Pokémon Sinnoh Bingo Fics! An Adventure! though Diamond and Pearl!

[Blackjack Gabbiani]

Fic 1--Dr Footstep's Verdict



"Ahhhh!" Mitsumi sighed deeply as she stretched out on the picnic blanket. A trip to the shore was always fun, especialy if it was part of something Rowan had suggested. It felt more official that way, and the nagging guilt she felt at having fun, left over from her harsh upbringing, could melt away far easier.

The sand undeneath was loose and sifty, not like the coarser, rocky shore at Sandgem, and Hareta was having fun running around with his pokémon. But that was the point of their visit, after all. Enjoy the area while talking to Rowan's associate, that was what the professor had asked of them.

Nearby, the man named Dr Footstep watched merrily. He was an odd looking fellow who certainly didn't seem like a pokémon doctor, all overalls and a farmer's hat, but Rowan was confident in his associate's abilities. "All right, that seems like I can get a feeling for your pokémon now. Let me check."

"Ok!" Hareta ran off to the side, punctuating his exhuberance with a cartwheel. "Do Empoleon first!"

The stout man withdrew a magnifying glass from his pocket as he approached. "This should only take a moment," he said as he knelt down with a huff to examine the prints in the sand. "Empoleon, Empoleon...ah yes..." He sucked in a breath and straightened up, sitting rigidly on his knees. When he spoke, he almost seemed like a man possessed, his demeanor far more serious than it had been a moment before. "...Hareta is...a remarkable trainer. That I can always perform the best any Empoleon possibly can... I attribute that entirely to my partner Hareta. When we travel, I can see wild pokémon eyeing us enviously..." As quickly as it had vanished, his relaxed demeanor returned, and he turned back to the boy. "And that is what your Empoleon thinks of you!"

Hareta smiled broadly and lept at Empoleon with a tight hug. The bird ruffled the top of his head in return. "I'm so glad! That's amazing! See, I knew we were best buddies and this just proves it scientifically, doesn't it, Mitsumi?"

The assistant had left the comfort of the picnic blanket, leaving it to her Infernape. "It does, I think. But quantifying friendship scientifically...can that really be done? By looking at footprints?"

Dr Footstep smiled. "Naturally. Have you ever heard of having a spring in your step when you're happy? I heard that phrase when I was a child, and I wanted to know if it was true. So I started studying how people walked in different moods. But...people hide their emotions a lot."

"Tell me about it," Mitsumi chuckled.

"Pokémon don't really do that," Dr Footstep continued. "They're a lot more straightforward with their feelings. So it was a lot easier to translate their feelings into something like this."

"Wow, that's amazing!" Hareta exclaimed. "Empoleon, don't you agree?"

The bird nodded and made a few stomping steps in place to punctuate its thoughts.

"Can you look at Regigigas?"

"It would be my pleasure! When I heard that someone had managed to tame the beast of Snowpoint Temple, I was amazed! And to find out that this person was Rowan's own grandson, well, I tell you, that's quite a shock itself. For...well, for a few reasons," Dr Footstep laughed. Rowan had no children of his own, so for there to be someone he considered his grandchild had been a surprise to his cohorts.

"Haha, Gramps is weird like that. Hey, Regigigas, over here!"

The legendary colossus had been standing still, heels sunk into the sand under its sheer weight as it stared out over the ocean. It was impossible to tell what it was thinking, even for Hareta.

But Dr Footstep seemed to have a different tack. As Regigigas slowly moved, leaving sucking footprints in the sand that filled with trace water as it did, the man knelt behind it to get a closer look and was almost nearly overcome with the same sudden change in demeanor. This time, though, he only managed a strange noise. "Sssshhnnn... ... ...Ssshhhnnn... ... Ssshhhnnn... .."

Mitsumi startled. "What the heck was that?! Are you ok?!"

"Sounds fine to me, Hareta remarked. "That's about the sensation I get from Regigigas too. Right, buddy? Take your time."

The still approaching behemoth took another step before it seemed to start to process what Hareta had said.

Dr Footstep rose back up and dusted stray sand from his overalls. "Wow. Hareta, thank you so much for letting me examine Regigigas's footsteps. And you say that...uh, sensation is what you get from it too?"

"Yeah, about like that. Like kind of a...weird chime. There was that sort of sound around the temple too. I thought it was just the wind but I guess not." The boy smiled broadly. "Maybe it was Regigigas breathing or something!"

"I'm pretty sure we'd hear it all the time if it was," Mitsumi reminded him.

"Oh yeah. Still though, that's just a very Regigigas sound to make."

Dr Footstep laughed heartily. "I've felt that same emotion from other pokémon. It's a bit surprising to me that you identify it with Regigigas so strongly when it's the same emotion I derive from a Staryu. But...it did seem to be different. More...resonating, I think. I'm not sure how to describe it."

"Can I ask something?" Mitsumi had written something down before she asked.

"Absolutely! Anything for Rowan's assistant."

"What's with the whole...thing you do, where you go stiff and sound really different? Is it really that strong?"

He shrugged. "Can't really say for sure. I've had trainers tell me I sound possessed, but it's really quite different. Pokémon seem to understand though."

Hareta shrugged in an identical way. "It makes sense to me. It's like you're picking up the emotions and carrying them to be delivered."

Dr Footstep's eyes opened widely, the first time since the two had arrived that he'd opened them all the way. "Ah, that's it exactly! That's perfectly how I feel! Haha, I'd expect nothing less from Rowan's assistants!"

"So, like a conduit or something?" Mitsumi scribbled something else down but pocketed the notebook at the end of the line.

"Ah, you two are so smart!"

Hareta grinned. "Hear that, Mitsumi? I'm smart."

She frowned, friendly-like. "Don't let it go to your head."

"Hey, if you wouldn't mind..." Dr Foostep had turned towards Mitsumi. "I'd like to see what your Infernape has to say about you."

"Oh uh...Are you sure? I have a Leafeon if you wouldn't rather--" Her hand tightened around the pencil with the question.

"Well, Infernape is already out, right? And already running around." Sure enough, Infernape had left the picnic blanket and joined Hareta's pokémon in the sand, playfully jogging to and fro as it dodged incoming waves.

"Rowan put you up to this, didn't he?" she grumbled.

"A little bit," Dr Footstep admitted with a smile, idly polishing the magnifying glass against his overalls before heading over to where the monkey was playing. "Excuse me, may I"? he asked gently, and Infernape moved over.

Mitsumi was tense. "You don't think he can tell anything about...well, me, do you?"

Hareta put a hand on her arm. "Nothing like that. But Infernape loves you. We all love you."

"Haha..." It was a nervous sound. She brought her hand over his. "Thanks. Just...everything going on, I still need to hide it."

"I don't think it'll be a problem," Hareta reassured.

"Ya don't, huh?"

On the shore, Dr Footstep straightened up again, that strange manner overtaking him. "Mitsumi is...a remarkable human and trainer. That I can always perform the best any Infernape possibly can...I attribute that entirely to my partner Mitsumi. When we travel, I can see wild pokémon eyeing us enviously..."

The girl relaxed considerably at that. "Oh thank goodness...Infernape! I love you too!"

Infernape paused in its athletics to give its trainer an approving thumbs up and grin before returning to dodging the waves.

Dr Footstep returned, stopping every few feet to brush sand off his wet overalls. "Yep, should probably wash these now. So, Mitsumi, what do you think?"

She was smiling. "Gosh, I don't know what I was so worried about!" she lied. "Thanks for setting me at ease."

"Hey, I'm just the conduit, to use your word. It's Infernape that sent the message. You're doing everything right, it seems. You know how to pay attention to what your partners want and need while pushing them to succeed further, and that's vital. Especially to someone who doesn't have the ability to communicate as directly with them as Hareta can, which is most people."

Hareta grinned again. "You're doing great, Mitsumi!"

Mitsumi had relaxed considerably, but also couldn't help but notice something. After a quick consultation of her notes, she glanced over at Empoleon. "Huh. Why would Infernape call me a 'remarkable human and trainer' but Empoleon just calls Hareta a 'remarkable trainer'?"

Dr Footstep brought a hand down on Hareta's shoulder. "I noticed that too! It's the darndest thing, but I don't think Hareta's pokémon see him as...entirely human, for some reason. If you want, I can study that a bit more."

"Well, it only makes sense," Hareta laughed.

"It does?"

Glad to have the pressure off her, Mitsumi nodded. "I guess you just have to know him."

"Huh. I'd love to get the chance to talk to you both! Do you want to come inside? I always want to get to know people who care about their pokémon so much."

"Sure thing!" Hareta took off towards the door, giggling all the while, and Mitsumi noticed as she followed after that he was barefoot.

 

[Blackjack Gabbiani]

Yep, DPA is a much different series than PokeSpe. Though they do both feature Cyrus redemption arcs, and I feel the need to address that before this next story because if someone goes into this fic not realizing that he *does* have a change of heart in this series, this may feel wildly out of character. So for any readers who haven't read DPA yet, just know that's a thing that happens.

Also this story hits TWO of the bingo slots, "Sunk in Nightmare" and "A New Universe".



-----


The wind howled, the light flickered, nothing beside remained. Only the glow of the Red Chain cut through the darkness, illuminating its master if any other was there to see him.

Cyrus's hands shook as he held up the chain, casting aside anything else as the relic began to float before him, circling itself around a stellar portal. Even his emotionless facade had slipped, and he smirked up at the shining relic. "Yes..." he murmured, voice inundated with awe, "my new world will be born on this spot...There will be only that beautiful world."

A glint in the chain seemed almost to wink back at him.

"Yes!" His voice was sharp, biting. "That perfect, shining world, the ideal..."

The Spear Pillar, the final gasp of land left behind, crumbled away beneath him, revealing the true form of the new universe, and at last only Cyrus and the chain were left.

"What..." Cyrus drew in a breath. "This isn't..."

It was wrong. Everything was wrong.

Where was that new universe? Where was everything he had worked for, everything he had sacrificed for?

Where was everything he had given the entire universe for?

His hands were still shaking, more intensely, as he reached for the chain again, only for it to shatter to nothing at the faintest touch. All light was gone.

"...I never intended...no, this isn't..."

But there was no sound. Even his breathing was artificial, he realized, with no air to draw from.

"There must be..." The words existed only on his lips, though he knew speaking them was in vain, as he raised a hand. "Red Chain, you must--"

The chain was gone, though. He had seen it, the final light of the universe itself had burnt out at his fingertips.

"Dialga, Palkia, you--"

The gods were gone. Even binding both of them to his will, they had still dissolved with the old world.

Cyrus was alone, truly and utterly.

He had sacrificed everything to become the god of nothing. He was the final remainder of everything that ever was, and there was nothing whatsoever he could do about it.





With a sharp cry, Cyrus jolted awake. Bed, room, curtains, covers, things existed in this place. He grabbed fistfuls of topsheet and brought them tightly to his face just to feel the sensation of something being *there*. "It didn't happen..." he muttered softly. "Just...just a nightmare..."

Beside him, Jupiter stirred. "Mm...are you ok?"

"Y--" he almost said, but stopped himself and thought of what his doctors had told him. "...not at all."

"Did you have a bad dream?" She rolled over to face him. "Are you taking your medicine on time?"

"Every day...I don't think it's working."

"You have to give it more time," she reminded him as she curled up at his side, not noticing that he tensed up at the mention of "time". "You just started your new dose."

He fell back, still grasping the sheets. "I'm not used to this. I caged my emotions for so long and learning to live with them is..."

"You still had nightmares, though. If anything, they were worse, weren't they?"

"Not...not like this." He could deny their control over him then, and he would be alone when he had them. Perfect for crunching them down and acting like nothing had happened. But ever since the events of the Spear Pillar, things had changed. He had changed, and everyone around him said it was for the best but he couldn't bring himself to agree.

"What was it, if I can ask?"

"I'd rather not."

"Ok. I'm here if you need me though. Bringer of contentment, that's me." He had called her that in coded messages, a reference to her mythic namesake, but she had reflected it even then. Not that Cyrus would have ever admitted to that in those days.

Instead of words, he brought a hand to hers, curling shaking fingers around and trying to release a steady breath. "...I couldn't breathe," he confessed. "In the dream...but I kept going anyway..."

It wasn't much, and she wouldn't pry, but it was a start. She gave his hand a squeeze. "You're here now. That's all there is to remember."

"...I can prepare to create a universe, but getting my life together is an insurmountable challenge, it seems."

Another squeeze. "Nobody's life turns out how they plan."

Another long, low breath, with just the faintest quiver. "...good night, Jupiter."

"Good night, Cyrus." She always had to take special care not to call him "sir" any more. "Remember, I'm here if you need me."

He fought the urge to remind her that she wouldn't have been part of his universe, that anyone who did would be mere copies of their extant selves, purged of all spirit. If any version of her was to exist, she wouldn't be the bringer of contentment any more, but a hollow puppet for his will. But he also feared that saying so would drive her away, and he needed her around. Was that still his old ways? Was he still manipulating those around him for his own gain?

Maybe he hadn't changed as much as they thought. He couldn't dare tell anyone, not even Hareta or his doctors. But didn't that show that he had changed, that he cared what others would think of him as a person, not merely as part of some greater plan?

The thought was confusing, and he wasn't used to being confused. Another matter to add to the pile.

He didn't get any more sleep that night, and he rationalized it away. He did that a lot lately too.

 

[Blackjack Gabbiani]

The nature of his dream and when he cut off his plan are the same. In DPA, his plan fails utterly, and it would have destroyed the universe without anything new to replace it. Realizing that even a flawed world is better than nothing existing at all is a key moment for him.

Glad you like that bit! Now, here's some more with the main characters! And with this, it means that DOUBLE BINGO has been achieved, because this is both "Ice-Crusted" AND "Rotom's Mischief"!




"--But when I went back in, there was no one there! You think she went out the window?"

Mitsumi sighed. "I don't know, Hareta. Maybe she wasn't there to begin with or something."

It was breathless hyperbole, Mitsumi barely paying attention to the boy's story through the biting cold of Route 217, but Hareta gasped in clear excitement. "You think so? But...someone had to give me the spell tag, right?"

Out front, Glaceon rolled its whole head, indicating to Mitsumi that she had indeed left herself open for that remark. "Yeah I know," the girl groaned. "Shut up."

"Hey, I can see the house from here!" Hareta called out from a nearby tree. "The stone should be close, right?"

"I told you to stay on the path!" Mitsumi shouted. Just how fast could that kid move? "You said your new ghost friend would want to see the area, so how about you get it out now?"

"Yeah, yeah, it really likes the cold too. I don't think most ghosts like it *this* cold." In a flash, a strange orange pokémon appeared, a boxy thing with a shimmery aura to it. "Hey Rotom, cold enough for ya?"

Mitsumi had been apprehensive about Hareta's latest acquisition, especially after it merrily led the boy to the abandoned Galactic base in Eterna and opened the way to Charon's old lab. But if anybody could keep a Galactic weapon under control, it was the kid who had somehow managed to tame their former boss into regret and reform. But she also didn't want to dwell on such thoughts. Rotom seemed innocent enough, and took a particular liking to Hareta's Misdreavus. It didn't seem like anything the team could have used as a weapon, but she knew firsthand, with a chill unrelated to the cold, how looks could be deceiving.

It could take on different forms depending on what appliances it was exposed to, and right then it was a small refrigerator, something the devious scientist's notes had called "Frost Rotom". Despite being held in a pokéball, it could keep items inside the adopted form, including--

"Hareta, what's that can?"

He looked down at the can in his gloved hand. "Lemonade. Want some?"

Mitsumi sighed. "It's freezing out and you want cold drinks? The can will freeze to your face!"

Hareta laughed, and Rotom echoed the sound with a tinny sound file. "It's fine! It's so slushy too! Jun said that drinks like this are expensive."

She shook her head. "We're almost to the Icy Rock, like you said, right. At least wait until we get there, ok?"

"Uh...I mean I guess, but I already opened it. And I can't really give Rotom a bath if everything spills."

She sighed again, intentionally increasing the volume to drive her point home. "Hareta. We have a job to do."

"Yeah but I'm hungry. Or thirsty I guess." But he reluctantly put the drink back inside the small doors that made up Rotom's artificial form. "There, I guess we can learn how to balance stuff, right?"

Rotom bounced back and forth, but slowly, mindful of its cargo, and chimed a happy tone, and the two followed behind Mitsumi and Glaceon.

The Ice Rock was behind a mysterious house that was rumored to be haunted, but they weren't there to investigate the house. Mitsumi had been there once before, to evolve one of her prize Eevees into the Glaceon beside her. Or...twice, on her way to Lake Acuity that one time, but that was another thing she tried not to think about.

Glaceon certainly seemed to remember, darting up to the rock and nuzzling against it with a wide smile. "Glay!" it exclaimed with glee.

"That's right!" Mitsumi knelt down to give Glaceon a scratch under the chin, her hand almost lost in her thick red gloves. "You remember this place, don't you? Does it bring back some memories? But today we're here to study it so if we ask you to move, you'll have to, ok?"

The pokémon seemed fine with that, pulling forward to prance about in the snow, leaping in and out of snowdrifts.

"Ok, so Hareta, hand me the measuring tape and we'll get started."

The boy was already slurping on his canned lemonade again, miraculously un-spilled over the short distance. "She's the boss right now, Rotom. We should listen to her."

It gave a high pitched whine as if protesting before opening the fridge doors and withdrawing a measuring tape with an electric tendril. "Um...thank you..." she groaned, glancing at the visible sparks shooting from the metal tape canister. "Here, set it down and I'll pick it up, ok? Hareta, don't touch it."

"I wasn't gonna," he lied, taking another drink as Rotom set the tape measure down in front of Mitsumi.

"Ok, good." She got a notebook out of her satchel and called Glaceon back over. "Now," she explained, "you're going to have to hold this in place while I feed the tape around the other side. Even with gloves on, this is too cold for humans to safely touch for long, but you being an ice type means you're protected. So just put your paw right here, ok?"

"Glay!" it happily agreed, pressing its paw against the end of the tape measure as Mitsumi wound the other end around the rock.

Rotom started sparking around the edges, and began creeping towards her.

"Hey! Rotom!" Hareta called out. "She's working, ok? Don't bother her."

"Ro-ro!"

"No, I told you. Besides, she's not like me. Most humans can't handle a shock like I can. It could really hurt her."

"Rotom-to!" It was being petulant, crossing its arms over the fridge doors.

"I know you haven't been out in a long time before you met me but if you try to bother Mitsumi while she's working, I'll have to put you back in your ball. And neither of us want that."

As she was having to keep a close eye on her work due to the extreme cold of the Ice Rock, Mitsumi couldn't look away for a moment to keep her measurements as accurate as possible, but she smiled behind her scarf. Hareta was learning some responsibility, and that brief exchange already made the trek up there feel worth it, even before she could write down the first note.

"Ow!" Hareta exclaimed behind her. "Aww, I dropped my lemonade. Ah, I guess I only told you not to shock *Mitsumi*, huh? You get off easy this time, buster."

Apparently, she concluded as she took down the first notations, it would be a long road indeed. But at least the first steps were already taken.

 

[Blackjack Gabbiani]

I initially asked for a bingo set based around the Diamond and Pearl Adventure! manga but apparently nobody has read that but me so I got a Sinnoh card instead. My dogged insistence on bringing DPA to others continues, however, so everything is going to be in that verse. Which is probably going to gut my prospective reader base but please enjoy anyway. I'll update this post as I progress.

NOW IN THE RIGHT FORUM WHAT THE CRAP SELF

A New Universe	Relic Badge	Gracidea Fields
Dr Footstep's Verdict	Rotom's Mischief	Sunk In Nightmare
Ice-Crusted	Great Marsh	The Reverse World