Pokémon Area Zero Snippets: The Tyrant's Tera Treasure

[Umbramatic]

Hello! This is the latest installment in my Snippets series (collections of drabbles from my playthroughs of mainline Pokemon games). Some things you should know:

-This one is a direct sequel to a previous installment, Violet Snippets: The Sorceror's New School, so reading that first is probably ideal if you want a bit more context.

-You can also see the original run here , here and here. (Tumblr link is in reverse chronological order, Twitter link is in chronological order)

-Obviously having played or watched a playthrough of either Pokemon Scarlet or Pokemon Violet's DLC would be ideal too.

-Also! This stars one of my non-Pokemon OCs, Vaespar, who you can read about here and here.

-As for feedback preferences:

--These are not full-blown journey fics, and were never meant to be. Don't review them like they're supposed to be or need to be.

--Don't complain when things are disconnected or don't have much context because I was literally writing these things on the fly as I was playing. If you want more context I linked to the original run.

--Overall just be nice. I'm not looking for super academic feedback on these, I just want people to have fun reading them.

-These will either be posted all in one go or in multiple installments, depending on the place. For places where I'm doing the former, just enjoy the fic; for places where I'm doing the latter expect updates every week or so until it's done (if things don't veer wildly off course).

Anyway here we go into:


Area Zero Snippets: The Tyrant's Tera Treasure

Vaespar was sitting in his lair. Slouching. Where was Lovelan d anyway he was supposed to get-

Suddenly. A voice.

"Vaespar! I need your help!"

A strange individual suddenly teleported before Vaespar. They had white and gold clothes, dark hair, and odd green and red irises. But what waa strangest was that they seemed to be human. Ridiculous. Vaespar was the only human left. Partially anyway. There was only one explanation.

"No soliciting, even from other universes," he said with a dismissive hand wave.

"No, Vaespar! I know you! I'm from the Pokemon world! Or, the one you just got isekaied to. You need to go back!"

"That one? Pah. That one burned me. I got taught the power of friendship only to get kicked right back out!"

"That was... An administrative mistake," the person said, wincing. "But there's something going on with Area Zero! Paldea knows you! You can help!"

"And what's in it for me?"

"There's a great hidden treasure in Area Zero... A great power. Surely you want that for yourself?"

Vaespar thought to himself. He had seen Area Zero while he was there and could sense phenomenal power there. If he could use it for himself..."

"...You know what? Deal. Let's see how it goes."

"Excellent! I'll put you right where you left off. Good luck!"

A glow formed around Varespar...

-------

...And he ended up in a child's body again, in the same part of Paldea he was before he snapped back.

Suddenly his Rotom Phone rang. He picked it up.

"Vaespar The All-Devouring Darkness speaking?"

"Hello, hello, Varespar. This is Jacq."
Oh. Him.

"What do you want?"

"Sorry to bother you while you're probably out there searching for some nice treasure...You see, we have a school trip every year around this time. It's a splendid collaboration between our academy and another school. And would you believe it Vaespar? Your name was one of the ones chosen to attend!"

Convenient.

"You'll get to go study and experience the great outdoors off to the east - in the Land Of Kitikami! It's a long trip to get to this year's destination, so we can't send too many students this time. You really are a lucky one, getting selected as one of the participants!"

Vaespar doubted it. The mysterious human probably arranged this.

"Come to the school's entrance hall when you're ready to hear all the details, " said Jacq. "Of course, you don't HAVE to take part. Hut this kind of chance isn't likely to come again, so you should really give it a shot if you're interested!"

"I'll be on my way." said Vaespar.

"Great! Hope to see you soon!" said Jacq.

He hung up. Vaespar immediately started ringing up a Flying Taxi...

------------------

Vaespar

As soon as Vaespar was summoned back to the Pokemon world, Vaespar was invited to every school child's dream:a field trip. To facilitate this, he met up with Briar, a cheerful woman who was related to Heath, the author of the Violet Book, and wants to prove the Legendary Terapagos is real.

Vaespar had no doubt this "Terapagos" was real. And he was determined to acquire its power before Briar did.

Regardless Vaespar and several other students were transported to the land of Kitikami, which Vaespar brought Denny Jr. Jr.the shiny Flamigo along for, and later caught several other Pokemon, including a Flygon he named Anis. Then he battled a strange girl named Carmine who talked about making him her "grunt" (was she trying to form an Evil Team, Vaespar wondered) before finally escorting his companions to the community center, where they prepared for a long rest...

Denny Jr. Jr.

This was it. Denny Jr. Jr's big moment. His father, veteran of the initial run, had raised him for this moment. This new land was strange and dangerous, but he knew he could make it!

...Could he? That Carmine girl WAS tough...

Anis

Well this was great. Anis was just chilling with the other Yanma in the rice paddies when suddenly some kid from Paldea comes and catches him. Ah well, he;'d heard traveling with Trainers builds character, and he'd manage to best that Cartmine Girl.

...With the help of a Revive from Vaespar. Okay maybe he did need the Trainer's assistance a little bit...

------------------------

Vaespar

Vaespar was sent on a quest to find signboards... but acquired an annoying tagalong, a boy named Kieran. Nevertheless he managed to trek across the land and find two of the needed signs, Kieran battling and expositing him all the while.

According to the signs this land was once occupied by a fearsome ogre wielding four powerful masks, who was driven off by three heroic Pokemon at the cost of their lives. Despite the ogre's antagonistic nature Kieran was fascinated by it and wanted to be its friend.

Vaespar doubted his ability to do so. But if he could harness the power of the masks...

This would have to wait. After beating up Carmine again he had to go to The Festival Of Masks. In the meantime he had picked up and evolved some new team members..

Smoothie

Wow! This Vaeespar was taking Smoothie the Sinistcha all over the place, and evolved them super quick too! They never knew having a Trainer could be so enriching! They'd have to prove themself to Vaespar - an awful lot!

Ben

Well this was a pickle. Ben the Sandslash had run smack dab intro a Trainer minding his own business. Ah well. This Trainer seemed tough. A lot of experience under his belt. And Ben had gotten to do some good clobberin' under his wing.

Tamamo

Ohohoho, did thisVaespar really think he could best the Fey Fox Tamamo the Ninetales? This was only a temporary alliance. With her Tera Fairy power and cunning wits she would get the best of him!

...Eventually. Eventually...

-----------------------

Vaespar

Things had taken some turns.

During the Festival Of Masks, Vaespar encountered the ogre, and sought to gain its power, but the ogre fled, leaving only its mask, and Carmine forced him to keep it a secret. In the morning, Carmine and Vaespar learned more secrets - the myth was in reverse, the ogre was actually the hero and the so-called Loyal Three the villains.

This knowledge in hand, Vaespar went to the final signboard. Along the way obtaining a Chewtle he named April and evolved into a Drednaw) with Kieran, only to notice the boy was acting odd. Vaespar was almost concerned, but had other things to attend to. Like fixing the power of that mask.

To do so he traveled to Oni Mountan's crystal pool with Carmine, where he found suspiciously familiar and enticing crystals of power. Despite the interference of a Milotic and Briar they obtained some for themselves

Unfortunately it turns out Kieran had overheard the secrets and ran off with the mask. Vaespar needed that mask.

He managed to wrest it from Kieran but somehow The "Loyal" Three had returned and made off with the other three masks. Vaespar was going to have to teach them a lesson...


April

April the Dradnaw knew something was going on with her home region. She knew the strange crystal spires, the ogre who lurked in the night, and glittering forms some Pokemon took weren't natural. She wanted a scoop. A scoop on what was really going on. And maybe this Vaespar could get her it...

-------------------

Vaespar

Vaespar found the "Loyal" Three basically curbstomping Ogerpon. He attempted to claim the masks from the lot of them by beating Munkidori, but after Carmine and Kieran interfered the trio ran away, leaving only Ogerpon. Vaeespar reluctantly teamed up with the two humans and one Ogerpon to track down the "Loyal" three and their masks of power, and after gathering intel in the village managed to nail down their locations. Carmine and Vaespar managed to trounce the Lousy Three oner by one and get each mask, and Kieran managed to convince the villagers of the truth of the matter so Ogerpon was no longer treated as an outcast. A seeming victory for Vaespar - he had gained easy access to Ogerpon and all its powerful masks...

...Except Kieran wanted to battle him to see who was truly worthy of being Ogerpon's companion. Ugh. This was going to be a headache...

---------------

Tamamo thought this was ridiculous. Utterly ridiculous. Couldn't they just share Ogerpon or something? Why was Vaespar so desperate for those masks anyways?

Oh well. She could most definitely take his Shiftry.

She flinched at it slapping her in the face with a Fake Out (the audacity!) but burnt away att its Focus Sash with a Flamethrower before cutting past its Leaf Blade and finishing it off with another.

----------

One down, five to go. But next was Gliscor, one of the troublesome ones... He'd need to think carefully.

He sent out April.

-----------

April knew this Gliscor was tough. But she needed to do this for the squad. The team.

Vaespar Terastalize her, dampening an incoming Earthquake, before she slammed the Gliscor with a Liquidation. A second slam knocked it out of the air, onto the ground.

-----------------

Okay, one troublemaker out of the way. Now for Ben Vs, Probopass...

------------

Ben didn't like the look of this thing's nose hairs. Heknew what'd wipe them right off.

He slammed the ground with an Earthquake. The Probopass retaliated with a Flash Cannon, which stung, but another Earthquake straight to the shnoz did the trick.

-----

Come on, come on...

--------------

Anis was getting sick of this stupid sticky apple. Oh well. He could take it.

He cut into its rind with a Slash of Air only for it to spray him with sticky goop. Rude. A very loud Bug Buzz took care of the rest.

----------------

Now for Kieran's Yanmega. Another troublesome one. Vaespar would have to think carefully...

-----------------

He has his own Yanmega? Ridiculous, thought Tamamo. Oh well. She could try to beat it...

She breathed a Flamethrower onto it, burning it to a crisp.

Excellent! She did more than try! Ohohoho!

----------

Yes, a troublemaker out of the way! But Vaespar knew his work wasn't done. Poliwrath was next. He knew only one Pokemon could handle this...

--------------

Oh hey it's Poliwrath again! Thought Smoothie. Time to serve it up a order of Matcha Gotcha!

They whipped and stirred and yaaaed matcha all over the Poliwrath, The Poliwrath tried an ineffectual Belly Drum in response, to no avail. A further torrent of matcha caused it to faceplant onto the floor.

------------

Vaespar cheered. He did it! THe power of Ogerpon and its masks was his!

...He almost pitied the kneeling, defeated Kieran on the ground. Almost.

---------------

Well this was a delicate matter, thought Tamamo. We were aiming to catch, not defeat.. This would get messy.

And what was this? Its fire mask was full of Terastal power!

--------------

So this was the power of Ogerpons masks, thought Vaespar. Excellent...

----------

Tamamo started peppering the oni with Shadow Balls, but its Grassy Terrain healed much of her blows. She did, however, absorb a fiery cudgel with her Flash Fire.

Finally, a Slam took her out.

------------

This thing was clearly a Fire type,:Vaespar thought. So he had a few options...

One came to mind in particular.

--------

This was it! April's scoop! Part of the secret she was looking for! She HAD to know more about this Ogerpon!

She took it out with a Liquidation. But what was this? It switched masks! April tried for a Stone Edge but a cudgel to the head took her out.

---------

Shit. Vaespar would have to adapt to the situation...

-------

Whee! Thought Smoothie. Look at that mask! So pretty!

They started showering it in Matcha Gotcha. All the Matcha Gotcha in the woooooooorld. But uh-oh, it switched masks! But that didn't mean Smoothie had to switch tactics! Matchaaaaaaaaaaaaaa.

But rude, it switched masks AGAIN! NOW Smoothie needed to switch things up. Shadow Ball time! Shadow Ball Shadow Ball Shadow Baaaaaal!
Yay! It kept hitting them with a cudgel but that did it!

--------------

Now was Vaespar's chance!

He hurled a Dre4am Ball.

It sucked Ogerpon in. Wobbled three times. And clicked.

The power of Ogerpon and its masks was now his...

------------------

Anis was annoyed at this Mightyena Howling in his face. He could make more noise thanTHAT. And he did, with a Bug Buzz, wiping it out.

------

Vaespar wasn't as worried about Carmine as Kieran. But she was still formidable. Next was her Morpeko, which was a problem...

-------

Ben wondered what was up with the lil' rodent before him. It seemed on edge. He guessed he'd make it more so.

A critical hit from a sudden Seed Bomb didn't stop his Earthquake. But the Morpeko was still standing and hit him with an Aura Wheel, only for Ben to clobber it with a second Earthquake square to the jaw.

---------------

Leavanny next?? Vaespar knew he'd have to bring Anis back out...

-------

Uhggh, this again? At least this Leavanny didn't look tough. And indeed one Air Slash did the trick.

----------


Getting there, getting there...

----------

Fiona wasn't sure about this.

This Ninetales was demure and graceful and cool. Nothing like her.

But she felt Terrestrial energy welling from Vaespar and felt a surge of determination. Her rocky cudgel in hand, she brought it crashing down, past a Flamethrower, straight onto its head. It didn't last long after that.

-----------

A Sinistcha huh? Anis time again Vaespar supposed.

---------

Anis was doing all the work here huh...

He hit the Sinistcha with a blade of air. Its porcelain body hung on, but it spiraled, unable to hit back. A Shadow Ball did the rest.


----------

Phew. That was one Carmine dealt with. Though oddly she didn't seem to hate Vaespar for losing.... Damn. He liked making his foes squirm.


----------------------

Vaespar

After a long struggle, Vaespar succeeded in defeating Kieran. He then went on to fell Ogerpon and her four powerful masks and secure their power for himself. Kieran was devastated and ran off, but Vaespar had a bad feeling about him...

The next day, he met up with Carmine, who confirmed Kieran was still shut up in his room, and battled her. He trounced her soundly, but she wasn't as much of a sore loser as Kieran, and she almost let something slip to Vaespar before they were suddenly summoned back to the village.

Vaespar would not be forgetting that slip of the tongue.

At the village, Vaespar learned from Briar that Kieran and Carmine were returning to Blueberry Academy, and said something about Area Zero that ALSO didn't escape Vaespar's attention. Kieran was still in his room, but Carmine vowed they would meet again. Normally Vaespar wouldn't really care about such pithy promises.

But there was that thing Carmine almost said to him.

And the thing Briar said about Area Zero.

And that bad feeling about Kieran.

Something was afoot.

But he couldn't worry about it right this second. They were gone for now. His more immediate goal: track down the so-called Loyal Three and secure THEIR power for himself as well. After some backtracking he managed to find Okidogi, and prepared for battle...

----------------------

Anis knew what he had to do. Stuff this nasty dog in a ball.

He summoned blades of air that cut into the beast's fur, causing it to flinch. It was weak.

"Vaespar, now!"

------------

Vaespar grinned and loaded up the Pokeballl Cannon.

Dusk Balls to stat. It burst free. Too light out. Ultra balls then. He started blasting them out of the Pokeball Cannon as hard as he could. Meanwhile Anis kept enduring anything the Okidogi could throw at him - Crunches, Superpowers, the like. Until - oh no. Anis was poisoned. He'd have to work fast.

He quickly sprayed Anis with a Full Restore. "Thanks!"

"Hey that's not fair-" Okidogi started to protest, only to be sucked into another Ultra Ball. It broke free quickly, but Vaespar kept up the assault.

Finally, one ball shook once. Shook twice. Shook a third time. And clicked.

Vaespar let out a "Yes!". Okidogi was his. Now for the others...
-------------

Really? Tamamo had to be the one to fight this disgusting monkey? Ridiculous. Utterly ridiculous. Let's get this over with.

She hit Miunkidori with a Flamethrower, her breath burning hot.It did not like that and started Plotting Nastily, but she continued to bring on the flames.

"A little help here, Vaespar?"

------------

"No problem."

Vaespar brought out the Pokeball Cannon and started firing.

First couple of times, the balls did nothing, and Munkidori managed to wear down Tamamo with its powerful attacks. But Vaespar knew this would happen. Which is why he brought an ace to this one.
He sent out a Kingambit. A Shiny Kingambit.

---------

Susanoo knew well the way of the warrior. But he also knew today he was on the line of defense.

He steeled himself. This Munkidori thought it was tough. But Susano was ready for anything it threw at him.

------------

Munkidori cried out in frustration as its attacks did nothing to Susano. Vaespar kept firing balls.

Finally, after going through many, many balls, one clicked.

Vaespar sighed in relief. One to go...

---------------

Susanoo knew many ways of the blade. But he knew one would be useful against this Fezandipiti if Vaespar wished to catch it - the False Swipe.

He performed a Dance of Swords, then struck true.

------

Vaespar loaded up the Pokeball Cannon and started firing Ultra Balls.

Ball after ball after ball this bird would not budge. But its efforts did nothing to Susano.

Thenn, finally, one clicked.

Vaespar grinned. The "Loyal" Three were now all his...

----------------------

Vaespar

Vaespar managed to capture and control Okidogi with relative ease (helps Okidogi could easily be bribed with mochi). Munkidori and Fezandipiti were noticeably more difficult (with the latter being hard to find again) but Vaespar broke out Susano the Shiny Kingambit, who allowed them to be captured (and also bribed with mochi) eventually.

Next Vaespar was curious as to what that Perrin woman wanted with him.. He collected 150 Pokemon for his Kitakami dex (helps he had most of them for completing his Paldea dex) and came to her. She said she had a big scoop she wanted Vaespar's help with (April was thrilled)...

...But she wanted to battle him first.

Great. Utterly typical of people in this universe.

So Vaespar prepared for a throwdown...

--------------------------

This Bloodmoon Beast was uncouth! Unrefined! Unthinkable! Attacking Tamamo in the woods like that! While she was POISONED!

She Plotted Nastily for the beast's demise even as it slammed her with an Earth Power, then breathed a torrent of flame onto its body.

It barely made a dent. AnotherEarth Power took her out.

Ridiculous. Utterly ridiculous.

------------

Shit. Vaespar would need the big guns here. Especially with Perrin standing by and snapping photos. He sent out Smoothie.

-----------

Oooh, big bear friend! Smoothie wondered what to do with this one... Their Plotrting a;lso got a bit Nasty...

Oh no! They got hist with a blood moon beam! Time to act!

They started spraying the beast with matcha. Lots of matcha. The Ursaluna was clearly in great pain, but steeled itself, Calm ed its Mind. It swiped its matcha away and continued to do so.

Another matcha assault from Smoothie! But oh no, a blood moon bla-

--------------
Shit. Smoothie was down. But Vaespar still had one team member that could deliver a super-effective hit.

He sent out April.

--------------

This Perrin was a kindred spirit to April... The truth mattered. Her scoop mattered. Her creative drive mattered. No way was April failing her.

Her body welled with Terastal energy as she slammed into the Ursaluna with the mightiest Liquidation she could.

It was weak. Vulnerable.

"Vaespar NOW!"

--------------

Vaespar brought out the Pokeball cannon. Loaded a Moon Ball. And fired.

The ball shook thrice. And clicked.

Perrin's mission was complete. As was Vaespar's.

---------------------

Vaespar

Vaespar successfully trounced Perrin, at which point she gave him a proposition: Help her find the legendary Bloodmoon Beast. Seeing it as another being of great power he could control, Vaespar accepted.

Theory went off into the woods in the dim of night to find it, with Vaespar and Perrin photographing the local wildlife to filter out the beast's signals.Afterwards Perrin vented to Vaespar about her creative struggles, to which Vaespae replied "that's rough buddy.".

Eventually they narrowed things down until they could locate the beast - a frenzied, bizarre-looking Ursaluna.

After a notedly rough battle Vaespar managed to capture and secure the Bloodmoon Ursaluna. Perrin was not able to get good photos, but she left with newfound confidence anyway, giving Vaespar a free puppy before she went. Enough of a percentage of Vaespar felt bad he tried to take his own pictures of Ganondorf the Blodmoon Ursaluna for her... only for him to not cooperate.

Bah. Fine, Whatever. In the meantime he still had one more goal for this region.. Find a Shiny Pokemon. And then the others' talks about a Blueberry Academy intrigued him...

------------------

Vaespar

In searching for an elusive Shiny Pokemon, Vaespar found a ~mystery outbreak~ on his map and headed there.

It turned out to be a bunch of Gurdurr Vaespar shrugged and went "sure, why not", then started mowing through them with Anis.

After several minutes of this Vaespar noticed something odd about one of the remaining Gurdurr.

It was orange.

...It was orange!

Vaespar quickly lobbed a Quick Ball at it. It wobbled three times and clicked, and the Shiny Gurdurr was his. Vaespar was victorious. He named the new recruit Cheeto.

After this, he felt he'd explore Kitakami a bit longer. But he had to wonder what was next...

 

[Umbramatic]

Vaespar was going after raids. Powerful raids. Legendary raids. When suddenly his Rotom Phone rang. He sighed and answered it.

"This is Clavell. Do I have the pleasure of speaking with Master Vaespar?"

Vaespar did like how he called him "master."

"Yes."

"My my. It certainly does this old heart good to be greeted with such a... Lively response. Now if I could take a moment of your time, there is something we must discuss."

Vaespar raised an eyebrow. "Like what?"

"Master Vaespar, you're about to be presented with an exceptional opportunity. You already know of the Unova region's Blueberry Academy I presume?"

Right, wasn't that where those Carmine and Kieran brats went to? "I've heard of it."

"Indeed. Tales of your school trip to Kitakami with the Blueberry cohort reached even my office! In any case, the director of Blueberry Academy happened to be an old friend of mine. And he told me he would be delighted to host you as an exchange student at his school."

Wait, so he was going all the way across the world again?

"I believe it would be a fine chance for you to learn even more about this world."

Well there you have it.

"One should always take advantage of new challenges like this, don't you think? Though I must confess, I was a bit surprised that Blueberry's director would specify you by name..."
...This was Carmine's fault wasn't it?

"Still I think it best that you meet the man at least once to find out what he might be thinking. He is admittedly a bit of a character, but not to worry - I'll be there when you meet him.

From what Vaespar knew from knowing Clavell that wasn't reassuring.

"Once you feel ready to respond to his offer I ask that you come by my office so we can discuss the specifics together.

"...Very well," said Vaespar.

"Now I won't take up any more of your time. Do take care until we speak again."

Clavell hung up.

Vaespar sighed. Hopefully THIS trip would unveil the secret Arceus spoke uf he was still seeking...

--------

Vaespar

Vaespar was introduced to the very blue Blueberry Academy by the ditzy Cyrano and the more straight-laced Lacey. The latter was a surprisingly powerful foe in battle and Vaespar knew he had to build up his team beyond just Sticky.

The good news is the school had its own giant Terarium powered by its own mysterious-green-goio-fueled Tera Orb, and it was filled with wild Pokemon. Vaespar met Perrin again and added her Growlithe Oatchi to his tea at her request, but after much searching he found the Ground type he needed to hopefully counter Lacey's Electric types: an Alolan Diglett he names Bon Jovi. Now, didn't Lacey want him for a class on the beach...?

--------------

Sticky

Sticky had been a gift to Vaespar from a traveling Trainer.As such, he was honored to be used on Vaespar's team, especially as he was evolved right away.

...However he preformed poorly against Lacey, even with assistance. He knew he'd have to get stronger to please Vaespar.

------------

Oatchi

Oatchi was a good pupper! He knew this because Perrin said so. Perrin said Vaespar would take care of him so he trusted Vaespar too. He just needed to prove his worth - he was itching for a battle...

----------

Bon Jovi

Aw yeah! Bon Jovi had only just joined the team, but he was ready to take the Terarium on! This Vaespar Trainer seemed shifty but to be honest, he didn't care - it was his life!

----------

Vaespar

Vaespar continued exploring the Terarium, acquiring a fourth team member in the form of Amonduul the Galarian Slowpoke (and later painstakingly gathering enough twigs to evolve him into a Galarian Slowking), but was ultimately forced to confront the supposed reason he was here - education. Thankfully the lesson was "catch an Alolan variant" and he already had Bon Jovi, so the lesson was aced, to Lacey's pleasure.

But then Carmine came knocking. Or perhaps ringing, on his phone. Shewanted to meet up with him and Vaespar begrudgingly obliged -
After a couple battles with her - the first Vaespar refused to admit he lost and the second Vaespar refused to admit he used Vergil and a Palkia from a raid as as "backup" - Vaespar found out she was worried because Kieran had lost his marbles, taken over the League Club, and was ruling over it with an iron fist - which Vaespar had to admit was incredible chutzpah.

Then however, he was interrupted by the ditzy Drayton, who was determined to add Vaespar to the league club. Vaespar went along with it - if that was the fastest way to powe4r here, so be it.

---------

Amonduul

Amonduul could tell he and Vaespar were kindred spirits. The lust for power, the h u n g e r, the cold, calculated way they did things... Yes, it'd be a beautiful partnership. At least until Amonduul made sure he was the one in charge.

--------------

Vaespar

After being told by Carmine that something was up with Kieran (highly obvious) and not to trust Drayton (Vaespar trusts no one), then gaining two new team members in Milkshake the Milcery (later Alcremie) and Lae'zel the Scraggy (later Scrafty), Vaespar ignored Carmine's advice and went on a "lunch date" with Drayton. There, he encountered the rest of the local Elite 4, including Kieran, who Drayton used Vaespar as a psychological weapon against. Despite several people's protests Vaespar was inducted into Blueberry Academy's school Pokemon League, and told to take on the Elite 4 across the Terarium. Vaespar felt he'd be cheeky and challenge Drayton first - but ran into a snag when Sticky and Oatchi were barred from the League Trial. Still, the rest of his team prevailed, and Vaespar prepared his FULL team for the showdown against Drayton...
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Milkshake

Milkshake was here to help! When she saw this exchange student needed a helping hand she jumped at the call. But she saw inklings both the exchange student and the help were questionable... Oh well! She'd give it her best!

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Lae'zel

Lae'zel was done with this. Paired with inferior warriors, sent on a pointless mission to defeat some elite four, and for who? Some slimy human named Vaespar. Oh well. At least there would be many opponents to cut down gloriously along the way. Fruitful conquests to be had. Yes... If it was not worth it at first, she would make it worth it by force.

-----------

This Drayton guy clearly thought he was all that.

Vaespar would show him he was mistaken.

As soon as Drayton sent out a Flygon and Dragonite, Vaespar sent out Masamune the Hisuian Samurott and... Mewtwo.

"Woah dude, I thought Mewtwo wasn't even real!" said Drayton.

"Did you really think I'd adhere to your stupid little Terarium Only challenge the ,moment you let it up?"

Ice Beams and Ceaseless Edges dug into Drayton's Pokemon

"...No?" Drayton said. "That was just for the-"

"Listen here you little bitch," said Vaespar.

A Sceptile fell to Masamune's X-Scissor. A Haxorus to Mewtwo's Ice Beam. Drayton desperately sent out a Kingdra in its place, which started Rain dancing

"You may think you're the one in control here. False. It's me who's in control. And I will not hesitate to crush you into dust."

:"We'll see about that!" said Drayton."Go Archaludon!"

He sent out a very strange bridge-like Pokemon. It Terastalized and sent a massive blast of electricity at Masamune.

"Ugh... I have failed..."

Masamune collapsed.

Shit. Vaespar had to actually strategize now.

"Go Boudicia!"

He sent out a Clodsire.

"Helloooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo", said Boudicia.

The Kingdra attempted to Hydro Pump Her, but Boudicia soaked it up like a sponge, knocking the Kingdra out with a retaliatory Poison Jab. Mewtwo meanwhile took out the Archaludon.

"That's what I'm talkin' about."

Drayton seemed oddly pleased at his defeat. People of this world could be Like That but Vaespar had his eye on him...

-------------------







Vaespar

Vaespar attempted to fight Drayton once.

Then again.

And then a third time before finally relenting and siccing various mons he had gotten from or used in raids on him. Just to teach him a lesson.

Vaespar knew his team wasn't strong enough, and he didn't feel like relying on backups more than he had to. So first, according to Drayton's advice, he used the TM Drayton gave him on Sticky, causing him to evolve into a Hydrapple. Then he went on a quest around the Terarium, challenging Raids and racking up Rare and EXP Candies and LP for his team. Hopefully soon they could challenge the Fire Elite 4...

-------------

Crispin was serving up a Talonflame and Heat Rotom, huh? Well Vaespar had a plan, hopefully.

"Oatchi, Rock Slide! Milkshake, Decorate Oatchi!"

"Rock Slide! Rock Slide!!!!" said Oatchi!

"Here to help!" said Milkshake.
Milkshake flinched as she ate a Will-O-Wisp but gave Oatchi a boost with her sweet energy, allowing him to take the Rotom out. The Talonflame was still standing thanks to a Focus Sash, but started Roosting it off as Oatchi decimated an incoming Exeggutor with a Flare Blitz. The Talonflame countered with a Flare Blitz of its own to Milkshake, but she hung on and kept decorating.

"Sugar rush! Sugar ruuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuush!" yelled Oatchi as his onslaught of rocks took out the Talonflame and an incoming Camerupt.

All that was left was a Blaziken and a Magmortar. Vaespar knew the former was dangerous to Oartchi, but if he was fast enough...

"Oatchi! Keep going!"

And his gambit paid off. Crispin immediately Terastalized his Blaziken in a burst of shining crystal... leaving it more vulnerable to the incoming avalanche of rocks. It and the Magmortar were taken out in one fell swoop

Vaespar rubbed his hands against each other. Things were finally coming together...

---------

Vaespar

Vaespar went to challenge the Fire Elite 4 and was promptly forced to make the world's spiciest sandwich beforehand. After way too much time battling and bartering for ingredients Vaespar managed to create a catastrophic capsaicin calamity to Crispin's satisfaction. The battle with Crispin afterwards was ironically much easier due to the dream team of Oatchi on offense and Milkshake on support.

However Kieran and Drayton showed up afterwards, applauding his progress and Kieran telling Vaespar to never surrender until he got to him.

Psh. Like Vaerspar ever surrendered to anyone. Much less the jealous brat who went insane over him and Ogerpon.

Anyway Vaespar quickly made his way over to the Steel Elite 4, where the stern steely girl in question fed Dante a strange plant - a new Herba Mystica?- that enhanced his flight capabilities for a flight-based time trial. However, the test run was... a little dicey, and even Vaespar admitted they needed some practice...

-------------

Vaespar couldn't believe he was doing this again. But multiple attempts left him little choice.

Mewtwo and Chi-Yu took the field against Dugtrio and Skarmory. Mewtwo scoffed at being forced to do this, but Chi-Yu...

"Yay, happy! Burny burny!"

The revelry did not last long as an Earthquake rocked Chi-yu's world and Stealth Rocks (accursed Stealth Rocks, Vaespar thought) were scattered by the Skarmory. Chi Yu was taken out by a Stone Edge,but its flames had already weakened the others, and Mewtwo took out the two rapidly with Aura Spheres. An Empoleon met a similar fate as Vaespar swapped in Masamune the

Then came the Scizor and Reunclius.

Mewtwo did not take note of them at first. But then the Reunclus cast a Trick Room. And the Scizor lunged and dug into him with a Pounce. Then again.

"Ugh... How could I possibly..."

He fell.

Shit, Vaespar thought. There goes his ace. But he brought a backup.

He sent out Zakuro the Delphox.

"Hmph. We've got cleanup work to do," she said.

"Let's make it quick," said Masamune.

She downed the Scizor with a Flamethrower (despite its Coba Berry) and Masamune cut down the Reuniclus with a Ceaseless Edge.

Then came the Metagross, which immediately Terastalized. But Masamune and Zakuro knew what to do.

Zakuro fired another Flamethrower, its flames cascading across the Metagross. Masamune cut into its crystalline hide with a Sacred Sword.

The Metagross quickly fell.

Vaespar breathed a sigh of relief. This Amarys, he admitted, was tough even when he went all out...

--------

Vaespar

Vaespar and Dante, after some practice, finally managed to conquer the flying time trial. Vaespar was feeling pretty good about himself.

Then Amarys was tough. Very tough. Vaespar was forced to bring out the big guns again and STILL had trouble. He won in the end, but.

This wasn't right. Vaespar shouldn't have to use his maximum power just to deal with these Blueberry fools. He should be able to swat them aside without a care in the world. What was going on?

He did a few tasks to earn his way into challenging Lacey, and passed her test with flying colors. But as he geared up to challenge her Vaespar considered a possibility he hadn't in millenia.

Was he... weak?

-----------------

A Whimsicott and a Granbull. Right, both of these needed to be taken out fast for what Vaespar had planned.

"Milkshake, Decorate! Amonduul, Sludge Bomb!"

"One serving of sweetness coming up!" said Milkshake

"Pitiful pup. You're no match for me!" said Amonduul.

A Light Screen from the Whimsicott and a Stomping Tantrum from the Granbull did not stop the defending pair's combo from decimating the Granbull. The Primarina that entered was not so kind, taking out Amonduul, but a Dazzling Gleam from Milkshake wore it and the Whimsicott down. He sent out Bon Jovi.

:"Iron head that Whimsicott!"

"Oh yeah! Livin' on a prayer!"

Bon Jovi slammed all three of his finely haired heads into the Whimsicott, taking it out. However, the Primarina immediately sung a Sparkling Araia at Bon Jovi.

"Oog... I guess you may be the better singer..."

He fainted. But the Whimsicott was out of the picture. Vaespar knew what he had to do.

"Sticky, go! Terastalize!"

A crystal aura surrounded Sticky as he became... a Water type?

"Heehee! Bet you didn't expect that, did you?" said Sticky.

His Energy Ball took out the rimarina, as Lacey sent out a Slowbrto and her own Alcremie. The Slowbro smacked Milkshake with a side arm only for her to hold on and Decorate Sticky. Sticky hit the Slowbro with a Tera Blast, knocking it out.

An Excadrill was sent out in its place, KOing Milkshake with an Iron Head, but Sticky Water Tera Blasted that into oblivion too. But then the Alcremie hit Sticky with a Giga Drain. Shit. He needed to act fast. And he knew just who could.

:"Oatchi! Extremespeed!"

"Chaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaarge!" yelled Oatchi.

IHe slammed into and left a dent in the Alcremie, but not enough to stop it from sapping more of Sticky's health. Sticky perservered, however, and blasted it away with Water Tera Blast.

Vaespar did it. He had beaten all of the elite four. He should be celebrating.

...But he had a suspicion what was next...

----------------

"Heh. Heh heh heh heh," said Vaespar.

Mewtwo was on the field again. As was... Milkshake?

"Oh... I'm not really sure I can compete with the Big Guns team..."

~Hey.~ said Mewtwo.

"Huh?" said Milkshake.

~Trust me. You'll be fine. Just keep supporting us.~

"Right! I'll do my best!"

Mewtwo fired a couple Ice Beams at Kieran's Dragonite, ignoring the Politod's Weather BallBlasts. The Dragonite was knocked out,but an Incineroar came out in its place and Faked Mewtwo out.

"Fool!" Vaespar yelled. "You think you're the only one who can break out a ridiculous hyper- optimized team?"

The Incineroar fell to an Aura Sphere to the face, but a weather Ball finally took out Mewtwo. Not too worry. Vaespar had Vergil.

The Miraidon was sent out just as Milkshake's Dazzling Gleam cut into the Politoed and took it out.

"This kid my inferior sibling mentioned?" said Vergil. Pathetic," said Vergil.

"You need to face the facts. You will never truly best me. I will always be one step ahead," said Vaespar.

A Porygon Z was sent ou- Nope, Vergil was deleting that. A Hudrapple and Grimsnarrl were sent out, the former Terastalizing into a Fighting type - odd choice - and the latter being decimated by the Electro Drift.

"So STOP BASING YOUR ENTIRE SELF AROUND BEATING ME!"

An Electro Drift from Vergil slammed into the Hydrapple. Its crystal armor exploded as it fell.

"Hmph. Good riddance."" said Vergil.

"I... I did it. I did it!" said Milkshajke.

At first Vaespar was enjoying the look of shock etched into Kieran's face. Then a voice cut into his brain.

You're just as pathetic as he is.

-----------------------

Vaespar couldn't believe this. He had been invited to an expedition to the very darkest depths of Area Zero, to find the true Hidden Treasure, Terapagos, the being he'd been seeing all this time...

...And Kieran just snatches it from him! The audacity! Vaespar would not let this stand.

"Go Milkshake! Dazzling Gleam!

"I'll dazzle it up!"

She blasted Terapagos with sparkling light, but its hide seemed to change, adapt, almost to better take the hits. There was a further back and forth of this until Milkshake was finally forced to Recover. She flinched to one Zen Headbutt but dodged another.

"I.... I want to help Vaespar!"

She dodged another. Filled the whole room with sparkling light.

And Terapagos was down.

...Or was it?

Briarr had made a discovery. A revelation that would turn the tables.

Vaespar did not approve of this.

But Terapagos Terastalized anyway.

And that's when things went wrong.

"Hang on!"

It was Dante. He shielded the party from Terapagos' out of control energy.

Kieran tried to recall Terapagos but his Master Ball shattered.

Even Briar was starting to panic.

But Vaespar and Carmine stepped up.

Carmine's Sinistcha healed Milkshake with a dose of her matcha. "Thank you kindly!" said Milkshake as she let loose a Dazzling Gleam.

Briar pointed our a barrier... Maybe...

"Milkshake, come back! Sticky, come on!"

Sticky entered the battlefield being barraged by a Tera Starstorm. He hissed at the impact.

"Now that's not very pleasant of you. "

The starstorm continued, but Sticky held on and spat a Fickle Beam at Terapagos' core.

"Now Sticky! Terastalize!"

Sticky glowed with watery power as he became Water Tera, firing a matching Tera Blast. The blast made a dent in the barrier as Vaespar quickly sprayed a Max Potion on Sticky.

But then a powerful Starstorm obliterated Sticky.

"...Milkshake, you're back in!"

"Oh, okay!"

Milkshake and Terapagos started hammering away at each other, Chipping away bit by bit at one another.

But Milkshake fell first.
Vaespar was nervous. But as he sent out Amonduul,he realized his Tera Orb was still charged.

"Amondull, Terastalize! Psychic!"

"Foolish being of power, I will crush you!" said Amondull.

Amoonduul shone with Terastal energy and shattered the barrier... only for Terapagos to absorb the Terastal energy and make another.
"Urk..."

Amonduul recoiled at repeated Earth Powers but still whittled down the barrier with a few Psychics before falling. Meanwhile Vaespar snuck a Revive to a team member...

Lae'zel came to face Terapagos next. "You will di-"

She was taken out quickly. But then Sticky took the field.

"I'm back! Hehehe," he said, lobbing Syrupy Bombs to slow Terapagos down.

Knowing it would make him a bit vulnerable, Vaespar Terastalized Sticky to break the barrier. And that he did, only for his own Tera energy to be stolen.

Vaespar was on the ropes.

Then Kieran entered the fray, with his own Hydrapple.

"Excellent!"

Sticky was taken out again, but Vaespar had a plan - sneaking a Elexir and Max Revive to one particular team member...

"Milkshake, you're back in!"

"We... we won't lose!"

She began firing off Dazzling Gleams again. The Hydrapple supported with Syrup Bombs and Dragon Cheers before being taken out and replaced with a Dragonite. Then Vaespar saw a familiar gleam from his Tera Orb.

"NOW!"

Cream turned to crystal as Milkshake Terastalized. Her sparkling light hammered even harder as the Terapagos shook and trembled from her and Dragonite's attacks. It hung on with one more HP, attempted to attack...

Then Kieran's Dragonite cracked it wide open with an Extremespeed.

Vaespar saw the opportunity, heard Kieran cheering him on, and tossed a Luxury ball.

It shook once and clicked.

Vaespar did it. The Hidden Treasure Of Area Zero was his.

He was NOT weak.

------------------------

Vaespar did trounce Lacey - it took some finagling, but Sticky and his Water Tera won out in the end.

Then came Kieran. And. after the first attempt... nope, he was going to have to bring out the big guns. And also Milkshake.

With Kieran fully humiliated, as both Drayton and Vaespar had planned, they and Carmine werre suddenly invited to a expedition to Area Zero with Briar, on Geeta and Rika's behest. Drayton decl;ined, but the other three accepted, With Vaespar eagerly taking the Indigo Disk Geeta offered him. Finally, what he was seeking all along was ahead...

Once they were in Area Zero, the group used the Indigo Disk to delve into the Underdepths, solving puzzles along the way until they found the core - Terapagos. Vaespar had barely any time to contemplate how small such a powerful, reality-warping being was when Kieran immediately snatched it from him with a Master Ball, and Vaespar had to fight for it back.

But then things got worse. Kieran's attempt to Terastalize Terapagos sent it out of control, and he, Carmine and Vaespar had to team up to take it down. This time Vaespar caught it - finally, the Hidden Treasure Of Area Zero was his.

The quartet returned home triumphant, Kieran being determined to repair things with Vaespar, to Vaespar's chagrin. Briar started writing a book, and gave Vaespar an early copy. But on a whim Vaespar took Terapagos to the Crystal Pool, sensing a connection.

And that's when Professor Turo showed up.

After a conversation where both parties were very confused (and Dante was overjoyed) the two exchanged books, then Turo vanished. Vaespar was left wondering if he had altered this timeline or another.

What was clear is he needed to look into harnessing Terapagos' power. But he had other things he needed to take care of too. He started collecting Pokemon for Perrin's new quest, including a strange musical one he found through an odd ritual...

----------------------

Vaespar

Vaespar had finally collected 200 Pokemon. He presented his Pokedex to Perrin, who was impressed and in turn presented him two photos - one of a beast called Iron Boulder and one of a creature called Iron Crown.

Vaespar delved into Area Zero to find them. He looked over and over and over and over. Until he found both Pokemon and caught them. He returned to Perrin, who snapped a few photos of his catches and rewarded him with... a rare but otherwise unremarkable Pokeball called a Sports Ball.

Oh well. At least she was happy now.

----------------

Vaespar

Vaespar was beginning to give up hope.

He wanted to find a Shiny Pokemon in Blueberry Academy, just as he had in Paldea and Kitikami. But he had been surging through countless Duraldons with no hope.

But then finally Susanoo refused to fight one.

Finally one was a slightly different shade than the others.

Finally one sparkled.

He caught her in a Moon Ball. Named her Kaikyo. Made sure to evolve her as soon as possible.

She was beautiful. And she was his.

----------------------

This creature certainly had given Vaespar all sorts of annoyance. Turning his "friends" and all of Kitikami into mochi-obsessed dancing zombies just to get in his way... awfully rude, wasn't it? BUt if Vaespar could capture it and use its powers for himself....

"Susanoo, Iron Head."

"It shall be done."

The creature spat a Shadow Ball, but the Shiny Kingambit shrugged it off with his Defiance and slammed the blade on his head into it.

"Ramp it up! Kowtow Cleave!"

This time the blade was cloaked in inky dark energy as it sliced through another Shadow Ball - and straight into the creature's body.

Vaespar heard Kieran shouting he had an opportunity. He knew what he had to do.

He grabbed the Sport Ball Perrin gave him and hurled.

The ball sucked it in, shook three times, and clicked.

Vaespar grinned wickedly. Another powerful being for his collection...

-----------------

Vaespar

Zombies. Really. Here of all places?

But they happened. His "friends" had forced themselves along to Kitikami to meet his other "friends" while he was in the middle of IMPORTANT preparations! But then Carmine fell to the mysterious conjunctivitis zombie curse, then everyone else started falling to it, leaving Vaespar and Kieran to fight the source - a mysterious Pokemon named Pecharunt and its intoxicating mochi. Eventually Kieran held the zombie hordes off as Vaespar took down both the zombified Nemona and Petcharunt itself, catching it in the Sport Ball Nemona provided him. His "friends" had a good rest of their time together and said their heartfelt goodbyes, but Vaespar was more focused on this Pecharunt - with it, Ogerpon, and Terapagos' powers combined....

-------------

Vaespar had all the right ingredients for success.

Before him stood two Pokemon - Terapagos and Pecharunt, as well as Ogerpon's msks..He was using his power and their power to create... something while the mysterious stranger watched worriedly nearby.

Finally, it congealed. Settled into clumps. Until Vaespar lifted up a platter of it in triumph.

"Yes! My own patented stellar mochi! This will turn anyone who eats it into my superpowered servants!"

"That sounds awfully sinister," said the person. "I'm not sure I can let you do that."

Vaespar raised an eyebrow. "You let me run all around your world to do this."

"You helped me solve several problems along the way! I assumed the best!"

"Well too bad. I know better than to beat you in a fight, but I'm taking these back to my home universe whether you like it or no-"

There was a blip. Vaespar disappeared, and the mochi clattered to the floor,

"Phew!" said the person. "Good thing I can in fact put him right back where he came from."

"Oh! Those are the snacks we made!" said Terapagos. "I wanna try some..."

He moved toward the crystal mochi. The person hurriedly scooped him up and cradled him close to his chest.

"No, those are bad for you!"

"Damn," said Peecharunt. "I coulda controlled Terapagos... I coulda made it love me..."

"Don't you start!" said the person

Pecharunt sighed. With a glow, the person transformed into none other than Arceus.

"Now," said Arceus, "I'll have to think on who I pick as the trainer hero for next time... Maybe someone less risky."

"...Maybe."

 

[EonDuoLatios]

Hi there! I'm here with a review for Catnip Circle!

The format of the story, in my opinion, is quite interesting, though it is quite different from a lot of the other stories I've read; the "isekai" element, in particular, while probably just an artists expression of self, may be less relevant to the story, since most isekais actually have a purpose as to why the person has been chosen as an isekai. Though it is very possible I'm missing a large amount of context here, this seems quite jarring for me as a reader.

Something else that I would like to comment on was the various scenes of the battles. Overall, the battles are relatively dry from my (as a reader's) point of view. The thing is that most of the time, I feel like readers would want to see slightly more of a struggle in battles, as opposed to narrating the turn-based combat that takes place. To give a quick example, we can look at the battle against Kieran. While this is very likely to be a climactic battle, at least from the point of view of the story, it just seemed like Pokemon were either being knocked out or knocking out the opponent every half turn, which, though effective as part of game, may be less effective in writing. Something I would probably suggest would be to actually describe, really, what actions each Pokemon took, such as, maybe, a Pokemon leaping into the air to prepare a move. I would also consider the utilisation of dodging, as despite the fact that it would not make for interesting gameplay in the core games, the anime has truly shown how this can liven battles up (notwithstanding, of course, complaints about 'anime logic' that mainline fans make typically).

Finally, I would like to turn my attention to the sentence structure, paragraphing and general structure of the story. While it is good that, as you have said in your initial post, you had written the story alongside your adventure in the core series games, I find that perhaps the structure of the story could be slightly more compact. One of the evidences to this is the paragraph structure; paragraphs, in general, are used to convey a single idea per paragraph, and though writers frequently use single- or two-sentence paragraphs to give a larger emotional impact, I believe that this may be overused in this context, making the story much more scattered. Besides, I feel like it would be really good to dwell on each scene more, focus more on the emotions and thoughts of each person in each scene to make the story have a larger punch, as it is more likely for the reader to immerse themselves into the story, when they're given the feelings of the characters.

Overall, the concept of the story is really fun, and it seems like a good idea to do while enjoying the first play-through of the game. Though there are some things that I would recommend to be fixed, it is still a very good story, and one worth reading. Good luck in your future journey in writing!