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creoterative · 2 years

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The Lambda Core #3

Actually, it’s chapter 5, I dunno why I didn’t keep up with the numbers, but anyway, I finally posted the biggest chapter yet, consisting of over 20.000 words! Yeah, took me long enough. I’ll take a little break now before I start writing on this again, I’m really motivated since we’re finally getting somewhere with this and the actual story can begin. I didn’t want to hold this from you, so here is a snippet of my newest addition to my fanfiction crossover between Pokémon and Half Life 2. Enjoy!

And feel free to visit my AO3 site, there you can read the whole chapter in all its glory! *cough*

https://archiveofourown.org/works/38083513/chapters/103323738

Letting the sun dry him had not been such a good idea after all, because now Paul's hair was hard and knotted. That disgusting head crab had really tried to make babies with his skull.... He shuddered when he thought about it and quickly tried to push the thought of the horny creature away. He really didn't need that right now.

Anyway, now it was stuck in some desert and Doctor Kleiner would have to find another specimen. Hopefully, he would decide that it wasn't worth the effort, then Paul could save himself further such incidents. He preferred not to have little head crab babies jumping all over him, however they might have been created.

With the crowbar in his right hand, which admittedly still hurt quite a bit, but the left really wasn't any better, he pushed past the lattice fence, the lower right corner of which protruded slightly. Good thing he didn't have any protective plates on his knees, so he could at least move his legs a little. The suit was good, no question about it, it fit, even if it was a bit big, besides it was comfortable and... it was good to have a voice with him. Not that the suit could tell him anything other than what the state of his own body was at the moment, but... he knew exactly that he wouldn't be able to stand the eternal silence.

Silence had always been something he liked, after all, it gave peace and also some space to think sometimes, but he couldn't handle having it around him in stressful situations. Silence was never good when things got dangerous, it just meant that you were either being watched, or had to take advantage of that silence now to avoid the possible approaching chaos. He preferred the latter.

Paul set about walking along a narrow path that was to the left of the remaining buildings. On one side it went down to a railroad graveyard, it seemed, at least there were some railroad cars standing around idle. A fence separated him from down there again, but Paul could already see a small hole in it as he approached the end of the path. The wall in front of him formed a dead end, but Paul squeezed through the small hole in the fence, only to almost fall down into the abandoned station. He just barely managed to grab onto the fence and pull himself upright.

Not that he was afraid of heights, he just doubted that a jump from such a height could be cushioned even by the HEV suit. And no, it wasn't worth trying. But somehow he had to keep going, so he decided to jump onto the next train. The jump would probably require a bit of a run-up, but the teenager couldn't muster it, so he tried from a standing start. He made the jump and just barely clung to the ladder attached to the back of the train car.

His hands immediately reported and it took its toll that he had not cooled or immobilized them properly. "Ngh... Can't you do anything for the pain?" "Using morphine on such minor injuries would lead to addiction, as the procedure would have to be repeated steadily . Minor injuries should never be treated with painkillers. However, cooling can make you feel better, if desired." "Yes... cool it. I just don't want frostbite. And I wasn't planning on getting addicted." "The temperature in the gloves is brought to the tolerable cold limit to maintain maximum limb function." "Good, thank you."

Yes, he was talking to a robot here, but in a strange way it was good. After all, Paul didn't have any human friends, and he never wanted any. He had always been content with robots, which he could control and adjust as he wished. This robot was no different. After all, he was called one himself often enough, so it only made sense for him to hang out with them as well. In Black Mesa, Paul had built a few little robots that had made life easier for him and others. Well, preferably himself. Cracker, for example, had been able to bring him candy. His tube-like arms could extend, so he could reach every cupboard. Useful little thing, even if he wasn't good for anything but fetching candy.

He'd named him Cracker because Reggie insisted he gave his creations names instead of numbers or.... just called them robots. Reggie had always thought these robots were great, even if Paul had taken it more as pity; after all, he hadn't really been useful for anything else in Black Mesa. One of his robots, Bubbles, he had let Reggie name. Bubbles had been a small robot dog that Paul had built when he had turned eleven. His father hadn't allowed him to have a real dog; it would have been too dangerous in a lab that was virtually unknown even to the American government. Until now.

Even the argument that Paul himself had sneaked into one of the test chambers and had suffered quite a bit of damage had not been able to satisfy the boy at the time. Honestly, the fact that he would never have any offspring of his own had really not interested him much as an eleven-year-old. And the scar on his arm... yes, that had hurt quite a bit and he had almost lost this arm... but even that hadn't mattered at the time. So he had just built himself a dog.

Why Reggie had named the little guy Bubbles, Paul didn't really know. Maybe because Paul had built in a bubble machine. When he snapped his fingers, little bubbles came out of the robot's mouth. He had originally built that in for when he wanted to think about something else, the ocean, for example. Not that he had ever been in the sea, he had only been able to observe it once from a distance. And even that he didn't really remember anymore. But he liked the calmness of the scene, standing in front of the water, watching the sun set... It made him feel relaxed and those bubbles reminded him of that moment.

Yes, these robots had been something like an emotional support, which Paul only really noticed now that they were missing. He had never really realized how much time they had taken up in his life and how much he had to do with them. Small repairs, maybe some bigger ones (when Bubbles had been in the microwave again, for example...), doing homework with Cracker, who was constantly stealing new candy to keep Paul's brain going....

Where could they be now? Hard to imagine that the man from the shadows had also saved the robots. They were probably of little use to him. But whom he had definitely saved was Brandon. And Paul would look for him now.

The disused station was not necessarily large. Paul jumped from wagon to wagon without much trouble. But he didn't like this unbearable silence. It was never good when it was too quiet where there was supposed to be chaos. The citadel that could be seen from the station, the huge building that looked like an angular advertising pillar, seemed to be in turmoil. Alarms sounded from the loudspeakers and Paul could imagine that Dr. Breen was now searching for him. Shit... If the Combine found him now, he would surely not be sent to the Citadel first. No, it was straight to Valhalla. Or wherever he would go after being riddled with hundreds of lead bullets.

The last wagon ended in front of a small building that resembled an old barn, only made of concrete. Paul descended the wagon's ladder and crept over to the door, careful to be as inconspicuous as possible. Seriously, he was conspicuous enough as it was. Purple hair and that black suit, the foam of which was orange at the neck and shoulders, while some of the protective plates shone in bright yellow. No, colors really couldn't clash any more. But it didn't matter. It was about the utility of the clothing, not the color scheme, even if Paul would have preferred to walk around in an all-black suit.

Paul slowly approached the building, but he was constantly on guard, looking around to make sure no one was following him. He really didn't want to meet Combine soldiers now, they would cut him to pieces. He was a target, they wouldn't hesitate for a second.

Carefully he opened the light blue door, which squeaked quite a bit, causing him to screw up his face and hope that no one was around now. He just had to get through here quickly and try not to be spotted, that's all it was... the canals were just around the corner, he had long since passed the old houses....

Just as Paul was about to sneak around the door in a crouched position, crowbar drawn, it was kicked full force against his face. He fell back with a groan and landed on his rear end, adrenaline already beginning to shoot through his veins. For a moment, the world around him was speckled with bright stars and his orientation was completely lost. "Target locked.",he heard a voice that sounded suspiciously like Combine, which made fear shoot through his muscles. He had seen that these guys were not to be trifled with.

Paul held his forehead with one hand, which would definitely have a bump on it once he was out of here. With the other hand he held the crowbar protectively in front of him and tried to straighten up. "The fuck you did...", he growled and as the two Combine came around the corner, Paul hit the first soldier with the crowbar, as far as his fogged vision would allow.

Not that he suddenly had superhuman strength, but Paul wasn't weak to begin with, and the suit further aided his movements. He struck the Combine in the face with the tip of the crowbar, where it also got stuck in it without further ado. Blood splattered towards him, causing Paul to go into a frenzy. No, he wasn't one to enjoy the sight of blood, quite the opposite. But he was in full defense mode right now, and blood meant he had caught a good spot. The Combine fell to the ground after three more blows, then Paul yanked the crowbar out of his skull as well.

The second Combine, however, had no intention of being killed so easily. He aimed a silver pistol at Paul's unprotected head, and he had no choice but to hold his arms protectively in front of his face in fear. Three shots were fired and ... Paul was still standing. He had felt the pressure on his right arm, but the pain was within limits that he could endure without completely slumping to the ground. The other two shots... Paul hesitated, but then lowered his arms a little to be able to look at the soldier. He was lying dead on the ground. His own arms were covered with a few bloodstains, probably haptsly from the first Combine, which only put Paul more in a state of shock.

Who had killed him? Two bloody holes were emblazoned on the Combine's temple and Paul cautiously looked around the hallway. A middle-aged woman, breathing heavily, held another pistol in her hands, with a little smoke coming from it. Paul wasn't sure if this woman was stable or if she was about to shoot him too, but either way he had to get through this and had no choice. "Don't shoot. I'm one of the good guys." "...That... I know that..." "Then...thanks for the rescue. Do you know how I get to the... the sewers?" The woman was silent for a moment before slowly lowering the pistol and taking a deep breath. Next to her, Paul noticed a body. A young man with blood running from a large wound on his left temple. This must be what those Combine had done here. Bastards.

Paul himself was surprised that the fear left him quite quickly by his standards. When he thought about how much panic he had in Black Mesa.... Heck, he had never really experienced anything like that in his life, he wasn't used to such chaos, and then half the world collapsed on him. But Black Mesa seemed to have hardened him in a way. At least concerning the blood... And the reaction time. If this had happened back then, he would have died instantly, died from complete heart failure and nervous breakdown. But wasn't it also understandable somehow? Yes, he had been taught some self-defense, but he was a 16-year-old student, not a trained black belt fighter. It was still strange to him that he had been chosen to save the world, but he didn't have time to think about it any longer right now.

Right now... calm would be too much, no, he was still very tense, but... he had himself under control. Slowly he walked towards the woman. She too was in those ugly blue clothes like everyone else. "Um..." "You have to... You have to go up this way... then across the tracks.... But you... you're wanted...?" "Yeah, that's why I'm asking. Thank you. Now get yourself to safety."

That was all he had to say to her, he had his own mission. Actually, that's why he just wanted to get past her. Still his adrenaline level was very high, he almost died, and that just five minutes after leaving the lab. That was a new record. Still, he didn't want to push his luck any further. Where there was one Combine, more were very likely to come.

The woman grabbed him by the arm, however, causing Paul to wince sharply. He immediately yanked his arm free and wheeled around to face the woman. She looked at him out of big, bright green eyes, and Paul could see something pleading in them. His own eyes, however, formed into suspicious slits. "What?" "...You're from Black Mesa, right?"

Yes, that was correct. And yet... It felt like ages had passed since Black Mesa had gone down. And the world right along with it. Paul felt like there was nothing left but fighting, surviving, and hoping. Hoping that by some miracle things would get better. The fact that this woman was asking this made Paul nervous, but he answered truthfully, "Yes." She slowly clasped her hands together and contemplated them for a moment. Paul was almost overcome with impatience - if she was going to pray now, she was going to do it without him, he had no business doing that - but she looked back up at the same moment he was about to turn around. "He won't let you go."

#pokemon paul #pokemon shinji #pokemon reggie #Tobari Brothers #pokemon brandon #Bubbles #robots #robot dog #half life 2 #half life combine #wallace breen #dr. kleiner #eli vance #alyx vance #headcrabs #rebellion #black mesa #aliens #pokemon fanfiction

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cynical-librarian-watches-anime · 3 years

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Yu-Gi-Oh: Final Thoughts

I used to watch Yugioh when I was much younger. Honestly, it was one of my first obsessions. I watched it religiously on the WB every chance I got. It was on directly after Pokémon, which was interesting. I always felt like I was just watching Pokémon because it was on, but I was actually there just waiting for Yugioh. Why I never caught on with Pokémon, I couldn’t tell you. But there you go. It just wasn’t for me. Once Pokémon was over, I could feel the excitement. What episode of Yugioh would it be today? Duelist Kingdom? Marik being his creepy self? The Orichalcos arch? It didn’t matter. I was ready to watch it, even if I had already seen it. And if it was a new episode I hadn’t seen, even better. No one could talk to me while I was watching it. I was zeroed in. Nothing else existed.

I had Yugioh cards, and I forced my younger brother to have some too, so we could “duel” to a degree. It was really just playing random cards until one of us played a Blue Eyes, which basically meant the duel was over. Neither of us liked math, so we didn’t keep track of life points. My dad went on a business trip to Japan during this time, and he brought back Japanese Yugioh cards for both of us. They were the coolest thing I owned for a good long while, even if I had no idea how to use them.

Then I got older, and I moved on to different obsessions. My cards got buried under the detritus of a messy life, until they fell into some kind of crack in the universe, and I lost them. I’ve moved quite a few times since then, including to a different state, so I’m guessing they got left behind somewhere, perhaps in the few boxes that always seem to go missing in a move. I hope they were found by someone who knew how to use them.

Now that I’ve reached a certain point in my life, I’ve started feeling very nostalgic. So, one night, as I was surfing through Netflix, I saw the first season of Yugioh appear in my recommendations. Instantly, I was transported back to simpler times, when weekday afternoons were filled with anticipation for a few episodes of a cartoon, and having my now lost deck of cards.

Watching this silly cartoon about the threat of ancient and dark forces being resolved by a trading card game was truly a wonderful experience. I remembered why I loved this show, why I was strangely into reading about ancient Egyptian history when other kids were more interested in gossip, why I constantly rented the Yugioh movie at Hollywood Video.

One character who surprised me this time around was Seto Kaiba. In the past, I was always obsessed with Atem, and I still very much am. But I found myself getting drawn towards this snarky billionaire, where previously I barely paid him any attention at all. This is probably because, as a young and optimistic child, I couldn’t understand him. But as an embittered and negative adult, I could finally SEE him. So I started paying attention, and I was not disappointed. He’s a character that seems to have been gift wrapped for us to come back to as adults, so we can better appreciate his sense of humor and negative worldview as we grow up and understand just how right he was about a lot of things.

Another surprise for me was… Yugi. This is going to be a hot take, so apologies in advance. I didn’t like Yugi when I was younger. I was just always hoping for the pharaoh to come out, because I thought he was badass, and Yugi was just weak. Now, this very much could be the result of my consuming this show out of order when I was younger. I can now say, proudly, that I have revised this error in judgment on a rewatch as an adult. Yugi is a treasure. He’s my precious cinnamon roll. His growth throughout this series was phenomenal, and I truly felt glad to have been able to witness it. His relationship with Atem was beautiful. A bond for the ages. A reciprocal relationship which allowed BOTH OF THEM, regardless of their level of dueling expertise, to learn from one another. It was a lot of fun to watch play out.

This brings me to Atem himself. Wow. My dude is still definitely a badass, but now I can really understand why he’s a badass. This might sound weird, but bear with me. Atem is almost like John Wick. He is a man of focus, commitment, and sheer fucking will. But, while John Wick is a badass for personal reasons, and because he was a major player in a criminal underworld, Atem is a badass for the right reasons. Imagine having a John Wick fighting to save the world, rather than just for righteous vengeance. That’s Atem. He was determined to be victorious, BECAUSE he knew the fate of the world depended on him, and also because saving the world meant protecting Yugi. To have someone like that on the good side meant I could gladly watch him be the best at defeating other people just as determined as him.

Anyways, this is a very long post, but Yugioh deserves it. It was special to me back then, and it’s still precious to me now. Sure, it’s a little weird, but that was fine with me. The story underneath all that marketing was fun to watch, so it was all more than worth it.

#yugioh #final thoughts #yugi #atem #seto kaiba #i’m going to miss it #i’ll probably end up watching it again #and i will have no qualms about it #yugioh forever

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ask-rp-devra · 3 years

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The night was short, the pair were able to sleep a good 8 hours before getting ready the next morning to set off towards the train station. The pair decided to come back through to pick up the Pokemon to bring back to the island before heading home, but for now they could stay behind with Devra’s mom, just for a little while longer. The only team members that went with them were coal, the little hybrid houndoomxarcanine pup, and Aliza, who had taken a shine to the ponyta gifted to Peach, they seemed to play well together, even Dreepy liked her. With bags gathered, goodbyes said, and tickets bought, the pair stepped onto the train, waving off Olivia who came to see her daughter go, and off they went, towards the new Galarian island, the Crown Tundra.

Devra settled into her seat, waving goodbye to her mom as Coal jumped up in the seat next to her. He was small enough to be on the train, but Aliza had to stay in her pokeball for the time being. She looked over at her friend and smiled. “I hope you slept alright. I always thought the guest room bed was too hard.”

“‘you saw me right? I was asleep in an aeroplane chair sitting up right, the bed was just fine. Much better than most of the places I sleep while away from the lab.” She recalled a few occasions being able to just about catch an hours rest while being trapped in a tree by aggressive Pokemon. “it was a warm, dry bed, with actual sheets and a roof over me haha. It was great.” She mindlessly petted Val, ordering a good coffee off the trolley that passed by, a sweet little wigglytuff in the train companies uniform asking for payment. She got her wallet out...or so she thought? Her hand reached into her bag, and hit something very cold and very smooth, reeling from the weird texture. Val sniggered to herself, shifting to the empty seat the bag sat on, to peer inside.

“I think we have a stow away.” Peach murmured, carefully opening the bag much wider than needed to get a good look. “‘Dreepy?” Inside was the little ghost type, she swore while waving to Devra’s mother at the station when they left, she had also spotted this Pokemon amongst others that had come to see the trainers off. He was wrapped up in one of Peach’s shirts, and seemed a little nervous about being caught in her stuff.

Devra looked over at Peach from her camera, having been looking th right some pictures. “Dreepy? He’s here? But I saw him with my mom. Here, I took a picture of the group when we left.” She held the camera so they could both look. “Oh....well. I thought he was in the picture.” She looked at the little Pokémon and sighed. “I guess he really wanted to come with you.”

“well, it’s fine with me, if he wants to come then I guess we’ve got a new team member.” She smiled a little at the Pokemon and let him and Val go and pick some snacks off the trolley before paying. She gave eyes at her steadfast fire type while Dreepy’s back was turned, asking without words for her to tone her usual disinterest down by like 20%, and she began chattering to the ghost Pokemon as she selected a strawberry filled dumpling thing in a wrapper. With the stern silence broken between the two, peach could relax a little, perhaps they two would be fine together for the trip.

“You’re right though, I swear I saw him on the platform too.” She glanced at the screen on the camera, seeing no signs of him. “‘how strange. You’re faster than you look hey bud?” Dreepy seemed quite proud of the compliment, and finally chose a chocolate-orange flavoured pastry twist before returning to the open bag to snack. “I’m buying, you and your team want anything?”

Devra nodded to Coal, who bounced over and happily started sniffing around until he found a pumpkin muffin. She then grabbed an apple cake and raspberry pastry for her other two team members before sitting back down. “I don’t need anything. Mom made sure I left full.” She laughed and opened Coal’s treat for him. “Tell Peach thank you young man.” The little pup barked happily as me bounced over to her for pets.

“she’s a good mom that one, I bet she’d enjoy a little holiday in johto, lots to see, I can hook you both up with some fun things to do for sure.” There was plenty of art galleries, heritage sites, and excellent restaurants throughout the region, not to mention live music, public gardens of great beauty, and a butt load of areas to sightsee in. Peach paid up and petted Coal, she was very glad to see him in capable hands, he took to Devra like a Ducklett to water, and she was confident he’d grow fast now he was out exploring with her. The Dreepy seemed to peep its eyes out at the hybrid Pokemon, still nibbling away on its snack.

Coal bounced back up next to Devra and started to munch on his treat. “I’m sure she’ll love the trip.” She looked out the window, watching the countryside roll by. “What’s the first thing you want to do once we get to the tundra?”

The professor sipped her hot drink, also enjoying the windows view. “hm, that’s a good question. I suppose I’d really like to find a place to stay, I’d normally not mind camping but I see the name ‘Crown TUNDRA’ and feel like I wouldn’t want to stay over night outside as much. What about you? You’ll be knees deep in herd Pokemon in no time I bet, anything else you’d want to check out?” The little Dreepy had snuck closer to the window to look out, still nibbling.

“Well, there is this big ruin building with a massive old dead tree that’s I’d love to see. But it’s at the top of one of the mountains here. So it might be tricky getting to.” She mindlessly pet Coal as she slowly started seeing snow. “And I think there’s a small town that we could ask about lodging at. Day trips to the tundra and back by dark?”

“‘oh I do love a tree, that sounds interesting, you could always try to find a Pokemon who could get you up that mountain a bit easier?” Peach had planned to do just that, the cold sneaking in, she could feel her bad knee aching ever so slightly already, and almost exactly after that thought crossed her mind, Val crept over to radiate heat, sitting in her lap, easing the dull pain.

“perhaps we can camp out some of the time, it’d be nice to see what happens at night, what Pokemon come out, just perhaps not in any heavy weather if it can be avoided. I did take a look online, the village there is usually pretty open to travellers, think I noticed a B&B or two with vacancies posted, I’m sure we’ll find somewhere to stay.” By this point, the views had turned pure white, in the fields you could see grazing Pokemon, a herd of wooloo who almost blending in with the surroundings.

Devra spotter the wooloo right away, fawning over one of her favorite Pokémon. Coal picked up on his trainer’s excitement, his tail wagging happily as she told him what snow was like. “Oh I can’t wait to see Aliza’s face when she sees her first snow!”

“thats right, she’s not even seen a December yet, or a snowy route. Good thing you got your camera then isn’t it, I’m sure mom and pop would like to see her first experience with it, you know Cole hasn’t seen snow either before. Bet he’s real excited about now.” The pup must have felt something, seeing all this white for the first time. “‘what about you Dreepy, you seen snow before?” The little ghost type looked back, didn’t turn its body at all, but bent it’s neck fully back to look at the Professor upside down, giving no clear answer, which to her seemed like a big fat no, but perhaps he was a little shy about answering right away. “no matter, we’ll soon be in the thick of it.”

She giggled at the sight of the little dreepy. “He’s seen some light snow before. I caught him in the wild area. The weather there is always so weird. But he hasn’t seen this much before. This is going to be a big busy day.” She snapped a quiet picture of dreepy being cute, then one of Coal barking at the snow through the window.

The train began to turn a final corner, the tannoy alerting passengers to the upcoming station, the only stop on the journey coming up very soon.

“looks like we’re nearly there, ready to get going?” The trip had been only short, but outside it looked like a completely different region, so much snow and ice everywhere, nothing but pine trees. The woman grabbed her bags, not before waiting for the little Dreepy to return to the inside where it wrapped up in the spare clothes to keep warm. Val took to her shoulder as she usually did.

Devra nodded, standing up to gather her things. She then picked up Coal, holding his stout body in her arms to keep him from running of into the snow. “We’re ready. I’m so excited to see this area. I’ve read about it but they took forever to get it safe enough for more visitors.”

Safe enough wasn’t always entirely foolproof, and Peach was quietly happy she packed a first aid kit. She had heard some murmurs it was a little risky here, a lot of tough Pokemon roamed about.

“I hope you’re right, I’m sure the locals wouldn’t put people at risk.” The pair stepped off the train once the doors pinged open, the brisk cold air swept past, pulling them all out onto the platform. People came and went, and before long they became aware of the exits and where to head to next.

Devra took a slight lead of the two, following signs towards the little town. “Well, they did give all of us coming here a safety talk too. I just hope trainers actually listen. You gotta be smart about this place.” She then set Coal down and let the little guy run circles around the two humans. “I think I’ll wait to let Aliza our until we’re settled.”

With the pup thoroughly enjoying the snow, the trainers paused to check their phones, a map was needed for a moment, before they began to hear some loud ruckus just outside to the right of the station, sounded like a man and a young woman, peach didn’t even register it much, turning her back to the noise almost instinctually, trying to figure out which way to go. Val however was being nosey and sat on her shoulder judging the people making all the noise pretty hard from the look on her face.

“I think you’re right, we should find somewhere to stay before we really go out on a wild adventure.”

She nodded, looking at her own map on her Rotom phone, thanking the Pokémon inside for his help. “It looks like we head on that way.” She pointed to the road as it took a slight left turn. “Shouldn’t be more than a 20 minute walk.”

“‘sounds good to me, wonder what Pokemon we might see on the way?” Pocketing the phone and hoisting her bag up a bit, Peach began to take a few steps, noticing the pair who were making such noise earlier, avoiding them entirely, they seemed to be having a dad-daughter tiff that was no ones business. Onward, to the first route of the Crown Tundra!

Devra took a glance at the arguing people and sighed, hoping the wouldn’t bother her or the Professor. Coal bounded ahead as they walked, but kept in his trainer’s sight. “It’s really pretty here. Just look at all the ice on these pine needles!” She crunched her way to a tree and found an angle to catch light in the ice.

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teshamerkel · 3 years

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Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Seekers of Soul

Chapter 13 (23 Pages)

<< First | < Previous | Next >

Nia and Tobias travel to Afon’s Cap in search of the former human, Hazel.

For the first time in two weeks, Nia wakes up before Tobias does.

She’s confused when she realizes it, blinking bleary eyes at Tobias’ tail flame, his curled form fast asleep. She assumes that it must be the middle of the night, but when she rolls over and tries to go back to sleep, she finds that she can’t. She’s meeting Hazel today, after all! Excited nerves thrum under her skin like first-day-of-school jitters. How can she go back to sleep when she’s meeting another human who was turned into a Pokemon? Someone who understands exactly what she’s going through, who can tell her about how she adapted to the strangeness of the Pokemon world.

Giving up on sleep, Nia sits up. She considers reading one of the books she has checked out, but is stopped by a quiet rustling coming from the main room where Maggie sleeps. Nia frowns and pokes her head out of their little alcove, surprised to see Maggie’s out of her nest, stretching. The meganium stops as soon as she sees Nia.

“Oh! Sorry dear, I assumed you two would be gone by now.”

Nia’s heart drops as she glances at one of the small openings in the wall, noting the pale gray light of early morning. It’s past dawn? But Tobias is still asleep! Since the day Nia arrived in the Pokémon world, the charmander had woken up at the crack of dawn almost without fail. Maybe it had something to do with him being a fire type, but his internal clock seemed stubbornly tuned in to go off when the sun rose. And yet today of all days, when she’s planning to go to Afon’s Cap, he’s miraculously asleep later than usual?

Funny how that works.

An unfamiliar wave of anger rises up in the riolu’s chest, hot and choking, and she turns to glare at the still-sleeping Pokemon. He could just be exhausted, sure, but after how many times he’s made it clear he doesn’t care about finding Hazel? She doesn’t trust it. But Nia needs him to lead her to Afon’s Cap, so she kneels at Tobias’ side and roughly shakes his arm. He grumbles and bats her hand away.

“If you don’t get up, I’m leaving for Afon’s Cap without you,” she says, only half-bluffing. She still doesn’t know exactly why he’d decided to come along in the first place, but hopes that whatever reasoning he has is strong enough to get him moving. She doesn’t think she’ll be able to follow a map well enough on her own—and honestly, she just doesn’t wants to make the journey alone. Tobias is poor company, but at least he is company.

Seeing no response from the charmander, Nia shakes her head, grabs their satchel, and moves into the main area to make sure everything is packed. Maggie is busy removing the leaf shades from the crystals to brighten the room, but shoots her a questioning look.

Nia doesn’t think she has the willpower to avoid snapping her explanation (which is the last thing she’d want to do to poor Maggie), so she just huffs and continues organizing their supplies. They aren’t going into a dungeon or anything, but Xander and Andyn had said to be well-stocked for long trips, just in case. So she counts their seeds and berries and apples, carefully tucks away their badges, and looks into the little sack of coins she earned from missions. It’s not a lot according to Tobias, but it’s something. She carefully folds up the map of the area loaned to her by Xander’s team (more specifically Felix, who’d offered it up with an easy smile and another wink).

Nia reaches a soft piece of cloth last: her scarlet attack scarf. For a moment, she considers finally putting it on. Then she thinks of Tobias, sleeping away the one time she really asks something of him, and she’s overcome by anger all over again. Growling under her breath, Nia stuffs it back into the bag.

“Guess I’m going on my own, Maggie,” Nia sighs, standing and slinging the pack over her shoulder. She turns around to see Maggie’s back to her, long neck ducking into the alcove.

Tobias’ voice speaks up, sleepy and muffled. “Maggie? What’re you—hey!”

Maggie backs up, Tobias held in one of her vines like a flailing kitten. She drops him to the ground.

“You said you would take Nia to Afon’s Cap,” Maggie reminds him, hard tone stopping Tobias’ ranting. The charmander, still blinking sleep from his eyes, frowns up at her, then looks over at Nia.

For a moment, Nia wonders if maybe he really did just oversleep, but there’s no dawning recognition on his face. He just snorts and looks away. “I know that. You didn’t have to wake me up so early for it.”

“You’re always up early! Why should today be any different?” Nia snaps.

Tobias actually jumps, head swinging around to stare at her as if she’s grown a second head. Nia immediately feels guilty for her outburst and softens her tone. “You said it was a long walk, right? We need to leave early then.”

Tobias still seems thrown off—whether from being literally picked up out of his bed or from being snapped at by Nia—because he just looks away and mumbles, “Yeah, I guess.”

“Well, I’m ready to go, so...”

Tobias shrugs. “So ‘m I.”

“Right.” Nia nods, trying to sound confident and failing miserably. Her gaze flicks to Maggie.

The meganium simply smiles, all encouragement and warmth, and nudges Tobias forward with a vine. “Go on, then. You two have a long trip ahead of you. You have snacks packed, right?”

Nia nods, smiling gratefully. She meets Tobias’ grumpy gaze before turning and marching out of the room. It feels...weird. Usually Tobias leads them on all of their missions, but he clearly wants no part of this trip, so instead Nia sets a brisk pace through the medical ward, ears picking up the dragging footsteps of the half-asleep charmander behind her. She only hesitates once on directions, and they make it down to the bottom floor without taking a wrong turn, thank God.

If only it wasn’t so uncomfortably silent between them.

Nia hesitates at the many tunnel openings, and Tobias grunts before setting off down one. Hopefully the one that leads them most quickly to Afon’s Cap. In the muted quiet of the tunnels, their footsteps seem unnaturally loud. Nia fidgets with the satchel strap, eyeing Tobias’ back.

She has long since given up on friendly conversation with him, reaching the end of her patience after days of being snubbed and snapped at every time she opened her mouth. Instead of making Tobias happier, though, her silence almost seemed to put the charmander more on edge than ever. If that was even possible. Their last few missions have been filled with suffocating silence, only interrupted by the occasional tense comment.

Maybe the two of them just aren’t meant to work out as a Seeker team. He’s just so...bitter. And she doesn’t know how to fix that.

“You brought my money, right?” Tobias asks. Nia jumps.

“Y-Yeah.”

And back to silence. They reach the end of the tunnel and find an unfamiliar Pokémon waiting there to take them to the surface. Nia was kind of hoping it would be the hippo they’d met on her first trip into the guild.

Instead, the Pokémon that nods at them seems to be some type of...mole? He’s twice as big as her and Tobias, dark brown with red stripes and what look like sharp, drill-like bits as his claws, as well as one “drill” sitting on his head like a helmet. Nia will never get used to Pokemon biology.

“Going up?” The Pokemon rasps, voice deep. Tobias nods, and the mole gestures for them to step closer to his side. When they do, he slams his claws down into the dirt, and the slab of ground beneath them shoots up. Nia tries to keep her eyes squinted open this time, curious even as her stomach flips. It’s dark, but she thinks the earth seems to cave and mold around their group as if they were surrounded by a bubble, moving up to the surface. It’s incredible.

They emerge into chilly dawn air, and Nia immediately relaxes, taking a deep breath. Looks like they’re under the same overhang they’d met the hippo in. Tobias hops out into the forest, and Nia gives the mole a smile and a quiet word of thanks before following. Tobias doesn’t wait for her, immediately setting a course through ferns and dewy undergrowth. Nia follows, pushing aside leaves and shivering as the drops soak into her fur. Tobias’ skin is steaming ever so slightly.

The forest is relatively calm this early in the morning, but the world slowly wakes up around them. As the sun starts to climb into the sky, Pokémon around them begin their days. The riolu catches sight of a particularly beautiful butterfly Pokémon that she notes to find the name of later.

The sounds of Pokémon talking and moving about the forest becomes a comforting background noise. The blatant silence between Nia and Tobias suddenly doesn’t seem as noticeable, and the riolu finds herself relaxing as they continue their walk. Maybe today won’t be so bad after all.

__________________________________________________

The two of them walk for hours through dense forest, occasionally crossing open fields and rocky gullies. At one point they have to cross a low stream, and Tobias cautiously jumps from rock to rock to avoid touching the water. Nia stifles a laugh and, after a moment of consideration, decides to wade through the cool water. Tobias carefully keeps his distance from her, making Nia roll her eyes. She’d read about how dangerous water could be to fire types, especially those with open flames on their bodies. Of course she wasn’t going to try and get him wet.

When she emerges on the other side, fur heavy with water, her body seems to react before her mind. She manages to check that Tobias is out of the splash zone, and then she shakes like a dog, water flying everywhere. It makes her a bit dizzy, and she blinks, surprised by her own action.

Tobias doesn’t seem to think anything of it, just visibly relaxing when his feet touch the grass again. Nia supposes she shouldn’t be too surprised—her body has its own instincts now. Her ears and tail broadcast her emotions, and she periodically finds herself smoothing the fur on her arms or legs absentmindedly. That should probably bother her more than it does.

They stop shortly after that to eat lunch. The sun is high overhead and it’s incredibly warm, so it’s probably around noon. They pick a small clearing in the woods with some boulders to settle down on, pulling out the snacks she’d packed the night before. A few berries, something baked that tastes a lot like a veggie pizza, and a mash of oats and nuts. Pretty tasty spread from the cafeteria.

“So how long until we reach Afon’s Cap?” Nia asks through a mouthful of oran berry. She’s busy spreading out the map of the area, tracing her claw from the center mark of the guild to the east, where Afon’s Cap is visible on the map. The title is written above what looks to be a large lake with a river running east, towards an ocean. She definitely wants to see that someday. She doesn’t thinks she’s ever been to the sea.

Tobias leans over and frowns at the map, finishing his mash. He points at an area just west of Afon’s Cap. “We should be here. Maybe an hour’s walk yet.”

Nia grins. “We’re so close!”

Tobias doesn’t answer, going back to his food, clearly not sharing her enthusiasm.

“So Maggie said there are shops and stuff there, right? That it’s primarily a merchant area and travelers’ crossroads?”

“Mhm.”

“What’s it like?” Nia asks. He seems too familiar with the area to have not been there before. “Pretty busy, I’m guessing?”

“You’ll see it yourself soon,” Tobias growls.

“Well...Yeah, I know, but...”

Tobias doesn’t answer, so Nia just sighs, going back to her meal and their usual silence with a heavy heart. It’d been such a nice day in the woods that she’d almost forgotten who she was traveling with.

Tobias finishes his meal first, and stretches out on the sunbaked stone to enjoy its warmth while Nia eats her berries. She’s excited to meet Hadley’s old friend, for sure, but anxiety blooms in her belly as they get closer. What should she even ask the other human-turned-Pokemon? How does she even bring up that she’s in the same boat? The riolu wishes she could talk with Tobias about it, but she knows better by now.

When Nia’s finished, they head off again without a word between them.

__________________________________________________

It’s maybe another hour of walking when Nia registers the landscape changing around them. It’s not too drastic, but the dry, yellowed forest becomes slightly more...lush. Even a bit swampy, in spots. They are closer to the sea, and they’ve passed more tiny creeks than Nia’s seen in the forest closer to the guild....so they must be getting close to the port. The nervous butterflies in her stomach act up again at the thought.

Sure enough, only a short bit later Nia can see open sky through the thinning trees, can hear something...roaring. A steady rumble of noise. And under that, the distant chatter of voices and movement. The two of them emerge from the treeline, and Nia’s breath catches at the sight of Afon’s Cap below them.

The ground at their feet drops off steeply into the valley before them, and there’s a lake so wide Nia can barely see the edges of it. It’s large enough for it to have waves, clear water rippling and flashing in the sun between a dappling coat of lush green lily pads. It trails off into the horizon, where it likely drains into the river and onward into the sea. To their left, the source of the roaring becomes clear. From the rocky cliffside of the valley walls, a giant, powerful waterfall flows from an underground channel.

But even the beauty of the waterways, framed by expansive woodland and open blue sky, is nothing compared to the life brought to the area by the little town itself. It’s clearly a port, with docking areas and small boats bobbing peacefully where they’re anchored. A scaffolding-like structure of wooden walkways, stairs and tall, stilt-like supports create a boardwalk of small, bright buildings flush against the rocky sides of the valley itself.

And there are Pokémon everywhere! Sure, the guild has a huge number of Pokémon moving throughout it every day, but something about this area is noticeably different, even from a distance. Unlike the organized groupings at the guild, centered around business and exploration, these Pokémon seem like, well...normal people. A crowd.

Merchants travel by one another, pausing to exchange goods from their giant packs, travelers and civilians alike buy and sell, and children chase each other through the walkways, laughing and playing games. Nia catches sight of two bright yellow mouse Pokémon shrieking happily as they weave through the crowd with practiced ease.

Linens hang on clotheslines to dry, small herb and flower baskets sit outside of the tiny wooden huts, shops are labeled by wooden signs detailing their wares, and the scent of heavenly baked goods reaches Nia’s nose. And is that the distant lilt of...music she hears somewhere?

“This is incredible!” Nia breathes, sure that she’s slack-jawed right now and that Tobias is judging her. She doesn’t even care.

Tobias grunts and moves to take the wooden stairs down the side of the valley wall so they can reach one of the bridges leading to the town. Nia hurries to follow him, almost slipping when she’s unable to take her eyes off the lively port. They make it to the bottom after a minute or two, stepping onto the wooden bridgework. It’s warm and sturdy under Nia’s feet.

“So are there like...Pokémon carpenters? Construction workers who build places like these?” She asks. A gorgeous white and red goldfish Pokémon is swimming under the surface of the water nearby, flickering into view between patches of huge lily pads, and it glides under their bridge to follow a blue Pokemon moving too fast for Nia to properly see. Makes sense that lots of water types would flock to this town.

“Duh,” Tobias mumbles, eyeing the water Pokémon as well with a cagey look. “How else would we build things?”

Well, true. The Lexym Guild’s tree is a bit of a different matter, but she’s seen Hadley’s hut and a few other locals homes, all built with a sturdy wooden construction. Still, Nia can’t even find it in herself to be irritated by Tobias’ condescending tone. This place is just so beautiful! It’s breezy and the air smells so nice. She watches as a water type Pokemon slips into the lake from one of the docks, swimming towards the cliffside where a shallow cave is carved into the surface before diving deeper and out of sight. For the first time, Nia notices a couple of small wooden signs jutting up from the water.

Nia gasps and darts to the edge of the bridge, tip-toeing at the railing to stare at the sign. She tries to peer between the lily pads, but can’t really see much from her perspective. “Oh my gosh, no! Are there underwater shops?! That’s so cool! Look at this!”

“I’m good back here,” Tobias grumbles. Nia glances at him over her shoulder but gets distracted by the fact that her own tail is, uh...wagging? Whoa. It slows to a stop with her confusion, but before she can think about it too deeply Tobias speaks up.

“C’mon already. The sooner we get this over with the sooner we can get some food and find a place to stay.”

Nia perks up despite the charmander’s lack of enthusiasm, bouncing back over to him. As they move along the bridge, Nia trails her paw along the wooden railing, happily peering down into the waves and watching the lily pads rock like flat green boats. Something flickers in the water—or in the reflection of it? It’s just a quick flash, huge and dark and almost snake-like, but when Nia blinks it’s gone again. She peers up into the open sky, squinting when she only sees bird Pokémon flying around. Huh.

They continue to the nearest stairway leading up to the open upper level, passing a few groups of Pokémon on the way. Nia’s quick, excited steps pass by Tobias, and she takes the lead as they climb.

“So how’re you gonna find this Pokemon anyways?”

Nia hums, looking around excitedly. “I was thinking we could probably just ask around, right? If she lives here, then surely some of the other residents know her! Being a former human seems to garner a lot of attention.”

“August told you to be careful about broadcasting that you’re a human,” Tobias objects.

Nia falters. “O-Oh. Right. Well...he did say that the area around the Haven is usually pretty safe, right? And I don’t have to tell anyone that I’m a human. Just that I’m looking for one named Hazel.”

Tobias grumbles, but doesn’t argue her plan anymore. “That could still take forever.”

Okay, that comment finally gets under her skin. Can’t he just let her enjoy this?

“Won’t take long if we stop talking and start looking,” She chirps, sickly sweet. The charmander huffs in response.

Then they’re on the main level of the wooden boardwalk. The crowd around them is almost daunting, with so many Pokémon laughing and talking and haggling with one another. Plus, so many of them are huge compared to her and Tobias! A giant fuschia centipede Pokemon walks by them and she swears she can feel their short footsteps shaking the wood under her feet.

Nia frowns, perking her ears and looking one way and then the other. Where to even start?

“We’ll cover more ground if we split up,” Tobias points out.

“Oh.” Nia blinks at him. He’s technically right, and she knows he didn’t really want to come along in the first place, but...it’d still be nice to have a familiar face around in such a new area.

Relenting, Nia nods. “Wanna take left or right?”

Tobias glances both ways before choosing to go left, towards the distant sound of music. “I’ll start on this side. Toss me my money.”

Nia does, but then stops him as he starts to walk off. “Wait! How’re we gonna find each other later?”

Tobias shrugs. “I’m sure we’ll run into each other if we just look.”

Nia doesn’t really have a better solution, so she hesitantly nods. Tobias turns and vanishes into the crowd. Well. Looks like she’s going this alone. Something in her chest sinks, but she tells herself she should really be used to this by now.

Nia takes a deep breath, looking around. It’s hard to see anything with the crowd of Pokémon towering over her, so her best bet would probably be to just skirt the inside of the walkway curving around the valley, near the shops and houses. That’s where she needs to be asking around, anyways. Even if a very large part of her wants to go over to the nearby crowd and watch what looks like a small roadside magic show.

Nia steels her resolve and lets the lively atmosphere of the town wash over her as she weaves between Pokémon and over to the shops and houses lining the cliff face. They’re impressively built, if a bit rustic. Colorful and wooden, with impressively stable architecture. Carved signs hang from hooks in doorways, and most of the front doors sit wide open to invite visitors and customers inside.

Nia spots a shop bursting at the seams with flowers, and peeks into the open front door to find what looks to be, unsurprisingly, a flower shop. Some are live and arranged in beautiful bouquets, some are dried and coated in a sort of plaster to preserve them, and some are pressed between books or decorating other trinkets. Nia resists the urge to run a gentle finger over the petals and wanders through the shop, wide-eyed.

“Can I help you, Riolu?”

Nia jumps, turning to find a round yellow duck Pokemon approaching her with a polite demeanor. She’s small, not too much taller than Nia herself, with a wide beak and a small tuft of hair atop her head.

“U-Um, yes. I actually had a question about this town. I’m trying to find a Pokémon named Hazel? Former human? She lives here.”

Nia is relieved when the duck Pokémon doesn’t react negatively, just humming a thoughtful noise as her gaze trails up to the ceiling. “I don’t know of any Hazels living in Afon’s Cap. And certainly none who claim to be a former human.”

The shopkeeper must see the way Nia slumps at the news, because she offers a sympathetic smile and adds, “Why don’t you ask around the other shops? Maybe it’s just slipping my mind.”

Nia nods, trying to look grateful and not massively disappointed, and thanks the duck before heading out the door. A flash of yellow slips under her feet, and Nia trips forward with a yelp.

“Oh! Sorry!” A high, childish voice says.

“You okay?” A second chimes.

Nia rolls over, surprised to see the two tiny yellow rodent Pokémon that had caught her eye earlier. They both look more curious than concerned, peering at her with wide blue eyes and twitching angular ears tipped in black. They have rosy pink circles on their cheeks, like blush marks. They’re so cute Nia thinks she might explode on the spot. They kind of remind her of the shinx kids, except younger.

The children exchange a look, and Nia hurries to sit up. “Y-Yeah, I’m fine! Sorry for tripping over you. Are you two okay?”

The kids nod enthusiastically, suddenly all smiles again.

“We were playing chase, but we forgot to stay away from the doorways.”

“Nana always tells us to stay outta Pokemons’ way so we don’t get stepped on.”

Nia nods understandingly. “Having a little too much fun, huh?”

One of them giggles, cheeks sparking. “Yeah!”

“You’re nice,” the other one notes, staring up at her. “Sometimes the grown-ups don’t want to talk to us or, or they get mad when we play near them.”

Nia smiles, feeling her chest ache with longing and fill with warmth all at once. She really likes kids. Was she close to some in her human life? “Nah, I get it. You two seem pretty cool to me.”

At that, they both grin. One of them spins, taps the other, and then takes off into the crowd. “Tag! You’re it, Theo!”

“Hey!” Theo bolts after his friend (brother, maybe?), and Nia watches them go, wincing with concern as they scamper under more gigantic, heavy Pokémon. She wishes they’d be more careful.

Shaking her head and noting her uplifted mood, Nia straightens her satchel. Right! She can’t give up after checking just one shop. This place is huge! Surely someone knows who Hazel is, right? There can’t be that many former humans floating around!

__________________________________________________

There isn’t a single Pokémon named Hazel living in Afon’s Cap. The sun is wheeling much lower in the sky than when Nia had first started searching, and she’s just about ready to give up. Sitting under a tented area for customers, she picks at the chesto pie she’d ordered from a cute little local shop, sniffling back tears.

She’d searched for hours through the small port town, wandering through the crowds, investigating shops, and even politely knocking at a few homes’ open doorways to ask about Hazel. If Nia were here just to sightsee, she’s sure she would be having the time of her life. There are stores and merchants for everything—books, food, toys, accessories and cloaks, items that supposedly help with battling, dungeon items—literally anything she could ask for! She’d thought with so many Pokemon around, surely finding someone who knows Hazel couldn’t be that difficult.

And yet, nothing. She really wishes she’d thought to ask Hadley what species Hazel was, but she’d assumed it would be easy enough to ask about a former human. Maybe Tobias was right. Hadley’s nice enough, but he said himself that his memory is going nowadays. Maybe he was wrong about Hazel living here. Maybe she doesn’t even exist at all.

Speaking of Tobias—the charmander is also nowhere to be found. Nia had kept an eye out for his distinct orange coloring and bright red scarf, and hadn’t caught a single glimpse of him. She wants to think that means he’s just hard at work trying to help her, but Nia’s an optimist, not an idiot. She has a feeling that Tobias is likely avoiding her, probably just whiling away his time until they can leave again.

Nia wants to think better of him, but she can’t keep pushing away the truth. Tears finally fall from her eyes, rolling down her cheeks as she swallows back a whimper. There are still Pokémon around. She doesn’t want to have a complete meltdown here. But bottling up her sadness and her disappointment, with both Tobias and Hazel...it’s gotta come out somehow.

She wipes at her eyes and her nose, sniffing wetly and taking deep, shaky breaths. She’s a mess, but she’d had such high hopes about Hazel. She just...she just wants someone who understands what she’s going through. Who can relate to the aching, tearing pain in her chest and the gaping hole in her memory.

“Mama! That’s the nice lady we told you about!”

“Why’s she cryin’? Is she okay?”

Nia lifts her head, blinking away her tears. She knows those voices.

It’s the two yellow mouse children from earlier in the day, tugging at a larger yellow rodent’s paws. The riolu just stares at them, uncomprehending as the children drag the older Pokémon over with them. She’s very pretty, cheeks a darker shade of red and eyes a honey-brown, ears longer and slimmer, and tail in a distinct lightning bolt shape. She looks familiar, actually.

One of the kids hops up on the bench beside Nia, leaning in close and frowning up at her face. “Why’re you crying?”

“Yeah! You seemed happy earlier!” The other chirps, appearing on Nia’s other side.

“W-Well, I, uh—“ Nia stops, casting a nervous glance at the kids’ mother. She looks uncomfortable. Good first impression, Nia. “I was sort of looking for someone, but I couldn’t find them. I-It’s fine, I’ll be okay.”

The little Pokémon perk up.

“Well, we know everyone here! We can help! Who are you looking for?”

“And if we don’t know, Mama does!”

Nia looks back and forth between the two, knowing what answer she’ll get to her question but having a feeling that they won’t let her wallow alone until she satisfies their curiosity.

“I’m, uh...looking for someone named Hazel. But she must not live here anymore.”

The kids slump, ears flattening into a pitiful look.

“Oh.”

“We don’t know any Hazels.”

“Hey, it’s okay. I appreciate you asking. You did your best,” Nia soothes, offering a watery smile.

“Excuse me, but did you say Hazel?”

Nia jumps, suddenly remembering the other adult in the situation. Shoot. She turns back to the kids’ mother, but instead of discomfort, now her soft features are...intense. Focused.

The riolu blinks at the change in demeanor. “U-Um. Yes?”

The rodent stares her down, and Nia swallows, shrinking away ever-so-slightly.

“Theo, Tommy, go back to Nana Alice’s house.”

“What?” One of the kids chirps, sounding indignant. “Why? We wanna stay here!”

“Yeah!”

Their mom turns a familiar look on the two, face stern and eyebrows lifting ever so slightly, as if to ask, Do you really want to test me?

Immediately, the kids quiet down. “Yes, Mama,” they both mumble, hopping back to the ground. They exchange a look, give Nia a tiny wave, then scamper away.

The riolu turns back to the kids’ mom, eyes wide and stomach churning. Did she do something wrong?

“Why are you looking for a Hazel?” The Pokémon asks, voice hard.

Nia flinches, looking down at her paws. “I-I’m, um—“

“Look at me.”

Nia slowly obeys, making eye contact with the rodent and feeling incredibly small despite their similar sizes. “I...I wanted to talk to h-her.”

“About?”

“I...heard that there was a Pokémon who lived here named Hazel, who used to be a, um...” She lowers her voice to a whisper. “A human.”

The rodent continues to stare Nia down, and the riolu’s mind races as she tries to figure out why this Pokémon would have such a reaction to the name when no one else did, even before she mentioned Hazel being human.

Wait.

Nia straightens in her seat. “D-Do you know her? Please, you have to help me find her!”

The rodent’s expression edges towards something defensive. Angry? “Tell me why you want to speak to her.”

So she does know something! Nia stands, desperately clasping her hands in front of her. “Please! I need to talk with her. I’m a human too and—I mean, I was a human—and she’s the only one I know of around here who’s the same!”

Immediately, the Pokémon’s aggressive demeanor falls away, her expression smoothing out to something surprised. There’s a beat of silence, and then, almost suspiciously, she asks, “What’s your favorite movie?”

Nia blinks. “Uh...”

“Favorite movie,” the rodent prompts again.

Nia swallows hard. “I-I’m not sure? Um, I think I liked Disney movies? It’s hard to remember, so—wait, do you even know what a movie is?”

To Nia’s surprise, the rodent’s hard expression breaks as she laughs. When she’s done she meets Nia’s baffled gaze with a warm smile, the expression lighting up her already pretty features. “No, not really. But I do recognize that name. Follow me, I’ll take you to Hazel.”

The Pokémon turns and walks away, and Nia hurriedly gathers her things, stuffing them into her satchel and running to catch up to the rodent.

“W-What—how do you—who—?”

The rodent quirks a smile Nia’s way. “Sorry for the cold welcome. I’m Margot. You are?”

“N-Nia.”

“Mm. Was that your human name?”

Nia casts a quick glance around to make sure no one is listening in before answering. “N-No. Um. Actually, maybe? I-I’m not sure. I lost my memory when I came here. Woke up here?”

The rodent gives her a sympathetic look. “I’m sorry. That must be hard.”

Nia isn’t sure whether to laugh or be embarrassed, suddenly recalling that Margot’s first impression of her was while she was in the middle of an emotional meltdown. “Kind of, yeah. Don’t get me wrong, this world is beautiful, and most people are really nice! But it’s, um...”

“Different.”

Nia nods, eyeing Margot. She has such an easy understanding of Nia’s experience. Like she’s heard all of this before.

“So, um...how do you know Hazel? I tried asking around town but no one else seems to recognize the name.”

Margot hums a contemplative noise. “Hazel...lays low. She doesn’t like to be bothered about where she came from or have to deal with accusations that she’s lying, so the town doesn’t know she used to be human. Where did you hear about her?”

“F-From a, uh, Pokémon named Hadley. Lives near the guild. Giant bug?”

Margot sighs. “Somehow I knew that’s what you’d say. Hadley doesn’t know how to keep his mouth shut.”

The two of them come upon a homey-looking hut that Nia had passed earlier in the day. It’s a shop, but Nia had assumed it to be closed, since its door had been shut tight. But now it’s cracked open and warm golden light spills out to touch the dusk. Margot swings opens the door and motions for Nia to go inside. She does, stopping and looking around in awe.

It’s a...woodwork shop? There are wooden sculptures and figures littered about the room, lining shelves and tables, larger pieces sitting in corners and wherever space allows. There’s a particularly impressive sculpture in the corner that’s twice as tall as Nia herself, with a beautifully carved scene of flowing water and whiskered, crowned fish Pokémon jumping upstream. Many of the smaller pieces look to be elegant carvings and sculptures of Pokémon, too. They’re amazing. Did Margot make these?

The entire front of the shop is crowded, packed to the brim with artwork and warmth, the smell of wood and lacquer filling the air. Nia only takes a few steps inside, trailing behind Margot, before an older, feminine voice calls out from the back room.

“Mar? Why did you send the boys back on their own?”

A moment later, a new Pokémon enters the doorway leading to the back of the hut. She’s clearly related to Margot and her sons, with yellow cheeks and ocean-blue eyes. Her fur is a rich, dark gold hue, her ears a soft fluffy yellow, paws tipped in cream. She’s beautiful, but her fur is streaked with white, her short pelt beginning to hang off her frame with age. Most incredibly, she’s levitating. She’s sat comfortably on the flat of her own wide yellow tail, floating into the room. Is this Nana Alice?

Nia stops, and the older Pokémon does as well, clearly surprised. Margot moves forward to place a gentle hand on the new Pokemon’s arm.

“Mama, this is Nia,” she explains, voice soft. “Former human. Hadley told her to look for Hazel.”

Nia isn’t sure how to read the flash of emotions that pass over the older Pokémon’s face at that news. After a moment, they settle into something solemn and soft, almost sad.

“So you’re a human? My name is Alice. Why don’t you come on back and have a cup of tea with me?”

Nia nods shyly, following the two rodents into the back area and murmuring a quiet, “Thank you.”

Nia’s mind is racing, trying to figure out how these women know Hazel, if maybe she lives nearby. But she doesn’t want to be rude, so she bites her tongue and looks around instead. There’s a tiny cooking setup on one side of the room, with a table and an area to light a fire beneath a makeshift tea kettle. Other pots and bowls sit neatly stacked nearby. On the other side of the room, a simple but startlingly human-like bedframe sits, with woven blankets and a bed of hay laid on top.

“Mama!”

“You brought the crying lady home?”

Nia looks up, startled. Theo and Tommy are peering over the edge of a loft-like structure overhead. They wave at Nia, and she cracks a smile, waving back.

“It’s past your bedtime, boys!” Margot calls up, somewhere between amused and authoritative. She turns a wry smile towards Nia and her mother. “Let me know if you two need anything.” With that, Margot scampers up the ladder to the loft, and the boys shriek with laughter, ducking out of sight.

The older rodent Pokémon, Alice, smiles fondly, turning to the makeshift stove. “Please, have a seat, Nia. Do you like tea? I have Sitrus and Pecha leaf.”

“O-Oh. Um. I think I like tea, but I’ve never had those kinds before.”

Alice hums. “I bet you’d like Pecha. Give me a few minutes.”

Nia takes a seat on one of the cushions, peering curiously at the decorative wooden figures sitting in a group at the center of the table. One of them looks exactly like Margot, a small bundle with distinct angular ears cradled in her arms. One of the others has an impressive likeness to the older Pokemon currently making her tea. The other two Pokémon, however, are unfamiliar to Nia. One of them is a taller weasel-like Pokemon, with two tails at its back and fins on its arms. Elegant age lines are lightly carved into its face. The second is a round rabbit-like Pokemon with a ball-like tail and a bubble pattern on its belly. Another identical bundle with pointed ears is gathered in its arms. They’re all incredibly lifelike, and Nia leans in, turning this way and that to try and see them better without disturbing the arrangement.

“Do you like them?”

Nia jumps back, but Alice is smiling, gaze fond. “Y-Yes! Did Margot make them?”

The older Pokémon laughs, softly. “No, those are my carvings. The shop products are made by the both of us.”

“Wow,” Nia breathes. “They’re beautiful!”

Alice hums again, eyeing the figurines. “I created those when my grandsons were born. The floatzel is my husband. The azumarill is my daughter’s wife.”

Maybe she sees the lost look on Nia’s face, because she adds, “Oh, I apologize. Sometimes I forget what it was like to be here so suddenly. The floatzel is the weasel. The azumarill is the rabbit.”

Wait—weasel? Rabbit? No regular Pokemon would know those terms. Nia’s head snaps up, the puzzle pieces in her mind clicking together. Of course. This is why no one knew who ‘Hazel’ was. This explains Margot’s odd behavior and her knowledge of Nia’s situation, and ‘Alice’s’ reaction to her identity as a human.

Nia stares at the old woman, hardly able to breathe. “You’re Hazel.”

#pokemon mystery dungeon #pmd #pokemon #riolu #pmd seekers of soul #tesha draws #tesha writes

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sundaeserenade · 3 years

Text

So a few weeks ago I wrote a thread on twitter about wanting to write a reguri soulmate fic where they decide to not be soulmates and make the decision for themselves. like it’s a mutual thing that they both decide on instead of it being this sign from the universe or fate or whatever. basically, they just go against fate.

and i tried writing out that idea and forcing it into the standard path of r/g/y/fr/lg but i ended up not liking that and i didn’t like a few other things that i did. so this was a learning experience! if i ever write this, it’ll have to be an actual..au with no canon ties. which is probably better because i can do whatever i want with the world building!

but i wrote 2.3k words... and i’m not going to post this on ao3 bc it’s not finished and it never will be. it’s not polished and it never will be, but i figured i should post it here so that it’s somewhere, at least.

They were considered to be two of the lucky ones. Finding one’s soulmate so early on in life is a blessing from the universe, a sign that their bond is under the ever watchful gaze of the divine. Luck will follow them, surely. What do they have left to despair over? What do they have to fear? The greatest challenge of their lives has already been solved, and so they are told to walk freely and without pressure clinging to their shoulders.

They found each other at the fine age of six, and from now on, they will be blessed and find wealth.

“I don’t believe any of it,” Green whispers. He keeps his voice low, eyes darting around the blanket fort they’d built in Red’s living room. The only light they have is a single flashlight that keeps flicking on and off due to low battery. Red’s in charge of turning it off and on in hopes that it’ll last just a minute longer while Green is pouring over the books he’d taken from the bookshelf at his grandfather’s house.

They’re all self-help books with titles like How to Find Your Soulmate and Gut Feelings Can Get in the Way of Love and other crap that Red doesn’t care for. Green turns pages and looks at indexes, his mouth forming words but no sound coming out. He skims over paragraphs meant for people twice his age to read, but Green’s smart, always has been, and he’s handling the bulk of the work while Red turns the flashlight on and off again.

Green stops on a page and Red leans forward to read the chapter title: Life is Always Better with a Soulmate! Green scoffs and rolls his eyes. “That can’t be true. What about those couples that break up? Your mom and dad did, right Red?”

Red nods, lips thinning. There’s a nervousness in his heart, heightened by the darkness that comes and goes with the dying of the flashlight. All of these books are telling lies and the adults believe them. But both he and Green know that it’s wrong, that soulmates aren’t all that they’re cracked up to be.

After all, when he’d first met Green, when they’d first shook hands and looked into each other’s eyes, their bond was formed.

It felt like… It felt like what volcanoes erupting looks like. A loud, earth-shaking feeling that filled Red with shock and fear of what was to come. It felt like the air was being forced out of his lungs, like an ekans squeezing a rattata. It felt like being lost in the woods at night and getting an expensive toy as a birthday present. It was frightening and too much all at once, so much so that they both jumped back, startled and scared.

But it was a bond being formed under the eyes of the universe. A pact being sealed without their consent or understanding. They had found their soulmate, and the elation and joy swept over Pallet Town like a wind with Red and Green staring at each other in confusion through all of it.

Green is Red’s best friend, but he can’t say for sure if that’s because of the bond or because Green likes to talk about pokémon with him. There’s no one else around who has such a strong interest in the creatures, but Green will flaunt his knowledge and sneak them into his grandfather’s lab to look at some of them. They fed a growlithe together, they ran from a nidoran together, but Red doesn’t feel that special feeling again.

“I don’t feel it either,” Green admitted to him when Red had written out his question. “Maybe that’s all we’ll ever feel. Maybe it’s normal.”

There are no marks to make the process of finding soulmates easier. It’s a feeling, it’s a gaze, it’s a touch that one feels when they meet their special someone. Because of this, everyone is overly friendly. Shaking hands and hugging strangers is commonplace. Eye contact is expected, and Red is secretly relieved to have met Green because now he can avoid meeting people’s eyes.

Everywhere around them, people are almost desperate to find their one. It’s so deeply ingrained in their way of living and looking at the world. So Green wonders and ponders and thinks. Red asking that question only opened up other possibilities, and Green is curious and intelligent, so he runs with it in search of the truth.

Which brings them to the blanket fort and the lies printed in black ink. The two of them sit there comparing what they’ve experienced in their lives to what the world at large believes. Red’s parents were no longer together, and yet they’d been soulmates. What does it mean? They’d been told repeatedly that once they found their special someone, the world would right itself, the universe would sing their song and they’d face little to no hardships.

“It’s a lie,” Green spits, closing the book with a loud slam. “They’ve been lying to us, Red.”

Red puts down the flashlight and reaches over to take Green’s hand.

There’s no spark or visions of celebration to differentiate the touch from any other one.

When Green turns seven, he puts distance between them.

When Green turns eight, he starts being mean.

When they both turn eleven, they begin their pokémon journeys.

It’s a monumental undertaking and when he was younger, Red had thought he and Green would face it side by side. But now, Green runs forward, spewing taunts in his wake. There’s no link between them that offers Red a peek into what Green’s really feeling, no sign given by their bond that could explain his behavior. Red is left alone, confused and hurt by his own soulmate shunning and belittling him every chance he gets.

Red keeps walking because that’s what he’s always done. He catches pokémon, forges bonds with them, and trudges through grass and mud and rain to get where he needs to go. It’s fun being outside so much. He gets to be on his own, away from people and it’s not seen as him being strange or weird. Pokémon aren’t afraid of him. Pokémon don’t whisper hurtful things behind his back. It’s him, his team, and the four badges in his case.

That is, until the foreboding air and eerie light of Lavender Town comes creeping closer. An unsettling presence hangs over the town like a smog, and Red finds himself thrust into the city's problems as he chases Team Rocket. And in doing so, he runs into his soulmate once more in the Pokémon Tower.

Red has a reason for being here; he’s been chasing Team Rocket thugs his entire journey. Green, however… Well. There’s only two reasons for visiting the Pokémon Tower, but Red doesn’t pry. Green tries once again at intimidation, and it ends as it always has previously; Green hiding his hurt behind a cracking mask and Red never being able to find the right words to say.

And yet, when he leaves Lavender Town after driving out Team Rocket and saving Mr. Fuji, he spots Green on Route 7, leaning against a tree. It’s not like Green to stick around in places where there’s no gym, so Red is confused...until he understands that Green’s been waiting for him.

A feeling of dread weighs him down. Was their fight at the Pokémon Tower not enough? Were the insults not enough? Red has had enough, and moves to the left to give Green a wide berth. He doesn’t want to battle or deal with the complex feelings that follow. He’s spent enough time here. He needs to go.

“Red.”

Green’s voice stops him. It’s not because of the bond or any other false truth that’s been shoved down his throat. At one point, Green had been his best friend. And now, he still remains Red’s soulmate. Red keeps handing out chances for change, opportunities to fix things, but nothing ever comes. He needs to go.

Green pushes off of the tree, his arms still crossed. “Camp out with me tonight.”

Not a battle. Not an insult. Not a pointless taunt. A proposition. An opportunity for change? Red would be a fool not to take it.

He nods.

By the fireside, Red and Green stare into the flames and keep their words to themselves. Their tents are already set up, their teams have already eaten dinner and they’ve done the same. There’s nothing left to take care of, but still they prolong what brought them together in the first place.

Red has no idea what it is that Green wants, so he’s confused, but that’s not the only thing that’s confusing him. He hasn’t spent this much time around Green in years, and yet...he feels nothing from their soulmate bond. There’s no relief or itch for touch, there’s no yearning in his heart and no sudden impact of feelings like when they’d first locked gazes. If feels normal between them, as it always has since that first meeting.

Is this normal? Is this how it’s supposed to be?

Green tosses another twig into the fire that it didn’t need and looks up at Red. “Do you want to break our bond?”

Red’s eyes widen. His lips part. He forgets to breathe. He stares.

“I’m not going to force you,” Green holds up a hand. “But I… I’ve been thinking...about this whole soulmate thing…”

Red keeps silent, his heart racing and it’s the most feeling he’s ever felt since that day.

“I don’t know about you, but luck hasn’t been following me,” Green says, glaring at the flames. “Wealth hasn’t found me. And I know… I know we aren’t close anymore, but…” Green sighs, looks up at Red and the fire in his eyes is unlike anything Red’s ever seen. It’s volcanoes erupting and stars bursting into dust. “I want to make this decision myself.”

Quickly, Red reaches into his backpack for his notepad and a pencil. He bites his lip as he thinks on what to say. When it comes down to it, there’s just one question that hasn’t left him and probably never will.

Have you felt anything since that first day? Even now?

Green looks over the paper and he takes a minute to respond. When he does, hurt chokes his voice, reality making his throat tighten. “No, I haven’t.”

Red sits back. The last bit of hope up and fades and he’s left with this choice. What is a soulmate bond if there’s no feelings attached? If there’s no constant affirmation that this is right? How do they know for certain that they’re each other’s soulmates? The feelings had been immense, but they’d vanished since. But who was to say that was a bond being formed? What if it was just them, the two of them, and nothing more?

But it had to be a bond, because that’s how it’s always been described. That was the one part those books got right. That initial feeling of everything at once, like the universe crashing in on them. Amazing and scary and beautiful and sad. Everything that they are and could be leveled against them in one, single gaze.

Then after, there’s no more. That is all they are afforded.

Green is his soulmate, but Red thinks of him as a lost childhood friend, someone who isn’t interested and wants nothing to do with him. Still, those old times when they were younger… Red wouldn’t mind going back to that. He prefers friendship over this bitter rivalry that hurts much more than it should, that tears and rips his skin.

But isn’t this the same? Green wants nothing to do with him yet again. Not as friends, not as soulmates, only rivals competing for something that they were supposed to do together. Red grips his pencil tight.

Do you hate me that much?

Green stutters. “Red, I…” He shakes his head, leans forward to set his elbows on his knees. He stares into the flames but then looks past them to regard Red. “I don’t hate you. I just think this would be best for both of us.”

Why?

“Because have you ever felt anything for me?” Green asks, turning the question around. “You always ask if I’ve felt anything, but have you? What is this bond doing for us, huh? Everyone talks like it’s the best thing, like it’s an amazing necessity, but it’s not!”

Red looks away, feeling Green’s frustration and understanding it. They always sang of soulmates, sang of love and fate, but it’s done nothing for them. Are they too young? Too ignorant of the world? And if so, shouldn’t they figure this out themselves? They can’t trust what they’re told, they can’t trust what people say. This is a step that they have to make on their own.

With every step on his journey, Red’s been making his own choice and how freeing it’s felt. He decides where to go, who to battle, what pokémon to catch. He decides his place in the world and who he wants to be. He dives into caves and crosses rivers. He looks up and dreams of snow, he looks back and yearns for times long past. But those are still his choices to make.

This is the same. This is something that they can choose for themselves. There was always the possibility for more, an opportunity for the two of them to become more, but…this opportunity, this chance may be what they need.

What does Red have to lose? There’s never been another feeling or indication. They’ve grown apart despite being fated to be together. They’ve already defied all logic and reason.

And he wants… He wants to know. Maybe if they break the bond, another feeling will happen and they’ll know for certain, then.

How do we break it?

#reguri #namelessshipping #unpolished and abandoned wip's #my writing #nameless #with how red's path goes in the games this is difficult to write #because their relationship is already strained #so i had to write around that #and i don't like how it alters the tone and intent of it #to red feeling like green hates him #instead of it being 'hey this shit is just not working out at all let's end it'#i want them to be on good terms when they do #so it has to be an au #text

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imagining-pokemon · 4 years

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Piers’, Leon’s and Raihan’s Reaction to You Basically Being a Human Shiny Charm

@mechatricky requested: It's always exciting to see another Pokémon imagine blog! Could you do a request of what piers, Leon, and Raihan think about when they notice their s/o is basically a human shiny charm and attracts shiny Pokémon even tho their s/o can’t tell do to them being colorblind.

I actually really liked this reaction because I imagine each of their jaws on the floor.

Piers

*lifts an eyebrow*

Now Piers knew you had a shiny pokemon on your team, and just considered that some luck the universe threw your way

But he never thought he would see the number of shinies you were able to lure out

So you and Piers decided a nice picnic in the Wild Area would be a good break for you two. You both wanted some quiet from the rambunctious Team Yell

You were both talking about Marnie as she would soon take the mantle currently owned by your lover

As you talked about the talented girl, you were able to see just how much Piers cared about her

The soft smile he sported on his face was truly beautiful

But as you both came upon your destination, you stopped and stared

No matter how many times you both came here, the magnificence of the pokemon’s natural habitat always took the breath out of you. You were easily able to hear Piers’ intake of breath to your side

You turn to him and intertwine your fingers with his and you pulled him towards the water’s edge which would be your rest spot today

He softly smiles at you and kisses your intertwined fingers together

But when he looks back up, he suddenly stares at something right behind you

You look behind you only to see a cute Vulpix

Now the pokemon looked a little different than what you usually saw, with a lighter coat than you usually saw in pictures and….was it sparkling?

It playfully yipped at you and whined, and you pushed it strange shade of color out of your mind

All you thought was that this pokemon wanted food, so you were going to give it food

You pulled out a berry and it started to run in circles yipping at you, causing a giggle to break from your mouth

Piers’ eyebrow rose a bit because all he was wondering was why were you not freaking out over this extremely rare type of pokemon

Suddenly the bushes to your left started to rustle causing Piers to grab his pokeball from his belt, just in case anything went wrong

But out of the bushes came a Ralts and a Pancham

But again they looked different from the usual pictures

You froze with your hand outstretched towards Vulpix, who was now happily munching on its new berry

You did not want to accidentally make them launch an attack

But your worry began to go away the moment, they started going towards the berry, nipping at the Vulpix

You cooed at the pokemon, taking more berries from your pouch

“Piers! They are all so cute! Can we keep them? Please?”

You did not hear anything so you looked back at him, only to burst out laughing at your silly man

His eyebrows disappeared and his jaw was on the ground

“You do know those are shiny pokemon right?”

You looked at him then at the pokemon and snickered to yourself

“Oh of course. I thought some of their coats were darker. But can we keep them? Please? I will take good care of them.”

He suddenly blushed as he looked at your pout and the whines of the pokemon

“.... Only someone with your shining personality could attract all these pokemon.”

He then proceeds to pull out three pokeballs

He can’t wait to see everyone’s faces when they see his beautiful lover and their pokemon

Leon

This boy would get so excited

You and Leon were both looking at the Wooloo’s grazing in the fields, enjoying the peaceful setting

You both had just finished a good meal made by your mother and decided a walk would help you both digest your food

So hand in hand, you and lover set out to look at the Galarian scenery

But your eyes took you to Leon’s laughing face

He was telling you a hilarious story about Raihan (apparently you can not mention the curry accident in Raihan’s presence or else he would hunt you down)

(But that does not mean Leon can’t tell it)

Your eyes looked over Leon’s beautiful physique and suddenly a thought went through you

Everyone always talks about Leon’s tan skin, amber eyes, and luscious violet hair

And his terrible fashion sense

They call him bright and vibrant, like a painting made with the right shades

But you can not say that

Because you do not see that

You see bright eyes, dark hair

You see all these shades coming together to let you see this amazing human being that stands before you

Even without color

Because even if you do not see his color, you will always be able to see his brightness

“Darling?”

Leon’s voice snapped you out of your thoughts and smirked at you

“I know I am handsome, but you have me all to yourself to stare at later.”

You snorted and pecked his cheek

Leon took your chin and was about to place his lips on yours

Then a bleat was sounded underneath you

You looked down and ignored Leon’s grumbling to look at a cute little Wooloo at both of your feet

You gasped and the Wooloo bleated at you again nudging your calf

It looked at bit different, almost the complete opposite shades you have seen on the field before

You kneeled down and suddenly heard Leon screaming

“It’s a shiny! It’s a shiny!”

You looked at him in confusion, but more bleats drew you away

You saw more little dark Wooloo’s running your way

As you were covered with the soft fur, you kept hearing Leon scream

How was he able to breathe if he kept screaming?

Soon you were out of the cluster of wool, and just laughing

Leon was just staring at you in amazement as you petted all the Wooloo around

He guessed even the rarest pokemon could see how much a wonder you were

Raihan

Now Raihan had a Flygon and a Goodra and Duraludon and many other pokemon, but he has been wanting a Dreepy for awhile

Well a Dragapult, but you found a Dreepy

You can see that the tips of their horns were lighter than the ones he has shown you, but you think that maybe that was normal

You were near the Lake of Outrage and saw this Dreepy running up to you

Obviously, you gave it some treats and it stole a pokeball from your bag

You were shocked as it held it out to you and gave a little roar

You held it out for it and it bumped its head on the pokeball, letting itself get sucked in

It gave for clicks then you let it out once more

As soon as it was out, it cuddled itself against you and little out its little roars, warming your insides

You held it up and proclaimed to the world, “You shall be called Hannie, after the best dragon boy out there.”

Hannie let out a roar and licked you

Now finding Raihan proved to be a bit of a little of a difficulty

That boy did not like to stay at one place for long

You finally were able to find him with his tapestries, thinking over something important it would seem

“Don’t think too hard, you might lose your last brain cell.”

Raihan threw his head back to a laugh and looked at you with a smirk

“Now love, you know just how intelligent I am. Have you seen me on the battlefield?”

Everyone has

“Anyway, I have a new companion for you,” You say as you wave around your new pokemon

He raised an eyebrow and looked curiously at the pokeball you brought out

You quickly threw it up in the air and out came Hannie

It fell into your arms and licked you as you giggled.

“Raihan, meet Hannie. I caught him for you.”

Now that gave Raihan a warm feeling throughout his body as he thought of all the effort you went through to give him this pokemon, but the shock he felt from seeing the coloring of the pokemon sent him into a state of frozen

He was so shocked but started laughing uncontrollably

“Somehow it does not surprise me that you were able to find a shiny and befriend it.”

You looked down at you Dreepy and it looked at you with a smile

Then you held out Hannie for Raihan to take

Raihan took Hannie and quickly petted its head

Hannie started panting and then bit down on Raihan’s hair

Raihan let out a scream, as you started to cackle

You called out for Hannie and it came back to you holding Raihan’s hat in his mouth

He gave you a chirp and dropped it in your hands

Raihan just looked at you in horror as he took Hannie back into his arms

“I now hate it.”

JK he took ten million selfies with it later

#pokemon #pokemon swsh #pokemon sword #pokemon imagines #pokemon shield #pokemon swsh imagines #pokemon piers #piers #piers imagine #piers x reader #pokemon leon #leon #leon x reader #leon imagine #pokemon raihan #raihan #raihan imagine #raihan x reader #imagine

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zedpercyfan · 3 years

Text

The Sirens of Cerulean | Part Two

Yes! After over a year of stalling due to multiple issues, he is part two!

The Sirens

Ash found his voice. “You…” he began. “You’re a Siren, right?”

He couldn’t help but stare in awe, beyond all doubt he had certainly come to Cerulean in hopes to find the strange source of the power influxes, and he had arrived under the suspicion of the Siren legends – it never lessened the shock of actually laying eyes on one, however.

Misty however remained frozen, her hands held in front of her chest in pure fright, terror in her eyes. A human, she thought nervously. I’m in front of an actual human! I-I never thought that one would ever see us, at least in my lifetime…

She eyed him nervously, a stare filled with fear of the unknown. She had heard rumors often enough about the humankinds’ ability for acts of evil and had no intention of finding out what those were.

Ash – if he was at all aware of Misty’s thoughts – would have to agree with her in the inversed, as he too felt filled with a certain amount of dread at the sight of the creature before him. She looked human enough, but she clearly wasn’t – to him she looks like a monster. After a few seconds of their awkward staring contest, Ash gulped and Pikachu cautiously hopped onto the ground. Misty’s pupils shrunk and back further against her stony prison.

It was then that a strange power came off of her – Ash sensed it and hesitated, she was scared – he could hear smidgeons of the stress she was under. The man averted his eyes, and slowly, very slowly pulled his gloves off and held his hands out in a manner of showing that he wasn’t armed. “E-easy now,” he said as evenly as possible, “I just want to help…”

But Misty remained uncertain and on edge as the stranger approached her. She had heard tales of what humans were capable of, both the good and the bad. She was cornered, the fog made everything look blurry, no escape possible – it was a terrible situation.

Ash continued his slow and vulnerable approached. But as he got to the edge of the water, Misty loudly flinched and flicked water at him. “You’re injured,” Ash uselessly commented. The Siren gave a low growl. “Easy, I’m here to help. I will help,” went on Ash. But Misty remained scared.

Pikachu watched the situation uneasily and decided to step in since Ash’s methods weren’t working.

Misty let out a squeak as a strange land-dwelling Pokémon stepped in front of her, talking in its own language to her. Sirens were just as knowledgeable about Pokémon as humans, so she failed to comprehend what the electric mouse was saying. “Hi…?” said Misty.

“Pi pika, pikapi!”

Misty just looked at the creature in astonishment. Unlike the human, and despite it still being a creature she was unfamiliar with, she felt a strange sense of trust in it. It gave off a friendly aura, she thought. As this ‘Pikachu’ was spilling his verbal guts to her, Misty began to get the feeling in her heart that those words were of the good sort – and it all had to do with the human in front of them.

Pikachu soon ran out of breath and heaved a sigh – he had done all that he could to try and tell this bizarre yet beautiful humanoid creature all that he could. He stepped back. “Pika, Pikapi pi.” Ash nodded his thanks and stepped slowly forward.

“May I?” said Ash. Misty silently nodded her head as she nervously brought her tail up. A nervousness came over Ash, the moment he touched her tail it did in a way feel no different than if he was helping a water type Pokémon, yet simultaneously he knew this is a genuine tail which belongs to a being thought to be nonexistent. He examined the bleeding area. “Slight bruise, the cut isn’t too deep but still needs to be disinfected.” He paused as he realized he did not know if Sirens were susceptible to infections or not. “Uh – do you need your wound cleaned?”

“Err, I-I will need disinfecting,” said Misty quietly.

“Oh, oh I see! But, hmm...on scales…”

“My tail is too difficult to bandage?”

“Well, I’m not exactly used to bandaging scales you see.”

“There is a way that I can make it easier for you,” replied Misty. “Lift me out of the water.”

“Can’t see how that would help, but all right,” said Ash doubtfully, but he did as he was told. He gently reached under and lifted the Siren out of the water.

Then it happened.

OoOoO

Tracey put his binoculars down and heaved a heavy sigh – no ships had dared come close to the shore. The waves kept up their ruthless hammering, however, and from the fog as a wave came in came a terrible cry.

“Help!” it called.

Tracey jumped and nearly slipped on the wet balcony. He peered into the soup to hear that it was coming from his lower right. He dashed quickly back into his lighthouse to prepare for rescue.

“Could be a small fishing boat,” he muttered. “Or men who fell off their ship in the waves! By Arceus this job!”

OoOoO

A bright light shone from Misty’s tail. Ash winced and had to shut his eyes tight from the blinding force. In seconds from it starting, from his closed eyes the man soon realized the light had died down. Ash opened one eye.

“Huh!” he gasped. He twisted the other away, feeling horrified by what he saw. The short haired girl, who had a tail, suddenly had no tail, just bare-naked legs. The only thing she had on left was her seashell bra, but that offered little consolidation.

“Oh! Sorry if this offends,” apologized Misty, though she couldn’t fathom the issue.

“N-no problem…” said Ash. He quickly put her down, pulled off his blue coat and whisked it over her body. “Here.”

“What’s this for?”

“To cover your…privates.”

“I see, thank you.” Misty leaned back, the rock wasn’t comfortable, but its own slick quality and wave worn state made it smooth and cool to the touch.

Ash shivered a slight bit from the lack of his coat, but with what he had in his pockets he quickly set about disinfecting her. “So…does that always happen when you’re out of water?” he asked hesitantly.

“Yes,” replied Misty simply. “On land we lose our tails and gain legs. It’s an adaptation we acquired some millions of years ago.”

“I-I see,” said Ash as his face felt hotter than the rest of his body, “and you’re used to this?”

“Well, I’ve never really been on land before,” replied Misty as her eyes scoured the surrounding area. “I only know that this can happen from seeing other Sirens going through it.”

“You’re not cold?” went on Ash. The harsh winds were biting, and the salty sea spray didn’t help matters for him, but it seemed Misty was unaffected.

“I don’t feel a thing,” she replied.

Ash raised an eyebrow and turned to Pikachu. “Flexible body temperature regulation? How very interesting…”

OoOoO

Tracey finished his scout of the horizon as well as shooting warning signals into the air. All ships were too far away on to be in danger from the sudden waves.

“Ahoy!” he yelled for the umpteenth. “Anyone there? Ahoy!”

A blond figure peered over the top of a small cliff at the lighthouse keeper as he tried to make a right and head further up a rockface. Tracey bumbled backwards after losing his grip, loose rock began to fall behind him. The blond cried out in shock. The male whirled around and caught sight of a naked blond woman.

“Ahoy there- ?!” he stopped short.

Daisy averted her eyes towards the ocean. “Um, hi.”

OoOoO

Ash soon finished bandaging her. “Not the best job I can do out here, but it’ll do.”

“Thanks,” said Misty gratefully as she slowly helped herself up. Her figure, Ash observed, almost a head shorter than him – only just. “I’d have been in real trouble if it weren’t for you.”

“Oh, happened to be passing by, no trouble at all! Glad to be of help to you, er…I don’t think I caught your name, miss.”

Misty scoffed and looked away. “Most wouldn’t.”

“Well…I’m Ash, Ash Ketchum.”

“Misty. We usually don’t use surnames back home, but apparently our father had the name Waterflower.”

“I suppose you are,” quipped Ash, amused by his own wit. Pikachu rolled his eyes.

Misty cocked her head to one side. “Um, I am me, though. Right?”

“Yes, indeed you are. Slip of the tongue, no harm meant.” Ash blinked and decided his sarcasm wasn’t welcomed. He continued smiling, but his eyes carefully examined Misty. Finally, he found one of these elusive creatures – but before Ash could ask any questions the Siren’s eyes flashed up as though panicked – then a voice rang over the shores from the hills nearby.

“Ash! Ash!? Are you there?” cried Tracey as he climbed to the top of a small hill of sand and rocks. He spotted Ash with a girl he had never seen before. “There you are!”

“Need something, Keeper?” called Ash.

“Yes! I need your help.” He paused as though uncertain of what to say next. “I’ve found a Siren by the water and is not used to her legs.”

OoOoO

“It’s incredible, absolutely incredible!” exclaimed Tracey as he paced back forth in the small dining area of the lighthouse. “Both are Sirens, and sisters to boot?” He pinched his arm.

“Is it really that hard to believe?” asked Misty obliviously. She and Daisy were both in seats side by side while Ash and Tracey were standing.

“Well, I guess not,” said Tracey as he chuckled nervously. “But…” He meaningfully looked at the two women. “For years we’ve heard stories and rumors of your kinds existence. To finally meet you is an honor and privilege.”

“Why thank you,” said Daisy, beaming before returning to the tea she and her sister had received. She stole a look at Misty. ‘You’re injured,’ she said telepathically.

‘Yeah, tail got caught on a sharp rock when those waves came in and forced me onto one.’

Daisy looked over sympathetically. Ash watched the interaction with interest as he and Tracey watched the soundless interaction. He wasn’t able to hear what they were saying but he sensed something was happening. Ash brushed his curiosity aside and decided to get the ball rolling.

“So, tell us, what’s it like to live in the water as opposed to up here?”

The two considered. “Oh, it’s wonderful in the sea,” replied Daisy. “We live in harmony with the water type Pokémon within our cities-”

“Cities?” said Tracey. “You mean you build underwater civilizations, just like our own?”

“Yes, we do,” added Misty. “They’re built out of stone, marble and steel.”

“Steel?” Tracey was perplexed.

The orange head spared glance at the gaslights in the room’s corners. “Compared to you, we’re also considerably more advanced.”

“How so?”

“For a start we don’t have those dangerous fiery things,” said Daisy, referring to the lamp. “Nor plain wooden doors. We’ve seen your women; their clothes are very baggy and strange. Nor do we have that strange hissing thing you have downstairs…”

“But boilers are standard for lighthouses…” Tracey felt hurt.

“Sorry if this sounds dumb. But what are your lighthouses for anyway?”

The lighthouse keeper blinked. “This place is for guiding ships, away from the rocks, that is.”

“Ah,” said the blond. “We just use homing beacons.” Tracey just stared at Ash, who shrugged back and cleared his throat.

“Well,” he said, trying to change the conversation, “at any rate, your home sounds rather interesting. You’ve seen bits of our world – now we’d like to see yours since no human has seen your kind before.”

Both girls looked uncomfortable. Tracey was concerned. “What’s the matter?”

“We’re not exactly welcomed at our city…” said Daisy.

“So, you’re outcasts to them?”

“Yes,” replied Misty. She looked up at the two humans. “Nor would you two be welcomed either.”

“What?” exclaimed Tracey. Ash, Pikachu, and Marill joined him in being shocked. “Why? Is it because we’re so different?”

“They do have tails and the ability to breathe underwater compared to us,” put in Ash.

“Not just those differences, there’s more to it than those,” said Misty.

“See we used to live with respect for humans,” explained Daisy. “We lived for years without actively engaging with your kind. We knew of your existence, but we never interfered with what you did. We often grew careless in our isolation, so some of you have had small sightings of us.”

“Which resulted in these legends?” asked Ash as he flipped through his book and showed her a page where a sailor on a boat was looking at a single Siren.

Daisy’s eyes lit up at the picture. “Yes, but so few saw us that we became obscured to your people. Even though you partially knew of us, we prove too secretive to be found so easily.”

“Until now, with all the singing?” Tracey asked.

Daisy went red and looked away. “Yes, but see…” She gulped and couldn’t continue.

“The situation has changed, see,” said Misty. “For years we’ve lived separately from you without interacting, that was how our leader wanted it. All that’s changed however…” Her face became grim and depressed. “Now they’re seeking to destroy all of you off the face of Earth.”

OoOoO

“So, two of those witches are with the humans now, huh?” said Rudy with barely restricted venom in his tone. “And the humans know that they are Sirens?”

“Y-y-yes sir,” stammered a scout.

“Damn!” snapped Rudy as he angrily swatted at his coral glass. The force knocked it into the stone floor where it shattered. “Very well, if that’s the game they want to play then we must start moving our plans now!” He swam briskly towards an intercom and jabbed a button. “Alan and Stuart, get in here now.” He turned to the entrance of his palace. “Paul!”

Within mere seconds the three Sirens swam in. Paul swam grimly in front and saluted. “Lord Rudy?”

“Brothers!” shouted their leader. “For years we have had to tolerate those apes at the top. I have promised you retribution for all that they have done. The plan was to wait, but it turns out those bleeding-hearted rebels have two of their girls up on the surface. We have yet to sense their influence on those humans, so we must strike before them.” He turned to the scout. “Sean! How did they get to the filth?”

“Got caught in the waves, my lord,” said Sean hesitantly. “Both were pushed out of the water.”

“Blast…oh never mind, in the confusion we have the advantage.” His underlings seemed confused – Rudy slapped his forehead in annoyance. “The storm is a perfect cover! None of those primitives are paying attention to what’s happening. They’ll accept anything that shows up, even us. Grab one of the captured boats and pretend you’re merchants using the info we’ve gathered from the deceases brains. It’s then a matter of laying our traps.”

“Sir!” With a salute Alan and Stuart left to make the preparations. Paul stayed to give a glance to Rudy.

“What of me, sir?”

Rudy’s look was stern yet relaxed. “I need someone reliable to go with them, an insurance if you will. I can’t trust those two to entirely make sure that things go according to plan. Make sure our message to the vermin is…smashed in.”

Paul closed his eyes and grunted in acknowledgement.

OoOoO

“We can’t have that,” said Ash grimly as paced around the tight space.

“Us?” Tracey was beside himself with shock. “But what did we ever do to you?”

“It’s not what you’ve done to us,” said Daisy. “See it’s – er – it’s complicated.”

Tracey looked like he couldn’t understand. “I don’t get it. We can’t breathe underwater! We’re stuck on land. What have we ever done?”

“Just that you’ve been deemed vermin,” said Misty with a hint of disdain. “Our old ruler finally died of old age – 152 he was. His successor, Rudy, somehow gathered our kind together in a matter of days to rally behind him against you.”

“All of your brothers and sisters?” breathed Tracey. “How?! We humans can barely get along ourselves.”

“Much less united to one thought,” finished Ash. “And you two don’t share that view?”

“Our two middle sisters, too,” confirmed Daisy. “Along with a handful of others. We’re small, but our numbers are still noticeable.”

“Went into hiding as a side effect,” muttered Misty.

“Yet despite your different views, Rudy still managed to get the majority.” Ash paused and held a finger to his lips to think. Pikachu flicked his own ears as he adopted the same expression as his Master. “I prefer to see things for myself if you don’t mind,” he announced. “Could you show us a view of your home?”

“What? Why?!” they two Sirens said at the same time.

“We don’t have to get too close. Just enough to get an idea what we’re facing.”

“Agreed!” added Tracey.

“But there’s danger!” insisted Misty.

“So?” retorted Ash. “If we’re in as much danger as you say we are, then I think we’re entitled to at least seeing how our enemies live. Are you with me, Tracey?” He turned to face the lighthouse keeper who felt instantly put on the spot.

“Well, y-yes, of course!”

Ash whirled round to the ladies of the room with a cheeky grin and spread his arms out. “And there you have it.”

OoOoO

The team of Alan, Stuart, and one very irate Paul had collected the boat, allowed it to rise to the surface of the ocean and were currently boarding the small vessel. Soon as they were on the ship their tails disappeared and gave way to legs. The men pranced unsteadily across the damp boards and Alan and Stuart began to fiddle around with the clothes they were provided.

“This crap’s a lot harder to figure out than I thought,” grumbled Stuart as he failed to put on a pair of pants. “Leave it land-lovers to create such convoluted devices.”

Alan snorted in agreement and thrashed a hand into the mist. “Yeah! Strange creatures these humans.”

“Shut up, the both of you,” said Paul. “The mission is all that you need to focus on.” With that, he forcefully pulled his pants up.

“Oh yes sir,” was Alan’s sarcastic reply.

“Whatever you say, sir.” They both laughed. “Free to speak our minds, aren’t we? You could always just choose to ignore us, Paul. You do that back home already so well! Hahahaha!”

Paul sucked his teeth in frustration. “Your stupidity defies reality…” he muttered.

After they had finally fitted into the salvaged clothes of their enemies, the three men convened in a lower deck. They observed a vast collection of parts under the glow of their coral-based lamps.

“Our little ‘gift’ for the heathens,” said Alan. “Everything is here as planned. All we have to do is follow Lord Rudy’s outline.”

“Just a matter of getting it physically ready,” replied Paul. “Think you can handle that at the very least?”

OoOoO

“The very least to hope for is a glimpse at their marvelous city,” said Ash to Tracey as he and the lighthouse keeper descended the stairs in robes, swimming wear underneath to the front door. They examined the boiler, making sure it was stoked full of coal. “And you’ve made sure that the automatic whistle is set to go off?”

“Yes,” replied Tracey. He frowned in thought. “You know, we’ll be the first humans to ever set eyes on the city of the Sirens. Heh…what an honor…! Only, they hate us…”

Ash grimaced and patted the keeper’s back. “Come on,” he said, “let’s face adversity together, aye?”

“Pi, pikachu!”

Tracey gave a weak grin, he knew he didn’t feel quite as brave as his two visitors. “Marill, ready to help me?” He turned to Ash. “Er, I forgot, who’s your choice of Pokémon helper?”

The male smiled and produced a Waterball before unleashing a Totodile who began to dance. “Happy fella isn’t he?” said Ash. “Keeps the thoughts happy. No point in brooding over what can’t be helped.”

They went outside where the two Sirens were waiting.

Daisy’s fingers fidgeted. “Now, to be one-hundred percent sure. You are aware of the potential danger?”

“Yes,” replied Ash with barely reigned in annoyance, “we know what the risk is.”

“There’s no shame in backing out,” put in Misty. Ash gave her a look and was about to reply when Tracey sensed the air and felt he had to intervene.

“No shame!” he said. “I mean, we’re just off to observe, not the same as interfering.” He whirled round to Daisy and pointed a finger. “You said that you and many friends of yours have been living outside the city perimeter, yes?”

“Y-yes, that’s right.”

“But not interfering?” He got a look in the positive. “We’re doing the same. A look out.” His words seemed to calm the feisty Misty down as her shoulders visibly relaxed.

“Right. Let’s get down, shall we?” she asked.

The girls wrapped their arms around the boys’ arms and went into the water, their respective Pokémon joining them. The girls felt annoyed at having to repeatedly bring the boys up for air, but soon Daisy grinned in delight as she noticed a sort of plant in the water which she promptly fed to both. Within minutes oxygen storage became bigger and the tolerance to being unable to draw a breath become longer.

“It gives a sort of…Siren gift,” said Misty.

Good enough for me… thought Ash to himself. Totodile just guffawed in his usual manner as though nothing was wrong – Marill, however, just stared out of curiosity.

The group swam for miles towards the open ocean before Ash winced slightly as he felt something giving him a headache. He shrugged it off, however the source was soon to come.

OoOoO

Dawn looked out of a window at the Cerulean Playhouse Inn and frowned. “What a storm,” she observed.

“What?!” said Barry. He ran dramatically over to the window, bumping Dawn who gave a grunt of annoyance as her figure banged against the windowsill. “Just what we needed! I’m gonna fine whichever God decided to bring this on!”

“Barry! Base yourself! It’s a storm, you know we can’t defy those!”

Barry clenched his fists in annoyance and whirled round. “Hmph! Rain, bad for business, now no one will stop by until this blows over.”

“Oh, quit your whining. It’s – just – rain. It’ll pass and we’ll be getting all the travelers who’re in need of a shelter and bath.” She walked around him and put a finger to his diaphragm. “You better start adjusting that attitude, Barry, or…”

“Or…what?”

“…Or else someone your size, and perhaps even bigger, will show up and finally take you off that high Ponyta of yours.” And she turned and walked to her desk. Barry just scratched his head.

“But I don’t own a Ponyta.”

“Oh, just hush up and make yourself presentable to any guests in town that need getting out of the rain,” she replied. “By that, I mean get out of those muddy pants.”

“Mud…?” He looked himself over, and sure enough, he had a near foots worth of mud hanging onto his pants. “I’m gonna fine whoever did this to me!”

Dawn held a hand to her eyes. “Idiot! You got them dirty filling in the battle holes of your own choosing! Remember?!”

OoOoO

A light source began to shimmer in the water in front of Ash and Tracey, who could only look in wonderment. Their swimming path caused them to go pass the ship with Paul and the others onboard, but they didn’t notice or feel them.

They soon reached a cliff that overlooked the Sirens’ city. Tracey gasped in excitement and looked on in awe, resting against the smooth rock. Unknown to him, Misty, Daisy, and Ash all wore uncomfortable countenances – something was causing them pain. Even the Pokémon seemed to register the strange feeling.

Ash closed his eyes and willed the pain away. What is this… he asked himself.

“Ash, come and check this place out!” called Tracey. “Wait, talk? I can talk underwater!” Ash gasped in agreement when he realized it too before swimming over, he too gasped with the same awe.

What laid before them was a massive city, homes made of stone and large towers that flashed in various colors from sources unknown to the two humans. Technology of which they had no understanding of was before them. From strange crafts that floated along – mysterious cubes that seemed to glow and showed multiple…whatever those were (Pictures?), to the lights all around that looked nothing like what they were used to. Truly, a modern marvel.

Ash wanted to say something but winced from the pain. “What’s wrong,” asked Tracey.

“Something’s hurting our heads,” muttered Ash.

“Huh, strange, I don’t feel a thing.”

“The Pokémon can feel it,” said Ash, noting Marill and some passing Pokémon’s looks. “Just what is this?” Next to him, Totodile seemed happy but had noticeably less vigor than before. “It’s like a sort of aura…which’d explain why I and the Sirens can feel it…”

“It’s a collected pool of negative energy,” explained Daisy. “It’s the animosity of our brethren collected here in the city.”

“But wait,” said Tracey, “why can you, the Pokémon, and Ash feel it, but I can’t?”

“We’re telekinetic which is how we’re able to sense it. Our emotions can become a form of energy that travels psychologically. As for Ash…”

“It’s because I’m sensitive to aura. Tracey, are you familiar with groups who claims to be one with nature and can sense life?”

“Well, yes. Oh yes, I’ve heard of them, everyone has. Wait, are you…?”

“Yes, I’m one of those, an aura user, which is how I’m able to feel what they are feeling.”

“That’s incredible, Ash! But how come I can’t sense it if it’s so strong?”

“Normal humans can’t detect the psychic energy, even emotional ones,” explained Ash. “It’s how I can be far closer emotionally to Pokémon more than the average human. But what is all this angry energy here for?”

“To fight humans,” replied Daisy solemnly. “As we said, Rudy hates your kind and has gathered our brothers and sisters to his cause.”

“All this energy has one purpose,” added Misty. “To add fuel to our weapons.”

“Weapons?” Ash and Tracey paled.

It was then that trouble came. A friend of Misty and Daisy’s was nearby and she had startling news to tell them…

OoOoO

The storm was passing at Cerulean. Men at the harbor watched with curiosity when Paul, Alan, and Stuart arrived on their boat.

Giving the sailors reluctant grunts of acknowledgement, they set about gathering their supplies and began carrying them to the town. Alan and Stuart grumbled as they went. “Stupid Mankeys,” said Stuart. “Just look at them…”

“Ahoy, mateys,” said a random sailor. “Came ‘ere from the storm did ye?”

“Er, y-yeah.”

“Now that’s a brave and foolish thing. Y’know-”

“It was trouble, but not that troublesome,” interrupted Paul curtly. “It’s been a long journey and we’d like to rest and prepare our goods for market.”

“O-oh, sure thing, sailor.” And he quickly left.

Paul ‘tsked’ as he left. “Hurry up, you idiots, and set that thing up. I’ll go and get information on this place to get an idea of the scale.”

“Though why we couldn’t have made our job faster and cleaner with a jet I’ll never know,” complained Stuart.

“Pathetic moron…if we used that, the humans would’ve suspected us. Now get back to your job or I’ll push you into a Lanturn’s Thunder attack.”

Paul grumpily walked through the city. With the rain now passed, people were coming out of their abodes. Paul ignored them and soon found himself standing before a strange stone building. The word he registered was ‘inn’.

Dawn greeted him at the counter. “Oh, hello! Welcome to the Cerulean Playhouse Inn. My name is Dawn Berlitz and I’ll be your host. What can I d-”

“Just a room for three,” said Paul curtly. “I can do without the pleasantries.”

“Hey!” yelled Barry, rushing from where he was to Paul’s side. “And just who do ya think you are, buster? For disrupting her slogan I’m gonna have to fine you!” Paul glared and put a strong hand on Barry’s forehead. The blond instantly paled but regained his spunk. “Oh? Think you’re a tough guy, huh? Arrogance against me is another fine!”

Paul was going to make this blond filth silent when something long stabbed him lightly from behind. It was this ‘Dawn’ girl who pushed a heel of a shoe into his face. “Now you listen here,” hissed Dawn through barely contained rage. “I’ve had just about up to HERE with men problems today. So kindly just come with me to your room.”

With must tension, the three eased from each other. Barry eyed Paul suspiciously and vice versa. Dawn, with a stern stomp of her foot which made a loud sound against their wooden floor, lead the way.

OoOoO

Ash’s group with much speed returned to land at the lighthouse. Pikachu had been sat waiting patiently, talking with the local Corsolas and Pidgeys when Ash and his group emerging scared them.

“Pikachu, hello!” said Ash. He sensed the surprise and slight hostility from the local Pokémon, but he didn’t have time for them. “Come on, we have to hurry! There’s a Siren invasion happening!”

At the city’s market square Alan and Stuart continued their work while the citizens watched on with mild interest but uncertainty as to what was being put together.

Alan smirked a devious smirk as he pulled a piece out from the archaic wooden box. “Now, humans…” he murmured. “Time for you to learn what a bomb is…”

#the sirens of cerulean #zedpercyfan #pokeshipping #pokemon #Ash Ketchum #Misty #fanfic

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sinnohborn-trainer-evan · 3 years

Text

Trainer's Stories

Johto Entry: The Mysterious Messages of the Unown (2/3)

It was on the Friday morning, right after I had left with Robin for Johto the previous Wednesday, that Ethan would have us all ready to venture into the Ruins of Alph and try to make contact with its denizens, the Unown. However, Lyra couldn't make it today since she had a lot to do today, and Robin started to feel just a little too uncomfortable with the lead up to the ruins, so he opted to wait over at the research center within the area until we were done checking out the underground ruins, which I could understand why, anyone would feel pretty unnerved if they felt many eyes staring at them, especially in the dark.

I've only ever been in contact with Unown at least one time, and that was in the Solaceon Ruins. I forgot to mention this fact to Gold during our prior discussion. Knowing this will actually come in handy with trying to speak to the shy Unown here in the Ruins of Alph, maybe they'll recognize the presence of other Unown from me.

It was within the dark chambers and halls of the Ruins of Alph that I would get the similar eerie vibe, like I was being watched. This was a good sign that there is indeed Unown presence, as that's how one is meant to feel in the enclosure of such odd Pokémon.

These creatures made their homes embedded in the walls of lined texts and hieroglyphs, almost as if to blend in with their surroundings and to not be easily noticed even in plain sight.

Using translation notes that I've gotten from archeologists to aid in my investigation, I was able to read aloud some of the inscriptions on the walls, oddly specifically chosen words formed together by the Unown.

They didn't seem all that noteworthy to mention, but the way they were spelled out for anyone to just try and read... it all just felt like this was a game they were trying to play with us, probably to test how well we can understand them. And almost as if we were given a direct response for correctly announcing their phrases, Gold's Pokégear suddenly tried tuning to a radio station all on its own.... only for a bunch of odd noises to come out of it. Perhaps this was their way of trying to tell us something..

The noises that emanated from Gold's Pokégear seemed to attract the Unown in a particularly strange way. So we used this to our advantage to try and call out the Unown from hiding. And strangely enough it worked, we now had their attention! Although it still felt really creepy to have dozens of eyes all staring at us at once...

We decided to try asking some questions to them, to see if they would understand. However it was going to be hard to read back whatever messages they had for us, it was really dark in these underground rooms.

We asked some rather basic questions, like "What are you?", "Can you understand us?" And "Do you like it in here?" Sure enough they gave us their response, short and simple. "Pokémon", and "yes" to both following questions.

Now we knew they were pretty willing to talk then. Next we asked a few deeper questions to lead up to the big important ones. I first asked "Where can we find other Unown?" Almost immediately they were able to sense that I had once been to the Solaceon Ruins, and so they spread out on the wall to say "Solaceon Ruins." So they knew I originated from Sinnoh, how interesting.. Gold then decided to ask "Why was this place called the Ruins of Alph?" It took them a moment to process his question, but then they gave his answer as they lined up the wall with the words "Alph discovered them."

There was no questioning these Pokémon probably had great knowledge of the past unknown to modern day society. Now it was time to ask what we truly wanted to know, so that we may finally confirm or deconfirm the legends.

As a warm-up question, I decided to ask: "Who created you?" They responded "Arceus.".... This response had made me just a bit more excited than I probably should have, but how could I not? This was amazing to me! Now then, this was it. My biggest inquiry, let's see what they have to say.

"Where are the Sinjoh Ruins?"

......

No response.... In fact, all they did was stay suspended in the air, staring directly at me, now this was starting to freak me out a bit... Did I intimidate them? Did I ask a forbidden question? Perhaps do they not know the way?... I didn't know what to do, Gold and I were shaking in our soles with anticipation and worry. But then... something wild happened. All the Unown around us had suddenly opened their eyes, all staring upon us. If Gold and I hadn't felt terrified before, we certainly were now, we thought we were really in for it!

We stuck close to one another in fear and wonder of what they were going to do to us. Then the Unown started to peel from the walls one by one, then they began rapidly flying in circles around us, as if trying to form a twister made entirely of Unown! Seeing as this was too frightening to comprehend, all Gold and I could do was huddle together and close our eyes... But before we knew it, the nightmare was just.... over. When we had opened our eyes, we had found ourselves.... in a house? This was really strange... Gold's first thought was the check the window to see where in the world we ended up in.

Ethan: "What the heck...? It's frozen outside!"

'Frozen'?.... The Unown teleported us somewhere cold... Did we end up where I think we went?..."

#pokemon #sinnohborntrainerevan #pkmn #trainersona #pokemon rp #rp #arceus #unown #ruins of alph #sinjoh ruins #mythical #journal #journal entry

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dantelionwishes · 4 years

Text

poppy’s team: lore dump ahead!

this is gonna be super long since I may have just copy-pasted stuff from my old notes AJSGJAHJASGJH I hope the blocks of text are to your liking!

ELIAS THE LUCARIO

As a pup, he actually broke open from his egg alone without any parent or adult pokemon nearby

This explains his lonely nature

He wasn’t exactly taught how to get through life and had to figure everything out by himself

Pokedex entry: “It can crest three mountains and cross two canyons in one night,” SO he goes on a trip, rather, training journey around sinnoh to try and take care of the loneliness ended up in route 217 since its from the other side of coronet mountain

Ended up in route 217 since its from the other side of coronet mountain

This was where he met the kirlia who got annoyed by his standoffish nature and decided to fight him

He was already pretty beaten up from all the shit he’s recklessly been doing his whole life so far so it shocks him on why this kirlia isn’t using any psychic moves to finish him off

Before any of them can do a finishing blow on each other, they sense a powerful, hurting presence

Pokedex entry: “It has the peculiar power of being able to see emotions such as joy and rage in the form of waves.”

They decide on a truce to check it out (they’re both emotional pokemon so their instincts put this up on front

They find the trainer who seems to have fainted from, what they assume would be, the cold

He’s shivering and stuck inside the acuity cavern and they realise he doesn’t even have any pokeballs…how on earth did he even get there? You needed at least a pokemon (with rock climb) to get there if you were a human

Because this riolu is so used to being alone and against the world, his initial decision was to leave him alone, but the kirlia convinced him to give the trainer a chance

Because of the suggestion of a chance, he himself wanted another chance at life too, so he agrees and, alongside the kirlia, helps him to bring the knocked out trainer to snowpoint city, where the nearest pokemon centre is

GALAHAD THE GALLADE

In the wild, as a ralts he was part of a family that mostly consisted of adults who were gardevoirs (and others, ykno, other kirlia and other ralts)

There gallade wasn’t much of a thing in the wild bcos dawn stones were rare, and before male kirlia knew it, they would already naturally evolve into a gardevoir

He accidentally ran into a trainer once who owned a gallade and it amazed the young ralts, realising he could evolve into that made him excited

He started to train in knight-like ways with makeshift swords, acting valiantly, becoming brave, the protector of his siblings in the family

Because he trained so much, he ended up evolving into a kirlia

He didn’t want to end up accidentally evolving into a gardevoir but still wanted to train

(Idk who but an intrigued trainer) ended up making him an actual sword with the hilt of it being made out of everstone

He treasured this unique item and trained with it more to improve his attacking skills

He ended up saying goodbye to his family in order to train in other places

He ended up in route 217 where he encountered a riolu

The two had rubbed off each other in a bad way so he wanted to defeat the other which ended up with both pokemon having a long battle

Although he was psychic type, he wanted to try fighting the other with physical moves instead of special moves

The two of them ended up stopping the fight bcos since they were both emotion/aura sensing pokemon, they sensed a strong presence up in lake acuity

Pausing from their fight, they decide to check out who is pretty much dying in their senses to find a trainer knocked out cold, literally, shivering inside the acuity cavern

The riolu wasn’t fond of doing anything at first, but was persuaded by the knightly act of kirlia

The two decide on a truce to bring the trainer to snowpoint city

They vouch and pretend to be the trainer’s pokemon until he recovers

Pokedex entry: “If its Trainer becomes happy, it overflows with energy, dancing joyously while spinning about.”

he has never actually felt the need to dance, especially after focusing on his life in the future to become a gallade he doesn’t exactly see poppy as a trainer yet, only vouching for the trainer until he gets better, but once the young man actually laughs and smiles for once (bcos he’s been pretty silent, depressed, confused ever since he woke up bcos apparently he’s lost his memory), the kirlia suddenly feels the need to dance

He is unable to stop this feeling, so he dances in reaction to poppy laughing/being happy/enjoying the Pokemon’s company

LATTE THE (shiny) LOPUNNY

As a buneary, he was abandoned by previous trainer who was a contest contestant

trainer always spent time with him and got frustrated because he wasn’t evolving into a lopunny yet

went and did contests all the time, but never appealed because of his “non-cute” personality, (he was rowdy)

was fed poffins (probably overfed tbh) to raise his cuteness stats but as much as it was raised, it never worked because of his personality

trainer got fed up and abandoned him (LMAO TRAINER DIDNT EVEN KNOW HER BUNEARY WAS A MALE, talk about an asshole,)

Afterwards, he started to frequent the poffin house to steal poffins made by other trainers, getting the attention of the house owner

He keeps stealing and eating poffins to raise his cuteness stats, wanting to return to his old owner

Poppy comes to the poffin shop, experiences latte actually stealing the poffin from him, and hears the story from the house owner before deciding to follow the “thief”

Poppy follows the buneary from eating the poffins to finding him in the contest hall trying out to perform once more

Latte sees his old trainer and is overjoyed, running to meet her but realises she is with a different pokemon performing and is heartbroken

But before he can leave, he is pushed to perform under the spotlight without a trainer but Poppy saw this and had come from backstage to the front to vouch being Latte’s trainer

During the contest the buneary actually evolves into a lopunny (to which even Poppy is fucking SURPRISED AS HELL)

They actually win the contest, to the previous trainer’s dismay and confronts Poppy that she’s the og trainer, wants her pokemon back, and wants the contest badge

The contest judges intervene and questions what’s going on and to who the trainer really is: but seeing as Poppy vouched for Latte and that Latte stuck to him instead of her, they decide that she was a liar and they escort her out of the contest hall for throwing a tantrum

Poppy is confused as fuck as to how the goddamn buneary evolved so quickly, but this is probably because the pokemon was in such depression and desperation that when pulled out of that combined with a true trainer/partner, it opened the possibility for evolution via friendship

Pokédex entry: “You can tell how it feels by the way it rolls its ears. When it's scared, both ears are rolled up.”

When he was with his trainer until before he met Poppy, his ears were always rolled up

Now that he’s Poppy’s Pokémon, his ears have calmed down

ZACHARIE THE TOXICROAK

Previously owned by a galactic grunt

it was very disobedient towards its original galactic grunt trainer (I guess a good example would be Brock and his croagunk?)

even though it was disobedient, it was a lot more intelligent than a regular pokemon and so it often hated how the galactic grunt would handle things since it knew somehow it could do better than that

despite being part of the terrorist group, it always ran into Poppy (who was trying to stop team galactic) and often gave clues and helped him out a lot

poppy is chaotic stupid so this special Pokemon, literally working for the enemy team, would literally tell him what to do

In the end, when the galactic grunt faced off with a fight against poppy, the croagunk, when commanded to attack, instead attacked his oWN FUCKIGN TRAINER LMAO

decides he doesn’t like being on the evil team and joins Poppy’s team, helping him to the point of even removing the clothes of his galactic trainer to help Poppy disguise himself and go undercover in team galactic’s hq

Pokédex entry: “Inflating its poison sacs, it makes an eerie blubbering sound for intimidation,” but instead of making a strange croaking sound it would sound as if he was chuckling, making fun of you kind of laugh

despite being part of poppy’s team he is still very “my pace” as he tends not to listen to poppy, acting more independent as if it were a wild pokemon

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defeatedbyamerechild · 4 years

Text

Cyrus woke up. His pupils were dilated, his eyes open wide, his heart was beating much faster than normal and his muscles were tense. The whole room was dark and silent. Without even thinking, he clenched his fists, holding tight to the sheets. He felt the bitter feeling of anxiety taking over his body as he started to breathe more and more quickly, feeling the beads of sweat rolling down his face and chills running down his spine.

He tried to look around, but felt paralyzed. It was getting hard to breathe. He closed his eyes and tried to remember the step-by-step his therapist had taught him, but focusing on that seemed very difficult at the moment. The only thing he could remember clearly was that he had to slow down his breathing...

He closed his eyes and started breathing in slowly, counting the seconds in order to control the movement of his diaphragm. He remembered now. He was supposed to focus on reality... describe his surroundings. But it was too dark to see properly... Very dark and very silent... How could he describe the world if he couldn't see it? Was it all even real?

That one recurring question, that always came to his mind in moments of difficulty, was the most terrifying part of it all. Was it real? Was the room real? Was his bed real? Was he actually there? His housemates, were they actual people? Had all that time really passed and had all the things he lived really happened or had it all been just a lie, a delusion, a hallucination? Had he ever really left the Distortion World...? And was it there, staring at him with its bright red eyes...?

No, he shouldn't focus on those thoughts. Focusing on objective aspects of the real world was vital at that moment. No speculation would be beneficial under those circumstances, what he had to do was simple, practical and clear observation of the material world. The real world. It was there, it was real, he could see it and sense it...

Not that he hadn't felt and seen things before that he later realized were not real... Back in there, in the Distortion World... Under the effect of Giratina's mind tricks... The boundaries between reality and delirium were unclear.

Still, he had left that place. He had to believe he had really left that place... because if not... No. No “ifs”. It was not time for “ifs”. Keep it simple. Practical. Cold. Objective. He had always been like that, practical and objective, so why was it so hard? It wouldn't be that hard if he could just calm down... He had to calm down.

He opened his eyes, now breathing much slower than before, and glanced around. The first thing he was able to make out in the darkness was his digital clock, or rather, the glowing green numbers on its screen. It was a quarter past three. He waited for a few seconds, still working on his breathing, until the number five turned into a six. Yes, time was passing. He felt his muscles relaxing slowly. His fingers finally let go of the sheets.

He glanced around. He could see his books, his computer and his mirror, reflecting the dim moonlight coming from his window. Mentally, he described them. Their colors, their positions, their shapes... the fear started to fade away as he slowly started to believe once again that the world around him was real. He had no proof, no indications whatsoever that his current reality was fake. Everything was in place... Everything was normal. Everything was fine.

Less than ten minutes later, he had already completely calmed down. He stretched his muscles and sat up on his bed, then sighed. It had been a while since the last time he had had a nightmare... He had almost forgotten how bad they were... Compared to his post-Distortion-World night terrors, his old childhood nightmares about his parents and bad school grades seemed like a joke. His nightmares back then were just bad dreams... the ones he had now were more like flashbacks. Terrifying, painful flashbacks...

But how could he have had a nightmare after all? Where was Ayumu? He cleared his throat and stood up. Clearly, Ayumu wasn't in the room with him... But that was strange, to say the least. Ayumu had been trained specifically not to do that, and up to that point he had never failed to fulfill his duty.

Cyrus left his room and walked through the hallway straight to the stairs. If Ayumu had left his room, then it had most likely gone downstairs, since all the other doors were closed on the second floor. There was light coming from the living room and Cyrus started to suspect that someone else was awake other than him.

His suspicions were soon proven to be right. Walking downstairs, he saw Archie, sitting on an armchair near the window, with Ayumu levitating next to him.

“Archie?” said Cyrus, in a mix of confusion and annoyance.

The other man turned his head at him. “Oh, hey there, Cyrus...” he said.

“What are you doing with Ayumu?” asked the Galactic Boss, approaching his housemate, but looking at his Pokémon.

“Oh... sorry, Cy” replied the Aqua Boss, “I borrowed Ayumu for a bit, hope you don't mind.”

“In fact, I very much do mind it.” Explained Cyrus, his intonation a bit more emphatic than his usual. “As far as I know, 'borrowing' implies on my knowledge and consent regarding your temporary possession of my belongings.”

Archie winced a little “Sheesh, Cyrus... Don't call the poor little fellow a 'belonging'... he's a Pokémon after all! A little living being like you or me...”

“I am aware of that, but he is currently under my care and therefore in my possession either way,” said the blue-haired man, “besides, Ayumu isn't only any useless Pokémon. He has a task to fulfill and you should not interrupt him on it.”

The other man hesitated a little before replying.

“Hey, wait a minute... No Pokémon is useless! Every little Pokémon has something to offer! Just like people! Everyone has something to give!”

Cyrus sighed heavily before continuing to speak.

“You are deviating from the topic. My point is: do not take Ayumu away in the middle of the night again. And please ask before taking anything from me.”

“Ay, captain!” Nodded Archie, not offended by the other man's complaints. “Sorry about that... Just didn't wanna wake you up, you see? You were sleeping so tight...That's why I didn't ask you before taking him.”

“Well, I would most likely have preferred to wake up with you than the way I did just now...” he said, looking away. “What are you doing awake at a time like this anyway?” he added, afraid that Archie might ask any questions.

Archie's face suddenly fell. “Oh well...” he said, “I'm worried about Maxie. He hasn't arrived yet...”

“From?”

“He went to a concert,” explained the Aqua Boss, “some tribute to an old guitarist who died or something like that... I was gonna go with him, but I was feeling sorta sick on my tummy... he ended up going with Tabitha...” For a few seconds, he remained in silence. “But he should have arrived by now.... and he doesn't answer his phone... I'm just so worried...”

“Hm” groaned Cyrus, unsure of what to say. The other man continued.

“That's why I took Ayumu, by the way! I thought since he's a psychic type, maybe he could help me calm down... I mean, I know several psychic types are capable of soothing people's nerves with their hypnotic abilities and so on...”

Cyrus squinted his eyes.

“Ayumu is a Munna, and Munnas are dream eaters... They are not interested in your mind unless you are sleeping,” he explained.

Archie chuckled, “oh well, Munnas do like a good sleepy noodle, that's true! But that doesn't mean they can't do other stuff! I've seen videos of Munnas that learned to eat away troubling thoughts from people's brains while they were awake!”

“Well,” replied the Galactic Boss, while gently placing his hand on Ayumu's head, “other Munnas may be able to calm people down while they are awake, but not Ayumu. He has been trained to eat my nightmares specifically, and nothing else.”

The other man seemed surprised. “Oh!” he exclaimed, “so you taught him which dreams he should eat? That's really neat!”

“No I didn't...” said Cyrus, “he was already trained when I received him... My psychologist has given him to me...” he made a brief pause, “I need him to be able to sleep properly...”

“Oooh” answered Archie, “so he's a service Pokémon! I didn't know that! Why didn't you tell anyone?”

Cyrus shrugged. “No one ever asked.”

“Heh!” chuckled Archie again, crossing his legs, “well, you know, boyo, people sometimes tell their friends things that they didn't ask about!”

“Yes, I've observed this phenomenon. It is very annoying” replied Cyrus.

“It's not annoying...” protested the other man, “that's how conversations go!”

“Precisely.” Cyrus frowned a little, “conversations are annoying. I very much prefer writing.”

The brown-haired man thought for a few seconds before replying.

“Well I've seen you giving huge speeches before... You can talk quite a lot for someone who doesn't like convos,” he said, then became silent once again. “You know, I think you're more fond of monologues... you can talk and talk without being interrupted and tell everyone what you think without other people disagreeing! That's why you like writing! 'Cause there's no one there to reply to you!” he concluded.

Cyrus widened his eyes.

“I...!” he said, but then huffed and looked away.

“What?”

“Nothing...” replied the blue-haired man, “I was about to protest, but I suppose you're right.”

Archie giggled.

“Well, I like conversations, you know? It's nice listening to people.”

“I could not disagree more,” answered Cyrus.

“Well, we're talking right now, is it that bad?”

Cyrus hesitated before replying. As much as he wanted to say “yes”, the fact is that it wasn't really that bad after all.

“It's not particularly annoying, but it is a waste of my time and yours,” he said, “which reminds me of the fact that It's past three and a half and I should be in bed right now.” he made a brief pause. “I'm going back to sleep. You should too.”

“Nah... I can't sleep...” answered Archie, once again becoming sad, “not without Maxie. You need your Munna to sleep and I need my husband.”

Cyrus raised an eyebrow.

“Didn't know Maxie was a dream eater...” he said, and Archie immediately looked up at him.

“Ha! I knew you had a good sense of humor deep inside, Cyrus!”

“That was not humor,” replied the other man, glancing away for a second.

“No?” asked Archie, frowning confused, “what was it then?”

Cyrus looked down, silent. He thought for almost a whole minute.

“Sophism,” he finally said and, upon realizing his housemate didn't seem to be familiar with the word, he developed, “a conclusion that seems to be correct according to the information given, but that is resultant from a false correlation between its elements and, therefore, is incorrect.”

Archie didn't seem to understand the whole explanation, but nodded anyway.

“OK... So, why did you use this sophism thingy right now?”

Once again, Cyrus was caught off guard. He stared at Archie for a short moment.

“I... don't know...” he confessed, “I just see people employing sophism in conversations all the time, so I guess I just... copied the behavior?” he started walking in small circles while he explained, “in fact, you had just used sophism yourself, when you compared my situation with Ayumu to your situation regarding Maxie... You created a false correlation, all I did was add the resultant incorrect conclusion. I mean, if I understood correctly, the reason why you cannot sleep without Maxie is because you're worried... this is a variable that is acting upon you right now, not a constant state. That, however, doesn't apply to me. I cannot sleep without Ayumu at any moment, regardless of what I am experiencing on that moment. Therefore, while your dependency on Maxie is situational, my dependency of Ayumu is invariable. It's not the same relation... Meaning your correlation was incorrect, despite the fact it seemed rational,” he concluded, then opened his arms, looking at Archie, and said “Sophism.”

Archie scratched his chin.

“Hm... you do know I was just joking, right, boyo?” he asked, and Cyrus blushed a little.

“So you mean to tell me that average people consider arriving at incorrect conclusions funny?” he asked, confused.

“Well, yeah,” replied the other man, “for example: peas are green... and melons are also green! Peas are round... and melons too! Peas come from plants and so do melons... that means melons are just very large peas!” he explained, then laughed a little and stared at Cyrus with a big smile on his face, but his housemate didn't show any reaction.

“Come on, it was funny,” added Archie.

“I'm not good with jokes...” explained the Galactic Boss, looking down.

“Meh... That's fine...” answered the Aqua Boss, “It was a pretty lame joke actually...”

There was a moment of silence. Archie kept staring at the window, fidgeting with his hands, while Cyrus remained still, not sure if it would be socially acceptable to just leave at that point.

The Aqua Boss sighed.

“Well...” said Cyrus. “Since Ayumu is unable to help you soothe your anxiety right now, I'm going to take him back with me...”

“Oh, yeah, sure!” said Archie, as if coming back to reality from a deep trance, “sorry again about taking him, I didn't know he was a therapy friend...” he thought for a few seconds, “you... you said he eats your bad dreams right? I hope you didn't have any sort of nightmare or anything because I took him...”

Cyrus looked away, slightly uncomfortable with that topic.

“Uhm. Yeah, to tell you the truth I did.”

“Oof... Sorry...” said Archie, “I really didn't want to cause that much trouble. Hope it wasn't a really bad nightmare.”

“It is always bad. That's part of the definition of a nightmare.” said the Galactic Boss, running out of patience.

“You wanna talk about it?” asked Archie.

Cyrus glanced at him.

“The only person who ever asked me that before was my therapist.”

“Well, I'm not a therapist, but I don't know... Talking can help sometimes!” answered the other man.

“There isn't much to talk about.” said Cyrus, “It was just a collection of vivid flashbacks from my most traumatic experiences, like always...”

“That... sounds like a lot to talk about actually, boyo.”

“Well, if I were to describe it and explain the whole thing, it would certainly take a while. But there is no point in talking about it. And I honestly would prefer not to...” he said, then made a short pause before continuing, “I've had a good share of discomfort by revisiting them in dreams already, I don't wanna repeat that by revisiting it via descriptions now.”

“I understand... You don't have to tell me if it makes you feel bad, Cy.” said Archie, in a way that reminded Cyrus of his therapist again. “I just wanted you to know that you can always talk to me if you feel like you need to open up to someone, alright?”

“Uhm... OK.” answered the other man, nodding and looking down. He didn't have lots of experience with that kind of talk. It sounded like something he should have heard from his parents when he was a child, but never did. No one had ever told him this kind of thing before. He didn't really know why, but that was comforting, and he started to feel like talking more. “Since you said this...” he added, timidly, “I suppose I'm going to share something else. I had a brief anxiety attack after waking up just now.”

“Oof...” said Archie, “I've never had one of those, but I know they are pretty awful.”

“Yes. But I was able to contain it,” added Cyrus, almost proudly, “my therapist has taught me some techniques to calm down.”

“That's great!” said Archie, “Proud of you, boyo! It's probably difficult to stop that from happening. Guess that's progress, eh?”

“I... guess...” said Cyrus. “Thanks.”

Archie looked down.

“I'm feeling sorta bad, though... You had that anxiety thingy because of me, right? Because I took Ayumu?”

“Yes, I guess that's not incorrect,” said Cyrus, “It was a consequence of my nightmare, which only occurred due to Ayumu's absence, so yes, it was an indirect consequence of your actions.”

“Darn...” replied Archie. “I'm sorry, Cy. I'm never gonna take Ayumu again! Promise!”

“That's good” said the blue-haired man.

“I wanted to soothe my anxiety and ended up making yours worse... Bad, Archie! Bad!” He said, then sighed again and looked at the window. He was still thinking about Maxie.

“If you have anxiety, then you should go see a psychologist too, you know?” said Cyrus.

“Oh, no, no, sorry!” explained the Aqua Boss, “I don't have anxiety, like... the disorder. I was talking about this feeling of uneasiness, you know? It's just something I'm feeling right now.”

“Oh” answered Cyrus, then scratched his head, “and... do you want to talk about it?” he asked, trying to be polite.

“Yeah, if you don't mind it...” said the other one, “I mean, I told you before, I'm worried about Maxie... You see, he is the most important person in my life! So, well... I know he must be OK, but I can't help thinking that something bad might have happened, you know? What if they had an accident? Or maybe they were mugged! Or maybe...” he put his hand over his mouth and shook his head, “Anything could have happened... And when I think about that... I think about how bad it would be If I ever lost him... I just...” he swallowed hard, “I don't know what I would do without him... I can't even think about it...”

“Hm...” said Cyrus, “Why do you think something bad happened to him, though?”

“Because it's almost four and he hasn't shown up! Or messaged me!” said Archie.

“What time should he have arrived?”

“He said 'something between two and three in the morning'...” he replied, then crossed his arms, “I mean, it hasn't been that long, he is not that late... but it's Maxie, he would have either messaged me or called if he knew he would be late...” Saying that, Archie puffed and fidgeted, clearly very nervous. He continued, “I'm just so worried... I mean, I love Maxie, but he's not an excellent driver... What if he crashed? Darn! I just hope he didn't crash the car... I hope he didn't... I hope he is not hurt!”

“uh...” began to say Cyrus, but soon noticed Archie wasn't done speaking yet.

“I should have gone with him!” continued the other man, “I shouldn't have stayed home just because of a sore tummy... I'm not even sick anymore! I could have gone with him... I should have! If I had gone with him, I could have avoided this...”

“This what?” asked Cyrus.

“This... This situation!” answered Archie.

“But you don't know what the situation is, therefore you don't know if you could have avoided it...” replied the Galactic Boss.

“Uh... Yeah...” said Arche, “I guess, but... What I meant is, if I were with him, if anything went wrong, I could at least try to protect him...”

“I don't believe being with him would have changed the outcome of the situation. Consider he had a car accident. You don't drive, so he would have been the one driving either way. Chances are, he would have had the accident anyway. Or if he got mugged... If a person was willing to mug him and Tabitha, the same person might as well have mugged him if he were with you. And resisting it would be worse, so it would have been the same.” explained Cyrus.

“Well... Yeah...” replied the Aqua Boss, “But I don't know, I would at least be with him... At least I would know what's going on...”

“Yes, that makes sense,” the blue-haired man crossed his arms, thoughtful, “your uneasiness right now results from the fact that you don't know what is going on with your husband... However, if you do not know what happened, that means trying to solve the problem now will be pointless.”

“Well, I'm not trying to solve it... I'm just... I'm just worried...”

“What for, though? I mean, very well, it will be very bad if something negative has happened to Maxie. However, you have no evidence of that whatsoever” said Cyrus, “while Maxie could have had a car accident or gotten hurt in any other way, he also could have gotten lost in a place with no phone signal, or the concert could have lasted much longer than it should have and it's still going on... or he could have stopped to eat something in a cheap restaurant and Tabitha got stuck in the toilet stall and they are trying to open the door, and that is occupying him so much that he forgot to call you. There is a nearly uncountable number of possibilities of things that could have happened, and you do not know which one has actually happened... Therefore, keeping your mind busy with trying to figure out something that, for all practical purposes, is impossible to find out right now... That is pointless.”

“Whoa...” said Archie, “Hold your Mudsdales, boyo... I think I got lost somewhere in your explanation.”

“I'm going to try to explain again, then,” said the other man, “my therapist told me to examine my thoughts regarding anxiety, panic and fear. One of the things I was taught is to analyze whether or not there is empirical evidence that can confirm the thoughts I am having. That is, is there anything I can actually observe that indicates something is wrong right now, or is everything coming from my own mind?”

“Well... Maxie is late... that is real, it's a fact” said Archie.

“It is. However, the only objective conclusion we can take from this I that, most probably, something unexpected happened to Maxie tonight. Still, we don't have how to verify whether or not this unexpected event has harmed Maxie in any way or not...”

“Hm.. Yeah, I mean... I don't know if he's hurt or not...”

“Exactly. You don't even know if he had a real problem or not,” said Cyrus, “and yet you already deduced you should have gone with him to avoid a hypothetical problem that may not even be real, and if real could not even be avoidable to begin with.”

Archie sighed, then smiled a little.

“Yeah... Maybe he's just fine... but what if he isn't?”

“Is there anything you can do if he isn't?” asked Cyrus, “Is there any way you might know if he isn't?”

“No...” said Archie, “and that... is scary...”

Cyrus opened his mouth a little, but said nothing. He looked down.

“I get that” he said, after a few seconds, “fear is... pretty much irrational. And sometimes the things our mind comes up with are really terrifying...”

Archie nodded.

“But we need to try to fight back rationally,” continued the other man, “because, well... if you just listen to all the horrible things your mind can make up, you will end up paralyzed with fear. The fact is that the possibilities are endless when you start to think about what could have been, or what could be... Sometimes I look around and I ask myself 'what if none of this is real and one day I just wake up in the Distortion World'... And that's very... well,” he looked away once again, ashamed, “scary...” he said. “But I can't live every day of my life in fear that at any moment I'll wake up in another reality. I have to be down to earth and rational and base my thoughts on what I can actually observe... On what is materially, objectively and undoubtedly real...”

“I didn't know you felt that way, boyo...” said Archie, “Don't worry, though. I'm here and I can guarantee to you that this house is real, no Distortion World here!”

“Hm... Thanks for this addition,” said Cyrus, “still, let's get back to your problem. The reason I said all this is because you have to be rational now and try to contain your anxiety. If there is no evidence that Maxie is hurt right now, and there is nothing you can do to verify that or to change that, so avoid thinking about that. It is better to hope for the best instead...”

“Heh...” chuckled Archie, “You're right, boyo... Not that it isn't difficult not to wonder what could have happened...”

“The fact is that so far, his absence can be explained by many different things. If he had been absent for, let's say... two days, or something... That would have narrowed the possible explanations. The longer he has been away, the less explanations you can think of, so you have more reasons to believe something bad has actually happened. But so far, it's still not that much time, as you said earlier...”

“True”, said the Aqua Boss, “maybe I should at least wait a bit longer...”

“I think that sounds reasonable.”

“Yeah...”

Once again, there was a brief moment of silence.

“Thanks for talking to me about this, Cy!” said Archie, smiling, “it really helped me. I'm still worried... But I feel a bit calmer.”

“You're welcome,” said Cyrus, “I didn't expect to be able to help, honestly.”

“Well, I told you everyone has something to give!” Archie smiled.

“Usually what I have to give is knowledge in physics, though”, answered the Galactic boss, and suddenly the other man started laughing.

“I like your jokes, Cyrus...” he said, still giggling.

“It was not a joke” replied the other man.

“It was still funny.”

“Well, I'm going back to my room and try to sleep the rest of the night,” said Cyrus.

“Okie! Have a good rest, Cy... I'll be here waiting for Max...”

Cyrus turned around and headed to the staircase, Ayumu following him right after. As soon as he started going up the stairs, he heard the front door opening.

“Maxie!” he heard Archie say, and looked back at the living room. The Magma Boss had just entered the house and the two men were hugging.

“Oh, Archie... I'm so sorry! My phone ran out of battery and Tabitha forgot his phone charging again!” said Maxie, “I couldn't warn you I'd get home late...”

Cyrus started going upstairs again, but still could hear the couple's conversation.

“I was so worried, baby...” said Archie... “what happened?”

“Well, The show was great, but they gave so many encores that when we left, the subways had already stopped running... So I had to take Tabitha to his house, and it's on the other side of the city so...”

The Galactic Boss entered his room, followed by his Munna. It was exactly 4 a.m.

“Well. I've got three hours of sleep left, Ayumu,” he said, “Could have saved nearly an hour if I hadn't stayed so long with Archie... But that's OK.”

Ayumu gently floated down and laid on Cyrus' bed. The blue-haired man sat down by the Pokémon's side, patted it on the back and then laid down on his bed next to it. He closed his eyes and soon fell asleep again. Ayumu snuggled up against his trainer and, within less than a minute, a thick magenta stream of mist started exhaling from the pink circle between his eyes.

—— (Scene by GabiWaffle)

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a-walk-in-silver-rain · 3 years

Note

Hello! So I saw that this account was fairly new and while I was scrolling through matchups I found your account and decided why not? So if it's alright with you, may I request an Obey Me Match-up?

My name is Nox or Ohjuu, afab Agender (he/it/they pronouns), 5'7 feet, has short, fluffy red hair, and my body type is muscular with fluff (pretty thicc in the thighs but shhhhhh insecurities-). My signs are Capricorn (Sun), Gemini (Moon), and Cancer (Rising); my MBTI type is ESTJ / ISTJ and my personality type is 6w5. Just to add a lil tidbit my clothing aesthetic is grudge/flannel/depressed artist/skater boi if that makes any sense? Giving love language is 1, gift giving 2, acts of service, 3 physical touch (all depends on partner.) Receiving love language is 1, Physical Touch and Words of Affrimation (these two are at a tie) 2, Acts of service 3, Quality Time.

Describing my personality may be kinda tough because it always changes depending who I'm around with and everyone will have a different opinion of me no matter what I do. But I would like to think I'm open minded, empathetic, caring, generous, serious and quite, at least that's what I think and I'm usuallythe mom/quite/therapist friend, I should probably mention that despite this not many people come near or even talk to me, probablybecauseof my resting bitch face, but peopleusuallyleave me be, which is good in some cases. Though those are the basic points to myself, however I can't just ignore my bad qualities either, I'm quick to anger depending on the situation, I'll stand up for others but i won't stand up/will take the blame for myself, I'm self sacrificing (I heard told I do that but I just mainly do it on command, to my I do it because it's my way of proving that I care for someone or that I would rather get hurt myself rather than them), I have little to no confidence in myself albeit I actually try to stay that way, and I'm a bit self depreciating....a lot (though that's in private or I make jokes about it-)Though even though I am like this, for self depreciation, and opiate mindset is what I need (Me = self depreciating, Partner = hopefully not the same). And I feel a bit of a cluster fuck when it comes to me or my personality (having wrath actually kinda makes me feel worse because I kind have trauma over people with wrath and knowing I have it makes me feel horrible.)

Hobbies? Well I don't have many but when I'm not on burnout I really like to draw a lot, it helps especially when I need to vent out something (seeing art that was drawn out of sadness or anger you can tell and it's kinda creepy how it does that.) Also coaplay is a favorite pass time as well! Though I don't do it too often, but when I do it's really fun! And finally in 3rd place I have gaming, I wouldn't really call myself a gamer but there are a couple games that peak my interest (Genshin Impact, Pokémon, Hallow Knight are some.) Honorable mentions are Hiking/Walking (I actually mean that), watching some shows/anime, and idk daydreaming I guess?

I should probably mention a few things like interests that hasn't already been mentioned in hobbies. I like to cook, I think I'm a pretty good cook, so I do it, I mostly do savory stuff and I usually like the food spicy though usually my friends/family can't really handle something more than mild, which makes me sad. I actually have an interest in animal science and I hope to become a veterinarian or at least someone that works with animals and if we're talk about animals, dogs or cats? I have to pick both (though exceptoon if the dog is big, I love big dogs), but I really can't choose, but if I get a third option I choose snakes. I use to have an instrest in poetry, but I'm stoped for a bit because not many people like dark poetry (I never really write lighthearted poetry because it always end up being dark even without me trying-.)

Quirks? Not a BNHA reference but I should mention some more things about myself, I'm sensitive to light and crowds, the light makes my eyes hurt and kinda faint and crowds just get me worked up and my flight responses kinda kick in (I usually try to keep my room as dark as possible and secluded because of this.) I kinda have poor memory, and sometimes I remember stuff and sometimes I don't, I have some tics that don't appear too often but when they do I usually make a hissing sound, a weird vocal sound, and with that comes some kind if head twitch, I can control it better in public but some of it slips and it's quite embarrassing. I WILL go into flight or fight mode if I'm being yelled or scolded at or if I hear yelling in general, depending on who it is I go with flight but I will go fight if needed, not only can't I not stand the loudness or tone but I usually don't need people criticizing, scolding, or hating me when I can perfectly do it myself. I shouldalso mention I'mtired almost all the time, even when I sleep well, I just feel sluggish a lot and I just wish I could sleep but I really don't like it because I know I need to get work done but motivation is coming slow these days. Finally umm....also as a defense or regular manurism I hiss and growl, kinda like a cat and/or wolf, usually confuses people enough for me to get away in situations but I sometimes like to do it when I'm angry or when to fuck with people.

And uhhhh yeah that's it from me! I really really really hope this wasn't too much information or if I wrote something down that was triggering OR that I was being a but too self depreciating. Anyways I really hope you have a good day!!

Hiya! Thanks for sending in a request! And don't worry about it you didn't write too much! I hope you have a lovely day/night too! (^_^)

I'd match you with...

Mammon

I think that you and Mammon would work really well together since you've added that your love language for giving is acts of service and physical touch which Mammon is definitely touch starved. And even just small things like touching his shoulder while talking to him or to get his attention would make him a bit happier. As for the acts of service, Mammon is normally the one asking for things like if he needs help with studying. Having some just do something for him or ask instead of him vouln-telling someone to help would kinda confuse him though he'd be happy.

Mammon being Mammon is a tsundere, this means you'll likely be spending a lot of time around him while he says he there because he could tell you wanted him around or something like that. He'd try to help you where he can and do little things he notices, and although he's not the best with words he'd try his hardest to comfort you.

Being the mom/therapist friend would definitely come in handy when with Mammon since he's not great with keeping his impulses and strange schemes in check. Mammon could use someone to just talk to about his feeling and the bullying of his brothers. Being able to have someone who cook would definitely help his eating habits since he eats a lot of cup ramen (I remember something say that in game) since he’s not to great of a chef himself.

I feel like Mammon would be so soft for you, he'd be absolutely terrible at hiding but he'd try in public and in front of his brothers. Mammon's happy watching you cosplay or draw. He might request you try and show him how to do it cause it can't be that hard right? But he'd definitely try and play some of the games you play and suggest some you two might be able to play together. He would definitely get confused by Genshin and how much stuff there is to keep track of. He'd most likely just follow you around trying to help you kill stuff.

I can’t imagine see Mammon not liking any of your pet preferences since I feel like he like dogs more but would totally be chill with a cat. I think you might scare Mammon with you poetry depending on how dark you write each particular piece. He’d be supportive but just don’t read them to him before bed.

The biggest problem with being with Mammon is how loud he can get, he doesn’t really notice when he does so you’ll probably have to bring it to his attention if you want him to quite down. If he ever saw or sensed that you were starting to go into your flight response when in a public area he’d pull you into him or pick you up and run off to a much more secluded area. Lastly there’s no way he’d really mind your ticks and your quirks he might question it a bit at first but if you just explain it he be fine, still might not get it but won’t really question it further.

Thank you so much for the matchup! I hope you liked it! Any feedback would be great!

#obey me #obey me matchups #obey me mammon #matchups #Ohjuu/Nox

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