Water Veil Cove

[AbraPunk]

Novo staggered about, lost in the chaos and confusion. He saw an Espeon fly past—Neo?? Yes, it was! That was definitely his scent. But why was he tackling the other Umbreon all of a sudden?

Moving as fast as his longer, bigger limbs would allow, he half-stumbled, half-ran to his brother and called out to him with a bark

Merian turned to see who was barking so loudly and-- oh. It was the Mightyena from the boat.

He snarled at the approaching wolf 'mon. "The hell do you want?!"

--

Nico was still just sitting there. It wasn't like he actually knew how to control a human body, no, of course not. His gaze slid over to where Wes had gone, and--

Oh no.

He watched in horror, seeing that damned wisp floating around Wes again, but this time, it was flaring up to a size he'd never seen, the black and violet energy swirling violently.

His blood ran cold as he came to a realization:

It follows Wes' spirit, not his body.

The wisp lowered itself, enveloping Wes, wreathing him in the exact same aura that Nico knew too well.

And then it exploded.

Oh, gods... we can't do anything about this now.

--

Merian was distracted by the massive Shadow explosion. His eyes widened and his jaw dropped as he realized what had happened.

"Awwww, FUCK! Damn it! Shit!" He paced angrily, knowing that he wouldn't be able to do anything to help Wes now. He supposed he'd just have to wait this out... or perhaps if someone could knock Wes out...?

 

[Flyg0n]

Fools, every last one of them.

Lucy Gray had been bored up to this point. Especially today, when her new human trainer decided to sit around reading instead of trying to solve the disappearances. What did it matter what had happened in the past? This was happening now.

So when the blue human and his pokemon left the lounge, the froslass decided to follow suit; neither of his pokemon had seemed to detect her presence so far, and her new human certainly couldn't get up to much trouble with her books, now, could she? She'd get by without Lucy's watchful eye for a while. They'd reunite later, and if Kimiko was gone by the time she returned, well, the froslass knew where their room was, either way.

The blue human ended up joining a group of other humans going hunting for one of the mythical pokemon on the island, despite the fact that nearly all of them were severely sleep deprived. Now that sounded intriguing. Surely, if they were so great, they could be of use here. And so Lucy followed, remaining invisible, behind the group. If nothing else, perhaps it would offer some form of amusement.

Finding Manaphy turned out to be absurdly easy. Lucy watched as one of the humans volunteered to swap places with one of the missing humans. She was a clever one - Lucy noted it was the same woman who harbored the Chaos Tumbleweed. Well, if she wasn't interested before (she was), she certainly was now. This girl knew how to solve puzzles.

Manaphy's ability was a parlor trick to any competent ghost type. Possession was simply much more efficient a tool. It didn't require cooperation with anyone else, and came with the benefit of not risking your own form while you did your job. Still... if this worked when your target was unknown... that was definitely an ability her masters could make use of.

No, wait... former masters. Not for the first time, she had to remind herself that that wasn't how she lived anymore.

And then chaos erupted among the trainers, and as it turned out, not from said tumbleweed. In fact, it seemed as though Odile herself had been affected as well, as people and pokemon alike began to stagger around like a bunch of spinda. Idiots, the entire lot. They had literally asked for this, what did they expect to happen??

And so Lucy watched silently with bored amusement. A fight broke out among a few of them. A pokemon was teaching one of the humans - the clever woman, or whoever was now occupying her physical form - to dance. The Chaos Tumbleweed and another of the humans appeared to both be having some sort of episode.

Meanwhile, lost in all of that pointless babble... Manaphy simply sat there, ignored by the party now that it had performed the role they required of it. Typical, miserable humans. Even a legend was not exempt from being discarded like a banette the moment it was no longer useful. However, perhaps the fact that it had not yet left could be put to their collective advantage.

Yveltal above, it feels bizarre to even think this way.

So, while the rest of the party continued to flail about, Lucy Gray floated near Manaphy. Far enough to hopefully not startle the mythic (it could probably still sense her even though she was invisible, anyway, what with it's soul-swapping ability and all) but close enough to be heard.

[[ @Flyg0n Mind Reader ]]

Manaphy had appeared to speak telepathically, or something akin to that. So Lucy attempted to do the same, keeping her broadcast range away from anyone but the mythical.

I would have words with you, Lucy thought in Manaphy's direction. You are Manaphy, are you not? Better to start with an obvious question; easy to tell what it might look like when it lied.

Tell me. How does your ability work? Does it require you to know your target's location? You say you were unable to locate the missing humans or their pokemon in order to perform a swap with them. How, then, can you be certain none of them have left the island, if your range can't even reach the entire island?

"Certainly, allow me to provide clarity," Manaphy said cheerfully to Lucy. They turned their attention away from the frenetic happenings on the beach, although they appeared to be keeping an eye on it all nonetheless.

"The first question is quite simple. As a watcher of the sea, I can detect the currents, wild pokemon, and everything about the sea. I didn't sense the presence of anything passing though my waters.

As for the precise nature of how I am able to swap hearts... I'm afraid that would be like trying to explain sight to a Roggenrola. But perhaps an analogy will help?

Manaphy floated in a few circles, as if trying to think of an apt one. "Do you know of the device that humans refer to as a cell phone? Well my ability is not unlike that.
I can call out to any heart I know to swap them. But what I felt today... It is what humans might think of as a blocked call. Or perhaps also not unlike someone cut the phone line... Or was out of service?" they frowned to themselves, as if trying to consider if their analogy worked.

"I am sorry, that is the closest explanation I can give. I reached out and called Reena's heart but I couldn't make the connection. Something is blocking it... Which should be very hard to do. I do hope that help though!"

There is no guile or deceit in Manaphy! They're a truther!

 

[HelloYellow17]

He screamed his fury to the heavens, and at that exact moment, a gargantuan mass of black and violet energy exploded out from him, enveloping everyone nearby, and throwing them back several feet. To anyone caught in it, it felt like the coldest flame possible, so freezing that it paradoxically burnt.

Wes was not prepared.

WHAM.

Something rammed into his back, brutally driving the air from his lungs and launching him across the sand. His head slammed against the ground as he tumbled, filling his vision with black spots.

He lay there for a moment, struggling to breathe, head spinning and vision swimming. After a moment, he managed a weak groan.

“What…the hell…”

He slowly picked himself up, wincing as his head throbbed. Gladion was definitely going to be feeling that tomorrow, he was sure. He hoped, more for Gladion’s sake than for his, that it wasn’t anything too serious.

Once he staggered to his feet, he saw that the scene had erupted into chaos.

The Espeon—or rather, the other Wes, in Espeon form, had absolutely lost it. He was on an uncontrollable rampage, lunging and slashing and tearing at anything and anyone near him. Almost exactly like…

Oh, gods. Wes had way too many questions, but there was no questioning that savage behavior. He’d seen it too many times. Instinctively, he reached for a snag ball that he’d kept tucked away on his belt under his coat, but—dammit, this wasn’t his body. Though he wasn’t even sure that was a good idea in the first place…what happened when you tried to snag a Pokémon that was possessed by a human?

…More importantly, how the hell did I ever get in a scenario where that question needs to be asked?

Damn, damn, damn. He needed his Pokémon, and he needed them now.

Merian turned to see who was barking so loudly and-- oh. It was the Mightyena from the boat.

He snarled at the approaching wolf 'mon. "The hell do you want?!"

Novo stopped short, skidding to a halt and spraying sand as he did so. That…was not Neo. He looked and smelled like him, and yet…

Had Neo been transformed, too? How was he supposed to find—?

A bark caught his attention. The other Umbreon bounded up to him, eyes bright and tail wagging. “Brother!”

Novo furiously wagged his tail. This tail was easier to wag than his own, somehow. He sloppily licked the side of Neo’s whole head.

“You look better as an Umbreon.”

"Awwww, FUCK! Damn it! Shit!" He paced angrily, knowing that he wouldn't be able to do anything to help Wes now. He supposed he'd just have to wait this out... or perhaps if someone could knock Wes out...?

The yowl from Not-Neo startled them both. He paced in distress, his eyes trained on something a ways down the beach. Novo followed his gaze and felt his hackles rise.

The other Espeon was feral. Really feral, just like…Nani. Nani and Maku and Kohna and Nyra and so many others. And there were lots of people right next to him in his rampage.

Including Wes. His Wes.

Novo launched himself across the sand with a ferocious snarl, with Neo right behind. This body may not be his, but it was still a dark-type. He had a Crunch ready before he even reached the Espeon, dark energy pooling in his maw.

 

[Seren]

Manaphy floated in a few circles, as if trying to think of an apt one. "Do you know of the device that humans refer to as a cell phone? Well my ability is not unlike that.
I can call out to any heart I know to swap them. But what I felt today... It is what humans might think of as a blocked call. Or perhaps also not unlike someone cut the phone line... Or was out of service?" they frowned to themselves, as if trying to consider if their analogy worked.

"I am sorry, that is the closest explanation I can give. I reached out and called Reena's heart but I couldn't make the connection. Something is blocking it... Which should be very hard to do. I do hope that help though!"

Lucy Gray found herself uncharacteristically anxious. That... was not a very promising answer. "What can cause a blocked connection? Is this something another pokemon is capable of doing? If so, who might be powerful enough to block a legend? Would a non-legend be capable of this?" Just what exactly did "very hard to do" entail, anyway?

"....They're not dead, are they?"

 

[IFBench]

He screamed his fury to the heavens, and at that exact moment, a gargantuan mass of black and violet energy exploded out from him, enveloping everyone nearby, and throwing them back several feet. To anyone caught in it, it felt like the coldest flame possible, so freezing that it paradoxically burnt.

Wes knew now that this was how he was meant to be. He was never meant to be a human, no, deep down he'd always known that he was a pokémon, and there was nothing else that excelled at harnessing rage so efficiently, weaponizing it.

He leapt from person to person, biting and slashing whoever he could get to, dark energy streaming from his jaws and claws.

Anyone who had aura sensing abilities would notice something that should have been impossible.

His aura was exactly like that of a Shadow pokémon's.

Gen recognized that blast of black and violet energy. He'd seen it before, on the second day of him being a Pokemon in that other world, when he and two friends had went to find and purify a Flapple...who was a Shadow Pokemon.

"D-did...did he just b-become a Shadow Pokemon?!" Gen said, eyes wide. "Th-that's...how...AAAAAAAAH!"

Gen screamed, as the Espeon made his way to him, and suddenly he was bleeding profusely through his arm and leg and it hurt it hurt so so much.

Tears welled up in his eyes from the pain. He hadn't felt this much pain in...ever. He wanted to go home, he wanted to go home back to his mom and dad and little brother and forget about all of this and stay safe at home.

"H-HELP!!" Gen screamed. He was beginning to feel woozy from blood loss...

 

[Flyg0n]

Lucy Gray found herself uncharacteristically anxious. That... was not a very promising answer. "What can cause a blocked connection? Is this something another pokemon is capable of doing? If so, who might be powerful enough to block a legend? Would a non-legend be capable of this?" Just what exactly did "very hard to do" entail, anyway?

"....They're not dead, are they?"

"Usually distance or if I'm am attempting to call a heart that's just... Too great a distance away. Ah! For example, I can't use my power when I'm in my own realm, I have to enter this one.

Manaphy chuckled, though there was a note of regret to their tone. "I am not all powerful. If an expert dark or perhaps ghost type tried to exert their influence it's possible, but they would need to be extremely skilled. Or if it's a psychic block perhaps they could be shielding them... A very exceedingly skill regular pokemon could do that. Or perhaps another mythical, but I cannot fathom one of our own doing something so terrible... "

They narrowed their eyes as they mused deeply. "No, a dead heart wouldn't feel blocked in such a manner. I can only conclude they're alive, though perhaps injured somehow or being held... " There was clear worry in their tone.

 

[Shiny Phantump]

He screamed his fury to the heavens, and at that exact moment, a gargantuan mass of black and violet energy exploded out from him, enveloping everyone nearby, and throwing them back several feet. To anyone caught in it, it felt like the coldest flame possible, so freezing that it paradoxically burnt.

Gladion fell over and landed hard. The pain in his side grew far worse. He needed it to stop.

He spotted his first-aid kit lying within arm’s reach. He pulled it closer. The painkillers inside were, at full doses, meant for Hazel and not for humans. He tried to measure out an eighth of a dose. Wes’ body could probably handle more, but his hands were shaky and he didn’t want gamble a life that might not be his.

Administering the needle was the easy part. He’d done that a thousand times before, if for a different reason.

The painkilling was immediately. He sighed aloud in relief. He was kind of sleepy now.

———

Hazel screamed. This was pain like she had never before. Within a split second, she came to understand why Gladion took even little injuries so seriously. Humans were fragile.

There was no chance she’d let it stop her, though. She would push through worse. The only problem was how limited she was like this. If she ran at the Espeon, she would just be hurt again. The one whose body was strong enough to suppress the Espeon didn’t know how to fight with it.

She rifled through what Odette had left her on hand, and found something she thought looked familiar. She had seen used many times before when she was younger: A tranquilizer. This one was dark instead of white, but the principle was the same. It was exactly what she needed.

She held it in both hands, reading her index fingers on the big trigger, and her thumbs on the smaller side triggers she didn’t really get the point of, and leveled it at the Espeon’s hips. She pressed everything, hoping that would be enough to make it go off.

Instead of the pneumatic hiss she was expecting, the end of the device exploded. She narrowly avoided breaking Odette’s nose with it as it recoiled.

She wasn’t sure what she’d done yet, but one thing was certain: That had been no tranquilizer. What had she done?

 

[MintyMimix]

He screamed his fury to the heavens, and at that exact moment, a gargantuan mass of black and violet energy exploded out from him, enveloping everyone nearby, and throwing them back several feet. To anyone caught in it, it felt like the coldest flame possible, so freezing that it paradoxically burnt.

Wes knew now that this was how he was meant to be. He was never meant to be a human, no, deep down he'd always known that he was a pokémon, and there was nothing else that excelled at harnessing rage so efficiently, weaponizing it.

He leapt from person to person, biting and slashing whoever he could get to, dark energy streaming from his jaws and claws.

Instincts overtook Violet as her eyes narrowed at the out-of-control not-Pokémon. Before the shadowy Espeon could dig into Hazel, she leapt in front of her partner met his feral frenzy with her own Night Slash as a different, more comforting dark energy surrounded her own claws. The attack deflected off of his bites and slashes but the girl still flinched as though the contact itself had seared her. Luckily, that was all the time was that needed as the shadow Pokémon had begun assaulting their next target.

Hazel laid on the ground, eyes widening as her heartbeat rang in her ears. What... was that? It all happened so quickly, so suddenly... she couldn't even react. One moment she was standing checking on the man, the next she was on the ground with Violet standing in front of her as the Espeon had gone berserk. Her reaction time was shot, her instincts and senses were dull, and she felt so helpless. Was this how every human felt during a Pokémon battle?! No wonder Violet has get so crafty...! She needs to just to survive!

A newfound respect for her trainer washed over her as she stared at the Weavile. For just the slightest moment, in her mind's eye, the lab coat she wore looked like a billowing cape. When Hazel blinked again, the cape was gone, and the lab coat remained. Clearing her throat, she managed to eek out, "T-thanks Violet..."

Violet sharply nodded her head, but knew it wasn't over yet. Her eyes darted around, scanning the area for ways to subdue the beast and survey the possible victims. She tugged on her former body's pants and pointed out the man yelling for help, and then back at the bag that Gladion had pulled his first aid out of, making grunts and howls as she did so.

"H-HELP!!" Gen screamed. He was beginning to feel woozy from blood loss...

Hazel got the message and nodded her head. "S-sorry, need to borrow this—" she said, taking a few wraps, swabs and a bit of disinfectant from the first aid kit as she sprinted off towards Gen. In front of her was the man Violet had been arguing with, but she knew in the back of her head that this wasn't him. Not that it mattered; a man was bleeding in front of her and needed assistance. She got to work immediately trying to cauterize the wound and applying the bandages.

Violet nodded her head. Good, Hazel got the message. Now, onto the next problem—

Instead of the pneumatic hiss she was expecting, the end of the device exploded. She narrowly avoided breaking Odette’s nose with it as it recoiled.

A thunderous clap of startled her out her thoughts as she turned to see the body that the other Hazel was occupying wielding some sort of weapon as it exploded in her hand. Everything went slow in her vision as an awful, rancid smell emanated from the device and her feathers stood on end. The instincts within her were yelling, pleading, yet her mind, unable to process what it was, stood still. It was the perfect combination that let her act without thinking as she leapt to try to smack the object out of the other Hazel's hands.

Meanwhile, the once-Weavile Hazel slowly tilted her head over as she stared in horror, realizing just what the noise was: a firearm. When she saw that it was Odette's body holding it, she only stared in fear, hoping the other Hazel hadn't done what she thought she just did.

 

[Sinderella]

Hazel suspected that Odette was saying that to make her feel good. If she was, it worked, because Hazel felt warm fuzziness.

"I am filled with thankfulness... But I am not knowing other human dancing moves. It is not one of the things Gladion is finding interesting. It is too bad. But I am understanding why, I do not think it is something he would be enjoying."

Hazette shrugged her big shoulders. "It's not for everyone. My boyfriend falls asleep during ballet recitals, so I get it."

Now it seemed that among all of this swapping bullshit, the psychotic Wes swapped into an Espeon. And was causing problems. Again. As an Espeon. Carrying a knife.

Instinctively, she made a move toward her backpack, dead set on grabbing her lancet. However, she realized that trying to power up Odile would do no good here. She was in a mortal body, and Wallace was in hers. And she didn't even have access to the blood that would work in the first place...

She briefly considered her options. Asking Hazel, as the current pilot of her body, to draw some blood. Then asking Wallace to deal with transforming into that menace of a dragon in order to fight off the psycho.

All in all, a very, very, very bad idea. She felt almost ridiculous considering it at all.

She still had Enora, and Enora was in a Milotic's body. If Wallace was a champion like he was saying he was, then surely that Milotic had a few tricks up it's tail.

Hazel turned around and called to Odette. "Odette! Are you wanting to be learning something today, too? I can be teaching you how to be crushing a bitch! I promise it can also be fun!"

She blinked out of her thinking haze at the sound of her name, and trudged over to see who had convened around that absolute pain in the ass of an Espeon. She sat close enough to hear, but far enough away to assure she wasn't within punching range. Because she'd punch him ahrd if given the opportunity.

So my anger just follows me everywhere I go. Got it.

Realistically, she did know how to crush a bitch. She'd crushed bitches who should have been able to stomp on her. She sent Guzma to the floor with a swift punch to the nose during that first battle, and he had almost two feet over her. She'd even killed a bitch before. Several, in fact. With a pipe. And with her gun.

Oh fuck.

Her gun.

She didn't think about that before going into this. All she thought about was keeping herself and her 'mon safe. Bringing the gun seemed like a good idea in the moment, being that nobody knew when these kidnapping fuckers were going to strike again. She could accidentally find herself alone, with no help from her team or other friends, and would absolutely need to use it...

She exhaled in slight relief when she realized she'd put the safety on when she initially slipped it into the holster she hid under the elastic of her joggers. Like a responsible gun owner. Granted, a responsible gun owner probably wouldn't have agreed to any sort of body swap without removing it from her person first. But, then again, she wasn't anticipating this kind of swap, where it all led down to fucking chaos. This was an outlier of a situation, and did not count.

The safety was on. It was strapped down in a weird place where Hazel probably wouldn't question it. Or try to reach for it. And if she did, well. The safety. Was on. There would be no accidental gunfire, or anything of the sort.

"Please. Teach me your ways, oh wise one," she said in a smile, doing her best to hide her nerves.

"No, a dead heart wouldn't feel blocked in such a manner. I can only conclude they're alive, though perhaps injured somehow or being held... " There was clear worry in their tone.

Whatever was left of her ears perked as she heard Manaphy speak again. Carefully turning her head, she saw it speaking to...a Froslass? The familiarity of the 'mon caused her shoulders to deflate, and she zeroed in on the conversation. So, they weren't dead. She'd been too scared to ask that much, but the Froslass had that covered. Not dead, but maybe injured...being held somewhere...

Shit. We're wasting fucking time here.

Now knowing that her plan wasn't going to work, she needed to move onto the next thing. Get her body back, get Odile back to her damn senses, and move on. They were getting nothing done frolicking around in the sand acting like one anoth--

He screamed his fury to the heavens, and at that exact moment, a gargantuan mass of black and violet energy exploded out from him, enveloping everyone nearby, and throwing them back several feet. To anyone caught in it, it felt like the coldest flame possible, so freezing that it paradoxically burnt.

She was sent backward by a flame. A cold flame. And then, it was suddenly hot again. No third-degree inducer, but it caused her to recoil into herself. She could say that this body took pain really well, because it faded into nothing. However, when she heard her actual voice cry out, that's when she melted into a brief state of panic.

Now she had enough. She signed up to try to find the missing persons, not get into a battle like this. And even if this is what she knew she was getting into, she should have had Odile and Enora at her side. Enora was still able to fight, but Odile was down and out. And Odile was her hard hitter.

She whipped her head back toward Manaphy. Didn't matter how much the helmet hurt. "I want to switch back," she shouted. "Switch us back, now. This isn't--"

She noticed her body moving out from the corner of her eyes. Oh shit. Oh no.

Hazel found it. She found the fucking gun.

"Hazel, don't mess with that!" she screamed, breaking into a sprint toward her own body. "It's dangerous, put it down!"

She should have known. If Hazel was able to pick up the muscle memory of dancing, then surely--

The safety. She figured it out.

BOOM.

She'd barely made it within feet of herself before the gun popped. She flinched, ducking her head as the sound reverberated through the area. She grit her teeth, as if that would somehow erase what had just happened. But it didn't. The ringing in her ears solidified that much. And to make matters worse, she couldn't even take it with these big meaty claws she had.

"Enora! Odile! Take the gun from her!" she shouted, hoping at least one of them would understand.

If there was one time for her to feel blessed that she had 'mon that were so in tune with her, it was now. Odette barely had the words out of her mouth before the Milotic flanked Hazel's other side so she couldn't run off, all while Odile--tears streaming down Wallace's face--snatched the firearm out of Hazel's hand and removed the cartridge from the chamber, tossing it over her shoulder uncaringly.

"That was mad ballsy," she said. "I'd be impressed if I wasn't mortal."

"Odette, you filled the chamber?" Enora asked in a loud whisper. "Why wasn't the safety on?"

"I-it was," Hazette sputtered. She must have sounded like an absolute mess. "She figured it out. I-it was the muscle memory, I didn't think this would even happen..."

And now, to make matters much worse, more people were running at the Espeon. Even Odile's body was among the crowd.

This wasn't just bad. This was awful.

 

[Shiny Phantump]

Hazel dropped the gun as Odile snatched it, and threw her hands over her ears. She missed the ability to shut them.

“Did I do it wrong?” she asked Odette. “None of these were exploding when they were being used on me and my siblings.”

 

[Sinderella]

Did I do it wrong?” she asked Odette. “None of these were exploding when they were being used on me and my siblings.”

Odette began shaking her head. "D...did you think that was a tranq?"

She exhaled shakily. "N-no. You didn't do anything wrong. Your heart was in the right place, I know what you wanted t do." Her words were firing out as fast as the bullet that had just been shot. "It-it...my fault. It's my fault," she said. "That's just a real gun. They're not like tranqs; the bullets can..."

She stopped herself. How did she want to explain this to somebody who didn't understand the concept of a real firearm?

"These bullets can really hurt somebody. Really hurt somebody. Only used when you're really in danger and there is no other option, do you understand?"

 

[Shiny Phantump]

"These bullets can really hurt somebody. Really hurt somebody. Only used when you're really in danger and there is no other option, do you understand?"

Hazel nodded. “Okay. I should not have been using it until they were switched back, then.”

 

[Sinderella]

“Okay. I should not have been using it until they were switched back, then.”

Another shaky exhale, and she forced herself to nod some more. "Like I said. Y...your heart was in the right place. You just need to be careful."

She was ready to go. She needed to lay down.

 

[AbraPunk]

Novo launched himself across the sand with a ferocious snarl, with Neo right behind. This body may not be his, but it was still a dark-type. He had a Crunch ready before he even reached the Espeon, dark energy pooling in his maw.

Wes was ready. He knew that there would be opposition, as there always was. Those who would try to stop him. They were fools.

Purely acting on instinct, no longer operated by thoughts, he ducked under the Mightyena when it approached, and slashed the underside of its snout, leaving bloody claw marks, before deftly leaping away, and moving on to his next victim...

Gen screamed, as the Espeon made his way to him, and suddenly he was bleeding profusely through his arm and leg and it hurt it hurt so so much.

He'd bitten and clawed as much as he could, and was so, so satisfied seeing the bloody mess he was leaving. This was what he was meant to do.

With slow, calculated steps, he approached the the Espeon, calm like the lull before the storm.

“̷Y̷o̴u̸ ̸d̵o̶n̴’̷t̵ ̶h̶u̴r̴t̶ ̵m̴y̸ ̸n̶e̶p̴h̶e̴w̶.̷Y̷o̴u̸ ̸d̵o̶n̴’̷t̵ ̶h̶u̴r̴t̶ ̵m̴y̸ ̸n̶e̶p̴h̶e̴w̶.̷ Ÿ̸͍͔͚́̚͝Ò̶͙͕͚U̷̡̞̺͘ ̴͕́D̶̞̽O̷͕̹͈͗́̉N̴͖̎͛̀Ṱ̷͔͕͑͐ ̸̨̰͔̇̉͊H̵̨̗͇̓̀U̶͈̹͐͘͝ͅR̶͉͋͆̃T̵͉̈̾ ̸̗̼͔͊͌͝M̸̨̰̮̈͊Y̷̨̺̱͗͋ ̵̫̳͈̈́̊̍N̷͇̳͌̓̐͜E̴̫̦͘͝͝P̶̰̍̒H̶̺̬̹̃E̶̡̦̖̎̇͠W̴͖͒͑̕.̷̜̜͖͝!̷̛̥̩̩̈́͊!̴̩̰͜͝!̶̧͓͕̓̐!̴̬̮̆!̵̹̏!̵̳͌̀͝”̸̥͘

Wallace couldn’t see or feel anything, except for red, red rage. With a shrill cry, he lashed out at the Espeon.

He snarled at the approaching man.

When the man tried grabbing at him, he squirmed away and slashed at his face before running to his next victim.

Instincts overtook Violet as her eyes narrowed at the out-of-control not-Pokémon. Before the shadowy Espeon could dig into Hazel, she leapt in front of her partner met his feral frenzy with her own Night Slash as a different, more comforting dark energy surrounded her own claws. The attack deflected off of his bites and slashes but the girl still flinched as though the contact itself had seared her. Luckily, that was all the time was that needed as the shadow Pokémon had begun assaulting their next target.

He attacked, and the Weavile did the same. No major injuries were left. Whatever, he had more victims to get to.

Instead of the pneumatic hiss she was expecting, the end of the device exploded. She narrowly avoided breaking Odette’s nose with it as it recoiled.

She wasn’t sure what she’d done yet, but one thing was certain: That had been no tranquilizer. What had she done?

There was a gunshot somewhere, hopefully signifying that someone else had decided to join his--

There was a searing pain spreading through one of his hind legs, as if it had been punched by a Machamp traveling at mach speed.

He couldn't move. His body flopped to the ground, as he felt blood pouring out from the wound in his leg. Why couldn't he move?

What...

He tried to stand, only to immediately crumple again, his breathing labored, vision blurry.

It seemed that, for now at least, the worst of his Shadow energy was dispelled. Still wasn't entirely safe to approach him, for there was residual energy nearby that would surely lash out at any who got close.

 

[Sinderella]

What...

He tried to stand, only to immediately crumple again, his breathing labored, vision blurry.

It seemed that, for now at least, the worst of his Shadow energy was dispelled. Still wasn't entirely safe to approach him, for there was residual energy nearby that would surely lash out at any who got close.

Holy shit.

Holy shit. The bullet hit him. It hit the Espeon.

No, no, no, no, no. How many people am I going to fucking shoot? No, no, no...

But, it wasn't her. Hazel was the one who'd taken the shot, so really--

No. It was her gun. Her body. Her muscle memory. She would not, under any circumstances, blame Hazel for this. It was nobody's fault but her own; she knew better. It didn't matter how farfetched the situation might have been; she should have taken extra precautions. Shouldn't have been so paranoid. This wasn't like Enigma, this wasn't like Dorien, she wouldn't have needed to shoot anybody on this island. How could she have been so stupid?

But, that Espeon. That other Wes. It was attacking everyone. Odile's body now had a scratch on it. Wallace took that scratch. Gladion, in the better Wes's body, was on the ground. Her own body had taken a hit. She had taken a hit. He was attacking everyone, and nothing was stopping him. The only thing that did was the bullet.

Suffice to say, there was a massive chance she'd have taken the same shot if this swap hadn't gone so wrong. Or sicced Odile on him, which probably would have ended worse. Maybe it was a graze; she couldn't tell...

But that poor Espeon. It didn't do anything. It couldn't help that it's trainer was fucking insane.

The trainer did it to himself. Just like Dorien had. Just like those guards had. Just like Deschamps had.

They did it to themselves.

"Change us back," she said numbly.

This was a mistake. This should have been a her and Gladion thing. Maybe a her and Laura thing. Or a her and Steven or her and Kimiko thing. Shit, even just the better Wes here would have been fine.

None of this would have happened if the group had been small. Too many people were here, which meant too many things were destined to go wrong, and they did.

"Please. Change us back. We need to go." She swallowed hard. "W-we're wasting. Precious. Time."

 

[IFBench]

Hazel got the message and nodded her head. "S-sorry, need to borrow this—" she said, taking a few wraps, swabs and a bit of disinfectant from the first aid kit as she sprinted off towards Gen. In front of her was the man Violet had been arguing with, but she knew in the back of her head that this wasn't him. Not that it mattered; a man was bleeding in front of her and needed assistance. She got to work immediately trying to cauterize the wound and applying the bandages.

"P-please..." Gen's vision was getting blurry. His senses were failing him. He vaguely heard a loud noise, but he couldn't tell what it was.

"I d-don't want to die...I d-don't want..."

Gen lost consciousness...but he was still breathing.

 

[HelloYellow17]

Purely acting on instinct, no longer operated by thoughts, he ducked under the Mightyena when it approached, and slashed the underside of its snout, leaving bloody claw marks, before deftly leaping away, and moving on to his next victim...

Novo jerked back with a bark. The attack was painful, but nothing more. He’d had far worse. He tried to tear after the Espeon, but it was no use. The Pokémon was insanely fast, boosted by his rage, and Novo still wasn’t used to his gangly legs. He tripped and tumbled snout-first into the sand and let out a whine of frustration.

He tried to stand, only to immediately crumple again, his breathing labored, vision blurry.

It seemed that, for now at least, the worst of his Shadow energy was dispelled. Still wasn't entirely safe to approach him, for there was residual energy nearby that would surely lash out at any who got close.

Wes was struggling not to give in to panic already, but when he heard the *crack* of a gunshot, his blood turned to ice.

No. No. Hell no, that did not just happen, someone did not just have the sheer audacity to fire a gun, not when Neo and Novo were still around here somewhere and he didn’t know where they were—

He felt dizzy and staggered a little. Breathe. Breathe. Focus. Find them. Find them now.

Then he saw it: A Mightyena chasing down Espeon Wes, barking madly, only to get slashed at and outrun. Judging way the canine fumbled and fell, it was not a Pokémon that was used to it’s own limbs. Wes decided to venture a guess and stumbled over. “Novo? Is that you?”

The Mightyena raised its head, staring at him in confusion, until Wes stopped down and offered a hand. “It’s me, bud. Well, not technically, but whatever. It’s been a hell of a day.”

Novo wagged his tail and barked, then jumped up to shake the sand from his pelt. A yowl from several paces away caught both of their attention as Umbreon bounded up to them. Wes grinned, suddenly feeling weak with relief; there was no mistaking that gait, even as an Umbreon. He pulled both of them into his arms and slumped back to sit in the sand.

“Gods—thank gods—”

Novo licked at his trembling hands and nosed into his chest. Wes held on for a moment, not wanting to let go, until it occurred to him that the noise had suddenly died down a bit. He looked up from their huddle.

Espeon Wes was stirring faintly, breathing labored. Someone had apparently taken him out of commission…and then he saw the blood oozing down his hind leg.

Oh, shit.

Wes jumped to his feet, startling his Pokémon with the sudden movement. “Neo, Novo, see if you can keep him under control for a minute. Be careful.” He then sprinted to where his—no, Gladion’s bag was and pulled out as many first aid tools he could recognize, then pulled his own from a sluggish Gladion and grabbed a Hyper Potion. He noticed with no small amount of alarm that Gladion looked drowsy—dammit, that probably wasn’t good, but he would have to worry about that in a minute.

Neo and Novo cautiously approached the wounded Espeon, ears back and tails low. Novo raised his hackles, but Neo tried a gentler approach, cautiously leaning forward with a concerned mew. He didn’t like this Espeon, and he was scary, but that didn’t mean he liked seeing him hurt and bleeding. The Espeon glared at Novo and looked at Neo with an unreadable expression…perhaps he thought this Umbreon was still his brother?

 

[Shiny Phantump]

There was a searing pain spreading through one of his hind legs, as if it had been punched by a Machamp traveling at mach speed.

He couldn't move. His body flopped to the ground, as he felt blood pouring out from the wound in his leg. Why couldn't he move?

What...

He tried to stand, only to immediately crumple again, his breathing labored, vision blurry.

It seemed that, for now at least, the worst of his Shadow energy was dispelled. Still wasn't entirely safe to approach him, for there was residual energy nearby that would surely lash out at any who got close.

After a moment, Hazel dared look at the aftermath of her attack. The Espeon would live. But there would be no more attacking. Perhaps, then, she had done what was needed. The fear she’d been feeling abated.

She walked as close as she dared up to the Espeon, given the shadows. Her arms were still shaking. She wanted to cry, but she channels that feeling into something else instead.

“I will have you understand something,” she said in the most threatening tone she could muster. “The only reason you are living is because you are hiding in an Espeon. I have been seeing the insides of a skull before. If you are hurting my brother or our friends again…”

She paused, realizing she couldn’t threaten to show him that. “…You will not be living long enough to be seeing the same. I am not even caring who will be calling me a monster. But I am not wanting to traumatize the janitor who will be cleaning your brain off the floor with a mop. So I think we can be agreeing that you will be staying away from us instead. Am I making myself clear?”

 

[AbraPunk]

Neo and Novo cautiously approached the wounded Espeon, ears back and tails low. Novo raised his hackles, but Neo tried a gentler approach, cautiously leaning forward with a concerned mew. He didn’t like this Espeon, and he was scary, but that didn’t mean he liked seeing him hurt and bleeding.

Wes just glared at the two pokémon. He didn't care what they were trying to say, if anything. He didn't care what they would do to him. He didn't care at all.

“I will have you understand something,” she said in the most threatening tone she could muster. “The only reason you are living is because you are hiding in an Espeon. I have been seeing the insides of a skull before. If you are hurting my brother or our friends again…”

She paused, realizing she couldn’t threaten to show him that. “…You will not be living long enough to be seeing the same. I am not even caring who will be calling me a monster. But I am not wanting to traumatize the janitor who will be cleaning your brain off the floor with a mop. So I think we can be agreeing that you will be staying away from us instead. Am I making myself clear?”

He tried to let out a bitter laugh, but it came out as more of a wheeze... since felines weren't really made to laugh.

See if I give a shit. You don't scare me.

 

[MintyMimix]

He couldn't move. His body flopped to the ground, as he felt blood pouring out from the wound in his leg. Why couldn't he move?

He tried to stand, only to immediately crumple again, his breathing labored, vision blurry.

Good, the threat is subdued, Violet thought to herself as her narrowed gaze turned back to Hazel. She ran towards the girl in her skin to assess how she was doing. Even that thunderclap of a weapon hadn't struck her, it surely would've at least shocked her.

"P-please..." Gen's vision was getting blurry. His senses were failing him. He vaguely heard a loud noise, but he couldn't tell what it was.

"I d-don't want to die...I d-don't want..."

Gen lost consciousness...but he was still breathing.

"It's okay, it's gonna be okay, it's—" Hazel's breath hitched as the man faded out of consciousness. "No, no no no no no—" Her hand slid to his wrist and neck, and to her relief, his pulse was still going. Exhaling her breath, she carefully moved her arms underneath the man and tried to hoist him up as best as she could, but Violet's body didn't have the upper body strength to make it happen.

Violet barked to Hazel, who turned towards her. She pointed to the phone that laid next to Hazette then put her claw to her ear. Getting the message, Hazel walked over and took the phone back, muttering a, "I'm so sorry..." before pounding at the screen as hard as she could. With a bit of effort, she managed to get to her phone app and tried to contact the local Nurse's Office.

“I will have you understand something,” she said in the most threatening tone she could muster. “The only reason you are living is because you are hiding in an Espeon. I have been seeing the insides of a skull before. If you are hurting my brother or our friends again…”

She paused, realizing she couldn’t threaten to show him that. “…You will not be living long enough to be seeing the same. I am not even caring who will be calling me a monster. But I am not wanting to traumatize the janitor who will be cleaning your brain off the floor with a mop. So I think we can be agreeing that you will be staying away from us instead. Am I making myself clear?”

Meanwhile, Violet's ears picked up every word that the other Hazel had been saying thanks to her enhanced senses. My god. She wasn't sure whether to be terrified or impressed by her words. She knew of executioners and constables who would be this rough, but to hear it live in person was... chilling, even now as an Ice-type. And yet, she had to admit... were Hazel or Azure in the same situation, she wouldn't hesitate to do so the same to keep them safe. One thing was for certain: Gladion must have a pure heart to have won this kind of loyalty from the artificial Pokémon. She really wished she could speak to him directly now. She—

Another headache. Another memory. This one was clearer in her mind: a world of only Pokémon, where she was a Sneasel. A time when she was sixteen rather than seventeen, and found a new group of friends after being apprehended. Her hunt for Azure in the new world—

She winced as the memory faded. That wasn't her, though. She knew it wasn't. During that time, she had been at Professor Douglas's lab, learning the new Galarish conventions and learning to read and write in Sinnohese. Hazel was the Sneasel, not her. So what was going on? Was there somehow another her...? Violet shook her head. Conversations with Hazel for later.

For now, while Hazel called Nurse Joy, Violet would need to keep a look out for anyone or anything else that might be hiding or watching them. This was a perfectly vulnerable moment that a kidnapper could strike and no one could do a thing about it. And she'd be damned if she would let anything happen to either Hazel or anyone else here from getting hurt.
@Flyg0n
[Foresight]