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Poppin' Arms ~ Training Facility

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Namohysip

Dragon Enthusiast
Staff
Partners
  1. flygon
  2. charizard
  3. milotic
  4. zoroark-soda
  5. sceptile
  6. marowak
  7. jirachi
  8. meganium
He dodged and weaved and did everything he could to avoid and graze past what Brisa was going for, but her attacks were simply too accurate. He winced at a grazing shot from Brisa's first hit, but then quickly swiveled his head around, having lost Brisa in the chaos. He felt her to his left, but by the time he turned, the Z-Burst came.

And then rather than try to dodge, he reached toward it. It called him. And then, he grabbed it.

The energy still hit him; it cut through his scales and singed several more. Owen was lost in the blast and the smoke left behind; Brisa would see, if she tried her X-Ray Vision, that Owen was fine and standing, but his body had changed... He was Wishkeeper's size.

His wings had frayed themselves; from each wing were not membranes, but solid Blacklight flames. Perhaps now he only flew by the levitation of Blacklight itself. Those same flames gushed from his mouth and his tail, and his eyes had turned a deep red rather than their striking blue. Spikes jutted from his shoulders, tipped white, but most striking of all were his scales. From orange and a cream front, he was now a deep black with a glimmering, almost prismatic front, almost like a Milotic's scales. His whole body subtly crackled with Blacklight power, and the flying element had completely left. In its place was the inner Dragon might latent within him.

And held in his hands was something Brisa would recognize--her own attack, ensnared by Blacklight threads and wrapped like a cocoon. Owen had claimed her own attack. Usurped it.

"...Now I remember." His voice boomed with chaotic energy, and yet the way he spoke was calmer than ever.

The injuries Owen had sustained... So much of it had gone away.

Owen telegraphed the attack deliberately, slowly aiming and throwing the attack right back at her.
 

unrepentantAuthor

A cat that writes stories.
Location
UK
Pronouns
they/she
Partners
  1. purrloin-salem
  2. sneasel-dusk
  3. luz-companion
  4. brisa-companion
  5. meowth-laura
  6. delphox-jesse
  7. mewtwo
  8. zeraora
Brisa relished the transformation, quitting her dashing, kiting technique to stop and appreciate the grandeur of Owen's Blacklit form. The power was one thing, the control was another. Fantastic. Goddamn outstanding.

Hmm. If y'had to pick a guy. Y'know?

Brisa shook her head clear and threw up some extra shields with her restored, if constrained stamina. The redirected Z-Burst pealed around the facility as it rolled away either side of her barriers, leaving her standing opposite Owen with a wide grin of fascination and pride all over her face.

"Nice one. The fuck d'you call that, bud?"
 

Namohysip

Dragon Enthusiast
Staff
Partners
  1. flygon
  2. charizard
  3. milotic
  4. zoroark-soda
  5. sceptile
  6. marowak
  7. jirachi
  8. meganium
Owen brought his hand to his chin next, thoughtful.

"There's an old technique I used a really long time ago," Owen said. "It combined some energy manipulation I've had thanks to the help of someone I knew--Storage, Bestow... with the basic idea behind Mimic, which I used to know... and it let me capture the attacks of my opponents before they could even hit me." He could feel the air around him that still had lingering bits of Brisa's energy. Things he could claim and control.

"It's not as strong as I remember," Owen admitted, "...but it'll do." And then he smiled--his first real smile all day. Though, it was a little hard to see with all the fire. "I think I've been all hot and bothered because this was bugging me subconsciously. I feel a lot better now... a-and I'm sorry for scaring you so much. I wasn't acting right. I have it under control now. Growing pains, I guess. Eheh..."

Owen took a long, slow breath. The flames of his wings died down. His maw no longer dripped with Blacklight lava. His tail's flame returned to orange. His wings became solid.

...But nothing else changed.

The greater, glimmering Charizard looked at his hands, then down at Brisa. So much smaller. Then back at the elevator. Did... he fit?

"...Uh oh."
 

unrepentantAuthor

A cat that writes stories.
Location
UK
Pronouns
they/she
Partners
  1. purrloin-salem
  2. sneasel-dusk
  3. luz-companion
  4. brisa-companion
  5. meowth-laura
  6. delphox-jesse
  7. mewtwo
  8. zeraora
Amongst all the things she could comment on, only one thing stood out to Brisa.

"I weren't scared of you," she said, quietly. "Not fer real. Just scared for you. Scared of wrongin' you."

She looked at the elevator and at Owen's new, splendid form. Would Cibuseans see it? Surely.

"Now might be a good time to use that capsule."
 
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Namohysip

Dragon Enthusiast
Staff
Partners
  1. flygon
  2. charizard
  3. milotic
  4. zoroark-soda
  5. sceptile
  6. marowak
  7. jirachi
  8. meganium
"Right..." Owen rubbed the back of his head nervously. "Cal's gonna be really upset. She was just remarking about how she liked being my size..."

Owen tossed the ball to Brisa and guided her on how to 'recall' him so she could practice it--just in case.

"And, Brisa..." The shining dragon tittered. "Er... thanks. Hopefully I won't have to keep any more secrets..."
 

unrepentantAuthor

A cat that writes stories.
Location
UK
Pronouns
they/she
Partners
  1. purrloin-salem
  2. sneasel-dusk
  3. luz-companion
  4. brisa-companion
  5. meowth-laura
  6. delphox-jesse
  7. mewtwo
  8. zeraora
"I just want ya t'be okay," said Brisa, feeling like she'd run a mental and emotional marathon. "If that means ventin' around me, or sparrin' all-out, or takin' a goddamn break, just let me know."

Next up, taking a little time to decompress and meet her Colosseum schedule. Then take Owen to see Diyem. Yeah. It'd work out.

She smiled at Owen. Gods, she was lucky to have a friend like him.

<><><><><>​
 
R13 - Unbearable Pressure

Ambyssin

Gotta go back. Back to the past.
Location
Residency hell
Pronouns
he/him
Partners
  1. silvally-dragon
  2. necrozma-ultra
  3. milotic
  4. zoroark-soda
  5. dreepy
  6. mewtwo-ambyssin
Bahamut sent the summons discretely and telepathically. There was no guarantee Owen would agree. But it was Owen. Ever the proverbial yes-mon. Even if that shadow of his detested it.

He sat in the center of the training room. Bahamut’s mismatched eyes flickered like an old television set. They projected a static image. A mewtwo with a gaping wound across its chest. A humanoid figure behind it. Perhaps one a couple of his teammates would recognize.

“Deign to take her form, will you?” he growled. “I will make sure your time in your cell is as unpleasant and uncomfortable as possible.”
 

Namohysip

Dragon Enthusiast
Staff
Partners
  1. flygon
  2. charizard
  3. milotic
  4. zoroark-soda
  5. sceptile
  6. marowak
  7. jirachi
  8. meganium
The elevator ascending and then descending announced Owen's presence. To their fortune, it was indeed large enough to accommodate Owen's new weight and size, and the glimmering Charizard stepped out and onto the field. He raised an arm and wing to wave Bahamut down, and then conjured some updraft to glide toward him.

"Hey, Bahamut," he said. Perhaps it was because this was where Brisa had taken him, but he already had a suspicion on what this was about. "If this is about the memory block thing... I'm going to be talking to Diyem about it later, too."
 

Ambyssin

Gotta go back. Back to the past.
Location
Residency hell
Pronouns
he/him
Partners
  1. silvally-dragon
  2. necrozma-ultra
  3. milotic
  4. zoroark-soda
  5. dreepy
  6. mewtwo-ambyssin
The images disappeared and Bahamut turned around. His crystal face contorted. “Compensating for something, are we?” He tapped his chin with a wing. “I don’t think looking like a cross between eternatus-corrupted charizard and Etherium’s charizard before they lost their dragon typing will earn you a harem like some of our teammates have.”
 

Ambyssin

Gotta go back. Back to the past.
Location
Residency hell
Pronouns
he/him
Partners
  1. silvally-dragon
  2. necrozma-ultra
  3. milotic
  4. zoroark-soda
  5. dreepy
  6. mewtwo-ambyssin
“Uh-huh. Well, if we’re still here when a gift-giving holiday rolls around I’ll be sure to buy you an action figure or something.” Bahamut turned the rest of his body around to face Owen.

“I’m not interested in talking about the memory block. I want to get rid of it.” He leaned over. His head loomed over Owen. “I can delve into minds and souls with my core. I did it to free the blight on Joule after he atomized you and the other heroic types on the team. If there’s a block, I can see it. And do what Breaker couldn’t.”

Or make you into a vegetable. But maybe you’d be happier without your perception schtick.
 

Namohysip

Dragon Enthusiast
Staff
Partners
  1. flygon
  2. charizard
  3. milotic
  4. zoroark-soda
  5. sceptile
  6. marowak
  7. jirachi
  8. meganium
Owen frowned, catching that glint in Bahamut's eye. "I'd be careful about that," he said gently. "I don't know how strong you are in your world, but here, that might actually be, y'know... risky. Do you have any precautions if something goes wrong? If you're in the middle of something and you need me to break you out... do you have a signal?"
 

Ambyssin

Gotta go back. Back to the past.
Location
Residency hell
Pronouns
he/him
Partners
  1. silvally-dragon
  2. necrozma-ultra
  3. milotic
  4. zoroark-soda
  5. dreepy
  6. mewtwo-ambyssin
“If you throw my core far enough away, it’ll sever the connection,” Bahamut said. “I can understand the hesitation, though. Who knows what could be tied up in the block?”

He frowned. “However, if I may be frank, I feel some of the team’s paranoia has let things play to Soda’s liking.” He lifted an upper wing. “The paranoia over keeping Darkwhite safe led to us giving her right to Soda, which led to the Worldcore crisis that easily could’ve ended badly for the whole planet.”

Bahamut lifted his other upper wing. “And choosing not to at least try something with information that you had on Maple led to the Tree kerfuffle.” He frowned. “That one is unfortunate, as we had actual evidence Maple was willing to hear us out. Y’know, the whole business with first visiting the tree?

“I realize the team detests me and my opinions and beliefs. I’ve at least made an attempt to go with the team, but have not been shown any reciprocity. We’re past the point where we can sit around and do nothing. This seems like a more reasonable lead than sending people to get blown up in space or trying to outwit Soda’s substitutes.”
 

Namohysip

Dragon Enthusiast
Staff
Partners
  1. flygon
  2. charizard
  3. milotic
  4. zoroark-soda
  5. sceptile
  6. marowak
  7. jirachi
  8. meganium
"I get all that," Owen said. "I was more talking about if something goes wrong for you. If you can... tap your claw against something like a rock twice if you feel you're in danger, and I'll toss your core." He crossed his legs and curled his tail. "I'm ready, though. Be careful what you touch. I don't really know what the inside of my own head looks like." Well, technically he did, but he was speaking figuratively.
 

Ambyssin

Gotta go back. Back to the past.
Location
Residency hell
Pronouns
he/him
Partners
  1. silvally-dragon
  2. necrozma-ultra
  3. milotic
  4. zoroark-soda
  5. dreepy
  6. mewtwo-ambyssin
“Fair enough.” Bahamut looked down. “I suspect I may find your attack dog, Wishkeeper, waiting for me.”

His body powered down, returning to its black, crystalline state. Bahamut leaned over until the top of his core touched Owen’s forehead.

Owen would feel a sudden pressure. Then Bahamut’s body went limp.
 

Namohysip

Dragon Enthusiast
Staff
Partners
  1. flygon
  2. charizard
  3. milotic
  4. zoroark-soda
  5. sceptile
  6. marowak
  7. jirachi
  8. meganium
Owen closed one eye in a wince, but then nodded and quickly drew out Wishkeeper to help lower Bahamut's body partway and keep him stable. "Careful..." Owen mumbled.

...

...

It was a town. Perhaps a city, given its size. Bahamut had appeared in a flash of light Behind him was a rocky spire and below him was a strange, large rune that looked like it was meant for teleportation--though, in this mindscape, it was just for show. Based on the sun's position, the city's four main roads were along the cardinal directions. Colorful rooftops dotted the landscape, and it appeared that Bahamut was in the middle of a long-extinct volcano's mountain summit crater, several miles across. It was almost dizzying how far along it went.

Nearby was a sign. Welcome to Kilo Village! And just below the sign was a piece of paper that read, Which Owen would you like to see? Followed by a blank box to write in. there didn't seem to be any writing utensils around, but perhaps it responded to thought...

Pokemon of all shapes and sizes walked about their usual day. Several of them gave Bahamut a curious glance, but nothing more. It seemed they didn't mind his presence.
 

Ambyssin

Gotta go back. Back to the past.
Location
Residency hell
Pronouns
he/him
Partners
  1. silvally-dragon
  2. necrozma-ultra
  3. milotic
  4. zoroark-soda
  5. dreepy
  6. mewtwo-ambyssin
Bahamut floated up to the sign. Owen’s home, perhaps? The psyche tended to build itself around the familiar. It created comfort. Routine. Finding the block wouldn’t be a simple matter. Well, not if Bahamut intended to be delicate. He would need to work within that routine.

There was some room for unorthodoxy, though. So he looked at the sign and it’s question. Owen wore many hats. Seemed to have things bubbling under the surface. Perhaps that was what he needed to probe.

“The real Owen,” he said, and pressed a hand to the sign.
 

Namohysip

Dragon Enthusiast
Staff
Partners
  1. flygon
  2. charizard
  3. milotic
  4. zoroark-soda
  5. sceptile
  6. marowak
  7. jirachi
  8. meganium
The paper folded itself up into an origami Charizard and flew away, disappearing a few moments after it left a stone's throw from Bahamut's current position. It semeed that while Owen's psyche processed what that meant, a few of the mindscape's apparitions, perhaps more curious than the others, approached Bahamut.

"Hey, welcome. Haven't seen you around town before." This one was a Salazzle with a nasty electric scar on her chest. She frowned, tilting her head. "You look like you're on a mission. Searching for someone?"
 

Ambyssin

Gotta go back. Back to the past.
Location
Residency hell
Pronouns
he/him
Partners
  1. silvally-dragon
  2. necrozma-ultra
  3. milotic
  4. zoroark-soda
  5. dreepy
  6. mewtwo-ambyssin
Again, it was best to play along as much as possible. Try to find the right avenue to tackle things. "I'm a traveling monk," Bahamut said. "I was told there is a charizard living here who has perfected the art of meditation in a way no one else has. So, I was hoping to learn from him. I think his name is Owen."

Meditation cleared the mind. A clear mind potentially meant easier-to-locate anomalies.
 

Namohysip

Dragon Enthusiast
Staff
Partners
  1. flygon
  2. charizard
  3. milotic
  4. zoroark-soda
  5. sceptile
  6. marowak
  7. jirachi
  8. meganium
Salazzle nodded, frowning. "That's an interesting one," she said. "Owen's around. I think I saw him around town. You know, they say he's a cryptid. Rumor is that people forget about him every few decades and a new Owen shows up to take his place."

She walked past Bahamut. "Don't know about meditation, though. I just sell him chocolates."

Her voice faded as she walked further away.

In the sky, a Charizard flew toward Bahamut. Normal color, normal size, but slender and with pointed, upward horns, much like how he'd appeared before the Blacklight had changed him. He landed in front of Bahamut.

"Hey," he greeted, voice a normal depth. ""You are... Bahamut. Right. I remember you. I'm 'the real Owen' that you asked for." He gestured to the paper Charizard, who evaporated in a fine smoke seconds later.

Words floated above this Owen for only Bahamut to see.

He's huge!
And bright...
I kinda like it.


"Welcome to Kilo Village," Owen said with a bow.

The fake one.
This is all in my head.
But it's how I imagine it.
With everyone I know.


"I, uh... Since I'm the real Owen, I'm going to be really honest. I can't tell a lie. Don't ask anything too embarrassing. I know that you have questionable ethics, but I'm trusting you to be responsible about this."

You're jaded.
You treat others like chess pieces, not people.
It's useful, but it's cold.
Is it because you're afraid of bonds?
Or...
 
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