Task 1 - A Jump To The Sky
They were surrounded. Smoke and flames around them, everywhere. And if that wasn’t bad enough, Duskull were circling them, grunting and screeching. It was a tall building, with shattered windows nearby. Once upon a time, Pokémon were able to work there, but now every chair and table was destroyed.
In the center of it all were two Pokémon, both battered. The first of them was a Lokix, his yellow scales glistening with the light of the fire as he clutched his red scarf. Next to him was a Cyclizar, catching his breath and struggling to keep himself standing.
“Hiro, this is madness! We can’t possibly beat them!”
The Lokix looked down at his hands, seeing how much they were trembling. “I’m starting to think you have a point, Yato.”
“Of course I have a point! Plus, this building’s gonna collapse at any moment!” Yato pointed at the windows with his tail. “C’mon, if we do it now, we’ll be able to escape Spidops—”
Before anything could happen, the two managed to hear a loud rumble coming from the ground, way off in the distance. It didn’t take long before it cracked open. Rubble flew in the air, hitting most parts of the room, including the mooks, though some managed to escape the strikes. Hiro, though, kicked each rock that flew towards him and Yato to protect both.
A screech filled the air before they saw a Pokémon jump from the crack, sticking to the ceiling.
It was, apparently, a Spidops. Apparently because, while it certainly had the looks of one, its skin was red and black, with mechanical parts attached like wires in each arm, ending on pointed tips. Despite all the fire around, it didn’t appear to be in pain.
“Tch! I thought I took care of Spidops-Aug before!” Hiro stepped back, groaning.
No response other than a shriek. Spidops opened its jaw, threatening to shoot webs at them.
Yato put a hand over his head. “Hiro! We don’t have time for this! Just jump on my back already and let’s get the hell outta here!”
“...Good point, buddy.” Hiro managed to jump backwards, dodging a shot from Spidops, seeing the strings fall on the floor, right where he was. Another jump and he landed on Yato’s back, riding him.
“Ki ki ki ki!” Some of the Duskull were preparing to fire spheres of pure ectoplasm at them.
Luckily, Yato managed to outrun them, quickly picking up speed as he ran towards the window.
“This might be our only shot! We can’t waste it!”
They were almost there, after dodging the fire coming from all the enemies behind them. Yato could see the light of day and sprinted faster than before, not looking back. A good decision, too, because the building’s shaking told of its imminent collapse.
However… Hiro wasn’t having the same ideas. He waited for Yato to get close enough to the exit before the Lokix turned around—still on the Cyclizar’s back.
“Sorry, pal, but I gotta end it here and now! Spidops-Aug is mine!"
“Wait—Hiro, don’t!”
Hiro took a deep breath, jumping off of the Cyclizar. His extra leg was already unfolded, and thanks to the building falling, he was able to aim exactly at where Spidops-Aug happened to be. His opponent hissed, firing webs. And yet, none of them hit Hiro. It was like he was able to dodge them all without even trying.
“AXEEEEE…”
The tip of his leg began to burn up, and the distance between them was closed.
“KIIIIIIIIICK!”
Hiro roared, swinging his leg down on the monster with the force of a proper axe, hitting Spidops right on the stomach, sending them both crashing down against the ground.
All that Yato could see was a powerful explosion, the shockwave it released throwing him out of the building.
“Isn’t it exciting?!”
A Lokix was inside an office, standing in front of a table, accompanied by a Cyclizar. On the other side of this table sat a wide, pot-bellied Grimmsnarl, who held multiple pieces of paper in his hand, staring right at it. He didn’t seem particularly impressed, and was even grumbling a bit.
Every so often, he’d look at the Lokix, who wore a red leather jacket and had a bright, blue scarf wrapped around his neck. The Cyclizar next to him had a big yellow scarf around his neck and goggles over his head.
“Trash, trash, super trash,” the Grimmsnarl said, flipping through the pages while looking at the two ahead of him. “I said you two were fired. Why do you insist on coming here with this mediocre screenplay? You’re actors, not writers.”
“Well, Director Diego, it’s very simple! For starters, I think I’m the face of the show—”
“Altair, you were the main character. And as I’m sure you know, Hiro was written out, having suffered a debilitating leg injury.” Diego glared right at the Lokix. “Our test audiences are already enjoying the new lead. It will revitalize our brand! We’re doing a reboot, after all.”
Hearing that, the Cyclizar hissed, the frills on his chest expanding.
“Hey, we never agreed to that! It wasn’t on our contracts, you ass! We didn’t even get paid for our last episode!”
Diego now glared right at the dragon. “Then you shouldn’t have been seen drinking, Mackenzie. Our brand is important, and many kids watch our show. We can’t have one of the lead actors showing such a rude message to children.”
“Fuck off, it’s Mack!” Another snarl from him. Now he was mad. “And besides, our show can be watched by Pokémon of all ages! It’s not just children!”
“...Babe, it may be watchable by everyone, but it’s for kids, first and foremost.” Altair looked to the side. Man, he hated when Mack got heated. That mouth of his always said the worst things.
“See? Your partner is right. For once, that is.” Diego put the papers on his table, then had a hand over his head, sighing. “Look, your contracts are terminated, and that’s final. You have already been replaced.”
Altair’s eyes were both widened once he heard it. His firing had happened only a couple of days before, and he already had a replacement? Who the hell was replacing him?!
“Joe Onodera?! They’re replacing me with freakin’ Joe?! That Heracross can’t act! A log of wood is a better actor than him!”
Altair left the building, walking into the busy streets. Today, it seemed, was a very cloudy day, as if his mood couldn’t get any worse. He kicked a pebble, watching it roll through the streets.
“I know, I know.” Mack wasn’t far behind, putting a hand over Altair’s head. “We did our best, y’know.”
“Weren’t you fuming just a few minutes ago?” The Lokix bit back a scowl.
Mack shook his head. “Oh yes, I’m fuming, but I’ll do what I always do: drink my sorrows away.”
“Tch. I’ll join you. This stings.” Altair closed his eyes. He seemed to be thoughtful for a moment. “...Grandmother once said, ’Once you know the real thing, you won’t be fooled by an imitation.’”
Well, Altair did it again. One of the proverbs his grandma used to say. Sometimes Mack wondered if that old lady actually said those things. “What?”
“Joe. He’s nothing but an imitator! And not even a good one! Oh, I hate that guy…”
He tapped a foot on the ground. Over. And over. And over again. Too many times. “Our audiences aren’t stupid. They won’t like an imitator.”
Altair walked forward, and Mack followed him. The streets were a tad busy today, it seemed. He saw some Pokémon walking ahead, forming a line. All of them were Golett, except for the one in front of this line, an Emboar with blue flames and a rugged look on his face.
This crowd went away quietly, while Altair and Mack walked on a different direction, turning right.
And they were oddly quiet today. Until Mack opened his mouth.
“Man, don’t you think those things look creepy?”
Altair looked at the direction the guards had left through. “Oh yeah, them. I don’t know what they’re called.”
“They’re called Golett.” Mack shrugged. “But yeah, they’re weird. I heard they don’t speak.”
“Really? Man, then how do they get orders…?” Altair winced. “Y’know, say what you want about Gilded Corp, but at least their sentinels are good at protecting us.”
“Their security is efficient, yeah.” Mack looked to the side. He saw a few advertising boards on the walls, some food stands, item stands, a lot of places. But that wasn’t where he wanted to be. “The point is: they’re kinda creepy. I don’t really trust them. Especially with all the rumors.”
“Good point, honestly.” Altair kept walking. “This bar is, uh, it’s in another district, right?”
Mack stared at him. “...Altair, now is not the time. I’m not in the mood.”
“C’mon, but I didn’t even ask yet!”
“I know what you were going to ask, and the answer is no. I’m not doing it. Not now.”
Altair pouted, moving his body around dramatically. “Oh, Mack, my beautiful lovely Mack! You won’t accept my simple request?! We’d get to the bar so much quicker!”
“...Tch. Shut up, Altair,” Mack groaned, before dropping to all fours. “Hop on.”
“See? Now, that’s much better.”
And with that, Altair sat on Mack’s back, while the Cyclizar prepared to go, putting his goggles on.
Mack dashed ahead, running as fast as he could. Altair had a point; this was a lot faster.
Meanwhile, above them, above the very city, up in the sky… there was a twinkle, one with rainbow-coloring. Anyone looking there would see it.
Of course, the couple didn’t. They had other things to think about, after all.
Reaching the bar didn’t take a lot of time. Especially since Mack had been running at top speed this whole time. He took some care in not hitting anyone nearby, dashing out of the way before anything troublesome happened.
And, eventually, he skidded to a stop, with Altair jumping out of his back.
“See? What did I say? It was a way better idea.”
“I only narrowly avoided being hit like, three or four times.” Mack stood up on two legs, rubbing some dust off of him. “Rusty Tails pub. My favorite.”
In front of the two was a tall building, with two or three floors, and a rather rustic look, made out of wood. There was a sign above a door, where the twin tails of a Floatzel could be seen holding a glass of beer.
Alongside this, the duo had also seen an Aggron in front of the door, wearing a buttoned up, yellow vest and looking like he’d seen better days. One of his horns was bent upwards, while the other was broken.
He had a frown on his face, not particularly happy. Altair approached, snapping a claw at the big Pokémon.
“Howdy, Tyron! How’s it going, man?”
“Hm…? Altair? Mack!” Tyron looked down so he could see them both, before flashing a wide grin. “Man, it’s been a while since you’ve been around. I’m… I could be better, honestly. Being a bouncer isn’t as exciting as I thought.”
Altair looked at Mack, and in turn, Mack looked at Altair.
“Job trouble too, huh?” Mack rubbed his head, sighing. “Me and Altair got fired. We just came over to feel better.”
Tyron blinked. “I don’t think alcohol is the solution to that.”
Then again, it took him a great deal of effort to get drunk.
“But whatever, this isn’t a problem. You guys can come in.”
Mack looked behind Tyron, seeing the door. “I don’t hear any music. Is the chief here?”
“The chief?” Tyron tilted his head, then shook it. “Nah. He had some business with the mayor.”
“Huh. Makes sense. I heard they’ve been friends for ages.” Mack shrugged, before he walked forward.
Altair, though… he took a bit longer to enter the building. “...For what’s worth, Tyron, I’ve been having issues with work too. I dunno, I kinda wanna go on an adventure.”
Something that Altair thought just wouldn’t happen. But it was a dream for him.
“Being part of something exciting, like all the shows I was in.”
Sighing, Altair walked forward, entering the bar.
Away from everything and everyone, near a large wall, a Pokémon fell. From the roof of a building, or maybe even the sky. Whatever the case, this Pokémon fell.
The Lycanroc bonked his head against the wall, before falling again, panting heavily.
“Urgh…”
He coughed, body going numb, like he wasn’t used to it. Next thing he knew, he was leaning a hand against the wall nearby and trying to force himself to stand.
“What… where… who…”
Even though he was standing now, everything still hurt too much for him to focus. There was, however, one constant that he noticed.
Or rather. Multiple things.
So many things were wrong. His body felt too heavy. His legs felt like they were going to fall apart. There was… so much fur on him. His teeth were too big.
He turned around, looking at the wall behind him. And so, the Lycanroc climbed it—at least, he started to. It was a huge wall.
“Hey! You're in a restricted area!”
The sudden voice made him fall on his ass. Groaning, he turned around and saw a Gengar. A bit overweight, with a yellow hat.
“You're near the edge of this city! You could have fallen off!”
And the Lycanroc didn't say anything. He winced, feeling something grinding nearby. He heard…
A high-pitched, ringing sound. It was too grating on his ears, like someone plunged a claw through glass. And this sound had only gotten louder. Something…
“S-Something’s coming.” The Lycanroc muttered to himself, trying to move, but stumbling and almost falling.
“Something? What are you talking about?” The Gengar approached, lifting his arm and revealing a walkie talkie. “Security? I might need help over here.”
What was going on with him? He shook his head, trying to ignore this and at least get a semblance of stability. Enough to leave this place. Enough that…
Honestly, he didn’t know what he was going to do afterwards, but right now, he just knew he needed to run. Run like crazy. Run anywhere, anywhere at all!
His body was screaming, begging him to get away. From what, though? Or maybe from “who”. Either way, he knew he had to ditch this place.
“S-Sorry dude, I can't be here!”
He bolted. Ran away as quickly as possible, dodging a grab from the Gengar.
His ears were practically splitting open from this sound, and he tried to figure out where it came from.
Because, to him, it felt like it was right on top of him. Looking up, he saw…
Sparkles? Rainbow sparkles, right at the top of the sky. Or at least, it looked like it was at the top.
Whatever. He had to run, and run he did. Like his life depended on it. Because, as far as he was concerned, it did.
Even if he had no idea what was going on. Or even… who he was.
Mack chucked the glass on his table, letting out a sigh. He took a moment to look at his drink, and it was almost full.
“Not having the chief around sucks.” Mack groaned, putting his head on the table. “He always told us fun stories, even if they’re not true.”
“You just miss him because you want to stare at his chest.” Altair blurted out, tapping the table with a claw.
“Oh, shut up! You do the same!”
“Yeah, but I own it, unlike you.” And Altair did his best version of a smirk. “But yeah, it’s not the same without the guy. He’s busy, though.”
“Shouldn’t be.” Mack pouted, crossing his arms. “I can’t even drink my sorrows away now.”
The bar was quiet. Altair and Mack had their own little table, tucked away in a corner, while the others were a bit distant. But that was fine; they wanted to be by themselves anyway.
“Anything on the TV?” Mack didn’t move his head from where it was, so he didn’t look up to see the screen. “Well, anything good.”
“Yeah, showing people having good lives and going on adventures and—”
“What?”
Altair stopped. He really did go on a small tangent again, huh? At least it was with Mack around and not some other person.
“I wanna go out, man.” Altair sighed. Now drinking almost sounded like something fun to do. “The reason why I wrote that screenplay is because… I thought it’d be cool. That I’d get to keep acting. But what I really want is to have an adventure of my own.”
“Oh, that… that.” Mack raised his head, before taking a heavy sip of his drink. “Look, Altair. I love you, you know that. But sometimes in life, we don’t get what we want.”
It hurt him to say that, but Mack had to. And he continued.
“We’re out of a job, rent is due soon, and… I dunno, it seems like daydreaming isn’t what we’re supposed to be doing.”
“...” Altair stopped, but he wouldn’t stay quiet for long. “Grandmother said this: ‘Make the world revolve around you.’ It’s more fun to think this way.”
“She had an answer for everything, huh?” Mack sighed. He couldn’t exactly fault his partner for thinking this way. He had a similar opinion, though not entirely the same.
“Hmph.” Altair raised an arm, before ordering some fries for him. He could use the grease. “But yeah, I want to do something important. An adventure.”
“Maybe we’ll get to have one, maybe not. But… for now, we should focus on getting our life together.”
“Aye, aye.” Altair was the one putting his head on the table now. “Stupid Joe Onodera and his stupid job and that stupid director with his stupid brand…”
Nothing Mack could say would be helpful at the moment, but he put a hand over Altair’s head. Maybe that would be worthwhile. He wasn’t sure, though at the very least, he tried. He could say that.
He was still running. The Lycanroc. He kept running, falling a few times as he prowled his way through the busy streets.
“What the hell is up with this city?! How is it so big?!”
But it wasn’t what annoyed him, no. What annoyed him was that little fact that his ears were still hearing that dreadful noise.
Somehow, he had to save himself. From what, though?
“H-Hargh. Haaaaaaah…”
He stopped. Not because he wanted to, but because his body wouldn’t allow him to run anymore. From what he understood, he was in the middle of a street, seeing some outdoor ads. One of them had what he understood as a “Golisopod” with a beard, pointing at the viewer.
It also had some text underneath the bug:
We’d like you to join the Gilded Guard!
Following this text was a list of benefits. He didn’t exactly understand what this meant, though at the same time, he figured it wasn’t too important.
Right now, he had another issue: breathing. He did his best to breathe, but for some reason, it took him a lot of effort. Like… there wasn’t a lot of air around the area.
And all the Pokémon were staring at him. Like he was a freak. Or. Or something.
Why?
“Need to… n-need… to breathe…”
Taking a look around, the Lycanroc managed to see a building that had an Aggron in front of it. He was looking right at him, confused, much like everyone else in this place.
And the Lycanroc was quiet. He said nothing. He tried to leave, to move, but his body wasn’t answering him. It was as if he couldn’t control his body. Like he wasn’t used to it.
“Hey! Are you okay?!”
The Aggron from before started walking towards him, with the Lycanroc trying to move away. His legs trembled, and he started to fall.
Started, because those heavy hands of the Aggron caught him, lifting him up.
“Hey, hey! What’s up, lil guy? Are you alright? You don’t look like it.”
“N-Need… to… e-escape. Something’s… c-coming. Something’s coming!”
“Hey, don’t worry. You’re safe,” he kept his arm in front of the mutt, not willing to let him fall. “Name’s Tyron. You’re not from around here, are you? That’s why you’re hyperventilating. We’re airborne.”
“A-Airborne…?” A wince from the Lycanroc. It certainly explained why he felt there was no air. “Where… a-am I?”
“Lux City.” Tyron answered, stating in the most gentle tone he could muster. “I work in this bar, d’ya wanna come in? I can get you some water.”
“That doesn’t seem bad. I—”
The ringing sound came back, only this time, it felt stronger. He yelled, covering his ears and whining. He fell to his knees, groaning in pain.
“H-Hey! Hey! Someone call a doctor! This guy needs help!” Tyron looked around, and…
Damn it. He had to do something! He had to–
CRRRRASH!
A meteor struck from the sky—transparent, crystalline, and with a rainbow glow to it. It hit the ground right next to them, with the shockwave sending both Tyron, the Lycanroc, and everyone in the vicinity a long distance away.
Altair waited for his fries. He was hungry, defeated, and yeah, there was rent to be paid later. Everything could not be any worse than this.
But then came that loud noise. Altair barely had enough time to react to it when the shockwave hit, shattering the walls of the bar and bringing a gust of wind that tossed him and Mack to the ground.
“G-Guh!”
He hit the ground hard, groaning from this, and then a few logs of wood fell right on top of Altair.
“M-Mack?! Mack! Where are you?”
A grunt later and Altair kicked the logs to the sky with his extra legs, before curling them again and standing. Mack was also on the ground, just shaking some rubble off of him, and coughing.
“Bleh! What just happened?!”
“No idea. But we’re—”
Altair was interrupted by screaming coming from outside, along with some sounds of blasts. With the door and the wall around it now kicked open, they could see what was coming from the outside.
A large, crystalline formation, with a beige glow to it. Next to this formation was a midnight Lycanroc, knocked out on the floor, as well as—Tyron. He was knocked out too.
“H-Hey! Look, it’s Tyron! And some Lycanroc!” Altair pointed there, but then he noticed the other thing, which was a bit more important at the moment.
A Tyranitar, with a body that glimmered with the same beige tone as the rocks behind it. It was as tall as Tyron, but in some areas of its body, crystals were protruding, most of them rather sharp. It unleashed a vicious roar.
“H-Holy—” Altair winced from the roar, enough that he almost fell down, though Mack helped him stand. “What is that thing? It’s a Tyranitar, but it’s all…”
“It’s full of crystals!” Mack said after rubbing his eyes to confirm he wasn’t just seeing things. Though he almost wished he was. “T-The guard is probably being called already. We should get out of here.”
Mack took a glance behind him, and the rest of the bar was in shambles. Most of the customers were trying to leave, only to be paralyzed with fear by the roar.
“...” Altair looked ahead, at that beast. He was scared, yeah. He was trembling, and if he could, he’d be sweating right now.
But at the same time, something told him that he should act. More than ever, that he should be fighting. This was his call. A call to adventure, maybe.
And with that in mind, he started to smirk.
“Mack, babe, love of my life. I’m going to beat up that Tyranitar.”
“W-What?!” Mack reeled back in shock. “Are you serious?! We’re not members of the guard! We can’t go around picking fights!”
“This is our moment, Mack. And besides, I’m done standing around. I’ll be an adventurer!”
Altair stepped forward, cracking his neck. “Are you with me?”
“...Through thick and thin.” Mack muttered. Why did he have to do vows?
They were ready for the battle ahead.
Or they thought they were.
In any case… they had to go.