#sinnoh clan au

[volodei]

Volotober Day 9: Prayer

“...Giratina?”

(i choose to believe that somewhere out there, it’s still october 9, so therefore, i am not late)

I’m pretty sure no one thought I was actually gonna make this prompt happy lol.

Just when Volo thinks he’s hit rock bottom, the ground caves in. Thus begins his villain arc (feat. Giratina) 🤧 After all, if God won’t answer, then the Devil comes calling.

Well, I really enjoyed making all these fake anime screenshots and I hope you guys did too. See you all next weekend! ✨🌸

[serotoninisheldinkiwis]

warning. longpost. very long longpost.

so.... au idea. The Nimbasa Trio are all ballet dancers, with Elesa being the prima ballerina and Ingo and Emmet both being ballerinos. However, all three learn the whole dance, so anyone can take any part.

All three of them make up their troupe, and others are learning to dance with them- the protags would be mostly. Skyla is their manager, Drayden keeps them on a tight leash, and they're traveling out of region for a ballet competition in Sinnoh- a prestigious event, one they've been longing to compete in for a long, long time. They arrive in Sinnoh about four months before the actual expo, invited to perform at venues across the region before the official event. Elesa is the prima ballerina of the Nimbasa Trio, and the one who's been dancing the longest. She used to hate dance class, tired with the endless manner lessons and poise and necessary quiet she needed to have. This changed, however, when two quiet twins transfered into her class. They became close friends, going through en pointe training together, and all three decided to strike out together. She makes their uniforms and helps the boys with trickier moves.

Ingo is one of the two ballerinos of the Nimbasa Trio, and he and his twin were transfered into their lifelong friend's, Elesa's, ballet class during their youth. This started their journey, and all of them stuck together through all their lessons. He's more proficient with en pointe than Emmet is, yet is worse at bearing weight than his twin is. He takes care of cooking most days, and helps Emmet to launder their uniforms after long days.

Emmet is the other and last ballerino in the Trio. He's not as good with going en pointe, but he does have shoes for if he has to. Emmet's strength lies in his physical strength- he's the one who's able to pick up and throw his brother or Elesa for high leaps in choreography.

The Pearl Clan is an up and coming Sinnohan ballet school, with many students participating to learn how to dance. The only ballerinas and ballerinos in the Pearl Troupe, however, are the best of the best in their classes.

Lian is one of the most proficient young ballet dancers in the Pearl Clan. He was allowed to follow the Troupe along on tour, and will follow them to the Sinnohan Ballet Expo. He will have minor parts in the choreo, but he aches to have a fuller part after he proves his skills in the Expo.

Irida is just barely 18 and already a very skilled pointe dancer. She can't be called a ballerina yet- she doesn't have the skill needed for that title yet- but she's on a steady road to it. She's in a stubborn rivalry with Adaman, the leader of a rival troupe and an equally skilled dancer.

Gaeric is a ballerino, and he's the male lead of the Troupe's dancers. Where Lian is heading, Gaeric has the responsibility of spotting the prima ballerina of the Troupe during dance, catching her and making sure she stays safe. If something goes wrong midair, he's the one to catch her.

Palina is the prima ballerina of the Pearl Troupe, and she's the most senior of the group- and the tallest. She keeps everyone in line with team manager Calaba's help, and makes sure everyone is on track to improve the best they can.

When crossing Mt. Coronet, going to a nearby venue they're performing at, the Pearl Troupe finds an interesting sight. A man, crumpled on the road, in a ripped dance uniform and with a broken, crumbled car almost on top of him. Calaba was at the venue, keeping their hotel room for them, and they had the van. There was no phone, no I.D.- there could have been one in the broken car, but Palina didn't trust anyone to not get injured on shards of metal or glass. They'll bring the stranger along, she decided, and they'd launder his uniform, and they'd have Calaba help him because they were closer to their venue than any hospital, and they'd find whoever he came with.

...

His name was Ingo. He... danced. He did some sort of dance, that he remembered. But when he looked at his bound and cast wrist, looked at the bandages wrapping his head in the mirror, let the young adult help him across the room as people murmured behind him.... his mind fell short.

At the venue, Emmet bit his lip, trying in vain to connect to Ingo. They performed in 15 minutes, and his brother was still not here.

It would be three months before he saw him again.

[nemesis-is-my-middle-name]

anyway so the idea i posted about having last night was

due to Side Effects from falling through the rift, ingo is like. a little bit stuck in the hall of origin. which is mostly a passive effect but it does mean that he visits it in dreams constantly, but also

he's so cosmically insignificant that arcues doesn't notice or care that he's there

so he just gets to spy on god indefinitely.

giratina's shenanigans translate in that plane to the hall of origin breaking and mending continually

which also allows brief views into other times/places. so this in effect translates to very confusing-to-interpret prophetic dreams.

anyway that's basically it that's the elevator pitch

[dragonofthedepths]

Camp Half-blood AU 15.5.22

Adaman is the son of Lord Dialga, God of Time

Irida is the daughter of Lord Palkia, God of Space

Ingo(aͪn͚͕̅̉͢d̅̂̇ E͖̙̲͍̾̿͝m͂͋̊҉̭̗́m̶͍̻͛̊̌͜ẽt) is the son of the Banished Lord Giratina, God of distortions

Akari is the Unclaimed daughter of ???[LORD ARCEUS]

Rei is the son of ¿Lord Entei?

Kamado is the son of ?

Melli is the son of ?

They[K,I,A] rock-paper-sizzored themselves out of existence (or this plane of reality at least)

Day (338/100) of my #infinitedaysofwriting @the-wip-project I still have no sleep

[mr-jack-letterman]

HELLO HI

God I love the Submas fandom, all of you are so nice <3

In any case, I have a silly Au for y'all to munch on.

Allow me to introduce you all to Covalent Twins :]

Covalent

Adjective

- Relating to or denoting chemical bonds formed by the sharing of electrons between atoms.

Or in this case, the sharing of Emmet between 2 Ingos from different timelines NSNDNNDDD.

This Au is essentially the answer to the question: "doesn't being sent to the distant past inherently mean you are also now long dead in the future you just left?"

The answer is yes and no btw

The explanation for this involves a lot of time nonsense that I'm very bad at explaining but the Tldr is basically this:

When Ingo gets sent to the past, this creates a connection between the past and the future. This makes time get all fucky and split into two separate timelines (Timeline A and Timeline B)

Timeline A:

Time in this timeline runs parallel to the future as long as Ingo stays within it (essentially, if Ingo stays in the past for 2 years, then 2 years pass in the present).

Due to this connection, Akari (aka Dawn) gets sent to this timeline (But not Timeline B) and the game events of PLA play out (+ a lot more Ingo bonding because uncle Ingo supremacy)

Akari manages to get her and Ingo sent back home with the power of Arceus, causing both timelines to merge back together again into one cohesive line with only the events of Timeline B being remembered by history.

Ingo and Emmet get their happy ending.

This Ingo got sent to Hisui when he was 29, stayed there for 2 years, and went home when he was 31.

And Timeline B:

This timeline was created as a cannon fodder timeline so Akari and Ingo can keep doing time shenanigans in Timeline A without disturbing the space time continuum even more.

This timeline is therefore not connected to the future the same way Timeline A is.

The Ingo of this timeline (Nicknamed "War" or "Warden" for simplicity.) lives through the PLA game events but with Rei taking the place of Akari.

War doesn't bond with him the same way Ingo does with Akari because Rei isn't a faller.

The events of the game are the exact same (minus the Arc phone, Rei taking the place of Akari, and catching Arceus).

Despite Rei calming the nobles and catching Palkia and Dialga, he is still not the chosen hero. Warden is unable to go home or regain his memories.

Warden lives in Hisui and serves as a warden for the Pearl Clan for a total of 7 years before dying alongside his partner pokemon, Gliscor (nicknamed Nimbasa), while protecting Lady Sneasler from a Zoroark attack at the age of 36.

Warden drifts as a ghost for many years, with only Nimbasa the Gliscor as company. He watches his friends grow old, and eventually die. They pass on to the afterlife, but Warden stays on earth, wandering the Alabaster Icelands and Mount Coronet, searching for people from a life he can't remember even in death.

Warden watches as Hisui changes into Sinnoh. Jubilife Village becomes Jubilife City. Pokemon species die out and new ones are born.

As the world slowly becomes more and more familiar, the great Sinnohs, Palkia and Dialga, take pity on the lost warden, and decide together to lead him home.

It may take 150 years, and many miles of travel, but Warden is pulled by an unknown force towards the Unova region. Though he is unable to touch anything or speak to anyone, it's all so painfully familiar.

He is pulled towards Nimbasa city, (ah! That's where he got the name from!) and eventually to an apartment.

There, he is greeted by a young girl, barely 17. A man in black, who looks exactly like him, give or take a few years and a few scars.

And a smiling man in white. The man he has been searching for for over 150 years...

And they're staring at him, truly staring at him, not through him.

Why is the man in white crying?

*evil laughter.mp3*

So yeah! The twins have an older brother now :D

I mean he's dead and also Ingo just 5 years older and from a different timeline but still!!!

If you've made it this far I believe you deserve a gold star ⭐ and also some art for your troubles.

So here's War and Nimbasa ↓

And some fluffy interaction between War and Emmet as a bandaid.

If you guys have any questions regarding how this Au works, or are interested in seeing more of it, don't hesitate to shoot me an ask :D

I hope I enjoyed reading about my silly Au, even if it was a bit long lol.

*fades back into the void of Submas fics.*

[au-wannabe-the-very-best]

Just found your Super Train AU and rotating it around in my head like a microwave.XD

Thinking about the Subway Clan's relationship with the other clans in Hisui. Like maybe since Lady Sneasler took a liking to to Ingo, the Pearl Clan was a bit miffed since she's one of their Nobles, but they accept her decisions and see this as a sign from Almighty that this new clan should be accepted. Maybe even more readily than the Galaxy Team, since no Noble chose any of their number. Maybe depending on how long the Subway crew was there, there was feeling of dread within both of the clans that either Lord Kleavor or Lord Braviary would also pick Wardens from the new clan.

Anyway, I can still see Irida and Ingo still having at least a friendly if professional relationship. Like when it became clear Sneasler chose Ingo, she took it upon herself to give him the Warden band and flute, explaining the whole deal about Wardens and Nobles to him and stressing how this was an incredibly sacred duty to care for one of the descendants of the ten Noble pokemon that helped the Ancient Hero and were blessed by Almighty Sinnoh itself.

No pressure.XD

I really like the thought that before anyone even came around to inform Ingo about the whole "Noble Pokémon" and "Almighty Sinnoh" thing, he was just sorta hanging with Sneasler and making baby noises at her kits. Naming all of them and giving them different colored scarves to differentiate them. Kissing their lil heads. Letting them run wild in his personal train car that he's living in. Their itty bitty claws like to scratch at the seats because the whole train is made to withstand battles, so it's just a scratching post that never wears out. They're living in luxury!

Then Irida comes along and is like This Is A Sacred Figure To Our Clan. And Ingo's internally like "oh shit I've been making kissy faces and squishing the face of this Sacred Clan Figure. They CAN NOT ever know about this, I'm taking this to my GRAVE."

Ingo's face is completely blank but internally he's an anxious wreck as Irida explains the duty of a Warden etc. Meanwhile Irida is just thinking "this looks like a confident man who knows what he's doing, I can see how he became the leader of his clan."

Ingo Does Not know what he is doing.

I think Ingo endears himself to Irida pretty quickly because despite not smiling all too much, he's a very kindhearted and polite man, and he's the type to express his admiration out loud whenever possible. Irida actually gains a lot of confidence in her leadership skills whenever she and Ingo talk. She'll mention tough decisions she's had to make and Ingo's just like, my, you're doing such a fine job leading your people! Don't be so hard on yourself, you've accomplished all your tasks and led everyone to a stable and safe destination—

Yeah Irida likes this dude. He talks a lot and he's loud, but he's just so nice and respectful that you can't find him annoying or anything. Plus, he takes his work very seriously and is probably one of the best Wardens she's ever seen. Not to mention he's got a group of people helping him protect the highlands and take care of the Noble— that actually leads Irida to wondering if it's a good idea to assign smaller groups to the Wardens to help make their jobs less dangerous and more efficient. Something to think about.

[blaiddraws]

new au dropped babes

twin dragons au-- wherein ingo is zekrom and emmet is reshiram-- but when ingo gets eeby deebied he somehow gets stuck in a half-dragon-half-human shape

(Sneasler, on her way to check in with the pearl clan settlement, comes across a very strange and very unconscious dragon man. There is Something about him that seems powerful. divine, even, much like her lineage's blessing from arceus. but more importantly, new skrunkly. she drags (metaphorically) him to the pearl clan and practically forces them to take care of him.)

pearl clan is VERY scared and suspicious of him for a bit. given his lack of memories, and his. creature-ness. but his whole appearance, his warm and kind (albeit odd) personality and mannerisms, and the fact that Sneasler was so attached, ended up convincing them he's some gift from the almighty sinnoh or something.

(which. if you look at it. isn't necessarily far from the truth, given the fact he is very much a legendary pokemon. even if he doesn't remember. and is also rather human shaped.)

meanwhile, back in nimbasa; emmet has a verrry weird and verrry bad day.

(it takes him a hot moment to realize ingo is missing. given his being preoccupied on the more immediately noticeable issue as well as the fact that ingo had supposedly gone out to run some errands)

[assorted doodles/ref stuff under the cut]

[patriamrealm]

Revisiting the black and white games made me realize how deep a connection to music the humans of unova have, whenever you find a musician you can ask them to play a bit for you, which would change of the entire soundtrack so long as you’re within earshot.

So I can see Ingo of your aspects AU  purposely and by accident, teaching those of the pearl clan not only the whistles and hand signs he knew as a train conductor, but whatever  songs, he knew before coming to Hisui.

 Just Ingo absent mindedly, singing, the route and town songs of Sinnoh  while traveling around with the kids  is such a cute visual.

Yes! I actually had something like that in mind in the story! Music is really important culturally wise and I do love delving into things like that. In the fic I'm writing Gaeric has already planned to learn to play a song he's heard Nobori hum twice!

I have decided that while he can't sing Ingo's humming sounds pretty similar to a flute, just more airy and echoey. Just, he learns an eminence amount from the pearl clan but they learn a lot from him too.

Also yes, Ingo humming songs he doesn't fully remember and ones he learns while traveling or while babysitting is too cute not to draw!

[onestepbackwards]

PLA AU where everything is the same except the player lands in like the mirelands or something. Yeah that's just the bog witch, don't worry about them.

ADKJFSDJF

Just so you know I love this idea.

You get yeeted far out into the Mirelands, and no one sees you fall. At most, you startle a clan member walking in the area. Chances are though, they leave you be.

Either they don't want to mess with a person who fell out of the sky, or they just assume it's an alpha pokemon battle. Best to leave it be, if that's the case.

You wake up with nothing but your pajamas and your Arcphone, with nothing but the instructions to 'Seek out all pokemon.'

Perhaps Arceus shows some sympathy and has one of the starters escape to find you. If not, well...

You're from a time where making friends with pokemon is normal. It isn't hard to befriend one that is curious about you.

It takes you a while to make a pokeball, but until them, your new friend is eager to battle with you.

Though you end up having to rough it up a bit to survive, it isn't anything you aren't used to. You've traveled across Sinnoh with nothing but your first starter and a tent when you were a teen!

...Sure, its a bit more rough, but honestly? It isn't too bad. You easily find edible berries as needed, and you are surprised to occasionally find abandoned supplies here and there along dirt paths.

Though you eventually get noticed, and people find you very... weird.

You have a little hut you made with some help from your pokemon, and come out in weird hours.

You are kind! But... Who would willingly just live in the wilderness with pokemon? Who even are you??

You aren't from either clan, nor are you from the new village... And your clothes are very odd. Not very protective!

Yet you battle fiercely, like you and your pokemon are one and the same. The only other person who has that much synergy with their pokemon is that one guy, Warden Ingo.

It becomes clear you aren't a threat, but you are pretty strange. Some teens jokingly call you the Bog Witch, and it ends up sticking. You become a local cryptid amongst each settlement.

You find out about it and laugh. You wonder if this is what it feels like to be called a Hex Maniac back home. Though you wonder why they call you a witch. It's not like you are doing any magic or anything strange!

...You think, all while taking photos on your Arcphone, mumbling about how you hope you'll be able to save them and print them later to pin on your refrigerator.

At least... you seem kind? You occasionally help anyone who needs it, guiding them back to where they came from.

Though no one seems to know what you are talking about when you ask about cities and things called 'cars' and 'trains'.

Quite an odd one indeed.

[fangirlingpuggle]

Angsty legends Arceus submas AU/Fic prompt.

People in Sinnoh finding and old abandoned cave system in Mount Coronet, when Cynthis investigates, she realises there’s a place to insert one of the plates, specifically the ghost plate. When she does, she realises that the cave shows moments there in the past. Cynthia is fascinated seeing Pokémon from Hisui in the cave Zorua’s that are now extinct.

She’s absolutely fascinated… and then she sees a person. Dawn, as well as others.

Emmett getting a call from Sinnoh saying he needs to come and see something.

Him going to the cave and watching scenes of different times replay, ghosts of the past a recorded image form cave just like replaying a video.

He sees Ingo for the first time in years. A girl the missing champion of Sinnoh using a different name and calling Ingo her uncle.

See’s multiple images, his brother alive just not here and not now.

He asks Cynthia what happened, surely there are records if all the things there talking about are true she must know what happened, how could someone have summoned those legendries, have a hole in time and space and them have no record of it?

But she has no idea, lots of records were lost about the galaxy team, about the clans and wardens, they don’t have much and they don’t know what happened.

All they have is just the ghost plate showing them of the past.

[volodei]

Volotober Day 8: Home

“That place is not my home.”

Little backstory for why Rei’s there: While I was drawing for day 8 and 9, I realized it would fit another AU I had brewing. I just call it the Sinnoh Clan AU, since the premise is to have everyone (barring Jubilife Village) assimilate into one giant clan that worships Arceus, Palkia, and Dialga. Volo, Rei, Irida, Adaman, and the others all grow up together in the Sinnoh clan.

Special children are chosen to undergo training as a ‘champion’ to serve one of the deities, and both Volo and Rei were part of the group chosen to serve Arceus. However, at the tail end of the final competition, Arceus makes a ‘public’ show of choosing Rei as his champion over Volo even though he won fair and square. There are already rumors that Volo was seen consorting with the exiled god, Giratina, so the rest of the clan members take it as a sign that Arceus doesn’t want him to remain in the clan.

Unfortunately for Volo, the strange lightning that affects the Nobles happens right after, which doesn’t help his case one bit. He’s chased out of the clan after one of the Nobles attacks them, narrowly escaping death when he’s taken in by an older couple from a nearby village.

Rei, who now holds the highest power in the clan as Arceus’ champion, secretly looks for him to apologize and bring him back (since he doesn’t believe that he’s cursed). But Volo is obviously resentful of his former friend, and refuses to go back under his ‘pity’.

Tomorrow’s prompt is ‘Prayer’! Do you think it’ll be a happy set this time? :)

[kelpiemomma]

One person liked the au comment so here it is:

Concept: people from the rift aren't uncommon. Jubilife and the clans frequently find them and bring them in. In fact, they even fall with all their memories in tact. They know who they are, how they came to be where they went, and where they came from. They know what they were dropped in Hisui to do. The problem is that after some time, some sooner and some later, their memories begin to fade. They remember who they are but they start to think they've always lived in Hisui. They came across with the rest of the jubilife residents, or they were accepted into the clan when they were young and grew up with them. All their memories of where they came warp to suit were they are now. Ingo is one of very few that still knows he is not where he needs to be due to Emmet- he knows there is someone that looks like him that is supposed to be with him, but he is not here. He keeps a hold of his coat and hat because they help remind him to remember something.

Rolling around in my head that, for some reason, Akari is the last to fall. They get a few people a month - one time twenty different people fell at the same time, as if Almighty Sinnoh was desperate that maybe many people would succeed where one couldn't - but their memories were the fastest to flee. They managed to get a lot done, but within the month they could barely recall where they came from.

Akari falls from the rift and after she does the color changes. She's there for a month- memories in tact, no new fallers. Two months- memories in tact, no new fallers. Everyone takes a breath, thinks maybe this is it. Maybe she's The One.

And the memory loss isn't something most people in jubilife bring up. It's depressing, because these people had homes and families and now they are lost in time and memory. Rei fumbles a couple times, mentions "before, when (name) was still helping" or "before (name) forgot." and Akari asks them about the things Rei mentioned but they don't remember. And that's weird but she doesn't think anything of it at first.

Except then things start getting fuzzy. It's after she takes care of Electrode, after she's met and befriended Ingo, after everyone thought she was in the clear. She starts forgetting things. Where she was going. Who she was supposed to meet. More than once Volo has found her and returned her to a campsite, because despite him wanting desperately to meet and defeat Arceus, to be noticed by the god, there is something uncanny and uncomfortable and frightening about people he knew and genuinely cared for forgetting themselves.

Akari struggles to hold on to her memory, lasting longer than the others, but it does fade. It falls to pieces. She stops leaving the village, helping care for the pokemon in the pastures. She doesn't understand why Rei and Laventon, who have always welcomed her so warmly and been so friendly since she first arrived and apprenticed with Marie, are suddenly so sad to see her. Why they don't discuss their research with her like they used to.

And Ingo arrives one day and Akari thinks he looks like a nice person, she may have to go and chat with him. Sure the frown is a little severe but something tells her he'd be comforting...

Except then he walks over to her, greets her, and asks why she hasn't been by for so long. And she's confused, because sure she has her Typhlosion (that she can't remember training) and a lot of the pokemon in the pasture are very affectionate towards her, but she's never been out of Jubilife village. It's scary out there! Wild pokemon are dangerous! (Even though her partner could easily one-shot many of them...)

And it's Ingo who realizes something is incredibly wrong. Because he remembers Akari, how excited she was to learn more about pokemon, how she loved getting rides from Sneasler and Wyrdeer over the highlands, how she delighted in making Melli feel bad for bullying her.

And Ingo realizes she's not the first to stop showing up in the highlands, he just wasn't as attached to anyone else. There are faces he recognizes in the village, faces of people who - at one point - were filling the Pokedex, were exploring the territory, were helping the nobles. Akari was not the first, he just wasn't close enough to any of the others to take notice that their disappearance from the Highlands wasn't retirement or injury, it was something worse.

And he excuses himself, heads back home, and stares at himself in the mirror, because something is off. Something has always been off but now he knows. now there is proof. And he tries to think about who he might be, why he knows something he is pretty certain he shouldn't. And decides the best vourse of action, to figure out what's going on, is to stop sitting around as a warden. He's going to calm the last noble. He's going to figure this out so whatever has happened will stop and people can go back home.

[ghostypetrainer]

AU where Ingo doesn’t end up with the Pearl Clan, but rather, with the Ginkgo Guild.

He’s brought into the fold by Volo, who vouches for him. Ginter just kind of shrugs and accepts him- they need all the help they can get, even more so from people who seem fearless around Pokemon. He even seems to have a way with those pesky ghost type Pokemon that can cause them so much trouble, so that’s also a bonus. Not a surprise, seeing as the one Pokemon he has with him is a Chandelure- one that seems to listen to him without fail. He’s a quick study and good at his job- amicable and friendly despite his un-emotional face.

Volo takes an interest in him, of course. That’s only natural. Why wouldn’t he? He’s the one who eventually introduces him two years later to the skyfaller named Akari, and they quickly become on good terms with one another. Akari starts to think of him as an uncle figure- he gives great advice, and he’s always willing to listen to her rant about her bad luck. His Chandelure does make her kind of nervous, since the ghost types of Hisui seem to have it in for her, but it never gives her any trouble, so she eventually relaxes around it.

One day, he warns Akari that Volo seems to be up to something. He’s not entirely sure what- he’s heard she’s helping him gather those plates, and wonders if he has some kind of ulterior motive. They decide that they’ll arrive at the Temple of Sinnoh early, ahead of the meeting time she set with Volo in hopes that they can find a clue. She lets him look at the plates that she’s gathered so far- she has all of them but one- and he smiles when she give them to him.

And then the sky splits open again, and Akari is faced with the horrifying realization that she’s never known the man called Ingo...

...but the vengeful eldritch deity that’s been piloting his body this whole time.

[nemesis-is-my-middle-name]

also rotating in my mind: one of those scenarios where ingo doesn’t speak the same language as everyone else, but the galaxy team has also just arrived and he winds up joining them from the very start bc laventon is the only person who can translate for him

[kiyfra]

Scorpio Chapter 4 is done! Can be read here or on AO3. Pokerus AU belongs to @monsoon-of-art.

“A king who feared wasps once decreed that they were abolished. As it happened, they did him no harm. But he was eventually stung to death by scorpions.”

Hisui was a harsh unforgiving land of untamed wilderness, frigid winters, and hostile pokémon that produced many harsh people. It is said that its people only lived and existed by the grace of its blessed Nobles and Almighty Sinnoh above. Such grace was certainly not unconditional and those bound by the traditions that had allowed them to flourish agreed it was best not to anger them.

The girl who fell from the sky into this land agreed to simple terms; food and board in exchange for her ongoing labour. She did whatever the Galaxy Team asked of her without complaint, no matter how seemingly impossible or how much she risked life and limb. After all, it was best not to anger them.

But Dawn was no longer welcome within the walls of Jubilife, sentenced to an exile in the hostile wilderness until peace and normalcy were restored to Hisui. There would be no place for her in the last shred of human civilization in the region unless she could clear her name by solving the mysteries of the rift to fix the red sky and return the humanity of the PokéRus victims.

Kamando had summoned her to his office in the early morning as confused villagers looked up at the fractured heavens, just as at a loss as Dawn was. She joined the gathered crowd of townsfolk that were either fully or mostly mutated into pokémon and spoke with the baffled and perturbed Survey Corps members to see if they knew any more than she did.

The summon and meeting was a nerve wracking blur of stomach churning anxiety with the imposing alpha snorlax of a commander that barely fit in his own office. A fuming Kamando stood tall with his ears barely touching the ceiling and demanded to know what part she played in the disasters plaguing the region, as if she had any idea.

Dawn stood there with her mouth agape at the wild accusations of using a human disguise to enter the village to bring a curse upon the land, dumbfounded and struggling to think of any answer she could give or defence she could make. She could only insist on her innocence, her floundering protests falling on deaf ears. How could she present evidence she didn’t drive the Nobles into a frenzy just to quell them and endear herself to everyone when Kamando didn’t think he needed any proof to accuse her.

The commander was beside himself with anger at her supposed betrayal and fought to keep his voice even as ire radiated off of him. Dawn kept eye contact with Kamando as she pleaded, hoping her honesty would come through while she kept a watch out for any sudden movements or a red gleam behind his thick eyebrows. Snorlaxes were generally slow but could move quickly when enraged and she would have to react swiftly if he attempted to strike her.

She had lost count of how many times she had been talking with someone from the clans or Jubilife and some mild annoyance or irritation caused their eyes to glaze over red as they tried to bite or lash at her. They would quickly regain their senses to see the girl forced to flee from them or slash back with a sharpened shell blade on rare occasions, horrified and ashamed of their actions.

But Dawn was uncertain if he would even be remorseful over such an episode; it would certainly be one way to drive her out of the village.

She understood there would be no protest or line of reasoning that would change his mind when he coldly told her that he had wanted to imprison her, but understood that a prison would be nonfunctional within a month and settled for exile.

It was her deepest fear since she first arrived in the village and was informed she had to earn her keep brought to life.

Everyone’s anxieties over the disasters plaguing Hisui had no answer but in theology and superstition. Superstition that was easily turned towards her when her arrival from the sky coincided with the start of everyone’s troubles. She put her blood, sweat and tears into proving herself and she had done everything asked of her, but it meant nothing to the Galaxy Team.

Kamando concluded the meeting by stripping her of her rank and had Cyllene escort her to the gates and out into the Obsidian Fieldlands.

There was nowhere else she could go. The Diamond and Pearl clans didn’t exist anymore, its leaders and wardens consumed by the disease and roaming the wilds as mad beasts with Jubilife Village not far behind. If the progression of the infection was consistent, then Jubilife had about another month before the rage inducing virus rendered it uninhabitable. Slavering creatures would prowl the streets and attack anyone and everything that crossed their line of sight.

With no other ideas, she looked for refuge with the Nobles. Lord Wyrdeer wasn’t opposed to her company, but unless she developed a taste for grass, there would be nothing for her to eat and she quickly moved on. Kleavor was happy to share his latest catch with the girl that freed him from his frenzy and the two of them spent the night next to her campfire with a meal of messily carved and roasted psyduck with the plump beans she had brought.

The Lord of the Woods suggested that she learn to hunt for herself if she was going to  keep searching Hisui for solutions and recommended she ask Lady Sneasler to teach her. She had experience with catching fish, unlike Kleavor, and was closer than Ursaluna.

Lord Kleavor treated it as a given that the dewott would continue looking for a way to restore everyone to their former selves, although she had no idea where to start. It was understandable that Kleavor was deeply upset over his warden’s suffering and the Nobles didn’t want to consider the terrifying possibility that there was nothing that could be done.

Their faith and confidence in her often felt like yet another burden she had to shoulder, just another lofty expectation with no reward. A ticket back home was never promised to her even if she singlehandedly solved every crisis and passed every trial before her with flying colours.

Nevertheless, Dawn didn’t want to go back on her word or let them down, so she made the trek to the highlands the next day. A lack of pokémon on Mt. Coronet was a tell-tale sign that the mad former humans were in the area, but the absence of wildlife could also be caused by the ominous pressure from the rift driving them to hide away in their burrows.

After a long treacherous climb through the ill timed downpour, Dawn arrived at the dais and remembered that the Lady of the Cliffs moved her den long ago. Kicking herself for forgetting something so basic, she settled down in the empty nest for the night, opting to play a summon for her tomorrow.

No other pokémon dared tried to claim the nest for themselves while its Noble was away and Ingo was almost always bunkered down with the rest of the Pearl Clan.

The layer of bedding within the pocket of cold earth provided protection from the elements, but wasn’t as warm without its occupants whose smell still lingered. It had been a home and nursery to many litters of sneasles with all the scents that entailed and through it all were faint hints of a musk like that of an old jacket. Like an article of clothing that had been worn so often that it always smelled of that person, even after a thorough washing. Familiar.

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

“Got you!”

The thin wiry arms of a gliscor quickly wrapped around her midsection and abruptly hoisted her off the ground, eliciting a surprised squeak. She accepted the round was over and flopped over limply in mock defeat.

“You got me...”

The dewott wriggled past the large pincers and dropped to the padded ground with a thud.

“Okay, now you go hide!”

Ingo looked off into the distance, lost in thought and not really seeing anything while Dawn waited patiently for his response, knowing he spaced out sometimes.

“There’s not many places one could hide in this section of the highlands,” he said finally. “Caves in particular are an end terminal without any emergency exits.”

“I guess this isn’t the best place for hide-and-seek. But I bet the icelands would be much worse.”

The corners of his mouth lifted slightly in amusement.

“No, that would not be very safe. If you fell victim to the elements or wild pokémon out in the tundra, it would be a dangerous amount of time before people realized you’d gone missing and were able to find you.”

His gaze grew distant again.

“During our battle I took note of how you led with and favoured your dewott. Would I be correct in assuming they were the first pokémon on your team?”

“On my Hisuian team,” she corrected. “My first ever pokémon was a piplup.”

“Right. And how do you usually handle opponents that put them in an unfavourable matchup?”

It was an odd change in topic and she seemed confused by the question.

“I switch to a pokémon that has a better one.”

Wasn’t that obvious?

Ingo’s gaze had refocused, though his expression remained neutral and unreadable.

“While it’s true that one of the hallmarks of a great trainer is knowing how your team members cover for each other’s weaknesses, it’s a worthwhile exercise to think of how an individual pokémon can handle an opponent that puts them at a disadvantage.”

Dawn considered his words carefully as he continued.

“I think you’ll find that you’ll gain a better understanding of your partners and know how to draw out their true strength and potential.”

“Hmm...electric and grass...” the girl pondered to herself for a minute. “A lot of water types can learn ice beam and electric types tend to be fast, but not take many hits.”

The warden nodded in approval and encouraged her to go on.

“And rain boosts water type attacks...No, then thunder would never miss. Can a dewott learn dig?”

She started pacing back and forth as she puzzled out the best approach.

“Hrmm...I suppose you could try to sneak in a setup move like swords dance or calm mind. This would all depend on the situation like species, terrain, or if items are allowed.”

A flat arena with two small electric pokémon switching back and forth against a dewott sprung to Ingo’s mind. It was headed by a person, someone that specialized in electric types, but the details were fuzzy and out of reach. Well, no matter.

“It’s clear how you became Champion when you’re able to think so strategically. Bravo, Miss Dawn!”

Her eyes lit up at the praise and a flash of inspiration struck her.

“Oh! You should ask Zisu if you could offer challenges like that at the dojo!”

Not many people in Hisui even had pokémon, let alone battled with them. Crafting a tailored challenge for every species in the region was a rather daunting prospect, but Ingo couldn’t help himself from mentally planning out the matchups and how he would train their opponents. His mind wandered through the logistics that would turn the vague idea into something concrete and real and a familiar thrill overcame him.

“I would need Kamando’s approval for such a project within Jubilife, but I think that’s a marvellous idea! I look forward to conducting people and their pokémon to even greater heights.”

A clawed hand was used to adjust the brim of his cap and his tail flickered back and forth as he wanted to pace off the excited energy.

“Returning to the matter at hand, can you think of a strategy for my colleagues’ partner pokémon? I understand you’ve already battled most of the wardens, but it would be beneficial to continue the exercise. I’ll tell you something you may not know about my partner.”

He leaned down until he was forced to use his pincers for balance and spoke with what she supposed was meant to be a whisper, although it was still louder than most people’s speaking volume.

“Were you aware that gliscors are highly sensitive to bright lights and loud noises? While the species is fast, well armoured and has a wide range of moves, they are easily disoriented. Quite similar to crobats, really.”

The two of them eagerly discussed potential strategies and theory crafted well into the evening, considering the teams of every known trainer in Hisui.

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

She understood now that his lessons were not purely academic.

The loose straw she buried herself in was far scratchier than the coat she wished was draped over her; it was no wonder Ingo always wore it when the old tattered garment seemed like the most comforting thing in the world. Sun-bleached and coming apart at the seams with the stiffness having gone out of it a long time ago, it was hardly professional looking or well suited to the elements, but the weight of it was familiar and reassuring.

Dawn could imagine how important that one connection to his forgotten prior life was. The warden wore it for all those years  after all, even though he was resigned to living out the rest of his life in Hisui.

But the pitiful and horrifying existence he now suffered could hardly be called living.

Where would she even begin with no guaranteed food or shelter and it was looking like she would have to learn to live like an animal just to survive? She deeply wished she had some advice or guidance, or even just her pokémon with her.

It had been too daunting to consider that she would live out the rest of her life in ancient Sinnoh and she would never see her mom or friends again. A hallow, nauseous despair formed in the pit of her stomach at the sheer unfairness of it all; spending months working tirelessly only to be tossed out into the wilds anyways and being stuck in whatever alternate timeline this was with people trying to eat her.

Would the Nobles still offer her somewhere to stay or continue to assist her if she couldn’t help their wardens, or was their generosity conditional too?

The idea that she could find some way to magically fix everything and go home afterwards was starting to feel like a childish delusion. A coping mechanism for the ugly reality now staring her in the face.

Hot tears prickled at the corners of her eyes and she curled up even tighter in the scratchy straw bed as she started crying, hoping her situation would feel more manageable tomorrow.

The distraught screeching of a gliscor just outside the den woke her up in the middle of the night, doing little to push past her grogginess. It wasn’t until its frightening visage dragged itself into the cave that she understood the severity of the danger she was in. Ingo was limping and bleeding badly, but what the former man did next was so cruel that she wished she could hate him for it.

There was nowhere to escape and she hid herself under a pile of straw in a move of desperation. The only way she could hope to escape the den with her life was if Ingo collapsed from his injuries and fatigue without examining his surroundings first.

Lady Luck continued to scorn her as the warden immediately caught her scent and staggered over to her hiding place, half-dead but able to kill her easily.

There were no scatterbangs left in her satchel to distract the apex predator looming over her. Cornered and penned by large pincers, it looked to be the end for the former Galaxy Team member, only for the pitiful creature to start excitedly crooning and preening her like she was his own child.

Dawn always hated it when the wardens did that before they went off the deep end. In addition to just being weird, she couldn’t pretend there was some alternate personality taking over and dictating their actions. Their minds were not just hidden or buried, but changed. Irreparably so.

But it was the most empathy and concern she had gotten since the sky turned crimson and it had to came from the wretched creature that tried to eat her Arceus knows how many times. The tragic figure that used to be someone she loved must have still possessed some set of emotions or thread of logic that recognized her. She knew she was still in a great deal of danger, that their thought processes were so irrational and inconsistent that their behaviour could flip on a dime.

It would be wise to avoid sudden movements and wait for an opportunity to sneak out. Or at least that’s what she would have said if she had to justify herself, but the truth was that after everything that happened, it was comforting to be fretted over and she reluctantly let herself be groomed. To have Ingo tend to her scrapes and hold her when she was upset, even as a shell of the person he used to be.

Dawn didn’t understand how the PokéRus victims thought or what made sense within their fatally diseased minds. There was no rhyme or reason behind the former warden recognizing her now when before he saw nothing but food. The hyper aggressive animals threw themselves at potential prey, foes, or their own reflections with no regard for their own life. They rarely exercised patience and never practiced deception.

When he tried to sting her without being noticed while crooning at her and salivating hungrily, was he aware of the betrayal that entailed? Ingo barely reacted to his prospective meal escaping or the nasty gash she had given him, sitting there with his eyes glazed over in a lack of understanding like a dumb beast as the dewott ran away.

She kept going after that with no goal or destination in mind, not bothering to summon or visit any of the Nobles as she kept walking across Hisui. Their expectations felt unbearable with the new scars on her heart. Her supply of food rapidly dwindled, even supplemented with any berries she found along the way, but the girl hardly cared until she found herself in the Cobalt Coastlands on the edge of the region.

The vast fields of ashes and charred tree stumps gave way to loose silky sand and an endless dark sea that stretched out over the horizon. She contemplated swimming out into the ocean and seeing how far away from Hisui she could get before dismissing the idea as absurd.

There was nowhere left for her to go. No boats would be arriving or leaving with passengers after every non-infected merchant and traveller wisely got out of the region on the first ship possible. With no customers remaining on the continent, the Ginkgo Guild wouldn’t be providing any such services or looking for more members.

Dawn would even consider asking to join the Misfortune Sisters if she ran into them again, although she hadn’t seen them since the fiasco at Firespit Island. The three bandits were infected by the virus early into the outbreak and they were further into their metamorphosis every time Dawn saw them, like the covers of those Pokémorph books she never read but stared at transfixed. They may have tried to rob her several times and caused a slew of other problems, but she hoped none of them fell victim to the mad wardens.

It was late afternoon by the time Dawn wandered aimlessly past the old shipwreck and down to the end of the peninsula, not that one could tell by the sky. Still stained a deep red, the midday heat could have given the region a hellish atmosphere if not for the white sandy beach and gentle waves. The girl idly picked up a stone and tossed it into the surf where it disappeared with an unsatisfying sploosh.

Despite the Misfortune Sisters’ goofy theatrics and her own misgivings towards the bandits, she could now understand the appeal of living apart from the rest of society with only her pokémon by her side. She’d already given it everything she had, did she really owe them anything more?

Further out on a sandbar, Dawn spotted two blue quadrupeds with two smaller pokémon at their sides, too lithe and darkly coloured to be walreins. Straining her eyes, she could make out black thorny helmets, one with particularly bright red markings. Their size indicated they were alphas and the two smaller pokémon must have been dewotts.

Could it be?

Dawn hurriedly waded into the water and started swimming out towards them, the details becoming clearer. A father with plentiful helmet spikes, his mate with rose coloured markings, a fluffy boy and a daughter that was already battle hardened. They were the samurotts she met in the icelands!

“Hey!”

She furiously paddled over to the sandbar as they looked in the direction of the shouting with surprise. It would be hard not to recognize her with her human like hair trailing behind her, a notable remnant of her human form that would be otherwise inexplicable on a dewott. They regarded her curiously as she half swam and half waded through the shallow water leading to the sandbar, wondering what business the former human could have with them.

While dripping wet and panting to catch her breath, it was the male samurott that spoke first.

“I take it you’re endeavour to find a cure for the mad alphas hasn’t gone well.”

Straight to the point. Though his tone remained even, there was an undercurrent of ‘I told you so.’

“Yeah, you could say that. I ran into a bit of a snag,” she said, wringing as much water out of her hair as she could. The alphas could think whatever they wanted, she’d agree with them that her quest had been a fool’s errand. The matriarch of the family spoke next.

“Lord Avalugg told us you used to be a human. If I’m being honest, I still find that very difficult to believe.”

“Well, it’s true. All of us were.”

The alpha male’s eyes bore directly into her and she was suddenly self-conscious of her flippant tone. She struggled not to shy away from his sturdy gaze and commanding presence, resolving to watch her tongue.

“I don’t imagine you came out here just to catch up on us. What business do you have?”

Dawn now had doubts about what she was going to ask of them, especially when their first meeting was on such terse terms. The female seemed more kindly, but neither of them came across as bleeding hearts.

“The remaining humans decided it’s my fault that all of this happened and they kicked me out. They’re going to loose their minds within a month anyways,” she explained bitterly.

“So, you have no family? You’re alone?”

His eyes softened. The hardened alpha of an otter pokémon was a parent himself and the scrawny dewott’s predicament seemed to tug his heartstrings a little.

“...” Dawn hesitated. Saying it would make it real. “...Yes.”

“Are the Nobles unwilling to take you in? I thought that they had given you their confidence and favour,” the female asked.

“They would want me to find a way to turn everyone back to normal.”

She took a deep breath.

“And I don’t want to.”

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

The two samurotts were small specks in the distance, having swam far off into deeper waters to search for prey. Their two offspring wisely chose to hunt in the shallows close to the shore where the patrols of aggressive tentacruels didn’t reach.

Dawn watched from a sunbaked rock as the smaller boy, the one she had named ‘Fluffy’ due to the noticeable tuft of fur atop his head, resorted to begging for food from his sister. He tried to reach for her latest catch and she gave him an irritated nip, turning away and trying to ignore his reedy whining. Pride evidently not being one of his faults, he kept begging while trying to sound as pathetic as possible. Through some combination of annoyance and pity, Chip relented and left the half eaten basculin to her brother while she dived back underwater for another meal.

If it weren’t for the red sky, Dawn could almost pretend this was just a fun excursion at the beach and she was making exciting new observations for the Galaxy Team.

But it wasn’t. She couldn’t just watch the samurotts with a detached interest when copying their skills would be essential to her new way of life.

At least their terms were simple. They would take her in as one of their own and she would have to learn all that she could from them if she hoped to survive the winter. The two dewotts would be striking out on their own around the beginning of the season with the unspoken assumption Dawn would have to move on too.

The two alphas would follow the octilleries north past a great deal of open sea where the competition with sealeos and walreins was fierce and a dewott that hadn’t evolved yet was unlikely to survive.

Well, that was fine. She’d learn how to thrive in the wilderness where she didn’t need anybody, live in a cave and bite anyone that got too close. The rift wasn’t her problem anymore; Arceus could go abduct some other kid for all she cared.

A series of chirrups interrupted her thoughts as Chip slid out of the water and onto the small island, carrying a remoraid she had already bitten the head off of. She squeaked excitedly as she held out the fish pokémon to show off her catch. Always a better hunter and fighter than her brother, she’d grow up to be a fierce samurott. One that was hard of heart and deft of blade, just like her parents.

“Great job, Chip!”

Her chitters turned annoyed and she insistently held out the remoraid. Dawn didn’t understand what she wanted until she deposited her catch on the ground in front of the former human with a huff and dove back into the water.

Oh.

Well, that was thoughtful of her.

Dawn picked up the gift, touched by the act of generosity, if a bit off put by its sliminess and the spine sticking out from the mangled stump. Was she really going to have to eat it?

Riptide never brought her raw fish when he tried to teach her. As much as her own dewott was a capable fighter, his meals were provided by his trainer and he never had to hunt for himself. He could if he really needed to; pokémon never really lost those instincts even when raised by humans. Dawn hoped he was alright and it didn’t come to that.

The Galaxy team offered to take care of any pokémon that belonged to the PokéRus victims, all of them eventually agreeing they were in too much danger if they stayed with their trainers as they lost their minds. As more and more of Jubilife succumbed to the disease, fewer sensible people were available to look after them until it was just her, Rei, Cyllene and Laventon.

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

“Why this is...this is...outrageous! And absurd I might add!”

Laventon‘s plumage was ruffled up further than Dawn had ever seen on the professor, the bristling feathers making him look nearly twice as large. The man turned dartrix was irate on her behalf while Rei’s mouth was still agape in shock from the news of her banishment.

“We’ll go with you, of course. I’m afraid Jubilife won’t be safe for us much longer either. Why, just the other day Miss Zisu took a snap at me and I had to spend a good hour waiting for her to come back to her senses!”

Dawn felt her heart leap at the reassurance that she wouldn’t have to go it alone and she hadn’t been completely abandoned.

“That would be unwise.”

The three of them turned in surprise towards Cyllene. She met their bewildered reaction with an even, sharp-eyed look, quite unlike the inward focused appearance regular abras had.

“You are woefully unprepared for a life away from civilization and Dawn would spend more time keeping you alive than looking after herself or searching for a solution to our predicament.”

Laventon never got cross with her. Her cold pragmatism grounded the professor’s more air headed and ill thought out ideas and he knew her curt demeanour was never from a lack of sympathy. But her suggestion that they do nothing sounded especially heartless and the professor opened his beak to object before Cyllene cut him off. 

“And at least one of us needs to stay behind to look after the pokémon that were entrusted to the Galaxy Team.”

“I doubt the commander would let a bunch of exiles just take all the pokémon in the pastures with them,” Rei added morosely.

The first bit of hope Dawn had since her meeting with Kamando come crashing back down as the rug was pulled out from under her. Laventon’s feathers remained just as ruffled as he addressed Cyllene.

“Well, then, you’re one of the adults here. Shouldn’t you accompany her?”

She did not shy away from the frustrated and angry reactions of the Survey Corps members before her. Their captain kept her slightly infuriating, coldly logical demeanour they knew her for that was above knee-jerk emotional responses.

“No. I would be of even less use to her than you.”

It was hard to imagine the former human most accustomed to managing paperwork surviving long in the wilderness, especially as an abra with no offensive capabilities and little familiarity with how the species usually survived. Dawn certainly couldn’t imagine her providing good moral support either.

“Furthermore, I won’t abandon my post while it still exists.”

That only left Rei. Neither of them would have ordered or asked such a thing of him, but the boy turned raichu understood the implication of the conversation. His eyes caught Dawn’s, desperate and mutely begging for some support and he silently panicked, looking everywhere but her face.

The boy’s comparatively nervous disposition had only gotten worse as a pokémon, fuelled by a small prey species’ instincts and personal experience. His tail twitched back and forth as the anxiety flared up from being put on the spot, hoping for some out, hoping he wouldn’t be bound by duty or obligation.

Well, never mind then. If they wanted  to stay that badly, they could.

The frustration and bitterness that had been building up were now so overwhelming that she wanted to scream and yell that she hated them. See how badly it would hurt them as she tried to inflict a fraction of the pain she felt back on them. Dawn had doubts before over whether she made the right call over using the three blessings on them or if there was a right decision at all. But now she truly believed she had made the wrong choice.

Somewhere in the back of her mind, she knew that her inability to hurt Kamando was making her want to take out her anger on the people in front of her when they were equally as powerless. She could force down the bile that was rising within her for just a bit longer.

“You guys should stay. We needed all hands on deck looking after all the pokémon and your job will be much harder one person short,” she said, venom leaking into her words despite her efforts to contain herself.

Relief flooded Rei’s features at knowing there was a chance Dawn could manage to save Hisui on her own and he wouldn’t have to place himself is such severe danger. But only for a moment before casting his eyes downwards in shame. The professor deflated slightly as he was forced to concede the argument and Cyllene nodded.

“If nothing changes, we will evacuate the pokémon to safety and come find you.” Cyllene’s expression softened so briefly that Dawn thought she must have imagined it. “Until then, don’t die out there. That’s an order.”

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

She hoped they wouldn’t come looking for her. There was no way a confrontation over her choice to abandon her mission would end well and she wasn’t interested in what they were going to do with no civilization to return to. As far as she was concerned, they were on their own too.

There was a commotion out in the open ocean with the samurotts; a great deal of water was being kicked up as the two of them closed in on their quarry and swiftly darted to and fro to cut off any means of escape. The male, Briar, would dive underwater to force it to the surface from beneath while his mate, Rose, would bite at its exposed back and sides.

Dawn could make out the red flicker of a basculegion’s tail as they wore out their prey, the massive fish’s desperation fading as the minutes crawled by. It was well into its half hearted resistance before Briar clamped his jaws down hard on its throat and Rose bit at its soft underbelly. They twisted and pulled in different directions and bright red spilled into the gentle waves, only accelerated by its feeble wriggling. It had mostly gone still with only an occasional twitch of the fins or tail before the samurotts dug in.

Basculin was a staple of Hisuian diets for people and pokémon alike, but many of the plentiful fish pokémon were Lord Basculegion’s children. Eating one seemed disrespectful to her, even if he reassured her it was simply a fact of life and that death wasn’t the end. Iscan felt the same way and refused to eat basculin; any that were reeled in could have been one he helped raise. Eating the flesh of a pokémon when you had another member of the species in a ball at your hip felt like a betrayal when there was always a possibility it was one they knew. It was why many trainers in modern times ate meat substitutes, or at least avoided any species they worked closely with.

Dawn considered the remoraid in her hand and thought about how it was time to abandon such ideas. If she wanted to survive, she couldn’t have many reservations like that. The samurotts were completely attuned to the savagery of nature, at peace with their own small place they carved out within it and able to kill without remorse.

“You can’t care about the entire world. The struggle for survival pits too many of us against each other,”  Briar had explained.  “The octillaries wish to live and will run or fight to protect their own. They owe us nothing more than that when we try to eat them.”

Dawn wanted to dispute the alpha’s cold hearted philosophy but struggled to think of an actual argument against his words.

“Even other samurotts will come and take hunting grounds from a pokémon unwilling to defend it. If you’re too worried about their affairs instead of your own, then you and your children starve.”

Was he speaking from experience? Did he watch that happen to a litter of his long ago or did he have the ice in his veins needed to inflict it upon someone else?

“But humans don’t have to fight each other for food. And we certainly don’t eat each other. We’re not like wild pokémon.”

“They’ve tried to eat you, haven’t they? Why do you think you still owe them anything?”

The question stuck with her. She had given up on saving her friends and going home, even if the guilt ate away at her for running away. But Kamando and the rest of Jubilife sent her away to whatever terrible fate awaited her first, why shouldn’t she do the same and just focus on her own survival?

Maybe he deserved it anyways. Deserved to suffer from his mind and body eating away at his sense of self. To be littered with scars and injuries from scratching and biting himself while his body refused to give up and release him from his misery.

Shame overwhelmed her from having such  vicious and spiteful thoughts that seemed like they belonged to a zoroark, but their rage and hatred now made so much more sense to Dawn. How it could motivate and empower you when nothing else could. She could imagine the bitter and malicious feelings reforming her heart and changing her into someone as calloused as Briar.

I tried to help, he decided he didn’t want it.

Rei and the others would find a samurott as cynical and hateful as the Baneful Fox if they ever came looking for her, Dawn would make sure of it. One that would never be taken for a fool again. She could evolve right now; the energy needed to do so was lying dormant in her core and had been for a while.

The thought of Rei naively taking hold of the thunder stone and a bright light uncomfortably changing his already warped body came to mind. Arezu’s regret over embracing a large powerful form that she later learned would endanger others.

Once Dawn took that step, she could never walk it back.

Well, most dewotts evolved after the winter anyways. She told herself she was just being pragmatic; less food was needed when you were smaller. Besides, the option would always be there.

There was another step she could take though, one she could do right now. The remoraid that was gifted to her would be a good way to ease herself into her new way of life and steel herself for the harsh necessities of survival. It took a minute of psyching herself up and trying not to imagine the taste or texture before she told herself to just do it. Plenty of people ate raw fish, this should be no different.

Her strong jaws managed to break through its thick skin and she took a large bite from its midsection. The slippery strands of pink flesh nearly made her gag and she struggled not to dry heave as she chewed, her eyes already watering at the thought of swallowing.

All of her determination to embrace her new place in the world as a hardened survivalist fizzled out and left her with a nauseating, inescapable dread. The smoldering anger that kept her going  gave way to a despair and sadness over what her life had become. She wanted her mom and warm bed and friends and pokémon. Ugly sobs started and wouldn’t stop through the disgusting wad of half chewed fish.

It was hard being a pokémon.

[squidthesquidd]

my doodles on the aggie have become a new au so im here to talk about it

1. what if Arceus sent ingo to hisui **much** too earlier in his life?

2. what if emmet went with him? and 3. what if they were dragons????

two baby dragon hybrids fall outta the sky right onto prelude beach, where laventon finds them. he bribgs them to galaxy hall, where adaman and irida are cus they saw a giant hole open in the sky and they wanna know whats up upon seeing these dragon babies, they become *convinced* they r "gifts" from their respective Sinnoh. so they start fighting over the babies laventon, being responsible (i heart him) says maybe since there r two you can each take one? and this seems like a great idea!!! so adamnan takes baby emmet, and irida takes baby ingo, and go back to their clans camps. upon being separated, ingo and Emmet start screaming, as babies do, and causing problems. so irida and adaman meet up and reluctantly decide to have a joint custody type thibg with the babies. basically, every three days they switch, they the babies stay together but they can both take care of them!!!!! RRAAAAAAHHH!!!!!!! this is really stupid but i like it!!!!!