#if the Pokémon timeline were accurate | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

amessageonthewind · 1 year

Text

September Selfship Prompts Challenge

19. Any of your AUs, or an idea you have for one!

Pairing: Adaman/Rachel during Legends: Arceus (spoiler alert for really far along in the timeline)

Author's Note: This is an AU where instead of Rachel being picked up by the Galaxy Team, she's picked up by the Diamond Clan instead and becomes their time travel blorbo like Ingo is to the Pearl Clan.

There were no shortage of concerns these days. Something unexpected happened a little while ago and the Diamond Clan’s leader was still trying to wrap his head around it to try and figure out a solution. A strange affliction has taken a hold of Lord Electrode, up in the Coronet Highlands, and no one can figure out how to quell it.

Well, more accurately his warden refuses to do anything about it despite the danger and risk it poses, which is only serving to slow down any progress on finding a solution for Lord Electrode’s frenzy. And if they don’t figure something out soon, it’ll be more than Pokémon getting hurt by the blasts of electricity.

People could potentially get hurt. First risk was the Diamond Clan, then potentially the Pearl Clan, and if one of the Diamond Clan’s nobles injured or otherwise harmed anyone from the Pearl Clan, it could spell disaster for both clans and the last thing Adaman wanted was for the clans to be at war, again.

Not again…they’d already lost so much.

Alternatively, he could seek out help from the Galaxy Expedition Team to the east in Jubilife Village. Their ways were strange, keeping Pokémon in Pokéballs, but they were competent in the field. Maybe it would be worth looking into…they were running out of time.

And the longer Adaman waited and thought, the more time they were losing. He didn’t want to disappoint almighty Sinnoh.

Suddenly, a woman with bright red hair burst through the tarp of his tent. “Adaman! Come quick!” Arezu exclaimed, gesturing outside. “Something crashed into the mirelands! It came from the rift!”

“The rift?!” Adaman exclaimed, already following Arezu out of the tent. “Where did you see it land?”

“In the Scarlet Bog!”

In one moment, Cedric was inches away from being separated from Rachel. And in another, the both of them had landed in a strange and foreign world unknown to them both. None of his memories were present, but the only thing he could remember was the human he had arrived with. She was his trainer, but she was his closest and most trusted companion. She was his best friend. He would do anything for her.

Including following her through spacetime.

He had woken up before she did, but Rachel was still unconscious and the wild Pokémon were not like the ones from their time. They eyed the body with suspicion and intrigue, but there was something dangerous and predatory in the way they looked at them. The Croagunks, Hippopotases, and Stunkies all circled the pair, waiting for what they’d do next.

Waiting for their next moment to strike.

They couldn’t stay here. If they wanted to survive and find a way to get help to figure out what was going on, they needed to get out of here. None of the landscape was familiar and they had no idea how far away they were from the nearest civilization. Simply put, Cedric had no idea where or when they were.

He needed to get her up. “Rachel!” He urged, putting his crimson paws on her face and trying to get her back to consciousness. The wild Pokémon began to edge closer, closing in on them. The Zorua’s ears twitched nervously. Rachel didn’t have her bag on her, so she had nothing to defend herself with. No Pokémon, no weapons, nothing.

Nothing except for the gauntlet on her left hand.

He tried again, shaking her more frantically. “Get up!” He urged, trying desperately to rouse his trainer. She moved slightly, quietly groaning in pain and confusion, but she didn’t get up. At least she was alive… “Come on! Get up, Rachel! I’m not losing you!”

Closer and closer their adversaries drew, chittering amongst themselves excitedly. Cedric growled a warning growl at them, but it didn’t make them back up. In-fact, it only further spurred their growing curiosity and potential malice as they encroached.

It only just now occurred to him that they could potentially see Rachel and even himself as a free meal.

No! I am not letting Rachel die being Pokémon chow! “Rachel!” He shouted sharply, biting and tugging on her ear to rouse her. Finally, the woman opened her eyes, feeling the sharp pain in her ear and seeing Cedric right in front of her face. Her eyesight had to adjust, fading in and out of focus as she struggled to recall any recent or past memories at all. “Come on! Get up! We gotta move now!”

Coming to, Rachel staggered onto her elbows, looking around. Finally in a state of proper consciousness, she took in her surroundings and realized that nothing was familiar to her. The landscape was wetlands and warm-coloured trees as far as the eye could see. It was sunset, and surrounding them were wild Pokémon, drawing closer and closer.

Hearing their excited chitters didn’t give Rachel any comfort, for once. They were all excited about having a free meal, since they couldn’t eat those Diamond Clan humans. Who are the Diamond Clan? Staggering to her feet, she looked around. The only familiar thing was Cedric, thank the Alpha. Where…or when am I?

Picking up Cedric, Rachel looked around at the Pokémon approaching. They weren’t going to attack, at least not yet. Maybe she could persuade them that she meant them no harm. It was the best idea she had. “I’m sorry if I disturbed you…I don’t know where I am.” She said to them, taking them by surprise. “But I mean you no harm. I don’t want any trouble. Can you tell me where I might find anyone who can help me?”

They didn’t answer her questions, instead chittering amongst themselves about a human who could speak the Pokémon tongue falling from the sky. From beyond the rift. Is that where I came from?

Looking up, Rachel saw a great mountain in the distance that formed into a perfect caldera at its peak. It towered above all else, and surprisingly, that was quite familiar. The name was there, in the back of her mind, dancing on the tip of her tongue. But she couldn’t reach it, forced to swallow the lingering half-formed name down.

Above it swirled a black spiraling voice, pale light spilling from a crack in reality itself like glass. It crackled ominously, like a storm that was in the beginning stages of forming, but was not quite thundering.

Did she fall…from that? If she did, it was a miracle she survived the fall. Though, judging by the state of her clothes and the mud on her face, the bog must have broken her fall.

But before she could ask any more questions of the wild Pokémon, a bellowing roar shook the ground and reverberated painfully through the air. All the wild Pokémon scattered and the bellow made the lingering headache from the fall that much more painful and Rachel staggered on her feet, trying to stay on her feet.

Heavy footsteps slowly thundered across the bog until a pair of blazing crimson eyes broke through the wet mist, evaporating off of the mud and the fetid wetlands. They were attached to a lumbering silhouette larger than anything Rachel had ever seen.

She recognized the shape as it grew closer. It was a Hippowdon, but its eyes were blazing and its size was far beyond anything she could even imagine. It was no wonder all the other wild Pokémon fled at the sight of it.

Cedric could feel the waves of rage billowing off of it and knew there was no reasoning with it. Whether they stayed still or not, that Hippowdon had every intention of destroying the both of them. If they stayed still, they would be killed.

Wherever or whenever they were, these Pokémon weren’t that used to people. They didn’t coexist the way they did in the world they came from. “Rachel, run.”

Everything she knew about wild Pokémon told her that that was a bad idea. “Won’t that just make her chase-?”

Her answer came in the form of another loud bellow, a roar compared to the first that nearly made Rachel go deaf as she staggered backwards, falling back into the bog. The reality made itself clear to her and immediately, her fight or flight instincts kicked in and she scrambled to her hands and feet to run as fast as she could. “RUN!”

Running away, Rachel could hear the massive Hippowdon bellow after her, trouncing on her heels as she maneuvered in a manner she hoped would put distance between them. But with a creature that massive, she had no hope of outrunning it.

There was no outrunning it. She just had to outsmart it, somehow.

It didn’t take long for Adaman to determine where this strange object from the rift landed. The commotion told him immediately that trouble was afoot. The Diamond Clan leader would recognize the sound of an angry alpha Hippowdon from miles away.

An unfamiliar voice shouting in the distance told him that someone had enraged it. If he wanted to get to the bottom of this, he needed to catch up to them. “Keep watch, Arezu. If I need you, I’ll call out to you.” Adaman ordered, his Leafeon already dashing off towards the bog with his human on his heels.

The red-haired woman did as her leader asked, watching him with quiet anxiety. She’d seen him get injured enough times to know that survival was not guaranteed, the golden embroidery on his haori a reminder of the first time he’d gotten hurt as leader when he protected Sabi from a raging Ursaring.

She prayed to almighty Sinnoh that he would come back in one piece.

Fortunately, Rachel had found a rhythm that worked for her to avoid the massive angry Hippowdon’s attacks and charges. Dashing between rocks and boulders and trees did well to slow her down and even cause her confusion as she chased her prey.

But unfortunately as clever as Rachel was and as quickly as she was able to think on the spot, no amount of cunning or skill could beat out sheer bad luck.

Running from the previous boulder to the next in the bog, Rachel tripped over a hidden boulder and took a tumble, caking herself in mud and twisting her ankle painfully. Cedric had fallen out of her arms a good ways away from her. Scrambling to get back up, the moment the woman put any weight or strain on her ankle, she buckled in pain, throbbing and stinging as it shot up her leg.

“Rachel!” Cedric cried, rushing over to be by his trainer’s side.

The moment her eyes made contact with his, she knew she wouldn’t be able to make it out alive. She was going to die here, at the mercy of an angry Hippowdon in a world unfamiliar to her, alone and afraid. There was no saving her.

But there was a chance to save Cedric. There was a chance for him to survive and live.

Finally, Adaman reached the end of Bolderoll Slope and saw what had happened. It was a woman in strange clothes that was on the run from the alpha Hippowdon, but she’d tripped and fallen. If she was injured, there was no way she’d survive an attack directly. She had a very loud voice he could hear even from up here.

But he was shocked to hear what he was hearing.

Reaching to push Cedric away, Rachel shook her head furiously. “Go! Run, Cedric! As fast as you can!”

Staring at his trainer in disbelief, he stubbornly stayed by her side. “I’m not leaving you! That’s not happening!” The Zorua argued.

“I can’t walk!” Rachel insisted, trying to push him away, again. “I’m not gonna make it, but you still have a chance! Save yourself!”

“No!” Cedric snapped, growling at his trainer for having the audacity to try to send him away, after everything they’d been through. Even if he couldn’t remember it right now, he felt it in his chest as it stung his eyes that after everything they’d gone through, he wouldn’t be anywhere else than by his trainer’s side. “Where you go, I go! Even if that means to the grave!”

Her heart was being torn in two. She knew there was no convincing Cedric to leave her, but she couldn’t bear the thought of losing him.

Adaman was shocked to see that. So they really can use human speech. Her Pokémon was a Zorua, but not of the variety he was familiar with. This Zorua didn’t have the angry spitefulness that Hisui’s native Zorua did, but it was clear to see how deeply they cared for each other. It wasn’t unlike the bonds between the people of his clan and their Pokémon.

His Leafeon and he were on the same page, prepared to help them. They weren’t going to die, today.

The alpha Hippowdon, knowing that her prey was weak and wouldn’t be able to run anymore, lumbered close. Its mouth hung open, drooling hungrily as it approached. Rachel could smell the pungent breath billowing towards her and she held Cedric close, tucking his face into her chest. He didn’t need to see this.

Turning her own head away, she pressed her forehead into his fur, tense with anticipation. If she could remember her life, it would be flashing before her eyes, right now.

This was it. This was how she died. We’re dead…!

“Leaf Blade! Agile Style!”

A man’s voice broke through the existential fear she felt, quickly proceeding another loud bellow accompanying unsteady thundering footsteps. Daring to open her eyes, the Hippowdon staggered backwards, mouth open in a pained roar. A long gash bled across its snout, tinging the air with an iron taste.

Standing protectively in front of her was a man in blue robes, with gold embroidery along several seams, as though his clothes had seen many repairs over the years. His long blue hair cascaded onto his shoulders, undercut with grey like pottery glaze.

The Pokémon he was commanding was a Leafeon, the Hippowdon’s blood coating the edge of its leafy tail as it stood between its master and the enemy Hippowdon.

Never had Rachel been so glad to see a stranger.

The man turned back to meet her gaze, dark brown eyes intense, but concerned. “Are you okay?”

At a loss for words, all the woman could do was nod. “Uh-huh…!”

Giving her a confident smile, Adaman turned his attention back to the alpha Hippowdon that had threatened her and her Pokémon’s lives. The moment his eyes met hers, he was determined to protect her and save her life. She had kind eyes.

“Leafeon. Leaf Blade. Strong style. Drive it away!” He commanded his Pokémon.

With the boost in agility thanks to starting off with an Agile Style move, Leafeon was able to deliver a hefty blow to the alpha Hippowdon before it could attack, slicing a deeper gash into its face and causing the very mud to stain even more scarlet than it already was.

Deciding that it had been beaten, it trounced away, leaving behind tremors and the scent of blood in its wake. The man didn’t chase after it, letting it flee. Rachel remembered seeing bloody battles like this, before, but thankfully this wasn’t as gruesome.

This man wasn’t out for blood, he was just trying to protect her.

Once the Hippowdon was long gone, the man sighed, pressing his forehead into the palm of his hand. A cursory look informed Rachel that he wore bandaging on both his hands – bandaging on his left that stopped at his wrist and bandaging on his right that ran all the way up his arm under his sleeve.

His Leafeon quickly dashed to meet Rachel and cheek her and Cedric over. “Are you alright?” He asked her.

Reaching to pet the Grass Pokemon, Rachel sighed in relief. “Yeah, we are…thanks to you.” Looking up at the man, Rachel tried to get up, hissing in pain. “You came just in time…”

Hearing her hiss in pain, Adaman quickly kneeled down to prevent her from trying to stand. “I’ll take the compliment, but I wouldn’t try to get up. You’re hurt.” He said sternly, keeping a hand on her shoulder as he looked down.

His Leafeon sniffed at the woman’s right ankle and gently pressed a paw into it, causing her to lurch. “Ouch!” Rachel exclaimed, trying to pull her leg away. “Fuck that hurts…”

“Hm…” Adaman hummed, looking at it. “I don’t think it’s broken, thankfully, but we can’t be sure. We’ll have to take you back to the settlement to get a proper look at it and get you treated.”

While he was thinking of how to help her, he properly took her in. She certainly wore some very strange clothes. She was rather bundled up, wearing a button jacket and a cowl on her shoulders and a long flowing skirt that faded out in transparency when it reached her feet. She wore some frames affixed with glass on her face. Maybe she was vision impaired and they helped her see. He’d seen it before a couple times in passing when visiting the village.

And on her left hand was a strange glove of sorts, almost like armour meant to give the appearance of sharp claws. There was a strange iridescent stone embedded on the back of her hand that shifted in colour in the light, though it was predominantly green.

She looked tough, but her face was soft and her eyes were warm and inviting. Tough on the outside, soft on the inside, he figured.

Rachel was just as much taking in the man who had saved her life as he was taking in the woman he had just saved after she had fallen into his world from beyond the rift. He wore his hair in a ponytail tied with a pale ribbon, but only from the sides of his hair and the front, letting the rest of it flow freely. A solid unconnected collar with a diamond embedded in it hung loosely from his neck and when Rachel took a closer look at his eyes, she noticed a few things.

His left eyebrow had a nick in it and he was actually wearing blue makeup, giving, giving the illusion of longer eyelashes. It gave him a bit of a softer appearance, a subtle elegance to his overall look.

While they were taking each other in, Adaman cleared his throat. They didn’t have time to waste. “Where did you come from?” He asked.

“The rift, I think.” Rachel replied, glancing around at the wild Pokémon that were no longer there before looking up at the rift itself swirling at the top of the large mountain in the distance. “It’s what everyone’s been saying, so I have to assume they saw me fall from the sky.”

Adaman raised an eyebrow at her. “Who’s ‘everyone?’” He knew she could speak to her Zorua, but her Zorua could speak to her. That wasn’t a shock to him, knowing the stories he’d heard from Sabi of the Zorua that dwelled in the Alabaster Icelands.

“The Pokémon.” Rachel replied simply, shrugging. “They were surprised I could speak to them because they saw me come through the rift. I’m…not sure how common that is here, but where I’m from, it’s…not that common.” There was a discomfort in her stomach as little bits and pieces of memory wriggled their way in. Things she knew, and then the reasons why she knew them lagging behind only to rear their heads and slowly crawl through.

She remembered not being treated kindly for her unusual connection to Pokémon. She hoped that that wasn’t the case, here. It was the last thing she needed right now.

“I see.” Adaman replied calmly. Strange how an outsider and a stranger could speak to Pokemon the way the clans did. How odd…but he was certainly pleasantly surprised to see it. “Well, I know you came from the rift. But where did you come from beyond it? The world before this one?”

That was a harder question to answer. Rachel parsed her mind for any concrete answers, but couldn’t find any. She could only describe any information incidentally, when confronted with it immediately and remembering what was familiar and what wasn’t. But she couldn’t really recall anything. “I don’t know…I don’t remember a whole lot of anything, honestly.”

The Diamond Clan leader was disappointed to hear that, though he supposed he should’ve anticipated that. “You at least remember your friend, that’s important.” He commented, gesturing to Cedric. Adaman reached out to let the Zorua get a good scent of him before he reached to pet the Pokemon. Cedric let him, not getting any reason to distrust him from his emotions or his energy. “Do you at least remember your name?”

Taking a moment to think, that came easier to her than anything else. She remembered Cedric quicker than she remembered herself. It was both disappointing, and a huge relief. It meant that in this crazy unfamiliar world, she had someone she could trust completely. “It’s…Rachel.” She replied, looking up at the man who had saved her. “My name is Rachel.”

Smiling warmly at her, he nodded. “It’s nice to meet you, Rachel.” He replied, savouring the taste of her name on his tongue before introducing himself. “I’m Adaman, leader of the Diamond Clan. But you can just call me Adaman. And this is my partner, Leafeon.”

Rachel scoffed playfully for a moment, wanting to relieve the tension in her chest and her body somehow. “At this point, I’d like to call you my hero. Or even just very easy on the eyes, because you are quite the sight for a sore pair of them.”

He laughed good-naturedly, amused by her forwardness and sense of humour. At least she was in good spirits now that her life was no longer in danger. “Is this how you show your thanks to everyone who saves you?”

She shrugged. “Can’t recall. But it’s how I’m showing my thanks to you.” So this was the Diamond Clan those Pokémon were talking about. Given that his connection to Leafeon was just like hers with Cedric, she could see how the wild Pokémon decided that they were off the table in terms of food.

Cradling her Zorua, she held him on her arm. “This is Cedric. He’s been my partner for a very long time.” She said to the man – Adaman. “There’s no one I trust more than him. Truthfully, I’d be lost without him.”

“I feel the same way about Leafeon.” Adaman replied kindly. Already, Rachel felt much safer, knowing that there were people here. She already felt a kindred spirit with this man who had saved her. Hopefully, he’d be able to help her make some sense of all this. “Now, let’s get you back so we can have your ankle looked at. And hopefully, I’ll be able to answer any questions you might have.”

Nodding, she let him take her hand, slinging her arm across her shoulders to take the weight off her ankle. “I’d really like that…” She murmured. Cedric took his comfortable and familiar place on her shoulder while the man’s Leafeon took her other side, letting Rachel put a hand on his shoulders for stability. “Thank you, Adaman…”

“Don’t mention it.” He replied easily, gently giving her arm a comforting squeeze. “It was the least I could do.”

On the way up the slope, Rachel could now properly take the time to appreciate the surroundings. Though unfamiliar, the landscape was breathtaking! It was incredibly beautiful, untouched by human development and sprawling as far as the eye could see, horizon to horizon. There was nothing here but nature, and she couldn’t help but love it.

There could be worse places to be transported through spacetime to.

Once they reached the top of the slope, Adaman saw a woman with red hair in blue robes with the same symbol on the chest as was on his back in the shape of a pentagon. “You found it!” She exclaimed as she drew close and had a proper look at Rachel. “Oh, you poor thing. You must be what fell from the sky.”

Glancing at Adaman for a moment, she nodded. “Yeah…that’s me.”

“Oh, and your clothes! And your hair!” Rachel was trying desperately not to notice the awful sensation of mud caked and drying in her hair. She was always so fussy about it and honestly, she was on the brink of sensory overload at this point. “Don’t tell me we’re just going to leave her like this.”

“She’s injured.” Adaman said firmly to the red-haired woman, looking Rachel and her clothes over. Cedric backed away, not quite comfortable with the proximity with this stranger. There was nothing wrong with her, it was just a bit much right now. “She hurt her ankle trying to get away from the alpha Hippowdon in the bog. We need that taken care of right away.”

Nodding, the woman put a hand on Rachel’s shoulder. “I’ll go find Mai.” She said to the leader before offering a smile towards the stranger. “And when I get back, I’ll make sure to get you and your clothes all cleaned up for you so you can sleep comfortably, tonight.”

This woman was effectively a stranger to her, but she was being incredibly kind. It was hard for Rachel to even know how to respond, but gratitude was probably the first thing. “Thank you…that’s really kind of you.”

“Please, it’s nothing. I can’t just let you go on like this.” She replied, smiling. “My name is Arezu. I’m the Diamond Clan warden for the Lady of the Ridge.”

The stranger from the sky returned her smile warmly. “Rachel.” She replied. “It’s nice to meet you.”

Quickly, the red-haired woman left down the slope, making her way across the mirelands as Adaman continued to lead Rachel up the slope. Reaching the settlement, Rachel quickly absorbed the scenery before her. There weren’t a lot of people that seemed to live here and the people that lived here were of varying ages. But one thing Rachel noticed was that there were either elders, young children, or young adults. She didn’t see a lot of adults that weren’t elders.

The implications of that were rather sombre.

But there were quite a few tents. Actually, the tents were surprisingly large, capable of housing multiple people most likely, arranged in a circle a fair distance from a large rock in the middle of the camp.

The long shadow was cast by the large obelisk, almost giving the appearance of a sundial. Actually, now that she thought about it, this probably served as a sundial for the clan to use to tell the time. She couldn’t help but comment on it. “Very clever of your clan to have your camp function as a sundial. Very inspired.”

Chuckling in amusement, Adaman nodded. “We worship almighty Sinnoh, creation itself and ruler of time.” He said to her, slowly walking her to one of the tents. “Legends say that when almighty Sinnoh took his first breath, time began to flow. So, by having a way of always knowing the time, we’re able to make sure it doesn’t go wasted.”

“Interesting.” She commented, though the word was tickling the back of her head. The word was incredibly familiar, but this was not what it referred to. Not in her world, at least, but she had definitely heard the word Sinnoh, before. Even this deity, this almighty Sinnoh, sounded familiar to her.

But the word and the deity didn’t line up in her head. She needed to perhaps learn more, when she had a chance.

As Adaman guided her into one of the tents, she took the opportunity to take it in. There was a hearth in the middle of the room at the edge where one could start a fire for heat, or to make food or hot water. On one side of the room was a bunk bed and on the other was a wardrobe. The room was warm coloured and it was very cozy. It was rather comfortable and homey.

On the far side of the room were two paintings of what looked like important figures. A man with blazing hair that sprawled in all directions and a man with red hair that slicked down, wearing large Diamond Clan robes. Naturally, her curiosity got the better of her. “Who are they?” She asked.

Looking at the paintings, Adaman gently guided Rachel to the bottom bunk and sat her down so she could sit comfortable. Cedric jumped off her shoulder to lay next to her and Leafeon laid at her feet.

He sighed looking at the paintings. They gave off the energy of a time long passed, but for at least one of these men, Adaman still had living memories of him. “This man was my grandfather.” He said to Rachel, hands in his pockets as he looked up at the painting. “He founded the Diamond Clan a long time ago.”

Rachel looked up at Adaman, pensive as he stared at the painting. A solemnness permeated the air between them. Adaman referred to his grandfather in the past tense, meaning that his grandfather was long gone.

And since she didn’t see anyone old enough to be his parents as of yet, another possibility made itself known. “How long…has it been since?”

A heavy sigh spilled out of the man as he reached to scratch the back of his head. “Long enough.” He said, turning to Rachel to look at her. Though he considered himself a good judge of character, people could surprise you. And, as much as he had a good feeling about her, she was still effectively a stranger. He needed to properly judge what kind of person she was. “My parents died when I was young…so my grandfather raised me until he eventually passed.”

Familiarity shuddered through her. It came in waves, first a sense of helplessness, then a wave of relief, then confusion, and finally anguish. Once the feelings passed, then came the memories. Foggy, unclear, and fragmented…but they were there. They were clear enough for Rachel to know the truth.

That this was something she had in common with him. “If it’s any consolation…I think I know what that’s like. And…” She paused, swallowing the tightness that suddenly formed in her throat. She didn’t tear her gaze away from him as she reached to keep her hand on Cedric’s fur. “I’m sorry you had to go through that. It’s not fair.”

Adaman searched her face for any sign of sincerity, any sign that she could be just trying to get into his good graces by appealing to a sense of empathy and compassion. But he could sense no such deception, her eyes reflecting his own like a pristine mirror.

There was no insincerity in her gaze. “You do, don’t you…?”

Solemnly, she nodded.

Taking a moment, Adaman decided to sit down beside her, his weight making his side of the bed sink a little, pulling Rachel towards him slightly. “As for the other man, he’s the Hero of Hisui.” He said, gesturing to the painting of the man with the wild fiery hair. “He lived in this region a long time ago, and with him were ten Pokémon. They were his companions. Legends say he once saved the whole region as one with his Pokémon and helped found the clans. His Pokémon were all blessed with almighty Sinnoh’s power, and now it is our duty in both the Diamond and Pearl clans to show respect towards and thank the descendants of those Pokémon for protecting us and making this land habitable to us. That’s the relationship between our nobles and our wardens.”

Arezu did mention something about a Lady of the Ridge. “That explains what your friend said earlier.”

“She’s more of a sister, actually.” Adaman corrected, his hand fiddling with the pentagon bead pendent that kept his coat held together at the front. “Many of us are, myself, Arezu, Mai, and Melli. We…lost our parents in old wars with the Pearl Clan, so we bonded and…became a family.”

Old wars…no wonder the population seemed so small. “Are…you still at war with them?”

“No, thankfully.” Adaman replied, genuine relief in his tone of voice. “But things are still…tense. Neither of our clans want to go back to those times when we were at each other’s throats, but neither of us really see eye-to-eye, either. It’s a bit of a difficult situation to navigate.”

“I can imagine.” Rachel said, sympathizing with Adaman, reaching to put a hand on his shoulder. “But the important thing is that you’re trying, right? You’re trying to make a better world so that neither of your clans have to suffer what you suffered in the past in the future. Isn’t that what matters…?”

He was surprised to hear the casual and calm wisdom that she was so willing to give. Smiling, he chuckled a little. “I think I might like you.”

Rachel couldn’t stop the involuntary smile that creased her cheeks. Looking up at the painting of Adaman’s grandfather closely, there was something about it that was strangely familiar. The man’s face reminded her of someone from her past. Not exactly the same, but as the memory slowly resurfaced, like it was just underwater, she could parse the similarities.

As though the two individuals could be family. Two groups at each other’s throats…who can’t see eye-to-eye…that feels very familiar.

Deciding to light the hearth, Adaman got up to strike a piece of flint to get it going. “I’m going to make some tea.” He said to his guest. “In the meantime, is there anything else I can tell you? I’m sure you’ve got questions, and if you’ve got them, then I’ll do my best to answer them to the best of my ability.”

Glancing between Cedric and Adaman, Rachel asked her immediate first question. “Where are we? What is this place?”

“You’re in the Hisui region.” Adaman replied, filling a teapot with tea leaves and water from a barrel he ladled into the pot before setting it on the hearth and sat back down next to her. “The Diamond and Pearl Clans have lived here for a very long time, though we’re not the oldest people that have lived here and we came here from a distant place a long time ago. It’s an…unforgiving place, I will admit. But, it’s home. You’re specifically in the Crimson Mirelands, protected by Lady Lilligant, the Lady of the Ridge.”

That must be the noble that Adaman mentioned. The one Arezu is warden to. Searching for more questions to ask, she landed on a curious one. “So, why exactly is it that things are so tense between the clans? Did something happen?”

Adaman scoffed, trying to think of how best to explain the situation and the history. “It’s not quite like that.” He said, burying his chin in his hand for a moment. “See, the Pearl Clan believes that almighty Sinnoh rules over space rather than time. And because of our differing beliefs, especially back then, it’s caused a lot of strife. We’re trying to move forward, but it’s not easy when we’re constantly at odds with one another.”

Rachel nodded. “Because of differing theological beliefs.” She murmured, thinking. Now that she had a basic idea of the other side of the coin, things were starting to piece together in her head as foggy memories grew clearer. “You know, this idea of almighty Sinnoh is actually quite familiar to me, but that’s not what we called it.”

That struck Adaman’s intrigue. “No? What name did your people have for it?”

“We called it ‘the Original One,’ or simply ‘the Alpha.’” Rachel answered, remembering what she was told about it from…someone. Someone she couldn’t remember, but she knew was important to her. A realization that made a hole yawn in her chest where that person used to be. “It’s said that it emerged from a lone egg in the centre of nothing. The Original One emerged from this single egg and proceeded to shape the universe with its one thousand arms. From it, matter was born. And thereafter, spirit.”

He nodded. He had never heard this part of the myth, but it sounded like it fit. “Now I really want to know where you came from. It sounds like almighty Sinnoh, but a bit different.”

“That’s what’s stumping me right now.” Rachel admitted, the gears now turning in her head. “Because the Original One was never said to have created either space or time individually. Just ‘matter,’ which is both time and space. I’m confused how your clans arrived at the beliefs you did if you worship the same deity because realistically…time and space can’t exist without the other. They both create matter. If time didn’t flow, space wouldn’t expand or change or even move at all. It would just lay static, it might as well not exist. And without space, time would have nothing to influence. It would exist in a state of nothingness, and also might as well not exist. The two are inseparable.”

Adaman wasn’t sure what to make of this information, and yet Rachel spoke of it as though it were simply common knowledge. Where did she come from where this information was so readily accessible that she just knew it? He never even considered this viewpoint, before.

But the real question was what did this mean if she was right? “So, then what’s your take on this?”

Looking at Adaman, she struggled to find the right words. She didn’t want to offend him – he’d been so kind, after all. But she didn’t want to lie to him, either. That wouldn’t be right and it wouldn’t be the right way to build a foundation of trust. “I think that we have a proverbial puzzle that is incomplete.” She said, opting to use a metaphor to get her point across. “And I think that some pieces are the correct pieces, but they’re being put in the wrong place. Because the truth of the matter is…if there is a true version of Sinnoh, then in my opinion based on what I know…there are two possibilities, and neither of them are that the Diamond or Pearl Clan are individually correct in their beliefs.

“What I think is this.” She prefaced, taking a deep breath. “Either you’re worshipping the same entity that is almighty Sinnoh, and almighty Sinnoh and the Original One are indeed one and the same and thus created both space and time. Or neither of you are, and you’re each worshipping a different deity mistaking it for Sinnoh. Those are the only two logical possibilities in my mind, knowing what I know.”

That was definitely something difficult to swallow. No one liked being told that what they’d believed their whole life was wrong, and if this was years ago, Adaman might have had a similar reaction his grandfather would have.

But he wasn’t the leader of the Clan, anymore. Adaman was. And more than Adaman believed in his version of almighty Sinnoh, he believed in the truth. And that was what they didn’t have right now. All they could do was guess and speculate, but without solid proof, they couldn’t make conclusions.

He felt inclined to believe Rachel, but this also seemed like a matter that only time could truly tell.

“That’s…certainly something to think about. And I’ll even admit that I’ve had some questions about almighty Sinnoh’s true nature myself – though, don’t let anyone else know that I said that.” Adaman admitted candidly.

Chuckling a little bit, Rachel nudged his shoulder. “Don’t worry. My lips are sealed. Your secrets are safe with me.”

“I hope so.” He replied. Rachel was glad that he reacted well. At least Adaman seemed to have an open mind to learn more about the true nature of what he believed instead of blindly doing so.

If he was willing to question his own beliefs, it meant that the truth mattered to him. It meant she could trust him.

Hearing the kettle about to go off, Adaman decided he was willing to take one more question. “Any other questions you have for me?”

There was only one question Rachel had that seemed like a pretty obvious one to ask. “What year is it?”

That was an easy enough question to answer. “1246 A.C.”

Suddenly breaking into a fit of coughing, choking on her own spit for a moment, Rachel lurched forward. The immediate temporal incoherence it caused in her own mind was visceral and a wrongness seeped into her very bones. She didn’t remember a whole lot, but she remembered enough to know that that was wrong.

There was no way…but she did the math in her head, trying to remember the last date she’d written down, and it was true. She couldn’t believe it. “That can’t be…! That’s nearly three hundred years ago!”

Concerned, Adaman put a hand on her back to try and help her through her coughing fit, but he was utterly astounded. Three hundred years from the future? It was no wonder she landed near the Diamond Clan. A traveler through time? She must have been swimming in almighty Sinnoh’s divine power on the other side of the rift.

It was no wonder she seemed so knowledgeable. It was hard for him to not find himself starstruck, but he was more concerned about Rachel not choking to death. “Take it easy, it must be shocking to learn that.” He could understand how daunting this must feel for her, but he was fighting to not see this as a blessing from almighty Sinnoh.

There must be a reason she was sent to them from the future. There must be.

Three hundred years…she couldn’t believe it. Eventually, she managed to stop coughing and Adaman got up to grab her a cup of tea. Pouring it for her, he carefully handed it to her and took his seat back next to her. “Now, please don’t choke on this one.”

Laughing a little bit, Rachel was briefly relieved from the harrowing realization. She had hoped that she had just suffered some spacial displacement, but this was far worse. She had gone back in time. How could one travel through time?

And most importantly, how was she supposed to get home?

Taking a sip of the tea, Rachel instantly relaxed. It was very earthy, but it was good. It soothed her. “Thank you, Adaman. It’s good.”

“I’m here for whatever you need.” He assured her, setting the kettle down on the nearest table. It wouldn’t be long before Arezu arrived with Mai and they’d tend to Rachel and she’d have a good night’s rest. It was probably getting very late at this point. “I know this must be scary for you, but maybe there’s a reason you’re here. Maybe almighty Sinnoh sent you to our time for a reason.”

She appreciated what he was trying to do, she really did. But none of that was a comfort for him. Not that he’d know that – they’d just met. How could he reasonably expect to know that about her? “I appreciate the sentiment, but that’s not as comforting for me as it is for you.”

Adaman was disappointed to hear that, though he supposed he shouldn’t have assumed his belief in his deity would be a comfort for everyone. Especially a stranger from another world foreign to his culture. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to upset you.”

“You didn’t do anything wrong. You were just trying to help.” Rachel was quick to assure him. He wasn’t being malicious, he was just trying to do a kind thing for her. “I’m just…not comforted by the idea that my life and destiny is in the hands of some predetermined course or in the hands of some distant abstract cosmic entity. There’s too much attached to that idea that just…makes me think of it as cruel. It’s less comforting to think that some deity intended for bad things to happen than it is that bad things just happen, I guess…”

He supposed he could understand that point of view. He didn’t necessarily agree with it. After all, if some event or hardship was intended by almighty Sinnoh, then it had a purpose. There was a point to it. If hardships and tragedies just happened, then…there was no point.

That was less of a comfort for him. “Well, Mai and Arezu should be here soon to help get you cleaned up.” He said, putting a hand on her shoulder as he got up from the bed, rolling his shoulders as he walked away. “If I don’t see you tonight, then I’ll be sure to check on you in the morning.”

The moment Adaman left, a sudden jolt of fear ran through her. He was the only person she was at all comfortable and familiar with in the moment. She was in a camp with complete strangers in a time period not her own, trusting all of these people with her.

Yes, Adaman was also effectively a stranger and at best, an acquaintance by circumstance, but he was the most familiar and comfortable person she had.

And right now, she didn’t feel safe. “Wait…!”

Stopping in his tracks, Adaman glanced back at her. The fear in her wide eyes caught him by surprise and he patiently waited for her to say what she needed. “Yes?”

Swallowing her pride, Rachel reached for him. She gently grabbed him by the wrist, being careful not to put any weight on her ankle until Arezu and Mai arrived. “Please stay…” She quietly pleaded, struggling to meet his gaze. “You’re the only person I feel comfortable trusting right now, and…and I’m scared…”

He wasn’t made of stone. As confident as Rachel seemed, she was still a person alone in a world separated from the one she knew. Of course she’d be scared. He should’ve thought about that. It wouldn’t be any trouble for him to indulge her for one night. Hopefully in time, she’d get more comfortable with the rest of the clan.

Adaman was confident that she was sent to his clan for a reason. He would wait as long as he needed to find out what that reason was. The least he could do was help her settle in. “Alright. I’ll stay, tonight.” He agreed, coming back to sit with her, grabbing a cup of tea for himself. “I’ll take the top bunk.”

“Nah, I want the top bunk.” Rachel quickly said, trying to shake off the brief fear of being left alone from her skin. “I like being up high.”

The Diamond Clan leader couldn’t help but snicker in amusement. “I would never have guessed that a tiny woman like you would like to be tall.”

Squinting at the man who’d saved her life and offered her a place to stay, Rachel breathed out a long sigh through her nose. “You’re so lucky I like you, Adaman…” She grumbled.

The man in blue laughed back in response. “I could say the same thing, Rachel.” He replied playfully, gently elbowing her. He had high hopes for her.

Maybe she would be the key to unravelling the mysteries behind what was really going on. Maybe that was why she was sent to the Diamond Clan, to figure out how to quell Lord Electrode.

Only time would tell.

#SafeshipSeptember #୨⎯ A Message On The Wind ⎯୧ #୨⎯ Then It Has Done You No Good At All ⎯୧ #୨⎯ Pokémon Trainer Rachel ⎯୧ #୨⎯ Leader of the Diamond Clan ⎯୧ #୨⎯ Tricky as a Fox ⎯୧

0 notes

lightning-neko · 2 years

Text

If there have been any inaccuracies, please feel free to correct me lol.

We call them mamak shops here in SE Asia.

#submas #New York #whitenoiseshipping #doublebattleshipping #Akari #Shou #this Akari is slightly older than the twins #if the Pokémon timeline were accurate #and was not a Jeremy bearimy #pokemon piers #Evelyn #edit: hold up i think my maths is wrong #akari is slightly younger than the twins but ahes definitely not 15 #my brain is combusting over the timeline

291 notes · View notes

rayshippouuchiha · 2 years

Note

KHR Recs

These goodies are on FFN. Maybe some were transferred over to Ao3.

Russian Roulette by Vixen Tail

PreCanon OC born in Russia derails canon. Amazing world-building, accurate major events with mentioned divergences, slow burn endgame romance with Reborn, also she does have other relationships. I don't know how to talk about this fic without spoilers. This is a huge series, remember that. She's on the last part of the series now (vixen thinks) and the chapters are huge. I swear to God, this is the #1 khr fic for me.

Anything by wolfsrainrules and northeast.

Breathe Throught the Flames by NorthPeach

Ichigo is reborn. He has magic fire powers. And is that... a parent? Who's parenting him?

Some Say Ice, I Favor Fire by NorthPeach

"Consider actual unicorns. Dragons." Skull tried to warn you, Reborn. Hibari and Tsuna raise a dragon. Only 2 chapters but they're beautiful. Hibari loves his firstborn child and Will raise the best dragon ever.

Slip Up by wolfrainsrules

Undergoing rewrite under Slip Up Revamped. HP/KHR. Skull is Harry and the Arcobalenco learns what kind of person their "Lackey" really is.

Also on Ao3. All their fics are great. Those that aren't oneshots are not yet completed, however.

Out of this World series by Luki Fanfic

This one is on Ao3 as well. The series is about the 10th Gen plus Tsuyoshi going to a new world to build a life. There's a BNHA and a Pokémon crossover. BNHA is a more Slice of Life Humor while the Pokemon I purely Humor, not quite Crack. Pokemon does have Hibari, though.

Black Sky by Umei no Mei

HPxKHR Starts with FemHP being raised by the Black's before she gets with Xanxus. Fair warning, very long WiP fic. Also, stays with HP for a long time. Comes off with a very Period Piece since Dorea (femHP) was raised by Old People Nobility. Amazing worldbuilding. Everything slots together beautifully, from both fandoms. Also, Dorea is a single mom for a while because of Nono's bitch ass. But she does get to meet Daniella (badass grandma with a crossbow who led the Vongola during WW2, you will adore this character, she hated almost every family decision her son made)! Beautiful communication between Dorea and Xanxus, once they realize there are cultural and personal misunderstandings.

He Deserves Better by AliceVermillion

Cliche twin fic, Tauna runs away and is taken in by the Varia.

Keeping Your Character by Insanity-Red

OC's reincarnation was messed up. She ends up replacing Lambo and is aged up. Humorous, she torments Tsuna by being so blase about it all.

Don't Kiss and Tell by Luki Fanfic

Nana's family has a curse. They swap bodies with anyone they kiss. Kyoko and Tsuna take advantage of this at a young age. Great idea, both get to experience being a different gender (or rather, the expectations for boys and girls).

Generation Cross by Luki Fanfic

Ok, just read all the authors works. I hadn't realized how many of them I had saved. Tsuna dies and somehow wakes up in his mother's body with a 2 yr old him. First step, get a divorce.

Time Tourists by Caticature

Abandoned, but a great idea. Time travel to 1st Gen and they all look like kids. Misunderstandings ensue.

Harry's Housekeeping by Wolven Haven

HP/KHR Mistaken identity at the wrong/right time and place lead to Harry getting a cleaning job in the Mafia. Oh well, Harry's always been good at cleaning. P.S. Harry cleans up murder scenes! Not graphic. Timeline is during the forming of the Arcenbalenco. Skull is Teddy, who is superworried about his oblivious godfather.

Intuition Overdrive by vaporeanxglaceon

After Nono seals Tsuna's Flames, his Intuition goes into overdrive to compensate for the loss, leading to awake but catatonic boy. When Reborn arrives to turn Tsuna into the next boss, he needs to find a way to help Tsuna before anything else can happen. Iemitsu and Nana are parents who are trying their best but don't know what to do to help him. WiP, maybe abandoned. Such sweet Angst, though.

Red String by Lady Hallen

I think this one is on Ao3, too. HP/KHR FemHPxReborn Hyacinth(femHP) and Reborn have a meet cute and gets together. Super good, lots of chapters, WiP. I want to gush about it but I don't want to spoil it.

Fics by sakuradrmonalchemist

Their fics always have so much potential but seem to all be WiPs, keep that in mind. She has so many xover fics. For KHR, there are HP, YYH, Natsumes Book of Friends, BNHA, High School DxD, Sailor Moon, Yu-Gi-Oh, Batman, Tsukihime, Grimm, Kingdom Hearts, fate/stay night, Naruto, One Piece, Card Captor Sakura, Magical Girl Lyrical Nonoha and more!

Igneous by apathyinreverie

HP/KHR Harry/Reborn After Voldemort's defeat, Harry becomes involved in the Mafia, by being kidnapped/sold by his uncle. After a bad choice by others to have Harry recover under the safety of the Blood Wards (which no longer exist, you idiots), Harry's Flames are forcefully awakened and others try to force Flame Bonds on him. Reborn has a mission to find out if a Family knows how to forcefully activate Flames. He comes across a newly awakened, nearly naked, Sky that snap Bonds him. Very good, happens mostly in the HP world after that beginning, with future Arcabalenco popping up. Harry gets to pull off the We Are Not Amused Aura in Kingslys new MoM office with a dumbass Head Auror. It's beautiful.

Fortuna by 1458

In one world, Iemitsu left his family behind in Namimori. This is not that world. (Un)fortunately. Idiot dad Iemitsu who.... attempts to dad but has no clue how. Nana and Tsuna move to Italy with Iemitsu.

Of Organized Crime and Schizophrenia by AshGopal

Naruto/KHR Tsunade dies and expects to go to the Pure Lands. Instead, she's reborn a Mafia heiress who has a voice in her head. At least she's not alone. The Sannin are together once again. PS Ryohei and Mukuro are Sannin, too.

Not Quite Myths by Falia7

Tauna is Mythological Catnip. It starts with a unicorn and gets worse from there. Gokuderas in heaven, Reborn is ready to lose it, Tsuna is willfully ignoring everything. There's also a multinational cult in Tsunas honor.

No Ones Here to Sleep by mokona-pyuh

Naruto/KHR Skull is Gaara!Shukaku doesn't take kindly to being extracted from Gaara and yeets them into another world. Gaara is reborn with a giant Tanuki still hiding in his soul. Crackish.

Dusk to Dawn by reighost

HP/KHR Harry is reborn as Tsuna. Tsuna adpats to his new life and "Magic". Hopefully he can have a normal life. He makes friends with kid!Kyouya. Also Kyouya's family in this is amazing. If I ever write a fic with Kyouyas parents in, I'm going to beg reighost to let me play with them. Also, reighost is Araceil's amazing partner. They used to do a lot together. Dusk to Dawn is also a spinoff of one of Araceil's (deleted :'() fics.

Under Wing by reighost

HP/KHR After Sirius dies, Harry learns that he's not who he thinks. Desperate to escape dark!Dumbledore, he seeks out his birth family, the Hibaris. We get a peek at a few other fandoms on his way home. He's Kyouya's beloved baby brother in this.

Sincerely, Shattered Shards by You Light the Sky

Nana's family has a special gift. They can give pieces of their hearts away. But no one liked Tsuna's heart. Until Reborn came to town. WiP. Made me cry a bit.

The Final Boss by Sakura Hyuuga

Gamer!Tsuna, Accidental GenderBent!Tsuna! Tsuna's life becomes a game after a realistic dream where he hit yes to play. He thought it was just a dream when a prompt opened up saying only the female version was unlocked. When he woke up, it definitely wasn't a dream. She is not amused. Humor, WiP, funny 'omake' bits.

Of Steel, of Iron, of Stone by Seito

Warning:Angst, Terminal Illness. Tsuna claims he can't become Decimo. Reborn finds out why after a disastrous use of the Dying Will Bullet.

Burn Me with Fire by Shadowblayze

HP/KHR. After burning Quirrel to death, he starts dreaming of an angry man trapped in ice. With a mentor, Harry learns how to fly free. Blaise Zabini friendship

Trading Yesterday by Shadowblayze

HP/KHR With sequel, Stealing Tomorrow. Kawahira takes the Sky Pacifier after Luce's death and finds a new Sky to give it to. The remaining Arcobalenco panic and desperately try to find their new Sky. Meanwhile, 8 yr old Harry has been given the keys to his freedom, with one catch. He will die before his 30s.

Song of Truth and Light by TheSocialBookworm

Demigods are rare and feared. Someone so "No-Good" can't be one... right? Drabbles about Tsuna the hidden Demigod.

Xanxus' Babysitter by Starchains

HP/KHR. Harry ends up employed at Vongola Mansion and becomes Xanxus' personal servant. Harry refuses to let another old man's incompetence ruin a child. WiP

Kyoko by Discoabc

SI reborn as Kyoko. This is Not Ideal. Kyoko tries to get away from the future she know is waiting for r her. It goes... hrm. Well, it's certainly a different way to become part of the Underworld.

Oh wow babe thank you for these recs!!

#RayRambles #KHR #Fic Rec #Long post #katekyo hitman reborn

176 notes · View notes

so-sures-blog · 2 years

Text

Headcannons: Pokéguys with affection

I was in a Valentine's Day mood, alright? 💗

Ships: Poke, Contest, Ikari, Wish, Geekchic, Oldrival, Handyman, Fourthwheel hints

… and Brock

WARNING: LONG POST

Ash

— Ash is legitimately good at flirting — but the thing is, he doesn’t even know he’s flirting.

— He and Misty are walking through the Kanto snow all bundled up, and Ash notices Misty rubbing her hands together and shivering.

— “You cold, Mist?” Ash asks, and before she can respond he just. Takes her hand, locks their fingers together, and puts her hand in his pocket.

— Misty damn near has a heart attack, sputtering and turning bright red. Before she could say anything though, Ash continues on, holding her hand as they walk.

—He’ll also be complimenting her, saying “Wow, Misty, you look beautiful with your hair down!” or “Misty, you were incredible battling that Pokemon today!”

— Misty feels like a little girl talking with her childhood crush (okay, maybe that comparison was a little too accurate …) so the only thing she can respond with are stuttering half-insults before fleeing in shame.

— Ash is a very physical person. Always has been, always will be. He’ll be slinging an arm around her shoulder, walking close so that their bodies bump, pull her into a side hug, even arm wrestling her. The touch is so casual, but it’s so often that Misty can’t help but psychoanalyze every interaction.

— Poor Pikachu has spent many nights with Misty’s face cuddled in his fur to hide her blush. He’s had his ear talked off with Misty’s ramblings of “—does he even know he’s flirting with me?! Is he even flirting?! He’s gotta know! Or am I just making it up all in my head again? Is this psychological warfare or something?!”

— Misty doesn’t know if Ash is flirting with her, if he even knows if he is, if he’s even aware of what he’s doing. Misty gets so flustered she becomes angry that she’s so flustered. She wants to beat him with her mallet for making her so embarrassed; another part doesn’t because she likes the Butterfree he puts in her stomach.

— Ash Ketchum is so impeccably smooth at flirting and pulling moves he isn’t even aware; he just thinks he’s being nice and friendly. He has a trail of hearts behind him after all his travels and he doesn’t even realize.

***

— Brock is a little ways behind them, watching with pure shock.

Drew

— Roses. It’s always roses with those two.

— When Drew would give roses to May ( *ahem* sorry, Beautifly) it was a mocking. The flowers were filled with taunts about how her Pokémon were carrying May to victory.

— Then as Drew starts noticing May, his roses become fleeting — everyone knows what red roses meant. How could Drew give out roses when he didn’t even know who he was really giving them to?

— Drew fell in love with May, and May fell in love with Drew, and there was a trail of roses between them like a timeline.

— When they date, they are the most lovey-dovey couple in the room. At first, all of their friends were happy that they got together, but soon they grow sick of the constant PDA

— Honestly, whenever Max walks into the room and see May and Drew in there, he just straight up walks right out. May gets so offended, but she quickly forgets her brother’s disgusted face when Drew pulls her in for a kiss

— May and Drew have started dating, and May finally drops the bomb about meeting her family. Drew instantly gets flashbacks of Max’s judgey looks, know-it-all expression, and suspicious eyes from Hoenn and almost regrets dating May.

— Apparently, May has been holding off the meeting for quite a while, but has finally conceded. Caroline is sweet and welcoming, swooning about May getting a boyfriend and gushing how handsome he is. Max is still as skeptical as ever, but has softened to the idea of Drew thanks to his traveling partner, Bonnie.

— And Norman … May left Drew and her dad in the same room for less than a minute, and when she came back Drew spent the rest of the time subtly hiding behind May

— When Drew asked May to marry him, he made it this big extravagant proposal. He led May on a scavenger hunt, each rose with a romantic letter on where to find him. When she finally found him, she had a dozen red roses and a ring on her finger on the beach of Slateport City.

***

— Brock is a little ways behind them, watching with pure jealousy

Paul

— Reggie is the first one to notice the way his brother is always touching Dawn. It’s so subtle, Dawn doesn’t realize it; Reggie doubts that even Paul realizes he’s doing it. But for someone who has been raising his younger brother all his life, it’s so obvious.

— Paul is usually adverse to physical touch, so seeing Dawn and Paul interact is like a slap to the face. His hand is barely touching her hip as he guides her to where they’re going. When they sit together their shoulders brush. He leans down to Dawn’s level to lowly talk in her ear. Not to mention the way Paul looks at her —

— Reggie honestly can’t believe his eyes when he sees them together for the first time. He can’t help but tell Maylene, and of course he confronts Paul with some teasing.

— Whenever someone asks about Dawn and Paul’s relationship, Reggie cheekily replies, “They’re an affectionate couple.” Paul always scowls darkly.

— Dawn had no idea until Maylene lets it slip. At first, she just stares and laughs, because the words Paul and affectionate don’t even belong in the same sentence.

— But then Dawn suddenly realizes: she is always the first one to initiate contact — through a held hand, a hug, or a kiss on the lips ...

— But Paul was always the one to let it linger. He never pulled his hand away, he would let her hug him (sometimes he would even lean into it), and he would even kiss her in private.

— Dawn was always the one who pulled away first: becoming embarrassed if someone would walk in on them or pulling away to look at a cute store.

— She immediately sets out to do an experiment of her own: to see how long Paul could deal with physical affection.

— One day Paul is laying on his couch doing whatever, and Dawn sees the perfect opportunity. She strolls over, stands over him, and just … clambers on top of him, resting her head on his chest and fitting her body snugly between his legs.

— He was effectively pinned down. Paul went stiff with surprise, and Dawn honestly expects him to push her away and mutter complaints under his breath as he stalks away.

— After a moment, Paul sighs and drapes his arm around her waist, going back to whatever he was doing. Dawn’s heart leaps, and her belly does a dozen backflips. She honestly can’t believe she’s getting away with this.

— But this was only half of the challenge. Now, Dawn had to wait and see how long he would tolerate her. So she settles down, closes her eyes, and falls asleep to the feeling of Paul’s warmth and even breathing.

— When she wakes up, hours have passed. Paul’s hand is still on her waist, she has drooled a little bit in his shirt, and he was undoubtedly uncomfortable from sitting for so long.

— Still, it is a testament on how much he truly likes her when he says nothing about his discomfort when she wakes.

— For some reason, he distinctly feels like he’s passed a test when Dawn sees that he’s still there and kisses him

***

— Brock is a little ways behind them, watching with pure disbelief

Cilan

— Chilli and Cress absolutely adore Iris. She’s sassy and blunt and determined, and a perfect fit for Cilan. Chilli loves going back and forth with Iris trading sarcastic quips and Cress appreciates her blunt honesty

— She’s practically a part of the family, inviting herself over to the gym and spending weekends there. Half the stuff at their place is practically her’s, and she shows absolutely no shame in that fact.

— When all of their friends know they’re dating, they are simultaneously surprised and not in the process. It’s just that Cilan and Iris are so different, one a sophisticated civilian and another a animalistic wild child. But they just fit together, so well that none of their friends can ever imagine seeing them with another person.

— When Ash hears that they’re dating, he is beaming. Because while he’s happy that all his friends found their significant other, none of them have gotten together with their traveling partner (except for Serena and Clemont, but that comes later)

— Ash feels like a proud matchmaker because he says Iris and Cilan would not have gotten together if it weren’t for him. Iris calls him a little kid.

— Cilan shows his love through words of appreciation, which never fails to embarrass Iris.

— Whenever his Dragon Master wins a battle, he showers her with praise for her and her Pokémon. It’s like his evaluation times, filled with so much fervor and passion.

— Iris always gets so embarrassed, especially if her friends and rivals are there teasing her, but she secretly likes the attention and the praise she gets from Cilan (he is her boyfriend, and a World-Class Pokémon Connoisseur)

— Sometimes when she gets particularly embarrassed, she just marches over to Cilan in the middle of the battle, yanks him down to her height, and kisses him hard to shut him up.

— It always works (Cilan turns bright red and dazed, and to Iris’s satisfaction, he always, always shuts his mouth afterwards) but they don’t know that Iris’s kisses inadvertently fuel Cilan to go on his rants.

— So in actuality, does it really work?

***

— Brock is a little ways behind them, watching with pure awe

Clemont

— Clemont has always admired Serena ever since their traveling days, but he would always push aside his feelings when he saw the way Serena looked at Ash.

— Back then, he had low confidence and even lower social skills. There was no way he can compare to Ash. So he pushed aside his feelings and focused on being her friend instead, supporting her and working to improve himself.

— It took a long time for Clemont to work up the courage to ask Serena out. She was trying to get over her crush on Ash, and they were both too busy focusing on their dreams

— One day, Serena went with Bonnie to cheer Clemont on in a super important Pokémon match. Clemont won, of course, and right before his final move Serena is struck.

— Clemont’s face was bright with electricity and his eyes were clear with confidence. Serena is struck, because she just realized Clemont wasn’t that geeky kid with low self-esteem and inventions that blew up anymore. Clemont was grown, and Serena feels like she is seeing him for the first time.

— It wasn’t just how he looked (Serena was mature enough to admit that Clemont looked … well, amazing during the battle), it was his confidence.

— It wasn’t the Ash type of confidence — bold, brash, and brave. It was the Clemont type of confidence — intellectual and sharp, confident in knowing he would win because Clemont was a lot of things, and no one could ever say he wasn’t smart.

— When Clemont wins, he immediately turns to Serena and Bonnie with a bright smile. Bonnie is beaming and bouncing on her feet, and Serena finds herself blushing with her heart pounding faster than the time she kissed Ash.

— Ever since then, Serena can’t get the stupid feelings out of her head. Her crush on Ash feels childish and far away compared to Clemont.

— Clemont is shy and awkward, but he is sweet and charming. Serena has always known this, but now it’s in a whole new light. She can’t help but notice all these little details about him, like the way his hands move when he talks, or the way he pushes up his glasses and the way his eyes light up.

— Whenever Clemont is working on an invention, Serena finds herself genuinely trying to listen and help. Whenever she stays over, she offers to help Clemont with the cooking.

— They go out to see the lights on top of Prism Tower, Serena teaches Clemont to properly dance, and they spend late nights in the gym just enjoying their companionship.

— At first, Clemont is frustratingly oblivious, blinking innocently and awkwardly laughing whenever they seem to have a romantic atmosphere lingering around them. Serena wouldn’t label it as Ash-Level-Oblivious, (because, frankly, nobody can ever be denser than Ash) because back when she had a crush on him, she was actively trying to hide it.

— Clemont, however, for all his bright intelligence and love knowledge (mostly stemming from Bonnie) can’t figure out for the life of him that Serena was flirting with him. She didn’t know how much more obvious she could get!

— (Just last week, Clemont’s father, Meyer, wouldn’t stop smirking knowingly and last month, Misty had thrown her a half sympathetic-pitying-understanding look when she and Ash came over to visit.)

— Clemont hasn’t noticed Serena’s flirting, but he has noticed that she’s been acting strange. With him, specifically. It’s almost as if she’s flirting with him, but obviously she isn’t because they are just friends.

— Clemont’s heart already skips beats whenever Serena dresses up, and he sometimes gets tongue-tied when she smiles at him, and his face feels very warm whenever she hold his hand but — they are just. friends.

— Clemont doesn’t want to give himself false hope and he already feels like he’s betraying Serena’s friendship with his stupid infatuation he’s had since they were kids.

— (But still … still …)

— Clemont can’t help but compare what Serena is like now to when she had a crush on Ash. He can’t help but notice the longer hours she spends at the Lumiose Gym, even when Bonnie’s not here. He can’t help but notice the way she smiles at him, holding him close as she teaches him how to dance. He can’t help but notice how her eyes sparkle when she looks at him, shining brighter than they ever did when she looked at Ash.

— Bonnie is totally oblivious to the growing tension whenever Serena is over at the Lumiose Gym, or to the stolen moments the two seem to have that she unassumingly walks in on. Serena’s always been close to the family, and she and Clemont are friends.

— It’s Max, Señor Skeptical, Mr. “I hate romance, why focus on love when you can focus on Pokemon” Maple, that has to tell her what’s going on (seriously, he thought she was the love expert) and she flips out.

— She then immediately plots to get them together (mentally planning their wedding in the process) and drags Max along in the mix despite his protests

— She does everything she can to create romantic atmospheres for Clemont and Serena (Max told her that proposing to Serena for Clemont would only scare her off).

— Clemont and Bonnie argue over her schemes and Max is standing behind her, mentally trying to communicate with Clemont his utter sympathies.

— Finally, after a long uphill battle, Bonnie triumphs by embarrassing Clemont enough to make him ask her out.

— Clemont is red and stuttering through his whole proposal, and Serena, having figured out what he was planning on asking her a while ago, just decided to put him out of his misery and kiss him, blushing pink.

— Clemont is breathless and dazed afterwards. It was so cute, Serena finds her gut clenching hotly and her biting her lip to hide the enormous smile growing on her face. It was definitely worth it, waiting this long.

***

— Max and Bonnie are little ways behind them, and Bonnie throws her arms around Max in celebration

Gary

— Gary Oak has known Leaf Green since childhood. She had grown up with him and Ash. They were the trio of Pallet town. Gary spent days at his Grandpa’s lab with her and Ash and nights at Delia’s house for dinner.

— Ash and Gary were rivals, but him and Leaf were something else. Ever since they were kids they were always arguing, going back and forth with each other.

— They go separate ways as their journeys take them on separate paths. Gary becomes a successful Pokemon researcher and Leaf has traveled all over the regions.

— Years have passed when he runs into Leaf again by complete chance.

— At first he can’t believe his eyes. How on earth was this gorgeous woman the bratty girl he grew up with? It’s the same for Leaf. Gary has always been a know-it-all as a kid, but when did he grow into this handsome researcher? She had always brushed him off as that guy who cared more about his hair and girls.

— They catch up and it’s like no time has passed. They still bicker and argue about every little thing under the sun, but now Gary is finally able to label the tension between them.

— They get kicked out of the place they’re in, and when he gets home, he has the biggest, goofiest smile on his face that — quote Misty — “makes him look like an idiot” and Leaf’s number in his pocket.

— Professor Oak knows right away that his grandson has met Leaf, and tells him to invite her over to Pallet Town. Oak has always had a soft spot for Leaf; ever since they were kids he could see that she’s the only one for Gary.

— Before Leaf is suppose to come over, everyone can tell that Gary is nervous. He does his best to not show it, obviously, but he was surrounded by the people who knew him best. Gary keeps running his hands through his hair and the Pokémon are particularly skittish (Pokemon reflect their trainers, after all). Ash, Tracey, and Misty tease him relentlessly while Delia and Oak look on in amusement

— When Misty meets Leaf she instantly likes her: Leaf is strong and stubborn and determined. She is striking and vivacious, and the perfect match for Gary. She’s honestly the only one who could put up with him.

— Misty and Leaf get along great, and when they meet up they constantly make fun of their boyfriends. They are both fierce battlers, and often challenge each other to battles whenever they see each other just like Gary and Ash in their younger days.

— Gary and Leaf spend time together, exchanging snarky flirty comments with each other. They both like to drive each other wild with their teasing and their friends are crazy with the thought “oh god, will those two ever get together?” They’re both hot, and they know it.

— Sometimes Gary gets pulled away with work, so Leaf joins him whenever he’s on a research dig. She brings warm coffee and offers insight to what he’s missing and fights back a smile whenever Gary geeks out about his findings (she finds it cute how his eyes light up when he rambles — even though she has no idea what he’s saying).

— Leaf absolutely wears the pants in the relationship, because there’s no way she’s letting Gary dominate their relationship. Gary is not willing to admit he’s whipped for Leaf but he is. And everyone can see it. Gary would ruthlessly make fun of everyone for their girlfriends wearing the pants in the relationship, but it’s the exact same with Leaf. He’ll be stubborn, pout, whine, and complain, but will ultimately do her bidding. Everyone is amused.

— Leaf likes the fact that Gary is smart, and is able to hold an intelligent conversation. Back when they were kids, he would go on these spiels of Pokemon facts and would rub the knowledge in her face. It made him very punchable. Now, Leaf can’t help but be immensely attracted to Gary whenever he goes on rants of his research findings.

— With Gary, he likes how Leaf can keep up with him. Gary can never really get bored with her like he does with other girls because Leaf keeps him on his toes. Their banter keep him up for days on end, and her flirting makes him wild. Her strength and perseverance makes his heart jump in admiration. She makes him want to be better.

***

— Brock is a little ways behind them, watching with pure annoyance

Tracey

— Tracey met Daisy through Misty when she invited him to the Cerulean Gym, and the first time he saw the eldest Waterflower sister his heart skipped a beat

— He had only heard of Misty’s sisters through her long rants over the phone, so he had a (less than appealing) idea of who they were — even though he had tried his best to remain neutral

— But the first time he saw her, his fingers itched with the urge to sketch as he shook her hand. They didn’t say anything beyond greetings before Misty came in and dragged him away, he found he couldn’t stop thinking about her the whole visit

— He had to go back to Pallet Town eventually, and he finds himself drawing distracted sketches of Daisy when he’s supposed to take notes.

— He can’t help it. Usually when he’s struck with inspiration, he sketches it down instantly. With Daisy he didn’t get the time to do that, so it made sense why he couldn’t get her out of his head

— That’s what he told Gary anyway, when he caught him drawing a sketch of Daisy’s face. Gary merely shakes his head, calls him and idiot, and sends him packing for Cerulean City before he can even blink

— Tracey’s heart is beating unusually fast when he asks Daisy if he can sketch her, and a flattered, surprised, beautiful grin crosses her face (he immediately starts drawing it down)

— They spend a lot of time together, and Tracey finds out he can’t get enough of Daisy. They end up talking about everything under the sun, sharing secrets and sketches with each other.

— Tracey is fascinating and unlike anyone Daisy has ever dated. Daisy is much more that she appears, and Tracey wants to peel back every layer to see her true beauty

— (picture Jack and Rose from the Titanic. They definitely do the draw-me-like-one-of-your-French-girls when they start dating. )

— Tracey feels denser than Ash when he realizes that the feelings he associated with sketching Daisy were actually for Daisy herself.

— Tracey stays around Cerulean City for a while, using the excuse of checking out the water Pokemon and helping with the plumbing so Misty doesn’t get suspicious

— Misty is definitely suspicious of the way Tracey turns red whenever Daisy makes a flirtatious comment, or the way her sister seemed to brighten whenever she heard he was around or coming over

— It took her a while to corner Tracey and demanded answers, but he finally admitted to it. Misty instantly accepts him, but she makes a show of threatening him if he hurts his sister

— (all of her sisters boyfriend’s have to pass the “Misty Test”. Misty refuses to be around douchebags (minus Gary) and to have to deal with her sisters crying after a failed date or broken heart. The Misty Test has scared off multiple suitors, but her older sisters are ultimately grateful despite their complaining of not as much boys around the house because of Misty’s Gyrados)

— Daisy ends up asking him out because Tracey was too much of a coward. She laces their hands together, kisses his cheek, and tells him to pick her up at 5.

— Tracey ends up staying the night

***

— Gary is infinitely smug, and Professor Oak merely shakes his head with amusement

Brock

— Brock has been a sad, sad boy watching all his friends grow up and fall in love — and yet Brock can’t seem to find his special lady! He is a successful Pokemon doctor, a great breeder, a good cook, and shoots the best one-liners, if he does say so himself.

— Brock becomes so desperate he actually goes to the guys for help … and it goes exactly as expected. Ash is clueless, Paul says nothing, Drew is unhelpful, Clemont was shy, Tracy was nervous, Gary was Gary, and Cilan was just overall confusing.

— Then he goes to the girls for advice, and while their insight was helpful to an extent … that was it. He went to Misty, May, and Dawn, listening to their offhanded remarks on who liked Brock back (it was a pathetically short list) while wearing face masks and nail polish.

— Brock was about to resign himself to a lonely, loveless life of a bachelor before he came across an offer.

— Bonnie, satisfied that her brother has found a suitable wife in Serena, offers her help in the matchmaking business — and drags Max along with her.

— Arceus, it pains Brock to take orders from Max’s smug little mouth, but he finds equal petty retaliation by pointing out how easily Bonnie bends Max to her bidding

— It takes a while for them to get in sync with each other — Brock was chasing after every other girl and Bonnie was eager to help by doing the exact same thing. Max was the one with the only brain cell when it came to girls

— The trio bond through terrible rom-com movies for “research” — Brock chose the movies, Bonnie got the snacks, and Max would rather die than admit that he actually liked the dramas

— Between Bonnie’s sweet blue eyes, Brock’s cheesy (but romantic) lines, and Max’s intellect, the trio soon have this matchmaking thing down in the bag

— They find him a perfect match and send Brock in (“— just be yourself, cheesy one-liners come later —”) and it’s a huge success. Brock has swept her off her feet and he can hear Bonnie cheering from outside the Pokemon Center’s window

— Brock is right where he’s meant to be, glowing with happiness.

***

— He isn’t done yet, though. He still has to get Max back for all the ear-pulling he did back in Hoenn.

103 notes · View notes

robocatfan · 2 years

Text

Arrival (Part 1)

(In which a lost Ingo finds himself in the sky world and its residents want his drip)

Just in case, I decided to call my au “Submas and the skykids”, just to differentiate it from the other one that’s going around.

(Also this is the first time I write Ingo so don’t be surprised if he doesn’t seem in character or is portrayed accurately. Also Blankshippers dni)

When Ingo finally decided to accept Arceus offer to send him back to his timeline and home, he expected it to be difficult in terms of emotions and leaving his new life behind. He had to leave the Pearl Clan, who had kindly offered him a place to stay and wished him a safe trip back. He had to leave Lady Sneasler, the noble who he had bonded with as a warden and who took him to a final trip to send him to his destination. He had to leave his pokemon team, who he had many battles with and whom he now placed in Professor Laventon’s care. And he had to leave Akari, another person who like him, had arrived to Hisui by a time rift and now was on her own journey back home.

It was hard, leaving so many things behind just to go to a place he barely remembered, and there was a chance that, even there, his memory problems and his time spent in Hisui could cause him trouble and difficulty adjusting back. But, it was something that had to happen. He didn’t belong in Hisui, he was from somewhere else. Where pokemon and humans finally coexisted peacefuly. Where he seemed to have had an important role in one of his region’s many cities. And where, he felt, someone was waiting, waiting for him to come back.

So, as he expected, taking that trip through that portal Arceus created was going to be hard emotionally, but it was something necessary and something he needed.

What he didn’t expected however was that, when he stepped in through it and was dizzed and almost blinded by the light from it, he was actually going to arrive somewhere completely different.

Ingo tiredly opened his eyes (wait, when did he go asleep?) and the first thing he saw was…grass? After blinking a bit, he confirmed that yes, it was grass. He looked up, and he instantly had to cover his eyes when the rays of the sun met him. It was dawn, judging by the position.

It seemed he had arrived somewhere. But where?

Finding his strength, he stood up from the ground (why had he been laying there?) and finally took a good look at his surroundings. And when he did, he could only stand in confusion at what he was seeing.

He was, apparently, in some small island with barely any other signs of land sight. In that island, there was what seemed to be a pond, with a round stone surface in the center, with red long things (candles, he realized) surrounding it. Speaking of the candles, there where also some of them standing in front of strange spaces behind the pond, all of them having what seemed to be an artistic despiction of a person, with what looked like horns and a triangle shaped body. Each one with a certain part of the figure’s body glowing more than the others (like the head or the legs).

The man followed the structures with his gaze, also finding a small statue and a a bigger round rock surface (with strange markings on it) situated in the middle of two of them, until his eyes ended up looking a bigger structure separated from the others by water, housing a large blue door.

“W- What?…”

Ingo stood there frozen, his brain fully processing all those sights. Where on earth was he?! He may have lost his memory, and he still couldn’t remember certain things about himself. But he was 100% sure that this was not the place where he originated from.

So many questions started to formulate in his brain. What was this place? Where was this place? What were those strange rectangles? Why were there candles in the floor? What was that giant door and where did it lead?

Then he thought back when he entered the portal that Arceus made. Why was he unconscious on the ground? Did the Pokémon god take him there on purpose? Did he took the wrong track and went here instead of his intended destination? How would he get back? Could he even get b-

His thoughts were suddenly interrupted by a loud ringing. A bell, sounding from the top of the structure that held that door, and then spreading to the strange rectangles. The man listened and watched as the sound went back and forth though the structures, before sighing and shaking his head.

He was getting ahead of himself. Panicking was not going to help him. He had to concentrate.

Ingo looked around once more, trying to find what to do. Then, he looked back at the area of the pond, and when he looked at his right again he noticed something; a small grey boat, partially covered in a white sheet.

The former warden’s eyes lit a bit. Did it belong to someone? And, was that someone still on the island? He double checked again, but there seemed to be no one apart from him. Where was the owner? Were they… sleeping under the sheet?

Ingo started to approach. It may have been impolite to check on someone else’s property without their permission, but his curiosity took over him. Besides, he didn’t exactly have much else to do, and whatever he found could probably give him a clue as to where he was.

The man started to get close, unaware of the small sound and thing that started to appear at the rock in the middle…

When he was finally in front of it, he noticed a small paper sign in the ground. He didn’t understand much of the words it said, but he could see a candle drawing in the middle, as well as some numbers. Was this a candle shop? That could be the explain where the candles on the ground came from, but he wasn’t sure about it.

He inspected the boat for a moment, before knocking on its smooth surface.

“Hello?” he asked, wanting to see if the owner was there. After a few seconds of silence, he knocked again, a bit more loudly. Again, nothing. It seemed that the owner wasn’t present.

Hesitantly, Ingo took hold of the sheet and moved it a little, peeking at what was under it, before in one swift motion pulling the entire sheet completely off the boat.

(He could have sworn that he also heard a scream and something falling in the water, but when he looked over it he found nothing).

What he did find however where some grey vases piled together, as well as some scrolls and strange glowing spheres. Nope, it didn’t seem like a candle shop, but it was something. Some of the vases seemed to sparkle, and they also looked like they contained some kind of liquid, but it clearly wasn’t water. Strange. What was all of this?

The man was so concentrated on his finding that he didn’t hear the small footsteps coming closer to him. So, just as he was about to leave the boat alone and place the sheet back…

*honk*

Ingo yelped, startled and immediately turned around to face… nothing. There was nothing.

*honk*

The sound repeated again before he thought he just had imagined it, and this time it was followed by something tugging at his coat. He looked down, and this time his gaze was greeted by, to his surprise, two little children, one of them holding his coat.

Oh.

“Um, hello?

The kids were small, their heads barely reaching his waist, and both of them had dark skin and white hair, though the one holding his coat had it in a ponytail while the other had it in what appeared to be a small side braid, with a bit of the hair sticking out in their head like a small flame. The differences ended there, however, as the two were wearing matching robes of what seemed to be a dull yellow- ish color, with short sleeves and a round circle in the upper area. Both of their faces were also strange, having no visible mouth, a crystal like - object in their foreheads and round glowing eyes, which stared at him unblinkingly. And finally, they both had a long brown cape in their backs, the front of it almost completely covering one of the kids’ bodies.

There was silence as Ingo and the kids stood there, staring at eachother. Once again, the man was surprised and confused. Where did this kids come from? While a part of him was a bit relieved that it seemed like he was not alone in… whatever this place was, he still wondered why they seemed to appear so suddenly when he previously hadn’t seen any signs of them. Have they been hiding somewhere? And why did they look so.. off?

His thoughts were interrupted, however, when the honking sound that had previously startled him came back, and when he focused again he saw one of the kids waving a hand in front of him.

“Ah! My apologies!” He said, his voice coming louder that he intended. He must have zoned out for a moment. The kids backed up a bit in surprise, but otherwise didn’t seem to mind much. Then, he continued “ Excuse me little ones, but I think I may have derailed a bit in my tracks. Do you have any idea of where this station is located?”

He didn’t get an answer. Instead, the kids glanced at eachother before staring back at him, confused. Then, the child with the ponytail let go of his coat and looked at it for a moment, before starting to pace around him, cape moving up and down with each step and bright eyes shining with curiosity.

Ingo watched the moving kid for a moment, noticing how they seemed to keep a bit of distance from him. Were they intimidated by him? He wouldn’t be surprised if that was the case. He was very conscious about the fact that, according to many people, he looked very intimidating and scary at a first glance. And the frown that was almost permanently plastered on his face didn’t really help with showing the contrary. Especially to children close to the age of the ones that currently were inspecting him.

But apart from their reaction when he spoke up and the small distance apart he had from the walking kid, they really didn’t look like they were very intimidated. Still, he didn’t move, just in case. Finally, after a few seconds, the kid with the ponytail got closer to him and poked his pants with a finger.

Ingo stared down at the small child before opening his mouth, intending to ask another question. But then, he heard another sound in the direction where the other kid was standing. It was way more quiet than the honking, but it was still noticeable.

“Hm?” He turned his head to stare at the other kid, and to his surprise he saw them holding something in their hands “Its… that a candle?”

He was quick to notice how the object had the same shape and color as the ones on the floor. But unlike them, it was lit by a small flame. A small, but very hot flame.

The kid, noticing his question, nodded their head before suddenly starting to approach him, lifting up their candle. Was he trying to give it to him?

“No thanks. I don’t currently need any candles” Ingo quickly said, lifting his arms and backing up a bit. The kid stopped his advances and shot him a confused look. They might have good intentions, but as far as he knew he didn’t need the candles, the ones in the floor already being useful to provide heat if he wanted to. And besides, he didn’t want to risk getting accidentally burned by it. Then he remembered that said lit candle was being held by a child, and he instantly started to worry “Are you following the safety protocols required to hold that thing? You shouldn’t be putting your hands that close to the flame, for if you aren’t careful you will get hurt. And where did you get that from? From the ones that are in the ground? And how did you know how to light it up properly?”

The small child blinked at him, notably confused by the former warden’s words. Finally, they shot him a very suspicious look before giving a shrug and starting to walk away, and after a few seconds they started running to the spaces behind the pond. Again, Ingo worried.

“Wait! Is extremely unsafe to-“

But said child didn’t seem to care or listen, continuing their very short trip even with the candle still burning in their hands. And suddenly, Ingo heard the same low sound. This time, it was accompanied by something very warm almost brushing against his belly…

The man winced and instantly stepped away, looking down to see that the kid with a ponytail was now holding a candle of their own. Ingo quickly checked to make sure that his clothes hadn’t been burned (and thankfully they weren’t) and looked back at the kid, who lifted up the burning object and started to walk at him.

“ Whoa! Hang on a moment!” he resorted just as the strange kid was about to touch him with their candle, making the child pause and look at him “while you might be trying to help me, that was a very protocol - unfriendly procedure! Candles like yours can be very dangerous if close to things that burn easily. That candle could hurt both of us if you aren’t careful”.

Like their companion before, the kid gave him a suspicious look and for a moment Ingo thought that they would also listen to his words and walk away. But instead, the kid gave both his candle and the man a glare before narrowing their eyes and resuming their approach.

“K-Kid??”

The former warden nervously backed away as the kid tried to get closer, looking more determined to give him the candle than their companion. But why though? And why the two kids didn’t listen to his warnings?

Whatever the answers to those questions were, trying to answer them while in his current predicament wasn’t the safest option.

Ingo took more and more steps back as the kid followed him, until he ended up bumping into something. Or rather, someone, as immediately afterwards he heard something similar to a short yelp.

“Sorry!” He said as he turned around to see who he had startled, only for him to almost scream as he saw the face of another kid, who unlike the other two, had a large blue and yellow bird-like head covering them.

(That and the fact that it was visibly made with some kind of material made him realize that the “faces” of the other children weren’t really faces, but actually brown masks covering them).

The new kid, who had a red cape and a blue outfit with dark pants and boots unlike the others, made a sound a bit different than the honks he heard (which also made him realize that the kids were the ones making them) and looked just as surprised to see him as he was to seeing them.

Ok now Ingo was more confused. Moments before there were just two kids with him and now they were three. When did that one arrive?

His questioning didn’t last long however, as just a second later the kid with the ponytail dashed to the newcome ‘s side (gaining what Ingo could only assume was a “hey!” from the other child as they were almost pushed by the move) and tried once again to get their candle closer to the man, who backed away instantly.

The former warden was barely paying attention to the new kid while trying to get away from the other, but he did see that the child’s expression changed from one of surprise to curiosity and intrigue and after a moment they too decided to follow him as well. Unlike the other, they merely looked to be curious.

Ingo tried again to protest to the kid, but his words died in his mouth the moment he heard more honking and he looked up to see, to his utter dismay, three more different kids standing on the rock in the middle of the island.

The smallest of them spotted him and signaled to the other two before ripping a whole candle from the circle on their chest and running towards him, their companions soon following after.

The man froze at that sight.

What on Arceus name?! Why were there more kids? Why did they all have strange masks and capes? Why where they all following him? Why did they want to give him candles? And speaking of the candles, why on earth did they appear from the kid’s chest?! What even was this place?!

A honk snapped him back to reality as he saw how the ponytailed kid and the small one put their candles close to one another, creating a faint glow that resembled the shape of a heart, before the taller kid pointed at Ingo and honked something at their new companion, who nodded in understanding and joined them in their little mission.

Ingo briefly considered trying to make a run for it (even though there wasn’t exactly much space in the island to do so), but quickly found his path obstructed by three of the kids, including the little one with the sidebraid.

The rest of the kids began to close all posible escape routes for the former warden, and before he knew it, he was completely surrounded on all sides by many, many kids, all of them staring with glowing eyes and holding their candles close to him.

Ingo gulped, seeing his situation. What had he gotten himself into?

101 notes · View notes

oops-prow-did-it-again · 4 years

Text

Pokémon Retold: Hidden Grottos - Whispers in the Dark (2)

Pokémon Retold (series) on AO3

Consider tipping/supporting/commissioning me on Patreon? :3*

*Note that I haven’t updated the tiers yet - I no longer post fanfic work 2 weeks in advance on there, I only post original writing, art, and fanart there 2 weeks in advance! The Patreon is mostly still under construction, but commission info on there is accurate.

------------

Some conversations between the Shadow Triad and Colress shortly after Ghetsis' death.

------------

Timeline: Immediately after the last chapter of Black 2 (but before the epilogue)

Setting: Unova

Notes: So I had a few ideas that I wanted to write, but none of them really had a plot, it was more just "hey I want these characters to talk about X thing," so that's what "Whispers in the Dark" oneshots are gonna be. No real plot, just two characters rambling at each other. This particular one is a little gritty and maybe a tad existential, because it's from the perspective of Ghetsis and later, one of the Shadow Triad.

Characters: Ghetsis, Shadow Triad, Colress, Rosa

Prerequisite Reading: Black, Black 2

------------

It was bitterly, bitterly cold there on the ground for that miserly man. He couldn't speak, he couldn't move, and it took all of his effort to merely breathe against the frigid air that felt as if it were stabbing his lungs with every inhale. There was a terrible gurgling noise with every struggling breath, for blood sat in his mouth, and he couldn't cough strong enough to spit it out. He was dimly aware that it had likely come from his seizure, as he had bitten through part of his tongue, which that pain radiated up and down his spine more so than the general discomfort from being on the ground, but it certainly would have been easier to deal with if he were not in such a situation.

He was staring at the base of a tree, whose roots were large and thick, and curled around him. The Shadow Triad—two of them, the third was not with them for whatever reason—had dumped him there at the foot of that tree. They were nearby; he could still hear them occasionally shifting and speaking curt words to one another, but they paid him no heed. Indeed, for hours, Ghetsis laid there and stared at the knotted roots, fighting desperately to keep breathing and occasionally jolting with the intent of standing up, but finding no part of his broken body would respond to him. Not only did he have the misfortune of having been laid on his partially paralyzed right side, but it felt as if none of his muscles would move at all. His left arm was as limp as limp could be over him, and his head felt heavy and foggy.

“What is wrong with him?” he heard one of the Shadow Triad question after an untold amount of time. It was the loudest one, the one with the clear, smooth voice.

“I do not know,” the other curtly replied. “The Hero of Truths did not actually hurt him. So, I do not know what is wrong with him.”

I’m dying, you idiots, Ghetsis wanted to spit back at them. In that desperate moment, he would have willingly gone to any doctor in all of Unova, despite the years he had spent suspiciously avoiding them all like the plague. He had never trusted doctors for paranoid fear of what they could potentially do to him while he was under their care. Typically, he had turned to Colress whenever he was in dire need of medical attention. Although he didn’t trust Colress to do particularly invasive procedures, he had done a passable job in the past… Yet, when the Shadow Triad had swooped in and teleported him out of that Arceus-forsaken cavern and away from that damned Hilbert Whitacre and his Reshiram, when they had taken him to Colress, he and his pet, Rosa, had all but screwed their noses up at him, and then Colress had ordered the Shadow Triad to “do something with him.”

Do something with him.

Not only did that thought plague him, but the frightening realization that had come minutes before he had fallen, seizing on the biting, icy floor, did, too. Hilbert and his Reshiram had been toying with Kyurem before he had been whisked away. Hil had fully intended to blow through Kyurem given enough time and kill him. Although he had fallen just short of murdering Ghetsis there, Hil had succeeded in felling Kyurem, and Ghetsis didn’t need it spelled out for him to know that he had failed. Again.

All he had ever been after in life was to be on top, to never be at the mercy of another human ever again, and even when he had clawed his way to the top with a legendary pokémon, sacrificing his humanity, his family, his blood, his sanity, he had been felled by another human. He suddenly concluded that there was simply nowhere on that Earth one could have gone to escape being under the influence of someone else. No matter what, one could not control all of their surroundings or what others did. The illusion he had been chasing his entire life was just that: an illusion. He didn’t even have anything to show for it. Unova had been damaged by Team Plasma’s attacks, but it would heal, and in his rage, he had severely injured N. For all he knew, N had bled out on his way to a hospital, so he didn’t even have a heritage to show for all he had labored over. Despite how long he and Colress had known one another, despite everything they had been through, Colress had taken one look at his dying uncle and told the Shadow Triad to simply “do something with him.”

“He is dying,” the smoothly-spoken Triad member mused. “That much is obvious. His vitals are significantly decreased. But why?”

“I do not know,” the other responded, much the same as before. “He does not appear any more injured than before. His limbs are still partially paralyzed. Though, I thought I saw him bleeding from his mouth… Even so…”

“He is not broken like our brother was,” the first interjected. “I do not…”

“Perhaps we can ask Dr. Colress later,” the second cut his brother off. There was a long pause between the two of them. “What do you think Lord Ghetsis wished to accomplish with Kyurem?”

“I do not know,” the first muttered in a deadpan. They sounded so coldly robotic. It made Ghetsis wish his muscles would cooperate and let him shiver… He was freezing… His fingertips, lips, and toes burned with the sheer bite of the cold. “I do know that in the past he wished to be in control of Unova. Yet, I do not understand how Kyurem would have granted him this, and I believe he said that he wanted to freeze Unova solid. I do not understand how that would have granted him ownership of it. What would there be left to own?”

I… I don’t know. Ghetsis tried to swallow but nothing happened. I don’t know what I wanted to do after Kyurem froze Unova… I just… I just…

“Do you think, then, that he wished to merely inflict pain?”

“That seems to be the case. He was increasingly cruel following his return, after we broke him from prison. Do you remember what he did to Anthea and Concordia just a few months after that?”

“Indeed. He let his new Hydreigon free on them in a closed off room and it mauled them before it was called off. Then, he abandoned them near Nimbasa City, along Route Four.”

Ghetsis struggled to recall the event they were discussing, and that alarmed him. His mind was fading fast… But he did remember. He had been furious with the world following his first defeat, back when he was arrested, and upon his return, he had captured another Deino and raised it. With Colress’ assistance, he developed a machine that would keep the pokémon under control, much in the same way he had programmed the Shadow Triad to be loyal to him. With such technology, Ghetsis had been allowed to freely train the pokémon as cruelly as he wanted, and oh, how he ensured it was cruel. Why had he done that? he wondered. At the time, he had convinced himself that such a draconic, fearsome pokémon would be more effective running off of sheer hatred, but… Well, that didn’t answer the question of why he had gotten another Hydreigon to begin with, did it? He had captured another Deino and raised it due to the pain of having his previous one, the same pokémon he had had day in and out, wrenched from him. He had beaten it again and again, made it hate him, because that made it feel normal. His first Hydreigon hated him. More than that, he didn’t want pokémon to like him. He didn’t want any of them to give him their sympathy. He couldn’t handle it. They were pawns to his plans and nothing more. He couldn’t allow himself to feel their kindness.

It was the same reason he had avoided N so much during his formative years. Not only was abandoning him to the forests an excuse for him to hone his ability to speak to pokémon, but it was so that he couldn’t get attached. Everyone else in the world was just a creature waiting to stab him in the back if given the appropriate tools, after all; he couldn’t allow himself to grow so strongly attached to N and have moments of weakness for the sake of loving his son. Yet, for a brief moment of clarity, he wondered… Was that because that was how humans were, or was that what he had convinced himself so many years ago, after having his family and town turn their aggression on him for his ability to understand the emotions pokémon felt?

Of course, it was gone as a searing bolt of pain ran through his chest and down his left arm, making him gasp and croak for air he couldn’t seem to get…

“If he intended to inflict pain with Kyurem, do you think he succeeded?”

“He did inflict pain. He hurt Lord N,” the huskier-voiced of the two Shadow Triad growled. If Ghetsis wasn’t too focus on his primal fight for survival against his failing body, he might have found that surprising. The Shadow Triad did not generally speak with emotional inflection.

“Yet, the pain is not permanent. I believe Lord N will be alright,” his brother pointed out. “Kyurem was defeated. Unova will not be frozen.”

“Then perhaps he failed,” the quieter one huffed with a note of finality.

“Does that mean we failed? We were supposed to help him, were we not? What does that mean of our brother?”

“It means nothing. Why do you question something such as this?”

“I do not know.”

“We do not control Lord Ghetsis. We served him to the best of our ability. Lord Ghetsis was the one who failed.”

All at once, Ghetsis gave up his fight for survival, and allowed the icy pine forest’s floor to siphon away his body heat, and his eyes rolled into the back of his head.

------------

“He is gone,” Quiet abruptly remarked, jerking his head to stare at Ghetsis’ body. “I do not sense a heartbeat of any sort. A pulse.”

“Then there is nothing else we can do for him, is there?” Loud asked bluntly.

“No,” Quiet answered, feeling a twinge of something he wouldn’t have known what to call, but it was, in fact, annoyance. Loud had a way of asking such irritating questions.

“Our brother did not have a pulse, either. Do you think there is nothing we can do for him, then?”

“Our brother and Lord Ghetsis are not the same,” Quiet replied. He looked up at Loud as the other stood up and stared at Ghetsis. Although they had all privately adopted the names Lord N had given them so many years ago, they never referred to one another by them. N had asked them, back when he had first administered the titles, not to say them in the presence of others. “Dr. Colress had fixed us many times in the past from bad injuries and the like. Maybe there is more to him that can be repaired than to Lord Ghetsis.”

“I just do not understand,” Loud sighed at last.

“Then let us ask Dr. Colress.”

With that, they teleported to the P2 Laboratory, deep within its recesses and to a large room. Upon seeing them, Rosa yelped and backpedaled, cutting her eyes to narrow daggers after them, while Colress jolted and then tilted his head at them. “Is Ghetsis gone?” Colress musingly asked without skipping a beat.

“Lord Ghetsis is dead,” Loud affirmed.

Quiet looked just beyond Colress and saw that, behind a thick, wall of glass, Genesect lay inactive on its knees. The mostly-synthetic pokémon had been a private project of Colress’. He didn’t know what to think as he looked at it. It was not yet alive in any capacity, yet it was there, ready to be… made alive. Was that how Colress treated them and fixed them? Somewhere in the back of his mind, he did know that he and his brothers were human, but they couldn’t have been human in the same capacity that Colress or even Ghetsis were. Machinery and synthetic materials laced his body as well as his brother’s. Humans were made of flesh and bone, and couldn’t be repaired like they could, and they felt something called ‘pain,’ which was a concept mostly foreign to Quiet. He could feel brief flashes of pain to alert him that something was wrong, but after that, it would ebb. Humans seemed to feel pain until whatever issue they were experiencing was resolved…

“What do they want?” Rosa huffed as she glared at them, slinking closer to Colress.

“Can you fix our brother?” Loud blurted before Quiet could say anything. “He has no pulse. But is still mostly in one piece. Can you fix him?”

Colress winced at the question, and sharply turned back to the control panel in front of him, as well as to Genesect behind the glass. “No… He’s dead. There is no fixing that…” His voice was tense and wavered slightly.

“But he is different from Lord Ghetsis,” Loud pressed, a little more urgently. Quiet looked down at the floor and blinked. He didn’t know what he was feeling, but he didn’t like the idea of them suddenly being a duo rather than a triad. So much of their effectiveness revolved around the idea of them being three strong… “Our brother is made from mechanical parts. There is flesh, yes, but he is not the same as a human. He is not the same as Ghetsis.”

“I don’t believe this,” Rosa mumbled under her breath.

Giving them a look that was torn between shocked and apologetic, Colress shook his head at Loud, then at Quiet. “I… know that you three are partially built with mechanics and the like… but it all rides off your biological processes. You sleep to recharge certain devices in you, you eat to replenish calorie stores which teleportations use significant amounts of… And although I have a lot controlling how your brains function, they are still required for you to think, move… all of that.”

“You are going to make Genesect move and think,” Quiet softly interrupted as a thought passed through his mind. “Why can you not make our brother do that?”

Almost choking, Colress uncomfortably spat, “Because it would not be the same! He is dead! Can’t you understand that?” Shuffling his feet and clutching top of the control panel ahead of him, he hung his head, then shook it. “Of course, you don’t… I knew that… I’m sorry. I should not have yelled like that.”

“Are you seriously consoling them?” Rosa incredulously hissed. “It’s not like they sound that torn up about it… They’re just asking questions because they don’t understand… Arceus, they’re creeping me out. Can you send them away?”

“Miss Rosa…” Colress sighed. “They still have emotion even if most of it is beyond their comprehension, and I did create them, and… I did not mean for that to happen to their brother… I will study data from his action and processes scanners to see if I can pinpoint where the error was made that allowed him to get into that position, because there should have been something in place to keep him from being injured so badly, but I am sorry that I was not able to fix it before something like that happened…”

Impatiently, Rosa nodded her head at Genesect. “So, what… what is that thing, again? What are you wanting to do with it?”

“Oh, Genesect…” Colress blinked as he looked up. He paused and then glanced over his shoulder. “You two,” he said to them, “Can you… I don’t mind what you do for a while. But I would like to be alone with Miss Rosa for some time. I’ll call you back whenever I require you.”

Turning to Loud, Quiet tilted his head and stated, “I would like to check on Lord N.”

“The humans will not like us in the hospital.”

“We can turn invisible.”

“We can still be felt.”

“We will ensure we are not felt.”

“Oh, my Arceus, just leave!” Rosa snapped at them at last. A shiver seemed to run up her spine, and she shook her head. “Creepy bastards…”

Paying her no mind, Quiet and Loud both went invisible, and then teleported to Lord N’s signature. He was in a hospital bed, surrounded by various doctors and so forth. They patiently waited, carefully keeping out of anyone’s way, and keeping from bumping into anything, cloaked in invisibility, until N was finally alone. The dimness of the room and the skies outside suggested that it was late into the night by that point.

While Loud watched from a distance, Quiet picked his way near to the hospital bed, where N was draped beneath a blue blanket. A bandage, flecked red with blood, was wrapped around his head and over his left eye, but he was alive. He very much did have a pulse and although he was asleep, he was alive. Seeing him asleep there was such an odd feeling… Quiet didn’t have the words to describe it, but it reminded him of a time long ago…

When Ghetsis had first abandoned Lord N to the Giant Chasm, it had been Quiet he had sent to do it, and Quiet who had been carefully lectured on what to do if Lord N was in any sort of dangerous situation. It had been a long night of synthesizing the various parameters, but at last, he had been given the infant and teleported to the predetermined location near a Zoroark den. He also had a Darumaka in a Poké Ball, whom he was supposed to use to warm Lord N up if it became too dreadfully cold. Until the nearby family of Zoroark had taken N in, it had been Quiet’s job to take care of him, and he had spent months out there, tirelessly paying him attention except for the few minutes each day he had to return to the castle for maintenance at Anthea and Concordia’s hand (which, Anthea spent most of the first month in tears whenever he visited… he hadn’t understood that, but he had known it was N’s abandonment that had caused it, and that it was uncomfortable to look at her during her fits).

There had been many nights like this, where Quiet had holed away in a hollowed-out tree or vacant cavern with a sleepy, tired N, the Darumaka there to keep them both warm, as they slept through the night. Quiet did not understand the feelings that were drummed up by that time, but they were returning as he overlooked N in the hospital bed. Although he hadn’t forgotten the need to be quiet and to stay unnoticed, he just… wanted to hear something he had recorded a long time ago… From speakers built into his throat, he replayed the short clip, much to Loud’s obvious dismay in the way his brother perked up and locked his eyes on the door.

First, in the recording, there was the sound of a crying infant—Lord N. Secondly, one could hear someone—Quiet—shushing it, and then asking, “Why do you cry? Do you want the Darumaka closer? …Young humans are difficult to understand.” Yet, within seconds—during which, Quiet had, indeed, pulled N’s Darumaka closer to him and the pokémon had allowed the infant to cuddle it—N fell silent and as far as Quiet remembered, he had fallen asleep moments after. Lastly, in the recording, one could hear Quiet saying, “Goodnight,” in a deadpan.

Loud glared at him once the recording finished. He didn’t dare speak, still strictly following his own instructions to remain silent and unseen, but Quiet could tell he wanted to ask him why he had done that. Truthfully, Quiet didn’t entirely know why he had done it, either.

In the hospital bed, N stirred, and Quiet, still invisible, took a seat on the foot of the bed, careful to not touch N’s feet. He really did not understand the almost aching, yearning emotion in his chest as he realized this would likely be the last time he could be with N in any capacity. Lord Ghetsis is gone now, he wanted to say but couldn’t. You are free of him. I think you will smile more without him. You always were happier without him around, like when you were in the forest with the pokémon, or when you would invite us in to play with you, even though we… did not understand what you wanted. Quiet looked away from N, abruptly finding it uncomfortable and unpleasant to see him. I do not want this to be the last time I see you. But I do not think I can see you in the future… But I believe you will be happier and safer. In that case, I think I do not mind it so much…

Quiet sat there for quite some time. Perhaps it was even until the next morning. All he knew was that doctors had started to flood the room, and Loud convinced him that they should return to Dr. Colress and see if he needed anything done. The fateful days surrounding Ghetsis’ defeat and death were over.

It was back to work after that. Part of him was afraid that he would forget Lord N and everything they had been through… But that was why he had that recording of when N was a baby. It allowed him to never forget, even when his memory of Ghetsis became dim and unclear, who Lord N was, nor that confusing, yet overall pleasant achiness in his chest that came with his memory. No matter where Dr. Colress or Rosa dragged him and his remaining brother, he remembered Lord N… and he was quite content with it that way.

2 notes · View notes

antialiasis · 6 years

Note

What ever happened to the other TQftL one-shot? I know one of them ended up as chapter 76, but the other one? I remember you posted the first few sentences from it on the quest blog since those were non-spoilery (which the server ate years ago along with a bunch of other good stuff), but is this still a thing or did plans change or something? This has been bugging me for a while now.

One-Shot A ended up as the first scene of chapter 75, the one with Mitch! One-Shot B was parts of chapter 76. Technically later there was a third one, ‘chaletwo.docx’, about Chaletwo and Mew shortly after Chaletwo’s creation, half of which became the inspiration for the final scene of chapter 76 and the other half of which (unfinished) never made it in as I deemed it unnecessary. I talk about that one a little in the chapter 25 commentary that’s going up tomorrow.

I think you may actually be referring to the QftLverse creation story that I wrote, though, because I did post an excerpt from that, but I don’t think I ever posted an excerpt from One-Shot A (it would’ve given too much away, I think). That would be this thing here. I was originally going to make that an extra at the end, but ultimately I pretty much just fit the really relevant information into chapter 76, so I didn’t feel it was needed.

I guess I can post the rest of that, though, for the hell of it! It’s a poor attempt at mythical writing last edited in 2008, so please excuse the general badness, but. (Serious spoilers if you haven’t read the fic.)

“Far, far backin the mists of time, there was no world. There was just chaos and, in itsmidst, an egg, or something like an egg in any case.

“And the egghatched, and out of it came Arceus, the Original One. And two others he made tospring out from himself, Dialga and Palkia, and with them came the fourdimensions of existence. And the third sprang out of him too, Giratina, and itbrought about the law that everything must perish.

“And when thedimensions had come into being, a little grain of potential began to expandinto the nothingness to fill it; and thus was formed the universe with all ofits laws and elements; and because the dimensions never ended, so it is stillexpanding to this day.

“But whenArceus saw the universe, he could see more potential, and wished to createLife. And he created by his will a being into the universe and named it Azelf.And it had will as he did.

“But Arceusshook his head and said: No, this will not do; and he used his knowledge andexperience from the previous creation to create another being and named itUxie. And it was wise, but it still lacked.

“So Arceusagain shook his head in despair and said: No, I must try again. And he createda being and called it Mesprit, and it could feel emotions as he did. But it wasstill lacking, and Arceus was exhausted.

“And theOriginal One had nearly given up when he realized what he should do. He toldthe three living beings he had created: I am unable to create a living soul;for Dialga and Palkia are not living, and none of you has the full makings of asoul. But I was selfish: I worked alone, and now my power is exhausted. No, youshall instead create a living soul: work together, and you shall manage what Idid not. For I was a fool.

“And the threebeings nodded, and they linked their paws in a circle and closed their eyes toconcentrate. And together, they created the perfect being that had a fullliving soul: it had knowledge, will and emotion all in one. It resembled thembut was still different, and the warmth of its heart gave it a light pink colorunlike their cold blue.

“And it openedits eyes, and they were brilliantly blue; and Arceus told it: Welcome to theworld, young soul; I shall call you Mew, and you shall be the Creator. Youshall now be able to create living beings from yourself, for you havecreativity and imagination; and the first you shall create shall be thePreserver who will protect life from evil and destruction, and then you shallcreate many beings like yourself to watch over your creations, while you shallcreate other beings who will be mortal and eventually die. And to the threebeings who had made it he said: Well done, and now I shall entrust you withwatching over Dialga and Palkia for me, for I am exhausted and will now go tosleep.

“And Arceuswent to sleep, and Mew rose up and began to create the Immortals; and the firsthe created he called Celebi, and Celebi could travel through time to help guardlife from evil. And many other Immortals Mew created, and many Mortals hecreated as well, and the Immortals would each watch over a portion of theMortals.

“But theImmortals grew arrogant, and began to rule over the Mortals to make them dotheir bidding. And their selfish thoughts manifested themselves in a being,Darkrai, which injected their malice into Arceus’s dream as he slept. And hewoke up, knowing that a nightmare of such evil could only be born frommalicious feelings, and saw what the Immortals were doing.

“FoolishPokémon! he said: he was angered that they had not known better, and grievedthat they could harbor such emotions, and afraid for what this might mean abouttheir intentions. Were you not created to watch over and help the Mortals, notto enslave them and make yourselves superior to them? With this action, youhave forgone your right to immortality.

“And Arceus’sanger, grief and fear shattered his soul, and they manifested themselves in abeing: Chalenor, the Destroyer, the True Immortal, whom even the Immortalscould not harm. While the soulless and powerless Arceus returned to sleep forall eternity, Chalenor would teach the Immortals that they should have to knowweakness and fear death.

“Chalenor’spresence, expressing the last will of Arceus, would slowly strip all Pokémon oftheir power, bit by bit, and then make them destroy one another until only one wasleft, who would become a new Creator and start the cycle anew. But because theMortals were mortal, the generations passed one by one, and slowly but surelythey grew to resist the draining of their powers; but the Immortals did notevolve and remained as vulnerable as they had ever been: their immortality wastheir curse.

“But theImmortals blamed Chalenor for their fear, and they tried to attack him manytimes; but they would always fail, because Chalenor was a True Immortal.

“So manycycles passed; but when Arceus’s soul had shattered, it had planted a seed of asoul in the depths of the Destroyer’s heart: he began to feel the sufferingthat he brought upon the Immortals, and to long for the company of another, butthe Immortals feared and despised him, and in his eternity of life, the livesof the Mortals seemed to pass as merely a drop of water in an endless stream.

“Chalenor waslonely, as no being since has ever felt loneliness.

“But then, atlast, one of the many incarnations of Mew – for the Creator’s first work wasalways to honor his predecessor and create another Mew – felt pity forChalenor. They talked and began to understand one another, as no being sincehas understood another being; and Chalenor felt joy and calm and love for thefirst time. But the thousand years that Mew was destined to live passed like abreeze, and though Chalenor wanted to save Mew from the fate of hispredecessors, he was unable to control the effects of his power, and Mew’s strengthwas drained day by day.”

I’m actually kind of impressed with the degree to which this thing is still accurate, for being last edited in 2008; I didn’t think I’d realized Chalenor’s emotive color-changing thing was rooted in being made of Arceus’s out-of-control emotions until later than that. But as the actual events are told in chapter 76, I ditched the bit about Darkrai that didn’t really add much of anything beyond hey look here’s how Darkrai comes into it, there’s more intentionality to Arceus creating Chalenor (the myth makes it sound like Chalenor just sort of happened when his soul shattered, although it does go on to say his presence was “expressing the last will of Arceus”, so it may just be a more mythlike way of saying the same thing), and Mew isn’t literally the first person ever to sympathize with Chalenor because come on, really.

The “and they understood each other MORE THAN ANYONE EVER” is a bit over-the-top too (and not really accurate, actually, what with them each managing to conceal their massive issues from one another), but I think we can chalk that up to the mythical writing.

(But they absolutely were the bestest BFFs.)

(Also why does the myth go on this long. Why does the myth go into Mew and Chalenor’s personal relationship and not just stop at Chalenor developing a soul. I guess the reason I cut it off so abruptly there was that I realized oh whoops this myth shouldn’t actually be going this far along the timeline at all, this is One-Shot B material now, let’s stop.)

#tqftl #actual writing #Anonymous #MAN #looking at this again though #ten yeeeeears I sat on all this

7 notes · View notes

pokefreakguide · 6 years

Photo

Master Dex Challenge Week 5: (click to enlarge graphs)

I know, I said I was going to do a combined graphic, but it started to look a little messy, so I moved back to separate Gens, but next week I should be finished with Gen I entirely, so after that week, we’ll be back to one Gen at a time.

This week we added 11 pokémon to Gen I for a total of 160/174

We added our first 14 pokémon to Gen II for a total of 14/150

Currently still breeding Gen I starters and In-Game trades, but that’ll be all wrapped up by next week, surely.

I had to do this weird “two gens at once” thing because I had to access the daycare in Gen II. Of course I was going to add to my Gen II roster in doing so, so I wanted to present pokémon accurately to the respective weeks in which they were caught.

Gen I Highlights:

Completely wrapped up Blue by sending my starter, Blastoise, to Gen II to breed. He’ll be sent to Gen I Red to be sent to the bank, to maintain Kanto-Native status. Blue is ready to reset for Charmander.

Bought Porygon in Blue, I’ll shiny hunt on my own time, so as to not obstruct the progress of the challenge.

The Scyther I sent to Gen II to breed was female, so I sent it back and up to the bank, and it maintained that gender. Not sure if that’s the code’s MO, but we’ll see when I get my first female Bulbasaur in Gold.

Currently breeding: Bulbasaur, Jynx, Lickitung, Omanyte, Blastoise, and I’ll have to reset blue to get Charmander.

Gen II Highlights:

I got Dunsparce! If you know anything about me, I love dunsparce... so much. Jon reason, just cool and I think it’s been snubbed for evolution BUT ANYWAY, it’s a party member.

Not a lot more to mention, but I got male/female Girafarig and what’s very nice is Gen II actually has Gender mechanics, so I don’t have to play that portion blindly any longer! Nice.

Hopefully the Gen II gender mechanics will help the process along, that’s honestly been a huge obstruction, not knowing how many one species I’d need to catch. Thankfully most of them had 50/50 ratios, so it wasn’t too too bad. I look forward to continuing this! I wanted to delay today’s post because I’m almost 100% sure I can wrap up Blue today and focus on Gen II, but alas, that wouldn’t be true to the timeline, so I will persist!

Links to weeks: 1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 6 / 7 / 8 / 9 / 10 / 11 / 12 / 14 / 15 / 16/ 17 / 18 / 19 / 20 / 21 / 22 / 23 / 24 / 25 / 26 / 27 / 28 / 29 / 30 / 31 / 32 / 33 / 35 / 36 / 37 / 38 / 39 / 40 / 41 / 42 / 43 / 44 / 45

Generation Overviews: I / II / III / IV / V / VI / VII

#master dex challenge #pokemon #nintendo #gaming #masterdex challenge #masterdex #Pokédex #Pokédex challenge #rby #gsc #rse #hgss #dppt #bw #b2w2 #xy #sm #usum #lgpe #week 5 #week5 #mdc #master dex

2 notes · View notes

wazafam · 3 years

Link

2021 is a pretty big year for the Pokémon Company. There had already been plenty of rumors about a remake of the Diamond and Pearl titles, but alongside these classic returns, it's also a year of celebration for Nintendo. 2021 marks the 25th Anniversary of the Pokémon brand!

RELATED: Pokémon Go: 10 Pokémon That Never Get Old To Catch

Of course, there's likely plenty more to look forward to throughout the year. Whether it's continued development on other titles or the potential for other releases, events, or game updates throughout the year, fans of the Pikachu brand have a lot to look out for potentially, as some of the rumors and theories currently circulating may turn out to be accurate.

10 Pokémon Go New Generation 6 And 7

Niantic and Nintendo are always looking for ways to refresh Pokémon Go as it continues to maintain a loyal fan base and begin to appeal to a wider audience once more. Expanding the Pokédex is usually one way to bring a great deal of new content to the mobile game in an easy way.

There's been a number of leaks about the assets that are currently in the build of the game, which could point to new Generation 6 and 7 Pokémon being added throughout 2021. This would give players a brand new set of characters to search for, catch and battle with! The game would continue to come a long way from its launch with iconic Generation I Pokémon.

9 Pokémon Go New Mega Evolutions

Mega Evolutions have already become a well-known part of the franchise after being introduced in the mainline games Pokémon X And Y and continuing into Sun and Moon. These evolutions have in part been introduced into Pokémon Go.

The same asset leak has also pointed to the fact that further Mega Evolutions could also be brought into the game throughout the year. With 48 in the mainline games, there's plenty of room for Pokémon Go to expand the Pokédex and continue adding these impressive characters.

8 Pokémon Go Gigantamax

Gigantamax Pokémon seem like the natural next step for Pokémon Go after the concept was brought into the mainline games. The idea is for the Pokémon to significantly grow in size, increasing their power and thereby adding to the spectacle of Pokémon battles.

RELATED: Every Pokémon Region, Ranked From Lamest To Coolest

The mechanics of this seem difficult for the game to adapt to mobile devices, but some players think they've found a glitch that demonstrates that Niantic is working on a solution to this problem. It would be an interesting addition to the Pokédex and one that could help cap off 2021 and lead into a new season and year.

7 Detective Pikachu 2: The Game

Detective Pikachu is a huge brand for the Pokémon Company and a game is making its way to Nintendo Switch. However, it's currently unclear as to what this game currently consists of. There's a number of theories as to what fans could expect from the title.

It's possible that this may be a remake in a similar way to Pokémon Snap. It could also be an update like Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl. The most likely answer is that this is a sequel of sorts though, allowing players to pick up where the last game left off.

6 Detective Pikachu 2: The Movie

With the game coming to Nintendo Switch though speculation has begun that perhaps a new movie is in development and this 2021 release is going to coincide or capitalize on the title. It's important to note that lead star Justice Smith doesn't believe there will be a second film.

A few years back it was confirmed a sequel was being written though and with fans eager to see plenty of new Pokémon in live-action and a continuation of that story, the 25th Anniversary could be a good year to reveal plans for the brand's cinematic future.

5 Live-Action Announcements

Considering the responses of the lead though, there are potentially no announcements for Detective Pikachu this year. The studio behind the original film, Legendary, has been working on a different live-action Pokémon project which fans could hear about this year.

RELATED: Pokémon: 5 Of The Best Designed Mega Evolutions (& 5 Of The Worst)

With rumors of what the title could be continuing to unfold, including the potential for a Red/Blue film, the timeline works out that 2021 could be the perfect stage of the development process to announce to the world what Nintendo and the Pokémon Company have been working on.

4 New Sword & Shield DLC

Another rumor that has begun to circulate is the idea that additional DLC may be brought to Sword and Shield in 2021. Fans speculated that Nintendo may be done with the title for now so that they can focus on their other projects such as the Diamond and Pearl remake.

But with theories suggesting these titles are straight-up visual redesigns as opposed to significant changes for Nintendo Switch, it's more probable that this DLC may be released in order to continue to get players involved with the newer title.

3 Mega Evolutions In Diamond & Pearl

There are a couple of other leaks that have been making the rounds based on the development process of Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl. It's possible that as they make their way into Pokémon Go, Mega Evolutions could also make a comeback in the mainline titles.

The concept of a Mega Evolution was not in existence when the original Diamond and Pearl were released on the Nintendo DS. But with the company potentially looking to update the game, this may be an interesting addition that adds a fresh coat of paint for players.

2 Huge E3 Display

2021 has been a big year for Nintendo in general, but with E3 going ahead in June plenty of big gaming companies are building up their presentations after last year's cancellation disappointed fans. Nintendo is likely going to be showcasing their upcoming Switch titles.

There have been rumors that suggest that Pokémon may make up some of the highlights of Nintendo's display as they continue to showcase their mobile updates, as well as the various titles releasing in 2021 and beyond. Expect the potential for new announcements and further gameplay footage.

1 Nintendo Switch Pro Games

There's a lot of speculation that the Nintendo Switch Pro is actually going to release sooner than expected, potentially even being announced at E3. Pokémon will have a huge presence on the console if that really is the case, as it has done with every other Nintendo product.

In fact, the success of Pokémon on the Nintendo Switch has demonstrated that Nintendo will want to continue to give the franchise prime position on the Pro release. It could even be that Legends: Arceus might be released on the Pro as well as the Lite and traditional Switch.

NEXT: Pokémon GO: 10 Things We Can Expect In 2021

Pokémon: 10 Best Rumors For What Fans Can Expect in 2021 from https://ift.tt/3aggaA8

#Blogger

0 notes

frozendoorgaming · 5 years

Text

Morning Mist #87

Announcements, Releases, Trailers

Doom Eternal has a new trailer, and it's very Doom

The Nemesis Strikes In New Resident Evil 3 Trailer

Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot video reminisces on Goku and Vegeta's epic rivalry

Teamfight Tactics is launching on mobile mid-March

Dystopian food truck simulator Cook, Serve, Delicious! 3?! arrives in early access this month

Konami's cutesy shmup Bells & Whistles returns on PS4 and Nintendo Switch

Coffee Talk will finally open its doors on January 30

An indie collective released 48 games in one day on Steam

Valve is 'absolutely not' making Left 4 Dead 3, for VR or anything else

Final Fantasy VII Remake Delayed Until April

Marvel's Avengers delayed by four months

Cyberpunk 2077 developers will be required to crunch following its delay

Cyberpunk 2077 multiplayer now unlikely to come before 2022

This gameplay video for Frostpunk's Last Autumn DLC shows off worker strikes and more

The three-game BioShock collection might be coming to Switch

3D Realms revives 1999 PC shooter Kingpin

Black Book is an adventure RPG about witches and demons

World of Horror, a creepy 1-bit style horror RPG, will release next month

Table Manners, a dating sim, is out this Valentine's Day

The unknowable chaos of physics in Totally Accurate Battle Simulator

Darwin Project is basically reality TV battle royale, and it’s now launched on Steam

Milestones, Industry

Awesome Games Done Quick 2020 raised a whopping £2.3 million for charity

Universal Studios Reveals Super Nintendo World Details

Riot Tabletop is the League Of Legends developer's new board game division

Over a million people subbed to RuneScape in 2019, with ‘many millions’ more playing F2P

GameStop is so screwed

Players spent over $61 billion on mobile games in 2019

Ubisoft sues website alleged to have facilitated DDoS attacks against Rainbow Six Siege servers

GDC 2020 offers practical tips on hiring and keeping women leaders in games

Magic Legends’ lead answers 75 questions in 7 minutes

8 of the 10 best-selling games of the decade were Call of Duty

Interested in getting into games? Our friends at GI.biz have a guide for that

Epic Games Store now has OpenCritic reviews

Valve's Index VR headset is sold out everywhere

Deals, Freeware

Humble launches a new bundle for the Australian Wildfire Relief Fund

Destiny has a charity T-Shirt to help Australia

PlayStation Store started an 'Under $20' bargain bin sale

Get Stardew Valley plus six more games for less than a tenner in the Sweet Farm Humble Bundle

Indie platformer Horace is free on the Epic Games Store

Solve a festive puzzle in small, free adventure A Good Tree

Form a one-man band in free musical adventure Haunted Garage

This 17-inch gaming laptop with an RTX 2060 and 144Hz display is on sale for $999

Save over $150 on this fast 144Hz HP 25MX gaming monitor

Samsung's Space monitor is a revelation

The awesome Microsoft Elite Series 2 controller is $20 off right now

The PS Classic is now £40 at Amazon

BT is including a free Google Stadia with its fibre broadband deals

These 'smart' contact lenses have a built-in display for augmented reality

500,000 new Witcher books are being printed in the US

Information

Riot Games’ Legends of Runeterra enters open beta on January 24

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare's first season gets an extension

Limited testing for Halo: Combat Evolved begins next month

Capcom will align content updates for PC and console players of Monster Hunter World

Pokemon-esque MMO Temtem is down to two last stress tests before early access next week

Hunt: Showdown is getting a solo PvE mode and a PS4 port

The Joker is having a bloody good time in his Mortal Kombat 11 trailer

Rocket League's Chinese New Year event kicks off next week

Overwatch has seven skins for Lunar New Year 2020

Cuphead and Assassin's Creed are invading Smash Ultimate in Mii form

Disintegration is running a few beta tests this month

The Sims is asking players about potential new features like “bromances” and second homes

This video solidifies just how packed Zelda: Breath of the Wild's world really is

Mobius Final Fantasy will be shutting down in June

Etc

There's an official rap version of Toss a Coin to Your Witcher that you might get to hear someday

Netflix created an interactive timeline for The Witcher and now I understand what's actually going on

This South Korean apartment block looks like a Minecraft house

Pokémon's official ASMR video lets you relax to fireside Charmander

There's an animated Mortal Kombat movie coming in the first half of this year

Mortal Kombat movie reveals new spin on the famous dragon logo

Videogame subtitles could learn a lot from comic book lettering

Twitch's latest obsession is betting on a Final Fantasy Tactics autobattler

The Writer of Rogue One Wants to Make a Star Fox Film

Tekken-Style Health Bars Make Watching Taekwondo So Much Better

Somebody has speedrun the entirety of Ring Fit Adventure in 18 sweaty hours

#morning mist #gaming news #gaming #video games #videogames

0 notes

mala-sadas · 7 years

Note

whats your take on pokespe´s timeline?

Thank you for asking this, it always surprises me when people don’t agree on the chronological order of all the arcs, let alone the time between them. I’ve actually put a decent amount of work into constructing my timeline and all of the concrete time gaps are supported by canon evidence.

Updated as of 10/31/2021. This timeline is consistent with the one that was given in PokéSPedia.

RGB

+2 years

Yellow

+1 year

GSC

+2 years

+6 months

FRLG

+3 months

Emerald

+3 years

HGSS

+a month or two

ORAS

+3 years

+two weeks

Platinum

+3 years

+2 years

B2W2

concurrent with

+5 months (2 months from the epilogue)

While it’s currently impossible to tell exactly when the SWSH arc takes place, the scant references to previous arcs tell us that it at least occurs after XY.

Now, as for why I think this timeline is accurate, allow me to present my evidence. I’ve limited it to mentions of the passage of time rather than ages for the sake of simplicity and clarity.

Under the cut, because there are a lot of images.

First off, it’s explicitly stated at the beginning of the Yellow arc that it takes place 2 years after the battle at Silph Co., the climax of the RGB arc:

Then, in the first chapter of GSC, Elm mentions a big battle in Kanto a year prior - the climax of the Yellow chapter:

RS, unfortunately, doesn’t state explicitly when it takes place relative to its preceeding chapter. However, when Ruby and Sapphire were playing together as kids, 5 years prior to the chapter, Ruby said:

This is obviously referring to Red, who won the League at the end of RGB. So, RS has to occur at least 5 years after RGB. A little math tells us that this would be at least 2 years after GSC.

FRLG is stated to occur 6 months after the incident with Kyogre and Groudon in Hoenn:

Since the Kyogre and Groudon incident happened in September, FRLG takes place sometime in March.

Emerald takes place a few months later, during the first week of July:

(Fun fact: this timeframe is a reference to Tanabata, the Japanese Star Festival, which is likely the inspiration for Jirachi’s ability to grant wishes.)

ORAS confirms that this is the year after RS:

When Carr of the Three Beasts first appears in HGSS, his opening monologue contains this line:

Since Carr made his debut as one of Giovanni’s admins in FRLG, it’s safe to assume that this three years metric is talking about the time between FRLG and HGSS. If you want further proof, the ages line up, too:

On the left, Crys in GSC. On the right, Silver in FRLG. Supplemental age data confirms they’re both 16 in HGSS. Thus, a five-year gap between GSC and HGSS and a three-year gap between FRLG and HGSS.

ORAS is pretty clear about when it takes place; I believe the first specific time mentioned in the chapter is when Ruby’s accident with Salamence took place:

That was five years before RS, meaning ORAS is four years after that. So, ORAS and HGSS take place in the same year. As for which comes first…

Archie and Maxie’s appearance in ORAS confirms that they left the Distortion World when Giratina re-entered it at the end of HGSS. Presumably it took them some time to master Mega Evolution and re-locate the orbs; thus, ORAS takes place maybe a month or two after HGSS.

Now, explaining the time gap between ORAS and DP gets complicated. ORAS and HGSS both make it abundantly clear that they take place before DP. In ORAS, Palmer has returned from Johto (where he was seen at the end of HGSS) and is living with a younger Pearl and Diamond:

It’s not really clear just how young they are at this point. It has to be a decent amount of time before DP because in DP, Pearl says that he hasn’t seen his dad in some time, and Proteam Omega has had time to go from a proposal to a full-fledged cartoon that’s popular enough to have a substantial amount of merchandise produced. But to come up with a more concrete estimate, we’ll have to look at the special Mt. Silver Training Chapter that was published back in 2011.

At the end of GSC, Red and Gold go off to train at Mt. Silver, during which the events of the Mt. Silver Training Chapter take place. At the beginning of this little two-round story, it’s stated that Red and Gold have been training there for three days:

A few days later - so, about a week after GSC - they return to Red’s house, where you can see two familiar faces on Red’s TV spouting some familiar lines:

These comedians, Abbot Clef and Costello Jiggly, performed this routine for Diamond and Pearl when they were four years old, which inspired them to become comedians. Since Diamond and Pearl are twelve years old in DP, and we can assume that this filmed performance aired around the same time that Diamond and Pearl saw them live, that would mean that this training session -and therefore GSC - takes place eight years before the events of DP. As I previously mentioned, the gap from GSC to HGSS is five years, meaning that the gap from HGSS/ORAS to DP is around three years.

Platinum is mercifully a lot simpler - two weeks after DP ends.

Platinum also gives us a hint as to where Black and White fit in the timeline, since it ends with Looker being sent off to Unova:

We learn during a flashback in B2W2 that Team Plasma and the Seven Sages started acting in Unova three years prior to BW (when N becomes the king of Team Plasma):

It’s safe to assume that Platinum occurs around the time that the Sages first become active, since Lady Caitlin grows up quite a lot between the two arcs. On the left, Caitlin in the Platinum arc; on the right, Caitlin in BW:

So, BW is three years after Platinum. And, like the games, B2W2 takes place two years after BW:

Specifically, the main events take place during September-October of that year:

Then, XY…ooh, boy, XY. For a long time we didn’t have any concrete place for XY in the timeline – just some cameos and Easter eggs indicating it takes place a few years after DP, which were easy for the casual reader to miss. But the epilogue of B2W2 finally gave us enough information to place XY on the timeline. Unfortunately, it requires a bit of working backwards and logical reasoning, so we’ll put a pin in that for now and skip to the XY-SM gap.

In a flashback in the final chapter of XY, Professor Sycamore sends Sina and Dexio to Alola to investigate the Zygarde Cells spotted there.

In SM, when Sina and Dexio first appear, they state that they’ve been in Alola for five months:

Sina and Dexio were sent to Alola immediately following the final battle, not during the epilogue, which takes place three months later. Thus, SM takes place 5 months after the final battle of XY, but only two months after XY’s epilogue. This is an important distinction to make, because we know the timing of XY’s epilogue:

In the Japanese schooling system, the third term starts in January. Despite the region being based on a non-Japanese country, the schedule of the Aspertia Trainers’ School follows the Japanese schooling system, so it’s safe to assume that the Sky Trainer Academy follows this same schedule. Thus, the main events of XY take place in October, with the epilogue taking place the following January and SM beginning that March.

Now, keeping that in mind, let’s go back to B2W2’s epilogue. At the end of the main story, we’re treated to this conversation between the head of Interpol and the Magician:

The very end of the epilogue shows the Magician and Colress leaving for Alola, so it must be the following March. In this scene (left), Colress is wearing the same outfit he wears in the Alola games – and the SM arc as well (right):

While it is possible that Colress goes to Alola in the March after B2W2 and SM begins in March of a later year, it seems unlikely that it would take him so long to develop Beast Balls for the Aether Foundation. We already know that he spends at least six months on the project, as when Anabel makes her first appearance in SM, she implies that part of her and Looker’s mission in Alola is to find Colress:

And Colress delivers the Beast Balls to Lusamine after the six-month timeskip in the middle of the arc. So, that seems like more than enough time for him to develop the Beast Balls – and it would explain why the Aether Foundation didn’t have any Beast Balls earlier in the arc.

(Why Anabel talks about needing to capture Colress when he was literally escorted to Alola by an Interpol agent is unclear, but it wouldn’t be the first time that the Interpol higher-ups have deliberately withheld information from their agents. Additionally, this chapter was published a good two years before B2W2 was finished, so from a meta perspective, Kusaka might not have decided yet exactly how B2W2 was going to end and the lines will be changed for the full volume release.)

So, in short, it’s possible that XY and SM could take place a year or more after B2W2, but the simplest solution is that XY begins the same October in which B2W2 is taking place, and SM begins the March following both.

Lastly, let’s talk about the placement of SWSH in the timeline. Of the small handful of allusions to the events of other arcs in SWSH so far, the one that references the latest arc timeline-wise is this one:

Given that Lysandre’s whole thing is that he’s a philanthropist who lost faith in humanity and tried to eliminate everyone except his “chosen ones”, it’s a safe bet that Piers is alluding to him and the events of XY here. So, SWSH takes place after the main events of XY have concluded.

Additionally, Raihan has a couple of lines where alludes to the actions of the evil teams of previous arcs. While it’s true that he’s a history buff and could have read about these incidents happening hundreds of years in the past, these lines sound to me like “ambitious people awakening Pokémon that have the power to destroy the world” is a contemporary issue, not a historical one. That is to say, I don’t think SWSH takes place hundreds of years after the other arcs or anything like that.

So there you have it…my take on the Pokéspe timeline, mostly factual with a tiny smidge of assumption. I really hope this clears things up for people.

#pokespe #pokemon special #pokespe timeline #i spent like 4 hours on this someone shoot me now #anon ask #Thanks for the ask!!#storm's stuff

192 notes · View notes