Chad sat on the bed inside the team’s room, staring at the sun which hung high enough in the sky to be mid-afternoon. “Yea, now I know you’re worried…” He whispered, unclipping the remaining pokeball from the team belt and releasing Keanu, who appeared seated in the lounge chair.
“And he is right to be,” the owl commented, his voice laden with concern. “I may not have a reality-adjacent omnipotent being sitting on my shoulder, but even I could spot trouble after barely a few minutes with that pokemon.”
“Alright, spell it out for me, because if these Team Flare are anything like Team Rocket were, I may support Dragonair’s mission to wipe them out.” The dragon requested, leaning forward enough that Keanu wouldn’t need to speak very loudly.
“And even at that point they were bordering on unhinged,” Keanu commented, steepling the feather tips of his wings. “Even restoring the power to the city wasn’t enough…”
“Wait, the Master Ball? The ‘Guaranteed Capture of Any Pokemon’ MacGuffin? Purple and white pokeball with a little ‘M’ on the top?” Chad rattled off, now fully at attention.
“...You mean they can’t just release them and re-use it?”
Technically if this were a normal Pokemon story, yes. But this is more like a “Oh shoot, my son/daughter deviously threw my only Master Ball at a Magikarp and saved the game” situation. So, no, it’s useless now.
“Contract?” Keanu questioned with a raised eyebrow.
“Long story, but yea he signed a contract with… three of them?” Chad tried to remember, drawing a blank on his pokemon creation lore. “Anyway, so my counterpart is likely off the deep end by now, I take it?”
Chad weighed the statement before falling backwards on the soft mattress that somehow was big enough for all of him to spread out (except his tail, which dangled the fiery tip off the flammable sheets). “Then I’m going to use the remaining time to create a plan. Can you get me the details on Dragonair’s moveset? If I remember right, they should be vulnerable to dragon, ice, and this new fairy type. But since nobody has any ice or fairy moves, I guess that leaves things to me… Shame there’s nobody who can activate my Mega form.”
“That– That is going to be an issue. Is their fighting style the same as mine?” Chad balked, hearing a dangerous mix of melee, ranged, and AoE moves.
“Yea, all-out offense. You couldn’t convince me to battle them even for a king’s ransom.” Keanu commented as he stood and moved to the door. “I’m going to take a walk around town before sundown.” He was gone before Chad could even ask what was on the odd avian’s mind.
Chad, finding himself gliding through the air all of a sudden, dug into his training and stabilized himself before panic brought him into a free fall. “Narrator..?”
“And that halted the time-warp because..?”
I gently placed the metal instrument back on the tray table, careful not to let any of the blood drip onto my exposed sleeve. I can admit that torture serves no logical purpose, especially in situations involving so severe of a language barrier as our current one. But studying a live specimen and recording notes was science, and science was always logical. Bryony and Celosia had both failed and succeeded in their mission, a growing trend for Team Flare lately. Thankfully, while they worked on resetting the Master Ball back in the lab to be reused on a different pokemon, they left me a research subject for study.
It was a touching gift; both of them remembered how I previously informed them of my desire to study a true dragon type. And what luck that a volunteer landed right into their hands! Well, maybe not exactly a consenting volunteer– I thankfully had been wearing ear protection when it attempted to render me unconscious. As a side bonus, the gag stifled the bulk of the screaming.
Originally, my mission had been to study the local Abomasnow population, to document or determine why they were so rare in an area clearly suited to their biology. However, such research paled in value when compared to the subject currently on my examination table. Shame though, a Noivern would’ve been enough justification to pull away either Bryony or Celosia to assist me. “If only you had evolved before volunteering; research into Noivern biology is extremely rare to come by…”
I felt a cold wind whistle through the cavern, blowing my beautiful blue bangs momentarily into my vision and sending a spastic shiver through my subject’s form. Curious; we were deep enough that the winds did not penetrate this far. A glance to the entryway of this area was rewarded with the sight of the most beautiful pokemon I had ever seen. A long dragon, whose scales matched my hair and favorite color, eyed me with love. “Oh, you’ve finally come! My perfect pokemon, with you at my side Lysandre will never be able to decline my grant requests again!” I threw the ultra ball at the pokemon, excited to finally have a dragon of my own!
The ball smacked into it, and fell to the ground without reacting. “Oh, you’re more powerful than you look. I had yet to meet a pokemon which could deny the capture function of a pokeball.” Then it shifted, and I realized it had not been looking at me, but the research subject. I also noted that the wheezing and labored breathing of the subject had become mysteriously quiet.
When we locked eyes, the previously dimly-lit cavern went bright white.
Calem and Serena were hiking north from town, following the tip about a Mamoswine that frequently assisted trainers with crossing Route 17. “You know, I bet Alphonse could just fly us through the snow. Not like there’s any trainers along the way.” Serena suggested, tugging her warm coat closer as her breath fogged in the mid-day air.
“I know he could, but I also know your Aerodactyl doesn’t like me or any other man getting too close to you.” Calem whipped back, adjusting his snow gloves. “And Ferdinand hasn’t fully evolved into Flygon yet, so I can’t just fly behind you.”
“Not much longer, I bet. Before you know it, we’ll be zooming through the skies everywhere.” She boasted, leaning backwards to take in the wide open blue yonder that awaited above. “I wonder how Chad’s been. He wasn’t that far behind us…” The two could see the entrance of the cave in the distance, the whole route being tranquil and quiet ever since they left town.
“Wait!” The voice came from behind them, from a familiar woman in a yellow sundress who was practically sprinting at them barefoot, her heels dangling from one hand. “Don’t go in there!” She continued, both under-dressed for the cold and completely devoid of her previous aura from their first encounter.
Calem, skeptical, did as she bade and stopped in the middle of the road. “Something wrong, ma’am?” He asked innocently, eyes drawn to the six pokeballs forming a bracelet around her wrist.
“You two need to get out of here, before–” She’s cut-off as a massive explosion blasts out of the cave, dozens of wild pokemon hurrying out in fright trying to escape. From the cloud of smoke, a lone Team Flare grunt is sprinting wildly away, off towards the forest east of the path. Before he can make the treeline, a white beam pierces the smoke in an upward motion, slicing through several trees in the background and atomizing the man where it makes contact. “Before Dragonair leaves the cave…” The woman trailed off, slowly palming all six pokeballs at once.
From the black clouds, a golden-orange and white biped strides out, with a pear-shaped body, a thick tail, two stubby little wings, and enough power to cow even the strongest of trainers. They carry the small form of a purple and black bat pokemon in their right arm, gently cradling the still form. Their sky-blue eyes flitter through a kaleidoscope of various emotions, locking in on disappointment upon spotting the woman in the sundress.
Chad could feel the temperature dropping as he sped east, having already fully stacked Agility for maximum speed. “Please tell me you can still at least rewind me if anything goes wrong?”
Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more.
And this is why Storytellers are solitary; things become unstable when Stories intertwine.
“Just– I need to know how many attempts I have to save them.”
Death is permanent; so just don’t die.
“Don’t die, he says; like it’s a trivial thing when going against someone who drastically powerscales me.”
<”Life is short. Do stuff that matters.” is an apt quote, I believe.>
“Yea, like make mine even shorter. Great quote for a two year old.” Chad grumbled, as he spotted the mountain, the road towards it, and most importantly his friends. Two pokemon, one red and one tan, were giving it their all to protect three humans behind them from a Dragonite’s onslaught. To the degree he saw the tan one collapse, and no other pokemon come to take their place.
“Author, if Dragonite can’t hear you, I really would appreciate your insights when fighting them. I really want to live long enough to fight in the conference.” Chad prayed before tucking his body close together, a spiral of light blue energy forming out in front of him. He began to dive towards his target, accelerating as the wind screamed from his passing.
Claude was down… I had nobody left– Dorothy was the only pokemon standing between the three of us and the mythical orange dragon that bore down on us. Miss ‘Dommy Mommy’ ended up being useless, with her pokemon refusing to come out. They were probably scared, I don’t blame them.
I just wish this wasn’t how it ended.
Dorothy was exhausted, having spent all of her energy just defending from this monster’s attacks. The only pokemon I had left was Corine, and she was so new I wouldn’t throw out the little Litwick here. Hugo, Katia, Marcelle, Dorian, Louise, Alphonse, Remy, Fleur, Fernand, and now Claude… All taken down without even putting so much as a blemish on that impossible thing. I noticed Calem glance at Dorothy, before she shook her head slightly. “Calem…” I called out, before offering him my hand. “It’s been great traveling with you.”
His expression broke through the determination, as the fear finally set in, before he took my hand with a smile. “Sorry, Serena; I was really looking forward to fighting you for the conference title.” I gripped it firmly, choosing to focus on him, on the most reliable idiot I’d ever known. “We never did get to break our tie, did we?”
I felt the air whoosh by as I accepted my fate.
After a second, I cracked an eye. Calem still looked just as handsome as when he was alive; his hand still felt warm in mine. It was like nothing had happened, the world was still in full color, and the road was just plain dirt. I guess it was painless, what a mercy…
That was when I heard it, the sonic boom of when a flying pokemon broke the speed of sound. It was nearby, and loud– very loud? It was the last thing I heard before my ears began ringing. Though then I noticed Dorothy perk up in the corner of my eye, almost excited. Maybe we’re not dead yet after all..?
In front of the Dragonite, an orange blur was spinning so fast I couldn’t make out any details, coated in the tell-tale blue of flying energy. The speed– was that an Aerial Ace?
Eventually the pokemon who had come to our rescue stopped spinning, resolving into another orange-red dragon, this one with larger wings, and a familiar flaming tail. His fist was extended, having been caught by the Dragonite’s own three-fingered grip. “Chad–!” was all I managed to call out (I think) before he was swung around and overhead straight into the ground. When the dust cleared from the impact, it was clear even Chad didn’t stand a chance.
His neck was bent the wrong way, I could see a bone poking out from his right wing, the flame on his tail was barely an ember. Worst of all, he wasn’t even moving. The sight seemed to drain Dorothy of her last stamina, as she fell to her knees.
I didn’t need my hearing to tell she was screaming.
Even Chad was against me. I had to bury a teammate– a friend– one of my first friends in… I can’t even remember. All I wanted was revenge, and to protect the damn world from this handful of insane people who were dead-set on ending it. Ending it for pokemon, for other humans– for anyone who wasn’t them.
And somehow I was the bad guy?
And then there was Her; The Lady. She could’ve gotten me here in time, to save Noibat while he still held on. His body was still warm, a cruel reminder that I was just minutes too late.
The two humans just down the road seemed to have lost the will to fight the inevitable, with only an exhausted pokemon standing between them and the inevitable. That damn vixen wouldn’t even send out one of my teammates to protect them. Hell, I wonder if she was worried they’d join me. No matter, a single Hyper Beam should–
‘CRACK’
The sound brought my eyes down to Chad’s corpse– no, his body; the flame was still lit. The exposed and broken bones slid and cracked back into place as he stood up before me. I could literally watch his neck go from a one-hundred-and-twenty degree bend to straight with a sickening sound. The damage from the impact, all of his injuries seemed to just… Re-Wind.
Back in pristine condition, the Charizard stood upright, his sky blue eyes level with mine. “Ow,” was all he had to say, as he seemed to stretch and re-adjust his joints like they were stiff. I nearly killed this guy, and all he can say is ‘Ow’?!
Just shake it off; like going to a chiropractor.
Chad tried to shake off the phantom pains from being re-assembled, sliding the flight goggles from over his eyes to his forehead as he glanced down at the lifeless purple body cradled in the crook of Dragonite’s arm. “Was he one of yours?” He asked innocently, avoiding any sudden moves. Slowly, the light-orange dragon nodded. “Did you get revenge?”
“Only a handful, so far,” they replied, tone brokering no negotiation for dissuading them from the chosen warpath. “Are you here to stop me?”
Say No.
Chad took the moment to stall, to breathe, before returning his gaze back up to the dragon he had been told he would get to enjoy the rest of his new life with. “No, I’m just here to save them,” he responded, motioning towards Calem and Serena with his horn. “If our paths crossed any other way, I probably would have joined you; but right now my goal is their safety. I know Flare are a threat, but unlike Team Rocket I feel like you can handle this without me.”
Dragonite narrowed his eyebrows skeptically. “Why Rocket? What makes them special?”
Be honest.
Chad blushed before giving a light chuckle. “I used to fantasize a lot about how I would raid Giovanni’s labs and rescue Mewtwo. And maybe he’d be grateful enough to join my team…”
Dragonite didn’t return the smile, letting the silence linger. “Then it sounds like you need to defeat me for your goal.”
Not possible. Gaston will protect them though, so go all-out.
“Nah,” Chad declined, his face falling into a determined resignation. “I don’t need to beat you to win, just survive until you’ve calmed down.” He angled his head so his voice would carry backwards from the side of his mouth. “Gaston,” he called, spurring the brown dinosaur to appear standing as a bulwark for the four. “You’re on defense, show me how you’ve grown.”
"I Really Want to Stay at Your House" by Rosa Walton
If you know this song, you know what it signifies. The question is; who's it for?
Spotify:
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Dragonite took that as the signal, throwing a punch coated with familiar purple flames in a left hook that sent Chad sprawling and rolling across the dirt. In response, Gaston raised several rocky barricades, creating a literal fort to protect his wards. There was a sickening crunch from the Charizard, as the dislocated bones of his jaw and skull snapped back into place. Chad’s body surged with Ki, his head coated in magenta energy, as he slowly strode towards his opponent.
Dragonite impassively extended their left arm, aiming at Chad as they snapped their fingers, sending a bolt of lighting at the flying type who writhed in agony. Undeterred, Chad buffed again with his “Hearts and Minds” combo, to which Dragonite responded with another snap and zap. Breaking up the repetition, Dragonite snapped their fingers again, but instead of a bolt of lighting, the skies above darkened with black clouds as the winds picked up around them. The strong winds caused several tornadoes to touch down around the area at random, while occasional droplets of rain scattered across the open field and trees.
Hurricane, MOVE!
Chad’s wings flared with fire, as a second pair separated from his organic set, thrusting him forward towards Dragonite with a roar of challenge. The two clashed, with the flaming energy surging off Chad and being blocked by Dragonite’s one free hand. Up until the attack was deflected with a spin as the thick yellow-ish tail slammed into the orange ribs and sent the fire type sideways with a sickening crack, sliding through the dirt and grass to come to a stop several feet away. “It appears your immortality is the only real strength you have. Just stay down and let me finish what I need to do.”
Chad groaned, gently rubbing his side as the indent expanded with each rib popping back into place. “Not immortal,” he grumbled, pushing up to his feet with the one arm that wasn’t relocating back into proper shape. “And I’m not stopping you from leaving; you’re free to go at any time.”
Wrong answer…
Dragonite, visibly displeased by the statement, turned their head towards the makeshift fort and let loose an instant beam of white energy that obliterated part of the fort, forcing Gaston to reinforce the structure to prevent it from collapsing. Luckily, the beam had only been aimed at a corner, rather than the center of the structure.
Chad, incensed by the casual violence, gripped his left fire wing, reshaping it as he flew at Dragonite while swinging the familiar flaming sword. Catching the blade with one hand, Dragonite didn’t even turn their head to acknowledge the fiery challenger. “The one-winged angel? Odd choice for someone trying to play the hero,” they commented, releasing their grip as Chad leapt backwards to create distance.
Your only chance to keep up at this point is Mega Evolution.
Before Chad could retort with a smarmy comment, his backpack began to shine from the edges of the top flap, inspiring him to reach backwards with a free hand and withdraw a gently glowing orb from the extradimensional space. “How?” He asked, feeling the energies surging within.
“We’re going to have a talk about this afterwards, but for now… I appreciate it.” Chad declared, grinning as he triggered the evolution within the mega stone.
The change was near-instant, as the new horns and spikes grew from his shoulders, elbows, back, and wings. His skin scorching itself pitch black while his belly flared up a brilliant blue to match his eyes. The fire sword shifted to a matching blue, humming with energy as it grew and solidified. With his now-free hand, Chad grasped the remaining fire wing, condensing it into a second sword before taking up a stance.
Enraged at the sight, Dragonite charged up and blasted at the fortress with a full-fledged white beam again, which crashed into a stone barricade that had arisen in response. One by one, stone walls leapt from the earth to block the attack at the same rate they crumbled under the massive energy. Until the beam was finally stopped by the final wall, left cracked and crumbling from the force. Successful in negating the attack, Gaston grinned as he went about repairing the damage and working on additional defenses.
Chad used the opportunity to close the gap, swinging each blade in alternating timings, forcing Dragonite to dodge and parry each attack; but with each parry, their skin began to singe and scorch from the upgraded blue heat. Noticing the stacking damage, they unleashed a point-blank blast of indigo flames to force Chad to retreat a step. “You think watching anime gives you some sort of power boost here?” Dragonite taunted, coating their fist in the flaming indigo energy once more, this time shaped into a large three-clawed gauntlet.
Chad shouted in rage before leaping back in, the clashes of his blades against the gauntlet sending sparks flying everywhere. But the force was too much, as his left blade fractured and shattered into a raw fiery explosion after yet another parry from the other dragon. Not missing a beat, he swung with the remaining sword as it flared with draconic blue might. The attack landed, smashing into Dragonite and sending them sliding as their claws dug troughs in the dirt. “Just walk away!” Chad shouted, merging the broken and intact blades into a larger, singular greatsword.
Dragonite emerged from the smoke, absolutely glaring at Chad as they removed their hand from the now-burned and bruised ribs. “Why should I?!” The dragon raged, their voice echoing for miles and carrying across all of Kalos.
“Because today, you lost a good friend. And I’m asking– no, begging you; don’t become the reason I need to bury one of mine.”
Dragonite practically deflated at the request, the burning rage having lost its fuel from the fight, as they took a sorrowful glance down towards Noibat’s undisturbed body, still quietly resting in their right arm. Seconds stretched into minutes, as Chad slowly lowered the massive weapon, waiting for a response. Calmly, Dragonite faced Gaston, elevating their voice to carry through the stonework. “If I leave those humans unharmed, will the rest of you join me in eliminating Flare?”
The front of the fort fell away, as each dragon from the squad forced their way out of a pokeball and affirmed their support, some even directly walking over towards their leader. Fraxure was the last to emerge, looking expectantly at the woman in the sundress. “Are you joining us?”
The Lady undid the clasp on her wrist before passing over the pokeballs to the waiting dragon. “Just for the funeral; after that, it’s probably best if we parted ways. I… I don’t want to watch the climax of this Story.” She replied, letting her guise fall and reverting to a yellow vulpine form much to the two humans’ surprise. The last to join them, Gaston leapt down from the roof with an earth-quaking shudder, his new and larger red form towering over the group. Even Dragonite seemed a little shocked, as the dinosaur was twice their height.
“When did that happen?” Chad inquired as his weapon dissipated into raw energy, admiring his teammate’s successful evolution mid-fight.
“Right after the second Hyper Beam. It appears I have ascended to my prime self.” Chad reached down for the remaining pokeballs on his belt before the tiny red arm stopped him. “I know they would love to celebrate, but it may be best to delay until we reconvene for the Conference.” He suggested, motioning towards the other group of dragons before moving to join them. Every step made the dirt tremble in fear, up until the titan and Dragonite’s entourage vanished into their pokeballs.
Their eyes flashing distrust at the Renamon as she signaled her request to ride on their back, Dragonite signaled their contingent permission to the Storyteller. With their rider, cargo, and wrist strap of pokeballs secured, Dragonite took one final sorrowful look at Chad. “I hope you can forgive me,” they stated with remorse, before zooming away at unreal speeds.
Chad let out a sigh of relief, right before being tackled by a fluffy glomp from behind, the assailant’s two arms gripping him tightly. Her words were jumbled and hard to make out, but her warmth was familiar enough for him to gently pat the soft crimson arms. “Hey Dorothy, glad you’re OK too.” Her response was a garbled mess, completely intelligible. Turning around, Calem and Serena were waiting, still firmly holding hands like their lives depended on it. Their faces seemed strained and exhausted, justified by their earlier battle for survival. With a flick, he called out Alexandre, the rabbit furious at being unable to contribute. “Alexandre, can you get everyone to the nearby pokecenter to the south, please?”
Without complaint, the rhino accepted the belt from Chad and returned him, the team backpack falling to the ground as it suddenly experienced gravity. Calem returned his Delphox, as the two wobbled over to where Alexandre simply lifted each in one arm with a princess carry. With a sense of urgency, Alexandre took a stance as the earth below his feet began to slide forward. The stony surfboard accelerated towards town, leaving behind a snake-like fissure in the road. “Everyone’s so damn dramatic,” he grumbled.
Yea, but who wants to read something like that?
Water Pulse, Rain Dance, Swords Dance, Water Gun, Double Team, Scald, Rock Smash, Protect, Detect, Substitute, Dark Pulse, Shadow Sneak, Swift, Nasty Plot, Water Shuriken
Stomp, Rock Tomb, Dragon Dance, Hone Claws, Rock Smash, Bulk Up, Detect, Protect, Dragon Tail, Ancient Power, Stone Edge, Rock Slide, Crunch, Earthquake
Focus Energy, Double Kick, Horn Attack, Dig, Venoshock, Sludge Bomb, Poison Jab, Earthquake, Bulldoze, Protect, Flamethrower, Stone Edge, Power-Up Punch, Bulk Up, Earth Power
Detect, Protect, Extreme Speed, Aura Sphere, Close Combat, Bulk Up, Power-Up Punch, Bone Rush, Metal Claw, ??
Detect, Protect, Swift, Shadow Sneak, Nasty Plot, Phantom Force, Leaf Storm, Synthesis, Leaf Blade, Shadow Ball, Magical Leaf