—-Katarina's Point of View—-
"Are you still tired, Onion?" I asked the white and purple blob, the Goomy only squeaked out a meek "Goom" and slumped further on the rock she was on.
"Guess I pushed you a bit too hard for that Dragon Pulse. Sorry, I'll be lighter tomorrow" I said apologetically, but the Goomy only shook her head and something, probably something along the lines of 'no' since I can't understand Pokémon speech.
"Fine, we'll train like we did today, but you definitely aren't perfecting Dragon Pulse like this, so you can rest while I do my swordsmanship" I replied and didn't receive any kind of protest in response.
While I moved to my box against my favourite tree and looked for my wooden sword.
Anne, who was supervising me, decided to ask "Shall I go inside and get some refreshments, My Lady?"
"Sure thing Anne, and could you give Onion some water?"
"Certainly" she replied and left.
"I hope it's lemonade or maybe something colder like a smoothie" I thought.
While I was thinking about a very important topic, the corner of my eye had yellow and shaped almost like a heart, but without the bottom and semi-stuck inside a bush and so I decided to investigate.
"I mean, what's the worst that could happen?" I thought, closing my chest and walking over to feed my curiosity.
I tugged on the yellow thing and it turns out it was a heart and attached to a string "how did string get in this medieval set up?" Suddenly, an identical string had slinked around my waist, moving on its own like it was alive.
"Ohh, a Pokémon!" I blurted and decided to test my curiosity by yanking the string, thrusting the entire creature out of the bushes. It consisted of a purple balloon-like centre with white cloud-like cotton on the top, it had a yellow 'x' mark between its two oval shaped eyes.
"A Drifloon! Woah your fluff is really soft" I said as I started to pet the really soft fluff, so soft in fact that I didn't notice Anne had come back until she shouted "KATARINA!"
"Why is she so worried?" I thought to myself and turned to the source of the sound… it came from below me… "ANNE HELP!"
Which she did by grabbing a Pokéball and throwing it to the ground, revealing a Marowak.
"Marowak, no long range attacks, we cannot hit Katarina!" and the Marowak nodded and jumped on a nearby tree for an extra boost, this managed to get the Marowak in a close range while in mid-air.
The Marowak slammed its suddenly partially glowing body into the Drifloon, but Marowak had only phased through and was hit with a mysterious purple sphere by Drifloon, knocking her back to the ground.
I noticed that, during the confrontation, Drifloon kept flying and that we were too high up for Marowak to do her same trick again. "Anne, just get help. I'm too high up!"
Anne looked torn over whether or not to leave, but she quickly came to a decision and gave Marowak a strange ball from her Pockets. Marowak then threw the ball at me as Anne told me to catch it, while the Drifloon attempted to swat away the item with another mysterious sphere, I managed to catch it before it finished its move.
I shouted to Anne "I got it!" and upon hearing that, she left to most likely get help.
—
As I continued to drift in the air, I started to question where I was going. At first, I thought of sending out, but she would definitely get knocked off of me or Drifloon in the struggle and fall to who knows where or how high since the clouds are blocking my view now. And even if Onion defeated the Drifloon, we wouldn't have any way to get down and we'd fall.
"So then, Plan 'B' of Katarina's Grand Ghost Escape! I'll wait until we get to the Drifloon's nest of baby Drifloons, then I'll be on solid ground where I'll try and escape by having Onion beat the Pokémon and I'll climb down with my monkey skills!" I schemed internally.
"For now, I'll just wait" I thought, until I noticed a group of absolutely massive Pokémon emerge from the clouds, they too big to understand their full size by it looked like they were blue on top and white on the bottom with small black eyes at their front, aka a Pod of Wailords.
"Woah~ awesome" I said as I watched the Pokémon leap and fall back down, but once the show had lasted for a while, I thought something like "If there's Wailord then doesn't that mean water? Aka a safe landing"
"Guess there's no better way to find out" I thought and grabbed a Pokéball before tapping it on the Drifloon, causing it to disappear temporarily and have me fall.
The Drifloon predictably escaped the Pokéball, but by the time it did I was already close to below the clouds and it seemed to have abandoned me, probably because I was falling faster than it could fly.
As I moved my body to look below me, I watched as the clouds disappeared and the water I had thought existed was thankfully below me, so I held my breath and tried to remember all those swimming classes I took in High School before crashing into the water.
Just as I was about to swim back up to the surface, I looked to my hands and saw the lack of Anne's yellow ball she threw to me. Scanning the area frantically, I eventually noticed the ball was on the surface but at a considerable distance so I swam up and started following the ball.
After a few minutes of swimming, my arms were aching and tired despite all the breaks I took. Luckily, the ball had eventually stopped once it hit a beach and I was able to grab it… WAIT A BEACH!
"I swam back to land! Woohoo!" I cheered to myself. But my body was still sore so I sat down and decided to think of a strategy to survive this sudden mystery flag.
"This doesn't seem like a Doom Flag since it's before the academy, plus my family is rich so they might have some Pokémon that can track me down"
I then looked down at the yellow ball in my hand and thought "Anne also must have given me this random ball for a reason so I should keep it safe, get some food and wait till someone finds me"
To keep the ball safe, I grabbed some beached up Seaweed and tied it around my waist and the ball so it was always by my side. After that I took off some of my clothing to give them a quick squeeze before putting them back on so they'd be more dry.
After that was the search for food! But I quickly realised that the beach, despite the view being pretty, had a major lack of food lying around and I think it'd be weird for Onion to eat Magikarp or Corphish since she's a Pokémon. So fishing was out of the question and plus we could've accidentally angered one of those Wailords I saw and Onion is not that strong yet.
Behind me was a forest with thin trees and giant rocks. I had been eying it for a while now, but I was hesitant because of the wild Pokemon that could be there, but there could be wild mushrooms or berries and I am hungry from practicing all day…
Grabbing Onion's Pokéball from my belt, I threw the ball onto the ground, intentionally having the button touch the ground so it'd bounce back to my hand.
My familiar slimeball looking dragon re-appeared from her Pokéball and I told her the situation before telling her the plan "We're gonna go searching for stuff to eat until we get found so we'll head into that forest over there " I said while pointing to the forest and Onion nodded in understanding.
Grabbing my Goomy and holding her in my arms, I started moving to the forest. Like I thought from the beach, the trees were thin but what caught my attention was the mud, it was everywhere with dry dirt being nowhere and it had a purplish tint.
"I guess wearing thick shoes and long pants was the right call. Mental Note: Try not to fall in the mysterious mud"
After a while of searching, I found a tree with fruits growing at the top, "Looks like it's time to use my Monkey Skills" I confidently said before looking down at Onion in my arms asking her "Do you mind being on the ground?"
She nodded and pressed her antennae on mud to double check, she seemed to feel fine so I guess it's safe, and dropped her down before climbing up.
In the blink of an eye, I was at the top and swung down the branch having the fruits. Unfortunately, it was super hard.
"Maybe the fall would crack the fruit, ah but then the mud would be in it and I don't trust that mud to be clean or safe. A big old rock should do the trick even if I would sadly loose some fruit in the process of destroying it"
"You better not be tough on the inside" I said to the fruit and was about to slide down, until I heard Onion squeal loudly in terror.
I looked down and saw a big and purple creature with spikes across its head, back and tail had grabbed Onion, who was currently trying to resist.
Without thinking, I immediately threw the hard fruit at the skull of the creature before jumping down to kick it right in its skull.
My legs were in pain from how high up I fell from. "Ouch! That is the last time I'm kicking someone from that high, my legs~" I blurted out.
I then jumped off of the skull and back onto the ground before looking across from me to see that Onion had successfully been released, and that the creature was a Pokémon I knew was called a Nidoking.
Onion cried out to me in happiness. "Onion! Are you okay?!" I asked and she nodded, but then she got a horrified expression on her face that confused me, until I heard a growl coming from behind me.
The Nidoking must've gotten back up and I tried running over to grab Onion and flee, but before I could, I felt something hit me in the back of my neck and suddenly I felt exhausted and my body heavy, causing me to faint.
—-Onion's Point of View—-
"Master Katarina!" I shouted as she started to fall, thankfully she didn't fall onto the toxic ground as the purple and spiky Pokémon had grabbed her collar in time.
I was relieved that she was safe, but that relief didn't last long as the strange Pokémon asked "This is a Human, correct? And is she one of those 'Pokémon Trainers?"
Nervously, I replied "Y-yes, she is. W-why did you attack us?"
"I only used a minor technique to knock her out, she will wake up soon and I did it more gently since children are fragile. As for why: Trespassers are dangerous and must be moved or worse. However, as you are not from here, you might be an exception so you'll be coming with me for clarification with my Boss. "
"And if we don't go?" I asked.
The stranger only gave me a stern look before responding "Potential threats will be dealt with, and you'd be seen as a potential threat"
"Fine, we'll leave" I said and right on cue, the stranger picked me up and explained "You too slow, we shall move faster with me carrying"
After a while of nothing but dense forest and murky mud, the strange Pokémon took me to what looked to be just an ordinary rock, but after he moved the smaller boulder, revealed it to be a deep and massive cave with lights shining through.
The Pokémon passed through various holes in the walls that seemed to be makeshift rooms, containing Pokémon that looked nearly identical to him along with others that were similar but smaller and on all fours. Eventually he stopped in front of a curtain of leaves and vines and I assumed this was the final 'room' he wanted to enter.
"Boss, I have some trespassers, but they are not from the Female side, completely foreign" the stranger holding me and Master Katarina declared.
This new room had various Pokémon like the one I was being carried by and they were all standing up straight and looked alert. The room itself was a lot more spacious compared to the others, even with all those stiff Pokémon, and it was more lit and with extra food grouped up neatly in piles. In the back of the room and right in the middle was a makeshift chair made of rocks that were likely sculpted to be a throne.
On the throne was a Pokémon that looked like my capturer, but he was: bigger, had minor differences in his face, had a fuzzy dark blue ball with poorly tied sticks attached to said ball on his lap, and he wore a hat made of wood and shiny rocks, and most noticeable of all, he was a light blue colour with the inside of his ears being purple.
"Trespasser huh, do they have a way of leaving our territory? Because I am not interested in sharing resources with dead weights."
The one carrying me only looked at me and didn't respond, likely as a way to tell me to speak so I did "W-well we don't have a way to go home yet, but Master Katarina seems certain that she'll be found by her parents and returned s-"
But the 'Boss' Creature interrupted my pleading and said "Master Katarina? So you're one of those 'caught' Pokémon I've heard about, tell me. Why should I listen to a pet that might have been forced to mimic out of fear?"
"Please, she's not just my master, she's my friend! And we aren't hurting you, we just need some food until we can go home"
The 'Boss' Pokémon seemed to get irritated and loudly said "Enough I-"
But suddenly, the dark blue fuzzy ball with sticks attached and on the 'Boss' Pokémon's lap moved and revealed itself to also be a Pokémon with small fangs protruding from its mouth and said face being covered in beige fur. The small and fuzzy Pokémon interrupted the man whose lap it was sitting on, asking "Papa, can I ask the slime a question?"
"A- fine, my son." the 'Boss' relented.
The fuzzy and blue Creature hopped off the lap of the blue Nidoking and turned towards me before questioning "That lady is your friend, even though you two don't look the same?"
"Yes, she is and she saved me from loneliness" I confidently stated.
The Fuzzy Pokémon looked pleased by my answer as he smiled before turning to the Blue 'Boss' Pokémon and saying "Papa, I want these two to be my playmates!"
All the Pokémon surrounding the area, including me, were shocked, but the Blue 'Boss' Pokémon only laughed and said "Sure, anything for my child!" and turned to one of the stiff Pokémon, saying "Guard, send these foreigners to my son's playroom"
The guard, as I now knew they were called, looked startled but quickly nodded and walked over to gently grab Katarina, me and the fuzzy blue creature.
As we walked across the cave's halls, I attempted to memorise the entire area and aid in any escape plans. We soon reached a 'room', the entrance was just a hole covered with leaves that were attached with vines and held up by mud, possibly made using a move with how good the mud was as a glue.
The guard had gently brushed makeshift curtain/door to drop us inside the 'room', it was more or less just a circle with a flat floor and with no windows, but there was food remains and untouched food scattered about along with random toy-like wood that looked to be nearly untouched at all with some notably having dust covering it, lastly was a bed that consisted of a pile of scattered leaves.
The guard left and I immediately rushed to go and check on Katarina. To my relief and surprise, she was lightly snoring, meaning she was just sleeping this entire time and I sighed in relief.
I was quickly reminded of the fuzzy Creature in the room as he meekly asked me "S-so um, w-what your name?" with his voice getting higher pitched as he continued to speak.
Still, I wasn't sympathetic to my kidnappers as I proudly stated "It doesn't concern you, just refer to me as Goomy. Names aren't for strangers or enemies"
"Oh- um, okay then, Goomy. Well, strangers are just people you don't know yet so why don't you ask me some questions?"
I didn't like the implication that I'd willingly become this Pokémon's friend, but I couldn't escape blind so I just had to suck it up and take this opportunity, so I said with the same attitude "Fine, tell me. Where I am"
"An island! We have tons of fish that washes up and it's in every direction so I think it's an Island?"
"And I'm assuming the Forest is toxic because of you guys?"
"Well, it is kind of half our fault. The other side of the island has these mean lady Pokemon called Nidoqueen and they're always fighting us Nidoking and Male Nidoran for our food, so the grown ups tend to fight a lot, the ground being toxic is just the remains of the battles"
I was skeptical, not of the fighting or story but… well I just had to blurt it out "You're definitely not a Nidoran"
"Nu-uh, I am" he said
"Is not a Nido!"
"Nu-uh!"
"Yuh-huh!"
He asked "Oh yeah, then what am I?"
"A bear… thingy?" I said, myself not knowing why I made such an analogy.
The fuzz ball only smirked in response before cockily saying "Hah! Bears are just a mythical creatures, so I am a Nidoran"
"T-Then where are your spikes huh?" I said and used my antenna to point at the poorly tied sticks on his back.
"They're still growing!"
"And how old are you?"
"S-seven, but I'm just a late bloomer!"
"Ha! There the toddlers on the way had bigger spikes than you!" I said, though I still didn't know if those were actually Nidoran or even actual toddlers or just looked young, but he didn't need to know that.
"W-well I just…" The fuzz-ball suddenly started sniffling and its eyes were twitching, signs I knew all too well that he was trying to stop himself from crying.
I felt bad and tried to cheer him up by saying "Um… You're probably just a… Branched Evolution?"
He sniffled before quietly repeating with some hope "Branched Evolution?"
"Yup, a Pokémon might be able to evolve into two different kinds of Pokémon despite being the same Pokémon, like Wurmple! That's why you look so different"
"Oh" He said and started wiping his eyes while saying "Y-yah, that makes sense. I'm just… different"
I was just about to try and say something else, but I was immediately interrupted by the growling of my stomach. "Why don't we get something to eat first, then we'll decide on what to do?"
"Definitely, I feel like my stomach is about to eat itself" I said as I followed the now hopping creature.
"I feel like that all the time, that's why I've got tons of berries and mushrooms"
"Mushrooms! I love those" I said and watched as the bear grabbed some and gave them to me.
"Hmm, now that I think about it, what is your name?"
"Oh, I go by the nickname Munch, what about you?"
"Onion"
—-Katarina's Point of View—-
"Ahh, what the heck happened?" I blurted and looked around me, I was stuck in a cramped cave with a random hole up above that gave some light to the area.
Across me was Onion, along with a strange Pokémon, specifically a blue and Bear Cub-like Pokémon, though I instantly knew it as a Munchlax. But I didn't understand the sticks attached to its back.
"Still, if Onion trusted the Pokémon enough to eat with it, it's probably safe" I thought, and then I had a fantastic Idea: "Snorlax are super strong Pokémon and they evolve from a Munchlax, so if I could catch that Pokémon then maybe he'll help me avoid my doom! I'll call it: 'Plan Double B'! (Buddy Bear)"
Quickly, I was pulled out of my thoughts by Onion making a small cry and jumping into my lap, hugging my waist using her antennae. "Onion, don't cry. I'm alright, and who's your new friend?"
Onion suddenly looked at me with slight annoyance and I blurted out "What did I do? Was it saying 'Don't cry'?"
Onion then ferociously shook her head, "Who's your new friend?" I repeated, and she nodded.
"Ohh I see, your not friends yet, hm… why don't we play a game, I think that vine over there should be perfect for it"
Onion and the Munchlax both looked confused, though Onion seemed to be slightly more terrified than confused for some reason.
—-Geordo's Point of view—-
After a few minutes of waiting for Katarina, the Duchess Claes had decided to tell me "I am deeply sorry for the delay my daughter has caused, Prince Geordo"
"It is alright Duchess Claes, patience for my fiancée will not disappear after a few minutes"
"Whether she is here or not, I would still feel bored so there is not much of an issue. Although, assassinations from siblings, who promptly blame their Pokémon or a wild one, whilst uncommon, are not unheard of or all too rare if non-branch and side branch politics are involved. That 'Cute Little Brother' might be more cunning and dangerous than I thought, I will need Katarina alive to be my marriage shield after all" I monologed internally
While I was inquiring about Katarina's disappearance. Katarina's maid, Anne, had rudely rushed into the room with a panicked expression.
I had seen Anne, when I first met Katarina and she had the perfect deadpan expression, but not this time and she had shouted "Katarina has been kidnapped by a Driftloon!"
The announcement had immediately made the Duke and Duchess Claes, rise from their chairs and start asking a slew of questions along the lines of "How did she get kidnapped?!", "How did you let this happen?!", "When did this happen?!", etc.
The maid had explained that she was fetching food and beverages for Katarina while the young lady was training, her Butterfree had been doing a separate task and leaving her with only a Marowak that failed to retrieve her in time and she decided to come here so they could locate her faster and more effectively.
Although I was less worried about my fiancée's sudden abduction than her caregivers, on the contrary I found it rather amusing "How did she even manage to get captured by such a Pokémon? It's simply a floating ball with strings for arms, the reports did say she practiced swordsmanship, no?"
However, I did realize that this was not exactly the appropriate time to laugh at the situation just yet, and her being kidnapped is still a serious matter of getting my shield, so I acted accordingly "Miss Anne, is there any clues or leads as to where Katarina is now?"
Anne worthily nodded and said "Yes Prince Geordo, before I left to get help I gave Katarina a ball containing a pollinated flower inside"
Just as I was considering to question why, until Anne had grabbed a Pokéball and released a Butterfree from it before continuing "A Butterfree can track the scent of pollen from far distances, that particular flower is from my hometown and is not common within this area so we're likely to find her as soon as Butterfree catches that particular flower pollen"
The Duke Claes immediately rose "Excellent thinking, Anne. Now you must get the riding equipment for Garchomp and you will be joining me on the ride so prepare yourself as well"
Anne only said "Yes Duke" and left, leaving the Duke to turn towards me and tell me "Prince Geordo, please forgive us but this meeting must be relocated to another time"
Understandable. Nevertheless, my curiosity of these shenanigans might just entertain me a bit, so I asked "I understand Lord Claes. But may I ask for the rescheduling to be due tomorrow? I simply could not bear for my fiancée to be unconsoled" whilst giving my best fake smile possible.
The Claes Duke had predictably responded with "Ah! yes of course, Prince Geordo"
Unfortunately for the Duke, his attempt to leave was interrupted by the sound Keith Claes bursting into the room and repeated the same information given by Anne "Katarina has been kidnapped by a Pokémon!"
Kieth was met with silence as the shock had already been delivered by Anne a moment ago. "Anne has already alerted us and we currently have a lead and are getting ready, Keith" said the Duchess Claes
The boy promptly looked down, and had the nerve to start blushing in embarrassment before asking "C-can I join you to save big sister?"
"Absolutely, Keith"
"It seems my fears of Keith being an assassin were incorrect, instead he is simply clingy. Whilst being incompetent and an idiot regarding his Pokémon if the report of Katarina being injured by a bird-like Pokémon are anything to go off of"
—-Katarina's Point of view—-
"Hah! I win "Teeth Tug O' War" again, that's Katarina 7 and Pokémon 0" I said proudly at the two exhausted Pokémon.
I was almost about to ask for another round, but I saw that Onion was practically melting into a puddle of flatter than usual goo and Munchlax looked like he was trying to merge with the ground, so I told them "Why don't we take a rest and then play something else?"
The two attempted to cheer through their panting breaths, so I decided to help them get to the food area
There, I chose to eat from a specific pile of berries. It looked like a Pecha berry but yellow instead of pink with brown spots and it was like eating a chocolate cake and the juices tasted like maple syrup, so perfect for a sweet tooth like me.
"Yummy~" I said with my mouth full and started feeding Onion and the Munchlax the berries since they could move all that much.
It was all relatively mundane, well… as mundane as eating with a magic blue bear and snail dragon after being kidnapped by a ghost balloon and a humanoid poisonous rhino. Still, it stayed like that for a while until I noticed from the corner of my eye that the hole for sunlight had started getting dimmer and that water was starting to noticeably dampen the floor under the hole.
I absentmindedly said "Oh, looks like it's raining" which somehow managed to set Munchlax off, he suddenly got up and hopped towards the hole before patting the floor below, after seemling checking my suspicion he got a lot more nervous and started digging the ground.
Me and Onion were confused and I asked "Hey Cub, what's wrong?"
The Munchlax said something, but it wasn't understandable since I was just a human, but Onion did and she got even more confused and started asking the Munchlax something with the two going back and forth.
Then, a large booming noise occurred, it sounded like an explosion from fireworks but louder and was combined with the feeling of a minor earthquake under my feet. Immediately did Munchlax say something that managed to convince Onion to cease her responses and start attempting to drag me into the hole.
I was just as worried and entered the hole as they wanted. As soon as I did that, Munchlax covered most of the entrance with rock, leaving me to just barely see anything in the cramped space and so I resorted to hearing to understand the outside.
Roars and slamming could be distantly heard, along with the splashing of large amounts of water, all of it was too loud and clear to just be outside the tunnels and cave.
These sounds felt like they lasted an eternity, though it was likely half an hour before something new had entered my ears. The sound of leaves rustling and ripped as loud footsteps and heavy sniffing echoed.
Then the footsteps stopped as the sniffing noise felt like it was right above me, Onion and Munchlax and Me were likely barriered only by the rock and mud. Then the sniffing stopped and I hoped that whatever was above us had left.
Unfortunately, it must've noticed our scent and punched a fist into the ground and gripped my dress collar roughly before yanking me out of the hole.
It was then that I came face to face with what had caught me. A blue and beige creature with several horns in the middle of their face and seemingly running down to their back, it was a Nidoqueen.
I looked in terror, but Onion quickly came out from the hole and attempted to use the move 'Bubble' to stop the Nidoqueen, but the Nidoqueen only kicked Onion as it crossed the room and into a wall.
Out of fear I begged "Munchlax, Help!"
Thankfully the Munchlax had managed to use Ice Beam on the eyes of Nidoqueen, causing her to drop me as a small Ice formation blocked her sight. I quickly grabbed Munchlax and Onion and ran out of the chamber.
Eventually we faced a wall and so I commanded "Onion, use Dragon Pulse on the wall!" I said, wanting to leave as soon as possible. Thankfully it worked as a beam of bright purple light had shot out from Onion's mouth, destroying the wall with a gap big enough for me to crawl through, allowing for us to escape.
And I ran, even though it was raining heavily and there were Nidoking and Nidoqueen fighting, I ran. The Nidoqueen or Nidoking could get to me "I am not facing my doom! Not like this!" I thought. so I just kept running even after I was tired and I couldn't feel my legs.
It was only when my legs gave in that I stopped and fell to my knees behind some bushes, dropping Munchlax and Onion in the process.
Unfortunately, I had chosen a bad spot to collapse because right behind the bushes was a confrontation going on, I looked up to see the source of those loud Pokémon noises and witnessed a shiny Nidoqueen shielding what looked to be Toxel and Venipede and across was a shiny Nidoking with some kind of wooden crown on his head.
The two Pokémon had started out conversing, though as a Human I couldn't understand, before devolving into just roaring at each other.
After the shiny Nidoqueen and shiny Nidoking finished roaring at each other, the Nidoqueen had turned towards the Pokémon behind her and seemed to shoo them away, causing the Venipede and Toxel to run towards the tree nearby me, Munchlax and Onion.
The two of us stared at each other until the Toxel was about to say something, only to be suddenly muffled by Munchlax rushing over and covering the purple reptilian's mouth and saying something to convince the Toxel not to speak.
The fight that ensued was as terrifying as it was exciting, the power of both Pokémon causing the environment to be destroyed as they threw each other into trees and rocks or shot out beams of light and power at each other.
Still, I wasn't here to just watch a battle and I attempted slowly back away from the bush while beckoning Onion and Munchlax to follow, that was until I noticed a rock coming towards our way. The rock hadn't gone to or at our bush, but rather at a tree, causing it to collapse and fall over onto not Onion, Munchlax or me but the Venipede and Toxel.
Out of instinct, I rushed to grab the two Pokémon from getting crushed and clutched them in my arms while rolling out of the tree's way.
Unfortunately, I had landed outside the cover of the forest and bushes and into the cleared out terrain of the Nidoqueen and Nidoking. The two spotted me and got distracted by my presence, then I remembered that the Nidoqueen had previously shielded the Pokémon I'm currently clutching and… oh no.
The next thing I saw was a bright Thunderbolt charging towards me, I closed my eyes in fear and braced myself for impact while turning in a way to shield the Venipede and Toxel.
And in a few seconds the attack will hit me… "huh? Why am I still fine?" I thought as I opened my eyes and turned around.
Turns out, a massive dragon Pokémon had shielded me from the attack, its dark purple scales and shark-like tail immediately gave me an idea of what Pokémon it was and I was thankful for the quick save by the Garchomp in front of me.
Said Garchomp also had a saddle on it's back but no riders? Though that question was quickly solved as I heard mother and Keith both shout "Katarina, are you okay!"
I looked and saw that the source of the noise came from the Garchomp's left, Keith quickly ran and embraced me while a giant butterfly looking Pokémon that was called a Butterfree, and mother and a just stared, mother likely waiting for a response.
"Yah, I'm fine. Onion and this Munchlax I met helped me get out of the brunt of the fighting" I said and looked over towards where I left the two.
And right on que, the two Pokémon rushed towards me with concern. Once Keith let me out of his hug, I petted them lightly before remembering "Oh right, hey are you guys alright?" I asked, looking down at the Venipede and Toxel I was clutching.
The two only responded with a somehow monotone "Veni" and "Tox" respectively.
Mother sighed and said, "Seriously Katarina, you nearly gave us a heart attack you know!" she then uncharacteristically softened before continuing "Still, I am glad you are alright"
Mother then turned towards her Garchomp and said "Garchomp, take out those Nidoking and Nidoqueen", the Pokémon then nodded and charged at the two wild Pokémon.
In an instant, the mother's Garchomp had smacked the Nidoking with it's suddenly metallic looking tail, the tail connected with the wild Pokémon's face, propelling it into a tree before the Garchomp finished with a move that looked like Onion's Dragon Pulse, but even bigger and powerful enough to cause some shockwaves. The result was a fainted Nidoking.
Then mother's Garchomp looked towards the Nidoqueen and flew behind her and threw the Nidoqueen into the air, flew after it and headbutted it into the ground, leaving another fainted Pokémon.
I was completely shocked and awed at that display, mother's Garchomp had usually looked sleepy or calmly happy, but this. There really was nothing else I could think of except "I want a Garchomp someday!"
But after that battle, mother explained that we had to wait for Anne, father and his Garchomp to return.
As soon as they did, father
Eventually, father's Garchomp returned and he explained that all the Pokémon inside the Nidoking cave had been forcefully pacified, "Still, I wonder why the female and male Nidoqueen and Kings were fighting? Usually these Pokémon cooperate, especially on this island last time we checked" father questioned.
"Katarina," mother asked me "do you have any ideas?"
I shook my head and said "No, I was mostly passed out and then taken to a room where I just played with Munchlax and Onion"
Mother sighed in response but said "I guess were at some sort of dead end"
But suddenly, Keith made his presence known by saying "Actually, since I can talk to Flying Types, could we not just use Anne's Butterfree to translate what the Nidoking and Nidoqueens are saying after interviewing them?"
So they did just that, it was boring but after a long while of waiting and translating, but mother and father finally got the answer they were looking for as mother explained to us "Seems like this Shiny Nidoking and Nidoqueen are slightly blind due to old age, and it seems like the Nidoking mistaked that Munchlax for a shiny Nidoran and adopted him as his child, Munchlax naturally eat a lot so the Nidoking had to compete heavily to keep him fed. The female Nidoqueen did the same thing, but for the Venipede and thought the Toxel to be a regular Nidoran female while also not having nearly as much of a food need."
My brain hurt from that explanation, but I had a sinking feeling about where mother was heading and quickly asked her "Will they be able to stay?"
Mother simply stated "No, this mess was semi-directly caused by their presence and harmed the Pokémon Ecosystem. A Duchess or Duke of a dominion must maintain ecological stability in the dominion they rule, therefore the Munchlax, Toxel and Venipede will be sent to areas that have their species normally and we will be monitoring the island till it goes back to normal"
"But if they leave, they won't have anyone anymore, right?"
There was a long and abrupt pause before mother said "Correct."
With that, my mind was made up and I asked "Then mother, please allow me to take all of them!"
Mother had started to visually wince, but I didn't falter and her sight of my determination must've convinced her as mother told me "Katarina, do you understand the consequences?"
"Yes ma'am, I have to feed them and play with them and train them" I said passionately.
Keith then tapped on my shoulder and said "Um, sister that is not what mother was referring to"
I was confused "What else would she be talking about?" I questioned internally.
Mother must have seen the confusion on my face, then sighed and said "In Socierian tradition, a person has their first Pokémon given to their parents once they get engaged or reach a certain age, then the second is gained on their own and the third Pokémon is given by their spouse. Katarina, the entirety of noble society will view you as someone who either: Does not care about tradition, completely ignorant towards it or hates their spouse"
"Oh no! What if Geordo gets insulted and thinks I hate him! That could be an early doom fla-" I was then pulled out my thoughts suddenly as Munchlax had started poking my leg I crouched down and said "Was I making a funny face or something? Sorry, Munchlax" before petting him.
"That's right, if I don't face off this doom flag then Munchlax might have to face his own all by himself" thinking about this, I proudly looked over to mother and told her "I understand the consequences and will take them on"
Mother looked at me skeptically before sighing once more and replying "Okay then, Katarina. Take these Pokéballs" and grabbed some from Garchomp's belt pocket before handing them to me.
Since I hadn't bonded with the Toxel or Venipede, I just decided to deal with it later and surprise catch them with my Pokéball. The two Poison Types didn't resist capture much, leaving Munchlax.
I crouched down to his level and then asked him with the Pokéball in my hand "Would you like to join me in being my friend and Pokémon?"
The Munchlax just looked at me in amazement before saying "Munchlax!" and tapping the button on the Pokéball, opening it and causing him to be absorbed, not a single shake occurred as he immediately let himself get caught.
I got back up and just then I heard Anne say "Okay Lady Katarina, It's time to go back home with Lord Keith, your Parents still have work to do on this Island"
"Alright Anne" I said.
