison. But Flint was hoping to hinder its vision. The Stanlter began to panic as it looked around. The mechanical eye began to flash, but it was annoyed at it. The Stantler began to bash its mechanical face into the cliffside.
I knew it. Even if the eye allows it to see through smoke, the Stantler isn't used to that. It can't see very well normally either through the Smog. Flint noted, keeping his mouth and nose covered with his scarf. "This is our chance! Hit it as hard as you can! Boney, use Ember!"
Boney didn't hesitate to shoot out little fireballs from his maw, having it burn the Stantler that was panicking in the Smog.
"Leblanc, follow up with Quick Attack and Rock Smash, aim for the mechanical eye!" Duster ordered, noting the Stantler's mechanical eye seemed to be its weakness.
"Playing dirty? Alright then!" Leblanc replied before charging forward with Quick Attack.
Despite the poisonous smog surrounding the Stantler, Leblanc seemed hardly fazed by it as she charged towards the mechanized Pokemon. When the Stantler had brought its head back to prepare to smash it once again against the cliffside, Leblanc leaped forward as a red aura covered her right claw. Just as the Stantler lunged forward with its head, Leblanc made contact with her Rock Smash against its mechanical eye, using the Stantler's momentum for added damage. The Stantler stepped back, shouting in pain as its mechanical eye shattered, soon followed by an explosion that knocked the Stantler down on its side.
As the Smog finally cleared, Flint, Duster and their two Pokemon cautiously approached the Stantler, seeing that it was hardly breathing.
"We…did it…" Duster said, though he didn't feel like they won. "But…could we have done something to save it?"
"I think we just need to get it to a Pokemon Center, and have Nurse Joy and Professor Wess look at the Stantler. Maybe they can do something to help it," Flint said before he threw an empty Poke Ball he had with him at the Stantler.
Despite being an unnatural Pokemon, the Poke Ball still registered it as a Pokemon, and turned the Stantler into red energy before absorbing the red energy. The Poke Ball closed as soon as the Stantler was inside it. The Poke Ball's center button was red as it wiggled a couple of times, but it didn't last long as the button turned white, and there was a PING, and the Poke Ball went still.
Flint picked up the Poke Ball. "The Poke Ball should keep it in suspended animation until we can get to a Pokemon Center. So it shouldn't die before then."
"You had a Poke Ball with you?" Duster asked, despite living with a Pokemon professor, Duster never usually carried an empty Poke Ball with him. He didn't have much interest in catching new Pokemon.
"I always keep a few spares on me in case I need to use them," Flint answered. "My wife is a retired Pokemon Trainer, and she may have taught me a thing or two. Having some empty Poke Balls is a good way to catch any Pokemon the village may need, like a Water type for watering crops, or if we need another Flying type to deliver our letters. Never thought I would have to use one to save a life though."
"Well, I'm sure my dad could figure out something, for now, we should probably keep going," Duster suggested.
"Yeah, but first…" Flint took out some Oran Berries from his pocket and held them out to Boney. "Here, eat these, boy. It should help heal the wounds you got from that battle."
Boney gave a grateful bark before he ate the 3 Oran Berries in Flint's hands. The wounds he suffered from the Iron Head attack started to heal quickly. Boney felt a lot better. Flint stroked Boney's head, seeing that the Houndour was feeling better.
"Okay, let's get going," Flint said.
They needed to know what those Swinub men were, why they reconstructed that poor Stantler, and what they were trying to do. Duster, Flint, Leblanc, and Boney hurried on ahead. They saw some kind of shiny, silvery, metallic space pod. They weren't sure what to make of it, but as soon as they saw it, the metallic thing started to float up into the air.
"Dang, they managed to get away," Duster pointed out when the strange object flew up into the sky. "What were they doing here in the first place? Were they just hoping to make more Pokemon into that Stantler we fought?"
"I'm not sure," Flint replied. Are they also behind the sudden fire earlier?
Their thoughts and questions were interrupted as they heard the sound of crumbling rocks up ahead. Taking the chance to investigate, Flint and Duster were surprised that the only path forward had fallen apart. The duo looked around, but there was no other way across the open gap.
"Sorry Flint, if it was climbing related, I could help, but I don't have any tools that could help us get across," Duster apologized. "What do we do now?"
"What could've caused the rocks to suddenly fall apart?" Flint frowned. "Was it the earthquake?"
"Maybe, or whatever attacked this area," Duster replied.
Flint frowned in concern. The rain may have stopped, but it was a cold night with the wind blowing, and with everything else being wet, including his clothes. He worried how his family were doing, if they were hurt or trapped somewhere. Then he remembered the reason why they were up here in the first place.
"Let's head back. Maybe Lighter and Isaac were able to move the tree by now," Flint suggested, trying to keep a level head, he needed to be strong during these hard times.
Duster looked back one last time at the open gap, hoping to find anything, but to his disappointment there was none.
"Okay," Duster nodded. "And don't worry, your wife and kids will be okay."
Flint nodded, but he couldn't shake the feeling of doubt and dread. Until he found Hinawa and his sons, his heart won't be able to calm down. He truly hoped they were okay. Boney looked worried for them as well. Despite being a Fire type, the Houndour was out here in the cold, wet night just to look for them.
The group headed back, climbing down with Duster's wall staples. Flint just hoped there was some good news in all of this. He still needed to get the Stantler treated as well.
When Flint and the others made it to the ground, they were surprised to see that there was nobody here.
"Where is everyone?" Duster asked.
"Flint! Duster!" A familiar voice called out.
Flint, Duster, Leblanc, and Boney saw Thomas riding on a two headed, ostrich-like bird. The bird was a Doduo, a very fast runner.
"There you two are," Thomas said.
"Thomas, where is everyone?" Flint asked.
"Lighter and Isaac managed to move and cut down that tree," Thomas explained. "Everyone has gone up ahead to see if they can find Hinawa and the kids. I was told to inform you of that when I saw you. Dasher here was finally brave enough to move through the forest now that the fire's been put out."
"Ah, I see," Flint said. "Thank you, Thomas. We'll meet up with the others then. Is Professor Wess nearby? I need to talk to him about a… special Pokemon I caught."
"You were out catching Pokemon? Shouldn't you be more focused on finding your family?" Thomas asked.
"It's a long story," Flint replied. "We came across these strange men wearing Swinub costumes experimenting on a wild Stantler. It became hostile as soon as it was freed. We managed to beat it, but instead of letting it die, I caught it in hopes that Professor Wess might be able to help it."
"Well, Professor Wess should be up ahead, he stayed behind as well," Thomas replied.
Flint nodded before continuing onward, with Boney, Duster and Leblanc following behind. True to Thomas's words, they soon came across the Professor, who seemed to have a worried look on his face. Upon seeing Flint and Duster, his expression softened slightly as he went to greet the duo.
"I take it my son proved to finally be useful?" Wess asked.
"He was more than helpful, but we still came across a deadend," Flint answered.
"Is that so? Well I'm sure Thomas already told you that the previous path had been cleared up, and almost everyone went on ahead to search for Hinawa and your kids. You better catch up to them, I'm sure they can use your help."
"Thank you, but before we go, I was hoping you could help with this Stantler I caught," Flint said as he pulled out the Poke Ball constraining the mechanized Stantler. "To make a long story short, we found some… unusual people reconstructing that poor Stantler. I was hoping you might be able to help it."
Wess took the Poke Ball. "I'll have to look at it when I get back to the lab. For now, you go on ahead. You have other matters to attend to."
"Thank you," Flint said. "Come on, Boney."
Boney barked as he and Flint walked ahead.
"Those people… they weren't normal," Duster said to Wess as Flint and Boney went ahead.
"You'll have to tell me the details," Wess said. "I want to know exactly what we're dealing with."
As Flint and Boney began walking up the path where the tree had finally been removed, he heard someone calling out in the distance that sounded like Bronson. "We found the kids! Someone get two blankets and get a fire going!"
His heart started racing, both from anticipation and from adrenaline coursing through his body. If they found the kids, surely they are safe. And if they are safe, then Hinawa must be too. These were the thoughts that raced through Flint's mind as he rushed towards the group, eager to see his family safe and sound.
Flint and Boney made a beeline to where they heard Bronson's voice. They saw some of the other villagers there, but none of them stopped Flint. They knew why he was in such a hurry. Though Flint could hear some of them wondering if Hianwa was nearby, though Lucas and Claus weren't talking. And Lucas was clutching to an egg. Though Flint wasn't sure if he heard that last one correctly, since it didn't make much sense for Lucas to have an egg.
Flint and Boney reached a clearing where they saw Tessie, Isaac, Lighter, Fuel, and a few other people surrounding a campfire that was burning brightly. As Flint got closer, he could see two figures shivering in a couple of blankets, and were closest to the campfire.
"Lucas, Claus!" Flint said with relief.
His two sons turned towards Flint, and with tears in their eyes, leaped towards their father, with Lucas being careful with the strange green egg he had under the blanket.
"DAD!" Lucas and Claus both shouted, hugging their dad as he hugged them back.
"Claus, Lucas… I'm so glad you two are okay," Flint said in relief as he hugged them back.
Boney let out a small whine as he watched them. He was glad that they were alright too, so now he could relax a little.
When everyone began to settle down, Boney laid near the campfire to warm up, he also stayed near Lucas and Claus. Though he was curious about the egg Lucas had been clutching onto. He smelled the scent of Tyranitar on the egg.
"Lucas, what's with the egg?" Flint asked.
"It's…" Lucas frowned, seeming to be unable to answer.
Flint frowned, but decided to try asking Claus something since Lucas seemed to be too shaken up to speak. "Claus, where's Hinawa? Did you see her?"
"Mom… Mom is…" Claus began before frowning. "Darn it…"
"Pika…"
Flint saw a Pikachu nearby, watching them, and looking quite tired. What's a Pikachu doing here? Actually…
"What about Sparks? And Vivi? Weren't they with you?" Flint asked.
"Oh," Claus seemed to perk up a little. "Sparks actually evolved, he's the Pikachu you see now. As for Vivi…we don't know. We got separated after…"
Claus went silent and closed his eyes, unable to find the words to share what happened. Lucas wasn't faring any better. Flint frowned, but knew better than to push his sons. Whatever had happened had really shook them, and the last thing they needed was an interrogation from their father. Flint gave each of his sons one last hug before getting back up.
"It's okay, for now you two focus on warming up. I know we'll find your mother soon," Flint said.
Lucas and Claus looked at each other, frowning and unable to have the heart to tell their dad what had happened. They themselves were still processing what happened, hoping that this was all a nightmare and that they would soon wake up.
Wanting to steer the subject away from Hinawa, Claus tried to hide his worry behind a prideful smile. "You know, it was Sparks who got Mr. Bronson's attention… that's how he found us. We were too tired and cold to move, so Sparks took it upon himself to get someone over to where we were."
"Is that so? That's a brave and smart Pikachu you have then, Claus. I'm sure he'll make a great Pokemon partner when you and Lucas are old enough to get your Trainer's license," Flint said.
"Yeah…maybe…" Claus replied, his pride faltering a little.
"And let's not forget about that egg, Lucas. Maybe after it hatches, you can take care of it and have your own partner," Flint said.
Lucas didn't reply, but he did smile a little as he nodded at his dad. He wasn't sure how to feel about the egg, or even if he would make the Pokemon his future partner. But after everything that had happened, Lucas felt the least he could do was keep the egg safe.
Boney was looking over at Sparks. "What happened?"
"A lot…" Sparks tiredly replied. "It's… it's not a pretty story…"
"But you evolved, don't Pichu normally evolve by happiness?" Boney asked.
"I evolved before… everything happened," Sparks sighed. "And even then, I… I was too weak to do anything…"
"Here, I've made some Innit Tea to help you boys warm up," Tessie spoke up as she handed Lucas and Claus a cup of tea. "Lucas, maybe you should keep the egg under the blanket. If it gets too cold, it won't hatch."
"Y-yeah, okay," Lucas said as he wrapped the blanket around the egg under himself, though he had to free up one of his hands to take the cup of tea.
"Do you know what kind of egg that is?" Flint asked curiously.
Tessie's Bellossom held the teapot carefully before she looked at the Pikachu and Houndour. Sparks hadn't said much about what happened either. Whatever happened must've been quite traumatic. Even though Sparks had evolved, he was still mentally a child himself.
"I believe it may be a Chikorita egg," Tessie said. "It has the soft, pale green of a Chikorita, and the pattern around its neck. It's quite rare to find a Chikorita egg though, there haven't been a lot of reports of the Chikorita line living in the wild."
Flint frowned a little. He knew about Hinawa's old partner being a Meganium, which was the final evolution of the Chikorita line. And Hinawa had told him that she released her old partner to live in the wild. He wondered if the egg could've been from that Meganium.
Flint wished his sons would tell him what happened. Right now, the best he could guess was that they were attacked and got separated from Hinawa. Some of the more abled villagers, like Bronson, were looking ahead for Hinawa right now. Flint wanted to join them on the search, but he didn't want to leave his sons either, not while they were in this state.
As time passed, what started off as minutes felt like eternity to Flint. He was glad his sons were safe, but with each passing minute, he couldn't help but worry about what happened to Hinawa. Where was she, how did she get separated from their sons, and is she okay? These were the thoughts that ran through Flint's mind, and despite trying to keep a calm demeanor, Lucas and Claus could tell their father was worried.
"...Claus…" Lucas whispered. "...Should…should we tell dad…what happened…to mom?"
"I…I don't…know…" Claus answered in a hushed tone.
They knew that their dad needed to know, but the image of their mother laying next to Sunny still haunted their minds. They didn't know how to tell anyone, and seeing how Claus, who normally knew what to do, was filled with doubt, Lucas found even less courage or words to tell their father what happened.
However, it didn't look like the boys needed to mull about that decision for long. Bronson suddenly ran towards the campsite, looking all nervous and worried.
"F-Flint!" Bronson called out, rushing over to Flint. "Flint, I… I don't know what to say!"
Flint frowned, seeing that Bronson looked to be in a panic. His Magmar partner, Nova, was next to him, looking very concerned.
"Bronson, slow down. What happened?" Flint asked, trying to stay calm, but he was starting to get a heavy feeling in the pit of his stomach.
Boney looked up at Bronson and Nova, he could tell there was fear and worry coming from both the human and the Pokemon.
"Flint… I have some good news and bad news," Bronson said. "Which do you want to hear first? … No… actually, I'll start with the good news. The good news is I found a Tyranitar fang. It's… quite a rare find and may make for a powerful weapon."
Flint blinked. Tyranitar rarely came down from the mountains, so it was difficult to find anything from them, Claws, fangs, even a chip of their rock-hard hides. It was definitely a rare and valuable find, but… considering how freaked out Bronson and Nova looked, Flint had a feeling the 'bad news' part was about to completely overshadow the 'good news'.
"Bronson, what happened?" Flint asked again. "What did you find?"
"Well…as for the bad news…" Bronson hesitated, which didn't help calm Flint's nerves. "The bad news is…It's where I found the Tyranitar fang…."
Bronson closed his eyes and took a moment to prepare himself. He knew what he was going to say next was gonna shock Flint.
"It was found… in a dead Meganium's neck flower… who was lying… next to Hinawa," Bronson answered. "Flint, she… she's dead."
As soon as those words were spoken, it was like lightning had struck Flint down then and there. There wasn't any actual lightning, but it felt like Flint's world was destroyed and turned to ash at that very moment. His body suddenly felt very cold, and his legs felt weak. He fell to his hands and knees, and before he knew it, he was pounding at the ground with his fists. He wanted to shout, to scream, to give a primal roar even. But it was as if his voice was completely lost in his throat. Everything around him went silent and gray.
Lucas and Claus knew their dad wouldn't react well to their mother being dead, but they didn't think he would react… like this. When Flint fell on his hands and knees and pounded the ground, some of the villagers tried to approach him in an attempt to comfort him.
"Flint… I don't know what to say, but try to stay calm…" Bronson spoke up, hoping to help Flint see the silver lining to this tragedy. "I believe Lucas and Claus are still alive now because Hinawa sacrificed herself to save them."
While what Bronson said was right, that didn't seem to make the situation any better. Flint was silent. Boney and Sparks looked at Flint in concern. Sparks was about to approach Flint, but Boney grabbed onto Sparks' tail and pulled him back, shaking his head. Boney knew that Flint was experiencing blind rage right now, it was not a good idea to approach him like this.
But the other villagers didn't seem to realize that. Tessie walked up behind Flint to try to comfort him. She placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. "Flint…"
Suddenly, without warning, Flint swung with his left arm, hitting Tessie and knocking her away. Everyone was shocked by what Flint just did. Before anyone could even say anything, Flint got up and walked to the campfire, grabbing one of the burning branches, seemingly unfazed by the burning sensation from the wood. He then swung against the campfire, shattering the remaining pieces of wood in there while causing everyone around him to take a step back.
Bronson took a cautionary step towards Flint, only to jump back at the last second as Flint spun around and tried hitting him with the burning branch. He pounded the ground a few times, the veins visible on his hand as he gripped the branch.
"Flint…I don't know what to say," Abbot tried calming Flint down, seeing the angry man slowly turn to look at him. "But please…try to pull yourself together."
Before Abbot could react, Flint hit him in the gut with the branch, knocking him down on the ground. This caused the others to step even further back, but one of them had built up enough courage and while Flint's back was turned, he tried to grab the branch from him. For a moment, Flint almost lost his grip, but before the man could take the branch, Flint pulled back, then swung hard, hitting the man twice on his chest, knocking him to the ground.
While this was going on, Tessie managed to get up and ran over to Lucas and Claus, trying to cover their view of Flint. She didn't want the boys to see their father like this. Though Lucas and Claus could still see some of what was going on. Lucas had never felt afraid of Flint before. Flint was the strong man who always kept him and Claus safe. Flint was the kind man who taught Lucas and Claus how to care for Mareep and Boney. Flint was the loving man who always loved his children and his wife. The man Lucas was seeing now was anything but that. He saw a man hitting people who were trying to comfort him, and not saying a single word. Flint wasn't even screaming, that made it even scarier.
Claus only silently watched. He had never seen his father break down like this. He had seen Flint fight before, but only to protect them from bad wild Pokemon that wanted to hurt them or eat their Mareep. But this… this was beyond any of that. Flint was striking people down just for trying to help him. Claus couldn't help but feel like this was his fault. If he had been strong, like his father… if he had trained Sparks to be strong… he could've saved his and Lucas's mother and Sunny.
The Pokemon were shocked at this, they weren't sure what to do. They feared if they tried to attack the man, they could seriously hurt them. None of their partners had instructed them to do anything.
Bronson ran up to Flint, not wanting Nova to accidentally burn the man, and grabbed the stick Flint was holding, trying to pull it away from him. "Flint! That's enough! Claus and Lucas are watching!"
Flint kicked Bronson in the stomach, and shoved him away. Flint was about to slam the stick onto Bronson when Lighter and his Farfetch'd ran over.
"Broil, use Aerial Ace on Flint's head, knock him out!" Lighter quickly instructed.
Broil didn't hesitate to fly at Flint while he was about to smash Bronson, and used his leek to slam it into the back of Flint's head. Broil held back so he wouldn't cause any serious damage, but it was enough to knock Flint out cold, stopping his rampage.
"D-Dad!" Claus called out.
"Don't worry, he'll be fine," Lighter promised. "He'll just be conked out for a while."
"We… we need to get you boys home," Tessie said.
Flow walked over to Tessie, looking at the small wound forming on Tessie where Flint hit her.
"I'll be fine, don't worry… Ollie and Abbot got the worst of it," Tessie reassured.
Lucas couldn't believe what was happening. It felt like his family was falling apart now that Hinawa was… gone. He started crying again. Claus looked over at Lucas, his heart breaking at seeing Lucas crying again. Sparks looked over at them, looking worried and uncertain. Boney looked at the unconscious Flint, not sure what to do either. Everything felt like they happened so fast.
While Flint was unconscious, it was decided that he should be thrown in jail by the mayor, because he was too dangerous to be roaming around right now.
It was early the next morning. Lucas had trouble sleeping. He still had the egg, though he left it on his bed. He also wrapped some blankets around the egg to keep it warm. But right now, he didn't really want to look at the egg. Not only were Hinawa and Sunny gone, he didn't see Vivi anywhere either. He didn't know what happened to the Pokemon his mother always liked to take care of.
Claus was already awake. He had Sparks with him too. Claus had been thinking long and hard all night about what happened. It just wasn't right. His mother shouldn't have died. His father shouldn't have been… thrown in jail. And his brother shouldn't have to cry over this. That Tyranitar had no right attacking them and killing his mother and Sunny.
"Sparks…" Claus said quietly.
The Pikachu looked at his partner.
"I'm going," Claus said. "Are you with me?"
Sparks knew what Claus meant. He and Claus had always been in sync. Sparks knew it was a bad idea, they weren't strong enough to do this by themselves, but… he could feel Claus's need to set things right. And even if he disagreed with Claus, he knew the boy would run ahead by himself.
Sparks nodded to Claus. If they were going to fall at least they would fall together. But… What about Lucas?
Claus and Sparks started to walk out of the house. Boney was asleep in his doghouse. He was exhausted from last night, so he didn't wake up to see Claus and Sparks walking out.
Lucas, however, saw his brother leaving with his Pikachu. Seeing this, Lucas ran after Claus, catching up to him and Sparks.
"Claus? Where are you and Sparks going?" Lucas asked.
"Go back to the house, Lucas," Claus ordered.
"...You're going after that Tyranitar…aren't you?" Lucas asked, afraid to hear the answer, but knowing what it was already.
Claus stopped and sighed. He should've known Lucas would've figured out what he was planning, they were brothers after, even though they had different interests and personalities, they always cared for each other. That also included knowing when something was bothering the other, and it wouldn't take long for either of them to figure out what the problem was.
Claus turned around and faced his brother. "Lucas…none of this would've happened if me and Sparks were strong enough, if that Tyranitar hadn't attacked us, Mom would still be alive and Dad wouldn't be in jail."
"But what can you expect to do?! You saw that monster, even Sunny couldn't handle it!" Lucas tried reasoning with Claus. "Why try going after that Tyranitar now? You said you and Sparks weren't strong enough, so what makes you think you are now?"
"That doesn't matter now!" Claus spoke back. "I was… caught by surprise last time. But that won't happen again. I'll fight alongside Sparks this time, and I have something that can help me fight. It's my fault anyways… I have to take responsibility. Dad's in jail, Mom is… gone… I'm the older twin. So I have to do this."
"What?" Lucas asked. "What did you find that could possibly help you fight a Tyranitar?"
Claus looked around, as though he was expecting their dad to suddenly appear, or someone else to be watching them, when he pulled out a very sharp knife. Lucas immediately recognized it, the shape being similar to that of the Tyranitar fang.
"That's… the Tyranitar fang?" Lucas asked, shocked. "When… did you get that? I thought Bronson had it!"
"He did," Claus answered. "You were still asleep when he dropped it off. I heard him come to the house and saw him place it behind our woodstock pile. He probably was gonna give it to our Dad once he was let out of jail, but he probably figured to drop it off here."
Lucas frowned. "That's for Dad then, right? Shouldn't you wait until he gets out and let him handle the monster that chased us? I… I don't think that was a Tyranitar. We know the Tyranitar would never hurt us, Claus, and it looked too different from the Tyranitar we knew."
"We don't know when they'll let Dad out, or if that monster is going to stick around!" Claus shouted. "And I can't sit around doing nothing while our mother's killer is still roaming out there!"
"B-but… you're not even a proper Trainer yet! What if you get killed!?" Lucas cried. "I don't want you to die too, Claus! I'll be left alone! But… if you still want to find that monster, then at least let me come with you!"
"Sorry Lucas… if you had a partner, I might've considered it, but if you come, me and Sparks would have to watch out for both the Tyranitar and for you," Claus responded. "I need you here, to make sure no one realizes what we are doing. They'll try to stop us if they find out."
Lucas looked down for a moment before he looked back at Claus. "I… I don't think you should go with just Sparks, Claus… I… I had a nightmare that… you weren't you anymore."
"What do you mean?" Claus asked.
"I… I'm not sure, but I think if you go and face the monster that killed our mom now, you… you won't come back as you anymore. You were… fighting me in the nightmare. You didn't… seem to recognize me. You had this weird metal helmet on, covering most of your face. You wouldn't talk to me. You just kept silently attacking me with a strange electrical sword, and some kind of… arm laser gun thing. You even had Sparks attack me, though Sparks also looked different. You… both of you… weren't the same," Lucas warned, his voice soft and filled with worry. "I… I can't help but think that dream was a warning. I rather you didn't go at all, but if you still want to, at least let me go with you, Claus. I don't want you to… change… I don't want you to become a monster, too."
"Lucas…we had just lost our mom, and barely survived ourselves…I know you are worried, but that was just a nightmare. I have to go, and won't be able to forgive myself if I don't do anything, or if I was unable to protect you. Me and Sparks can watch each other, but you'll only be a burden if you come," Claus replied, he didn't want to hurt Lucas, but there was no denying the truth. He knew if Lucas came, it would put them in more danger.
Lucas started to tear up. He didn't want Claus to go, but it didn't look like he could convince his brother to not go at all.
Claus walked over to Lucas and gave him a hug. "It'll be okay, Lucas. Sparks and I will be back, alright? Everything will be okay."
Sparks frowned as he watched this. Even he wasn't sure if they would be able to come back alive if they went through with this. But he just gave a nod to Lucas, hoping to at least reassure the slightly younger boy.
"You… better hold true to that, Claus," Lucas said.
"Hey, you know me," Claus replied. "No matter what happens, we'll always be together. Me and Sparks will return."
Claus pulled back from the hug. "Try not to tell anyone where I'm going, alright? I don't want them stopping me."
"... Okay," Lucas said. "Sparks, look after my brother, okay?"
"Pika," Sparks nodded.
"Sparks, let's go," Claus said.
"Chu," Sparks said before he and Claus walked away.
Lucas watched as the two left. He couldn't help but take a few steps forward, wanting to follow them, but stopped. He had a bad feeling that this may be the last time he would see them for a long time. Is this… really the right thing to do?
Sobbas: Traveling Master: So between me and DarkFoxKit, I understand a bit more spanish, and even then it took us a good minute to figure out what "rompa" meant. You're not wrong, in a sense, since we aren't copying and pasting the exact plot of Mother 3.
DarkFoxKit: Yeah, it would be ideal to show how close Hinawa and Sunny were rather than telling it, but this wasn't Hinawa's story, and it would just feel like filler if we went too much into it. We have to be careful about balancing out the world and character building without it becoming filler. Filler isn't inherently bad, but it does often slow down the pace of the story. On the other hand, no filler means that the plot just goes on at a breakneck pace that it becomes hard to really care about anyone in the world. So there needs to be a balance between the two. And you know how Lucas is psychic? Well, we have a headcanon theory that Hinawa may have been psychic as well, even if it was never shown that she was. The boy has to have gotten those abilities somewhere. We believe that includes the ability to understand animals, or Pokemon in this case.
Traveling Master: Since in the game it shows almost all the animals being able to communicate, we had to make some adjustments too. Not everyone in this story is going to be a psychic or have the ability to understand Pokemon, we feel it would be overwhelming and lessen how truly special it can be when a character can actually communicate with their Pokemon.
DarkFoxKit: I figured you didn't want to discourage us. But we understand this isn't a typical Pokemon story, and most people may not be into it due to that. After all, you are still our only reviewer, so we don't have much to go on what other people think about it. So it definitely felt discouraging to see you saying you weren't into it due to the Mother 3 aspect. But I do thank you for trying to be encouraging here. This is definitely a passion project, one I had been wanting to do for a while now. We are also hoping that you don't need to know the story of Mother 3 to enjoy this story, as while the beginning is similar to setting things up, the rest of the story will be a lot more different than the actual plot of Mother 3.
What do you mean you don't like Chikorita!? It's adorable, it tries so hard, and it becomes a cute flower dinosaur! People crap on Chikorita all the time, and I think Chikorita deserves to be in the spotlight.
Traveling Master: I have the same issue with names too XD. But the perks of old RPG games is that there are a ton of interesting NPC who…get like…one or two lines. And since there tends to be no established lore or background for each, it gives us more opportunity to be creative and give some of these background characters…well…more character. While our main focus is going to be the Protagonist and their companion, we still have the world and people that they'll be interacting with. Gotta make it more interesting so it feels less like talking to a one-time NPC and more with a person/Pokemon.
DarkFoxKit: The Mother series, or Earthbound in America, are known to be strange and quirky games, giving them the charm that most other games may not have. Since this is the world of Pokemon set in Johto, it makes sense to use Tyranitar in replacement of the Dragos (the dinosaurs), they're both powerful, green giant dinosaur species that can easily take down tanks and mountains. But they are also kind and gentle giants. At least I think Tyranitar usually are, that one poor Tyranitar in the Celebi movie looked like it was before it was corrupted by the Dark Ball. Have you ever seen the Land Before Time? The whole chase sequence with the Tyranitar, Lucas, Claus, and Sparks is actually inspired by the Sharptooth chase scene with Cera and Littlefoot. Since you probably don't know this, the chase sequence wasn't in the game. You played as Flint for the whole time and just found the twins, and only heard about the Drago attack. We wrote out the entire chase sequence, and the battle between Sunny and the Tyranitar.
Traveling Master: I think it was around the time when we brought up the Land Before Time, and considering the similarities and the trauma that followed between Lucas, Claus and their mother, we felt it was something we should go for, especially since like DarkFoxKit mentioned, we don't see how Hinawa dies in game, only that they found her body with a Dragon Fang. Again, it gave us more creative opportunities, but doesn't mean it was easy to write XD.
But you're right, her and Sunny's death would be a big turning point, in more ways than you can imagine. Again, while the beginning of this story will be a bit similar to Mother 3's beginning, it will definitely be taking a different route from the game itself. We made plans for certain characters, which I wish I could share, but those plans are for later in the story, and wouldn't want to spoil those.
Quick side note, love how you call the Larvitar Cliff, while this one is male, it is because of Cliff we can't help but almost make every Larvitar adorable XD
DarkFoxKit: Nobody adopted the Larvitar, he's still in the wild. Well, glad you appreciate the Love song. XD
Traveling Master: I am gonna be careful with what I say, cause before, when it came to your theories, you tend to be really close to being spot on to what we were planning. I will say this, we are focusing more on Pokemon that reside in the Johto region, so while all those ghost Pokemon you listed sound interesting and their lore would fit, since they are native in the story, we have no plans for using those Pokemon. I will stop at there with that theory and such.
We're glad you enjoyed the story, and it's always a pleasure seeing your reviews and your thoughts on the chapters themselves. We hope you enjoyed this one and that we continue to grab your attention.