The Doomed Sprout
Chapter 11
A large explosion could be heard from within the depths of a lake, blows echoing within the underground hidden below the water. The once busy fauna was completely deserted, as all Pokemon realized the threat that had entered their home, and they longed for life more than their territory.
As the commotion came to a halt, a powerful crunch could be heard, a Pokemon jumping out of the ground, passing through the water's pressure without care and landing on the beach. As they looked back towards the cave they busted out from, they sighed in irritation.
« I told you to leave the fighting to me. Why did you bring us out of the water ? », they let out, glaring at the Pokemon that was floating above the water, cleaning a prismatic scale.
« And I told you I'd help you train, no ? I know what I'm doing, relax~ », they replied, before smirking, « Unless that was too hard for you already ? Oh boy, that'd be a shame... »
« Shut up », the first one shouted telepathically, « These are definitely stronger than random Pokemon, but still nowhere near my level. Your theory will need to be proven soon »
« Oh, I know it works, don't worry, Beta. I've been hearing a looooot about the havoc these guys are causing lately. Who knows, you might be hailed as a hero someday ! », the Pokemon laughed out loud upon saying these words. « Eheh, who am I kidding, the last hero we've had didn't even get this much. Just focus on getting stronger, will ya ? »
The one nicknamed Beta grumbled, before nodding. There was still a lot to do.
The other Pokemon sighed. « Next two are in the Heated Walls and the Erratic Jungle. Hop to it. Alpha, out ». As they finished, a pink light emanated from their position, and they disappeared. Not long after, Beta flew away, taking one last look at the remains of a Milotic as it vanished in a shimmer.
As the sun was rising on the land, its shine passing through the foliage of the dense jungle, three Pokemon were sitting in a large metallic cage, observing the new area they found themselves in. It was an open field in the middle of the forest, though something about this place seemed… off, as if their instinct were telling them to flee.
« You told me you were a light sleeper, Lumin. That's the second time you don't wake up when you really should, so what the heck ? », grumbled a disgruntled Fen.
The Shinx seemed embarrassed, replying in a hesitant voice. « I thought we were safe. I'll do better »
Fen simply looked at him, before chuckling. « I'm just teasing ya, I didn't expect the shinies to just trap us either. I can't feel Sera's scent either, only mine, yours, and the stalker over there », she said, pointing at a Spinarak that was stuck in their cell. « If you got any info, I'd love to hear it, by the way »
The Spinarak hissed in response, getting as far away as possible from the two.
« That's what I figured. Hated by Outcasts for looking normal, and hated by normal Pokemon for acting like an outcast… Really got the worst of both worlds here », the Nidoran moaned.
« What is ''worlds'' ? », Lumin questioned.
« Eh. Don't worry about it, let's just get out for now, we're bound to find these Outcasts nearby. After all, you don't trap something if you plan to run far away.»
Fen walked toward the lock, poking at it with her claws. It seemed to have been scratched and bitten in the past, and it seemed like it was vaguely warm, making her realize that Lumin probably tried to escape already, though obviously without understanding how cages and locks worked.
She looked down on the ground, before rolling her eyes to the sky. The key was just left on the grass, easy to grab. Apparently, their captors didn't believe that she was any different from the other Pokemon in terms of intelligence, which admittedly peeved her off a lot more than she let on. The next crystal will go in your eye, Ethan.
With a sigh, Fen did the terribly difficult task of grabbing the key and inserting it in the key-shaped hole, before twisting it and opening the door, bewildering both Lumin and the Spinarak, the last one resolutely staying in their corner. Despite her frustration, Fen did wonder what made them so terrified of leaving, the jungle seemed completely silent.
She soon exited the cage, taking a better look at the surroundings. The trees seemed younger than the rest of the jungle, with very few vines going along trunks and branches. The ground was completely clean and didn't show any sign of use, as if no Pokemon ventured there. No Pokemon that left traces, that is. Despite the calm atmosphere of the place, Fen couldn't shake the feeling that something wasn't quite right about this part of the jungle, and one glance at Lumin made her know that she wasn't the only one to feel this way. The Shinx was looking around frequently, fangs out and tail glowing lightly as if getting ready to be jumped at any moment.
« You sense any Pokemon nearby ? », she asked.
Lumin growled, before answering through his fangs. « Danger everywhere. No Pokemon »
« So the terrain's the problem, got it. Do you know what happened to Sera ? ». Fen did have some ideas of what could've happened, but would rather not lose her survival teacher.
« Likely escaped ». That statement surprised the Nidoran, who was passing through her mind all sorts of betrayal stories. It's true that Sera was skilled at escaping (so long as it wasn't against Lumin, at least), what with her experience as an Outcast, but why would she be in danger ? As much as Fen would rather be able to get Sera back, she had trouble convincing herself that the Eevee would genuinely want to. She was already trying to escape with the group that trapped them !
« ..Let's just move out for now. You keep a lookout for danger, and I'll get us out. Follow me », Fen said somberly.
As the pair walked around on the field, silence settled in while Fen focused on her senses. Some of the scents were familiar, so perhaps if they were to follow…
« Do you think we'll find more Outcasts ? »
Lumin's hesitant voice broke Fen's concentration, earning the Shinx an irritated hiss. Nonetheless, the Nidoran answered.
« Yes. They confirmed that they had a camp, and while Sera was chatting with them, I remember them talking of a town. A town is a place where peop- Pokemon live together, and considering what I've seen so far, I'm pretty sure the town is completely full of Outcasts. Or Shinies, as we should probably start calling them »
Lumin continued. « But will we find them ? »
« Well, considering they were talking to me for an entire afternoon and they still thought I was dumb enough not to know what a key was… Chances are they made a whole lot more mistakes that we can use to get to them »
« I want to find them ». Lumin's resolute voice surprised her, making her turn around to face the Shinx. « Lou is like them. I think she's here »
A smile crept on Fen's face. Lumin was still overly simplistic in anything he talked about, but he was showing more and more signs of intelligence. Still not at Sera's level though, that girl felt like talking to a human. A very fluffy human that likes to sleep on top of her at night because there's no blanket to steal for warmth.
Fen walked closer to Lumin, giving him an accolade. « Lemme guess, Lou is that Shiny you told us about ? Your sister ? ». As he nodded silently, she continued. « We're pretty far away from your home, honestly, Lumin. I kinda doubt she'd have run so far. We'll ask when we're in the town proper »
Lumin seemed hesitant. « This place is a threat. What if the town is also a threat ? »
« Have we been attacked yet ? », Fen pointed out, focusing on her senses.
« No »
« Then that means that even threatening places can be walked in without being attacked. The more I look around this place, the more unsettling it is, yet I don't see any Pokemon to attack us or any traps. Sometimes, our instincts just don't know what the hell they're talking about ! »
Lumin tilted his head, most of the sentence jumping over his head. « What is- »
Fen groaned, interrupting him. « A trap is something where you walk in a specific spot and something falls on you to hurt you. As for hell, don't worry about it »
Lumin stood still, mouth still open, before shaking it off. « How did you know I was going to ask that ? »
« You're still new to asking questions, it's always the same thing with you, what is this, what is that ? So yeah, gets a bit tiring at times... »
Fen paused, looking around in confusion, before rubbing her head. « What's with this place… the smells just don't make any sense... »
« Who are you following ? », asked Lumin, scanning the surroundings, apparently much more comfortable using his eyesight.
« Well, no one. I can't smell any Pokemon around here. No food either, nor… water… Why wouldn't there be any water, it's a flipping jungle here! », she huffed. « Whatever. I'm following the scent of the iPod. It's out here somewhere and I'm pretty sure they'd not leave it behind »
Fen stomped onwards, the Shinx in tow, as they traversed the clearing, dodging the occasional tree. Lumin was still sensing the same danger ever since they left the cage, but has not seen any changes for a while now, and is trying to adapt and find a different way to figure out what was wrong. They were walking in a seemingly empty part of the jungle, but why was it empty ? Usually, a strong Pokemon having made its nest here is the answer, but that wasn't the case here. It couldn't be noticed from sight or smell, so maybe contact ?
Lumin pressed his paws on the ground, though only sensing regular grass and mud, with not even a single pebble to put a strain on his paws. There wasn't much else to experiment with that was on the ground, as there were no leaves nor roots, not even rotten fruits fallen from the trees.
...Why was this place so clean, exactly ?
« I don't think this place is natural »
Fen paused for a second, before nodding and continuing to move.
Lumin's voice was slowly rising as he kept going. « The feeling won't stop, and when I look around, it all feels wrong. I think this place is lifeless, even though it's full of life and it doesn't make sense. All the trees aren't losing any leaves and have no marks whatsoever, I feel like I'm walking through a desert even though all I see is green... »
« Mhm »
« And my instinct is telling me to run even though you aren't in danger, There is no life here, not even signs of death or a trace to follow.. ». Frustrated, Lumin flared his fangs, imbuing them with fire before biting a nearby tree. Some flames grew where he'd bitten, but there was no trace of the tree being injured from the flame or even the bite. « This isn't normal », he concluded.
Fen didn't seem to listen, solely focused on what was in front of her, which was… nothing.
Surprising Lumin, she spoke up. « Stop running away already, that thing's mine ! Drop it, or I'll shoot. Being invisible doesn't make you immune to poison ! ». She inwardly snickered, realizing that even in this world, that threat was still valid.
Lumin tilted his head, confused. Then, a Pokemon carrying out a small device appeared in front of them, with its melodic tunes gently increasing in intensity as if a veil of silence was lifted. His eyes focused on the new threat, Lumin recognized the Pokemon instantly.
« Ethan ? »
All around the two, the terrain started changing. An otherwise empty plot of land was soon filled with Pokemon and shacks, the terrain littered with pieces of wood and junk. Most notably, right behind the crimson Breloon was a spherical building made of stone and wood, with a shiny Zoroark at its entrance.
« It seems that the newcomer has won the bet. I am confused as to how Commons have managed to get all the way to me, however. Were you able to hear the music ? », enquired the Zoroark. Saying this, he attempted a step forward, but Lumin's aggressive posture made him hesitate.
« Nah. I could smell the thing, though. So I just followed it, and then it started moving right as I was getting closer. Figured someone was moving it », Fen replied nonchalantly. « I'd very much like it back, by the way. That's mine, not Ethan's, he doesn't even know how to switch songs »
Said Ethan appeared embarrassed, but reluctantly gave the iPod to the Zoroark.
« I'm afraid that this machine was part of a bet », said the Pokemon. « a bet that was actually about you two. So you'll have to discuss it with the person that won. I'm sure you'll be happy to see her- »
Fen interrupted the Zoroark, annoyed. « Yes, yes, it's Sera, I get it. Can we just go and get her now ? »
They stood still, surprised, before laughing heartily, taking the interruption in stride.
« You don't seem even a little bit worried about being at the heart of my territory. I'm not sure whether that's a good thing or not, but what I do know is that you're unlike any Common I've seen so far ! »
He moved to the side, motioning them to enter the building.
« Come, now. There are some things I'd like to know about you three, and Sera only could answer a few questions before you two started strolling through my town »
Fen was quick to take on the offer, excited about the idea of seeing civilization. Lumin took a last look around, struggling to understand what he was looking out for, yet unable to focus on any specific thing.
He no longer felt the danger from this place, but why was he still anxious ?