The Doomed Sprout
Chapter 1
«Is it truly worth the risk ? You know this will not remain secret forever »
A voice, deep and wise, was emanating from somewhere unknown
« You know as well as I that we need those reminders. Not just for them, or ourselves, but also for him »
A second voice, much lighter, yet confident. The first one spoke again.
« I understand this, Celebi, yet I am uncertain that he will listen. You are challenging his decisions, and reminding him of failures »
« Good. Maybe he'll learn to take our advice sometimes ! »
A shimmering noise could be heard, and Celebi disappeared, frustration etched on their face. The other Pokemon sighed, before turning around, facing what seemed like a crack in space, with dense forests near some plains showing through it.
« ...How much longer, I wonder ? He has been unusually patient this time around, but… nothing changes »
The sun was high up in the sky, shining brightly and giving the world all its colors. From the vibrant green of the grass to the darker shade of the trees, hiding life and danger alike. On top of a small hill lay a small blue creature, asleep from what was no doubt the strangest of happenings in her life. She woke up, eyes still blurry, looking around to observe her surroundings.
« Egh… Really not feeling today, feels like my hands are super stiff... »
She looks up to the sky, noticing the sun and a field of clouds floating up in the sky. Her memory was starting to get back to her.
« Hang on... I'm pretty sure I don't usually sleep outside... Where the heck am I ? It's… okay, alright, first… let's see... »
The creature wiped her eyes, before looking at her paws in confusion.
« Those.. are not hands. I feel like I recognize these though... », she says contorting her body around, « Small speckles all over, spikes, and four paws and a tail... That's a Nidoran, right ? »
The Nidoran seems to ponder on the discovery, eyes filled with curiosity. So much information all at once, and a lot to assess in order to know what was going on ! She started making a mental list of what to look into, before noticing something on her side.
« Oh- hey, a Shinx ! Hey, you ! Where the heck am I ? And where's the nearest town ? »
The Shinx said nothing, creeping closer and leaning down, preparing to pounce. She tried to talk again, unaware.
« I mean, I just woke up here, and I have no clue what's going on, or why I'm a Nidoran and.. hang on, I'm blue, not purple.. am I female ? ». She appeared lost in thought, before shrugging. « ...Uuuugh, fine, I'll deal with that later. Just, you know, let me know how to, uh, walk ? Please? »
At that, the Pokemon stood back up, tilting their head to the side in confusion, before speaking up in a calm voice.
« ...Prey shouldn't talk »
« Wait, wow, haaang on there… I'm just... I'm new here, I don't want to be part of any of this ! », she yelled, trying to stand up on her back paws, before falling over. « I'm not trying to steal territory or cause trouble ! I just arrived here, I don't even know how to attack ! »
At this, the Shinx started walking again at a slow pace, looking absent. Judging by the long tuft of fur on its head, it's likely male, the Nidoran thought. These pokemon work in groups, so it's family or pack should be nearb- why am I thinking this, I need to escape ! She sighed, before looking at her own paws, considering how to run. As her opponent drew closer, he bore his fangs, seeming ready not for a fight, but simply for an already ready meal.
« W-wait ! I'm a poison type, I-I could poison you if you so much as touch me. You'd need a fire type, so.. g-go and get it ! I won't move, promise ! », the unfortunate soul bemoaned, trying to sound both terrified (which she was) and honest (which she wasn't).
The Shinx's fangs started burning out of the blue. Whether he believed his prey or not, he apparently knew Fire Fangs.
« Hey- okay… well, um... ». The Nidoran was clearly in distress, before steeling herself, deciding to wait, while the Pokemon drew closer. As his paws were slowly moving forward, she looked at the motion, trying to understand how to do it herself and, once he seemed close enough, she lunged at the Shinx's face, attempting to headbutt him but failing entirely, overshooting and kissing his forehead instead, before sliding off to the side, and rushing off the hill towards the forest. Her attempt at a running pace failed as well, as she ended up rolling down instead, luckily without any injuries. Looking behind her, she noticed that her assailant was simply looking at her, confused, walking down the hill without any hint of worry. She looked back at the forest in front of her, deciding it was too dangerous, and decided to instead climb the palm tree she was near. Climbing up should be the same as a Nidoran than as a human, right ? Just gotta take it slow, or.. well, not thinking about that...
« Hey, leave me alone already ! I ain't wanting to fight, and you can get more food in the forest, with your Fire Fangs! »
The Shinx had stopped completely, looking worried, sitting down. « You're an outcast »
« I didn't climb a tree for a stupid thunder cat to insult me ! Let me be ! »
« Nidorans should not climb trees », he said, with absolute certainty.
« Then I guess I'm an ostrich ! », she shot back, earning yet another confused head tilt from the other side.
Despite her frustration, for a newcomer in such a body, she was making very good progress with the climb, using her claws to latch onto the tree bark and getting up without too much difficulty. Moving one paw after the other, it almost felt like she was not just back to her old form, but regressed to a mere monkey, her thick skin rendering the scratching of the tree negligible as she held on for dear life, leaving below scraps of the tree's bark from all the holes she was poking in it. She arrived at the top, letting a heavy sigh of relief, looking at her prize, a resting spot which seemed barely large enough to let her lay down completely on it, letting her spiky head rest on one of the palm leaves. Looking down, the Shinx seemed to have decided to stay at the base of the tree, sitting down, tail swooshing from side to side.
Alright.. she thought, finally having time to consider what is going on. So I'm on a quadruped body with no idea where I am, I turned female in the process, which admittedly isn't quite as huge a leap when you compare the two, and apparently, Pokemons here are still at the stage of eating each other.. unless it's just a wild Pokemon and I just need to find a town where I could speak with humans. Are there humans here ? I suppose that's for later, first thing would be to find somewhere safe that doesn't require me to do acrobatics to get to and fro.
Eventually, the excitement from the chase wore out, and the Nidoran felt an awful tiredness . It seemed like whatever had brought her there did not think to do it in the morning.
...Or, perhaps she overslept. Would rather blame someone else though.
And so, she took a few leaves from the tree, slowly cutting them free with her claws after a rather embarrassingly horrendous attempt to pierce it with a head spike, and making a leaf bed atop the tree. There was a chance she would fall, but there wasn't really an alternative. Looking down, she could see that the Shinx was still there, looking confused at what his « prey » was doing with leaves. She decided to pay him no mind, before finishing her makeshift bed, and drifting off to sleep, hoping to understand more of her situation tomorrow.
As she woke up from her surprisingly peaceful slumber (aside from seeing her human and Pokemon self battle it out in a mud pit) , the resident Outcast felt something scrape by her leg. She paid it no mind, remembering groggily that she was no longer on the ground, and thus had no annoying neighbors. It was only after a second, more painful scrape that she realised it wasn't imagined. Now alert, she looked around, frustrated of not being even given the chance to rest properly. To her surprise (and fear), a pack of Spearows was circling the top of her tree, apparently starving and deciding to risk the poison for a chance at a meal.
« Hey ! Quit it, that can't be your territory too ! Why does everyone try to eat me here ! ». Frustration was evident in her screams, though despite waking abruptly, she noticed she didn't feel the least bit tired anymore despite it all. It was something else to analyse when she had more time and fewer nuisances around.
..Nuisances. These birds were threatening her life and she was already deeming them as not even a threat, merely a nuisance. She'd have to tone down the ego real quick, at least until she was trained to actually know what's a threat and what isn't.
The Spearows seemed confused by her vigorous yelling, much like the Shinx from earlier. They stopped for a second, before attacking again with renewed vigor, pecking and scraping the poor Nidoran that was struggling to land a single hit, wobbling and flailing her paws as if she'd ever be fast enough to catch them. This cycle continued, them flying around, then coming in, attacking once or twice, then flying away and circling again before she had a chance to catch them, or even realize which one to focus on first. Before long, she was out of breath, covered in scratches. I'd be gone if these guys were any stronger, she thought. why aren't they using moves, are they so starved that they can't even attack properly ? Her mind raced, trying to find a way out, it's likely offering the Shinx instead wouldn't work well, he might be up already and they'd have gone for him if he was easier to fight. Fighting back seemed impossible for her, unless she had any sort of range. What would a Nidoran even learn anyway, Tackle ? The trapped Pokemon wondered, before noticing her spikes on the edge of her eyes. What could these… hang on, Poison Sting ? Please be simple to use...
With an idea in mind, she focused on her own, trying to grip at any possible ''thing'' she could control that wasn't familiar to her. From wildly wagging her tail (which confused yet again the Spearows), to moving spikes all over her body, even somehow shrinking them temporarily, until eventually, she found something akin to a ''mental pull''. Reaching out to it mentally, the front spike on her head started glowing a bright purple. Using her knowledge of how the attack is supposed to look, she launched a glorious venom-filled spike… that fell right down the tree. Seems like adding power to it was completely forgotten during the process. Still, with that small success and a renewed motivation to not become chicken dinner to other chickens (all birds are chicken, hush), it only took her up until her fourth try to finally propel the energy, surprising one of the Spearows who got hit in the beak from the projectile, feeling woozy.
« Finally ! You guys suck, ten minutes of constantly harassing a defenseless Pokemon and you can't even take it out ! Now's my turn... », she said, eyes gleaming with restrained anger, as she starts spewing the only move she knows all around, without care for missed shots, some going deep into the woods while others barely get propelled out of the tree.
Despite how inefficient the Nidoran was, though, she eventually got used to both the method to use Poison Sting, and the speed of the Spearows, letting her predict where to aim to a surprisingly great degree. Despite the pain and the poison, the Spearows just kept to the same strategy until the bitter end, or so it seemed. Past a certain point, they seemed to realize they'd not get their meal and flew away, clearly exhausted. As the last one disappeared behind the forest, one Pokemon rejoiced.
« Ah-ah ! Three on one, and while I was sleeping, too ! Though.. Honestly I expected a lot more damage from you guys in the first place. Are moves something mandatory for fighting ? That.. kinda sucks, but hey, at least I can fight off that Shinx now ! ». She was jubilant, looking down onto the ground scoping for a small blue bump near the tree, barely feeling the pain from all the cuts and wounds on her body. I'm coming, she thought, and you'll tell me everything about this stinking place.
With the climb down the tree, her euphory over the won battle died down, and our self-proclaimed fighter started having doubts. The Shinx knew how to use moves, these Spearows.. probably did, but were too exhausted to use them. Perhaps that was how the move « Struggle » looked like, simply regular moves without the use of that weird mind pull ? Could she try and be creative with its usage to make new moves ? And was the Shinx even there still, after a full night ?
Turns out, the Shinx was absolutely still at the base of her tree. However, it seemed like no battles would be fought here, because she had already won. The poor creature was slumped on the ground, his blue ears showing a purplish look and his tail barely lifting from the ground. Apparently, while she was wildly shooting at these pesky birds, a few of her Poison Stings landed on a certain Pokemon below, poisoning him slowly over all this time. He had not tried to run away, much like the Spearows for most of the fight, and was now growling on the ground. The Nidoran thought for a little while, before speaking up.
« Hey, you. You live around here, right ? »
He growled louder in response, before lunging at her, and falling down before reaching midway, too injured to fight. The Nidoran sighed, before starting again.
« Listen. I'm new here, and I have no clue what to do, how things work, or even where to get food. Non-sapient food, if possible. », she squinted at the Shinx while saying that. « I think I know what you need to heal that poison, and I'd be willing to give it to you, but only if you promise to help me. I have beaten you once, and I can beat you again if you betray me, let me make that clear. Will you help me if I save you ? »
At first, the Pokemon seemed to ready its fangs, but he then slumped his head and ears. His whimpering took over the growls, and he eventually nodded.
The Nidoran smiled.