Pokémon Kraken's Grasp

[canisaries]

Hey all! This is that "malamarfic" that I've been talking about in the Discord. I know I said that I'd post it tomorrow, but I realized that I actually wanted to make my Blitz self-promotion post as soon as possible, and for that, it would be better if I had the link to this thread.

With that out of the way: what's this story about? Well, it's about Clarisse, a Kalosian Pokémon counselor with psychic abilities, getting a new client: an ill-behaving Malamar kept in a Pokémon rehabilitation facility. Things, of course, later take a turn as the staff of the facility mysteriously changes and their leader has an unusual offer for Clarisse.

Content warnings for this story include "animal" abuse (they are Pokémon, so not exactly the same thing), gun violence, mind control, moderate profanity and some heavy themes such as police brutality. Overall, I would say the story is rated T.

As of the completion of the first draft, this story is six parts long and around 18,000 words in total. I will be posting a chapter every few days to spread it out over the Blitz.

That's it for the Author's Notes. Enjoy the story!

---

KRAKEN'S GRASP
by canisaries

---

Part One

---​

It was pouring when Clarisse arrived at the Fourrage Pokémon Rehabilitation Facility.

She parked her car in the lot outside the main building, hoping she hadn't accidentally picked a spot reserved for employees only. Or did she fall into that category? They had hired her.

She levitated her bag and umbrella into her hands and tried her best not to get wet as she exited the vehicle. Droplets bombarded the canopy of her umbrella as she made her way to the entrance of the red brick building. Just a few steps away, she heard a splash and looked down. Dirty water had already stained her boots.

No, it's fine, she told herself. They'll understand. It's the weather, not me. I haven't done anything wrong.

She took a deep breath and let it out. She stepped underneath the roof's overhang and shook her umbrella as dry as she could before folding it and entering.

"Oh, it's raining poliwag out there, ain't it?"

Clarisse looked up. A reception desk. And a receptionist. A middle aged woman. Her tone sounded friendly. Clarisse calmed down just a little.

"Yes, it is," Clarisse said, loud enough to be heard but quietly enough to show she was no trouble. She stepped up to the desk. "Um, I'm here about the malamar."

"Ah, you're the psychic, then?"

Despite the receptionist's inoffensive tone, Clarisse tensed up. "Yes. Clarisse Thibault."

"ID, please."

Clarisse nodded, dug out her ID and presented it.

"Any pokémon to report?" the receptionist asked, checking the ID.

"One sableye."

The receptionist raised a brow, and Clarisse's heart beat faster. "Sableye? Should I worry for my wedding ring?"

Clarisse quickly shook her head. "No. Quartz is well-trained and well-fed."

The receptionist flashed a smile. "Oh, no need to be so nervous, darling. I was only joking." She typed something on her keyboard, then emerged from behind the desk. She pointed at the hat rack in the corner of the room. "Just leave your coat there, and I'll take you to where you're needed.

Clarisse nodded and took off her trench coat, intending to levitate it over the distance, but then stopped. Should she be showing her powers like that? The receptionist already knew she was a psychic, but…

Maybe it was better to do it the normal way. She walked over and placed her coat, scarf and beret on the rack. Just like a regular person, no one to be alarmed about.

After that, the receptionist took her deeper into the building. They passed by hallways that Clarisse could spot glass-walled enclosures in, but she couldn't catch a glimpse of any pokémon. But, then again, she supposed she wasn't here for them, so she shouldn't try to sightsee.

Most of the doors were windowed, but once they passed under a sign reading ISOLATION, the doors became metallic. She became consciously aware of the higher level of danger within these walls, but that was anxiety she was much better at managing. Quartz was with her, Quartz could protect her against unruly mon. What Quartz couldn't protect her from was guns.

An unpleasant memory surfaced, and Clarisse worked to suppress it. Why did that mental image have to stick with her so? She hadn't even witnessed it. She only remembered being told, and her mind had done the rest.

Well, she supposed it only made her careful. And careful was good.

The receptionist made a turn in the hallway, and so did Clarisse. Behind the corner, there were four men in grayish-green uniforms. And guns on their belts. Okay. Clarisse would just have to deal with it.

One of the men, a chubby older gentleman with a beard, smiled and stepped forth. "Morning!" he said. "You must be Ms Thibault." He extended a hand. "Jean Bourbeau, the manager of the isolation ward. It's a pleasure."

Clarisse took his hand and shook it. His robust grip was a stark contrast to her dainty one, but it seemed only genial. "It's a pleasure as well," she said.

"I'll be the one in charge of making sure you get what you need," Mr Bourbeau said. "Give me a shout if anything's lacking, or talk to these fellas." He pointed to the other men, who nodded. "They'll get back to me."

Clarisse nodded. "Of course." She had to admit that her reception so far had been a lot friendlier than she'd expected. Or feared.

"Alright, let's go see Kraken, then," Mr Bourbeau said and headed deeper into the hallway. "Kraken's his name. And, well, you might just see why that fits."

Clarisse didn't press Mr Bourbeau further. She'd already expected to be facing something less than cuddly.

Clarisse followed Mr Bourbeau past several enclosures with mon. One had an arbok sleeping on a dog bed, another had a bored-looking mawile playing with a toy meant for toddlers, another yet had a noivern pacing around and stopping to hiss at the passersby, which made Clarisse flinch. These mon didn't seem very happy… but then again, they'd ended up in here because of bad behavior, hadn't they?

Finally, they stopped at an enclosure with a rather large malamar. The malamar stood on his fins in the corner, his tentacles undulating and his yellow-eyed stare unyielding. Clarisse noted that there was nothing there aside from the squid - no bedding, no food or water bowls, no enrichment. Just white walls lined with that same aura-insulating glass that the front was made of. Clarisse wanted to ask about this, ask why they'd deprived the mon of so much, but she knew some questions weren't welcome with government people and decided not to risk it.

"So," Mr Bourbeau began, "did they tell you the story behind this guy?"

"To an extent," Clarisse said. "Former trained inkay. Upon evolution, went on the run and used his hypnotic powers to make different people let him stay in their houses and eat his fill. Do I have that right?"

"Pretty much," Mr Bourbeau said. He turned to one of the other men. "Émile? Get her the amulet."

Émile, the thinnest and tallest of the group, nodded and walked over to a box on the wall which he opened with a key. He produced two personal psychic insulator devices - colloquially called amulets by people that worked with them due to their necklace-like shape and function - and handed one to Clarisse while looping the other around his own neck.

But this would make things difficult.

Clarisse gathered up all her courage to talk back.

"Um, excuse me," she said, "but I believe this will prevent me from communicating with Kraken telepathically."

"Oh, you're a telepath, too," Mr Bourbeau said, scratching his beard. "But, regardless, we can't let you go in there without one. Not with how strong the squid's hypnotic powers are."

Clarisse wanted to tell the man that she'd been top of her class in mind control resistance at Lumiose Academy of Extrasensorics, but perhaps she'd argued against them enough already. She would just have to rely on Quartz to communicate with Kraken. "Understood."

She put on the device. Immediately, it became quieter inside her brain as the passive psychic presences of the other men were no longer perceptible.

"Alright. You ready to go in?" Mr Bourbeau asked.

"Yes."

Mr Bourbeau nodded, and Émile stepped towards the door next to the enclosure to unlock and open it. It connected a see-through antechamber to the enclosure whose walls were the same kind of insulated glass. Clarisse supposed this sort of architecture was necessary for safety.

Clarisse stepped through the door, and Émile closed it behind her before opening the second one. Clarisse proceeded through that as well, and Émile closed it, staying with her in the enclosure.

This might make Kraken less receptive, thought Clarisse, but shook the thought. She would make it work.

The malamar hadn't moved while the two had entered, only glancing between Clarisse and Émile and the gun on the latter's belt. Clarisse stopped roughly two meters away from the squid and brought a gentle, albeit performative, smile onto her lips.

"Hello, Kraken," she said. "How are you today?"

Kraken only stared, not that she would have understood his answer very well anyway. Clarisse figured it was the thought that counted.

Clarisse pondered for a moment what she would try next, and then remembered what she had in her bag. "Maybe you'd like something to eat," she said, digging into the bag.

"Uh…" Émile began. "Be careful. He might use any objects you give him to attack."

"I'll be careful," Clarisse said. She then produced a green plastic container with chunks of veluza flesh within. She stepped forward and placed it on the floor, then stepped back. "Here you go."

Kraken eyed Clarisse, then the container. He lifted it telekinetically, stared at it for a moment and then --

On reflex, Clarisse blocked the container flung at her face with a telekinetic barrier. It thunked against the translucent pink sheet and landed back on the floor.

"Hey!" Émile shouted at Kraken, his hand on his gun. Clarisse's heart jumped to her throat.

"Oh, no, no, no, there's no need for that," she got out. "He didn't even throw it very hard."

Émile gave her a glance, then Kraken. "Alright, then," he muttered, leaving his gun alone.

Clarisse sighed in relief. She then crouched to pick up the container on the floor. Well, at least it didn't open. That would have been a mess.

She put the container back into her bag and searched for Quartz's pokéball. "Maybe you're just not a fan of humans," she said. "In that case, I have someone you can talk to."

She found the ball, drew it out and released the mon inside. A dark gray, almost black, sableye materialized before her. The malamar's eyes widened slightly and he let out a short groan of disapproval.

"I know ghost types can make you psychics uncomfortable… us psychics, even," Clarisse said, "but Quartz is very nice. Aren't you, Quartz?"

Quartz opened his sharp-toothed mouth and chittered at Clarisse. He then turned to Kraken and chittered some more. Clarisse was in tune with Quartz enough to know this meant something along the lines of 'Hello! I am Rock-Crystal. Nice to meet you!''

Kraken huffed, turning his gaze back to Clarisse.

"Quartz is also a rehabilitated mon," Clarisse said. "He's a rescue from a gem farm. He knows what it's like to be locked up and afraid."

Kraken made a noise that almost sounded like a 'ha'. Clarisse presumed he was too proud to admit to being afraid.

"Would you like to tell Quartz what made you do the things you did?" she asked. "Escaping your trainer, mind controlling those people to give you food?"

Kraken made some groaning noises to Quartz, and Quartz chittered back at Clarisse. 'He says he does not need to justify anything to you.'

"Oh, but it would help, wouldn't it?" Clarisse said. "The sooner you tell me why you were behaving the way you were, the sooner we can work things out, and the sooner you'll be out of here. You can go to the sea if you want to. Plenty of fresh fish and crustaceans there."

Kraken groaned again, and Quartz relayed the message. 'Food is not what he craves.'

"What do you crave, then?"

Kraken smirked darkly and growled, and Quartz spoke for him. 'Power.'

Clarisse froze, but then regained her composure. "What do you need that power for?"

The malamar raised his chin and narrowed his eyes, saying nothing.

Clarisse turned to Émile. "Has he talked about this before?"

"Yeah. That's all that we can get out of him, really. He just wants power, apparently."

"Hmm." Clarisse glanced at Kraken. "Well, no one wants power without a reason."

"Could just be that he wants the power to do as he pleases. Though it feels like he already got to do that?"

"Well, he's captured now, so maybe he wants to be so powerful that even the law can't stop him."

"Mm."

Clarisse turned to the malamar. "It can be nice to get to do what you want, but everything we do affects others. And we need to respect each other's boundaries so that everyone can live in peace."

Another laugh-like vocalization. Clarisse supposed Kraken wasn't too concerned with others. She'd heard this could often be the case for malamar, but her studies at the Academy had taught her that they could still learn to see things differently as long as the benefits of cooperation were explained to them well enough. She knew, then, how she should proceed. While she wasn't fully sure it would work for this individual, she owed it to him and society to try.

"It'll certainly be easier for you, too, to compromise," Clarisse continued. "You've already seen what happens when you act with aggression. The law exists to make sure those people don't hurt others, and that's the reason you're contained here."

The law should exist for that reason alone, but of course, the truth was a bit more complicated. She would know. Her brother certainly had before his demise.

Kraken made a face as if he was getting bored. He groaned a response that Quartz relayed again. 'He says he has already said everything he wants to say, and that you can leave.'

"I'm not leaving quite yet," Clarisse said. "Our hour's barely started. Now, you can stand there and say nothing, but wouldn't it be much nicer to talk to us? I doubt you get many visitors."

Kraken didn't seem like he was paying attention, just staring past them with a half-lidded gaze.

"Kraken?" Clarisse prodded. No change.

Émile stepped forward, chest puffed out. "Answer her."

Clarisse raised her hands. "A-ah, that's okay. He doesn't have to answer if he doesn't want to."

Émile gave the woman a look, then stepped back again. "Alright," he said, "but if he dawdles too much, ten sessions might not be enough."

And you'll have to hire me for longer, Clarisse filled in. Of course, this was not her motivation for letting Kraken take his time. It was simply how she'd been trained.

"I'm sure he'll come around soon," Clarisse said. "We just have to be patient."

"Mm. I hope you're right."

Clarisse nodded. She glanced at Quartz, who shrugged. The woman took some time to think of her next approach.

"Alright," she said. "If you don't want to talk about what you did after you evolved, how about before that? What were you like as an inkay?"

---​

Kraken hadn't said anything for the rest of the session. Not a peep. Just held that bored gaze with the occasional stink-eye.

Clarisse had already begun to worry that the guards would think her unqualified and call off the contract, but then they saw her off with a 'see you next week', drawing a sigh of relief from the woman. With her container of veluza collected, Quartz recalled and amulet returned, she headed home to her apartment.

She made herself some pasta with the veluza Kraken had refused - it was still good, right? It certainly tasted alright while she ate it, Quartz munching on his gravel in the background. After this, she made sure all her socials were in order, and then… budgeting.

The long process confirmed what she'd anticipated: barely scraping by. She had then made the right choice in forcing herself to accept a job from government people. Every client counted. Especially now that they were so few and far between…

She couldn't understand why. She'd invested a decent amount of time and money in her socials and website, so they should look just fine. Was it because of what she was? Were people - regular everyday people - really unable to see past their paranoia when it came to psychics?

She sighed. Maybe she should just take it easy for the rest of the day. Watch some videos. Couldn't watch streaming services, no, she'd had to nix those little luxuries. Well. She supposed there was always piracy, but just the thought of committing any crime, no matter how minor or harmless…

She didn't want to go like César had.

So she found herself a video of an espurr playing with yarn and pressed play.

---​

 

[canisaries]

The scheduled time has come for the second part of this story!

Content warning for discussion of mind control and one attempt at it. Enjoy!

---

Part Two

---​

'I see you're hiding behind that device again. I should expect no less from someone so weak.'

That had been the only thing Kraken had said to her during the next two visits. He'd said it right at the beginning of their second meeting, too, leaving the third one entirely silent.

Clarisse had a much better reason now to expect to be kicked out, but for some reason it hadn't happened. Something he'd overheard from one of the guards - 'They're getting impatient' - seemed to suggest they were responsible to someone higher up. She supposed it must have just related to the optics of government efficiency somehow.

On her fourth visit, Clarisse arrived at the facility the same as the previous two times. She showed her ID and was escorted to the isolation ward the same as the previous two times. But something there was different.

Instead of Mr Bourbeau, there stood a pale, stone-faced man in a black suit. Clarisse also didn't recognize any of the guards this time.

Oh, no, she thought. Have I done something wrong?

The black-suited man spotted her and spoke. "Ms Thibault, I presume?"

Clarisse's heart caught in her throat. "Y-yes."

The man made a beckoning movement with his fingers. Clarisse slowly made her way to him - for what else could she do?

"You may be wondering where Mr Bourbeau is," the man said.

Clarisse nodded stiffly.

"Mr Bourbeau has been assigned to another facility," the man stated. "I am to act as his substitute until a more suitable replacement has been found."

"...I see." This seemed strange, but perhaps it was nothing. Relocations could happen for a number of reasons. Yes, it was surely nothing.

"I am Mr Blanc," said the man, extending a hand. Clarisse shook it. It felt mechanical.

"Clarisse Thibault," Clarisse said, then flushed. "But, um, you knew that already."

"Yes." Mr Blanc nodded. "Let us go."

The man led Clarisse and the other guards to Kraken's enclosure. Clarisse began to wonder if this new guy would be as accepting of the shortcomings of her rehabilitative efforts as Mr Bourbeau.

"I hear you are trained well in resisting mind control, Ms Thibault?" Mr Blanc suddenly said.

Clarisse paused. "...Yes. How did you know?"

"It is listed on your page as one of your strengths."

"Ah."

"Taking that into consideration…" Mr Blanc looked at one of the guards, a well-built man with short ginger hair and a beard. The guard nodded and made his way to the box where the amulets were kept. "We believe you should be fine without an insulator device."

"O-oh?" Clarisse let out. "I mean, yes! I agree. I think it would go a long way in helping the rehabilitation process, as it will allow Kraken to talk to me directly."

"I am glad we are in agreement." Mr Blanc glanced at the guard who had put on his own amulet. "Mr Fortin, if you would?"

Mr Fortin nodded again and unlocked the door to the antechamber. Clarisse followed, and the two proceeded to the enclosure.

Kraken was waiting. He seemed pleased for once. And then --

Pressure built up. Kraken's eyes seemed so, so bright - or was it that everything else was dark?

Clarisse knew what to do. She focused on the pressure and, as if using invisible hands, pushed outwards. The pressure dissipated and her surroundings brightened as Kraken's eyes dimmed. The malamar's face showed traces of surprise.

He then spoke to her directly for the first time.

"You are strong."

His telepathic voice was deep and resonant. He must have chosen it to sound strong himself.

"I have trained extensively," Clarisse said.

"No, that is not it. You have always been strong. I can tell." He smirked. "I have also always been strong."

"But not strong enough, you say?"

His smirk fell. "Not quite, no. I must train more. But this place offers little opportunity."

Clarisse kept her face neutral, but internally, she was positively giddy. Finally, Kraken was speaking to her again.

"What is it that has you craving more power?" she asked.

"Is it not obvious? I want to get out of here."

"There's a much easier way to do that, you know."

Kraken frowned. "What, prostrating myself before these humans and obeying their humiliating demands?"

"Which demands do you feel are humiliating?"

"All of them, really."

Clarisse tilted her head. "Humor me and name one."

Kraken glared at her, then sighed. "They want me to 'play nice' . They want me not to use my powers to get my way." He stood up straighter. "But I am powerful! Why should I not utilize the skills that I have?"

"Well, it's like I said," Clarisse replied. "Everyone, even powerful people, needs to respect one another for society to function."

"Oh, but the law does not have to respect you back, does it?"

Clarisse quieted.

She would have to lie here.

"The law does have to respect you back," she said. "Everyone has rights, even if humans and mon have different ones. The law has to respect those, or it'll face consequences."

"Let me guess. From the law?"

"...Yes."

"And how can I ever trust the law to police itself?"

Clarisse sighed inaudibly. "You just have to."

"This 'society' of yours does not seem too alluring."

"It's still the best thing we have," Clarisse said. "And it's allowed us to achieve so many things that we wouldn't otherwise have been able to. Millions of shelters, abundant food, clean water. Medicine. Safety." For most, anyway. But bringing up the less-than-global availability of these necessities would not help her case.

"All of this can be - was - provided to you as long as you cooperate," she added. "Heck, you have it easier than humans. You don't have to work when you've got a trainer to take care of you. All you have to do is stay out of trouble."

"All fine and good until that trainer abandons you," Kraken growled.

"Why would a trainer abandon you?"

Kraken held a stare.

Did he mean he was…?

Suddenly, Kraken flinched. "Forget what I said," he then said. "It is unimportant."

"Oh, no, it's quite important," Clarisse said. "If you have trusted someone and that trust has been broken…"

"I have never trusted anyone. But yes, I have been 'abandoned', so to speak, if you must know. I was too… self-confident for my trainer's liking. But, really, it was I who abandoned her.

Clarisse doubted this was the truth, but she knew not to call him a liar to his face.

As the spell of silence stretched, Mr Fortin spoke next. "Are you making progress?"

Clarisse nodded. "Oh, yes. Extensive progress."

"Good to hear it," Mr Fortin said, though his tone wasn't quite as kind as his words.

Alright, Clarisse thought to herself. What to do next?

She remembered Quartz, dug out his ball and released him. The sableye chittered a greeting.

"Why have you brought out that weakling?" Kraken asked tiredly.

"Quartz isn't weak," Clarisse said patiently. "If you want to see it for yourself, you can always have a battle. Pokémon understand each other better through battle, don't they?"

Mr Fortin raised a brow. "A battle? Indoors?"

Clarisse flinched. Right. She shouldn't go ahead and make promises like that without --

"I'll allow it," Mr Blanc said from the other side of the wall. "It isn't as if there's anything in the enclosure to break."

Mr Fortin made a face that seemed to say 'we are in here', but didn't protest further. "Alright, then. A battle."

Clarisse nodded. "On the count of three, Kraken?"

"Fine."

"Splendid. Okay, Quartz, get ready."

Quartz chittered and took a few steps back to give himself some space.

"One," said Clarisse. "Two. Three!"

---​

Kraken, indeed, ended up seeing for himself how strong Quartz was. The two fighters tied after a ten-minute tussle, the battle ended by Clarisse after seeing both of them winded enough - and thinking of the time they had remaining. Kraken, of course, saw this as a win, and Clarisse found out the hard way that the squid was not a gracious winner.

Regardless, the battle left him in such good spirits that Clarisse had a much easier time talking to him afterwards. She could have risked it and asked more about that 'abandonment', but decided not to, and settled for inquiring about Kraken's life here at the facility.

"They feed me pellets here!" Kraken had said, mantle puffed as if he was a bird ruffling his feathers. "At least my old trainer fed me several kinds of canned fish!"

"I'm sorry to hear that," Clarisse had said. "Would you like me to bring you more canned veluza next time?"

"Keep your veluza. Pity is a terrible seasoning."

Their session eventually came to a close. As Clarisse left, she couldn't read the faces of the guards or Mr Blanc. She supposed that they simply weren't expressive people - and it was better than them saying anything negative.

Next week's session saw Kraken wanting another battle, and Clarisse and Quartz obliged. The malamar had made strides, though still could not quite knock Quartz out in the ten minutes Clarisse gave them. Despite this, Kraken once again acted as the winner, boasting about his power.

After the battle, Kraken was even more talkative than before. He mostly complained about being imprisoned and criticized every annoying habit each of the guards had, but he did also mention some things about his past. It was, however, mostly only about how strong he'd been since he was a hatchling and how he would always beat all the other mon in the junior circuits. When Clarisse finally dared to ask about his last trainer, Kraken crankily said that he didn't want to waste a single breath on that weakling - ignoring the fact that he was using telepathy.

Clarisse, not wanting to push him, steered the conversation back to earlier in his life, and listened to his tales of his amazing feats for the rest of the session. Upon getting ready to leave, she did worry again, as they'd now spent five sessions of the contractual ten and she wasn't necessarily much closer to getting the malamar to behave. Then, as if she wasn't anxious enough, Mr Blanc called her over and said he wanted to discuss something.

"Have I done something wrong?" Clarisse asked, heart pounding in her chest.

"No, you have performed your duties excellently so far," Mr Blanc said, though he said it without a smile. The tone was still friendly, at least, so it didn't seem sarcastic…

"Then… is there another matter?"

Mr Blanc glanced around. "Before we continue, we should move this conversation to my office."

"Oh. Alright," Clarisse said, nodding.

Mr Blanc wordlessly led Clarisse through the hallways and into his office. It was a little bit cramped, but Mr Blanc seemed to use the space very efficiently with neatly organized desk supplies and immaculately stacked papers. He took a seat behind his desk, and Clarisse sat down on the chair before it. Her heart still pounded, but a little less violently.

Mr Blanc clasped his hands and lowered them on the desk before himself. "Ms Thibault, if I may ask… what made you become a pokémon counselor?"

It was fortunately an easy question. "Well, I'm a big fan of pokémon. I enjoy working with them, and I enjoy helping them even more. And my nature as a psychic gives me an advantage over non-psychics as I can communicate with the mon directly using telepathy and mind reading, bypassing the language barrier. Except with dark types, of course."

Mr Blanc nodded. "And what made you specialize in psychic types?"

Clarisse found it refreshing that someone asked instead of just assuming every psychic naturally wanted to work with psychic pokémon. "I suppose I just feel a sense of kinship with them."

Mr Blanc nodded again, then held a brief silence. "Back to your… willingness to help pokémon," he said. "You must look at the mon we keep here and wish for them to be successfully rehabilitated, correct?"

"Yes. It would be a great shame if a mon had to stay locked up for the rest of their life."

"A great shame indeed," Mr Blanc said. Clarisse could swear she saw a hint of a smile on the man's face, but it was gone as soon as she noticed it.

Mr Blanc leaned back. "As a woman highly educated in matters of the mind, I trust you know the basics of neuroscience?"

"Yes." Of course, it depended on what was considered 'the basics', but Clarisse had enough confidence that Mr Blanc himself wasn't some kind of neurosurgeon.

"And you know that repetition of certain behaviors in response to certain stimuli strengthens the associated neural circuits, making the subject more likely to perform that behavior the following times they encounter these stimuli?"

"Yes, of course." Clarisse was doing well - but where was this going?

Mr Blanc leaned in. "Were you aware that this phenomenon is also theorized to take place during hypnosis?"

Clarisse blinked. "I suppose I never thought of it that way… but it sounds plausible."

Mr Blanc nodded. "With this in mind…" he began. "There is some interest among my acquaintances in government intelligence in testing this theory."

The conversation, all of a sudden, made sense. A cold pit tore itself into Clarisse's belly.

"You want… Kraken to use his hypnotic powers to steer troubled mon towards more positive behaviors," she spelled out.

Mr Blanc now smiled with no attempts to hide it. "Precisely. You are very quick to catch on."

"But --"

Clarisse caught herself slightly too late. Her distaste for the violation of mon's rights to psychic autonomy had caused her to speak before she'd remembered the power dynamics at play.

"But what, Ms Thibault?" Mr Blanc asked patiently. "Please, do communicate it if this makes you too uncomfortable."

"Well…" Clarisse peeped, her throat too tight. "If you insist, I should mention that this sounds somewhat… unorthodox."

"Progress has always relied on ventures into the unorthodox," Mr Blanc said. "But rest assured, Ms Thibault, this will be handled professionally and with careful consideration of what is and is not necessary. We do not intend to toy with the minds of mon here."

"Ah…"

"And I should mention, miss, that you would be properly compensated for your contributions to convincing the malamar to act as our hypnotist."

Properly compensated… Clarisse could use the money.

But no - she couldn't sell these poor mon's minds just for money, could she?

"What do you say?" Mr Blanc asked. "Extend and deepen your contract with us for some much-needed returns?"

How did he…?

Right.

He was with the government.

"Tell you what," Mr Blanc said, getting up and circling the desk. "Take the week to think about it. There's no need to rush into a decision you might regret."

Clarisse gripped her bag a little tighter.

She should say no, right here and right now. She should stand up for her principles.

But… could she afford that?

She could afford…

…to take a week.

"I'll take a week," she said, "to think about it."

Mr Blanc nodded. "Very well. You may be on your way, then."

Clarisse nodded and got up.

"Oh, one more thing," Mr Blanc said.

Clarisse froze. "Yes?"

His expression sharpened. "The contents of this conversation are confidential. Do not share this with anyone, or there will be consequences."

Clarisse swallowed. "Yes, sir."

Mr Blanc's face returned to neutrality. "Alright, then. Have a safe trip home, Ms Thibault."

Nodding, Clarisse briskly made her way out of the room and shut the door behind her.

She let out a wavering sigh.

One week. At least she had that much.

---​

 

[Tango]

Hey all! This is that "malamarfic" that I've been talking about in the Discord.

Ma-la-mar! Ma-la-mar!

Yeah, let's GO!!

Though, it seems you still haven't set up the threadmarks for this completely yet.

I know I said that I'd post it tomorrow, but I realized that I actually wanted to make my Blitz self-promotion post as soon as possible, and for that, it would be better if I had the link to this thread.

Good idea on that. Less chance someone will scroll past your post with minimal reading!

With that out of the way: what's this story about? Well, it's about Clarisse, a Kalosian Pokémon counselor with psychic abilities,

So many cool things you can do with a premise like that. Works well at hooking reader attention!

getting a new client: an ill-behaving Malamar kept in a Pokémon rehabilitation facility. Things, of course, later take a turn as the staff of the facility mysteriously changes and their leader has an unusual offer for Clarisse.

I love this bit here. So suspenseful! Like what could the offer be? What's going on?

Content warnings for this story include "animal" abuse (they are Pokémon, so not exactly the same thing), gun violence, mind control, moderate profanity and some heavy themes such as police brutality. Overall, I would say the story is rated T.

Content warnings are wild for it, but I'd suggest hiding them behind a spoiler tag in case people want to go in blind. Anyone who reads your M-rated fics should be able to handle anything in this, I'd imagine.

As of the completion of the first draft, this story is six parts long and around 18,000 words in total. I will be posting a chapter every few days to spread it out over the Blitz.

I love how you split the length up over multiple chapters. If it were an 18k one shot, you might have a hard time getting readers to give it a try.

That's it for the Author's Notes. Enjoy the story!

Having discussed only some big general plot stuff with you on it and knowing how polished your writing is in general, I'm on the edge of my seat with anticipation already!

---
KRAKEN'S GRASP
by canisaries
---
Part One
---​

So, the title of the fic. If the readers know what Malamar is, then they should assume this pertains to Malamar, but what if the Kraken isn't Malamar? What if the Kraken is the police corruption with its tentacles in everything as it constricts and controls everything it touches?

Given how I expect things to generally play out, this deceptive title works perfectly!

Spoiler: Line by Line Reaction

It was pouring when Clarisse arrived at the Fourrage Pokémon Rehabilitation Facility.

Ooo sets the stage for it to be dreary already!

She parked her car in the lot outside the main building, hoping she hadn't accidentally picked a spot reserved for employees only. Or did she fall into that category? They had hired her.

Sets the stage that this was her first day on the job without saying that directly. Nice.

She levitated her bag and umbrella into her hands and tried her best not to get wet as she exited the vehicle.

Huh. It's neat she did this since it shows he psychic abilities, but I wonder if she wouldn't just create a light barrier around her to keep the rain away instead? 🤔 Barrier would be cooler, but maybe too over the top for what you are going for, perhaps?

Droplets bombarded the canopy of her umbrella as she made her way to the entrance of the red brick building. Just a few steps away, she heard a splash and looked down. Dirty water had already stained her boots.

Ah, boots messed up already on the first day of the job.

No, it's fine, she told herself. They'll understand. It's the weather, not me. I haven't done anything wrong.

This is great since it conveys her nervousness for her new job. I enjoy the use of italics for displaying thoughts.

She took a deep breath and let it out. She stepped underneath the roof's overhang and shook her umbrella as dry as she could before folding it and entering.

I suppose the umbrella does give her some more interaction and imagery as things progress. Maybe add a line of thought about how she didn't want to appear to weird or flashy using a psychic barrier to repel the rain? Just an idea.

"Oh, it's raining poliwag out there, ain't it?"

Ah here is the line you were asking about on discord! I think poliwag is an excellent choice for the expression.

Clarisse looked up. A reception desk. And a receptionist. A middle aged woman. Her tone sounded friendly. Clarisse calmed down just a little.

These sentences are all very short. Hmmm... at first, it seemed jarring, but are you going for her hyperventilating or something? Makes me think perhaps you are going for an anxious vibe in the writing to convey Clarisse's experience. If so, well done!

If not, you may want to rework these sentences. For example, 'And a receptionist.' could easily be combined with the previous line, and the one after for something like: "A middle aged woman was stationed at the reception desk."

"Yes, it is," Clarisse said, loud enough to be heard but quietly enough to show she was no trouble. She stepped up to the desk.

I like the descriptor here since it conveys she is worries about getting in trouble.

"Um, I'm here about the malamar."

"Ah, you're the psychic, then?"

Despite the receptionist's inoffensive tone, Clarisse tensed up. "Yes. Clarisse Thibault."

Each bit of this writing helps to convey how uncomfortable she is. Nice.

"ID, please."

Clarisse nodded, dug out her ID and presented it.

Too easy. Would be more suspenseful if she thought she lost it for a moment but then felt it at the bottom of her bag or something.

"Any pokémon to report?" the receptionist asked, checking the ID.

"One sableye."

The receptionist raised a brow, and Clarisse's heart beat faster. "Sableye? Should I worry for my wedding ring?"

Love the reference to Sableye's tendency for kleptomania! Also, I love Sableye in general. One of my favorite mon!

Clarisse quickly shook her head. "No. Quartz is well-trained and well-fed."

Not a bad name for a Sableye!

The receptionist flashed a smile. "Oh, no need to be so nervous, darling. I was only joking." She typed something on her keyboard, then emerged from behind the desk. She pointed at the hat rack in the corner of the room. "Just leave your coat there, and I'll take you to where you're needed.

Clarisse nodded and took off her trench coat, intending to levitate it over the distance, but then stopped. Should she be showing her powers like that? The receptionist already knew she was a psychic, but…

I love how you had her consider using her power to levitate it but choosing not to do so!

Maybe it was better to do it the normal way. She walked over and placed her coat, scarf and beret on the rack. Just like a regular person, no one to be alarmed about.

Yep, even though it's just in front of the receptionist who seems to be behaving objectively nice, Clarisse is still anxious. The mention of alarm suggests that she is avoiding what she worries could potentially happen if she were to alarm anyone there. As for what that something is, the reader will have to continue to find out.

After that, the receptionist took her deeper into the building. They passed by hallways that Clarisse could spot glass-walled enclosures in, but she couldn't catch a glimpse of any pokémon. But, then again, she supposed she wasn't here for them, so she shouldn't try to sightsee.

Too nevous to even try to look at them.

Most of the doors were windowed, but once they passed under a sign reading ISOLATION, the doors became metallic. She became consciously aware of the higher level of danger within these walls, but that was anxiety she was much better at managing. Quartz was with her, Quartz could protect her against unruly mon. What Quartz couldn't protect her from was guns.

Ooo mention of gun already. Some nice foreshadowing!

An unpleasant memory surfaced, and Clarisse worked to suppress it. Why did that mental image have to stick with her so? She hadn't even witnessed it. She only remembered being told, and her mind had done the rest.

The careful reader should be able to pick up on this memory being unplesant and that it was related to guns. Being vague here seems like a useful tactic.

Well, she supposed it only made her careful. And careful was good.

The receptionist made a turn in the hallway, and so did Clarisse. Behind the corner, there were four men in grayish-green uniforms. And guns on their belts. Okay. Clarisse would just have to deal with it.

Yep, Clarisse doesn't like guns. She is afraid of them.

One of the men, a chubby older gentleman with a beard, smiled and stepped forth. "Morning!" he said. "You must be Ms Thibault." He extended a hand. "Jean Bourbeau, the manager of the isolation ward. It's a pleasure."

Seems like a plesant enough fellow!

Clarisse took his hand and shook it. His robust grip was a stark contrast to her dainty one, but it seemed only genial. "It's a pleasure as well," she said.

Nice detail with the difference in hand grips.

"I'll be the one in charge of making sure you get what you need," Mr Bourbeau said. "Give me a shout if anything's lacking, or talk to these fellas." He pointed to the other men, who nodded. "They'll get back to me."

Clarisse nodded. "Of course." She had to admit that her reception so far had been a lot friendlier than she'd expected. Or feared.

Yet another little peice to the puzzle of her anxiety.

"Alright, let's go see Kraken, then," Mr Bourbeau said and headed deeper into the hallway. "Kraken's his name. And, well, you might just see why that fits."

Huh. I wonder how Kraken got his name? 🤔

Clarisse didn't press Mr Bourbeau further. She'd already expected to be facing something less than cuddly.

Clarisse followed Mr Bourbeau past several enclosures with mon. One had an arbok sleeping on a dog bed, another had a bored-looking mawile playing with a toy meant for toddlers, another yet had a noivern pacing around and stopping to hiss at the passersby, which made Clarisse flinch. These mon didn't seem very happy… but then again, they'd ended up in here because of bad behavior, hadn't they?

Finally, they stopped at an enclosure with a rather large malamar. The malamar stood on his fins in the corner, his tentacles undulating and his yellow-eyed stare unyielding. Clarisse noted that there was nothing there aside from the squid - no bedding, no food or water bowls, no enrichment. Just white walls lined with that same aura-insulating glass that the front was made of. Clarisse wanted to ask about this, ask why they'd deprived the mon of so much, but she knew some questions weren't welcome with government people and decided not to risk it.

I like how this adds to the suspense of Malamar being the most dangerous prisoner they have.

"So," Mr Bourbeau began, "did they tell you the story behind this guy?"

"To an extent," Clarisse said. "Former trained inkay.

OH! Used to have a trainer! That would explain the nickname then!

"Upon evolution, went on the run and used his hypnotic powers to make different people let him stay in their houses and eat his fill. Do I have that right?"

I mean, that doesn't sound too bad... Just stole food and did some unsanctioned couch surfing.

It does lead to the question of why he went on the run, though.

"Pretty much," Mr Bourbeau said. He turned to one of the other men. "Émile? Get her the amulet."

Émile, the thinnest and tallest of the group, nodded and walked over to a box on the wall which he opened with a key. He produced two personal psychic insulator devices - colloquially called amulets by people that worked with them due to their necklace-like shape and function - and handed one to Clarisse while looping the other around his own neck.

But this would make things difficult.

Clarisse gathered up all her courage to talk back.

I enjoy the novelty of Clarisse being timid and having a hard time standing up to authority. It makes her more relatable than a lot of purely heroic MCs that never bat an eye at anything.

"Um, excuse me," she said, "but I believe this will prevent me from communicating with Kraken telepathically."

"Oh, you're a telepath, too," Mr Bourbeau said, scratching his beard. "But, regardless, we can't let you go in there without one. Not with how strong the squid's hypnotic powers are."

Clarisse wanted to tell the man that she'd been top of her class in mind control resistance at Lumiose Academy of Extrasensorics, but perhaps she'd argued against them enough already. She would just have to rely on Quartz to communicate with Kraken. "Understood."

Yeah! Something she should have mentioned but was too timid to do it! Will make for a powerful contrast for later.

She put on the device. Immediately, it became quieter inside her brain as the passive psychic presences of the other men were no longer perceptible.

Wow that sounds oppressive!

"Alright. You ready to go in?" Mr Bourbeau asked.

"Yes."

Mr Bourbeau nodded, and Émile stepped towards the door next to the enclosure to unlock and open it. It connected a see-through antechamber to the enclosure whose walls were the same kind of insulated glass. Clarisse supposed this sort of architecture was necessary for safety.

Clarisse stepped through the door, and Émile closed it behind her before opening the second one. Clarisse proceeded through that as well, and Émile closed it, staying with her in the enclosure.

This might make Kraken less receptive, thought Clarisse, but shook the thought. She would make it work.

The malamar hadn't moved while the two had entered,

Ah, 'had' can usually be cut from most sentences with no narrative draw back. Plus with the use of 'hadn't' not much farther back, that's all the more incentive to cut it. I crossed it out above to make it easy to see. Also, regarding any future editing suggestions, I'll use the following instead of words: 📝

only glancing between Clarisse and Émile and the gun on the latter's belt. Clarisse stopped roughly two meters away from the squid and brought a gentle, albeit performative, smile onto her lips.

"Hello, Kraken," she said. "How are you today?"

Aww, she is trying to be postive.

Kraken only stared, not that she would have understood his answer very well anyway. Clarisse figured it was the thought that counted.

Clarisse pondered for a moment what she would try next, and then remembered what she had in her bag. "Maybe you'd like something to eat," she said, digging into the bag.

"Uh…" Émile began. "Be careful. He might use any objects you give him to attack."

Dang that shows just how cautious the police are about Kraken.

"I'll be careful," Clarisse said. She then produced a green plastic container with chunks of veluza flesh within. She stepped forward and placed it on the floor, then stepped back. "Here you go."

Kraken eyed Clarisse, then the container. He lifted it telekinetically, stared at it for a moment and then --

On reflex, Clarisse blocked the container flung at her face with a telekinetic barrier. It thunked against the translucent pink sheet and landed back on the floor.

Ah, the barrier scene. 😏

Yeah, Kraken hates it there!

"Hey!" Émile shouted at Kraken, his hand on his gun. Clarisse's heart jumped to her throat.

"Oh, no, no, no, there's no need for that," she got out. "He didn't even throw it very hard."

Émile gave her a glance, then Kraken. "Alright, then," he muttered, leaving his gun alone.

Yeah, as powerful as Pokemon are, guns are still deadly and can kill people quicker than Pokemon can. I assume they are very effective when used on most Pokemon too.

Clarisse sighed in relief. She then crouched to pick up the container on the floor. Well, at least it didn't open. That would have been a mess.

And yet, between this and her mentioning it wasn't thrown too hard, shows Malamar is restraining himself to an extent.

She put the container back into her bag and searched for Quartz's pokéball. "Maybe you're just not a fan of humans," she said. "In that case, I have someone you can talk to."

She found the ball, drew it out and released the mon inside. A dark gray, almost black, sableye materialized before her. The malamar's eyes widened slightly and he let out a short groan of disapproval.

"I know ghost types can make you psychics uncomfortable… us psychics, even," Clarisse said, "but Quartz is very nice. Aren't you, Quartz?"

Quartz opened his sharp-toothed mouth and chittered at Clarisse. He then turned to Kraken and chittered some more. Clarisse was in tune with Quartz enough to know this meant something along the lines of 'Hello! I am Rock-Crystal. Nice to meet you!''

Oh, that's a nifty detail and helps the readers to have a basic understanding too!

Kraken huffed, turning his gaze back to Clarisse.

"Quartz is also a rehabilitated mon," Clarisse said. "He's a rescue from a gem farm. He knows what it's like to be locked up and afraid."

Aw, seems like he ought to be a good fit for this kind of work.

Kraken made a noise that almost sounded like a 'ha'. Clarisse presumed he was too proud to admit to being afraid.

Ah, I wonder if that was why he didn't throw the food harder? Throwing to put on a show of defiance why holding back on the power out of fear of the gun.

"Would you like to tell Quartz what made you do the things you did?" she asked. "Escaping your trainer, mind controlling those people to give you food?"

Kraken made some groaning noises to Quartz, and Quartz chittered back at Clarisse. 'He says he does not need to justify anything to you.'

"Oh, but it would help, wouldn't it?" Clarisse said. "The sooner you tell me why you were behaving the way you were, the sooner we can work things out, and the sooner you'll be out of here. You can go to the sea if you want to. Plenty of fresh fish and crustaceans there."

That seems like a pretty good way to get Kraken to open up.

Kraken groaned again, and Quartz relayed the message. 'Food is not what he craves.'

"What do you crave, then?"

Kraken smirked darkly and growled, and Quartz spoke for him. 'Power.'

Ooo this is theatrical!

Clarisse froze, but then regained her composure. "What do you need that power for?"

The malamar raised his chin and narrowed his eyes, saying nothing.

Clarisse turned to Émile. "Has he talked about this before?"

"Yeah. That's all that we can get out of him, really. He just wants power, apparently."

I bet a megastone would let Kraken completely break out of there.

"Hmm." Clarisse glanced at Kraken. "Well, no one wants power without a reason."

"Could just be that he wants the power to do as he pleases. Though it feels like he already got to do that?"

"Well, he's captured now, so maybe he wants to be so powerful that even the law can't stop him."

"Mm."

A sensible line of reasoning.

Clarisse turned to the malamar. "It's can be nice to get to doing what you want, but everything we do affects others. And we need to respect each other's boundaries so that everyone can live in peace."

📝

Another laugh-like vocalization. Clarisse supposed Kraken wasn't too concerned with others. She'd heard this could often be the case for malamar, but her studies at the Academy had taught her that they could still learn to see things differently as long as the benefits of cooperation were explained to them well enough.

📝

So, it would be difficult, but she still thinks there is a chance and isn't throwing in the towel. Nice!

She knew, then, how she should proceed. While she wasn't fully sure it would work for this individual, she owed it to him and society to try.

📝

"It'sll certainly be easier for you, too, to compromise," Clarisse continued. "You've already seen what happens when you're act with aggressiveon. The Law exists to make sure those people don't hurt others., and That's the reason you're contained here."

📝

The law should exist for that reason alone, but of course, the truth was a bit more complicated. She would know. Her brother certainly had before his demise.

And here is the bomb-shell. From this, readers can likely conclude that her brother got gunned down by police for some reason. But perhaps you spell it out more directly later. It probably is good to eventually spell it out, but this way allows readers to theorize and see if they can guess it ahead of time!

Kraken made a face as if he was getting bored. He groaned a response that Quartz relayed again. 'He says he has already said everything he wants to say, and that you can leave.'

Oof! She got rejected there. Now what, I wonder? 🤔

"I'm not leaving quite yet," Clarisse said. "Our hour's barely started.

Ooo! She has some tenacity underneath too!

Now, you can stand there and say nothing, but wouldn't it be much nicer to talk to us? I doubt you get many visitors."

Kraken didn't seem like he was paying attention, just staring past them with a half-lidded gaze.

"Kraken?" Clarisse prodded. No change.

Émile stepped forward, chest puffed out. "Answer her."

Clarisse raised her hands. "A-ah, that's okay. He doesn't have to answer if he doesn't want to."

Émile gave the woman a look, then stepped back again. "Alright," he said, "but if he dawdles too much, ten sessions might not be enough."

And you'll have to hire me for longer, Clarisse filled in.

Ah so it's a money thing. I guess Emile's boss conveyed he wants things resolved in 10 sessions that that Emile should do anything possible to assist Clarisse in making that happen. Otherwise he will have to spend more money and that would not be acceptable to their budget.

Of course, this was not her motivation for letting Kraken take his time. It was simply how she'd been trained.

Makes sense. Also, I doubt she would be willing to defy authority enough at this point to attempt to pull a stunt like that.

"I'm sure he'll come around soon," Clarisse said. "We just have to be patient."

"Mm. I hope you're right."

Clarisse nodded. She glanced at Quartz, who shrugged. The woman took some time to think of her next approach.

"Alright," she said. "If you don't want to talk about what you did after you evolved, how about before that? What were you like as an inkay?"

---​

Kraken hadn't said anything for the rest of the session. Not a peep. Just held that bored gaze with the occasional stink-eye.

What a charming fellow!

Clarisse had already begun to worry that the guards would think her unqualified and call off the contract, but then they saw her off with a 'see you next week', drawing a sigh of relief from the woman. With her container of veluza collected, Quartz recalled and amulet returned, she headed home to her apartment.

So even though the place makes her nervious, her being able to come back was a relief. The only reason that could be is because she needs the money. It's also possible that she wanted to continue out of care for Kraken, but I'd say it's too early for that to be her primary motivator.

She made herself some pasta with the veluza Kraken had refused - it was still good, right? It certainly tasted alright while she ate it, Quartz munching on his gravel in the background. After this, she made sure all her socials were in order, and then… budgeting.

Ah, this makes the money angle all the more apparent.

The long process confirmed what she'd anticipated: barely scraping by. She had then made the was right choice in to forceing herself into accept a job from government job people. Every client counted. Especially now that they were so few and far between…

And money being a problem confirmed.

She couldn't understand why. She'd invested a decent amount of time and money in her socials and website, so they should look just fine. Was it because of what she was? Were people - regular everyday people - really unable to see past their paranoia when it came to psychics?

She sighed. Maybe she should just take it easy for the rest of the day. Watch some videos. Couldn't watch streaming services, no, she'd had to nix those little luxuries. Well. She supposed there was always piracy, but just the thought of committing any crime, no matter how minor or harmless…

She didn't want to go like César had.

And from this, the reader can speculate Cesar was her brother and that he was gunned down by police for committing a crime of some sort.

So she found herself a video of an espurr playing with yarn and pressed play.

A very repressed person who is squeezed for money. I doubt she feels like she has much of any control over her life.

---​

Closing thoughts:
I was hoping this would be a compelling and gripping read becuase of your writing experience and your writing style. After reading it, I can't deny that you've delivered on it! Was a pleasure to read and interesting to see how you wove things together based on my general knowledge of what you planned for it!

Due to the quality of what I'm reading and your treatment of me during Catnip this year, I intend to review through Kraken's Grasp completely during this blitz. I'm planning to do as much as I can for that during next week. I wanted to get this first review in here to get it set up for the bonus later.

I'm excited to read through the rest of it!

 

[canisaries]

Hey there! Here to post the third part of the story, bringing us to the halfway point.

Content warning for mind control and Pokémon cruelty. Enjoy!

---

Part Three

---​

Muffin the Snubbull sniffed at the kibble. Clarisse monitored him closely. She'd made her case, and now the rest was up to him.

Muffin huffed. Clarisse's heart jumped, thinking he was going to refuse yet again - but then the snubbull opened his mouth and took a bite. He chewed, dull look on his face, and then swallowed.

Clarisse closed her eyes and reached out to his mind. What was he thinking right now? He wasn't doing this just to humor them, right?

She saw sights from Muffin's perspective, felt his sensations. Eating poké puffs, them tasting delectable, but then trying to walk and finding it so tiring. Looking down at himself and seeing so much more pudge than there used to be. Thinking of this kibble, how it didn't taste sweet but was nonetheless bearable. How eating this kibble would make his walks easier again. How he could make the change. How he should. How he would.

Clarisse terminated their connection and resumed the present, where Muffin's trainer, the middle-aged Mrs Abadie, was squealing in elation.

"Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you, Ms Thibault!" the woman said. "He's finally got it! He's finally going to eat healthy again!"

"Well, deciding something once isn't the same as committing to it," Clarisse said, "but I have a feeling Muffin can stick to this. If not, though… well, you have my phone number."

"Absolutely, Ms Thibault. I won't hesitate for a second if I see my baby slipping!" Mrs Abadie said.

Clarisse smiled and nodded. She then glanced at the clock. "Ah, right on time," she said. "Our hour's up."

"Oh, but couldn't you stay for a tad, for tea and biscuits?"

It did sound nice, but… "I think we should show Muffin a good example by abstaining from sweets for a while," Clarisse said.

Mrs Abadie gasped. "Oh, so true! Well, in that case, I'll just wish you a very very good trip home. And I will certainly pay your bill as soon as I can!"

"Much appreciated, ma'am." It was. "I'll be going now, then."

Clarisse made her way out of the house with genial goodbyes, stepping back into the cloudy yet rainless autumn afternoon. She got into her car and drove off, but her mind stayed on the appointment for a while longer.

I really am glad Muffin's eating healthier now, she thought, but unfortunately a one-off like this means no extended contract, and that means less money. Obviously I can't start wishing for Muffin to relapse, but…

She sighed. With the way things are going… am I actually going to have to accept Mr Blanc's horrid proposal? Help mind-control mon to act more compliant? It's simply not right. Sure, maybe it would end up helping the mon, but… is it worth the price? Is it worth my conscience? Is it worth…

Clarisse noticed something new had appeared in her field of vision. A yellow light on her dashboard. The…

The check engine light.

Shit.

---​

Clarisse couldn't even remember what had been wrong with the car. What the mechanic had said had gone in one ear and out the other. All she knew was that she now had a car that was probably operational again and much less money.

She entered her apartment and collapsed on the couch, sighing. She didn't have to open her laptop and check her budgeting document to know she was in trouble.

Trouble that she had a solution for - one that was simultaneously easy and difficult.

She let Quartz out of her ball. The sableye materialized in front of the couch and chittered. 'What's wrong?'

"Had some car trouble," Clarisse said. "It's fixed now, but the fix cost a bunch and… it's tight, Quartz. If I don't get paid more soon, I'm not gonna make rent."

More chittering. 'Will you say yes to the drones?' He meant those that worked under the government, having decided long ago they had to be something akin to drones when Clarisse had explained the concept to him. 'You do not like the drones, and you do not like what they want you to do.'

"Yes, but…" Clarisse sighed again. "Maybe it isn't so bad? We're ultimately trying to help the troubled mon. And it might not even work, and they could give up. They'd still have to pay me." Right?

'I would not want that squid to control my mind,' Quartz said. 'I do not think the others would want that either.'

Clarisse rubbed her forehead. "I know, but… in this life, in society, you often have to do things you don't want to do to survive. Have shelter to stay in, enough food to eat, so on. And sometimes those things you don't want to do are… wrong, too. Or at least not entirely right." She wasn't sure if she was convincing Quartz or herself.

'Hmm.' Quartz sat down on the floor. 'I see. But I hope you will not have to do even worse things.'

"You and me both, buddy."

Quartz scratched under his ears. 'I am hungry. Can we eat now?'

Clarisse chuckled. He didn't stay on that subject for long. "Sure thing."

She fetched Quartz's gravel bag and poured him a bowlful. She then microwaved herself some spaghetti from yesterday and sat down to eat. She stared at her plate for a moment.

If I want to keep eating like this - or at all - I think I'm just gonna have to say…

---​

"I accept."

Mr Blanc nodded. "I expected as much. Allow me to fetch the contract."

As the black-suited man dug through his drawer, Clarisse's mind was blank. It was done. Well, it wasn't done until she signed the contract, but she already knew she would.

Mr Blanc then produced the contract. Clarisse figured she should at least try to read it… but the legalese really flew over her head. She settled for glancing through it. Nothing out of the ordinary she could glean. Whatever. If she needed to sell her soul, she'd sell her soul. She didn't have a choice.

So, she wrote down her name. Mr Blanc drew the contract to himself and then got up, offering a hand.

"To a fruitful partnership," he said.

Clarisse stood up and shook his hand. It was no different from the first time.

Once she'd let go, Mr Blanc adjusted his suit. "Alright. Next, you should explain to the malamar what this contract entails."

Kraken. Right. Clarisse hadn't given much thought to what Kraken wanted in all this, but she'd assumed he would be thrilled to get to use his powers. But what if he wasn't?

Well, only one way to find out.

"Right," Clarisse said. The two made their way out of the office and to Kraken's enclosure. Mr Fortin was waiting there among other guards, ready with his psychic insulator. He let Clarisse and himself into the enclosure where the malamar was waiting.

"You are late," Kraken said, frowning.

"I was discussing an employment proposition with Mr Blanc," Clarisse explained. "It, um, concerns you."

Kraken's frown deepened. "What have you gone and promised without consulting me?"

"I'm sorry. I assumed you'd be up to it."

"What is it, then? Spit it out."

Clarisse sighed. "They want you to hypnotize other mon kept here into behaving better."

Kraken let out a 'ha'-like sound. "And what will that accomplish? They will go back to their old ways as soon as I release them."

"Well, that's something they wanna test," Clarisse said. "They want to see if regular hypnosis can make mon more inclined to behave better even outside a controlled state. That hypothesis does have a neuropsychological basis."

"Hmm." Kraken closed his eyes. "Well, it would have to be repeated quite a few times, then. Does that mean I am not rid of you yet?"

Clarisse gave a half-smile. "No, not quite."

"Very well. As it happens, this opportunity does sound quite alluring to me. You assumed right. Just do not assume again."

"I won't." Clarisse hoped she could keep that promise.

"I must say, though, I am surprised you agreed to this. You were previously quite adamant that controlling others was wrong."

Clarisse stayed silent.

"You have a hard time saying no to the suits, is that it?"

Clarisse continued to stay silent.

"Such submission is foolish, of course. You are stronger than them."

Clarisse frowned. "Well, so are you, and here you are."

Kraken's eyes widened, but he turned up his beak quickly. "Tch. Just take me to my first patient."

Clarisse turned to Mr Fortin. "Kraken is ready to begin."

Mr Fortin hummed. "Do you trust him to do as he's told?"

Clarisse glanced at Kraken, who seemed like he was trying to look innocent, but this was quite difficult for a malamar. "I trust him well enough."

"Hmm. Well, let's go, then." Mr Fortin produced a minimized black pokéball from a satchel on his belt, enlarged it and recalled Kraken into it. Clarisse supposed this was a special ball that did not allow self-release. She hoped its interior was at least spacious.

They made their way out of the enclosure and then headed back the hallway with Mr Blanc and some other guards in tow. They stopped at the enclosure of the noivern that Clarisse had passed by every time she'd visited. Just like the previous times, the dragon was busy pacing around until she saw the guards and let out a loud hiss.

Is every day really like this for this noivern? Clarisse thought. I should ask her…

"She's agitated again, it seems," Mr Fortin said. He took another pokéball from his satchel, this time a regular one, and released a houndoom. The canine looked at the noivern and barked loudly, startling Clarisse. The noivern shrank and quieted, retreating to a corner.

"What's her name?" Clarisse asked. "How did she end up here?"

"Melody," Fortin answered. "And she bit someone. That someone sued. Court ruled that she belongs here."

"I see." There was probably more to the story.

"Well, let's get in."

Mr Fortin let Clarisse into the enclosure, his houndoom coming along. The mon did not take his eyes off Melody once.

The situation was tense, but Clarisse dared to make a request. "May I speak with Melody before we bring Kraken out? Ease her stress a bit?"

"If you think it'll help," Mr Fortin said.

Clarisse nodded and turned to the frightened noivern.

"Hey, Melody," she said. "How are you doing?"

Melody growled.

"My name is Clarisse," Clarisse continued. "I'm a pokémon counselor. My job is to help pokémon like you feel better."

Melody groaned something, but Clarisse couldn't tell what - understandably, as they'd only met.

"I'm also a psychic," she said. "I can read minds. If you'll let me, I can listen in on yours, and you can tell me what's wrong."

She didn't always ask for permission, but noivern were quite intelligent, and trying to read the dragon's mind without consent might only stress her out more.

Melody hummed, uneasy. Clarisse was prepared for her to say no, but surprisingly, the noivern ultimately nodded.

Clarisse closed her eyes and reached out. She saw herself, Mr Fortin and the houndoom from the dragon's point of view. All of these figures had an uncomfortable air to them, but the houndoom's was the worst. Clarisse heard an echo of his bark, saw a flash of his fire, felt a burning on a phantom tail and then --

Fire all around. Searing heat, roaring flames. What had once been a small but cozy living room had turned into a deathtrap. Melody screeched, screeched out for her trainer, but she wasn't there. Then, through the flames came a figure, a humanoid figure, and held up a ball. It wasn't her trainer, but it recalled her either way. The heat disappeared, but the fear stayed…

Clarisse had to sever the connection to gasp.

"Ms Thibault? Is everything alright?"

Clarisse took in the present again. The white-walled enclosure, the noivern in the corner, the houndoom in the middle, Mr Fortin next to him.

"...I'm alright," Clarisse said. "But…"

She thought about what she'd seen.

"Does your houndoom use fire attacks to, um, encourage Melody to behave?"

"Yes, Valeur specializes in fire. Why?"

"Well…" Clarisse cleared her throat. "It seems that Melody has a fear of fire. She was trapped in a house fire when she was young."

"Hmm." Mr Fortin eyed Melody, then Valeur.

"I would… strongly suggest that Valeur be kept away from Melody. His presence is highly stressful for her."

Mr Fortin turned his head to the hallway, the other guards and Mr Blanc standing behind the glass.

"We'll see what we can do," Mr Blanc said. He didn't sound very convincing.

Clarisse squeezed her hand. It's okay. It's not my fault. It's just how they run this place.

"Will you be ready to get to work soon?" Mr Blanc asked.

"Ah… well, sure," Clarisse said, sensing the man's impatience. "We could… bring out Kraken now." Hopefully Melody won't react too badly…

Mr Fortin nodded, dug out Kraken's ball from his satchel and released the malamar, at which the noivern growled quietly. Kraken took in the scene before turning to Clarisse.

"So, it is Hissy Miss first, eh?" he said, smirking.

"Do you have prior experience with her?" Clarisse asked, trying to ignore the disrespect.

"Not extensive. I have heard the guards talk about her. She is strong in body, but not so much in mind."

"Do you only ever care about how strong someone is?" Clarisse muttered.

"Does anything else matter?"

Clarisse wanted to argue, but this was not the time. "Regardless, can you help her?"

"Well, that depends. What is her malfunction?"

"Is there a particular angle you would like to work on with Melody?" Clarisse asked Mr Blanc.

"We would like to reduce her hostility to the staff and their pokémon," he replied.

"In that case, she will need to be provoked," Kraken said. "That houndoom already seems to be doing so simply by existing. He should get closer."

"Oh, but…" Clarisse began.

"But what?"

"Well, she's just quite afraid of him. Wouldn't it be better to start slow?" Or with someone Melody doesn't have a good reason to fear?

"On the contrary, Ms Thibault," said Mr Blanc. "We know Kraken's abilities are potent. He can surely keep her under control."

"It's… not the control I'm worried about, it's…"

"According to our theories, the stronger the mismatch between the natural response and the suggested response, the stronger the change is to the brain. Drastic situations, then, are preferred. Within safety, of course."

There was that cold pit in Clarisse's stomach again…

But what was it that she'd said to Quartz? In this society, one must sometimes do things that are wrong to survive? Something along those lines. Quartz had accepted it. She should too.

And, well, it was only good for Melody to change, right? If she could learn to be less afraid, she'd end up in less trouble, and eventually she could be released as well. That might not happen if Clarisse were to deny their demands at this moment.

She made her decision.

"Alright," she sighed. "Use the houndoom."

Mr Fortin looked at Valeur, who stared back. "Spook her."

Valeur's head snapped to Melody. He began creeping towards her with a low growl.

The noivern's mane bristled as if statically charged. Her slit pupils contracted and locked on to the approaching canine. She began to hiss, the noise crackling and popping like an old stereo.

"Kraken?" Clarisse asked, voice wavering. Oh, please be able to help her…

"On it."

The malamar grunted, and Melody briefly looked at him - but this was enough. Kraken's eyes widened and lit up alongside the lights on his body, which began flickering in seemingly random patterns. Clarisse averted her eyes so as not to get lightheaded herself and instead kept them pinned on Melody.

The dragon stopped hissing and closed her mouth. Her pupils dilated and the hairs of her mane fell. She readjusted herself to a less crouched position, her rate of breathing slowing down.

She looked to Valeur. The houndoom had stopped approaching, but continued to growl. Despite this, Melody's demeanor stayed calm.

The houndoom tilted his head, then barked. Melody flinched, but quickly relaxed again. Valeur looked back at Mr Fortin, who looked back at Mr Blanc.

"Very good," said Mr Blanc. "We'll do ten repetitions of this, and then we'll take a break."

Clarisse's eyes widened. Ten?

"Is there a problem, Ms Thibault?" the man asked slowly.

She opened her mouth. She stayed that way for a moment. "No," she finally said.

"Good. Now, have Kraken release her. And have him ready to hypnotize her again."

Clarisse took a deep albeit shaking breath in and let it out.

It's okay. It's for the better. Just do what they tell you to do, and everything will turn out fine.

"Alright, Kraken," she said. "You heard Mr Blanc."

---​

Releasing Melody had resulted in the noivern acting confused for about two seconds before remembering her situation and beginning to hiss again. Valeur had growled again to make her anxieties surge, and then Kraken had taken control again, calming Melody down.

This was repeated a few times before Clarisse noticed Kraken looking winded. Melody's calm state also seemed to waver, her appearing unnerved even under Kraken's control. And then, after the seventh time he'd hypnotized her, upon release, his eyes drooped and he collapsed, splatting against the ground. It was surprising enough for even Melody to briefly stop her hissing.

"Kraken?" Clarisse called. "Kraken!"

Mr Fortin recalled Kraken into his ball. "Let's take him to the healing console. Come."

The two humans and Valeur exited the enclosure and made their way through a few hallways to the console in question. Mr Fortin placed Kraken's ball in one of the niches and pressed a button. The screen on the front panel read 'Healing…' and the machine began to hum.

"Does this often happen with you psychics?" Mr Fortin asked.

"Only when we really strain ourselves," Clarisse replied. "I had no idea Kraken was putting that much into it…"

Melody's fear response must have been intense. Or Kraken isn't as strong as he thinks. Or both.

The machine then dinged, the hum ceasing and the screen reading 'Healing complete. Rest still required.'

"I suppose we'll have to stop for today," Mr Fortin said.

Clarisse felt a wave of relief come over her, though it brought with it a pang of guilt. Wish we could have stopped for something less than Kraken fainting.

She heard steps from where they'd come from and saw Mr Blanc arrive. Mr Fortin turned to the suited man as well.

"Says 'rest required'," Mr Fortin said.

Mr Blanc hummed, then looked to Clarisse. "We will stop for today, then. Let Kraken rest unbothered. You may go, Ms Thibault."

Clarisse nodded and took a few steps, but then stopped. A rude question had arisen…

"Yes, we will still pay you fully," Mr Blanc confirmed.

"Ah, alright."

"Mr Fortin will escort you out."

Mr Fortin recalled Valeur, then led Clarisse out of the facility.

"See you on Tuesday," Mr Fortin said before returning inside.

Right. Clarisse was doing this two times a week now. That was in the contract.

She made her way to her car and entered, but she couldn't quite make herself start it. Melody's hisses kept echoing in her mind.

It's… it's alright. We're helping her. And I don't have a choice, anyway.

Having repeated that enough times, she found the courage to stick in her key and twist it.

---​

 

[Starlight Aurate]

Hello there! I'm here for the Review Blitz Catnip! I'm reviewing parts 1 through 3.

I love exploring psychic abilities and what users of them can do! Though I admit when I saw she could levitate her umbrella, I wondered why she didn't just levitate all the rain droplets around her to prevent them from hitting her. My headcanon on psychic powers feels like that would be more difficult, since there are countless incoming droplets as opposed to one big item.

What a sticky situation Clarisse gets stuck in! I greatly sympathise with her specialising in a niche field and is then mostly unable to find a job and winds up compromising her values for a government job that is abusing Pokemon in everything but name. The whole "I need money to pay my bills" situation is similar to what I've written with my fic's protagonist, and it's something easily relatable that resonates with people deeply. And not only is Clarisse looking out for herself, but she's got to take care of Quartz, too!

So far, I like Clarisse. She doesn't have a very strong personality, and so far seems to be "generic girl with psychic powers who loves Pokemon and winds up compromising her values and works in a government job where she's tasked with manipulating Pokemon". And for this story, I think that works out all right. Sometimes, the loving, gentle types work well in stories, especially like this one where the situations they're caught up in are so much bigger than they themselves are, and they're just swept away by what the plot is doing.

As far as characters, I actually like Mr Bourbeau and Mr Fortin. You can tell they're men who are just doing their jobs, even though some of their duties--like accompanying Clarisse to Kraken's chamber with guns--actually hinders progress more than helps it. It is a bit chilling when Mr Bourbeau is suddenly replaced by Mr Blanc, who is clearly not just doing what he's told but seems to be one of the main people calling the shots in this story. I think he has his own psychic powers, judging from the number of times he was able to answer a question on Clarisse's mind before she worded it aloud. His unsmiling face and mostly expressionless voice are more than a little intimidating, and I certainly feel for Clarisse in this situation!

I do think it's a bit weird that Mr Blanc is always wearing a black suit. Is it a fancy suit, like a suit and tie? It fits his character, being a stony cold type who doesn't emote much, but I find it a bit out of place in the situation when the security guards are wearing uniforms and walking around in guns, and they're attending to (what they think are) psychotic Pokemon.

I also think you do a good job with setting the, well, setting for this piece. All of the characters have French names, and with the grey raininess, it certainly brings to mind either somewhere in central/northern France or Quebec. One of the parts that made me a bit sad was actually with Muffin, the Snubble! I think it's so sad when animals in real life are overfed and can hardly walk anymore, and seeing that translated to the Pokemon world was a bit of a gut-punch for me. I know that his owner was feeding him sweet kibble all the time because she thought it was a kindness, but it still tears me up to see the end result of too much unhealthy eating. I really hope that Clarisse's efforts for him to eat healthier and get rehabilitated end up working out!

Overall, I think this is a solid first half of the story you've got going on here. I'm definitely hooked with the plot itself, and I'm not so much intrigued by Clarisse as I am by the other characters. Does Mr Blanc have some sort of ulterior motive? And is there more to Kraken than meets the eye? I also feel so sad and sorry for all of the Pokemon in the rehabilitation centre, particularly after we learn what happened to Melody. Trauma really DOES have a way of messing with your head and turning even the most docile people/Pokemon into something violent or insane. Definitely looking forward to the next bits, and here's hoping that Clarisse can get herself out of this situation without causing more trauma and pain.

Lastly, there were a few (and I mean very few) typos that I noticed, or just parts where I think your prose could be cleaned up, which I've specified below.

She took a deep breath and let it out. She stepped underneath the roof's overhang and shook her umbrella as dry as she could before folding it and entering.

No need to include "and let it out." "She took a deep breath" already implies that.

But, then again, she supposed she wasn't here for them, so she shouldn't try to sightsee.

I suggest cutting "supposed."

Any reason why you don't include periods in "Ms" and Mr"? I've seen that done in some older English literature but I always thought it was just to save on ink.

"All of this can be - was - provided to you as long as you cooperate", she added.

Got the quotation marks and comma switched up.

Clarisse took a deep albeit shaking breath in and let it out.

Again, can be just shortened to "Clarisse took a shaky breath."

 

[canisaries]

Thank you so much for checking out all three parts up so far!

So far, I like Clarisse. She doesn't have a very strong personality, and so far seems to be "generic girl with psychic powers who loves Pokemon and winds up compromising her values and works in a government job where she's tasked with manipulating Pokemon". And for this story, I think that works out all right. Sometimes, the loving, gentle types work well in stories, especially like this one where the situations they're caught up in are so much bigger than they themselves are, and they're just swept away by what the plot is doing.

This kind of surprised me - if anything, I thought I'd hammered it in too much how scared she is of government types and how shy she has become around them when other people would act a lot more normal.

Any reason why you don't include periods in "Ms" and Mr"? I've seen that done in some older English literature but I always thought it was just to save on ink.

From the website of the University of Sussex:

Note carefully the use of full stops in these abbreviations. British usage favours omitting the full stop in abbreviations which include the first and last letters of a single word, such as Mr, Mrs, Ms, Dr and St; American usage prefers (A) Mr., Mrs., Ms., Dr. and St., with full stops. Most other abbreviated titles, however, require a full stop, as shown above.

I'm not British myself, but this is how I've come to write them, and it would feel odd to diverge from it now. It is true that the site also mentions that French does use periods (albeit also different abbreviations), but I don't really care to commit to the French aesthetics of the story that deeply.

Got the quotation marks and comma switched up.

Whoops, good catch. Will patch that out.

Thanks again for the review! Glad you've enjoyed the story so far, and I hope you'll enjoy the rest when it goes up.

 

[canisaries]

Hey all. Time for Part Four. We're two thirds of the way through.

Content warning for more Pokémon cruelty and discussion of questionable parenting.

---

Part Four

---​

After four uneasy days, Tuesday came. Clarisse showed up at the Fourrage Pokémon Rehabilitation Facility and was taken to Melody's enclosure with Kraken, Mr Fortin and Valeur. Kraken didn't look very pleased, but he did look… determined. Clarisse hoped she could have a talk with him later. She was still his counselor - the contract had said as much, too.

The noivern, on the other hand, was even less pleased, hissing again as they arrived. Clarisse was briefly under the impression that she wasn't among the subjects of Melody's ire, but after making eye contact with the dragon, it was clear she was no exception.

She must have realized I was just as involved with what happened to her as the others, Clarisse thought. I'm sorry, Melody… but this is for your own good. I think.

As they repeated the loop of agitation and hypnotic calming, Clarisse kept a close eye on Kraken… or as close an eye as she could without looking at his blinking lights. It did pay off as she was the first to notice the signs of his exhaustion at the fourth hypnosis - heavier breath, bowing posture, erratic blinking. She waited until Melody was released to speak up.

"Kraken, are you alright?" She asked. "Do you need a break?"

Kraken huffed. "Breaks are for weaklings. I can handle this," he said, though his telepathic voice wavered in volume.

"We don't want you to overexert yourself again."

"I can do it!" Kraken snapped. "I'll do all ten repetitions!"

Clarisse looked to Mr Blanc pleadingly. Kraken probably wouldn't stop for anything less than a direct command.

"If you believe the malamar is close to his limits, it's better for us to stop here," Mr Blanc thankfully said. "Thank you, Kraken, that would be all."

Kraken gave Mr Blanc a frustrated glare, but then stood up straight and closed his eyes. "Fine. If you insist."

Mr Fortin recalled Kraken. The group then exited Melody's enclosure and made their way to Kraken's, where he was released again. His first action was to take a deep sigh.

"You may continue your counseling here," Mr Blanc said. "I am needed elsewhere."

As Mr Blanc left, Kraken levitated himself into the corner and slumped down. He gazed at Clarisse with tired eyes.

"And what will we be doing for this remaining time?" he asked. "Will you jeer at me?"

"Jeer?" Clarisse repeated, tilting her head. "What for?"

"Oh, you know what for. The Great Kraken was unable to do what was asked of him. He is, therefore, fallible, and his faults must be criticized."

"I would never jeer at someone for failing a task," Clarisse said, "let alone a task as difficult as this." She paused. "Have other people jeered at you for your shortcomings?"

Kraken narrowed his eyes. "Do not do that. Do not try to be my therapist."

"Being your therapist is kind of my job."

Kraken sighed. "Fine. I just believe that if one is to call themselves strong, they should also be strong. Otherwise, they may as well deserve mockery."

"Can you elaborate?"

"Is it not common sense?"

"Perhaps it isn't, Kraken. Explain it to me."

Kraken groaned. "Well, one should represent themselves accurately, no? They should not put themselves in a position that draws criticism. Sensible criticism, of course, not just complaints of unfairness from weaklings."

"What's so bad about earning criticism?"

"It means one is ignorant, does it not? Proud when they have nothing to be proud of? It is embarrassing."

"Nothing to be proud of?" Clarisse pointed out. "Do you believe one mistake invalidates all other achievements?"

"To misjudge one's strength is a grave mistake. In the wild, it could cost one their life."

"But you aren't a wild pokémon, Kraken. You're trained. You live among humans and our society."

"I do not want to."

"Would you like to live in the wilderness, then?"

"Yes!" Kraken said, a bit too quickly.

"Really?" Clarisse said. "You want to live every day in fear of sharpedo and gyarados?"

"I am stronger than them," Kraken muttered.

"Are you sure? Would you bet your life on that?"

Kraken looked away, saying nothing.

"I think you do want to live in society," Clarisse said. "Maybe you don't like the part where you have to adhere to laws, but you certainly like the shelter and the food. Well, Kraken, that's the tradeoff. You have to compromise."

The malamar stayed quiet for a while. "It did not work out for me," he then said. "My trainer…"

Clarisse made sure to listen carefully. "Yes?"

Kraken looked to the side. Clarisse followed his gaze to Mr Fortin and Valeur. She'd somewhat forgotten they were there.

"Well, they can't hear what you tell me," Clarisse said.

Kraken frowned. "Hmm." He then closed his eyes. "Very well. Then I can tell you that my trainer threw me out."

"What for?" Clarisse asked.

Kraken thought for a bit, then proudly raised his head. "I was simply too strong."

Clarisse concealed a sigh. "Well, how so? Did you control someone you shouldn't have?"

"Oh, no," Kraken said. "I controlled exactly the individuals I needed to - in battle. And I won. Constantly. I suppose she just got sick of that."

"Kraken, come on."

The malamar grimaced. "Fine. She said I was too proud."

"Really?" Clarisse deadpanned.

"I am proud because I have reason to be. I am strong."

"That's not what you implied at the start of the conversation."

Kraken threw a stinkeye Clarisse's way, but had no retort.

"Can I ask why strength is so important to you?" Clarisse asked. "I know it's necessary in the wild, but we've already established that's not where you are. Now, anyway. Did you grow up in the wild?"

Kraken shook his head. "No, I was born to a trained mon."

"Well, where did this obsession with strength come from, then?"

"Is it an obsession? Is it not understandable to crave control?"

"Control," Clarisse repeated. "Is that what it's all about?"

"What else use is there for power? It is ultimately a tool for getting the things one wants."

"Were you denied the things you wanted growing up?"

Kraken's eyes widened. "I…" He quieted in thought. "Well, I suppose I was disciplined."

"Disciplined?"

"If I failed to perform, then yes, I was denied the things I wanted."

"By whom?"

"My mother."

His mother… of course, it always came back to one's parents. "What did she ask of you? How did she want you to 'perform'?"

"In battle, of course. She was a great battler herself and wanted her offspring to do no worse."

"What happened if you did do worse?"

"Well, no dinner. Or no toys. Or, for the smaller infractions, she would simply express her disapproval verbally."

"So it was your mother who first criticized you."

"Should she never have done so? Should she have simply let me grow askew?"

"I think she could have raised you more gently."

"To be gentle is to be weak. The strong show their strength."

"Did she tell you that?"

Kraken narrowed his eyes. "Yes, as a matter of fact, she did."

"Hmm." Clarisse found herself wishing she'd brought a notebook along.

"Well, how about you, then?" Kraken asked. "What was your perfect family like?"

"I grew up in an orphanage with my little brother, who's dead now."

She spoke before she remembered it wasn't wise for a counselor to make things personal. Damn. He just had to touch that nerve.

Kraken blinked. "Oh."

"Sorry," she said. "Let's not talk about me. We're here for your sake."

"Well, do we have much more to talk about?" Kraken asked. "Was it not your job to get me to listen to the staff? I am doing that now. I am doing it because it currently suits me, but I am doing it nonetheless."

"I'm not here just to get paid, you know," Clarisse said, crossing her arms. "I'd rather see you cooperate for good."

"Cooperate? Like you do?"

Clarisse flinched. "I told you, let's not talk about me."

"I think it is relevant. You do not want to cooperate, but I can tell it is something you force yourself to do. And you want me to do the same. Why?"

She sighed. "I've told you, it's just part of how society works."

"I think there is more to it. I think you are afraid."

"What, are you jeering at me now?"

"I can refrain from jeering if that is what you want. Still, I believe you should stand your ground."

Clarisse's lips tightened. She glanced at Mr Fortin. "You don't understand what you're suggesting." Despite her attempts to be inconspicuous, this earned a brow-raise from Mr Fortin.

"I know you must have some kind of incentive to keep coming here despite your fear," Kraken said. "Must be money."

Clarisse forced herself to stay cool. "Do you want to be left alone?" she asked. "Do you want to have no counselor at all? Because that means a much slimmer chance of you ever getting out."

That, finally, seemed to get through to Kraken. He naturally hid it as soon as he could. "It is still pitiful how you grovel before the suits," he muttered.

"Thought you were going to refrain from jeering."

"I said I could. I did not say I would."

Clarisse rolled her eyes, but said nothing. Kraken also said nothing. Silence reigned for half a minute.

"Do you have that sableye with you?" Kraken suddenly asked.

"Quartz? Yes, he's in my bag."

"I could be… amused by seeing him."

Clarisse dug out Quartz's ball and released him. The sableye looked at Kraken, then at Clarisse.

'Battle?' he chirped.

"No, Kraken needs to rest for now," Clarisse said. "He worked a bit too hard and needs to take it easy to recover."

'Hm.' Quartz eyed Kraken. 'You are upset.'

Kraken groaned something.

Quartz nodded. 'Yes, I am observant.'

The malamar sighed, then glanced at Clarisse. He groaned something more to Quartz - it was longer this time, and it sounded like a question.

'I obey my trainer because we are friends and the things she asks of me are things I want to do or do not mind doing,' Quartz replied.

Another groaned question.

Quartz brought a claw to his chin and tapped it. He looked at his trainer briefly. 'Possibly. I do owe her greatly for taking care of me.'

Another.

'I would question it. And I am sure she would listen. She does listen to me. She is a good trainer.'

Yet another.

'She would not. It is not in her nature.'

"What's he talking about?" Clarisse asked.

Quartz looked up at her. 'He wants to know what I would do if you told me to do something I really did not want to do, and you would not listen to my protests.'

"Well, I wouldn't do that."

'That is what I told him.'

Clarisse turned to Kraken. "Are you getting at something with those questions?"

"I wanted to find out how strong your bond was. And if he was a fool."

Clarisse placed her hands on her hips. "Well, what's your conclusion?"

"Your bond seems strong, at least on the surface. And whether Quartz is a fool depends on whether you are worthy of his trust."

"What do you think, then? Am I?"

"I think you are, currently," Kraken said. "But what would happen if the suits told you to betray him?"

Clarisse froze. She'd never happened to ponder a thought experiment like that. She didn't know the answer. That was troubling.

"I would stick with Quartz, of course," she said anyway.

"I need not read your mind to know you are lying."

"I'm not," Clarisse said, her hands closing into fists.

"Well, live your delusion, then. It is hardly my problem."

'What did he say?' Quartz asked.

"A silly question," Clarisse said quickly. "I'd rather not say."

'Hm. Alright, then.'

Clarisse drew back her sleeve to check her watch. Still plenty of time to go. She supposed she could try to fill that time with discussion more mundane.

"So… how have you been otherwise?" she asked. "We didn't have a chance to catch up last Friday."

Kraken grunted. "Well, not much has happened. I am still in this empty room with nothing to stimulate me but the occasional meal and my own mind."

Clarisse frowned. "That really is quite rough…" She turned to Mr Fortin. "Was Kraken really so violent that all of his enrichment had to be taken away?"

"He was quite adamant about throwing everything back at the guards," Mr Fortin replied.

"I was frustrated and bored. You would have done the same," Kraken remarked.

Clarisse ignored this. "If Kraken promised to behave, could you get him something to help pass the time with again? Maybe something like a jigsaw puzzle, or a deck of cards?"

Mr Fortin scratched his beard. "It would have to go through Mr Blanc."

"Please do ask him," Clarisse said. "A properly enriched mon is less aggressive and more likely to cooperate."

"I'll see what I can do."

Clarisse couldn't tell one way or another if Mr Fortin intended to keep his promise.

She turned back to Kraken. "You mentioned your own mind," she said. "Do you daydream? Meditate?"

"Both," he said. "I have a routine of sorts, really. Thirty minutes of meditation, thirty minutes of aimless thought. I am quite fond of imagining myself as the monarch of an underwater kingdom…"

---​

Clarisse glanced at the upper right corner of her phone screen. 1:02 AM. She should already be asleep.

She sighed through her nose and sat up momentarily to set her alarm for tomorrow and plug her phone into the charger. She then lay back down on her bed in the darkness, covering herself with her duvet.

Her room was quiet save for the occasional car passing by her apartment building. But while her room was quiet, the same could not be said of the inside of her head.

Would I really be able to stand up for Quartz if it came down to that? she asked herself yet again. Or anyone else I needed to stand up for, for that matter? I guess I've already failed to stand up for Melody…

The cold pit made a triumphant comeback, and she grasped her pillow.

Should I say something? Demand that they stop using Valeur to agitate Melody?

The outcome she expected played out in front of her mind's eye - being denied. Maybe even snapped at. Maybe threatened. Maybe a gun would be pulled. No, that seemed extreme. But…

Well, what was 'but' about it? Would she really allow them to continue tormenting Melody like that? Just because she was… scared? Scared of what, realistically? What would they actually do?

Even as Clarisse acknowledged this, the idea of being on the receiving end of even the slightest bit of hostility… petrified her.

She wished she could have been braver. Then again, César had been brave. So… yeah.

Oh, whatever. She should just get to sleep already. She had two whole days she could spend worrying about this before the next facility visit, anyway.

She burrowed deeper underneath the duvet and closed her eyes.

---​

 

[canisaries]

Hey all, here's the fifth and penultimate part of the story as scheduled.

Content warning for gun violence, character death in flashback, police brutality and ambiguous Pokémon death. Enjoy!

---

Part Five

---​

Like before, Mr Fortin was waiting for Clarisse once she arrived at the facility. He greeted her in a neutral tone and began escorting her through the hallways.

Okay, thought Clarisse to herself. Once we arrive at Melody's enclosure and Mr Fortin is about to release Valeur, I need to put my foot down and say we can't use him to spook Melody anymore. It's the least I can do without screwing myself over financially…

She would have kept ruminating on this, but noises of some kind of commotion further into the building stole her attention. Some pokémon was hissing and trilling while another pokémon was growling and a man was shouting something about behaving. Clarisse contemplated asking about this, but it seemed like they were heading in that direction anyway, and soon enough she saw what was going on.

A scyther, baring its fangs and brandishing its scythes, stood in the corner of an enclosure that had been empty before. A mightyena, also in the enclosure, snarled at it while a guard stood beside it, holding his forearm. Another guard stood outside, seemingly considering entering.

"What's going on here?" Mr Fortin asked the guards.

"Piece of shit nicked my arm," the guard inside the enclosure said.

"Are you bleeding?"

The guard uncovered his arm and checked the wound. "Not badly," he said.

"Do you have this under control, then?"

"Yes, sir," both guards said. "Just need to teach this girl that this shit won't fly," added the wounded guard.

Mr Fortin nodded and continued on his way. Clarisse realized she should follow and quickly caught up, though her thoughts lingered on the scyther.

"You may get to help rehabilitate her, you know," Mr Fortin suddenly said.

"Hm?"

"That scyther. Her name's Faucille. She might work well as your next subject."

Clarisse had assumed they wouldn't be stopping with Melody, but the notion still twisted her gut. "R-right."

Soon after, they arrived at Melody's enclosure. Mr Fortin was handed Kraken's ball by another guard that was present, and Mr Fortin escorted Clarisse into the enclosure, where Melody had pressed herself against the corner again. Clarisse reminded herself what she needed to do and waited for the moment Mr Fortin would bring out his houndoom - though it looked like it would take some time, since Mr Blanc was absent and the other guard expressed that he would like for them to wait for him.

Some minutes passed, and Clarisse grew tired of doing nothing but staying on edge.

"Mr Fortin?" she spoke up. "Would it be alright for you to release Kraken? I'm sure he'd prefer to be out."

Mr Fortin hummed. "Well, I don't see why not." He dug Kraken's ball out of his satchel and let the malamar out. Kraken looked around and found Clarisse.

"Afternoon," he said.

"Afternoon," Clarisse replied. How strangely polite for him…

Before Clarisse could decide whether to ask about this, though, Mr Blanc arrived.

"My sincerest apologies for my tardiness," Mr Blanc said. "You may begin now."

Mr Fortin nodded and stuck his hand in his satchel. Clarisse's pulse quickened. This was the moment. This was the moment to stand up. She needed to do this. She needed to. She would.

She opened her mouth --

A cacophony exploded from down the hall, from where they'd come earlier. Barking, shouting, hissing -- the scyther from before?

Mr Blanc looked at the nameless guard, who nodded and rushed towards the noise. The suited man then turned to Mr Fortin. "Ignore that. It's under control," he said.

"Alright." Mr Fortin pulled out Valeur's ball.

Clarisse gathered up all of her courage - or, more accurately, guilt - and spoke.

"Actually, I really think we should not --"

A bang cut her off, followed by a screech which quickly died out.

A bang.

A gunshot.

A gunshot, a gunshot, a gunshot. A gun was fired, someone was shot, or something, she didn't know, but --

"Mr Blanc?" Mr Fortin asked.

"Stay," Mr Blanc said. "Monitor the noivern. I'll go."

Clarisse glanced at Melody, who had made herself smaller than ever before, pupils like needles. She then looked at Kraken, who also seemed perturbed, though less so.

Mr Blanc left for the scene of the struggle, and Clarisse was made to wait in wordless silence - a silence wonderful for panicked reflection.

That scyther… she stopped making noises…

Her heart seemed to beat louder and louder with each pulse, as if it was trying to escape her body. The contents of her stomach certainly threatened to.

After a while all too long, Mr Blanc returned, and so did that nameless guard.

"What happened?" Mr Fortin asked.

Mr Blanc held a stare at Clarisse before responding. "Altercation. It has been resolved now."

"...Hmm."

"You may continue."

Mr Fortin looked at Valeur's ball. Clarisse remembered what she needed to do.

But she could not. She simply couldn't.

The bearded guard made eye contact. Clarisse looked elsewhere, grasping her hands. Please don't say anything. Please don't say anything.

"Is everything alright?" Mr Fortin asked.

Clarisse swallowed. "It's… it's fine."

Mr Fortin paused. "Actually, were you about to say something befo-"

"No." Clarisse shook her head. "No, nothing. Forget it."

In avoiding Mr Fortin's gaze, Clarisse met Kraken's. He did not wear his usual sullen expression, but beyond that, Clarisse couldn't place what it was.

"Let's begin, then," Mr Fortin said. He released Valeur, and Melody yipped.

Tears threatened to emerge in Clarisse's eyes, but she bravely held them back. Or perhaps 'brave' wasn't the right descriptor. It might have been the very opposite.

---​

"...So."

Clarisse glanced at Kraken before returning her defeated gaze to the floor.

"Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," she said.

"You do not seem fine. That gunshot clearly bothered you."

"It didn't bother you?" Clarisse muttered.

"Scyther can be quite dangerous. She no doubt attacked them with real intent to injure or even kill. I would not be stupid enough to do that." Kraken's tone was haughty, but Clarisse spotted a waver. Good. Kraken wasn't entirely heartless.

Clarisse sighed. How was she supposed to have a normal session now?

"Have you… heard a gun go off before?" Kraken asked.

"No," Clarisse said, shaking her head. "Not outside movies, I mean."

"It still seemed… personal to you, somehow."

Clarisse clenched her jaw. "I don't want to talk about it."

"Is it because Beardo is here?"

She glanced at Mr Fortin, who stood beside them, motionless and expressionless.

"Perhaps," she dared to say.

"Would it be better if he could not hear us?"

"Sure," Clarisse said, "but is there a way?"

"You could let me read your mind."

…Right. That was actually a possibility.

Clarisse raised her head and looked at Kraken. He didn't look malicious - he looked tender if anything. And Clarisse knew that she had the ability to push Kraken out of her mind at any time.

But did she still want to reveal something so painful to a morally gray squid?

She supposed it could help him understand why it was important to behave…

"I promise not to jeer," Kraken said. "And… I promise to keep cooperating if you tell me."

"...Really?"

"Well, for the rest of the time we spend together, at least. So you will still get paid."

Clarisse had a feeling Kraken may have been planning on doing so anyway. It did make him more convincing, though.

She took in a breath and let it out. "Alright," she said. "You can read my mind."

Kraken nodded. "Ready when you are."

Clarisse closed her eyes and weakened her psychic defenses. Once a presence brushed up against her mind, she thought of what he needed to show.

Pouring rain outside. Studying in her apartment for her ethics course. The doorbell ringing. Her thinking she wasn't expecting company. Her wondering if it was another scammer. Going to the door. Peering through the peephole. Seeing two men in blue uniforms. Her stomach turning. Thinking César must have been caught doing something bad. That it was an inevitable consequence of him hanging out with those lowlives.

Her opening the door and greeting them. Them greeting her, her noticing they seemed uneasy. Them making sure she was one Clarisse Thibault, the sister of César Thibault. Her asking what had happened.

The officers taking off their hats, and her realizing what it meant.

The words that made it real.

"We're sorry to say that your brother was killed in a confrontation with the police."

"What?" she remembered saying. A long pause had followed, spent wrestling with whether to accept this or to continue denying it. She had decided more information was needed. "How?"

"He was about to attack an officer. He was then shot in self-defense."

César would have never done that.

Through the shock, anger had peeked out.

"What do you mean, 'about to attack'?"

The officer had shifted his weight. "He was about to use a telekinetic attack."

"Did you see it?" Clarisse had asked slowly.

"I was not at the scene, ma'am."

"Did the officers who were at the scene see it?"

"They determined that their use of lethal force was necessary."

"I didn't ask that," Clarisse had said. "I asked --"

She had then quieted.

She had realized that those officers, too, carried guns.

That they, too, could have claimed she was about to attack them.

That they, too, could have put her down.

And there wouldn't even have been anyone left for them to apologize to.

The terror that came after that…

It was simply too much to revisit.

Clarisse gasped and opened her eyes. Her psychic defenses reflexively reinforced, Kraken's presence was pushed out, and the malamar opened his eyes as well. His expression was surprised, but it soon morphed into a pensive one.

"They misused their power," Kraken said.

Clarisse grasped her arms. "You could say that."

"I… understand now why you had the reaction you had. And many of the other ones."

Clarisse nodded. "Mm-hm."

Kraken paused. "I am… sorry that happened to you. To your brother."

"Thanks," Clarisse said quietly.

There was an extended silence.

"Oh!" Kraken then said. "I forgot to thank you."

Clarisse raised her head and tilted it. "Thank me?"

Kraken gestured to her right with his tentacle. Clarisse looked and spotted the completed jigsaw puzzle on the ground. She'd noticed it before as they'd entered the enclosure but completely forgotten about it until now.

"Oh," Clarisse said. "Well, I'm glad they gave you that. Has it proven entertaining?"

"Well, it is, of course, all too easy for me. I have already solved it many times over," said Kraken. "But… yes. I have finally been able to do something new and novel. Outside our sessions, I mean."

Clarisse smiled for what seemed like the first time in ages. "I'm glad."

Kraken floated a bit closer to the puzzle. "Would you, er…" he began, nodding his head towards it. "Would you like to give it a try?"

Clarisse blinked. "Um… I'd like to, certainly, but I think we should have our session. I've already taken up enough time with my own problems."

"Please, I insist," Kraken said. "Surely we can speak while you are solving?"

Clarisse hummed. "Alright," she ultimately said. She got down on her knees before the puzzle. It was an illustration of diverse life under the sea, though she did not get to look at it for long before Kraken telekinetically shuffled the pieces.

"You can still see the completed picture… here," Kraken said, floating the box the puzzle had come in next to Clarisse.

"Ah. Thanks."

She began looking for the edge pieces and moved each one to their own pile once she found them.

"So…" she began. "What would you like to talk about today?"

---​

Clarisse drove home in silence. She would have loved to let Quartz out of his ball and chat with him on the way, but keeping pokémon out of their balls in a vehicle was dangerous, not to mention illegal.

As soon as she entered her apartment, though, she dug out Quartz's ball and released him. The sableye turned to her and chittered immediately. 'Is everything okay? What was that loud bang about?'

He'd heard it, then. Clarisse felt rotten that Quartz had had to spend all that time in his ball with no further information, but she'd been preoccupied with other matters during the session.

Clarisse sighed. "Let's talk on the couch."

Quartz nodded and skittered to the couch, hopping up on one pillow and sitting down while Clarisse went to sit down on another. She placed her elbows on her knees and her hands before her mouth.

'Did someone… get hurt?' Quartz asked.

"Probably," Clarisse said. "No one we know, but… some new scyther at the facility was causing a commotion, and then later… a gunshot. They didn't tell me if she was alright. Just that the situation… had been resolved."

Quartz whined.

"Yeah, it was… it was a shock. But, well, maybe… maybe it was necessary. Maybe the scyther really was dangerous."

'...Maybe.'

Quartz scratched at the couch with a claw. It had plenty of marks from him doing this, but Clarisse didn't mind. Most people with a pokémon partner knew not to expect furniture to stay pristine.

'How did the rest of the visit go?' Quartz asked. 'Did you… tell them not to use the dog anymore? Or…'

Clarisse's throat tightened. "No. I was… I was too scared. I just couldn't. Not after that gunshot."

Quartz looked down at his hands. 'Mm.' He sniffed. 'I understand. But, Clear One, you will have to say something at some point. Maybe not with these drones, but other ones. You cannot let them bully you.'

Clarisse wrung her hands. "I… I want to be brave, but I just can't. I can't risk ending up like César."

Quartz sighed and leaned against the back of the couch. After a pause, he spoke up again. 'You know that I will protect you as best as I can, right?'

Clarisse looked over to Quartz's crystalline eyes. A small smile rose to her lips. "Yes, Quartz. Thank you." She frowned again. "But fast as you are, I don't think you're faster than a bullet."

'Surely they will not draw their weapons so lightly. You have done nothing wrong.'

"Maybe they'll end up deciding that I haven't done enough wrong," Clarisse muttered.

'Hmm.' Quartz said nothing else.

After a few minutes of silence, Clarisse sat up straight. "I think it's time we ate."

She got up and Quartz jumped off. Both made their way to the kitchen, where Clarisse once again poured Quartz his gravel and then microwaved some creamy vegetable soup. She felt like she needed one of her favorite foods right about now.

She sat down and gathered a spoonful.

Her thoughts strayed back to the gunshot…

…and there went her appetite.

---​

 

[canisaries]

Well, it's finally here. The final part of Kraken's Grasp. If you're on the Discord, you may have heard me voice my difficulties and grievances with the ending, and indeed, I am still unsatisfied with it. I'll talk a bit more about it under a spoiler after the chapter.

Content warning for Pokémon cruelty, discussed mind control and gun violence. Enjoy.

---

Part Six

---​

Several weeks passed. Clarisse's contractual employment with the facility continued, and so did the sessions with Melody and Kraken. A gradual change could be witnessed in both of the mon's behavior.

Kraken underwent a positive change, coming to address Clarisse more politely and share many more anecdotes from his childhood and his past in general. With those, Clarisse became quite certain of the hypothesis that Kraken's twisted relationship with strength and power was the fault of his mother, and this allowed her to challenge these beliefs in more tailored ways. While Kraken still never fully rejected what he'd been taught, he seemed to at least consider alternative ways of thinking.

As for Melody… well.

Melody certainly began to exhibit less and less hostility towards Valeur. She did not appear more comfortable near him, however, as she still crept into a corner and shrank into herself whenever the houndoom was sent out. She appeared… defeated, not cured. Depressed, even.

Mr Blanc, however, did consider this a success. Clarisse wanted to tell him that this change in behavior did not seem like it had anything to do with Kraken's hypnosis, but Mr Blanc had his guards and the guards had their guns.

One Friday, on her way to the facility, Clarisse pondered what would happen now that they seemed to be content with Melody's state. More mon to brainwash? Probably. Clarisse could only hope these mon wouldn't have such an intense fear of fire. Though it was possible Mr Blanc would try to find something else that was as terrifying in order to replicate the variables they'd had with Melody as best as he could.

I'm a horrible, horrible person for allowing this to go on, thought Clarisse, but she already knew she would never be able to challenge the staff again.

She arrived at the parking lot, left her car there and entered the facility as usual. Mr Fortin was there waiting for her, and he led her deeper into the building.

When they got to Melody's enclosure, though, Mr Fortin kept walking. Clarisse found this odd, but as she didn't want to cause any trouble, she followed the guard. They eventually arrived before a metal door much like the one that led to the isolation ward, but this one had not been preceded by any sign.

Mr Fortin unlocked the door with his key card, and the two entered. At first glance, this section of the ward did not look that much different from the rest of it, but it was smaller - Clarisse counted only four enclosures, two on both sides, and a door that seemed like a supply closet at the end of the stub of a hallway. Mr Blanc was waiting before the back left enclosure. He nodded as he saw Clarisse.

"Afternoon, Mr Thibault," he said as Mr Fortin led Clarisse closer to the black-suited man. "I don't recall if I gave my thanks for the successful reconditioning of the noivern. Regardless, you have them."

"Well, you're welcome," Clarisse said quietly, glancing around at the enclosures. These first two were empty, but she couldn't say for sure for the others yet.

"It is due to that success that I have enough confidence in you to assign you another subject," Mr Blanc continued. "Though I should mention that your goals this time will be slightly different…"

As Mr Blanc finished speaking, Clarisse arrived beside him and could see the other two enclosures fully. The one on the right was empty, but this one on the left…

A short, yellow, humanoid mon with an unmistakable nose sat in the far right corner, hugging its knees and grasping something in its hand - probably a pendulum. A hypno. It noticed Clarisse and looked at her with the most miserable eyes.

"Different… how?" Clarisse asked as she recalled what Mr Blanc had just said. The whine of a badly oiled hinge then caught her attention, and she looked over to see Mr Fortin produce three psychic insulators from a box on the wall. Three?

"Let us enter first so I may instruct you and Kraken at the same time," Mr Blanc said, grabbing two insulators once Mr Fortin arrived and handing one of them to Clarisse. "Please, put this on. This hypno's hypnotic powers may be too potent for even you to resist."

Clarisse obeyed, looping the chain of the amulet around her neck. "This… this does mean I won't be able to hear what Kraken wants to tell me," she pointed out.

"We're aware. However, we place a lot of faith in your abilities of persuasion nonetheless," Mr Blanc replied.

The three of them made their way into the enclosure through the antechamber, and Mr Fortin promptly released Kraken and Valeur. The malamar glanced at the hypno, confused though intrigued, while the houndoom's gaze was much sharper. The hypno tried to back away further, but it had already pressed itself against the corner as tightly as it could. Clarisse squeezed her hand.

"Alright, listen well," said Mr Blanc, stepping forward and gesturing at the hypno. "This is Somnee. As mentioned, he is a very powerful hypnotist, and his other psychic abilities are nothing to scoff at, either."

Kraken hummed, turning to Clarisse. It seemed like he wanted to say something, but then noticed the amulet around Clarisse's neck. He humphed.

"My associates would very much like to have such a skilled psychic at their service," Mr Blanc continued. "However, Somnee does not seem to understand the mutual benefit this agreement would bring."

Clarisse wasn't sure if she'd heard right.

"So, you…" She cleared her throat, which had become quite dry in quite a short amount of time. "You want me -- you want Kraken to convince him to join you? Your associates, I mean?"

Mr Blanc nodded. "Very quick, Ms Thibault. Yes, this is what my associates would like."

Clarisse's pulse quickened. This… this was their plan all along, wasn't it?

Kraken groaned something elaborate. It sounded like a question.

"What did he say?" Mr Blanc asked Mr Fortin.

Mr Fortin gave Valeur a look, and the houndoom relayed the message with growls and soft woofs. "He asked how he's supposed to control a psychic so powerful and not get controlled himself," Mr Fortin said.

"A fine question," Mr Blanc said. "But you needn't worry, Kraken. We have access to a substance that, when administered, temporarily albeit significantly hinders a pokémon's psychic abilities. It does not work for human psychics, however, and that is why there is still need for powerful hypnotists like Somnee here."

They… they drugged him, thought Clarisse.

"Please do not think us unreasonable, Ms Thibault," Mr Blanc added. "This is all for the sake of national security. You love your country, do you not?"

"I --"

"I thought as much, Ms Thibault," Mr Blanc continued, his stare like ice. "And since you love your country, as all of us do, you will do as I say, won't you?"

Clarisse thought it deplorable to agree with this man, yet she was left no choice.

Defeated, she opened her mouth --

Kraken, all of a sudden, flashed his lights twice. It caught Clarisse's attention, and she looked to Kraken's eyes for an answer for his behavior.

His gaze stopped her.

The malamar stood tall, beak held high, yet it did not strike Clarisse as a display meant to imply his superiority. Instead, it was as if he was saying…

'You have power.'

Power…

The power. The power to refuse.

To refuse was not to hunt and slay a dragon. To refuse was to speak a single word.

She could speak a single word, right?

Just a single little word?

Clarisse looked back at Mr Blanc, who still stared at her expectantly. Her tongue felt paralyzed, but she knew this was just an illusion.

So, she spoke anyway.

"No."

Mr Blanc blinked. For the very first time, Clarisse saw true confusion on his face.

He wiped it off as soon as he could realize it, though "Ms Thibault…" he began slowly, his voice dark.

Despite this, Clarisse realized she had the strength to push further.

"No," she repeated. "I refuse."

Mr Blanc's jaw tightened. He stayed silent. That silence, to Clarisse, was golden. It was a victory even if he hadn't yet yielded. Because after this, he would, right? He'd simply realize she wasn't budging, and he'd fire her, but that'd be the end of it. That'd finally be the end of it. Clarisse would finally be fr-

"Mr Fortin," Mr Blanc said. "Shoot her."

Mr Fortin grabbed the gun off his belt and aimed at Clarisse.

"Wait!" she shouted, raising her hands --

A bang. A flash of pink. An impact against her forearms, shoving her onto the ground, all in less than a second.

A roar. Black and crimson light. A thud, a grunt, a bark, another dark flash and a thud. Another bark -- but it died.

Clarisse, unsure why she wasn't hurting nearly as badly as she should be, sat up.

A gun, cloaked in pink, floated in midair between Kraken and Mr Blanc, pointed at the latter's head. Mr Fortin and Valeur had frozen in place, and Somnee had covered his ears.

Kraken groaned something. Clarisse took a moment to realize it was directed at her, and another moment to realize that she needed to remove her amulet.

She grabbed it and yanked it off herself. "Kraken?" she shouted.

"Are you okay?" Kraken asked through his telepathy.

Clarisse looked at her chest, her hands, her arms. No blood, no bullet hole. She then noticed a piece of crumpled metal on the floor, and put two and two together.

"I'm okay," she said. "I guess… I guess I blocked that by reflex."

Kraken humphed with a smirk. "I told you you had power."

Clarisse scrambled up and assessed the situation. "We've got to get out of here."

"You need not tell me twice," Kraken muttered. "Command the black suit. He will command the others."

Clarisse nodded, swallowing. "Okay, uh, Mr Blanc?" she began. Mr Blanc answered this with furious eyes, but did not protest further. "We -- we're going to leave now. But! We will leave with the hypno." She paused. "And we will leave with Melody."

"Finally, you are using your power as you should!" Kraken laughed.

"Yeah. So, Mr Blanc -- no, just Blanc, you will grab your transceiver and tell them to bring Melody to you. And then you will tell Mr Fortin -- just Fortin to recall his houndoom, give me Kraken's ball and let us out of this enclosure and this… weird small section of the building."

"You are making a big mistake," Blanc growled.

Kraken cleared his throat and brandished his gun. Blanc grit his teeth and grabbed his transceiver.

"Units with Melody, recall her at once and bring her ball to me. I will be waiting in front of the maximum security ward."

"That's a good boy," Kraken said.

Clarisse nodded. "Okay. Now, let's move."

"Mr Fortin," Blanc called.

The bearded guard did not look happy as he recalled Valeur, handed over Kraken's ball and let the group out of the enclosure, Somnee included, who seemed to understand the situation well enough to know it was best for him to go with Clarisse. They proceeded out of the maximum security ward as well and waited in front of the door until two guards appeared in the hallway. They reached for their guns on instinct, but a sharp shout from Kraken made them notice his gun, and they raised their hands.

"Tell them to place their guns on the floor and kick them away," Kraken instructed Clarisse, and Clarisse barked out the order. The guards obeyed.

"Do you have Melody?" Clarisse shouted.

"Y-yes," shouted one of the guards. "She's in my satchel."

"Dig her out slowly."

The guards stared at Blanc.

"Do as she says," Blanc shouted.

The guard with Melody then placed his hand in his satchel and slowly pulled out a black ball before raising his hand back up.

"Okay, good. Bring it over."

The guard shuffled over to Clarisse and handed her the ball, which she slipped into her bag.

"Now, let us pass."

The guards nodded, and the group made their way through the halls and doors of the building until they'd made it to the reception room. The receptionist screamed as she saw Blanc held hostage, which Clarisse felt a bit bad about, but brushed the feeling aside. More important things were happening.

Finally, they exited the building. They walked Blanc all the way to Clarisse's car. Clarisse opened the door to the back seat and gestured for Somnee to go in, which he did. She then looked at Kraken, who was still floating the gun next to Blanc's temple.

"Uhh…" she began. "What now?"

"We should leave him here," Kraken said, "and then drive like hell."

"...Right," said Clarisse.

"I will give you the gun. Recall me to my ball. I do not think I will fit in the car."

Clarisse glanced at the car. It had always been small, and Kraken was large for his species. "Alright."

She made her way over to Kraken and grabbed a careful hold of the gun from his grasp. Kraken released it gradually, letting Clarisse handle the gun's weight properly, though it still surprised her how heavy it was. The weapon transferred, Clarisse recalled Kraken with her other hand and placed his ball in her bag.

Clarisse took a deep breath and looked into Blanc's eyes again. His silent hatred had not waned one bit. She could imagine what he was thinking, what he wanted to say - that she would never get away with this. And he may have been right.

Clarisse shook the thought for now. "Walk twenty steps with your back to me," she said. "And don't look back."

Blanc nodded and began walking. Clarisse watched him take one, two, three, four, five, six, seven steps before she slipped into the driver's seat, threw the gun onto the passenger's seat and started the car. As soon as she was able, she drove off like a maniac, not daring to look at Blanc through her rear view mirror.

The first non-driving related thing she stopped to think about after that was when they'd already merged into the seaside Route 12, and it was a cough from the back seat. She glanced over her shoulder and remembered that Somnee was there.

"Oh, right," she said. "You must be pretty confused."

"...Well, I certainly am."

Somnee's telepathic voice was quiet and gentle, quite unlike Kraken's. In any case, Clarisse was glad that Somnee knew how to speak.

"So…" Somnee continued. "Who are you two?"

Clarisse cleared her throat. "Well, I'm Clarisse Thibault, a… probably-former pokémon counselor, and that malamar was Kraken. They were forcing us -- coercing us into hypnotizing pokémon to be more complacent. Or, well, we only worked on one pokémon. That would be Melody, the noivern we demanded they brought to us."

"And… what will you do with her now?"

Clarisse's mind briefly went blank. Once she got her thoughts back, she sighed. "I don't know. Set her free, probably, and hope they don't catch her again."

"And what will you do with me?"

Clarisse frowned. "Uh, I don't know that, either. Do you think you'd be okay if we just let you go?"

"Perhaps," he said. He held a pause. "And… what will happen to you two?"

Somnee had a fantastic question. What was going to happen to them? Kraken could probably go live in the sea, which was fortunately very close, and Quartz - which Somnee didn't even know was with her - could easily disappear into the night, but Clarisse? Clarisse had no place to go.

Great. She'd felt so heroic just minutes before, breaking out of an evil facility, but she supposed the reality of things was that renegades like her only ended up behind bars or in the ground.

Just like César. How poetic.

She blinked and realized tears had risen to her eyes.

"Well, hey, don't cry," Somnee said. "I… I can help you, maybe!"

Clarisse sniffed. "Really? You'd help… you'd help a coward like me?"

"You seemed quite brave to me," Somnee said.

Clarisse chuckled sadly. "Well, you didn't see what I did for the past few weeks…"

"Regardless, you just saved me. The least I can do is tell you where to hide out."

"...You know a place?"

"Yeah. Near this place, there's a hypno colony that lives in a cave system. I lived there for a while when I was travelling, but those government guys shouldn't know anything about my ties to it. Pokémon are less surveilled than humans, you know."

Clarisse thought for a moment. "If I let you sit up front, will you be able to show me the way?"

"Uh… sure, but your car will be suspicious, won't it? You should leave it and walk the rest of the way."

"But… what if they catch up to us?" Clarisse asked, frowning.

Somnee paused. "We have a noivern with us, right?"

"Uh…" Clarisse cleared her throat. "I don't think Melody is going to help us after what we did to her."

"Are you sure? Maybe you can convince her. Maybe I can convince her."

"You better not mean hypnotism right now," Clarisse said flatly.

"No, no. That would not be right. I only mean to talk to her."

Clarisse drew in a breath and released it. "Well, it's worth a shot."

They continued driving until they found a vacant lot next to the sea, probably an out-of-season swimming spot. As Clarisse got out of the car, she realized how incredibly frustrating it would be to just abandon it - especially after she'd gotten it fixed a while ago - but forced herself to ignore this for the time being. Somnee also left the car and skittered around it to meet Clarisse, who pulled out Melody's pokéball from her bag.

"Here goes nothing," she sighed and released the noivern.

Melody materialized, and her first reaction was confusion. She looked around, tilting her head, closing her eyes to listen a few times - and then, against Clarisse's expectations of her just taking off, turned back to her as if waiting for an answer.

"Hey, Melody," Clarisse then said. "I know you must hate me and Kraken too, but… could you hear out Somnee here?" She gestured to the hypno.

Melody blinked a few times before letting out a sound that was almost like a meow. She turned to Somnee expectantly.

Somnee cleared his throat and went on to speak a strange language that sounded to Clarisse like absolute gibberish. Melody glanced between the two of them while listening, appearing to consider something. Finally, after Somnee had posited his last question - or so it sounded like - Melody meowed again.

Somnee turned around, a big smile on his round face. "She says she will help!"

Clarisse blinked rapidly. "Really?" She scrambled to clasp her hands together. "Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you! You are so kind."

Melody narrowed her eyes and chattered something additional, and Clarisse looked at Somnee.

"She will only help once, though," Somnee said. "She is not very fond of you."

"Ah… understood," Clarisse said. "You're free to go as soon as we get to the colony."

Melody trilled and turned around, lowering herself against the ground.

"She wants us to get on," Somnee explained.

Clarisse nodded.

The two mounted Melody, Clarisse on the noivern and Somnee on the human's back. Clarisse held on for dear life as Melody took off and rose high above the ground while Somnee instructed the dragon with his pseudo-gibberish.

After a long flight of crisp air beating Clarisse's face, Somnee shouted something while pointing down. Clarisse, who'd been trying to avoid acknowledging their altitude, took a glance, and noticed a clearing in the woods with little huts. They were actually going to make it!

With great loops, Melody descended until a landing rougher than Clarisse would have liked. They all survived without injury, however, and Clarisse and Somnee got off and familiarized themselves with the feeling of solid ground beneath their feet again.

Facing them now, however, was the colony of hypno and drowzee. The smaller individuals hid behind their huts or the surrounding trees, and the larger ones approached with their pendulums in hand, eyeing the newcomers suspiciously.

"Uh…" Clarisse grimaced. "Somnee, are you sure we're welcome here?"

"Don't worry," Somnee said. "I'll let them read my mind."

Somnee turned to the frontmost hypno, which slightly puffed up its chest in response. It seemed to mellow out, however, as Somnee said a few words in their shared language and then made a gesture of touching his head with both hands and offering his open palms. The nameless hypno sniffed and grunted, glancing at the rest of his group. He then closed his eyes and so did Somnee.

Clarisse's heart pounded as she waited for them - or anyone else - to speak up. She ended up having to wait about a minute before the two hypno opened their eyes again. The hypno of the colony turned to the others and said something which… seemed to get everyone to relax a bit. Clarisse didn't let herself breathe, though, before Somnee turned around and relayed their conclusion.

"They will let us stay," Somnee said, and Clarisse sighed in grand relief.

"Thank you so much," Clarisse said. "That means the world to us."

The nameless hypno babbled something and then beckoned them to follow. Clarisse did as asked, though then stopped, realizing something. She turned around and faced Melody. The noivern was still here, albeit making no motions to follow.

"Thanks again for your help," Clarisse said. "I'm… truly sorry for what Kraken and I did to you. I should have refused Blanc right from the beginning."

Melody seemed to sigh, then mumbled something. Clarisse couldn't tell what it was, and when she turned to Somnee, she noticed that he was already too far away to notice them.

"Well," Clarisse said, facing Melody again, "I hope your new life will be better. You deserve good things. Don't forget that."

Melody nodded, although dolefully. She then turned around, taking a few steps before spreading her wings and taking off again. Clarisse watched her rise into the air and grow smaller and smaller until she figured it was high time she caught Kraken up with the situation.

She pulled out Kraken's ball and released him. The malamar materialized, looked around and then turned to Clarisse. "I see we are in the middle of nowhere. Are we hidden?"

"Well enough," Clarisse said. "Somnee knew a hypno colony that might be willing to shelter us for the time being, so we flew here with Melody. But Melody just left. I don't think she wants to have anything to do with us ever again."

Kraken shrugged. "Understandable."

Clarisse crossed her arms. "We really did an awful thing to her."

Kraken drew in a breath and sighed. "A few weeks ago I would not have been bothered, but… yes, it was indeed awful."

"Do we even deserve to get away with this?" Clarisse mumbled, mostly to herself.

"The suits deserve to catch us even less," Kraken pointed out. He looked over his shoulder and spotted a lone drowzee peeking at him. "I believe we are awaited. We should go."

Clarisse nodded. "Yeah. Let's go."

---​

Night eventually came. The hypno were generous enough to allow the group to partake in their feast of magikarp, brought in by the fishermen of the colony. Or fishermon, Clarisse supposed.

Quartz, while somewhat shunned by the hypno due to his typing, was also accepted as a guest despite not originally being reported. Clarisse and the others caught him up with what had happened, and he nodded along, though seemed a bit annoyed that he had been left out of so much.

'Come on, Clear One, you blocked a bullet,' Quartz chittered as they sat by the fireside, nibbling on their pieces of fish. 'I would have liked to see that.'

"It wasn't that impressive," Clarisse mumbled. "I did it basically by accident."

'Always so humble,' Quartz chittered. He then shuffled closer to Clarisse and placed a hand in her lap. 'But, really… I am proud of you.'

Clarisse felt warm inside in a way she hadn't felt in much too long a time. "Thanks."

Once the feast was over, Clarisse, Quartz, Kraken and Somnee were allowed to stay in a hut apparently made specifically for guests. While it certainly wasn't Clarisse's dear bed at her dear apartment, she at the very least felt… safe.

She thought of the future. She thought of how uncertain it was. Yet in that haze of the unknowable, she dared to see Quartz as a constant by her side. Perhaps even Kraken. Perhaps even Somnee.

She stuck her fingers inside her coat and closed her eyes, choosing to focus on that image.

---

THE END

---​

Spoiler: Final remarks

Yeah, so, you could probably see some problems with this ending. Due to the number of loose ends to tie up, I had to introduce an entirely new concept of a hypno colony to take in the fugitives, and the story ended up rolling for longer than it needed to (the main internal conflict is resolved when Clarisse finally refuses to do as Blanc commands and it should have ended soon after), while still also rushing the hypno colony stuff. This deus-ex-machinism could be possibly mitigated if I added a mention of hypno colonies somewhere in the previous chapters, but I feel like getting access to one at the end would still be massively convenient, so I haven't gone to the trouble.

Some people did tell me that I could just end the story with Clarisse escaping the facility, but I feel like it's very naive to assume that the government would just immediately let the issue go and not target her after that, not to mention Clarisse would never think that they'd let it go, and Clarisse is our POV. There is also the fact that I only realized after writing this ending, which is that the conversation with Melody and apologizing to her is pretty warranted, and you can't do that inside a car while driving.

So, yeah. I'm all for hearing out suggestions for alternate endings to fix all this, but I can't guarantee I'll implement them since I've already lost my passion for this story and settled for considering it a failure. Thanks either way for reading and the feedback you've given or potentially will give. It does still mean a lot to me.

Until next time.

 

[Flyg0n]

Part One:

She parked her car in the lot outside the main building, hoping she hadn't accidentally picked a spot reserved for employees only. Or did she fall into that category? They had hired her.

I feel like the 'had' in the last sentence is just begging to be italicized but maybe thats me and my love of italics hah

No, it's fine, she told herself. They'll understand. It's the weather, not me. I haven't done anything wrong.

Ohhh interesting, looks like she's got some kind of complex about inconveniencing others/making a mess.

"Oh, it's raining poliwag out there, ain't it?"

This is a fun and suitable turn of phrase, i think it works well

"Yes, it is," Clarisse said, loud enough to be heard but quietly enough to show she was no trouble.

Ah hah, another hint. I do enjoy these bits of her internal anxiety showing and her worry about minimalizing herself. I do happen to know the vague gist of her story from what you've talked about but it's fun to see it in writing.

Most of the doors were windowed, but once they passed under a sign reading ISOLATION, the doors became metallic. She became consciously aware of the higher level of danger within these walls, but that was anxiety she was much better at managing. Quartz was with her, Quartz could protect her against unruly mon. What Quartz couldn't protect her from was guns.

I did find this bit a little awkward because it precedes the actual appearance of any guns "on screen". it's definitely true that people can have these thoughts sort of untriggered but I feel like narratively this reflection might work better a couple paragraphs down when we see the guards with guns.

Just a thought though, I suppose there's merit to both ways, as setting up her fear of guns can help make her nervousness later more effective. Still, I lean towards moving the guns fear to later.

Just white walls lined with that same aura-insulating glass that the front was made of

I appreciate the mention of aura-insulating glass here to explain how dangerous mon are contained.

She put on the device. Immediately, it became quieter inside her brain as the passive psychic presences of the other men were no longer perceptible.

I suppose this is due to the close POV but I was surprised not to get many mentions of passive psychic presences until here?

On one hand I guess this could be since passive psychic presences are normal to her so there's no reason to describe to the reader? Either way this did make me pause for a moment, up to you if you think its worth fixing.

The long process confirmed what she'd anticipated: barely scraping by. She had then made the right choice in forcing herself to accept a job from government people.

'a job from government people' read a little odd here. This is either due to language or region but semantically I'm more familiar with the turn of phrase 'accept a government job'.

Up to you if you feel like its worth changing though, probably elsewhere people say 'government people'.

Were people - regular everyday people - really unable to see past their paranoia when it came to psychics?

I'm interested to hear more about this bias and how psychics work in this setting. I feel I would certainly be nervous talking to a psychic therapist/psychiatrist, hah. Maybe the bias is that people think psychics can read minds and they can't? That would be understandable, I can see how they could be discriminated against, particularly since they do have powers too.

She supposed there was always piracy, but just the thought of committing any crime, no matter how minor or harmless…

She didn't want to go like César had.

Oh boy she sure has a complex doesn't she

All in all I thought this was a really interesting read. It kept me captivated and set up a lot of interesting plot points and conflicts and themes to hook me. I felt like I got a pretty good sense of Clarisse and what she's like and what her problems were. Definitely enough that I want to read more to understand her psychic powers and what happened to her brother.

Also to see how she will handle Kraken. He seems like a stubborn and tricky "client" especially since he wouldn't even say a single thing for the entire hour she was there. Gives the story a good starting problem to work around and excites me because I feel like I want to keep reading and find out how she gets him to talk.

And if he even can be rehabilitated. I wonder what would stop him from trying to lie and pretend to understand morality so he leave and just keep doing what he wants. I do also appreciate that for all her worry about upsetting others, when it came down to it, Clarisse "stood up" for Kraken in the room, in a way. She lets him be silent and defuses the guard after he threw the container. It's good that she kept her cool.

Since this is a nice short fic hopefully I can circle back around to it and read the rest soon! Great start!

 

[Flyg0n]

Well I said I'd come back to this later but I am a liar and wanted to read the rest immediately, one thing turned into another and I went ahead and finished the whole fic. I wish I'd stopped to do line commentary on some bits I really liked, but oh well! There is a lot to unpack and talk about so I'll do my best to articulate it.

Also i am sorry but I ended up writing an essay. OOPS. i hope you like reading.

Spoiler

Broadly overally I think this is an excellent short fic! I really enjoyed the progression Melody goes through. In my first review I mentioned Melody does actually stand up for Kraken a little bit and I think that was still true of the first chapter, but its very satisfying to see how her convictions waver. We get some good details from her home life and about the challenges of her situation. We know she has to make rent, her car breaks down (my gosh if that aint a mood and super annoying) and also she would need to feed Quartz and keep up with bills.

It's a very understandable and sympathetic situation, and very real. I found the progression of her relationship with Kraken fairly satisfying overall. I think her breakthroughs and Quartz helping her through battle make sense, as well as slowly coaxing some answers out of him about his past. Her getting the job offer, the slow build of her actually considering it instead of saying no and then the nice scene skip as she accepted were really solid.

Also the rationalization she gave herself and the ways she tried to justify it even as she obviously knew it was wrong. It made my stomach churn a few times to see how she kept giving in, but also as we saw the other awful things the guards were doing. There's not even any sense a lot of these mon deserve to be here, which makes it grim. Kraken seems like the only mon actually who did something wrong. Melody biting someone seems about as justified for her to be here as being bad at a cat for scratching someone when scared.

And while the guards claim Scyther attacked and Kraken remarks so, given how they behave I am disinclined to believe them. Even Somnee. For all we know this corruption chain stretches pretty far where they could get mon thrown in here in hopes of using them as tools. I am assuming that the intended takeaway is that these mon (Somnee, Melody) are not that bad and may even be wrongly imprisoned. At least, that is my general takeaway.

The entire bit of what happened to her brother is also horrifying and grim. Made my gut churn, especially since we don't know but I would hazard a guess that he was killed for no good reason is my read. I enjoyed the bit where she actually opened up to Kraken about that and he expressed a sympathy.

There's some really interesting things to say about power and dynamics here, and Kraken makes for a solid contrast to Clarisse and as a piece in this story overall. Both him and Clarisse have physical power. (well psychic lol but I digress). Real power, beyond a the norm of a regular capable human. Meanwhile, Fortin and Blanc have societal power. Yes they have guns but thats an outside tool and without it, their true power comes from the one they wield within the cogs of an organized society.

The ability to alter someones livelihood or cause problems for them within their life in society. As long as one chooses to live in a society (insert meme here lol) they are subject to those rules, good and bad. They are also subject to the power dynamics within that society. What is interesting about society vs outside of it is that societies rules are all made up. They aren't real tangible forces like gravity or thermodynamics or even psychic powers.

What this means is that societal rules and the power they have basically only apply as long as you want to choose to live in it. Even money, for example, is a series of agreements within a social contract. Unlike trading or bartering, the paper itself doesn't hold value, only what it prepresents and the value it's agreed to have. Everything within society is a social contract agreed upon to (mostly) benefit the people within it.

In the wild however, physical power like Kraken's or even Clarisse is where it reigns supreme. There's only the idea of survival. Your strength against whatever wants to eat you. (I know this is a bit over simplified but I hope the gist is clear).

In this way, I am fascinated by Kraken and how he both resents and desires to live within a society. He chafes at the idea of playing by these made up social contracts. But also on some level he recognizes its benefits. It's understandable why he keeps reminding and claiming Clarisse as power because he sees her physical psychic power.

What happens then, when the rules of a social contract are broken. What if you have a $100 bill and someone decides one day they think that bill isn't worth anything? Or when say, a guard decides he can freakin. shoot someone for not agreeing to their plot?

I think the problem with your ending is not that there is a deus ex machina Hypno Clan to live with. The hypno clan is hypothetically a great idea. Honestly I think the ending just needs to be committed to and smoothed over. But it works very well with themes and I'll get to why. I know you said you don't care or feel inspired to work on this ending but I do feel inclined to offer my two cents. The hypno actually clan represents a really fascinating conclusion to the story and themes and can be and should be kept in the story.

So the story forces Clarisse to confront the question of what is power, who has it, and what do you do if you do have it. But there's also the funny little quirk in a pokemon setting that power comes in a lot of forms. Real ones. Guns. Pokemon. Society. Psychics. Power you're born with (psychic), power you have via a tool (gun), power via social contract (like being someones boss), power through bond (a pokemon, whether that bond be positive or negative).

Kraken at the beginning believes power should be used. If you're strong, then you should get what you want. Later he begins to understand better the social aspect. That there are benefits to the power of a social contract (food, shelter, friendship even). Clarisse has another kind of extreme going. Social contracts must be obeyed, obeying and conforming is how you succeed, and its important to play by the social rules if you want to benefit from them.

What happens when the comfort afforded by a social contract then forces you to go agaisnt morals? Obviously the law can never determine morality. We've seen lots of laws that permit atrocities. Clarisse is convinced she doesn't have any power, because socially she doesn't. She's weak, she believes she's weak, because she's convinced that obeying social contracts and societal power is the only kind of power that exists in the world.

Kraken was right in a way. Power has to be used. But what he was wrong about was how. And thats what he and Clarisse learn in different ways. Kraken learns that it is possible to wield power in service of others, by helping Clarisse escape (as in aside, I briefly thought either Kraken saved her and got shot, or Kraken created the psychic shield. I was surprised that it was Clarisse who did that! But it works.)

Clarisse learns interestingly not that she has societal power. She doesn't, given how she doesn't get to keep her job lol. But that she has another power, phsyical, and is capable of using that to defend others. Yes her word is power, and it meant in a way she was simply willing to die for her conviction. But she also learned that power can come defying a social contract and wielding power against it. Upending it. Through force, ironically, much like Kraken, though this time in helping others.
Which whew, finally brings me back around to the end and what the Hypno Clan represent in my opinion. Clarisse has a very important conversation with Kraken where she challenges him on if he really wants to live in the wild, where its made clear he's not actually convinced he could survive. This posits two options - return and live in the wild, with only physical power to rely on. Or live in a society and obey the rules and contracts of it to reap its benefits.

Of course, a problem arises when this contract fails you. Clarisse can hardly start a revolution on her own after defying society. They were ready to murder her on the spot, suggesting a level of corruption deep and strong enough that she'd not be missed. Kraken and her cannot live in the wild. They have power but enough to do so. And cannot return to society.

But they can choose to find a new society to be a part of. A new order. They can save the ones they can from an awful situation and find peace through a third option, a society whos rules can do a better job at protecting them, and with whom they can hopefully wield their powers in service of in a better way.

I really think the hypno clan can work, it just needs to be worked into the story a little better narratively. Possibly by hinting at it and Somnee subtly. Then by leaning harder into the theme that sometimes in life, the best thing you can do is use power to save people and try to find a third path. To get out of a bad situation and radically change your life. To be willing to discard a lot of things that seem good in order to do good. Clarisse won't have an easy life if she stays with the Clan. You can highlight this more perhaps if you want. Possibly if you introduce the idea of wild pokemon clans I wonder if you could have a moment of her reflecting how hard it would be to live in a wild clan, but better than solitary.

The problem isn't having the Clan, its just that its a solid idea and committ entirely to the bit.

On another note, I am also very happy that she succeeded. I found it pretty bittersweet and a little grim. There's corruption and terrible things in the world but Clarisse was able to save a few mon and get out and Live, and I like that. There's a hope, not that massive rebellions need to be enacted but instead people can resist through refusing to continue within their current circumstances and refusing to obey sometimes, and pick radically new ones.

Sometimes we feel there's no choice but to conform or like. Die but sometimes there's a secret third option. Live with some cool psychics in the woods.

I'd have to reread and revisit later so I am sorry i cannot give specifics on exactly how to fix the end. Just that I feel very sure that the idea of the ending can work and fit themeatically just would need the screws tightened, so to speak.
Very solid, 7/10, which is high in my ranking system

Uh. Man I rambled. I know you're not revisiting this probably. So my ultimate advice for future stuff is that sometimes the solution is to committ to the bit really hard and figure out how to make it work from there.

I really hope you find something helpful in this ramble! If something was unclear, you know where to find me I guess lol.