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I initially was kind of confused on whether the voice was speaking to one person or multiple. On second read, I suppose it's just one person ("Observer") present and listening but "you all" refers to a group of which the "Observer" is one of.
What? I… I can't hear you… I'm… His thoughts began to blur together, the lights now fading away, the hum ceasing… the star the only thing left he could even see. "Please! All of this… it needs saving…
I'm not sure if pairing the word "picturesque" with "almost" makes sense? It's kinda like saying something is almost beautiful (when it's not unusual for that something to be beautiful).
Something that was kinda weird to me were the curse words used in this story - they don't really seem to stay on a consistent level of vulgarity. I'd get it if it was character specific, but the main character says "shit" later, and I'm told "bloody" is also among the stronger curses in Britain.
So this line paired up with the "you know how no one's evolving again" remark has me a little confused - the Rattata and Pidgey talk like they're not "kids", but if prevos are meant to be children, I would assume that by that rule at least Pidgey is one. There is the "people aren't evolving" thing, yes, but the way that's phrased makes it sound like it's a pretty new development and in that case I would expect Pidgey to have evolved before it.
Or is Sam's whole thought about Scorbunny being a prevo just what he assumes made the others think he was a child, when it was actually something else, like him looking specifically like a young Scorbunny? I would then ask why Sam didn't stop to wonder why the Pidgey was acting older than him, but Sam seems to be a bit dim-witted, so it makes sense for his character.
He started strolling over to the path, keeping one eye on the two Pokémon, "I won't tell anyone you're here either. So you don't have to worry about th-"
That was when he saw the yellow shape, jutting out from behind the back of the Rattata, and with that, he stopped mid stride. He was about to brush it off, consider it nothing… but curiosity nibbled at the back of his mind and so… it got the better of him. "Hey, what's that?"
Taking a step back, the Rattata hid the yellow shape away. "It's nothing." The Pidgey said. "Just some berries."
"You said you were looking at seeds though…" Sam mused, taking a few steps closer, trying to peer round, "Unless you guys have berries to-"
The yellow shape reappeared into view… and he recognised it as an arm attached to a little yellow and brown body… covered in blood. Sam froze, his entire body stiffening, "W-wait… is that a-"
So is the dead Pokemon here particularly small, or already partly hidden behind something like bushes? I'm not sure if I buy the idea that something as small as a Rattata could cover a Pokemon behind them for an entire conversation.
This may have been pointed out by someone else already as the fic has been going or for some time and appears to be on multiple sites, but I'll say it anyway: there are some commas missing that I think ought to be there. For these examples, what I believe to be correct comma usage is this:
You may have heard of that "Let's eat, Grandma" vs "Let's eat Grandma" example at some point. For more information, see the sixth item on this list. The other cases ("you know" and "huh") I could not find a source for, but I'm fairly confident that most writers will agree on this.
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General Thoughts
So while my comments so far have been on the critical side, make no mistake - I do enjoy the writing style here, and I think the concept of stumbling into a murder scene the first thing after arriving in PMD is both interesting and fitting for the darker tone you describe this fic having. It's a bit humorous too, in a cosmic way.
In terms of tone, though, I do have a bit more to say. I feel like the kind of cartoonish writing and Sam's POV don't really mesh with the darker tone you seem to want to go for. It is possible to use these two to contrast each other, but that approach usually has the lighthearted character be shocked by the darker elements and have the darkness overpower the lightness when it happens so that it really does feel dark and oppressive. Here, though, Sam's shock to the murder is very quickly brushed over, and he's confident and ready to fight in seconds, quipping and everything. This can work if you were going for something like dark/mature comedy, but the usage of lighter swears or non-swears like "crap" and "dang" clashes with this, and the comedy itself feels a bit childlike. In summary, I'm just not sure what exactly you're going for as right now the intended tone is unclear.
Anyway, this can definitely just be a case of the story still figuring itself out at the beginning, and I can hardly make story-wide judgments based on three short chapters. I don't know yet if I'll continue, but I wish you good luck with writing onward. See you around!
Thanks for the feedback @canisaries! Coupled with some other feedback, I'm planning on going back and revising and releasing updated versions of the original chapters onto the different sites. They were written at a time when I was less committed to the fic as I am now (compare the 1,000 or so words in Chapter 1 with the 7,000 word Chapter 20) so it makes sense to go back and work through the details again. I'll send out an update once I start uploading those improved chapters!
And so, Chapter XXI is now up! Sorry for the delay, as I decided to take a break and focus on other projects. But this was a major chapter in it's own right, so I figured I would get it done!
As a bonus, in response to some feedback, I have expanded and reworked Chapter I, complete with an all new scene and some neatened up content, so be sure to check that out! Either way, enjoy Chapter XXI and the new Chapter I!
Sam was stuck bouncing between two sides of a very thin coin. On one side, there was that feeling of comfort and security that flowed over him like a warm wave. An utterly pleasant and welcome feeling after all the troubles and horrors of the day.
On the other side, was the heavy breathing of the clearly pissed off Rapidash, busy doing the healing.
"Are you truly that stupid!" Rebecca snorted, her horn glowing as she focused her Heal Pulse on himself and Alice. From Sam's perspective, sprawled out across the couch, he could just make out the Buneary slumped upright against the seat, a pair of narrowed eyes focusing on the horse.
"Come on!" Jack started, hovering in the background, "That's just uncool, you can't just go off like this on them!"
"Someone has to say it!" Rebecca growled back.
"Look." Alice started, sounding so tired that she didn't even seem to have the energy to be angry anymore. "I knew Aidan was up to something for weeks now. I only followed a lead and stumbled into something far bigger."
"You could have called for help!" barked the fairy-type. "Or reported this to the Guild!"
"And who would believe me?" Alice quipped back, "The cursed kid? Hell, I tried and it only just worked."
Sam sighed deeply, "To be honest, if Alice didn't jump in when she did, I would have been toast."
He caught a flicker of a glance from the Buneary, and a glare from the Rapidash. "You weren't much better! Walking out in the dead of night alone and rather than fleeing from danger, or playing along to report it to us, you try to fix the problem yourself!"
Unable to muster the will to counter the argument, Sam simply redirected his gaze back towards the wooden ceiling, and the white lamp that hung above. "Yeah… I guess that's what happens when you get betrayed by someone you trust."
Rebecca seemed ready to snap back, but no answer came.
But Sam knew the Rapidash had a point. The gravity of what had happened just over an hour ago now beginning to pull him down, even in the shelter of the Guild Tree after Jack and the other Guild members found them.
The fact that Aidan – someone who he thought was his friend – tried to kill him. All to keep his precious smuggling operation safe. The fact that Aidan tried to have Sam put aside the fact that he had sent goons to hurt that Pikachu and their team only added salt into the wound.
Maybe once upon a time Aidan really wanted to help people. Maybe he was desperate enough to try smuggling and he really had the best of intents. But to go so far to try and cover his tracks…
He closed his eyes. Regardless of what had happened now, someone who had once been his partner was now an enemy. And Sam knew that this was far from over. We'll come across each other again… I'm fairly sure of that.
The familiar wave of warmth faded away as the Heal Pulse ceased. "How are they?" came the quiet, composed voice of Rex.
Sam pushed himself upright to find Rex stepping down a set of stone steps into the lower level of his office, with Esper and Jack following him down. Rather than being rushed to the clinic, Sam and Alice had been quickly healed up impromptu at the field and swiftly rushed straight back to the Guild Tree once Jack had learnt what happened. Sam supposed they wanted to hear the story straight from him, and that had been proven quite accurate as he did a brief summary of what had happened.
Rebecca, looking a little bit calmer – if only just – turned her head towards the guild master. "They'll live. They got lucky though, try and keep them from running off to do heroics."
Rex bowed his head in response, "I'll try. Thank you, Rebecca. I've taken up enough of your time."
With a quiet snort and a nod of her own, she strode out of the office. Rex settled himself down on the couch opposite from Sam and Alice, his cool blue eyes glancing between the pair. "You two do seem to have a thing for getting into some kind of trouble, do you?" he mused.
Sam felt one fist clench, "It's not funny."
"Of course it's not." Rex replied, "And I'm not trying to belittle you both. Just trying to make a little light of things."
He leaned forward; hands cupped together. "How are you two though? You have been through a lot just today."
Sam leaned back into the couch, noting how soft it was against his head. "I'm alright… just a bit, err…"
He frowned, trying to rephrase his sentence. "Just been a long day."
In the corner of his eye, he could see Alice nod back.
"I'm so sorry you have had to go through this. Both of you." Rex replied, "If you ever need anything, let me know. Understand?"
Sam nodded back, and the Blaziken leaned further forward on his couch. "Sam, you got to know Aidan rather well, after all he trusted you a great deal, even just after one day. Was there anything he said that could better link him to this smuggling operation he is running? Or anything more about him that might help investigate him?"
The Scorbunny shook his head as he leaned forward, still trying to dig deeper into his memory for any snippet that could help. "He did get quite nasty at a few points, and those headaches were pretty regular. But nothing he said mentioned anything related. He did say he wanted to stick it to his family, but that was something he just brushed over. I never thought it would be that, err, deep."
"He had snuck off a few times in the woods. And seemed to be getting a little bit of extra cash." Alice added, "I noticed he was paying a few Pokémon underhanded, and he was trying to make himself more of a voice within the barracks. That's when I started looking to see what he was up to."
"Any idea who those Pokémon were?" Esper noted, sitting down next to Rex whilst Jack touched down on the floor besides the two couches.
"I couldn't get a good view of their faces. And they seemed to be using something to muffle their voices." The Buneary shrugged, "I guess they didn't want to take any chances with rabbit ears."
The Blaziken and the Meowstic shared a glance, one that seemed to radiate some level of concern between them. Especially from the Blaziken, who's hands seemed to tighten up at the words.
Sam frowned, eyes narrowing. "You don't believe us."
For the first time since they met, Rex's face darkened with a little bit of anger. His brow furrowing and his beak clicking, struggling to restrain himself. Sam felt himself shiver a little bit, worried that the fighting bird would start shouting at him. But the fact that the Blaziken kept his gaze away from the Scorbunny seemed to indicate otherwise.
"I believe you." Rex said, "If I could, I'd have wanted posters for Aidan posted up in every part of Robinhood and apprehend him myself. But it's not me you have to convince."
"I don't understand."
"Robinswood isn't an independent town." Esper said, leaning forward herself. "Whilst the Guild does handle the capture of criminals, it is the judicial bodies back in each of the continents that gets to decide wherever we can try them or not. No doubt someone is already writing up a report about what has happened to send back to their superiors."
Shuddering, Sam snarled in response, "So you're saying Sand could just write Aidan's actions off? That's stupid!"
"That's politics for you." Rex replied, rubbing his crest with a clearly frustrated look. "We've got a small window to try and find any additional evidence, or preferably Aidan himself."
"And if we are lucky, Sand might actively want him caught." The Meowstic added, her eyes narrowing. "That is, if Aidan wasn't lying about that description you gave as well Sam."
"The fact that you didn't sniff him out doesn't do you much good." Alice said bluntly.
"Alice!" Rex snapped, his eyes darkening, "We've disc-"
Sam stiffened as he looked over at the Buneary, shaking her head to interrupt the guild master. "Guildmaster, if Aidan could fool everyone here about his true intent and set up a network around Robinswood, then any crook or lunatic could walk in with a false background. We need to check around the town itself and carefully, otherwise they can slip away without any problem to themselves."
Esper flashed an unblinking gaze towards the Bliziken, but Sam could tell she was nervous. Indeed, the guild master's snap made him half worried that Rex was going to throw Alice out of the room. But instead, the guild master returned an unblinking stare… before slipping out an amused huff, a faint flicker of a smile forming round his beak, "I wouldn't be so blunt next time, but you are right." He turned towards Esper, "Can you double check the details of each of the residents of Robinswood? Discretely?"
The feline bowed her head towards the guildmaster. "Of course, but it will take time without utilising my psychic power."
"Let's reserve that as an absolute last resort." Rex stressed, "Just work through things the old-fashioned way."
"I'll get started now, whilst any evidence is fresh."
"Go ahead."
Bowing once more, she turned to look over the two rabbits. She carefully scanned them both, mouth twisting as if in thought, trying to recall something. But then she bowed her head towards them, "I'm sorry for everything that has happened. I've taken precautions to make sure you aren't in any danger. Take care."
As the Meowstic walked out of the room, Rex leaned forward towards the two rabbits. "In all seriousness, I have to apologise for everything that has happened to you today. Both of you."
Sam straightened up, "It's no problem, guildmaster." He replied, "I mean, it's no one's fault here. Save for, well…"
He couldn't bring himself to say Aidan's name.
"I agree with him." Alice added, with a faint hint of warmth in her voice. That was a small, but helpful amount of reassurance to the Scorbunny's mind.
"Very well then." Rex confirmed, "Then in that case, I advise you get some rest. You will be safe in your own rooms and in Robinswood, you have my word."
"Thanks." Sam replied, sliding off the couch. Alice likewise did the same, returning a simple nod to the Blaziken as she started walking out of the office. Sam moved to follow her.
"By the way Sam." Rex started, prompting the Scorbunny to look back. The bird was still seated, making himself look smaller than if he was bringing his full height to bare. "Tomorrow, it might be a good idea to ask the other recruits if you can join their team. I can hold a place in the guild, but the team requirements are still out of my control."
Of course. Sam mused, You need a team to work for the guild proper.Safety reason, I suppose.
"No worries." He replied, "I'll ask around."
Rex returned a nod, "Then have a good night, Sam."
Sam strode out of the office feeling more alone then ever. Aidan had been the one constant he had since waking up here. And it had only been a couple of days! And all of a sudden, he was now on the run, no doubt planning his next crime.
Sure, the other recruits and the guild members - Eck, the entire town – would be on hand. He was certain of that. But right now, Aidan's absence and betrayal had left a hole in his chest.
He looked up to find the brown form of Alice approaching one of the elevators in the small lobby. In that moment, he realised that he was being an idiot. There had been another constant, if he wasn't being completely blind.
"A-Alice!" Sam shouted, breaking off into a jog. The Buneary turned towards him, looking tired but not angry as he approached. "I just wanted to say thanks." Sam said. "Properly and not half dead, I mean." He rubbed the back of his head, "If it wasn't for you, I wouldn't still be alive."
Alice merely shrugged; her eyes closed. "It was nothin'." She replied, "You didn't do half bad yourself."
Sam nodded gratefully, "If you need anything… well, just let me know alright? I mean, we made a good team there."
"We got lucky. And it's best if people don't start hearing you say that."
Sam blinked, "Huh?"
The Buneary crossed her arms narrowing, "One good thing isn't going to change the fact most people don't like me. Don't get me wrong, you did well there, but if you think I'm going to be all happy about it, I'm not. Aidan still got away, and I'm not looking for friends."
She started to turn away again. No! Sam growled to himself; I'm not letting you slip away sulking again!
Against his better judgement, he grabbed hold of her arm. The Buneary immediately spun round, ears coiling to strike. "The hell-"
"Alice, shut up and listen!" Sam snapped, hard enough for the other rabbit to recoil a touch. "Every single time someone tries to be nice to you, you push them away. Enough that no one seems to be able to work out who you are and they just fall back on this… this damn curse!"
He narrowed his eyes, "Right now, I'm only person who is even willing to help you out completely. What the hell went so wrong for you to be so hostile? Let me help, please I owe you that!"
Alice glared back at him, "You don't have any idea what I've had to put up with." She hissed, body shivering as if being restrained.
Sam tilted his head, "You're right. I don't." he admitted, "But I've just been betrayed by my friend, and I still have no memory of my life since a few days ago. I'm probably the best you're going to get."
She kept her burning eyes set on him, and yet, she didn't lunge back at him. Even then, he could imagine the gears turning and soon enough, her lips were pressing together and her nose was wrinkling. That conflict bubbling up to the surface.
"…idiot!" she hissed quietly, one ear popping back up as she tore her gaze away. She hesitated, and Sam released his grip on her arm.
That seemed to be enough.
"Follow me." Alice said, climbing onto the elevator.
As Sam stepped aboard, Alice swung the switch up, and the elevator rose higher up into the tree. Indeed, she didn't get the elevator to stop until they were quite literally at the top. They emerged onto an open-air balcony amidst the huge branches of the tree. A single building was built into what was the upper most part of the tree trunk. The carvings of what appeared to be two bird Pokémon stretching their wings over the closed entrance seemed to confirm it as the TalonKnight Post Office.
But instead of going for the entrance, she went round the side of the building. She scanned the wooden wall, tracing her hand across the bark. "I think it was… here."
Sam noticed her fingers had caught a lip in the bark, and from there, she grabbed hold of it with both hands. Grunting, she pulled a whole section of bark back, revealing an opening inside, big enough to crawl through. "Close it behind you." She said as she made her way inside. Sam followed, making sure to pull back the hatch.
"What is this?" Sam asked, "Some other way into the Post Office?"
"It's an old vent." Alice replied, "But it doesn't go into the office, it goes towards the top."
"And what's there?"
"You'll see."
Sam moved behind Alice on his hands and knees, finding himself shrouded in the darkness of the vent. The only indication that he was getting anywhere was the fact he could feel himself move over the bumps in the floor beneath him, and the fact that the vent was sloping upwards.
Soon enough, light began to shine at the end of the vent, and Sam pulled himself out onto a small wooden balcony, only really a metre and a half in area. A sheer drop greeted him on one side, with only a tiny wooden railing barely a third of his height stopping him from falling to his demise.
Alice had already sat herself down on the floor, her eyes gazing off into the distance. Sam shivered at the sight of the drop, trying to focus his eyes on the rabbit. "How high up are we?" Sam asked.
"About as high up as we can get unless you are good at climbing." Alice confirmed.
"Huh… so… what are we doing up here?"
The Buneary pointed a finger out into the distance. "That."
His eyes followed her finger… and he gasped at the sight that opened up before him.
Standing amongst a vast forest, and standing against the backdrop of distant mountains and the stars above, was the most colossal and breath-taking tree he had ever seen.
Even at the night, the whole tree was bathed in a soft, warm light. Light that was radiating from its spectacular canopy. Instead of green, the leaves must have been every single shade of the rainbow. Reds, greens, violets, the whole lot. Golden vines hung from that canopy, adding their own light to the tree as a whole. A golden trunk hefted the whole construct into the sky. Altogether, it was massive. So massive that it would make the Guildtree look little more than a sapling. The trunk alone had to be at least five times the width, and the tree three times as tall.
And that, was a minimum. The whole tree stood proud over its surroundings, like the biggest jewel in a very expensive crown.
Sam's lungs began to burn, and he quickly realised he wasn't breathing. He gulped in a breath of cold air; eyes fixed on the giant tree. "W-what is that thing?"
"That's the Tree of Life."
Frowning, the Scorbunny turned towards Alice. "The Tree of Life?" he asked, "That can't be a thing, right?"
"Believe it."
Sam settled himself down next to her, keeping his eyes focused on the colourful tree in the distance. "I've got to admit, it looks pretty." He simply said, not quite finding the right words to explain his awe at the sight of the tree.
"It is." Alice admitted, "Still going strong even after everything that had happened to it."
"What's it even supposed to be anyway? Beyond the whole life thing." Sam asked, leaning forward.
The fellow rabbit shook her head, "I'm not really an expert." She explained, "Apparently that thing is the source of all life on this world."
"All of it?"
"Yeah."
The Scorbunny seemed to lean even further forward, feeling the goosebumps forming on the back of his neck. All life. And this thing had been sat in the Sea for all this time? How the heck did I even miss it? I guess I wasn't high enough each time.
The awe however turned into confusion. "You said the Tree was still going strong after everything. What do you mean by that?"
He looked over to find Alice had stiffened, eyes now looking blank as she looked over at the Tree of Life. "Have you heard about something called Dark Matter?"
Sam frowned, trawling back through his memory. "Only by name." he admitted, "I came across a book with it as a title. What about it?"
Alice closed her eyes, and Sam leaned back, focusing all of his attention on her.
"Dark Matter was some kind of entity that ran on negative emotions." She explained, "I don't really care about the details, but it attacked the Tree of Life six years ago."
"Six years ago-"
Sam stiffened as the memory resurfaced.
'The planet nearly got thrown into the sun. Yeah, that was pretty shitty. I mean, friends getting turned to stone?'
Aidan had told him that. About a horrible crisis six years ago.
Was that it? Dark Matter was responsible for that?
"Wait… did it include the planet getting thrown off into space?"
Alice again seemed to hesitate, before finally nodding. "That's the one."
"Geez…" Sam whispered, eyeing the tree again. Wondering what kind of power it would take to throw an entire planet into space.
Only then did Alice's eyes to sharpen, looking over at Sam. "You really have no memory of that?"
Sensing himself shrink, he looked away towards the balcony floor. He wanted to curse that amnesia of his. He couldn't bring to mind if he had even been around to live through that crisis.
"Consider yourself lucky then." Alice said softly, leaning back far enough to put her back against the wooden wall behind her. "When Dark Matter attacked, it either corrupted Pokémon to its cause of destroying the world… or it turned them into stone."
Sam wanted to tell her to shut up. He almost couldn't believe that this Dark Matter was capable of causing so much harm. But as he looked across at her face, and heard how softly she spoke, he knew she wasn't playing him for a fool. Not with how sad she looked.
"I was only a teenager then." Alice explained. "I can still remember it like it was yesterday."
"Alice!"
The Buneary bounced down the stairs like a rocket, going about three steps at a time. Too fast as it turns out, when her foot connected with the corner of the rug. She cried out, struggling to keep her balance as tried to bounce down the last steps. She landed on her feet with a loud thud, the young girl wincing as she stumbled on forward.
"Alice, I told you to come downstairs! Not to try and break your own neck!"
Alice looked up to find a Lopunny towering over her. He hands rested on her hips and she looked down with a scrawl on her face, her massive ears swept back behind her.
Sheepishly, Alice pulled a little grin. "Sorry Mum. Didn't want to keep you waiting." She motioned with a fist pump. "Gotta get out and train."
The Lopunny held her gaze for a moment longer, seemingly unamused.
Then the little smile formed. "Well, I did tell you we had to get up early kiddo." She teased.
"I was getting all warmed up!" Alice protested, pumping her two ears in and out into the air. "All those stretches and jogging in my room, I wanted to make sure I was ready to get started!"
"So, you got up early." Her mother replied, "Didn't tell me what you were thinking, or rather, got too excited to think about it, then did a warm up in your room. I haven't done a warmup yet." The smile transformed into a cheeky smirk. "Now you'll have to wait for me. And have to do another warm up again."
It took a moment for her to realise what she had just done. Groaning, Alice stomped the ground. Above her head, she could her mother chuckle warmly. "Oh, don't worry. I'll just warm up on the way to the training ground."
Alice beamed at the words with painfully obvious delight.
A little bell rung, "So, how are my two girls doing?"
The Buneary's grin grew even bigger as she spun towards the entrance of their little cottage. A white furred feline had pushed his way through the door, massive red marks running across his body. He had a massive brown sack slung over his shoulder. The Zangoose flashed a massive grin as he walked through. The Lopunny rolled her eyes, "Happy until you showed up." She purred, clearly in a better mood with the Zangoose's arrival. "We're just about to head over for training now, Sylvain."
Sylvain's grin got even bigger, "Well, you two better make the most of it. I'll have one heck of a good snack ready when you get back." He plonked the sack down on the floor, the red glint of an apple sticking out of the top. "I managed to pick up some extra apples on the way back from the Trail Office." He explained.
"Any jobs on the board?"
"Nope. All clear Tyera."
She brushed one ear back. "All the more time to train then."
The little cottage was split between a small kitchen and a lounge by a round wooden table. Reaching over it, Tyera picked up a pair of red fingerless clothes and slipped them on. "Come on kiddo." She said, waving for Alice to follow. "I'll race you there."
My mum and dad were my whole world. We lived in a small village at the far end of the Air continent, where they worked as explorers.
They were on an exploration team?
Yeah. Mum was training me to become an explorer too. I was so excited to go ahead with it. But it was as we were getting ready to go out for another day of training when it happened.
All of a sudden, the room darkened. The light fading from the windows of the room. Sylvain stiffened, eyes narrowing as he peered through one of the windows. "What the- where did those clouds come from?"
Alice frowned, feeling her heart beginning to pound. This couldn't be right. It was perfectly sunny just a moment ago. "W-What's going on?"
Tyera peered outside herself, body already tensioning for a fight. "I'm not sure. A ghost type?"
"Never seen a ghost type blot out the sky." Sylvain replied.
"Why would anyone do that?" Alice asked, "C-Could it be a prank?"
"I don't know kiddo." Tyera said, her expression stern as she scanned the surroundings of the cottage. "Just stay away from the windows."
CONSIDER THIS A WARNING TO ALL POKÉMON IN THIS WORLD!
Alice recoiled as the voice boomed, moving to cover her ears. But then she realised, it wasn't a sound. It was coming from inside her head!
Tyera and Sylvain jerked upright, sharing a worried glance between each other. They could hear it too!
I AM YVELTAL! I AM THE ONE TRUE DESTROYER! I AM THE END OF ALL POKÉMON!
"What in the blazes is this!?" Sylvain growled, claws flashing. "This is some kind of trick!"
"Mum!" Alice asked, voice quivering, "What is going on!"
Tyera backed away from the door, wrapping one arm around her daughter protectively. "Stay close to me!" she hissed, eyes flicking from window to window. "Syl, I don't think this is."
ALLOW ME TO DEMOSTRATE. NOW I SHALL SEND ALL POKÉMON OF THIS WORLD… TO THE VOID! I SHALL SNATCH AWAY THE ENERGY OF ALL POKÉMON!
"M-Mum…"
Sylvain had backed up to join his family, defensively raising his claws up.
IT IS ALREADY TOO LATE FOR YOU TO POSSIBLY ESCAPE. NO MATTER WHERE YOU ARE IN THE WORLD… NO MATTER HOW FAR YOU RUN… I SHALL HUNT YOU DOWN. YOU WILL BECOME NOTHING! PREPARE YOURSELVES FOR THE COMING OF MY WRATH! TREMBLE BEFORE THE GREAT TERROR I SHALL UNLEASH! FEEL THE UNENDING DESPAIR I SHALL BRING TO THE WORLD!
Alice felt her mother's grip tighten around her. "Stay close Alice!"
In that moment, they were plunged into darkness.
Alice shivered, eyes looking glassy for a flicker of a moment before shaking her head. "It became light again not long afterwards, but down in the village, people were starting to turn into stone. One by one. No one knew who was actually doing it, but there was no trace of those responsible. But we had a good guess."
Sam went cold at the words, "Yveltal. Who – what was that?"
The Buneary barely glanced at him. "A Legendary Pokémon. More powerful than even Volcanion." She explained. "I don't really care on what it was, but they say it's the Pokémon of Destruction."
The hairs on the back of his neck raised up, the air seeming to freeze around him now at the mere thought of such a Pokémon. One powerful enough to turn people to stone. A literal god of destruction, if the legendries were any indication. Volcanion was bad enough. To have a Pokémon with that kind of power…
"As it turned out, it wasn't Yveltal that went for us in end." Alice said, "It was someone else who causing problems in our village."
"Someone else had that power?"
"Not quite, but they had the same power Yveltal had thanks to Dark Matter." Closing her eyes, she puffed out a quiet breath. "He went on through the entire village at the head of a possessed group of Pokémon… before he finally found us…"
"Get inside! I'll keep them busy!"
"Sylvain you can't deal with him alone!" Tyera shouted, wincing as she held onto one side.
"Just get her somewhere safe for now! If you're going to fight with me at least do that!"
Tyera pulled Alice sharply into their now darkened cottage. Shadows clung to every piece of furniture and every feature inside. "Mum! Let go of me!" Alice barked, trying to shake herself free of her mother's iron grip on her arm. "I can fight too!"
The Lopunny flashed her teeth into a snarl back at her, "You aren't ready for this kind of fight!" she stressed, pulling her towards the centre of the room and throwing a rug aside to reveal a hatch in the floor. "You'll do more good by staying safe."
She lifted up the hatch to reveal a small space underneath the floor. "Get in!" she hissed.
"No!" Alice snapped, stamping on the ground and struggling to hold back tears. "I'm not a kid anymore! Let me help!"
Tyera looked ready to scream at her daughter's face, eyes burning with not only rage, but fear too. But some force held her back at the last second, and instead, she crouched down and took the Buneary's hands in her own. "Alice." She whispered, "We need you to be able to get away. If we can't stop these… these things here they could cause more harm elsewhere. You need to hide. Wait this out, and if we can't stop them here, you need to run. Run, run and run. Warn any other Pokémon of the danger and find help."
Alice looked up at her mother, sensing the fur along her cheeks beginning to get wet. "But Mum… please… I can't just leave you and dad alone…"
"Tyera!" her father barked, "That grass-type asshole is coming! Hurry up!"
Tyera flinched briefly, glancing over her shoulder at the shout of Sylvain. Alice's body quivered, her heart slowing as it became apparent there was no changing her mother's mind. The Lopunny scanned the room… and found a single blue object lying on the table. She quickly scurried to collect the plate shaped object, complete with small orbs on the edge, and brought it back to Alice's side. "I know an old friend."
Alice blinked, "A friend?"
"A very old friend." She explained, "He'll come to help. If all else fails, I'm counting on you to find him, and tell him everything that happened here. Understand?"
"But Mum-"
Her mother grasped onto her shoulders, leaning in and quietly whispering to Alice's ear.
A moment passed, and she pulled away. "That is his name. This is your mission. Find him west of here. Tell him everything. Learn from him. Understand?"
Alice was struggling to hold back the tears, still mentally begging for her mother to let her stay. But this was it. It was a mission. Something to help people. And even with her youth, she could see its importance. If this was to be…
Shakingly, Alice nodded. She turned, and climbed down under the floorboards.
"Alice?"
She looked up to find her mother reaching back down, her red gloves now off and in her grasp. "Keep these safe, will you?" she pulled a wink. "I'll want them back."
Even with her cheeks wet, Alice managed to slip out a tiny giggle as she took the gloves. Tyera looked down upon her daughter one more time.
Alice could see a little tear of her own forming.
"I love you kiddo."
And with that, she shut the trapdoor and threw the rug over the top, shrouding Alice into an even darker shadow. The only light she could see was through subtle cracks in the floorboards above her heads.
For the next few minutes, she sat there in silence. Doing her best not to breath too loudly, holding the gloves close to her chest.
Then she could hear the thuds. The bangs. The slashes. She could feel each blow resonate through the ground. Each one shaking particles off the floor panels and down into the small hide away.
Alice jerked back as the screaming started. Pained and feral. Was it her mother? Her father? There was no way to tell.
With a final piercing scream, the air finally fell silent.
The Buneary remained still, ears peeled for any sign of a victory cheer. To hear mother return and assure her they were okay.
Instead, she heard the door creak open. And the footsteps thump against the floorboards. She held her breath.
"Well, well, well." Came a voice, twisted into a strange accent. One that Alice didn't recognise. "You done hidin' here? I reckon those Pokémon brought you in here just for t'at."
Shivering, Alice clamped her mouth shut, desperately trying to hold her breath. No… no…
The new arrival stepped further into the cottage; a little cackle evident in his voice. "Come out child." He said, "It'd all be over soon…"
A shadow formed in the cracks above her head. It was right on top of her now.
"Hmm… I wonder if you're right… down-"
His voice was suddenly cut off, the shadow stiffening. Alice folded herself back deeper into the hole, trying to make herself less visible, holding her breath.
"T-they're nearly there! At the Ruins! Hmph! I'll be right there!"
The shadow withdrew, but not before his voice brushed past her ears one more time. "Don't worry little 'un. Your time will come."
He stepped out of the house, and with that, he was gone.
Alice stayed there, remaining silent. Waiting. Waiting for any sign of the invader or anything else returning. But nothing came.
Finally, the tension became too much, and gritting her teeth, Alice kicked herself up, ears jabbing out together. She smashed the hatch up, tossing the rug aside as she scrambled out of the hole. Please, please be okay!
She sprinted for the door, left slightly ajar and barrelled through it into the night.
Alice found herself alone, the sky covered in thick black clouds. Her head flicked left and right, trying to search for any sign of her parents. "Mum!" she shouted, "Dad!"
Her eyes finally settled on a dark lump, a few metres away from the cottage. That… that isn't supposed to be there…
She slowly approached, the crackle of thunder booming over her head. "Mum?" she whispered, "Dad?"
Alice was almost on top of it when purple lightning flashed above her. She gasped, stumbling back and falling to the floor.
She looked upon her parents, her mother cradling her father in her arms. Both with their eyes closed.
Turned to stone.
Alice dipped down her head, eyes squeezed shut. "I wouldn't leave for ten minutes. Trying to work out how to get my parents out. But I remembered what my mother told me to do. I left the village, looking to try and find that one person she had mentioned. But I didn't get far before… well, the Tree of Life was killed by Dark Matter and me and everyone else got turned to stone."
Sam felt ever more chilled to the bone as Alice told her tale. He barely even registered the fact that everyone else got turned to stone. No. They were dead. The lot of them. But as horrible as it sounded, he wouldn't wish what Alice had to go through to anyone.
"I thought that was it. Dead. No hope for the future. But a team of Pokémon managed to defeat Dark Matter, saved the Tree of Life and seemed to revive us. When I realised what had happened from one of the other villagers, I ran back home. I thought Mum and Dad would be there, waiting for me."
She visibly stiffened, and it was all too clear to the Scorbunny what the answer actually was. Alice hissed as she drew a fresh, if shaky breath in. "But they were still there. Still stone. I waited for days, thinking that they were just late in getting pulled out. But…" she visibly gulped. "They never did."
Unable to hold himself back, Sam reached out towards Alice and placed a hand onto her shoulder. He held his nerve as the Buneary instantly flinched, half worried she would throw the arm – or him – off. But as she started to relax, the Scorbunny finally spoke up again. "Alice… I'm so sorry." He managed to say softly, not wanting to imagine what that felt even felt like.
Slowly nodding, she continued, "Over those few days, the villagers started to believe this rumour going round. A rumour about how I was alive and yet my parents weren't."
The chill was now finally being challenge, a little flame sparking inside the Scorbunny's chest. "No…" Sam started, already shaking his head as his ears stiffened upright and his eyes narrowed. "They can't have used that. What the hell were they thinking?"
"They thought 'bout it enough." Alice took in another breath. "They called me cursed. They thought I had something to do with Mum and Dad dying. Maybe even worked with Dark Matter to do it. Some even thought I wanted to bring Dark Matter back. I got stared down at first, then people started throwing rocks at me. Then two weeks after we call came back… they… they…"
She thudded the balcony with one hand. "They came to the orphanage I was staying at. The whole village. And they bloody burnt it down."
Sam very nearly did the same, the cold now driven away and replaced with the hot, simmering flames of anger. He almost wished he was there right now, try and shake some sense into those villagers. But he was no master of time, and he struggled to hold his tongue.
"I had already fled before they arrived though. I knew I couldn't stay there anymore. I remembered what Mum told me again and set off west. Word of advice? Try not crossing Air Continent alone."
The flames cooled a touch, "Y-You went across a whole continent?"
"Yeah. It wasn't easy. Air still had fissures and rough terrain left over from the original disasters, so progress was slow. I had to try and run through Mystery Dungeons because the alternative was just… impassable."
"I don't even want to think about how you managed that."
Alice looked down towards the floor, "I… just got lucky. I managed to get past Mount Blaze but after that I was exhausted. I had eaten or had water for days before I finally just passed out. I still remember it now. This grassy patch near this cave. I figured it would be a nice place to die."
And for the first time, Alice's eyes sparkled. "That's when my uncle found me."
Sam blinked, "Your uncle?"
A little smile formed on Alice's lips. "He's not really my uncle. He was the old friend Mum had contacted. He had been over on another continent and was heading over to find me. He took me under his wing when I had nowhere else to go. Taught me everything I know."
His own smile began to emerge, but that was cut short as Alice's own faded away. "Eventually however, one of the Pokémon from my old village came to town and saw me there. The talk about the 'curse' came back, and eventually we had to move again. About a year ago, we came here and with that, the curse."
She closed her eyes again, "No one was setting fire to anything anymore. But I was now just ostracised wherever I went. I was some kind of witch or troublemaker." She spat the last sentence out, "After spending so many years trying to prove otherwise… I just had enough. If they thought I was a jerk at best, I'd be a jerk right back."
There was a little twitch in the corner of her mouth. "Started off by punching the lights of one nasty piece of work. Never bothered me again after that."
Sam tore his eyes away. The image of it all was too much for him to put up with. She's had to deal with losing her parents and being pushed out by everyone who hears of this… bullshit conspiracy! For six years! What kind of assholes would ever do this! He clenched his fist, he almost wished that village which had pushed her out had burnt to the ground itself.
He mentally winced at that. He knew that was too morbid a thought, but to push her out like that when she needed help? No wonder she was so angry a lot of the time. The fact she managed to hold onto herself for that long was just staggering.
He certainly wasn't that strong willed.
"So there." She finished. "You know my entire life story now."
He looked towards her again, the Buneary's eyes fixed on the tree in the distance. He knew it was his turn to reply. But he wasn't sure what would be best to say. I need to offer support… but… how?
"Alice." He managed to start, "I can't begin to imagine what that was like for you. I'm so sorry this happened to you… if I could do anything to change that, I would."
Alice merely shrugged, rubbing Sam's hand loose. "I've had six years to deal with it." she said, "It's fine."
"Do you… have anything to remember them by?"
Looking over to her side, she reached one paw out towards a groove in the floor that ran on her side. She hesitated, before reaching her fingers inside and pulling out a pair of red gloves, far too big to fit her hands.
Sam tilted an ear at the sight of them, "Your mother's gloves?"
"Yeah." Alice replied, "They were all I could bring with me when I ran away."
She tightened her grip on the gloves. "That's why I wanted to join the guild." She explained, "I wanted to follow in my parents and my uncle's footsteps." Her eyes narrowed, "And perhaps one day. I'll find the Pokémon that killed mum. And dad too. And I'll make him suffer."
The Scorbunny shivered at the words. A part of him knew that was just… wrong. Going for revenge in that kind of way? That would probably harm Alice more than help her. But at the same time, he couldn't blame her for that.
She sighed, putting the gloves down. "I shouldn't be thinking about that, especially since I doubt the Guild wants me."
"Rex and Esper seemed okay with you."
"They would be. But not everyone else."
"I would be fine with you being around."
Frowning, Alice turned towards him. Sam swallowed, realising what he had just said. Well… after everything that has happened, this is the least I can do for her. And I don't… I don't want her wallowing in pain on her own any longer.
"Look." Sam said, turning himself round to face her fully. "I know you don't think people trust you. But you just telling me that means you trust me."
"That's different fro-"
"Alice." Sam interrupted her. "I trust you as well. And I want to help you in whatever way I can."
He hesitated for a moment, continuing. "Alice… you want to be in the guild. And at this point the Guild seems like the best option for me. How about we form a team?"
Now it was Alice's turn to flinch, a flicker of confusion on her face. "You can't be serious."
"I mean it." Sam stressed, "We made one hell of a team against Aidan and in the dungeons. We could do a lot of good with the Guild, and maybe we can get a bit of what we want to. You get to follow in your parent's footsteps and I might learn about my past. Either way, I'd happen to count on you… partner."
He reached out one hand towards her, letting a little smile form on his face. "So, what do you say?"
Alice looked down towards his open palm. He didn't feel like he had to do this. He felt obliged to do so. He genuinely believed they could really form a good team. And if he could be there to help Alice, he would.
The Buneary looked back up at him, a smile of her own forming. "I'll be honest. You're not half bad Sam."
Sam closed his eyes, grin getting even bigger. "Thanks! You're not bad ei-"
"No thanks on the team."
The Scorbunny jerked upright so suddenly, he swore he heard his bones crack. "H-Huh?"
Alice pushed herself back to her feet. "I know what you are trying to do. You are trying to be a bit of a hero and help me out. I appreciate it."
She crossed her arms, not in a display of anger. Instead, she seemed more relaxed than before. "But hanging around me… tends to cause a lot of trouble down the line."
"I don't give a damn about that!" Sam cursed, pushing himself back up. "I'll put up with any crap thrown over!"
"You don't understand." Alice said calmly, "Just being associated with me would put a big target on your back. You've just come flying out of nowhere yourself, so Pokémon are still making their first impressions of you. To team up with me would sour your image. Many won't trust you for it, and might even spread rumours about you too. My uncle nearly got caught up in it just by looking after me"
She shook her head, "I can't allow that to happen to you too."
He couldn't believe it. Just when he figured they were getting somewhere, she was pushing him back out of arm's length. "Come on Alice. Let them spread rumours, I'll prove the-"
Alice was already moving to slip past him. "You'll thank me later." She said, heading for the tunnel leading back to the front. She stopped just short of it, not looking back towards him. But it was clear there wasn't a shred of tension in her body. "You're a good person Sam." She added softly, "You don't need me cluttering your life up."
Sam couldn't respond as she entered the tunnel, "Enjoy the view." She finished, disappearing into the darkness.
He stared at the entrance for the better part of a minute, trying to process Alice's last words to him. For someone to be so badly affected by such a troubled past that they would push away any sign of friendship to protect the other in question?
The fire fading away once more, Sam turned his gaze back onto the colourful shape of the Tree of Life in the distance. How could something kill you? He questioned, You may have come back to life… but it seems like the scars left behind might not be healing anytime soon…
Apologies for the extremely long delay in releasing this chapter. But life has been extremely hectic for me. I've been balancing a bunch of different projects for the last few months, namely trying to balance out my different bits of writing and art. On top of that, I've recently been involved in extensive training for a new career, so that has eaten up alot of my time which has made things more difficult. But this chapter essentially sets the stage for the finale of this first episode. There is alot of stuff I want to do with GoB down the line, so any support and discussion about this would be greatly appreciated, along with any feedback you might have to offer!
Thanks again for the wait, and I hope you enjoy that chapter!
POKÉMON MYSTERY DUNGEON GUARDIANS OF BALANCE
ALWAYS AUDACITY
CHAPTER XXII – INSURENCE
Most of the lights in Robinswood were now out, as the inhabitants of the small town were now turning in for the night. Even the Guildtree itself seemed darker than before as those working within finished their business. The streets and the paths that connected the different buildings together were empty and devoid of any life, save for a handful of Guild members quietly patrolling in pairs. No one was ever on their own.
One of those pairs stood by the entrance of the Guildtree, both scanning the trees and the square for any sign of potential movement. They were in the middle of a quiet conversation between themselves when something crackled within the town itself.
Jerking to attention, the pair stepped away from the entrance, trying to pinpoint the source.
That was when the dark shape bounced in behind them and straight through the entrance with them none the wiser.
Aidan touched down inside the empty lobby, his eyes flashing left and right for any contacts. But none appeared, not even those damn Meowth were at the desk as they usually were. He reached round to his satchel, tapping on the selection of orbs held within. They weren't the standard run of the mill orbs. They were new, experimental models alongside some older types. He didn't have to use an Invisify Orb for a start. Good thing too. They weren't really made anymore officially. Especially after some of the issues became apparent with the mental problems they could cause. And if there were any of the replacement Stealth Orbs in existence, he hadn't found them.
Best he didn't use those rare tools until they were needed.
He moved towards one of the smaller doorways off to one side of the lobby, that was where his objective was waiting for him.
Most would consider this plan foolish, but this was a contingency that was too useful for him to pass up on. Especially-
The elevator creaked above his head, and in silence, the Frogadier rolled off to the side, hiding himself behind a large crate stacked at the edge. Damn it, who the hell would still be leaving now!?
He peered round the corner of the crate, observing the elevator touch down and open up.
Stepping out into the lobby was a familiar white and red rabbit.
Aidan stiffened, tightening his grip on the crate. Sam…
Sam had his hands stuffed in the pockets of his jacket; head bowed as he walked across the lobby. Aidan narrowed his eyes as he watched, Rebecca's done her work, he's looking better already.
The frog's thoughts darkened. He could take him out. Grab him, pull him into the shadows, break his neck whilst no one was looking. Dispose the body in one of the crates and carry on with his task. It would be so cathartic. Aidan had to admit, trying to bring Sam into the rest of his life was a risky move, especially so soon. But that bond they had… he thought that would be enough. He trusted him! Vengeance would be so…
He bit down on his tongue, resisting the urge to attack. No. Even if he could kill him now, everyone would immediately realise that Aidan would have done the deed. He didn't need a bigger target on his back right now on top of what he was about to do now. And besides, given that bowed appearance, the Scorbunny seemed to be tumbling emotionally right now anyway. To jump in now…
Aidan couldn't tell if he was feeling cruel or pitiful.
Regardless, he watched Sam wander out of the Guildtree and stepped back into the open, heading towards the door he was looking for and made his way through. A corridor curved downwards into the ground, and Aiden silently jogged down it towards the lower levels, wrapped around the roots of the tree itself. He had never been down here before, but he was already familiar with the layout. Getting his hands on the floor plans was certainly worth the effort.
The corridor itself didn't branch off in any other direction, and at the end he found himself standing before a large metal door, easily large enough to allow for the likes of all but the biggest Pokémon access whilst also being very difficult to break down. At least by some manner of physical strength or the power of specific moves. Wouldn't be a very good door if anyone could just open it.
Reaching into his satchel, Aidan pulled out an average sized red orb that was cool to the touch. Rubbing it between his hands, he focused his attention on it as the object as it sharply began to heat up in his grasp. He pressed it against the wall, "Three, Two, One…"
He pulled his hands back, leaving the red orb to remain fixed within the surface of the metal. It brightened as much as a cheri berry. And then the sparks flew off the orb, the object beginning to shrink as the metal started to glow, and then quickly began to melt under the sheer heat.
Aidan could help but smirk as the molten metal fell away from the centre of the door, pooling into a steaming pool of red goop on the stone floor. He blew out a little Bubble attack at the opening, a faint hiss and crackle tickling at his ears. Barely waiting for it to cool, he hopped on through to find himself where he needed to be.
To his right was a long corridor, lined with what appeared to be cell doors, also made of the same material as the outer door. On his left, behind a wooden table and slumped over it was the familiar shape of a Sableye. Its crystal eyes were unmoving and 'open', yet given he could hear the faint snoring rising it was all too clear that the Pokémon was asleep.
Aidan didn't take any chances though. Reaching back into the satchel, he pulled out a small wooden stick and waved it towards the Sableye. With a flash of golden light at the tip, a tiny star blinked towards the guard and touched him on the head. He stiffened, seemingly disturbed before he started snoring again, more deeply than before.
The slumber wand disintegrated into golden specks in hand, and without barely a second glance at the firmly asleep Pokémon, Aidan made his way deeper into the prison. He strode past each of the cell doors until he found the one he wanted and slid open the viewport.
Within a small cell, was a large blue Pokémon that leaning against the wall. The massive amphibian stiffened and lifted his head up towards the viewport, a toothless, unwelcome smile forming.
"Boss." Greg rumbled.
Aidan tilted his head, lips twitching. "How did you figure it out it was me?"
The Swampert sighed as he pushed himself up to his feet. "I've seen enough of those headaches to know you were ready to evolve. So, what are you doing here? Can't be just wanting to gloat at some crook like me?"
"I couldn't be bothered to do even that." Aidan explained, casually leaning against the cell door and gazing at his hand. "Certainly not worth wasting some rare and valuable Orbs just to pay a visit."
He narrowed his eyes, crossing his arms in disapproval. "Especially after you screwed up so badly."
Greg stiffened up, eyelid twitching in subtle rage. "Come the hell on." He growled, "That was an accident! Besides that team was asking for it in the en-"
"I didn't order you to kill them." Aidan coldly and quietly snapped.
Two giant fists pounded against the metal of the cell door, the bang echoing through the prison like a wave. Aidan felt his body shudder under the impact through the metal, but it didn't faze him at all. It was a pointless and meaningless gesture. Nothing more.
Aidan rolled his head back, and let out a quiet yawn. "My my. What a foul tempered Swampert."
Quivering, Greg grumbled as he pulled his fists away from the door. But he said nothing else.
Satisfied, Aidan reached back into his satchel as he pulled out another one of the red orbs. "What I have here is an experimental orb." He explained, "It's a Scorch Orb. Very rare. Very illegal. Burns through near enough anything. Metal. Wood. Pokémon." He juggled the orb in one hand. "Naturally makes it dangerous. One of the few things the continents, guilds and societies could actually agree on was destroying every single record on making them so no humble craftsmon could try and replicate them. Well, so they say. Good news is, I smuggled a few of these bad boys in as… insurance."
He turned his gaze back onto the bandit leader. "I've already used one of these to get in. Luckily, I have this spare. I could use it to get you out of here. But then again, my hand could just slip-"
Aidan pulled his hand away, allowing the still airborne orb space to fall. Greg's eyes widened, going still as the orb dropped out of sight – and into the Frogadier's other hand. Smiling, he lifted the orb back into view.
Straightening up and recomposing himself, the Swampert narrowed his eyes. "…what do you want?"
"Like I said." Aidan replied, "Insurance."
Sam's ears twitched as the rays of sunlight hit his face. Feeling the warmth soak in, he opened his eyes to find that little window above his head twinkling with white light. A new day. The first time he had woken up in the room since…
He rolled his head over to look over at the empty bed across the room. It was in a messy state, still not laid out since their return to the town. I suppose Aidan didn't have much of a chance to sleep. Sam mused as he clambered out of the bed. I wonder if he left anything behind. Something that could be useful in Esper's investigation.
He searched through the contents of Aidan's side of the room. But as he opened his drawer, Sam could only sigh at the sight of what only appeared to be a few wraps of cloth and an empty bag. The lockers yielded little too. Just a scarf and a small bag of berries. Nothing that would point towards Aidan's activities.
The Scorbunny booted both shut, stretched back and rolled his shoulders. Come on Sam. It's a new day. Just forget about last night. Forget about Aidan betraying you and forget about Alice walking off again.
How could he forget though? He had trusted Aidan. And Alice… she had admitted to all that pain, and was still so wrapped up in it she wouldn't join another team.
But as he threw his jacket and googles on, he mentally worked to shove the thoughts aside. Now was not the time to get lost in them. He still had to secure a place on a rescue team. And even if he didn't, he couldn't stay couped up all day.
With the thoughts compartmentalised away, Sam let himself pull a weak smile, if only briefly, and wondered out into the day. He followed the paths back through the trees towards the square and the Guildtree. He watched as the crowds of Pokémon moved between building to building. Or from shop to shop for that matter. The way they happily chatted and bartered with one another. A few hearty laughs here and there. Even a few giggles from what Sam imagined were children. There was signs of an increased guild presence, judging by the extra Pokémon standing on guard around the outskirts and at the base of the tree with their own unique armbands. But beyond that… it was just as normal a day as any. Much like how he first arrived here.
Given what has happened… I'm surprised this place can just, I don't know. Brush things off maybe?
Walking past a pair of guards, he wandered on back into the Guildtree and its lobby.
It was already far busier this time round, there were multiple teams moving across the floor and accessing the stairs and lifts. The three different Meowth were jogging back and forth between the desk and the series of cabinets at the back, no doubt trying to fill the requests that were being thrown their way.
Sat at the front desk was the familiar shape of Bruce, tapping his foot away as waited for one of the Meowth to come running back round to him. Given Bruce was the only one he both recognised and knew in some way, Sam stuffed his hands into his pockets and strolled up to join him. "Hey Bruce."
The Bulbasaur turned towards him with a massive smile, "Sam! Doing good?"
"Been better." Sam replied, rubbing the back of his head. "How about you?"
Bruce nodded back towards him. "Yep! Just waiting to get details on the new team done. What about you? Gonna get set up with Aidan an-"
He visibly stiffened at the name, mouth twitching open and shut. Sam's ears dipped a bit. "Word travels that fast huh?"
"Yeah…" Bruce admitted, seeming to shrivel up. "I only heard about it this morning." He shook his head, "Sorry dude, I tried to distract myself by getting everyone signed up but well-"
The words died on the top of the Pokémon's tongue. Sam could feel the mood dampen even further. Better change the topic quick.
"Let's forget about that." Sam replied, "Any idea on a team name?"
"A team name… oh yeah!" Bruce exclaimed, standing up. "We're still working on that."
Sam tilted his head at that, "Don't you need one before signing up or something?"
"Not at the start. Shouldn't be much longer though. I mean, we can't use Team Forest anymore. Nia wants to be Team Go-Getters or Poképals."
It took a couple of seconds for Sam to realise what Bruce had just said. The Scorbunny could already sense his face twisting, cringing at the names. "Go-Getters? Poképals? Really?"
Bruce himself seemed to shrivel up at the words, "Yeah… not my kind of name. They kinda have a good ring but…" the Bulbasaur pulled the best shrug he could, "Not what you would call epic."
Sam nearly choked out a chuckle, "Epic huh?"
"Come on man-"
"Relax Bruce. I'm pulling your leg." He hesitated, "Or vine."
"Very funny." Bruce replied with a smirk.
Sam grinned, a pleasant warmth filling his chest. "In all seriousness, I'm sure you'll come up with something good."
The Scorbunny stiffened further upright, recalling Rex's words on finding a new team. "Actually." he started, relaxing in front of his fellow initiate. "I was wondering if you coul-"
He caught a flash of red and yellow in the corner of his vision, and with the sentence fading away, Sam turned to find Rex strolling across the lobby, Esper moving alongside him. Huh? What's Rex doing down here?
"Hey Sam? What's up – oh, the guildmaster?" Bruce questioned, "You need something off him?"
"Not really…" Sam replied, focusing his gaze on the two Pokémon as they approached a door on one side of the lobby. It was there, impatiently pacing at the portal was a Sableye. "The jailer…" Sam mused, ears going more erect. He watched as the Ghost-type almost leapt upright as the two higher ranked Pokémon approached him and quietly uttered a few words between them. Sam leaned over, trying to listen in. But the din of the surrounding crowd of Pokémon was just too much even for his ears to pick out their voices. But judging from the rather skittish gestures that the jailer was making…
Something's wrong.
Rex nodded at the Sableye and made his way through the door, Esper and the jailer following close behind.
"Weird." Bruce started, "That Sableye seemed a bit-"
Sam was able to hear the Bulbasaur choke over his shoulder. "W-Sam! Where are you going!"
Already jogging for the door, Sam barely glanced back, "I'm taking a look!"
"W-What!? No! We can't-"
The Bulbasaur growled, his footsteps clattering behind him as Sam slipped his fingers through the closing door and slipped on through.
He entered a stone corridor, quite a bit different compared to the likes the interior of the Guildtree. Bruce grunted behind him, the Bulbasaur barely managing to squeeze through the gap before the door closed. "Sam!" he hissed, "We aren't allowed down here!"
"I need to know what's going on." Sam replied, narrowing his eyes as he started to jog down the corridor. "I think it's to do with Aidan."
"Aidan? What the hell has he got to do with the-" his voice teetered off. "Shit. Wait, what would Aidan have to do with this place… whatever it is. Jail?"
"Must be." Sam replied, "Aidan was a smuggler, there might be something down here he is after."
"On top of trying to… err… you know."
"Kill me." Sam grunted, "Yeah, I know."
It didn't take long before voices started rising up further down the corridor… and soon enough, the ruined prison door. Sam struggled to stop the gasp, seeing the puddles of molten metal piled round the entrance.
"Holy." Bruce whispered, "Any idea what caused this?"
"Beats me." Sam replied, "Quiet. I'm trying to listen." He said, focusing on the voices.
"…on't get it! I would have woken up!"
"The door was likely covered by an orb." Rex stated. "As for you not waking up, it would have to be a Slumber wand. Probably as a pre-"
"Sorry old man." Esper interrupted, "We've got guests."
Sam felt a deep chill settle over his body, a faint blue glow flowing around him. We-what?
That was when his feet lifted off the floor. Out of his control. He barely heard Bruce stutter in confusion before he suddenly found himself thrown through the hole in the door.
The flight barely lasted more than a second, as he suddenly jerked to a halt at the entrance to a line of prison cells. It was down this corridor where Rex, Esper and the jailer were standing. The Meowstic's eyes glowed a solid blue, her head tilted back as if in mild disinterest. Rex crossed his arms, "Ah, Sam. Bruce."
Sam blinked as his feet touched the ground again. "H-How did you know we were there?"
"I'm Psychic." Esper explained as her eyes slowly returned back to normal. "You were loud enough."
"S-Sorry that we are here guildmaster!" Bruce started, shaking his head, "We didn't mean to-"
"Relax Bruce." Rex interjected, raising his hands in a calming motion. "You were following Sam, right?"
Bruce fidgeted on the spot, eyes flicking away, "Yeah."
The Scorbunny stiffened as Rex turned his gaze on him, "And I'm not surprised you followed us down here."
Hesitating, Sam nodded. "I figured something was up."
"That's completely understandable." The Blaziken motioned with one hand, "Come on. You two might as well see this."
Sharing a glance with Bruce, now looking like he had shaken off his nerves, Sam made his way over to the gathered group. They had been directing their attention to one of the cells – the door had been melted through just as the outer door had. And the cell itself was empty. He glanced at the molten patches, feeling his chest go cold. "Did you say this was due to some kind of orb?" He asked.
"He did." Esper confirmed, yellow eyes inspecting the markings, "But I've never seen anything like this before."
"A Scorch Orb."
Esper's eyes – and by extension Sam's – flicked over to Rex, his arms crossed. "An extremely dangerous Orb type. They were made before the first Rescue Teams were formed."
Bruce patted a foot on the scorched metal, wincing at the touch. "Sounds like you've seen these before Guildmaster." He visibly swallowed, "Not that I'm suggesting anything."
"It's a fair observation." Rex reassured him, "And yes. I've seen one once." He closed his eyes. "Let's just say the results weren't pretty. I helped made sure that production of them ceased. But I didn't think any would still exist."
"If anyone could get them, Aidan could." Sam noted. Granted, he didn't know that for sure. But given what he had just from that one encounter, it would make sense. "But who would Aidan or anyone want to break out?"
Bruce had wandered into the cell, his eyes widening as he looked at the other side. "Arc-big guy to the looks of it."
Tilting his head, Sam frowned. "A big guy?"
His mouth opened to reply, but the Bulbasaur shook his head and bumped it against the door. It squeaked as it swung out, revealing the dozens of dents on the other side. Each one easily bigger than Sam's head.
The hairs rose up the back of his neck, the Scorbunny immediately stiffening at the sight. He remembered that first day in Robinwood. How that Sableye came running out for help. There was only one Pokémon that could leave that impression."
"Greg." Sam hissed, sharply enough that he could feel himself coil up.
"Greg?" Bruce asked, a flicker of confusion evident.
"A Swampert." Rex stated, "A strong one to boot too." He turned towards Esper, "At the very least, if Aidan did do this, he only elected to release Greg and not his fellow bandits."
"Perhaps he only needed the leader." Esper noted.
Sam tapped his foot, his mind whirling to conclusions. "Or maybe he didn't have enough Scorch Orbs."
"Wouldn't there be keys lying around for that?" Bruce asked.
The Sableye shuck his head. "Nada. The keys are kept elsewhere in the Tree. Makes it harder to break out!"
"That still leaves why Aidan would risk coming back here." Esper said.
"Likely a distraction." Rex suggested, "And at the worst possible time. We still need to send out search teams at once."
Esper glanced up at the avian. "You said it yourself. We still have a large portion of the Guild monitoring what remains of Broken Wood in case Volcanion remerges."
Rubbing his wrist, the guildmaster narrowed his eyes. "Greg is still a dangerous threat. I'll dispatch Lance and Reave. They've dealt with Greg's team before."
"I bet if we find Greg." Sam started; arms crossed as he pulled a determined look their way. "It'll lead to Aidan too."
Rex pulled a small smile in approval, "You read my mind little one. Esper, cont-"
"Guildmaster!"
Sam spun to find the Bibarel, Oscar, stumbling into view at the end of the corridor from the entrance. "By golly! I thought you were down here!"
Panting, the beaver leaned against one of the walls. "It's the port. There's been an explosion!"
"What!?" Bruce shouted, leaping out of the cell. "I know a few of the guys there! Is-"
"I don't know! I just heard from one of the Fletchlings that happened to be close by! Poor fella nearly collapsed, how fast he flew. Much of the place is already on fire, and could spread to the nearby forest!"
Sam swivelled towards Rex, his heart already beginning to pound. There was only one logical suggestion after all of this. "Aidan." He hissed, fists already tightening enough that a tiny part of his mind was worried they would start bleeding.
Rex clicked his beak in a clear show of agreement. "Indeed." He breathed out with disgust. "Another part of his distraction." He rubbed his forehead, a soft groan escaping his lips. "No doubt he is taking advantage of the fact that we are spread thin. Between Volcanion, protecting Robinwood, Greg and now this…"
"Guildmaster?" Oscar gently questioned, "What do you want us to do?"
Letting out a heavy sigh, Rex focused his attention back onto the beaver. "Assemble the guild members. Pull those back searching for Aidan. We'll divert them back to the port, rescue those stuck there and contain the fire."
Bruce practically bounced at the words, "I'll come too! I'm not leaving those guys to burn! Doesn't matter how hot those flames are, I can take it!"
"What about Aidan?" Sam questioned, "I'm all up for saving that place as much as the rest of us, but he could still get away." The Scorbunny could feel his body quiver, and a heaviness settle into his stomach. It felt wrong to focus on Aidan, not with everyone else in danger. But every second spent acting on the defence was another opportunity for the smuggler to escape.
Or to plot something worse.
Rex held his gaze on Sam for a solid ten seconds, his blue eyes piercing through his own. He felt his heart slow for a second, as if the fire type had somehow turned into an ice type to cool him down. But it didn't last for long, and the Scorbunny merely straightened up. "I'll come and help at the port. But we should keep at least one team out to look for Aidan."
"Which is why you will be staying here." Rex stated.
Sam blinked "H-Huh?"
Rex crossed his arms, raising a brow, "You have the most experience in working with Aidan and contending with Greg. Or rather, the most recent encounters. You will be the most up-to-date with whatever tricks they might try."
"I barely know them."
"My point still stands. Plus, if Aidan sees you in a less well defended town…"
Sam let his mouth drop open as it dawned on him, "Ahh… he might make a run for me."
"Exactly. And because of that alone," he turned towards Bruce, "I must ask you Bruce to get the other recruits who returned from Broken Wood. You'll form the protection detail."
"B-But-" Bruce started, only for Rex to raise a finger to stop him.
"I know you want to help your friends in the port, but I can't leave the town defended by just Sam alone, and I can't pull back anyone from Broken Wood. They aren't just there to act as a tripwire for Volcanion, but it's for anyone who is dares to try and get in. That, and you all don't have the experience to deal with an emergency like this." He motioned a hand towards the Sableye, who immediately jerked up to attention and scurried for the prison entrance. "As for sending a team to focus on tracking Aidan or Greg, I will send our best."
He turned towards the Meowstic. "Esper. Get Team Spirit ready. Now."
A determined look forming, Esper nodded back. "Spirit will get it done." She confirmed sharply, before turning to make her way out after the Sableye, with Oscar following close behind. Rex himself directed his attention to the remaining two Pokémon – Sam and Bruce.
"Listen to me carefully." He started, "I'll hash out key areas to guard and rotations if this takes too long. But whatever you do, focus on protecting Robinwood. Don't try and go on a rescue mission. Send someone to report it to me as soon as you can. Understood?"
"Yes sir!" Bruce declared firmly, one foot stamping the ground as if coming to attention.
But Sam himself hesitated, a part of him wanting to chase Aidan and Greg, another wanting to help at the port, but if this needed to be done…
"You can count on us." He said, sharply nodding back at Rex.
When they emerged from the prison, Rex had immediately rallied the Guild to action. Rapidly assembling the Rescue Teams to set off towards the port at all speed. Some were already prepared to depart, and led the way through the forests towards the south, whilst others hurried back to their rooms and barracks to gather their equipment. Rex took the opportunity to inform Sam and Bruce of the guarding arrangements for Robinwood, in case of Aidan or Greg suddenly made their return to the town. Arrangements that were soon passed over towards Nia, Dan, Edward, Denver and at last, Alice herself, looking no different than from the following night.
And with that, the plan was set. The seven successful guild recruits would be split into three separate units, centred around their teams (mostly). Some of the townsfolk were also willing to throw in their support in each spot. Edward and Denver would guard one side of the outskirts whilst Bruce, Nia and Dan would cover the other.
That left Sam and Alice to guard the town centre and the guild tree itself, the location with the largest number of Pokémon on its own.
With the final guard details arranged, Rex led the remaining teams out of town, following the vanguard towards the port.
The mysterious Team Spirit didn't appear. Must have already set off after Greg. Sam figured.
"Seems like we are stuck together again." Alice mused once they were alone, eyes fixed on the sky. "Not like this though."
Sam followed her gaze. Hanging above the treetops like an angry giant was a dirty black cloud, the smoke bellowing upwards. When he first stepped out of the tree, it had caught him completely off guard, freezing him in place. But he had just quickly snapped out of it. I couldn't afford to shut down there. That being said…
"Yeah." He admitted, "I didn't think Aidan would do something like this."
She huffed at that, "Shows how little you actually knew him."
He turned away from her, eyes flicking towards the ground, "Yeah, you have a point."
Sam could make out the quiet shuffle as Alice turned away. "I'm going to do some rounds. You better reassure the locals too. They won't listen to me."
"Huh?"
"Curse."
His heart only sank at that, his clenched fist the only indicator of the anger struggling to surface. The pain that Alice had been thrown through all too familiar to him. An event like this would only make people even more unsure of Alice. He let out a heavy sigh, "Alright then. I'll do the same. Be careful."
Alice grunted in reply, "You do the same."
The patrols were short and brief, Sam electing to jog through the town at a rapid pace. Whilst there were still Pokémon inside the tower, most weren't fighters like the guild members. Neither were the regular townsfolks for the matter, but losing even part of the Guildtree to any intruders would have been especially bad. Sam took the time to reassure those townsfolk. That the guild teams wouldn't be long, and those still on site were able to look after the place.
But the hours started to drag on, and with the smoke cloud still towering into the sky, day slowly became night.
And still no sign of the other Guild members.
At the entrance to the Guildtree, He took one more look at the sky. Bruce and Edward's teams should be starting their rotations now. That way they could remain fresh.
It's about time we did the same ourselves.
He turned towards Alice. "You better get some rest." He started, "I'll stay on watch."
Alice turned to look at him with a concerned look. "You sure about that?"
"I'm sure." Sam nodded back. "I've still got some energy on hand. Just try and get down in a few hours for me, alright?"
She glanced him over once more, before nodding and turning towards the tree entrance. "I'm only a couple of floors up. Holler if you need anything."
Turning, Alice made her way through the entrance.
Thirty minutes passed, and Sam was already regretting that he sent Alice first. He was beginning to pace at the entrance, trying to keep his focus on watching over the square and yet, he struggled to reign in the boredom of nothing happening.
It wasn't just that of course. It was worry too. Aidan or Greg could have been hiding in the darkness. And there was still no word from Rex and the other guild members. Part of him figured that that the flying types would at the very least be sending messages back and forth, but their absence would only seem to indicate how dire the situation actually was at the port. At least in theory.
He thumped the trunk with an open palm, Dang it! I wish I was out there! It's better than sitting here and doing nothing! He sighed, Then again, this place needs looking after. Rex has a point. But I guess I just prefer getting stuck in with stuff.
He tilted his head at the thought, Kinda like how much enjoyed the fighting in the dungeon. He mused with a faint chuckle, Is that a Pokémon thing or something else?
Something rustled over his shoulder.
The Scorbunny sprung round, foot sliding back to fire off an attack at the new contact and-
A little white bug crawled round the edge of the Guildtree. Sam felt his entire body crumple at the sight. "Kyle!" he hissed, "What are you doing out here!? You should be at home!"
The Snom recoiled an inch back, "S-Sorry Mr. Sam! I-I-I-"
Anger was immediately washed away with regret. Damn, I terrified the poor kid!
"Hey hey." Sam quickly uttered softly, as he lowered himself down to one knee. "Sorry, I shouldn't have shouted."
He relaxed as Kyle seemed to creep forward again, the fear quickly fading. Water of the duck's back huh? He calmed down quick. Putting the thought aside, he lowered himself further. "But what are you doing out here? Aren't you going to worry your mum?"
The kid's little eyes sparkled, "I'm looking for Papa." He declared, trying to sound as determined and brave as he could. "I want to help him."
Sam let out a quiet sigh, feeling his heart sink a touch. Jack was going to go crazy if Kyle had gone wandering off. "Even if I knew where your dad was, that is a bad idea. He's probably really busy right now helping everyone, and the last thing he needs is to be worrying about you." He frowned, "How did you get past… Bruce, Nia and Dan?"
"That's a secret!" Kyle giggled, and Sam couldn't help but chuckle at his comment.
"Of course it is." He managed to reply with a tinge of sarcasm, before flicking his gaze between the Guildtree and the path leading to the barracks. I really need to get him back home. His mum's going to be scared to heck and back. But I can't leave this place unguarded.
"Alright." He started, "I'll get you back home, I just need to wake up my friend first."
Kyle slumped a little at the words. "Do I have to?"
"Think of it this way." Sam countered softly with a friendly smile, patting the little ice-type on the side. "You can help look after your mum and everyone in the barracks whilst I keep an eye on the square. Do you like the sound of that?"
The little Snom nodded, eyes brightening again. "I-I do!"
"Good." Came the rumble. "Luckily you ain't got to worry about that."
Sam stiffened, feeling the voice force its way through his chest and shake at his bones. His ears immediately snapped round to the source – behind him.
Kyle's eyes widened.
The Scorbunny leapt forward.
The paw clamped down round his legs. Sam cried out as he was yanked down and back, his head barely skimming past the ground as some invisible force lifted him up into mid-air. Quite literally. There was nothing standing behind him.
Then the air shimmered, as if light was being bent around one spot in the air before the imposing form of the Swampert revealed itself. "Surprised to see me kid?"
Flashing his teeth, Sam squirmed in his grasp, trying to glance over his shoulder. "Kyle! Get out of here!"
Greg pulled his toothless grin as he glanced over at the ice bug, the kid frozen in place. "Don't worry kiddo. I'll show you how you can protect your daddy."
"Kyle run!"
Sam recoiled as Greg's face flooded his vision, "You might as well as shut your mouth!" he snarled, "I've been waiting for this!"
Oh cra-!
Sam's shout was cut off as his head slammed into the side of the tree.
Once. Then twice before the bigger Pokémon let the Scorbunny crumple to the floor. Groaning, Sam rolled his head to one side, his ears barely registering Kyle's cry as the Swampert scooped him up with one hand. "You're coming with me – don't try biting me you little shit, or I'll chew you up for breakfast!"
"H-Help!" Kyle screamed.
"K-Kyle…" Sam whispered before he finally slipped under.
"So let me get this straight." Greg grumbled. "You want me to get the Guild breathing down my ass again by doing a spot of kidnapping, whilst you blow up the fricking port… all so you can get your shit out of town?!"
Aidan narrowed his eyes, still leaning against the cell door. "You've got to understand, I've set up a big operation. That kind of stuff takes time to move around, I need muscle to cover all that."
"And you would rather waste me on that than one of your regular grunts."
"And you've got plenty of muscle."
Big blue fingers tapped away at the metal door, "Doesn't sound like a fair arrangement. That chicken will just get me locked up again."
Aidan smirked at that, "I let you out, then you at least get the chance to get off this island if you follow my instructions. That, or I'll find another crook and leave you to rot. All you need to do is to keep the Guild occupied for a night so I can get everything moved, I don't care how, what or who you take as long as you get it done."
Greg narrowed his eyes, and pulled one of his signature smirks. "You know what happened last time. Are you sure you want me to do this?"
Aidan barely showed any reaction. He's got a point. He'll leave a bloody mess.
It didn't take him long to decide.
He held up the Scorch Orb, holding an inquisitive gaze at the Swampert. "Are you?"
The crook glanced away one more time, then nodded.
Within moments, the Scorch Orb had faded away, and the metal of the door was bubbling away onto the floor. Greg stood at the threshold, puffing as he inspected the cooling metal before finally stepping through. Aidan took a few steps, more to give the bigger Pokémon room to move than anything else.
The Swampert narrowed his eyes as he looked down at him. "And if anyone tries to stop me?"
Aidan crossed his arms, "That's easy." He stated, tilting his head forward and furrowing his brow. "Kill them."
"H-Heya! A-Are you alright!"
His head rapidly throbbing, Sam groaned as he rolled over onto his back. "I'm going to have brain damage at this rate." He grumbled.
"Brain damage?" The voice whispered, "J-come on, don't be stupid! You're lucid aren't you!"
"Oh give the poor guy a chance. He'll probably get more knocks like that at some point!"
"Keep running your beak like that and someone might just blow you from the sky."
The Scorbunny's eyes flickered open to find three Pokémon looking down on top of him. One of them he recognised immediately as Perry, the Corvisquire that he and Aidan 'rescued' from Broken Wood. The other two took a moment longer, but he recalled seeing their faces back in the square once or twice. One was tall, and covered in what appeared to be a light grey metal. Yellow and green eyes looked down upon him. The other looked a bit like a… Chameleon? They were covered in green and yellow scales, albeit with a strange blue stripe running along their belly. A Duraludon and a Kecleon respectively. Ah… they ran the shop and bank here…
The Kecleon focused her attention on him, "Are you alright?"
Wincing, Sam managed to push himself up to a sitting position, "I'll live."
That was when the memory of Kyle rushed through his mind. Panic gripping him, he sprung to his feet. "K-Kyle! Where is he!? Did-"
"That Swampert took him." The Duraludon confirmed, his metallic fingers clamping open and shut. "Poor kid was frozen on the spot."
"I don't blame the little one." Perry mused, "A big guy like that would scare the living daylights out of any little bug. Before they are inevitably rescued of course."
The Kecleon shot a cold glare at the post bird. "This isn't the time for one of your jokes!" she snapped. "Not that my brothers would be much better with selling things. Come on Dural! You have to agree with me there!"
"As much as Perry is being an ass." Dural started, "He has a point, Larissa. Most of the town folk are too scared to come out. And us three weren't fast enough to out here, being on the other side of town and not in the stores. Except Perry – so called fastest post-bird around my ass."
As Dural stomped the ground, Perry flashed a wounded look, "I was further away than the rest of you! I'm fast, but I don't have super hearing."
"Alright enough!" Sam barked, snapping the three Pokémon back to attention. "Did any of you at least see where Greg went!"
Larrissa nodded sharply back at him, a determined look on her face. "He wasn't stealthy leaving for sure." She jabbed a finger over her shoulder. Leaning to the side, he found that part of the undergrowth to one side of the Guildtree had been crushed, low hanging branches snapped like twigs. "How he got in is a better question."
"He was invisible." Sam breathed, his chest quivering at the feeling of Greg's voice rumbling through it. "Never knew Swampert can do that."
"They can't." Dural noted, "He must have used an Invisify Orb."
He hummed to himself, eyes looking towards the sky. "Not many of those left…"
Sam flashed his buckteeth, "Aidan…" he growled, before shaking his head. "Alright, that doesn't matter. Greg's took Kyle." He stiffened himself, readying himself for the response even as he barely thought about it, "I'll go after him."
"Are you serious!" Larissa exclaimed, eyes widening, "He just threw you around like a plushie!"
"Never mind type and evolution advantage." Dural rumbled.
"Go for it."
All eyes locked onto the Corvisquire, "Close the fracking door." Dural growled.
The heck?
Perry pulled a shrug with his wings, "Well someone has gotta go after him. Most of the guild is at the port and the other recruits could be in trouble too. There isn't a second to waste."
In that moment, the post-bird looked deathly serious, turning his gaze on the Scorbunny with a steely look. "The question is who is going to step up?"
Sam didn't hesitate, "I'm going." He reaffirmed, clapping a fist into his palm, feeling the flame in his chest roar as the throb faded away from his head. "Kyle needs help. And I have a score to settle with Greg."
Perry nodded, a tiny flicker of a smile emerging, "I'll fly out and get the word out to Team Spirit. They're the closest. Dural and Larissa-" he turned towards his companions, "You better let the other recruits know what happened."
"Whoa whoa." The Kecleon started, "You can't just-"
It was too late, the Corvisquire had already shot up into the night sky and was banking away. "And there he goes." Dural mumbled, slowly turning away. "I'll head towards the barracks, that's where I last heard some of the guards were being placed."
Larissa glanced between the metal dino, Sam and the night sky. "I-I'll check out that other place."
She look down on him, "If you are going… please be careful. Try and not get yourself killed."
"I second that." Dural said, "I still think this is a bad idea."
Sam felt his ears quiver. He knew what he was planning was insane. He barely survived against Greg last time, and that time he was completely fresh then. Here he had just gotten beaten up and barely survived his fight with Aidan and his flight from Volcanion. But he couldn't sit back. The memory of the dead Pikachu and his companions flashed across his vision. No… I can't let Kyle suffer the same fate!
He nodded back, "I don't plan on dying. Stay safe."
Sharing a final glance between each other, the two Pokémon went their separate ways, running with surprising speed towards the forest paths and once more, leaving Sam alone at the foot of the tree.
He didn't wait either. He spun towards the Guildtree, breaking out into a run. Insane plan or not, I can't do this alone. Bruce and the others might not be ready in time either… and there is only one person I can count on to help me.
It didn't take him long to find her room, thanks to a little bit of guidance from one of the few remaining Pokémon in the tree who had been wondering down from the upper levels. He booted in the door, barely breaking his stride as he got in. "Alice! Wake up! We've got a problem."
He didn't note much about the room itself, save for a single bed that had been assembled to one side of the room. Alice's shape rolled over; her ears sprayed out across the pillow. "Apples… training…"
"Alice! Come on!" Sam snapped, scouring the room and scooping up her satchel. "Now is not the time to be sleeping!"
The Buneary seemed to grumble under the bedsheet, her body stirring, "If… if you want to recruit me onto your team… I'll punch your eyes…"
Heart racing and temper boiling over, Sam spun round to face her. "Jack's son has been kidnapped!" he roared.
The shape froze.
Stiffened.
The Buneary shot out from under the bedcover in a flash of light that could have only been a Quick Attack. The anger flipping into shock as Sam staggered away, only for Alice to grab hold of his chest fur and yank him back, one ear coiled in and shivering as she roared back into his face.
"Why the hell didn't you start with that you idiot!"
ALWAYS AUDACITY
CHAPTER XXIII – LET LOOSE YOUR SPIRIT
Outside of Robinswood, the sky had begun to brighten up, revealing a swarm of stars in the night sky. They were no moon, which had been hidden behind the smoke cloud from the port. But the sheer number was enough to provide a little bit of light for the two would-be rescuers to follow the tracks left behind by their quarry.
Kyle, and the Swampert who had took him hostage.
As soon as Sam had explained the situation, Alice had already grabbed her satchel and bounced down to the lobby and back outside. There had been no sign of Bruce or any of the other recruits. Nor was there any sign of the mysterious Team Spirit. The two rabbit Pokémon didn't need to say anything in order to come to a unanimous decision to follow.
Alice took point through the woods, keeping the same kind of pace she had in Broken Wood. This time though, Sam had no issues keeping up with her. Aidan and perhaps Dan could at the very least defend themselves from basic trouble back then. Kyle was just a kid compared to their teenage-early twenties selves. He wouldn't stand a chance if Greg decided to-
He shook his head, No damn it! Stop thinking of that! You aren't going to let Kyle suffer the same fate as that team!
Ahead of him, the Buneary paused within a small clearing in the woods, crouching down to inspect the still fresh set of tracks that could have only been left by Greg. "I've gotta ask." Sam started, "Do you know Kyle?"
Alice glanced back at him, one ear sinking a little bit before focusing her gaze back on the footprints. "Only a little." She admitted, "But he was one of the few people who doesn't actively hate me. That means something."
Explains why she jumped out of bed so quickly. Sam mused, If someone was that nice to her, of course she is going to jump in. That and he's a kid so… maybe Alice kinda feels for him too?
It was hard to say beyond that.
Alice pointed a finger towards the opposite edge of the clearing. "This way." She stated, breaking out into a jog rather than hopping away as she had before.
She's slowing her pace. Sam realised as he jogged alongside her. Keeping his eyes on the footprints, but also on the Buneary herself. She can definitely go faster. That has to mean she's got something else in mind right?
His suspicion was proven correct when Alice spoke up again. "What kind of moves do you know?" she asked, eyes fixed on the footprints rather than him. "We're going to have to fight this guy… what's his name?"
"Greg." Sam stated, "And as for moves, Ember, Quick Attack and Electro Ball."
Alice narrowed her eyes, "So even Libero won't be much help. Electro Ball will be worthless against a ground type, and Ember won't work so well either."
"What do you know?"
"Pound, Rock Smash, Double Kick and Ice Punch. Not going to make much of a dent with those either."
"So, fighting at a disadvantage then." Sam realised, "Come to think of it, Greg knows Hydro-Pump and Rock Throw."
"That will screw you up. And that's not counting anything he might know to mess up my night."
"So, double disadvantage then?"
Alice brought herself to a halt, a little smirk forming on her lips, teeth biting down to hold back what was clearly a giggle or a chuckle. Sam felt a brief smile form too, more from pride that he had managed to crack her armour. It was dark humour. But it was humour nonetheless.
It was but only brief though, as the smirk faded away with Alice turning towards him. "Look… we can't win this. We were lucky with Volcanion because we ran away."
Sam nodded back, tapping his foot on the soft grass. He knew she was right. Both times Sam came across Greg, all it took was one blow to knock him down. Alice might have a better chance just due to typing, but she would still be taking on a beast that was more than ten times her size.
He narrowed his eyes, "Then our best bet is to free Kyle, then bolt."
"Agreed." Alice replied, clenching her fists together. "Better than getting ourselves killed."
Sam tore his gaze away, already feeling his chest tighten. It might allow them to save Kyle and escape with their lives, but it would still essentially mean that Greg could walk away into the night. Free to commit another murder.
Never mind any information on Aidan going up in smoke either.
"I know what you are thinking Sam."
He stiffened, "What?"
Looking back over, the Buneary's narrowed eyes were gone. Instead, her arms were crossed with her head tilted over to one side. "Don't try and be a hero again. Life would be a bit less bright without you around."
Frowning, he looked the Buneary over. The way her body was slightly slouched, and her eyes were actually flicking away from him. It had been the same bit of advice she had given him in the Broken Wood Ruins. But this time felt different in a way he couldn't describe.
"I-I'll try my best." Sam replied. "Same with you."
She directed her gaze over him once more, arms tightening around her chest. He could tell the scepticism from a mile off. She wasn't going to take an answer like the one he had just given. Straightening himself up, he looked at her in the eye and tried to project a firmer, more affirmative voice. "I won't try and be a hero, alright?"
With a quiet huff, she finally let her arms sink down to her sides. "Alright then. Let's save Kyle then."
They continued onward into the woods, utilising a combination of jogging and hopping between them to follow the tracks. Every second they wasted could have been another opportunity for Greg to do something horrific to the poor child.
And that was something he would not allow to happen.
Even if he didn't have Alice on hand with what seemed like good tracking skills – at least to the Scorbunny's mind – it wouldn't have been that difficult to follow Greg's route. When the tracks seemed to fade away onto firmer ground, there would be broken branches and trampled vegetation left in the Swampert's wake. Not something one would expect if he wanted to cover his tracks. Either Greg was in a hurry, or he wanted to be followed.
The latter was far more worrying to the Scorbunny. It would scream of Aidan's handiwork. That, he had no doubt off.
"-ese! L-Let me go! I-I want to go h-home!"
Kyle! He snapped his gaze towards Alice, who likewise did the same. With a share nod between the two Pokémon, they slowed their pace, ears locking onto the direction of the voices directly ahead of them. As they moved closer, Greg's footprints began to merge with a near identical, older set that had branched off onto a different route, leaving the merged path thoroughly trampled into dirt.
"Kid…" Greg growled softly. "If you don't shut up… you won't be going home. You hear?"
The footprints ended at the edge of a puffy green bush, the former fading away into firmer ground with a thin layer of grass. In silence, the two approached the bush and delicately, Alice moved one of the branches aside with the faintest of rustles.
It took Sam a moment to realise that their cover was positioned at the edge of small cliff, no more than three metres in height with a handful of boulders scattered around the grassy clearing below. The field itself was fairly sizeable, enough that it had a collection of individual trees scattered in the open or amongst the rocks, isolated from the others that made up the forest.
And at its centre, at the foot of a larger tree was the bulky shape that could have only been Greg. He stood with his back turned, arms crossed as he inspected a quivering shape that hung from one of the tree's branches, wrapped up in a large amount of rope. Kyle, it had to have been.
As Sam and Alice watched the scene below with worry, you settled yourself into position further along the cliff. You looked between them and the Swampert, feeling… uneasy at the situation. It had been difficult to act out against Aidan and Greg alike. Was it out of fear of discovery? Or was it out of faith that the former human would pull through?
…it was difficult to find an answer…
Should you intervene now?
No… that shadow wouldn't approve. You had to have faith.
Kyle was hanging upside down, tears streaming down his face. "P-Papa… M-Mama…"
Greg groaned, dragging a hand down his face with an air of irritation. "I swear this is why I swore to never have kids…" he muttered, before barking his next words, "Kid! Shut the hell up!" he jabbed a finger that seemed nearly as big as the tiny Snom into where the abdomen would have been, sending the child swinging back and forth. The rope creaked as he swung, the terrified Kyle whimpering as Greg paced around the side. "You won't even have to be here that long; all I need is for some of your daddy's friends to come running this way to save your skin. We'll have a little bit of fun, then I'll bugger off. Seems like a fair little deal, right?"
It wasn't working. Even from here, Sam could tell Kyle was already beginning to sob. He glanced around the clearing, looking for any signs of other mons hiding amongst the boulders and the trees – the grass was far too short, only really reaching past his ankles – and yet, he could see nothing.
Sam narrowed his eyes, "Looks like he's alone, I can't anyone else."
"There might still be someone hiding in the woods." Alice warned him, ear twitching. "It could be a trap."
"Aidan only got Greg out." Sam explained, "That's not a lot of time for Greg to get anyone else signed in and Aidan isn't going to throw just any mooks in. Besides, Greg is dangerous enough on his own." He bit his lip, "Save for Rex."
"And he is all the way over at the port." Alice growled, her coiled ear twitching that bit more.
Sam took one final glance at their surroundings – seeing nothing new again – before he shuffled forward, bracing himself to push himself through or around the bush. "Alright… we better make a move."
Alice's head jerked hard enough round that he nearly sprung away. "Have you seen the size of that field!" she hissed, "He'll see us coming for miles!"
He looked over the field again with a tightening gut. Alice was right. That field wasn't exactly small, and there wasn't much in the way of cover. Even if they could somehow use the trees to sneak up to the centre, Greg wasn't going to just wonder off out of sight. Stealth wasn't an option.
Nor could they fight him head on.
That only means one option… Alice isn't going to like this.
He patted on her shoulder, "Head round the edge." He advised, "Get round behind that tree. I'll distract Greg."
Alice didn't hesitate in throwing his paw free, eyes flashing red. "I said no heroics! He could hose you down anytime he likes!"
"That's why I'm going to do what I do best. Run my fricking mouth."
The Buneary blinked, eyes widening in bewilderment. Taking his chance, he carried on. "I've got history with that guy. As far as he knows, I'm still a heap at the bottom of the Guildtree. Hell, he probably thinks I'm dead. Whilst I'm chatting away, you get Kyle and bolt. I'll do the same then. We can't fight him, but I bet we can outrun him."
Alice frowned, eyes flicking between him and their targets down below. Weighing the options. Letting out a heavy sigh, she finally nodded. "Alright. Give me a minute to get round. Then… talk."
"One minute. Got it." Sam replied, his gut relaxing.
"But how are you going to keep his attention?" Alice questioned.
He took a moment to look up at the stars, dig out every little detail of his last encounter with Greg… there was one thing he could use…
"I've got one card up my sleeve. Just make sure you get Kyle free."
"Alright, but the moment I grab him, run."
"That was the plan."
Huffing, Alice carefully released the bush branch, and with a final look over her shoulder, started hopping down towards the left-hand side of the trees.
Alone, Sam rubbed his hands together, the gravity of what was happening now much more firmly settling onto his shoulders. He would have to walk out onto open ground and come face to face with the same Swampert who had nearly killed him. Twice.
And try and keep him distracted without getting put in the ground permanently.
He let out a shaky sigh. I still have to take this chance… I don't think Kyle has much time.
"I said shut it you little shit!"
A loud thud rang out, and with his heart racing, Sam pulled apart some of the foliage. Greg's gigantic fist had slammed into the trunk of the tree, leaving Kyle bouncing up and down, very clearly crying his eyes out.
It has to have been a minute now… alright. Here goes.
Steadying himself, Sam pushed through the bush and dropped down off the cliff, landing smoothly on his two feet and breaking out into a job towards the middle. "Hey Greg! You definitely don't want to hurt him!"
Kyle's crying quickly died down into sniffles as the Swampert stiffened, slowly turning to face the Scorbunny who had quickly closed the distance. Sam slowed to a walk, and finally brought himself to a stop no less than ten metres away from the tree. Far enough away that he could try and evade an attack. Close enough to make it risky enough to entice Greg away.
His eyes widened for the briefest of moments, but the surprise was quickly pushed aside as Greg broke out into deep laughter. "Damn kid. Either you're a zombie, or your skull's made of steel."
Sam huffed, restraining his own chuckle. "A lot of folks keep aiming for the head. Never quite seems to work."
"S-Sam!" Kyle shouted with audible delight, body quivering inside the rope bindings.
"Hang on there Kyle." Sam declared, "I'll get you down in just a sec, okay?" He refocused his attention on Greg, who had taken a few steps forward to place himself before the bug-type. "I didn't realise you would stoop so low Greg. Killing was horrific enough, now you are kidnapping kids?"
Clenching his jaw tight, Greg clamped one fist within the other. "Gotta do what I have to so I can survive kid. I told you that already."
"Even if means working for Aidan?"
He narrowed his eyes, "Heh, you know about him?"
"Yeah. I worked with him. Briefly."
A little smirk formed on Greg's face, "Ah… now I understand. Sam, right?"
Sam frowned, "You know my name?"
"Aidan wouldn't shut up about you after he busted me out. Turns out that kid liked you a lot." He let out a curt laugh, "Believe me, I didn't Aidan would get that friendly with someone! He was pretty pissed off with you too."
"Well, we did fight each other." Sam bluntly stated back. "So what's he upto then? He having you do his bidding without your buddies?"
Rearing himself up to his hind legs, Greg crossed his own arms. Eyes locked onto him.
Alice emerged from the trees, silently hopping towards one of the isolated ones behind him.
Sam fought not to look her way as Greg's voice boomed. "You mean Pidge and Ratts? Bah, those two were idiots. If it weren't for them, we would have walked away without any mess at all. Then again, that Pikachu and his pals didn't give me much of a choice."
"Still doesn't really answer my question." Sam replied, as Alice got behind her first piece of cover and quickly moved onto the next.
Greg merely huffed in response, "Seems like you care quite a bit about that guy yourself." He said, slowly beginning to turn back towards Kyle.
And Alice, still in the open.
Heart racing and without thinking, Sam took one step forward, "Let me guess. He blackmailed you right?"
That got the Swampert to stop, eyes flicking back to him. Sam pressed on, "Or perhaps he just offered you getting out of jail in exchange for one more job? I mean, he must have really needed you for something if he would go through all the trouble to sneak back into town himself to break you out? Especially with one of those, err, Scorch Orbs?"
Greg silently stared at Sam, Alice slipping just back behind a second piece of cover behind him – before finally turning back towards Sam. "Huh. You aren't as thick as I thought."
"I like to think I've got a big brain." Sam replied with a smirk.
That earned a toothless grin back – even as Alice started moving to the central tree. "Yeah. Aidan needed some muscle to get a lot of heat of his back."
"That's why he attacked the port too?"
"Exactly. All I need to do is make some noise, like with this crybaby here." He threw a big thumb over his shoulder towards Kyle, who had stopped sniffling and whose widened eyes was jumping back and forth between the two older Pokémon.
Alice had reached the central tree, slipping in behind it and peering round the side towards them.
Now for the hard bit.
"And what did Aidan offer you? Can't just be freedom huh?"
Greg took a step forward, narrowing one eye. "Right again. I get a free ticket off this rock. This dump isn't worth my time anymore."
Sam narrowed one of his own. "So what? You are looking to retire?"
That very quickly felt like a mistake.
The Swampert stiffened, straightening up to his full height as he stomped forward. "Retire? Retire!" he barked, marching towards him with a red glint in his eye. Sam's heartrate accelerated as he took a step back, trying not to gasp. Holy – I wasn't expecting that! Gotta be prepared to-
Greg was only a couple of metres away now, and Sam was worried the Swampert would just keep going and run him down. But instead, he slid to a half, his gigantic blue arms shivering. "And where do you think I would retire to kid? I can't go back to my home continent, I'd get arrested! Can't go to Air or Water because they'll just deport me back there in no time! And the others? They either won't let me in, or they'll throw me to work on their so-called 'community service' for the rest of my days because I happened to steal to survive on the streets as a little Mudkip. I'll shrivel up faster than a Magikarp in a fucking furnace!"
With a roar, he stomped the ground with one foot, hard enough Sam could feel a quake run through his legs and into his chest. All it would take is just one little mistake, and Greg could just step in and snap him like a twig.
But it had done its trick. Alice crept out from behind the tree and approached the still swinging Kyle. Reaching up with both ears, she was already bringing him to a halt. Just need to buy some time.
"Well?!" Greg snapped; his voice raw with anger. Sam snapped back up to attention, "That… kinda sucks… but you don't want to be doing this all your life right?"
Greg crossed his arms, pupils turning to slits, "Well, I've ain't got no choice. I have to survive. And I'd rather pillage my way across the Sea then spend the rest of my days in a cell. Bah!" he waved an arm dismissively, "You're not worth my time to try and break again. Go home. I'll be dealing with the Guild soon enough."
He started to turn once more. Alice had somehow managed to climb up onto the rope and was now trying to get Kyle free. Balls to it! If this doesn't get keep his attention, I don't know what will!
"Is that offer to join your crew still open?" Sam asked, projecting his voice as loud as he could without shouting.
The Swampert stiffened.
Alice froze, head snapping up to glare at him.
Greg slowly swivelled his head back towards the Scorbunny, an incredulous look stretched across his big face. "Really?" He questioned, "You are asking me about that now? Of all times? I take it back; you do have brain damage."
Sam laughed in response, "Come on! I definitely don't have brain damage. Especially since my memories have started coming back!"
Confusion seemed to wash over both Greg and Alice like a wave. "Memories?" Greg muttered, before breaking out into laughter, "Ha! I knew you couldn't have been hungover on juice! That was some kind of bullshit excuse if I had ever heard of it!"
Even as Alice seemed to silently mouth her continuing confusion behind him, Greg leaned forward, arms crossed as if he was some kind of bemused dad rather than a bandit. "Go on then, what kind of memories did you get back?"
"Oh yeah, those memories." He waved one arm casually off to the side, "I wasn't doing much beyond that little bit of thievery here and there. I'm pretty quick on my feet you know. Hopping from one house to the next. I wasn't… err… joking on the juice though. I was getting these rare gummis, but well." He tried to pull the most embarrassed smile he could, "Some rabbit happened to wonder in and punched my lights out. Really damn hurt."
Alice seemed to recoil, confusion mixing in with disgust. But then her eyes widened in realisation and she quickly accelerated her efforts to get Kyle loose. Sam shrugged, "I guess this handsome face happens to be pretty punchable. No idea why."
Greg snorted, clearing struggling not to laugh. "Yeah, I can attest to folks wanting to smash your face in."
Sam maintained his smile, unsure if the bandit was being sarcastic or if he genuinely meant it. It wasn't much longer now anyway; he could see the ropes fraying round Kyle. Just another minute and they could make a break for it!
Greg leaned even further forward, that smirk seeming more vicious by the second. "There is one thing that does make complete sense with that story."
Sam blinked, feeling his ears flick back. "Err… that I'm a rather charming fellow?" he asked hopefully.
"Heh. Nope."
His eyes narrowed, the smirk vanishing away. "It's because that rabbit you mentioned is right behind me."
Sam couldn't hide the gasp this time, Alice's head swivelling round back towards Greg. The Swampert snapped back upright, "Take her out!"
The leaves of the central tree rustled as two green spiders dropped down from the foliage, springing to a stop just next to Alice under on the ends of white string. Alice cursed as she leapt off the nearly untied Kyle just as one of the Spinarak swung at her, jabbing their horn into thin air.
"Alice! Get- "
Sam sprung back mid-cry as Greg slammed his fists down into the ground where he once stood. Something screamed behind him, and Sam rolled to the side. Air rushed past him, something just brushing past is ear as he managed to evade the blow. He caught a glimpse of the attacker, a small, rounded monkey-like Pokémon. A Mankey.
Hol-where the hell did Greg get this kind of backup!? Sam settled back onto his feet, backing away from two attackers until he felt something thump into his back.
"Great call on no one else being here!" Alice snapped, sharply enough that Sam winced.
"I thought the rest of his gang were locked up!" Sam barked back, lifting his fists up defensively as Greg and the Mankey approached from his side. A Spearow was now hovering above them, and a quick flick of his head to look past Alice's shoulder revealing not only the two Spinarak approaching and a Gloom alongside them from another tree, but what also appeared to be a Marowak with a bone engulfed with blue flames.
The sight of that sent a cold shiver down his spine.
All of a sudden, they were outnumbered 3-to-1.
Surrounded.
"Yeah." Alice growled, "You think?"
Greg let out an amused snort, tapping the side of his skull with cruel smirk. "I like to think I've got a big brain too. Do you really think I would be that stupid as to come and face the guild alone? Or just had to the two clowns?" He stroked his chin, the smug confidence almost toxic now. "You lost your chance to join me when I asked. Right now, I think we'll use you as extra hostages."
He paused for a moment, before pulling a heavy-set shrug. "Or my gang and I will just leave your corpses hanging from the trees as a warning. After these past few days, I'm in the mood for that."
The seven bandits circled the two rabbits, Sam feeling his back press hard against Alice's. His gaze jumped from one to the other, trying to find a way out of this. He might be able to deal with one, maybe two of the smaller mons. Alice could too. But that still left Greg himself and that probably that Marowak, judging by the flaming bone. But even if they could punch through and escape, they would still be leaving Kyle at their mercy…
"Oh, and if you try and rescue the kid or run, I'll squish him like the little bug he is." He jerked his head at Kyle, tears now rolling down his cheeks again. "We can either do this the easy way, or the hard way. Your call."
The bandits crept that little bit closer, and Sam glanced over his shoulder. "Well, since my plan was rubbish, any ideas?".
Alice merely glowered back. "We're screwed."
"Not really the time to be pessimistic! How close where you to getting- "
"Nearly had it." Alice hissed, interrupting him.
Okay, don't want Greg getting any ideas about what we're talking about. "Think we can shake loose?"
"Not unless you want your head caved in." Alice stated matter-of-factly.
"Having some last words with your girlfriend?" Greg purred.
Sam jerked his head round back to the Swampert.
"She's not my – boyfriend!"
He winced as he glanced back at Alice, who likewise flashed a half annoyed, half confused look before turning back to the Pokémon on her side.
"Shucks to this! I'm not waiting!"
The Spearow rose upwards, spread its wings out, and dove down towards Sam, wings glowing.
Sam flashed a smirk, Alright, come to papa!
With a skid of his foot, he let rip the Electro Ball, the yellow orb flying through the air towards the bird. Cawing, the bird rolled away, the electric attack fading away as it flew into the sky.
Let's see how they'll deal with Libero! Sam exclaimed mentally, if that ability could help with Aidan, it could certainly help here! And so the Scorbunny crouched down, waiting for the blue glow…
A glow that didn't come.
Sam blinked, looking down and patting his body. Wait! This should be working!
A thump rang out behind him as Alice smacked back the Gloom with an ice-incrusted ear, her target also impatient to get in the fray. "Sam, what the hell are you doing!?"
Panic started to settle in to the Scorbunny, his heart once more beginning to race. "Err… bad news, Libero ain't working!"
"Oh for the love of- "Alice cursed, her word devolving into a yell as she worked to Double Kick one of the Spinarak's away. Sam couldn't do much to help, as the Mankey sprinted towards him, fists raised for its own attack. Flame burning inside, Sam booted an Ember straight at the monkey's face. He barely caught a reaction as the fireball struck it in the face, sending his foe stumbling back. But as the light smoke cleared, the Mankey's body wrinkled up, eyes almost burning as it moved forward again. Sam started to shake, taking another step back only to bump back into Alice. They were all closing in now, tightening their killbox. Kyle's sobs rang out over the clunks and booms of their attacks and footsteps, only adding to that sense of dread weighing down on him.
We're not walking out of this one…
Gritting his teeth, Sam forced himself to stop shaking, bringing his foot back for another Ember. "Alice." He started, "I know we agreed not and try to be heroes. But how do you fancy trying to take down as many of these guys as possible?"
He was initially treated with silence, then a little giggle over his shoulder. "For once, I can get behind what you say." Alice replied, feeling her back press against his. "Let's do this."
Warmth rushing through his body, Sam flashed a grin. "Well, what you waiting for! Come and get it!"
On cue, the bandits rushed towards them, bodies glowing as they came in for the kill. The fire roared within him, Take some of this-
The scream jabbed at his ears like hot irons, shoving Sam down towards the ground as he desperately clutched and yanked them down. He could just make out Alice's cry.
And could just about see the Mankey and Spearow get blown aside by what almost seemed a gust of wind. Even Greg stumbled aside, struggling to maintain his balance. And yet still, Sam and Alice weren't moving.
The painful sound ceased, and Sam looked up to find all seven bandits piled together near the central tree. Kyle still hung there in his bindings, no longer sobbing. In fact, his eyes were sparkling.
"Seems like we got here just in time."
Towards the cliff, standing with her arms crossed on the field was Esper. Her ears twitching with as she flashed a little smile.
And to both sides of her were Jack and Oscar themselves.
"Papa!" Kyle shouted.
"Esper?" Sam managed to utter, "What are you guys doing her- "
Then he saw them. An armband each on Esper and Oscar's right arms, whilst Jack had a similarly coloured scarf wrapped round his neck. All of them were coloured purple, with a yellow-gold emblem embroidered on it. A collection of circles and ovals that made up a six-pointed star. If he had to hazard a guess, it could only be one group.
"W-Wait! Your're Team Spirit!" Sam exclaimed.
Esper tilted her head over, "We are. You two alright?"
"We're fine." Alice replied, flashing a little smirk back. "Didn't realise you were all on the same team either."
Oscar tipped an invisible hat, "We don't tend to show off!"
Behind them, Greg roared, throwing the Gloom off him as if it were an inconvenient brick. "Team Spirit huh! You don't look so tough! Who do you think you are to get in my way!"
The Meowstic rolled her eyes. "Shall we introduce ourselves boys?"
"By golly." Oscar said, voice low as he rubbed his paws together. "Lets."
Jack flapped his wings harder, bringing himself higher up. The normally jovial bug-type now had a darker air around him, his red eyes looking as if they are almost on fire. "I'm Jack." He declared coldly and with an almost unnatural growl, "I'm an Explorer from Pokémon Square of the Air Continent! And youshouldn't have kidnapped my son you monster!"
Oscar placed his hands on his hips, flashing his incisors. "Oscar here! Former member of Wigglytuff's Guild on the Grass Continent!"
Esper merely bowed her head, one eye fixed on the Swampert. "You'll know me as Esper. From Serene Village of Water Continent, member of the Expedition Society of Lively City, leader of Team Spirit and deputy head of the Robinswood Guild."
A low groan flowed across the field as the bandits picked themselves back up, where in front of them, Greg's jaw clenched up. "What a crew." He crumbled with an air of sarcasm. "But it won't matter. We still outnumber you. You really feel like you are up to dealing with this gang of outlaws?"
The other bandits formed up behind their leader, the Swampert taking one step forward as he stared down the Rescuers. But Team Spirit stood their unfazed, Esper if anything seemed more bemused. "If you think we are just here trying to do a job, let me explain to you why we are called Team Spirit."
She closed her eyes, one ear twitching at the ready for a sudden charge. "Years ago, we would have just been young villagers and guildmembers. We would have felt scared, intimidated or perhaps just a little bit lonely in the world. Unsure of our futures and how we could stand on our own two feet. And we would have stayed like that for sure."
Sam couldn't help but feel entranced as she spoke, head dipping forward. "That was, until each of us would meet Pokémon who would change our lives forever. Pairs, believe it or not. They are unique, and special in every way. They would drive us – no – inspire us to reach greater heights than we could have ever imagined. To overcome our fears. Our doubts. Or even just to push ourselves to our limits."
Her eyes opened, "And so, we decided to let loose our spirits. We all share the goal of pushing ourselves to the same heights as they have, thanks to that shared experience. That binds this Team together. Believe me. You sorry lot of outlaws don't scare us. We've all dealt with much worse. So if you want a fight, try at your peril."
A few of the bandits seemed to hesitate, sharing looks between themselves. Doubt settling in. But Greg let rip a feral growl, slamming a fist into the ground hard enough to get the other bandits to jump together. Without even turning, his next words seemed to sink into Sam's skin like iron. "If anyone decides to run now… I'll break your neck and hang your carcass for the whole Sea of Wonders to see!"
That seemed to get their attention, the bandits reforming alongside Greg with steely, determined expressions.
Esper sighed softly, unwrapping her arms. "Sam. Alice. Get Kyle and fall back. We'll deal with them."
Sam looked between Team Spirit and Greg's bandits. They were still outnumbered, and Kyle was still in harm's way. Even if they could untie him and run, they would still have to face at least one bandit. And that would mean leaving the others behind.
Instinct seemed stronger than ever. Not to run and hide.
But to fight.
No… I can't leave here now. Not after all this.
He looked over towards Alice, who was already looking at him. Not with a smile, or a scowl. But a look of confidence and support.
As if she could see right through him, Alice nodded once.
That was all he needed to see.
Sam sprung forward, positioning himself between Team Spirit and the bandits. "No. We're staying here to fight with you!" he declared, eyes locked on Greg. "And I've got a score to settle."
Alice touched down next to him, ears pumping forward as she got into a combat stance. "Besides, wouldn't be much fun if we packed up shop and ran."
Behind them, neither noticed the little smile of pride on Esper's face.
Greg snarled, rearing up onto his hind legs. "Alright, if that is how you want to play things out!" He stabbed a single finger out towards the Rescuers. "Kill them all!"
And with that, the bandits charged.
And so with Team Spirit being revealed (with plenty of callbacks there) we move on to the penultimate chapter of the first episode! Just two more to go before this episode is concluded! I'll probably be doubling down my efforts on this, being so close to the end of this episode. So new chapters will probably be coming through very quickly in the next few days.
I'm also planning on doing a bonus chapter between episodes 1 and 2, which would feature some of the other characters that have popped up in GoB so far rather than focusing solely on Sam and/or Alice, if anyone has any suggestions on what they want to see for a bonus chapter, please let me know and I'll see what I can do!
The Mankey went for Sam first. With a yell, Sam willed himself to dash forward, shooting past the fighting type in a flash of light to materialise behind and above it. The din of battle already ringing in his ears, the Scorbunny kicked an Electro Ball straight towards their back. The monkey threw themself aside, the electric attack just brushing past the Mankey's shoulder and causing the fur to stick up on end. Sam touched the ground as his foe spun, brow visible clenching. With a scream, the angry Pokémon charged for him once more.
Sam didn't hesitate, booting another pebble away into an Ember before springing back. Once more, the fireball struck the monkey in the face with a flash of light and a puff of smoke. But this time, it didn't stop, powering through the attack. Gasping, Sam tried to spring away again – only for the monkey's hands to grasp round one leg and one of his ears, yanking him back. The Scorbunny roared, trying to pull the ear free. God damnit not ag-
He couldn't finish the thought, the Mankey screaming as he threw him above their head and tossed him down into the ground hard.
Headfirst.
Sam's jaw slammed shut on impact, his whole body jerking with the impact as his skull rang. Planting his paws into the earth, he looked up to see Oscar duelling with Marowak, spinning its bone round to deflect a burst from the beaver's Water Gun. He turned –
To be greeted with another foot to the face.
Sam cried out as he sailed through the air, pain rushing through his body and flaring up as he landed with a thud. Heat surged forth from his face and rushed down into his chest, feeding that fire within. He shoved himself upright, eyes locking onto once more charging Mankey.
The fire threatened to consume him, his blood boiling. His mind flashed back to the betrayal, his original fight against Greg… the asinine number of times he had been hit in the face and Kyle's kidnapping.
Something snapped, the Scorbunny's vision flashing red. "Fucking stop hitting my head!"
Roaring, Sam charged back towards the fighting type, pouncing into the air. His roar rang in his ears, and so loud it was that the Mankey actually skidded to a halt, eyes widening.
That was his mistake, as Sam dove down on top of them with a salvo of two kicks straight into his face. As the Mankey stumbled back, the Scorbunny followed up with the biggest Ember he could manage. His foe recovered just in time to see the fireball strike his face once more, sending the fighting type rolling across the field and into one of the surrounding trees with a thud.
"Now you know what it feels like!" Sam barked, panting as he turned his attention to the rest of the battle. The Marowak was still locked in battle with Oscar, swinging a glowing bone round to strike at the bigger Pokémon. With a look that screamed that he wasn't impressed, Oscar was stood upright, casually blocking the strikes with both arms. In the air, Jack tangled with the Spearow. The latter diving down and swinging past the Butterfree with Wing Attacks and Drill Pecks. But each time, Jack twisted out of the way of the dives before firing off red waves at the bird. The Spearow squawked as one such wave hit, shaking his head violently.
Esper in comparison was in a whole other league. She simply stood in the middle of the field, ears glowing a light blue whilst the two Spinaraks, surrounded by the same colour glow, hung helplessly in mid-air. Without as much of a twitch, the two bug Pokémon were flung into the ground with a heavy crack and thrown back up again. Beyond them, Greg growled as he stomped towards the Meowstic, one hand dragging through the earth. Esper psychically tossed the two spiders away, focusing her full attention on the Swampert.
That left Alice to deal with the Gloom. She swung an ice-coated ear straight into their leg. Wincing, the Weed Pokémon dropped down to a knee and with a gasp, vomited a violet blob up at the Buneary. Alice hesitated only for a moment before throwing herself aside. The blob landed with a splat where she had stood, hissing softly as the grass surrounding it quickly went yellow and broke apart under the acid. Sam broke out into a sprint, headed their way. "Alice! Incoming!"
She had just thrown another Ice Punch into the Gloom's other leg before turning to face him. She hopped away as the Gloom toppled forward straight into another Ember. With a flash, the petals on their head quickly ignited. Immediately, they had scrambled back up right, letting out a twisted scream as they sprinted away from Alice and back down the field.
"Good shot!" Alice grunted with a little smirk as Sam slid up alongside her. "Who next?"
One person remained unaccounted for in all of this. Someone still in danger. "Kyle…" Sam uttered, spinning his head round to find the Snom still hanging from the tree, desperately swinging himself to get free. "Let's get him loose and out of the line of fire, then we can help the others!"
An almighty bang rang out over his shoulder.
Behind him, Oscar grunted as he slid back, struggling to hold up a massive boulder that seemed to have been torn straight from the ground. Esper stood sideways on from him, eyes widened. That attack was all too familiar, and the Meowstic had only just dodged th-
A shield made of light formed just as the glowing arm of Greg slammed into it. With a clang, the Protect held from the strike, allowing the Meowstic time to pull back.
"Let's not waste any time!" Alice barked, beckoning for the Scorbunny to follow. With a sharp nod back, he followed, the two sprinting towards the central tree where Kyle was waiting, still struggling against his bindings.
Sam dug his feet harder into the ground, willing himself to go faster. A screech rang out above him, and he looked up in time to duck under the Spearow, his beak glowing as it tried to skewer him. He bit off a curse, the bird pulling up as Jack flew overhead. "I'll keep you covered!" he cried out, flapping his wings to a heavy beat and throwing a blast of air at the bird.
Not wasting time to watch the result, he continued his charge towards Kyle, Alice slightly ahead of him. "Hang on Kyle! We're coming!"
They were little more than a few metres away when Kyle started screaming. "A-Alice! Look out!"
Sam caught the flash of white and blue from his left.
He sprung forward, arms shoving straight into Alice's back. He ignored her cry as they both fell into the grass, a loud whoosh ringing in his ears as the flaming bone spun above their heads and flew back the way it came, back into the open hand of the Marowak.
Must have slipped away whilst Oscar caught that rock! Sam realised, as he helped Alice back up to her feet. "You alright?"
"I'm fine!" Alice growled, "Thanks but now we've got him to deal with!"
The Marowak had brought himself round in front of the two rabbits, twirling the bone around with clear slits in his eyes.
He glanced over at Alice, "Take him down together?"
"Agreed." She stated, springing forward at the Marowak as the Ice Punch formed round her ear. Sam sprinted after her, seeing the Marowak spin round the burning bone with a flash of purple. The bone connected with the ice attack, the latter shattering on impact to reveal a normal ear. The momentum flung Alice back over the top of Sam, but he didn't look back, firing off an Electro Ball at the Marowak. The skull-headed Pokémon couldn't respond quick enough to deal with that. The ball hit it in the chest, the entire Pokémon spasming as the electricity coursed through his body. Taking his chance, Sam came down onto the Marowak, kicking with both of his legs-
Only for both feet to bounce harmlessly off its belly.
He didn't even get a chance to process this before he was treated with the club end of a bone flying into his own gut, sending Sam sailing away. Gritting, he rolled mid-air and skidded across the grass. "Careful!" Alice shouted off to his side, crouched down with one hand in the dirt. "Ghost type!"
Ghos- He shook his head, there was no point in questioning it now, that attack didn't do anything – Double Kick! Of course of all the times he would learn it out of nowhere, it had to be against a fighting type and a ghost type to boot! That meant Quick Attack would be worthless as an attack too. And that fire on the bone had to imply that the Marowak also happened to be a fire-type too.
That only left Electro Ball, and pouncing up into the air, he kicked off another electric attack. This time, his opponent saw it coming, his bone glowing before whacking it away with a decent swing of his weapon.
But as he spun the bone round for another attack, he cried out as Alice's Ice Punch caught his side. The Buneary gritted her teeth as she withdrew, the bone whipping through thin air and skimming past her chest.
Sam booted another Electro Ball away, this time physically shoving the Marowak off balance. He readied himself for another kick, but something clicked in his mind. Just because this can't hurt him doesn't mean I can't abuse this move!
"Hey! Skull-head!" Sam barked, pulling a mock wave as his foe turned towards him, quivering with anger. "You can't hit anything for toffee!"
He could see the dino's hand tighten around the bone. "Y-You dumb rabbit!" he snapped, sweeping the bone back for another throw.
Sam started to sprint at it, just as the bone flew at him.
One moment the Scorbunny was there, the next he was gone.
The Marowak jerked back, head swivelling to find him. "Surprise!" Sam exclaimed, poking his own head the reptile's shoulder. Almost jumping into the air, he wildly swung a fist round, only for the Scorbunny to blink away and out to the side. "Damn isn't Quick Attack fun!" Sam cheered as the Marowak caught and swung the bone back round at him, only to dash aside. "What's the matter!? Not used to a little dodging!"
Coming in from one side, Alice was rapidly approaching, ear already getting encased back in ice. Perfect. Sam realised, a euphoric pulse rolling over him as he performed one more Quick Attack, this time feeling the bone rush past the hairs of his neck – and pulling up alongside Alice, mid charge.
The poor bandit turned round face first into the combined Electro Ball and Ice Punch, crashing underneath his chin and sending him cartwheeling head over heels straight into the tree with a nasty crack, hard enough to shake Kyle up in the tree. The bandit crumpled face first into the ground, weakly trying to push himself back up. He looked up once, and whimpering loudly, the bandit crawled on his back towards the tree with widening eyes. Now they had space, Sam looked towards Alice, standing slightly ahead of him. "Now's our chance!" Sam said.
"Yeah, let's-" Alice's ears stiffened and before he could say anything, she threw herself into him, knocking the wind out of his lungs as he hit the deck. Sam gasped, trying to get air back in. W-What was-
Over her shoulder, Greg skidded past them backwards, his fingers digging into the dirt and throwing up grass blades, slowing him down to a halt just in front of the Marowak.
"T-Thanks." Sam coughed as Alice stepped up and reached a hand out. He took a second to stare at it before grabbing hold and getting pulled up to his feet. Esper was walking towards them from the side, eyes focused on Greg, save for a quick confirmatory glance to check if the two rabbit Pokémon were alright. Greg's jaw was clamped shut; brow furrowed as he pushed himself back upright.
"Sorry about that." Esper replied, "Had my hands full with this one."
The Marowak slid out from behind, "B-Boss!" he shouted out in evident panic. "W-We can't keep t-this up! We s-should run!"
Esper's ears remained open, raising an eyebrow. "The wiser option would be to surrender now."
A low growl rumbled forth from the Swampert, loud enough regardless Sam could feel his chest vibrate in rhythm. I don't think he's that eager to quit…
And sure enough, the Swampert rolled his jaw before barking back at her. "And lose my only chance at freedom? Screw that!"
Esper shrugged, "The hard way it is then." She glanced back to the rabbits, "I'll deal with Greg, you get-"
Her eyes widened as she started to spin round, only for two webs splashed against her legs with a splat, the Meowstic barely getting the chance to look down in shock before they were yanked out from underneath her. She hit the floor; eyes wide as she was pulled back from them. In the field, the two Spinaraks had spat out webs. Incredibly, the Mankey seemed to have recovered, and was pulling the Meowstic via the webbing back towards the rest of the fighting. Oscar was now fighting the Gloom, it's petals still smoking as the Bibarel dodged the Grass Knots shooting out of the ground between him and his target.
Instinct took over, Sam readying himself to leap for the Meowstic, "Hang o-"
Don't worry about me!
Esper's voice boomed in his mind, barely taking a moment for Sam to realise she was using telepathy. Next to him, Alice visibly flinched. She could hear her too.
I'll deal with these ones! Stall Greg until I can get back to you!
Sam blinked, Stall him!? How- damn it, not the time!
He turned back towards Greg, the big Swampert flashing his toothless grin. "So… now I have two little rabbits to play with!"
"We're not helpless you know." Alice stated, one ear pumping in and out.
Sam flashed his buckteeth, "And I've got a lot stronger since last time."
Laughing, Greg stepped forward, "So confident, I might actually make this quick!"
He took one step forward, only for the Marowak to run round in front of him, waving his arms desperately. "P-Please boss!" he cried out, "These two are something else! And S-Spirit is the s-strongest team in Robinwood! W-We've kept them busy l-long enough!"
The smile vanished as the Swampert glared at the ghost-type, fingers twitching. "What did I say?" he growled.
The Marowak visibly froze, slowly starting to step away with hands outstretched. "I-I-I d-didn't me-ACK!"
His cry was cut shut as Greg's giant hand grabbed hold of his neck, lifting him up like a ragdoll. "I warned you!" he snapped, "You little shit!"
"B-Bos-ss!" The Marowak gasped, hands beating desperately on his arm.
Holy- Sam stepped forward, "Let him go Greg!" he barked. "You don't have to do this!"
"Have you forgotten already?" Greg shouted back, his captive desperately gasping for air. "I'm trying to survive. And I'm not getting dragged down by some cowards!"
"P-Please! I-I-I c-can-n f-fight! I c-c-"
A sickening snap rang out, the Marowak's eyes going wide in shock.
Alice gasped.
Kyle screamed.
Sam's heart stopped.
The Marowak's limbs twitched for just a moment, before his body went limp, head rolling forward. "What a waste of space." Greg spat, casually tossing the corpse aside over his shoulder onto the field. When the body crumbled into a heap, it was all too easy to see the broken neck.
Sam nearly retched, his entire body convulsing. The image of the dead Squirtle flashed through his mind, it was just like before. All that blood, all that broken-
A soft weight settled onto his shoulder, the Scorbunny flinching, trying to turn – and finding Alice standing next to him, a firm hand on his shoulder with her mouth slightly open and her uncoiled ear dipped to one side.
Worry.
And then it clicked, feeling his chest rise and fall like a pulse. He took a deeper breath, slowly blowed it out, and with his breathing under control once more, turned his gaze back on Greg. "You're going to pay for what you've done." Sam growled.
"And that's something we can both get behind." Alice declared; her voice deathly cold as she let go of Sam's shoulder.
Greg stared them down, eyes flicking between the two. Even as the battle waged on behind their backs, Sam held his nerve. He wouldn't run. He didn't care what Greg said, or how he killed 'to survive' or some cheap excuse like that. A life was a life. It was precious regardless of who it belonged to.
Sam dragged one foot back, readying himself for the fight ahead. They had no time to wait for Esper to finish the other bandits off. They had to deal with Greg here and now.
"Heh." Greg croaked, more amused anything else.
Then he rammed his fists into the ground, ripping out two gigantic boulders that dwarfed Sam and Alice both. "Then do your worst!" he roared, throwing the rocks straight towards them.
Sam sprinted forward, Alice doing the same on his left. One rock bounced off the ground, cartwheeling in the air towards the Scorbunny. Skidding, Sam threw himself into a slide, barely flinching as the rock flew over his head. Behind him, Alice instead jumped, bouncing off his rock then over to the one aimed for her higher up. Springing back up, Sam fired off another pebble, igniting the rock with ease. A glowing arm struck the fireball, smothering the fire attack with little effort. But that gave Alice all the room she needed to come down onto the top of Greg's head with a Double Kick. The Swampert snarled, waving a giant fist to try and swat the Buneary away. But she was too fast, and backflipped away.
Then came the second Ember flew into his open mouth. The Swampert's eyes widened as he stumbled back, an internal shot like that being too painful for the water type to ignore. His orange eyes, visibly bulging with red veins, shot daggers at the two rabbits as he reared up with a dreadful roar and slammed his fists straight down into grass.
Sam just caught the shockwaves rushing through the grass before Alice said the word.
"Earthquake!" she screamed, and without hesitating, Sam leapt upwards. He sailed through the air, hoping he was in the air for long enough. But when his feet hit the ground, he found them jerked to his right, then back again just as sharply. Sam cried out, struggling to maintain his balance before his legs finally slipped out from underneath him and his chin hit the ground with a crack. Groaning, he forced himself back up just as Alice launched herself back at the much bigger enemy, one ear glowing.
Sam's heart missed a beat, "Alice! Wat-"
Alice cried out as a single fist sailed into her chest, flinging her up and over the Swampert and out of sight.
Screaming, Sam charged, feeling his chest burn hotter than ever. Another Ember went flying, this time being put out with a little squirt of water from Swampert's mouth as he turned to confront him. Not even a metre away now.
Sam willed himself to Quick Attack, to dash past Greg. The world blinked.
And Sam remerged to find Greg's fingers clamped round his legs.
He barely had time to cry out as he was thrown to the ground. Hard. Pain jabbed across his entire body, jarring from the impact. He tried to pick himself up again, only for a blue hand to bite down round his neck. Sam squirmed, fighting desperately to get himself free, but Greg's grip was too strong. Anger turned to blind panic, the Scorbunny slamming his fists down onto his captor's fist. No no! Let go off me! P-Please!
Greg's eyes burnt as he lifted the Scorbunny up.
You started to rise, no, the story couldn't end here. You had to intervene-
Something flickered in your vision.
"Alright you little shit." Greg rumbled, "You're thick-skulled alright… but let's see how easy it is to break that little neck of yours."
He began to squeeze.
What little air was able to down his windpipe now failed to get through at all, his lungs starting to burn like acid. He tried to cry out, but only a weak gasp escaped. He was choking, his vision already beginning to swim. His throat throbbed harder and faster, a little tighter and-
Panic and fear took over. He weakly kicked his legs out, where was Alice? Esper? His head rolled back, Kyle was hanging directly above, tears flooding his eyes. I-I don't wanna-
"P-Ple…" he tried to gasp.
"Don't bet on it." Greg growled, "No one is saving you this time."
As if on cue, a brown shape flew into view from behind the Swampert, ear glowing blue.
Alice's Ice Punch crashed round into the side of Greg's head with an almighty crack, the amphibian's head jerking violently to one side with a look of complete shock.
The fingers slipped free, and Sam dropped down to the floor, gasping as fresh air rushed into his lungs. But he didn't have time to wait, looking up with a hostile to find Greg shaking his head, one hand clutching it as he moaned.
"Break-" Sam growled, leaping up at him and kicking once at Greg's chin, "This!"
The second kick hit even hard, snapping Greg's head back with a sickening crack as Sam cartwheeled back through the air and back onto open ground. Alice jogged up aside him, for the first time look genuinely concerned even as she clutched her side. "Thanks." Sam said, flashing a little grin. "Got a knack for last minute rescues eh?"
Alice merely shrugged. But even in his state, he could see the pained smile.
The agonised roar caught his attention. Greg slammed his fists back down into the grass, keeling over as he struggled to take deep breaths. "You… bastards…" he panted, head jerking back up. "When I'm finished with you, I'll rip you both in half!"
Sam straightened himself up, slowing his briefing and willing the flames… no… that energy in his chest to burn harder than ever. "No Greg." He started, "We're finished with you."
Greg reared back, a blue ball of energy forming within his open mouth, charging up.
Sam looked over at Alice. "Together?"
She looked back, returning a strong nod as she pulled her hand away from her side. "Together."
Nodding himself, he turned to face their foe. "This ends here!"
With a final roar, Greg snapped his head forward, a massive jet of water screaming towards them.
Sam leapt aside; the massive Hydro Pump shot slamming into the ground where he had stood. Rolling back onto his feet, he charged for the Swampert, Alice doing the same on his left. "Go for his head!" he shouted, bouncing into the air.
Greg, still firing the Hydro Pump, could only look up to see the Scorbunny and Buneary high above his head, falling down on him with righteous fury.
Two feet stuck once, then twice with a bang. The Swampert crying out as the Hydro Pump cut out with a squirt thanks to the twin Double Kicks. Alice dropped down to the floor. Sam flipped back up high.
Teeth bared, Alice's ear darkened as she swung in her Rock Smash attack, a sickening crack ringing out as Greg's jaw slammed shut. Sam touched down a few metres away, charging back in as Greg stumbled backwards. The Buneary's eyes flicking between the ground and Sam himself. In that moment, she grabbed hold of the projectile and flung it towards the Scorbunny.
Sam kicked out, the pebble igniting as it was thrown up into the air. Leaping up to meet it, Sam screamed as he brought his foot back, and booted the Ember away.
Greg opened his eyes to find the fireball flying towards him.
He gasped in surprise.
The Ember flew straight into his mouth.
It exploded with a flash of light and smoke, Greg's roar barely reaching Sam's ears as Alice leapt away to land next to him.
The smoke was thick and black, but as Sam panted for breath, the cloud faded away… and revealed Greg still standing upright, his mouth and jaw charred an obsidian black. Three streams of blood ran down the side of his face from the inside of his mouth.
Groaning, eyes burning, Greg took one step forward.
Sam and Alice held their ground.
Greg took a second, wobbling.
He didn't get a third.
His eyes rolled back into his skull, and with a final sigh, toppled over backwards into the tree with an audible boom that made the plant shiver. His body slid down before finally slumping over into a big heap.
Sam felt his shoulders sink, It's…. it's…
Something snapped, and he looked up to find Kyle, still wrapped up in rope, falling free.
Headfirst to the ground.
Eyes widening, he tried to run forward. But it was too late as Kyle cried out, he couldn't-
The Snom was bathed in a soft blue light, a confused whimper coming from the Bug-type as his descent slowed, the rope slowly unwrapping itself from him before an exposed, and unharmed Kyle was gently plopped down onto the floor.
Blinking, Sam looked back towards the field.
Behind them, Esper let her ears finally drop down, a little smile on her face as she looked over them. Behind her, the bandits were all scattered around the field, softly groaning as they laid on flat on the grass. Out of the fight, but very much alive.
Save for that Mankey, arms and legs flailing as he found himself with Oscar's arm wrapped around in what was clearly a wrestling chokehold. Rolling his eyes, Oscar bumped his fist straight into the Mankey's face.
That promptly calmed the monkey down, looking dazed within the lock.
"Kyle!"
Jack touched down not even half a metre away from Kyle, the Snom boosting to him at a speed that Sam didn't think was possible. "Papa! Papa!" he exclaimed, literally throwing himself at the Butterfree. Jack didn't hesitate, wrapping his arms round his son. "I-I'm so sorry Papa! I-I should have stayed at home!" Kyle sobbed, burying his face into the Butterfree's chest.
"There there." Jack whispered with a clear quiver in his voice, holding the Snom close, "It's all cool… it's all okay now. You're safe buddy. I've got you." He looked up towards Sam and Alice, his red eyes visibly tearing up. "T-Thank you… I don't know how I can ever repay you."
The adrenaline was now wearing thin from Sam's system, feeling rapidly more tired as his body slumped further over, throbbing from all the blows he had taken. A headache rolled through his skull, no surprise where that had come from.
"You don't have to." Sam replied breathlessly. "It was the only thing we could do. Right Alic-"
He turned to find her toppling over forward.
Sam shot over to her, catching before her she even got halfway to the ground. She felt surprisingly light as he slipped one of her arms over his shoulder, her eyes flickering over to him with one hand pressed back against her side. That blow must have knocked the wind out of her.
"I've got you." Sam quietly said, helping her back upright.
He caught the small flash of surprise on her eyes.
He didn't see the weak smile.
"We'll get you patched up once we are back in town." Esper said as she walked up to them, rummaging a hand into her satchel, "We have some spare oran berries, that should- "
"By golly he's persistent!"
The Mankey had broke free of his captor's grip, scrambling into a run across the field. Esper sighed, "It's always the fighting-types isn't it?" she whispered to herself, opening up one of her ears again, which softly hummed with power.
She didn't need to do anything though. He had reached the edge of the wood when a single red and yellow fist flew out and belted him in the nose. Stumbling back, the Mankey landed on his backside as the avian Pokémon emerged from the foliage, icy cool eyes looking down on the wide-eyed Pokémon.
Rex crossed his arms, "Do you want to try that again?"
Without hesitation, the Mankey snapped his arms up in surrender.
"That's what I thought."
The Guildmaster looked up towards the Pokémon across the field. He looked over Team Spirit, Kyle and the bandits in short order. He held his gaze on the still body of the Marowak, then the crumpled form of Greg. And finally, Sam and Alice, barely standing up at the foot of the tree. Sam could just make out the sharp intake of breath, before Rex composed himself just as suddenly.
You watched from your perch, slowly sinking down as you observed the scene, your gaze mostly fixed on Sam and Alice.
It seemed like your assistance wasn't necessary at all.
Rex started making his way towards them, "Let's get you all home."
And with that, we roll on to the final chapter of Episode 1. A short chapter, but with all the combat, I figured that was a reasonable approach. The next chapter will conclude Episode 1 of Guardians of Balance. The good news is, I have a pretty solid idea of how Episode 2 is now going to proceed! So I can start planning out finer details for the story ahead.
I am still planning on doing bonus chapters in the lull between the two episodes though, so any suggestions or anything you would be particularly interested, that would be greatly appreciated it! So if you could please post/comment, that would be a big help for me! I've got some support behind a Team Spirit focused chapter, but any other ideas would be great.
Chapter XXV will be coming within a week provided nothing much happens, as I want to wrap up this Episode and bring it to a close. Either way, again, I hope you enjoyed this new Chapter!
Rex's office was just as welcoming as ever, given the soft seats and the little details and accessories placed within it. There was nothing that its owner had done to try and make someone physically uncomfortable to be there.
And yet, Sam still felt uneasy. Mainly thanks to the pain, now reduced to a dull throb that ran through his entire body. Almost as if he had pins and needles stabbing his… well, everything. After the last few days of getting beaten and torn apart, no amount of Heal Pulses was going to actually help the process of healing now. Sam would have to heal up the old-fashioned way now. Even if he could take an extra Heal Pulse, there were Pokémon who would need far more help physically and mentally compared to himself and even if there wasn't he doubted Rebecca would be wanting to treat him again.
Actually, it was probably best he didn't see her at all for a bit.
But it wasn't just that. It was also impatience. Sam remained on station along with Alice, Rex and Team Spirit until other members of the Guild could arrive to relieve them, as well as apprehending the remaining bandits. Once those numbers had been built up, Rex directed Sam and Alice to accompany Jack and Kyle back to Robinswood.
Whilst father and son would hurry back home upon their return, the two rabbits had very specific orders to wait for at Rex's office for the Guildmaster.
The Scorbunny paced across the upper part of the office, brow furrowed in thought. It had been over an hour since they arrived here and there was still no sign of Rex. He could hear the signs of increased activity below, and the sky seemed that little bit brighter in the direction of the port. But even so, the wait was gradually wearing the Scorbunny fine.
"If you keep walking like that you'll burn a hole through the floor." Alice said.
The Buneary was sat down on one of the wooden seats by the desk, one ear lazily raised with her eyes closed and hands behind her head. Sam glanced between her and the floor, then the bottom of his feet. "I suppose you're right." Sam admitted. I mean, if I can set pebbles on fire, this wood wouldn't last very long.
He shook his head, "This is just taking too long." He said, walking up to the chair alongside Alice's and climbing on to it. "What if something has gone wrong? Aidan could have pulled another trick or Greg could have got back up."
"You're worrying too much." Alice replied, opening her eyes and pulling a thrown. "They have Rex there. He can handle anything. And I'd be surprised if Aidan pulls something else out now."
Sam sighed, looking towards the empty high-backed chair. "I just can't shake this feeling that something else could happen."
"A little bit of caution isn't unfounded, but I am a little hurt at your lack of faith."
Both rabbit's ears jerked up as Rex strode into the office, rubbing one of his wrists with his free hand. Sam bounced to his feet, "Rex! I didn't mean any offence-"
"Don't worry about it too much." Esper reassured him, stepping into the room just behind the Guildmaster with a small smile. "The old man likes to spook people from time to time."
Rex visibly rolled his eyes, a chuckle breaking out. "Thank you for spoiling my trade secret Esper." He motioned with one hand as he climbed up the steps. "Please, stay seated."
Sam plopped himself back down as Rex walked behind the desk, standing to look through the window overlooking Robinswood whilst the Meowstic positioned herself by one of the curtains lining the edge of the room. Rex held his gaze, looking over the town with a practiced eye for a solid minute. Even leaning slightly to the side or closer in to get a better view of some invisible scene down below before turning back towards the recruits. "Apologies for keeping you waiting. You'll be glad to know the fire looked worse than it actually was. A few Pokémon will need some time in the clinic, but we'll expect a full recovery from everyone."
"Kyle is sleeping back home." Esper added, arms crossed. "He's shaken up quite a bit, but I'll be working with Jack and his partner to make sure he's okay."
Sam sighed with relief, almost sensing his heart loosen itself up. It was a win on both fronts. The main thing that mattered there was the lives of the Pokémon, Kyle especially given what he had been through. Frankly, Sam couldn't care any less if the dock burnt to a crisp, as long as everyone there was safe.
"Sounds like we got lucky there." Alice mused, "And what about the bandits?"
"All locked back up in the prison." Rex confirmed, "I've seen to it personally that our old friend has been given a sturdier cell and extra guards."
It took Sam a couple of seconds to realise what he meant. "You can't be serious. He's-"
Rex nodded, "Greg's alive. He's badly hurt, but he'll live with treatment."
"He can't be talking. Not with the fireballs we threw down his mouth." Alice said.
"Thankfully so." Rex replied, "He wasn't happy to say the least. And I can understand his circumstances."
Sam frowned, biting back at the urge to growl. "He's a crook. He deserves to get locked up."
"That's if he is lucky." Esper said quietly, eyes narrowing.
Alice tilted her head at that one, "I don't see how that's lucky."
Esper glanced over at the Guildmaster, the avian Pokémon merely motioning with his hand towards the two Pokémon. "Before we left for Broken Wood, I sent out information requests regarding Greg and his gang." Esper started explaining, stepping away from the wall. "In case there was a bounty on any of them. I received a criminal record from Grass Continent."
She hesitated for a moment, "Greg has over a dozen charges relating to thievery. Four charges of assault… and one charge of murder on the Grass Continent."
Esper let the words hang in the air for a moment. He committed murder before coming here? Sam pondered, but the train of thought was quickly stopped as the Meowstic continued. "According to the report, Greg had killed a shopkeeper by breaking his neck during a break in gone wrong. Greg always insisted that it was an accident, of how he has always been stronger than most of his species. But the law on Grass ultimately treated it as murder."
It was Sam's turn to tilt his head, twitching his ears, "And he managed to get away out here."
"And he's certainly killed more since then." Rex said, "That Marowak may well be the latest, provided he doesn't somehow come back to life on us, being part-ghost type. Regardless, Grass has jurisdiction over us. We're required to add additional charges as witnessed. That's at least another three charges of murder, as well as kidnapping."
Rex let the words hang for another second before Esper continued, "If Greg is lucky, he'll face a life sentence. If not…"
She didn't continue, but the implication was obvious. Sam's mouth dropped open a couple of millimetres, one ear tipping over. He wasn't sure what to think. Pleased with Greg facing something as severe as a death sentence… or horrified that it was even on the table.
That would make all his talk about survival make sense. He knew if he got caught, he would probably be biting the bullet not long after.
Not that it made Sam feel sorry for Greg. Understand his position perhaps, but it didn't excuse everything he has done.
"Either way. Greg will be out of our hands soon enough. He'll be transported back to Grass to stand trial." Rex stated, before lowering himself down into the high-backed chair. "That leaves only two problems. Aidan and Zeke."
Alice blinked. "Zeke?"
"The Electrike that Sam and Aidan recovered from Broken Wood." Esper explained. "He's a member of the missing Team Nitro."
Sam straightened back up in his seat, the memory of the crazed electric Pokémon resurfacing with a vengeance, enough that his head pulsed more sharply than before. "I remember too well." Sam said with a wince, "What's up with him?"
Esper didn't need any blessing from Rex this time, "He's still in a coma. Even Rebecca had no luck in reviving him. Given the state he was in and the condition of Broken Wood, we have to assume that his team mates are either just as crazed, or dead."
"How he even got into that state is a more interesting question." Rex stated, "But until we can find a way to rouse him or look into his mind, monitoring him is the best we can do."
That wasn't exactly comforting. Zeke was effectively a complete mystery compared to everything that happened. And Sam couldn't help but feel annoyed with himself for forgetting about the electric type.
"Aidan is a problem for obvious reasons." Rex stated, "But between the port attack, Broken Wood and Greg's kidnapping, he will be long gone now. The best we can do is arrange for a bounty, but it'll be a long time before that could be recouped.
"He's covered his tracks for so long, we'll probably never find him again." Alice stated.
Sam looked down to find his paws screwing up into balls. They may have succeeded in saving those lives, but Aidan had still got away with everything he wanted. At least at the surface anyway. He let out a frustrated sigh, "We'll find him." He grumbled under his breath, "Someday."
"We will." Rex said quietly, prompting the Scorbunny to jerk back upright.
The Guildmaster clicked his beak. "Putting all that aside." He started, leaning forward onto the desk. "We must settle on your punishment."
Sam blinked, his mouth slackening as the gravity of what Rex just said kicked him in the gut.
"Are you-kidding me!"
Sam and Alice's voices rang out with a joint shrill, loud enough that Esper seemed to recoil from the edge.
Rex barely reacted to that, nor to Sam leaping up onto his feet. "Seriously! We saved Kyle and beat the crap out of Greg when no one else was on hand!"
Alice bared her teeth, "How does this make sense!?" she growled.
Rex's eyes narrowed, the Blaziken stiffening in his seat as he held an unflinching glare. "I gave you very specific orders to guard Robinswood." He stated, "And to send someone to report any incidents to me if anything had happened."
Sam snapped his arms out to the sides, nostrils flaring. "You know what Greg is capable of! I couldn't jus-"
An avian fist slammed into the desk, the boom ringing through the entire room. Sam's rage was extinguished in an instant, the Blaziken quaking in front of him. Even Alice's eyes widened in fear, tucking back against her chair. Of to one side, Esper was smirking. "Instead of waiting for support, you both leave Robinswood less defended, with only your fellow recruits!" Rex barked, "Instead, you run into the woods to fight a powerful Pokémon who has already killed other Pokémon, without informing anyone of where you were going or leaving indicators of where you had been! If it wasn't for Perry informing Team Spirit of your plans and the tracks Greg had left behind, you would have had to face Greg and his crew alone!"
The Scorbunny stepped back into the back of his chair, stomach sinking as the Guildmaster rose to his feet, the temperature of the room rising with him. "Your fool-hardy charge into danger could have got you and others killed or wounded! Your attempt at heroics-" he jabbed a finger into the air, eyes flicking over to Alice to promptly shut her up, her mouth hanging ajar before continuing. "Your heroics may have saved a life, but you may not be so lucky next time! Even though you have the best of intentions in mind and the will to risk your lives for the sake of others, you will need guidance for the far greater challenges to come!"
Rex leaned forward, pointing a finger straight at the two of them. "With that in mind! You will both receive the Bronze Rank upon your initiation into the Guild!"
Sam recoiled, about to throw a challenge back. But it died just as quickly on his tongue. Wait, Bronze Rank? What?
At the edge of the room, Esper had a gigantic smile on her face as the Blaziken held his gaze on the two frozen rabbits, before with a sparkle in his eyes, he leaned back upwards, a little smile on his face… and clearly struggling not to chuckle. Sam sighed, his legs giving out as he slid down back onto his seat and burying his head into his hands. Hidden out of sight, he pulled a small smirk.
"That wasn't funny." Alice growled, shaking her head as she relaxed into her seat. But her expression indicated that she didn't have the will to get angry with the Guildmaster.
"This humour doesn't suit me, I admit." Rex wheezed, coughing to stop the chuckle.
Esper's smile widened, "Like I said, the old man likes to spook people."
"I know all too well." Alice replied, rolling her eyes with arms crossed.
"And now I do." Sam replied, bringing his face out of his hands. "But Bronze Rank? What's that all about?"
With a final cough, Rex straightened himself back up in his seat. "In all seriousness, what you did was reckless and dangerous." He nodded firmly at the two rabbits as they got themselves resettled onto their seats. "But at the same time, I can't deny your own abilities. Very few Rescuers could go through what you two have been through at such short notice." He tapped a talon on the desk, "Therefore, rather than bringing you into the guild at Normal Rank along with the others, we might as well give you a rank more fitting for your abilities. Two ranks up to be exact. And at the same time, make sure you each receive more advanced training. So you can put that talent to the appropriate kind of use."
Esper's smile faded away, "The last time someone jumped up the ranks like that was Team Spirit." She explained, "That was five years ago. And before that, it was a Team that played a major role in the Dark Matter Crisis. Getting a higher rank out of the blue is an indicator that you could be rubbing elbows with some of the best teams in the world sooner rather than later. Thats a lot of responsibility that you need to be willing to accept when the time comes."
Sam sharply took in a bit of breath. It was a huge leap up in the rankings… but was he even ready for that? He felt his gut tighten, but with another breath, his body relaxed once more. He had already been through Broken Wood and multiple fights to the death. That, and for some reason being a Rescuer, even on training felt so fulfilling to him. Saving a few more lives here and there, he could get behind that.
Nevermind possibly finding out more about who he was.
"So Sam?" Rex questioned, "What do you say?"
He realised that the two leading Pokémon were staring at him. Sam straightened himself up, eyes flicking between the two before letting a small smile shine through. "Thanks Rex. Count me in."
Rex's eyes sparkled briefly before he nodded back. "Very well then. Welcome to the Robinswood Guild." He motioned with a hand, "I can get an individual rank arranged, but we still need to arrange for you to join a team. My powers and ability to call in favours aren't exactly limitless."
Sam visible winced, "Sh- I forgot about that. I was going to ask Bruce if he and his team would be fine with me tagging along." He rubbed the back of his head with a nervous look, "But if you want me to join another Bronze Rank team, I won't object."
"I can pull up a few names, see if they have any spaces on hand." Esper said, "I would be more than happy to put you into Team Spirit, same with Alice, but as we're at Diamond Rank, it wouldn't really be fair to throw you into the deep end."
After what Sam had been through, he couldn't really argue against that. There wasn't much point in Sam cramping Spirit's style. Just knowing them would be good enough.
"Speaking of which," Rex started, turning back towards Alice. "I know you said you would drop out Alice, but there are still spaces open if you wish to join the Guild."
The Buneary's expression was surprisingly neutral, at least at first glance. Her head dipped forward, eyes flicking towards the ground. "Actually." She said softly, "I've already got an offer to join a team."
Alice lifted her head back up, looking towards Sam.
"If that offer's still open Sam?"
That hit him like an Onix. Sam only just managed to stop himself gaping at her as he spun round. "Alice!" he managed to utter in surprise, "I thought-"
"I didn't want to make your life hell?" she finished for him, stepping off the chair and dropping down to the floor. "I still don't want do that. But…" she visibly hesitated, as if trying to work out what to say next. Before closing her eyes and with a little smile, shrugged. "To be honest, we made quite the team and it felt kinda… nice to work with someone who just saw me as… me. Rather than some curse. So I guess… why not?"
"Alice…" Sam said softly, dropping down from his own seat shakily, unsure if he was dreaming or if this was really happening.
She opened her eyes again, letting her smile grow. "Sam. I would be more than happy to form a team with you, if you'd have me." She reached out a hand, "Partners?"
He blinked, staring down at the open hand. Still processing it all. But he didn't question it. Now wasn't the time to do that.
Sam couldn't stop himself beaming a massive smile at Alice, "Partners." He declared warmly, clapping his hand against hers and squeezing it tight.
If anything, Alice's hand squeezed even tighter.
Rex and Esper glanced towards each other, sharing a joint smile between themselves before the guildmaster turned back towards the two rabbits. "Well, welcome to the Guild you two. I never thought I would see the day anyone would have the audacity to pair up in such a way."
They let go, Sam raising a brow at Rex's choice of words. But before he could question it, the Blaziken continued. "That makes the paperwork easier as a bonus." He admitted, "We can mark you in as a Bronze Rank Rescue Team, but with the recent events, we are going to officially bring in the new members tomorrow as a morale boost. That means we are going to need a name, colours and a symbol. Tonight."
Alice's smile vanished, "Ah crap…" she uttered, "I've… kinda didn't think of anything like that. Didn't think I would have much of a choice."
She glanced over at Sam before shrugging sheepishly, "If you have any ideas, I'm all ears."
Crap, this is a bit on the spot is it!? Sam thought, a cold sweat seeming to kick in on his brow. I mean, I haven't put much thought into it either! Not that I thought we would have so little time. He tapped his foot, rubbing the back of his head, What could I use? A name should have a good meaning. It should show we're daring right? Regardless of how daft it… seems…
The word flashed back in his mind. The one that Rex had used. He didn't really know the reasoning for that choice of word but at the same time, knowing the definition behind it – it could work. That left symbol and colours.
That was easy, his hand automatically reaching for his jacket pocket. It was still there, the armband. It couldn't be a perfect match. No way. He couldn't use their emblem like that. Inspiration though… that could work.
"Actually." Sam started, "I might actually have something we could work with."
The sun was slowly beginning to rise, but the forest floor remained dark enough to conceal his movements from any prying eyes above his head.
Aidan didn't bother looking up though, his eyes fixed on the path ahead with his sack slung over his shoulder. His attack on the port went without a hitch. In and out before anyone had noticed he was there. Paired with his plan to use Greg as a distraction, his aim to extract all remaining traces of his operation would have been easily hidden away or outright removed.
The Frogadier croaked a heavy growl. Of course Greg had to be an idiot and blow it. Again, something so incredibly simple and yet again, the Swampert had made a complete hash of his objectives. He was lucky to get out the obvious evidence and material. The rest he would have to make do with being hidden away from prying eyes.
Still, he hadn't counted on Sam and his cursed little friend. Aidan took the time to march by the clearing he had told Greg to use. And what did he find? That damn fire rabbit, someone he trusted kicking the shit out of the beast with the cursed bitch.
He had to admit, Sam had grown so much since he met him in the barracks. It was almost admirable in a way, Sam was audacious. The Frogadier had to love him for that.
He shook his head in disgust, pushing onwards. Even so, Aidan kicked himself for not breaking the Scorbunny's neck when he had the chance. It was something so easy for himself to accomplish, it would have only taken a second. He let his feelings get the better of him. He would have to do better to keep them in check.
Afterall, he didn't slip up before with Team Nitro.
The Pikachu Owen and his team weren't the first ones to get a whiff of his operation. Zeke and his own team managed to get a glimpse of his operation before. He had hoped that they only caught an unclear glance of things in action. But as it became clear that they were starting to dig around for more information, he realised it would be best for them to 'disappear'.
It was surprisingly easy. Poison Zeke, have them wonder into a Dungeon on an out of the blue rescue mission, and await the call for them being missing. So convenient, so easy.
And again, out of nowhere, he finds Zeke with Sam in tow. He couldn't risk Zeke regaining consciousness, no matter how crazy he was and potentially connect the dots. So whilst everyone was off trading stories around the campfire, he quietly slipped in and poisoned him again. Fingers crossed, Zeke won't be waking up anytime soon.
Still, this was a setback. He would have to rebuild comms and trust with his contacts once he had established his operations. That would-
-take time?
Aidan stopped dead in his tracks, eyes flicking towards the source. Leaning against one of the trees was a tall, slender figure. A black cloak wrapped round her – at least, he thought it was a her – judging by the voice. Was that telepathy? Or was it just so… otherworldly that it seemed to resonate inside his head. He turned to face her, placing the sack down to one side. "Who are you?" he questioned, readying himself into a combat position.
The cloaked figure pushed herself off the wall, revealing herself to be towering over him without any problems. I am merely a… intermediary. She said, My master has a proposal for you.
Aidan frowned, shaking his head. "I would be more than happy to arrange a meeting with your… employer." He said, "But my hands are somewhat tied right now. If you allow me time to establish a new base of operations, then we can set up a business-"
My master will see that you are established. This proposal cannot wait.
She waved a clothed arm to one side of the tree, stepping aside. Something flickered in the air beside them. With a brief flash of light, the air itself folded on itself, and with a low and heavy boom, a colourful tunnel formed alongside her.
Aidan's eyes widened, taking a step at the back. "What is this?" he whispered.
All will be explained.
Aidan hesitated, his mind racing. If someone could do this…
Reaching down to grab the sack, Aidan stepped forward, and followed the cloaked figure into the tunnel.
"…and despite these challenges, we have all shown that it doesn't matter where we have come from. We have stood together and emerged not only stronger, but closer together as Pokémon." Rex said, standing on a wooden stage positioned in front of the Guildtree. The sun was shining high above the town and before him, most of the citizens of the town were gathered. Amongst them, a great many members of the guild, all decked out in their team colours. He could see Team Spirit off to one side, watching with clear smiles on their faces. A round of applause rang out amongst the wider crowd, a few cheers accompanying them. The guildmaster let them proceed, adjusting the two armbands he had on his arms. One was the black and gold armband he normally wore, the other was a red and gold one that flashed the emblem of a five pointed shooting star.
"When I took up the post of Guildmaster here, I did so for three reasons. Firstly, to play one final, relaxed role in the Guilds before I decide to retire, after thirty years of work."
He let the words hang in air for a moment, before casually lifting his hands up to his sides. "Guess how that turned out."
Laughter rose up from the crowd at that, the guildmaster letting a little chuckle slip out. "Secondly, to do my absolute best to make this Guild one of the most welcoming in the world, making a difference to help every single person in this town, just as I have done for years."
Rex placed his hands behind his back, "And thirdly, so I could perform the greatest of honours. Welcoming the next generation. Pokémon of Robinswood. I am incredibly proud to welcome three new Rescue Teams to the ranks of the guild. It doesn't matter where they have come from, and every single one has shown extraordinary resilience, willpower, compassion… and courage. And we are delighted to count them among us."
He stepped to one side, Esper climbing up onto the platform to join him, holding a chest up in place. "First of all, Team Active and it's members Edward and Denver!"
Another round of applause rolled forth from the crowd as the Skiddo and Skorupi emerged from the Guildtree and climbed up onto the platform, the latter having his injured legs wrapped up in light bandages. The two were visibly beaming as Rex and Esper pulled out a pair of red scarves with a bright green emblem on them, as well as two peach coloured badges and secured them on their person.
As the two Pokémon gave each other the best high five they could, Rex turned back to the crowd, motioning for them to simmer down. "Next up, we have Bruce, Nia and Dan as Team Seekers!
Bruce led the way up onto the stage, with Dan shakily following close behind. The little Morpeko was so nervous, he nearly toppled over back down the stairs, eyes widening. But with a flutter of her wings, Nia appeared alongside him and pulled him back onto the platform. Bruce took a glance at them, his massive smile faltering only briefly as he made sure the two were okay. Once they were all safely up, they lined up like Team Active, and received their own badges alongside their green scarves – armband in the case of Dan – complete with a white emblem composed of a leaf, a pair of wings and a lightning bolt.
As the crowd quietened down once more with the three Pokémon sharing one giant hug between, Rex once more gained their attention. "And finally, our final new members. I would like you to join me in welcoming Sam and Alice, of Team Audacity!"
Sam took in a sharp breath, one foot already on the step as the clapping began. "Ready?" he asked.
Alice shrugged, "As ready as I'll ever be. Just don't expect a lot of applause."
The Scorbunny merely tilted an ear at that one, "We'll deal with it." he replied, and with a final check, the two climbed up in lockstep and into view.
On cue, the crowd seemed to quiet down, a few cheers being cut short. Sam felt a cold feeling sink into his gut, were they really not going to give them a chance? No, he had to stay strong. Keep up a-
But then the cheers re-erupted, the applause rising back up once more even louder than ever. Enough that the Scorbunny actually slowed mid-step. He glanced over towards Alice, the Buneary also slowing. Her eyes blinked rapidly, as if trying to workout if this was a dream herself.
A few whistles blew through the air. The two other teams turning and clapping their paws or cheering them over. Even Bruce and Denver couldn't help but pull small smiles as they approached.
Sam could hear her sniff.
He didn't leave her hanging, wrapping an arm over her shoulder as they walked up to join the others. I've got you partner.
She looked over at him, trying and failing to hold a little smile at bay. "T-Thank you."
Rex smiled as they pulled up alongside the others, reaching into the chest and pulling out a pair of woad blue armbands from it. Each one christened with a silver X-shaped star, overlaid with an oval shaped tear that symmetrically cut the X in two. Similar, but not identical to the Guardian emblem. If the Guardians seemed as noble as they sounded, it seemed reasonable to be inspired by their exploits.
"Congratulations." Rex said proudly as he placed the perfectly fitting armbands on, holding back for a moment as the two rabbits adjusted them before reaching back into the chest and pulling out two similar, but differently coloured badges from the others. These ones were coloured gold rather than peach, with a small egg-shaped object at its centre with two clear wings stretching out to the sides. At the centre of the egg, surrounded by the gold, was a green coloured gem. The Bronze Badge.
Rex handed the two Guild Badges over, the Scorbunny marvelling over the craftsmanship of the badge as it settled neatly into his hand. It's official now… Sam mused, feeling a warmth burn in his chest. As Rex addressed the crowd once more, he turned towards his partner. "Everything you expected?" he quietly asked.
Alice didn't look at him, eyes fixed on her own badge. "No. Not really."
He raised a brow at that as she turned towards him with a wink, "But it still feels nice."
Sam smiled back, "I'll take that."
"There will be greater challenges to come." Rex stated, addressing the crowd and dragging Team Audacity's attention back to the front of the stage. "But with luck, courage and friendship on our side, we will overcome whatever disasters come our way and get back to what this guild, and this town, was founded to do in the first place." He stretched his arms out to the side, directing his words to all present. "To explore this world. Together!"
He did a small bow, before stepping aside and putting his hands together. "One more time, let us welcome our newest Guild members! Team Active! Team Seekers! And Team Audacity!"
The crowd erupted into a ravenous roar of applause, and with their newfound guildmates cheering at their side, Sam and Alice shared a wink and pumped their badges above their heads, soaking in the cheers from Robinswood.
POKÉMON MYSTERY DUNGEON GUARDIANS OF BALANCE
EPILOGUE
Night had once more fallen over the town, and the only light available in the office was a small, glowing white orb placed on the table.
Rex was seated, looking down on the two objects held in hand. In his left, was the red armband he had worn at the initiation ceremony today, complete with the gold shooting star. In the other, he held a small-framed photograph. It was slightly brown in colouration, but he could still make out all the original colours on it. And most importantly, the Pokémon.
Four of them stood in the shot. To the far left, holding the photograph device known as a camera with his right arm was a Combusken, a happy expression on his face. Behind him, a little bit further along to the right was a Kirlia, who despite the feminine look was actually male. He held what appeared to be a sword blade in one hand as he looked up at the camera, flashing an inquisitive look at the camera. Further still to the right, was a Buneary and a small looking Zangoose with a tuft on his head, the latter looking slightly panicky as the Buneary was growling viciously at the feline. Neither had seen the photo being taken.
All four bearing the same red armbands with a golden star.
Rex couldn't resist smiling at the sight. Team S.T.A.R. Those were-.
A knock clunked across the room, the Guildmaster placing the armband and photo flat on his desk. "Come in."
A door swung open and creaked shut, and out of the darkness of the lower level, Alice emerged. Her blue armband still fitted to the arm along with her Bronze Rank badge fitted to it. "Hello Alice." Rex greeted her, "How are you settling in with Sam?"
"I've settled in the new room well enough." Alice replied, one hand placed on her hip. "Sam is staying in the barracks for tonight. He wanted to check up with Kyle and Jack one more time, but he'll be up here tomorrow morning." She tilted her head, "That, and he wanted to check over Aidan's room again. Just in case."
Rex nodded, listening carefully to her words. Aidan's betrayal had clearly hit Sam hard, but he was grateful that Sam was taking the time to check on Jack's family. "Are you alright with that?"
"I encouraged him." Alice said, pulling a little smile. "Kinda makes sense, and I can get stuff sorted out in our room and we get less looks with Jack. It's a win-win."
The smile faded as she focused on Rex, "Did you want me?"
"Yes." Rex said, turning in his seat to the side, "I wanted to show you something."
As Alice made her way round the edge of the desk, Rex pulled out one of the drawers and reached inside. He pulled out two badges from the drawer. They resembled the guild badges he had given out today, but the wings were more angular, the eggs were sharper and lacked an outline. Both were silver, with a crystalline, shining core at their centre. The Buneary's eyes widened, "Are those old Diamond Rank Badges?" she questioned.
"Indeed they are." Rex explained, "Rescue Badges from before the ranking changes made them Master Rank."
He handed the two over to her. "They belonged to your parents."
Alice froze, her hand hovering over the two badges before she took them carefully from his hand. "W-Where did you find them?"
"I went back to Avio Town last year." Rex said. "Not much has changed since then. Including your old home."
He leaned forward in the chair, "I know you never wanted to return but… I felt then was the time for myself to get some closure." He motioned at the badges. "They had them in their safe. I had a spare key." He closed his eyes, "They belong to you now."
Alice looked over the badges, wiping her eyes. "Mum and Dad… are they…"
Rex nodded, "They were still there." He whispered softly. "Someone had left flowers before I arrived."
A bit more hesitantly, she nodded back, eyes focused on the badges. "Good." She managed to say, looking back up at Rex. "Thank you."
"Your welcome child." The guildmaster replied. "Alice. If your parents were here right now… they would be incredibly proud of you."
"I know." The Buneary replied, holding them close to her chest. "Master Rank, right?"
"Indeed."
A small smile formed on her lips. "Then I've got a lot of work to do catch up. Same time tomorrow for training?"
Rex let out an amused huff, "Same time. Nice and early tomorrow."
"Got it. I'll see you then." She turned and made her towards the office door.
The Blaziken turned to watch her go, "I'm not going to make it easy on you kiddo." He said warmly. "You're Bronze Rank now."
Alice turned round to face him, backstepping as she flashed a wink. "Whatever you say Uncle. I'll be ready."
Rex smiled as Alice departed the room, leaving him all alone. He stared at the closed door for a solid minute, I've not seen Alice so happy in two years.Tyera and Sylvain would be glad to see that.
Standing up, Rex took the glowing orb and the photograph of Team S.T.A.R and brought it over towards one of the bookshelves at the side of the office and placed it down next to another, newer photograph. In that one, standing side by side were four fully evolved Pokémon. A Blaziken, a Gallade, and with one arm wrapped around the other, a Lopunny and Zangoose. All four sharing the same red armbands.
Rex felt his smile grow wider, Rest in peace old friends.
There was one more thing he needed to do tonight. It couldn't wait.
He returned to the desk, reaching back into the drawer and pulling out a blue, coin shaped device with five orbs fitted to the sides, leaving a slot where a sixth one would be. Taking a blue orb out, Rex slotted it into the device. It beeped in response, lighting up as Rex placed it down onto the desk.
He went through the options on the modified Expedition Gadget and opened up the system he wanted to use. It beeped once, then twice. And finally clicked before going silent.
"Luke?" Rex asked, "Are you there?"
A sharp crackle and whine rang out from the device, enough for Rex to wince before the voice finally emerged from the other end. "Sorry about that Rex. The signal is pretty bad around here, I would have got in touch with you sooner. How cushy has life been?"
Luke spoke with a light, but distinctive accent that seemed somewhat rough. Not to different from-
He shook his head, "Rather busy actually, keeping yourself occupied out there?"
"You could say that. So what do you need old friend?"
Rex tapped the desk, hesitating for only a second before finally speaking. "I believe we have found a human."
The gadget crackled, almost as something had been dropped before Luke's voice came through again. Firmer this time. "Are you sure?"
"My deputy Esper caught a psychic trace from him just last night." Rex replied, "She was spooked enough she actually got tripped up by some Spinaraks in a fight, but she is positive that he considers himself human."
"Esper, Esper…" Luke mused, "Wasn't she the one who worked with Auraflame during the Dark Matter Crisis?"
"One and the same. She mentioned that once she picked up that trace, she couldn't help but make the connection between Sam and Auraflame."
"Sam?"
"The human. Well, he's a Scorbunny now."
"Any other familiar symptoms?" Luke quizzed him, "Amnesia? Any strange powers?"
"He only remembers his name as far as we know." Rex said, "He has Libero, but that isn't ground-breaking on it's own, especially since it's been sporadic."
"Sporadic?"
"It barely activates."
"I see. Has he mentioned himself being human yet?"
Rex shook his head, "Not to my knowledge. Only myself and Esper have an inkling of his status."
Luke audibly sighed with relief, "Good. We don't need anyone trying to chase him up on that."
"He's joined my Guild with my niece." Rex confirmed, "And he at the very least has good intentions, but Luke… if Sam is indeed a human-"
"Then these disasters are just the beginning." Luke finished for him. "I can pack up and be out of here by tomorrow, but have you tried to speak with the others?"
"Esper has tried to get back in touch with Team Auraflame, but they are currently working on a project back in their village. Last I heard from home, Team Warden has been having trouble between it's members for months. Team Relic is out of contact on an archelogy expedition and Team Heart was never officially a guild team anyway, and without them having a Expedition Gadget it would take too much time to get a message to Paradise without my best messenger anyway."
"So I'm your best bet. I'll pack my things now. I'll be on my way within the hour. The best thing you can do now is to keep an eye on Sam and Alice. If Esper is correct –"
"They are equally in as much danger." Rex noted, feeling his chest tighten up. "I am all to aware. Especially if his warning is true."
"After all this time? Possibly. He did try and end the world because of it."
Rex leaned back in his chair, eyes narrowing. "I'll protect them." He stated, "But we need to confirm this as soon as possible. It'll be up to us to guide them, so they'll be ready for this threat when the time comes."
"Including Alice?"
Rex hesitated, the word nearly dying on his tongue. "Yes." He said softly, "Especially her."
"We'll get it done Rex."
Swallowing, Rex nodded firmly, talons digging into his desk. "Of course. I'll hold the fort until you arrive. Then we can work out how to stop what he warned us off all those years ago."
He hissed the next word out, "Armageddon."
Luke chuckled from the other side of the device, "Believe me Rex. Even considering where I'm based at the moment… I'll be there before you know it."
Sam turned under the sheets, eyes squeezed shut as he shifted position in his sleep.
You had positioned yourself on the other side of the room, sitting yourself down on what had been Aidan's bed. You watched him intently, wanting to reach out and put a hand on his shoulder. Try and comfort him. But a part of you knew that he wouldn't even feel it.
Still with him, hmm?
The shadow formed alongside you, plopping down next to you with a swirl of darkness. He has proven most resilient. I know you wanted to jump in and help him again. There might have been a moment where that was necessary. With Aidan and with the Swampert. Thankfully for you, he has Alice to watch over him as well, so any action on your part was unnecessary.
Sam twitched, shifting position once more as the shadow joined you in watching. I have seen the mural by the way. The shadow explained, It took a great, painful amount of effort to avoid Volcanion's attention, but it has paid off, if only in pennies.
You turned towards him, a shadowy hand rising up into the air, The mural is most certainly ancient. Even the language eludes me. However, I did recognise the stylisation of the art. It was once created by an ancient civilization of Pokémon. One that was so isolated, that even the gods themselves don't know the answer of what happened to them.
The shadow turned towards you, Conveniently, at the same time that Volcanion vanished so did they. And the art style has existed on practically every continent in some form. That being said, I have only seen a similar design in one other place… could it-
It shook it's head, turning it's gaze towards Sam, still stirring. You watched on in silence. An ancient civilization was certainly a valuable piece of the puzzle. But where? And how did this sort out the problem before you?
I believe part of the answer, The shadow continued, Lies in Sam's dreams.
You turned towards him, the shadow pausing before pressing on, Do you remember when we first met? There was a dream of an ancient castle under siege. I have… experience with dreams. And I can make a fair guess it was Sam's before he woke up in this world.
The shadow seemed to hesitate; I have a suspicion… he could potentially have the same dream again. Perhaps with more context. Yes… even from here I can sense it. In the corner of his mind and yet with what has happened to him… it's just out of reach to him. But perhaps I can tap into it. Hopefully without-
They paused, turning back to you. If you wish, I can try and bring that dream into focus. Perhaps we can all learn something. But I must warn you… it will be quite… vivid.
You looked between the shadow and Sam himself. What to do… what answer could be learnt from within…
The castle was in flames. Dark clouds blanketing the sky. The distant cry of battle and death ringing far below.
Atop one of the battlements, watching over the battle in the courtyard being fought below, was a yellow and black feline. Piercing blue eyes watched on, fists clenched at the chaos. At the death.
The Zeraora was clearly enraged, but they held their tongue. Maintaining a cold expression as they watched on. The situation was dire. There wasn't much time.
What was clear to any viewer now however, was the armband it wore. A blue one with a silver cross and tear embroidered onto it.
"Maister!"
Eyes widening only a touch, the Zeraora turned to find a tall, red and white rabbit sprinting towards them. A Cinderace, a blue armband also wrapped round their arm. But when they spoke, the words were… indiscernible. Strange, and yet familiar. "The tete is aseelid, and the path is openyd! The gounglings, seruaunt, and handmaide goith out, and oure sistris fleen!"
The orange eyes looked down the battlefield below. "We han no ferther tyme to spare maister. I wol se the def-"
"Ye wolen." The Zeraora interrupted in the strange language, "Y wole that ye lede hem to sikirnesse, and that ye seche oure biheest. And if oure ordre falle here, Y schal yyue hope to oure werriours to fle."
The Cinderace looked alarmed. "But maister, ye wol been expos!"
"Aventure I shal take." The Zeraora continued, much more softly this time. "As ye wole with youre heestis. If Y make the mesure, be ye spred abrood; be ye hid in derknessis, for to serue the liyt, as oure lord comaundide."
The Cinderace opened his mouth, ready to argue back. Before his ears dipped. Closing his eyes, the Cinderace placed an arm across his chest and bowed his head. "I wol kepe hem maister."
That seemed to satisfy the Zeraora, the feline smiling as they stepped forward and placed a hand on the Cinderace's shoulder. "I woot ye wole brother. Now go ye. And ealdor alwealda fro the bigynnyng kepe you, as youre herte goith."
Raising his head, the Cinderace smiled and placed a hand of their own on the Zeraora's shoulder. They shared a final nod before finally letting go, the Cinderace sprinting back into the depths of the castle. The Zeraora watched them go, slowly rebuilding their steely expression. A flash of green caught the Zeraora's attention, bringing them back to the edge of the battlements.
Down below, the battle had ceased. A dark Pokémon emerging from the smoke.
The Zeraora's eyes narrowed, hands clenching the rock of the tower.
"No." they hissed with a masculine, now clear voice, "I will not allow for them to freely start Armageddon all over again!"
Blue energy crackling around them, the Zeraora vaulted over the battlement, and jumped into the sky.
A cold, evil grin formed on the Zarude as it glanced back down towards the ground, watching as one defender, a Machoke, tried to drag himself away from danger. The simian approached, raised its right foot…
And slammed it down on the defender's neck with a vicious crack. The Machoke's eyes widened, a faint gasp escaping as its body went limp. A flicker of intelligence remaining evident before finally, it's gaze went blank.
The defenders shuffled back, fear becoming terror as the Zarude's smile grew even more morbid. It started to approach again.
A blue bolt flashed as it struck the ground with a sharp thundercrack, all Pokémon, attacker and defender alike, flinched backwards as the electrical energy sparked across the battlefield, separating the two sides.
All except the Zarude, who's smile vanished completely.
As the electricity faded away, a patch of clouds parted, revealing the untouched splendour of the moon and shining a new light onto the fortress.
Standing before the Zarude, holding position in front of the defenders was the Zeraora.
The Zarude seemed to hesitate for the briefest of moments.
Then it let out a bestial roar, a green vine unravelling from one of its arms into a whip, pulsing with dark green energy as it snapped round. Air rushed around the Pokémon, tugging at the other Pokémon present who once more retreated.
Unbowed, the Zeraora merely cracked its fists together, blue electricity sparking as its eyes narrowed.
And with that, it broke out into a run, a snarl forming as it charged for the Zarude.
The Zarude, whip still flailing in the air, charged forward, whipping it down towards its new opponent.
The Zeraora leapt forwards, it's fist crackling with energy.
The whip and fist connected.
The surrounding Pokémon cried out in shock as the blinding flash of green and blue light, pulling back as the two Pokémon sprung back from the strike, before lunging at each with a vengeance. The Zeraora's fists crackled blue, competing with a pair of glowing green blades that the Zarude attempted to counter with. Around them, Pokémon screamed as they charged back into battle or barked out orders. Some of the defenders began to withdraw, commanders ordering them to retreat through the gateway. The attackers tried to swarm them, but the arrival of the Zeraora had emboldened them, and those that remained on the front line threw themselves into the fray with renewed vigor.
One fist and blade slammed together with a boom, the Zeraora and the Zarude's faces just inches away from each other.
The Zarude smirked.
The Zeraora growled.
Roaring, the Zarude shoved the feline away, the green blades fading away for another whip.
Eyes widening, the Zeraora through themselves aside, the whip barely just skimming past their gut. The Zarude attempted to charge, only for two more warriors to spring forward, covering the Zeraora and pushing the powerful simian back. The Zeraora stepped forward, only to feel a wave of heat surge past their back. The spun round, just in time to see a giant fireball slam into another charging grass type, engulfing the attacker in flames, sending them screaming away.
Spinning round, the Zeraora looked back up to the battlements to find the Cinderace atop them, one foot placed above a Pyro Ball. The electric feline flashed a nod back, as did the Cinderace, who swiftly sprinted further along the battlements. The Zeraora's attention was drawn to the inner gateway, many of the fighters having successfully withdrawn back, many beginning to filter through. Only a handful were now fighting to defend it.
Leaping twice, the Zeraora pounced back to their defensive line and joining their ranks. Amongst the ranks of the attackers, the Zarude was slowly walking towards the line, a green blade glowing. The two warriors that had lunged for it were stumbling away, re-joining their comrades. Eight, ten, eleven defenders now at the gate including the Zeraora.
Eleven against an entire army.
The Zeraora narrowed their eyes, focused on the Zarude. They couldn't hold them off. It was time.
"Take flight warriors." They ordered, "Join the others. I shall hold them at bay."
A Staraptor warrior was on the ground next to them. One wing very clearly twisted and broken. "No. We'll stand with you Master."
The Zeraora looked over their comrades once more. Checking the will of each and every one of them. With a small smile on their face, they turned back to face their invaders. "To death then."
Blue energy crackling around their fists, bright balls of energy began to form around them. On cue, the ten remaining fighters charged into the ranks of the attackers. The Staraptor leapt for the Zarude, only to scream as a green whip struck it across their neck with a sickening crack and sent it flying into a crowd of attackers.
The electric orbs grew bigger, charging further. The air crackled around the Zeraora.
Another warrior tried to block the Simian, for a green blade to slice across their throat. The Zarude's eyes burned, teeth bared as it broken into a sprint, trying to close the gap.
The Zeraora closed their eyes, a word on their lips.
The green blade slammed into their chest. The feline cried out, the dark Pokémon lifting them up effortlessly into the air and slamming them into the stone walls of the battlements. The blue energy dimmed.
"Your interference Zaiell…" the Zarude growled, shoving the blade deeper into the Zeraora's chest. "Ends tonight!"
Zaiell coughed, blood dripping out his mouth.
The air buzzed around them, the Zarude's eyes widening as the balls of electricity glowed brighter than ever.
They couldn't react in time to the Plasma Fist flying against their face. He let out a feral scream, trying to scramble away. Eyes snapping open, Zaiell bared their fangs. "I may die today Kain, but you will not destroy the Guardians!" They booted their feet against the wall and kicked themselves forward, throwing their full weight against Kain and sending them to the floor with a sickening crash. The Zarude kept on screaming, the electricity burning away the fur and skin on their face. Even their eye was milking over, sparks crackling across it.
Face twisted with pain, the Zeraora lifted their free fist up, crackling with blue electricity. "You may burn our home. But we will live on! And you will fail!"
With a final roar, Zaiell slammed the Plasma Fist into the ground.
Bright blue light exploded outwards, consuming the two combatants in light and fire. The defenders, all nearby, couldn't even react before they themselves were consumed. The attackers had more time to react, a few of them who were further away screaming before they were caught out in the blast, others scrambling to run, their backs burning as they dove for cover.
But even that wouldn't help them. Explosions quaked through the ground, throwing rock into the air. Blue fire burst out of the battlements of the castle, climbing up to the highest towers right down to the ocean.
The whole ground shook violently, and confusion and shock turned into complete terror. The attackers turned, screaming as they tried to flee, cracks spreading through the ground and across the entire castle. Even those outside on the natural bridges and the mainland could only look on in horror as the towers shuddered free and came crumbling down. Entire rock faces sliding off and dragging battlements down into the ocean with a thunderous crack.
And then the mainland began to quake, even as the ground tore itself open underneath those inside the castle and sending them plummeting to their deaths. Even the flying types weren't safe, many of their cries being cut short as they were struck by projectiles flung from the disintegrating fortress.
The natural arches finally snapped, rock tumbling away and bringing those unfortunate enough to be on them down with them to earth. Sheer panic consumed the attackers, each and every one desperate to flee.
The entire island that the fortress was on began to sink, descending into the waves. From a distance, even the mainland began to crumble. Trees were uprooted, houses collapsed and fires burst into life across the ground.
It wasn't just the fortress now. The entire island was collapsing into the sea… ready to take everyone with it.
Sam sprung upright with a jolt, crying out in terror. He panted, hands patting his chest. I-I'm alive! What was-
Then he noticed them. Just for a split second. Two ghostly shapes floating above him. One was a dark shadow, the other was translucent, with a faint white glow. The latter didn't even look like any Pokémon he would-
The shadow stilled itself, a bright blue light flashing in its darkness.
And then they were gone.
Sam blinked rapidly, rubbing his eyes before looking again. Still nothing.
A-Am I seeing things? I'm not surprised but… His eyes drifted across the room, focusing on one of the two armbands laid out alongside him. His Team Audacity armband… and the armband of the Guardians.
"W-What the hell was that… did the Guardians…"
Sam tucked his legs in, curling up into a ball, willing his heart to slow down.
He only began to calm down as the Butterfree Jack burst through the door, quickly landing by his side and holding onto his shoulder tightly. "S-Sam! Are you alright!? What happened?!"
Sam sucked in a deep breath, "I… I don't know…"
You remerged at the top of the Guildtree, on the very same small balcony that offered a view of the Tree of Life. You wanted to scream. Scream at the shadow.
The dark shadow hung in open air; a blue eye glowing ever brighter. No no… this is terrible… no! This cannot be!
It spun round on you, eye burning. I'm afraid Sam catching even a glimpse of us is the least of our concerns. For I have seen this dream before.
Surprise flooded your being. As did confusion. Anger. Even some happiness. You tried to shove the emotions aside, focusing your attention on the shadow, begging for it to answer.
This dream… someone else here has been having it. I took the opportunity to investigate their mind… if two people are sharing the same dream… then I believe we may have seen a hint about the horror that is coming. And that one Pokémon who shares that dream. The one that could provide Sam and ourselves any clarity or answers…
The shadow seemed to stiffen, Is currently unconscious in Robinswood's clinic.
The clinic was dark, most of the Pokémon resting within asleep on their own beds peacefully.
Save for one.
Isolated from the rest, hidden behind a locked door, the Electrike Zeke was spasming on his bed, legs kicking out and head jerking back and forth. His face was twisted in pain.
The epileptic attack only lasted for a couple of seconds before the electric type's body finally slumped and visibly relaxed. Seemingly back at peace.
Nothing happened for another couple of seconds.
But then, just as sharply and suddenly, Zeke's eye snapped open.
Glowing green…
EPISODE 1: ALWAYS AUDACITY COMPLETE TO BE CONTINUED…
And with that, the first Episode of Guardians of Balance, Always Audacity, is now officially complete with the longest chapter by far! I will be taking a short break from writing primary chapters for Guardians of Balance whilst I get ready for a new job, but not for too long, as I'm already planning out the second Episode of the fan-fic. And I've already got some very good ideas on how it's going to be shaped. I'm very much looking forward to working on that Episode soon!
I am also still looking for suggestions on what kind of bonus chapters you may want to see before Episode 2 starts. This could be anything, so please, if you have any ideas, please let me know!
This has been a year in the making, and I will be coming back to the older chapters to do some edits and make sure they are all neatened up. But Guardians of Balance's story will be continuing.
I would like to thank everyone who has taken the time to read this and especially providing reviews. I greatly appreciate it, it and has really helped me out from time to time. It means a lot.
In either case, GoB will continue! I hope you will tag along as this story continues, because believe me… it's only just getting started.
Hey! Got this story rolled in Catnip, so I'm back. I recapped a bit and it feels like you've rewritten the prologue and added a lot to it, but since I don't remember exactly what I read, I'll just say that I think the opening sequence is much more exciting. I also think that Zarude and Zeraora make for pretty good counterparts, since both are humanoid mythicals and have strong opposing color schemes (black and green and red vs black and yellow and blue). What I'll actually be reviewing in more detail is the fourth chapter. Here are my thoughts.
The Pidgey's line is kind of weirdly worded, and I'm not completely sure what his point is. "That would be easy if we were on a field, but we're in the woods, and I have to watch where I'm going?"
The Rattata and Pidgey rushed forward, readying their attacks as they came down on the Blaziken… but Sam barely registered the shapes that rushed past him and the fire type in a blur of colou
Paragraph seems to be cut short. If you meant for it to be cut short, that would be better done with a dash at the end (or a hyphen emulating a dash, which is what I do and will always do until they actually put the dash on the keyboard). Also, *Gallade.
The Swampert roared, rearing back as it tore a boulder from the ground and tossed it towards the Blaziken.
Without even blinking, the fire-type merely stepped to oneside, allowing it to bounce past them and the still frozen Sam, chips flicking off and landing just in front of the Scorbunny. Only then did the fire type finally strike, leaping up into the air with an almighty kick into the earth.
"Fire-type" is spelled both with and without a hyphen here, and "one side" seems to be written without a space. I also think it's risky to refer to anyone as "the fire-type" in this scenario when there are two fire-types present and being talked about.
Snaps? I'm also not sure what the snaps are referring to since it doesn't seem his neck was broken and a "snap" doesn't feel like a sound that a kick hitting a body would otherwise make.
Groaning, he stumbled back, but the Blaziken came after him with a barrage of punches and kicks, each one striking the bigger mon across the face, the neck and chest. Bloodying it up and driving it back further and further.
Period ought to be switched to a comma before "bloodying", since the string it begins is not a complete sentence on its own.
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General Comments
So the criminals asking Sam to join them felt like it came out of left field and didn't really make much sense from the criminals' perspective considering Sam was clearly appalled by them and would not be trustworthy as a member. It does let Sam show the audience that he's noble enough to rather die than join forces with murderers, but I was just thinking "pretend to join them to buy time and then try to flee later" since it felt like the obvious solution. They did mention that they kill only by accident, and it would be unlikely for them to do it again before Sam could try to escape.
I like it when humans-turned-Pokemon learn to do moves by some instinct in a dangerous situation. He froze up on Ember before, but he didn't have the pebble back then, and a Scorbunny having the instinct to kick something makes sense for the species.
Alright, I think that's it for my thoughts. If you wanna ask about anything, feel free to DM me on the forum or message me on Discord publicly or privately, either way's fine by me. See you around.
I plan to continue but I wanted to get the first fifteen chapters reviewed before I type up any more notes. This has been an interesting read so far, although I have noticed a lot of grammar and spelling errors. I've caught some in my notes for you to look at. Some are pretty common and in need of ironing out. But other than that, this story is pretty solid and I've been enjoying Sam's adventures so far.
1
The opening scene went from tranquil to intense in a very natural way. It was almost like a comic book. I don't know if that was your intention? First we see the world with a bit of a narrated description, then all chaos unfolds on a fortress I pictured looking like the Flying Garden of Final Fantasy 8! We know some feud is going down between two legends. And then we get the typical PMD game introduction with a joking reference to a personality test. Well done on this!
the attackers recoiling from the massive strike, ceasing their attack.
You might want to change the last word to 'assault' to avoid repetition.
Sam discovering he's a scorbunny was a very natural response! I loved how he panicked, unconvinced, trailing his paws through his fur and over his ears. Then he exclaimed in a very British fashion! XD I'll be imagining him with a British accent from here on out.
2
I don't have much to say on this chapter. The cartoony element was amusing. I've also no idea what gender the ratatta and pidgey are at this stage to get their internal voices right in my head, but we've only just met them. Their argument sets up their dynamic nicely, so I'm guessing they're going to be important characters. The idea of blast seeds having symbols on them is a new one, at least to me. I like little details like this.
3
Well that turned unexpectedly nasty. I guess I was right about those two being important, just not in the way I'd expected!
Sam struggling to get his fire-type powers going is a trope I don't get tired of in isekai PMD. It makes perfect sense a human wouldn't know how to activate a pokemon's special powers. It also echoes Goh's scorbunny not knowing how to use ember initially.
"I'm not helpless you know." He said, "Just me against the two of you? It's not like I'm dealing with some big dude huh?"
Something thumped into the ground just behind him, the earth softly quaking under his feet, and with that, the two Pokémon before him seemed to flash… smirks. Sam's smile melted away. "That's exactly who's behind me right?"
I was pleased that someone came to Sam's aide. It was a little worrying to think he might feel forced to join the criminals. The rescue trio are an interesting choice! With so many pokemon to choose from it's nice to come across some that I feel don't get much love as main characters.
And Sam finally learned ember at a clutch moment! The closing note of the chapter was nice, and a little slap-stick. Sam's personality is really starting to show, too. I feel like he's going to be a very fun character to follow.
These two should be 'a' instead of 'an', although I feel the second one could be either depending on whether you pronounce the 'h' in 'horrific'.
5
The way you described heal pulse was really nice! Rebecca is a character, too, isn't she? XD Glad Sam has made a recovery and is now in the company of NICE pokemon, away from those criminals.
Sam's 'amnesia' appears to be being used as a tool to help explain the way the world works (and PMD in general) to readers and I like that. I also feel Sam wearing an arm band with the guild logo on it confirms he's basically been forced into the plot to work for the guild whether he wants to or not XD
Jack is adorable. Butterfree is underrated. I hope he becomes part of the main cast.
Some pokemon names have been spelled wrong – Duraludon and Corviknight are the ones I noticed.
with two wooden bridges, on being larger than the other
The Sableye finished, wiping their forehead with one hand. "He's trying to break the cell door down." //Rex rolled his eyes, already clicking his fists together. "Of course he is. I suppose I'm going to have to try and talk some sense into him again."
So Aidan and Sam team up. Sam's reaction to being offered a part in an investigation team is natural, especially after what he's just been through. I was surprised he decided to take that offer so quickly. Working in a shop would be safer, surely? XD But if that's not Sam's cup of tea, then why not join a team? There is safety in numbers after all.
A trio of cushions had been tossed into the far corner, alongside a duo of wooden lockers were built into the wall.
"Yeah? What about it?" Sam questioned, a little bit defensive as one hand clenched. //Aidan merely puffed out a little bit of air, "Just glad that guy got caught. Last I heard he was stealing a lot of supplies of the caravans."
If he's practising ember, I don't think trees are a good target! D=
It really makes Sam more believable as a character that he can't figure out how to use ember again. That the first time was a fluke and he's not an instant hero. His struggles are real and it makes his story more enjoyable to follow.
I did wonder if his fire abilities would be triggered by some kind of catalyst, such as fear. It was soon confirmed to be triggered by emotions. I don't think this is canon? But I like it, and I am one to break away from canon in my own works so I don't have any complaints XD
The damage to the tree was well described, and thankfully Sam didn't cause a forest fire.
An ominous cliffhanger makes me wonder if another natural disaster has occurred...
"I'm eighteen." She replied, rolling her eyes. "Besides, I found pulling that trick off kind of neat." She gazed down at the Blaziken rubbing his wrist. //On cue, Rex ceased. "I'm fine, I only had to punch Greg once to get him to calm down. He's tenacious that Swampert, I'll give him that."
"You're not wrong on that." Rex chuckled, finally opening the letter and scanning through it's contents. But then the humour disappeared from his face, his eyes narrowing as his beak clicked. //Esper crossed her arms, her ears twitching just a little bit. "I don't have to be psychic to see something's wrong. What is it?"
"Why bother sending it otherwise?" Rex said woodenly as the Meowstic scanned it all again. //"As a result of this, reorganisation…" she shook her head for a second, scanning the letter a third time. "They... they're actually doing it?"
New paragraphs needed here. These are pretty confusing, tbh. Especially the last one. I had to guess where the new speaking started. These are mainly what I'm looking out for now, and I'll post them as I find them with the '//' where the breaks are needed.
Aidan mused, his bubbly mane hanging down to one side. "It's normally supposed to b-ugh!" Groaning, the Froakie rubbed his head, eyes and lips squeezed tight. //Sam's eyes widened, "Hey, mate? A-Are you okay?" he asked,
He grabbed onto his ears and yanked them down, trying to blot out the noise jabbing at his ear drums. Luckily, a couple of seconds later, the rumble faded away. //"The town horn…" Aidan said with a hint of realisation, "Not often they sound that, come on, we better get over to the square."
It looks like the plot is starting now, with the teams being sent out to investigate disasters and help those affected. I did like the meowstic's use of her psychic as a siren to silence the confused crowd. That was unexpected, and Sam tugging his ears down to block it out was an amusingly adorable and very realistic reaction.
The sudden change to second person took me by surprise and I almost tagged it as an error, but there does seem to be some other entity. I will confess I am not a fan of second person perspective at all, but it's not too jarring here. I'm hoping whoever it is will be revealed before too long, though.
I get a funny feeling Sam and Aiden will be teamed up with Alice. It seems like it would be a fun dynamic.
It'll be interesting to see Aiden's reaction when Sam finally tells him he's a human. In the games they reveal that too quickly imo.
I spotted a lot more spelling errors than this, from typos to a sudden switch to present tense. It was too much to quote them all and correct them. I do strongly suggest you read through again to catch them, or get a beta reader to look over it as it seriously hampers immersion and enjoyment. Errors are very easy to let slip by, speaking from experience here, but I am noticing a lot compared to the first couple of chapters.
Sam himself only tensioned, ready to push them back down if they tried clawing at each other's throats.
"I suppose you're right." Aidan replied with a pant, settling down to get a good view of the tree entrance as he rubbed his head again. //Sam looked over at him, his gut tightening into a knot as he reached for the final crate. "Hey… are you ok-"
This one needs reassessing too, as it also doesn't make sense
12
The Dynis is an interesting concept. I like the way you described how Mystery Dungeons work in your world too. One of the things that put me off initially writing serious PMD stories was how you'd explain such a phenomena outside of the game-verse, but I'm finding it does work in writing the more I read PMD 'fics.
Your descriptions are really nice, I found it easy to picture the Broken Woods.
I was beginning to wonder if the criminals at the start of the story were relevant at all, by this stage, but the Electrike showing up at the end confirmed to me that they might be making a comeback in some shape or form.
Again, I'm noticing a lot of typos. Especially the use of 'an' instead of 'a' frequently.
For the first time since he met her, Alice seemed shocked, a flash of alarm rushing across her face as the Noibat flew into the cave entrance at speed, the Morpeko scrambling to follow her. The Buneary looked looser, just for a moment as she untied her arms, before her features tightened back up. Letting out a heavy sigh, she slowly walked after her two teammates and into the Dungeon. //Across the way, the Bulbasaur Bruce flashed his teeth, "Heh! Not if we can help it!"
With a shared cheer, Team Forest followed close behind. And then one at a time, the other teams scrambled to follow them. //Sam took a step forward, only for Aidan's hand to settle onto his shoulder. "Hang on, let them rush through first, get into a mess, then we follow up once they clear out the first room."
Wow the attacks of the pokemon in this are intense. You can really feel the power while reading. Exploding embers, shattering walls...
I kinda thought dropping the electrike in the water would be like a toaster in a bathtub and I was right. It went straight for the kill firing its electricity at the water. Poor Aiden!
Sam is fashionable now! Sporting that jacket and goggles! Now to find out if the electrike belonged to another team?
It was that moment that Aidan's head poked out of the water, a little grin on his face. "Sorry I took so long, somehow they managed to weigh this thing down wi-" His eyes widened at the sight of the Electrike, "What the- Sam are you okay?! Who the hell is this guy!?" He turned back towards him, the Froakie's body stiffening. //Sam could only roll his eyes, throwing a hand randomly in the air. "Oh yeah, just had to fight some crazed electric type whilst you were diving."
Edward's tale was a little dark! It's added a sense of foreboding to the setting, as if there wasn't already one there. It kinda draws back in on the tone at the start, since things felt a lot more light-hearted following Sam meeting the exploration teams.
Even though we've not learned much about Alice, we've learned a little more at least. She's still got an air of mystery about her, which is nice. Trickle-feeding information is a good strategy for such an enigmatic and mysterious character.
It was rather bold of Aiden to startle Dan since he's already had a thorough shocking earlier that day. He certainly likes to play with fire... well... electricity, huh?
It was only then did he finally realise how late it was, as the sun began to dip below the horizon. He looked up to find the sun slowly beginning to dip below the horizon through the trees,
The repetition here confused me for a moment as I thought I was accidentally re-reading the same line. I strongly recommend dropping one instance of this.
"I know." Alice replied, not even raising her voice or disguising it. "Doesn't mean it's dangerous."
"We didn't." Aidan stated, "He attacked us whilst we were collecting the Dynis.". He flashed a glimpse of the glowing crystal inside his satchel.//Barely giving it a nod, the Bibarel turned and got started back up the path, "Well, good job on getting the crystal and helping Zeke here. Yup yup! Maybe we can learn what happened to him and Nitro."
This is hard to fix easily. You need a comma, not a full stop, before 'Aiden confirmed', and the bibarel needs to be speaking in his own paragraph, not sharing a sentence.
A few of the recruits cheered with delight as they started to scramble for the bags, only for Bruce's green vines to reach across and wrap round some of the bags themselves. "I'll help." He declared, lifting a couple of the bags and bringing them back across the campsite to drop them alongside his teammates. As the closest members picked up their own bags, Bruce lifted the remainder to the rest. Sam took his own bag with one hand, starting to open it up to check the contents as Oscar straightened up, "Esper? Can you folks just come with me one moment? I need to check something over with you."
Again, it's the same here. Oscar needs to be speaking in his own paragraph since Bruce spoke previously, but it's written in a way that it's not easy to recommend a paragraph break.
"You've been in a dungeon before?" asked the Skiddo, sitting down on the ground rather than the logs and rocks themselves.//Aidan nodded, taking pulling a slice of orange free before tossing it down his mouth. "A couple of times. By accident of course.". He added that last statement with a flicker of haste.
"Or plain tragic." Alice grumbled, earning a glare from Bruce as she propped herself up to listen. Edward however merely tilted his head as he shuffled forward. //"Well… a very long time ago,
Aidan emerged back into the light, tears actually forming in his eyes as he struggled to control his laughter, coming around the log. //"Damn it Aidan!" Alice snarled, also on her feet as well, both ears tucked in.
The Froakie finally calmed down, visibly clamping his mouth shut before taking in a breath. "S-Sorry, I just heard what you all were talking about and… well… couldn't help myself." His lips tightened as he closed his mouth, chest fluttering as if trying to fight off another chuckle as he reached a hand down to Dan. //Looking up, Dan took it and was quickly pulled off to his feet. "I-It's fine." He stated with a shaky grin, "I-It's actually kind of funny actually."
"So… you've been around here for long?" Sam asked, sheepishly rubbing the back of his head. Alice herself continued staring down into the fire, almost as if she hadn't heard him. He was nearly about to stand up when she finally spoke. //"You can say that."
Ooh, so there's another quest to find missing pokemon! Interesting. I thought they'd all be heading back to Robinswood.
It's a little worrying the electrike won't wake up D= Oh dear! I wonder if that has anything to do with his going missing and unexpected hostility?
Perry was... strange. I'm wondering if he's a human-turned-pokemon in this world too, with his knowledge on it.
Wow, Dan turns savage when he's hungry! And I thought I got hangry! Poor Sam, having his arm mangled. I felt really sorry for Dan when he returned to his senses and realised what he'd done. That must have been pretty traumatic.
I like how Sam stood up for Alice, even when Aiden had a jibe at her. That was pretty intense. I'm beginning to feel for the poor buneary, she really is the black sheep amongst the other pokemon. I'm questioning whether Nia and Dan are still her friends at this point. I hope she makes some solid friends soon, although it does seem she is on the way there with Sam.
He went to turn after her, only to stumble forward – and into the supporting blue arm. "I've got you partner." Aidan said quietly, pushing the Scorbunny back up. //Sam could only blink, "You… you're not angry?"
The characters are pretty well thought out, and the conversations never feel strained. This, I've been told, isn't an easy feat so well done. I'm enjoying the setting a lot, too, which makes me want to keep reading. I will say, though, that the amount of mistakes has been a bit tiresome at times. This is probably more because I'm reviewing and feel the need to point them out. But I do strongly recommend either giving each chapter another read before posting it to catch as many as you can, while taking note on the paragraph breaks issue I've pointed out in my reviews. Another suggestion is, if you can, to find a beta reader to give the writing a fresh eye to catch some mistakes that have fallen under your radar. I'll admit I personally don't use a beta, so I know that mistakes are very easy to fall through to the final piece (then stand the test of time as readers either don't notice them or don't point them out... I've found some really embarrassing ones while re-writing The End!)
I'll try to get the other chapters reviewed asap. I plan to keep going before I pick up another 'fic to read. I need to know what's going on with Alice and those disasters. And will those murderers come back...?
Right, an important update on the TR version of GoB. Thanks to someone letting me know of an error, the correct Chapter 18 has been uploaded, as for some dumb reason I somehow managed to upload two chapter 17s onto the same website. So, apologies to anyone reading about this mistake!
I'm kicking myself for not getting round to this sooner, but I wanted to thank those folks who have took the time to get a review sorted out for GoB. I appreciate it!
Hey! Got this story rolled in Catnip, so I'm back. I recapped a bit and it feels like you've rewritten the prologue and added a lot to it, but since I don't remember exactly what I read, I'll just say that I think the opening sequence is much more exciting. I also think that Zarude and Zeraora make for pretty good counterparts, since both are humanoid mythicals and have strong opposing color schemes (black and green and red vs black and yellow and blue). What I'll actually be reviewing in more detail is the fourth chapter. Here are my thoughts.
I figured the prologue needed a bit of an expansion and a recap, so why not mix things up a bit. I'm glad you enjoyed the updated prologue along with the Zarude and Zeraora choice!
So the criminals asking Sam to join them felt like it came out of left field and didn't really make much sense from the criminals' perspective considering Sam was clearly appalled by them and would not be trustworthy as a member. It does let Sam show the audience that he's noble enough to rather die than join forces with murderers, but I was just thinking "pretend to join them to buy time and then try to flee later" since it felt like the obvious solution. They did mention that they kill only by accident, and it would be unlikely for them to do it again before Sam could try to escape.
I like it when humans-turned-Pokemon learn to do moves by some instinct in a dangerous situation. He froze up on Ember before, but he didn't have the pebble back then, and a Scorbunny having the instinct to kick something makes sense for the species.
Alright, I think that's it for my thoughts. If you wanna ask about anything, feel free to DM me on the forum or message me on Discord publicly or privately, either way's fine by me. See you around.
I can see how someone could see it that way. My intention was more that the leader was impressed with Sam's tenacity, and figured it would be better to try and cultivate that rather than just getting rid of it for good. Obviously when Sam didn't cow down to that, then the crooks decided to take him down. But I can see why it comes a bit more out of nowhere. Thanks for the catnip!
The characters are pretty well thought out, and the conversations never feel strained. This, I've been told, isn't an easy feat so well done. I'm enjoying the setting a lot, too, which makes me want to keep reading. I will say, though, that the amount of mistakes has been a bit tiresome at times. This is probably more because I'm reviewing and feel the need to point them out. But I do strongly recommend either giving each chapter another read before posting it to catch as many as you can, while taking note on the paragraph breaks issue I've pointed out in my reviews. Another suggestion is, if you can, to find a beta reader to give the writing a fresh eye to catch some mistakes that have fallen under your radar. I'll admit I personally don't use a beta, so I know that mistakes are very easy to fall through to the final piece (then stand the test of time as readers either don't notice them or don't point them out... I've found some really embarrassing ones while re-writing The End!)
I'll try to get the other chapters reviewed asap. I plan to keep going before I pick up another 'fic to read. I need to know what's going on with Alice and those disasters. And will those murderers come back...?
Thanks for the review! I'm glad to hear that the characters and their dialogue is going well right now! I can understand the grammar and spelling issues though. The inital chapters were initally written with less concern for such errors as I was only writing very casually, but when I started picking up speed with GoB's story, I started making more of an effort. Obviously, there is a lot still slipping through the net, and often still see them when I look back through old chapters. I pretty much start kicking myself the moment I see something painfully obvious. I do plan on doing more extensive re-reads and adjustments to those chapters before I get the first chapter of Episode 2 out, but I'm working on finding the time to actually do that right now. But, I will definitely keep that in mind.
Regardless, I'm glad you've been enjoying the story at least! Thanks!
Well, this took longer than I planned to complete. But to fill in the gap between Episodes 1 and 2, I decided to incorperate a Bonus Chapter into Guardians of Balance! I hope this is something a bit different and enjoyable for anyone reading this!
Life has been kinda crazy at the moment, but I have the details down for what is happening in Episode 2, and I will start writing the first chapters soon. In the meantime, enjoy this!
POKÉMON MYSTERY DUNGEON GUARDIANS OF BALANCE
DEXES AND DUNGEONS
BONUS CHAPTER I
The berries plopped into the pot with a rather pleasant splat, and were promptly followed by a handful of beans. Edward hummed softly to himself as he carefully positioned his hoof to grasp onto the wooden spoon and slowly began to stir it, taking care to keep his green coat away from the flames from the stone oven. He paused only briefly, checking to see the mixture wasn't burning, before quietly lowering the heat to let it simmer. All of which seemed to show an air of expertise around the Skiddo.
Edward was working within one of the small kitchens that had been built into the Guildtree. Most of the structure here was covered in stone to prevent the risk of fire, save for a small glimmer of wood that confirmed that the room was contained inside a giant tree. Alongside one wall was the oven that Edward was working on, along with work surfaces and a sink. A larder filled up the space on one side of the room and a window allowed a cool morning breeze to flow inside. At the very centre was a low table, allowing for a multitude of smaller Pokémon to sit down and eat with ease.
Bruce strode in, his mouth agape as a massive yawn escaped from it. Blinking, his red eyes locked onto the room's formerly sole occupant. "Ah, morning Edward! What are you cooking there?"
Edward was standing on his hind legs to get a better grip on the spoon, but it didn't really stop him from glancing over at the Bulbasaur. "Morning Bruce. Just doing my aunt's curry."
The green reptile frowned, "Curry? Isn't that supposed to be an evening meal?"
"Curries have got a pretty good mix of nutrients if you build it up right." Edward explained with a hint of pride, lowering the temperature a bit more before letting go of the spoon and lowering himself back onto all fours. "Do it right, and it can make a decent breakfast. I tend to make a bit extra just in case, want to try some?"
"Well, we never had curry back on Air." Bruce said, putting himself down on a cushion round the small table. "I'll give it a go then. What about Denver though?"
"He's out for a walk. Trying to get the strength back into his legs. What about Nia and Dan?"
"Still fast asleep." Bruce replied, flashing a grin this time. "Nia may be good with the time, but damn can she lie in."
Edward rolled his eyes as he pushed himself back up to stir the curry. "Well, she's missing quite the morning."
As if on cue, the sound of flapping wings rolled through the window. Talons clattered against smoothed wood, and on cue, a blue-grey bird climbed through the window, a large brown bag hanging from his side. The bird happily sighed; eyes closed as he stretched his wings out, "Ahh…" he started, "What a wonderful morning to-"
His eyes slipped open.
"-WHO THE FUCK IS IN MY KITCHEN!"
Eyes flashing red, his wing flashed in and out of the bag. Bruce and Edward could only blink, finding a massive golden hammer clutched in his talons, easily twice as large as he was and glistening with horrifying skulls. The bird screeched, sharp enough for Edward to physically leap up into the air with a yelp, nearly knocking the curry pot over and sending the spoon flying across the room. Bruce stumbled back up, eyes widening before he managed to recover, summoning his vines. He'd sent the intruder pa-
Perry choked, eyes visibly changing colour as he thudded back down onto the window ledge, hammer awkwardly hanging into the room. "A-Oh!" he managed to recover, flashing a beaky grin. "Brucie! Edward! I'm sorry! I didn't recognise you two then!"
Bruce blinked, vines freezing in the air. "P-Perry? Who did you think we were?"
Perry throwed a wing to one side, "I thought you guys were the cooks! Silly mistake on my part!"
Feet clattering against the floor, Edward had managed to stabilise himself, turning towards Perry. His eyes widening at the sight of the hammer. "That's a big hammer…" he uttered.
The Corvisquire looked confused, beak clicking, "Ham- aha! This silly old thing!". He laughed as he lifted up the hammer with one foot, not showing any concern for the weight. "Just something I borrowed from a few super-grunts to deal with more lunatics." He shook his head, "Seriously, those guys couldn't get those buns seeded just right… wait, what is that smell?"
"Curry..." Edward confirmed, head reared back and lips tightly pressed together. "I'm cooking breakfast."
"Ah…" Perry sighed with a devilish sparkle in the corner of his eye. "That makes you the cook then parasite-" The bird coughed violently again, struggling to clear his throat. "Gah, sorry. Bad memories with those buns… and damn… why does conversation sound so familiar?"
"Err…" Bruce uttered, biting his lip as if digging out an old memory, "What buns are we-"
"Nevertheless!" the bird exclaimed, "Since you are cooking, I do have a request! If you do not mind spending a little bit of extra time using such skills?"
Bruce and Edward shared another glance, the former chewing his lip, "Yeah… I'm sure Edward could get something put together but… err…. Before we do that, Edward, can you help me out on this one?"
"Maybe putting the giant… hammer away will help." Edward explained, eyes fixed on the massive implement, "Then I can… see what I can do."
Perry beamed with delight, his wings beginning to beat again. "Fantastico!" he bellowed, manoeuvring himself towards the window. "Consider it-"
"Perry!" Bruce barked, vines whipping out, "Don-"
With a faint woosh, the giant hammer sailed out of the window. The Corvisquire spun round, puffing his feathery chest out, "Done!" he cheered.
A faint boom rang through the window, whilst the room softly shuddered beneath their feet. Bruce sprinted for the window, peering through it as Perry's eyes widened, shifting from the window to the rest of the room. Edward could only stare blankly at them both, blinking as if he was trying to compute the entire scene.
"Arceus damn it Perry!" came the muffled, feminine shout from below, "You're going to pay for this you feathered scatterbrain!"
Bruce visibly gulped, "How in the name of-" he started, his head snapping back round towards Perry, "How did you not kill someone with that!? And you smashed the roof of Larrissa's shop!"
Covering his beak with one wing, Perry began to visibly cough. "Erm – force of – cough – habit. Cough-cough, she'll get over it."
Edward finally seemed to snap out of it, eyes widening and shivering on the spot. Bruce glanced back, fear gripping the Bulbasaur too as some dark realisation settled in. "Shit, she isn't going to get over it! K-Kecelon, they can get really c-crazy… you need to head down the-"
"Oh yeah yeah." Perry replied, waving his free arm away dismissively. "She can keep the hammer as a bit of compensation for the roof. It's a fair trade! We won't have to worry about her kicking our asses."
Bruce shuddered, "B-but-"
"Besides, she doesn't get along with her brothers. So even if she didn't stick to our little agreement for any inconvenient roof damage, we should be fine."
He let the sentence hang there, almost disturbing to think about, "Well, I'll be fine anyway."
"Y-Yyyyeah." Bruce replied, stepping down from the window. "What about us?"
"Ahem, you'll be fine. Most companions are. Anyway!"
The bird hopped over towards the table, settling down onto one of the cushions before the others could butt back in with their own fears. "I am hunting for my special curry!"
Blinking, Edward recovered and clicked his hooves on the floor, "You have curries too?"
"Why but of course! But my cooking skills are… eh… subpar. Can you make it for me?"
Bruce, lips squeezed tight and keeping one eye on the door whilst he settled down back onto his own cushion as the Skiddo frowned. "I can give it a try. Do you have any ingredients in mind?"
"Check the larder." Perry said, his voice becoming quieter, as if calming down, "There should be a lot of Babiri berries in there. In the white bag."
Edward made his way over towards the larder, sticking his head inside as he began to search for the bag. As the Skiddo grunted, trying to make his way deeper in, Bruce clicked his tongue. "So, Perry." He started, "Sam mentioned that you called yourself the fastest post bird around back in-"
"The quickest!" Perry chirped back, "The quickest post bird around! Remember the vocab!"
"Okay okay." Bruce backpedalled, his bulb rustling on his back. "Quickest. But there is one thing I don't get."
"My dashing good looks?"
"Err, you already look good. But it was about that speed. Aren't there species of bird who can fly a lot faster than Corvisquire? No offence."
Perry tapped a talon on the table with a faint click, "I'll tell you what I told Sam, Corviknights are still flying around with post. Raw speed isn't everything."
Bruce leaned forward, tapping one foot on the table. "So, why's that then? I mean, the Pelipper Office back home doesn't exactly have fast birds either, but with the distances we are talking about, isn't speed-"
"Aha!" Perry interrupted him with a sharp glint in his eye, "You've answered your own question there Brucie. Sure, Swellow are fast as all hell, but they are delicate. One good smack and bang!"
He thumped a foot down on to the table, hard enough for Bruce to gulp. "They become a soggy pile of bones."
Bruce leaned back onto his cushion, blowing out a puff of air. "Ah, so the Pelipper-"
"Would be that bit tougher, and great when flying around the coasts of continents especially." Perry explained. "Sure, they have a monopoly, but that's only because they are in the business first, and if you go for specific regions, another bird species would be the better bet."
"So the Talonflames-"
"Would normally be for fast deliveries across the island or nearby ones. The Corviknights excel for longer distance flights or through bad weather. That established min-max is hard to beat."
"Arceus…" Edward grumbled, wincing as he finally pulled out a gigantic white bag, filled to the brim with leafy green berries. "When did we get this many Babiri berries in? In the greenhouses?"
"What a fascinating question!" Perry said, "Put about ten of them inside the biggest pot you can find, then start letting them simmer in cheri sauce."
Almost automatically, Edward pulled the berries over to the oven, a second pot set to one side. But the grass-type froze. "Wait, Babiri berries and Cheri sauce? That's going to be extremely hot. Are you sure-"
"Believe me, I want this hot enough to burn the death out of the dead!"
Perry exploded into crackling laughter, his voice booming through the room and into the corridor outside. Bruce clenched his jaws whilst Edward visibly shrunk at it, eyes widening.
The post-bird coughed again, "Sorry, don't mind me! I'm not planning on going through some global domination plan! Just doing a favour for the guild. Please dear Edward. We need it extra spicy."
Edward glanced over at Bruce, who very rapidly nodded at the Skiddo. With a newfound sense of urgency, he started filling the pot with the berries. "Thinking of which." Perry continued, "I heard from a little birdie, or rather ape, that you're quite the walking encyclopaedia."
"I-I wouldn't call myself that." The Skiddo replied, still loading berries into the pot.
"Oh come on Ed!" Bruce exclaimed, eyes brightening, "I mean, during the trials you literally just rolled out an entire myth to the lot of us! You know your stuff!"
Flashing a weak smile, Edward placed the last berry into place. "It's just some stuff I read about. Nothing massive."
"Ah, but knowledge is power my hooved friend!" Perry countered, tapping a wing on the table, his voice suddenly softening. "You may be the fastest flyer, or the strongest fighter, but even the slightest bit of knowledge about the weather, or how to throw a punch can change the outcome of anything. It could be as simple as a conversation, yet it could elevate anyone to greatness."
Bruce and Edward once more shared a glance between themselves, the latter stiffening whilst the former let out a sharp whistle. "Damn Perry, I didn't think you were so… philosophical."
That earned a soft chuckle from the magpie. "Bruce. When you travel around as much as I do. You tend to have your eyes opened up to things." He winked towards Edward, "So don't sell yourself short."
Edward visibly shrunk, blushing at the words as he started pouring in the sauce. "I don't want to brag." He explained, "It's not like I'm a Pokédex."
"Pokédex?" Bruce questioned with a grimace. "What's that supposed to be?"
The goat opened his mouth, only for Perry's voice to boom across the chamber. "Fear not!" he bellowed, wing reaching back into his satchel, "For I have – once I get past the chainsword, the omni wrench, the arc reactor, Sting, a couple of pounds of trout to spook that little man…"
"Err… C-chainsword?"
"Aha! Behold!"
A thick, blue book banged onto the surface of the table. It was bound by a thick rope along it's left side. The book itself was mostly featureless, save for a few numbers written on to labels that seemed to specify specific continents. Those were overshadowed by a single big label, with the carefully handwritten word of Pokédex on it.
Edward sprung forward, eyes sparkling, "Arceus- you had a Pokédex on you the whole time!? I thought the library didn't have any!"
"They don't!" Perry chuckled, "This just happens to be one I picked up from one of my many travels!".
Bruce frowned, "Not really an answer."
The Skiddo stiffened, mouth agape for a second before he finally shook his head, "Sorry, a Pokédex is like an encyclopaedia, mainly about different species of Pokémon but occasionally about the wider world too! They often been the best books to have on the subject!"
"Uh-Huh." Bruce replied, leaning forward to inspect the book more closely. "I've never really heard about these before."
"They're only ever made once every few years." Edward explained, "And not that many of them are made even then."
"Normally to get passed on to someone to get the basics done before the real deal." Perry said, rolling his eyes. "Normally another kid who gets let out of the house too much by their moms. Either they are really independent kids, or their parents are crap."
"Erm… Perry, why would a kid even be given a Pokédex?" Edward asked, "Especially with the time it takes to get one together?"
"Oh." Perry started, waving his wing dismissively again, "That is omniversal time space bullshit." He flashed a gigantic grin with his beak. "None of your concern."
"Erm…"
Bruce swiftly butted in, partly to distract the Skiddo from the strange response from Perry, "Wait, these contain stuff about species right? Would Bulbasaurs be in there?"
"Err… should be?" Edward replied, quickly checking the cooking curry's progress with a glance before carefully flicking over the page. "Should be on the first pages, I think. How new is this book Perry?"
"7th Edition." Perry confirmed, "Just with a few extra pages with the 8th Edition updates. Still waiting on that 9th Gen stuff."
"So pretty recent then. Let's see, ah, number 001. Bulbasaur." With clear caution, Edward flicked over to the right page with his hoof.
The grin that spread across Bruce's face was so large, it almost looked ready to pop out of his head. "Number 1?! Sweet! About time we got some-" His smile collapsed immediately as his eyes fell upon the page. "W-What? There's nothing here!"
The page wasn't entirely empty, there was the name and an identification number, along with a detailed sketch of a Bulbasaur. There was details about heights, weights, foods and footprints. But there wasn't whole pages filled with text. Instead, short summaries and snippets were written on both sides upon closer inspection with one of the Bulbasaur's vines. He peeled the vine back, letting the page flop back down, glaring at the tome. "Not exactly as fantastic as I thought."
"It's supposed to be something that was updated whilst you're out on expeditions." Edward said, "That's why it's built the way it is!"
"Always a good laugh when you read some of the silly entries alongside the clever ones!" Perry cheered.
"Exactly! Explorers would use Pokédexes like these all the time, if they got – silly entries?" Edward's face slackened as he turned back towards the magpie. "That's ridiculous. These are important documents!"
"Edward my hooved friend! You'll be surprised on how silly researchers can be when it comes to names and the like. Believe it or not, those folks are lazy when they get the chance. Did you know they called a telescope the VLT? Why? It stands for the Very Large Telescope! Ha! Lazy sods!"
Perry pointed a feather at one of the entries on the Bulbasaur page, prompting Bruce to lean back forward again. " Here we go: 'Bulbasaur can be seen napping in bright sunlight. There is a seed on its back. By soaking up the sun's rays, the seed grows progressively larger.'" The Corvisquire shrugged, "Admittedly that's a sixth edition entry, but still, have you ever seen Brucie here napping? No less in sunlight?"
The two glanced towards the actual Bulbasaur in the room, who visibly pulled himself back. "Err… I'm not really the napping type."
"And then there is the seed!" Perry bellowed, eyes sparkling, "Seeds don't grow! They can't just magically increase in size! They soak in enough water to crack open and let the little plant inside to grow!" His crackling laugher once more stabbed at the two grass-types ears once more. "Ha! What kind of idiot writes that in a book!"
"And how would you know that." Edward mused, not really directing it as a question at all.
"Wikipedia!" Perry laughed, "The best, unscientific resource for general skimping!"
The new term flew over the pair's head, but Bruce flashed a brief smirk, "More omniversal whatchacallit?"
"Indeed!"
The group fell silent at that, and head jerking up, Edward scurried back over towards the oven, carefully pulling his pot of curry off and placing the second, bigger pot closer to the centre. "I suppose it makes sense for different authors to take different approaches to the entries. I mean, before I came here, I knew a Bulbasaur who napped in the sun a lot, so that makes sense. And I know most 'dexes mentioned that the bulb grows bigger too... Err, okay Perry, I'm going to need to know what else to add into this."
Perry lowered himself back down onto his cushion, nodding back towards the larder. "You'll need my special yellow-green powder, that'll be the chlorine for cleaning. Oh, that will need to mixed in with the noni-mushrooms, peanut butter, a little sprinkling of depleted uranium from a GAU-8 Avenger-"
"GAU-what?" Edward replied, eyes clouding over.
Perry sharply coughed, "Ahem, iron supplements?"
Edward stared blankly at Perry for a moment, before silently making his way back to the larder.
"Alright then…" Bruce started, "We've got a Pokédex here. We have Edward's brains and you obviously have a few things floating around in that head of yours Perry. Why not we compare what we know and see what makes sense? You know, just for fun?"
"Oooh! I like the way you think Bruciesaur!" Perry said with a smile.
Bruce grimaced, "Please don't call me that."
"I'm not sure if we'll come across anything different." Edward started, "But sure, I can give that one a try-" he groaned, the heavy thud of something hitting the floor, sending a shudder through the air. "Holy, this is heavy for a small bag… and Perry… why is this stuff glowing?"
"Just chuck it in to the pot." Perry called back, "Preferably sooner rather than later!"
As Edward hurried over to the pot to pour the contents of a shiny, metallic bag away, Perry returned his attention towards Bruce with a single eye focused on the Skiddo. "So, Bruce, to what Pokémon do you desire to investigate?"
The Bulbasaur looked upwards at the ceiling, deep in thought before his eyes brightened in delight. "Charizard!" he declared, "Always wanted to know why they aren't dragon types!"
"Excellent choice!" Perry purred, slipping a wing underneath a small handful of pages, "Number six, even got some additional comments on that one."
"Additional?"
"Old and new entries." Perry explained as he turned the pages over, revealing the Pokédex entry for Charizard. "Have a look!"
Bruce leaned forward again with his eyes fixed to the page. It was mostly the same as the original Bulbasaur page, only filled with details about the Charizard species. On the space where entries were kept from a specific edition, there were now several entries secured into place. "Let's see here." He started, "When expelling a blast of superhot fire, the red flame at the tip of its tail burns more intensely."
"Makes sense." Edward mused, slowly loading the other ingredients. "That happens a lot with fire types."
"Sounds good. Its wings can carry this Pokémon close to an altitude of… 4,600 feet. It blows out fire at very high temperatures."
"Go on." Perry murmured.
"Charizard flies around the sky in search of powerful opponents. It breathes fire of such great heat that it melts anything. However-"
"And my suspension of belief has just been shattered!" Perry exclaimed happily, cackling away from his cushion. Bruce's head snapped back up towards the magpie, "Err… come again?"
"Wasn't it not obvious!?"
Edward was in the process of stirring the new mixture when his head jerked back round at the pair, "I get it. It breathes fire of such great heat that it melts anything?"
"O-Okay." Bruce said, "I'm still not getting the problem."
Perry hummed away, "Flick those entry slips round, go for a first edition entry. The red and blue one."
Reaching out with a green vine, Bruce brought a rather cheap looking red and blue tab on the Pokédex page. "Spits fire that is hot enough to melt boulders. Known to cause forest fires unintentionally." He read out, chewing his lip for a second before his eye gleamed. "Boulders… yeah! Charizard is super weak to rock types right?"
"Correct-o-mundo!". Perry cheered, bumping a wing into the air.
"Yeah." Edward confirmed, "Or rather, really vulnerable to their attacks. But there is the big one. Fire type moves struggle against rock types too. So why would fire-"
"Melt a boulder." Bruce finished with a grin. "Any ideas why?"
Eyes flicking between the simmering pot and his fellow grass type, Edward grimaced, "Actually I'm not sure on that one… rock types aren't immune to fire attacks. Maybe if the fire was held on a rock long enough it could melt it down?"
"Maybe, but there would have to be a Onix or Geodude out there who was badly scarred."
"Hmm hmm…" Perry said, "It is a most fascinating contradiction."
Edward tilted his head, stepping down from his stirring position. "Any thoughts Perry?"
The avian Pokémon rubbed the underside of his beak with the tip of his wing, "There is a theory I once heard of." He leaned further forward, voice starting to deepen as he spoke. "Basically, all Pokémon have this… bioenergy within them. This energy is what gives each and every Pokémon their own strength, power and speed."
"Wait, I've heard of this." Edward interrupted. "Isn't that supposed to be Aura?"
"Hmm. Not quite." The magpie said, wing tapping the table again. "Aura is more like spiritual energy. It's the essence of all living things. Very few Pokémon can sense Aura, never mind use it like Lucario can. Bioenergy is more about physical wellbeing."
"So, what else does this stuff do then?" Bruce asked.
"It would help enhance some physical traits, as well as accelerating healing. But! Most notably, it would grant different Pokémon unique… powers. Some of which be limited to specific groupings of creatures."
Bruce's eyes widened, "Hold up one moment. Are you saying that our types are tied with this bioenergy?"
"Dear Brucie." Perry quietly purred, "Despite not being the sharpest tool in the recruit shed, you're deliciously preceptive."
"H-Hey, thanks!" Bruce replied, flashing a toothy grin. "I am pretty- wait, sharpest-"
"Nevertheless!" Perry continued onwards, "Yes. If this theory is remotely correct, then bioenergy can have its own typing! A flying type would have bioenergy attuned for the rigors of flight! A grass type would be able to manipulate flora! And a fire type…"
"Could enhance their fire." Edward finished, an air of realisation in his voice. "That would make it really easy for a fire-type to melt a boulder. But a rock type's energy would counter that!"
"Precisely." Perry confirmed.
"Huh…" Bruce said, "I guess that explains a lot."
"Of course…" Perry murmured again, "It could just be that most rock types are made of sturdier stuff than your everyday boulder."
"Enough that even Charizard's fire might not cut it?"
"Enough that even Charizard's fire might not cut it."
Perry hesitated for a moment, but somehow clicking the tips of his wing. "Or it could, but it would take a while to do."
"I see…" Bruce replied, "Kinda interesting to think about anyway. Hey Edward, any ideas of what species to try out next?"
Edward approached the table again, carrying the smaller pot of curry by a handle placed in his jaws. "Caromp." He mumbled, before placing the pot down and shaking his head. "Sorry. Garchomp?"
"Ooh, another excellent choice!" Perry explained, flicking the pages. This time getting near halfway through the book before the Garchomp page revealed itself.
This time, it was the grass-type Skiddo who was reading the entry. "We've got an eighth edition entry again." He confirmed. "Garchomp makes its home in volcanic mountains. It flies through the sky…"
His words trailed off, his mouth twitching as if he was chewing something. "…as a jet airplane?"
Bruce frowned, blowing out his cheeks in thought. "J-Jet airplane?" he blubbered. "What is that?"
The two flinched as Perry's cackling laughter erupted again, his eyes widening enough to look bloodshot. "Ha ha, ha hahaha! Airplanes! You've probably can't even imagine Cessnas! Never mind 747s, 380s and the odd Concorde!"
Edward hissed in a sharp breath, "Perry… maybe less confusing comments would help?"
The laughter died down, "Alas… you're right. How about we focus on the matter of just flying, shall we?"
"Not even the volcanic mountain stuff?" Bruce asked.
"That makes sense itself." Edward replied, "I mean, Garchomp is a ground type. It could probably handle the heat."
He leaned forward, scanning the document. "But… ground types shouldn't be able to fly. At least not that fast, right?"
Bruce flashed a grin, "There are ground types that also happen to be flying types. I knew a Gilgar back home that was like that."
"True, but Gilgar and Gliscor mainly glide." Edward replied with a twitch, "Charizard I can understand to some extent, but Garchomp? How can that even work?"
"Perhaps you answered your own question." Perry replied, tapping his beak against the image of the Garchomp, placed at the centre of the page. "Look at the arms. Not really wing-like at all aren't they?"
"Yeah…" Bruce grumbled, "It almost seems like the guy who wrote this was lying."
"Or was drunk on Romulan Ale." Perry chirped.
"Why would someone write a false report in a Pokédex though?" Edward growled, scraping his hooves on the floor. "It's a disservice!"
Bruce's eye quivered, "Okay Edward, calm down. I'm sure there is a good answer to all that. Perry?" He flicked his eyes over to the magpie, "Sounds like you know something."
"Oh Bruce!" he laughed back, "You continue to surprise me! But yes, I have a few ideas."
His voice once more deepened into that story-telling tone, "So, Garchomp is a ground type with no flying type, so we can't use the bioenergy theory for this one. So we have to look at things at an even more physical level. You are both correct, there is no way a Garchomp is going to be able to get off the ground on its own. I'd be amazed if they can somehow get above the trees."
He leaned forward, a gleam in his eye. "Which either means whoever wrote these entries wasn't accurate… or a Garchomp would use a different method of flight."
The two grass-types shared a glance, "A different way?" Bruce questioned.
"Indeed. Being a bird myself, I've done a bit of research into the matter. We don't just power ourselves alone, but we also glide and soar too!"
"But Garchomp's arms still have only tiny surfaces for lift…" Edward said.
"Hmm… weird physical facts about that one. I could go into a whole lecture about it, but if I did that, we would be here for another 20,000 wor- I mean hours. The simple rundown is this, if you happen to be going fast enough, you don't need big wings."
Bruce blinked, freezing on the spot. "Huh, really?"
"Oh yes!" Perry tweeted, "The faster something or someone goes, the more lift you'll get so you can get away with a shorter wing! Now, if you tried to fly at say, 50mph as a Garchomp, you'd come crashing down to earth in no time. But remember what the entry said, as fast as a jet plane."
"And… how fast is one of those?"
Perry blinked, "Ah, yeah. You don't know what jets are. Let's just say they're really fast. If Garchomp can get enough speed up, and find a good thermal for extra left… then maybe, just maybe, it could get airborne."
A hoof clicked on the floor, "So… the entry could be accurate then?" Edward mused.
"Perhaps so." Perry confirmed, "And in that case, the entry is too vague… or perhaps what the writer saw wasn't actually a Garchomp and the poor sod never realised it. Those dragons would have to be moving at quite a lick to get off the ground."
Bruce beamed a smile, "Well, I suppose once these disasters are done with, that will be something to research!"
Huffing, Edward couldn't stop his own little smile forming. "I didn't think you were into research Bruce."
The Bulbasaur shrugged, "Hey, I was going to join an Exploration Team before everything got reorganised. It's part of the job."
Rolling his shoulders and eyes, the Skiddo turned back to Perry. "Fair enough. I guess it's your turn Perry."
Blinking, the bird jabbed a feather tip at his own chest. "Erm." He choked, "Are you sure?"
"Hey, come on." Bruce replied, grin still present. "We've picked some Pokémon already, we need you to round it out."
Beak clicking in hesitation at the reptile and goat looking at him. "Well…" his eyes sparkled. "Count me in for a random pick!"
Reaching out with a set of talons, he began to flip the pages back, images and text blurring as he did so. "Lets see, lets see, lets see, lets see." He whispered to himself as the paper crackled as it flopped over. "Let's see what this is!"
He slammed his foot down onto the Pokédex, locking it onto a specific page.
Perry's eyes widened, his talons quivering. "…shit."
Raising a brow, Bruce leaned forward again to inspect the page. "Number 150… Mewtwo."
Edward also leaned forward as Perry pulled his talons away. "Created from the DNA of Mew," he said softly, "This Pokémon is a dangerous combination of overwhelming power and a savage heart."
"Mewtwo…" Bruce mused, "I think I've heard of that one before."
Perry visibly gulped, "M-Maybe we should go ahead and find a different entry to look at…" he started.
"What's the matter Perry?" Bruce chuckled, "A little scared of a page? I remember a legendary being called Mew."
"Even though it looks… pretty tough from what I recall of Mew." Edward mused, "But it's the first I've heard of it."
Shivering, Perry shook his head, "Probably best not-"
"I mean, what type is that guy?"
"Is it a relative of Mew?"
"Why does it have Two in the name?"
"What is DNA? Why is that important?"
"You think it coul-"
"Shut the fuck up!" Perry squawked, eyes flashing red and causing the two grass types to leap up in fright. Bruce's eyes wide, vines slipping out whilst Edward cried out in terror and scrambled back.
The magpie panted, shaking his head rapidly. "Since you are both so eager for answers… fine. I shall indulge you."
Hesitating, Bruce reeled in his vines. "Y-You will?"
"P-P-Preferably without s-shouting at us I hope?" Edward added, sucking in breath and fighting to stop himself shivering.
Perry nodded, expression hard and serious. "I will. I know much of Mewtwo. But due to it's nature I speak little of it. And share even less."
The two grass types settled back round the table as Perry continued. "Mewtwo is… more than just a relative of Mew." He said quietly, eyes narrowed, "It's a clone that has been enhanced within the lab that created it."
"Created?" Edward whispered, "So it's… artificial?"
"Like those… err… what are they called… Porygon?" Bruce added with a frown.
"Artificial, yes, but on a biological level instead." Perry confirmed, "DNA… again, to explain that would take 40,000 hours. But to oversimplify it, DNA is a set of instructions that determine what form and traits Pokémon take. Most of them anyway. A group of scientists took the DNA of Mew, which itself is said to contain the DNA of every Pokémon species out there, and recombined it to create Mewtwo."
He leaned further forward, wings stretched out across the table. "But they made a terrible error."
"An error?" Bruce asked.
"You see." Perry continued, "When you are born, or come into existence naturally. There isn't this… urge to understand one's purpose at first. It's something you learn and develop over the years. When you are artificially created, deliberately, that changes entirely. You wonder why you were created, for what purpose. What possessed them to do it? And when the answer isn't forthcoming… it can mess with one's head a lot. Which for a psychic type is particularly… troubling."
Edward seemed unnaturally still, his eyes fixed on Perry. He swallowed, then said, "I'm guessing this is when that 'savage heart' comes into play."
Perry nodded, "Indeed. Pokémon naturally like to fight, and can restrain it well. But Mewtwo? They truly love a fight. True they can hold it back for a while, but if you push their buttons? They will be trying to kill you on a dime. They have a lot of power too, so they're more than capable of taking you on. Even more so considering it was just made on a whim. A Legendary, of all things."
Shivering, Edward bit his lip. "Sounds… troubling."
Bruce tilted his head, "Dangerous? Okay, sure. But so is a Garchomp. Or any Pokémon for that matter."
Perry glowered at Bruce, a sharp hiss of breath escaping his beak. "You shouldn't underestimate them. Speaking of which… don't fight Mewtwo."
Narrowing his eyes, Bruce rotated his jaw, "Yeah but… Sam, Alice, Dan and… Aidan got away from Volcanion, and he was crazy strong! Like, he could fly on steam and everything! I'm sure we could deal with-"
A blue-grey wing landed on Bruce's shoulder, Perry jerking forward with deathly cold eyes. When he finally spoke, his tone was sharp enough that it could probably freeze Bruce there and then.
"No."
Bruce blinked, shrinking away from the Corvisquire. "P-Perry?"
The icy eyes narrowed, "You are not ready to fight Mewtwo. And likely never will be." He stated, bluntly and matter-of-factly. "Escaping Volcanion in a dead Mystery Dungeon is certainly no small feat, especially given your experience, make no mistake. But fighting Mewtwo? Listen to me very carefully…"
As he spoke his next words, the air seemed to chill around them. "Mewtwo can be generous. But it is also a killing machine, it's genetically engineered superweapon created by minds far beyond ours and through technology that we would scarcely understand. They dreamed of creating the world's strongest Pokémon…"
Perry leaned forward, beak barely inches away from Bruce's face. "…and they succeeded. Do not. Fight. Mewtwo."
Bruce, rapidly blinking and barely managing to squeak, sharply nodded.
"We… we understand." Edward quietly said, flinching as one of Perry's eyes twitched towards him. "But Perry… what if we're forced too?"
Perry remained silent for a moment, before finally speaking once more. "Mewtwo is a powerful psychic. But not omniscient. Dark and Ghost type attacks will still hurt, but don't engage it directly. Keep your mind clear, split up, throw objects, create confusion. Use your instincts. Don't think. Just do."
He peeled his wing off Bruce and returned to his cushion. "Do not fight it. Do you understand?"
"Y-Yeah." Bruce confirmed.
"O-Of course." Edward declared.
"Say the words." Perry hissed, causing the two to once more flinch.
"I understand." They collectively said.
He held his gaze on the pair for a solid five seconds, peering deep into them as if to make sure their concerns were genuine.
"Good." He curtly said.
Then, on cue, his eyes almost bulged out of his head, his face stretching into a devilish look that was mixed in with clear joy. "BECAUSE IT'S CURRY TIME!"
The Skiddo's eyes widened, "Shit shit!" Edward cursed, pitch high as he sprung back to the oven, steam rising from the large pot on it. "I forgot about the curry! It's burning!"
"Fear not!" Perry bellowed, touching down next to the goat and reaching into his satchel. "It's just the way I like it! Now where is it… no I don't want the Lostech PPC, or Luke's lightsab- there we go!"
He plopped a strange looking device onto the side, which included a pair of blades on the inside of a clear container before grabbing hold of the pot. "Okay Big-D, this better not be a cheap knock off blender you robbed! Then again, I had Mariner give it an extra kick!" he cheerfully said before pouring the yellow-green curry into the device.
Edward's mouth dropped open as Perry turned it on, the blades cutting up the up the meal and breaking it up into a clearing liquid. "W-Why are you doing that to it!"
Bruce jogged off his cushion to join them, "It doesn't look like curry anymore!" he exclaimed.
"Oh, don't worry!" Perry cheered, shutting off the blender to reveal a clear, fluid within the container, the metal blades inside… fizzing away. "This is only my special curry!". His voice almost went demonic as he lifted up the sealed container. "Also known as, HYDROCHLORIC ACID!"
"Hydrochlo-what?!" Bruce uttered.
Edward recoiled, his body freezing up complete. "Arc- Perry!" he managed to say, his tone sharpening to a knife edge, "You can't be seriously thinking of drinking that!"
The magpie's laughter echoed through the room. "O-Oh? Me! Hell no! I'd die or throw up! No no, this is for one of our special guests underneath the tree!"
"Y-Y-You don't mean the prisoners! L-like… what's his name?"
"Greg?" Bruce asked.
"Yes, him. That's torture!" Edward spat.
The Bulbasaur shuffled on the spot, "Yeah, Perry… I don't think the guild allows that-"
Tucking the container of acid under his wing, Perry shuck his head. "No no, not for the prisoners! For the corpse!"
Edward blinked, "T-The corpse… wh- no, no no no…" his eyes squeezed shut as he shook his head. "That cannot be a thing!"
Bruce snarled at the pair, "Is someone going to tell me what the hell is going on here?"
The Skiddo didn't even look at Bruce, his eyes focused on the container. "Did Sam mention Greg… killing someone?"
"A Marowak I think… his neck got broken. Why?"
"Well…" Edward visibly gulped, "Ghost-types can kind of… come back to life."
"Come back to… life?" Bruce whispered, "I mean, yeah, some of those guys were dead once. But coming back from being dead… dead? I'm not sure it's possible."
"It can happen with ghost-types." Edward reiterated. "It doesn't always work, so one way to check if they are dead is to pour-" he swallowed once more, "acid over the body."
Perry's head snapped back as he laughed, "I did say I wanted this hot enough to burn the death out of the dead!"
Bruce visibly recoiled, baring his teeth, "That's sick!" he spat, "Can't we show a bit of respect for the dead!"
"Oh please." Perry replied, waving his arm. "Think of it this way. If he is about to revive, he'll wake up screaming and we can bury him in baking soda, celebrate his survival and send him off to prison! If not, then hey! At least it will be easy to clean everything up!"
His laughter grated against the two grass-types ears as he made his way towards the window. "Thank you so much for getting this completed good sir!" he cheered, "Now if you excuse me, I need to get this down to the morgue."
Edward's eyes snapped back towards the table, "Aren't you forgetting your-"
"Oh! Keep the Pokédex as thanks! You two will probably find it more useful than me anyway!" He tucked the acid into his satchel, leaning out of the window. "Now, I need to get this down quick, then I can give Guilmon his digivice back!"
Bruce slowly shook his head, "Guilmon-"
"Cheerio! Gotta mess around with digital grunts bye!"
The magpie dove out of sight, his wings opening up as he took flight.
Inside the kitchen, Bruce and Edward stared blankly at the now empty window, planted firmly on the spot.
Neither spoke for a whole minute, eyes fixed on that window. As if waiting for Perry to stick his head back through. But no bird came.
Bruce let out a heavy sigh, "Perry is… weird…"
Edward shivered, "That… is an understatement."
Awkwardly, the Skiddo looked over at the smaller pot that he originally been cooking with, sealed up and with it's handle in place. "I'm not sure I want to eat that anymore."
Bruce rolled his eyes over towards it. "Yeah… wouldn't it be a bit of a waste though?"
"Maybe… though it will still be good for a bit."
The Bulbasaur held that gaze for only a second before his eyes brightened, "Wait, I saw some bread being baked down in the town around this time before, how about I go down and grab some and we have a team breakfast?!"
Nose wrinkling, Edward tilted his head at the reptile, "Team breakfast?"
"Yeah! We wake up Nia and Dan, you get Denver, heck, let's get Sam and Alice roped in!"
Edward raised a brow, "Denver is still kind of, err, shaky with Alice for what happened down at Broken Wood. Are you sure that's a good idea? Besides, I thought you hated her?"
Bruce rolled his eyes again, "Well, after all that crap and getting signed on with the Guild? Even I will throw Alice a bone. Besides, she and Sam did take down Greg with Team Spirit, nothing wrong with that."
Smiling, Edward bowed his head as approached the table. "Well, they would be small portions, but I think we can split it up."
A single green vine crept over to the Pokédex, flipped the book shut, and coiled round it. "Yeah! Throw some bread in, maybe an apple or two and hey! We've got a nice little feast like back home!"
"Air Continent thing?" Edward asked before lifting the pot up in his jaws.
"Nah, more of a Bulbasaur thing!" Bruce replied, the two approaching the door. "Proper grass-type hospitality for you! Though one thing is bothering me."
"Hmph?" Edward mumbled; jaws stiff as he tried to hold the pot in place.
"Perry's curry is this hydrochloacid or something right? One, I'm sure there are better ways to make acid than that, and two, why was he in such a hurry th-"
The door flew open with a bang, a green chameleon barging in with a massive golden hammer in hand, that now, only closer inspection, had a horse shaped skull on its side. The Kecelon's eyes burned, "Where the hell is Perry!?"
*****
A few levels down the tree, Bruce and Edward's screams echoed through the door to their room. Sam's ears went fully erect, the Scorbunny jerking upright. "What the heck was that!?".
He sprinted over to the door, peering out and his head tilting back to look up as best he could. "I think someone's in trouble!"
"Kecelon."
Sam jerked round to look back into the room. There, at the foot of one of the beds was Alice, slowly stretching her body on a soft mat. A warm up for the morning ahead.
"Err, like Larissa?" he asked, "Is she trying to kill someone?"
"Probably not." Alice replied, still stretching away. "The unofficial rule of the guild? Don't piss off a Kecelon."
Sam frowned, "Okay… why-"
"Don't piss off a Kecelon."
The Scorbunny blinked, taken aback by the unusual bluntness of the words, even by Alice's standards. He took one final look, whistled, started to make his way back in… and…
"Balls to it."
Spinning on his foot, Sam sprinted out of the door and out of sight.
Alice straightened herself up, staring blankly at the door. "What an idiot…" she grumbled.
She stared at the door for a moment longer, then she started to lean over to stretch again. But she froze once more, still staring at the door. And with that, she let out a heavy sigh, "Fuck."
Abandoning her stretch, Alice hopped across the room and through the door, in hot pursuit of her partner.
Okay, so I know very, very little about this story other than that it's set in an island setting, has an emphasis on seafaring, and has a thing for gritty politics. I'd also heard that the story left a decent impression on others who read it from past V-Wheels, so between that and the generous feedback you've been providing on my writings, I decided to check things out a bit to pay things forward.
Though that’s enough prattling. Let’s kick things right off with the Prologue:
Prologue
The view had been truly spectacular from the sky. Islands stretching out as far as the eye could see, each and every one of them lush with life. [Green trees were laid out across each landmass, surrounding the grey and brown mountains, topped with snow white peaks which rose above the brilliant azure seas. The waters of which gently rolled onto the white sands that made up the beaches.]
From this bird's eye perspective, one could see that the islands themselves were not devoid of activity. Walking along the beaches, through the forest trails, working on the fields and riding through the waters, Pokémon of nearly every kind and type were going aroundwent about their daily lives. Most moved across the land, interacting with each other in and around small villages scattered across the islands. They were simple places. Most of the structures were wooden, sometimes mixed in with stone buildings that were placed here and there. One could see the odd cart on the roads connecting the villages on the little islands, whilst on the water, small boats journeyed between them all. Each one oftenMany of them accompanied by one of the resident water-types that called the sea home.
Alright, so I know that you mentioned you had spelling errors here and there in the early part of your story, so I won't harp on them too explicitly. As a general format, I tend to leave inline corrections / suggestions for word reflowing in a format like this. You can take or leave the verb tweaks, though in general, most bits of writing benefit from being written in active verb tenses, and IMO these paragraphs aren't an exception.
As for the bit in brackets, I thinkit might sound better reflowed to use fewer commas / less passive verb tense (e.x. "was/were [verb]ing"), kinda like so:
Green trees carpeted each landmass, surrounding grey and brown mountains topped with snow white peaks that rose into the skies. Below them, waves gently rolled in the brilliant azure seas, breaking onto beaches made up of white sand.
All of the islands surrounded a much larger landmass that dwarfed the others. But it was not a natural feature that dominated the landscape.
On the northernmost tip of that continent, a colossal fortress sat atop a bluff connected to the mainland by a pair of stone arches was a colossal fortress. Stone walls rose for dozens of metres around its base, with towers reaching up even higher beyond that. Flying above the castle, one could see a vast courtyard that seemed to separate the main castle's battlements from a smaller outer wall that secured access to the stone arches that led to it. Dozens,toif not hundreds of Pokémon strolled through this courtyard between the gatehouses. Some clearly looked like villagers and merchants, but many had an air of… duty around them. Some stood at attention at the gateways, whereas others happily chatted with the locals moving through the courtyard, each one wearing an armband around their arm and oftenmany of them carrying a satchel on their person. Each conversation was warm, if borderline familial in appearance.
Ah yes, a castle with a boatload of armed muscle. Though you did a pretty good job at setting the scene for this place. Wonder if we'll be seeing a lot of it in the future.
Powerful. It seemed like it anyway.
And yet, very closely trusted.
The world blinked.
The sun was gone. Storm clouds crackled overhead, hiding away the sky. Waves slammed into the rocks with thunderous booms, sending up dark sprays up into the air. The land was shrouded in shadow.
Whelp, it was a nice castle while it lasted. Guess we won't be seeing this place anywhere near as lively and bustling from this point on.
The outer wall had been thoroughly smashed up, with many gaping holes in its fortifications. Inside the courtyard, what had been a peaceful scene was no erupting in chaos. A gigantic force was swarming through the breaches in the outer wall, all of them Pokémon. It was hard to tell who they were. Some looked like they were wearing the attire and gear of the villagers, but others wore dark armbands that looked far more menacing than those of the castle's inhabitants.
I mean, could've been worse. The invaders/defenders could've been rocking crude artillery, since it's not that hard to tape a bunch of Blast Seeds together and then fling it with a catapult ^^
Though I suppose that "just hit it with Hyper Beam" might be more efficient depending on how battle and damage scaling in this setting works.
At the gateway built into the inner wall, those very same inhabitants with their lighter coloured armbands stood against the massed attackers. Above them all, flying Pokémon dueled above their heads, or launching strafing attacks on the fortress itself with their elemental attacks. On the ground, the defenders were outnumbered, either struggling to fend off a massed attack on their own or forming part of a defensive line. But even with their backs to the wall, they were holding that line. Each one of the defenders was more of a match for multiple attackers, and even the ones on their own were able to keep most of their threats at bay. Some still fell to the onslaught, but it almost seemed at first glance, they were beginning to push the invaders back.
Which from that wording, means that things are going to go really, really south in short order.
That was when the dark green ball of energy fell from the sky. One of the defenders looked up, and tried to cry out a warning.
The energy ball slammed into the centre of the defensive line and detonated with a blinding flash of light. Many of the defenders screamed as they were thrown clear of the blast zone, the attackers recoiled from the massive strike, ceasing their attack.
I take that that doesn't normally happen in fights such as these, though I'm now wondering what on earth caused that.
A thick ash cloud slowly began to fade away with the moans of the injured defenders, many trying to scramble back to their feet. Others were caught out, set upon by the raging mob of attackers.
Wait, just how bad were things for the defending force such that they had no equivalent to artillery positions / sniper nests to try and stabilize things from behind the front lines? Not that it would've helped that much given the giant ash cloud would've helped give Team Darkbands potentially exploitable cover to use for trying to punch through these defensive lines.
Amongst the green flames, the dark Pokémon landed with a thud. Its black fur would have made it invisible without the flames to light it up. Green vines pulsed around its arms as its head snapped up, revealing its bright, almost demonic red eyes.
The Zarude looked upon the wounded defenders with an almost hungry eye as it rose to its feet. A few of the defenders, eyes widening with fear, started to back up, weakening their defences. Likewise, even the attackers seemed spooked, backing away and clearing a space for the new arrival.
I mean, yeah, this sounds like a great time to go "nope nope nope" and get far, far away from that monkey.
A cold, evil grin formed on the Zarude as it glanced back down towards the ground, watching as one defender, a Machoke, tried to drag himself away from danger. The simian approached, raised its right foot…
And slammed it down on the defender's neck with a vicious crack. The Machoke's eyes widened, a faint gasp escaping as its body went limp. A flicker of intelligence remaining evident before finally, its gaze went blank.
Whelp, these walls are going to get a lovely new red paint job in short order at this rate, since this is obviously going nowhere good.
A blue bolt flashed as it struck the ground with a sharp thundercrack. All Pokémon, attacker and defender alike, flinched backwards as the electrical energy sparked across the battlefield, separating the two sides.
All except the Zarude, whose smile vanished completely.
As the electricity faded away, a patch of clouds parted, revealing the untouched splendour of the moon and shining a new light onto the fortress.
Standing before the Zarude, holding position in front of the defenders was a yellow and black Pokémon. Humanoid in shape, its jagged fur glistened in the light as a lightning bolt shaped tuft of fur hung from its upper back. A pair of bright blue eyes glared at the Zarude with untold intensity.
Ah yes, a clash of the gods. Maybe. Possibly. Not sure how this is going to shake out, but I'm pretty sure there's going to be one hell of a body count afterwards.
The Zarude seemed to hesitate for the briefest of moments.
Then it let out a bestial roar, a green vine unravelling from one of its arms into a whip, pulsing with dark green energy as it snapped round. Air rushed around the Pokémon, tugging at the other Pokémon present who once more retreated.
I mean, considering how Legendary Pokémon's feats quickly go off the charts in game cutscenes... yeah, giving these two a wide berth to slug things out would be well-advised regardless of what side you're on. ^^;
Unbowed, the Zeraora merely cracked its fists together, blue electricity sparking as its eyes narrowed.
And with that, it broke out into a run, a snarl forming as it charged for the Zarude.
The Zarude, whip still flailing in the air, charged forward, whipping it down towards its new opponent.
The Zeraora leapt forwards, it's fist crackling with energy.
The whip and fist connected.
And with that, the fortress and everyone within it were engulfed in light.
Oh, this is the equivalent of the interviewer that summons humans in the canon games, isn't it? Though that's some ominous language if I ever heard it.
Come with me, if you will. 'Observer'. Yes. That is what I shall call you for now. I might as well guide you into this world. A new world for you, I imagine. It's one of many. It'sA peaceful world, where individuals belonging to many different species have come together. To work together, for the betterment of all.
I'll admit, that one made me chuckle, though it's a clever sidestep to that particular trope in PMD stories.
A sigh echoed by.
I shouldn't. In truth, it's not that simple. This world has teetered so close to the edge so many times that… its inhabitants have changed somewhat. They aren't as kind or as noble as they had been decades ago. Or in a couple of years ago, even. Of course, some do hold onto those ideals of old. They try and help others, or make new discoveries.
But it is not an easy path. Even before the calamities, it has been like this. But now… it's slowly become worse. Distrust and anger has slowly bubbled to the surface. Every time this world comes closer together, it fractures just as quickly. There has been too much strain. Too much pain for the inhabitants to try and wash away.
I would recommend hacking this paragraph up into two. Though I wonder if this is hinting at this being a grittier future to PMD!Canonworld, since the story summary does mention casual spoilers to the canon games, so...
Would you be surprised that these inhabitants are creatures called Pokémon?
Do not forget, these are living beings. And I sense they are not the Pokémon you may remember.
Or perhaps you do remember? The way they arrive has always been shrouded in some kind of mystery until the end. Even when the answers are revealed, it's never been an entirely consistent set.
Something has brought you here. Are you here by choice? Or are you lost on this world?
Oh, so our protagonist is a human. Though I suppose that if this is indeed set in a fork of Canonworld, that it'd make sense, since that world has a thing for human heroes. So of course it'd get a fresh one in the wake of things going pear-shaped yet again.
Hmm… until you find that answer, please, come with me. Follow my voice. You may sense me only as a presence at the corner of your spirit. But in truth I'm not actually with you physically. I am elsewhere in this world, working at unravelling a truth that has evaded me for so long.
But I will watch you all from a distance to the best of my ability. I can promise you that.
I... am not convinced that that's necessarily a good thing.
Though I wonder if this speaker is a Pokémon, or something more wibbly-wobbly like the Voice of Life all over again.
I see you can sense their arrival. I cannot make certain of who they are or what they may become. Or even what they are here for. But the fact you are… drawn to them. And at such a time when this world has entered another dangerous time cannot be mere coincidence.
We will have to find that truth at another time. Stay close to them. But don't get too close. You don't want them to lose their minds.
Though I can't tell if this voice is talking about a human or something else entirely. Since since when would a human cause Pokémon to lose their minds?
Trust me. I know.
And who knows? Maybe there will be more to this world, and beyond… that meets the eye.
Yeah, no kidding. Though that was certainly an ominous Prologue. Time to jump straight into the next chapter and see where things go in the wake of that one castle and two armies abruptly getting peaced.
Chapter I
Initially, he could only see darkness. It was all he knew. Just this inescapable, unknowable blackness.
Then, slowly, little by little, the light began to appear before him. Constantly shifting and evolving, flowing almost like water. The reds shifted into oranges, then yellows and so forth. His mind wandered, wondering what he had to have had in order to get such a vision. Something in the water maybe, he imagined. Then again, his body didn't feel sore.
Wait. I've just woken up; how do I know what water and a body feels like? Wait… yeah, of course I know what a body is! I should have one!
Can't tell if a human with amnesia, or this is a fakeout and the protag something much, much weirder.
No, this was worse. He couldn't feel his body at all. Legs, limbs, head and yet he still had senses. At least partially anyway. He could see these colours, obviously. And he could hear a faint hum that almost sounded oddly rhythmic.
Considering the given rating and summary of this story, you're likely gonna wish it was a dream in a bit, kid.
Even without his body, he could sense himself moving – somehow - forwards. No. He was being pulled onwards. It was strange, he couldn't physically move even if he had a body at this point. Maybe he was just dreaming. But where was he sleeping? In a house? Had to be. He tried to imagine having an actual arm and yet nothing happened.
The colours wavered before him, and a very faint star seemed to blink into view before him. Growing that little bit brighter, that bit bigger.
Um… maybe this is me waking up. Weird way of doing it...
Protag: "... Actually, I should try pinching myself. That's a fast way to tell if I'm dreaming, right?"
- Beat moment -
Protag: "Assuming I can even do that at the moment."
And with that, the star began to blink. Hang on-
"Hello?" came a quiet voice, "Can… can you hear me?".
He felt a strange warmth run through him. Compelling him to move further on. H-Hi? I can… what's going on? Is this some dodgy dream or something?
You probably want to rephrase either this bit about the "dodgy dream" or else the one from two blocks ago, since this reads almost verbatim the same as that earlier one.
There was a moment of silence, the little star ceasing to blink for a moment, before it started again… "You can? Great! Listen… I don't have much time…"
The voice wavered for a moment. And with that, he began to feel drowsy… the light and the colours seeming to dim before him. "Oh no… listen to me! You need to save…"
Wait, is the voice supposed to trail off like that? Or is it supposed to abruptly cut out? If the latter, you should consider a hyphen over an ellipses.
What? I-I can't hear you… I'm… His thoughts began to blur together, the lights now fading away, the hum ceasing. The star the only thing left he could even see. "Please! All of this… it needs saving…"
Save… save what… He could sense himself slipping away. I… can't…
Oh, so that's our protag's name, huh? Well I doubt that you're seriously going to kill him off right here barely halfway into your first chapter, so let's see where he goes from here, huh?
He moaned as he slowly came to, feeling his body ache in protest. He snapped his eyes open, only to cry out as the light flashed onto his retinas. Nearly blinded, he squeezed them tight again. Was he under attack? No… he could feel the warmth soak through his skin.
Sam: "Aaaand I'm pretty sure that I know exactly nothing else given that I can't remember when I last felt sunlight."
Sam opened his eyes again, much more carefully this time. Thankfully, instead of being blinded, he slowly gained a blurry view of the world. He could just make out trees around him and blue skies above him. His other senses started to emerge. He felt himself curled up on his side, could smell the fresh grass he was on and heard the sound of leaves rustling peacefully in the wind and the light trickle of flowing water.
Water.
A faint itch worked its way through Sam's throat, forcing him to take a sudden breath in surprise. Damn. How long have I been out?
Sam: "... Actually, on second thought, I don't want to know, do I?" ^^;
If he had even been out at all?
His arms even more blurry than the trees around him, he slowly pushed himself up to his hands and knees. His eyes flickered around and settled on the familiar shape of a pool of water. Vision be damned, he could at least tell that.
Grunting, he crawled over to the pool and, without delay, scooped up some of the water in his hands and gulped it down, feeling the cool water that spilled out drip down his chest.
Sam: "... Probably 'too long' if I'm thirsty enough to wonder that to myself." ._.
He blinked as he stared down at his hands... they remained blurred, but he could make out they were some kind of gloves. Completely white and – Wait. They were very small.
White and glove-like huh? Getting Ledyba vibes right about now, which would definitely be a head-turner as a species choice.
Splashing his face with a handful of water, Sam wiped his face clean and with a quick shake of his head, focused his gaze at his hands and at last, his vision began to clear.
Sam's hands drifted back into view. They were white, covered in fur.
Wait... does Sam even know what a human looks like at the moment given that he doesn't remember when he last felt sunlight on his body or had a drink?
And with that, his vision cleared entirely. He realised they weren't hands. They were paws with three little digits. Huh?
He dropped the paws, finding himself looking at a weird rabbit. One that was staring back at him from the water. Covered almost entirely in white fur… save for a little patch of orange across its nose, a flash of reddish orange on the tops of its ears, and finally a pair of eyes with bright orange irises…
Its mouth dropped open, showing a pair of brilliant white buckteeth. "What?"
He sprung upright, paws snapping up to his chest, digits running through his fur and past his ears as the instinctively flicked aside. No no! It can't be-
"I'm a bloody Scorbunny!?" he exclaimed, "What the flying!?-"
He stumbled back, crying out as fell back onto his backside. He panted, trying to bring his heartrate down, his breathing under control. "H-How? I'm human! Now I'm a Pokémon? How's that supposed to…"
Considering how for all we know, Sam's mind is a tabula rasa at the moment given that he has zero perception of past history at the moment, I kinda wonder if it'd have made sense to show off what his present understanding of a human is at the moment.
e.x. if he tries to remember what they were, but comes up with nothing other than "... I'm supposed to be taller, and not have long ears, or a tail, or a body covered with fur, but that's about all I can remember" and then freak out harder when he realizes that he doesn't even remember what he used to look like. Or whatever details he can recall along those lines.
His voice trailed off. This can't be right. It can't be.
Slowly, he crawled back forward towards the water's edge. And once more found the reflection of that Scorbunny. Of him – Sam - staring back up at him… "I…" he fell silent. All he could do was simmer in the simple, plain fact of reality that happened to be staring straight back at him.
Sam: "U-Um... th-this isn't some weak and pathetic creature that commonly gets preyed on wherever I am, right? Since 'bunny' is in the name, and rabbits... aren't exactly high on the food chain, I'm pretty sure."
Chapter II
The sky was almost picturesque. A big bright sun, a few fluffy white clouds over there. Lots of strong trees topped with emerald green leaves. Not that they were actually emeralds, just regular leaves…
Groaning, Sam thumped his head against the tree he leaned against. He was still half convinced that this was some kind of dream, even if the slight throb running down his back of his head seemed to confirm that, yes, this was all real.
But the question was how this was even possible? He knew what he was right now. A Pokemon, and yet he somehow thought he was a human. How did that even work? They were completely different species at the end of the day.
I'm going to assume that Sam's mind lazoring allows him to roughly know what humans and various species of Pokémon look like given how reflexively he bandies those terms around and doesn't hesitate and stop to wonder "wait what am/was I?" at any point.
Though this is another paragraph that struck me as one that'd benefit from being broken up, since IMO you basically have 2 separate topics being addressed in this one paragraph as it stands.
"Come on!" he growled, pounding his paw into the bark. "I've got to remember something from before… err…" He chewed on his lip, his mind going blank. "Okay okay… my name is Sam… I'm – was human… obviously I'm a guy… unless I'm non-binary or… hang on, where did I hear about that?"
That actually makes me wonder if there are other concepts that Sam remembers the term and idea behind, but can't really place how he knows it at all. Like if he came across a gutted microwave, if he'd be able to go "Oh, that's a microwave, it's meant to cook food!" without being able to explain how he remembers that.
Slowly, he began to pace, questioning his memory. Trying to glean something from before he had woken up in the first place. Hmm... maybe I should try asking myself some questions, see if anything comes up from all that... yeah, let's give that a try.
Bringing himself to a halt, Sam rubbed his hands together and started the questioning. Where did he come from?
Kinda wonder if you should've had Sam finish more of his question there before cutting it off, since I'm actually not sure what he was supposed to say there.
Sam: "Well, this exercise has been going really swimmingly right now."
Angrily, he swivelled around and booted the nearest tree. But as his paw connected, his entire leg turned to jelly, the pain rushed up it like a wave. He hopped away with a cry, clutching his throbbing foot like some cheap cartoon character. Okay mate… calm down, stop acting like some bratty kid!
Well, I'm guessing that Sam's from Galar, since thar be Britishisms in this fic. I presume you're from a Commonwealth country as a writer? Or is that a deliberate stylistic thing meant to play into Sam's background?
Taking a deep breath, Sam forced himself to relax, rubbing the back of his head. Probably some weird fire rabbit hormones or something he figured.
And then there was that voice. The… star? If it was even one. Asking him for help. But help with what? Did they want help? Someone else? He shook his head, maybe it was tied to him being a Scorbunny?
He slowly spun on his foot, scanning his surroundings. Other than the pool of water he had found himself next to, the only other feature of note was an opening in the trees. That had revealed what was a barely marked, dusty path that cut into the woods, but beyond that, he couldn't tell what would lay further within.
IMO, in this case, your paragraph is long and idea-dense enough that you probably want Sam's internal thought off on its own instead of taped to it.
And with that, Sam started to jog his way down the path.
The path was fairly easy going, twisting and curving through the trees even if it was barely… well… that at all. Shrubs, bushes and grasses rose up around him in every direction, hanging around in little clearings where the sun managed to break through. Even a few surprisingly big flowers were poking out from the grasses. The canopy offered plenty of shade from the sun high above his head too, so he wasn't going to cook anyway.
I might be overthinking it, but is it supposed to be hot at the moment? Since why is Sam's thought about being in the shade that he wouldn't cook/overheat?
Well… technically I'm already cooked… you know… being a fire type Pokémon and all…
He stopped mid stride, rubbing the back of his head. Hang on… Pokémon have awesome powers right? I should be able to do some fire moves! Err… what moves can I do… Ember I think? That tends to be pretty standard for fire-types right?
I'll legit be shocked if Sam does pull off a move off the bat this chapter, since it's really uncommon for human TF stories to smoothly give them Pokémon abilities from the jump.
He frowned to himself as he started walking again. So Ember… works out of the mouth right? Almost like breathing fire or something. But I've got ha- paws so… does it come from me using those instead or i-
Sam slowed down again, his ears already twitching around to track down the source. Well, that didn't take long to find someone… sounds like they're… huh, further down the track.
Beating his feet into the dirt, the Scorbunny rushed on ahead, picking up speed as he pushed onwards. Maybe there will be other humans there. Don't know how I'm going to explain things but I've gotta try.
Sam: "Uh... hi there... I- er... come in peace?" ^^;
Immediately, Sam began to run on autopilot, "Ah right… you guy's are Pokémon… right… this is going to be weird, but are there any… trainers near here? I kinda need an idea of my circum-"
The Pidgey snapped its beak with an audible crack, "Trainers? What the hell are you talking about?"
"H-Huh?"
"Yeah!" the Rattata exclaimed, "What's a ‘Trainer’?"
Well that introduction sure is going smoothly. At this rate, it's going to turn out that Sam ran into a pair of Outlaws. :V
Alright, I think that that's a pretty good place to leave things off on, so I'll gather my overall thoughts here:
I'll admit, I'm a bit biased here since the premise of this story being set in an island backdrop actually reminds me a lot of my own, just targeting a few notches up higher on the thematic/age-rating bracket. The prologue in particular was particularly intriguing, and I'm wondering just how quickly that's going to come into play in this story, since political intrigue and warfare aren't that common in this fandom space, so it makes the stories that do them, and especially the ones that do them well stand out. The chapters that I read all being bite-sized and approachable didn't hurt either. I think you were cutting it a little to the bone and could've easily bundled Chapters 1 + 2 together without missing a beat while still keeping things approachable, but eh. It's good for an initial taste, and there's something to be said about getting a coherent narrative out without writing out War and Peace all over again, and it looks like you've got some more conventionally-sized chapters down the pipe anyways.
As for stuff I wasn't as fond of, most of it's already covered by the writeup, though I did feel there was a bit of a disconnect between the Prologue which points at intrigue between warring polities and Legendaries with some sort of freaky thing going on with Zarude... and then the next two chapters that played things a bit by the numbers for fandom tropes. Like I get that "fakeout openings" are things, and they can be done really effectively for harder-edged stories (PMMM being one of my reflexive examples on that front), though if it's narratively possible it might make sense to worm in some hints as to where the story is ultimately going to go as a reward for attentive readers and to give that point where the plot just comes barreling through to run over Sam all the more oomph.
But all-in-all, I thought that it was a decent opening, @StolenMadWolf , especially after you get a chance to buff out a few of the kinks you're already aware of. Color my interest piqued, and I'll be looking forward to coming back to this story more for our review exchange. ^^
Right, just an small update about GoB. Good news is, I'm going through the Episode 1 Chapters bit by bit with a comb to try and clear out any remaining spelling mistakes and grammar issues, basic neatening up of content. The prologue and Chapter 1 have just been updated with the edit. The other chapters will be receving the same edits soon enough.
In other news, I'm starting with the writing the first chapter of Episode 2. So I'm hoping to have that ready by the end of the month, if not early November.
IMPORTANT DISCLAIMER - To any new readers, if you haven't read the events of Episode I - Always Audacity, I would highly recommend going back and reading through that episode in order to get a better understanding of the events taking place in this story before rolling into Episode II - especially as I'm in the process of going through the old chapters with a very fine brush to neaten them up. You do not need to read the first Bonus Chapter in order to understand the events of this story.
Now, without further ado...
POKÉMON MYSTERY DUNGEON GUARDIANS OF BALANCE
EPISODE II - THE DARK, WONDEROUS PAST
CHAPTER I - DARKNESS AT SEA
Black clouds blanketed the sky, blotting out the stars completely like an impenetrable wall. The wind howled, cloth flapped wildly, rope creaked and wood moaned, joining together into a painful melody.
A bolt of lightning flashed in the distance, shining it's light around the masts of the ship for a few seconds before plunging it back into darkness. The rain pelted everything, briefly taking over the melody before the thunder rolled over with a low boom. Another bolt lit up the sky just a second later, bringing light back to the vessel.
Kailani winced at the flash of lightning, shocked by the sudden burst of light but otherwise feeling glad for it. She rapidly blinked her eyes, pecking away at the rope to loosen it. As the rope slackened, she shook her long orange beak through into the biggest opening and with a sharp tug, let it snap free.
The Trumbeak tilted her head up at the main mast, "That's the last one!" she shouted over the wind, praying she could be heard over the shrieking wind.
"I hear you! Pull the sail up! Now!"
Two lemurs were crouched on the lower boom of the rearward, larger mast of the ship, buffeted by the rain and wind as they struggled to hold on. Reaching down over the edge, the two brothers quickly reeled in the white sail as it flapped in the wind, threatening to tear itself free.
Kailani wheezed with relief, covering her head with one wing as she watched the Passimian brothers get the sail resecured in the rigging. Good! That should stop us getting blown over!
Wind still roaring, she marched across the deck, stumbling as the ship rolled in the seas. A blast of white water flung itself over the railing, the bird shielding herself with another wing as the sea water came splashing down around her. Her beak quivered, her legs stiff as she forced herself towards the aft castle and its steps.
Holding off the curses as best as she could, she managed to throw herself up the stairs and onto the upper deck. "Captain!" she panted, pushing herself to her feet. "We've got most of the sails up!"
At a large ships wheel stood a blue octopus, another Pokémon like herself. His light blue eyes were narrowed as he gripped onto the wheel with his tentacles, managing to hold it in place despite the roll of the ship. "Good!" he barked, less from anger and more from sheer concentration. "We'll coast towards the edge of the storm! At least 'till we get to safe harbour!"
Kailani resisted the urge to peck the deck in frustration. They were originally meant to sail east, towards Grass Continent, but the storm had forced them to move towards the south, towards much more open waters. Where would an island be here!?
Her beak trembled, she had been working on ships for the last three years now, and she had seen her share of storms in that time. But this one was something else. It might as well have been a hurricane! She had wanted to beg the captain to pull into one of the natural harbours surrounding the main islands in the Sea of Wonders the moment he detailed his plan. Any of them, but the captain didn't want to waste time. Especially given the 'passengers' they were carrying.
She shook her head, still, the Grapploct had been at sea for longer than she had been alive. She had to trust the captain's judgement. She may have not been an officer, but she was still high amongst the rankings. If she started openly questioning the captain now, how would the rest of the crew see things?
"Jaquin!" the octopus shouted; his voice somehow booming over the wind. "Tighten up the rigging on the foremast! I don't want that sail to rip free!"
Spinning her head round, Kailani peered across the deck of the ship. The better part of a dozen Pokémon stumbled around the deck, struggling to hold onto anything they could as they struggled to maintain the rigging of the ship. A Furret towards the bow struggled her way across towards one set of lines and got to work with tightening them up again.
How anyone managed to run around a ship like this in a storm was beyond her. She was used to flying around in the air, not tripping herself up on ship decks. Normally in such cases, she would below decks, but they were that short of hands as it is that she had to get involved with the rigging.
Her head began to dip forward, letting out a sigh that she could barely hear over the wind, her eyes slipping sh-
The top of her head bumped into the railing, jerking the bird back to being awake. She grinding her beak, she had been up here for six hours. She was starting to fall apart! When will this damn storm end!
She felt the captain's eye settle on her before she heard him. "Get yourself down below kiddo." He said, not shouting yet once more managing to get his voice to project as another wave flew over the side of the ship. "Swap places with Seb. We'll be at this for a while."
Stiffening, Kailani turned towards the captain, opening her beak with a dazed look. But the simple flick of the Grapploct's brow was all that was needed to stop her from uttering anything more than a squeak. Part of her felt like she was wasting space, that she wasn't proving her worth. But at the same time, she knew that the captain was right. She had been working for so long in this storm, the longer she spent out here, the more of a liability she was going to become.
That was true with every member of the crew.
She bowed her head, wiping her face clear as another raindrop pelted one of her eyes. "Got it captain."
She began to stumble for the stairs again, to get herself down into the hold and into a hammock. It wouldn't be the best night's sleep, but at least-
White light flashed before her eyes with a powerful boom. Kailani cried out in shock, snapping her head away from the source.
It didn't even last a second.
She barely just picked up the scream.
Blinking, she spun back round towards the mast, smoking at the very top from where a lightning bolt had struck.
And saw one of the two brothers falling to the deck.
Eyes widening, she leapt over the railing and glided down to the lower level as other Pokémon to help their crewmate. The Passimian was sprawled out on his back, eyes closed and chest fur blackened. "Reggie!"
The other brother dropped down from the lowest spar on the mast and hurried over to his side as Kailani touched down, the unharmed lemur cradling his brother in his arms. "Reggie! Wake up!" he begged; eyes teary as the other crew scrambled to help. Kailani didn't need to ask what happened; the smoking mast was an indicator of that. A stray lightning bolt must have struck the ship and managed to find a way through to the Passimian as he was working on the mast.
As a faint sigh of relief rolled over the crew as the injured lemur groaned, Kailani looked up towards the top of the mast, searching for the lightning rod fitted to the top. It was still there alright, a metal spike fitted to the top of the mast, still shining in the wind. That would mean the wire…
Something flicked across her vision, There it is!
Flapping wildly around in the wind, glinting under the dark skies and the distant flashes of lightning, a metal wire swung wildly around the mast. That ground wire allowed the energy of the lightning to rush down towards the water so the ship wasn't damaged. With the wire disconnected and flapping around like that, it was amazing no one else got hurt!
She bit off a curse, that same wire could wrap around anything now. If that happened, any lightning bolt would scorch wood, sails or any unlucky Pokémon who happened to get caught near it! If the wire had broken off anywhere else – lower down perhaps, they could afford to leave it there. But if that kept flapping around-
Damn it! It'll start a fire in no time!
"Someone needs to get up there!" the Captain barked, tentacles tight around the wheel. "Another bolt and we'll lose the sails!"
Kailani stared up at the wire as the voices rose over the wind. "I-Is he nuts!?" someone snapped, "We'll get cooked!"
"I-I didn't sign up for this!"
"Can't we just pull down!?"
"It's bolted in place! We can't do that!"
Faki! We don't have time for someone to climb up! That means… damn damn! Why do I have to be the one to be a goody-two-shoes!
Wiping her eyes clear of yet more rain, Kailani flapped her wings open. "I'll resecure it!"
One of the other Pokémon, a Heracross raised a clawed hand, eyes widening. "W-Wait! Kai! It's too-"
With a beat of her wings, the Trumbeak rose into the air.
And almost immediately regretted it.
Kailani squawked as the gust caught her wings and flung her aside, the bird trying to get control. Netting rushed towards her, and without thinking she rolled, slipping past and over the water. She gritted her beak, beating her wings harder, fighting to gain lift and control as she turned back towards the ship.
Even with the buffeting winds, her feathers finally caught good air and she began to climb towards the top of the masts, towards the waving wire. Okay, just gotta catch the top of the wire, hook it up to the lightning rod. And try not get electrocuted. Not being lolo here.
She couldn't wipe her eyes now, only rapid blinking helped keep her vision clear, making it harder to track the erratically moving cable. She panted, not used to flying in such bad conditions. The wind screaming past her ears, drowning out the shouts from below. The darkness was now more overwhelming than ever, only the distant flash of lightning breaking through.
In the on and off of her vision, she was getting closer.
And closer.
The wire whipped around even more.
She started to reach out one of her feet. Don't wrap. Don't wrap. Don-
Her claws slipped shut, the warm metal pressing against her skin. Got it!
Tucking her wings in, she swung herself round towards the mast. Hopefully those lightning strikes won't hit her now. She was the easiest route for the current now!
Her heart pounding, she forced herself, higher, and higher up until Kailani, panting rapidly, touched down on the top of the mast. A circular, wooden railing was placed around the rod, allowing crew a safe perch. With her feet tight round the railing, she took the wire with her beak and cast a wary eye over the rod. Looks like the fitting failed. Just need to screw the new clip in…
The job would have been easy for one of the brothers – or any Pokémon with functional hands or paws for that matter. Kailani had to brace herself as she fed the wire back into the rod with one foot and her beak, before tightening the screws back into place to hold everything together. It wouldn't be perfect, but it would hold for now.
Kailani wasn't going to wait to tell anyone about the repair from up there. She spun round, opened her wings to glide back down to the deck and out of danger.
Lightning flashed, in the corner of her eye… and yet something remained dark. Unlit.
Blinking, the Trumbeak's head swivelled round, the rain pelting the back of her head, helping to keep things clear. Huh? What was that? An island?
Instinct tugged at her heart, begging for her to get down from her exposed position and back to the safety of the deck. But something didn't feel right about this, there couldn't be an island out there, they should have seen it sooner by now!
She opened her wings again, eyes fixed on a dark patch of space before her, the clouds wrapping around it.
Another lightning bolt light up the sky.
The black shape of a ship, larger than theirs materialised before her.
Rushing towards them.
It could only be one thing.
She spun round, shouting at the top of her lungs. "Pirates! Hard starbo-!"
A Thunderbolt shot up from the incoming ship, slamming into the lightning rod. Kailani screamed as the electric attack sparked off the rod and surged into her body. It spasmed beyond her control, pain tearing through her. Torment was all she knew as the gust caught her once more.
To the crew, the last they saw of her was the Trumbeak being blown clear of the mast and into the darkness.
In the depths of the hold, a large, amphibian Pokémon was held up in his cell. Arms and legs locked in place by heavy chains that ran into the structure of the ship. His head was bowed, eyes closed, asleep, judging by the softly rising and falling chest.
Then the entire ship shuddered, jerking the amphibian sharply off to one side, someone screamed in fright, and the murmur of other prisoners began to quickly rise inside the prison.
Then came the clang of battle. More screams, the snap, crackle and boom of Pokémon moves being fired off. The murmur died down; questions being quickly whispered amongst the prisoners.
It was only then did the amphibian's orange eyes slip open, fixing on the metal door leading deeper into the ship.
The sounds of battle grew closer, more desperate.
Then just as quickly, faded away.
Everyone fell silent.
The amphibian narrowed his gaze, his fists beginning to tighten in the shackles.
With a massive boom, the door exploded, a blue octopus flying through. It hit the floor with a splat, body twitching wildly for just a second before it finally went limp.
It didn't take an idiot to realise that the Grapploct was dead, given the bloody cuts left in his skin and the missing tentacles.
Standing in the doorway, features shaded by the light of the outside room, was a tall, bulky Pokémon. As large, if not even larger than the amphibian himself. It was armoured head to toe in some kind of armoured material… and its arms ended in vicious looking axes, stained in black blood.
It was only then did the prisoner's eyes widen.
"No…" he uttered, "It can't be… you're just a myth!"
A pair of white, angular eyes locked on the amphibian.
And thumping footsteps, they slowly approached the cell… thunder rolling as they raised their bloody axe…
Rex woke with a start, huffing as something started beeping off to the side of him. He could feel the warm wood underneath his cheek, close enough that he could almost taste the smell of it.
Raising his head up, the Blaziken scanned the darkness of his office, searching for any unusual splotches, any sharper shadows. Or any sign of an intruder.
He pushed himself off his desk, Hmph. Look at me now. So busy and so old that I'm falling asleep on the job. He glanced over his shoulder, seeing the cloudy night sky hanging over Robinswood through the window. Mustn't have been asleep for too long.
A tiny light blinked in the corner of his eye, and the Guildmaster turned to find the coin-shaped Expedition device, softly vibrating and beeping away. An incoming message.
Is that Luke? Rex mused; He can't have got here in six weeks. Surely not.
He carefully picked up the device and looked over the screen, where the words Island Camp VI were displayed.
One of the smaller islands? Rex wondered, They wouldn't be contacting me directly if something hadn't gone wrong. Not at this time either. It must have been the storm. They would have been caught at the very edge of it.
He accepted the call, pulling out a small candle and with a quick rub of his fingers, lit the wick. "This is Guildmaster Rex." He said, "Did you get hit by the storm?"
The voice on the other end was actually fairly clear as the device briefly squeaked. "Guildmaster! We got lucky, it drifted away at the last moment. Rather strange to be honest. Anyway, that's not why we went straight to you."
Rex couldn't stop the faint chuckle from escaping his beak, "I figured as much. I'm glad you got clear of it.". The Blaziken swallowed a bit of air, cutting off his chuckle. This only meant there was something else wrong.
Something serious.
"So." He started, narrowing his eyes, "What's happened? Do you need assistance?"
There was a moment of hesitation before the speaker continued, "Not us. But we could do with help. Someone's washed up on the beach just this evening."
That got the Guildmaster's full attention, the avian leaning forward onto the desk. "Washed up? Who?"
"We couldn't get her name, she's pretty young though, and she said she was part of the crew on a ship headed back to Grass Continent."
There was a faint hiss, almost lost in the digital static of the device. "She said her ship was attacked by pirates. Poor girl must have been stuck in the water for hours."
Rex only blinked once, a talon faintly scratching the desk surface as the voice continued, "She passed out not long after she told us that, but the ship fell in a matter of minutes. It was the-"
"The Daywalker." Rex interrupted, bluntly and to the point.
There was an audible silence, save for a faint click as if the device has been dropped. Something scratched, only confirming that theory as the Pokémon on the other side scooped their device back up again. "Y-Yeah!" they exclaimed, "The Daywalker. How did you know?"
Rex clenched his jaw, the talon digging deeper into the wood, his heart going cold. "I… I had my suspicions once you mentioned it."
"We can keep her here for now, but she might need some more medical help. She seemed to get hit by a pretty nasty attack, electric we think. We can send our boat over to town-"
"No." Rex interrupted, "That will take too much time. I'll contact the Post Office, see if they can spare a Corviknight to send your way. We have better facilities at the Guild anyway, and we will need to investigate this. The Daywalker isn't the biggest ship to go into the Sea of Wonders, but it's the biggest that pirates have gone for. We need to investigate this and this crewmate is effectively our only witness. Do what you can for her there, I'll send word once I have something prepared."
"Y-Yes Guildmaster!"
"And thank you for getting this straight to me. I'll leave you to it."
"T-Thank you sir!"
The device went dark as the call ceased, only to light up again as Rex tapped at the device again, first to send a message directly to the TalonKnight Post Office atop the tree, and a second to summon the one person he would need to talk to about this new development.
Esper arrived with five minutes, the Meowstic rubbing her eyes as she came on in. "I could sense your troubled thoughts from four floors away." She said, somewhat groggy as she shook her head, still working to fully wake herself up. "This isn't to do with our mutual newcomer?"
Newcomer. The Scorbunny known as Sam. One of their newest members to the Robinswood Guild.
Their human member.
The human-turned-Pokémon who now happened to be the partner to his adoptive niece, Alice the Buneary.
The Blaziken sighed, rubbing his forehead. It had been six weeks since Esper picked up the psychic traces that indicated Sam's status as a human. Something that the Meowstic had only felt once before, six years ago during the Dark Matter Crisis. The same Crisis that killed his former teammates… and Alice's parents.
He didn't want to believe Esper. Write it off as something in the heat of the moment, a misread. Even Psychic types were not infallible, but Esper's experience couldn't be written off.
And neither could he do the same with his own.
He was one of three Pokémon alive that was aware of Sam's status as a human, at least to his knowledge. Something that Sam himself didn't know.
For the time being, given the… challenges that tended to follow humans around, that would be for the best.
"Rex?"
The Blaziken leaned back, "Apologies." He stated, "You are correct. There has been a suspected pirate attack on one of the ships that left the docks a few days ago."
Esper stepped up towards the desks, slightly slumped as she approached… only for her eyes to widen, straightening up with quivering ears. "The Daywalker." She quietly said, now very firmly awake. "The same ship that was carrying-"
"Greg and his bandits." Rex growled, "Yes."
Greg, the Swampert leader of a group of bandits that called the main island of the Sea of Wonders their home.
"Damn it." The Meowstic hissed, ears briefly rising up before dipping back down just as suddenly again. "Could it be Aidan?"
Aidan. The Froakie-evolved-Frogadier. Someone who appeared to just be the rebellious scion of a powerful family back on the Sand Continent and the fellow recruit and partner to Sam, and yet he managed to run a large smuggling operation right beneath their noses. The same Pokémon who nearly killed Sam when he refused to join his side and set Greg loose to kidnap a young child from the town under the his orders. Greg had been captured and charged for kidnapping and murder, including a team resident to Robinswood and nearly killing Sam and Alice as well. But Aidan himself hasn't been seen since.
"Piracy wouldn't fit Aidan's MO." Rex said. "No, this is something else. Pirates have never gone for something the size of the Daywalker before, and never took it over so quickly."
"It's more troubling that someone happened to go out of the way to attack the ship that just happened to be carrying Greg back to Grass." Esper replied. "In a storm no less. I have heard rumours of increased pirate activity, but nothing remotely like this." She placed her hands behind her back, straightening up. "It's almost as if they are getting organised."
"And that." Rex stated, tapping the table, "Is very dangerous. Especially now. Between the disasters and the official visits… this will make things much more difficult."
Esper got herself sat down on one of the chairs opposite Rex. "Forget about protecting Sam. If the continents decide to pull their strings in response to pirate activity, we won't have any means to protect him at all."
"And Alice." Rex murmured, stiffening for the briefest of moments. Just being even remotely affiliated with Sam had automatically put Alice in just as much danger as he was. He promised her mother, Tyera, that he would look after her. Protect her. He had struggled to hold the stigma around Alice so many times before. Could he…
He shook his head; he couldn't have doubts now.
"I've already called the Post Office; they are dispatching a Corviknight affiliated with the Guild to retrieve the witness to the attack and bring her back to Robinswood. I'll need you to assist me in that investigation."
"Of course." Esper replied, nodding back. "Should we consider blending that into our investigation surrounding Aidan, and maybe Sam too?"
"We'll keep it separate for now. But let's be careful for any connections. I have my doubts that this act of piracy is connected to Sam or Aidan, but with everything going on, we must be vigilant."
"I'll make the necessary preparations." Esper said, rising back to her feet. Rex couldn't help but admire the young Meowstic. She spoke as if she had decades of experience, and yet, she was only eighteen. So many Pokémon – including himself for that matter – confided in her for advice and support. Her role in ending the Dark Matter Crisis, her position as his deputy and the rank of herself and her rescue team, Team Spirit, was just the tip of the iceberg when it came to her achievements. At such a young ag-
"You're getting carried away again old man." Esper said abruptly, flashing a wink back at the elder Blaziken.
Rex blinked blankly at her, before the chuckle finally escaped from his beak. "I can't exactly hide the truth from your psychic powers Esper. We would be in a much worse state without you."
"I'll take that as a compliment Rex." She replied with a smile.
The Guildmaster leaned forward again, "Speaking of precautions and preparations, is Team Audacity still in the Tree?"
The smile faded away, the Meowstic crossing her arms. "Not at the moment, I already received the word, they are on a rescue mission near the site of a new fissure."
Rex narrowed his eyes, "Can they handle it?"
"It's a fissure." Esper replied, "They are always challenging. But this isn't something they can't deal with. I'd imagine they are already snarking about that rescue right now."
"This'll work."
"It's gonna be messy, Sam."
"Come on Alice! You and I both know this is the only way to get down there!"
"They're panicking more than Dan does when he runs out of food. How are you going to get them to listen?"
"Easy. Run my-"
"Frickin' mouth." She replied with a groan, "You really need to think of trying something different instead of just trying to talk them into action."
"Like what? Punching their lights out?"
There was a moment of hesitation. "…yes."
"Which is what you did last time, and it kinda pis-"
"Shut up."
Quietly, the two Pokémon began to chuckle amongst themselves.
"Seriously. You be careful down there." Alice said, struggling to stop her chuckle.
"Well, you know me." Sam replied, very clearly still laughing himself. "I'll try and avoid getting punched in the face."
And so... it continues...
The Second Episode of Guardians of Balance is now starting. This one is going to be a very different beast compared to the first Episode, so I hope you folks enjoy this new chapter and this new episode!
Heya, it's taken a little while, though life's been a touch crazy the past 2 weeks and with things set to get a bit crowded in the imminent horizon, I decided to get in a quick and dirty bump to not leave you hanging too much on our review exchange.
So in light of that, I’ll be picking right up where I left off with:
Chapter III
Other than the soft rustle of leaves above his head, silence dominated the clearing. The bird and rat Pokémon staring him down with a mixture of confused and annoyed looks. Sam held his ground, frozen in place with his paw still hanging in mid air in greeting. Okay… this is awkward…
Something about the way the middle sentence is worked in feels a bit abrupt. Maybe it'd flow a bit nicer with some sort of added transition like...
There was nothing to distract Sam at all from the world around him, or from the bird and rat Pokémon staring him down with a mixture of confused and annoyed looks.
He lowered his paw, "Yeah… sorry about that… didn't exactly have the greatest night." He said, rubbing the back of his head. "Still a little bit… err… hungover…"
Rattata: "Buddy, what exactly have you been drinking?"
Sam: "Probably something stronger than I'd care to admit given that I don't exactly remember a lot of anything before last night." ^^;
The Pidgey and the Rattata glanced at each other, the disgust now being replaced with disbelief. The Pidgey clipped their beak as they looked back at him. "Hungover?"
Sam, pretty sure you're digging yourself in deeper in live-time right now.
"Really?"
"Yeah…"
The two Pokémon glanced at each other again, and Sam could tell they didn't quite believe him. The Rattata seemed to shrug half-heartedly, so at first glance, it seemed like they were going to let it slide. Okay, let's get them distracted…
I just realized it, but both "At your age?" and "Really?" are ambiguous as to if the Pidgey is saying all of this or if the Rattata cut in at any point. It might make sense to drop in some reminders of who's saying what.
"Hey, I'm kinda lost… do you happen to know where the nearest town is?"
The Pidgey cackled, "Really? It's not that big an island and you managed to get lost?"
I kinda wonder if there ought to have been more focus on Sam's state of mind here or somewhere just before here where we get to see how he's reacting here? Like is he panicking right now? Is he breathing a sigh of relief? Is he in "I-It's just a little airborne! It's still good! It's still good!" territory?
Their eyes flicked back for a second, almost distractedly, the Pidgey nodded. "Sure, just follow the track that way." He pointed an wing towards another, more defined path through the trees on the other end of the clearing. "That'll take you to the main road."
Sam: "Seriously, how do you manage that when you're a rat? Your own hearing is supposed to be really sensitive!" >.<
Rattata: "The implication is that I know that you can hear me and I don't care that you do."
"Says the guy who couldn't work out his seeds."
The rat quivered, "Look, you know how no one's evolving again, he could be from one of the teams, or those hunters! Besides, I've never seen Scorbunny around here."
"…secondly… look, I can see you guys are a bit on edge. So I'll just get out of your hair and hit that road."
He started strolling over to the path, keeping one eye on the two Pokémon, "I won't tell anyone you're here either. So you don't have to worry about th-"
That was when he saw the yellow shape, jutting out from behind the back of the Rattata, and with that, he stopped mid stride. He was about to brush it off, consider it nothing… but curiosity nibbled at the back of his mind and so… it got the better of him. "Hey, what's that?"
Oh, so that's what seeds look like in this setting, huh?
Taking a step back, the Rattata hid the yellow shape away. "It's nothing." The Pidgey said. "Just some berries."
"You said you were looking at seeds though…" Sam mused, taking a few steps closer, trying to peer around, "Unless you guys have berries to-"
The yellow shape reappeared into view… and he recognised it as an arm attached to a little yellow and brown body… covered in blood. Sam froze, his entire body stiffening, "W-wait… is that a-"
Well that got really dark really fast. Guess 'hunter' might really be a term for Rescue/Exploration Teams after all.
He cried out as the Pidgey slammed into his chest headfirst, pain surging across his body as he was sent flying away and onto his back. Groaning, he shoved himself up, just in time to see the Rattata dive towards him, teeth flashing.
Ah yes, not even 4000 words into this story and the customary opening arc has gone completely off the rails. There's that fake out opening I called happening last time. Here I thought we were also going to get some tour through a bucolic village, but nope, just casually bumping into a pair of outlaws chilling with a dead body.
I kinda wonder if it could've been foreshadowed a bit more by Sam noticing something consistently off earlier like a weird smell or something like that, though.
Kicking his feet into the ground, Sam rolled and bounced back, just about evading the attack as the rat slammed head first into the grass. Landing back on his feet, he raised his paws up, eyes flicking between the now hovering bird and the rat. The bird was slowly shaking his head, "I was kinda wishing you didn't see that."
"Now can we deal with the brat?" The Rattata snapped.
IMO, a little emphasis could make that line a bit more expressive.
Sam: "I... really don't like where this conversation is going right now."
Snarling, Sam bounced from one foot to the other, his heart pounding that little bit harder, ready to fight them off. "So what? You two are just some murderers?!"
The Pidgey snapped his beak, "We're just trying to make a living, this guy just got in the way!"
Rattata: "Should've played dumb, kid. We might've let you off if you did."
Sam: "... Is it too late to start? Since I'm definitely feeling dumb right now..."
Pulling a mock punch, Sam flashed a grin, the confidence flooding through him despite the throbbing chest. "I'm not helpless you know." He said, "Just me against the two of you? It's not like I'm dealing with some big dude huh?"
Sam: "... Wait, do I even know how to fight properly right now?" ._.;
Rattata + Pidgey:
Sam: "... Oh my god, this is going to be such a disaster."
Something thumped into the ground just behind him, the earth softly quaking under his feet, and with that, the two Pokémon before him seemed to flash… smirks. Sam's smile melted away. "That's exactly who's behind me right?"
"Yep." Replied a deep, rumbling voice behind him.
Slowly, Sam spun on his heel to come face to face with a gigantic Pokémon with two heavily built arms and shorter legs. Not only that, but it was also covered in orange padding and grey fins… a Swampert. It flashed a toothless grin as Sam's confidence vanished, the Scorbunny stumbleing back… "Fancy your chances now?"
With that, he snapped forward, crying out and willing the Ember to fire away.
Nothing happened. Blinking, Sam jabbed both paws forward, trying to focus on them, encourage flames to form. "Err…" He thrust them once more… and still nothing happened.
IMO, this bit would've worked a bit better to show Sam getting encroached on a bit more before he comes to this conclusion, both to show that moment of blind panic at first / Swampert and the gang getting their giggles at Sam's epic fail at threatening them, and that sinking realization that "yeah, if I don't get out of here, I'm gonna die".
It might have also made sense to expand the paragraph right before this block to play up the whole "AAAAH! WHY CAN'T I INTO FIRE?!"-ness of it since Sam is in a really bad place at the moment.
The Swampert frowned. "You know… even if you knew what you were doing, I'm still a water type?"
"Err… yeah… point taken."
And with that, he leapt straight up at the muscular mon. Its eyes widened as it tried to pull back in surprise. But the little Scorbunny was faster, grunting as he booted the bigger Mon in the face. Another few kicks, and Sam was up and over the Swampert, touching down into the grass behind him. "At least I can still move, mate!" he teased.
And with that, Sam shot off, running for the woods as fast as his legs would allow. "What are you waiting for you idiots!?" the Swampert rumbled, "After him!"
Sam: "Boy do I hope that that guy doesn't know Earthquake... or something like Surf for that matter."
And jumping right into the next chapter as well since that one was a bit short:
Chapter IV
Sam ducked and weaved, trying to make up the distance between himself and those murdering sods. Licking his lips, he forced a determined look on his face, looking to keep up his confidence as he fled.
The truth was with his heart now pounding in his chest and threatening to blow out of it, he was terrified. Pokémon don't murder things! Do… do they?
Then this is going to be a really short story barring someone coming in to bail your sorry bum (or I guess sorry bun) out.
"Stop pissing around and find that little brat!"
Head snapping round, he could hear the thumping footsteps of that Swampert coming up from behind him. Still chasing him… Dang it… even if I can outrun him, the Pidgey will keep place… I need a better idea and q- wait, the trees!
Wait, does Sam have any cover at the moment? Or else how has he not been summarily sniped by a water attack right about now?
Eying one particularly big oak, Sam kicked himself up and onto the first branch, grunting as he scrambled to pull himself up and onto it… only to half gasp as he nearly slipped off the other side with a creak, grabbing hold of a small branch to hold himself there. Right… I have no idea how to climb a tree…
Sam: "... Right, I'm a rabbit right now. Probably should've tried my luck trying to dig." >_>;
"He went this way!"
Gulping, Sam pulled himself back onto his feet, looked up, and leapt again. Making his way that little bit higher into the tree with each and every jump. Just as he broke into the leaves proper, the Swampert forced his way into the clearing below, eyes narrowed as they scanned all directions. The Pidgey hovered in next to him and finally, the Rattata came in at their rear. Sam tightened his grip on one of the patches of bark. Come on mates… move on, move on…
Wait, just how thick are those tree boughs such that Pidgey can instantly lose visuals of a bunny bouncing around from limb to limb anyways?
Swampert: "And you're not just chucking Gusts at the tree branches to try and blow him out why?" >_>;
Pidgey: "... Didn't get that far yet? Though if he managed to get up there, wouldn't the kid's grip be a bit strong for that?" ^v^;
As the Rattata marched onwards, the big amphibian could only let out a heavy growl in reply, "Grr… Well he can't have got far. If we split up, we might be able to cover more ground."
Sam: "Thank the great good lord that this guy doesn't know Earthquake."
- Beat moment -
Sam: "He... doesn't know Earthquake... r-right?"
The Rattata was now out of view with the other two Mons still at the edge of the clearing. Sam held his breath, trying to not shiver in the treetop. Come on you assholes… get out of here…
At last, the big Swampert seemed to straighten up, eyes fixed on something further ahead on the ground. "Let's move out, see if we can track down that rat a little further. If not, who's gonna believe him anyway? We'll get rid of the bodies, get our pay and be off this rock before anyone bothers to look."
I was actually not expecting Sam to get off like that. Guess he really did score a lucky roll with that Swampert not having a great moveset there, since something like an EQ would've likely shaken him out of the tree... and out of the story considering what those three were getting ready to do to him.
Bodies? There was more than one?
Sam watched as the Swampert and the Pidgey drifted by underneath him and out of sight. But he didn't move. He stayed frozen where he was, not even daring to breathe as the footsteps began to fade away.
Sam: "Why am I still here and not legging it to get far, far away from this place right now?"
And after the third, he finally let out a sigh of relief. Okay… better drop down and go a completely different direction bef-
A massive crack rang out beneath him, the entire tree shuddering as the Scorbunny was thrown forward, wrapping his arms round his branch. His heart pounded again, squirming against the wood. What the flying f-
Something snapped… and he could feel the air shift as the tree began tilt... toppling over. "Oh come on!" he barked, as he struggled to get his feet onto the branch… and with another kick, blew clear of the leaves.
Sam: "Ah... er... hi there... Let's just pretend we never saw each other and part ways here."
Crying out, he tried to throw a wild punch, hoping to catch the bird's wing… but it only tasted thin air as he flailed helplessly past. A second later, he struck the ground face first with a dull thud. Moaning, Sam pushed himself back up to find himself staring down the Swampert rubbing his front paws together. That tree was just a punching bag to him! But how did he know-
Rattata: "Remember that rats have good hearing, kid."
Sam: "But I saw you leave! How the hell did you-?!"
Pidgey: "Kid, if you're too dumb to see through a feint, you were never going to last on this island anyways." >v>;
Sam: "Oh yay, me."
Down next to him, the Rattata was flashing a toothy grin at him, a big, leafy branch twice his size hanging out of his mouth. Plus the pristine leaves all scattered across the ground between Sam and the criminals. He bit off a curse at that. Damn it… must have broke it off when I tried to climb up!
Sam pushed himself back up to his feet, glaring back at the three Pokémon blocking his path again. The Swampert merely pulled its toothless grin once more.
"Thought you were being clever huh? Should have kept running, kid."
Ah, yeah. That would definitely be a decent tip-off. Though IMO this particular paragraph would work a bit better were it broken up into pieces kinda as suggested.
Suddenly sensing a flash of heat within him, the Scorbunny raised his paws, tightening them into fists. "You've still gotta catch me, yo-"
All his other words were silenced by a beam of water slamming into his chest. Pain tore through him, his ribs screaming as if they were being crushed as his body shot back. His breath stolen away. I-I can't m-
He felt his head strike against something hard, and his vision went black.
A few odds-and-ends suggestions for rephrasings here. Went a bit out on a limb on some of these, so not sure if they're fitting with what your intention was.
Sam: "Well that was a short story." X_X
- Sam looks back at the chapter text -
Sam: "Wait, wha-? There's another scene? So you mean I'm not dead yet-?"
Sam groaned as he slowly came to, his entire head throbbing as if someone had rammed an electric toothbrush into his skull. His chest also ached, and for a moment he half thought his ribs were broken. Slowly and weakly, he moved one paw up onto his chest, taking in a sharp intake of breath as pain pulsed along his skin… but they felt intact. His vision blurred, his other paw drifting back to behind his head… and when the furry hand came back into view, the pristine white fur was now red, dripping with blood.
A nitpick, but while 'ichor' is technically correct here in usage, in terms of vibe, it's usually more the preserve of 'alien blood' and as such, sticking to 'blood' is probably the best call here, since... yeah. Sam's a bit more red all over right now.
"Damn, you survived that? You're tougher than you look."
In that moment, Sam realised that he was being dragged across grass under an open sky. T-The c-clearing? "W-W-Wha… W-Where are you t-taking me?"
"To dump your body, but since you're still kicking, think of it as somewhere where I can give you a choice buddy."
Pidgey: "... Boss, why didn't you do something like cut his throat to make sure he was dead earlier?" >v>;
Swampert: "... Meh, he looked dead enough and I don't like getting my hands dirty. Plus it's not like he's going to stay alive for much longer."
The injured Scorbunny could only moan in response, barely noticing his leg getting dropped as his vision cleared a little bit… revealing the dark shape of that big leader. "I was just gonna kill ya and leave your corpse where no one would find you. But you're pretty ballsy for a rabbit." He grunted, "So, you can join our crew and we'll patch you up. Or… well… you can end up like this lot."
Oh so that's why Swampert didn't just cut Sam's throat and call it a day. Guy must be pretty confident of his ability to keep his underlings in line considering his offer, though.
Something pushed… no, pulled Sam upright, and his vision, whilst still dark around the edges, cleared up. It was the clearing he had first encountered them and…
His heart went still, unable to tear his eyes away from the bodies. The yellow body from before he recognised as a Pikachu. Their eyes were shut and their face was relaxed… but the amount of blood covering them, especially round their neck…
His eyes flicked over to the others. A light blue coloured turtle, its head twisted at an awkward angle. And another larger bug like mon, wings torn up… and another yellow mon, even smaller than the Pikachu with-
Ah yes, putting that M rating to work nice and quick, I see.
Sam:
Swampert: "Kid, if you're done with your theatrics, you can give me an answer about if you'd like to live past the next 30 seconds or not. I don't have all damn day."
Unable to look any longer, Sam tore his gaze away, his stomach churning from both pain and… that damn sight. "You…" he gasped, "Want me to join you? To kill!?"
"Eh, ruffle them up sure. Kill? Eh, we try and avoid that. But you know what us Pokémon are like. Once we start fighting it's not easy to stop, you know?"
Sam: "There's a mass grave with at least four corpses in it! Like hell you try and avoid that!"
Swampert: "And just how many do you think would be in there if we didn't try and avoid killing 'em?"
Eyes squeezed shut, the Scorbunny could only shake his head. "B-But this isn't just killing! You've torn them apart!"
He could hear that damn Swampert chuckle behind him, "Hey. We're just doing what we can to get through life. With the disasters coming back, only makes sense. So, whatcha say?"
Rattata: "... I think that's a 'kill me now', boss."
Feeling the tears forming at the edge of his eyes, Sam slowly pushed himself up, he took a step forward, stumbled. His vision was clearing now, and a quick glance behind revealed the Swampert, now flanked on both sides by the Pidgey and the Rattata… with the bodies in plain view next to them.
No… I'm… he punched the ground and shakingly pushed himself back up. I'm- I'm not…
Stumbling once more, he managed to turn round to face the team, his breathing laboured. "No… I'm not becoming a killer just to stay alive for a few days longer!"
This part got me more than I was expecting it to. It's a good character-establishing moment for Sam where even if he's scared and has his back against a wall, there's just some things he's not willing to do. Or at least not right now, anyways.
Weakly, he raised his paws up, trying to ready himself for the next blow. "I… I'd rather die."
The Swampert merely shrugged, "Welp… sorry to hear that."
With that, he opened his mouth, a blue ball of energy beginning to form within, slowly humming.
And here is the moment where the plot throws Sam a bone. Along with what I presume will be a buddy we see a lot more of in the future.
He opened his eyes.
Standing between him and the Swampert was a bipedal, avian like Pokémon with predominately red feathers, although also mixed in with yellow and beige ones too whilst cold, blue eyes were fixed on the water type… who had seemed to have backed off, rubbing his chin as his eyes burned. A… A Blaziken!? Where did he-
The Rattata and Pidgey rushed forward, readying their attacks as they came down on the Blaziken… but Sam barely registered the shapes that rushed past him and the fire type in a blur of colou[ ]
Your paragraph abruptly cuts off there. I can't tell if that's supposed to just be "colour." or if there were supposed to be more sentences afterwards.
The Gallarde struck first, its bladed arm rushing up to meet the Pidgey head on. Sam could just make out the bird's eyes widening before the blade slammed into its body. With a pained cry, the bird shot up well into the sky and out of sight. The Rattata, despite being on the ground, managed to leap back just as the Scyther slashed at him with their own blades. The Rattata's teeth flashed as it reared back, glowing as it readied itself for-
Too late, as the second blade struck across the whole length of the Rattata. With little more than a gasp, the rat was tossed aside, rolling across the grassy field as a battered pulp.
I was honestly a little surprised that the Rattata was still (kinda) in one piece after that strike.
The Swampert roared, rearing back as it tore a boulder from the ground and tossed it towards the Blaziken.
Without even blinking, the fire-type merely stepped to oneside, allowing it to bounce past them and the still frozen Sam, chips flicking off and landing just in front of the Scorbunny. Only then did the fire type finally strike, leaping up into the air with an almighty kick into the earth.
The Swampert could barely react before the Blaziken's clawed foot slammed down onto his head with an almighty crack. Groaning, he stumbled back, but the Blaziken came after him with a barrage of punches and kicks, each one striking the bigger mon across the face, the neck and chest. Bloodying it up and driving it back further and further. Sam could only look on in shock as the fighter pummeled the water-type into submission.
Swampert: "I-I call hax." X.X
Blaziken: "Leveling advantages, learn to love 'em, pal." o<o
As the Swampert's head snapped back, the Blaziken let out a final scream, their legs erupting into flames. Spinning round, the twin Blaze Kicks struck the Swampert in the chest and across the head with an powerful pair of snap.
The big brute stumbled back moaning, shuddered… and slammed headfirst into the dirt, out cold.
Sam: "I'm sorry, but how did you manage to do that to a Swampert? As a Blaziken?!" O_o;
Blaziken: "I mean, it helps when you've got the equivalent of a 30-level advantage on Outlaw scum like them."
Sam could tell his mouth was agape, his body still shivering from the surprise… from the power of each strike… and with fear.
Brushing its shoulder off, the Blaziken turned round to face him.
Sam froze, his heart going cold.
The Blaziken seemed to relax as it looked down on him, its blue eyes not looking as fierce. Likewise, the other two Pokemon had turned to face him too, looks of concern evident even as the Scyther cast a glance in the direction of the corpses.
Scyther: "Uh... yeah, I'm pretty sure we can skip the trial for these three."
Gallade: "Don't you mean for 'these two'? Since I'm pretty sure that Pidgey's in low earth orbit right now."
The Scorbunny was about to utter a word when something blinked in the sky, just behind the Blaziken. A brown and tan shape diving down at high speed… its wings glowing white. The Pidgey…
Well, somebody's lacking a survival instinct there. Lemme pull out the appropriate gif for this moment:
Something burned within Sam, fear replaced by desperation as his eyes widened. Desperation turned into instinct as some new found strength shot through his body. One eye snapped towards the boulder… and one of the broken fragments laid out directly in front of him.
Screaming, Sam dashed forward, a surge of heat running through his legs as he reeled his foot back and brought it down with all the force he could muster.
Sam: "I sure hope my leg didn't get broken from getting thrown around earlier, otherwise. Uh... this is gonna smart later."
The pebble ignited instantly, the little fireball booted forward into the air. Eyes widening, the Blaziken jerked aside. Not that it was needed, as the Ember rushed clear past them… and straight at the Pidgey.
The bird cried out, trying to evade, but it was too late as the fireball struck it in the face, the glowing wings flashing back to normal as it was blown back with an horrific bang. The bird spun away, letting out a faint cry, and slammed into the ground.
Even in his state, Sam could see its chest smoking, the faint twitching of its wings the only indicator that the Pidgey was still alive.
Yeah, figured that'd happen.
- Meanwhile back in the clearing -
Scyther: -pokes at Sam - "Hey, kid? You alright there?"
Gallade: "Dude, he's splattered in blood and passed out. What do you think?" >_>;
Blaziken: "Well he's definitely going to give a nurse a handful. But hey, you did good, kid. Rest up a bit until the next chapter."
Alright, onto the final thoughts:
You see, I knew that you were going for a fakeout opening with how much of a contrast there was between the prologue and the seemingly by-the-numbers Chapters 1 + 2. Boy did you deliver on that front, even if it came a lot sooner than I was expecting. While I probably should've known better from the posted rating, I did get caught a little off-guard by some of the stuff brought up, but I think that it leans in well with the overall dynamic you built up between the Prologue up to this point, since it very firmly establishes that even if this is the world of the games, that we're not in Kansas anymore. I thought that the handling of Sam's characterization was also a pretty strong point, since we get to have a decent handle on just who he is as a person by the end of this fourth chapter.
As for critiques, it's mostly what it says on the tin for the writeup, including the little odds-and-ends wording tweaks that I won't dwell on since you mentioned you were already hunting those down. For general weaknesses, I thought you had more room to show off description, especially for the stuff going on in Sam's head, since there were a number of bits where I kinda figured things were going a certain way for him, but it was mostly conjecture since the text didn't formally support it. I kinda thought that the arrival of Blaziken and his team ought to have been foreshadowed a bit more. Like every protagonist is entitled to a couple lucky breaks that potentially get into Deus Ex Machina territory, especially early on in a story where it can be tied into the premise that "things are happening because of strokes of fate", but in general more foreshadowing for such moments when possible reduces the amount of people who will have their suspension of disbelief broken.
I kinda think that Chapters 2+3 could have easily been taped together in one update, and it'd have allowed for avoiding the "one fully standalone chapter of 'wait, why's this feel like a normal story'" dynamic of Chapter 2, but eh. I'll respect your choices as an author.
Though altogether, I thought that this batch of chapters was pretty good @StolenMadWolf . And I'm pretty sure this is the part of the story where we get a better view of what on earth to properly expect from things going forward. From where we've gone in the span of 5 chapters total, I can tell that this story is going to go places, and probably pretty quickly.
But that'll be a journey for another day. One that I'll be looking forward to getting to when things are a bit less crazy, since hey. You know how to write a good hook. ^^;
Just a small forum wide update. I'm currently starting work on the newest Chapter in Episode 2, though I don't know when it will be ready just yet, as I'm once more juggling other writing projects and art plans. I have been through the first four chapters too, namely neatening them up and checking for any mistakes and I'll be continuing that process throughout the first Episode. The only major change is swapping out one Pokemon species for another, which is mainly because of plans down the line.
In other news, I've picked up some Pokemon themed logos and the like, and decided to get an actual logo sorted out for Guardians of Balance. The result is this, which is now shown on the opening post in the thread:
It might even pop up in some other chapters as time goes on too. But yeah, I figured this was long overdue. Hopefully I'll get Chapter 2/II sorted out soon whilst sorting out those early chapters!
Heya, it's taken a little while, though life's been a touch crazy the past 2 weeks and with things set to get a bit crowded in the imminent horizon, I decided to get in a quick and dirty bump to not leave you hanging too much on our review exchange.
So in light of that, I’ll be picking right up where I left off with:
Chapter III
Something about the way the middle sentence is worked in feels a bit abrupt. Maybe it'd flow a bit nicer with some sort of added transition like...
Some food for thought, anyways.
Rattata: "Buddy, what exactly have you been drinking?"
Sam: "Probably something stronger than I'd care to admit given that I don't exactly remember a lot of anything before last night." ^^;
Sam: "B-But I'm 25... that's not super young... is it?" ._.;
Oh, I see that evolutions are inherently age-tied in this setting, huh? Filing that one away for the future.
Sam, pretty sure you're digging yourself in deeper in live-time right now.
I just realized it, but both "At your age?" and "Really?" are ambiguous as to if the Pidgey is saying all of this or if the Rattata cut in at any point. It might make sense to drop in some reminders of who's saying what.
Sam: "Buddy, my drink nuked my memories, alright?" >_>;
Pidgey: "Still quite the feat of yours there." o<o
Sam: "... All of that just sounded completely unbelievable, didn't it?" ._.;
Rattata: "You said it, not me, pal."
I kinda wonder if there ought to have been more focus on Sam's state of mind here or somewhere just before here where we get to see how he's reacting here? Like is he panicking right now? Is he breathing a sigh of relief? Is he in "I-It's just a little airborne! It's still good! It's still good!" territory?
Wait, "track"? Are there trains in this setting? Or was that supposed to be a "trail"?
Sam: "Seriously, how do you manage that when you're a rat? Your own hearing is supposed to be really sensitive!" >.<
Rattata: "The implication is that I know that you can hear me and I don't care that you do."
>those hunters
I'm... just gonna assume that that's not an epithet for Rescue/Exploration Teams in this setting.
Though I see that in canonworld in this story, times of crisis coincide with canonical "no evolution without fancy workarounds" mechanics.
Sam, what are you doing...?
Rattata + Pidgey:
Sam: "... I'm. Uh... a late evolver?" ^^;
Oh, so that's what seeds look like in this setting, huh?
Well that got really dark really fast. Guess 'hunter' might really be a term for Rescue/Exploration Teams after all.
Ah yes, not even 4000 words into this story and the customary opening arc has gone completely off the rails. There's that fake out opening I called happening last time. Here I thought we were also going to get some tour through a bucolic village, but nope, just casually bumping into a pair of outlaws chilling with a dead body.
I kinda wonder if it could've been foreshadowed a bit more by Sam noticing something consistently off earlier like a weird smell or something like that, though.
IMO, a little emphasis could make that line a bit more expressive.
Sam: "I... really don't like where this conversation is going right now."
Sam: "... That's not a denial!"
Pidgey: "Yes? And? It's the law of the jungle, kid. Someone's gotta lose in it."
Rattata: "Should've played dumb, kid. We might've let you off if you did."
Sam: "... Is it too late to start? Since I'm definitely feeling dumb right now..."
Sam: "... Wait, do I even know how to fight properly right now?" ._.;
Rattata + Pidgey:
Sam: "... Oh my god, this is going to be such a disaster."
Sam: "Oh come on! Seriously?!"
Swampert: "Well, kid? Do you feel lucky?"
Sam: "... No. Not at all."
Yeah, I figured. :V
Sam:
Pidgey + Rattata:
Rattata: "You really are a genius, you know that, kid?"
IMO, this bit would've worked a bit better to show Sam getting encroached on a bit more before he comes to this conclusion, both to show that moment of blind panic at first / Swampert and the gang getting their giggles at Sam's epic fail at threatening them, and that sinking realization that "yeah, if I don't get out of here, I'm gonna die".
It might have also made sense to expand the paragraph right before this block to play up the whole "AAAAH! WHY CAN'T I INTO FIRE?!"-ness of it since Sam is in a really bad place at the moment.
Live look at Sam right now:
Sam: "Boy do I hope that that guy doesn't know Earthquake... or something like Surf for that matter."
And jumping right into the next chapter as well since that one was a bit short:
Chapter IV
Sam, have you read an Aloladex entry in your life before? ^^;
Then this is going to be a really short story barring someone coming in to bail your sorry bum (or I guess sorry bun) out.
Wait, does Sam have any cover at the moment? Or else how has he not been summarily sniped by a water attack right about now?
Sam: "... Right, I'm a rabbit right now. Probably should've tried my luck trying to dig." >_>;
The Pidgey is just going to casually knock Sam out of the tree in about 5 seconds, isn't he?
Wait, just how thick are those tree boughs such that Pidgey can instantly lose visuals of a bunny bouncing around from limb to limb anyways?
Swampert: "And you're not just chucking Gusts at the tree branches to try and blow him out why?" >_>;
Pidgey: "... Didn't get that far yet? Though if he managed to get up there, wouldn't the kid's grip be a bit strong for that?" ^v^;
Sam: "Thank the great good lord that this guy doesn't know Earthquake."
- Beat moment -
Sam: "He... doesn't know Earthquake... r-right?"
I was actually not expecting Sam to get off like that. Guess he really did score a lucky roll with that Swampert not having a great moveset there, since something like an EQ would've likely shaken him out of the tree... and out of the story considering what those three were getting ready to do to him.
Sam: "Why am I still here and not legging it to get far, far away from this place right now?"
Sam: "M-Maybe they didn't hear it?"
Sam: "Ah... er... hi there... Let's just pretend we never saw each other and part ways here."
Rattata: "Remember that rats have good hearing, kid."
Sam: "But I saw you leave! How the hell did you-?!"
Pidgey: "Kid, if you're too dumb to see through a feint, you were never going to last on this island anyways." >v>;
Sam: "Oh yay, me."
Ah, yeah. That would definitely be a decent tip-off. Though IMO this particular paragraph would work a bit better were it broken up into pieces kinda as suggested.
A few odds-and-ends suggestions for rephrasings here. Went a bit out on a limb on some of these, so not sure if they're fitting with what your intention was.
Sam: "Well that was a short story." X_X
- Sam looks back at the chapter text -
Sam: "Wait, wha-? There's another scene? So you mean I'm not dead yet-?"
A nitpick, but while 'ichor' is technically correct here in usage, in terms of vibe, it's usually more the preserve of 'alien blood' and as such, sticking to 'blood' is probably the best call here, since... yeah. Sam's a bit more red all over right now.
Pidgey: "... Boss, why didn't you do something like cut his throat to make sure he was dead earlier?" >v>;
Swampert: "... Meh, he looked dead enough and I don't like getting my hands dirty. Plus it's not like he's going to stay alive for much longer."
Oh so that's why Swampert didn't just cut Sam's throat and call it a day. Guy must be pretty confident of his ability to keep his underlings in line considering his offer, though.
Ah yes, putting that M rating to work nice and quick, I see.
Sam:
Swampert: "Kid, if you're done with your theatrics, you can give me an answer about if you'd like to live past the next 30 seconds or not. I don't have all damn day."
Sam: "There's a mass grave with at least four corpses in it! Like hell you try and avoid that!"
Swampert: "And just how many do you think would be in there if we didn't try and avoid killing 'em?"
Sam:
Rattata: "... I think that's a 'kill me now', boss."
This part got me more than I was expecting it to. It's a good character-establishing moment for Sam where even if he's scared and has his back against a wall, there's just some things he's not willing to do. Or at least not right now, anyways.
Swampert: "Story's over for ya, kid. Hope you had a good run."
And here is the moment where the plot throws Sam a bone. Along with what I presume will be a buddy we see a lot more of in the future.
Blaziken: "... You know, now that you mention it, I guess I should've provided a couple more hints that I was hanging around, huh?"
Sam: "Look, I'm sure that some readers are going to moan about this being a Deus Ex Machina, but I'll take what I can get right now!"
5 words spoken seconds from disaster.
Your paragraph abruptly cuts off there. I can't tell if that's supposed to just be "colour." or if there were supposed to be more sentences afterwards.
I was honestly a little surprised that the Rattata was still (kinda) in one piece after that strike.
Swampert: "I-I call hax." X.X
Blaziken: "Leveling advantages, learn to love 'em, pal." o<o
Sam: "I'm sorry, but how did you manage to do that to a Swampert? As a Blaziken?!" O_o;
Blaziken: "I mean, it helps when you've got the equivalent of a 30-level advantage on Outlaw scum like them."
Scyther: "Uh... yeah, I'm pretty sure we can skip the trial for these three."
Gallade: "Don't you mean for 'these two'? Since I'm pretty sure that Pidgey's in low earth orbit right now."
Well, somebody's lacking a survival instinct there. Lemme pull out the appropriate gif for this moment:
Sam: "I sure hope my leg didn't get broken from getting thrown around earlier, otherwise. Uh... this is gonna smart later."
Whelp the gif was indeed accurate, even if I was wrong about who would make it accurate. Though I see Sam can fight to an extent in his present state.
Blaziken: "A little warning would've been nice there!" >v>;
Sam: "Yeah, yeah. Look, I'm barely lucid right now, so let me have my moment, okay?" >_>;
Sam's going to keel over right after this, isn't he?
Sam: "I have no idea how I did that, b-but I actually attacked for once!" ^^;
Yeah, figured that'd happen.
- Meanwhile back in the clearing -
Scyther: -pokes at Sam - "Hey, kid? You alright there?"
Gallade: "Dude, he's splattered in blood and passed out. What do you think?" >_>;
Blaziken: "Well he's definitely going to give a nurse a handful. But hey, you did good, kid. Rest up a bit until the next chapter."
Alright, onto the final thoughts:
You see, I knew that you were going for a fakeout opening with how much of a contrast there was between the prologue and the seemingly by-the-numbers Chapters 1 + 2. Boy did you deliver on that front, even if it came a lot sooner than I was expecting. While I probably should've known better from the posted rating, I did get caught a little off-guard by some of the stuff brought up, but I think that it leans in well with the overall dynamic you built up between the Prologue up to this point, since it very firmly establishes that even if this is the world of the games, that we're not in Kansas anymore. I thought that the handling of Sam's characterization was also a pretty strong point, since we get to have a decent handle on just who he is as a person by the end of this fourth chapter.
As for critiques, it's mostly what it says on the tin for the writeup, including the little odds-and-ends wording tweaks that I won't dwell on since you mentioned you were already hunting those down. For general weaknesses, I thought you had more room to show off description, especially for the stuff going on in Sam's head, since there were a number of bits where I kinda figured things were going a certain way for him, but it was mostly conjecture since the text didn't formally support it. I kinda thought that the arrival of Blaziken and his team ought to have been foreshadowed a bit more. Like every protagonist is entitled to a couple lucky breaks that potentially get into Deus Ex Machina territory, especially early on in a story where it can be tied into the premise that "things are happening because of strokes of fate", but in general more foreshadowing for such moments when possible reduces the amount of people who will have their suspension of disbelief broken.
I kinda think that Chapters 2+3 could have easily been taped together in one update, and it'd have allowed for avoiding the "one fully standalone chapter of 'wait, why's this feel like a normal story'" dynamic of Chapter 2, but eh. I'll respect your choices as an author.
Though altogether, I thought that this batch of chapters was pretty good @StolenMadWolf . And I'm pretty sure this is the part of the story where we get a better view of what on earth to properly expect from things going forward. From where we've gone in the span of 5 chapters total, I can tell that this story is going to go places, and probably pretty quickly.
But that'll be a journey for another day. One that I'll be looking forward to getting to when things are a bit less crazy, since hey. You know how to write a good hook. ^^;
Already sent it through on Discord, but thanks for sending through that feedback! I appreciate it! The chapters were initially quite short because I started writing GoB very casually, so the length does start going up as I started getting more committed to it.
Oh, so the Disembodied Voice™️ of this story isn't a singular entity, huh? Since this seems like they're conversing with another party.
So he is human. Or rather he used to be before he was turned into this Scorbunny. If he is here… then something terrible must be on the horizon. It can't be a mere coincidence.
Though considering the batting average of when humans show up in canonworld... yeah, humans do seem to have a habit of coming around right when a disaster is about to happen.
Is that why you are here? To look over him? To witness this dark event? Or perhaps you are just drawn to this Pokemon.
Wait, this is that one conversation Sam was having before fading out in Chapter 1, wasn't it?
Sam's eyes fluttered open, That voice… where…
His vision blurred for a moment, then cleared to reveal the wooden ceiling above him. A gentle warmth pulsed across his body, almost like waves running up alongside him. H-Huh? Am… am I dead?
He looked round himself to find himself on a fluffy bed, his body glowing a soft pink that throbbed and pulsed every second. Every pulse warmed him up… strengthening him.
Standing alongside the bed was what looked like a white horse, only it also possessed a massive mane coloured… cyan and pink? So fluffy it was it almost looked like candy floss. And it had a violet horn too that stretched a good way out of its head. Blue eyes were focused on him as the pink energy flowed around them too. A Unicorn? Wait a minute… it looks like a Rapidash but… I thought it was half on fire… wait… a variant… I think it's a variant.
... Actually, now that I think about it, but what is the story about the distribution of Galarian Pokémon around wherever in Pokéworld Sam got yeeted to? Maybe it's just a coincidence, but a Galarian starter and then a Galarian Form...?
Sam: "Uh... hi there?" .-.
Blinking once, the pink light faded away from the Rapidash and just a second after that, he looked down to find the pink pulse vanishing into the ether around him. He immediately patted his chest and his head, finding that his ribs no longer ached and he couldn't feel the sticky warmth that was blood on his skull.They… healed me? I'm alive? So…
Wait, but shouldn't he still feel blood left behind on his fur right now since closing a wound wouldn't do anything about blood that's already left his body?
He turned to face the Rapidash, that warmth still pulsing inside him despite the power fading away and flashed a friendly grin. "Hey… thanks for-"
The Rapidash's eyes flashed, "What did you think this all was, a free get out of jail service!?"
Sam: "Wh-Wha-? B-But I didn't do anything wrong!" O_O;
The warmth immediately vanished as Sam slid away from the horse Pokémon, eyes widening. "W-what? I was just saying tha-"
The horse merely rolled their eyes, "Hmph! Kids these days, thinking they can run off into the wilderness and try and be heroes." She snorted in a raspy voice, "Pah! They think twice once they've had a few bones broken and are left hanging from a tree! Or wrapped in some bug's web! Heal Pulses aren't as easy as some idiots say they are!"
"O-Oi!" Sam snapped, initial shock fading away as he narrowed his eyes, "I'm not a kid!"
Puffing, the Rapidash raised a hoof and jabbed him in the chest. Not enough to hurt, but he still winced and recoiled from the strike. "I don't care if you are two or thirty, you're still only a little Scorbunny! Thinking you could play ball with a Swampert? Did you know just how much blood I had to clean up from that!? You're lucky I wasn't there, or I might have jus-!"
Sam: "Look, I was literally trying to run away from him, okay-?!" >_>;
Rapidash: "That's still no excuse!" >:|
"Rebecca!"
The Rapidash, Rebecca, jerked her head to one side, revealing the wooden room beyond. A clinic to the look of it, judging by what seemed to be medical cabinets loaded with berries and glass jars.
The Blaziken was leaning against a desk in the room, arms crossed with his head tilted to one side. A single brow was raised, "I think he's got the point."
Sam: "Please tell me that that's not normal here."
Blaziken: "Don't mind her, it's just job stress. Things have been kinda unsettled as of late."
The fire bird had watched the horse leave, but his head now swivelled back towards him. "She's just stressed." He explained, narrowing his cool eyes. "Rebecca didn't even want to be a nurse, but the last one went off to the mainland."
Okay, so for whatever reason, not as many bits have been standing out to me as places to drop in more description in this chapter, but this one feels like one of them.
"She isn't trying to punish you if that's what you are worried about. In fact she's more worried than angry." The Blaziken pushed himself off the table, towering over the Scorbunny. "How are you feeling?"
Blaziken: "I mean, your head fur's kinda matted in dried blood right now, but you are feeling better, right?" ^v^;
Sam: "I was before you mentioned that."
Sam rubbed the back of his head, still trying to feel for a scar or a mark… but there was nothing. "Better than new… I guess?"
The bigger fire type approached, arms still crossed, "I didn't catch your name."
He responded instantly, "Sam."
"Rex." The Blaziken introduced himself, returning a nod, "Alright Sam, what were you doing out in the middle of Little Forest with a team of criminals?"
But does he speak with a British accent and go diving for odds and ends to make a living? :V
"Whoa hey!" Sam barked, flinching, "I had nothing to do with those guys! That Swampert was about to kill me! Just like he did with…"
Eyes widening, he scrambled back up to his feet even as his head started to spin from the movement. "What about the other guys! Those other Pokémon they attacked, you can use that Heal Pulse thingy and-"
Yeah, I figured. Though I could've sworn that those Outlaws flatly told Sam that everyone in that pit was already dead, so I'm not fully sure if this response from him really follows.
He couldn't say another word though. He saw them lying there with all that blood and broken bone. He doubted anyone was going to come back from that, no matter what they were. He plopped back down onto the bed, hands squeezing together.
"I-I don't know who everyone was there… one minute I was just walking through the woods the next…" Sighing, he shook his head. "Look, I'm not a murderer I just… walked into it all."
I mean, they can in some settings, anyways. If obviously not this one.
Though I'd recommend hacking Sam's dialogue off from the rest of this paragraph and making him sound a bit more shaken / unsettled in his dialogue by doing something like having him stammer at some point.
"You saw the bandits kill those Pokémon?"
"No… I arrived too late. I just thought they were guys arguing before I saw…" he clamped his mouth shut, flicking his gaze away.
Rex didn't reply at first, but he could see a grey hand reach over and lean into the bed's cover.
Yeah, after how the entire opening arc was "bog-standard opening goes horribly off the rails", I don't believe that for a second. Though I'd put Rex's last bit of dialogue in its own paragraph.
Hesitating, Sam slowly nodded before finally fixing his gaze back on the Blaziken, the chill in his eyes now gone. "But what were you doing out there anyway? You aren't on any records."
Another bit that would benefit from some body language from Sam, though they keep records of the Pokémon that live in this area?
He stopped himself short, his buckteeth dig into his lip. What could he say? He doubted the 'I got lost and hungover' story would hold. Ugh! What can I say? That I just woke up in the middle of a forest thinking I was human and yet I've been turned into a Scorbunny? He'll think I'm mad!
Talk about being genre blind there, since... yeah. I would presume that wouldn't be a reflexive reaction like that in a setting that's a fork of PMD canonworld.
Sam could sense his foot tapping away,Come on mate, think… there has to be something I can say…
Would recommend cutting this bit up and extending the middle a bit.
The bigger Mon glanced back, "Just doing a day's work, but you're welcome. I'll just be outside."
He watched him walk on out, and slumped back onto the bed, gazing up at the ceiling. It wasn't an ideal story, just flat out saying he didn't know how he got to that Forest, but it wasn't exactly a lie either. No point in confusing people with more human… err… stuff…
Which is probably wise given that, uh... somebody is out there looking for Sam right now. And I'm not convinced that it'll be a good thing if they cross paths.
Sam rubbed the back of his head, trying to still work out where the original wound was from the tree. Nothing. That Healing Pulse must have just been that good.
Sam: "... I'm just gonna assume that Rebecca cleaned me up given that I'm not feeling dried blood on it right now." ^^;
I'm going to have to tell someone eventually. Sam mused, slowly lowering himself to the ground. But let's get a lay of the land first. I know I'm in… what, some kind of Pokémon world? The more I know about the place, the better. And hey, maybe I can learn something about myself in the meantime.
Brushing himself down, the former human took in a breath, steadied himself… and strolled out of the room.
Snerk. Well, next time, anyways. Though I kinda wonder if this punchline would've worked better if we saw where Sam walked out into, e.x. if it's a hallway lined with a bunch of random doors or something like that and he's stuck on choice paralysis.
Alright, onto the summary:
It's a bit of a breather chapter, but honestly, considering how much things have escalated between the start and Chapter 4, it was probably a necessary one. It also gave some subtle hints at the current state of affairs in the chunk of world that Sam wound up in along with hints towards things that you seem to be building up for the future, which I'm sure are going to be quite the fireworks show when they roll in.
As for things that I felt were weaknesses. I think that the main issue was that there were a few points where I felt things were a bit underdescribed, mostly in relation to Sam's reactions, thought process, and body language. Like it wasn't massively so, but it did make a few bits feel a bit harder to visualize than needed to be.
But altogether it was still a fun chapter, and a nice palette cleanser on a night where I was otherwise kinda lacking in time and energy. Good work @StolenMadWolf , and I'll be looking forward to squaring away the rest of our review exchange in the near future. ^^
Already, I'm in love with this first sentence. Just the fact that the narration states "had been" tells you immediately that shit is going to go down, and this place will not be remotely the same when all is said and done.
Islands stretching out as far as the eye could see, each and every one of them lush with life. Green trees laid out across each landmass, surrounding the grey and brown mountains, topped with snow white peaks. They towered above the brilliant azure seas, the waters of which gently rolled onto the white sands that made up the beaches.
From this bird's eye perspective, one could see that the islands themselves were not devoid of activity. Walking along the beaches, through the forest trails, working on the fields and surfing through the waters, Pokémon of nearly every kind and type went about their daily lives. Most moved across the land, interacting with each other in and around small villages scattered across the islands. They were simple places. Most of the structures were wooden, sometimes mixed in with stone buildings that were placed here and there. One could see the odd cart on the roads connecting the villages on the little islands, whilst on the water, small boats journeyed between them all. Amongst them, most were accompanied by one of the resident water-types that called the sea home whilst flying-types would glide alongside them.
Something about this part doesn't entirely seem right. You might want to try removing one of the "up"s here, or maybe even both of them, since "into the air'" already tells the reader that it's going up.
was a yellow and black Pokémon. Humanoid in shape, its jagged fur glistened in the light as a lightning bolt shaped tuft of fur hung from its upper back. A pair of bright blue eyes glared at the Zarude with untold intensity.
One that was staring back at him from the water. Covered almost entirely in white fur… save for a little patch of orange across its nose, a flash of reddish orange on the tops of its ears, and finally a
Woah, Scorbunny! Another never-seen 'mon in fic! I wonder if he'll permanently be a Scorbunny, or if you'll go the route of having him evolve (since I've hardly ever seen the latter in PMD).
