Pokémon Then, Then, and Now

[IFBench]

"Who are you?" the man in the purple hat asked you.
"I'm Lidequir."
===
"Who are you?" the Chikorita asked you.
"I'm Lidequir."
===
You lost your memory. You lost your memory. You lost your home. You lost your home.
Yet, you're still you, despite everything.

Or: What if the Rescue Team protagonist and Legends Arceus protagonist were the same person?
A series of parallel short stories about those two protagonists, and the similarities of their journeys.
Contains major spoilers for both Legends Arceus and PMD Rescue Team.

Open and Enclosed

Prelude Beach​

You gripped onto the Pokeball, and threw it. It impacted the Oshawott, and soon, a puff of steam escaped from the ball.

For some reason, you were pretty sure Pokeballs weren’t supposed to do that.

“Great!” Laventon cheered from a bush. “I’ve never seen someone so adept with Pokeballs!”

You felt like he was exaggerating. “Heh, guess I am,” you said nonetheless. You liked Laventon, but he was confusing, with his odd Pokeballs and three Pokemon you felt didn’t belong together.

Everything was so confusing here, and you’d only been here for an hour. Or had you for longer? You couldn’t remember.

All you remembered was your name, Lidequir, and four words, instructing you.

“Seek out all Pokemon”.

That was your goal.

========

Tiny Woods​

You shook your tail as you walked through the dungeon. It still felt foreign, but you were getting used to it by now.

“Come on! I can see the stairs up ahead!” the Chikorita who found you, Acacia, said as he trotted alongside you.

You hadn’t known him for long, only the hour that all your memories were from, but you liked him. He was nice.

You wondered what happened to those memories, why you lost them.

All you remembered was your name, Lidequir, and that you used to be a human.

And yet, that didn’t terrify you as much as you felt it should. You wondered why.

Though right now, that didn’t matter. What mattered was that there was a Pokemon in trouble!

 

[IFBench]

Unnamed and Named

Jubilife Village​

You looked upon the village with a smile. You had completed your first task, and you had been accepted into the Survey Corps.

Now, this was your home.

“Osha!” the Oshawott on your shoulder squeaked, and you chuckled. The little guy was so cute!

You wondered what you should call them. Maybe Seedling? Though that felt more befitting of the Rowlet. But Oshawott was so small…

Nonetheless, that didn’t matter right now. Right now, you had other priorities. There was that request to get a Wurmple for a guard, and then that one for a large Buizel.

You started towards the gate out of the village, ready to go right back to the Obsidian Fieldlands.
That first star rank was waiting for you!

========

Water House​

You looked upon the little house with a smile. After rescuing Caterpie, Acacia had presented you with this building.

Now, this was your home.

…why did that sound so familiar?

Oh well. That wasn’t important. You had to name your team!

For some reason, the name “Seedling” was coming to mind…

“How about Team Seedlings?” you suggested, your first non-joking answer to Acacia’s question.

“That…actually sounds great!” the Chikorita said, wagging his tail. “Let’s go with it! From now on, we’re Team Seedlings!”

Your own tail wagged, and you walked over to your partner, putting your arms around him in a hug. He chirped, and his smile grew wider.

Now, you were a team! Pokemon in danger, get ready for Team Seedlings’ help!

 

[Sinderella]

YOOOOOOOOOOO OKAY. OKAY BENCH. The concept for this is fucking SICK (if I understand what's going on correctly, that is....)

So if I'm following things correctly, it seems that our MC for these short little vignettes, Lidequir (I keep reading it as Liqueur because I'm a Highly Intelligent Person(TM)) has been whisked off to Hisui in true Pokemon Legends: Arceus fashion...but I guess at some point in the future they have also been isekai'd into a PMD world???? OR. OR. OR. It's happening at the same time???????????? Did Lidequir have their personality split or something by Arceus and they're just traveling together in two separate worlds??? I have so many fucking questions and you've only written like two parts for this, I just--

...okay I just reread the summary, and it's the same protagonist in both worlds but the stories are being told in a parallel fashion. Okay, yes, remember when I said that I was a Highly Intelligent Person(TM)? Did I also mention that I CAN'T READ???

Nonetheless, I stick to my guns that the concept for this is lit; I don't think I've ever read anything that like...tells the story of the same protag in two different timelines side by side?? And the idea that these are meant to be shorter snippets is also really cool? Honestly, I feel like you could expand this into something a little longer where each other chapter is going back and forth between PMD Lidequir and PLA Lidequir. This is just a COOL concept and I am really hype about it!!! PLEASE WRITE MORE.

 

[IFBench]

Made and Remade

Obsidian Fieldlands​

“Watch! First, mash the Leppa Berry into a fine paste,” Rei said, mashing up a Leppa Berry with a stick. You watched intently, fascinated. Something told you you never knew how these were made, even in the life you had forgotten.

“Next, squeeze the juices of the Medicinal Leeks into the bowl, and mix!” Rei said, doing just that. As the juices landed in the wooden bowl, and mixed with the Leppa paste, the mixture began to thicken.

“Then, you seperate it into little pieces, so the Pokemon can eat it easily,” Rei said, splitting up the congealed mass with the stick. “That’s how you make an Ether!”

“Wow…what an ethereal process!” You joked, letting out a small chuckle.

That earned you a playful shove from Rei. “Does everyone have as bad taste in jokes as you do where you come from?”

“Hey!” you protested, but your chuckling only grew more jovial. Rei was such a fun friend.

You did wonder, though, if what Rei said was true. Was your taste in jokes something specific to you, or was that common back where you came from?

Where did you come from, anyways? You know you came from the Rift, but before that, where did you live? What was it like? Were the people there friendly? Caring? Joking? Was it a good place to live?

You hoped, wherever it was, it was doing alright without you. You didn’t know when you’d be going back.

If you’d be going back.

========

Mount Steel, 4F​

“Hey, look, some medicinal leeks!” you said, pointing towards a bunch of leeks in the corner of the room you were in. “Do you have any Leppa berries and a bowl? I’m getting a bit exhausted with my water moves.”

“I do, but…what does that have to do with the leeks?” Acacia asked, tilting his head.

“I’ll show you!” you said, running over and plucking two of the leeks, before turning to your friend. “Can I have the bowl and the berry?”

“Yep!” he said, taking them out of his bag, and placing them in front of you. You took a Gravelerock out of your own bag, before beginning to mash the Leppa berry into a fine paste. Out of the corner of your vision, Acacia was watching in fascination.

As you squeezed the juices of the medicinal leeks in, and the mixture began to thicken, Acacia asked, “What are you doing?”

“I’m making us an Ether!” you proclaimed, beginning to separate the solidifying mixture into little chunks.

“Wow…I never knew that was how they were made!” Acacia said, eyes wide with wonder. “Can you teach me?”

“Yeppers!” you said, grinning from…well, you didn’t really have visible ears anymore.

Still, you were happy to teach your friend everything you’d learned about itemcrafting!

Huh?

When did you learn about itemcrafting?

Was it something in your past life, when you were human?

Who taught you about it? What other things did they teach you?

You couldn’t remember anything, right?

 

[Torchic W. Pip]

Bench PLA fic!!! Am big excite

You gripped onto the Pokeball, and threw it. It impacted the Oshawott, and soon, a puff of steam escaped from the ball.

Gasp! Oshawott! I love that little guy (in part thanks to you)

Or had you for longer? You couldn’t remember.

*Had you been here for longer

All you remembered was your name, Lidequir, and four words, instructing you.

“Seek out all Pokemon”.

That was your goal.

Oh shoot we're going full Faller here with the no memories thing. Very reminiscent of Anabel in SM.

All you remembered was your name, Lidequir, and that you used to be a human.

Used to be??? Is this implying that Lidequir is a Pokémon now? Which one?? And how does this play into catching wild Pokémon???? Is everyone a Pokémon???

You wondered what you should call them. Maybe Seedling? Though that felt more befitting of the Rowlet. But Oshawott was so small…

Seedling! That's such a good name for any Pokémon! It's just... it's just a very good and sweet and cute name.

You started towards the gate out of the village, ready to go right back to the Obsidian Fieldlands.
That first star rank was waiting for you!

Missing space between paragraphs

“How about Team Seedlings?” you suggested, your first non-joking answer to Acacia’s question.

PMD!!!! PMD PLA FIC!!!!

Tbh, I keep PLA and PMD work really well together. Time, exploration, friendship, Legendary stuff... it's a match made in heaven. It's a match that seems very Benchcore.

“Watch! First, mash the Leppa Berry into a fine paste,” Rei said, mashing up a Leppa Berry with a stick. You watched intently, fascinated. Something told you you never knew how these were made, even in the life you had forgotten.

I like this lil' scene here a lot. It's just... it's very cute.

Okay for general thoughts:

This was a really interesting fic with a lot of interesting themes—memories, identity, relationships, time, purpose, and other good things I enjoy a lot. I feel like PLA is a very Benchcore fic, now that I think about it, what with the crafting mechanics, items, time travel, dimensions, and friendship themes. And you write PLA stuff really well! Especially PLA PMD stuff!!! Am big excite.

One question I do have is how catching Pokémon works in this setting with everyone being a Pokémon. Also, what species is Lidequir? Maybe it's up to the reader's interpretation.

I can't wait to see where this fic goes, and I wonder how closely it will follow the plots of both of the games it's based on. Very good stuff as always, Bench. Keep up the good work!

 

[IFBench]

Fend and Defend

The Heartwood​

You just barely roll out of the way of one of the Lord of the Woods' attacks, the stone axe swinging by you. You breathe a sigh of relief as you see the axe-arm embedded in the giant tree, the Lord of the Woods trying to pull it free.

Good. You had a bit of reprieve. You took a few moments to take some deep breaths, and then you opened the pokeball containing Seedling.

The Oshawott had a determined look on their face. Would they really be able to damage a Noble Pokemon, though?

Only one way to find out. "Seedling, Aqua Jet, Agile Style, two in a row!"

You were still thinking of ways to insert puns into your battle calls, but this would do for now.

You also had a feeling that this would not be allowed back where you were from.

Nonetheless, Seedling jetted towards the Lord of the Woods, surrounded by water. It was enough to make the Kleavor twitch, at least, and before they could react, Seedling attacked again, this time earning a flinch.

Perfect. You reached into your bag of balms, and began pelting them at the Lord of the Woods while they were weakened. You were a bit unsure about the effectiveness of throwing food at a Pokemon at high velocity, but what other choice did you have to quell the Noble's rage?

Soon, though, the Lord of the Woods dislodged their axe-arm from the tree, and faced you once more.

========

Mount Steel, 9F​

You aren't fast enough to run out of the way of one of Skarmony's attacks, and a steel feather scrapes across your scales. You stayed steadfast, though, and retaliated with a Water Gun.

You glanced over at Acacia. He was weak to Skarmony's flying-type attacks, but he was managing well. He sent an Ancient Power crashing down on Skarmony, and you did a gesture towards your partner involving sticking your thumb up. You weren't sure what it meant, but it came so naturally to you.

"Watch out!" Acacia yelped, and you saw Skarmony careening towards you again. You yelped, and tried to roll out of the way.

Unfortunately for you, Squirtle shells aren't very flexible, and it ended up with you flopping over onto your shell. It took a few seconds for you to get back up, but in that time, Skarmony slashed at you again.

You fought back with a Rapid Spin, retreating into your shell and spinning at Skarmony. And then, as if on instinct, you immediately did it again.

That seemed to be enough to stun Skarmony, and for some reason your hand gravitated towards your pouch of gravelerocks. Maybe…

You began pelting Skarmony with the gravelerocks, not using the arcing trajectory Acacia had recommended, but instead throwing them directly at your attacker.

Acacia's eyes were wide, but he was quick to contribute with an Ancient Power.

This all felt so familiar, but now wasn't the time to ponder! You had to rescue Diglett!

 

[Flyg0n]

I know I read some of these before, but I see you added some new ones. I gotta say, I really adore these. Not only is the concept amazing, but it's executed in a really lovely way. Using short snapshots like this to tell a parallel story works superbly.

Honestly had a great time reading this and seeing Lidequir grapple with her strange situations and lost memories! I am definitely looking forward to more