#and my talonflame is from the area right after I think? | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

verxsyon · 2 years

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·:*¨༺ ❝ 𝐆𝐎𝐓𝐓𝐀 𝐂𝐀𝐓𝐂𝐇 '𝐄𝐌 𝐀𝐋𝐋! ❞

do you have what it takes to be a pokémon master? step right up; start your adventure to become the greatest pokémon master of all time!

✧ 𝐩𝐚𝐢𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠. albedo + arataki itto + childe + diluc + gorou + hu tao + kaedehara kazuha + kaeya + kamisato ayaka + kujou sara + raiden shogun + sangonomiya kokomi + scaramouche + thoma + tomo + traveler (aether/lumine) + venti + xiao + yae miko + yoimiya + zhongli x gn!reader

✧ 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐭. headcanon (written) ; 2.1k

✧ 𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐫𝐞. pokémon au ; comedy, fluff

✧ 𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐚. uh, i lied when i said i won’t be publishing any more fics during my hiatus, and here i am breaking my hiatus to publish this headcanon. okay, after this, i’ll officially be on actual hiatus lol. but hey, i finally made a pokémon au! this was supposed to be a collab to celebrate my 1.5 followers milestone instead of genshintoon, but i don’t think the majority of the fandom have watched or played the franchise, so i decided to discard it. oof.

𝐚𝐥𝐛𝐞𝐝𝐨. an artist under the pseudonym, “kreideprinz”. he’s having trouble finding a subject for his painting to place in the cathedral. while searching for the city’s gym leader, his smeargle asks you on his behalf to help him out. apparently he has you in mind as you’re the nearest person in the room currently, and the pokémon exposes his hesitancy to ask you because he’s stunned by your appearance. of course with your permission, you allow him to paint you, and he thanks you by showing where the gym leader is.

𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐢 𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐨. more or less your rival. he’s the first trainer to declare a battle against you very annoyingly, one might add. he thinks he’s all that, bragging that he’ll crush the elite four and the champion in one go with his best friend, tauros. he bets he can crush you too, but his arrogance gets the best of him when you win against him, and your very first win at that. the next time the two of you battle again, he claims he won’t go easy on you.

𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐝𝐞. a commander of an evil organization called the fatui, tasked to handle overseas matters with his wailord. his division is stealing pokémon from trainers to discourage them from moving on with their journey, but luckily you’re there to save the day. impressed by your heroism, he wants to hire you into his division, but of course, you outright refuse. the offer still stands, he says, but you turn him down every single time, which he claims that it hurts his feelings.

𝐝𝐢𝐥𝐮𝐜. one of the guides under the flying-type gym leader. the other guide actually handles the logistics because he’s assigned to serve drinks to challengers per the gym leader’s request. his talonflame is his best friend, but unfortunately he can’t help due to being used for the gym challenge. he wants to battle someone instead of being behind the counter all day, so you suggest being his opponent. his plan of having you kidnap his partner from the game is working.

𝐠𝐨𝐫𝐨𝐮. a trainer who frequently hikes the mountains to train with his lycanroc (dusk form). you meet the duo when your pokémon partner leaves your side to follow the scent of curry from his camp. he’s very kind to let you stay for the night, seeing that it’s getting dark and there’s no hotel in sight. before departing in the morning, gorou warns you about the dangers you’ll face at this route and says you and your partner are welcome anytime to hang out with him and his team again. you promise him that after you win against the electric-type gym leader, you’ll celebrate with him with a feast full of his curry.

𝐡𝐮 𝐭𝐚𝐨. a trainer who claims to come from a family of mediums and is fascinated with urban legends. she’s investigating the truth of those legends with her chandelure. seeing that you ended up lost in the forest that leads to the next gym, she proposes to join her investigation on the rumors of human ghosts in the area. in return, she’ll help you get out. she habitually pranks people for fun, so you have no idea whether you’re dealing with the ghosts or her.

𝐤𝐚𝐞𝐝𝐞𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐚 𝐤𝐚𝐳𝐮𝐡𝐚. your classmate at the pokémon academy. you feel sorry for him because he has to deal with you copying his notes every single day. that’s what you get for sleeping a lot in class. for a someone who prefers sitting at the back of the class, his sawsbuck (autumn) is an attention seeker, continuously bugging the poor guy with his antlers until he’s sent back into his poké ball. it’s why the pokémon doesn’t like you; his trainer gets to spend with someone else other than his best friend, and it’s enough to recognize their sleeping patterns so he can let them copy his notes after class.

𝐤𝐚𝐞𝐲𝐚. a famous, sultry pokémon coordinator. he’s participating in the annual clash of coordinators, a celebration for winning against the city’s gym leader. he thrives off excitement, so hearing that you, the future champion, is watching, he wants to make sure you’re on the big screen. at the peak of the competition, he sends his weavile to invite you onstage and challenges you in a battle as an excuse to flirt with you in front of millions.

𝐤𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐬𝐚𝐭𝐨 𝐚𝐲𝐚𝐤𝐚. 1/2 of the heirs of the kamisato hotel chain. her older brother is barely at the penthouse, so she’s assigned to handle internal affairs. she’s rarely seen outside, but when she does, she’s with her glaceon at the boutiques shopping for new clothes. you happen to be at the same boutique as her, at the same side of the store. apparently the two of you have the same exact bag; when you cross by her, you accidentally switch yours with hers. luckily the issue is resolved thanks to her bodyguard, and quickly leaves. it’s a good thing you don’t know her, though you have a hunch that she’s a famous figure. but you bet that she wants that to stay that way.

𝐤𝐮𝐣𝐨𝐮 𝐬𝐚𝐫𝐚. the daughter of a flying taxi pilot who was captured by the fatui along with his pokèmon. she’s also in the business with her corviknight. the pilot wants to thank you for rescuing him and his pokèmon by giving you access to the taxi through her anytime, anywhere. however, you worry about contacting her on a daily basis because you never learned how to ride your bike. she can tell what your secret is, but she suggests that she’ll teach you how to do it.

𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐧 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐠𝐮𝐧. the electric-type gym leader as well as the mayor of the city of eternity. married to her work, she’s out of touch with the modern world. her gym staff, especially her morpeko, are worried about how she doesn’t reserve time for herself, so they ask you to keep her away from the gym for the day. she’s confused, but agrees to go on a date with you. during then, you find out she likes tricolor dango and light novels. who knew that this woman who is seen as strict and emotionless on the outside is the sweetest person you’ll ever meet on the inside?

𝐬𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐨𝐧𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐲𝐚 𝐤𝐨𝐤𝐨𝐦𝐢. a trainer who is sightseeing at victory road and decides to accompany you until she reaches her destination. with her and her sylveon, double battles aren’t difficult to breeze through. at the exit leading to the next route, she requests a battle to test out your strength. judging from your battles with her since the beginning, she’s one hell of a strategist. you manage to identify her weaknesses and secure a victory, but she says that she won't go easy on you at the pokémon league. that’s what a member of the elite four would say.

𝐬𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐦𝐨𝐮𝐜𝐡𝐞. a random trainer who you accidentally hit on the head while trying to catch more pokémon. shortly after, he roasts your terrible aim nonstop and exaggerates that he could’ve gotten a brain injury. you’re a relatively new trainer, so he kind of feels sorry for you, so he demonstrates how to throw poké balls properly. he also offers you to spar with his gengar because the pokémon ahead are much stronger and your team should be fully prepared by then, but he won’t admit that.

𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐦𝐚. the director of housekeeping in the kamisato hotel as well as the bodyguard of the kamisato family with his arcanine. hearing that this hotel offers trainers to work as attendants for handsome pay, you desperately go there to make your wallet full again. you’re assigned to room service, and he’s there to teach you the basics of vacuuming the floors and fixing the beds. sometimes he goes off tangent, talking about kamisato ayato and his habit of feeding him odd dishes and begs you not to do the same thing to him, which is quite concerning.

𝐭𝐨𝐦𝐨. an energetic trainer you encounter along with his meowstic (female) at the battle frontier. he heard about you from his friend who was defeated by and suggested to test out your skills there. he says he expects great things from you and that he’ll see you again when you win 20 battles in a row, perhaps invite you for dinner afterwards, albeit jokingly. you’re confused by what he said until someone tells you that he’s the frontier brain of the battle tower.

𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐫 (𝐚𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫/𝐥𝐮𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐞). the professor’s assistant who is tasked to complete the pokédex. the first time you meet them, you catch their attention with your new ability to use your pokémon partner for battle, and they freak out when they realize your partner is from the lab. after consulting with the professor about this incident, they become your travel buddy along with their minun (aether) or plusle (lumine) to assist you on your journey.

𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢. mondstadt’s flying-type gym leader and classical musician. on the side he plays windtrace with the citizens; the game being his gym challenge. to battle against him, you have to avoid getting caught by his altaria. as much as you want to win, he’s a notorious trickster, so you never know what tricks he has up his sleeve. when you manage to win both the game and the battle, he shows up at your hotel that night, serenading you for good luck.

𝐱𝐢𝐚𝐨. a trainer who works for the rock-type gym leader. loyal to a fault, he’s determined to not let anyone pass him. he stays true to his word; his tyranitar is very difficult to defeat, but you won’t let that stop you. his partner knocks out yours in one hit, so you have to come back for a rematch. on the way to the gym, he’s ambushed by “treasure hoarders”, a group who steals gym badges for a living, and you come to his rescue. for someone who doesn’t express his emotions, he thanks you and states that the rematch isn’t necessary anymore. the rock-type gym leader has never seen him so touched by someone other than him before.

𝐲𝐚𝐞 𝐦𝐢𝐤𝐨. the owner of the city’s publishing house and a friend of the electric-type gym leader. her guilty pleasure is teasing trainers that she knows their deepest, darkest secrets. those trainers end up becoming terrified of her, never to be seen in the city ever again. you agree she’s terrifying based on how both she and her delphox carry themselves. it appears you’re an exception, having the guts to charm her with your nonexistent flirting skills in hopes of her not scaring you out of the city.

𝐲𝐨𝐢𝐦𝐢𝐲𝐚. the current owner of the naganohara daycare center, who was previously owned by her grandparents. she’s very popular with children and baby pokémon, entertaining them with fireworks. due to the lack of staff, you sign up to be a volunteer. one day, she and her grandparents find an egg in the playpen, and she asks for your help to hatch it together. as this is your first time caring for an egg, she gives you tips on how to handle it safely, such as wrapping it in warm pads. don’t let it come near her flareon; she can’t stress this enough. last time, he almost cooked it alive with his flames as well as almost burned the center down.

𝐳𝐡𝐨𝐧𝐠𝐥𝐢. liyue’s rock-type gym leader and a historian. on the side he enjoys drinking tea and listening to storytellers recite myths and legends of gods and creatures. challenging pokémon gyms are fun, but hunger and hydration sure aren’t. upon entering his gym, he notices how deprived you are from food and water, so he orders his garchomp and staff to arrange you a meal. the food must’ve cost a fortune, but what shocks you more is his knowledge of every bit of history you can name. he rambles so much that he forgets about your gym challenge that day.

✧ 𝐭𝐚𝐠𝐬. if your url is in bold, that means i can’t tag you!

@aibiito ; @aqualesha ; @blissmal ; @bluexiao ; @bokutosworld ; @dreamiehrs ; @fadedjae ; @help-wtf-am-i-even-doing ; @lilikags ; @pastelsicheng ; @philosopher-of-fandoms ; @shxnosuke ; @sleepyyangyang ; @sucrosia ; @sunfloweritea ; @xriin ; @yeetmeoffjueyunkarst

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teshamerkel · 3 years

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Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Seekers of Soul

[Chapter 21] (32 Pages)

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Tobias and Nia make the journey to Ghatha!

“Are we getting close?”

Tobias swallows back an annoyed growl, trying to keep his temper under control. He will not snap at his partner. Or light her on fire. “For the fourth time, Nia, we’re almost there. Stop asking before I turn us around.”

The riolu shrinks into herself with a sheepish smile. “S-Sorry. I’m just excited.”

Tobias doesn’t answer, hoping Nia will finally fall silent and let them walk through the forest in peace and quiet. He doesn’t mind going on this trip to Ghatha, and although he’d never admit it, he isn’t even that annoyed by Nia’s presence anymore. Most of the time.

But by Entei’s fire, Tobias has his limits. There’s only so much excited rambling he can handle in one short walk to the flight outpost.

“O-Okay, actually important question.”

“Hm.”

“Should I eat before we fly? Or, uh...”

Tobias finally cracks a grin. “Or are you gonna barf your brains out? Dunno. Guess we’ll see.”

Nia‘s nose scrunches up at the mental image. “You sound a little too happy about this.”

“I will definitely laugh if you puke.”

She shoots him a playful glare, so Tobias adds, “If you want an actual answer, I wouldn’t eat before we go up. If you’re fine flying then you can eat on the way there. If not, then we won’t immediately tick off our ride by puking all over ’em.”

Nia fidgets nervously with the strap of the satchel thrown over her shoulder. “That makes sense. I’d like to be on good terms with the Pokémon carrying us 10,000 feet in the air.”

There are a few minutes of quiet after that, and Tobias takes advantage of them to enjoy the cool morning air. Dawn sunlight is filtering through the trees of the forest, clearing away the chilly fog of the night. He notices that the green leaves overhead are starting to shift to gold, catching the morning rays. It really is going to be fall soon.

“Are you nervous?” Nia asks. “About flying?”

Tobias mourns the loss of silence with a sigh. “You do know my final evolution is half flying, right?”

“Well, yes, but that doesn’t mean you can fly now. So I just wondered. Have you ever flown before?”

For a heartbeat, memories slip by before Tobias can stop them. Vivid snapshots of sitting atop a broad orange back, wings spread endlessly wide on either side of him. His hands, much smaller, clutching tight to warm scales, the blue sky seeming to go on forever in all directions, the wind whistling by and stealing away his laughter.

Tobias shoves the memory from his mind, holds his breath until he knows it won’t shake. Keeps his eyes glued to the foliage around them. Eventually, he manages to say, “I’ve been flying before. A long time ago.”

Maybe Nia can hear the lump in his throat, because she falls silent with a tiny, “Oh.”

They continue on, Tobias focusing his senses on the world around them to distract himself from the memories suddenly trying to rise up and choke him. His heart twists inside his chest, and it takes everything in him to blink back rising tears.

The trio. The outlaws. Focus on them, on taking them down. Focus on what he needs to do.

“Is that it?”

Tobias snaps out of his musings to look up, and sure enough, the outpost is in sight. It’s still halfway hidden by the trees and undergrowth, a lanky structure of white-painted wood, but it’s definitely what Maggie pointed out to him from the mail floor, years ago.

A quiet rabble of voices meet them as they get closer. Calm conversation, occasional laughter. The two of them emerge into a small clearing, and there it is: a tower reaching almost too high up to see the top. Roosts of moss and hay and twigs are haphazardly wedged here and there throughout the structure, and flying Pokémon of all kinds flit about. Some are napping, others chatting, and a few are on the grass, talking with clients.

“Wow,” Nia breathes, eyes wide with wonder.

A talonflame is the first to notice them, and glides down to meet them with a respectful dip of his head. “Greetings. Looking for a lift?”

Tobias nods. “We’re guild members under August. We need a ride to Ghatha.”

The talonflame tilts his bright head, humming thoughtfully. “I don’t take on distances that far, especially with fighting types on-board. But I think I know who can give you a lift. Wait here.”

The fire type beats at the ground and lifts off again, flying high into the roost. Nia follows him with her eyes, brow furrowed.

“Fighting types can be squirmy in the air, and talonflame are already lightweights,” Tobias explains, snorting. “Don’t look so offended.”

Nia’s troubled expression clears, and she gives him a thankful nod for the explanation.

A large, winged silhouette takes off from one of the perches, circling down to land before the two of them in a gust of wind. A braviary. She’s huge, easily four times the size of Tobias and Nia, with navy and crimson feathers and a soft mane of white. She’s clearly a sturdy Pokémon, with a few scars visible on her body, cutting irregular patterns through her feathers. Most startling of all is the closed, puckered skin over where her right eye should be, a thick scar running across the area and cutting into her beak. A bright yellow designated flyer’s scarf is tied around her leg. To say she’s impressive-looking would be an understatement.

“Hey there, folks! Name’s Felicity,” the braviary chirps, her voice bright and sharp. “But y’all can just call me Fliss. I hear you two are hoping for a ride to Ghatha.”

Nia looks as awed as Tobias feels by the flying type’s presence. “Y-Yes, ma’am!”

Fliss laughs, loud and hearty. “You sure look spunky for a fighting type at the outpost. You ever flown before?”

Nia opens her mouth to respond, then pauses, a distant confusion glossing over her expression. Tobias has seen that look before. Are her memories acting up again?

He’s about to cut in when the riolu blinks back to the present, hesitantly answering, “U-Uh. No? I-I don’t think I have, at least.”

Fliss gives Nia a curious look but doesn’t push, instead giving the riolu a firm nod. “Well, I’ll do my best to keep it a smooth flight. Since you’re both small, it’ll only be 400 poke for a one-way trip. Discount since you’re in the guild.”

Tobias nods and gestures for Nia to let him rummage around in their satchel. When he pulls out their team poke pouch, Nia pulls out her own personal bag as well. She grabs 200 poke, handing it to him and answering his questioning frown with a small smile and a shrug. “I’m the one who wanted to go on this trip in the first place—it only seems fair that I pay a little extra from my own cash.”

Tobias doesn’t argue, accepting the poke and gathering it with the other 200 from their team earnings. Fliss holds out her leg, and he dumps the coins into a thick pouch strapped securely to her foot, which she ties shut with her beak.

“Great! You two ready to set off?”

Tobias and Nia nod, and the braviary crouches down low, belly to the grass and wings spread wide to help them get on her back.

Nia freezes, wide-eyed. “W-Wait, there aren’t like, safety harnesses or something? S-Seatbelts?”

Tobias rolls his eyes as Fliss guffaws. “Don’t be silly! We wouldn’t be flying grounders around if we weren’t confident in our ability to keep ‘em safe.”

“But what if we f-fall?”

“Then I’ll catch you,” Fliss replies simply. “Look, hun, what’s your name?”

“N-Nia.”

“Look, Nia. I’ve flown all over the world, and I’ve taken a lot of passengers along with me. Haven’t dropped a single one—promise.”

The riolu still doesn’t look convinced, and Tobias groans. “Arceus, would you just get on? Pokémon do this every day!”

“And the winds are in our favor today, too,” Fliss adds, motioning Nia forward.

The riolu steps up to the braviary’s side, and then uses the offered wing as a boost to climb onto Fliss’s back. Nia sits, paws hesitantly holding onto her feathers. “A-Am I hurting you?”

Fliss laughs, making the riolu jump. “You’re light as a feather. Feel free to hold on tighter if you need to, I’ve been through worse.” Then she turns her gaze to Tobias. “Up ya go. What’s your name?”

“Tobias,” the charmander replies, watching Nia as she fidgets. “Where should I sit?”

“Probably in front, so the little fighter’ll have something to hold onto.”

Right, that makes sense--even if he really doesn’t want her clinging to him the whole flight. Tobias climbs up the braviary’s back and plops down in front of Nia, carefully setting his legs on either side of Fliss’s feathery shoulders and letting his tail curl over his leg.

“Hold on tight to my feathers, now!” Fliss calls. “Riolu, if you get scared just hold on tight to your partner.”

“Or don’t,” Tobias mumbles under his breath.

“I-I think I’ll be okay just holding on,” Nia says, voice high and unconvincing.

“Suit yourself! We’re taking off, so if you need me, tap my back three times!”

And with that, Fliss beats her wings hard, powerful gusts of wind tearing at the grass and billowing out in all directions. Slowly, they rise up, and Nia squeaks from behind Tobias.

Tobias can’t help a sudden burst of excitement. He watches eagerly as the forest sinks around them and they rise higher and higher, above the treeline, into bright morning sky. It’s windier up here, a little more chilly.

It feels like freedom.

The wind smells fresh and whistles past them as they gain altitude, fluttering his scarf and Fliss’ feathers. The world stretches out around them, all at once remarkably small and endlessly large. There’s forest as far as the eye can see, making up Bethoc’s Haven. Tobias laughs, unable to contain the giddy feeling in his gut. He’d forgotten how exhilarating it was to be in the sky like this. To fly.

“All right! Hang on, kiddos—we’re off!”

Tobias grips the braviary’s feathers and grins, thrilled as Fliss snaps out her wings and catches an air current. They shoot forward, picking up speed in an instant.

Nia screams, and then there’s a pair of arms locked around the Tobias’ middle, squeezing the life out of him. Tobias chokes, immediately moving to pry the riolu’s wrists away. A quiet whimper stops him, buried in his shoulder and just loud enough to be heard.

The snarl dies in Tobias’ throat as he hesitates. He doesn’t want Nia pressed so uncomfortably close, arms determined to cut off his breathing, but…he also hasn’t heard her this scared in a while. Plus, shoving her off would probably break the unspoken rules of their Tobias Not Being a Jerk team agreement, so. He sighs, resigning himself to this embarrassing situation and forcing his body to relax.

At least the sights are a distraction. The view really is gorgeous, an expansive sea of forest, leaves just starting to turn from green to warmer shades for the fall. The day is bright and brisk: perfect flying weather. Tobias feels a bittersweet tug in his chest, but tips his head back to enjoy the wind and sun on his face with a content smile.

After a few minutes, Tobias peers over his shoulder, only able to see the top of Nia’s head, her ears still pinned flat to her skull.

“Hey,” he calls.

She doesn’t answer, but the hold around his torso tightens.

“It’ll help if you look around.”

The riolu shakes her head against his shoulder, a muffled, “No!” barely reaching his ears.

Tobias rolls his eyes at the childish response. He knows that fighting types tend to have problems with heights and flying, but this is just ridiculous. He is not going to have this flight ruined by Nia cowering in terror and slowly cracking his ribs.

Plus, this is too beautiful a view to miss.

“Just try looking around.”

Nia whines again. “Why?”

“Because we have three more hours of this and I’m pretty sure you’re trying to suffocate me.”

Nia manages to loosen her hold, just a bit. Tobias can breathe again, but the riolu is still quivering, face tucked away.

“Nia.”

“No! I’m n-not looking!”

“Just look up! Don’t look down, idiot, that’ll make anyone’s stomach jump.” Nia doesn’t respond. Tobias peeks back at her again. “Okay, what’s it gonna take for you to look.”

“Take me back to solid ground!”

Despite his frustration, Tobias snorts a laugh. “Too bad, pick something else.” No response. Stubborn. What would entice her enough to surpass her fear? “I’ll, uh…Tell you about the landmarks we pass if you look. You mentioned wanting to know more about geography or something, right?”

Nia shifts against his shoulder, hesitant but clearly interested.

“You’re such a nerd,” Tobias snorts.

“I-I like learning stuff,” she defends. At least, that’s what he thinks she said. It’s hard to properly hear anything up here.

“Well, you have to look for me to teach you, otherwise you won’t know what I’m talking about.”

Nia slowly lifts her head, still tucked close to his shoulder with her eyes squeezed shut. A few seconds pass.

“We’re gonna land in Ghatha before you open your eyes.”

“J-Just give me a sec.”

“Look up first, not down.”

Tobias can feel the riolu take a deep breath. Then, she cracks her eyes open, looking up into open blue sky. He watches as the riolu blinks, then lets her eyes open a bit more, squinting ever-so-slightly against the wind. Good.

“Still alive,” he teases.

“S-So far,” Nia shoots back.

Tobias moves his gaze away, to the forest underneath them. Even without looking straight down, there’s a huge chunk of the region visible. Mostly trees for now, a few fields and clearings, but a set of mountains can be seen faintly in the distance.

“Try looking forward,” he suggests.

“Y-You sure?”

He shrugs, the movement odd with the weight of the riolu still wrapped around him like a scarf. “Gotta do it eventually.”

The riolu seems uncertain, but takes another deep, bracing breath. Her ruby eyes flick a degree down from the sky overhead, looking forward as they fly. For a moment, her expression drops into something awestruck, and Tobias almost smiles.

Then she shrieks a terrified sound, and is back to burying her face into his shoulder.

Tobias groans. “C’mon!”

“J-Just give me a bit, o-okay? I...I’ll try again in a bit.”

Tobias huffs an irritated breath, disappointed. How can Nia not love this view, this feeling of freedom and speed? It’s so soothing being up in the air like this, effortlessly gliding over miles of woodland that would take them hours—days, even—to cross on foot. The brightening sky is slowly changing the hue of the treetops below them, cooler grays coming alive with color, and there’s just something hypnotic about the gentle dip and rise of Fliss’ flying, the slight shifts between air currents. He almost feels like he’s in a trance, with the heat of the rising sun and the balancing bite of the wind, Nia a warm weight against his back. Tobias could probably fall asleep up here, if he tried.

After a while, the fuzzy silhouettes of the mountain range become more visible, fading into existence as towering peaks of white, their tops cloaked in eternal snowstorms. Even the winds feel colder as they fly on a current slightly closer to the mountains, though they’re still a great many miles away.

“You can kinda see the Silenfroar mountain range from here,“ Tobias says, far too casually. “We’re passing by right now.”

Nia’s curiosity is too much for her, and she tentatively lifts her head to peek over Tobias’ shoulder.

“To the left.”

Nia follows his instruction, and all at once he sees amazement take over the fear. She unfolds, ears pricking up, head lifting, the hold around his gut loosening until she’s lightly gripping his sides.

Tobias can’t help it—no one can see him up here anyways. He grins, gazing at the mountains as well. “Pretty cool, huh?”

“They’re beautiful!”

“There’s a village on top of those mountains!” Fliss shouts over her shoulder, catching their attention. “I hear they aren’t fond of outsiders, so I’ve never been there myself!”

“August trained up there for a while!” Tobias yells back. Maggie had mentioned it once or twice, quoting it from the rillaboom’s younger days. Apparently the treacherous Silenfroar settlement is infamous for being an incredibly challenging training ground—or so August says. “He’s still on good terms with ‘em, from what I hear.”

“Whoa,” Nia murmurs, still mesmerized by the intimidating mountain peaks.

Tobias shifts his own gaze down to look at the landscape below them. The trees are starting to thin out a bit, meaning that they should be hitting the Bethoc Bluffs and the Obsidian Sea relatively soon. Tobias is nervous about crossing the stretch of open ocean between them and Ghatha, but Fliss seems strong—

A tiny eep! of fear is Tobias’ only warning before Nia grabs him in another death-hug, crushing the breath out of him.

“Arceus, Nia, give me some warning!” Tobias wheezes, pulling her arms a bit looser. She’s stronger than she looks. “Is this how you’re gonna be the whole way?”

“N-No, it’s getting better! J-Just, uh. Slowly.”

Tobias rolls his eyes and focuses back on the flight, determined to enjoy the peaceful feeling of it all. As they fly, the landscape transitions from forest to rocky pines as they near the edge of the region. They pass several different settlements and tiny villages along the way, the homes and Pokemon living there barely visible from their height. Some are set up in clearings, quaint little homes and businesses clustered close together, and some are nearly hidden by leafy treetops, a bit more spaced apart.

Tobias has traveled to villages like those in the past, he thinks, with Maggie. Usually to treat a severely ill Pokémon or purchase rare herbs. He can’t really recall much about those trips, and certainly not any of the tiny towns’ names. Fliss, however, seems to know them by heart. She calls out each village’s name as they soar over them.

Nia leans forward to hear the braviary better as she speaks, hanging onto every windswept word. After the second or third village, Nia leans back, tightens her grip on Tobias, and cranes her neck to catch a glimpse of the town below. She retreats almost immediately, and Tobias isn’t sure whether to encourage her or make fun of her, so he settles for both.

“Wow, don’t get too adventurous,” he drawls.

Nia gives him a powerful squeeze in retaliation that makes him cough.

From there, the flight is quiet and uneventful, Nia’s face once again hidden in Tobias’ shoulder as the charmander enjoys the wind whipping past them. He doesn’t speak again until he can finally see the glitter of the ocean on the horizon, meaning they’re almost to the bluffs, where the region drops off into the sea.

He taps Nia’s arm to get her attention. “Ever been to the ocean?”

There’s a moment of thoughtful silence, and then, “I-I...don’t think so? I don’t remember seeing the ocean, at least.”

“Now’s your chance.”

That catches Nia’s attention. Slowly, the riolu peers over Tobias’ shoulder. Then she gasps and straightens up, ruby eyes blown wide with wonder. The ocean and the scraggly cliffs of the seaside are coming at them fast.

“Beautiful, ain’t it?” Fliss calls. “That’s the Obsidian sea! We’ll be flying over it for another hour or so before hitting Ghatha.”

Tobias isn’t particularly fond of the sea himself, for obvious reasons, but he does have to admit that it’s pretty to look at. And the salty air smells nice.

To Tobias’ surprise, Nia stays where she is, watching with open awe. She doesn’t even flinch as they finally meet where the water touches the cliffs, Fliss’ wings carrying them out over open waves. The water is dark with slices of white waves, choppy ripples reflecting pieces of the sky. The braviary’s flight levels out into a gentle glide, and she slowly lowers them closer to the water until they can see their own reflected shadow speeding across the waves.

Tobias holds on tighter to Fliss’ feathers and brings his legs up higher, feeling a pang of fear in his gut. If something were to suddenly happen to Fliss and they dropped into the sea, he’d be a goner this far from the shore.

A wave crests underneath them, spraying up a salty mist. Tobias leans away from it, hissing, and Nia laughs. It’s so unexpected that he looks back at her, caught off-guard by how she suddenly looks totally unafraid. She’s leaning right over Fliss’ side, watching the ocean waves with delight, one paw outstretched to catch more of the ocean spray, one paw still gripping Tobias’ side. Tobias blinks. He knew the height was an issue for the fighting type, but seeing such a drastic shift just from them lowering their altitude is really…something. Too bad Tobias feels like he’s currently dangling over certain death if Fliss gets so much as a wing cramp.

“S-So you haven’t ever like...crashed or anything, right?” Tobias yells, turning to look forward again.

Fliss’s back rumbles underneath them with a laugh. “‘Course not, hun! You think I’d offer to fly a fire type across the ocean if I had? We’ll be fine, trust me.”

Tobias takes a deep breath and tries to relax. It doesn’t work. Nia leans forward to catch his eye. “Hey, you okay?”

Tobias snorts, eyes forward and resolutely not on the ocean below them. “Fantastic.”

Nia stares at him with a little frown, before her expression clears. “Oh! It’s the water, huh? I didn’t even think of how scary that’d be for you. Sorry.”

Tobias doesn’t answer, trying not to feel embarrassed by how tense he is, and for a moment Nia is silent too. Then she leans forward, past him, and yells, “Hey, Fliss? Can we go a bit higher? J-Just a little!”

Fliss turns her head to give Nia a confused look, and Tobias does the same. “Odd request from a fighting type,” the braviary says. “But all right.”

Fliss tilts her wings and flaps, catching an updraft that takes them a bit higher. They’re still over open water, but it feels less threatening when it isn’t clawing at Tobias’ feet and spraying his skin with salty, stinging mist. He relaxes, and both of Nia’s paws hold firmly to his sides again. When he glances back at her, she still has her eyes open, looking out over the horizon. She doesn’t look quite as at-ease as she was before, but she doesn’t seem terrified, either.

Nia notices his stare and furrowed brow, and shrugs with a little smile. “S-Seemed like a good compromise to me. Better for both of us to be a little uncomfortable rather than either of us being completely terrified, right?”

Tobias blinks, surprised by the explanation. He…guesses that makes sense. If it keeps him from getting sprayed with stinging water and Nia from breaking his ribs, then he’ll take it. He nods and looks forward again.

After that it’s silent, save for the roaring wind and the crash of sea waves below them. They’re making good time from what Tobias can tell, but they’ve still got a bit of traveling ahead of them. Tobias has taken to closing his eyes and losing himself in the relaxing sensations of the flight when Fliss makes a mildly surprised sound that puts him immediately on edge. He looks around, not seeing anything, then follows the braviary’s gaze down to the ocean, heart jumping in his chest when he sees the shadow of a Pokemon speeding along below them, serpentine and absolutely massive, easily multiple times longer than Fliss is large. Before he can get concerned, Fliss takes them higher, safely out of range of the mysterious Pokemon.

“By Yveltal’s wings, that’s a big ‘un!” the braviary cries out. “Must be a gyarados. Likely travelling to Ghatha too.”

Tobias watches the shape, frowning. It’s still matching their pace perfectly, nothing but a dark blur broken up by the choppy waves. A gyarados, huh? He can’t remember seeing one before so he can’t be sure, but something about the silhouette seems…different from what he remembers in the books.

“Th-That’s a Pokemon?” Nia asks, clinging closer to Tobias. “I-It’s huge!”

Tobias doesn’t respond, watching as the shape suddenly falls back and out of sight.

Nia cranes her head back to watch it go, then leans into him again with a more relaxed grip. After a moment, she asks, “‘By Yveltal’s wings?’ Yveltal is one of the, uh...the legendary Pokémon, right?”

Tobias nods. “God of destruction, but also a deity of flight and war.”

Nia blinks, looking startled. “War?”

Tobias glances back at her. “Yeah. Hasn’t been a war in centuries, but a lot of Pokémon still look to the war deities for help in battle.”

After a beat of silence to digest that information, Nia hesitantly says, “I’ve been meaning to ask, a-and I hope this isn’t like…offensive? But, uh. What exactly is the deal with legendary Pokémon? I’ve heard people reference them and I’ve read a couple of books but are they, like...real Pokémon?”

Tobias bites back a sharp retort. He’s not allowed to snap at her for asking questions about the Pokémon world, no matter how ridiculous they are. “Did you not have gods in your world?”

“Well,” Nia says thoughtfully. “From what I can remember, there were different...religions, in the human world. So, like…I think my family believed in one god and one god only. But some people believed in a different god. Or multiple gods. Or no gods at all. And there wasn’t ever really any hard...proof, I guess? Of any of them existing. So I guess I’m wondering if it’s the same way here.”

Tobias frowns. “The gods here are real Pokémon, as far as we know. According to records and some of the older Pokemon, we used to see them and interact with them regularly, but in the last century or so they’ve just...disappeared. We don’t know if something happened or they just abandoned us or what.”

“You don’t sound all that worried about it.”

Tobias shrugs. “What’s there to be worried about? The situation’s been the same ever since I’ve been alive. Nothing’s changed for me.”

“But most Pokémon still believe in them, right?”

“To an extent, yeah.”

“Do you?”

Tobias pauses and looks up at the endless blue sky, thinking about how to respond. He hadn’t ever given it much thought, honestly. “…Maybe. My parents prayed to a few of them, and Maggie is pretty devout even if she keeps it quiet. I don’t really know if I believe in them or not. All I know is that if they used to be real, they aren’t watching over us anymore.“

“Really? Why do you say that?”

Tobias feels something tighten in his chest as he remembers rain and fear and a terrible sense of being completely alone, no matter how much he cried for help.

“Because they sure weren’t watching over me when I needed them.”

Nia goes quiet. Then, softly, she says, “I think I believe in a higher something, but I don’t know for sure what that is. Especially now, coming here to this world. I’m just more confused than ever.”

Tobias makes a noncommittal noise in his throat.

“I’ve read about some of them,” Nia continues. “You’ve mentioned an, uh...Entay?”

“Entei,” Tobias corrects. His parents had taught him to pray to the legendary beast when he was young. “Protector of fire types and children. Part of a trio alongside Suicune and Raikou. Suicune protects water types and watches over lakes and rivers. Raikou protects electric types and watches over storms.”

“Oh! I think I remember seeing a picture of those three. They kind of looked like…dogs? Or tigers, maybe? Weren’t there two birds, too?”

Birds? Tobias thinks Nia has called some of the flying type Pokemon that before. “Probably Lugia and Ho-oh—deities of the moon and sun. Lugia controls the seas and protects ocean voyages, and Ho-oh controls the Summer and Autumn seasons. Protects from fires.”

“Wow,” Nia breathes, sounding fascinated. “That’s so specific! And there are a lot of other ones, too, right?”

“Yeah, but they’re not all that specific. Like…Mew is just called the Mother of All Pokémon, so she’s more of a common deity. It’s said that she’s willing to help any Pokémon because in a way we’re all her children or something.”

“I think I remember Mew. Little pink cat Pokémon?”

“She’s definitely pink.”

“Okay. So is there like...a god above all the other gods?”

“There’s Arceus,” Tobias says, slowly. “I guess they’d be the closest thing. Although that’s one Pokémon they say no one ever saw, even when all the others deities were pretty common. They say Arceus created the other legendaries, who in turn created us.”

Nia’s silent again, probably thinking, and Tobias takes advantage of the brief moment of quiet, closing his eyes again to fully enjoy the sun against his face. He really missed flying.

“But not all gods are like...good, right?” Nia asks eventually. “Like yuh...yuveltel? He’s a god of war, right?”

“Yveltal is the god of destruction,” Fliss corrects, startling them both. “But that doesn’t mean he’s bad. All things have to die for new life to take their place, after all. It’s just the natural order of things. Yveltal destroys and ends, and Xerneas creates and starts anew.“

“I...guess that’s true,” Nia says, still sounding doubtful. “But war isn’t a good thing, or necessary.”

“But it still happens,” Fliss says. “Battles happen and we all need someone to turn to for hope in bleak, bloody situations. So Yveltal got that job, as a destruction legendary. If it’s too late to hope for peace, it gives a lot of hope to think you have the god of destruction himself on your side.”

Nia hums. “Okay…I guess that makes sense. But what about that one kind of scary legendary Pokémon? The legends made him out to be really, really bad.”

“Darkrai?”

“It looked kind of like a dragon. Something about dimensions?”

“Ah,” Fliss says, nodding. “That would be Giratina. He was exiled long before the other legends disappeared, banished to the dimensional rift. I will admit he’s a real piece of work, according to the stories.”

“I couldn’t find much about him,” Nia admits, leaning past Tobias to talk more directly to the braviary.

“That’s because a lot of Pokémon ain’t comfortable talking about him!” Fliss crows, sounding amused. “But I ain’t scared of some dusty old tall tales. Wanna hear about his banishment? My granny told me the story when I was just a chick.”

Nia grins. “Yes please!”

Fliss laughs, and Tobias doesn’t complain when the braviary slows, leveling her flight into a smoother glide over ocean drafts. The charmander is admittedly curious, too. He can’t remember anyone telling him much about Giratina’s story before, though he’s heard the name whispered once or twice over the years.

“Well, the legends claim that Giratina was once the guardian of our world’s borders,” Fliss begins. “He kept our dimension safe and sturdy, keeping out anything that didn’t belong in the Pokémon world and making sure no Pokémon got too big-headed and tried to explore past its borders. Myths about humans existed even hundreds of years ago, y’know? Some suspected that if we could cross that dimensional border, we’d find them. It was part of Giratina’s job to keep Pokemon from trying to do so.”

Nia’s hold on Tobias tightens as she whispers, “The human world?”

“I guess it would have messed with something, if we were allowed to hop between worlds like that,” Fliss continues. “So it was Giratina’s job to upkeep that land surrounding our own, keep us in and others out so nothing would be disrupted. He was always a bit of a shiny wooloo among the gods, never deigned regular Pokémon worthy of his presence and kept to himself. But he did his job! They say Pokémon would see him sometimes in reflections, blood-red eyes cold and fierce. But he was never aggressive, never abandoned his duties.”

“Until one day,” Fliss’ voice drops to something low and dramatic. “He just lost his head. Attacked another legend out of the blue and nearly killed ‘em! I believe it was Cresselia? Or maybe it was Celebi. Anyways! As punishment, Arceus themself banished Giratina to his own dimensional rift, trapping him so that he couldn’t leave it or even contact our world. They say he’s still there to this day, plotting his revenge, and that on still nights you can see the shadow of him flickering in reflections, watching and trying to break free.”

A beat of quiet, and then Nia shudders behind him. “O-Okay, that’s creepy. So no one knows what set him off? Why he would just attack another legendary like that?”

“Beats me!” Fliss says, chipper once more. “Most Pokémon don’t even like to talk about him, so we don’t know a lot about the story anymore.”

Nia makes a dissatisfied noise, then asks, “Well, what about the dimensional rift between the Pokémon world and other dimensions? Has anyone tried to cross it since Giratina was trapped? There are humans popping up in this world, so wouldn’t that mean something’s gone wrong there?”

There’s a heavy, out-of-place pause. Then, Fliss says, “You aren’t a normal Pokémon, are you Nia?”

Nia jerks back in surprise, and Tobias freezes.

“Most every Pokemon knows about the gods, after all,” Fliss continues casually. “You wouldn’t happen to be heading to that human meet-up in Ghatha, now would ya?”

For a moment, Tobias thinks of August’s warning for them to keep quiet about Nia being human. From how Nia clutches him tighter, he bets she’s remembering the same thing.

“I, u-uh. I am, actually,” Nia finally says, quietly. “Is that okay?”

Fliss laughs as Tobias gives the riolu a nasty glare for blowing their cover so easily. “Sure! It’s just fine with me, lass. Just hope you weren’t trying to keep it a secret—if so, you’re doing a right poor job of it!”

Nia makes a quiet, unhappy sound in her throat. “Should…Should we be keeping it a secret?”

Fliss makes a thoughtful trilling sound. “Heard about that squabble between the humans and Pokémon, eh? I doubt you’ll run into any real trouble around here, but if you’re worried about it then don’t go asking such obvious questions in front of other Pokémon, all right? I knew something was odd since we left port.”

Nia groans and bumps her head dejectedly into Tobias’ back. “I’ll…try to keep that in mind.”

Fliss laughs again. “Aw, cheer up! I’m excited, at least! Never thought I’d be takin’ a human across the sea! What a world.”

Nia and Fliss continue to chatter on about humans and Nia’s experiences since coming to the Pokemon world, and Tobias closes his eyes to relax again. He gets dangerously close to dozing as they continue into the roaring wind, sun rising higher to warm them and dazzle the sea. Nia and Fliss eventually fall silent, and the riolu slowly relaxes against him as the minutes pass, probably falling into a nap herself. Tobias idly wonders if every charmander or bagon feels this connection to the sky, or if it’s just him.

They stay like that until they hear a distant cry, nearly snatched away by the wind. Fliss calls back, loud and jarring, and Nia jumps. A moment later, Tobias spots a small flock of Pokémon flying to the left, veering towards them. Fliss doesn’t seem alarmed, and as they get closer, Tobias can pick out a togekiss and flygon guiding a group of smaller flying type Pokémon, letting them ride their drafts in the harsh wind.

“Fledglings?” Fliss calls, eyes fond as she spots a little rufflet in the pack.

The togekiss corrects a wobbly swablu’s form and the flygon nods, eyes flicking from Fliss’ designated flight scarf to Tobias and Nia before he smiles. “First day out over open ocean.”

Fliss laughs. “Terrifying, ain’t it? Feels like Kyogre herself’s gonna leap outta the ocean and snatch you up! If y’all are out here, that must mean we’re getting mighty close to Ghatha, right?”

Tobias feels a stir of excitement—comfortable or not, he’s ready to stretch his legs—and squints at the direction they’ve been heading in for the past hour or so. Is that a faint silhouette on the horizon or is he just imagining it?

The flygon nods again, looking at Tobias and Nia. “You two been to Ghatha before?”

Nia must shake her head no, because the flygon smiles. “Well, you sure picked a perfect time to come visit. There’s a magic show planned for tomorrow evening! A big one, at the convention center at central square”

Nia gasps behind him. “A magic show?!”

Flygon nods. “Cheap admission too. I think there’s a big meeting happening at the conference center beforehand so it’s sure to be packed, but I’ve heard of these guys so they should be good. I think they do a lot of fire manipulation.”

At that, Tobias perks up. A magic show could be all right, but a fire-based one? He doesn’t get to see many fire types aside from himself in the Haven. It can feel a bit isolating, especially with so many grass and bug types around.

Fliss sighs. “Darn. Wish I could stick around to see it, but I’ll likely get called away for a flight before then. The kiddos could probably go, though!”

“Thank you for letting us know!” Nia yells over the wind.

The flygon nods, then glances at his flock. “I have to head back. Enjoy Ghatha!”

The dragon type tilts his wings and wheels back to his group. Tobias watches him go, wishing somehow he could join them, until Nia squeezes him.

“Look!”

Tobias does, eyes widening at the sheer size of the city they’re approaching. The silhouette of it becomes more detailed as they get closer, murky grays revealing tall stacks of stone buildings, almost all of them painted with bright accents of color that give the city an immediate sense of life. It’s huge, sprawling along the oceanside cliffs and stretching from one edge of Tobias’ sight to the other.

Fliss is clearly familiar with the area, and immediately flies to a tall flight tower right along the edge of the cityscape. She circles it, finding an empty loft before gliding in and flapping to a stop. It’s dim inside, and a few flyers glance over at the new arrivals. A swellow lifts a wing in greeting, calling, “Fliss! Long time no see.”

Fliss laughs and calls back, “Cobalt! Good to see that handsome mug. Gimme just a sec to set these two off.” She crouches low to the ground, wings spread, and glances back at Tobias. “All right, kiddos, Ghatha awaits!”

Tobias slides off the braviary’s back and barely manages to catch himself before his legs buckle from the long flight. With a yelp, Nia falls onto the ground beside him in a heap, clearly as stiff as he is.

“Thank you for flying us, Fliss,” Nia says once she gets back to her feet. She gives the flying type a grateful smile. “Really. It would’ve been a rough ride without you.”

Fliss laughs and retracts her wings. “Not a problem. You’re two of the most pleasant customers I’ve had in a while!”

“Maybe we’ll see you again on the way back,” Nia suggests hopefully.

“Maybe so!” Fliss gives the two of them a wink. “For now, you two just have a good time in the city and enjoy that magic show. Stay friendly, okay?” Her gaze flicks to Tobias, an unfamiliar note of something serious entering her voice. “Just not too friendly.”

Tobias stiffens. That...was that a warning? Fliss hadn’t acted particularly concerned about Nia keeping her human life a secret during the flight, but…

Fliss gives them both another nod before walking over to the swellow. Tobias looks at Nia, wondering if she caught the braviary’s subtle warning, but the riolu is just digging through their satchel with an oblivious smile on her face. Great.

Tobias sighs, wordlessly turning and leading the way to the staircase when Nia finally looks up with an eager expression and a thumbs-up. They descend to the ground level and wave at the check-in Pokémon, an emolga. Before they can step out into the street Tobias reaches out to grab Nia’s arm.

“Wait.”

Nia does, looking at him with a tilt of her head.

Tobias glances back to make sure the emolga isn’t listening. “Look, I know it’s important to you that you used to be human.”

Nia pulls her arm away from him, open expression becoming more wary. “Yes?”

“And I know we’re here for the human meetup. But I’ve been thinking about what August said, and I think he might be right. Just…try to be discreet, all right?”

Nia frowns, looking disheartened. “What? But I thought everyone said not to worry about it too much.”

Tobias has to take a deep breath not to retort with something sharp. Nia’s not dumb by any means, but she’s just so trusting. It’s gonna be a problem one day. Fliss might’ve wanted to spare Nia any unwarranted panic, but Tobias is more concerned about them being attacked than the riolu’s soft heart.

“Did you not hear Fliss up there on the flight floor? That was a warning. Whether anything actually happens or not, it’s a good idea to lay low when we can.”

Nia looks away and whispers, “I guess.”

Tobias sighs. “Good. Let’s get a move-on, then. We should find this place right away so we know where to go tomorrow without getting lost. We can decide where to stay afterwards.”

They step out onto the street, and Tobias barely catches Nia’s sullen expression smoothing away to something awed and starry-eyed as she looks around. He’s too busy doing the same.

If the city looked huge from far away, then that’s nothing compared to being in the heart of it. The streets are bustling with all kinds of Pokémon going about their business, types and species he’s never even seen before in real life. A huge copperajah passes by, making the cobblestone road beneath them shake with her steps, and a group of tiny mincinno dodge around her legs with ease, not even breaking their conversation. A Seeker team lead by a rapidash trots by, laughing, and a couple of starly swoop by overhead. The stream of Pokémon is endless, a thick crowd blocking out the buildings on the opposite side of the street entirely. Everything is in noisy motion, and the energy in the street is unreal. Beyond the passing Pokémon there are shops bracketing the path, and a few vendors yelling to try and market their wares. It would be stifling if not for the brisk sea breeze cooling everything down, a cut of bright sunlight slanting down between the maze of buildings.

“Oh wow,” Nia breathes, a beaming smile forming on her face. “And I thought Afon’s Cap was amazing!”

“This place makes Afon look like a dump,” Tobias agrees, still looking around. He’s never been here before either, and it more than lives up to the hype.

“How’re we ever gonna find the meeting place?” Nia asks, digging into the satchel to pull out the crumpled flyer for the human meetup.

Tobias leans over to look. “It says it’s just north of the main plaza. Whatever that means.”

“I guess we’ll have to just ask around?”

Tobias nods, looking around at the crowd. “Yeah. Let’s just ask for the plaza, so Pokémon don’t start wondering why we‘re looking for the convention center.”

Nia wilts, giving him a pathetic look. “Do you really think Pokémon would attack us? If they knew I was—well. You know.”

Tobias sighs. “No, not really. But I’d rather not take any chances. This place is different than the Haven, and we don’t know anyone, either. We get in trouble here and we’re screwed.”

Nia doesn’t look happy with that answer, but she nods. “I…guess you’re right. Pokémon have just been so nice to me that it’s hard to believe any of them could be cruel like that.”

Tobias looks at her, then gestures to the scarf tied around her arm over fang-shaped scars. “You already forget how you got those?“

Nia winces. “Of course not. But that was an outlaw.”

“Any Pokémon in this city could be an outlaw. Trust too easily and it’ll get you killed,” Tobias counters, looking around. He nods to the left. “C’mon, we should get moving before someone needs through to the flight tower.”

Nia still looks pensive, but tucks away the flyer and follows as Tobias steps into the flow of Pokémon and starts moving with the crowd. It’s hard to keep up the right speed and dodge stray tails and paws when neither of them are used to it, and they quickly find themselves being jostled and tripped by the overwhelming crowd. He and Nia almost lose sight of each other when a stantler charges right between them. After that, Nia hooks a paw around Tobias’ elbow, stepping closer. He gives her a look but otherwise doesn’t comment. It’d be nearly impossible to find each other if they got separated in a crowd this big.

“S-So where exactly are we going?” Nia asks.

Tobias shrugs. “The crowd will have to open up eventually and we can ask around when that happens.”

Nia nods but doesn’t answer, still too focused on looking around at the colorful variety of Pokémon and buildings they pass.

Eventually they reach a small plaza where the crowd thankfully thins out. There’s a large fountain in the middle of the space, and Tobias steers them over to it to catch their breath.

“Whew! I thought we’d never get out of that,” Nia says, hopping up to sit on the edge of the stone fountain and kick her paws. “I think it’d be too lucky for this to be the plaza we’re looking for. There are some vendors and shops around, though. Wanna start here?”

“As good a place as any,” Tobias huffs, still a bit on edge from the walk. He’s not sure he’s ever been surrounded by so many Pokémon at once, and he doesn’t like the feeling. “We could—“

“Get back here and let me peck your nose off, you coward!”

Tobias spins around at the shout, just in time for a flash of brown fur to zigzag past him. A moment later, a furious ball of blue, black and yellow feathers flies into view from the crowd of Pokémon. A rookidee?

Tobias doesn’t register the flying type’s sudden expression of panic or how they try to backpedal until they slam into him, knocking them both to the ground.

Tobias immediately shoves the rookidee off, snarling, “Watch it!”

The bird shoots him their own glare. “You watch it, you overgrown lizard! That scrap of fur stole my money!” And with that, they’re off again, fluttering back into the air and shooting off after the brown-furred Pokémon.

“Jeez,” Tobias grumbles, brushing himself off. “Warm welcome, huh?”

When there’s no answer, Tobias looks up to find Nia gone. Of course. He whips around, just in time to see the riolu’s fluffy tail vanish into the crowd—in the same direction as the rookidee and the thief.

Tobias groans, tipping back his head and shoving his palms into his eyes. They’ve been in the city for half an hour and Nia is already sticking her nose where it doesn’t belong and trying to stop a street robbery. He’s going to kill that riolu.

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

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askfriskandcompany · 4 years

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Discord link please? I want to see the pokeymans.

Very well.

The AFAC Clubhouse Discord may be joined here ----> https://discord.gg/gHMEKbG

But I will also put my pokemon stuff here. My idea is to one day run a campaign set in the made-up region of Auland which is based on Australia. It would be run using Pokemon Tabletop Adventures. It will probably be some time before I am fully prepared to run this for real because A) There’s a lot of prep-work involved, B) I’m still running multiple other campaigns, and C) I’ve never actually used this system before and the one guy I know who has DMed with it says that there’s a steep learning curve so I’ve gotta do some serious research.

But in any case, here’s what I can show about the Auland Region and eventual campain, which I have dubbed Pokemon Opal.

Here are the initial ideas for the three main starters. They would of course be completely optional for the players, given the premise of the campaign.

The premise is this... The players’ characters all must be between the ages of 10 and 18, can be from any region, and all have been convicted of a crime worthy of being sent to juvi, but nothing as serious as murder (pokemon-murder counts too). Point is that they’re young and considered a delinquent for one reason or another. The court gave them two choices... Juvi, or Camp Eucalyptus, and they chose camp.

“But TQ! Just wait one gosh darned second!” I hear you say, “Isn’t that just the plot of Holes?” And I respond, Yes. Yes it absolutely is just the plot of Holes. But this version has Pokemon so it’s automatically superior in every way. Also I think you will find the story will likely diverge a lot from the plot of Holes after the first session.

Anyway, the point of the camp is to rehabilitate problem-children AND problem-pokemon at the same time by pairing them off and teaching them to care for one another. The local pokemon professor, one Henry Eucalyptus, runs the camp in part to help children and pokemon, but also as a way to research the metaphysical bonds between humans and pokemon and how they form. Generally, Professor Eucalyptus has an antagonistic relationship with his charges, and despite the fact that he genuinely wants to help them become better people and pokemon, he is prone to loosing his cool.

Also, he’s just... kind of a dweeb. I mean look at him. He absolutely would sit backwards in a chair and tell you that drugs aren’t cool and friendship is awesome. It’s really no wonder these delinquent kids can’t stand him.

Anyway, the region has many kangaroo-like pokemon. Here’s two. They’re fighting types of course.

And here’s a grass type kangaroo fella. It comes in three variant forms depending on the area they’re caught in.

Geddit? Cause? Pademelons are a kind of kangaroo? And? Mellon? Padding? They’re probably gonna be tanky fellas.

They probably smell nice too.

Anyway I’m not totally done with the starters and their evolutions, but I HAVE decided that they all become part dragon cause fuck you I like dragons. Designs are subject to change.

And the Kelphie line is also part dragon cause they’re based on Kirin and also Leafy Sea Dragons.

The Stubbard line isn’t done yet but I imagine he will only become more of an absolute unit.

Finally we have another NPC, Freida. She serves partly as the resident badass for the players to strive to become as cool as, but also a window into the issues of the Old Aulanders. You see, this region has a population of native humans with their own culture separate from the culture of those who arrived later, dubbed New Aulanders. New Aulanders are descended from mostly galarian colonists several hundreds of years ago, whereas Old Aulander culture dates back to like the dawn of humanity. There is a complex and not entirely friendly relationship between the two groups. Many Old Aulanders have been pressured to conform to the ways of the New Aulanders, and even when they do, they are still too often regarded as savages in need of enlightenment.

In Old Aulander culture, a person forms a unique bond with one pokemon that lasts for their entire lives. This pokemon becomes soulbonded to them, forging an empathic and telepathic connection between the two. To many of Old Aulanders, the idea of keeping pokemon in pokeballs is insulting and barbaric, thus they reject it and simply keep their single partner pokemon out in the open at all times. A great emphasis is given to treating the bond as an equal partnership and never making the mistake of believing you are greater than your pokemon partner. The pokemon doesn’t need a person to survive, but a person does often need their pokemon, and thus you’d better be grateful to them.

Freida, however, DOES use pokeballs, and trains multiple pokemon aside from her soulbonded talonflame, Flint. For this reason, she was rejected by many of her own people.

Right now she’s working with Professor Eucalyptus on... something. She won’t say what. And also she occasionally arrives at camp to teach the campers about battling and the proper care of pokemon.

Aaaaaand other than that? Still working on it.

-TQ

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harusha · 5 years

Note

by last 2 gens, I meant SUMO and SWSH. I loved XY, but liked SUMO characters better. USUMO could have made great sequels. Lillie as prof. Gladion as champ, Hau as a kahuna. Etc. Would also make the transition to wormhole traveling more realistic if they were set in a universe where the events took place. I loved Gen 2 for letting us see Kanto 3 years later, and BW2 for letting us see what's changed in Unova. Just frustrating with the direction of things

Whoops, sorry anon. I never got the notification for this, so this is probably a week old or so. Tbh, I feel you though. I don’t want to be a spoilsport, but it feels like the mainline games are riding somewhat on name brand at this point. Making games is hard don’t get me wrong, but there’s a lot going on w/ SWSH rn on release.

I love the whole sequel stuff, but my only concern is “canonzing a protag.” Like…look at Alexio/Cassandra from AC:O. Sheer madness in how those arguments go on “canon. Like, I like ambiguity because I can avoid that.

Tbh alongside the sequel idea and the coherency it would bring, I would love it if wormholes let you go to the OG timelines (RBY–>GSC, FRLG/RSE–>PDPT/HGSS->BW->BW2), and that’s why you get hidden abilities, rare Pokemon, and increased shiny chance. They could just explain it as the wormhole changing the Pokemon’s characteristics. RBY timeline is basically “no one had abilities,” hence the drastic changes, FRLG timeline could be “they decided to go with you, and now they changed to fit your timeline.”

Like they wouldn’t have to put every single region in; they could even just make it to where you visited parts of each region, perhaps the most iconic locations and/or moments, as a post-game/high difficulty thing (everyone is set to lv. 100 and have ideal spreads+sets). Like dropping in on Mt. Silver at the foot of the mountain, and have the area name pop up as “???” and have the player traverse the dungeon (w/ the HGSS encounters but inflated to 80s-90s so the observant veteran player can go “hmm this is familiar”) and have it accumulate in walking in on EthanVSRed on Mt. Silver, and it ending up in a double battle with them. Like that would blow people’s minds and make them realize what the post-game is, a love letter to every single generation so far, and set the stage for the rest of the post-game.

They don’t even have to confirm the canon protagonist for Johto if they just cover them up in snow gear (ie. put a cloak on them and have the hood up), and give them Meganium, Typhlosion, Feraligatr, Tyranitar, Raichu, and Espeon/Azumarill. The three starters, the Pseudo-Legendary of the generation, Raichu to parallel Red (also small callback to how Ethan was supposed to be Red’s younger brother in the old GBC pamphlet), and Espeon if they want to showcase the OG day/night cycle gen+it being the gift Pokemon and a Easter egg part of Red’s original team. Azumarill is if they prefer to reference the childhood friend.

They could even make this a chance to up the difficulty through the excuse of “alternate universe/wormholes caused their Pokemon to change abilities.” Make Red’s and Ethan’s teams complement each other and have them carry optimized spreads and sets for doubles. Ex. Blastoise or Pikachu with Fake Out and Focus Sash sets up rain and Ethan’s Raichu w/ Air Balloon/Choice Specs and carrying Thunder+Surf and has Lightningrod (wormhole shenanigans gave it a Hidden Ability) and so forth. Give them things such as Magic Bounce Espeon, Dual Screens Meganium, Mega Charizard X (wormholes made it happen), etc. Just showcase them as a bonus challenge and their status as legendary trainers akin to Mameo from Digimon. Perhaps give a reward of something like “Red gave you that extra Master Ball he never used” or a music player from Ethan so you can listen to curated songs from the older games. Or even simply clothes modeled after their original designs (Leaf and Kris outfits for girls and Red+Ethan for boys; or make it all available as unisex outfits where the inspiration is obvious but it’s not exactly the same).

And if they want to make it even more of a nostalgia bomb, have Ethan’s Raichu have a spiky/notched ear to imply that it’s a timeline where the special Pichu evolves and had Surf instead of Pain Split as the special move.

Other iconic moments could be dropping in at Turnback Cave and traversing Distortion World again and saving on Lucas, Dawn, and Cynthia and rescuing them from Giratina. Reward is catching Giratina and a battle against Cynthia, Lucas, Dawn, and perhaps Cyrus. Avoids picking a canon protagonist and arguments over who should have showed up. Focus is single battle gauntlet with each trainer giving a choice on whether you want to heal after each victory (exception is Cyrus).

Have Lucas/Dawn mention how they like trading and that’s why one of them has two starters (or multiple gift Pokemon) to help avoid narrowing down the canon protagonist. Lucas could work in Trick Room (Torterra, Cresselia/Dusknoir, Vaporeon, Magnezone, Heatran, Machamp). Showcases the notorious number of roamers/legendaries in Sinnoh, Mt. Coronet evolution, trade evolutions (GTS), a new gimmick of the gen in Trick Room, and incorporates a gift Pokemon). Dawn could work with Iron Fist Infernape, lead Empoleon w/ Stealth Rock (showcase that infamous entry hazard), Paraflinch Togekiss, Porygon-Z, Lucario, and Glaceon. Gift Pokemon+showcases the (then) new evolutions of that gen.

Have Giratina be like lv. 80-100 with Totem Pokemon stat to explain how in the darn, everyone lost with those sorts of levels.

RSE could be dropping in on Brendan and May going up Sky Pillar and setting Rayquaza off to stop Groudon and Kyogre, and it starts a side quest of following them to experience the climax of the Hoenn Saga. Climax is them itching for a fight from seeing your skills. Have Brendan (Sceptile, Mega Blaziken, Celebi , Salamence, Starmie, and Latias) and team up with Steven and May (Mega Swampert, Gardevoir/Gengar, Latios, Metagross, Jirachi, and Ninetales) with Wallace in a doubles. Both teams have callbacks to stuff like the manga (Brendan with Celebi and Salamence), references the two Pseudos of the generation, the roamers, trading with Orre for the promotions (Celebi and Jirachi for US and JP respectively) and Red/Leaf in Brendan’s case, Wally’s OG signature, or even the OG Mystery Dungeon. Have Brendan wear his Emerald outfit while May wears the Ruby/Sapphire outfit to blur who the canon protagonist is. Bonus fight could be seeking out Archie and Maxie in their atonement/voluntary isolation for a fight.

BW is dropping in on Hilbert and Hilda encountering Kyurem (since it feels wrong to interrupt N’s goodbye tbh). Teams would be [Contrary Serperior, Samurott, Victini, Archeops, Zoroark, and Mandibuzz] for Hilbert and [Emboar, Keldeo, Genesect, Volcarona, Braviary, and Carracosta] for Hilda. Their teams aren’t amazing, but it’s meant to showcase the generation’s fossils, gift/event Pokemon, and version exclusives. Have it be you saving them from the snow and from Kyurem. Have them talk about how they’re thinking of setting off together to find their friend N, and how much they want to see him again. Make it emotional and have them talk about what they’ve learned about Pokemon from him and their interactions on their journey.

BW2 is saving Rosa and Nate from Ghetsis’s murder attack and fight Ghetsis. After you all return to a Pokecenter, have the two of them challenge you to a Rotation and Triple Battle respectively. Rosa runs a rain team with Drizzle Politoed, Octillery, Smeargle, Kabutops, Kingdra, and Ludicolo while Nate runs a Sand Team with Hippowdon, Sand Rush Excadrill, Rhyperior, Garchomp, Scizor, and Gliscor. Have it be a gimmick to where weather is infinite again in this wormhole location since their teams are meant to be a callback to the weather wars of gen v and the stars of those teams.

And have N show up to thank you for saving Rosa and Nate since he was almost too late right as you are leaving through a wormhole. Have the player tell him about what Hilbert and Hilda said and how they want to meet him again+urge him to meet his friends again and have it end with N saying something to the effect of “…I’ll think about it.” and leave it on an ambiguous note to whether he will meet them.

And finally, have it end with Red encountering Mewtwo in Cerulean Cave and have it diverge by you saving him from Giovanni (he lied about quitting and it’s only after you defeat him that he leaves for isolation until Ethan/Lyra/Kris beat him up again). Ends on a note of “this is where it all began.” Reward is catching Mewtwo and battling Red in a single. Here, they can make his team diverge from canon because it’s pre-Mt. Silver Red/alternate universe. Alakazam, Dragonite, Zapdos, Persian, Eviolite Chansey, and Mew. Showcases popular threats of that gen+trade evolution, irony in Red having Meowth’s evolution (Giovanni is associated with Persian b/c anime), the mythical #151 and source of playground rumors, the pseudo, one of the “your reward for exploring” stationary legendaries, etc.

Could even do a bonus of letting you travel to Kalos (but just the port) and meeting Serena and Calem who are both arguing about fashion while waiting for Sina and Dexio. Make their reason for battling you something lighthearted like you interrupting their argument to say “both of your fashion senses suck.”

Have them carry [Delphox, Chesnaught, Tyrantrum, Furfrou, Mega Gyarados, and Goodra] and [Greninja, Talonflame, Aegislash, Mega Kangaskhan, Meowstic-M, and Aurorus]. Showcases starters, Megas, radical gender differences, fossils, popular threats of Gen VI meta, Furfrou cuts, etc.

And if that’s too much, just recreate parts of the legendaries OG encounter dungeons, Cerulean Cave for Mewtwo, Bell Tower for Johto, etc.

Like…Gen VII was the “this is the 20th anniversary of Pokemon” gen and that would have been a great time to pack everything into one gen. Like…they had space for multiple walking Pokemon animations on the cart that they could have taken out or even tweaked these ideas so the dungeons would be slightly smaller (ie. fit to cart) or reduce the weirdly high number of Lillie models in the game. This isn’t an entire region (or regions) either, but snapshots and small locales to revisit. It also incorporates more fights with the Team Leaders at higher levels and difficulty.

Like idk, I made myself sad because I realize this would never happen unless some mad lad decided to create a massive rom hack/expansion, Masuda gets a larger team (and Pokemon stops with the yearly releases so the team isn’t pressured as much), etc.

Idk, I feel like the games for the 20th ani weren’t as good in hindsight for what they made out to be a year of Pokemon. But that’s just me griping again about Alola.

Also perhaps solviing all this gives you a final wormhole where you’re taken to fight Leaf. Give her Clefable (Clefairy’s original yet scrapped mascot thing), Golem, Flareon, Jolteon, Aerodactyl, and Omastar. Showcases fossils, gift Pokemon, other Eeveelutions, etc.

#long post #pokemon #me tooting my own horn in what i'd like to see from the series tbh

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firebuug · 5 years

Text

ok here’s this. pokemon au ramble. because this week has just been me loving my ocs but bass boosted. under the cut!! this post will be REALLY long mainly because of the teams sorry!

pokemon au is pure bc no deaths or rlly bad things happen

buggy is a trainer who went on the pokemon journey for fun and as a coming-of-age kinda thing(also because he may or may not have burnt his house down with a litwick), but kinda stopped getting gym badges half way and decided to settle down and just take the road casually. he settled down with apoccy and they both run a little pokemon sanctuary and care for pokemon that aren’t able to go back to the wild or have some little quirk (for example a litwick that cant keep itself lit easily). he likes battling for fun rather than for glory, and when his rival (farrow, obvs) was like “ha im gonna beat u and become the champion and ur not” he was like “i mean ok have fun!” which makes farrow pissed. he’s a guy who really cares about pokemon’s feelings and basically got back into action from pokemon santuary-ing and fought against the coven (the bad guy team) to stop them from hurting anyone.

team:

- Ari (talonflame) (he flies around on her!)

- Lulu (chandelure) (his absolute baby and child)

- Fluffy (ampharos) (he named it fluffy when it was a mareep but then it evolved a bit and it wasnt fluffy anymore. its name is still fluffy tho)

- Big Boy (pelipper) (he’s a big ocean enthusiast but can’t swim and is a bit afraid of the water, so he uses pelipper to navigate over it and help him fish)

- Ellis (sylveon) (he wanted him to be a flareon but he loved them a lot and he ended up becoming a sylveon but buggy still loves him 100%)

- Musha (musharna) (musha helps him go to sleep easier and stay awake better as well, it’s basically his service pokemon ahghjhdjkf. she’s usually floating by his side!)

i think mendel would be a pokemon professor bc he studies pokemon. how he was even trusted enough to hand out pokemon to small children is a mystery, but gene takes care of most of the friendly stuff with handing u ur pokemon and stuff, mendel just does the research. later on it’s revealed that mendel is part of the region’s bad guy group, the coven! (>:3cc) their goal is to fuse multiple powerful pokemon together into the perfect pokemon that is able to beat everything and everyone else, in a combination of every type in existence. (Idk if this is the plot of any game bc i dont remember the plot of any game past pokemon b/w honestly) eventually the protag gets them to not fucking destroy everything and befriend the big boy pokemon (juggy, but like pokemon) and the coven disbands their group and just live life as normal people not criminals bc pokemon verse is best verse

team: - Juggy (sivally) (idk shit about sivally or the sumo plot but it looks like a fusion pokemon and its cute so like um there we go ig. in the actual au itd probably be a completely new pokemon but im lazy)

- Cofagrigus (obvious reasons. if i didnt want to keep this au pure i wouldve mentioned he still grave digs)

-Mimikyu (shut up its cute)

- Flabebe (flowere) (”oh what a pretty flower, it will be great to work on. oh no its a pokemon. guess its my child now”)

- Arbok (its a snake he loves snakes he gives it little pats on the head and rattatas)

- Claydol (it has a ton of red eyes and its black and red what more do you want from him. also he thinks it is cool and its psychic so like hhuiionnghgh yeah)

gene is a pokemon docdor (he heals those boys up for you and takes care of them) and helps mendel out in research since they both share an interest in researching pokemon!!! he doesn’t know that hes part of the bad guy team that snatches up pokemon and doesn’t question any weird things he decides to research about until like the end. he’s really nice and’ll probably catch up to you along your journey just to see how you’re doing, check up on you, and give you cool stuff like the master ball n stuff. he has a big greenhouse where he grows berries and’ll give you some as gifts along the way. he battles you occasionally to see how strong you’ve gotten and’ll heal your pokemon when your done, giving you tips. he likes hanging out around forests and little garden areas.

team:

- Serperior (long boi. good noodle boi.)

- Comfey (C O M F E Y flowere boi)

- I lost my old gene team im so sad so i dont remember any of it

- Bitty (budew) (BABY BOY BABY! he loves them sm) (it evolves into roserade later on but shhhshhh baby budew)

- Swanna (pretty birb!!) (helps him water the plants in the greenhouse!!)

- Ana (unfezant) (HE NEEDS ANA OK)

- Audino (mega) (he needs that healy pokemon it’s essential) (theyre his little helper)

farrow is the stereotypical rival guy tbh. with buggy he was like “im gonna be better than u” and buggy was like “stop bullying me” but then just “ok” so he got bored. with skuggy it was more competitive, and they even battled each other right at the victory road’s entrance to see who was better, but they never got to complete the elite 4 trial since the coven juggy shit happened and they basically had to team up temporarily to stop these guys. when all of that was done farrow got back to challenging the elite four and trying to become champion, but he’s still struggling and is trying to train his team to become better while skuggy went “eh i’m done that was fun tho” and gave up. farrow hates being seen as weak and wants to have the strongest team, but he still loves his pokemon even if he pushes them near the limit sometimes while all focused up on winning.

team:

- Ally (linoone) (theres no possum pokemon and im mad but he likes ferrets too so) (or uh. long raccoon?) (either way he loves ally and she’s kind of a tank)

- Mittens (incineroar) (this was his starter, somehow, since he took the traditional trainer coming-of-age path and went to become the best.) (he loves his cat even if it did become....bipedal and buff??????) (They share the same big ego and victory flexing) (he rides on mittens’s shoulders sometimes or mittens carries him with arms in the air like a king)

- Rogue (liepard) (cate!!) (also it really fits him!!!) (he loves his thief cat and steals everyone’s items with it and makes them mad) (skuggy has cursed this cat out for stealing all his pokemon’s items at least twice before while both her and farrow looked on grinning smugly)

- Jasper (noivern) (i associate farrow with bats a lot, i think he likes bats now) (big fuckig boy who farrow flies on and farrow really likes battling with) (when farrow is out travelling and is tired and it’s late but he can’t find anywhere to stay, jasper shields him and makes whats basically a mini tent with his wings around him)

- Doggo (houndoom) (Farrow named him doggo as a joke but it stuck) (Fire dog with evil aesthetic! Farrow loves this) (He’s a good dog and farrow pats him for doing good work. he sniffs out berries and items for him on the road and is like his guard dog.)

- Snippy (gliscor) (another bat babey) (i might change it but idk) (it’s a sneakey boy) (he is also a tank and poisons everyone’s pokemon) (farrow accidentally gets stung by him like twice a week)

skuggy is a trainer who set out on the pokemon journey as a means to get out of his shitty house and family, collecting pokemon to help defend himself, but ended up really loving pokemon (especially bug types) and trying to take on a few gyms while he was at it. eventually he met farrow and it became kind of like a little race to see who can get the most gym badges first, giving him a motivation to travel the region and take on the elite 4. after the juggy fiasco he got a bit tired of fighting and decided he valued his pokemon a lot since they defended him and helped him fight back so he said “yknow what im gonna take a break from our race thing, im just gonna find somewhere to finally stay and chil out” while farrow was shaking the elite four’s door like “LET ME IIIIIN”. he’s kinda chill now and is thinking about going back and trying to fight the 4 someday, but for now he’s just a guy who catches bugs. he and gene hang out sometimes and go into forests n stuff. he’s still a butcher in this world ig. mans gotta make some money

team:

- Clove (scolipede) (his first pokemon, he caught it and went with it, but got really attached really fast) (she is his baby and he made it so far with her by his side and is really proud of both clove and himself for getting this far)

- Big Tony (armaldo) (he found a fossil pokemon and kept it since it’s rock type and can help ward off fire types, which is a big weakness of his team, but he ended up loving big tony too. i know theyre supposed to be like 4 foot 9 but please imagine big tony as a BIG boy that skuggy can ride on its shoulders and back to get around.)

- Babie (ribombee) (he caught this thing and said “this is the cutest shit i’ve ever seen.” went on to destroy dragon types and be the best bee ever.) (actually it’s pretty weak but skuggy believes in them)

- Toaster (heracross) (heracross was too cute for skuggy NOT to catch. it’s the powerhouse. this boy rips thru pokemon likes it’s nothing. unless it’s a fire or flying type. then it dies.) (it likes to f i t e and shares skuggy’s quick temper, because u know what they say, like pokemon like trainer)

- Big old boy (stoutland) (this was also one of the first pokemon he’s ever caught and it was really strong, defended him well and was kind of like the tank of the team, so he kept it. he likes sleeping on its back, and sometimes it has to remember it isn’t a tiny dog anymore because it tries to jump at skuggy to greet him and he gets fucking smashed.) (hes a very good boy, he’s very fluffy, and skuggy loves him so much and owes him his life)

- Jeff (swadloon) (skuggy loves his emo-looking son.) (ever since he beat depression in the dick he just cant help but see himself in swadloon) (but swadloon is happy, just very comfy and grumpy) (swadloon loves skuggy and skuggy loves swadloon) (i mean just look at him) (it’s perfect for skuggy)

okay i’m done here there’s obviously more people but this post is getting alarmingly long and i still need to make their teams. if u read this entire thing u deserve 20 cat images and more jesus christ u madman !!!!!!

#shut up bug #rambles #LONG post #txt #ocs #buggy #gene #mendel #juggernaut #farrow twells #skuggy #pokemon #happy #i really love pokemon au!!!

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some-flyleaves · 6 years

Photo

Bigass TFE infodump specifically about the main character and so it’s really flipping long part 2: it ain’t over ‘til the talonflame sings.

Read that first or this is not gonna make sense.

For a good long page spread or two, there’s nothing. Flatline. But then, ever so slightly--a pulse.

It quickens and consumes the page and suddenly it’s all black, pitch black, and oh god what the hell why is she still conscious.

Being buried alive is not fun. It is especially not fun when it was intentional but instinct overrides that with the will of a thousand suns. And so before long Serena has clawed her way out of the wreckage, even though the parts of her that aren’t numb feel like they’ve been run through a flaming trash compactor, and is this real? Is this actually really real? Is the afterlife just an extended being alive simulator?

(I have definitely drawn this scene at least twice before but my files are being picky and refusing to show me shit. Instead you get this melodramatic past-3am-narration. Bear with me.)

The afterlife, however, probably doesn’t have screeching birds. Scree, that damn talonflame companion of Malva’s, circles overhead, and upon noticing Serena it’s quick to land and start yelling at her instead.

Of course, Scree doesn’t talk. (Yes, its name was an in-universe joke that stuck.) Serena can ask all she wants what it wants or why it’s here. All she gets is the screaming bird and the surrounding heap of rubble, land by a ledge blasted out into a mess of rocks and dirt and gaunt, twisted metal.

Serena is certain she should be way more messed up than she is, even with one leg bending ways it shouldn’t. Part of her face and left palm are numb still--a sharp contrast to the surrounding areas--which is almost reassuring until she notices the skin on said palm is raw.

Not gonna lie, half the reason this isn’t worse is because... well, it’s a comic. It doesn’t look pretty and I could really do without looking at gory image search results. :T Aforementioned drawings are just sketches. I could only get away with stylistic silhouettes for so long while conveying expression. Ah well, unless I ever get around to drawing this scene out again, you can fill in the blanks however much you want.

What was it, that throwaway healing potion? The machine was set to destruct, wasn’t it? That should have overrid--unless.

Oh, she’s an idiot. Maybe the ultimate weapon and the immortality machine weren’t separate devices, or even one device on different modes. No wonder the old stories were so vague. One single blast--destruction to half of Kalos, a “gift” to those at its core. (Of course, the myths never mentioned getting flayed alive, but then it might not have survived so many generations.)

At this point Serena notices Malva nearby; whether she’s been dragged over by a determined talonflame or just happened to land in a similar place is unclear. (This was admittedly kinda bullshit and maybe some solo trekking was due. Rule of Drama...?) The woman is facedown and isn’t moving; despite being further from the blast she’s not looking great either. Lucky her.

But the bird will not shut up. Why? Serena can barely yell back, but she’s baffled. Sure, she set off the explosion, but Malva was about to do the same thing. And at least Malva could admit to being a terrible person. It’s better off this way.

Yet still the bird cries. Again: what’s the point? All right, say Malva lived. Say this isn’t some nightmare and they’re both alive, and they’re both stranded hell knows where. The second they show their faces to society again they’re getting arrested for life if not killed on sight. (Can they even be killed now? Serena doesn’t want to entertain the idea.) It’d be better that way. It would. No one would--

Scree, unsatisifed but silenced, swoops away and sits by its master. There, good riddance. Maybe it finally accepted she’s dead. The bird ducks its head--a vigil.

A freaking vigil. For her.

Not on command. Not necessarily because it thinks she was good, and certainly not trying to look good itself. Just because it can, and because it cares.

Something deep in Serena’s psyche snaps. Wearily she drags herself to her feet, unsteady as hell but still almost standing. Scree looks up, and with renewed vigor it helps pull Serena up, over to Malva Lorraine--former Elite Four member, reporter, Fleur Foundation supporter, reluctant Project X lead, the first “wild child” of Kalos. Serena would like to give a spontaneous eulogy, something flowery and emotional, except she’s never been good at writing and her thought process is still something along the lines of “when will it stop hurting” (albeit much less coherent).

Nonetheless, she at least tries to turn Malva’s head over--only to notice a twitch. Surprise the second! After all, AZ’s floette wasn’t the only one immortalized. Son of a...

You may have noticed that some spoiler Serena doodles feature one hand only, and not just from angle and/or cropping. As it turns out, the process of digging someone free from a big scrap heap can dislodge stuff, and--

(6/20/2017; decidedly not canon)

I mean, it could have been the whole arm to really drive home the parallel, but I was feeling nice.

Naturally, the scrap is big and heavy enough that it won’t budge. But OH WELL. After some “deliberation” Serena remembers how Malva lost her arm in the first place, and... hey, Scree, those talons are still sharp, right?

There’s a decisively timed cut (HAR. HAR.) to what the other characters are up to around here, but of most importance is that Fletcher, flying in search of survivors over a dismally silent landscape of ash and ruin, suddenly hears someone getting strangled alive. Or something to that effect. Regardless, yay, a sign of life!

(11/9/2017; again note the severely downplayed damages for the sake of me not dying at my tablet.)

With the gritty details skipped as much as possible, the scene back on Serena finds her with a (severely) bloody fabric scrap around her right forearm. Her leg is still bent in ways it shouldn’t be but after that, to heck with it, might as well be a stubbed toe.

Whether it’s an adrenaline high, life blast fuel, or flat-out stupidity, Serena does not care. After everything, she and Malva are not dying, for better or worse. She decided a long time ago she wasn’t just going to curl up in the fetal position and take it, and if that means walking towards eternal damnation imprisonment like a zombie, back to the sunrise... so be it. Even if no one cares, at least they’ll find some sign of a fight.

Malva, for her part, is phasing in and out of consciousness. But when she’s around, she can only give Serena a baffled look--anything she might want to say, questions she’d ask, have clearly already occurred to this kid, and the answer is fuck you.

(3/3/2017; yes, I got the arm Malva’s missing wrong. Her design was decidedly not “finalized.”)

They’re not alone for long. Fletcher catches up, says some things Serena barely hears; the rush is fading. There are shapes ahead, moving shapes, ever blurry, vaguely recognizable voices... The last thing Serena thinks is I’m not dying yet before she collapses, unconscious.

It wouldn’t be right to leave off here without some indication of a resolution or epilogue. But, uh, I don’t exaaactly have one. I do, however, have vague ideas for where characters end up, and although Serena and Malva’s are mixed up with a big dose of “how would the French legal system (or any legal system really) deal with people essentially blowing up half a city, especially when one is a minor,” neither are escaping the fallout any time soon. They don’t really want to, at this point, much as it kinda sucks. Was nothing learned?

I mean, okay, arguably there wasn’t. This all sounds very grand and dramatic in my head, but you know, the buildup is... messy. But essentially, Serena needs to

stop running from her problems,

stop thinking of herself as irredeemable,

not get so deep into self-hatred spirals she gives herself more reasons to think the latter, and

generally just learn to accept the hell, ramifications on character and consequences and all.

The idea I’m going for is that, in setting up ~parallels~ between Serena and Malva and building to this, in... maybe not forgiving Malva but at least deciding she’s not better off dead and forgotten & accepting that someone actually gives a shit about her, Serena does the same for herself by extension. Whooo. Parallels and projection for everyone~!

As mentioned in the tags, I still really like this idea. If some form of TFE ever rises again (har har see what I did there phoenix puns har) I am prooobably keeping some kind of relationship like this as the climactic crux. Ideally with more development along the way, too; I like to think what I had in TFE was good, and as mentioned before even this two-part text wall of hell is only a summary, but it can always be better. There could definitely be fewer characters overall, and--

Right, right, you’re probably not here for me ranting about my own writing. (Though, again, if you are, by all means ask.) Point is you know how building towards an end is sometimes a good way to plot things out instead of throwing stuff together and seeing where it goes, the latter of which is my usual method? Yeah. I Just Really Like This Moment.

And Now for some ~*~BONUS FACTOIDS~*~

Serena has two voiceclaims: first Griffin Gluck and more “recently” (still like... at least a year ago) Josh Kennedy, and the latter makes me lose my fucking shit because she would never say 99% of the stuff in any of his vines ever. Not even this one, although she also has “cool guy syndrome.”

As noted in Flynn’s bio, Serena is 5′00″, which seemed tall to me at the time of “finalizing” and then I realized no wait what the fuck it’s really not; TFE‘s cast has a severe case of “adults are always taller than The Youth” syndrome, with like one exception sometimes.

When fully-grown Serena is 6′00″, so eh, that’ll work. shut up what do you mean I don’t have a post-TFE storyline so it’s not like any of these developments are any more “canon” than Word of Author. what do you mean the entire rest of the story is kinda Word of Author in and of itself because it wasn’t actually drawn out uh help

I’ve mentioned before that early (as in “just starting out with headcanon hell”) development XY protag was a snarky shit. This still baffles me because even at her most cynical Serena does not get sarcasm. The snarkiest she gets are at her sleep-deprivation-fueled “oh yeah sure NOW you're paying attention to me“ ranting. Even then, Shauna’s sense of humor (which consists of 420% sarcasm and 99.999% shitpostesque nonsense) would fly over Serena’s head.

By virtue of being one of my oldest characters whose development didn’t get a significant hiatus (other than like... nowadays, TFE being sorta-over-ish until theoretical rewrite and all), Serena’s probably one of my most developed losers. It shows in the doodle distribution and probably this monster of a rambledump. Like, yeah, protagonist, but still.

Despite this I have no heckening clue how her hair or eyes would look realistically. I miiiiight have, starting out way back when? Maybe. A little. It’s gone now.

I am still not over the comments on this post. I don’t think I will ever be over these fucking comments.

no seriously please appreciate the fact that not a whole two scenes into the comic, the first of which was (hopefully) rather ominous, serena fucking johnson got called “small” and “innocent” and “i will marry her” like oh my god. oh my god. oh my fkhdkghckghsdkfghskdfhgkdghdkfjgs

#tbh this is the part I really really like despite not being A Thing until way WAYYYY late into writing #so if you wanna stay unspoiled for the hypothetical far future rewrite... might wanna back out here #more details and factoids at the end ;V #The Firebird Effect #for lack of a doodle tag #wow fuck it's late/early but y'know I've been wanting this stuff outta my system for a LONG while so. YE HAW

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bard-of-worlds · 4 years

Text

Darkness of Heritage CH1/ Lite

This work of mine has about 1,000 words of Lemon, my first and for this site, Tumber i won’t have it on it. The full Chapter will be on my Patreon on my low and only Tier of 2D, if you want go there, all in all enjoy.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Narrator[The Pokémon World is wide and diverse. Sometimes people may discover their destiny and roots could be found where they never thought it would be, and a legacy others might desire to hold it while the person it is meant for doesn’t know it is there.]

Ash ran with Pikachu running beside him as they lead the way through the pouring rain as he cursed that the storm had hit sooner than they had expected, they were supposed to be in the next town before the storm started, but of course, it had to start early, it was so bad that he and Serena had to put the hood of his jacket up over his hat keep the rain out of his eyes so he could try and see anything through the storm. He looked at the river they were paralleling and cursed as he saw it. I haven’t seen a storm this bad since that time in the Orange Islands and Lugia, I can only hope the bridge will last until we cross it but I can tell that this is just the start of something like what happened back then. Ash thought as he saw the river rage as the rain fell on the area.

“Clemont, Serena, do either of you know anything about the bridge we have to cross to get into the next town, how’s it’s made?!” Ash called he saw a wave splash onto the path and Bonnie covered her face as the water hit her coat.

“No, I’ve never been around here before! I remember hearing that they had to rebuild it once around twenty years ago though, something about a fight between father and son! What about you Serena, I heard they had Pokémon Racing here, has your mom ever been here before?!” Clemont cried as he ran holding Bonnie’s hand as she tried to keep the water out of her eyes.

“The races they do around here are the ones without riders from what I heard so mom never came here to race! But she did say she passed through once when she was starting in the league here, but I was just starting school, said it was a tight community and the bridge was made of stone, so maybe it’ll last!” Serena cried as she held her hat to her hair as the wind battered them. I’ve never felt wind so strong before, what the hell is with this storm! I hope we can make it there soon! Serena thought as she followed Ash.

“I just hope we can make it to the town soon!” Bonnie cried out as she ran, holding her bag as Dedenne huddled within in it to escape the rain.

Clemont tried to keep the water off a Pokénav and looked at their location and tried to figure out where they were. “I think we’ll be there within maybe the next ten minutes, I just hope the local dam holds and the bridge is safe to cross!”

Ash looked up at the clouds as he heard a crash of thunder and without a lightning strike, he felt a jolt of fear. Please, no no no! He thought as he looked upward and strained his eyes hoping not to see what he feared he would. He noticed a few flashes of color here and there suddenly he saw an avian Pokémon with red wings fall below the clouds before it flew upwards. He ran faster and cursed as he released what was happening. “FUCK! The storm’s being fed by a Pokémon battle up there!”

Serena looked upwards as Clemont paled and Bonnie gasped as Dedenne cowered in Bonnie’s bag. “Are you sure Ash?!” Bonnie asked as she ran through a puddle as the group ran through the rain.

“Oh yeah, I just saw what looked like a Talonflame up there, this is going to be so bad” Ash said as he ran. This could be as bad as when those Gravelers caused that landslide when they fought that Chimera! Ash thought as he pulled his hood over his face and held up a hand to keep the rain out of his eyes. “I’ve seen a lot over the years, natural disasters caused by Pokémon are a thing, this is so bad!”

“How bad is it?” Clemont demanded as he watched Bonnie as he ran, moving so he could grab her if she fell.

“Bad, really, really bad. If I'm right then the storm’s not even half as bad as it will be! This has to be the result of multiple Rain Dances, it’s the only thing that could cause this!” Ash said as he looked upwards and cursed as the rain increased. “We have to get to the city soon, we can’t last out here without shelter!”

“How much worse do you think it’ll get!?” Serena demanded as tried to see what Ash had.

“Way worse! I saw the result of three Rain Dances once, it caused a river to surge and destroy a dam built by wild Pokémon, almost took out a town downstream. And if whatever’s up there is trying to drive off something that can fly and use fire then they’ll using Rain Dance to increase their abilities and seal their opponents. I once came across a researcher long ago, he said that any more than five of them will cause a monsoon, and this is getting worse!” Ash snarled as he moved as the others absorbed what he was saying.

Serena looked at Ash as she ran and slowed down when they reached a signpost and smiled at what was on it. “We just passed a sign, we’re just a mile away from a cable car station!”

“Come on then, we’ve got to move!” Ash said a moment before they took off just as fast as the sky started to darken.

Ash smirked when they reached a small mountain and reached station with a cable car. Clemont ran to it and looked it over and nodded at the others as they huddled inside it and waited for him to get to them. “This is was built to be operated by anyone who pushes the buttons, and the I think once we get to the top we can uses a freight elevator to get down.”

Ash looked around the area and frowned before looking at the group and sighed. “The way I see it if we can make it to the top we’ll have to go to the city, the river seems to overflow and the fact that the car is here means that when something it goes up automatically. I think we’ll only see how bad this place is by going up but we then we’ll have to make it to the city, we don’t have the supplies to make it back to Camphrier Town without starving.” Ash said as the others looked at him.

“What about scavenging for food and running?” Serena asked only for Clemont to sigh.

“The station is made of metal and the water damage around here says to me that floods are common, we could survive initially on up top and maybe signal the town but if they can’t get to us then we’re stuck up there, then it’s a race to survive or starve, if we try and make it back to the last town then we gamble if we can out run a flood, so realistically we’ve got no choice do we?” Clemont asked as the others nodded and he activated the tram as Bonnie exploded.

“AAUUGG! How’d this happen to us!” She demanded as she looked around.

Serena just sighed and shook her head. “That bridge being down really messed us up, maybe we should try and find a way to move faster on the road once we get to the next city, maybe look up a bus schedule or see if we can get a Ride Pokémon or two.”

As cable car made it to the top station Ash ran to the edge of the room had looked out the window. Ash just cursed as he got out a pair of binoculars from his backpack and looked towards the mountain in the distance and frowned before he started to curse. The others made it to the window and saw what Ash did; a large city was set against a mountain with a large wall five stories tall around the whole thing with a large gate with a stone bridge before it. From the station they could see lights on the wall shinning onto the bridge. Fuck! Okay, thing we can’t go down the elevator, it’s best to see what we have to deal with! Ash said as looked around before finally seeing the stairs down.

“We need to move, we can’t survive here and we have to make it to the city fast.” Ash barked as they reached the top and Ash led them towards the stairs.

“What do you mean Ash, what do you see.” Clemont asked as they ran down and Pikachu ran ahead of them, letting out sparks so they could see what was ahead of them.

“The mountain, there’s a large dam there and I could see ice covering it from here.” Ash said as they reached the valley floor and ran towards the city. As they ran Ash looked towards the mountain and frowned as he saw what he hoped weren’t Pokémon attacks in the distance. And if the dam was covered in Ice, that means its either someone following orders or its part of a protocol for this kind of situation, I really hope that’s not the case. He thought as he led the way into the rain, the others following behind him. “That means that the ice is either to hold it in place or it was a stray shot, both means trouble. And both means we have to move fast!”

A few minutes later they reached a line of people traveling over the bridge and one of the guards looked at them.

“The hell? Shouldn’t every one of you people from the school already been sent ahead? Didn’t you get the evacuation order?” The guard demanded as the group stopped and looked at him.

“We’re travelers, we came into the area and ran until we made it here.” Ash said as the group looked at the people moving across, some of them pushing carts.

The guard turned and did a double take at Ash. He stared at him and rubbed his eyes for a few seconds. “Can’t be….What are you kids doing here, didn’t you all hear the….wait you’re not from around here are you. Get over the bridge now; we don’t know how long the dam will last and there’s supposedly two Chimera fighting up there!”

“Got it, thanks!” Ash said as they moved over with the line, the guard looking after them until someone put a hand on his shoulder and looked at another guard who looked at him with concern.

“Everything alright man?”

“Yeah, thought I saw Sir Adrien for a second, guess my eyes are playing tricks on me with what’s happening.” The first guard said as he looked at him before looking after Ash and his friends.

As the party moved towards the walls they could see people around the middle of the bridge, looking towards a rock with…

“There’s a girl in the water, we’ve gotta help her Clemont!” Bonnie said as Ash looked upriver and cursed as he saw what the guard was talking about. He could see a dam set against the mountain and he could see the dam being iced over

“Why haven’t any of you gotten her out of the river yet!” Ash barked at the group and they jumped and turned to him.

“We can’t get to her and we don’t have anything to reach her! The water’s too fast for any of our Pokémon and the wind’s picking up, how the hell are we supposed to get her!” One of the other group said as Clemont looked at the river.

“Don’t any of you have any Pokémon that could get to her?!” Serena demanded as the others looked conflicted as they looked at each other.

“Most trainers with Grass Types are on the other side of the city or at the lake holding back a Water Chimera or using Frenzy Plant to shore up the wall, we’ve been trying to think of a way to get her but we’ve come up with nothing that won’t put whoever tries to go to her at risk!” Another of the group said as Clemont went still and grabbed a Pokéball.

“Chesspin, use Vine Whip to grab the girl!” Clemont command as his Chesspin appeared and saw the scene before them before saluting his trainer.

“CHESSPIN!” It cried as two vines shot from it and grabbed the girl in the water and pulled her to the bridge.

“Morg!” A voice called out as a teenage girl in a black raincoat with the hood raised grabbed her.

“Lilly, I’m fine, really!” The girl said as the older one looked her over.

“Thanks for saving my….” The teen began as she looked at the group before a roar was heard and people charged past them.

“GET MOVING, THE ICE IS CRACKING!” A voice called out as the guards moved by them and within moments all of them were running for the closing gates.

As soon as they got off the bridge a large cracking was heard and they picked up speed, Clemont’s backpack hand grabbed Bonnie and Lilly grabbed Morg and carried her as they ran. As the sound of water rushing towards them was heard they made it through the gate and it started to close behind them. Serena turned and looked out as they closed and saw a large wave crash into the bridge moments before the doors slammed shut moments before the water could reach the walls. As her heart slowed down she looked around when she realized that she didn’t feel the rain and saw that they were in a warehouse like structure a good two hundred feet long and wide with multiple garage doors set against the far wall, she could see maybe at least three hundred people all around in groups with people dressed like the guards moving around and taking stock of the people here and there.

“If we were maybe a few minutes slower to get here, I don’t want to think about it.” Clemont said as he panted and his backpack lowered Bonnie to the ground as Lilly put Morg down.

“Well welcome to another lesson about traveling on foot, knowing when to beet feet for shelter and how luck is a factor.” Ash said as he panted, his hood still up. Serena looked at him and sighed as she shook her head. He’s trying to keep out spirits up, that Ash he still hasn’t changed from all the those years ago when we were lost in the woods. She thought as she gazed on him as she smiled.

“You know I never was able to finish thanking you all for saving my sister, I’m Lilith and this is my sister Morgana, we all call her Morg” Lilith said they turned to her and saw her. She had pulled back her hood and revealed a flowing black hair above black eyes and she smiled at them with black lips as Morg was revealed to have short green hair. Clemont looked at her and blushed for a second before he got his face under control, but not before Bonnie had seen it.

“I couldn’t let her stay there; I mean I had to do something to help out, oh I’m Clemont and this is my sister Bonnie.” Clemont replied and Lilith looked at him for a second before relaxing as well, and this time Morrigan noticed. Lilith looked around and noticed that a long staircase was having some people move around.

“Hi, I’m Serena and this is Ash and Pikachu.” Serena said as she indicated Ash who was looking around as Pikachu stood on his shoulder.

“So where are you all going, you seemed to be a diverse group.” Morrigan asked as Ash laughed a little.

“Yeah, well we’ve all got our reasons for being on the road, but how long until we can get back do you think?” Ash asked as Lilith and Morrigan looked at him for a few seconds before shaking their heads.

“Sorry if you want to get to another major city, but with the Chimera around the city will be on lockdown for a few days as we make sure it didn’t make any eggs, and that’s not even talking about how damaged the bridge is. There is a tournament and a Perfomance secheduled within the next few days though.” Lilith said and Morrigan grabbed Bonnie’s and pulled her towards the staircase. Lilith laughed and grabbed Clemont and pulled her after their sisters.

“Come on, we can see how bad it is from within the wall, there’s an observation floor around the third level.” Lilith said as she led the way. As she led the way she looked over her shoulder and tried to see under Ash’s hood. There’s no way, there’s just no way.

A few minutes later they reached a floor with a transparent window at the fall end, people here and there in the room everyone with downcast expressions. As they made it to the window they saw the bridge had been destroyed and the river had overflowed and was at least fifteen feet high and against the walls and he could see the water had reached the entire other side of the valley.

“We’re so screwed.” Serena said as she looked at the water. Ash only nodded, having seen something like this a few times before but never so bad and with the road flooded. We could fly over it with Noivern, and I could use the Center to transfer Gliscor so there’s that. Noivern is a strong flyer, I could see if we could reach the mountain, but the packs fighting up there…. Ash thought as he looked at the water and planned how to get them out of there in a hurry, an old habit he had.

“Good construction, the walls I mean it must have been built to withstand this. Really wonderful, but I wonder how long until we can leave.” Clemont asked as Liltith

“It’s not as bad as it’s been in the past, I think maybe a good week or two and the city can get around to start making a new bridge once the lockdown is lifted.” Lilith said as she looked out the window.

“How long!” Bonnie asked as Morrigan laughed.

“Yeah there was a problem where a Chimera horde tried to break the gate and destroyed the area around the gate, the city had to replace a lot of the riverbed. And we’ve always known something like this is possible, we structure our defense budget to get supplies for repair.” Lilith said with a smirk.

“May I have your attention please, the cities Pokémon Centers are ready for everyone to check in and clean up. And to all out of towners the city government will help you all find a place to sleep until the crisis is over.” A voice boomed from the loud speakers and Lilith and Morrigan looked at each other and smiled at the group.

“Come on, we can head over to the Center near my house and see what’s what, if we have too then we can take you over to our home, we can put you all up for a few days at least.” Lilith said as Morrigan started to snicker.

“Maybe some of you longer.” Morrigan sang as she moved away from her spluttering sister as she laughed as Clemont blushed as Bonnie and Serena giggled as Pikachu sighed and Ash shook his head with a smirk.

“Best to keep my hood up, this weather isn’t getting better.” Ash said and looked down at Pikachu. “Want a covered ride buddy?”

“Pika.” Pikachu sighed and jumped up to hide in Ash’s bag and Ash sighed.

“Yeah, we can dry off there right Morrigan?” Serena asked and she nodded, Serena frowned as she saw that Morrigan was still sneaking looks at Ash and frowned.

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Ash looked about the Center, taking in all the people that were huddled around the room, children with their families and people moving here and there and sighed. We’re stuck here for at least two weeks if I can’t fly us out, great. I guess with all the people around here we’ll have a lot of quests to do so we’re be able to survive at least. And we’re be able to get at least a basic meal out of the Center if everything is wrong, I might have to try for the next Conference but hey, the best plans of Rattata and men. He thought as Lilith talked with Serena.

“Oh you’re a Performer? There’s a Pokévision studio set up in the downtown area, our cousin uses it to shoot music videos, if you want I’m sure I could help you make a great one!” Lilith said as she looked at Serena who smiled back.

“That might be for the best, I don’t know if I’ll be able to get out of here in time to make it to the Master Class this year.” Serena said as she looked at Ash who shrugged.

“Thought the same thing, but you know how it is, sometimes your plans work and sometimes they don’t, but what about you Lilith, are you a Performer?” Ash asked only for Lilith to adopt

“Kinda, but I consider myself a Coordinator really. The way the Showcases are just for girls is something that we, the people of this city don’t like.” Lilith said as she looked around. “We don’t think that a how trainer works with their Pokémon is meant to be limited, it’s their choice alone. I think this place is the one city in Kalos where men and women can put on shows with their Pokémon.”

“You know I never thought about it that way, I just really started to train Pokémon a few months back really, and I think I have a few selfish reasons for being a Performer but I like to put on perform for the crowd.” Serena said as she looked thoughtful as Lilith nodded. Morrigan looked at Clemont as she sat with Bonnie and fed Dedenne.

“What about you and Clemont Bonnie, what are your reasons for traveling.” Morrigan asked as Bonnie laughed.

“My bros the Gym Leader for Lumiose City, he’s on a journey to grow stronger and I’m on vacation from a few problems back home and we just came along with Ash .” Bonnie said as Clemont nodded.

“I left the gym under my second and well I just thought a bit of time on the road would do both of us some good.” Clemont said as he starched the back of his head.

“I’m on a journey to well, find something really. I travel and challenge the Leagues to accomplish that and well, I still haven’t found what I’m looking for yet.” Ash said as Morrigan looked at him in awe.

“Cool, what have you seen since you started traveling?” Morrigan asked as she looked at him with stars in her eyes as Bonnie joined in.

“I’ve seen wonders and horrors you have to have been there to believe. I’ve fought the worst and seen the best.” Ash said with a smirk as Nurse Joy came towards them. Serena did a double take and looked at her, noticing how pale she looked compared to her sisters.

“Are you alright Nurse Joy, you don’t look so good.” Serena said as Joy looked at her before gaining a look of understanding.

“I’ve had trouble sleeping lately. Here are a few towels to clean yourselves up, and here’s a number card, when your called someone from your group can call in and we’ll find a place for you to sleep tonight.” Joy said as Morrigan spoke up.

“Sis and I are putting them up Nurse Joy, a thank you for Clemont saving me!” Morrigan said causing Joy to look at Lilith who nodded and sighed.

“Then when someone calls your number we’ll put that down, at least there’s something that’s easy for us.” Joy said as she turned around and walked towards another group.

“Thanks for the towels.” Ash said as he took a towel and pulled down his hood, a gasp coming from Lilith as she looked at him. “What’s wrong Lilith?”

“You look like master Adrien!” She gasped out and Joy turned with a scowl on her face. Ash stared at her before he gained a scowl on his face as he realized she said that name.

“Lilith what did you just say…..OHH MY!” Nurse Joy called out as she put a hand to her mouth as she dropped the towels. People turned and every native of the town stared in shock as they saw Ash’s face.

“He can’t be…..”

“Wait wasn’t he gone for years, could he be?”

“Then the line is alive? Why didn’t he tell us?”

“Get the Seneschal, somebody get the Seneschal now!” A voice roared as people started to look at Ash in awe. He looked around and saw Lilith and Morrigan staring at him in shock and Lilith started to grin as she looked at his face.

“What’s the problem and how the hell do you know that deadbeats name.” Ash demanded as he looked at Lilith as Joy stared to splutter.

“You look like Adrien. Wait, ‘Deadbeat’?!” Joy said as she looked at him and Serena stared at him.

“Adrien, wait wasn’t that the name on your birth certificate under your father!?” Serena asked as she remembered how she, Ash and Gary had found Ash’s birth certificate once and the pain that had led to the breaking of his and Gary’s friendship.

“He’s your father, why didn’t he ever tell us about his family?” Joy asked in confusion as Ash looked at her with a scowl.

“So the bastard never talked about us, hu? So where is he, I really want to give me a good punch for all the pain he’s caused my mother over the years!” Ash said as he snarled, Lilith looked at him before paling as she realized just what he was saying, tears falling from his eyes.

“PIKA!” Pichacu barked as his checks started to spark, he had heard Delia’s pain when they had been back in Pallet and he wanted to get his own shocks in.

Joy looked at him in confusion before gaining a look of horrified shock before she spoke a single sentence that destroyed Ash’s rage. “Master Adrien has been dead for over fifteen years.”

Ash’s snarl disappeared as he heard and understood what Joy had said, Serena gasping and covering her mouth and Bonnie and Morrigan hugged each other. “Dead, he’s been dead all these years?” Ash said as he looked at her in total shock. I don’t I just can’t….. My journey…….. no matter what I said, part of it was to find him and give him a piece of my mind; I don’t know what else to do now. He thought as a commotion from the front caused him to look up.

A man with white hair on the sides of his head wearing a grey had and a grey suit walked in, a scowl on his face as he looked about. “Why did you call me, I have enough problems with handling the damage what…… oh by the elements.” He stammered as he looked at Ash who stood there and a tear came to his eyes. “So Adrien did have a child, I wondered for years but he did. I….no. No.” He said as he looked at Ash before turning to the people around him.

“I don’t know anything but Adrien is the name of my father, he’s been dead since he left us years ago?” Ash asked as he slowly reached for his backpack and Serena nodded and slowly reached for her bag when Lilith grabbed her arm.

Looking at Lilith Serena saw a look of conflict on her face. She moved her head closer to Serana’s and started to whisper to her. “If he’s not related then this is a bad coincidence, nothing more. I promise if something seems wrong I’ll help fight your way to freedom, I promise but please let this play out.”

The seneschal looked at Ash and staring at his eyes something in them caused him to see his former master superimposed on Ash and something in him started to believe that he might be who he looked like.

“Okay, I don’t believe that you are complete who you….resemble. I apologies for this but this town has enemies and threats that I don’t think you would believe or understand.” The seneschal said as the people around them started to move in, Ash looked around and moved his hand away from his back pack.

“I guess that me and my friends don’t have a choice in the matter.” Ash said as he made a motion that told Pikachu not to react.

“No. I’m sorry but I must test you. If nothing happens you and yours will have only out of a little time and we’ll mark this up to a terrible twist of fate. The storm has died down, would you please follow me? And I am Richard Sign, seneschal to the former lord of this, the great independent city of Walharina.” Richard said as he bowed and gestured to the door out of the center and the people made way for them.

Ash shared a look with his friends, Clemont and Serena both had their backpacks on and Bonnie just looked confused, Morrigan looked like she understood half of what she was hearing and Lilith looked apologetic.

“Fine, let’s see what this test is.” Ash said as Richard nodded and led the way out of the chamber into the night’s air. As they followed after Richard, Serena stayed near Bonnie and Morrigan so she could protect them if things went south as Clemont prepared to raise hell to keep them all safe as Ash looked about and started to plan how to destroy the town.

Lilith moved faster and walked next to Richard. “He looks like he’ll burn the city to the ground if he has needs to do so to keep his friends safe.”

“Another mark that he is who he looks like, if he’s not I will let him and his friends go with no trouble, if I have to I will fight to do that.” Richard said as Lilith nodded at him, silently promising that she would help them, even if she and Morrigan had to leave the city for a while. That might not be so bad if we can travel with them for a while. She thought with a blush as she looked at Clemont as he led the way, Bonnie and Morrigan walking behind him.

Ash looked around at the procession, as they had travel through the city people had either joined or watched from the buildings as they traveled. As they had seen him they had muttered his father’s name, some of them praising the elements that the line was still alive and that the town would live. If dad really was from here why didn’t he ever tell them about us, if their Adrien is my dad. If he died all those years ago, I don’t know just how and why he didn’t ever tell mom where he was going, what happened to ‘this’ Adrien? Ash thought as he walked after Richard and noticed Lilith was walking a little behind him and saw her as the person to tell him.

Increasing his speed until he stood next to Lilith he looked at her with a glare. “So you might know more about my family then I do, so start talking.”

“It’s a long and complicated story…. I don’t know the full history, there are a lot of secrets.” Lilith began as she looked at him. As they spoke they traveled closer to the castle on the mountain, always they moved closer to it. “To begin with, this city was formed by people who tried to escape from a war years ago in the ancient past. Your line, well our Adiren’s line were the leaders of one group of survivors from one of the many city states that fell in the war. Somehow they found out about this place and knew they could defend and traveled here, gathering other survivors as they went.”

The procession had reached a park and they moved through it, trees and lakes were all over it and they passed gazebos and statues on pedestals of humans wielding weapons with plaques and they moved closer to the mountain. “For the rest of the war we fought defensively as, the leader and his inner circle fighting duels with the leaders of army after sieges lasted for days or months. While they fought against each other, we developed the mountain and the valleys hidden there and lived good lives, spies found out and tried to conquer us.”

“So my family, his family were the leaders who made this city?” Ash asked as he looked around the park, noticing the plaques had victor of this siege or that siege here and there. Okay so they might have a reason for being excited if I am related to this places founders, but why did he leave this place. He wondered as the procession moved ever closer to the mountain and a large staircase. “Why did Adrien leave, and where we’re going is up those stairs, they’ve got to be a good three hundred feet up!”

“Actual four hundred, and the mountain goes a good three miles up! Hidden here and there are the farms that once feed everyone here, most of them are still operated by the families that inherited them over the years.” Lilith laughed as the procession moved towards the stairs. “And about Master Adrien, I remember the gossip it was a fight with his grandfather when he was about our age, you’re what fifteen-sixteen? He wanted to see the world and when his father wouldn’t let him he took most of his Pokémon and fought his way out, destroyed the bridge and he just disappeared for years, he returned when the town was attacked and died fighting to protect this place. ”

“Guess that’s where I get my sense of adventure and rage, at least if he was my father, so where are we going?” Ash asked as they marched past the staircase and towards a wall. As they turned the corner Ash saw a large gate with its doors opening as they marched, it had to be at least twenty feet high.

“It’s called the Passage.” Lilith said with a laugh as they marched towards the doors. “This is connected to the city’s storage rooms and there’s a library where the city’s most important relics are stored. Never seen it myself but that’s the legend.” Lilith said as Clemont and the others caught up.” They looked around as they passed through the doorway into a room that was a good hundred feet high with at least three levels of ledges with bridges crises crossing the empty space in the air. They went notice a long upwards ramp that Richard that went farther into the mountain.

“This is amazing, those lights…….is that arcane science?” Clemont asked causing Ash to notice that some of the underside of the bridges had crystal diamonds on them and they were the source of the chamber’s light. “But I thought Nikola only created this in the Azoth Kingdom?”

Morrigan laughed and smiled up at him. “Yeah, but one of his apprentices escaped and wandered until he made it to us and bargained for safety here, he helped to create the blueprints for the wall and our early power source.”

“We even have a holiday for the team of heroes he joined that, saved us and fought for us until he died.” Lilith said as the group moved through the mountain. “It’s even soon, I think you’d like it……… if you all stay here until its time.”

Lilith trailed off as she remembered just why she was walking with them towards the mountain and walked off, keeping silent as they walked on.

Ash watched her walk and knew why she was silent, looking about he saw people watching them and some part of him saw people looking at him and judging all of them with looks of hopeful but guarded looks on their face as they moved, and some strange part of him that he never even knew existed was proud of what he saw, and he shook himself as he moved after Lilith.

“They say there’s a hidden place somewhere down here you know, something really beautiful?” Morrigan said to Bonnie as they walked after their siblings. “There’s no rule against walking around down here and it’s actually encouraged, there are murals that tell our history and most kids like to run wild down here. Want to mess around down here if you stay for a while?”

Bonnie looked at her and smiled. “Sounds fun, but is this as important as I think it is?” Bonnie asked quietly as she looked at the people, some of them looking at Ash with expected and calculating looks.

“It’s important yeah, there was a lot of talk recently about who would take over the town. If he’s who a lot of people hope he is, even I could see how this would change things.” Morrigan said as she looked at the front of the group and frowned. Bonnie looked up and saw a woman waiting before an exit that revealed the sky. She was tall, voluptuous woman in a red dress with long black hair that reached her waist. She had piercing red eyes and red painted lips and looked at Richard as the procession stopped and looked at him.

“So where’s this so called heir I’ve been hearing about? Where is he Richard?” She asked as she looked over the procession before stopping when she saw Ash and gasping, taking a step backwards in shock. “By the elements!”

“I know Isabella; he looks a lot like Adrien. From what I was told; the boy’s father was named Adrien and left both him and his mother before our Adrien died and they might have been the same person.” Richard said as he walked past Isabella and moved up the ramp towards the open sky, the procession following him. He stopped before a statue of a man holding a sword on a pillar before a black stone on a small pedestal. “Touch this stone, if nothing happens then the Adrien we’re talking about isn’t your father and he might be alive.”

Ash looked at the stone and then at the others around him, he wasn’t sure about this but he couldn’t let him. He felt something touch his leg and looked at Pickachu and smiled down at his starter and took a deep breath and put his hands on the stone.

After a few seconds he was about to take his hand off it when he heard Serena gasp. The statue’s eyes were glowing black and looking down at him and it raised the sword it was holding and put it on both his shoulders before standing at attention with the sword pointing downward. “The blood line is alive, may you survive all that is thrown at you.” The statue spoke resolutely and Ash felt something move through him, a sense of belonging that he hadn’t ever felt before.

He turned to the procession and saw them all of them had gone down to their knees bowing to him. He turned to Richard who was staring at him with Isabella bowing next to him. “Long live the count!” They said as Ash looked at Serena and Clemont who looked back at him with shock, Bonnie smiling and Lilith and Morrigan among those bowing.

Ash looked from the kneeling people to the stand and he released a sigh as he looked at Richard who only looked down at the ground.

“This means I’m the, that Adrien is my…….that your Adrien is my father?” Ash asked with a hard look that the man nodded from where he had been bowing.

“Yes my lord, that is the situation as it is.” The seneschal said and Ash went still and sighed and closed his eyes. “And I know what you want to ask next my lord.”

“Where is he buried?” Ash asked and let a tear drop form one of his eyes as Serena went still as she realized what this meant and even Bonnie had a hand to her mouth as Clemont looked down and Morg let her tears fall.

“He rests in the Salvotion Cemetery on one of the mountain terraces, a place all honored ones go to their final rest.” Richard said as he stood up. “Let me take you there.”

As Ash and his friends with Lilith and Morrigan following behind them, Isabella stayed where she was and smirked. “Ohhh this is amazing! To think he had a son, this is going to upset quite a few plans.”

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Ash walked through the cemetery, a somber mood about him as Pikachu followed behind him. his friends had stayed at the entrance and he walked until he reach the grave in question. Ash stood there looking at his father’s name and swallowed.

“Hey dad, you know I thought this might be how I would meet you.” Ash said softly. “Mom never gave up on you, she always thought that something had happened to you to keep you from coming home you know.”

Ash just stay still as the winds whistled around him as he looked down. “I don’t….. I don’t know what to do now. The…… my journey, that was to find out where you were, what happened to make me grow up without a father, and I did think you were dead for a few years but this, I wanted to gain fame so someone would contact me because of my looks, a way to find you. I never would have thought that I find you like this.”

Ash looked out over the town below; some people were still running around letting people know that the heir of their leader had returned, Ash caressed his Pokéballs on his belt and sighed. “I’m not a leader, not a town leader anyway. I mean I always was around mom when she would take care of Pallet House and I guess this is just a bigger restaurant but they were talking about as we walked to that stone, I think a lot of people will want me to take over. Maybe I could but will I, I wanted to know who I was, where you came form but I never thought that I would find something like this.”

Ash felt a presence come over him as wind blew around him and carried the leaves on the ground and moved into a whirlwind. Ash just sighed and looked at the whirlwind and smiled. I guess that I’ll just stay here until the bridge is repaired, anything else I can decide later. Ash thought as he turned around and started to walk back towards his friends.

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Richard looked at the cemetery and waited for Ash to come back, his mind going over many different tracks as he stood apart from the teens who were talking amongst themselves, a frown on his face as he looked into his past. Ash’s very existence will upset a lot of people, from the three who were angling to become the new Count/ess and then the people in each faction. If he takes over, if he wants to take over I’ll need to talk to him, give him the dossiers on all of them. But at the work on the bridge and the dam will give me a chance to sound him out……… and when the Master awakens his heritage then that might awaken some of his ambition. And I know that some of them just don’t want the others to take over so they might help him…… I can only hope that he decides to stay. Richard thought as he looked around the area and noticed a few spies of the various factions here and there looking at where Ash was, most of them staying back out of respect for those people who slept there and the rest because they would be stopped by the others.

“I never would have guessed that Ash would have found where his father was, not even like this.” Serena said to Clemont as she stood with him and Lilith as Morg and Bonnie stood a few feet away talking quietly.

“I’m guessing there’s a bit of a story there, isn’t there?” Clemont asked and Serena nodded and looked up with a soft smile. Turning they saw Ash walking towards them with a resolute look on his face.

Richard walked to him and took a deep breath. “From what I’ve just heard it will be a few days at least until we can repair the dam, let alone the bridge. I’m sorry but that’s not even counting on if the workers are attacked.”

“What about the Pokémon transporter, I have some Flying types that could get us out of here…..” Ash trailed off as Richard shook his head. “There’s something blocking the transporter isn’t there?”

“Yeah, and then there’s supposed to be a Chimera that has a kind of electrical field that disrupts radio waves according to local legends…….. it’s a terrible but trainers around here don’t really have a choice and because of that, most who stay here don’t consider themselves part of the league and use Computer Cores to store Pokémon long term .” Richard said and Clemont looked at him.

“Really, this is one of those towns?” Clemont asked and looked around. “I know there are at least four towns where trainers can’t use the transporter but this was one of them?”

“And how’d you know that?” Lilith asked Clemont and Bonnie started to grin.

“Yes, I know the local League likes to keep the idea that there could be another way to live with Pokemon from people.” Richard asked and Clemont blushed and looked away

“My brother’s the Gym Leader back home in Lumiose City!” Bonnie said with a grinning face and Lilith stars at Clem with stars in eyes as Richard looked at him with a strange look in his eyes.

“But what about the emergency transportation? I know the city has a plane or a helicopter if this happens again right?” Lilith asked and Richard looked down. “Couldn’t you send on to ask for help, maybe a skyship to transport the out of towners back to the main road at least?”

“Yes we do normaly, but before the Chimera attacked they exploded.” Richard admitted and Ash looked up, a strange feeling of anger welling up in him.

“Exploded?! Was anyone hurt!?” Ash demanded and Richard winced.

“All the people nearby are alive, we have a possible witness in protective custody but he’s unconscious. The doctor thinks he’ll be up in a day or two at most.” Richard said as he held up his hands. “And all of them are damaged and I don’t how bad.”

“So we’re stuck here then?” Serena asked and Richard nodded.

“You and a lot of other people madam. Most place are full up but there is the castle.” Richard began and looked at Ash. “After he left, your grandfather ordered that his son’s room stay the same, I’m sure he’d like you to sleep there at least sir Ash.”

Ash looked at the others and after a few moments sighed and looked at Richard and nodded.

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Ash looked about the room he had walked into and shook his head. He had been directed to his father old room, it was at the central level near the central tower and he looked around, seeing a stand for a sword and shield, books about the history the world and tourist brochures here and there.

“So this was where you came from dad? And you went back here because it was your home.” Ash said quietly as he looked a tapestry of the all the Pokémon Element symbols.

“He was a brave man and loyal to those he thought were worth it.” The person speaking was the butler, a man in a dark suit named Sebastian who had led his and Serena to rooms in the castle. After everything was done Lilith, her sister, Clemont, Bonnie and Serena had been shown the castle introduced to Sebastian and the staff, and after the crying and such the group had sat down to a small meal. Richard had told a lot about the history of the place and told about how most of the families owed their very lives to his, he had talked about his mother and Pallet town and the struggles that they had gone through growing up.

Richard had spoken about the Chimera, wild Pokémon and problems a small city had being so far out of the way. After they were done Lilith had carried her sister to their home, what she said was a small cottage at best a mile away and Clemont had carried Bonnie to their room. Richard had promised to show him around the city tomorrow, and that they would talk more about it but he had a few things he had to show him. Serena had been show to a place to sleep and Ash was led off to his father’s old room, and looking around he could feel something about the castle.

“There’s something about this room, isn’t there?” Ash asked and Sebastian nodded.

“According to the person who trained me, this room is the one that was always set for the heir. I remember when your father was born; your grandfather was so happy and proud of him.” Sebastian said before he grew gloomy. “But then your grandmother was killed and he grew so over protective over his son.”

“Who killed her?” Ash asked as Sebastian grew angry at question.

“We never found out, that….it changed this town and I think tracking down who was behind it was one of the reasons he wanted to leave I think.” Sebastian said as he sighed and looked into his past. “I think the master knew more then he said about it, but I know that was what caused their relationship to change.”

“So one of the reasons dad wanted to leave was to find who killed his mother?” Ash asked as he looked around the room.

“I believed so, good night young master.” Sebastian said as he bowed and left the room.

Ash watched him go and turned in a circle, Pikachu lying on a pillow near the bed and Ash looked around and sighed, this was the last thing he thought he would discover traveling through Kalos. I still have to call mom, telling her that dad had died all those years ago……. I don’t know how I feel about any of this. This is my heritage, I always wondered where dad came from but this, I don’t know anything anymore. He thought as he lay on his bed, sighing as he tried to sleep.

“Come.” A voice seemed to come from all around him and he shot up and looked around the room, seeing Pikachu was asleep. Looking around and not seeing anyone there he moved to go back to sleep.

“COME!” A voice called out again and this time he heard it from the door to the hall. Something seemed to tell him to follow it and he got up and walked out of the room. He looked around, trying to find anything that he could tell where the voice had come from and finding nothing he was about to turn back when the voice came again.

“COME!” He heard it from his right and he followed the voice, moving down the hallway. After a while he reached a staircase at the end of a hallway and climbed it, not turning back, something pulling him onwards. He reached the top and saw a set of large double doors at the end and moved towards them, some strange feeling pulling him along. He pushed them open and entered a large bedroom with a large bed in the center, a strange silvery mirror on the wall and a large dresser. He saw an open door to a balcony to the right and to the left was a pedestal with a medallion on a box. He walked towards it and saw that the box had a painted black dragon and he saw the medallion was of a black dragon with ruby eyes and the eyes were glowing. He reached for it and picked it up, something about it seemed to suck the warmth out of the room and then he opened the box and the pendant’s eyes flashed and he fell to the floor, unconscious.

Ash’s body got up and walked towards a mirror and looked at the reflection.

“So this is my grandson, you look like my brat.” A deeper voice came from Ash’s mouth as his eyes closed and a small smile formed. “Grandson you are as obvious as I was before your grandaunt kissed me, but I think I’ll go and give you and her a nice dream.” The force controlling Ash’s body said as he walked Ash out of his chambers.

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Serena sat before a mirror and brushed her hair as she just thought about what had happened so far. They had found the place where Ash’s father had come from and where he had died, they had been shown to a castle he had inherited and it had been confirmed by a blood link that he was truly in his family’s land and they had been invited to stay there until they could leave the area and she had been shown a room to spend the night in, taken a bath and come out to find a note that her cloths were being washed! All she found to wear was a red semi-transparent nightie that barely covered her breasts but she had to admit she did look great in it! She looked around the room and wondered just how they had something her size and what it was made off, it was as smooth as silk and actually wasn’t as flimsy as she thought, it actually felt like she was wearing her regular sleepwear. I can’t believe this. Ash’s father left his home due to having a fight with his own father, and when he left a battle destroyed the bridge, and then he returned to save his father and they both died before they could met Ash and for some reason while traveling we end up at his family’s city just when a storm destroys the only way in or out of it and we end up staying the night at his family’s seat of power. If I haven’t been living this I would never believe it could have ever happen. But I don’t know, there’s something about this room, something about this is just bothering me for some reason I can’t put my finger on. Serena thought as she looked around the room. A candle caste a soft glow over the room and as she looked around, from the bed to the mirror and desk there was something about it.

She got up and walked about the room, noting the stone walls that seemed to absorb the sound instead of reflecting it and looked at the candle set against the wall and the stone tiles on the floor.

A knocking from the door caused her to stand up look towards the door.

“Yes, who is it?” Serena called out and grabbed a robe she put on, quickly tying it around herself as she moved towards the door, hoping it was the staff with her cloths. She reached the door and opened it to reveal Ash standing there in a loose shirt and pants, a strange look in his eyes that excited Serena.

[Cut scene]

Dracula looked down at the sleeping form of Serena as he directed his grandson’s body to put his own cloths back on and him pick up the torn remnants of Serena nightie before he pushed some of his power into Serena and put three commands into her mind, 1; to treat what had happened as a dream until she was fully changed, 2; to remember she had slept topless because of the heat and 3; to wear a collar around her neck when she got up, since Richard had told her she could wear any of the clothing they found in the rooms. He directed Ash’s body to leave Serena’s room as he looked back at Serena, his grandson had good taste at least and given what he had seen in his grandson’s memory he was a strong person and had the talent to draw to him people of character. He chuckled as he had Ash return to the room he was staying in and floated downward towards a room he knew would be occupied at giving what had happened to the bridge. He finally entered a room lite by a candle, a large book case along the opposite wall and a desk facing the only window with the door behind it. At the desk sat Richard, looking over papers with his head down.

“So you’ve started your grandson down the path my liege?” Seneschal asked without turning his head to speak to the specter before him. Dracula chuckled as he floated and gave the man a bitter smile.

“You have to tell me how you keep doing that one day old friend. But yes, I have, and that was a good job putting the young girl in the proper room.” Dracula said as the man before the desk just smirked at the reply.

“I felt how she feels about him my lord, I knew if you started him then you’d need someone to feed on and she was there after all.” Richard said and laughed lightly.

“Well she might have a few new sisters soon; it seems some of his old traveling companions are in the city as well. I asked about his journey over supper and there are three girls here who I will make sure come to the castle.” He said as Dracula just chuckled as he looked out the window. “One of them helped fight off the Water Chimera, only reason we drove it off to be truthful, another and her brother helped get people out of the path of the storm and the last helped to make sure the farms were evacuated.”

“Oh, so those people are here, when I went through his memories, I had wondered how to bring them to him.” Dracula said as he mused about the memories he had seen in his grandson’s mind.

“I….my lord I have to ask, what kind of person is he, really? From what I gathered on my own he’s a good person but who is he, deep down?” Richard asked as Dracula sighed.

“He is the product of my fight with my son, you were right.” Dracula said as he looked away. “I was too protective, I’m just glad he returned when he did, that I was able to see him before I went.”

“And your grandson is a chip off the old block, he has your eye to see the best and draw talent to him.” Richard said as he looked over the papers on his desk, short dossiers that had been made once he had the names of Ash’s companions. “Good kids, they all have principles that would do good here, and with the others baying to take his place this might be the best way to recement your family’s control over the town.”

He looked at the specter of his master and frowned when he saw the way he looked. “What’s wrong my liege, what more is there to take up your limited time.”

“The packs attacking while the Chimera did, are you sure it was natural?” Dracula asked Richard causing him to straighten up and look at him.

“As sure as we can be, I’ve instructed the Guards to check the nests as close as they could and to try and find where the Chimera could have come from.” He sighed and put a hand to his head. “I admit that recently the political climate has become a bit different as people tried to become the new leader, but one of them being behind that? I’ll have to look into that.”

“Do so, I’ll be around until he fully awakens, if he decides to stay I want you to teach him everything he needs to know.” Dracula said as he faded away.

“When you get where you’re going, be sure to save me a place and say hi to everyone for me old friend.” Richard whispered as he went back to his papers, already planning how to get his master will done as he overlooked the town’s current problems.

[Cut final scene]

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