Chapter 89- Puppet PULSE
A/N: This is an original Pokémon Fan Game made by Amethyst. To check it out and play the game, download it at Reborn Evolved. Search for it on your web browser to get to the website.
Ugh… The last chapter before Terra's Tournament of Terrawr… I do not want to write a tournament… hell I barely know how I want to write Victory Road saga. Someone, please kill me…
Location: Labradorra City
Chaos ensued all around. Although the buildings seemed still standing, almost everyone had a shattered window, broken door, or harsh dents in the brick walls. It was hard to tell if the damage was caused by the city being held hostage or the battle to reclaim Agate.
Either way, most of the city's inhabitants have been evacuated, whether from civilians running away or the help of everyone present. Though some were still running around…
But some were stationary like the group at the center of the city; Serra, Cal, and Nero had captured Dr. Sigmund Connal, a resident psychiatrist of Reborn City… though one with a tendency toward Shock Therapy—who had ended up joining Team Meteor. Saphira Belrose had the worst grudge against Sigmund; she was angry and wanted bloodshed.
"Uh, hey? A little help here?" Cal called out to any of the nearby allies. Cal felt that he, Nero, and Serra wouldn't be enough to hold Saphira back.
Meanwhile, Sigmund tried to force his way out of Cal's grasp. "Unhand me at once before there is no time left to do so!"
"Oi shut it doc. We're probably the only thing keeping you alive." Nero spat, his silver eyes noted a fierce hatred at Sigmund. He didn't like the idea of protecting him. But he was doing so anyway—a metallic blade in hand with a long blue sash, Fin.
Normally, Fin was a paired blade of a Doublade, but in the chaos and with one arm, Nero couldn't handle both Tyr and Fin simultaneously, so he sent Tyr over to Lucille to help against Lin. And with the distance between the two blades, the sashes changed from pink to blue, indicating they were no longer Doublades.
Saphira, glaring at Serra, spoke slowly but fiercely. "Get. Out. Of. My. Way."
"Listen," Serra said, her arms extended to keep Saphira at a distance. "I'm not so sure that's such a good idea right now…"
"I don't care if it's a good idea or not," Saphria growled.
"We found this guy making a break for it, but-"
"Don't you dare think of him as anything more than a monster." Saphria yelled. "He gave up his humanity long ago. I'm just here to finish the job!"
"He wasn't treating Sigmund as a human." Nero retorted.
"Like I said, maybe it's best if we settle-"
Saphira didn't care as she tried to push past Serra. "Out of my way!"
"No, no, no, keep her away from me!" The fear in Sigmund's voice did him no favors. "Keep her away!"
""Keep him away from me."" Saphira's eyes seemed to turn red from rage. Nero was similarly glaring at Sigmund but still was helping Serra and Cal for whatever reason.
""No, please, stop." "Stop, stop-" Do you KNOW how many times I said those things? How much I pleaded… begged, cried, prayed- But no one ever listened to me." Saphira stopped her glare, landing on Nero. Someone who also suffered under Sigmund's Electro Shock Therapy. "So why are they listening to you?!"
"..." Any Nero could say would only pour oil on the fire before them. He, of all people, would love to see Sigmund dead… But. Not. Right. Now.
"What are you saying, Saphira-" Sigmund said against. "That was… just for treatment-"
"Yes." Sapira's hate was burning. "I remember you treated me VERY well."
"That's not what- Saphira, please-"
Saphira got the chance and forced her way through Serra, grabbing Sigmund by the collar. "No. I'll make you bleed like I did."
"Did you forget about me already?" A gauntleted hand was suddenly on top of Saphira's wrist. And everyone went dead silent. A woman with green hair and dark green clothes with metallic accents appeared from thin air. Looking at everyone's stunned silence, Lin smiled. Nero's eye twitched as he reacted before he could think. His left arm swung Fin through the air at Lins's head. Even if Lin were immortal like she was supposedly reported… it'd take a while to recover from a head injury, right?
Clank!
However, that question would never be answered, as Fin meets Lin's right gauntlet. Her head tilted, her green eyes meeting Nero's… "How cruel. How rude. Didn't anyone teach you to mind your manners?"
The next few moments were a blur. Lin stopped her foot, and the ground seemed to shake. Everyone suddenly lost their balance, falling to the ground. As they followed to the ground, Nero swore he could crackle electricity as Lin spoke.
"Bow before your masters." The world suddenly went black. "Oh, and don't forget to share."
"Nero… Can you hear me?"
"Shr…riiing?"
"Gah... I thought I escaped shock therapy sessions..." Nero groaned as he regained consciousness. Cal and Serra were awake when he looked up, watching over Saphira. Meanwhile, two swords floated beside Nero, along with a girl with long blonde hair and silver eyes. "Where's Sigmund...?"
"Lin took him. *Sigh* you can put some more concern toward yourself, you know?" Lucille breathed as she picked Nero up by his left arm.
"Shing!" "Shing!" Both Tyr and Fin floated around with concerned eyes.
"I thought you and the others were keeping Lin busy?" Cal turned to ask Lucille.
"We were doing pretty well… then… I got a vision from Hope." Lucille said it was a lousy excuse. But it's what happened. "The vision is also how I figured Lin came this way…"
"..." Nero sighed silently as he heard that.
"Right, Absol Marks... or something like that?" Cal said, not fully understanding what a Mark bearer was but sensing that something was happening. He looked at Serra and asked, "So... Saphira will be okay, right?"
"I…think so?" Serra said in a confused tone. Serra at least confirmed that Saphira had a pulse and was breathing. "Look, I was a model, not a nurse; why are you asking me?"
"Forget it then." Cal looked at Lucille and Nero. "You two have an idea where Lin went with Sigmund?"
The twins simultaneously sighed. It was probably the first time the two did something twin-like as they synchronized their next words. ""Barrier Controls.""
Nero and Lucille shared a pleasant glance as they watched Lin leave the entrance to where the Barrier Controls were located. Lin exited the area alone and unscathed.
When entering the place, a long ladder led down into Labradorra Calcenon Control Center, essentially the power grid system between them. Nero explained that the PULSE down here was a hell of a lot more dangerous than the PULSE Clawitzer. This was because the PULSE Mime was a lot more violent and needed to be secluded, where no one could be in danger.
"I swear…"
"What? That I did so many dangerous things. Calling the kettle black, aren't you?"
"..." Lucille bit her tongue. "You know, I never expected this to be our lives."
"...You really want me to retort to that?"
"Aren't you already?" Lucille asked, seeing how Nero's eyes darted between each and every shadow. "You're nervous, aren't you?"
"Yes…" Nero sighed. Fin in his left hand, Tyr circling the rear. "You saw the vision of what we're going to see? Why did we even choose to go down here… We know how this is going to play out."
"Cause it's not for certain yet. And if we leave now… Sigmund definitely will die." Lucille placed her hand on Nero's shoulder. "It's alright, fate can change."
"..." Nero did smile for a second. Yes, fate can change; if it couldn't, then neither he nor Lucille would be standing here… Maybe fate shouldn't have changed… then neither of us would have to suffer through this. "That is true… But I don't think we'll change what's about to happen."
"Let's change subjects. Eve reported that the PULSE Mime is only weak to Fairy Moves?"
"Yeah. You can think of it as a Shedninja with dark typing instead of bug typing. Oh, and a helluva lot more tanky." Nero tried to make a preemptive strategy. "For once in my life, I'm the shield in a strategy. But then again, it barely has any attacking capabilities."
"Speaking of shields… Why haven't you evolved Tyrfin?" Lucille asked, glancing between the two hovering blades. "I'm sure two blades are very useful… but with your current situation… I'd argue…"
"When a Honedge… or rather a lot of the Mineral Group Pokémon reproduce Asexually when they evolve. So they are clones in a sense… but act more like twins. But evolving into an Aegislash, one of them is going to die. A sacrifice of a loved one, to become stronger, if you will."
"..."
"Yeah, that turned darker than I meant it to be… But that's the truth for most steel types; they gather together to become stronger… but only two Pokémon-lines fuse completely and can never return to being an individual pokémon. No matter how obnoxious Zero was, I learned a decent amount about Pokémon Evolution from Eve when they were still ZEL."
"You have a tact of over-explaining yourself… don't you?"
"Only when I don't want to be misunderstood."
"Ah, okay…" Lucille seemed to understand Nero's roundabout explanation. Clearly, he cared for Tyrfin, but it also showed how much pain he still felt from that day all those years ago. "Well… if we're going to be fighting something that's weak against fairy moves… Well, I'm glad I've got a fairy memory for Ark."
"Who?" Nero stopped. He was reasonably sure he knew most, if not all, of Lucille's Pokémon, either from the word of mouth of Meteor Grunts or from actually battling her.
"A Silvally." Lucille smiled. It was a strange thing to say, now of all times.
"...This is not the right situation to explain this story," Nero grunted, turning away. A small smile spread across his face. Of course, she'd find out how to get a pokémon that shouldn't exist in the Reborn Region, a manmade Legendary, to boot.
The two continued through the halls of the LCCC… It was surreal and felt like a horror story as each light flickered overhead. Each creak of the metal floor, each flicker of the light, and the skittering of the shadow made Nero's eyes dart around. Tyrfin similarly seemed to jump as Nero did.
Lucille quickly adapted to the flickering darkness and made out the destruction of the floor and walls… Lights were destroyed everywhere.
Eventually, they seemed to be headed toward a dead end, and Nero suddenly lifted Fin and pointed a head… So the PULSE machine was just up ahead. But what was just up ahead was nothing more than a nightmare scene.
What confronted Nero and Lucille was the horrifying sight of a body mangled and stuffed into the PULSE holder. It seemed as if someone had torn off Sigmund's face, leaving it a bloody mess... but it also appeared that Sigmund's arms were strung up... like a puppet?
Where was the-
"Get down!" Nero yelled, where Lucille immediately ducked; while it did nothing, Fin clanked into… something?
Lucille ran away from whatever Nero threw Fin at before turning around. What she saw was a strange and horrifying sight. The skin of the Mime seemed to be metallic, its forearms disconnected from its elbows… Its head… was somehow floating upside down, and it was missing its heart…
"..." It was silent and creepy as Mr. Mime moved its floating arm up and down, each of its padded fingers moving like they were pulling strings. Suddenly, they heard the noise of a Pokeball release…
Nero and Lucille's eyes darted to the sight of Sigmund's body, the invisible strings holding an arm, with an Aromatise out in front of the corpse. Its eyes were foggy…
"Tyrfin!" Nero Screamed; he understood it perfectly. The PULSE has managed to take control of Sigmund's Pokémon… Well, the PULSE just overcame its limitation on attacking…
"For fuck sakes…" Lucille cursed herself; this was not going to be a fun fight… But really, when has it ever been a fun fight against PULSEs? Lucille finally released her pokémon, a quadrupedal Pokémon with a blunt metallic snout and a golden head with a feather-like axe atop its head; its front fore paw seemed reptilian and claw-like, and its tale seemed more aquatic.
"..." Ark the Silvally analyzed the two enemies but looked at the PULSE, deeming it a more significant threat. The metallic drive on the side of Ark's head shifted, and Ark's body suddenly changed as the RKS System activated. The mane of Ark seemed to curl, and the axe's head and tail appeared to release a purple mist.
"Multi attack!"
"Sil!" Ark cried and charged forward. The mist flying from the axe seemed to harden into a solid shape.
As Ark charged forward, the floating arm of the PUSLE swung to the right, and the Aromatise followed suit, moving directly into Ark's path. With no choice but to continue its attack, Ark advanced toward the Aromatise, emitting a metallic growl as it moved from its initial position. To protect Silvally, Fin swung Tyr into the Aromatise to force it out of the battle.
"Shrrriiing!"
"..." The PULSE seemed annoyed as its first line of attacks was so quickly taken out. It swung its right and left arms, and two of Sigmund's Pokémon came out. One was a long-necked dragon with a goofy head, Drampa.
Lucille frowned as she saw how evil this PULSE was, though if it meant anything, it was seriously trying to survive. "..."
"What, you expected this to be easy?"
"Shut up and fight…" Lucille sighed tiredly. For once in her life, she understood why some of Meteor hated Nero. She glanced at the Drampa and then Ark. "Ark, take down that Drampa before it attacks!"
"Rai…" Before anyone could move, the Raichu seemed to suddenly spark, unleashing a torrent of electricity in all directions. The PULSE's barriers seem to block the electricity. While all the other pokémon took the hit.
The bright side of this was that the overcharging release of electricity managed to fix the lighting. The whole room was lit brightly…. On the downside, the carnage of Sigmund's body was now apparent.
Ignoring the bloody sight, Ark continued and took down the Drampa with another Multi-attack. While Tyrfin's blade glowed with shadowy energy as it slashed into the Alolan Raichu.
The two quickly dispatch the two Pokémon. It seemed like the PULSE started to sweat. What was the next move that would keep it alive? It chose its next pokémon, sending out an orange fridge, Rotom (Freeze). And a sizeable yellow pokémon with holding spoons, an Alakazam.
"Tyrfin shadows now!" Nero knew of two people
"Ark, take down that Rotom!"
The two pokémon moved in synchronicity. Tyrfin dived into the shadows, swimming under Ark, past the Rotom, right behind the Alakazam, as it swung in surprise.
"Kazam!" the Alakazam cried out in pain.
"Val." The Silvally's eyes turned red as its body temperature rose. The flowing mist ignited a crimson flame as the RKS System chose the optimal type to fight the Rotom Fridge. Burning into the Rotom, taking it out as well.
"..." Things were seriously not going well for the PULSE as the final Pokémon of Sigmund hit the field
"Shadow Sneak!" "Multi Attack!"
The two blades and the Silvally quickly dispatched the Electire before it could attack.
"...that was-"
"Don't even say it." Nero quipped before Lucille could finish. "Besides, the PULSE ain't down yet."
"It will be soon, though." Lucille sighed as the RKS system activated again, returning Ark to the Fairy-Typing. Sigmund was dead, but the PULSE would also be dead soon enough.
A/N: Last things to note before finishing this chapter. So in the Sigmund/PULSE fight… Yes, several things were going against the Norm of the PULSE battle. Normally, the PULSE Mime would use Entrainment and Instruct to 1) give Sigmund's Pokémon Wonder Guard. 2) Make them do a move twice. I just had it play the role of Puppet Master. Because fuck Wonderguard Shenanigans!
Another thing is that Alakazam is supposed to Mega Evolve, while the Rotom Freeze was supposed to activate an Ice Z-Move, as seen here, but that didn't happen here. As to why that didn't happen, it is the Lore behind Mega Evolution and Z-Moves.
Mega Evolution requires a bond between a Pokémon Trainer and a Pokémon. For all bets of this fight, Sigmund is dead… What Bond would a PULSE have with the Alakazam? So what would I even do with this? Though Arbitrarily… A shadow sneak crit from Tyrfin still would have one-shot the thing.
Z-Moves: I could be wrong, but I believe they need a bond between the trainer and Pokémon and that ritual dance to activate the move. While I could argue that the PULSE could puppet Sigmund's body into a Z-Move Dance… that doesn't seem theatrically appealing. So no.