Two Nobles down… three to go.
Joshua runs his thumb over the smooth green surface of the Meadow Pte.
It's a shade lighter than the Insect Pte, and much like it, he can't even use it with his current team.
Don't get him wrong, he HAS grass types, they're just the ones he's caught to complete the Pokedex, and he's once again reminded that he should fill out his team.
He also has his Grit Rocks, which he's going to use on Jophiel and Uriel once their growth starts to pteau.
Maybe he's going about this wrong?
He has to catch at least one each anyways, it's only the matter of Alphas that he wants to prioritize for his team, because they're naturally stronger.
Garchomp is an absolute must, the thing is a powerhouse, but it's also one of Joshua's favorite Pokemon. With his training, even non “absolutely min-maxed” Pokemon could be immensely powerful.
And to be honest… Joshua’s favorite Pokemon tend to be the stronger ones…
So who would be a good addition to the team?
“...”
…wait a minute.
Isn't there a quest board in Jubalife thats all about finding Pokemon?
Joshua has to admit, while he's not very interested in the competitiveness of his Pokemon, he does want to pick ones with more potential.
But if hes going to catch them anyways, might as well get some cash out of it, right?
“I'm going to head back now, are you all good?” He calls out to the other three.
He gets thumbs up across the board.
Alrighty.
Joshua hops on Jophiel, and wonders when he'll meet these people again, because it's been fun.
…
Jubilife Vilge.
He's only there for a moment, zeroing in on the request board even if it nears sunset.
“Lets see…”
Pnt collection…
Pnt collection…
Repair work…
Ah, here it is.
“Request for subjugation of ‘strange Pokemon’ terrorizing the Horseshoe Pins in the… Obsidian Fieldnds…”
Strange Pokemon?
There's no more details, so it must be something interesting at least.
But still, the Horseshoe Pins…
What's with this… foreboding feeling?
…
It's night by the time he arrives at the Horseshoe Pins. Immediately, he's met with a strange scene.
Down below is a small, Gaxy Team camp. The tents are charred and the grass around it is scorched bck.
“Another thing that wasn't in the game…”
Two members of of the expedition team, judging by their uniforms, sit at a small fire, seeing Joshua, they both stand up and wave.
Raising an eyebrow, he has Jophiel swoop down to them.
The ground crunches as she nds, Joshua hops off as the two uniformed people walk towards him.
A man and a woman. The woman is the first to speak up.
“Thank Almighty Sinnoh you're here! You saw the request we posted in Jubilife, yes?”
“...yeah. It only said something about a ‘strange Pokemon’ though, mind filling in the bnks?”
They seem to get confused at his words, heads tilted slightly and sharing a gaze.
Ah, right. The words are a bit different here.
Pokeworld things.
“Just… give me the details, please”
Hearing that, the two begin recounting their story.
Basically, they were sent by the Gaxy Team to research Pokemon, but they've been routinely attacked by a ‘rge, strange Pokemon that spews fire’. And after a few days of no progress and repeated attacks on their camp, they sent a message back to Jubilife to request help.
“Do you think you could look around and take care of it?”
This is probably the most Pokemon-reted thing he's ever done. Taking random side-quests from strangers.
[You should do it!]
[When are going to get another qna?]
[Ooohhh that's right! Joshua, do another Q&A please!!!]
[Yessssss]
[We get depressed every time he talks about his world, why do you want this?]
[Being curious and sad is not mutually exclusive]
Joshua makes a note to do that ter.
“Sure, I'll check it out. Anything specific I should know about?”
“Just be careful, it is a mighty dangerous Pokemon!”
“I’ll be careful”
[IonoZone: Sure buddy]
With that, he hops on Jophiel and doesn't take into the air this time. She walks, Uriel and Akari follow behind them.
Again, Akari hasn't said anything about actually teaching her how to handle Pokemon.
Screw it, he's just going to ask straight up after this, having her just follow him around is just silly.
After a few minutes, in true Pokemon convenience, he hears a commotion nearby. With the darkness of the night, he's able to see a bright fsh coming from just behind a nearby hill.
“Someone probably pissed off a fire-type…”
He isn't sure what would even cause a Pokemon to repeatedly attack like that, unless it's the Goodra situation again.
…Joshua really hopes the Gaxy Team isn't that stupid.
…
*BOOOOOOOOOM*
Fire erupts, plunging the area in a bright blue fme. People not part of Gaxy Team are shouting at each other, trying to pull away from the fmes.
Bandits?
Joshua watches with confusion.
What the hell is going on?!
Well he certainly found the Pokemon, but the chaos makes it hard to see. With how it's currently throwing itself at the bandits, with several unconscious bodies around it, he can safely say that it might be the tiniest bit upset.
Attacks are getting thrown left and right. But the Pokemon on the bandits side are struggling to stay in the fight. It looks like these guys have less Pokemon skill than Coin did, which is saying a lot.
Joshua plucks a pokeball from his belt.
“Joey, Uri, you two deal with the bandits. Ace, I want you to help with the fire. I'm going to see if I can calm it down”
(“By yourself?”)
“I have dozens of Pokemon I can throw at it if I need to, I'll be fine”
She nods, Joshua and Akari dismount and they both take off. Ace, recently released from her ball, looks around with narrowed eyes.
“You gotta be high if you think I can put out all this…”
“Just try your best” Joshua says reflexively before running away from her, making her sputter in annoyance.
“TRYING MY BEST DOESNT MAKE ME A FIREFIGHTER”
“I believe in you!”
He hears her groan loudly, but Joshua pays it no mind. With his helmet on, he's confident that he at least won't be instantly killed.
Joshua runs into the fray, Expansion Suit strengthening his legs, leading into powerful strides that blitzes him across the grass.
Fire rages around him, he sees a rge figure in the smoke and kicked up dirt. Not wanting to get closer, he decides to distract it.
He grabs an empty Pokeball from his inventory and chucks it at the vague silhouette.
If he can distract it, then the others will have an easier time!
As the ball hits, he hears the familiar sound of a Pokemon being sucked into it. And for a moment, it goes quiet. The fmes die down, and Joshua tenses his legs, waiting for it to break out and charge at him.
But what he doesn't expect is for it to rock.
Again…
And again…
Until…
*Click*
Small fireworks shoot up.
Joshua stares, completely dumbfounded. Now not entirely sure what to do.
He… caught it?
How? There's no way he's THAT lucky, right? From it's size, that should have been an Alpha Pokemon, how did he…
No.
No no no no.
There's no fucking way.
That dreadful feeling is back.
Joshua's shaking hand picks up the Pokeball, every part of him screaming not to open in.
But he knows that it's inevitable. So he prays, he PRAYS that it didn't happen again. Because if his time here has taught him anything, this world is a circus sometimes, and he is Arceus’ favorite clown.
He releases the Pokemon.
And he weeps.
[There's NO WAY]
[LMAOOOOOOOOOOO]
[THE LEGEND LIVES ON]
[ONE OF US ONE OF US ONE OF US]
[A new color enters the spectrum]
[StevenStoneOffical: I genuinely cannot tell if you are either the luckiest or unluckiest man I have ever seen.]
[I<3Gible: This has to be on purpose, right?]
[IonoZone: Nope, Josh just does this sometimes (*???*)]
He doesn't DO shit!!!
Joshua looks up.
And meets the gaze of an Alpha.
Cream colored fur, standing at a staggering eleven feet two inches tall, a unicorn with sapphire blue eyes and a raging inferno of bright blue fire repcing it's mane and tale, tracing along its fetlocks and back.
They stare at him with a neutral, emotionless expression, almost listlessly apathetic.
Out of everything it could have been.
Out of all of the Alphas.
Why did it have to be a shiny Alpha Rapidash?
Is it female…? He checks the UI…
Yup. Of course it is.
*beep*
Joshua slowly pulls out his phone. A message greets him, with the same upbeat energy he's come to expect from the Alpaca.
>HOPE YOU ENJOY<
“...”
He stares at the message with dead eyes. And with slow fingers, he types slowly.
>why<
>FUNNI<
>OVO<
Joshua suddenly REALLY wants to get his hands on one of her avatars.
(A/N: The curse lives on. He shall never escape.)
