Pokémon Trueno

[Spiteful Murkrow]

Hi, everybody. At the time I posted this preamble, it was the twilight of one generation of Pokémon, with the dawn of a new “7.8/10 - Too Much Water” one just starting to come over the horizon. With everybody set to be moving onto the new windy and wavy hotness in the not-too-distant future it felt like as good of a time as any for me to throw my hat into the “game novelization” ring with a retelling of Pokémon Violet… sort of. As those who follow my other stories have likely gathered, there’s two things that generally apply to me as an author: 1) I usually steer my writing efforts towards stories with offbeat premises since I’m biased to doing “something different” with my free time, 2) I’m kinda busy writing a trio of other serial stories at the moment, which together left me with neither the time, patience, nor desire to attempt a by-the-numbers novelization that would easily crack a six-digit wordcount just getting through one of the four official storylines in the game.

Which was why I decided to square that circle and by turning that Pokémon Violet retelling into a vignette series from the perspective of the player character’s Miraidon… as an extended Initial D reference a songfic set to a (mostly) Eurobeat soundtrack.

Yes, you read that correctly. For those of you who follow me on Thousand Roads, this probably won’t be much of a surprise, since I entered the onsite Magical but Mundane One-Shot Contest in 2024 there with a significantly shortened version of this story built around seven vignettes, and then built out an additional nine in extended rough draft form for this site’s Sixth Anniversary Drabble Bingo, and have been talking about my experiences working on it on-and-off ever since then. Those earlier versions have also been uploaded here with each chapter for those who wish to see how this story has evolved with time, and are hosted on AO3 as Trueno α covering the original contest release (once the main version catches up with it in full) and Trueno β for the initial rewrite for the (not yet published) post-contest Zine and Drabble Bingo versions.

Now, as a songfic, I made some assumptions about the intended reading experience for this story that don’t apply to my usual work. First and foremost, the story’s chapters are meant to be read set to music, with each chapter title containing an active link to the quite literal background music of the chapter. The other big consideration was length, with each chapter being roughly text-synced to the song it’s titled after (some fudge a bit here or there or else run on slightly past a fadeout) assuming a reading pace of 250-260 words per minute and clocking in at between 1000-1500 words each. As such, narratively, that means that there’s less focus in this story on trying to capture each and every moment from the official campaign in favor of more of the ones you might have had “in between” going around Paldea. That said, while there’s a healthy amount of offscreening and skipping ahead involved, there are some major campaign moments depicted, which barring a few minor tweaks to better accommodate the premise or some character beats, play out exactly as one would expect in a Violet playthrough. Due to the nature of the viewpoint character, it should go without saying that there are unmarked spoilers for Pokémon Scarlet / Violet campaign’s narrative from almost the very beginning.

As a story that exists in large part as a mixture of authorial self-challenge and self-indulgence, there’s also Spanish-language dialogue scattered across various chapters of this story, which is how this story renders the human characters’ dialogue as heard by Pokémon from across language barriers. The chapters are written in mind with the readers not needing to understand them any more than the titular viewpoint character does, though translations and commentary are provided at the end notes for your reading pleasure in case you decide you want to know more about what’s going on and some meta behind a chapter after reading through it.

I don’t really have much to say regarding content warnings that isn’t already covered by this story’s tags on AO3 beyond that Eurobeat as a music genre is known for racing beats and often racy lyrics. While I made a point of avoiding pairing any songs with scenarios that I felt made for obviously awkward undertones, there will be some degree of “eye of the beholder” involved on that front. Aside from that, it has everything one would expect from a telling of Pokémon Violet as seen through the game Miraidon’s eyes.

As is the case with every “third wheel” story that I work on, this story operates on the stable and predictable™ updating schedule of “whenever my life and personal motivation allows”. Now, Scarlet and Violet as games weren’t exactly light on content, especially after their DLC started coming out. While I’ll admit I’ve spitballed some scenarios from those much later parts of the narrative in my head, my only promise regarding the final length of this story is that there will be “3 discs with 15 songs each” on the tracklist covering the pre-credits campaign’s events. If all goes well and as planned, at least that much will be done before the release of Pokémon Wind and Waves in late 2027, and ideally with a healthy buffer of time to spare. That’s not to say that things might not wind up running on longer, as those of you who follow some of my other works have seen. In the event that I wind up definitively running out of ideas or interest in ever adding additional content to this story, I will be rounding things out with a very specific song / chapter title on the tracklist. More meta-aware readers will likely get some ideas as to what said song would be as the updates start filling in a bit.

Special thanks goes to the judges of the Magical and Mundane One-Shot Contest from Thousand Roads, and to authors @Venia Silente and @Eric566 from here on TR, who beta read this story at various stages, edited the Spanish-language dialogue in this story, and helped with nailing some of the details of this story’s portrayal of Paldea. I’d also like to extend a shout out to the various artists whose music feature in this story, since without their creativity and devotion to Eurobeat as a music genre, this story quite literally wouldn’t exist.

Though seeing as we’re getting up there into the average length of an average chapter in this story, I suppose that’s as good a sign that that’s enough preambling. So let’s get straight to those good vibrations and start zooming and grooving across Paldea:

---

Trueno

Your old friend used to call you ‘Miraidon’. You used to stay by his side, until that fateful battle which ruined everything and forced you to run away. Wounded, you crashed to earth and met a girl—one who calls you a new, strange-sounding name.

This is the story of the journey you started with her a few days later. And of the music you two shared together along the way.​

---

Tracklist​

Disc 1

1. Space Boy / Dave Rodgers​

2. Spark In The Dark / Man Power​

3. Get Me Power / Mega NRG Man​

4. Heartbeat / Nathalie​

 

[Spiteful Murkrow]

---

Space Boy​

---

A strumming then snarling guitar, beating drums, and then electronic thumping underlining it all. You blink and glance rightwards, your feet pattering against the cobbled streets in this square as the guitar wails.

“How’s the music, Juliana? Everything coming through clear?”

You look past the red clip-on headphone and the band holding it in place at your present rider: a brown-haired girl with pigtails, a hat, and the other headphone thumbing up to a Rotom Phone strapped to your body’s natural harness.

Daa-da-da. Da-da-da-da-da-daa.

An electronic beat chimes in with the guitar in your ear. The music’s certainly coming through loud and clear for you. This human you’re currently with is called ‘Juliana’. She’s from a much more crowded lab than yours called ‘Uva Academy’, while the Quaxly seated in front of her is her partner who she keeps calling ‘Loo-kas’ for some reason.

You turn your head back after a male human’s voice begins singing along in a strange language, saying words that the gray-suited teacher from Juliana’s lab—‘Silvio’ or something like that—might use. Something about this song sounds familiar for whatever reason, and it’s surprisingly catchy. Your thoughts turn back to your old territory and if your old friend ever had it playing—

You sigkill that thought. You don’t want to think about Turo or your old lab right now. You already got your hopes up after seeing his face on that screen in the white-haired human’s room… until it spoke and barely reacted to you.

It’s too soon, too hurtful to think about everything that happened. Enough so that a part of you was glad when Turo’s child—a gray-haired boy humans call ‘Arven’, sometimes ‘Damián’ for whatever reason—gave away your Pokéball to Juliana. He stopped liking you years ago, and even if he still did, you don’t know if you could bear him constantly reminding you of your friend.

There’s tension along your natural harness, and you glimpse Juliana tugging at you from your back. Your body’s dewlap and tail are already curled up, so it’s time to get going from this little hole-in-the-wall wedged in one of the southern corners of this public square, though Juliana seems to want to go westward instead of south like you expected.

You clamp onto your rings and begin to make your way forward towards the square’s western entrance in stops and starts amidst crowds of people and Pokémon. There’s a lot of humans and Pokémon in Mesagoza, this ‘Ciudad Meseta’, enough so that even in a wide and open space like this, it feels like it’s boxing you in.

Which is just as well since no matter how you tried, ever since the last of your strength gave out after leaving that beachside cave near that ‘Cabo Poco’ town, it just hasn’t come back.

A few of the passers-by turn and stare at you, and some of the Pokémon amongst them make comments in passing to the effect of how you’re “the strangest Cyclizar they’ve ever seen”. You recall Fito—Arven’s partner Pokémon—said something similar the first time you met.

The comparison is probably not all that inaccurate in your present state. You can’t fly, your Hadron Engine is barely running, and all you can do is just plod or slowly roll along. A bit faster now after making it past the arch since the crowds have thinned a bit.

You enter a circular plaza laid out around a star-shaped planter when a flash of green crosses your path. You hastily step aside, and see it’s a rental Cyclizar ducking out of your way with a startled yelp. She runs off out of your field of vision, faster than you can keep track.

Faster than these legs of yours carried you here up from the lighthouse. Faster than you’re going now on your rings. You hang your head briefly when you notice that electronic refrain from the song you heard back in the square is playing again. It’s just occurred to you that Chispa’s been playing this music the entire time, and you turn your head back towards him with a puzzled frown.

“Wait, what’s the point of playing this song?”

“Why not? Humans like listening to music while they’re traveling since it makes the time fly by,” the Rotom answers. “Juliana has been getting into these songs lately since they’re apparently meant for going fast.”

… So even this song is a reminder of how far you’ve fallen and how pathetic you currently are. Great. Your only consolation is that he isn’t here. Your rival, who chased you off from your old territory back when you were strong.

A brief shudder runs down your scales. You can only imagine what he’d say and do if he met you like this. And now, you couldn’t run away from him again even if your life depended on it.

Juliana tugs rightward at your harness and says something strange before motioning towards the right of the circular plaza. You see that you’ve almost overshot a street. You break your rolling stance, your claws scratching the stones underneath, as you change direction and get back onto your rings. You’re headed down a road running along a wall, which as you follow it, gives you a clear view of a gate.

Have you really gone that far already? Mesagoza looked huge from the stairs in front of that ‘Uva Academy’ lab, so it’s a little hard to believe that you’re so close to leaving it. The road’s a bit clearer now, and you can pick up speed again.

As you roll along, the electronic chiming gives way to guitar snarls in the music through your headphone when the foreign voice joins in again. Maybe you really do have a bit of Cyclizar in you, since just being able to run a bit freer along with this music’s helping to lift your mood a bit.

It seems to be infectious as Juliana sounds happy, too. She says something in human language in a cheery tone and pats at the back of your head. The first part you recognize as a congratulations, but it was followed by something that you didn’t understand. Something she started calling you not long after Arven gave away your Pokéball.

“Wait, what is that word that Juliana keeps calling me?”

“‘Trueno’. You know, ‘thunder’? Like the move?” the Quaxly answers you. “It’s the nickname she wants to call you. Kinda like how mine’s ‘Lucas’.”

‘Thunder’? It’s a bit on-the-nose, but you suppose when you had your strength, it wouldn’t have been that unfitting. Except…

“But my name’s ‘Miraidon’.”

It was the name that Turo gave you. Back in happier times, back before everything went wrong at your last lab…

The electronic ditty kicks up again and snaps you to attention. There’s a sharp buzz as Chispa zips out of the phone and briefly floats alongside your head.

“Don’t worry about it too much, just focus on moving around. Maybe a bit of practice will be just what you need to work your strength u-Ro-to-to-to.”

The chiming of an incoming call from Chispa kicks up and Juliana briefly stops as you see you’re at the gate now. You briefly hear Juliana exchange words with a student—that peppy one who was also from ‘Cabo Poco’ who you’re also struggling to name... ‘Mencía’, maybe?

The conversation ends almost as quickly as it begins, enough so that you barely noticed the interruption in the song as the electronic beat and guitar are back, if now fading. You’re not sure what that was about, but you decide not to question it as Juliana prompts you forward. After slinking past the opened doors, you walk ahead past it, out onto a bridge with water to your left and right and plains going up to bluffs up ahead.

You re-enter your travelling stance and roll off towards them. Maybe Chispa’s right, maybe a bit of exercise will get that energy in you flowing again.

That song did make the trip out of Mesagoza fly by. What would a few more do?

---

Commentary:

Yeah, yeah, a bit on the nose for the song choice, I know. But it just felt right to kick off a very Eurobeat journey with Space Boy. The chapter was written in mind with the Extended Mix that first released in Super Eurobeat Presents Dave Rodgers Special Collection Vol. 1, since it gave more space to jam in words while staying text-synched.

Also, if you found the character names groaners, congratulations, you’re probably a native Spanish speaker. I apologize for exactly nothing regarding them since most of the Pokémon names in this story were deliberately intended to be very “a 12-year old came up with this” in vibe.

Translation Notes:

I’ll generally skip over providing notes for Spanish-language content that is blindly obvious (‘Silvio’, ‘Damián’, and ‘Mencía’ are the Spanish localization names of Salvatore, Arven, and Nemona respectively). Though I decided to throw in a note of a part that should hopefully already be clear from context to give an idea of general format of these sections in this story:

- Ciudad Meseta - Spanish localization name for “Mesagoza”. lit. “Plateau City”

Earlier Versions:

Spoiler: Mundane and Magical Zine Submission

Space Boy​

A strumming guitar and then the sound of drums joined by something more electric. You blink and glance rightwards, your claws scraping pavestones underfoot as the guitar wails.

“How’s the music, Juliana?” a crackling voice asks. “Things sounding clear?”

You look back past the clip-on headphone on your ear and its strap originally intended for Cyclizar towards your present rider—a pigtailed girl wearing the left one, thumbing up to a Rotom-indwelled phone mounted to your body’s natural harness.

Daa-da-da. Da-da-da-da-da-daa.

An electronic beat joins the guitar in your ear as the music certainly sounds clear to you. Your present rider is ‘Juliana’, who’s from a much bigger and brighter lab than yours called ‘Uva Academy’. The Quaxly seated in front is her partner, who she keeps calling ‘Loo-kas’ for some reason.

You turn your head back as a human male’s voice sings along in a strange language, saying words that the teacher in the gray suit from Juliana’s lab—‘Silvio’ or something like that—might say. Something about this song sounds familiar for whatever reason, and it’s surprisingly catchy. Your thoughts turn back to your old territory and if your old friend ever had it playing—

You terminate your thought process right there. You don’t want to think about your old friend or your last lab right now. It’s too soon, too hurtful. Enough so that a part of you was glad when your old friend’s child—‘Arven’, he called him—gave your Pokéball away to Juliana. Arven doesn’t like you anymore, and even if he still did, you don’t know if you’d be able to bear him constantly reminding you of your friend.

The human singer repeats a refrain a couple times when you feel a tug at your natural harness. It’s Juliana tugging at you from your back. Your body’s dewlap and tail are already curled up, and past experience with your friend and Arven to what she wants. It’s time to leave this little hole-in-the-wall wedged in one of the southern corners of this public square, though Juliana curiously seems to want to go westward instead of south like you were expecting.

You clamp onto your rings and begin to roll on them towards the square’s western entrance in stops and starts amid a crowd of humans and Pokémon, so many instances of them all together that even in a wide and open space like this, that it feels like they’re boxing you in.

Which is just as well since no matter how you tried, ever since the last of your strength gave out after climbing out that beachside cave just outside that ‘Cabo Poco’ town, you haven’t been able to get it back.

A few of the passersby turn and stare at you, and some of the Pokémon amongst them make comments in passing to the effect of how you’re “the strangest Cyclizar they’ve ever seen”. You remember Arven’s partner Pokémon said something similar the first time he saw you.

The comparison is probably decently fitting now. You can’t fly, your Hadron Engine is barely running, all you can do is just walk or slowly roll around. A bit faster now after making it past this arch you’re passing since the crowds have thinned a bit.

You enter a circular plaza laid out around a star-shaped planter when a flash of green cuts you off. You hastily step aside, as a rental Cyclizar ducks out of your way with a startled yelp. She runs off out of your field of vision, faster than you can keep track.

Faster than these legs of yours carried you here from that cave. Faster than you’re going now on your rings. You hang your head briefly when you notice that electronic refrain from the song is playing again like it did back in the square. It suddenly occurs to you that Chispa’s been playing this music the entire time, and you turn your head back towards him with a puzzled frown.

“Wait, what’s the point of playing this song?”

“Why not? Humans like listening to music while they travel since it makes the time pass by faster,” the Rotom answers you. “Juliana has been getting into these songs lately since they’re apparently good listening while going fast.”

… You know Chispa didn’t mean to, but his remarks just remind you of how fast and strong you used to be. And how pathetic you are in comparison right now. Your only consolation is that he isn’t here. Your rival, who chased you off from your old territory back when you were strong.

A brief shudder runs down your metallic scales at the thought. You can only imagine what he’d say and do to you if he met you in like this. And in this state, you couldn’t run away from him again even if your life depended on it.

Even if your friend was still there to step in and protect you.

You’re all too thankful for a distraction when Juliana tugs your harness rightward and says something strange before mentioning towards the right of the circular plaza. You see that you almost overshot a street. You break your rolling stance, your claws scratching the pavestones underneath to slow down. Before you fully stop, in a swift motion you turn and correct your direction and get back onto your rings. Now you’re headed down a road running along a wall, which as you follow it, gives a clear view of a gate.

Have you really gone that far from Juliana’s lab already? Mesagoza looked huge from the stairs in front of that ‘Uva Academy’ lab, so it’s a little hard to believe that you’re so close to leaving it already.

The road’s a bit clearer now, and you can pick up speed again. As you roll along, the electronic chiming gives way to guitar snarls in the music through your earphone as the foreign voice joins in again. Maybe you really do have a bit of Cyclizar in you, since just being able to run a bit freer along with this music helps lift your mood a bit.

It seems to be infectious as Juliana sounds happy, too. She says something in a cheery tone and pats at the back of your head. The first part you recognized as a congratulations, but there was something just after it that you didn’t understand. Something she kept calling you after Arven gave away your Pokéball.

“Wait, what on earth is that word that Juliana keeps saying to me?”

“‘Trueno’. You know, ‘thunder’?” the Quaxly pipes up. “It’s the nickname she wanted to call you. Kinda like how mine’s ‘Lucas’.”

‘Thunder’? You suppose when you had your strength, it wouldn’t have been that unfitting, but…

“But my name’s ‘Miraidon’.”

Your old friend already gave you a name. Back in happier times, before everything happened back in your last lab…

The electronic ditty kicks up again and snaps you to attention. There’s a sharp buzz as Chispa zips out of the phone and briefly floats alongside your head.

“Don’t worry about it too much. Just focus on moving around, maybe a bit of practice will be just what you need to work your strength up.”

A chiming Ro-to-to-to comes from the phone and Juliana briefly stops you in front of the gate as Chispa floats in front of her. As she exchanges words through Chispa, you hear that peppy student that’s also from ‘Cabo Poco’ on the other end… ‘Mencía’, was it?

The conversation ends almost as quickly as it begins, enough so that if the music wasn’t beginning to fade out, you’d have barely noticed the interruption in the song. You’re not sure what they were talking about, but you decide not to question it as Juliana prompts you forward. After slinking past the opened doors, you pace ahead out onto a bridge with water to your left and right and plains leading up to bluffs up ahead.

You re-enter your rolling stance and charge off towards them. Maybe Chispa’s right, maybe a bit of exercise will get that energy in you flowing again.

The song did make the trip out of Mesagoza fly by. What would a few more do?

Spoiler: 2024 Mundane and Magical Contest Entry

Space Boy​

Strumming and then sounds you recognize as guitar and drums joined with something more electronic. You blink and glance rightwards, your feet pattering against the cobbled streets in this square as the guitar wails.

“How’s the music, Juliana? Things coming through clear?”

Daa-da-da. Da-da-da-da-da-daa.

You blink after you find yourself humming along as the electronic sounds come back. The music’s certainly come through loud and clear for you. You look back and see your present rider, a girl with pigtails thumbing up to a Rotom indwelling a phone attached to a strap fixed to your body’s natural harness. She’s called ‘Juliana’ and comes from a much bigger and brighter lab than you called ‘Uva Academy’, while the Quaxly in front of her is her partner that she keeps calling ‘Loo-kas’ for some reason.

You turn your head back as a male human’s voice picks up in a strange language, like something the teacher in the gray suit—‘Silvio’ or something like that—would occasionally speak. There past the clip-on headphone on a mount meant for Cyclizar that has been loosened as much as it’ll go, is a slab fixed to a harness.

Something about this song sounds familiar for whatever reason, and it’s surprisingly catchy. Your thoughts turn back to your old territory and if your old friend ever had the song playing—

You cut your thoughts off there. You don’t want to think about your old friend right now, or anything that happened in your old lab. It’s too soon, too hurtful. Enough so that a part of you was glad when your old friend’s child—‘Arven’, you’re pretty sure humans call him—gave away your Pokéball to her for whatever reason. He’s seemed to have grown to dislike you for a while, and even if he didn’t, you don’t don’t know if you’d be able to bear constantly thinking about the past.

You feel a tug at your natural harness and glimpse Juliana tugging at you from your back. It’s time to get going from this little hole-in-the-wall wedged in one of the southern corners of this public square, though Juliana seems to want to go westward instead of south like you were expecting.

You make your way forward towards the square’s western entrance and find yourself stopping and starting amid people and Pokémon. There’s a lot of humans and Pokémon in this Mesagoza, so much so that it honestly feels claustrophobic even in a wide and open space like this. Like it’s boxing you in.

Which is just as well since no matter how you tried, ever since the last of your strength gave out after climbing that beachside cave just outside that ‘Cabo Poco’ town and you haven’t been able to get it back.

A few of the passers-by turn and stare at you, and some of the Pokémon amongst them make comments in passing to the effect of how you’re “the strangest Cyclizar they’ve ever seen”. You recall Arven’s partner Pokémon said something similar about you the first time he saw you.

The comparison is probably not all that inaccurate in your present state. You can’t fly, your Hadron Engine remains cold and inert, all you can do is just plod along. A bit faster now after making it past the arch since the crowds have thinned a bit.

A flash of green crosses your path as you hastily step aside as a Cyclizar ducks out of your way with a startled yelp in a circular plaza laid out around a star-shaped planter. She runs off out of your field of vision, faster than you can keep track.

Faster than these legs of yours carried you here up from that cave. You hang your head briefly when that refrain from the song you noticed back in the square suddenly repeats. It’s just occurred to you that Chispa’s been playing this song the entire time, and you turn your head back towards him with a puzzled frown.

“Wait, what’s the point of playing this song?”

“Why not? Humans like listening to music while they’re traveling since it makes the time pass by faster,” the Rotom answers you. “Juliana has been getting into these songs lately since they’re apparently meant for going fast.”

… So even the song is a reminder of how far you’ve fallen and how pathetic you presently are. Great. Your only consolation is that he isn’t here. Your rival, who chased you off from your old territory back when you were strong.

You can only imagine what he’d say and do if he came across you in this state.

Juliana tugs rightward at your harness and says something strange before mentioning towards the right of the circular plaza. You see that you’ve almost overshot a street. You shift your weight, your claws scratching the stones underneath as you correct your direction and see you’re headed down a road running along a wall, which as you follow it, gives you a clear view of a gate.

Have you really gone that far already? Mesagoza looked huge from the stairs in front of that ‘Uva Academy’ lab, so it’s a little hard to believe that you’re so close to leaving it. The road’s a bit clearer now, and you can pick up speed again.

As you run, the guitar snarls in the music through your earphone and the foreign voice chimes in again. Maybe you really do have a bit of Cyclizar in you, since just being able to run a bit freer along with this music helps lift your mood a bit.

It seems to be infectious as Juliana sounds happy, too. She says something in human language in a cheery tone and pats at the back of your head. The first part you recognize as a congratulations, but it was followed by something that you didn’t understand. Something she kept calling you not long after Arven gave away your Pokéball.

“Wait, what on earth is that word Juliana keeps calling me?”

“‘Trueno’. You know, ‘thunder’?” the Quaxly answers you. “It’s the nickname she wants to call you. Kinda like how mine’s ‘Lucas’.”

‘Thunder’? You suppose when you had your strength, it wouldn’t have been that unfitting, but…

“But my name’s ‘Miraidon’.”

It was the name Arven still calls you even if he’s seemed to have grown to dislike you, and the one your old friend gave you. Before everything happened. Before he hurt you and ruined everything. Before he made you flee as fast as the Hadron Engine inside your body could carry you into the sky. A sharp buzz snaps you to attention as Chispa zips out of the phone and briefly zips alongside your head.

“Don’t worry about it too much, just focus on running a bit, maybe a bit of practice will be just what you need to work your strength up.”

The electronic ditty kicks up again as you see you’re at the gate now. After slinking past the opened doors, you run ahead past it, out onto a bridge with water to your left and right and plains going up to bluffs up ahead.

You lower your head and charge off towards them. Maybe Chispa’s right, maybe a bit of exercise will get that energy in you flowing again.

The song did make the trip out of Mesagoza fly by. What would a few more do?

 

[Spiteful Murkrow]

---

Spark In The Dark​

---

Daa-Daaaa-Daah… Daa-Daah-Da-Da-Da-Dah…

At once, the headphone over your right ear fills with howling guitar riffs, and much to your surprise, the night air does too. You blink as Juliana sidles onto your back with Lucas as you rise from the asphalt underneath onto your feet. You turn your head as the music continues and starts to pick up pace, stealing a glance at the neon-bathed counter of the Pokeémon Center. From the reactions of the other humans and their Pokémon nearby, you aren’t just hearing things from your left ear right now.

Juliana tightens her grip on your natural harness. Your tail and dewlap curl up into rings as the music picks up, and you clamp your claws in place when Juliana beckons you forward. Your Hadron Engine lets out a low hum as you roll forward slowly off the tarmac and onto the dirt path as the melody picks up and goes faster and faster.

Until finally, the jets on your hips woosh to life.

An electronic beat takes over your headphone and the surrounding night air, as you head off further down the dirt path. Much slower than you’re used to, not that your faltering Hadron Engine can manage more right now.

Even so, your mind’s not all the way there as you glance up puzzledly at Chispa’s mount.

“How are you doing this anyways, Chispa?”

“Multi-output audio!” the Rotom buzzes over some foreign-sounding lyrics. “Just about every phone made for Rotom like me can do it these days.”

You’ll have to take his word for it. The quality’s not as crisp as the music from your headphone and it mixes with the wind and sounds of the night, but it carries it well enough as you continue on the dirt path.

It apparently goes to a bunch of olive orchards and a town that humans call ‘Cortondo’, or sometimes ‘Pueblo Pirotín’. You’re not fully sure what that’s all about. Do humans also give places nicknames, too?

You haven’t gone all that far from Mesagoza—you can even see the Western Gate lit up in the distance if you look back and squint. Most of the day was spent training with Lucas and a couple of his teammates, either in the grasslands, or with battling other trainers here and there. You even tried to join in while fighting some office worker with a Wooper... only to wind up having to unceremoniously retreat with a snout caked in mud, stinging from the dull pain, along with your pride, as you managed to do little more than just roar and slowly run around.

You snap to attention after the music picks up with staccato chimes, and glance up ahead after feeling Juliana tug your harness. The path curves off to the right up ahead, while off to the left, there’s a tall stone tower with a pair of circular balconies—one at the top, one halfway up.

It’s on a ledge that looks perfectly jumpable, so why does Juliana want to take a detour? When you were in the old lighthouse, Fito taught you that lights from human towns bleed into the night sky, which they’re doing from the direction of the tower and not where the path turns.

You know you can’t fight right now, but there are different Modes your body can be in that let you do all kinds of things like helping you get around easier… like when you ran away from your old lab.

You interrupt the thought there before it gets too painful. At the same time, even while Juliana’s tugging your harness to go right, it gives you a few ideas of how to get to this ‘Cortondo’ a bit faster.

You ignore Juliana’s prompts through your natural harness, and plant your claws against the ground. In a swift motion, you spring up—and your riders, human and Pokémon alike, let out a shared outcry.

“Bzzt! What are you doing?!” Chispa buzzes.

“Taking a shortcut!”

You try to swivel your horns out for their gliding stance to fly off, but much to your alarm, you barely get off the ground and start falling back to earth much earlier than expected.

You land on your rings with a wobble, a Yungoos hurriedly diving out the way with a yelp as you roll past and Lucas’ voice squawks in a panic.

“Trueno, you’re headed for a cliff!” the Quaxly protests.

“That’s the idea! I can fly us there! I just need to get high enough! Look!”

You jump again, but you just can’t get any faster or higher. Juliana’s tugging at your harness again—much more sharply. The tower and ledge are a lot closer now, and you feel a flash of anxiety. Your Hadron Engine’s supposed to run harder than this when you’re flying, and you should be able to jump much higher than this.

Juliana’s calling out that strange name, and her tugs at your harness grow more and more frantic. You’re just about to pass the tower and you’re almost at the cliff’s edge, but your Hadron Engine still sounds pathetically weak.

She calls out ‘Miraidon’ like Turo would, and with the cliff now fast approaching, your nerves fail you. You yield to her direction and she steers you around the tower’s base, Cortondo’s lights visible in the distance. So close, and yet so far away.

They slip from view as Juliana steers you back the way you came and back onto the dirt road, when Lucas lets out a sour huff.

“Nice shortcut there. Why don’t you just steer us into a wall next time?”

You hang your head and keep rolling on, barely acknowledging your surroundings as a sinking realization comes over you and your voice comes out in a defeated whine.

“B-But I really used to be able to fly—”

“♫ Dah-Dah-Dah… ♫”

You hurriedly dig your claws in for a stop as a cream blur alight with fiery light dashes across the road ahead from the right—it’s a Rapidash followed hot on his heels by an Arcanine, their voices trailing off into the distance humming a song weirdly in sync with Chispa’s one…

Wait. It is the same as Chispa’s song! Which catches just about everyone by surprise. You suppose it’s not just humans who like these songs.

As the surprise wears off, you notice both sides of the road are lined with trees with small, tapered leaves. So these are those olive orchards. You look off the way that the Rapidash and Arcanine went and notice a gap in the fence where their footprints continue on.

Past the boughs, there’s the glow of neon lights in the distance. They make you gasp in realization as clamp your claws back onto your rings:

Maybe you did find a usable shortcut after all.

You woosh your jets and jerk hard to the left off into the orchard down a gentle slope. Your rings dig into loose soil as Juliana tightens her grip on your natural harness. Her hands tense, only to slacken as the trees drift by as she looks off towards the light you see and turns you towards it.

There’s grass brushing against your scales now as you look around and see that you’ve exited the orchard into a wide, rolling plain. There, in the direction you’re rolling towards, there’s a Pokémon Center’s neon sign and the lights of buildings behind it.

Exactly where you wanted to be.

---

Commentary:

The version of Spark In The Dark used for scoring here is the 4:40 version from Super Eurobeat Presents Initial D Millennium Box. If you remembered the song being a bit longer, you’re probably thinking of the 4:43 version that first released in Super Eurobeat Presents Initial D ~D Selection~ or else one of its two Extended Mixes.

Also, thar be some character cameos in this chapter. If you’ve read some of my other stories or else some of Venia Silente’s and noticed some familiar faces, they’re cameos of exactly who you’re thinking of.

Translation Notes:

- Pueblo Pirotín - Spanish localization name for “Cortondo”. In Spanish, a ‘pirotín’ is a small pastry mold for making sweets that’s functionally equivalent to a cupcake liner. A bit catchier than “Cupcake Liner Town”, if I do say so myself.

 

[Spiteful Murkrow]

---

Get Me Power​

---

You blink and jolt your head up as you hear snarling guitars mix with a drumbeat that bounces between your ears. You didn’t know that these running songs could do that, but you suppose you wouldn’t have known. Normally you’re only wearing one and Juliana the other.

Things are different today. You’re not running along a route, but sitting in an open field in Cortondo. There’s spiderweb-patterned fences all around you, along with a large fake olive that’s supposed to be pushed along to a goal.

Up ahead, Juliana’s latest obstacle blocks the way: a human woman grasping a Pokéball in front of a small line of Smoliv.

The music suddenly picks up in volume and speed as an electronic beat fills them, still quiet enough to hear Juliana grab a Pokéball, aim, and cry out. Red light shoots out from the ball as a Lechonk abruptly materializes in front of her, pawing the ground and snorting in challenge.

Human lyrics join in the music as the woman does much the same, sending out a Kricketune, who announces his presence with a whooping chirp. The meaning is clear: the only way forward in this fenced-in space is through a fight.

“Seriously?”

You look down at your side after a quacking huff towards your fellow spectators. Chispa’s there, having left the phone on your harness on ‘shuffle’ to take a break outside to watch the battle. And there’s Lucas, who’s clearly less than enthused from how he’s tapping his foot with his bill turned up.

“Why’s he leading?” the Quaxly fumes “I’m the one that knows Wing Attack!”

Right, the Lechonk’s a partner that Juliana got with help from that ‘Nemona’ classmate before you met—‘Pokey’ or something like that. And when he lunges ahead towards his foe, you notice his movements do seem a bit clumsy. He’s definitely slower on his feet when following Juliana’s battle commands than Lucas, let alone compared to how you used to be before you got hurt.

Maybe Juliana was trying to be nice? You assumed that’s why she let you wear that other headphone while watching from the sidelines. Since whenever you hear these songs,

it’s easier to forget all the ways you’re currently a shadow of your old self.

Chispa twitches his tendrils briefly, before shooting a sharp, sidelong frown at Lucas.

“You can’t fight all your battles yourself, featherface,” the Rotom says. “If none of your teammates catch up with you, what are you going to do when you get into a battle where you’re the one fighting at a disadvantage?”

The Quaxly hesitates briefly and you almost reflexively pipe up—that Lucas could just get stronger. Except, you yourself know that that’s just not enough sometimes.

Since the last time you tried ‘just getting stronger’ for a battle, it ended with you hurt and helplessly staring down a Hyper Beam meant to kill you.

“Yeow!”

A sharp cry turns your eyes back to the battlefield. The Lechonk staggers from a hacking swipe from the Kricketune. He totters a couple paces away as the Kricketune raises his claw again and your eyes briefly shrink as you reflexively spring onto your feet and start forward to intervene.

Your efforts prove unnecessary: a call from the woman on the other end makes the Kricketune hesitate. There’s a flash of red light as Juliana recalls the Lechonk to his Pokéball. She then calls Lucas forward, much to the Quaxly’s sighing annoyance.

“Oh, that’s totally a good sign for our chances at that Gym,” he mutters. “Maybe we should help out Arven get those herbs or whatever he was looking for before actually battling the leader.”

Lucas takes his place on the battlefield as you stare blankly, trying to process what just happened:

“How come the Kricketune just… stopped, Chispa?”

“Because it’s a sporting battle? After you beat the other ‘mon, you back off.”

Just as the music picks up again, a sharp cry from Juliana fills the air and Lucas picks up right where his teammate left off, lunging ahead with a furious swipe of his wings. Even as the battle returns to normal, something’s still off from the sidelong frown that Chispa’s shooting you.

“Didn’t Arven teach you that back when he trained you?”

You hesitate at Chispa’s question as the music continues on in more muted tones, your mind drifting back to old memories—of your first lab at that lighthouse. Arven had Fito, his Maschiff partner, back then. You remember playing with them there when there weren’t others to see you. How they’d share snacks while looking out to the sea.

Along with how the local Wingull would come to steal them, even after being chased off beforehand…

“... Not really, no.”

Chispa’s brow raises and you grimace. You really don’t want to retell that story. He’ll probably react badly…

Arven sure did…

A cry rings out from the battlefield ahead, from Lucas just barely sidestepping a Fury Cutter. A welcome distraction from the topic of conversation.

You still don’t feel better. Even without your power, isn’t there something you can do to help with Juliana’s ‘Gym Challenge’? Something aside from sitting and patting your claws to this beat…?

You glance at the fake olive behind you when it dawns on you:

Nobody said you couldn't bring it to the maze’s goal for Juliana, right?

You turn around as Chispa’s distracted with the battle, curling your tail and dewlap into rings as your Hadron Engine comes alive with its low hum.

You roll for the olive, lowering your head. The thing’s mostly air and canvas, so if you give it a good ram, maybe you can knock it past those Smoliv—

BONK!

It glances off your shoulder and your eyes widen. Instead of going forward, the mock-olive bounces rightward, over the spiderweb-patterned fence.

You can’t do anything but stare dumbly at the fake olive through the spiderwebbed fence for a moment. Does everything you do to try to help others just wind up failing? You were failing even in your first lab… back when you decided to stop those Wingull from constantly stealing Arven and Fito’s food in your first lab.

You were so proud that day when you eliminated the threats, until you saw Arven’s face afterwards.

You remember the way he screamed, how scared he looked.

It was the failure that made you and Turo have to leave your first lab. The one that made Arven stop liking you.

The music snaps you to attention as those words that keep repeating come back and something sparks within you. No. You know you can do more than just fail. You wouldn’t have gotten Juliana here to Cortondo if that was so.

And you won’t be defeated by an olive of all things.

You hop the fence, landing on your rings and loop around the olive from behind. There’s a ramp next to Juliana’s battlefield. Surely that will get it onto the shortcut.

And with that, you lower your head and charge.

As you roll forward, your heart sinks after hearing a faint hum—your Hadron Engine, still pathetically weak.

BONK!

Even so, the olive sails over the ramp after ramming it. Everything happens so quickly afterwards: the human Gym worker ducks aside, then the Smoliv do, then the olive comes to a rolling stop.

The battle’s over now and everyone’s staring at you. Not mad or scared, but definitely confused.

“S-Surprise?”

You smile back sheepishly, happy you’ve had some success.

---

Commentary:

Get Me Power was one of those songs that was a bit of a pain to find versions of that were publicly linkable, which led me to go with the ol’ reliable 4:50 mix from Super Eurobeat Presents Initial D ~D Selection~. The full Extended Mix clocks in at 5:10 which you can kinda make fit with the chapter text, good luck doing that with the original 3:59 version, though.

And yeah, the Gym Challenges will mostly be brushed-past in this story, but the Olive Roll sequence from Cortondo’s was enough of a meme that I just had to work it into this series in some capacity. The backstory of bike dragon ruining some unfortunate wild Pokémon’s day in canon material actually differs slightly depending on the localization you play Scarlet/Violet in. For example, the English localization implies that it involved multiple Pokémon while the Spanish one implies that it involved a singular one.

 

[Spiteful Murkrow]

---

Heartbeat​

---

Bum-bum. Bum-bum.

“Trueno, what on earth is going on?”

Lucas’ quacking voice goes in one ear and out the other. You don’t know what on earth was in that sandwich that Juliana gave you back in that cave, but you’ve felt something stirring in you ever since. An electric feeling flows down your limbs as a faint hum lingers in the background. You suddenly gasp in realization as electronic chirps join in over your headphone as the throbbing beat grows faster and faster.

Your own heart begins to race as the music in your headphone grows louder still. Your Hadron Engine is running stronger! Why, the low hum sounds the way it did when you used to sprint around on your rings in Drive Mode!

If it’s like this right after eating that sandwich, then maybe…

You grab at your dewlap with your foreclaws and your tail curls in on itself as the rings they form come alight in electric yellows and purples. The music continues pulsing as your rear claws tuck into place under your hips, your Hadron Engine’s whine growing louder and louder as your passengers let out small cries in surprise.

Static crackles as the rings spin, as you rear up onto your curled-up tail. Juliana’s grip on your natural harness tightens as air pushes out the jets from your hips. You lurch forward and just a little after a human female’s voice joins in with the music, the ring that was your dewlap touches the ground and spins and you take off into the desert.

Like most of the words the human singers from these “running songs” Chispa’s been playing lately, the lyrics are a foreign garble to you, if different from the garble that most human words here in Paldea are. Even so, there’s something about it like all the others that made you wish that you could move like you used to.

And now, you finally can.

The human singer’s refrain repeats as the arid scrublands and surrounding bluffs fly by and the wind blows over your metallic scales, just like it used to. Those herbs that Arven found really were special, and your own heart begins to flutter along with the beat of the music as it dawns on you:

“T-That sandwich healed me! My Hadron Engine’s running like it’s supposed to!”

“Your what now?!” Lucas quacks.

It’ll take too long to explain to the Quaxly, since Turo’s explanation of how exactly your ‘Hadron Engine’ works would mostly go in one ear and out the other even with humans. You just know that when it runs at full strength, you enter your true form—‘Ultimate Mode’, Turo used to call it. It gives you the strength to fight. Strength that makes lesser foes like those Houndour that attacked Juliana when you first met quake and flee at its mere sight.

Those herbs that you fought past that giant Klawf to get have somehow put a spark in you which fixed it. Maybe all you need to do to get your full strength back is to put yourself through your paces.

You tear along and push air from the jets on your hips as you wait for your Hadron Engine to run stronger still.

Except its hum hangs and stubbornly refuses to go past its low whine. Your rings touch the ground again and you roll along the desert dust and your heart skips a beat and your electronic irises shrink in dread.

Your Hadron Engine remains stuck in its diminished state. There’s no sparks or static about the ground about you and instead of levitating, you remain rolling along the ground. Your breath tightens and your mind goes blank in shock.

“I-I don’t understand, it should’ve-!”

“Ack! Go right! Go right!”

You snap to attention at Lucas’ startled cries and feel Juliana tug sharply against your harness. Your eyes turn up from the ground, barely in time to see the fast-approaching ledge and the rocky outcropping just past it.

You briefly pull your claws away from your rings and touch the ground and vault upwards, shooting up into the air. Except your Hadron Engine still refuses to run harder. Your jump’s not anywhere as high as you remembered and the energy membranes that would form around your horns that would get you airborne aren’t—

SKRRRCH!

Your rings hit the ground unevenly as a startled figure jumps out of the way—a Makuhita jumping out of your path. You fight to stay on your rings as your balance wobbles briefly and Chispa joins in in alarm as his voice crackles with a buzzing start.

“Whoa! Slow down! Slow down-!”

There’s a twisting stone pass up ahead and you freeze in a panic. Suddenly, Juliana tugs your harness rightwards. Without thinking, you jerk the front of your body sharply to follow it. Your tail-hoop starts to skid as for a brief moment, it slides out and you can see the opposite wall of the pass.

“A-Ack!”

You slide along as Juliana twists your harness against the direction of your spin. You follow along and your body evens out just in time for you to enter a sharp left turn just ahead, which you don’t even need Juliana’s prodding to continue turning your forward hoop left to try and clear it.

You lose traction again. It reminds you of that slipping feeling you have whenever you lunge at foes and throw lightning ahead of you.

Except right now, you’re not throwing much of anything other than dust in your wake.

Your rings finally regain traction and you level out, taking the upcoming turn right and up an incline more steadily. It takes you back to the main road overlooking the desert, the one you all took on your way over to search for that ‘Titan’.

Your excitement fades even as the music continues in your ear and you slow to a stop and get back on your feet, hanging your head slightly with a low whine.

You were so sure that you’d gotten your strength back. But your Hadron Engine’s still not working properly. All you’re able to do is just sprint, and not as well as you used to be able to.

“Where on earth did you learn to do that?!”

You glance over your shoulder at Lucas with his beak agape, staring at you alongside Chispa and Juliana in a mix of shock and disbelief.

“Wait, do what-?”

“You were drifting back there!” Chispa buzzes. “And if you could get through that canyon like that, you’re clearly quite good at it!”

‘Drifting’... that’s what humans call that sliding feeling? The startled reaction on Juliana’s face fades into a widening smile. She says something excitedly in that language of hers before motioning off ahead. Then Chispa echoes it.

“Juliana wants you to keep riding around a bit. Are you down for it, Trueno?”

You’re still not used to that nickname, and you’re not really sure why they’re so impressed by you when you’re not anywhere as strong as you’re supposed to be…

But they’re happy. And even if it’s only a shadow of what you used to be able to do, there’s something about running the way you used to that’s freeing.

“Yeah, I think I can do that.”

Your Hadron Engine hums back to life. Your claws slide in place around your rings and you’re off, tearing down the road as Juliana laughs and hollers all the while.

Maybe you just need some time for your strength to come back to you. A few more of those sandwiches probably couldn’t hurt.

---

Commentary:

Surprise! I was in a double feature-y mood tonight since I felt that this was a better place thematically to leave things off on for about a week. You might see me do back to back updates for this story occasionally, since barring a complete and utter collapse in my publishing pace, there was a very specific date in December I was targeting for pushing the the last chapter from the 3 originally planned "Discs" out the window.

For the more musical trivia end of things, the version of Heartbeat used for scoring here is the Extended Mix from Bratt Sinclaire Eurobeat Style Vol. 4. The song’s original release is quite a bit shorter at 4 minutes long, which was a bit too little runway to work with for wordcount.

Also, I did say that there’d be Initial D references in this story, so what would it be without a healthy helping of drifting thrown in? And yes, you can indeed drift a motorcycle in real life. It looks and works roughly the same as it did for our robot anole buddy here, just with fewer jet engines involved.

Earlier Versions:

Spoiler: Magical and Mundane Zine Submission

Heartbeat​

Bum-bum. Bum-bum.

“Trueno, what’s going on?”

Lucas’ quacking voice goes in one ear and out the other. You don’t know what was in that sandwich Arven made in that cave, but something’s been stirring in you ever since. An electric feeling comes over your limbs as a faint hum lingers in the background, all as electronic chirps join in over your headphone and the throbbing beat grows faster and faster.

You suddenly gasp in realization: it’s your Hadron Engine. It’s running stronger! It doesn’t sound like it does when you’re at your full might, but the realization makes your own heart race as the music in your headphone grows louder and louder. It currently has that low hum it’d have in the past whenever you dashed around on your rings in Drive Mode to warm it up.

Still giddy with disbelief, you grab at your dewlap with your foreclaws and your tail curls in on itself. The music continues pulsing as your rings form and come aglow with electric yellows and purples while your claws clamp them into place. Your Hadron Engine’s whine grows a little louder and your passengers cry out in surprise.

Static crackles, your rings spin, and you rear up onto your curled-up tail as Juliana’s grip on your natural harness tightens. A human female’s voice joins in with the music as the jets from your hips force out air with a much louder woosh. You lurch forward as the hoop that was your dewlap touches the ground. It spins and digs in, rocketing you forward and off into the desert.

Like most of the words the human singers from these “running songs” that Chispa’s been playing lately, the lyrics are a foreign garble to you, if different from the foreign garble that most human words here in Paldea are. Still, there’s something about this melody like all the others that made you wish that you could move around like you used to.

And now, at long last, you finally can.

The human singer’s voice repeats a refrain as the arid scrublands and surrounding bluffs fly by. The wind blows against your metallic scales, your jets leaving contrails almost as long as your body in your wake, just like they used to. So those herbs that Arven found really were special, and your own heart flutters along with the beat of the music as you put things together:

“T-That sandwich healed me! My Hadron Engine’s running like it’s supposed to!”

“Your what now?!” Lucas quacks.

It’ll take too long to explain to the Quaxly, since even your old friend’s explanation of how this ‘Hadron Engine’ inside you works mostly went in one ear and out the other. You just know that when it runs at full strength, you enter your true form that gives you the strength to fight. ‘Ultimate Mode’, your friend called it. The strength that lets you command overpowering bolts of electricity, which makes lesser foes like those Houndour that attacked Juliana when you first met quake and flee at its mere sight.

Those herbs that your teammates fought past that giant Klawf to get somehow put a spark in you that jump-started your Hadron Engine. Maybe all you need to do to get your full strength back is to put yourself through your paces and warm it up more.

You tear along, pushing air from the jets on your hips as you wait for that telltale sound from your Hadron Engine and your full strength to return.

The singer’s refrain kicks up when you realize something’s wrong. Your Hadron Engine’s stubbornly refusing to go past its low whine, almost like it’s stuck. Your rings touch the ground again and you roll along the desert dust. Your heart skips a beat as your electronic irises shrink in dread.

Your Hadron Engine’s still not running like it used to. There’s no sparks or static on the ground around you and instead of levitating, you’re still rolling on the ground. Your breaths start to tighten and your mind goes blank in shock.

“I-I don’t understand, it should’ve-!”

“Ack! Go right! Go right!”

Lucas’ startled cries snap you to attention as Juliana tugs sharply back against your harness. Your eyes turn up from the ground, barely in time to see the fast-approaching ledge and the rocky outcropping just past it.

You briefly pull your claws away from the rings and touch the ground, vaulting yourself upwards into the air. Except your Hadron Engine still won’t run any harder. Your jump’s not anywhere as high as you remembered and even after your horns swivel into place, the energy membranes that would form around them and would get you airborne aren’t—

SKRRRCH!

Your rings hit the ground unevenly as a startled figure leaps out of the way—a Makuhita diving out of your path. You fight to stay on your rings as your balance balance wobbles and Chispa’s voice crackles with a buzzing start.

“Whoa! Hit the brakes!”

There’s a twisting stone pass up ahead and you freeze in a panic. Suddenly, Juliana tugs your harness rightwards, and you reflexively jerk the front of your body to follow it. The human voice gives way to a wailing, electronic riff as your tail-hoop starts to skid. For a brief moment, it slides out and the opposite wall of the pass fills your vision.

“A-Ack!”

You slide along as Juliana twists your harness against the direction of your spin. You follow along and your body evens out just in time for you to enter a sharp left turn just ahead. You don’t even need Juliana’s prodding this time to continue turning your forward hoop left to try and clear it.

Your rings lose traction and slide again just as the melody cuts to a chirping riff. You skid along when you realize that this sliding sensation’s weirdly familiar. It feels almost like whenever you lunge at your foes to throw lightning at them in Ultimate Mode.

Except right now, you’re throwing nothing besides dust in your wake.

Your rings finally regain traction and you steady out, taking the upcoming turn right and up a gentle incline. It brings you back to the main road overlooking the desert, the same one you all took to go search for that ‘Titan’.

Your excitement fades even as the music continues in your ear. You slow to a stop and slide back on your feet, hanging your head slightly with a low whine.

You were so sure that your strength came back. But all you can do is just sprint, and not even as well as you used to.

“When did you learn to do that?!”

You look over your shoulder and see Lucas with his beak agape in blank awe, while Juliana and Chispa have similar expressions themselves.

“Wait, do what-?”

“You were drifting back there!” Chispa buzzes. “If you could get through that canyon like that, you’re clearly quite good at it!”

‘Drifting’... is that what that sliding feeling’s called? There’s a beaming smile on Juliana’s face as she says something excitedly in that human tongue of hers. She motions off ahead, as Chispa steps in to translate.

“Juliana wants to keep riding around for a while. That okay, Trueno?”

You’re still not used to that nickname, and you’re not really sure why Juliana and the others are so impressed with you when you’re not anything like you’re supposed to be…

But they’re happy. And even if you’re only a shadow of who you were, there’s something that feels freeing just running with the music like this.

“Yeah, I can do that.”

Your Hadron Engine hums back to life as the music winds down. You clasp your rings in your claws, your hips’ jets roar, and you zoom ahead as Juliana laughs and hollers all the while.

Maybe your strength will return with a little more time. A few more of those sandwiches probably couldn’t hurt, either.

Spoiler: 2024 Magical and Mundane Contest Entry

Heartbeat​

Bum-bum. Bum-bum.

“Trueno, what on earth is going on?”

Lucas’ quacking voice goes in one ear and out the other. You don’t know what on earth was in that sandwich that Juliana gave you back in that cave, but you’ve felt something stirring in you ever since. An electric feeling comes over your limbs as a faint hum lingers in the background when you suddenly gasp in realization as the throbbing beat grows faster and faster.

Your Hadron Engine is running again! It doesn’t sound like it does when you’re at your full might, but with the low hum it has while holding your back to move around faster.

… Like in what your old friend used to call ‘Drive Mode’.

Your own heart begins to race as the music in your earbud grows louder. You grab at your dewlap with your foreclaws and your tail curls in on itself as they form hoops that come alight in electric yellow and purples as your rear claws clamp them into place. Juliana and the others let out small cries in surprise as your Hadron Engine’s whine grows a little louder.

Static crackles as the hoops spin, as you rear up onto your curled-up tail. Juliana’s grip on your natural harness tightens as air pushes out the jets from your hips. You lurch forward and just as a human female’s voice joins in with the music, the hoop that was your dewlap touches the ground and spins and you take off into the desert.

Like most of the words the human singers from these “running songs” Chispa’s been playing lately, the lyrics are a foreign garble to you, if different from the garble that most human words here in Paldea are. Even so, there’s something about it like all the others that made you wish that you could move like you used to.

And now, you finally can.

The human singer’s refrain repeats as the arid scrublands and surrounding bluffs fly by and the wind blows against your metallic scales, just like they used to. So those herbs that your friend’s child really were special, and your own heart begins to flutter along with the beat of the music as it dawns on you:

“T-That sandwich healed me! My Hadron Engine’s running again!”

“Your what now?!” Lucas quacks.

It’ll take too long to explain to the Quaxly, since even your old friend’s explanation of exactly how this ‘Hadron Engine’ of yours works mostly went in one ear and out the other. You just know that when it runs at full strength, you enter your true form—‘Ultimate Mode’, he used to call it, that gives you the strength to fight. The strength that makes lesser foes like those Houndour that attacked Juliana quake and flee at its mere sight.

Those herbs that you fought past that giant Klawf to get have somehow put a spark in you which restarted it. Maybe all you need to do to get your full strength back is to put yourself through your paces.

You tear along and push air from the jets on your hips as you wait for your Hadron Engine to run stronger still.

Except its hum hangs and stays stubbornly refuses to go past its low whine. Your hoops touch the ground again and you roll along the desert dust and your heart skips a beat and your electronic irises shrink in dread.

Your Hadron Engine remains stuck in its diminished state. There’s no sparks or static about the ground about you and instead of levitating, you remain rolling along the ground. Your breath tightens and your mind goes blank in shock.

“I-I don’t understand, my Hadron Engine should’ve-”

“Ack! Go right! Go right!”

You snap to attention at Lucas’ startled cries and feel Juliana tug sharply against your harness. Your eyes turn up from the ground, barely in time to see the fast-approaching ledge and the rocky outcropping just past it.

You briefly pull your claws away from the hoops and touch the ground and vault upwards, shooting up into the air. Except your Hadron Engine still refuses to run harder. Your jump’s not anywhere as high as you remembered and the energy membranes that would form around your horns that would get you airborne aren’t—

SKRRRCH!

Your hoops hit the ground unevenly as a startled figure jumps out of the way—a Makuhita jumping out of your path. You fight to stay on your hoops as your balance wobbles briefly and Chispa joins in in alarm as his voice crackles with a buzzing start.

“Whoa! Slow down! Slow down-!”

There’s a twisting stone pass up ahead and you freeze in a panic. Suddenly, Juliana tugs your harness rightwards. Without thinking, you jerk the front of your body sharply to follow it. Your tail-hoop starts to skid as for a brief moment, it slides out and you can see the opposite wall of the pass.

“A-Ack!”

You slide along as Juliana twists your harness against the direction of your spin. You follow along and your body evens out just in time for you to enter a sharp left turn just ahead, which you don’t even need Juliana’s prodding to continue turning your forward hoop left to try and clear it.

You lose traction again. It reminds you of that slipping feeling you have whenever you lunge at foes and throw lightning ahead of you.

Except right now, you’re not throwing much of anything other than dust in your wake.

Your hoops finally regain traction and you level out, taking the upcoming turn right and up an incline more steadily. It takes you back to the main road overlooking the desert, the one you all took on your way over to search for that ‘Titan’.

Your excitement fades even as the music continues in your ear and you slow to a stop and get back on your feet, hanging your head slightly with a low whine.

You were so sure that you’d gotten your strength back. But even with your Hadron Engine working again, all you’re able to do is just run, and not as well as you used to be able to.

“Where on earth did you learn to do that?!”

You briefly glance back over your shoulder and see Lucas with his beak agape, staring at you alongside Chispa and Juliana in blank awe.

“Wait, do what-?”

“You were drifting back there!” Chispa buzzes. “And if you could get through that canyon like that, you’re clearly quite good at it!”

‘Drifting’... is that what humans call that sliding feeling? There’s a wide smile on Juliana’s face as she says something excitedly in that human tongue of hers before motioning off ahead when Chispa echoes it.

“Juliana wants you to keep riding around a bit. Are you down for it, Trueno?”

You’re still not used to that nickname, and you’re not really sure why they’re so impressed by you when you’re not anywhere as strong as you’re supposed to be…

But they’re happy. And even if it’s only a shadow of what you used to be able to do, there’s something about running the way you used to that’s freeing.

“Yeah, I think I can do that.”

Your Hadron Engine hums back to life. Your claws slide in place around your hoops and you’re off, tearing down the road as Juliana laughs and hollers all the while.

Maybe you just need some time for your strength to come back to you. A few more of those sandwiches probably couldn’t hurt.”