Chapter Text

[Cover art by Jolyne]

(Pretend there's an anime opening set to Naruto OP 4- FLOW "Go!!!")

“Hey you,” Argo groaned, “you’re finally awake.”

What was that- “OH FUCK NO!” She snapped into full wakefulness instantly, eyes wide and feet scrabbling. Then snapped her eyes shut and flopped back onto the… is this a beach? One blink. Two. The person in front of her… “Oh thank fuck you’re a Pokémon.”

The Gothorita blinked. “What else would I be?” There was a slight pause before she shook her head. “Nevermind, are you all alright?”

“Us all…” Argo turned her head to the side. Her gaze swept across the… it was a beach. Huh. Anyway, there were… five? No, four others splayed out on the sand. “Well. This is going to be a thing.” She looked down at herself. Yellow fur greeted her. “Fuck, I don’t have hands.”

“Hands?” A blue snake curled around, touching the tip of her tail to her round snout. She wiggled around, shifting the sand around her and not moving an inch. “Huh. That usually works in my dreams.”

“You poor bitch. Do you really dream about being a worm?” No, Argo would not love you if you were a worm. Lamest Bee Movie sequel ever.

The worm blinked rapidly. “Only when I doom-scroll before bed.” She curled up half her tail—body?—and did her best to sit on the beach. “Why? Is that weird?”

“Fuck, last time I… Wait! This isn’t my home!” Argo snapped her attention to the side. A Vulpix… well sorta gently fell onto the sand? Did they jump? “Why do I lack hands? Actually, why am I red?” They blinked at their paws a few times. Then looked up and slowly panned their head around the beach. Likely that look on their face was shared by most of the group. That inevitable eternal question- what the fuck just happened?

How the fuck does four legs work? “Maybe? I dunno how dreaming works.” Just… flex? Move? Something. Damnit. Just do it? Her paw pressed against the sand.

“Dreams are weird.” The noodle nodded. “Hey, is this a dream? I don’t think I’ve dreamed about being a Pokémon before.”

“If this is a dream, I wouldn't be on a fucking beach. I'd be uh… I don't know, just not on a beach!” The vaguely mammalian ‘Mon shook off dust and sand as best he could. With a great roar, and definitely not a pathetic wheeze, the Cyndaquil used his snoot to push himself…Right onto his ass.

The final figure, a Buneary who had been laying face down in the sand so far, rolled over and blinked sand out of their eyes. Said eyes wandered to his company, then to his tiny paws. “What… the hell did I drink last night, and did it involve a witch?”

“Mmmaybe!” Argo… somewhat got onto her feet. “Sound off- whose not dead?”

“I'm half dead? Do I count?” The Vulpix snarked even as he struggled to stand and fell sideways. “How do legs work anyways?”

“Here, fighting sand.” growled the Cyndaquil, shaking his head and firing off a few bursts of desperate fire.

“Here!” cheered the Dratini with a little wiggle of her body.

“Here, wishing I were dead.” The Buneary grumbled, sand still in his face.

“Here…” The Gothorita waved a little as Argo focused on her again. “I’m Wednesday. Why are you all here? I came across you all lying on the ground sleeping… was it a picnic?”

“Nope.” Considering the usual assumptions in this sort of situation. “Probably a truck.”

The other ‘mon tilted her head. “What’s a truck?”

“The universe’s kindest predator.” Well… kinda. You still actually die in your home world, right? Pretty sure how that works.

“I could actually go for a picnic.” Vulpix said, taking nervous and tentative steps towards the rest of the group. “But uh, I suppose I should introduce myself. You guys can call me Gin.”

“So where’s Tonic?” Argo huffed. Her ears swivelled and wasn’t that a weird fucking feeling what the fuck. “Argo.”

“Argo?” Dratini tried to squint, but ended up doing a full blink instead. Regardless, she leaned forward toward Argo. “Isn’t that more of a cat’s name?”

“Maybe a rat, but a cat is fine too.” Wait. Wait! THAT'S HOW YOU STAND! YES! “Yes! First step done.”

The Buneary finally managed to sweep the sand from his face and rose up with a sarcastic clap. “Congratulations, now you get to do that for the rest of your life. I’m Nix.”

“So does anyone know where we are?” Gin asked, sighing a breath of relief after not falling on his ass for a minute.

“You’re currently on the beach.” Wednesday blanched a bit as Argo stared at her. “Ah… I mean! You’re on the beach a bit away from Summerleaf town, past the ruins.”

“That explains nothing.” Except nouns. Which are important, but currently unhelpful.

“There isn’t much more to say.” Wednesday placed her fists on her hips and leaned forward. “What do you all remember last, anyway? You don’t have the marks, but you’re not wild. So something is definitely weird here.”

“Drinking, getting to my place, funny smell…” Vulpix muttered as he tried to remember the last few hours of his life. His brow furrowed as if trying to will the memories into existence.

Dratini tapped her tail against the rest of her tail. “Nothing out of the ordinary. Just reading and then sleeping.” She raised her tail and looked back at the small coil she made of herself. “Missing four limbs, but it doesn’t feel strange at all.”

Tenaz dug his nubby little limbs into the stand to try and push himself up onto his feet, failing miserably. "I was...At the gym? I think? I remember feeling sweaty and tired, at least."

“I remember drinking something stout as all get out, but from there it fizzles out. Also, Marks ?” Nix murmured, half bouncing and half waddling to Wednesday.

“The marks that indicate… well.” Her eyes furrowed. “I’m not sure? Everyone I know back in town has them. Or from out of town. Mom told me that they said a ‘mon was trustworthy… They’re something visible and unique, usually. Like this.” She pointed to a white stripe in her… is that actually hair or something else?

Argo frowned. “That sounds… concerning.”

“So ferals don't have marks? That's odd…” Gin hummed while staring at the mark on Wednesday.

“Oh, feral. You shouldn’t say that at all! It’s… a terrible thing!” Wednesday’s words ripped at the sand around her, just a bit. Sand fell down onto her as she visibly collected herself. “Ah, excuse me. That isn’t how a Gothorita should act. Hm. Well… it isn’t that those without marks are… feral. Simply… disinclined to work with anyone. If you wish to speak with them there will be a fight- not a battle. Death… isn’t something they’re concerned with avoiding.”

“Loveleh.” Argo twisted her neck, locking herself into an extended stretch for a moment. “That in mind… maybe we should resume this conversation not here.”

“Oh, but what about the last of your group?” Wednesday held one hand up to her mouth as her eyes scanned the beach. “I thought there was a Ralts with you.”

Dratini twisted around, looking around the beach. “No Ralts in sight. Maybe they ran?”

Gin sniffed the air for a moment before adding, “Can't smell anything either so if they left must've been before we woke up.”

“There’s an indent in the sand here. Not a dog-cat, not a fox, and not a worm.” Nix pointed out, kicking up dust at said impression. “No trail.”

“Ralts probably teleported. That's what they do.” Really annoying. “Without any way to figure out which way or how far… not like we could find them.”

Wednesday lifted one hand. “Ah, I could track the Teleport.” The hand slowly went down as Argo stared at her. “Maybe I could have done that sooner…”

“Probably, yeah.” Gin chipped in, “However that probably would've meant leaving our unconscious bodies alone, and given that there might be some… disagreeable Pokémon around, it's good that you stayed. So thank you for sticking around.” 

“Oh, I do like to serve.” She curtsied. “If you are all ready, your companion is… this way.”

“Hold on.” Dratini flopped her tail onto the sand and wiggled it around. When that just shifted grains around, she lowered more of her body to the ground and squirmed with her entire body. She didn’t go exceptionally fast, but she moved closer to Wednesday at least. “Okay. I’m good to go.”

“Is everyone else ready?” Wednesday waited a moment. “Please follow me.” She turned and walked into the woods, visibly with purpose.

“Right, tally-ho and all that.” Just put one leg and… walking works! Success. Now to immediately go to attempting moves. Because that's the natural progression, right? Walk, then use super powered (but not Superpower) abilities that are capable of reshaping the natural landscape. Argo’s brows furrowed as she focused on herself.

“Hey guys? How…How the fuck do I walk? Also, hi, Tenaz, pleasure to be stuck in Hell with all of you how the fuck do I walk ?” Tenaz grew increasingly exasperated, complete with twitching nose and eyes and petulantly kicking feetsies. Plus random flares of fire from the Cyndaquil’s back. Looked a little like a toddler. Just twice as… everything. Pathetic and cute and probably a few other adjectives.

“Just kinda do it. I’m not a physical therapist, but making like that one actual cannibal seemed to work fine.” Argo shrugged- how the fuck did that work?

“I wish I could help you there but I'm trying to not fall over myself.” Gin added as he stumbled slightly before he caught himself. “Stupid sand, getting everywhere and being a shitty soil.”

“Oh! You’re a Cyndaquil!” Dratini slithered over. “You can just walk on all fours like Argo. Or you can waddle around, but the balance might be tricky with your, uh, head.” Doing her best to gesture toward Tenaz, Dratini nudged her head toward him.

“Try waddling with your center mass, like walking a chair. It’ll look awkward, but it’s better than being stuck in place.” Nix stated as he walk-bounced by.

With a growl and righteous (spiteful) fury, Tenaz leaned forward and rolled for two and a half rotations before slowly toppling onto his side. “...I despise every single moment of my existence. You! Dratini! Help me, please and thank you in advance!”

“How do you want me to help you?” The worm of a pokémon tilted her head. “Do you want to ride on my back or something?”

“No! Never! Just… I dunno, put me right side up? Maybe help me balance myself so I don't topple over like a shitty game of Jenga?”

“Sure?” Dratini slithered over and dug her head underneath Tenaz’s head, pushing the Cyndaquil back on his feet. “I guess you can waddle with a hand on my back. That should help a tiny bit.” Circling her rather long body around Tenaz, she shook her head to rid herself of sand.

Whilst everyone was getting their bearings and Wednesday was waiting on them to continue on, there was a sudden shrill scream off in the distance… along with a plume of shimmering fire rising just barely above the treetops.

“I'm guessing that's not normal?” Gin asked nervously, his eyes narrowed as he glanced in the direction of the fire.

“Last I checked, trees don’t explode. Well, not with that kind of fire.” Nix murmured, one of his ears rolling down as his nerves rose.

“Welp.” Huh. That fire felt… interesting to see. Heat burned at the core and wafted up through Argo’s body. All the way to… her ears? Huh. Whatever. It feels… restless. As did… something else? Sideways to the fire. Or should it be called Fire? Whatever. “Letsa goo!” Walk then run! Onward!

“Definitely not normal. That’s Mystical Fire!” Wednesday… hiked up her skirt and ran, staying just ahead of Argo. 

Gin smiled, feeling adrenaline as the word fire was uttered and began to run, not gracefully, but steady enough to catch up.

Dratini did her best to measure her pace for Tenaz. A slightly difficult task in a new body, but she just had to control the wiggles. Control the urge to wiggle. Control the wiggle.

As the ragtag group of stumbling pokemon and one harried looking Gothorita continued through the forest as fast as they could possibly go currently, the sounds of a battle became louder and clearer up ahead. Coupled with the shrill screaming of what sounded like a very angry baby were the loud growls, yips, barks, and yelps of what sounded like multiple canine pokemon- in this case, Poochyena, as seemed to be evidenced by the bloodied rear half of one sticking out of a tree trunk. As they neared the center of the combat, they found a few other bloodied and battered Poochyena, four of them in total, five counting the mess not far away from the somewhat rocky clearing they were in. All of them seemed to have been severely burned in some way- one was charred all over, another was charred entirely around the face, while the third and fourth were almost entirely unscathed save that they were unconscious. The perpetrator of the entire thing was entirely missing… up until a screaming, sobbing, panicked Ralts teleported out of nowhere and scrambled to the side right before a sixth Poochyena fell out of the sky and hit the ground in a way reminiscent of someone dropping a watermelon on pavement.

“Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Who are you! Who the fuck are you!?” the possibly psychotic Ralts cried out, picking up a rock from the ground and glaring at everyone else. “Are you with them!? Don’t come any closer! I have a fistful of rocks, a head full of nightmares, and I know how to telefrag these into people now!”

Wednesday, quietly, swore under her breath and took a step back. “Dear gods, how did a Ralts learn what telefragging is!?”

“By playing DOOM?” Gin suggested before coughing, “Hi! My name is Gin and we are definitely not with the Poochyenas. We kinda just woke up and are now here! So what's your name?”

“DOOM had telefragging?” Thought that was something else that actually introduced that. Eh, whatever. Wait… could you play DOOM with Pokemon moves? Or like… on a Rotom? “Argo. We mean you no harm and all that.” Should she smack one of the Poochyena or would that not help?

“ What the Fuck is a Telefrag. ” Nix hummed, his other ear curling unconsciously. A stress response, it appears.

“You know how you teleport a thing? Make it go from one place to the other without crossing the intervening distance?” Well, depending on the type of teleport. “Do that, but the end is inside of something else. It gets… messy. Efficient though.” Plus anything of any importance probably has some form of defense against that. Huh. Probably should work on that soonish.

The buneary turned so pale his fur practically turned white, balking at the explanation.

“Weaponized teleportation. There. Easy explanation. No need for exposition because in case everyone forgot the surrounding area is littered with hostiles . I say we convince the Killamanjaro streak over there to come with us and bail somewhere safer.” Tenaz rolled his eyes, gesturing a nub at the Ralts.

“Oh good… it’s one of those kinds of situations,” the Ralts mumbled, slowly picking herself off of the ground and brushing herself off with a hiccup and a sigh that almost sounded more like a sob. “My name’s Sapphire… I woke up… right there-ish… and… I think that’s all the Poochyena in this area… I hope… My head hurts… teleported too much…” As she finally got a grip on herself, it became apparent now that she was definitely a Shiny of her kind. Just… also covered in blood.

“Do you want a ride to” —Dratini looked over to Wednesday— “Where are we going again?”

“It would be best to head to my place- in Summerleaf.” She smiled. “I can give you rooms for some time. It has… been a while since the hotel was of any use. Ever since things started getting colder there have been less travellers.”

“Cool. Summerleaf then.” Dratini bobbed her head, logging that information into the vast emptiness between her eyes. “You can ride on my back if you want. I think that’ll be the smoothest ride unless Wednesday can lift you with telekinesis or something.”

Gin nodded and mentioned, “Sorry to hear about that Miss Wednesday. I'll take a room and… I'll pay you back for this generosity, as soon as possible. I promise.”

Tenaz snorted, shaking his head. “Six rooms? Free of charge? Not a chance. I'm not taking charity at such a loss. Once I figure out running, I'm asking around to help pay back the generosity. I don't do debts .”

Nix gave the cyndaquil a soft bap to the side. “You can worry about paying it back when you can actually pay. Right now we’re a few dimes short of a dollar.”

“It’s only natural to help those in need. With you all seemingly so… lost… well I’d never be able to look myself in the mirror if I didn’t help.” She definitely stabs people, doesn’t she? It’d fit with the name at least. She curtsied. “Please, accompany me. I know a way without any obstacles. Or… living obstacles at any rate.”

“Right. Best to go.” Argo crunched down on a stick… when the fuck did that get there?

…

Tasted good at least. Nomnomnom…

“... Fine. But if I get attacked again I’m going to set everything on fire. And probably throw up,” Sapphire groused, deciding to go along with the group before shuddering a little and rubbing her arms. “... Mm… chilly…”

Chapter Text

“That's a big hotel.” Well, okay. Maybe not too big, but it really looks big when you’re like… a foot tall? Do you go from foot to the top of the head or foot to back on four legged animals? It’s not like that random, damaged and degraded, height chart on the side of a door to a ruined cafe could really be relied on anyway. Though the ruins… well. Some shit had definitely gone down because those were definitely human buildings and there aren’t any humans around.

“Yes, it has been in my family for quite some time.” Wednesday spun around and gave a small bow. At her back the building rose up- a gothic thing, partially reclaimed by the wilderness. Dead vines clung to the exterior and wound around the wrought iron fence that encircled the whole building. If not for the lights it could have been mistaken for something abandoned, and even with those Argo’s first thought would be a random teenage party, or ghosts considering Pokémon, rather than any form of continual inhabitants. “Please come inside, I’ve already informed my family that you’ll be staying here.”

A great cracking noise emanated out from the side of the building. Glowing eyes peeked around the corner, followed by a load of bark intermixed with some blacker than black thing that tied it all together. Just looking at it made Argo uneasy, like it was something she shouldn’t think about too much. The Trevenant gave a wave, face blank.

“... Spooky hotel, a haunted tree, a girl named Wednesday…” Sapphire tilted her head, still trying to scrub the Poochyena blood off of herself as she shuffled along. “... Why does that feel so familiar…? And why does it feel like… mm… my head still hurts…”

“It's on the tip of my tongue…” Gin complained, eyes narrowed. Presumably attempting to remember that they’re creepy and kooky. A harsh shake of his head was followed by his eyes refocusing on the building itself.

“If you can't remember it, then it doesn't matter. What does matter is…Is uh…Shit, I had something cool to say after that and I've already forgotten it.” Tenaz mumbled, sniffling at the air for a moment. And then another moment. “Shit, I think I'm gonna sneeze.”

“For the love of whatever Divine Being is listening, please don’t.” Nix stressed, taking a measured step away from the Cyndaquil, sharply tugging at the one one ear that had unrolled since meeting the panicked Ralts.

“Double please.” Dratini lowered down as much as she could. “I’m fire resistant, but let’s not test how much that’s worth.”

“The air is not what it once was.” Wednesday opened the door and stepped to the side. The interior Argo could see through the entryway maintained the gothic theme, but with much less age. Felt like one of those old eighties hotels or something. “It is the start of Spring and things are warmer, but not as warm as expected. Some of the grass types have complained. Regardless- welcome to the Addams’ Rest Hotel.”

The inside felt warm and happy, despite the drabness of the design. This… this is a good place. You never get this sort of feeling in a chain place. The people here care for the building and the grounds. Which… well, understandable when the grounds could literally murder you. Wonder how many kids got ganked by a Trevenant because they carved their initials into the bark? Or would that be a badge of honour for them? Interesting question…

“A pleasure to have new and most interesting guests!” The Gothitelle in front of the check-in desk smiled. “Wednesday has told me about all of you and your peculiarities.”

“Indeed!” The Mr. Rime next to her pulled up his shir- is that actually a shirt? What the fuck is with Pokemon with clothes? How does that work? Also- why is his suit jacket thing pinstripe? Is that his mark? “Why I’ve always said you find the most interesting stuff far out from the cities and I was right! Ah mon enfant you have done well!”

“Oh, Gomez.” The Gothitelle leaned over to curl around the Mr. Rime’s shoulders. “That was Kalosian!”

“It was, mon amour.” Gomez pressed up against… his wife? Probably his wife. “What are you going to do about iii- uhp!”

Gomez floated in the psychic grasp of, probably, his wife. “Say more to me!” They blinked out of existence.

Wednesday groaned. “My parents, everyone. They’ll be… busy for a while. Lurch can help you get checked in.”

The Golurk behind the counter groaned.

Gin blinked, opened his mouth and closed it before letting out a silent laugh. “Definitely familiar, still this place looks amazing. How do we check in?” He asked them, looking down at his paws, “I uh… How do I write without hands?”

“... I’ve got functioning hands,” Sapphire raised her hand and waved it. “... What are your guys’ names again…? I don’t think I recall. Also my head hurts, I’m hungry, and I’m very itchy from all the viscera I’m covered in so can we please just get our rooms and go? Actually…” Sapphire turned to Wednesday with a frown, tilting her head as the fins set atop her hair glowed slightly from her thoughts. “... How are we even going to pay for this? I’m assuming all six of us are… flat broke right now.”

“Oh so now we care about being broke? Shut me down when I bring it up earlier, all for naught. Look just…” Tenaz slowly but surely hopped and scrambled his way onto the desk itself, waddling over toward the logbook. “Let's just use our paws and hand prints as signatures for now, okay?”

Gin coughed and looked at the Dratini. “Do tails count as valid signatures?” Then he looks at his own tails, as if expecting something to happen, but nothing does, they remain fluffy and curled.

“Yeess…” Lurch’s voice echoed about the room in a way that was distinctly unnatural. One massive hand gently manipulated the logbook so that everyone could reach it, while the other held out a small ink pad. At no point did anything but his hands move, the body still as a statue.

“Right… we can deal with being broke after we have a good sleep. And Sapphire removes the blood.” Argo pressed her paw against the pad then onto the book. Wednesday was quick to provide a cloth to clean the now dirty paw. “Thanks. Also… can’t you just… like telekinetically pull that blood off or something?”

“It’s much too set now. Besides, it’s quite fashionable to be covered in the blood of your enemies.” Wednesday gives a soft smile. “It takes a significant enough amount of skill to manipulate liquids in small amounts with telekinesis, let alone to pull such off of something it’s soaked on.”

“Using telekinesis to clean yourself… Didn't know it could be done.” Gin mentioned after signing in, “Could be useful for later, if I can learn how to do that.”

Sapphire sighed, still scratching at the dried blood with one hand while stamping her own handprint with the other. She winced a little, grimacing as she cleaned her hand and then rubbed her skull. “I can’t use telekinesis right now. I’m all tapped out from teleporting and telefragging…”

“A Leppa berry should handle that, if it’s just overwork fatigue,” Wednesday mentioned, motioning with one hand and watching as Lurch slowly rumbled away with loud, lumbering footsteps. “Or perhaps a Persim? Payapa?”

“All three and a shower please… I’ll pay you back with whatever,” Sapphire mumbled in response, leaning against the counter and sinking down until she was sitting on the floor. “... Why did I have to wake up in a clearing full of Poochyena…?”

“Less so woke up , more so flung yourself into . Helluva way to start the morning though, don’cha think?” Nix hummed, trying his damndest to find a step-stool, or something, to reach the desk. To his surprise, Wednesday picked him up by the fluff of his waist, gaining enough clearance to imprint his paw to paper.

Once Nix had gotten his paw wiped clean, Dratini slithered up to the desk and coiled the tip of her tail so she could stretch up to the counter. Upon doing so, she looked down at her single limb. “Well, I don’t have any prints anyway.” If she could, she would have shrugged. Instead, she pressed her round snout against the ink pad before using it as her signature. The paper had a large circle of ink left on it. “Wednesday, could you—oh thanks.” Strung by telekinesis, a cloth wiped Dratini’s nose clean.

“Thaanks.” Lurch pulled the book back and set it on the desk. He didn’t turn around as he grabbed the keys to the rooms off the board behind him. “Heeere.”

“Normally Thing would take your bags, but you are sadly bereft of anything.” Wednesday rested her head against one hand. “I don’t know what I’d do if I were separated from all my knives… no. That’s a lie. I’d simply seek to retrieve them, after removing them from the unfortunate new corpse I found them on.”

“Sounds right.” Argo stared at the key hovering in front of her. “Could I get Thing to help me into my room?”

“Most certainly. You are all on the top floor, sorry to say. It’s where we built the smaller rooms.” Wednesday raised her voice. “Thing! We have guests!”

A frantic skittering sound emanated out from the front desk. Argo was, unfortunately, just the right height to see a hand crawl through the (very nice and slightly eerie) wood, fingers lashing everywhere as thunks accompanied its movement.

“Fuck!” She startled backward, a plume of fire coming from her ears as she fell back onto her butt.

Dratini leapt back, wrapping herself around the nearest lamp. “Oh my god, what is that?”

“I am not in the forest temple. I am not in the forest temple-” Gin chanted repeatedly as if that would make him safe from the Wallmaster.

“Well! I'm glad I was right about being in Hell… Why the fuck did I have to be right about being in Hell? ” Tenaz mumbled, head cast downwards and silently uttering a prayer to any deity who could possibly listen.

“Is that a HAND!?” Sapphire shrieked, somehow managing an extra teleport as far away from the Thing as possible- all the way back to the front doors of the hotel… whereupon she immediately stumbled, bled all over herself from her nose, and then proceeded to pass out in an ungainly heap on the floor. “Bleghsdghd…”

Nix, quite politely, paled, uttered a single “a”, and flopped over, ears rolling up fully for a few seconds before falling lax.

“Oh shiitt…” Argo let out a sigh. Then stretched a little. “Just… lead us to our rooms. Please. If you could get some berries to help out Sapphire that’d be good to. Put her in my room, I guess, til we can get her back on her feet.”

“Yes… please excuse Thing, they’re a bit of a troublemaker.” Wednesday turned to one of the doors to the room. “Follow me. Thing, clean up the mess you made.”

“Nozzfair!” Oh that voice is… actually not too bad? Thing doesn’t have silence between their words, just static.

“You should be fully capable of figuring out when a joke is warranted and when it is not.” Wednesday frowned. “So clean up your mistake. Then check the wiring. We have guests now, and I’d hate to have the cold cause a power issue.”

“Fine.” The hand scrabbled back into the desk. Several thumps came out before Thing reappeared with a rag and floated down to start rubbing at the floor around Sapphire’s head.

“I’d pick her up with my telekinesis, but Psychic types don’t tend to react well to other Psychics touching them… psychically.” Wednesday sighed then turned. The door to the staircase opened in front of her. “Lurch?”

Lurch’s hand detached, picked up Sapphire, and gently deposited her on Argo’s back. She isn’t too heavy, but the stairs are going to be a bitch. Whatever, get it done. Besides… she did feel familiar somehow. 

Sapphire didn’t particularly react to getting picked up, thankfully, though she did grumble a little and unconsciously curl up against Argo’s back with a little mumble of contentment at her warmth.

She also drooled a little. Gross.

“Rotom?” Gin asked out of curiosity, vague memories of a lively pokedex came into the forefront of his mind. He frowned as he tried to think if a hand counted as something that could be possessed. There were other pokemons that could possess things as well, but Rotom was the easiest answer his brain could provide, especially given the mention of power.

“If that’s a Rotom, I’ll eat my tail,” grumbled Dratini as she slithered down the lamp she had wrung herself around. Staying as far away as possible from Thing, she followed the others up the stairs.

“Ha! I'll bet you twenty of whatever currency this place runs off that it is!” Tenaz barks out, still stuck hopping. At least the idea of a bet cheered him up enough to not bitch about the stairs.

“Pretty sure it’s poké.” Dratini offered what she could of her body to act as support for Tenaz. It wasn’t much when she had to slither with her better pressed against the stairs, but something was better than nothing.

“Not to change the topic but-” Gin yawned, shook his head and drowsily asked, “for tomorrow? Anyone have any plans on what we should do?”

“Names, places, jobs. In that order.” Tenaz yawned half way through a hop, leading him to almost slam his jaw against the next step. Thankfully, Dratini barely held him aloft so he could reacquaint himself with gravity and movement.

“Oh right, I still haven’t figured out a name,” mused Dratini. “Meh. I can figure it out later.”

“Later is probably the best plan.” Oh, the doors are just the right height. Nice. Now if only Argo had the fucking hands to actually open it. “We can figure out what we need to do once we’re all awake and mostly conscious.” Argo looked back at Sapphire resting on her back- specifically the still dried blood on her now being rubbed into Argo’s fur. “Bathed, too.”

“Good point. Could use a bath as well.” Gin nodded sagely, near hitting himself with a step on the staircase.

“I'm glad someone else said it. I can still feel sand in areas I don't think sand should be.” Tenaz huffed, waddling past a few of the group to the door of his choosing. He looked at the doorknob, then at his nubs. And then back at the door. And promptly said ‘fuck it’ to himself and attempted to just headbutt the door open.

“Ooh, a bath sounds nice.” Dratini glanced down the stairs. Nix remained on the first floor and she was climbing up to the third. “I feel kind of itchy all over.” Slithering around, she took the furthest room from the stairs. Grabbing a door handle with the length of her body was awkward, but her scales had a surprising amount of grip.

Argo followed the example, paws scrabbled at the bar handles to the door and awkwardly opened it up. It was a nice room, though it being as small as it was just felt a little awkward. Regardless- “How do I get you on the bed?”

Problem after problems, huh?

Chapter Text

When Nix awoke, it was with a headache and back pain. The floor, while nice and cool, was hard and stiff. Much like his spine.

“Shiiiit…..” Nix groaned and rose to his fluffy behind. The lobby was dark, the front desk unoccupied. The windows dull with midnight dust, and the cold night air nipped at his covered skin.

“What… what the hell? Did I pass out?” Nix mumbled, getting to his paws. “What in the nine hells was that Thing? A hand? And where is everyone?”

A few seconds passed in the silence before his ear twitched. “Did they leave me down here?!?!” Came an exasperated half-shout. “That’s just-” Nix’s words simply fumbled into a series of grumbles and growls. It was ended with a huff, and a quick turn to the stairs.

The stairs, which he couldn’t climb. He could jump up them, or climb, but he’d probably end up passing out and falling all the way down again. He’d rather be stuck than get a concussion.

“Well. Shit, guess I’m stuck down here until morning.” Nix murmured, flopping down against the front desk.

He sat there for what felt like hours, but it was actually only about 12 minutes. The Zoomies , one could blame, his foot constantly bouncing up and down. There was also an annoying ringing in his ears, probably from bopping his noggin’ on the hardwood floor.

It took a little while longer for the ringing to fade, and that made him realize something awful . Something so world-shatteringly horrible, it made Nix’s stomach flip.

He could hear too damn much .

Two floors up, there’s a rat or something under someone’s bed. He could hear Argo snoring, the yet-unnamed Dratini snoring even louder on the third floor, the sound almost feeling like it was rattling his eardrums. Sapphire was also making noise, though thankfully it was just the ruffling of sheets and soft groaning, probably nursing that headache. And further up, in what he assumed was where Gomez and his beloved teleported off to, and…

Oh beloved God and all his Angels, whoever the fuck that was, he did Not want to be hearing that.

Nix rolled his ears up as tight as he could and rushed out the front door, almost flying off of the front porch and into a puddle. Thankfully, he avoided that mess by a few inches. Instead, he just bounced off the ground like a rubber ball and landed on his back.

“Well, at least I can’t hear that now.” He grumbled, staring into the night sky. The frankly gorgeous night sky. Stars as far as his eyes could see.

Stars that were then intruded by the giant Trevenant that decided to lean over him, vague concern in their eye. “Oh, hey there biggie.”

The Trevenant waved.

“Not a talker?”

“ Sometimes. ” The voice shocked the hell out of Nix, mostly at its depth and tone.

“Relatable.” He rubbed at his eyes. “Who’d have thunk having massive ears would result in you being able to hear Everything in a house?”

The Trevenant wiggled their hand. “Well, yeah, you would expect that. Either way, I am Not a fan. The shit I’ve heard in the past 10 minutes could drive anyone insane.” Nix let his arms fall to the sides. “Worse than that, I’m losing my mind out of boredom. Too much energy in too small a body. Don’t really know how to burn it off, either.”

Could run like hell around the hotel grounds, though he was still getting used to these legs. It’d burn energy, but damn would falling over mid sprint be embarrassing, even by his lonesome.

“ The Town. ” The Trevenant grumbled.

“The Town?”

The Trevenant pointed towards where the group had come from, though slightly to the right. Lo and Behold, there were lights and buildings. “Oh. Town.”

The Trevenant chuckled. Nix couldn’t help himself but do the same. “I think my head’s still spinning a little, but I think I could scope out the town before morning. Could help clear my head, might remember more shit from before I woke up. Thanks, friend.”

As Nix rose to his paws and began to wander off, the Trevenant grumbled, and waved to the fading figure. Hopefully, he’d be back before the rise of dawn. And didn’t get bashed upside the head by someone with an itchy trigger finger.

Oh well, that Buneary would play his luck. Here’s hoping he didn’t get blasted into the next world for it.

- - - - - - - -

Going off of the old, vine covered sign he had passed, Nix would say he’s in Summerleaf Town now. And wow, it was a pretty nice town all things considered. It was so late at night that no one was really around, and any Pokemon that saw him paid him no heed. Aside from some who gave him a passing “daw”, which gave his ears a rather violent urge to punch someone in the gut.

He did Not want to be called cute at the moment. It felt… demeaning. Probably because of how small he was.

Thankfully, he hadn’t been stepped on yet, so that was a plus. Hell, he could have spent the past 20 minutes running from a Growlith who thought he was a Feral Poke’ and had been forced to dodge a metric fuck-ton of fireballs. He was really pissed off when that asshole nearly blew a baseball sized hole in his fur-skirt-pants.

He had already taken 12 right turns, a half left turn, and even tried climbing up a roof. Sadly, his legs kept forgetting how to leg. This small body, however, was made to dodge bullshit, however it clearly didn’t come with a Fucking Manual. Otherwise he would have tried throwing hands against this asshole.

Nix had broached a sharp turn once again, though this time he was grabbed by an unseen Pokemon and pulled behind a curtain. The Growlith ran by none the wiser, still spewing fire and barks, along with a few curses.

Once the mystery Pokemon released him, Nix turned heel as fast as possible, his heart rate still going at speeds that could give a Gyarados a run for their money. The Pokemon that had saved him was a… fuck, what was it called?

It looked like a white poodle with skin the color of tar, with white stripes and circles across it, the tell-tale marks that differentiated between a Senseless and a Sensible Pokemon. The key difference here was the make-up they had on, eccentric neon pinks and blues Swirling around their eyes. “Ah, unmarked, yet thy mind is solid!”

Their voice was wild, but carried a self-worth that Nix was admittedly jealous of off the bat. “Uh, yeah. Thanks for getting that Growlith off my tail, I guess?”

He went to continue with a question about their name, but the dog stuck their face in his. “Oh, but the pleasure is mine, childe of Unown! Very few find their way into the harrowed halls of mine shop!”

The crazed dog bounded backwards, letting Nix get a better view of the store. It was… really simple. A poorly lit, fairly large room filled with clothes of every size, shape, and design. And when he says “Filled”, it was no exaggeration. From the door to the desk the supposed owner had jumped over, there was only a few feet of walking room, the floor tiled in mis-matched colors. It was a mildly concerning local, but considering he was a few seconds away from being sent to whatever Divine Force watched over this world as an extra crispy hunk of Rabbit, he wouldn’t complain.

“Thou must be wondering who thine eyes witness?” The dog “asked”. However, it was less of an ask and more a general statement.

“Uh, a little?”

“Why, I am the Grrrrrrreat, the Powerful, the Perrrrrfected, the Rrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrremarkable, the Rrrrrrrrrrrregal, Divine Furfrou!”

The amount of R’s rolled in the single sentence rattled Nix’s eyeballs. “Uhhh. Ok?”

“My name is renowned across all the Regions, spoken on the lips of the Legends Themselves! The clothes mine claws have fashioned harbor the jealousy of Arceus Himself!”

Nix scratched his neck. “Iiiiii dunno who this Arceus guy is, but I really don’t think you should be claiming that so casually…”

“Oh, to be such a square, I’ve yet to acquire thine title!” Furfrou appeared before the Buneary with an almost psychopathic smile.

“Uhm, Nix? The Buneary? Who is currently both really confused and really fucking scared -”

“Be not afraid, Nix of Unown! For I see a fellow in drab garbage!”

Nix couldn’t help but shove his minute terror to the back of his mind at the insult. “Oi! I’m not even wearing anything you-” His anger was cut off as Furfrou grabbed his mouth and dragged him to the back. Past racks and rails of clothes and accessories, to a small box. It was ornate in design, but a closer look revealed a rather sloppy paint job.

“Behest and Behold, Childe of Unown! A little box of freebies I keep with me for cases such as thyself!”

She flung open the crate, revealing a bundle of black cloth with an odd texture. She ripped it free from the confines it rested in and flung it at the confused Buneary, perfectly aligning it around his throat. The cloth revealed itself to be a rather large cloak, at least on Nix’s frame, with a simple hood. It didn’t fit well over his large ears, but it was surprisingly comfortable.

“Uhm, it’s comfy, but I don’t have any mon-” “Don’t concerne thyself with such insolent prattle! This one is, as thee say, on the house!” They cut him off fast as lightning. “What thee find thyself wearing is a Covert Cloak, an amazing piece of fiber and fabric that will serve a warrior well.”

After that prattle, they began to shove Nix towards the door. “Now, the sun rises on the horizon!”

Outside the door, the sun had yet to even breach the hills. “Or you’re over-estimating the time?”

“Shush and get out of my house. Come by when you have money!” And with that, they slammed the door shut.

Nix blinked, before shrugging. Free clothes, who’s he to argue? The only issue now was what to do. He could go back to the Hotel and try to nab some extra hours of sleep, or keep wandering the town-

His decision was made for him when a familiar fire dog rounded the corner, now flanked by its siblings and Bigger Brother, an Arcanine. The two sides blinked at each other, before the group of spicy canines began sprinting like Hell itself was on their tails, and Nix quickly mimicked the action.

- - - - - - - -

By the time Nix lost the roaming pack of wannabe guards, he had left town boundaries and was… somewhere.

To his left, trees. To his right, an old building that had collapsed into itself, and trees. Front and back, trees.

“WHERE THE HELL AM I???”

His voice echoed throughout the woodlands, disturbing the local bird populus. Once it was out of his system, Nix flopped down onto his back, staring into a sky that was slowly turning blue. “Well, I dun screwed up. Went out to explore the ‘ big city ’, got mistaken for a crazy animal, got a cool cloak, and now I’m lost. Again.”

“ Squeek .”

That got Nix jumping up in a panic, the simple sound sending a bolt of fear down his ears. Though, once he saw its origin, he couldn’t help but blush. It was just a strange black and red puppy. Actually, he thought for a moment. ‘ I think I recognize this one? Zoro… Zoro… No, Zorua! ’

The illusionary trickster was sniffing at his cloak in curiosity, no other of its ilk in sight. Which was odd, considering the few random tidbits that came to mind about the line was that they were tight-knit family units. Where the baby was, you’d find the mama.

Though, from down here, he saw neither head nor tail of the parent anywhere. Just the pup. Hell, who knows if it’s even a child? Pokemon aging made no sense.

He carefully reached out and pat the Zorua on the noggin’ with a sigh. “I wouldn’t suppose you know where the hell Summerleaf is?”

The dark-type yipped and bounced to his other side, flopping over lazily. Nix rolled his eyes. “Guess not.”

‘ Hmph, guess I’m laying here for a while, then. At least until the sun comes up, it should be easier to navigate. Until then, what do? ” Already, his leg began to bounce, despite laying down. The Zorua had begun smacking a flower nearby, biting and barking softly at it.

Nix’s ear twitched.

‘ Wait, biting, barking… ’

His neurons finally lit up.

‘ Moves, that’s it! I’m a pokemon, I should be able to do shit! But, what, exactly? I’m a Buneary, and I may not remember much but I sure as hell remember its moveset being lackluster. ’

Leaning up, Nix scratched his jaw. “Hm. How would one use powers that break biology…” The Zorua looked up and tilted their head. Nix just rubbed his head and groaned. “New world, new bullshit, and I still can’t get more than three brain cells?”

His ears began to roll up, something that quickly became annoying to the Buneary.

That’s when he noticed something weird. The Zorua, ‘ I’mma call you Pip ’, was staring at him. “Oi, what are you staring at? Is there something on my face, or is there something-”

His mind’s record skipped a line.

“Or somethING BEHIND ME-” He turned tail, and just barely avoided getting his head bitten clean off by a damned purple snake, an Ekans. Even he couldn’t forget a pun that bad. The first level evolution pulled its head out of the dirt and hissed, eyes sharpening on its prey. A small bunny and fox? The perfect prey, in its eyes.

Unfortunately for its prey, that was the case. Pip barked and bounced back a few feet, while Nix paled, his ears curling all the way, almost deafening him. The Ekans rose to its full height, and then lunged once again, fangs wide open. To Nix’s surprise, Pip bounced forward, claws extending from their paws and slashing out with a flurry of Scratches. Scratches… Scratch! A move, they used it so casually!

The claws were, sadly, not effective enough. The Ekans shrugged the minor cuts with reasonable ease, instead lashing out with its tail and smacking Pip in the side. It carried enough force to send the Zorua spiraling to the side, their defenses scrambled, and leaving Pip wide open. An opening Ekans was more than willing to take, opening its maw wide and revealing their fangs.

That wouldn’t do, Nix decided, without really thinking. Instinct finally spoke up, muscles twisted, and the Buneary found himself lunging forward at a lower angle, head tilted so that his left ear faced up. He finally made landing just below the soaring snake, the left side of his head crunched , and his ear moved.

A faint reminder came to mind, a Pokedex entry so funny he couldn’t help but burn itself into his hippocampus. He didn’t remember the game, but… “ Buneary: Its ears are always rolled up. They can be forcefully extended to shatter even a large boulder. ”

Ekans learned this the hard way as Nix’s ear rolled out, snapping to full mast directly against its open jaw. The force slammed it shut, transferring the energy to its skull, and to its brain, and then, outside. The faint sounds of bones snapping and shattering were silenced as the snake pokemon was launched upwards and away, right into the treeline.

Nix stared with blown open eyes at the fading outline of the Ekans. As did Pip, but the Zorua was more interested in not being dead than the sudden Space Mission the snake had been unknowingly hired for. They bounced up and yipped in joy, bouncing around the still stunned bunny.

“What… the Fuck???? ”

His musing was silenced by Pip rubbing against his side and almost knocking him down. That got Nix’s head out of the clouds, instead now reaching over and petting the Dark fox’s head. “I’m… that wasn’t even a move. That was just muscle power. My ears are jacked .”

Speaking of ears, they picked something up in the distance. Behind the two, bushes were disrupted, and Pip let out a happy bark, tail wagging and smacking Nix in the face. Turning tail, the pair saw a Zoroark peek through, and looked around. Pip barked again and the tall Dark fox smiled, sprinting over and nabbing the pup. The adult, the Parent, licked the top of the kit’s head with a pleased trill, before walking away quickly, not even granting Nix a moment of thought.

Pip, however, did turn around, and waved. Nix waved back as the duo vanished into the darkness, and sighed.

“Well, now I’m alone. And still lost. Fuck I should have asked for directions.”

Well, no point in sitting around with his thumb up his ass. The Buneary turned, and decided to walk in a random direction. Sadly, that lasted about 4 steps, as his paw landed on something smooth and hard. Looking down, he had but a few moments to recognize the color scheme of a Pokeball with a face, which suddenly began to glow.

The next moment, he was airborne, smoking, and flying towards the Addam’s Hotel.

“ ARCEUS DAMN YOUUUUUUUUU -” were his last words heard by the smoking and half dead Voltorb, now smugly laughing at the asshole who interrupted his nap.

Chapter Text

Chapter 4: Gathering embers. (Gin 1)

The light of the moon was the thing that actually woke him up. The uncovered window let the soft moonlight hit his face. Gin drowsily opened his eyes and yawned. He had been curled up in a rather comfortable, if slightly singed bed. A more primal part of his mind briefly wondered what happened until he realized it.

“Right, pokémon… I'm a pokémon…” a half growling voice echoed across the empty room. He did have to give it to the Addams. They knew their gothic decor well, the deep purples, black and crimson, lent a hauntingly beautiful atmosphere to the room he was in. The dresser, which was too tall for him, had a cracked mirror that if he jumped on, he could see himself. Standing up slowly, letting his bones crack as he forcefully stretched himself, he began to shake his head and headed towards the dresser. One successful jump later, and he stared at the Vulpix. The reddish and brown fur, the orange curled tails, and the unblinking brown eyes.

“This is me?” he asked the reflection. Fully expecting an answer, and yet despite a few minutes, no one answered. He let out a short but bitter laugh as he looked at the reflection again, wondering where he was inside the Vulpix, and yet he saw nothing. Gin wasn't there, and the Vulpix laughed again, small wisps of flame escaping his mouth. A small but pointed reminder that inside him was a fire that would not go out. And that thought brought a sort of comfort to him.

“Hahaha.” He began to laugh, and he couldn't stop himself. The situation was so ridiculous. He was a pokémon! He was living in the Pokémon world, and he was worried about not being who he was! Tears began to flow, steam rose as they fell into the dresser, and he kept laughing. The absolute ridiculousness of the situation only made the joke land harder. Brown eyes met their reflection as Gin told himself, “In spite of your best efforts, your doubts your fears. You are still yourself.”

“And is that enough?” The reflection seemed to ask as the eyes widened.

“I'll make it be enough.” Gin replied as the reflection mirrored the grin that adorned his face. Shaking his head, he looked at the old clock inside his room. It was around 3:30 a.m., so no one would be awake. Which meant a walk through the grounds would be possible, without an escort or anything. The idea did appeal to a side of him, but another begged a question: What can he do?

Jumping down and sitting on his bed, Gin closed his eyes and focused inwards. He needed to find what he had available to him. It didn't take too long for him to discover what moves he had.

• Ember: The most basic of fire moves available to him.
• Quick Attack: Useful in battle and to escape it.
• Disable: An odd choice given his own preferences, but could be useful against any wild pokémon.
• Hypnosis: The most surprising move of all. Something rather useful for every occasion.

“Four moves, and I'm nowhere near strong enough to justify finding a fire stone.” he muttered to himself, breathing out slowly he felt the embers leave his mouth as small flames again. Opening one eye, he saw that, thankfully, nothing had been set ablaze. Once again, he closed his eyes and focused inwards, closer to that flame that was himself. It was like a star in the middle of space, shining brightly, spreading warmth that was his Fire type energy. Deeper inside, he could feel the other types of energy. Normal, like a summer's breeze, surrounded his metaphorical body. Psychic, like gravity, pulled at him, though it was gentle rather than oppressive. 

“Ember, fire. Simple really… and yet, why shouldn't I add more to it? Make it bigger, burn longer, what is stopping me from changing it?” He meditated on these thoughts for an hour when he was suddenly distracted by a loud growl. It took him a second to realize that it came from his stomach. His paw slapped his muzzle as if attempting to do a facepalm. He had forgotten completely about eating. Looking at the clock, he saw it was still too damn early for anyone to be up, and yet his stomach growled. 

“Maybe I can grab something off a tree nearby?” He thought to himself, he remembered that there should be some berries or something near Summerleaf, Wednesday had mentioned that much as she had led them back from Sapphire's gore nest. Or maybe he could find someone awake at the hotel? The thought of meeting Thing still sent some shivers down his spine, but maybe they would know where to get some food? Shaking his head to force himself awake, he stood resolutely and left the room after spending a few minutes messing with the handle.

“I have no hands, and I must open doors.” He thought bitterly as he began the slow descent down multiple flights of stairs. The haunted hotel look really came alive as the dim lighting and the shadows made every footfall seem more haunting. Still, he persevered and managed to only slip down half a flight of stairs. He was somewhat surprised to find that he really didn't feel that.

“Oh right, pokémon are tougher than humans.” He chuckled as he continued his descent, though careful to avoid waking any of the others. By the time he arrived at the lobby, he saw it empty, though there was a smell in the air. It was sweet, almost floral. There was also something that smelled like spices. Either way, his stomach commanded that he at least investigate. The dining hall was grand in a haunted way, several chandeliers lit by ghostly flames were the sole source of light, the table was large, capable of easily seating dozens of pokemon, if not more depending on their size. Silverware shone as the ghostly light brightened and waned, although a single thought haunted Gin’s mind: How do I eat?

“Esteemed guest, you seem to enjoy the early morning as well?” Gomez, the Mr. Rime said, appearing from the shadows. Gin leaped up and faced him, small flames leaking from his muzzle in surprise. “Ha! Marvelous, a warm-up before breakfast?” The bloodthirsty grin was only accentuated as an icy cane manifested in his hands. Gin wanted to clear up the misunderstanding, and yet something in his body told him that fighting would be better. 

“Sure.” Gin said, “But how about not in the dining room?” He was surprised to see the smile widened, and Gomez grabbed him before saying,

“Capital idea! Let's go to the dueling grounds!” And in the space of a few seconds, Gin found himself outside of the hotel, near the graveyard. It was a rather empty lot, but it was spacious enough for a decent battle in the mind of Gomez. Proudly, he proclaimed, “It is an Addams tradition to give the dead a good show, so let's fight, show me your spirit, oh reincarnated soul!”

“How-” was all Gin got out as he barely dodged a thrust that would've skewered him. Gomez smirked and began attacking. Gin leaped back and charged ember in his mouth. When he shot it, Gomez stood perfectly still, and at the very last instant, he slashed through the fireballs. Gin could've sworn he saw the embers freeze as well, but he had no time to think. In a heartbeat, Gomez crossed the space between them and slashed. Gin ducked and felt his fur freeze as it was cut,

His eyes widened as he felt his core ignite with anger. Brown eyes gleamed red as hypnosis was used and failed as Gomez's eyes also glowed. For a brief moment, Gin felt an overwhelming need to fall asleep, but a painful poke to his side woke him up immediately. Gomez smiled and taunted, “Come now! I know you can do more, I can see it in your soul! Show me your spirit!” 

Eyes glowing red Gin used disable, stopping any further use of hypnosis by Gomez and letting the energy leak out of his body; he could feel his fur rise as he did a quick attack at his host. He saw the disappointment flash in Gomez's eyes for a brief moment, then the small wisps of fire landed. Gin was instinctively molding his flames. Rather than letting his mind form them, he let his instincts guide them. Fire danced around his body as Gomez smiled and clapped, but Gin was too angry and hungry to care.

“I need something strong, fill the embers with more power, let the flames grow, let them burn even stone!” He thought as small orbs of fire lined themselves around his muzzle. Gomez took an open stance, and Gin launched his barrage of embers, each shot flying like a bullet. Gomez parried the first and second, dodging the third and fourth with supernatural grace. The fifth was blocked by an icy spear that manifested from his off hand, and then another was launched back at Gin.

“That's the spirit!” Gomez laughed with fire igniting in his eyes, Gin growled but couldn't help but smile back at him. 

Even as the spear headed his way, he could feel his mind racing to an answer, “Double team.” Normal type energy flared outwards, forming a second, third, fourth, and fifth body as Gin dodged the Icicle spear.

“Marvelous! I haven't seen that move in a while.” Gomez cheered as more Icicle spears were launched at Gin. The after images dodged alongside Gin, then much to Gomez's surprise, they split, surrounding him as the real Gin launched embers that grew hotter at him. For Gomez, this was exhilarating. He missed the feeling of battling someone new, of seeing something different. For Gin, there was only the desire to win. Something inside of him refused to back down from a challenge. He charged in with another quick attack, landing a glancing blow vs. Gomez, who swiftly countered with a powerful smack of his icy cane. Instead of cutting through his side, Gin only felt like he had been hit with a baseball bat in the ribs.

“Gah!” He cried out in pain, skidding across the empty lot. 

Gomez nodded and said, “Good instincts, but you need to learn to dodge!” With a swish of his cane, several icicle spears formed in the air. “Esteemed guest! Please let me teach you the fine art of dodging!” And with that several icicle spears flew out, some curved, others flew straight; but all were aimed at Gin who got his breath back and used double team again. One, and the after image cracked as if frozen. Two, another was caught mid jump and popped like a bubble. An idea formed in Gin’s mind as another spear was about to reach him, adding a small amount of Fire type energy to the double team after images. Nothing big, just a small dose of it. As the third image popped with a powerful burst of ice, he finished adding the energy into his remaining afterimage. And he felt a stronger connection to it, almost like a puppeteer pulling the strings. 

Another spear struck, the after image exploded into mist, and Gin found himself at Gomez's side. He focused what little energy he had into another burst of embers that landed. Gomez barely seemed fazed by them, and Gin began to focus once again, pouring everything into another attack, and felt like someone was pulling at his brain as he fell into the ground coughing. Gomez looked at him and handed him a Leppa berry. Gin didn't hesitate and devoured it in a single bite. Almost immediately, he felt relief as the Leppa berry restored his energy.

“Good warm up! I can't wait to see what you can do when you grow.” Gomez congratulated the fallen Gin who barely registered anything as another berry was handed to him. This time, he could recognize it by sight. It was an Oran Berry, and it also tasted great to his battered body. “Haven't had that much fun training since I met ma chère femme. Ah, those were the days…” Gomez began reminiscing as his wife teleported near him and grabbed his shoulder.

“Oh Gomez, Kalosian, and covered in soot and burns, you truly know how to make me fall in love with you all over again.” Her voice was dripping with desire, which he returned with a gleeful smile as they teleported away. 

Gin merely stared at the now empty lot as Wednesday approached him. “My good guest, would you like to return to your room?” 

“Yeah, mind tossing me there? I'd normally walk but… Your father is a very good fighter.” Gin admitted, and Wednesday smiled. 

“That he is.” She mentioned with pride, behind her Lurch appeared, and she commanded, “Lurch, our guest wishes to be tossed into his room. Please do so while I prepare some food for later.”

“Yes.” The golurk slowly drawled, picking up the tired Vulpix, taking aim and tossing him through the now open window. He landed perfectly in his bed as exhaustion took him back to sleep.

Chapter Text

Arc 1: Cool Spring, Chapter 2: Will of Fire (Gin 2)

Gin found himself in a void. There was nothing but the emptiness of space around him. He couldn't breathe, see, or feel anything but the void. His paws scratched at the infinite darkness, trying to find something in there.

“This is the worst type of dream.” He thought to himself as he tried to force himself to wake up.

“Death begets life. This world is connected.” A voice that felt like an earthquake spoke, and then sight returned to Gin. And he almost wished for the void again, corpses hundreds if not thousands of humans laid before him. Pale faces twisted in pain as the sky above took a crimson hue. Blood, rotten and thick surrounded him, seeping to the ground and into his fur. He could feel the cold blood coagulate between his paws. His eyes quivered as they took in all the information, the sheer despair in front of him.

“What happened here?” He asked as the wind howled. He could see the corpses being torn to shreds under the gales. Above him, a figure descended, cloaked by black gales though the shining blue eyes cut through the darkness. Gin growled and true to move but found himself unable to do so much as twitch under that gaze.

“Worse will arrive, struggle, and surmount. That is your duty.” The voice said as the scene shifted to something worse. He could see it, a tear in reality as Ultra beasts poured out. He saw himself launching his body at them, clawing, biting, burning the horde. And yet it was not enough. His body was crushed, trampled under the ever growing tide as the fire inside him waned and faded until there was nothing left, not even the smallest bit of ash. A very large part of him wanted to run. It wouldn't be too hard, and yet… a small part of himself raged at the images. Raged against the concept of a predetermined future. 

A fire hotter than the sun began to burn inside him, rage resonated within his soul, and he snarled at the horde. “BRING IT ON!” He yelled as he woke himself up. His room was empty except for a plate filled with various berries and a handwritten note, wishing him an exciting day. Blinking at the note, he began eating the berries. Some were spicy, others were sweet, but the tastier ones were dry. 

“That answers if my taste buds changed. Still a weird dream, I should probably talk to the others later and see if any of them had something similar happen.” He thought to himself as the final berry was eaten, licking his muzzle clean he headed to the bathroom. He was thankful to whoever made it, so you only needed to yank the correct chain to let hot or cold water fill the tub. For most Pokémon the boiling tub would be pain, but for Gin, it was just right, the heat seeped into his bones as he relaxed. He still felt the blood in his paws even as he added more Fire type energy to his body, making it even more boiling hot. A small part of him wondered if taking a bath in lava would be viable.

He breathed out as after a few minutes, his body felt clean. Draining the tub and using more Fire type energy to flash dry himself, he left the bathroom. Noticing that the plate was gone and reasoning that Thing or Lurch must've entered and picked it up, he left his room to explore the hotel. He made 5 steps before running into the tall Gothitelle.

“Good day, honored guest. I trust that you found your bath relaxing?” She asked before adding, “Ah, where are my manners? Morticia Addams, at your service.”

“Nice to meet you, Mrs. Addams, my name is Gin, and yes, it really was. You have a lovely hotel.” Gin complimented her, though there was an odd feeling in the back of his head, as if he had heard her name before. 

“I am glad to hear that, though you do appear to be distracted, is there something wrong?” Morticia asked, and Gin could almost feel her eyes on his mind. And yet, he found that he didn't really mind that. 

Breathing out, he confessed, “Just had a bad dream.”

“Oh?” Morticia asked, “What type of bad dream?”

“A mountain of corpses and something that shouldn't exist. And me, dying while fighting it.” Gin summed up his nightmare as Morticia bent down and patted his head softly. There was empathy in her eyes, unspoken words of understanding.

“And you fear it? Death?” She asked, her eyes carefully looking at the soul in front of her. For a few minutes, Gin looked at the hallway and then at her, the gears in his mind turning to make a reply.

“Yes and no.” Gin admitted, “I don't want to die, but I wouldn't forgive myself if I merely ran from that.”

“A heroic soul, no wonder my Gomez found you interesting.” A frown adorned her face, but no disapproval was actually heard, “Still it is a goal worth pursuing, though you are rather… untrained.”

“I can admit to that much.” Gin said with a laugh, “However I am new to this, but I will get stronger. I just need to persevere.” She nodded approvingly and commented,

“That you will. That you will, however, if I may be so bold, have you considered how to get stronger?”

“Win battles, get experience, level up.” Gin summed up his plan, although it sounded hollow even to his ears. In the games, it would make sense, but here? His life would be on the line, so just ramming his head into encounters would just result in him lying in an early grave. He needed more than just experience from battle, and a small part of him recognized that.

“That is one way, yes. But you know that there are more paths to power. Against Gomez, you used a peculiar move. You solidified the after images using Fire type energy. You also manipulated the amount of fire in your embers.” Morticia listed the events of earlier in the morning, “However from your reaction, it was less a conscious effort on your part and more instinctual reaction, no?”

“That's true.” Gin admitted remembering the thrill of the fight.

“Then let me give you some pointers. Each Type Energy is merely a manifestation of power.” Morticia began, with an outstretched hand she summoned a small orb of Ghost energy, “Take for example, Shadow Ball. It is a simple enough move. However, what if I try to change the type of energy that flows into it?” With that question hanging in the air, the ball spun wildly, absorbing what light there was around them until it collapsed into itself.

“Now, why did it fail?” She asked him.

“I…” Gin began saying but closed his mouth as he tried to reason it out. “The move destabilized itself? Or was it the energies not mixing well? If it was the latter, then how did the afterimage not immediately explode? Was it the core I imagined?” Dozens of questions formed as Morticia waited, after a few moments Gin sat down and said: “It failed because… the conversion of one type of energy to another was unstable?”

“Remember all energy is just that, energy.” Morticia gave him another hint and watched as he frowned. To him, the answer had to be something he was overlooking. Her eyes scanned him again, waiting patiently as a new answer formed in his mind.

“If it's just energy as you said, then why did it collapse?” Gin asked as he realized the key word, it collapsed on itself. “Did you make it collapse?” He asked, and Morticia smiled knowingly,

“Exactly! Now the question is, why did I make it collapse?” The question hung in the air as Gin tried to make sense of the reason. But only one answer stuck with him as he voiced his thoughts, “Because… You've gotta be kidding me. Is it because you wanted it to collapse, but why?” 

“Why would I want for a move to implode on itself? You know the answer to that.” She said with a knowing tone, trusting him to make the final connection.

“I… Wait, so you're saying that the most important aspect is not knowing the move but willing it!?” Gin exclaimed, realizing what she meant to teach him.

“Exactly, willpower is the most important aspect for energy manipulation.” She said with a calm voice as she summoned another shadow ball before splitting it to another, and then Gin saw it change shape and the energy changed from ghost to grass. Both orbs circled her arm before clashing into each other and canceling each other. Not a single spec of dust was raised as she showed off her control over her moves.

“Do you understand?” She asked a starstruck Gin. It took him a solid minute to nod as an idea formed inside his mind. He formed another double team, and instead of Fire energy, he focused on that feeling of gravity, the Psychic energy inside him. The after image wobbled and popped after a few seconds, but Gin didn't let that deter him. Another and another formed as he moved up and down the hallway. Dozens of after images formed as a Psychic energy core formed until Gin felt it. A pull and let go of the core, the after image stopped in its tracks, and Gin slid to a stop. For a few seconds, there were two Gin's in the Addams hotel, then the clone blinked out of existence.

“It's like trying to grab running water without spilling a drop.” Gin complained as he breathed out in exhaustion, “How do I-”

“Practice.” Morticia interrupted his musing as she carried a Mimikyu that had appeared during Gin’s run, “For your species Fire is almost instinctual, for mine Psychic is. There is no instant mastery of energy manipulation. Blood, sweat, and tears are the way to truly understand it.”

“Gah.” Mimikyu added. 

And Morticia nodded, “That's right, Pubert. Once you master using at least Psychic type energy, come and find me and Gomez. We will teach you a move that should go well with you.” And with that, she slowly walked away before teleporting out of sight. Humming all the while, a familiar tone that scratched at Gin’s brain.

He shook his head and headed downstairs as Thing approached him and handed him yet another Leppa Berry. “Thank you, Thing.” Gin said as he bit into it feeling better as the mysterious pokémon buzzed in recognition and left. He heard the others talking or working on things so he proceeded to explore the hotel a bit more, hallways seemed to move around as he stumbled his way to a small library where Gomez sat with several books open and floating around him.

“Perfect! You're here, my wife informed me of what you're trying to learn. I would advise practicing somewhere less flammable.” The jolly tone of Gomez's voice was a pleasant surprise. Gin had expected him to be more serious after their fight earlier in the morning.

“I-I wasn't intending to practice here.” Gin said approaching the Mr. Rime, “I was just exploring.” With that admission Gomez smiled and said, “A tour? Why didn't you say so?” Standing and brandishing his cane, Gomez grabbed Gin and said, “Let me show you the wonders of our humble abode, it would be of poor taste to let you wander aimlessly.” And faster than Gin could decline he found himself running behind a very enthusiastic Gomez who began telling him stories about the history of the Addams. According to him the Addams had been in every major war that had occurred, and if he wanted he could even ask some of the ghosts to tell him in detail who died when, where and how. He spoke of the apocalypse of humanity, how they were destroyed and how if he wanted to know more he could ask Ichabod. And he spoke at length about Morticia, the love of his life and afterlife as well.

Throughout all of this Gin was silently writing down the details in his mind. But one thought stood above all: “They love each other so much… This is worth protecting.” And inside him the fire grew.

Chapter Text

Dratini squirmed on top of her bed. Over the course of the night, she had pushed together the bedding as much as possible before she coiled on top of it. It didn’t put her much higher from the floor, but her scales weren’t touching the ground and they felt warm on her underside, so she counted it as a win.

Huh, scales were weird to have. It had a distinct foreign quality to them and she had the vague recollection that it wasn’t right. In her mind, she knew that she wasn’t a Dratini before yesterday. The others with her confirmed that. All of them seemed to be strangers in their own bodies and stumbled around with no sense of balance. Except for that Ralts. Sapphire seemed to have other issues to deal with than balance though.

Meanwhile, Dratini didn’t really have those issues. Slithering was new to her and she wasn’t very fast at the moment, but it was just wiggling her body against the ground. All she had to do was push with her spine, which was also ninety-percent of her body now. She wasn’t sure how to feel about that, but Dragonair could fly and Dragonite had a full set of limbs. Those stages were a long way away, but if she lived long enough, she ought to become a big happy dragon. Until then, she was but a little worm.

With a sigh, Dratini slithered out of her bedroll and slunk across the floor. The hotel room wasn’t bad, not by a longshot. She had all the furnishings she could need and none of the belongings to take advantage of it. Hell, if she wanted, she could crawl up onto a cushion by the window and get food delivered to her room.

Oh, a nice book would make that perfect. The morning sun shined down on her just right, keeping her nice and warm. It’d probably feel even better outside. She was a dragon, so curling up on a rock and soaking up the sun was probably natural for her. Although what was natural for a dragon? Hoarding previous things? Dratini didn’t exactly feel an urge to collect anything, at least not yet. Maybe that instinct would spring up later.

For now, she ought to enjoy herself and figure out what she could do on her own. Sapphire had that telefragging thing and most of the others were Fire-types. They ought to be plenty destructive on their own. Dratini couldn’t really imagine herself being that destructive as she thumped against the steps on her way down. She was pretty long, long enough to wrap around someone with a foot or two to spare.

That much length made her look a little funny sliding down the stairs. Just thump, thump, thump over and over again until she was back in the lobby.

“Heeello.” Lurch the Golurk didn’t look down at Dratini. Neither did he wave since his hands weren’t attached to his body. Looking around, Dratini didn’t see any sign of those big bulky hands anywhere around her. That was somewhat concerning, but hotel guests probably needed his assistance.

With the tip of her tail, Dratini waved at the ‘mon behind the counter. “Morning, Lurch!” Snaking over to him, Dratini stood on the end of her tail to look over the counter. There wasn’t much besides the keys and whatever was stuffed under there. “Have you seen the others?”

“Ouuutsiiiide.” They got a headstart then. Well, they had all day until they came back together and discussed what to do with themselves.

Dratini should probably get started on her own plans then. “Thanks, Lurch! See you later.”

And slither away. Use all those muscles to push against the ground in a curling pattern. Don’t think about the feeling of limbs where there weren’t any. She was just a spinal column now, for better or worse. Gotta get used to the feeling of slithering until she could fly wherever she wanted.

Outside the hotel, Dratini passed by the scarily big Trevanent. They seemed harmless, but they could also squash her just by shaking and losing a branch. Not touching that with a thirty-nine-and-a-half foot pole any time soon. Creepy pokémon were one thing. One that was possibly older than the hotel was another thing. Maybe if she had another one of her… huh, what did they call themselves?

They didn’t have the birthmarks that marked intelligence or civility. They appeared to be regular pokémon and their shiny friend. Dratini was just blue and white scales all over. If she had a mirror, she could inspect the fins on her head, but she doubted they were any different from the white three-pronged fins she expected to find. Maybe her horn was different. Usually it was a barely-there nub on a Dratini’s forehead.

A Dratini. Dratini. That might get confusing later on. Everyone else had a name. At least, all of the pokémon she had the chance to talk to. Those Poochyena might have had names before they… were massacred.

Best not to think about that. Focus on herself and the way that the chilly breeze felt against her hide. Slithering away from the hotel and toward the wilderness let her scales soak up the sun and its warmth. It was a perfect contrast as she explored further into the patchwork forest.

“Now, what to do first?” Dratini mumbled to herself as she stopped in a gap between trees. She curled up into a coil, making sure not to overlap her tail so she could keep taking in all the sunlight she could. “Well, I need a name. Something unique. Definitely don’t want to just use my old name.” Nestling her head inside her coil, she blew a raspberry against the grass. The dew mixed with her saliva into a weird drippy and bubbly mess. “Bleakwing? No, that’s more of a Tornadus name. Maybe Windrunner? I don’t know how well I can fly yet though.”

Maybe it would be better to figure that out later. A good name will come to her later, one that really spoke to her. Or she could hold off on it. It wasn’t weird for pokémon to be renamed. At least, she thought so. Her recollection was a bit hazy on why that was the case, but she was sure that it was.

Why couldn’t she remember? Actually, what did she remember?

Not much actually. Hazy barely described her memories prior to yesterday. It was almost like they didn’t exist except she knew they had to. Otherwise, it wouldn’t make sense for being a wiggly dragon to feel so weird. It wouldn’t be weird if there was nothing to conflict against it. Therefore, something had to come before then to create this dissonance.

She wouldn’t make heads or tails of it anytime soon. Not on her own with a barely working memory. She’d have to come back to that once it becomes relevant again and she wasn’t focusing on the multitude of other things on her mental to-do list.

Off to her second order of business then. Unwrapping herself, Dratini looked down at her body. “What can a low level Dratini do? Dragonbreath?” Taking a deep breath, Dratini exhaled everything in her lungs and filled the air with a rush of heat. In seconds, the chilly breeze swallowed it up and left her back in the dismal low temperatures of the morning.

That was a definite no then. Maybe a weaker Dragon-type move would work. Dual Chop was probably impossible considering her singular limb. Although maybe she could work it out by hitting someone with her tail and then her head. Wait, she was almost ninety-percent sure that a Dragonite couldn’t learn that move. It was a simple move though, she could possibly experiment with it later and find a way to slap someone across both cheeks.

For now, the weakest Dragon-type move she knew of was Twister. It should be simple to make work. All she had to do was make a tiny twister full of Dragon energy. That sounded easy enough to do. She was a Dragon now. That kind of stuff should come naturally to her.

So spin. Circles. Chase her tail!

“Oh, dizzy…” Dratini flopped onto the ground. Not a speck of a Twister in sight. She laid there until her vision righted itself. Once it did, well, she looked down at the dirt she dragged around. The circle she went in wasn’t that oblong. Definitely nowhere close to perfect, but she had the spirit. “Maybe it’s an energy thing? Do I have some well of energy inside of me?”

Closing her eyes, Dratini focused on her body, her squirmy scaly spinal column. There was energy somewhere in there that all pokémon had access to and could use. She had to have some of it too. If she dug deep inside her soul or whatever, then she should be able to pull out some kind of life energy. Like chakra or ki. Aura? Maybe that too.

After a series of steady deep breaths, Dratini opened her eyes and found nothing had changed. “Not that then. Not somatic. Not material. Verbal?” Scrunching up her face as much as she could, Dratini shouted, “Twister!”

All of her sudden, her tail whipped around of its own accord. It flicked out with such force that she spun around in a circle just as a tiny tornado crashed into a tree, splattering bark and dirt everywhere. Grass fluttered down from where it had been yanked upward by her attack.

By her attack. She could attack! “Yes!” cheered the little dragon. “Okay, okay. So it has to be verbal somewhat.” Screaming attack names suddenly made a lick of sense. A cool attack like Draco Meteor definitely deserved to be screamed so someone knew they were screwed. “Wait. Sapphire teleported without saying anything.”

Two steps forward and one step back then. If Sapphire could use Teleport without having to shout it out, then it stood to reason that Dratini could do the same with her attacks. Unless it was a case of having mastered a technique to the point where she didn’t have to think about it. Sapphire should have appeared at the same time that the rest of them did, so hopefully that wasn’t the case. Although some of them had trouble maneuvering with their new bodies and rearranged appendages.

“Time to test it then.” Dratini squirmed back and spun in circles. Slow, steady circles. Nothing that would get her dizzy. She needed to make a twister. A twister inside her wiggles and then she had to release it with one last wiggle in the direction she wanted to fling it. Easy enough.

The wind whipped around her, its chill soaking into her scales just as much as the sun warmed them. She caught some of those winds with her body, driving them into circles just as she did. Every whip of the wind was hers to control. Each gust was another being pulled together into her Twister. A tiny disaster that grew and grew until it was larger than Dratini was long. It didn’t stop there though. She continued wiggling around and cultivating it.

Grass and dirt were the first victims to her Twister. They crumbled into pieces and were flung toward the sky, unable to keep up with the currents around them. After those crumbs were the leaves of trees, coupled with the branches they grew on. Sticks cracked and pitched themselves away from the brewing storm. Dratini’s Twister didn’t crave them though. It craved more destruction, enough destruction to rip a large branch from the tree that cultivated it.

Just as the Twister began to peak over the treeline, Dratini gave it one last wiggle. The tiny disaster flew forward, whipping up roots and shrubs alike in its warpath. One tree was not enough to stop it. A second was torn up like the first. The third resisted the pull, but lost the depth of its roots in its resistance. The fourth and fifth banded together to make the Twister crash against them until it petered out as a whirlwind of debris.

Two trees and most of a third being torn apart was still nothing to scoff at. A wobbly rut had been dug through the ground, creating a trench that Dratini could hide in. Two trees had been thrown aside as projectiles and she had no input in their direction. The haphazard direction could be blamed on its twisting and turning. That or whatever made the attack a Dragon-type attack.

Something to work on after she figured out whether all this destruction was viable in a battle. In a full party, she would have time to build up the destructive energy if she really needed it. Although when she thought about it, three Fire-types ought to have enough firepower to decimate anything that wasn’t resistant to their attacks. So when that failed, Sapphire or Nix could launch their attacks and wipe out whatever threat they faced.

Dratini could focus on being defensive instead. A Fennekin and a Cyndaquil weren’t born to withstand attacks for long. Perhaps once they evolved and outpaced her, then it would be fitting for Dratini to stand back. Until then, her natural resistances were good enough to keep her up front. Hopefully anyway.

If she got outpaced by their growth, well, they would probably start splitting off without her. An unfortunate yet inevitable fate when experience points came into question.

“What are Dragonite known for? They’re Dragons so they have a wide movepool to use,” mused the worm. She sat at the edge of her new trench, silently hoping that whoever tended to the forest wouldn’t punish her for her careless experiments. “The elemental Punches?” She looked down at her tail. “Maybe if I meet a Wooper before evolving.”

Defenses would have to wait. She didn’t remember Dragonite learning any defense-boosting moves naturally. Investing in TMs would be a pain, but a necessary one to ensure she could help out as much as she could.

If not defense, “What about speed? Extreme Spee—AAAAAAAH!”

The wind blasted against her face. Bark blasted itself to bits as she barreled through the air. One tree. Two trees. A shrub that got a bunch of leaves into her mouth. Despite that, she continued to scream for lack of anything to brace her next crash with. Three trees. Another two bushes.

And then a boulder. “Ow.” The rock cracked down the middle and the nub of Dratini’s horn. Her tail hung limp as she hung by the tiny horn. “Note to self, Extreme Speed is very fast,” she deadpanned for lack of anything better to do. Pressing her entire body against the rock, she pushed herself out. With a loud pop, she flopped backward onto the sand.

Sand?

Dratini whipped up and looked around her. She was back on a beach with the ocean welcoming the rising sun. If that was the morning sun and the beach she woke up on was definitely overlooking the setting sun…

“How did I end up on the east coast?” She was definitely in the middle of the forest just a few minutes ago. Extreme Speed had a lot of priority over other moves, but going that fast seemed excessive. “Do I dare try it again?” She could end up anywhere on the continent if she aimed in the wrong direction. Getting back to the hotel was unlikely without proper landmarks, and in the blur that was high speed travel, she couldn’t exactly take notes.

If not that, then she was doing this the old fashion way and walking the entire way. Well, slithering but that was basically the same thing in her case. It would probably take a while and she would be swamped with obstacles. She might even get turned around and lose her way.

Turning back toward the ocean, she sighed. The sun made the sea sparkle as foamy waves crashed upon the shore. Pokémon dove out of the ocean, spinning around to do tricks in front of the rest of their pods. Birds swooped down to catch the odd Magikarp that wandered too close to the surface. Then their flock helped carry their latest catch away together, happily chirping away at their compatriot.

It was simply beautiful. Nature had taken over and an ecosystem had been left behind to work its way back into a flowing circuit of energy. There was no peace, but it certainly felt peaceful to just sit and watch.

“Peaceful, peaceful,” mumbled Dratini. In the distance, a small pod of blue and gray pokémon drifted through the waves, billowing up and down with the currents. “Irene,” she blurted out of nowhere. “Huh, I like the sound of that. Think I’ll stick with it.”

It felt good. Right in a way that made her want to coil up and sigh in relief. Unfortunately, if she coiled up in the sand, the sun would be too tempting. She might end up staying here until the chill overtook her. By then, she might miss out on dinner. She really didn’t want to miss out on dinner.

“Guess I’ll wiggle back to civilization now.”

Chapter Text

Tenaz remembered reading, or rather hearing, a line that stuck with him long after the fact. “Life is a game the universe plays with itself.” At the time he thought it profound and comforting in the same breath.

“This is such bullshit! I still only have two functioning fucking legs! This should be one to one!”

Then one gets Truck-kun'd and every notion of poetry and philosophy goes out the window alongside any remnants of one's past self.

Tenaz picked himself up again and squared his feet. …Paws? His paws were squared once more as he prepared himself to try running from one end of the dining hall to the next.

While the Cyndaquil had lacked any serious progress in running, much progress had been made into how to get back on his feet. Using his flames and rotund body had proven most effective in merely rolling back onto his paws, though that had taken the better part of an hour to learn the precise force and movement necessary. On top of the ten or so minutes, he assumed that much time had passed anyway, of merely getting down those fucking stairs.

Tenaz was not normally so grumpy and vindictive. At least, that's what the half-dead neurons in his head kept repeating when he thought hard enough on an empty past. However, any notion of politeness and cordiality went to Hell when he woke up on the beach an indeterminate amount of time ago.

Every moment of impaired movement burned of shame hotter than the flames on his back ever could. Every moment of the world reminding him of his diminutive stature brought about a scalding rage within.

“And who the fuck wakes up at dawn!? I'd like to sleep in, unnamed being of my past!” The Cyndaquil snarled, marching his way back and forth down the dining hall. Said righteous indignation was ignored by all, of course. Or at least, that's what Tenaz assumed the case to be, and he'd very much like it if every assumption he made was one-hundred percent right every time.

Tenaz stomped his paws down, hissing to himself to the point he could feel the flames on his back flaring up alongside him. “This is ridiculous! How am I to get anything done, let alone actively contribute, if my body fights me at every turn? This is an outrage, I say! An outrage!”

Tenaz stopped, dropped down to sit, and let out the loudest, and longest, sigh he could. “Okay, okay, okay, okayyy. Let's weigh the options and take a gamble on whichever one is the most immediately beneficial. Option one! Keep practicing motor functions until I can run, jump, roll, and otherwise move flawlessly. Pros, movement is necessary to live and will help keep me alive in battle. Cons, I've already been at this for like an hour and I'm getting bored.”

Tenaz waddled around the side of the dining table, his eyes drifting over the immaculate carvings of wood all around him. Spite and shame at his situation be damned, Tenaz was still more than capable of recognizing good craftsmanship when presented with it.

“Option two! Go outside and start figuring out how to move while fighting as well as learning what my options in a fight even are. Pros, learning how to kickass and survive even better. Cons, going outside and risking others seeing me… God forbid they try to talk with me. I refuse to suffer a social exchange until I have more context regarding the five w's and the h! Actually…”

Tenaz paused, head tilted down for his brain to think. “I don't think I can answer the how of my situation, now can I? Not for a very long time, that is. The hows of specific stuff, sure, but there's specifics and then there's… Whatever the fuck I and the others are going through.”

Tenaz… His opinion was a mixed bag regarding the others. The Ralts was certainly useful, though obviously a hazard that needed to be watched until otherwise. The Fennekin was an unknown factor at this point, though Tenaz noted to himself to amend that at his earliest convenience. The most he knew of the Fennekin was a blossoming closeness with the Ralts, something that also demanded he keep an eye in case of them leading a schism between the six of them later down the line. Unrealistic? More than likely, yes. Paranoia demanded otherwise, of course, something Tenaz was eager to agree to.

The Dratini could be trusted. Probably. At the very least he'd place her at a higher priority than most of the others, if only due to her helping him at his most vulnerable. The Vulpix and rabbit were also unknowns, though less of a priority to observe. They seemed relatively stable and cautious individuals, something he could certainly appreciate given these trying times they were caught in.

Tenaz caught himself, taking in a sharp inhale of air and wheezing out an exhale. Spiraling into a paranoia episode is the last fucking thing he needs. “... Fuck it, I'm getting some fresh air.”

Tenaz waddled into the courtyard, eyes sweeping across the area, noting entrances, exits, blindspots, vantage points. Y'know, things normal people definitely look for the moment they enter somewhere new.

“Nothing of interest, nothing of interest, big fuck-off tree, nothing of interest, wait a damn minute!” Tenaz felt his eyes go wide as he turned his head back to the aforementioned… Tree?

The Cyndaquil marched forward, circling the ‘tree’ until he saw an enormous eye and backpedaled a good yard or two. “Not a tree, definitely not a tree.” He mumbled, straining his neck and back to look at the Pokémon from trunk to the tops of the branches.

“Uh…Howdy? Wait, howdy? Where the Hell did I get howdy from?” Tenaz mumbled, looking off to the side, desperately chasing the ghost of a memory that had spawned the phrase.

Eventually, even the faint trace of the blocked memory faded, and all Tenaz was left with was a confused mind and a profound feeling of poignance.

Comfort, memories lost to time, to the decay beyond the coil.

“...Oh that's fucking weird.”

Amusement, joy, a roaring party that they never wanted to end.

“Yeah, yeah, laugh it up. Keep laughing at the dork who’s suffering.”

Gentle chastising, a root offered to a dying friend, desperate to live a little longer.

Tenaz hummed, having waddled to sit beside the Trevenant. “Ah. I see. You mean to help, not mock.”

Simple joy, shade offered from the scorching heat, wisdom scrawled across bark and root.

The Cyndaquil nodded along, each fleeting whisper across the ether an answer he would've spent a lifetime deciphering in any other circumstance. “Hmph. I… I have a question. The family inside who owns this place? They gave myself and the others room and food for free. While I'm thankful, it's all so… It's a lot, okay? And I don't want to feel indebted. So what do I do?”

Silence, careful contemplation. Each root slow and methodical in the Earth below.

Revelation. A little girl, sweet yet sharp. Eyes of the void yet hands warmed by kindness.

“Oh, the Gothorita who found us! Hm. Yeah? Yeah. She seems smart. She'll definitely have an answer.” Tenaz hopped up onto his paws, turning a few times to reorient himself to the door he came out through. “Thank you, Ichabod. I… Think I really needed this?”

Understanding. Rain to deliver from the drought, fire to deliver from the frost.

Tenaz didn't respond after that, he merely nodded solemnly and marched his way back into the hotel.

“...Where the fuck is everyone?”

Tenaz had repeated this question several times now, looking through room after room for anyone who could point him in the direction of the Gothorita who had found them. ‘What was her name again? God I'm awful with names!’

The Dratini was gone, so was the Vulpix, there was no way in Hell he was going to check the Ralts’ room for fear of his own health and well-being from being intimately and immediately doinked by whatever object she had on hand. That left searching for the Fennekin or the Buneary.

“Neither of which I can seem to fucking find! Why does this place have to be built like a maze?! This is asinine and I'm still on the first fucking floor!”

Every hallway felt like it led to three more. Every right turn became a left in the rapidly useless map in his head and every left turn just got him back at square one!

“This is ridiculous. This is ridiculous. This is ridiculous!” Tenaz's voice grew sharper and sharper, higher yet higher, each mounting failure to navigate this labyrinthine hotel drove him a little bit madder.

“I am the Minotaur, caught in a cage that I can never leave! An unloving man of ambition paving the way for a monster not yet known to monstrous deeds- OH GO FUCK YOURSELF!” Tenaz stopped his theatrical rant when he passed by the exact same portrait for what felt like the seventh time in a row.

‘Stop. Deep breath in. Hold. Deep breath out.’

“Whatever is going on is either me finally losing it, someone fucking with me, or Dialga is asleep at the wheel. I'm going to be slightly optimistic and rule out scenario three. Then I'm gonna be slightly pessimistic and say scenario two is the most likely answer. Alright, the joke is over! Go ahead and reveal yourself so I can attempt to enact my revenge!”

“Revenge? I love revenge! You can never go wrong when you’re pursuing revenge, that’s what I always say!”

Tenaz swung his body around, coming almost face to face with a Drampa with the widest grin he’d ever seen to date. The aforementioned Drampa raised his neck, moving with near-reckless abandon and excessive whimsy around him.

“Okay, not who I was expecting? Not like I was expecting anyone at all, but still. Unexpected.”

“Well it wouldn’t be fun if you knew what was gonna happen, now would it? I’m Uncle Fester, and it’s a delight to meet you! When I heard my brother mention we had new guests at the hotel, I just had to swing by and say hello the Fester way!”

Tenaz grit his teeth, glaring at the Drampa with a rising rage. “And this just happens to be throwing them into looping the same fucking hallway?”

Uncle Fester giggled wildly, leaning his head back as far as it could go as his laughter grew in volume and intensity. “But of course! My brother and I do this old gag to one another all the time! It never gets old!”

“YOU SON OF A-!”

Tenaz erupted then and there, barreling forward with a rather accidental Flame Wheel… Which had the added side effect of all that fire igniting half the hallway due to the rather combustible combination of stagnant dust and old carpets. Tenaz shot straight ahead, slamming into Uncle Fester with as much force as a point blank cannonball.

When Tenaz finally uncurled himself and came to after his blinding episode of anger, Uncle Fester was still standing, completely unscathed besides a few singed hairs across his body. The Drampa burst into song-song laughter, bouncing his head back and forth.

“Wowzers! Now that was something! I was worried you were just gonna stand there but nada! You were like a living firework for a sec there! Absolutely incredible! Now c’mon, c’mon now! Tell me how it felt to explode like that! I just gotta know!”

A hundred, no, a thousand different answers bombarded Tenaz’s mind. Some were so complex they defied concise explanations. Others were so simple a single sentence gave them too much complexity. Tenaz wanted to bawl his eyes out from the half a dozen entirely overwhelming experiences he’s had to deal with since he woke up in a new body. Tenaz wanted to scream till his vocal chords were shot, that it wasn’t fair to take his body from him, to take his memories away from him, to take his life away from him. Tenaz wanted to cackle at the sheer absurdity at the situation he was caught in. He did none of these things. Instead, he merely giggled and shook off the soot that tried to cling to his fur.

“...Pretty cool, I guess? Can I just go see…Wednesday, was it? Yeah, I think that’s her name.”

Uncle Fester joined in the laughter, turning around to lead him out of the hallway. “Well why didn’t you just ask earlier? C’mon, c’mon! I’ll lead you right to her!”

Chapter Text

“Mrnghgh… five more minutes…” Sapphire groaned, turning away from the sunlight shining through her window and grumbling as she reached up to shield herself, not really thinking too hard about her situation until she inadvertently opened her eyes… and also felt the absolutely abominable itch of dried blood still crusting her entire body. “Guh… itchy…. Itchyyyyy….”

She slowly made her way out of bed, wincing at the flakes cracking off of her body and rubbing her head slowly. Ah- there was a basket of berries next to her bed, lovely. Mmm… food sounded really good right about now… and if berries could help her… what had Wednesday called them last night? It was so hard to remember with the pounding headache that she’d had, though resting through the night had given her a wonderful head start on recovering that. Whatever it was that was making her head hurt also seemed to be soothed by just the scent of the basket so…

Might as well dig in.

And in an instant, she crunched into the first berry- some kind of… purplish pink gourd shaped fruit that was mildly sweet and sour, smooth and tasteful as she swallowed it down without hesitation. It instantly made her feel hardier, at least, like some of the pain had vanished in an instant. Payapa, she recalled. Oh- and then there was the berry that almost looked like a small apple! That was… an interesting taste. Somehow spicy, sweet, bitter, and sour at the same time, but overall still edible and- ah. That helped a lot. That helped very much. Sapphire ate all of them as quickly as she could, feeding the grumbling void in her tummy that had built up over the course of the night and feeling her headache drop away little by little until she was fully charged again.

… Weren’t Leppa berries for restoring PP for pokemon moves? Huh… maybe she’d overdone it on the teleporting yesterday… she’d been giving those Poochyena a really good runaround until she’d tripped and… well.

Blasted the one that pounced on her with a giant stream of what she instinctively knew as Mystical Fire.

Oh, and then there were the Persim berries which were just a delightful mix of everything except bitter, and that cleared out the rest of the headache instantly!

“Aa… bless this world for having delicious magic fruit… I’ll become addicted to these if I keep getting headaches….” she almost moaned, nuzzling against the last pinkish persimmon shaped berry like it held all the secrets of the universe.

“Probably best not to get addicted to things. If addiction is a thing here.” Argo hummed. “Probably is, just not mentioned. Can’t have the kiddies dealing with their meth habit, huh?”

“Weh! When did you get here!?” Sapphire immediately yelped, teleporting on instinct to the other side of the basket and watching the Fennekin with suspicious eyes. “And do you know where the bathroom is!?”

“This is my room. I wasn’t about to leave your unconscious body in a room without anybody to watch over you.” The Fennekin stood up from her… crouch thing. “You can thank Wednesday for the berries and Thing for needing to use them. Bathroom is through that door,” she pointed to a door along the wall next to the entrance, “and be thankful they apparently figured out plumbing.”

“Thank you! Wait, is there a shower in there or just a toilet?” Sapphire paused in mid step, looking over at Argo and clearing her throat. “... I’m a little… crusty. And gross. And itchy.”

“Yeah, one of those ancient pull ones. So just kinda… grab the pull cord and it dumps water on your face.” Argo lifted a paw to wipe at one of her ears. “They have a boiler or a fire type or something, so you don’t need to worry about it being cold. Maybe it’s Fester?”

“... I think your memories of not originally being a pokemon are a lot clearer than mine are right now…” Sapphire sighed, rubbing her face and grumbling a little as she shook her head. “I don’t even remember how I… landed? Teleported? Into that group of Poochyena but my body seems to remember how to do it just fine… it’s as if everything that was human about me is in a fog, and all I can remember is that I was human… and now I’m a foot tall and can sense the vibes of everyone around me.”

She paused, making a face. “Which is how I know that Gomez and Morticia are still boning. Yeesh… how long has it been?”

“Not too long, but I assume being a Pokemon comes with some… enhancements when it comes to strenuous activity. Plus some instincts.” Argo put her paw down and stretched her whole body. “I’ve been craving a stick for a while now. Plus I want to look inward and check out this fire in my body. See what I can do, because if I know anything it's that we’re definitely here to save the world or something.”

“Mmm… Do you remember about how we-” Sapphire paused, squinting in the middle of her sentence as she remembered just why she’d asked where the bathroom was. “... Actually hold that thought for a second? I need to use the little poke-room.”

Without waiting for an answer, she teleported behind the closed bathroom door and did her business, making sure to also grab a wet towel and wipe off most of the crusty grossness off of her body using her now restored telekinesis.

… huh.

How did she already know how to use telekinesis? Mm… Psychic type brains must be good at that.

Five minutes, a lot of water splashing and soap rubbing later, she stepped out of the bathroom not quite squeaky clean, but at least she no longer reeked of blood and ash.

“Ahem. Sorry about the wait, where were we?”

“Memories.” Argo gave a nod. “You look much better now.”

“Thanks, I feel better now that I’m not… well. Screaming and crying and almost peeing my nonexistent pants,” Sapphire sighed, wincing a little at the memories from yesterday. “Not… my most graceful moment. Do you um… remember how you got here? To this point? Because I don’t really remember, just that it was probably… bad…”

“Let’s just leave it there. It isn’t worth remembering. We’re here now.” Argo’s eyes grew distant. “There are things I’d like back, but… well that probably isn’t happening. Unless we meet the alpaca.” They sharpened. “Right. Gonna meet Arceus and punch Him a few times. I want my stuffed animals back. Properly fireproof, since it’s his fucking fault I need to worry about that.”

“Heh… that sounds fun. I’m not even sure what I want to do… other than maybe get a grasp on being a psychic now,” Sapphire smiled a little wistfully, rubbing her hands together slightly as her horns glowed. “... I can at least tell that everyone here has nice vibes. I don’t know why, but I feel like I can trust the five of you… and Wednesday. You all seem like good people, if… clumsy on your feet right now.”

“Nice to hear. Be really annoying if we had to change locations or something. Especially without any real idea of what's going on.” Argo let out a sigh. One paw came up to rub at her neck. “I think everyone’s taking some time right now. Get their bearings, talk to people, all that usual start of RPG shit. So just… vibe, I guess. I’m probably going to set a tree on fire or something while trying to figure out how to use moves. And how my body all works. Cause I swear there’s fucking something pressing- no. Not pressing? Just… feel too small for my skin? Not bloated but… I dunno. Something.”

“... I have no idea what that is. That sounds scary, and I nearly got my throat ripped out yesterday,” Sapphire deadpanned dryly, shuddering a little. “... Well… wait… Fennekin. Fennekin Fennekin Fennekin. Why do I feel like that’s important somehow? Fennekin is…” She started pacing back and forth, mumbling to herself as she unconsciously retrieved a few more berries from the basket and munched on them while thinking- keeping them in her psychic grip as she moved around the room. “... Something about early… early what? Fast… leveling? Leveling, right… and… fast… no, not Speed, something else… too small- too big for her skin? Maybe…”

Sapphire blinked, snapping her nonexistent fingers in a motion that was sort of more of a halfhearted air-punch than a snap. “I think you started off just about to evolve! Or something!”

“Maybe? Fennekin is a starter, yeah? Starters always evolve pretty quick.” Argo rocked her head to the side and held the stretch for a moment. “I hope I get hands… that'd be nice. Anyway, stay here as long as you want. You have your own room- key’s on the side table- but if you want to stay here tonight that's cool too. I’m like a furnace or something ‘cause everyone else says its unseasonably cold and I cannot tell at all.”

“... I could feel it, honestly… I mean, I’m definitely not a Fire type so… it’s chilly out there. And this room is really warm right now,” Sapphire smiled, holding out one of the uneaten berries towards Argo. “Berry? I dunno if you’ve eaten yet but I can’t eat all of these and I’m already starting to get kinda full just snacking on them. They’re really good. Except the Leppa berries? They’re a little bitter and I don’t like that.”

“I generally prefer spicy. Bitter is… not my thing.” Argo stepped forward and began eating the berry. Right out of Sapphire’s hand. Not without a few complaints. “Hate not having hands. Makes things so awkward.”

“Heh… this feels a little intimate for some reason… not used to people just eating out of my hand,” Sapphire chuckled, holding the berry steady for Argo to eat. “I hope you get hands soon, though. Hands are great. I’m glad I didn’t end up quadrupedal… or a Cyndaquil. That uh… what was his name… Tenaz? That Tenaz did not feel like he was having a good time while I was awake. Wait- oh gods above the cute Gothorita saw me nosebleed and pass out like an idiot, shit!”

“Considering what she’s said she might actually find that hot. Do remember she was introduced to you after you bifurcated a Poochyena and threatened telefragging.” Argo chuckled. “I don’t think Tenaz has a good time in general, but I’ve only known him for like a few hours.” She was silent for a moment. “Yeah, this does feel kinda intimate.” She didn’t stop.

“... Y’know… I wasn’t actually trying to… uh… bifurcate that one…” Sapphire mumbled, blushing a little as she looked away. “I just panicked and pushed and it turns out I can send stuff when I teleport instead of just carrying along… I was just trying to get it off of me. I get the feeling that I came off kinda psychotic cuz of everything last night but I’m… really not. My body just… moved. And committed atrocities.”

“Eh, I don’t see the UN anywhere.” Argo shrugged and sat back, the berry fully eaten. “They tried to kill you, you killed them back. Shouldn’t do something without expecting the turn back.”

“I guess… I kinda feel bad, though… even while I was halfway to pissing myself they couldn’t put a scratch on me… aa… oh well…” Sapphire paused, looking over at Argo again as she also sat down and folded her legs. “... So… did I miss anything while I was asleep? Anything important after that um… hand… thing…? showed up and knocked me out?”

“Not really. We all just headed upstairs. We’re on the fourth floor.” Argo shook herself a little. “I carried you up. Let's not make that a habit.”

“Haha… yeah… I’ll try not to pass out again… telefragging is heavy work, though… maybe once I evolve, it’ll be easier…?” Sapphire shrugged, then headed for the door with a little jaunty whistle. “So… what all is there to do in this place anyway? Is it just a place to sleep or are there other things to do here, do you think? Feels like a hotel isn’t really a good hotel unless they have at least a breakfast selection…”

“I have no idea, but it's an Addams’ place. Probably all sorts of stuff to do here if you look or ask.” Argo shrugged. “I want to find a spot without too many flammables around to test out some stuff. I’d prefer to have a handle on using fire before I evolve and get stronger. Pretty sure we’re stupid strong already and I really don’t want to be using fireball when I really want fire bolt. Or like… flamethrower instead of ember.”

“Mmm… yeah, makes sense. I kinda wanna make my fire stronger too, even though I’m not really a fire type…” Sapphire nodded, then reached out gently with the telepathy that she somehow already knew how to use- psychic type brains really were super useful at this type of thing, it seemed! Or maybe she’d just gotten used to her body’s instincts faster than anyone else because she immediately got dropped into a life or death situation? Who knew. “Hello? Is this Wednesday?”

“Ah. You’re awake. How did you sleep? You were ever so covered in blood last night, and while it was a fetching look I doubt that it was comfortable to sleep that way. Thing apologizes for startling you, by the way.” came the immediate answer, soft and yet not gentle despite the kind tone in the message. Serious, but kind at heart. Sapphire might have already had a crush.

“It’s okay, I just… went way over the teleport limit. Um… Argo wants to know if there’s any places nearby that she can practice fire moves? Hopefully empty so we don’t set anything on fire.”

“The back lot of the hotel is quite empty, save for the graveyard. I ask that you not disturb too many- my ancestors like hibernating and being awoken by having their graves ripped up might cause a ruckus.”

Sapphire nodded slowly, clearing her throat as she sent over a thanks and turned back to Argo. “Wednesday says we can use the backlot as long as we don’t knock over any graves! Also, wow her psychic voice is pretty…”

“Her normal voice is pretty, figures her other voice would be too.” Argo turned toward the door. “I’ll head to the back and avoid digging up any graves. Guess you don’t really need a grave tender if the dead can take care of themselves, huh?”

“Yeah… Wednesday said that the graves are for her ancestors to hibernate? So… probably a lot of Ghost types down there… brr… chilly,” Sapphire shivered for reasons that had nothing to do with the cold, opening the door for Argo and sort of leading the way as they made their way through the halls- with Sapphire receiving directions from Wednesday on their way down. “This probably comes as no surprise but… I think I have a genetic fear of Ghosts. And Poison. And Steel types, for some reason…”

“Probably. The actual instinct of Pokemon can be super weird. Like… how does a Lucario being genetically just even work? Justice is just something that got made up and doesn’t have a single strict definition.” Argo let out a heavy sigh. “Just put it to the side, I guess. Not worth thinking about. Better off trying to work with fire and stuff. I don’t think I know Mystical Fire so… explain it. As best you can. Teaching is also learning.”

“Mmm… I don’t really know how to explain it? It’s like… there’s this big ball of energy inside of me, like… potential that isn’t realized. And… most of it goes to what I can only call Psychic energy,” Sapphire started explaining, eyes glowing as she spawned a fireball between her hands that glowed with an internal sparkle that made it seem like it was more than normal fire. “And… Mystical Fire is like… it’s a little bit of my Psychic energy that twists itself into Fire for a bit, then shoots out wherever I need it to spawn? It’s like… I push… and it just happens. I think my brain is compensating for my scrambled mind, making it easier to handle using the moves I know- gods know I couldn’t do the spatio-kinetic calculations necessary to teleport before yesterday… heh…”

“Yeah, that sounds about right.” Argo hummed. “For me it’s not a core… it’s. Hm. Me? I can feel it. Winding through my body. Spiking into every bit of me that I can feel and some I can’t. It isn’t just something that I can use, it’s me. An aspect or an element or something. Instead of mind, body, soul it’s like it’s mind, body, soul, and fire. Or maybe fire is weaved throughout all of that? It’s especially prominent in my head. I can feel it boiling to a point that anyone else would be brain dead from heat stroke.”

“It’s… probably different for every pokemon? The way we interpret things?” Sapphire shrugged, teleporting her and Argo out to the backlot of the hotel once it was in view through the windows. “So uh… I dunno. How do you wanna do this? Spar a little or something?”

“Maybe not that just yet. I did say I don’t want to carry you all the way back up here again. Or the opposite way around.” Argo paused for a moment and tilted her head to the side. “Though I guess if it were me you could just teleport us.”

“Right… so…” Sapphire hummed, forming another ball of Mystical Fire in her hands. “It starts like… maybe just watch me use it a few times…? It goes like this-”

Chapter Text

“... and that’s how I use Mystical Fire? I guess. It’s mostly in the hands for me but I can still breathe fire myself,” Sapphire finished, coughing a little as she spit out a tiny gout of Mystical Fire from her mouth. “Pweh… doesn’t taste great, though… I don’t think non-Fire types were meant to breathe fire. Unless they’re Dragons? Kinda?”

“I think most of this stuff was made by a big alpaca who just kinda got thrown into the deep end. It doesn’t make sense because sense was, literally, not a thing yet.” Argo chuckled and wiggled back into the little corner she’d made for herself. One paw lifted up to point at the sky. “I think I see how I could try and replicate that, but I… something is missing. I get the explanation, but something isn’t quite there yet. If I could jus-” A blast of Mystical Fire came out of her paw and burned across the sky. “Huh. I… kinda did it but not? A copy, not my own thing.”

“Nice! That… yeah, that seems to have worked great!” Sapphire smiled, grinning at Argo with about as much of a thumbs up as she could give for a creature that didn’t have fingers… or a thumb. Wait how the fuck did she hold onto things if her limbs were little stubby ovals again? Ahem. Regardless. “Well… that’s a new move down for you… I wonder what I can learn… Aaa… if only I remembered the movelist for my kind…”

“I mean… I guess I figured out how Copycat works. Or something. Why do I just know the name? Is it like how Pokemon can only say their name?” Argo groaned and shifted further back into her corner. “Let's see if I can do anything you might be able to learn. Uh…” She closed her eyes for a moment. “Oh! By the power of the fire and the flames! Fire Pledge!”

A gout of fire erupted from the ground in front of them. The heat easily chased away the chill of the morning even as the pledge immediately began to lose power and fade. Argo just blinked at it for a moment. Her mouth opened a few times but no words came out.

“.... Whoaaaaaa… that’s actually really cool…” Sapphire watched in awe, staring at the gout of fire and giggling a little as a rush of pyromania flooded through her veins. “Gods, I wish I was a fire type right now… I think I’ve got way too much pyromania in my head for a normal Psychic/Fairy type. I just wish I had something to give me a head start on learning… I know I can learn Moonblast after I evolve… I think… maybe I can get a start on that?”

“Maybe. I could kinda teach it?” Argo scratched her head with one paw. “It wasn’t just making a gout of fire. That chunni line is part of the move. It’s a pledge. To Fire. Note the capital. It’s a representation that I am part of Fire, born into it and will be part of it forevermore. It’s also… incomplete? Or not quite as powerful as it could be. Makes sense- you can have two types. Dunno if there's pledges for the other types though…”

“We could probably ask around for movelists later… hm…” Sapphire sat down, folding her legs together as she focused on her internal power. “I know that I can teleport. I know that I can use Mystical Fire. I know I can use Shadow Sneak. And I know that I have some kind of Fairy type move I haven’t used yet… Disarming Voice or something? I have no clue how that works… don’t know if it needs a target either and I don’t wanna hurt anyone right now… um… Maybe I’ll try using… uh. Psychic? I have telekinesis so…”

“As long as you’re careful targeting me should be fine. I don’t think I’m weak to any of those, and there's definitely something funky about our bodies. Wednesday mentioned us not having marks, and I’m pretty sure I shouldn’t have been able to make that much fire no matter what move I used.” Argo shook her head. “Ugh, this is going to get complicated, isn’t it? Not much to be done about it though. Play the hand you're dealt and figure out how to make lemons combustible in the meantime.”

“Heh… yeah. Wait…” Sapphire paused, looking over at Argo oddly. “... Marks? What do you mean Marks? Like… tattoos or something? Is there some kind of segregation thing going on?”

“Did you not catch that? It uh… Wednesday mentioned nearly all of the mon in the village had marks and the mon outside didn’t. Kinda reminds me of that bullshit with Mewtwo? Anway, Wednesday said the marks are more taken as a show of peace or something?” Argo shrugged. “That this is a mon that probably won’t try and rip your throat out immediately. She seemed to be pretty sure a mark didn’t make anyone better than anyone else, but she’s an Addams.They don’t think shit makes anyone better than anyone else. Town would probably have more clues.”

“Huh… makes sense to me, I guess? Feels weird that there’s literal genetic indicators of someone not being a feral murderer but… sure. Alright,” Sapphire shrugged, then started to mess around with her energies- eyes glowing and horns vibrating slightly as she focused on the darker parts of the energies within her, the Ghost type energy that she knew was somewhere in her genes. “Mmm… Isn’t Shadow Ball a Ghost type move…?”

“I… maybe? I remember random things, but the exact type of Shadow Ball is not one of them.” Argo tapped her paw on the ground. Small flames flashed up where she set her paw. “Hm. Just hit me with it, I guess? You’re psychic, right? Just try and sense the energy with your psychic powers. If you can’t touch it then it’s Dark.”

“There’s a lot of Ghosts here so… learning Ghost moves’ll probably be easiest…” Sapphire mumbled, continuing to stir up her energies as she focused on what she knew about Shadow Sneak, closing her eyes shut and holding her hands together as if she was about to unleash Mystical Fire… but contained it. Wispy energy flooded from her palms as she continued to focus, swirling the energies around and around until the Ghostly energy stabilized into a shadowy, glowing orb of pure Ghost energy and it just clicked. “... Oh. That’s a Shadow Ball.”

“Congrats.” Argo looked at her paw. “Hm. When you were hurt…” She closed her eyes and lifted one paw to her head. “To dream… and Wish.” Something flared, a spark of energy or something so contained as to be almost blinding to look at flew into the sky. Argo’s gaze tracked it. “Huh. Neat. That’ll drop back in a little bit.”

“And this…” Sapphire lifted her Shadow Ball, then lightly flicked it towards the tree line. She watched it zip away at a surprisingly fast pace until it slammed into a tree and blew a hole straight through the trunk. “... Wow that’s a lot stronger than I thought it’d be… Then again… Shadow Ball was always a pretty strong move, right?”

“Pretty sure I remember it being put on some of the competitive mon back before. They don’t do things without it being the best.” Argo let out a hum. “What should I think on, then? Any ideas on what Fennekin learn? Perhaps…” Her eyes shut as her brow furrowed.

“The only thing I know about Fennekin is that I’m pretty sure human me saw a lot of Delphox porn on the internet,” Sapphire deadpanned. “So… maybe you need a cool stick? Or something? And then when you evolve you can wave your cool stick around to cast spells. Meanwhile all I get out of fully evolving is the ability to eviscerate someone by hugging them chest to chest.”

“There’s probably a tonic for that or something. Ugh.” Argo still hadn’t opened her eyes. “Do something psychic so I can Copycat it. That might help… I think there’s something just out of reach. You mentioned stuff when talking about Mystical Fire and it’s almost connecting but not quite.”

“Mmm… okay um… Teleport probably works too fast for you to get it… maybe telekinesis? But… stronger? That’s what Psychic is, right?” Sapphire mumbled to herself, floating a rock between her hands with telekinesis and glaring at it as she did her level best to crush it with pure psychokinetic force. Her eyes continued to glow throughout the process- honestly, her eyes hadn’t stopped glowing the entire time due to her active power use, but now the amount of psychic energy she was putting into the air was at least halfway palpable to anyone receptive to the kind of energy.

Which, mostly, meant that Wednesday had started watching them from the closest window.

“I think so.” Argo stiffened even more. “Come on, you stupid move. Work!”

“C’mon… c’mon….” Sapphire mumbled to herself, heedless of Argo’s struggle with her own move. “C’mon… this is the basic Psychic type move. It’s the move so basic that it’s in the name… c’mon… c’mon… c’mon….-”

Crunch.

“Yes!” Sapphire cheered as the rock in her psychic grip suddenly imploded into sand and dust, her eyes now no longer glowing as she powered down from the expenditure of psychic energy. “Haha! Yes! Psychic, baby! Woo!”

“There!” Argo’s eyes snapped open as they too glowed with energy. Nothing actually seemed to happen, but by the Fennekin’s smirk she’d gotten something useful. “So that’s the taste… huh. Can’t quite like that yet but…” Her eyes narrowed at the tree that had been hit by Shadow Ball. A beam shot out and missed it terribly. “Psybeam. Though… might need a little work on aiming. Or I could use more fire. Mmm… decisions, decisions…”

“Oh, nice! Huh… maybe I should try Psybeam now… wait…” Sapphire blinked slowly as she looked around, squinting oddly as she held her head. “Mrrr… something feels a little weird- I think expanding my psychic powers out of order is reacting with something? Or it’s the Ghost type energy in the air. I feel like something’s about to- Nngh!”

Without warning, Sapphire doubled over for a moment, clutching her head and gasping as images flooded into her mind- images of the town she was currently in, of the buildings, the humans, the world before it was now. When there wasn’t a distinction between marked and unmarked pokemon, when new towns weren’t built entirely of the remains of the old world. It was beautiful, calm, peaceful. As if nothing could go wrong.

Unbidden, she mumbled a series of notes under her breath, some ephemeral long since lost to time pattern that seemed to epitomize the area they were in before shaking her head and wincing as the pain flared before fading away little by little over the next few moments. “Mmnnnn… why did that tune sound so familiar…? And how did I get an image of the past…?”

“You okay?” Argo was right in front of her, paw half raised toward her head. It hung in the air like she wasn’t quite certain how to move it. “The past? I know psychometry is a thing but could it be done to a place…?”

“Nngh… seems like it. I saw… flashes of the world before it ended…” Sapphire winced gently, rubbing her head before sitting up straight again and lightly touching Argo’s paw. “It was… pretty? I didn’t see the end… but it’s… I dunno. Weird that I got a flash of postcognition that was basically just a postcard of past-Accumula Town that says wish you were here… but I swear, that song is going to be stuck in my head now. Why is it so damn catchy?”

“Well it did get beamed directly into your brain meats.” Argo pushed her paw against Sapphire’s hand. Not enough to push her away but certainly enough to be felt. “Though seeing the city before everything… something must have happened, then. Enough to leave an imprint this long. What was it like? The same solely Pokemon cities or…?”

“There were humans… Trainers and their pokemon, pokemon working jobs… it was idyllic. Peaceful. There was a train line going from here to the next few places…” Sapphire trailed off almost wistfully, slowly standing up whilst holding onto Argo’s paw. “... I kinda wish it still existed here and now, honestly… if only because they had wifi back then and I don’t think we have it anymore.”

“We have plenty of other things… that humans existed before. Plus the marks thing reminding me of Mewtwo.” Argo let out a heavy sigh. “What happened back then?”

Sapphire sighed, shaking her head. “... A lot… I don’t know all of it but… it’s a lot. Here, I’ll tell you what I do know…”

Chapter Text

“... Actually I’m gonna be honest that was basically it? I saw a flash of Accumula town and got the song stuck in my head and um…” Sapphire shrugged, kicking her legs a little as she thought about the flash of the past that she’d just had. “... Maybe it has something to do with the local Ghost types? Oh, maybe that Trevenant guy out front knows? Ichabod, right? I think he’s lived long enough to know what it was like back then, judging by the fact that he’s like fifty feet tall.”

“He might. Dunno if he'd want to share though.” Argo shrugged. “Not sure if it matters either. Maybe if we meet Mewtwo or the almighty alpaca. Or… shit it might be related to what's going on? Ugh…” she flopped on the ground and scooted further into her little corner.

Sapphire shrugged again, looking up at the sky and breathing out a little burst of Mystical Fire. “Maybe. Everything’s really confusing right now and I’m not entirely sure what we’re gonna do. Maybe just… live quietly or something? Aa… but we still have to pay Wednesday for the rooms… and I don’t wanna live at a hotel forever no matter how pretty Wednesday is… maybe if it was elsewhere but… not in the hotel. Not forever. Do you think we’ll have to build our own houses?”

“I really hope not because I have zero construction experience.” Argo took a deep breath and crawled out of her corner. She shook herself a moment and then looked toward the side of the building. “So, we could ask Ichabod about the past right now or head back inside to try and figure something out. You think they have a brochure stand? Might be some job adverts in there. Newspaper could also work.”

“Mmm… they might have a job board or something? That seems at least sort of familiar…” Sapphire mentioned, also standing up and starting to walk towards the other side of the grounds. “Ichabod probably knows what happened to the world to get rid of all of the humans… if we really need to know, we’ll have to ask… him? Them? I dunno, what pronouns do you think Ichabod uses?”

“Ghost tree is above all genders… as are ghosts, probably. Wait… they can have kids, right? The fuck does that work?” Argo pressed a paw against her head. “Whatever. Just… just ignore that. We can ask Wednesday. Or… I can ask Wednesday while you gay at her.” She looked to the sky. “What time is it anyway? It's too cloudy to tell.”

“Think it’s… mid-morning? I think the clock said eight when I woke up… and it’s been an hour or so?” Sapphire shrugged, yawning a little as she started to amble towards Ichabod’s position. “And… I’m not that much of a disaster around girls! I think! Wednesday’s just… really pretty… is all…”

She huffed, shaking her head and walking haughtily along before they reached Ichabod… who was still in the exact same spot as the ghost tree had been last night, and seemed as if they’d been rooted there for gods knew how long. Probably at least a hundred years or so. Idly, Sapphire wondered just how long the ghost had been there.

“Hi Ichabod!” she called out, waving as she and Argo approached and entered Ichabod’s line of sight. “How are you?”

“Yo!” Argo gave a little wave.

“Good Morning…” Ichabod creaked and groaned, something of a ghostly, spectral voice emanating from the ancient wood that made up their body. Somehow, in only two words, the Trevenant gave off the impression of a greeting, a comment about how nice the weather was, its preferred pronouns (he/him, apparently), and also that he was doing just fine. And also that Sapphire talked really loud for a Ralts.

“... I talk loud?” Sapphire mumbled, looking at Argo for confirmation. “I thought I was pretty quiet, honestly… my voice wasn’t any louder than anyone else’s, is it?”

“Among all the Ralts I've met you're the quietest.” Argo nodded.

“Psychic.” Ichabod groaned, a single large branch pointing vaguely at Sapphire’s general head area.

“... Oh. My psychic presence is big? I guess that makes sense… I’ve been having a lot easier of a time learning new Psychic type moves than I thought I would…” Sapphire nodded slowly, then looked over at Argo oddly. “... Aren’t I the only Ralts you’ve met? That doesn’t really mean anything, Argo… eh… uh…”

She paused, shaking her head. “A-anyway. Ichabod, do you remember what happened to humans?”

The atmosphere around them suddenly seemed to chill as Ichabod went completely and utterly silent- no longer even swaying in the breeze or rustling naturally. Everything about the massive Ghost type went utterly still and silent as his single massive eye dilated and unfocused.

Somehow, the Trevenant exuded an aura of dread and ominous danger despite the fact that he was sitting entirely still.

“... I sense I have made a mistake,” Sapphire mumbled, taking a step back and wincing. “A-aa… hopefully he’s not mad…”

“I want to be a Zorua in my next- fuck wait. They don't have hands.” Argo tensed. If anyone had looked they could have seen the heat haze above her ears. “Let's just calm down here. Don't want to burn down the hotel. It's a nice place.”

Thankfully, despite the aura of danger that Ichabod exuded… nothing actually happened for almost a full minute.

“... I think he’s angry about the past…?” Sapphire mumbled, looking up at Ichabod oddly. “Maybe we should-”

“Death.”

And in an instant, the entire area around them seemed to turn into an abyssal void rushing from Ichabod’s body, consuming them whole before blasting them with images of the distant past- of the world from Ichabod’s eyes. 

Its birth as a Phantump. Its trainer, long ago. Their journeys around the world- Kalos, Sinnoh, Hoenn, Kanto, Johto, Alola, Galar, Paldea, Unova.

Their victories. Their losses. Family. Growth. Life… and then the end.

A world awash in a sea of flames, chaos spilling out over the world as pokemon with strange colors and patterns began attacking, as Legendaries thought to be nothing more than myths took to the world, as a strange, unknown being that couldn’t possibly be a normal pokemon covered the world in a storm, shook the surface such that it seemed like nothing would survive.

And then…

Ichabod survived. Ichabod wandered.

The world changed, the world healed. Humanity may have been wiped out in a slow, long, painful process, but Ichabod survived for years and years and years and years, centuries, even. And in the end… Ichabod found a new home.

A place to settle his roots. 

The Addams hotel, right where they were now.

And then-

Just as quickly as it came, that horrid cold void receded and left both Sapphire and Argo on the ground, shaken and shocked by the rush of images, sights, sounds, and knowledge that had been jammed into their minds.

“S-so that’s what happened…” Sapphire gasped, slowly pushing herself up and groaning as she rubbed her head. “... Sorry I asked, Ichabod. That’s… awful… the whole world… destroyed in so little time… the loss of life alone… what the fuck…”

“Fuuuck.” Argo let put a shuddering breath. “We’re going to need to get so much stronger. Mewtwo… Mewtwo was made by humans. And if he wasn't killed by Arceus above all or any of His kids… we're the closest this world has now.” She took in another breath and let it out. “It's not our mistake. That was Giovanni and Team Rocket. But… who else could claim the responsibility? It shouldn't be their problem. Not when they've already lost… Especially with him being… something to all those clones. He shouldn't be allowed to just… keep going after all that. But it shouldn't be his kids that deal with the problem.”

“If he’s not dead, I’ll help kill him myself. Psychic to Psychic,” Sapphire hissed, glaring at nothing as she wiped her mouth and shook her head before turning to Ichabod once more. “Thanks… for telling us. I’m sorry for your loss, Ichabod… and I’m sorry to bring up bad memories.”

Ichabod didn’t answer, just making a small rustling motion that seemed analogous to a headshake. Still, despite the harrowing scene they’d just been witness to, the meaning that came across was that it was good to have some of the catharsis of telling his tale to someone new, someone that cared, and that wanted to do something to enact some kind of justice for the wrongs that had been wrought.

It was still cold comfort, knowing that the world had ended and that the kindly Trevenant before them had watched it all unfold moment by moment by moment.

“... Maybe we should go inside. It’s still chilly out and I’m… I don’t think I can really keep a happy face up after knowing this…” Sapphire grumbled, looking at Argo and immediately heading for the hotel front door. “Seeya around, Ichabod. Next time we’ll talk about something nicer… I hope.”

“Yeah. Something lighter next time.” Argo shook herself and looked at the hotel. “We should… is it lunch? Lunch might be nice. Or did we just skip past that while training? Wonder where everyone else is…”

“I hope it’s lunch… I’m actually not sure where everyone else is. I mean… I think they’re all inside but honestly I’m still not entirely used to actively sensing other people yet…” Sapphire shrugged, walking through the door after tugging it open with a little use of telekinesis. She paused, looking back at Argo for a moment before narrowing her eyes. “... Wait. You learned how to use Psybeam just a little bit earlier, didn’t you? Shouldn’t you have tried Psychic first? Y’know… so you wouldn’t have to worry about not having hands right now?”

“Psybeam was easier. Dunno why but it clicked pretty well and then was just kinda there.” Argo looked down at her paws. “Probably should try and upgrade that soonest though.”

“Probably. Well… for as long as the six of us stay together, I guess I can handle being the one that opens the doors and stuff,” Sapphire shrugged, grinning a little as her horns pulsed with light. As they entered, the foyer of the hotel lit up with spooky candles, while Wednesday somehow just appeared from the shadows as if she’d melted out of them. “Gah! Oh- hey Wednesday. Sorry about bleeding all over the floor last night… heh…”

“Sapphire. You seem in higher spirits than yesterday. I’m glad,” Wednesday smiled, folding her hands politely in front of her as she nodded her head. “Think nothing of the blood, though. It was quite fetching on you, though I hope next time you come into this hotel splattered with it, it’ll be entirely someone else’s instead of yours.”

Sapphire blushed. “Ehehe… sure. I’ll uh… try?”

“Well this seems a gay start to the afternoon.” Argo shook her head and raised a paw to rub at one ear. “Do you have lunch service? Or just room service in general. If you could spare some time that'd be nice too. We need to get an idea of the land around here.”

“The dining hall is that way. Room service can be ordered at any point during the day and Lurch will likely oblige, though depending on what the market holds there may be nothing but berries on the menu some days,” Wednesday answered, bowing lightly and motioning towards a set of double doors before smiling at Sapphire in a way that didn’t seem entirely platonic. “Besides that, was your time in the backlot productive? I sensed quite an increase in Sapphire’s psychic field earlier.”

“Ah- yeah. I learned Psychic. And Shadow Ball! And um, Argo learned Psybeam,” Sapphire nodded slowly, then cleared her throat as she reached over and patted Argo’s side for a moment. “By the way, do you know about any reason why anyone would feel… big for their skin? Argo mentioned it earlier but I think we both forgot to ask about it. I thought it might be evolution but I don’t really remember much… so…”

“It’s a little annoying, but I can manage.” Argo sat down on the floor, leaning a little into Sapphire’s pat. “Maybe I just need to set some ‘mon on fire. That’s usually how evolution works, right?”

“Combat and extreme training tend to spur an evolution, yes,” Wednesday nodded, then tapped her chin. “As I recall, the thing that spurred on my evolution from a Gothita to what I am now was the first time I picked up all of the knives in the kitchen and used them to stab an entire pack of marauding Poochyena and Mightyena to death for the crime of attempting to rip my brother to shreds. I was quite cross with them, you see.”

“Whoa… cool…” Sapphire mumbled gayly, like the tiny disaster lesbian that she was. “That sounds like it would have been awesome to see…”

“No, not really, I was screaming and crying and flailing about like a child at the time. Much like how you were yesterday against those Poochyena. Then again… watching that last ruffian splatter on the ground was quite the sight…” Wednesday smiled a little wider, almost disturbingly so. “Your self defense was admirable, Sapphire.” 

“Ah… ehehe… thanks…” Sapphire continued to be gay, fanning herself a little.

“Why don’t you show Sapphire your knife collection? I need to go meditate in a fireplace anyway, which has some logistical issues with her joining me.” Argo looked around the room. “We can talk about what to do next at dinner once everyone’s back. Provided they make it to dinner. I can’t help but think Dratini might have issues getting… well going anywhere in general.”

“That sounds like a wonderful idea- Sapphire, would you like to see my knife collection? Oh- and the fireplace is right over there. Just make sure to ask for regular fire and not Ghost fire,” Wednesday motioned towards the side, then waved her hand towards Sapphire.

“I’d love to see your knife collection!” Sapphire gasped, immediately rushing to Wednesday’s side with a happy little giggle. “Knives are great!”

“Then I’m sure you’ll love what I have in store… I have such sights to show you,” Wednesday chuckled to herself, leading Sapphire away and leaving Argo alone in the foyer in mere moments.

[The Addams Family~]

Chapter Text

“And there goes my new best friend.” By default, sure, but Sapphire seems fun enough to be around. More than what Argo had seen of the rest at any rate. “Really hope Wednesday doesn't break her.”

Considering everyone in the group are super special isekai mon or whatever it's not likely. Though with Wednesday being an Addams… well she might manage anyway. Something tells Argo that Sapphire wouldn't care much even if that did happen. Lesbians truly are nature's biggest prey animal.

“Glad I don't have to deal with that.” There was exactly one woman her asexual ass had even slightly wanted to stick around and that person was fictional. Also a crazy variant of an already crazy person, but in a distinct way to her normal crazy. It was a whole thing, don't worry about it. “Now… the Fire.”

Not just fire. The crackling flame that exists by itself as a chemical reaction when heat is applied. It's an important part of Fire, undoubtedly, but knowing Fire Pledge brings more understanding. Arceus used the Plates to create the universe. Fire existed as a concept before fire became a thing. It doesn't just indicate the chemical reaction that creates a flame, but everything that goes into a fire. The heat and light and ignition and even all the things that are metaphorically attached to Fire.

Fire is change. It is existence. A lack of calm that indicates that something is alive. It is action and consumption. Ravenously devouring something in order to leave behind a clear space and potentially nourishing ash. Wild when it gets big and controllable when it isn't. The ultimate demand of restraint and freedom.

A Fire type can't just be content. Not at first. It isn't in their nature. No- deeper than nature. Their very essence itself. Perhaps one might call it something specific to their Aura or even something that touches their soul. Regardless, being a Fire Type is more than just being able to make fire. It is a way of life- something that cannot be fought or ignored.

When young they must be fed. Grow bigger, stronger, hotter, and satisfy their ravenous appetite for growth. When older they must learn control. When to stop, to not go too far and burn what they don't wish to burn. To exist at the edge of too much and not enough such that they can refine themselves. Into what? That's for them to decide. Burn out and die, burn bright and threaten everything around, burn kindly and protect, burn low and hide, burn and burn and burn different.

Find your Fire. The one that calls and the one that warms. Only then will you be an adult. Reach your final stage and be content with your flame. Some never reach it. Or they think they reach it but it doesn't quite fit. It's a tricky thing, especially if you can't Pledge. Can't look into Fire itself for understanding.

“What do I want?” Argo felt how her breathing slowed. Eyes unfocused as they watched the fire crackling in the fireplace. Body relaxed even as tongues of flame whipped out to touch her nose. “What is my fire?”

A face smiled out of the fire. “Well I certainly can't tell you.”

“Fuck!” The moment broke as Argo fell back into her butt. She blinked a few times and shook her head. “Ugh. I feel weird…”

“That'll happen when you stare into the fire, dearie!” The Mismagius floated out of the fireplace. “Can't go too far or you'll burn yourself up! Why don't you take a break and help good ol’ Grandmama take care of dinner!”

“Yeah…yeah I think a break would be good.” Cooking is nice. Maybe there's a trick to doing it without getting fur into everything. Though a Mismagius might not really know how to do that. Whatever. She probably has some plan. “What do I need to do?”

“Ah, just come along.” Grandmama floated toward the back of the room and through a pair of double doors.

Literally- just right through the closed doors. “Gonna have to get used to that kinda shit.” Argo padded after her and wrestled open the door. It… took a minute. “Huh. Guess this is the dining room.”

It certainly looked it. Appropriately large with an absolutely massive table taking up the entire center of the space. It seemed lit exclusively by multiple candelabra set along the length of the table, the light sufficient to show the chairs but not much beyond them. It felt like the beginning to a horror flick or something.

“Back here!” Argo's eyes flicked up to see Grandmama as she floated in front of a barely visible door at the back of the room. “Come along now, not long to dinner and we have guests tonight!”

“I'm one of those guests… haah.” Whatever. Just… walk through the darkness of the room to the kitchen in the back. Nothing to it. “At least I know they're Addams. Probably come back as a ghost even if they do accidentally kill me here.”

It shouldn't help, but it does. Set yourself and walk. At least it wasn't cold here. Or maybe it was and Argo just couldn't feel it. Which was a distinct possibility. Speaking of warmth though… those candles…

Argo didn't turn to look at them. She didn't need to. The fire atop them stood out plain as day to her. Perhaps it was over sensitivity or maybe it was just something about being a Fire type. At any rate she could tell where the candles are and exactly how they were burning without needing to check.

As with most things involving the Addams, they were burning weird. In that they weren't actually consuming the candle as they burned. A fire without hunger. Argo shivered. It was unnatural in a way that you couldn't quite get through the natural ways of the world. Though… it did bring some ideas…

“Oof!” Argo took a step back as she smacked into the door. She rubbed her face with one paw and glared at the offending piece of wood. Then let out a sigh. “Ahh… shoulda paid attention.” At least this door was easier to open. “Hey, Grandmama?”

The door opened to a very messy kitchen. Not messy in that it was dirty, but more that every available space, and there were more shelves here than should probably be able to fit in an area of this size, was taken up by something or another. Each of them was labeled with a small handwritten index card either attached to the container or put on the shelf just in front of the stuff. It honestly reminded Argo of those old I-Spy books.

Though in this case the things to spy were quite strange. Some of it was expected things to find in a kitchen, but others absolutely weren't. Murkrow feathers, Mankey tears, Bonsly clippings, and more. All labeled and placed in some form of order that Argo was certain existed but couldn't quite grasp.

“Ah… we need to start you off easy, dearie. Just a little bit, since you aren't used to cooking like an Addams yet.” Grandmama was a whirlwind about the space. Each thing grabbed, placed, and slightly worked on before another thing went through the same. Sometimes she even went back to something she'd already started. “You can keep to the stew for now. Just keep an eye on the timer and put things in like the book says.”

“Alright… not an Addams though…” The stew pot was big enough to fall into, and Argo wasn't saying that just because she was currently a bit above a foot tall. Luckily there was a chair right in front of it. Various placed containers of stuff served as an acceptable staircase to get up top the seat itself. “What's all this for?”

“Magic! And cooking. You'd be surprised how close they are, dearie.” Grandmama cackled as she slammed a butcher knife into meat that was perhaps a bit bloodier than it really should be. Wouldn't storing it like that cause problems? “Besides, your sister looks to be getting along quite well with my granddaughter. An Addams isn't the sort to wait around for something as silly as the right moment. We make it ourselves. We'll be family in no time!”

“Sapphire isn't my sister.” The recipe seemed easy enough to follow. Though maybe that's just because it was for stew. Not that stew can't be hard, but there's only so much room for complexity when you're throwing stuff into a pot. “Magic?”

“Of course! Magic!” Grandmama threw up her hands and sparkles shot into the air. They held there a moment before disappearing in a blink. “Bit of a lost art nowadays but no less worth doing. Sure it isn't as quick as the fancy machines Fester likes or the Aura all those Lucario go on about, but it's more powerful by half than all the rest of it!”

“I guess it's based on association then? So Murkrow feathers for misfortune or… ugh…” Never read the dex entry for Murkrow. Or just didn't remember it. “Would you use Lucario fur for true sight? Probably have to mix it with something else. Maybe make it a paste?”

“Oh! Such an interesting mind!” Grandmama stopped her chopping for a moment to peer at Argo. “Associations, yes, but also physical things and things more concrete but still unsaid. You can associate Murkrow feathers with misfortune, but they're also feathers. They look inky, so perfect for making a good ink. There are plenty of ways to try out things! I'd not considered using Lucario fur before but it's so hard to get I've almost never used it at all. They've got old legends, them, of witches and monsters and knights. Don't like to give up bits because of it after that unfortunate battle atop the hill.” The Mismagius tilted her head to the side with a wistful sigh. “That was a spectator spot I'll tell you, dearie. Bang! Crash! Shing! And the winner was nobody at all! Just like the best stories.”

Did fucking Camlann happen here? Or probably in Galar. Wait no, can't be Galar. That already had the sword and shield legendaries. Huh… would Excalibur and Clarent be Aegislash? What would Rhonomyiad be then? Oh wait the stew…

Crisis averted. “It sounds interesting.” Expensive too. “There has to be some binding, right? Can't just be throwing all the stuff together in a pot and boiling it. 

“Quite right! You've got to have a bit of the talent. Some always have, some never do, but it's a requirement that I haven't quite managed to do away with yet.” One baleful eye locked onto Argo and stared. And stared. And stared. Argo attempted not to shiver, but she probably failed. “I think you've got it! Not as much as a ghost, but if you really want that bit of extra oomph we can have you spend a few nights with the extended family. That always gets the magic flowing!”

Ignore that and never do it. “So magic is connected to ghosts?”

“Dark and Ghost and all the things that live below. Bugs too, a little, but they aren't the smartest ones. Not keen on going into magic school with air between your head- you could blow some people up that way. Ahkekeke!” Grandmama shook as she laughed. Despite that her hands never stopped prepping dinner. “Not that there's any school now. Just some covens, and they're always so snooty!” Grandmama's hand flashed out and a knife slammed into a wall too fast for Argo to track. It was an excellent throw too since it spiked into the face of a Mismagius with lines down her ‘hat’. Different from Grandmama- who didn't seem to have a mark at all. “Young people like that shouldn't be so judgey. All it causes is problems in the end, and we're all living at the end of the day. Just some of us are doing it a little more than others.”

“Ain't that the truth.” Everyone dies the same, what use is there in being a bitch about it? It's not like it gets you much. Won't fix your problems or treat your wounds, just old swamp water seeping into bone and poisoning the blood. “So where would I start learning magic? Just enough to start messing with stuff on my own at least.” Just being able to start the process would be enough. Once that's done the rest is just figuring out what works and what doesn't.

“I can teach you, dearie!” Grandmama swooped over to the cauldron. “A fireproof treatment for your first, I think. Students always work best when they can start on something they'll need right off! Making so much of it will help get you used to keeping up with practice too!”

“Sounds like a good idea.” Half the group are fire types and Sapphire knows Mystical Fire. They're going to need some way to keep from burning things they actually want to keep. “So where do we start?”

“It's like this, dearie…”

Chapter Text

“Aa… and the amount of things we need to pay for later on keeps going up and up…” Sapphire mumbled to herself as she entered the dining room, utilizing her superior grasp of hands and also the finer points of telekinesis to keep the door open for everyone who didn’t have usable hands or telekinesis. And also for those that did have sorta-hands that were really more slightly more dextrous paws. She wondered, idly, if a Buneary’s paws could actually be used as hands.

Then again, her own hands were basically stubs with some vague ability to be bent like fingers.

“... So… what all did you get up to today?” she asked, turning to everyone else before pausing when she saw the Dratini whose name she still didn’t know. “... And… what happened to you?”

“I went to the beach.” Dratini twisted around to look at her white underside. “Why? Is there sand still?” From neck to tail tip, she was littered with nicks and scratches. A trail of blood dribbled down her back and trickled off her tail.

“I learned how to dodge!” Gin mentioned with a smile that was a little too wide while glaring at Gomez. “Also maybe got a vision thing due to psychic resonance? Or maybe it's a nightmare?” He added not too sure of himself.

“At least I'm not the only one looking worse for wear.” Tenaz grumbled, waddling in alongside dear old Uncle Fester. He sneezed out another puff of soot, sighing dejectedly as another small patch of fur sizzled and hissed from the flickering flames on his back. “I fucking hate dusty hallways…”

“... You uh… you’re covered in blood. Also, hey I don’t think I got your name?” Sapphire mentioned, scratching her cheek idly and waving to the vaguely decrepit looking Drampa. “... Is it just me or are Argo and I the only ones who didn’t go through some kind of physical ordeal today…? I mean, Ichabod traumatized us a little but… history lessons do that.”

“All signs point to no.” Argo poked her head out of the door at the back of the room. “Dinner’s almost done by the way.”

“Oooh! That’s what that smell was.” Dratini spun around in the air, floating around until she got a good look at the spot of red on her back. Her tongue flicked out and lapped it up before her tongue poked out in disgust. “And names. Did I never say anything about that? Well, I like the name Irene, so call me that.”

“Irene’s a pretty name… oddly familiar, come to think of it…” Sapphire tapped her chin in thought, pursing her lips as her horns glowed. “... Did I used to call myself Irene? I swear, it’s such a familiar name…”

“Is it? I kinda just picked it out while staring at a Magikarp getting eaten.” Ignoring the rest of her wound, Irene curled up into a spiral. “Actually, that reminds me—wait can I be reminded of something I don’t remember? Feels like I can’t remember anything besides like, the most random points of trivia. Which is kind of useless. Who needs to know about giant robot names?”

“Everyone. You should always know giant robot names. Do you want to be unprepared when you find a giant robot?” The door banged open and Argo walked into the room pushing a cart of food. Behind her a Mismagius tried to keep it steady. “I wouldn’t want to be unprepared if I found a giant robot. Aliens might immediately attack me to try and get it back and it’d just be lame if I didn’t have a name to scream when I got it started at the last minute to beat their asses.”

“Eh? But how would I even turn one on? I don’t know how to—hey, what’s that pink berry?” Irene flew over to the cart, hovering just far enough that she couldn’t drip anything onto the plethora of food on display.

“I have no idea what most of this is, I just helped make it.” Argo scrambled into a chair as the Mismagius started putting the food onto the table. “Grandmama knows what she’s doing though.”

“Of course I do! I’ve done it so much I’ve had to change it up just to get something new.” Grandmama cackled. “Don’t feel the need to wait for everyone. They’ll drop in when they’re free and leave when they have something to do. Getting everyone around the table is reserved for special occasions- like a death party!”

“Well, I suppose that makes things more convenient than having a set dinner time,” Sapphire murmured, hopping up onto one of the seats and clapping her hands together in thanks. “It looks really good, though… if… hm. Maybe it’s because we’ve only been here for two days but are there any ethical problems when it comes to eating other pokemon? Questions, questions…”

“Maybe avoid your own species? I certainly wouldn’t want to eat another Dratini. There’s not exactly a lot of juicy meat on me. Just muscles and bones really.” Irene grabbed a kebab of berries and chunks of meat with her mouth. Happy with the serving, she dropped into a seat and wrapped the end of her tail around the stick of the kebab.

“Do we have any- oh thank you,” Sapphire grinned as Grandmama floated over a whole pitcher of what looked like lemonade, pouring herself a glass before looking over at Irene. “Anything’s edible if you’re desperate enough. I wouldn’t want to eat you either, though. Hey, you got pretty good with your tail already. Neat!”

“Thanks.” Swallowing, Irene wiggled the end of her tail. “Pretty easy to focus on it.”

“What about Magikarp?” Gin asked, devouring the food in front of him with gusto. “Actually, this is delicious, thank you Grandmama.”

“Oh don’t you all worry, I always make sure to get the meat fresh!” Grandmama cackled as she… settled as much as a permanently floating ghost could settle into a seat. “It’s nothing that didn’t try and kill me first! They’d probably have tried to eat me too if I had any meat on these bones. Or bones at all!”

“Shush. Food is food. Thank you kindly, Ma'am.” Tenaz squirmed in his chair for a moment to get as comfortable as he could. Then the Cyndaquil proceeded to dunk his snout into the shallow bowl to slurp up the stew.

“Suppose that's some sort of comfort at least.” Argo gently… attempted to get some stuff off her plate. Stymied by the lack of hands or psychic powers. Grandmama was at least quick to help out. “Thanks, Grandmama.”

“Oh, no trouble, dearie! Any Addams that wouldn’t help out family is no Addams at all.” Her smile got… terrifying. The candles that lit the room drooped as the visible area choked to just a small orb around the suddenly fragile candle flame atop the wick. The only thing that stood out starkly was that smile. It didn’t even glow, it just… was there. Floating without any reason anyone should have been able to see it. A chill wind came in through a suddenly open window. “And we don’t take kindly to Addams that betray Addams.”

“Pretty!” The edges of a smile peeked out from behind Irene’s wide snout. “I would clap if it wouldn’t mess up the food you made. But uh” —she twisted her kebab around— “still working out the kinks.”

“Mmm~ This is really good…” Sapphire made her contribution to the conversation as she dug into her own meal, sort of not even bothering to pay attention while she did her best to not make a mess whilst eating. Even with her hands, it seemed that utensils were somewhat difficult without any fingers. Or a thumb. Some part of her wondered if they were even hands at all without digits. “I think this is the best meal I’ve eaten in my life! All… two days of it so far!”

“So,” Argo swallowed, “now that we’re… mostly- where’s Nix?”

That, the universe decided, was prime time to spit the Buneary out of the skies above, like a majestic meteorite. Or, more accurately, a screaming and cursing rabbit swearing revenge against several gods. The words were rendered silent as Nix speared just below the open window, courtesy of Thing, and into the floor, with a sound not too dissimilar to a squeaky toy being crushed under a Titan’s foot. The poor bastard splat against the floor like a sticky-hand, and laid there in silent pain.

“... I’d ask what you did today but I’m gonna guess… exploded,” Sapphire deadpanned, watching Nix lay there with a little bit of a wince. “... You uh… still alive buddy? Anyone in this room know healing?”

“I don't know heal pulse… Yet.” Gin commented while slurping some of the stew. His eyes kept looking at the fallen and groaning form on Nix, rationalizing that if he's alive enough to groan he could be healed later.

Tenaz lifted his maw up from the bowl, blinking silently at the crumpled form of the Buneary. “Huh. It rains furries here? Is that…Hm. Raining furries doesn't strike me as all that hellish but hey, what do I know? I just got here.”

“I got Wish.” Argo took another bite of the stew and hopped off her seat. “Just wait and I’ll have you feeling all better. For legal reasons I have to tell you I lost my medical license.”

The Buneary peeled his face off the floor, rubbing dried blood from his face. Top Speed Flight didn’t agree with his internal systems, who’d have thought. “I’m… alive… Got free clothes… Chased by a mall-cop… Made a friend… Killed a snake…” Nix’s head bonked against the floor. “Then got fucking exploded by a Gods Damned Voltorb.”

“How long have you been flying?” Gin asked.

“Feels like it’s been three days, probably only like, 30 minutes.” Nix finally gathered his marbles and stood up. “Did you know a Buneary’s ears can punch out when rolled up? And can apparently shatter Boulders? An Ekans learned that today. It is now a space snake.”

Argo booped Nix on the head. “Wish upon a star. It won’t come true, but maybe you’ll feel better about things.” The energy of Wish floated in the air. “Don’t worry, the healing only happens when you’re filled with positive emotions. Like Tinker Bell, but instead of jealous murder it’s healing.” Argo paused for a moment. “Did I mention I lost my medical license yet?”

Nix decided against bringing up his slight annoyance at having been left unconscious at the first floor the prior night, and instead waddled over to an open chair at the table.

“You know Wish only works on the same spot, right? I think anyway.” Argo shrugged and headed back to her own chair. “I mentioned the lack of medical qualifications, yeah? I have no idea what I’m doing, but I don’t need your kidneys so it’s probably safe.”

“Oo! I’ll take it!” Tail still curled around her kebab, Irene darted under the bundle of energy. In a loose bundle of a six-foot long tail, she hovered right under it.

“So good…” Gin said as he used a small amount of Fire energy to cook the meat further as he devoured it. It was only as hot as an open flame now. He focused a bit of Psychic energy on the plate before him in an attempt to lift it up and while it wobbled it stopped after a few seconds. He frowned but kept trying until the plate slowly floated towards him and he began to drink the stew.

“I should probably learn some healing moves… I recall Fairy types having access to a lot of them…” Sapphire hummed, watching the byplay going on with a little tilt of her head. “... So… what all did you do today? Argo and I got traumatized by the past and learned a few moves, not in that order, and Wednesday showed me her knife collection! They were very sharp and very pretty and I kinda wanna see more of them.”

“Like I painfully muttered just a bit ago, I went into town at the Big Tree Fella’s behest to burn some energy. Got chased by a Growlith playing Police, met some weird fashionista who gave me this cloak, then got chased into the woods. Met a Zorua out there, and ended up saving them from an Ekans. They got picked up by their parent, I stepped on a Voltorb, it exploded, and here I am.” Nix recounted, now encumbered by a berry and mystery meat kebab, in spite of being equipped with teeth meant more for just berries and greens. Without hesitation, he tore into the meal, his stomach as empty as a chasm.

“Huh? Oh! Uh, not much on my end. Practiced running some more, got bored, had an ethereal conversation with Ichabod outside. They are very nice to talk to! Sort of, anyways. They don't really talk , but it… It's difficult to explain, I guess. I came back inside to talk to Wednesday, got lost, and then Uncle Fester stuck me in a hallway loop for several hours. ” Tenaz growled that last piece of information out from gritted teeth and a still bubbling, scalding cauldron of rage. “I exploded both emotionally and physically, and then he brought me back here.”

“While you were studying the blade I was learning magic.” Argo paused for a moment. “I don’t think that really works. Ugh, whatever. Grandmama is going to teach me how to break physics and the laws of reality as we know them.”

“Learning how to make shadow clones viable on my end. Psychic energy is hard to grasp for me, Fire is the easiest so far so at least I have some explosions.” Gin lamented. “Oh and did anyone else dream about an apocalypse and weird holes in space?”

“I don’t think so? It’s hard to remember things though.” The energy of Wish washed over Irene, sealing up every tiny nick on her body and washing her scales of blood and grime. Her scales shined, practically twinkling until the energy vanished into her body. “Nope, that didn’t help my memory. Felt really good though. Kinda like a warm bath. Thanks, Argo!”

“Hmmm, hmmm. No sense in worrying about it for now, I guess. If something happens then all we need to do is beat it up. And speaking of happening, does anyone know what to do going forward? Because getting stronger is merely part of the goal. Not the endgame, plus like Tenaz said, I don't like owing anything to anyone.” Gin asked, stopping his feasting. 

“Does minted money even exist here? It feels like that's something that’d be weird to have.” Argo stopped eating the stew for a moment to rub at her ear. “Hey Grandmama, you have any ideas?”

“Well,” Grandmama flopped back into her chair, her suddenly empty bowl spinning to a stop, “you have no money, no applicable skills, only one apprenticeship, and no legal identity. So obviously you have to become a Rescue Team and delve into dangerous areas to save lost children and acquire dangerous or rare materials.”

“... That sounds like potentially lethal work- wait, there’s legal identity paperwork still? Oh come on, why is there still identity paperwork after the apocalypse!?” Sapphire groused, groaning and flopping back in her seat with a heavy sigh. “Ugh… whatever. Being a Rescue Team sounds fun, though. If nothing else, there’s motivation to get stronger and do some good in the world.”

“ Fuck you mean apocalypse- ” Nix muttered behind his kebab, before deciding he was better off in the dark.

“I think it sounds fulfilling!” Irene did a loop around the table before plucking up another kebab with her tail. Unable to quite sit still, she spun around her self-designated chair. “Actually, that might be the Wish talking. Am I supposed to get the zoomies after getting healed or is that just me? Because I really want to Extreme Speed out of a window.”

“Ancient ruins, potential death? Sounds like a fun way to spend the day.” Gin added feeling some adrenaline pumping through his blood. Though he did eye the nearest window and saw Thing opening it and giving him a thumbs up, as if expecting Irene to dash out of it.

“I feel like sending people out to rescue children and obtain dangerous stuff is kind of bad when combined with literally zero background checks.” Argo looked around the table. “Does anyone else think that's weird? Like… what happens if an asshole starts doing it and gets too strong or knows too much to really get rid of?” She paused for a moment. “Also- Irene. No idea. I am not a licensed doctor and you only have my word that I don’t want your kidneys.”

“Defenestration is a very handy tool for silencing those that know too much.” Gin half joked, “But as far as abusable things go, if it really is so dangerous then most Pokémon will die or be crippled before reaching that peak.”

Grandmama cackled. “Kidneys do make a great pie, dearie.” She settled down after a moment. “Sure it could be abused, but that's half the fun! It’s not like legal identities matter without a central government, and the closest here is the guild! Besides- there’s nothing like a proper ‘run those assholes outta town’ mob.”

“Defenestration takes too long and is too niche of circumstance. First you gotta get a window, then you gotta throw said person out the window, then you have to make sure either the glass or the fall kills them. It doesn't count if you gotta kill them after you defenestrate them. It just doesn't. ” Tenaz waved a little nub in the air as he rambled on for a little while.

“... Why are we talking about this again? I thought we were talking about getting jobs…” Sapphire mumbled in confusion, then shook her head anyway. “Whatever. It’d probably be a good idea to get signed up for a Rescue Team sooner rather than later, earn some spending money so we don’t have to worry about being broke and homeless.”

“To be fair- being a wandering battle hobo is a time honored job in the Pokemon universe.” Argo settled back, her plate empty. “But a job and a bed is nice to have. Wonder how much a house costs…”

Tenaz snorted, giggling wildly for a moment. “Holy shit! It took me dying to find somewhere with affordable housing !” The Cyndaquil burst into an even louder fit of giggles and snorts at the sheer ridiculousness of the statement.

“If we build a house we should probably get one with a decent amount of land nearby. Just in case we evolve or need to bring someone or several someones. Plus a good place to train.” Gin mumbled as he considered the viability of the project.

“... Half of our group are Fire types, we probably need a house surrounded by a sand lot so we don’t accidentally start a forest fire,” Sapphire snarked dryly, then cleared her throat and looked away. “Not that I can say anything, knowing Mystical Fire and all…”

“Well obviously you all can use the clearing a bit back from the hotel.” Grandmama crossed her arms like the solution was obvious. “Fester blew up something over there and the grass still hasn’t grown back. Plenty of room and not flammable if you’re being boring! I’ve even got started on teaching Argo something to make sure your house won’t burn down when one of you sneezes.”

Gin thought back at the small burns that decorated his bed and shivered at the idea of setting fire to his room. That gave him some sense of foreboding.

Tenaz blanched, looking back at Fester and reminding himself of just how scorched that hallway became when he had finally run out of steam. “Yeah…Maybe that's for the best.”

Argo raised a paw. “Should we really be taking Fester’s test spot? That sounds unwise…”

“Bah! Fester will give it up to family without any problem.” Grandmama waved the question away. “All the better to keep everyone around and all that. It takes a village, and little Pubert is just about getting to the age where he should start adventuring on his own!”

Stuffing the entirety of the kebab down her throat, Irene pulled it out with her tail to reveal a slick, clean stick. After a thick swallow, she asked, “So, how do we start a Rescue Team? Do we fill out a form and mail it in?”

“... Hey Irene? Why did you do that to your kebab stick?” Sapphire asked, holding up a napkin to hide her blush. “Why did you feel the need to do that in front of everyone?”

“I want to thank you for that image and immediately set it on fire.” Argo took a deep breath. “I'm just going to avoid looking at you eating as much as possible from now on.”

“Arceus on Ice… Actually, kinda impressive. ” Nix uttered under breath, blinking in shock. 

“I wanted to see how much I could eat at once.” Irene eyed the half-full plate of kebabs left on the table. Deciding to not do a repeat performance, she looked back at the others around the table. “Why? Is that weird?”

“Yeah uh…M-Maybe we warn the other people at the table next time, yeah? Maybe we do that as well.” Tenaz mumbled, eyes glued firmly to the table after witnessing said display.

“Impressive.” Gin complimented the display of rapid eating. He chuckled as a memory played in his mind. “Does anyone have suggestions for a Team Name?” He asked.

“Team Pyro,” Sapphire immediately answered, raising her hand with a snicker. “Pretty sure all of us can light a bunch of stuff on fire if we want.”

“Haven’t had the chance to test that hypothesis, but it does seem like an awfully coincidental trend that most of us are Fire Types.” Nix spoke up. “Not bad, though.”

“Hm. Team Prometheus? It still fits the fire theme and none of us are originally Pokémon? Prometheus created Man, so says the myth.” Tenaz shrugged, well, as best as a creature with pitiful shoulders could shrug, that is.

“Well given that the only name I could think of was Fire Red Rescue Team, your suggestions blow mine out of the water.” Gin admitted, “Also yeah, real suspicious coincidence, but not a bad one. Fire is good, it burns and consumes; but so does life.”

“The thing literally almost everyone has mentioned is weird is it being unseasonably cold so I think fire is going to be important. Maybe we need to find Heatran and nurse them back to health to restore the balance of the climate or some shit.” Argo sighed. “The great llama really should have understood how fragile tying essential world systems to living creatures is. Or it could be someone trying to steal Space. Somehow.”

Irene tilted her head. “How does someone steal capital S Space? Isn’t that a concept? Can concepts be stolen from reality without removing them from reality?”

“The Time Gears exist. No idea why since Dialga deals with that, but they exist and can be physically stolen.” Argo shrugged. “The more I recall the more I think Arceus was doing the creator God equivalent of ‘fuck it, hold my beer and watch this’ to like… Mew or something.”

“...I feel like this isn't so simple. If it was just Heatran or some other big name not picking up the slack, then wouldn't Zygarde step in to preserve the natural state of the world?” Tenaz furrowed his brows, smoke trailing out his nose as he exhaled rather sharply in thought.

“With our luck we’re probably gonna end up fighting aliens,” Sapphire deadpanned flatly, then sighed as she poked around on her plate a little, decided she was full, and sat back in her seat. “But. I wouldn’t mind being on a team with you all. You guys have good vibes, more or less. I swear, though… you all seem to know way more about all this than I do. I barely remember anything from the past right now…”

“The only thing I’ve remembered is Buneary’s Pokedex entry and my name.” Nix sighed, leaning onto the table. “Been trying to not think about it so I don’t start tearing my ears off trying to remember.”

“I have some memories of the Pokémon games but that's it.” Gin added, “Not that it really matters, since I doubt that Team Rocket is fucking behind this.” He frowned as he imagined Meowth and Wobbuffet trying to continue the legacy of Jesse and James alone.

Tenaz sighed, lazily setting his head down onto the table. “Everything is vague in my head. It feels like the important stuff runs away before I can catch it. Other things just pop in when needed. Ichabod helped but…Anything about me is just gonna give me a migraine trying to pin it down.”

“I think the Skyrim reference jogged something because I remember a lot.” Argo rubbed her ear. “Hope my friends are good. They were cool people.”

Scratching her head with the tip of her tail, Irene scrunched up her face as much as she could. That was really just her big nose, but a scrunch was a scrunch. “I think I hit my head too many times today.”

“So I guess we're all at least agreed with what we want to do, yeah?” Argo looked around the table. “We can hit the town in the morning. Preferably with few arson incidents.”

“If no one’s opposed to the name Team Pyro, we could probably get signed up as that tomorrow morning? Something like that?” Sapphire suggested, looking around the table slowly. “Well. Whenever we all get up, I guess.”

“Alrighty. All in favor of Sapphire’s team name, say aye. Aye!” Tenaz raised his snout in place of a nub.

“Aye!” Gin shouted a smile forming at the idea of the future.

“Aayyye.” Argo slumped further back into her chair.

“Aye!” Grandmama raised a ‘hand’ with a cackle.

“Aye.” Nix grumbled, now leaning fully face-first onto the table, trying to shut a new headache up.

“Aye, aye!” Irene spun around her chair.

“Alright then! Let’s get some sleep and head out in the morning!” Sapphire grinned, hopping out of her chair and pumping her fist with a little cheer. “Let’s make Team Pyro a name worth knowing!

Chapter Text

“Mmkay, mhmm… sign here, here, and here and your Team is fully registered and ready to go!” the Audino (whose name was, literally, Guildmaster Audino) grinned almost ditzily as she snapped shut her record book and replaced it with six new gleaming Guild badges. It also turned out that the Guild was called the Explorer’s Guild and not the Rescue Guild but that was largely semantics. “Congratulations, Team Pyro! And your new leader: Sapphire!”

“Just to be clear, I’m only keeping this until someone more responsible and/or smarter than me grows a pair of usable hands,” Sapphire deadpanned, adjusting the badge that was now stuck to her chest and idly wondering how the hell it stayed on despite the lack of fasteners. “... Y’know. Because of the paperwork.”

“Leader change fee is two Poké and you can do it once a month!” Guildmaster Audino answered cheerfully. “And your regular Guild fees and equipment fees will be billed at the end of each month! Remember, 5 Poké a month to stay registered as long as you keep doing jobs!” 

“Well that settles that. I’ll take the leader position next. I should get hands soon…” Argo shook her head and looked out at the guild hall. It was an open building that looked similar to every adventurer/guild hall in every fantasy story ever. “Guess we get jobs from that big board over there?” There were a couple of mon already in front of it, mostly blue, weirdly enough.

“Mhmm! The job board is what keeps the Guild in business!” Guildmaster Audino (GM for short, or so she’d said) nodded, pointing towards said board as if it wasn’t the most visible thing in the room. “Anyone can post a job to the board, so all kinds of requests come through. Most of them have material rewards, though they can be really anything as long as the job is completed. Usually it’s Poké but sometimes you’ll get Berries or interesting and useful items, like Gummis, health drinks, specialty clothing, orbs, throwables, even preserved TMs and HMs! Some rewards may require directly speaking to the job giver, since it’s a Guild rule to not keep produce for more than two days, but by and large everything you could ever need is right here in this building or the adjacent facilities! Including training grounds, target ranges, supply stores, and the archivist! You should see Orion soon, he has access to a lot of old media that human Trainers used to use centuries ago to help their pokemon be the best that they could be! And remember: you don’t need your full team to go on a job at once, but it is recommended that you keep on top of your job completion lists so you can be properly ranked on the Guild’s ranking board! It updates weekly, and different jobs give you different scores depending on difficulty ranking from F through SSS! Only fully evolved pokemon are allowed on SSS missions, though, so please don’t try them as you are now.”

GM Audino smiled wider as she finished her explanation, as if she hadn’t basically gone full tutorial NPC for a hot second there.

Irene blinked three times. “I’m sorry, I don’t think I’m going to remember all of that. Can I ask you about… all of that later?”

“Of course!” Audino gestured over toward the counter where all of their paperwork had been signed. “If anyone would like a refresher about any of the Guild’s facilities or functions, please don’t hesitate to come ask me or whoever is handling paperwork at the time. Your time as explorers is precious, so if there is any way I or any other staff can help, then we will provide any help that we can. Whether it be assistance finding information in the archive or handling professional matters among teams, we are ready to be of assistance. And remember! When you’re here, you’re family!” 

Gin looked at the guildmaster and slowly backed away from them. Someone so cheery made his hairs stand in fear. 

Gin’s backstepping slapped Nix with a tail, drawing him out of the partial nap he took standing up. Audino’s explanation took… a While .

“Neeat. Thanks for the help.” Argo turned to the board. “Lessee what we have…”

Zipping up to the top of the board, Irene leaned forward to read the requests. “Rescue my child from Pinwheel Forest. Hey, that sounds simple enough. Wait.” Glancing back at the top of the page, she grimaced. “That was posted two months ago.”

“... Hopefully that’s a sign that they just forgot to take the notice down,” Sapphire winced, deliberately not looking at that part of the board as she picked out a single job request from the seemingly bottomless list on the board. “Oh hey, here’s a… probably team job? I think. Clearing out a small nest of wild Venonat in a nearby cave. Apparently they’ve been causing proble- hey!”

“Just looking at the job. Don’t be so touchy.” The Samurott smirked down at them. Oh god, he even sounded like a fuckbag. “I think this one would be good for us, right Gen?”

“Hmm… too right, Di.” The Marill laughed as she bounced onto the black armor of the Samurott. “What about you, Hydro?”

“Hm?” The Frillish spun around. “Oh you found a job? Cool! I was just staring at the blue floating thing here! I’m a pink floaty thing so it’s perfect!” She spun back around and waved at Irene. “Hi blue floaty thing!”

“Oh hi, pink floaty thing!” Irene waved her tail excitedly, flipping herself over in the process. “I’m Irene, the blue floaty thing. Are you guys part of the Guild too?”

“We just signed up now, if you were wondering” Sapphire mentioned, sloooowly edging away from the exuberant Water/Ghost type. Ugh. Just what she needed on a rival team- an extrovert.

“Cool! Team H2O’s been around a while, it’ll be nice to have a whole other team around now!” the Frillish (Hydro, apparently) smiled and spun around. Like an extrovert. Terrifying. 

Gin stared at the Alolan Vulpix that hung back, behind the group of pokémon that seemed to enjoy annoying his friends. His eyes narrowed as their eyes met his own, deep inside him a voice said, no commanded that he punch the other Vulpix. It was hate at first sight and the feeling was mutual if the snarl from the other was anything to go by. Seconds passed and his glare deepened and the Alolan Vulpix approached him.

“You're weak.” He stated with venom dripping from his tongue, “Pathetic and weak.”

“You smell like shit.” Gin replied, his body tensing as Fire type energy flowed outwards. His eyes glowing red to match the ethereal white of the Alolan Vulpix.

“Huh. They really look like they hate each other.” Argo looked around at everyone closing in. Ooh fight circle! “Do they even know each other’s names?”

“Lots of barking from a weak pup. Did your master leave you because you couldn't cut it?” The Alolan Vulpix taunted. Their fur began to glow dangerously as Gin took another step forwards until they were almost in biting range.

“And all I hear is the pathetic mewling of a kit. Should I be impressed by a nobody?” Gin snarled out, every bone in his body crying out to beat the living crap out of the Pokémon in front of him.

“Says the literal newbie. Your ignorance defines you, worthless burnt twig.” The Alolan Vulpix spat out with pure hatred that could almost be tasted.

“Burnt twig? Really, fucking discount Frosty the snow bitch. And if I'm a newbie, and don't know your name, your ego is greater than what little skill you can pull up.” Gin snarked back, his paws almost making holes in the ground as he prepared to lunge at the other Vulpix.

“Oh you have no idea what the gulf between you and me is in terms of skill. And you're not worth my time, so run along like the weakling you are.” The cruel smile of the Alolan Vulpix made Gin almost attack him right then and there. 

Beside Gin and the Alolan Vulpix, Nix was falling asleep again. Standing up, again. At this rate he’d need to get his hands on some Pokemon Sleeping Drugs, or whatever they have on hand. Fortunately for Nix, this allowed him to ignore a Poliwrath trying his best to give the Buneary the stink eye. This ended when Nix snorted while sleeping, stumbling awake and catching the Poliwrath’s eye.

“You makin’ fun of me, Rat?” The big, blue, abomination of Arceus’ good graces growled, barely registering in Nix’s mind. The Poliwrath, somehow, took Nix’s half open eyes as an insult. “Huh, Huh?”

Nix rubbed his eyes, before looking at the Poliwrath. A moment passed in his mind, before he began to smirk. And then snirk. And then giggle. Soon, that giggle morphed into full blown, stomach tearing laughter. “Oh-hoh-hoh my Arceus what the f-fuhck are you??” He laughed, holding onto his stomach in a poor attempt to try and stay standing. “You look like Arceus’ excuse to make that Good Shit! You look like Arceus was drunk on that Divine Elixir, the shit they gave Dionysus to knock him out!” He’d question what the fuck a Dionysus was later.

Poliwrath’s eyes flew open in anger, making Nix’s laughter even harder. “Watch your fucking tongue, Rat! I am Mon, and I’m going to beat your stupid fluffy face in-”

“Fucking Please , just turn around! Your f-face is too damn ugly! It’s like staring into the event horizon, but at least that has a mouth! How do you even eat anything?!”

Mon’s rage grew brighter, and he stepped up, nose to ‘nose’. “Say one more thing, I dare you!”

“Puh-leeese, why are you even trying to get into a fight here anyways? Angry Arceus didn’t give you any teeth?” Nix leaned in closer, holding his laughter in for just a scant few moments more. “Because I’d be glad to give you some. Might be fun to knock em’ down your throat and make you Swallow .”

Mon’s glare and Nix’s feral smile grew stronger and stronger, but was overshadowed by the flying members of each team drifting closer together. Irene and Hydro floated above the squabble, neither quite finding trouble with the other floaty thing.

“So, is this normal?” Irene asked as she wiggled in the air. “If the Guild’s family, we shouldn’t be fighting each other or calling each other names, right?” Before Hydro could answer her question, a blue ball smacked Irene in the nose and knocked her out of the sky. “Eep!”

Landing triumphantly, the Marill sneered at her. “C’mon, you don’t really believe that crap, do ya? We’re coworkers . No one gives a fuck so long as the job gets done.” Gen waved the stolen request flyer in front of them. “So suck it up, worm.”

“I—ow,” Irene whined. She rubbed her throbbing nose. How did that hurt so much? Was it because they were so rough? “Why are you guys so mean?” Hydro raised one of her tentacles to answer.

“Suck. It. Up.” Gen pushed Hydro’s tentacle back down before she could say anything. Irene, for lack of a better answer, whimpered and slithered behind her teammates. Given her size relative to them, she couldn’t hide that well, especially when two of her teammates were engaged in glaring matches with the other team.

“... Wow okay this is getting really out of hand, really fast,” Sapphire spoke up, looking around at everyone and deciding that, hey, maybe two teams antagonizing each other in the middle of the Guild hall wasn’t such a good idea. Why wasn’t Audino doing anything? And why was their Guildmaster just standing there as if she was watching some squabbling children instead of… whatever the fuck was going on. “Irene, you good? Actually- oi, Marill, whatever the hell your name is. Apologize now.”

Tenaz hummed, waddling through some of his teammates to come face to face with the Maril, puffing out smoke into his face. “I suggest you listen to Sapphire and apologize . Type advantage hardly matters when there's six of us willing to fight you on this rancid behavior. You're pathetic, you're childish, and I'll split you in half like a log of wood while you sleep, so help me Arceus.”

“And why would I listen to a bunch of babies?” the Marill asked, sneering at both Tenaz and Sapphire with a roll of her eyes. “Listen, rookie. You wanna play? Get stronger than a bunch of stage one losers. Otherwise you can sit down and suck it up like the chumps you are!”

“... Someone hold me back or I’m going to commit a murder,” Sapphire mumbled quietly, glaring at Gen before shaking her head. “Playground bullies… ugh. Y’know what, let’s just go. Everyone grab whatever, these assholes aren’t worth it.”

She turned away, then looked over at Argo to make sure she was doing fine. “Argo, why is that Froakie glaring at you?”

“My impeccable manners, obviously.” Argo chuckled. Then she turned to the Froakie. “I know I'm a hot bitch, but it's rude to stare.”

“I suppose one so lowly as yourself would find such base humor appealing.” The Froakie turned up his nose. “It only goes to show your horrific breeding and lack of value as a traditional starter Pokémon.”

“Whatever let's you sleep at night.” Argo leaned a bit forward to stare at the board. “Lesse what we got here. Hopefully some place that isn't too flammable…”

Froakie's hand smacked onto the board in front of her face. “You require special conditions not to have your fire damage things? Oh, such a poor excuse of a starter, not even able enough to control your fire.” The Froakie rested a hand against his head. “I pity you.”

“Why do you even keep bringing that up? Nobody is a starter anymore. That entire system doesn't exist anymore.” Argo sighed.

“Not even going to defend yourself?” The Froakie raised an eyebrow. Somehow. “I suppose you at least know your place.”

“Only losers and bitches need to defend against the truth.” Argo shrugged. “I'm a vulgar jackass without as much control as I'd like.”

“You should always endeavor to defend against spurious accusations! Have some pride!” The Froakie puffed up a moment before he settled down with a smirk. “Though I suppose an ashtray like you would naturally have none.”

“So you're saying you're a loser or a bitch, right?” Argo blinked and looked around the room. All of the other Pokémon watching had fallen silent. “So I gather that word is actually really offensive.”

“It is the only appropriate manner with which to address someone of your… dubious personage.” Froakie chuckled.

“I feel like the best way to deal with this is just to beat the bitch out of you.” Argo stretched her neck. “It might leave you with no organs or bones, but that’s a risk I'm fine taking.”

“A duel!” Froakie laughed. “So be it! It is traditional for those setting out into the wide world to duel before leaving. An expression of skill to give a taste of what will come.” He stood as best he could, rising up to look down on Argo. “In your case that would be an exceptional amount of failure. I, Oxide, shall show you your place!”

“Then it’s agreed! I officially declare this match a submission Pokemon Battle!” out of nowhere, a Purrloin wearing a bright red bowtie skidded into view with a loud announcement of his presence, pulling out a rule book from nowhere as he came to a halt between Oxide and Argo. “As such! I, Mr. Referee, will act as referee for this battle to officially declare the outcome and ensure all rules and regulations about public battles are followed! We’ll take this outside so that nothing in this Guild Hall gets destroyed!”

“... Where did he even come from?” Sapphire mumbled, staring at the gray toned Purrloin oddly as she looked around. “I didn’t see him anywhere…?”

“That’s Mr. Referee, he comes and goes to officiate duels and official battles,” Audino explained with her same vaguely blank, sort of positively ditzy voice, then motioned towards the door. “Please, take this outside for your first Pokemon battle! After all, destruction of Guild property is illegal!” 

“Do we even have a government? Or cops?” Argo padded out- “Oof!”

“You may leave after myself.” Oxide swaggered outside after pushing Argo out of the way. “This battle shall surely show you how far below me you are!”

Tenaz snarled, rolling his eyes and turned to Argo. “Hey, do us all a favor and just fucking kill this guy if the opportunity shows itself, yeah?”

“Murder is illegal! Vicious maiming is still allowed, though!” Mr. Referee stated (more like shouted) imperiously, holding his mysterious book up for emphasis. “Contestants! Take your places while I review the rules! First rule! This is a submission Pokemon Battle! The first to tap out, fall unconscious, or otherwise become unable to continue is the loser! Second rule! Outside interference is not allowed! The first side to have outside interference come to their aid is disqualified! Third rule! Bribing the referee is allowed in increments of two hundred Poké or more! Fourth rule! You are allowed to viciously and violently maim or cripple your opponent until they become no longer able to battle, but killing during battle is disallowed! When the result is called, all battle must cease! Otherwise it becomes an assault charge and the Battler’s Guild will have to file an official punishment card against your person! Fifth rule! No purposeful damaging of public property or any onlookers! This is a public street and the nearest arena is two hundred kilometers away! Be mindful of your surroundings! Sixth and final rule! Have fun!!!”

“Why is crippling allowed…?” Sapphire mumbled awkwardly, standing at the edge of the newly cleared battle space and wondering when anyone had the time to draw the lines in the sand marking the battle area.

“Because free healthcare is good for the body and soul!” Mr. Referee answered. “Now! Battlers! Are you ready!?”

“200 Poké for bribery?” Gin muttered while being taken to the side of the ring. “That's… Actually cheap.”

“Yeah, except we’re broke right now and I’m pretty sure the value of a Poké has gone up considering how I saw a stand selling Apples for two Poké each,” Sapphire mumbled right back, clearing her throat as she stood back to let Argo and Oxide battle it out.

“Heaven or Hell, let's rock.” Argo stretched out her neck before settling into a low stance.

“I shall graciously give you the first move.” Oxide didn't bother to take up any form of fighting stance. He just stood there with his hands on his hips.

“Last call!” Mr. Referee looked left, then right, then left again. Seeing nobody else ready to bet he looked to the fighters. “It's about to get red hot! Go!”

“You-”

“Shut the fuck up.” Argo didn't bother to listen to whatever Oxide had to say, the words interrupted by a very simple, straightforward method. “Burn.”

Fire Pledge erupted from beneath Oxide. Nearly everyone around the ring flinched back at the sudden explosion of heat. Referee was somehow unaffected, as was most of Oxide's team.

“Uncouth. Ahh… cur.” The fire died down to show Oxide still in the middle. He didn't look too bad for being at the center of a pillar of fire. Some burns littered his body, and he definitely looked dehydrated. “You'll rue-!”

“You talk too much.” Heat Wave blasted out. It was roughly shaped just to hit Oxide, but the haze was visible to either side of him. The burns across Oxide's body visibly got worse before Argo snapped her mouth shut with a click of her teeth. “How's that pride working out for you?”

“You!” Water pulsed… no Water Pulse splashed out from Oxide. The blast of water sprayed out toward Argo, shedding droplets across the crowd.

Argo rushed to the side, but not quick enough. The Water Pulse slammed into her back right thigh and sent her skidding across the ground. Smoke burned off her as she visibly forced herself upward after the hit, a scowl prominent on her face.

“You should sit there and take it! As was done in the old days!” Oxide threw both his arms out and Spikes fell onto the floor. “There! You shall be- what the-?”

Argk rushed forward, dodging the spikes as best she could. Oxide ducked down into a boxer's stance, but Argo stopped just before him. “Yoink.” Argo waved one paw and the Copycat Spikes didn't go everywhere. They instead went, mostly, straight forward. Into Oxide's face and chest.

“Gah!” The Froakie staggered backward as his vision was invaded by small spiky things. “You!”

“There's that word again.” Argo narrowed her eyes at Oxide's chest. “Certainly like that one a lot, huh?” Her eyes glowed and Psybeam spiked forward. It didn't hit quite center mass, but a bit to the side of center worked just as well.

“Gha!” Oxide staggered backward. His attempt to drag the spikes off his face with one hand only made them dig in harder. Long lines of ragged cuts showed the progression of the spikes as he attempted to remove them. Water Gun splashed upward doing nothing but being slightly refreshing to everyone nearby. “YOU!”

“Do you have Tourettes or something?” Argo stepped forward and slammed a paw onto Oxide's chest. It wasn't a move but still elicited a groan. “By fire be purged.”

Fire Pledge erupted upward again. This time it was over both of them, hiding the result from view. The column of fire bent and twisted as it burned before the base exploded. A wave of fire lashed out from the column and everyone covered their eyes at the sudden eruption of light. When they finally blinked their eyes open the column was still going.

The raging flame shuddered. The column itself smoothed out from its angry barely controlled eruption into a slightly calmer, smoother tube. Then it unraveled to reveal the fighters.

“I think you've had enough.” Argo placed her paws on her hips and looked down at Oxide with a smile. Then she leaned onto the foot that pinned the Froakie to the floor. “Don't come back until you're on my level, yeah?” With that the Braxien turned and walked away from her opponent.

“KNOCKOUT!” Mr. Referee held up both paws and turned to the crowd. “The winner is… Argo!”

Argo chuckled at the Waves of groans and cheers that erupted for the crowd. She lifted one arm to brush her cheek fluff back and smiled at her party. “So! Let's get to picking some jobs. Next time I want to have 200 poke saved up…”

“... Holy shit you’re tall now,” Sapphire mumbled, ignoring the rival Team as she instead focused on the fact that Argo was now three times her height and also bipedal now. “... I’m so jealous… I wanna evolve soon too… aaa….” She paused, then groaned. “Wait, fuck! I’ve been leader for less than ten minutes and you’ve already got hands! Dammit! Fuck!”

“Hey, look on the bright side, the pompous fucking frog is down and out. I'm sure he'll think twice before he goes spouting that bloodline filth near us again.” Tenaz sneered at the disheveled and bruised Froakie with nothing short of contempt.

“Riiiiiight…” Sapphire sighed, shaking her head and patting Argo’s leg as she walked past. “Well, let’s go grab some jobs and get paid. Argo, I’m staying leader until one of us can pay the Leader change fee, mmkay?”

“Works fine by me.” Argo rolled her shoulders. “Shouldn't take that long. Hope there isn't too much paperwork…”

“Gods, I hope not,” Sapphire snorted. “Whatever. Let’s get paid!”

[Guildmaster Audino]

Chapter Text

"You held it together this long.” Argo rested a hand on the entrance to the cave. “Suddenly becoming two-legged when you previously weren't is some shit, man.”

That wasn't the only issue, of course, but the most prominent. Especially in front of those assholes. Much as she doesn't actually care about them or their opinion things would probably be easier if they stepped the fuck off. The best way to make them do that is not tripping over your own goddamn feet seconds after evolving. Which was its own thing.

“Ahahah! That was a fucking trip!” It felt good. Little weird, but good all the same. Everything sorta expanded and settled back into something slightly new. Especially her instincts. Fire felt so… interesting now. It was only a hint before, now that she knows what to look for, but now it's more than enough to get attention. The feeling of just how fire will move and grow. It isn't quite control of it, not yet, but it could be. Eventually.

It spoke too. The crackle of the fire brought with it hints and secrets. Not loud enough to make use of just yet, but with focus some clarity could be gained. Enough for, perhaps, a couple of random half formed soundbites. None of it useful, but it wasn't exactly usefulness Argo was after anyway.

“Is this shit fire reading? Am I Rei? Where's my hot blonde leader that I can have belligerent sexual tension with?” That was about the only thing worthwhile Rei got out of that whole shit situation. Seriously, just fucking kill your enemies. Don't seal them away and make them the problem of people who weren't even alive back then. Same soul or no that's just a dick move. “Guess it's better if I don't get one. Not interested in that shit as it is.”

Ah, whatever. Time for a live fire exercise.

“Ahahahaaa. ‘Live fire’. I didn't even see that.” Argo kept chuckling as she headed into Bowed Cave. Apparently the Mightyena packs that originated from here were getting rowdier than usual. Possibly due to the lowered temperature not playing well with their usual patterns, but who knows. That isn't the important bit anyway.

What is important is checking on the numbers in the cave and scaring them a little bit. If there are too many around and they're agitated they might attack the town. Which could cause a lot of damage depending on how many there were. Now theoretically this was meant for a larger team to accomplish, but Argo had picked it for one simple reason. It was known for its ventilation.

Which may have been a contributing factor to the cold bothering the Mightyena, honestly. Apparently the case had belonged to a bunch of Fire Types before and before them the land had belonged to a big company that needed a large amount of storage space. Or something. The records Orion had weren't very clear other than that the cave had been named for that company. Still it meant the place was perfect for a Fire Type to let loose.

“Alright then!” Instinct took over as Argo ripped the stick out of her tail. The end lit up as she shifted it in front of her. Oddly, it looked like a straight sword, if a little lumpy due to being a natural wood construct. “Where the fuck did you come from?”

The stick did not respond. Argo waved it a few times in front of her. It moved… nicely. Or at least it felt that way. There was something… weird about just knowing the best way to move it. Feeling your fingers and wrist move in ways you'd never done before to bring a half imagined move into reality. Like waking up as a sword master despite never touching one before. Though Argo knew, in some bone deep way, that she wasn't anywhere near that level yet.

“Alright.” Argo stepped forward, the stick held in front of her. The handle, as much as there was one, wasn't large enough for a two handed grip which clarified some things. Might be a bit difficult to ape Flame Breathing with a one-handed weapon bur its not like anyone could call her out on it so whatever. “Now let's go!”

The interior of the cave definitely felt cooler than the outside. Which was impressive considering Argo had trouble feeling temperature changes in general. The cold really must be nasty down there though… how? Caves tend to keep their own temperature, right? With so many Mightyena it should be warmer than average. Or at least not so cold that a Fire Type could notice it.

“We really are going to have to fight a Heatran aren't we?” At least the team seems built for it. Though this might have something else happening with it. Maybe a powerful Ice Type that moved in? What Ice Types are in Unova anyway? “It's the fucking ice cream isn't it?”

At least that'll be easy to deal with. Argo started heading down into the cave, sword held in front. The first few rooms didn't have anything important. Or at least nothing that wanted to try and take on a second stage mon currently holding a fire stick. They were there, though, just out of sight. She could hear them.

It was nerve wracking. Especially since it's Mightyena, who'd undoubtedly enjoy an opportunity to blindside a mon with Crunch. Either they decided that doing that would end poorly or they had enough intelligence to realize what a Rescue Team member meant. Undoubtedly they'd enjoy the source of the cold being driven out.

“Think everyone could use a break from the cold.” At least from the complaints she'd heard. Her words bounced down the cave as she descended to the next floor. Chill wind ruffled her fur as she got closer to the second level and she pulled the burning sword closer to herself. “Never liked the cold.”

The chill felt worse as a Fire Type too. Not that she couldn't muster through, but it felt wrong. Like- Argo jolted upward at a sudden sizzle. She snapped her sword forward and focused on the area around her, but nothing came. He paw shifted back as she settled herself into a better stan-

“Huh?” A glance downward… “Water?”

Why is water down here? No… wait. Argo moved to one wall and tapped it. The hiss wasn't as loud, but it definitely was there. Is this frosted over? Something definitely wasn't right here.

“Something is definitely cooling this cave… maybe a Mightyena accidentally achieved something?” Some Ice Types may have tried to move in, but the Mightyena should have been able to deal with that. Perhaps the company used this spot to store perishables or stuff that needed to stay frozen. Be a bit weird to rig a natural case as a freezer, but humans have done some weird shit. Converting a cave wouldn't ve the oddest thing. “Wonder how it's kept operational for so long…”

No matter. Should be easy to turn it off and make sure it couldn't be turned on again. Argo nodded and then held her sword back out. As she went through the cave almost every step started to hiss and the walls lit up as the light fell on them. It began to resemble more something out of the artic than anything else.

“Don't worry.” Mightyena and Poochyena huddled together, too cold to more than shiver and glare as she passed. Some bore obvious signs of frostbite or other injuries. “I'll fix it.”

Navigating the cave was easy at least. Just follow the cold. Not that she wanted to, or that it was as easy done as said, but it worked out. It was ac-

“Vaa!” Argo lashed out only barely recognizing the ice cream cone that attempted to hit her. The flaming sword smashed right into it and sent globs of ice everywhere. “Illiitt…”

“Well that was unfortunate.” Argo crouched in front of… what was the name of this one again? The snow cone Pokémon. “Sorry bout that.” Her hand reached forward to-

“Aaaa!” The Pokémon rocked itself away and Argo snapped her hand back. The ends of her claws were wet. “Te van!” It rocked itself toward a small snowdrift at the corner of the room. The cries only stopped when it was safely covered by snow- some that it had breathed out in between cries.

“Well shit.” Argo rose back to her full height. A quick glance around showed others of the same species around, peering our from corners and the like. A couple even looked like the evolved form. “Shit.”

Can't let this keep going, but it'd definitely cause an exodus of these mon. Without a good spot for them to go to most will die of predation or heat before they can settle again. Maybe if one had Snow Warning or something it'd be better but still. At least the Mightyena would take enough time to warm up for them all to go.

“Ughh… guess I've gotta hope they can get Snow Warning or something.” Not much to do. They wouldn't listen and Argo is too attuned to Fire, or not attuned enough, to use anything that'd help them. “Should try getting temperature control, maybe. If I get good enough at Fire I should be able to remove heat, right?” Maybe.

Argo shook her head and moved forward. None of the rest of the… what do you even call a group of the ice cream mon? There's gotta be a punny name, right? A Ben & Jerry's maybe? Whatever. None of them tried anything. The big issue that she had getting to the final level was pushing through all the damn snow.

“Uphill both ways. Fucking…” Argo swept her sword in front of her. Heat Wave pushed against the frost and snow, winning easily. Leaving a less treacherous, but quite wet, walkway down to the final layer. “Definitely feel like I can refine that.”

Maybe it was evolving, but she'd definitely had better control of where it went. The shape too. Sort like… firebending, maybe? Never really watched all that, but from recollection that was how it worked. Fire got pushed out and shaped as you moved, but once on the air you couldn't mess with it at all. Not an acceptable state of affairs to leave on. Not at all.

“Gotta get true fire control.” That'd help in messing around with Ice and cold later too. “Maybe when I evolve again?” It'd take a while, but evolution definitely was a kick in the face. A lot of progress very suddenly. Just have to be ready to make the most of it.

“Gooo…” Argo grit her teeth as cold air blasted against her. Whatever was in there is definitely the source of the cold. Looks like it wasn't an old freezer after all. “Naaall.”

The slush crunched under her feet as she walked down the small corridor to the final room. The ice was thick along the walls and-

“Are… are those…” Argo leaned forward as she lifted her sword. The fire made looking through the ice a little difficult- “What the fuuuck.”

That's a Poochyena. A frozen Poochyena. Some of its body looked… flaked off? Broken or shaved away in some manner. One leg was entirely gone and none of the others had paws anymore. Sections of the torso had been stripped away too.

“Cryyy gooo…” Argo swallowed and patted the other Pokémon before she moved onward. That sort of thing… what did this? Pokémon predation had been distantly talked about, and the anime definitely had some Pokémon dishes, but seeing is definitely believing. What the fuck. “Yo nalll…”

Argo took a deep breath and let it out. The flame at the end of her sword burned hotter. Beneath her feet the ice cracked and even the walls looked a little shinier than they should have been. This was the extreme of the Ice type then? Merciless blizzards and a hateful slow death. It offended her. No, not just offended. Offense is reserved for smaller things.

Oxide offended her. His unfounded superiority and genuine dumbassery were offensive. This was far beyond that. Nature is cruel and merciless, even in Pokémon as Parascet showed, but this was beyond that. It was torture. A cannibal's fetish wrapped in an artificially made icebox.

“Alright you little shit.” The expansive room Argo walked into might actually have been used for storing something. It was hard to see through the ice but… was that an airplane wing? A busted one. Ah, it doesn't matter. “You die here.”

Wind answered her. An Icy Wind. It stung, but not that bad. The ice that attempted to cling to her melted from her body heat far before it could find purchase. Argo swung her sword into the wind and a Heat Wave followed it.

“Go nal!” The wind parted to show a snowflake. Or it looked like one at least. About her height, actually. “Cryo!”

Argo hopped back as ice chains stabbed into the floor below. They crawled across the ground like snakes as she continued to move backward. A sweep of her sword knocked one out of the air as it lunged.

“By the comforting warmth of the sun, I will punish you!” A chain whipped forward and wrapped around her arm with bone cracking force. It was already melting by the time her fist broke it, but that was enough. The other chains all - “Fire Pledge!”

Fire erupted upward, right under the snowflake. Its scream was the hissing of ice going straight into being evaporated. Argo leaned forward and the fire sprang even higher. Hotter. The air around her visibly warped from a heat haze as the ice melted and then went straight into steam.

“There shall be nothing left.” Steam exploded out of the column as the other mon attempted something. Then more and more. It struggled, screaming all the while, as the fire burned through it. Argo just scowled and clenched her fists. 

The fire burned blue.

And then all was silent.

Chapter Text

Nix stared down at the gaping hole before him, a page held tight in his itty-bitty paws. It was a job offer he nabbed while Argo and that frog fucker were having their dick measuring contest (Which Argo won, get bent Frog.)

The job in question was put out by Divine Furfrou, owner of that weird Fashion Shop he went to. “ A few weeks ago, I ordered a collection of rare fabrics from Western Unova. Fletchinder Mail dropped half of it into a sinkhole West of Summerleaf Town. Go down there and find the three bundles, and I’ll pay healthily. ”

“Go in, grab the fabric, get out, get paid, easy peasy.” Nix muttered, bouncing down the footholds that had been dug out by the years. It was a deep climb, but he had spent the past few hours practicing jumping, so hey. Every bounce raised his hackles by a mile, but swallowing down the panic and slapping himself kept him going.

Finally reaching the bottom, Nix passed by a sign, etched into the stone beside the entrance. “ Summerleaf West Ruins, Floor 1 ”.

The first room was fairly large and empty, the walls old and stripped clean of pretty much anything important. Not even a fleck of coal. In the cornering rooms, however, Nix could hear the sounds of several different Pokemon. Pokemon who very well could be Mindless, or Murderous, and until he figured out how to shoot lasers or whateverthefuck Buneary and whatever his Evolution will be can do.

So, instead, he wandered off the path, into smaller, quieter areas. Down here, there wasn’t much, aside from nice and shiny rocks. It was also cold as fuck, but his fur helped keep him warm. A few rooms down, and he finally found something. A pair of stairs.

Second Floor, and the noise grew worse. Deeper in and he knew he couldn’t avoid a fight. His ears began rolling up tight, prepared for anything, though also being kinda glad the sound became muffled.

Fourth Room in, and he came in contact with a target. A Geodude, stoneflesh unmarred by any markings. Its gaze caught his and immediately growled, fists rising up. Nix gathered his wits and glared, pulling his lips back to reveal his admittedly meek teeth.

Geodude charged, arm reared back, forgoing any Moves in favor of bashing the Buneary’s skull in. Their fist flung forward, but Nix ducked down, letting his left ear fire off and directly into the Geodude’s jaw. Much like the Ekans from before, its fate was designed for Orbit. Sadly, this one had a roof in the way. Not that it mattered, as once his ear struck the Geodude’s jaw, a crack went clean through its core, and it fell in half.

Nix stared at the stone corpse. When he had struck that Ekans, he felt… nothing, really, and that hollow feeling was shared now the same. It was concerning. “I better develop empathy and morality real fucking quick or this is going to be a headache when I meet my Eternal End.”

Further down the Dungeon, and another floor down, Nix finally discovered something helpful. A torn piece of thread, and a few more pieces leading towards the North. Following it, sneaking past several Geodude and other such rock types, who’s names escaped Nix. The roof kept lowering, but Nix was small enough to slip through an incredibly narrow gap, leading into… actual ruins.

It looked like an old office room, filled with flipped over tables, broken monitors, and dust. There was also a skull in the corner, but Nix couldn’t recognize the species it belonged to. Instead of pondering, Nix moved forward, following the threads left behind by whoever found the fabric bundles.

Further in was a bundle of blue fabric, an amazingly blue kind of blue. Nix could see how it cost Divine Furfrou so much. Nabbing it, he borrowed a line to tie it to his waist, so it could rest easy on his fluffy side.

Beyond that, there was another stairway. Down, and down he went.

- - - - - - - -

Two hours later and 13 Floors down, and Nix was beginning to question his life. Floors 4 to 10 were an hour in total, filled with Pokemon trying to kill him, lost and damn near blind. That second hour was largely a break once he made it to the 12th floor, and then making it down here. The office building had broken down into simple caves and tunnels, but Floor 13 was… unnerving .

Unlike the above floor, which was full of a dozen or so Voltorbs, for some fucking reason, and BOY were they not happy to see him! But that floor was loud. This floor was dead silent. So silent, he could hear his own heartbeat rumbling behind his eyes.

“Arceus in Blood, I have a good heart. Medically. Morally, I think it’s dead.” Nix murmured to himself, sniffing the air. Where the ears fail, follow your nose. Sadly, his nose led him nowhere but another dead end. “Sunnuva bitch.”

Tapping the wall in boredom, he was surprised to hear it ring out. “Huh? Hollow?” Placing his hands against the wall, Nix shoved, and a cracking sound echoed out as it fell away. Inside was the Second Roll of Fabric, a brilliant red, even caked in dust and dirt, and a hole above it. Peeking up the hole with raised brow, Nix saw that it went Up . He couldn’t tell how far. Just that it went Up, and it went Far. Deciding that looking up the mystery hole was a bad idea, Nix simply grabbed the fabric and tied it to his waist, next to the blue roll. Stepping out from the hole, he looked around.

“I’ve been here for like, 2 hours, but it feels like it’s only been like, 5 minutes. Weird.” Nix muttered. “I wonder what the others are up to now. Have they finished their missions? Am I the only one still out here?”

“ Yip! ”

Nix screamed and bounced into the roof at the sudden intrusion. Behind him, almost out of nowhere, came Pip the Zorua, covered in dirt and dust. Behind them was the Zorua’s parent, who smiled fondly at their baby bowling over the Buneary. “Pip? What are you doing down here?”

“ Yip .” The parent barked, reaching down and picking the pup up by the scruff and planting them on their shoulder.

“Correction, what are you two doing here?”

“ Yip! ” The parent answered, much to Nix’s chagrin.

“I… don’t get it. Are you guys hunting or- Oi!” Nix was cut off as the parent lifted him up by his own scruff and dropped onto their other shoulder. “The hell?”

The parent dropped down low and moved quickly, forcing Nix and Pip to cover their mouths and hold on for dear life. It was easier for Pip, as they had claws and a fluffy neck to bury their mouth and nose into. Nix did not, and had to bear dirt and dust blasting him in the face. The Zoroark was surprisingly fast inside of these small tunnels, and that led them thankfully quickly to their destination.

That destination being… a town? Underground?

As far as Nix could see, mud and stone huts rose from a mile wide area, filled with Zorua and Zoroarks, Marked and Wild alike. Said Pokemon peered down in confusion at the equally confused Buneary.

“Whaaaaaat…” Nix trailed off as the parent moved again. They passed by several houses and Pokemon, before arriving at the largest house, one in the shape of a Zorua’s head. “Wait, is that a…”

Nix was unceremoniously dropped flat on his ass by the parent, right in the entrance of the door. The dark, dark, dark entrance. “Um, why did you drag me here?

“Because I was curious about you, Little One.” This new voice scared the Buneary out of his fluffy pants, turning sharply on a paw. Before him stood an old, old Zoroark. The poor bastard was hunched over with a cane made of a stalagmite, fur visibly turning white and eyes sagging. But those eyes, Arceus upon us, his eyes could practically cut stone. At least, that’s how Nix felt.

“And… who are you?”

“I am Pathos, a retired Rescue Captain. Going off that badge,” He poked at the Rescue Badge pinned to Nix’s right ear. “You are also a Rescue Team Member. What’s your name, son?”

“Nix. We, uh, formed our team like, a few hours ago.” Pathos laughed, a gravely thing.

“Just made a team, and already out doing solo missions? Ah, I remember the days where me and my brothers did that. Oh, running around, helping folk wherever, all the way until the sun went down.” Pathos turned tail and walked into the building. “But, that means you are looking for this .”

From the building, he procured a bundle of golden fabric.

“I’m willing to give it to you, if you help us with a bug problem.”

Nix blinked, before slowly nodding. Pathos smiled. “Good. Come over here.” To Pip and their parent, he let out a series of barks and yips. The parent nodded, though Pip looked reluctant as they left. “A few months ago, a side cave opened up near here. None of us noticed it until a flock of Spinarak began flooding out by the day. We stemmed them back, but we still don’t know its origin. I’m tasking you with going in and making whatever the Hell is making all this ruckus to shut up. Understood?”

“Yeah, I get it. Don’t, uh, don’t know what I’m gonna really do.”

“And why’s that?”

“I’m not exactly the best fighter. I can kill an Ekans with my ear, and snap a Geodude in half, but that’s about it.”

“Mmm, good enough. The entrance is back here.” The ‘entrance’ was a giant boulder shoved into place, against the back most wall of Pathos’s house wall. With a tap of his cane, a collection of Zoroark appeared and began pushing the boulder aside. “Go on in. If you die, I’m selling the fabric. If you live, you get the fabric and my thanks, perhaps even a favor.”

Nix nodded, and entered the darkness.

The tunnel was deceptively long. Cold, painfully cold. It bit through his fur and bled into his flesh, into his eyes . It burned. But Nix kept moving, even as it felt like his flesh began to freeze. This cold wasn’t natural . Every step hurt, but he kept moving.

Eventually, he made it to an opening, a massive cave. For a few moments, it was dark as the abyss. And then, something opened its eyes.

Giant, beaming red eyes illuminated the room, and Nix stared up in silent terror at an Ariados, blown up to impossible proportions. It was easily 50 feet tall, and it stared at him with murder in its eyes. It roared, and Nix’s heart fell to his ass.

VS BATTLE: GREAT LORD ARIADOS

Ariados lifted its front leg and slammed down where Nix was. Was , as the Buneary sprinted to the left, the sheer claw at the bottom of its leg cleaving the earth wide open below it. Instead of slamming it down again, it raised its leg to the side and swung it around, trying to smack Nix in the back of the head. However, his height managed to dodge it easily.

“Arceus Fucking Almighty! What the FUCK let you be born?!” He shouted, dodging another leg slam. This one sent him flying across the area, bashing against the floor. “Damnit, damnit, damnit, I’m out of my depth! I can’t even do anything but punch with my ears, and the HELL IS THAT SUPPOSED TO DO- MOTHERFUCK- ”

Another slam, this one dragging to the side. This one caught Nix, dragging him halfway across the cave before being slung against the wall side with a scream. At that moment, something definitely broke inside of his tiny body. Whatever it was, to hell with it, especially when the leg speared into the wall he had just dislodged himself from.

“Ghgh… Ow…”

The Ariados let out a deafening screech, rattling Nix to the bone, and rattling the broken rib he was now sporting. “Argo’s not gonna be happy to heal that…” He groaned. Blood rushed to his legs once he saw the growing shadow of Ariados’ falling foot, gathering just enough energy to jump out of its way. Oddly enough, this kick felt… different. If he was watching, he would have noticed his legs glowing with silver energy, and leaving behind a deep indent in the stone.

All he saw was the Ariados’ other front leg flying at him, successfully catching him on the normally tiny hook at the end of it, piercing into his waist fur, thankfully. It didn’t stop, however, the speed the arm was moving, making it feel as though Nix had flown head first into a wall of pure iron.

The arm sent him Up, up, all the way to the roof of the cave, and into it. The Ariados turned with its movement, and opened its horrific maw, firing a giant wave of spider’s silk which covered Nix entirely, along with most of the roof. With a pleased trill, the Ariados turned again, now facing its back to him. The skin began to bend and twist, and dozens, no, hundreds of spikes ejected out.

Pin Missile, and Nix was its target.

Between the threads of sticky fluid, Nix stared at the oncoming wall of pins. Well, on his scale, it was more like a wall of Spears. He just stared in shock, unable to move a muscle.

“ Am I going to die? I’ve only been Me for two days, and I’m already going to die? ”

Nix tried struggling. It didn’t work.

“ Fuck. I just became a THING in general, and I’m gonna be killed by some fuckass giant spider, on my first mission? To gather fucking FABRIC?!? ”

His blood began to boil.

“ No. No No No No NO NO NO NO NO N O .”

His left ear curled up. Steam began to escape his body.

“ I AM NOT FUCKING DYING HERE, TO AN OVERSIZED ARACHNID! ”

Sparks began splitting off from his fur, igniting the webbing.

“ YOU OVERSIZED, MOUTH BREATHING, LILY LIVERED, SHIT LICKING- ”

[>  B  <]

His ear lashed out, and a wave of fire followed suit. It consumed the webbing, and impacted the pins in a fiery wave of Hell, causing an early detonation. Free from his bindings, Nix fell down to the earth, followed by fire.

[>B<]

Fire, which slammed against the Ariados’ head.

“ B A S T A R D ! ”

It screamed, its carapace boiling and melting away under the heat as Nix stood to his paws. For something his size, the glare he gave the oversized beast was filled with Wrath.

“This Will Hurt.” The bunny growled.

Nix’s legs glowed silver again as the Ariados tried crushing him again, missing by a mile as the Buneary launched himself into the air. As he fell, the silver sheen returned, as he finally put name to feeling.

>NIX used DOUBLE KICK!

The blow landed on the Ariados’ leg joint, and the horrible sound of snapping and crunching filled the cave’s halls. The Ariados screamed, falling back as its loose leg clattered uselessly to the earthen ground, along with Nix.

This time his landing wasn't so stellar, and a small Glob of blood found its way out of his mouth. But Nix still stood up, ignoring the sharp stabbing pain in his chest.

“C'mon.”

The Ariados screamed and swung its remaining front limb. Sadly, Nix used it as a feint, rushing under its body to its back legs. Fire welled up around his left ear again, and-

>NIX used FIRE PUNCH!

Blew a new hole into the spider. It toppled onto its right side, now devoid of functioning limbs, leaving its stomach wide open. Nix curled his ears and smirked.

“Said it was gonna hurt.”

With a use of Double Kick, he launched himself onto the remains of its leg, before jumping up onto its back. It tried swinging him off, but its range was limited.

Nix raised one paw, before slowly placing it onto the Ariados’ back.

And then, his ear lashed out in flame. It struck the Ariados core, and melted its center. It let out a pitiful screech, before falling limp at last.

Nix jumped down, ready to leave the cave to get his fucking fabric, but heard something odd. The sound of bubble gum being chewed. Turning back, the Ariados corpse had vanished, leaving behind only pink goop. Nix considered investigating, but decided against.

He was pretty sure his rib was in his Lung, after all. He'd stop by Pathos, grab the fabric, then find Argo to get healed.

Quickly.

Chapter Text

“... Sure is lonely out here,” Sapphire murmured as she walked around the ruins that had once been Nuvema Town- a sleepy little place right on the edge of Unova’s eastern peninsula, with only one real entrance by the water. She surmised that maybe once upon a time there would have been docks there- and indeed, she could see a few protrusions coming from the water that looked like they were made of old concrete- but those docks had long since fallen into the sea and been washed away. Just like most of the buildings had been overgrown and decayed into nothingness. 

Still. It was at least a lot bigger than what she would have thought it’d have been based on game knowledge. It seemed much more like a town of a couple hundred or so, surrounded by low, forested mountains… kinda the same as Summerleaf, but the Accumula ruins in Summerleaf were mostly gone due to the old buildings being torn apart for raw materials, with the remaining space having been turned into Summerleaf’s agricultural district.

Nuvema was just unsettled and wild, now. There were a few paths carved through the vegetation, forested areas cleared out in and turned into clearings here and there. It was… nice? Chilly, but nothing that Sapphire couldn’t handle with a little burst of Mystical Fire every now and again. There were also wild pokemon (not feral, apparently, according to Wednesday) here and there, but the vast majority seemed to have no interest in her whatsoever, and those that actually stopped to look usually left when she started using Mystical Fire to chase away the cold.

Hmm… maybe she should have tried to maintain it as a cloak or something instead of just using it in little bursts. Or borrowed a scarf from Wednesday. Wednesday was nice. She gave Sapphire little fluffy feelings in her chest that she wasn’t entirely sure how to deal with because she was small and Wednesday was like twice her size and while she was more than happy to be with a taller woman she could also tell that Wednesday wasn’t exactly super physically interested in a pokemon that still looked like a baby.

… Regardless.

Her task was handed down from the local archivist directly- the paper she’d gotten stamped by Guildmaster Audino leading her to the archive building of a Metagross named Orion. Orion the archivist… hm. That felt familiar somehow.

Regardless, the red and blue Metagross (his “birthmarks” had manifested as fully half his body being red while the other was a much deeper blue than most Metagross ever were) had been quite a help to her, explaining that he needed her to go explore the old Pokemon research laboratory in Nuvema- while it had been explored a few times before, apparently there had been things there that the Metagross just couldn’t reach or get access to in the last year or so, and he suspected that there might still be salvageable tech there.

Despite the building being some several centuries abandoned by now, and had previously been halfway exploded when the world came to an end.

Yeah.

Sure.

There was still tech that survived in there. 

And Sapphire’s past life hadn’t been a suicidal wreck. Wait-

“... And like that I get the feeling that I now know why my memories are so spotty,” Sapphire mumbled to herself, holding her head as a flash of bitter and choking and slime echoed in the memory of her throat, a medicinal aftertaste that made her want to retch just thinking about it. Aa… if this really was an isekai situation where she got to have a wish by the end of their journey, she’d wish to never remember her past life ever again and pretend that it had no bearing on who she was now. “.... Probably not the best thing to think about while I’m in an area full of wild pokemon that I have no idea what they wa- WHOA!”

“GRAWR!” came a sudden snarl as yet another Poochyena came out of fucking nowhere and took a swipe at Sapphire, only barely missing as she teleported out of the way on pure instinct- the dark type puppy tumbling ass over teakettle into the underbrush before slinking back out with a heavy growl… followed by several more Poochyena…

And a Mightyena.

Shit.

“Shiiiiiit…” she whispered under her breath, grimacing as she took a few steps back until she realized that she’d gotten surrounded. Fuck.

And that Mightyena looked really strong for some reason. Double fuck. 

And there were significantly more, and larger Poochyena than she’d fought the other day. Triple fuck.

“... Hey Arceus? I know that I’m not exactly religious, but if you could do me a solid and help me survive this… that’d be great,” Sapphire mumbled, clearing her throat before looking over at the growling Mightyena and offering up a hesitant smile. Something inside of her seemed to click at the same time, and she suddenly instinctively knew that she had a higher than average chance to escape her current situation. “S-so uh… I don’t suppose we could talk this out… could we?”

“No.” came the answering growl- harsh and bestial, barely even intelligible with how rough and echoing the Mightyena’s voice was. There was a sheen of hunger in those eyes, in the eyes of all of the pokemon facing her currently.

“... Didn’t think so,” Sapphire sighed… and then teleported past the group and started fucking sprinting for it. “Shit shit shit shit shit shit shit shit shit shit-!”

Behind her, rapidly fading into the distance as she ran further into the half forested, half overgrown mess of buildings that used to be a thriving town for beginner Trainers of all kinds (gah- psychic flash! Not now, she didn’t need to hum music while she was being chased!), was the sound of baying hounds howling for blood, barking and snarling and rabidly chasing her down because they didn’t see her as a person or someone to talk to, those wild pokemon, violent as they were hungry, saw her as something edible. Something that couldn’t fight back when torn to shreds and devoured little by little until nothing was left- not even her bones.

Well fuck them. She was a goddamned Ralts, not a fucking Stantler or a Deerling! If they wanted her skinny little twig body for dinner, they’d have to drag her down kicking and screaming!

And so she used Teleport again- not on herself, but on the massive stretches of vines she was running through and past, sending a section of it back and into the crowd of what had to be almost a dozen dog-like Dark type pokemon to tangle and thread and telefrag into their legs and torsos and completely cripple them from moving. 

Her only indication that it was a success was a sudden round of yipping and yelping, howls of pain filling the mid-morning air as Sapphire teleported up and onto the roof of a nearby home- a huge hole blown through the front but otherwise largely intact despite the intervening centuries. Probably because of its solid concrete construction. 

Tsss… only a few of them got caught up in that mess. Some of the ones she’d sworn would have gotten tangled seemed entirely unharmed at all- no worse for wear despite the fact that she aimed directly for their torsos and legs.

… the vines had sections cut out of them, though, as the tangled ones laid out and whimpered as their bodies bled from the sudden intrusions into their flesh. 

… shit. Did Dark types actually resist offensive telefragging at a certain level? Fuck! That meant she had to get creative. Uh- uh, what was strong against Dark type? Gah, she was supposed to remember, she’d seen Orion’s type chart in the archives! Think, think… Fighting, Bug… Fairy! Dark types were weak to Fairy! And immune to her strongest and best current attack because all she’d learned the other day was Shadow Ball and Psychic. Wait…

She had… something welling up inside of her on instinct. She knew that she had a Fire Move, and a Ghost move. And some other shit going on… but…

“ALL OF YOU ARE PATHETIC AND WEAK!” she screamed, feeling that core of energy in her chest lose some of its well and convert it into something sparkly and pink, a wave of energy emanating from her mouth as she screamed and washing over the Poochyena down below. “KILL YOURSELVES NOW!”

Instantly, several of the Poochyena chasing her fell over and yowled, thrashing about as if that attack had actually done damage to them- even throwing them backwards and ragdolling them as if they’d been hit by a shockwave. Some of them stayed standing, though, and glared up at her with pure hatred in their eyes- this wasn’t just a matter of finding a small, easily taken thing to eat anymore, this was personal.

Good.

Wait.

Where was the Mightyen-AAA!

SNAP!

“Shit!”

Teleporting away on some instinct she barely understood, Sapphire barely avoided feeling a Dark type Crunch latch down around her neck. No thank you, not trying to be treated like a magical girl today! 

“Fuck fuck fucking- fuck!” As Sapphire regained her bearings and rubbed her neck, she glared at the Mightyena that had managed to get the drop on her, biting her lip as her eyes darted around and she tried to formulate her next course of action. Getting close might not work- if being strong enough made it so those Poochyena could ignore her telefragging, then that meant that Mightyena was probably strong enough that her attempt to do so would just bounce off or something. She had no idea how it worked, but Teleport was a psychic type move and even if she was using a solid object as a conduit, Poochyena and Mightyena were Dark type…

Gah… if only she was faster and stronger, but she was still pretty weak. Without telefragging, then… she’d probably not be able to forcefully teleport any of the stronger ones either- and the weaker ones were already either knocked out or dead, she didn’t really care which.

So…

A Shadow Ball formed in her hands as she teleported again, and with a loud cry of effort Sapphire slammed the dark sphere forward and into the side of the Mightyena- not bothering to launch or aim the thing, just slammed it into its flank like she was punching it with an energy ball.

Thank fuck that actually worked, though- the surprise of her teleport followed by the detonation of her Shadow Ball knocked the wolf-like pokemon into the air where she could roast the absolute hell out of it with a blast of Mystical Fire.

As it fell, it twisted and seemed to bark with enough force that it launched a wave of black tinted energy at her- and Sapphire only barely managed to dodge it. Even still, she got clipped by the sound wave and almost screamed as the Dark type energy fizzled against her and left a burn mark. 

“Shit… shit shit shit… that thing’s tougher than it looks and I don’t think I can survive if it gets in close. Tanked a Shadow Ball and a Mystical Fire…” Sapphire mumbled, glaring at the crowd of remaining pokemon as she panted and caught her breath. Sure, she was injured but… she was still standing strong, and that hadn’t even been her strongest attack anyway.

Or, rather, she hadn’t tuned them for maximum damage like she had against those Poochyena in the forest.

She just needed a moment to concentrate while all of them were focused on her, as if they thought she was weak and that they could circle in for the kill.

Breathe.

In. Out.

Fire. Concentrate the fire. Concentrate the fire, weave it through and push more and more power into its blazing heart. The others might have been Fire types (mostly), but she had Mystical Fire, could sense it about as well as she could breathe. So.

Burn.

Burn.

Burn it all.

Something in her mind clicked . Clicked, clacked, shattered.

Mystical Fire concentrated, doubling, doubling, doubling.

The status abilities of those shimmering flames faded into the background as she focused on power over everything else, concentrating until she could feel the strength in her legs beginning to fade as she pushed the power higher than it was ever supposed to go.

Mystical Fire became Flamethrower… and Sapphire breathed out a wretched, white hot blaze onto the collection of Dark type pokemon before her, screaming out her defiance and feeling her nose drip with blood as the flames ripped from her throat and through the morning sky.

Needless to say, the pack of Poochyena and their leader didn’t make it, and Sapphire collapsed, groaning and grumbling as she curled up on the ground and gasped for air. Her throat burned with that effort, and she coughed up a thick cloud of ash from using a move that she shouldn’t have been able to do.  

“Guh… guhhhh…” Sapphire groaned, coughing and slowly pushing herself up as she watched the flames dance- eyeing the pokemon skittering away from the sudden inferno that now took up a solid chunk of what used to be a paved road, wincing at the brightness of the flames and panting as she caught her second wind. “... Fuck…. Fucking shit… ow… gods that hurt…”

Haa…

Well… hopefully once she caught her breath she wouldn’t have to deal with anyone else fighting her while she was grabbing whatever salvage that Orion might want…

Hopefully.

Aa… now why did she feel ever so tight in her own skin?

Chapter Text

“Tsss…. Can’t believe cans of Fresh Water keep so fucking long… absolutely wild…” Sapphire mumbled, rooting around through what used to be a cellar in one house and throwing away yet another can of remarkably well preserved Fresh Water and shuddering as the restorative minerals finally healed the bruise mark that had been left on her side after she’d gotten clipped by a Snarl. “Guess stuff around here really is built to last… even most of these houses look like they were abandoned only a couple decades ago, not multiple centuries…”

Sapphire sighed, crunching up that last can and tossing the scrap aluminum into a pile with the rest of the cans she’d drank- she’d probably be able to bring them back bit by bit once she consolidated everything… this entire place was an untapped treasure mine of good shit that’d somehow survived the intervening centuries, people would probably pay good money to have even a fraction of the old world treasures available here.

Orion, if nothing else, would probably appreciate the chance to do a full chemical analysis on some of these cans in order to recreate them. Probably. He seemed like the kinda guy that’d like that.

“... I wonder what else is in these storerooms… whoever was packing all of this Fresh Water couldn’t just have this right?” Sapphire mumbled, going through the dusty piles and boxes and using her telekinesis to move some of them around. How cardboard had managed to survive being in a damp, musty, moldy, mossy basement was beyond her reckoning, but things in this world seemed to be easier to preserve in general and honestly that was something that was kinda cool if she thought about it. If she was still of the mind to actually go into academics (wait, did this world have schools? That was a good question…) then maybe she’d actually try and learn why decay didn’t seem to touch the world as much.

Maybe they didn’t have anywhere near as many types of bacteria because this was a world actually made by intelligent design with only a little evolution along the way?

… Did bacteria say their own names on a microscopic level? Fuck, that was a weird thought.

“Oh hey. Lemonade. Neat… coulda used some of this earlier,” Sapphire mumbled to herself, setting a crate of the fruity beverage to the side (and idly noting that they didn’t have expiration dates printed anywhere) before continuing to rummage through the boxes until she found... “Huh… vitamins? I didn’t know there were vitamins here… ooh, I wonder if they’re the gummy kind…”

Unbidden, she picked up one of the bottles, feeling a sudden rising sense of dread as she heard the contents rattle around. Still, that sense of dread didn’t stop her from popping the top open…

I’m sorry I’m sorry I’m sorry I’m sorry I’m sorry I’m sorry I’m sorry I’m sorry I’m sorry I’m sorry 

… and pouring out a handful of the multicolored pills into her hand.

I can’t go on I can’t go on I can’t go on I can’t go on I can’t go on I can’t go on I can’t go on 

Choking.

Choking.

Bitter- bitter! Everything hurt so much, hurt so much, hurt so much! 

Everything hurts, everything hurts, everything hurts, everything hurts.

Bitter. Bitter. Bitter. Bitter. Bitter. Bitter.

A sensation like a thick, grainy paste sliding down her throat, choking her with the metallic sensation of bitter medicine rising in her throat, staining her tongue and mouth in a flavor that tasted of death.

The bubbling sweetness of liquid in her mouth, popping and leaving behind an acrid stain.

Dizziness. Nausea. Weights pulling her entire body down, down, down. Pain, so much pain. Cramping. Vomiting. Exhaustion so deep not even collapsing to the ground could relieve the ache.

“GAH!”

Sapphire shrieked as she flung the bottle away, psychic energy grabbing the entire box and scattering the contents across the room with a panicked crash of violence- blowing apart bottles of inconspicuous little pills that glittered in the low light of the early afternoon. She panted, gasping for breath as she teleported out of that pit , feeling like the walls were closing down around her, feeling like she couldn’t see, couldn’t breathe. She just had to move, get away from that place, blindly teleporting until she found herself crashed down in the wreckage of another building, slumping against a frighteningly cold metal filing cabinet and sighing as the cold grounded her from her own racing heart and spinning mind.

“Khhh… guh… if I ever meet Arceus… I’m gonna fucking kick ‘em in the balls for letting me remember any of my past life,” Sapphire hissed, glaring at nothing as she slowly wound down from her panic, gasping a few more times and thunking her head against the ice cold filing cabinet until she could see again without it all being a blur of panic and fear. 

Huh.

Shit. This was the pokemon lab that she was supposed to dig through. Well…

“... Good aim I guess…” Sapphire mumbled, slowly standing up on shaking legs again as she rubbed her face and tried not to think too much about what she’d just gone through. “... Shit… it’s getting a lot later than I thought it would… can’t believe I spent so much time digging around for healing supplies… can’t believe I…”

She shuddered, then pressed on regardless of the feelings welling up in her throat. She’d had a lifetime of experience dealing with them, and she’d only faltered once in the past anyway. 

She ignored the fact that the faltering lead to an early death but… whatever. She was way happier now than she ever had been in the past. Regardless…

“Let’s see… there shouldn’t be any power in here, which means that I can’t check and see if any of the machines still work. The machines were meant to handle just about anything, though, and they look like they’re pretty alright…” Sapphire mumbled to herself, padding along the damaged, ruined tiles and looking over all of the assorted machinery that she found there. It seemed like they had a few bits and bobs of completely incomprehensible machinery, some stuff for fast pokemon healing if her memory of the games was right, and also at least a few banks of PCs that were currently offline, smeared in dirt and moss and gods knew what else. Orion would probably appreciate all of it, if any of it worked. There also seemed to be a few locked cabinets that had the remnants of old stickers on them- warning labels, maybe, that Sapphire didn’t know if she wanted to open.

One of them was already opened, even. Huh.

Well…

“... hmmmm… this looks like…” Sapphire murmured to herself, grabbing what looked like a stepstool from one corner and climbing onto it so she could peer into the cabinet. “Marbles? Cool marbles, though… huh. Wonder why they’re…”

She paused, looking at the contents of the cabinet a little closer and narrowing her eyes at the neat rows of large marbles that seemed utterly untouched despite the years and years and centuries of disuse, wear and tear, and reclaiming by nature. 

They seemed to have some kind of power to them, honestly, and they almost seemed to glow in the light.

Interesting…

Wait… Were these Mega Stones? Sapphire blinked slowly, drawing out a stone that seemed to call to her without even really thinking about it. Huh. It was… just a marble, really. Not that big, but still enough to fit well in her hand. It had a stripe of red and green in the middle, and… wow. Holding onto it made her feel good. Not that it seemed to do anything… but it felt like she could do something cool later on.

Mm… well. She’d keep it for now. It’d probably useful later, if she actually remembered to keep it with her… and if she figured out how to Mega Evolve without a Trainer. There should be a way to do it, right? Rayquaza could do it, couldn’t it? They? Whatever pronouns Rayquaza used. Sapphire shrugged, rummaging around a little in that same cabinet again until she came up with another marble that had a black stripe in the middle- one that kinda looked like a section of DNA, come to think of it.

Huh. Neat. And… where to put all of this crap, then?

Sapphire huffed as she stepped back, then began opening the other cabinets almost haphazardly now- there likely wouldn’t be anything too dangerous, come to think of it. After all, this was a pokemon lab where kids came to start their journeys. The worst that could happen was, what, maybe a couple of spare pokeballs rolling out?

She paused, watching a set of dusty pokeballs fall out of one of the cabinets she opened.

Huh.

Well. 

“... Well there ya go. Pokeballs in a pokemon lab, who coulda guessed,” Sapphire mumbled to herself, shaking her head before resuming her rummaging- teleporting onto some of the higher shelves so she could dig around until- “Aha! There it is!”

A pouch!

Da da da daaaa~

It was even perfectly sized for her! Probably because it was like, what, a thigh bag or something? A really small fanny pack… ankle pouch? Whatever it was, it was old, soft, and comfy despite the fact that it had somehow survived some several centuries until now. It was, also, just the right size to store her new Mega Stone and Keystone. 

“Well… this almost makes up for the shit day I’ve had so far,” Sapphire mumbled, fastening the pouch around her waist and hopping down so she could continue exploring the lab. Hmmm… well… the main floor seemed surprisingly okay, but she doubted her psychic grasp was currently strong enough to actually haul the largest pieces back. Those were basically the size of a building anyway, so she might have to get Orion’s directions on where to put those later… um…

“Hmmm… there’s a second floor here… I wonder if there’s anything left?” Sapphire asked to literally no one, teleporting up to the skeleton of what used to be a second floor of the pokemon lab- likely where there was extra stuff kept like research notes or what not. The files would have likely been destroyed by the elements, though, so that was probably a non-starter. Any computers would likely be broken too… maybe?

She didn’t know for sure anyway. Still… hm. For all that this place was empty and still a halfway decent shelter for some pokemon, there sure weren’t any pokemon nearby that she could sense. Unless they were Dark types. She couldn’t sense Dark types unless they got close enough to fucking attack her, apparently. Which… ugh. Annoying.

Still… hm…

Sapphire hummed to herself as she dug through just about everything she could get her psychic mitts on, rubbing her chin as she looked at just about everything she could. Some of the files in the cabinet were remarkably well preserved despite everything, and there were even a few cabinets of… medicine.

…

Sapphire closed those cabinets quickly, averting her eyes and coughing a few times to clear out the persistent taste of bitter from the back of her throat. Gods above she hated that sensation, hated the taste of anything bitter. It clung to her throat, reminding her that she shouldn’t be alive right now. Bitter was everything bad in the world, a clinging, cloying despair that bit through her system and shocked her with memories of the past like the world’s shittiest hand on a hot stove moment. Guh… even being around things that might taste bitter felt like they could trigger those sensations. Weird how eating berries the day prior didn’t trigger that… but then again, the bitter taste in those had been masked by the other flavors until it was negligible and it faded far faster than the metallic sting of medicine and poison.

Mm.

Sapphire sighed, taking stock of everything as she looked around and gave everything a once over again. Mm… it’d take a couple trips but… yeah.

She could move everything. 

Eventually. Mostly.

Maybe with some help.

… Ah, she should check the basement before she went back, huh?

Yeah. That’d probably be a good idea. 

She paused, teleporting back down to the first floor and looking around. Wait… was there a basement?

Hmmm… something to check. And then if there was stuff in the basement she’d bring that back too. Orion was an archivist, even if he didn’t leave Summerleaf much. He’d appreciate anything he could get, probably.

“Right… time to get paid.”

Chapter Text

“A particularly angry snowflake you say?” Orion the Metagross floated at the center of several large bookcases. One hand adjusted his glasses, another picked through one bookcase, and the third was writing down Argo’s report in surprisingly neat handwriting for a Pokémon with such massive hands and only 3 triangular fingers. Seriously, how did he do that? “That sounds like a Cryogonal, but they shouldn't be around this time of year.”

“Why?” Argo leaned on the counter. Getting out of the cave and back to town was a bit of a blur and the entire effort was hitting like a train. She could still move but doing anything more than sitting around might be a bit of an issue. “Kinda weird to see an Ice Type so far down but there were plenty of ice cream cones down there.”

“The Vanilluxe line are also an unusual addition to the area. Ah!” One arm came back with a book somehow clenched in its grasp. The book was deposited on the counter and Orion abandoned messing with his glasses to flip through it. Without the arm in the way… what's that stone set into the rim of those glasses? “Here we are.”

“What's that?” It looked really complicated. Lots of cramped scrawlings over top of what might have been a textbook? Or some form of reference book maybe.

“A Pokédex. I sourced this one from an old professor that lived in the region at one point and disliked the fragility of using exclusively electronic backups. Or so I have determined from evidence left in the house.” Orion cleared his throat. Which was… an odd thing to ‘hear’ considering he didn't use his mouth to speak. Telekinesis didn't exactly use the throat in any way. Not that a Metagross seemed to have a throat. “Here. Cryogonal. They exclusively appear in cold regions due to the fact that they are not protected from melting. It's harmless to them- they exist as water vapor until they freeze again- but it does mean that we shouldn't be seeing them during this period of the year.”

“He did make an impromptu freezer in a cave. That might have protected him.” Even with a bunch of ventilation he could just keep making it cold. So long as he could keep up his energy the area would stay chilly enough for him to exist.

“Yes, that type of behavior has been noted from Cryogonal before. However, this cave was only recently taken over by that Cryogonal. Certainly within the last few weeks.” Orion's hand paged through the log he had been writing in. Stopping what looked to be a couple of weeks back. “Here. Investigation of Bowing Cave dated to a few weeks before this mission. Showed no signs of Ice Types and successfully humbled the strongest Mightyena of the group.”

“I guess it got some extra time because of the cold. Everyone's been saying it's chilly out.” A not small amount of the job board was dealing with the knock on effects of that. Might be good to hit one of those on the way back. Get some extra pocket change. “Beating up the strongest of the group might have been the opening he needed to move in.”

“It very likely was. The Vanilluxe line is actually a good sign- it means that the icicles were in danger of thawing at some point.” Orion flipped the logbook closed as his other hand flipped through the Pokédex. “Still it is highly unusual to form this late into the year. Especially as many as you noted to be in the cave. They aren't the rarest Ice Type to form but they certainly don't come into existence in quite that expansive a group. The chill must have allowed extra time for the icicles to evolve into Vanillite resulting in significantly higher numbers.”

“Which brings back the original problem- the season has been a lot colder than it should be. Even if it’s not been continuing to be as bad, it’s still bad.” More and more it looks like the group is going to need to punch a Heatran or something. Or Volcanion? Heatran are volcanoes but what was Volcanion about again? “If it keeps being cold, or even getting worse, then things are going to get very hard soon. There aren’t a lot of Fire Types around here.” At least Argo hadn’t seen many.

“That is true. There aren’t many native Unovan Fire Types.” Orion flipped the log book closed. “Those that are not native are often unlikely to settle here. Even should they wish to, the current atmosphere of the town is hostile toward Fire Types.”

“Those assholes, right?” They were definitely a team, though how strong they were… well that was up in the air.

“Team H2O has a fine tradition of protecting the town and are accepted for it… despite their faults.” Orion looked as if he had more to say but refrained. One of his hands grabbed a different book off a shelf and placed it down in front of him. “This is in part due to the fact that they were instrumental in assisting in the defense of the town from a particularly dangerous Fire Type. It was not one in my records.”

Well… he sounded quite peeved at that fact. “Must’ve been a rare Pokemon then. Guess I can kinda understand the acceptance now.”

“It may simply have been from outside of Unova. My records primarily focus on the natives, but I have at least a small amount of information on most Pokemon recorded by professors.” Another sigh. “There is always the risk of the records being incomplete. Or simply something having been lost. I suspect the Fire Type may have been related to Mr. Rime or Mr. Mime. Possibly an evolution through death or haunting as it displayed signs of being a Ghost Type.”

“Fire and Ghost, huh? I think there's a few Pokemon like that.” Probably, anyway. Wasn’t Litwick that way? Definitely didn’t sound like it looked like a Litwick. Something circus themed like Mr. Mime or Mr. Rime? Ah, she’d never bothered to really try and memorize the dex anyway. “Still, good thing it’s gone, I guess.”

“It has not come back at least. Likely it found the defense too much for its liking and retreated to another area.” Orion paused for a moment, arm half closing the book. “Soon after the cold unnaturally increased. The incidents are unlikely to be related but it might bear further investigation regardless. We are in times that call for investigation even into the unlikely.”

“You know who to call to help.” Argo waved a paw. “We’re all staying with the Addams right now. Ah… what would it take to get a house built?”

“Do you have a location picked out?” Argo nodded. “Then it would depend on how expensive the location is and how far away from town. You would need to speak with the Gurrdurr Construction Corps to get an estimate. Though it will likely be a few thousand Poke at least.”

“Something to look forward to I guess.” Having their own house would be awesome. “Say… you’ve got TMs and stuff here, right?”

“That is one of the services I offer.” He floated to another shelf, one with stacks of disks. “What are you looking for?”

“What have you got? I don’t really remember what all there is.” There were a bunch of them and they tended to get new ones every gen. Or something. Definitely not something she bothered to keep track of.

“I would recommend something to assist in Type coverage.” One disk is quickly snatched from its place. “This is the TM for Thunder Punch. It should be useful in dealing with one of your primary issues.”

“Sweet! How much for it?” Probably more than she has, but it’d be nice to know for later.

“Free.” Wait, what. “Thanks to the assistance of Gomez Addams these TMs can be used as many times as desired. Therefore there is no reason to restrict their usage beyond ensuring that nobody obtains moves they are unprepared to use. While you are new you have demonstrated you already know a move of power greater than this can provide and are capable of using it without any issues.”

“Well… thanks.” Argo got TM41 Thunder Punch! “I’ll get it back to you as soon as I can.” She gratefully took the disc. “…uh. How does it work?”

“Apply directly to the forehead.” What. “An obligatory joke. The Addams should be able to supply you the player to make use of the disc.”

“Right, thanks.” Argo nodded and headed out the door. 

Right as Argo left, though, a flash of blue heralded the arrival of Sapphire, who was lugging around what looked like some kind of complex machinery in her psychic grasp. Complex machinery that was, frankly, way bigger than anything a pokemon her size should have been able to pick up.

“Oh- hey Argo…” Sapphire smiled a bit tiredly, rubbing her face a little as she set down the machinery in front of Orion’s archive building. “You just get back?”

“A little bit ago. Carbonized a sadist Ice Type. Or something. Melted.” Argo shrugged and held the TM a little awkwardly. Really needed to get a bag or something… “It was not fun, but in a way that didn’t actually directly involve me being hurt or anything.”

“Lucky you. I had another run in with a pack of Poochyena,” Sapphire groaned, leaning against the giant hunk of machinery with a tired sigh. “A Mightyena too. I think if they’re a higher level than me my telefragging trick doesn’t work anymore, which is… annoying… Had a run in with a trauma I didn’t even know about, too, so I’m just exhausted right now… at least I found a mega stone and a keystone out of that trip… and some supplies we can salvage or sell off.” For emphasis, she patted the new pouch that she had on her hip to indicate the location of her new trinkets.

“Nice. Once I finish using this TM and hand it off I’ll talk to the construction company and figure out how much a house will be. Should calm Tenaz down a bit.” That ‘mon needed calm. Or maybe not. Being calm might actually kill him with how fast his heart rate seemed to normally be. “Likely out of our price range for a while, but it’s nice to have the goal. Anyway…” Argo stepped forward and pulled Sapphire into a hug. At least that chest fluff is good for something now. “Just relax now. I’m here and like fuck I’m gonna let anyone screw with you while you work through whatever it was.”

“Mnnnn… thanks…” Sapphire mumbled, immediately collapsing into Argo’s arms and returning the hug with a little sniffle. “It’s… dumb. Just… I remembered how I died as a human and it was just… so… awful… I think I had a panic attack too…”

“It isn’t dumb to you, and who the fuck else matters?” Argo deepened the hug… as much as she could. Someone probably couldn’t suffocate in her chest fluff but she’d never actually tested how deep it was. “Death isn’t exactly a fun time for most people. Your own isn’t usually something you have to face either. I don’t remember mine. Don’t think I want to. That you remembered yours really sucks. Come on. I’ll clear the mission for you and then we can head to the Addams place and laze around a bit. Less chance of assholes talking that way.” Less chances of sudden corpses as well. Wouldn’t be nice to carbonize someone for saying some dumb shit when they didn’t know the real details.

“Can’t clear it yet… still more salvage to bring back,” Sapphire continued mumbling, taking solace in Argo’s warmth and fluffiness before pulling back just enough to motion towards the salvaged machinery she brought. “A-and all of those supplies I left in that basement… even if I… blew up some of the Vitamin boxes…”

“If you really feel like you need to do it right now I’ll go with you.” Argo curled a bit more into the hug. Being two feet above her hug partner meant that Sapphire was now basically swimming in pleasantly warm fur. “Or it can wait. Was there a time limit? Do you think anything is going to disturb the stuff?”

“Probably not… Orion didn’t say there was a time limit but… I like doing things in one day or less. Even if none of the pokemon near the lab will actually do anything…” Sapphire shrugged a little, words muffled slightly by Argo’s fluff. She also seemed to be relaxing slightly as she spoke, enjoying Argo’s warmth surrounding her in comfort. “I can bring you with me. If I’m not too stressed I can teleport more than when I am. And… you’re really warm and fluffy. It’s good for my stress like that.”

“There is very little a good stuffed animal won’t solve.” Truly they are the greatest invention. …Argo missed Bunny. He’d been… fuck since she was two? Fucking damnit now she was crying a little. “I’m not one, but I can play one in a pinch.”

“... thanks. You can cry too, if you want. I can feel your emotions, you know,” Sapphire rubbed her eyes a little, patting Argo’s side about as well as she could whilst hugging her as strongly as her body could. “You remembered something painful just now, right? I think I’m more plushie sized than you are right now so… feel free.”

“Mm…” Argo didn’t respond. Just… curled up against Sapphire more. Damnit, they both need to lay in bed for a bit. Though from what Sapphire had said that’d just cause her more anxiety as she wondered about the shit she needed to do and if anything was going to go wrong. Ugh… “We can have a big cry later. Let’s just get that shit done for now and drop into a bed.”

“Mmkay… m’gonna teleport us now, if that’s fine,” Sapphire nodded, not bothering to move at all as she began glowing with psychic power. “Mm… Also, I think I’m feeling what you were the other day. That… tight in my skin feeling? Another solid fight soon… probably do it. I’ll be a Kirlia soon, I think…”

“That's nice. Be good to get another stage two in the group.” Argo hummed. “Though I think most of us evolve pretty fast. I know Buneary is a friendship evolution though. Where’s Nix? He needs a hug too.”

That Buneary must have been the devil in disguise, for speaking his name had summoned him… twice now, give or take. The entrance to the Guild cracked open with the sound of dripping, and Nix stumbled his way into the building, the three bundles of Fabric tied to his waist. Though, he was… Far worse for wear. “Hm… Oh, hey Argo. Hey Sapphire.” The blood soaked bunny murmured, steps barely making it off the floor. He coughed, and a glob of blood stained his cloak.

One of many, it seemed.

“... Looks like neither of us had a good day,” Sapphire deadpanned, turning to face Nix with a bit of a wince. “... You look like I think I did when we first got here- what happened?”

Nix threw his arms up into the air, which would have been kinda cute if not for all the blood and loopy, loose ears. “I killed a giant fucking Spider! And learned how to use Moves! And I think a rib is in my lung-” His drunken cheers were spoiled by a violent cough, adding more blood to the collection. “I think I should have bled out 30 minutes ago, but apparently Buneary are good at not bleeding out! Must be all that… that… ugh…” Nix slumped over. “Argooo, be a frieeend?”

“Yoink!” Argo’s hand snapped out to pull the much smaller mon into a hug. “Your Wish will cost cuddles. Your acceptance of the terms are not necessary.” The condensed ball of power that indicated a usage of Wish floated into the air.

“Yaaaaaay…”

“I learned how to use Flamethrower today,” Sapphire hummed, idly making room for Nix in the whole hug situation while she spoke. “... I don’t think I’m supposed to be able to learn that. It wasn’t on any of the movelists Orion showed me earlier, at least…”

“Meh. If you can get a handle on the energy it should be fine to learn a thing.” You just have to be thinking about it right. Can’t just suddenly decide Ice is right for you when all you know is Fire, but if you consider how Ice and Fire can be related, or even similar, well… “It’s just hard and really not intuitive. So most wouldn’t really bother with it.” The Wish energy crashed down like a very bright meteor right onto Nix’s head. Neat. Angled that correctly.

The sound that came from Nix’s mouth could only be described as a Vocal Keyboard Smash. “Suuuuunuva BITCH that hurt like a square.” He cursed, rubbing slowly at his chest. “Arceus in Latex, that is a bad feeling. Life advice, never let your rib shank your lungs.” Nix actually took notice of where exactly he was. “Oh, cool, hug. That’s nice. Pretty much a living plushie, so that makes sense.”

“You’re a living plushie, I’m a baby sized… baby,” Sapphire snickered a little, continuing to hold onto Argo as she spoke. “Anyway… um. I need to pick up some more junk from Nuvema that Orion might want? There’s a few files there that aren’t in terrible condition… some machines for salvage. Stuff like that. Do you wanna come with, Nix?”

Nix took a moment to think. “Don’t see why not. Just gotta throw these bundles at the GM.”

“Right. Do that right quick and then we’ll do the other thing right quick and then we head back to the hotel and fall into bed together.” Argo paused. “I could have put that better.”

“That you could have, Sister. That you could have.” Nix giggled, bouncing off towards the GM’s office.

“... I’m not letting go,” Sapphire decided, watching Nix go before tilting her head slowly. “... Huh. I think I just realized that Nix isn’t a girl. Whoops.”

“The giggling didn’t help.” Nor does the Buneary line not really having any sexual dimorphism. They just… always look like that. … Oh that poor fuck.

“What’cha talkin 'about?” Nix was back surprisingly fast, hoisting a small handful- well, pawful of Poké.

“Your future.” Argo gave a heavy sigh. “I’m afraid I drew The Tower so things probably aren’t going to get better anytime soon.” Frankly that's probably the truth for all of them. Gonna have to punch out fucking… maybe the bird trio? They do climate shit, right?

“Thinking about how I thought you were a girl this whole time,” Sapphire answered frankly, then looked at Nix’s pawful of money. “... You probably shoulda asked for a bag for that.”

“Nah, check it.” Nix fluffed up the fur at his side and stashed the coins into it, before curling the fur carefully into a pocket. “All the fur is kinda annoying, but it’s pretty helpful at times.”

“Putting things into a chest pouch is not going to make things any clearer.” Useful though. Maybe she should try that?

“... Man, I wish my pants came with pockets,” Sapphire mumbled quietly, then paused and looked down at herself oddly. “... Wait. Pants? I- oh Arceus is my body also a full body robe? Have I been wearing pants this whole time without realizing it?”

“I think we’ve had way too many revelations in the past like ten minutes.” Argo rubbed her face with one hand. “Let’s just… finish this shit up and go deal with our multiple existential crises in my room.”

“... Yeah. I think that’s for the best,” Sapphire nodded, grumbling a little as she rubbed her face. “Ugh… what a day…”

“I’d drink to that, but I think my liver is the size of a grape.” Nix sighed.

“Ready when you are, Sapphire.” Just fucking end this day.

Chapter Text

Irene slowed down her wiggles and drifted toward the ground outside her supposed mission location. When her body was back to slithering on the ground, the texture of grass and dirt rubbed against her scales. The sun beamed down at her, marking the middle of its journey across the sky.

Perhaps she had been a bit hasty in leaving almost immediately after getting her mission approved by Guildmaster Audino, especially when she used a couple bursts of Extreme Speed to fly away. Her teammates were… not quite as mobile? Argo’s evolution nearly tripled her size, so that ought to have made getting to places faster. Plus, Sapphire could teleport. Really, it’d be more of a hassle for Nix, Gin, and Tenaz to travel long distances for their missions. At least, as far as Irene was aware.

Maybe she should have offered to play taxi for someone. 

It was far too late to consider that now, especially when she felt like one more Extreme Speed would make her throw up her breakfast. Oh well, she had other moves for battle if it ever came down to it. Rocketing at someone faster than they can see her was useful but so was creating a Twister to tear apart all of her surroundings. Or just wrapping her tail around someone, flying as high as she could, and then letting gravity do all the work.

It would be a shame to do that around here though. The Dream Ruins had the foundation of a factory sans any form of ceiling. Walls and pillars were raised with the impression that they had once held up a tall roof to protect those within. Those very same walls were filled with holes, a handful of which were patched up with leaves and twigs. The floor was in a similar condition, left with holes that were gated by twisted pieces of rebar and sticky threads woven by pokémon.

Slithering up to the remnants of the entrance, Irene took stock of herself. She felt a smidge underprepared for dungeon delving by herself, especially with just the moves and abilities she had to rely on. Without any Poké, none of the team had access to items besides Nix and his cloak. It was a small thing, but just based on the items Irene had glanced at while wiggling through town, they seemed quite adaptable to a plethora of situations.

Wandering around a formerly abandoned factory seemed like a fitting situation to have bought items. When there were chunky brown Patrat hiding behind trees and lithe Purrloin slinking through the grass to catch sight of Irene, the Dratini felt like she was an outsider invading someone’s home. Yet for some reason or another, neither of those species were approaching her. Instead, they kept their distance and traced her movements with their eyes.

“Hi, wild pokémon!” Irene waved her tail in the direction of the largest cluster of them. All of them shifted further into their hiding spaces. “I’m just passing through to pick someone up. No need to leave your nests. I promise not to take anything!”

The plethora of Patrat stared at her with their beady red and yellow eyes. The Purrloin trying to be her predators crept forward but their purple fur stuck out from the dark green grass clear as day. That probably didn’t bode well for Irene. She could count at least three of the felines getting ready to pounce on her. Claws and fangs glowed with Normal and Dark energy respectively.

Irene squinted at the approaching predators. Her tail coiled into a spiral, ready to spin around to create a defensive line. Just the thought of using Twister formed a purple swirl of energy hidden within her coils. The attack was hungry, greedy. Blades of grass were whisked away and the Twister grew. The closest three Purrloin stood their ground and hissed at Irene. Their backs hunched up, flaring outward to  create the illusion of a larger creature. 

Rising into the air, Irene loomed over all of them and spun around her Twister. The attack sucked up chunks of dirt and concrete, growing in size until it was as large as Dratini was long. “Back off!” shouted the Dragon. Her voice was muted by the whipping winds she was creating, but the effect was all the same.

Purrloin and Patrat alike dashed away, cowering back to their nests and burrows. Within seconds, Irene lost sight of any wild pokémon in the area. Yet her Twister kept ripping away at the environment, heedless of its fleeing targets. With a sigh, Irene began to reverse her spin and added a few extra wiggles to slow down her Twister. By her will, the ravenous purple energy disappeared from the tiny disaster. Chunks of debris stopped next, dropping to the ground in a haphazard spread without the fierce strength of Dragon-type energy to keep lifting them up. Finally, the winds she whipped up were stalled out and a gentle breeze returned to the ruins.

“Intimidation works,” mused Irene as she drifted down until she was hovering just a few inches above the uneven ground. The entrance to the ruins had its door ripped out, leaving a gaping hole for Irene to peer through. “Let’s see… I just need to get to floor four and find Pansage. What does Pansage look like?” Searching her memory awarded her with the image of a green and beige pokémon. Definitely a Grass-type, evolves with a Leaf Stone, and herbs grew on top of their heads. “Man, why can I remember that stuff but not important things?”

No use moping over what she didn’t or couldn’t know. She had an objective in mind and that was all that mattered. Irene floated over to one of the holes in the floor and tried to sneak a peek into the depths of the Dream Ruins. An inky abyss stared back at her. An invitation hung in the air, trying to lure her deep into the mysteries of the dungeon. Had her curiosity been given form, a slender finger would trail up to the tip of its chin. Irene sucked in a breath. Her hesitation was only begotten by her ignorance of what lay in the dark.

That reticence didn’t last long. The Dragon called upon the power of the winds in their purest form to craft a shell around herself, to seal her inside a protective bubble. She gulped. Her first mission proper and her first dungeon. Without further preamble, she dove into the darkness.

Energy warped around her, disorienting her eyes and ears. Her surroundings swam with a myriad of earthy tones, becoming a murky mess. Pinching her eyes shut only made the chattering of teeth and skittering of chitin louder in her ears. A guttural cry rang out and Irene couldn’t help but flinch at it. What could have possibly made that sound? No, she shouldn’t think about it. Focus on the mission.

When Irene landed on the first floor, the power of Fly burst out around her. Air snapped out, whipping at nothing. Cracking open her eyes showed her not darkness, but a brightly lit basement. The floor was still built from concrete, solid as far as the eye could see. Granted, the room she found herself in was small. A half-filled bookshelf and a bare metal desk were the only pieces of furniture for her to look at.

“No pokémon. I’m safe right now.” Irene let out a sigh of relief. This was the first of many rooms. “One step at a time. I can do this. I’ve got this.” Wiggling over to the bookshelf, she eyed the books. The spines were bare despite their fresh covers. Using her tail, she pulled a book off the shell and let it fall to the ground. Unable to exert fine control over it, she opened it to a random page. “Blank?”

Every page was blank. Pristine white sheets without a speck of ink to give them any importance. Irene flew up and knocked more books off. Each and every last one was blank. From front to back, there wasn’t a single page that held a word or any kind of mark. Was this a peculiarity of the dungeon? These were the Dream Ruins, but the concept of dreams didn’t rub any neurons together. Perhaps she would have to seek out Orion for proper information

Keeping that tidbit in mind for later, Irene took flight and darted out of the room. Twisted hallways bereft of light forced her to travel down a single path. When light graced her eyes again, she slowed down her flight.

The next room was barren of furniture. Instead, a single Patrat paced around aimlessly, their paws padding against the cold concrete. Dratini squinted, trying to make out more details from her spot at the end of the hallway. The rodent had no nest nor was it protected by the surety of numbers. It seemed just as curious as she was to explore the dungeon as if this was all new to them.

Taking a chance, Dratini floated down until her scales scraped against the ground. Patrat’s ears perked up fast, but those beady eyes weren’t far behind. Their red eyes were only broken by a yellow ring, constantly expanding and contracting to the edges and the center of Patrat’s eyes. It was unnerving. Irene wanted to ask them to stop. She wanted to introduce herself, wish them a nice day, and be on her way.

Patrat had other ideas. They charged her on all-fours, forepaws glowing with sharp white energy. Irene yelped when they swiped at her. “Stop it!” The wild pokémon clawed at her, but Irene bobbed away by wide margins. “Can’t we talk about this?” Large incisors snapped out yet they lacked any of the glowing energy that marked danger like a beacon.

Any agreement of peace was beyond this pokémon. Loathsome as it was, Irene bobbed their next bite and weaved her body around their torso. She coiled thrice around them, snapping their forelegs to their body and holding her neck around the fat around Patrat’s neck. White energy twinkled off her scales as she constricted. 

Pop went their shoulders.

Snap went their paws.

But no Crack . Never a Crack .

Patrat dropped limp against Irene’s coils and the sparkling of her scales faded away. Wrap, a simple technique for anyone with her body type. Yet quite dangerous with the right application. The same applied to many moves. Sand Attack could blind a person until they found proper healing. A Curse held untold capabilities. A simple Powder Snow could still give someone frostbite. It all depended on one’s technique.

Irene loosened her grasp on Patrat and lowered them to the ground. Their chest still rose and fell in a haphazard rhythm. Though their forelegs may be broken into splinters, Irene decided to slink away. They had survived inside this place until now. Surely, they would be alright on their own in this dungeon. 

The next room had a staircase built into the middle of it. The stone steps were carved from a darker material than the concrete kept in the ruins and the bottom was bathed in darkness. “Second verse same as the first,” quipped the Dragon. “Wait. Where have I heard that before? Maybe someone else knows. Someone smarter than me ought to know.”

Disregarding her train of thought, Irene took the dive to the next floor. Once more, a myriad of colors swarmed her vision and confused cries echoed all around her. Earthy colors splashed around her before they painted the world around her. Screams crescendoed then faded into the background as everything settled back into place. Then feeling returned to her with concrete scratching against durable scales.

She shook her head. The dungeon settled into place around her. The basement of a factory left to ruin with empty wooden crates and barrels toppled over. It should have been used for storage, but nothing was in any of the containers. Irene wasn’t sure what she expected after the blank books. Checking was a futile effort.

So it was off to the next room. A far shorter hallway connected them, bringing her into an empty room. No pokémon prowling around the area. No debris littering the floor or walls to take up space. There was just concrete and three more hallways.

“Is every dungeon like this?” Irene asked no one in particular. She flew toward the hall closest to the left, wiggling at a sedate pace. “I wonder if it gets boring to dungeon dive all the time. Well, maybe they get interesting if you keep going into different ones.” This one didn’t seem particularly interesting if all the items were blank or empty. “Oh hey, what’s that?”

Sitting in the middle of the next room, a flame-shaped object shined under the flickering lightbulb hanging from the ceiling. When she picked it up, the object was warm to the touch. Motes of flame were pieced together into a larger fire. A shell that felt like bark held something humming inside of it, clutched between every piece of the object.

Irene had no idea what to do with it.

However, it was warm and pretty. Someone carved out a fire from a piece of wood and painted it magnificently. Just looking at it made her want to wrap her tail around it and bring it back home. Wherever that was. That hotel room the Addams had let her stay in was pretty nice. This object would be perfect if it was perched on top of the dresser, right where a sunbeam would shoot through a window. Oh, their team was also trying to buy a home. She could make a little case to keep shiny things like this.

“Spiii!” A green Spinarak leaped down from the ceiling, all eight of their legs spread out wide to encompass all of Irene’s vision. Two fangs dripped with poison and were poised to sink into her.

“Ah! Spider!” Instincts took over and the Dratini flung what she was holding at her attacker.

Btooooom!

A splatter of blood and venom showered across the room. Dratini blinked as she looked around the room. A fang was embedded in the ceiling above her, just inches from taking out the dangling lightbulb. The other of the pair was rocketed over to a corner, lying on the ground as if part of the Spinarak’s face wasn’t still attached to it.

“I’m not sleeping tonight.” Irene stared at the sight before her. A decent chunk of the arachnid’s husk was split up around her. Not quite enough to piece it together and find a way to resurrect it to fix her mistake. Especially when there were only seven legs left and three of those were on fire. “I’m going to miss that shiny thing too. Oh hey, when did that get there?”

Beneath the hovering Dratini was a staircase. She didn’t remember seeing it when she had entered the room, but she was a bit distracted by the shiny object. It was quite shiny. Not quite reflective or sparkly, but the vibrant colors on the bark-like surface was very pretty. An unfortunate loss, though maybe she would be able to find another one that was even prettier if that was just a thing that appeared in the dungeons.

Unless it was an item someone left behind here. In which case, she will apologize profusely if she was the cause of a failed quest, but the allure of a shiny object is too powerful for her to resist. Besides, someone was trying to eat her. Now, she wouldn’t have used the explosive if she knew that would happen, but at least there wasn’t much blood on her. Extreme Speed would have definitely splattered a fresh coat of red all over her scales and that thought was horrific at best. She was so glad her instinct was to throw something rather than break it by tackling it at high speeds.

Welp, down to the third floor she went. The same burst of colors and cacophony of sound welcomed her, no more comforting than the last two times she went through it. Seconds later, her senses returned to normal.

The third floor was a lot wider than she expected. While the concrete floor was still there and the bookshelves had returned, the room she was in beat out any other in terms of size in this dungeon. It was easily three times larger than the previous spaces and housed three times the fixtures. Besides the stairs connecting the floors, a collection of shelves were both collapsed and standing. Like before, they had fresh books with blank covers filling them up, and while the temptation to open them up was there, it was perhaps the least interesting part of the room.

Nestled into a corner, a large dark gray tile was implanted onto the floor. Its material seemed similar to that of the stairs—of which there were two sets in the room—yet the glowing arrow on its face clearly meant that it differed from them. Irene floated over, hovering near it with curiosity on her mind and hesitance in her heart. 

An arrow could only denote so many things. Explosions weren’t completely off the table in that case. That unfortunate pokémon earlier was not capable of withstanding an explosion, so naturally, Irene didn’t want to test her capability. If she wanted to see how durable she was, she would ask her team members. They probably didn’t want her dead and that was more reassurance than she could get from an inanimate object.

“But what if I really want to touch it,” she mumbled to herself. The tip of her tail snaked forward, ready to put her fate into the non-existent hands of the Dream Ruins. “I mean, it’s the only way to find out, right? Unless that Orion person knows what this is. Guildmaster Audino might also know. Dungeons don’t seem to be a new thing in the slightest, so they ought to know more than me.” Irene tapped her chin with her tail. “A lot of people probably know more than me now that I think about it. Gin and Argo definitely know more about this world than I do.”

It was probably best to ask anyone in the guild about the very tempting tile when she got back. It grinded against her patience, but the next staircase was in the same room. What were the chances of that happening? 

Well, no use wasting time here. She had a mission to do and Pansage had already been missing for two days. Irene dove into the next floor.

The bare basement-like rooms greeted her again. This room was bereft of furniture and pokémon, leaving little for her mind to grasp on. Although there was a pink mist clumping around the floor. That caught her attention and more of her curiosity than was probably safe for her. Irene floated a safe distance above it, hoping not to breathe any of it. The clumps weren’t spread out very much, at least not in this room, but they were heavier than anything else in the room.

At the very least, she had something visible to avoid. She could do that and she was on the fourth floor. Her desire to touch and sniff the mist was overpowered by her duty to her mission. For now. Before a hint of boredom could rise up, Irene wiggled off to the next room.

The mist continued to clot up, especially so in the hallways. Flying allowed Irene to avoid it, but she couldn’t help but wonder what happened to other pokémon. Her teammates—and currently her only friends—were mostly stuck to the ground, but they had ways around stuff. That or they could blast it away. Argo certainly seemed capable of doing so before she evolved. If Argo wasn’t an outlier, then the other fire-types could set fire to the mist and be on their way.

Wiggling out of the hallway, the next room held a cuddle pile of pokémon. Two Purrloin were tangled up with each other and snoozing away. Irene maintained a steady distance from them. While she believed she could handle the two, she also believed that fighting unnecessarily was a waste of time. Especially after that… best not to think about it actually.

Irene moved onto the next room while tracing the pink blots of mist with her eyes. It may have been her imagination, but they seemed to be growing in frequency. That had to mean something about the dungeon or whatever was in here. Maybe she should have asked about the Dream Ruins before leaving. Having a warning about dungeons probably wouldn’t have prepared her for the repeated sensory overload of traveling between floors, but maybe that was different for each dungeon.

Or she was just weird. That was a possibility too.

It definitely wouldn’t be an out of the place guess. She just appeared on the beach with five—four once Sapphire teleported—others on the beach and she didn’t recall anything before then. Zero memories but a decent amount of factoids. Usually helpful ones too. It wasn’t encyclopedic, but having a few sprinkles of knowledge and ideas about how some pokémon naturally functioned was good.

Of course, none of that came with practical experience. When Irene flew through the third room of the floor, she didn’t quite need that kind of experience. Avoiding the sleeping Watchog was common sense. They were a much larger pokémon than any she had dealt with before on top of having evolved. As far as she knew, Dratini weren’t especially strong. Even with her breaking the norm for her species, testing her luck didn’t sound fun.

So then came the next room. Dimly light just as the others were and with another sleeping pokémon inside of it. This time, they were a green and beige bipedal ‘mon with a leafy tuft sitting on top of their head. On their chest was the imprint of a green bowtie, which must have been their mark. 

Floating above them, a pink pokémon with purple floral patterns on their side slurped up the pink mist emanating from the other pokémon’s ears. When Irene wiggled into the room, the pink pokémon—Munna, her brain helpfully supplied—turned lazily to look at her. No, not lazily. More sleepily with half-lidded eyes and slow moments. 

“Muu?” crooned the pink floaty pokémon. They were just a language barrier away from being added to the Floaty Thing club. Shame.

“Hi. Sorry to interrupt, but I’m here to bring Pansage back home.” Irene left out her introduction despite how rude she knew it was to do so. The Munna bobbed in the air, catching themself from falling every few seconds. “So if you don’t mind, I’ll just wake up Pansage and be on my way.” 

“Mun!” Munna darted in front of Irene, blocking her way. The pink pokémon’s eyes glowed, rings of pink and purple waving around her in a symphony of color. It was pleasing to look at. Irene couldn’t help but look at it. She couldn’t imagine looking away from… it.

The Dratini dropped to the ground, asleep.

What Irene saw next could only be glimpses of a dream. Blinks to another time, really.

She looked into a fogged up mirror. A veiny, tanned hand reached out to wipe away the condensation. Irene caught glimpses of black hair, matted down by water. 

Then it changed. Disappeared as if it never happened in the first place. She blinked and she was looking at those hands again. Except their nails were chipped and the tips of the fingers were scratched until strips of skin were peeling off. Yet there was an overwhelming sense of pride welling up in her.

How did a tiny helmet provide that pride? That joy? Perhaps the rainbow-colored pieces were the source of that. Maybe even the tiny green eyes staring back at her.

Another blink and she was on a field. Grass spread out as far as the eye could see. Irene was just there, basking in the gentle breeze. Her back was against a tree and she was between its roots, nestled there like she belonged. It was peaceful. Yet her chest hurt so much.

It hurt to breathe.

Why was it so difficult to breathe?

She couldn’t breathe!

Irene gasped. She coughed out and tried to stuff her lungs with air. Through some miracle, her body obeyed her demands. “What,” she wheezed, “was that?”

“Na?” Shocked, Munna flew back from Irene. From the pokémon’s mouth, that pink mist poured out and they hurriedly lapped it up. The sleepy look in their eyes vanished as Dratini rose into the air again. In its place, those rings of psychic energy emanated and tried to lull Dratini back under their power.

Irene shot forward in a blur of movement. Her body slammed into Munna, rocketing the wild pokémon into the walls of the dungeon. They didn’t collapse, not yet. They toughed out the attack and curled into themself, surrounding themself in a bubble for a fraction of a second. When the bubble faded, their hide seemed to thicken ever so slightly. 

“Muun! Muu!” huffed the pink pokémon. A beam of purple energy shot out from her forehead, rippling with pink echoes. Ignorant to whatever Munna tried to say, Irene flew around the beam of energy and began flying in spirals. Between the coils of her body, deep purple energy whipped around in the shape of a Twister. Stuck in the air, the attack was unable to lap up the debris it hungered for. Instead, it was only allowed to slam into Munna’s face with the energy its mistress had leaked out. Nevertheless, a Twister was still a small disaster. Munna was barraged by whipping winds that cut into their pink hide and nicked the purple flowers on their back.

Relentless, the Dratini wrapped her body around Munna, ensnaring the wild pokémon as much as she could. When she constricted, Munna thickened their hide again and stopped Irene from tightening further. An annoyance, but her Wrap attack had already begun working its magic. Already, Munna’s breaths shortened to brief wheezes. They tried to use Harden again in some vain attempt to loosen the hold.

When that failed, a wave of Psychic power blasted out from the wild pokémons body and blew Irene away. Pure concussive force beat her back, powered further by Munna’s boosted defenses. Before she collided with the wall, Irene snapped back into flight but her vision remained doubled. She couldn’t pinpoint Munna’s exact location, but the pink mass in the middle of the concrete basement wasn’t difficult to look toward.

Sacrificing speed for safety, Irene concealed herself in a protective seal of Flying-type energy and rocketed toward Munna. She didn’t make direct contact, but when her seal burst, she knew she hit her target. Whipping around, Dratini slapped Munna with her tail and wrapped around the wild ‘mon once more. Thick as their skin was, it wouldn’t stop the strangling of Wrap for long.

Before Munna could let out another blast of energy, their weight fell into Irene’s hold. The Dratini kept her hold going for a few more seconds before loosening it and lowering to the ground. Gently, she set down the wild Munna. Unconscious—or fainted—was still considered a win for a battle. Irene was perfectly content to never do more than that from here on out.

Well, more in battle anyway. She darted over to the still-sleeping Pansage and snaked her tail under their head. “Pansage?” she asked with a raised voice. They didn’t stir, so she wiggled the tip of her tail under their nose. The Grass-type twitched, but that seemed the extent of their reaction. “I suppose that makes this first bit easier.” Coiling her body around Pansage’s torso, Irene slowly lifted into the air. The weight was new. Definitely more than that Munna, but carrying someone for any extended period of time was new.

Before she left, Irene took one last glance at the Munna. They laid there, unmoving but breathing. Across the room was a long molt, a transparent shell of a creature. Had that been her? Did she shed to shake off the drowsiness? Irene looked down at herself. Her scales were a lighter shade of blue, not quite unfamiliar but slightly off enough that she could tell. Shaking her head, she shoved it out of her mind.

Flying over to the hallway felt weird but Irene could do it and carry Pansage to safety. She was part of a Rescue Team. If she couldn’t do a simple Rescue, well, then she probably needed to rely on her friends. But not yet. She could do this.

Tracing back her wiggles, Irene slowed down around the sleeping pokémon. Whatever spell kept them asleep was mercifully still keeping them under. While she still avoided getting anywhere close to those wild pokémon, she liked this little act of stealth rather than violence. Both were stressful in their own ways, but Irene kept her mouth shut from making any odd noises.

When she got back to the stairs, she wrapped herself completely around Pansage before ascending. Just like before, the burst of colors and sound assaulted her senses. Grey, green, brown, dark red, and sky blue flooded her eyes with no rhyme or reason. Growling, purring, hissing, scratching, padding, and even howling echoed in her ears. Warmth disappeared from the air around her, leaving only an emptiness filled with an unfathomable cold.

Then it all settled into place. She was in the abandoned factory again. The sky was above her after hours underground. Irene collapsed in relief, uncoiling and letting her scales soak up some of the sunlight.

It was so warm. She missed this so much and didn’t even realize it. Warmth, safety, the freedom to soar into the sky. All of it was there. Irene sighed, basking in it all.

“Where am I?” A squeaky voice asked. Pansage pushed themself—probably a young boy based on the voice—and looked around. “I’m out? I’m out!”

“Yep!” Irene spun around and saluted with her tail. “I’m Irene of Team Pyro and I came here to rescue you. Well, I did rescue you, but I’m pretty sure I need to escort you back to—oh hugs!.” Pansage pulled Irene into his arms, holding her close. In return, she dragged her tail across his back and over his shoulder. “Hugs are nice.”

“Thank you so much.” A few teardrops slipped off Pansage’s face and onto her scales. They slid down smoothly and seeped into the ground. “I was trapped in my dreams for so long. I can’t remember when I was” —he sniffed— “awake. I can’t thank you enough.”

“I’m just happy to help where I can,” Irene whispered with a soft smile.

Chapter Text

Chapter 8: Of Flames and Machines (Gin 3)

Gin was thankful to the local alpaca deity that let him be reincarnated into a world of Pokémon and be able to read what was written. His head shook as the idea of being stuck in another world and being forced to learn how to read took form, he frowned and shook his head at it. “That would be so shitty.” He mumbled to himself, using Psychic energy he pulled out the note he had taken from the small bag he carried. It looked to be a simple mission, head up north to a dungeon that had formed inside the old city ruins and retrieve the TM (Technical Machines) that another team had left behind as they ran for their lives. He had been given a backpack, some dried fruits and water; just enough supplies to last him the day or so that the exploration would take.

“Maybe I should've joined them…” He mused as the dirt road ended and cracked asphalt began. A few hundred years ago this city was home to people, now it was overtaken by nature and the dungeons that appeared. His target was one where the Gym would've been, Crackling Cove. The entrance was rather easy to find all things considered, Gin found himself avoiding the wild pokémon that made the ruins their home, some Poochyenas, Pidoves, and Sewaddles were the ones he saw and heard. Fortunately they were too focused on themselves and as long as he skirted outside of their territories, he was left alone. 

Near the actual entrance to the dungeon stood a broken building, a part of Gin imagined the people that had once lived there, going about their lives, dreams... he only hoped that they hadn't suffered, cracked frames that once held photographs of families were lying on the floor, glittering glass being the most enduring aspect. Drip, drop, plip, plop, the broken water pipe sounded as he approached the entrance to the dungeon, near a faded sign that read, {DUNGEON BEWARE!!!!}

He walked down the opening and found himself in a cavern, stone floor, stalagmites and stalactites with moss covering various parts of them and, the ceiling itself was rather high as his ears picked up some footsteps. Trusting in the idea of keeping the element of surprise, he ran behind one of the stalagmites and saw a Timburr sprinting away from an angry sounding group of Magnemites.

“Rawr!!” The Timburr screeched as it grabbed a stalactite and smashed it over the head of one of the incoming Magnemites. Said pokémon found itself being buried into the ground as the Timburr shone with fighting type energy as a painful sounding low kick buried the magnemite alive. The group that had followed it, retaliated with continuous and fierce thunderbolts that fried the Timburr. The mechanical buzzing, and the swiftness of the execution made his fur rise in instinctive fear; the Timburr screamed in pain, and Gin had enough. The mission he had been hired was something he put into the back of his mind, he would find the TM later, preventing this one sided execution mattered more.

“Fuck stealth!” He screamed as he gathered Fire type energy and shot a row of Embers at the group. Unlike Gomez the magnemites were weak to ember, and they hadn't expected several dozen embers to explode like grenades. Some were launched into each other like billiards, others were blasted to the walls and roof. As the dust settled Gin blinked, surprised at the power behind the move and at how strong he was feeling after the short battle. He closed his eyes and focused on hearing or smelling more Pokémon, after a few seconds it was clear that there were no more heading to the entrance, and he approached the fallen Timburr. The wild pokémon was breathing heavily as its charred skin rose and fell, grimacing Gin pulled an Oran Berry from the backpack and placed it near the Timburr. The pokémon glared for a moment before biting the food, almost immediately the effect was visible, the skin looked healthier and it breathed easier.

“Get out of here.” Gin ordered, “I'm not saving you again, leave.” Timburr glared at Gin, beginning to take a fighting stance when wisps of flame began to gather around Gin. His eyes glowed red with fire, just daring Timburr to do something. Then Timburr relaxed as if realizing something,

“Grrr” The Timbur replied as it limped up to the entrance and into the outside world. Gin breathed out and began to dig out the Magnemite that Timburr had buried, it was still unconscious, but alive. Feeling the tension leave his body, Gin breathed out and left the group alone as he went deeper into the cavern.

A part of his mind wondered how this place even existed, the dungeon itself had been in a city, so why wasn't it a fallen mall or something like that? Where were the signs of living people or pokémon? And…

“I'm pretty sure I've explored this floor, and still no TM's. Where could they be?” He asked the empty cavern, the sound of water drops was the closest thing he got to an answer. Then there was the fluttering of wings, his fur stood on ends and he jumped back. Gin saw the spot where he stood explode with dust as thin needles rained from above. Looking up he saw it and sighed in relief.

“Oh thank Arceus, it's a Zubat. I was beginning to think this was just a really weird hallucination.” He smirked as he created doubles and launched a short volley of embers at the flying nuisance. To its credit it did dodge a few of them, but the ones that landed hit like a truck launching into the ceiling before it fell into the ground groaning in pain.

“Scree~” it grumbled as Gin grabbed it by the back of its neck and carried it to the wall behind some stalagmites. 

“Why am I doing this? Do I care about them now?” He asked himself as he found the set of stairs leading to the floor below. “If they had hurt me, would I have been merciful?” He questioned as the next floor opened up before him. Wires, sparkling with electricity hung loosely along the walls and ceilings, the floor itself felt weird on his paws. It wasn't stone, it was, “Mortar? How?” The shock was almost immediate, this didn't male sense in his head. Then he heard it, the slight buzzing, crackling of electricity as several eyes glared at him.

“Wrrnn.” The cold steel voice of the magnemites spoke volumes, they probably could reason out that since Gin was down there, their friends were likely hurt. Gin’s eyes flashed as he dashed past them. A few fell asleep, others launched thundershocks that hit Gin and made him stumble as he retreated. His sides burned as he turned left, jumped over an approaching Zubat, using its head as a platform as more zubats began to fly after him.

“Yup! Definitely a world of Pokémon.” He thought as he heard a screech hit him and a wing attack grazed his head. He fell and rolled back into a fighting position, the good news was that every pokemon was in front of him; the bad news was that he wasn't nearly strong enough to fight them all. Or so his thoughts went, the fire inside him rebelled at the thought of being unable to win, the vision of him dying to the horde only served to fuel it.

“Plus ultra. Right? Go beyond your limits.” Familiar words he had heard before, Ember flowed out his mouth, and it began spinning around him. Each little tongue of flame became an orb as he drew deep into the fire he felt inside his soul. The wild pokémon didn't know what he was doing but they all agreed that it was dangerous. Several thunderbolts were launched and Gin could feel his body scream as they hit. Lightning surrounded him, and for a brief moment Gin could feel it inside him as well. Instead of trying to harness it he used it to fuel his attack.

“Fire release! Ember cluster bomb!” He chanted releasing the embers like guided rockets at the group, dozens of embers exploded with the fury of a train crash. Gin's vision went white as the smell of burnt flesh hit his nose. When the dust settled a very tired looking Gin stared at his work. Several pokémon were unconscious, some were burned severely enough to be maimed, bile rose in his throat as he puked. But he refused to close his eyes, he did this. He didn't deserve to look away, forcing himself to eat a leppa berry to restore some of his power, none of the still living pokémon woke as he finished it. He closed his eyes for a moment and let himself hear everything around him, no sounds beyond the light breaths of the fallen zubats, or the groans of partially melted magnemites. 

“Sorry, I… You didn't deserve this.” He told them as he left them behind, it took the better part of an hour to scour the floor clean. Human bones were hidden near the exit to the deeper underground, no signs of the TM or any sort of items in this floor as well. Looking back and shaking his head, Gin made his way down, the wounds he had obtained still hurt but he did genuinely feel stronger, plus he acquired Flamethrower. Another floor opened before him, this one was back to a more cavernous style, the darkness around him made it hard to see. A small wisp of flame formed around him and was launched just a couple of feet ahead, letting him see better as he maintained it like a lantern.

The quiet was almost deafening as his footsteps were the only thing that could be heard, the small crackling of his flame providing the other sound. Beneath his feet, the mossy cave floor made each step feel odd, to him it was like being in a constant state of a shiver running up and down his spine. His nose could only smell the cave, not even the slightest scent of a pokémon, and that truly worried him.

“Now where are you?” He asked the dungeon, then he heard a small thud near his right side. quickly summoning another flame and placing it nearby he saw it, a Roggenrola. 

“Crrlck.” it cried, its echoes sounding across the floor and soon several others joined. He slowly realized one crucial detail he had forgotten, rocks don't actually smell any different from caves. Gin grimaced and muttered, “This is going to suck, isn't it.”

“Crrlck.” The Roggenrola agreed and it launched itself with a powerful tackle, Gin reacted by jumping over it and ran away. That's when the choir of Roggenrola began to sing. He sped through the cavern, a single light in front of him, desperately searching for any exit or the TM, a small bump in the floor filled him with dread as he fired a small ember towards it. It glowed and exploded, “Fuck me sideways you alpaca! Stealth Rock!? Really?” Gin cursed as he was forced to use ember to detonate the stealth rocks in his way, the nearby walls seemed to move as he saw a pit in front of him. Using a quick attack to dash forward he leapt into it and saw several roggenrola stare blankly at him. He wished he had hands to give them the middle finger as one sent a small wave of mud as a final attack.

Being hit by mud mid air was painful, but the rapidly approaching ground was even more so. Drawing deep into the fire he felt inside he took aim and opened his mouth. A powerful flamethrower shot out, slowing his descent to a more manageable pace. He still landed roughly and tumbled into the floor. Breathing heavily, Gin laughed. His laughter echoed across the floor around him, uncaring if it brought more enemies towards him he didn't stop until he could feel his lungs burning in pain.

“Now where the fuck am I?” Gin asked, letting loose a few more flame wisps around him, lighting up the area. The floor itself was cracked ceramic tiles, the walls themselves looked to be like marble and there was grass growing between the cracks. Emblems faded from the ruined walls as the near quiet buzzing of insects was heard. Vines covered a crack in the wall, something a quick attack tore through as if they were made of wet paper, and revealed a clearing, flowing water and…

“Sunlight? How…” Gin wondered as he stared into the sky, and he realized something, “No birds, no true sky or clouds… Artificial? How?” He wondered as he approached the water, he smelled it, nothing off. It was unsettling, but he was thirsty and tired. He lowered his head, and jumped back as a thundershock landed where he once stood. Behind the treeline a pair of eyes glowed with mischief and malice.

“Kuryztz.” The emolga cried as its ambush failed. 

“Fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me.” Gin muttered as he glared at the Emolga. He retaliated with an ember that flew and missed the rapid target. Thundershocks grazed his body as he began to use double team to force the squirrel to miss. One, two, three attacks passed through his after images, Gin’s eyes glowed red as disable landed on the flying rodent. It cried and glowed white as it charged at him, he tried to hypnotize it but failed and after taking another quick attack he found himself no longer caring to try and avoid killing it.

One last volley of embers landed on the squirrel after he slammed into it with his own quick attack, its pained cries sounded more like music to his ears. That's when he heard it, dozens upon dozens of Emolgas rose from behind the treeline. Each with glowing eyes and Gin sighed, his body shook with the effort as he glared at them. 

Throughout the battle an idea had stuck with him, he had successfully created a close using double team twice already, but he hadn't perfected it. The balance between the Normal Type energy shell and the Psychic Type energy core wasn't right. 

“Willpower Is the most important aspect.” Morticia’s words echoed in his mind. He gulped as the horde’s attacks began to approach him. “Don't think, just feel and do it.” He thought to himself fully knowing he would likely die.

“Shadow Clone Jutsu.” He uttered as the lightning crashed all around him.

The emolgas stared at the dust cloud fully expecting not even a charred corpse to remain. Instead they saw it, where there was one Vulpix, now several dozen Vulpix stood, matching their own numbers. Each Vulpix's eyes glowed red as the heat from their body distorted their view. “Round 2, let's go!” Gin shouted as his clones responded, “RIGHT!”

The emolgas roared in defiance as they charged in, lightning trailing their bodies as they met the Vulpix. Some Vulpix popped after taking a hit, others dodged and landed their own devastating counters, and a few exploded on contact damaging the Emolga. Gin smiled despite the pain and blood loss, he felt alive as he tore through the horde. Fire danced along his body, burning any nearby foes as he landed a powerful flamethrower on the final Emolga that stood. The battle lasted 5 minutes, it felt like 10 hours and he found himself lying on the ground surrounded by his fallen enemies. 

“Hah…” He breathed out, coughing as it felt like every bone in his body was broken. “Is… that… everything… you've got you fucking Alpaca?” He asked Arceus, who never answered his taunts as Gin dragged his body to stand, the dungeon shifted as a single ray of light landed near the small river. Next to it stood a small backpack, as he approached it he looked at it and sighed. 3 TM's stood, perfectly preserved and he smiled.

“Mission complete.” He uttered as he grabbed the items and placed them in his own bag.

Chapter Text

Tenaz spun past more trees and greenery on his way to his delegated mission. He'd like to say he argued tooth and nail either against it or for it, but really he was just happy to have something to do besides deal with more running practice or petulantly crybaby bigots.

Also, the lack of Pokémon out this way meant he could try out his fancy new style of movement. As it turned out, Flame Wheel had allowed Tenaz to live out some whimsical feeling he couldn't quite put a description to. So far as Tenaz knew it, one of the only serious downsides came when he stopped moving, letting all the dizziness of the constant momentum catch up to him was harsh on his body, but the alternative was being twice as slow to and from places. As long as he kept his boosts of new flames away from others and the ground, he'd be fine.

The other downside was an impaired ability to see. Unsurprising, given the fact he was moving well over fifteen miles per hour (24.14 kmh). That, and Tenaz was forced to curl into a proper ball shape for the entire move to even work as intended.

Tenaz slowed down to a crawl, tumbling a few more feet after the fact due to his weight being off-kilter from the leather pouch fixed to his chest. It wasn't anything particularly well-made, at least to Tenaz’s more cynical views of quality craftsmanship. A weighted lip to keep it closed and a cinch strap to keep it taut to his body and that was about it.

The Guildmaster Audino had gone into a long-winded explanation that the Cyndaquil had tried to pay complete attention to, but ultimately failed. However, one sentence that stuck to his mind like a parasite; “the pouch is a Quest Item, loaned by the Pokémon who put forth the job request. The requested items go in and cannot be removed from the pouch. Put the requested items in, bring it back, and the pouch goes back to the aforementioned Pokémon!”

The Cyndaquil snorted and shook his head to clear the unyielding dizziness. “Ah, common sense be damned. You went from not Pokémon to Pokémon, Tenaz. You don't get to question the folks who've been Pokémon their entire lives. Ain't right, never has been, never will be, and you sure as Hell won't start doing it now. You're better than that.”

Tenaz marched past the drifting piles of fallen leaves, eying the barren trees with a moment of suspicion. “...Didn't Wednesday mention it being Spring? Or was it Summer? Either way, why the fuck do all these trees be missing they leaves? Hm. I'll bring it up with the Team. Maybe someone had a better clue on things than I do. Maybe Argo? Argo seems smart about shit like this. …I don't like this lack of information. I don't like it at all.”

Tenaz continued marching on, taking a few winding turns and forks in between stopping for short breaks to catch his breath. “Curse…This fat body! Too short to take big steps, too fucking round to move quickly without rolling! There's no…Fuck me…No winning with what I've got!” He hissed and cursed every single time his body forced him to stop. It was agonizing in the most mundane of ways. It was inconvenient and even worse, inefficient.

The Cyndaquil stopped at the open maw of the cavern at the end of a sudden clearing. The side beside it was half-rotten and faded. The words could hardly be considered eligible if it wasn't for the carving of the letters into the words itself rather than the words having been painted on.

“Ju…Jubiwell? God I hope that says Jubiwell or I am gonna be upset. Jubiwell Cavern? …Fuck, there's gonna be Rock types in there, huh?”

He paused, shuffled his feet awkwardly, and weighed his options.

‘Deterrent: Rock types. They can kick my ass easily. Proponent: I can probably fight back really well if they're as dumb as the rest of the Team said ferals tend to be. Addendum: I'm on my own with no combat experience. Counterpoint: We need the money. Conclusion? If I flake on this, I'm pretty sure I'm fucking dead the moment I go back to town.’

“...The things one does to get paid should be considered unethical. Mark my last words on that.”

Tenaz dodged another round of Rock Blast, rolling out of the way before firing off another Ember. It didn’t seem to do all that much to the small tumble of Roggenrola, but it deterred them from attacking again and gave him some necessary breathing room to back away from them.

At first, the task didn't seem so bad. One stone here, another stone there, if the universe was kind to Tenaz, he would have already left with all the stones he needed. Unfortunately for Tenaz, the client did not specify a number of any stone from the cave, they specified an exact number for each type of stone they wanted. Tenaz would soon learn that most of the stones on the upper level, near the entrance of the cave, had already long since been picked clean by previous jobs, scavengers, and the occasional spelunker desperate for loot. Or an evolution stone.

Then he slipped on some loose rocks, made a bit too much noise, and four Roggenrola had burst forth from the darkness to attack him. “Y'know, I'm not trying to- fuck off!”

Tenaz hopped back to avoid a Tackle, spitting an Ember at the hole of the nearest Roggenrola. As Tenaz was quick to learn, the aforementioned hole? Was a Roggenrola's ear. Damage the hole, and one can deafen and cripple a Roggenrola out of a fight indefinitely. That left Tenaz in a repetitive course of action. Bait an attack, roll or dodge, fire an Ember at the obvious weak spot. Rinse and repeat until all enemies are defeated.

‘Hm. Something about this fight is giving me a strong sense of deja vu. Not even going to bother with searching for the how or why. Hasn't worked out in my favor once since I woke up.’

Tenaz rolls away from another Rock Blast, intending to Ember the culprit and gain more distance. Only nothing happened. He tried to fire off the attack again. Nothing happened again. The Cyndaquil panicked for a few moments, hopping away from the two remaining Rock types to scan the cavern for something, anything to explain what was going on.

“There! You fucking rats! Hiding in the shadows!” Tenaz snarled at the intrusion of three Yamasks in the ensuing battle. He grit his teeth, using Flame Wheel to close the distance by barreling straight into one of them, sending the feral Pokémon crashing into the wall.

“You think you can just try and gank me with Disable?! You think I'm just going to stand there and not fuck you up for it!? Think again!”

Tenaz spun into another Flame Wheel, scorching past one Yamask to stampede over the other. His flames roared to life, the shadows from the stalagmites and stalactites dancing with each movement. The fight evolved to a mimicry of dance and emotion, each 'mon playing a part they themselves were unaware of and yet playing flawlessly all the same.

‘Two Yamasks down, three Roggenrola out of commission. All things considered? Besides the Disable, I haven't taken much in the way of-’

Tenaz felt the impact before the pain registered, a fifth Roggenrola had crawled out from the walls, slammed him in the side with a particularly nasty Tackle, which led to him being blasted point back by the fourth Roggenrola's Rock Blast.

Tenaz tumbled down and away from the group of enemies. His breathing was strained and wheezing, his nose definitely felt fucked-up if not outright broken. The blood trailing or trickling from multiple minor wounds and the aforementioned fucked-up nose certainly didn't help.

“That's…That wasn't very fair of you, dick. You don't see me blindsiding you, do you? It's not my fault you guys have big fucking windows of oppor…Opportunity!”

Tenaz roared, shifting his stance and using Extrasensory to lift the two Rock types into the air and smash them together as fast as he could physically make them go. “Like striking a flint for fire, you motherfuckers!”

One of the Roggenrola had half of its outer shell smashed by the force, though the other seemed only lightly scratched by the ordeal. Tenaz snarled again, sneering at the durability of his opponents. “You stupid fucking rocks… You stupid fucking ghosts… I haven't even been in this cave for a fucking hour and I already hate it with a divine fury!”

Tenaz revved up his next Flame Wheel, slammed into the still conscious Roggenrola and ended up blasting through the 'Mon entirely, the fragments of the creature fired off across the cave like shrapnel. He ended up not getting through the attack unscathed, as said shrapnel slash Tenaz’s sides and even nicked the side of his face deep enough to bleed.

He shook his face, some of his blood splattered against the cold stone. Tenaz stared at it, then back to the sole remaining Yamask. He felt tears well up in his eyes, his maw peeling into a frustrated frown as he began firing several Ember at the Ghost type.

“You dumb fucking animals! Couldn't just let me get these dumb fucking stones, could you? No! Just had to make things harder on me, huh?! Why can't this shit just be easy?!” The Cyndaquil hiccuped a sob, slamming his paw down onto the Yamask's mask again and again until the thing shattered.

The cavern was silent. Nothing made a sound beyond the faint drip of the liquids oozing out of Tenaz from the fight. He couldn't really tell if it was his tears or his blood. He didn't care to know the difference. All he knew was that his fur was feeling stickier by the moment, that he was starting to feel exhausted both emotionally and physically, and he would really, really like to go home now, thank you very much.

Unfortunately his job wasn't done yet, so he couldn't even leave yet! Tenaz cursed his vile luck, checked the pouch, counted the five fucking stones he had, and promptly sat down to try and calm himself down before he exploded into a meltdown.

“This is such bullshit…” Tenaz stood back up, kicked a stray Roggenrola fragment, and began waddling through the mine, quietly sniffling as he chiseled out visible stones from the stone and dirt.

“Six, s-seven, eight, nine.” Tenaz counted each stone, deposited them into the pouch, and continued down the winding paths.

Long since rusted pickaxes stuck out from the stone, chipped and broken helmet and lanterns strewn wildly along the way, even entire tattered remnants of miner outfits and miner corpses, or at least the bone that is, remained behind.

“This is an underground monument to death and my fucking God is it spooky…” Tenaz muttered to himself, looking down at what he assumed was an outstretched hand begging for help, if the bones accompanied by the crushed support beam and pile of smaller boulders was any obvious indication.

The Cyndaquil halted in place, the wide-mouthed arch to…Somewhere a jarring image against the jagged tunnels that lead him down this way. He couldn't see the entire area ahead of him, the only visible marker a soft glitter of shiny reflected by the eternal fire on his back.

“...That is such a fucking trap. That is such a fucking trap. There's no way that isn't some lair for a demon from the depths of Hell. …God dammit I'm gonna have to go down there, aren't I? Because I need these stupid fucking stones. Because I need those stupid fucking stones.”

Tenaz sniffled again, stealing his emotions and hopping in place to get his blood and adrenaline pumping accordingly. “Okay then! Let's do this! C'mon then! Fucking bring it!”

He rolled past the arch, blazing past towards the center of the room, grinding to a halt and immediately digging teeth and paws into the pile of earth and gems to grab the stones as fast as he possibly could.

Nothing happened. 

Tenaz looked around, paranoia flared back into hyperactivity as he stuffed the pouch full of every stone he could get his grubby little paws on.

Nothing happened.

Once the pouch was full, the Johto starter scanned the area once again, desperately searching for something that would justify his paranoid state.

Nothing happened.

Tenaz slowly stepped away from the outcropping of jewels, gems, and stones. He didn't turn around, he didn't run, he just slowly walked backwards towards the exit. He was so close now, he could feel it. Just a little further and he could get the fuck out of here and never talk or even think about this cavern again.

And something happened.

The ground rumbled both above and below, Tenaz slipped onto his back again as stalactites cracked and crashed down onto the floor from the force. The outcrop of riches split apart the rock, dirt and dust shaking away as large hex nuts burst out from the earth, dragging out an insanely large creature to Tenaz. The ‘fists’ slammed the earth again, more of the cave shuddering under the force of the blow.

Melmetal has awoken.

Chapter Text

Tenaz backpedaled as fast as he could, desperate to gain distance against the feral pseudo-legendary before him.

‘Holy shit, holy shit, holy shit, holy SHIT I'M SO FUCKING DEAD!’ Tenaz’s mind screamed obscenities and mindless prayers as instinct and terror worked in tandem to ensure his survival as best as possible given the monumentally bullshit circumstances.

The Melmetal swung the titanic hex nut it called a fist across the cavern, smashed stalagmites and stalactites scattering more shrapnel and debris across the arena. A sound shrieked out from it, more akin to the sound of heated metal being cooled off in water than the cry of a creature. Liquid metal spewed from the Titan, gathering up the broken rocks and launching them at Tenaz.

The Cyndaquil let out a scream, turning on a dime to roll out the way of the Rock Slide. A roaring boom impacted behind him, dust billowing out as his flames flickered and sparked wildly. His heart was pounding in his chest, the oppressive thump of his heartbeat overwhelming any other sound beyond his own breathing.

Tenaz spat out Ember after Ember, diving between the few remaining collections of rubble and stalagmites to use them as cover. Every attack was followed by the Melmetal bringing either another grapeshot of rock towards him, or swinging its fists right down onto him, or even worse, sweeping across the general area Tenaz was in at all.

‘Rock Slide, Dynamic Punch, I think that last one was a Heavy Slam? Alright, c'mon asshole, what's your last move?’ Tenaz grimaced, bursting through the newest cloud of dust and through the Melmetal's arm. The next Flame Wheel tore through the arm, not that that was a serious deterrent. When your enemy is made of liquid metal, losing a limb is more of a temporary stun than a fight ending condition. Something Tenaz was absolutely seething about every time he pulled the move off.

“Okay, this sounds rich given the world we live in-” Tenaz ducked another sweeping Dynamic Punch, his fur prickling up dead straight at just the sound passing by, let alone the small gust of wind. “But your powers are bullshit!”

Tenaz felt his chest ache at the pounding, his ribs felt like they were going to break. Every intake of breath was sharp yet stuttered, the Cyndaquil forced to flare his flames around himself every so often to prevent himself from inhaling a cloud of dust. This wasn’t a fight. This wasn’t a fucking fight! This was a prolonged execution! A death sentence with extra steps, all of which were painful!

“I wanna go home, I wanna go home, I wanna go HOME!” He screamed at the feral Titan, spitting an Ember directly at the beast’s eye, watching with sadistic vindication as the thing roared in pain and slammed itself backwards into the stone behind it. A venomous glee filled Tenaz, the Fire starter blind to the dark miasma slowly flowing throughout the floor of the arena like a fog. ‘It can be hurt, so it can be killed.’ The words repeated like a prayer in Tenaz’s head. He couldn’t quite place the where and when of the thought, only when he became away it had consumed any thoughts beside his instinct to survive and his strategies to overcome this ill-dealt hand by Fate.

Tendrils of liquid metal twisted and churned into a singular limb, rising higher and higher until the Melmetal let the limb drop, crashing into the floor. Tenaz curled into a ball, launching his way through the Heavy Slam with a Flame Wheel.

‘As long as I can avoid those fucking hex nuts, I can get through this! If it can be hurt, then it can be killed.’ 

“Just fucking die already! God Almighty you are such a bitch!” Tenaz screamed out, tearing his way through another attempted Heavy Slam and spitting an Ember at the Titan to punish the whiff. If one were to ask Tenaz if this daunting fight was a prolonged effort, he would have spat in their face, pissed in their bed, and insulted their bloodline for twenty minutes. To Tenaz, a ‘prolonged effort,’ is climbing a mountain or surpassing your previous best effort in training. It is not the grueling, infuriating, and soul-draining slog that fighting the Melmetal became once he learned what attacks he could handle, and which ones instinct demanded he dodge.

“You’re not even that dangerous if someone is fast enough! I’ve only been in two fights as far as I know and even I’m kicking your ass! Steel types ain’t got shit on-”

The lead hook for the Melmetal’s Double Iron Bash is fast, faster than Tenaz can blink, and his body feels the ensuing damage long before he’s sent flying into the air for the following overhead to crater Tenaz back into the ground. A cacophony of crunches and what Tenaz could only assume was a sound akin to sloshing is all he hears as his ribs and a few muscles are practically steamrolled by kinetic force.

‘Pain. Everything hurts. Fucking Christ does everything hurt.’

Blood pooled out from Tenaz’s mouth and nose as he slowly pulled himself up from out the small crater. Normally, Tenaz would violently oppose his body keeping him conscious despite the monumental amount of pain he was experiencing. However, given that being unconscious in this exact situation meant his death, he would overlook this qualm this time around. In Tenaz’s eyes, if it meant his survival? There was no cost too great.

…The world felt too small. The cavern felt too small. His body felt too small. His soul felt too small for what he was facing. For all this pain and unfairness. Tenaz’s next breath took in an almost obscene amount of the miasma, leading him to double over as he hacked and wheezed up the intrusions in his throat. Too small. It was all just too fucking small. Not enough. Never enough. He needed more, more that could ever be given or could ever be taken. He just needed more.

And this fucking beast would give him what he needed.

Tenaz’s vision swam as he pushed himself a little further, his breaths ragged and uneven. The Melmetal loomed over him like a dark omen, bearing down on him like a force of nature. Every breath Tenaz took seemed to burn his lungs, the miasma thickening the air around him and turning each inhalation into a struggle.

“C’mon…C’mon you punk, get the fuck up and kill this thing already.”

The miasma drifted down from Tenaz’s open maw, every exhale spewing out more of the sickly looking smog as his flames flickered, not in strength, but in color. Blues darkened into purple, and orange bled away into a brightened green. Tenaz paid no heed to this, his eyes locked solely on the filthy, rusted cretin that thought his demise would be something easily obtained. Every word he spat out oozed with a hatred and venom not entirely his own, but nothing Tenaz would object to.

“You think you can just kill me and get away with it?! You think after everything you’ve done to US, we would ever let you go uncontested!? You mindless fuck! You’ll suffer for this! You will suffer for this insolence!”

Tenaz took a step towards the Melmetal, and a small flame burst into existence behind him. Another step produced another flame. The Titan roared, raising its ‘fists’ to prepare the next attack. And then it stopped, instinct screaming at the pseudo-legendary to take notice of the change occurring in its own domain, in its own territory that it had slain so many to keep, to lay the groundwork for its spawn to be made anew from its corpse when it had grown large enough to support so many. Each rich purple flame seemed to whisper and hiss, almost gathering amongst themselves akin to an audience. An audience that was very unhappy with the turn this script had taken.

The fires weaved and swayed with Tenaz’s every movement, some even took the opportunity to lash out at the Melmetal, cleaving away pieces of its forms and leaving nothing to reform itself with. The spite-born audience jeered in silent loathing, coalescing and coagulating around Tenaz, who watched in a half-delirious state as each flame linked with another, forming rings around the Fire starter.

“What…What are you doing? Leave me be, focus on the Melmetal! Stop! This…What the fuck are you doing?” Tenaz shouted wildly at the audience, his flames erupting into the old colors once more as one ring after another orbited again and again, growing darker yet darker with every rotation until they were as dark as the void.

Tenaz’s frustration had soared to new heights, confusion intertwining with delirium, pain, and an anger not his own. He wanted to go back to his comfy bed in the spooky hotel. He wanted to get paid twice as much for taking this stupid job and being told nothing besides what to do and where to go. Above all these desires, however, was the simple request of: “I want this fucking Melmetal obliterated!”

And the audience obeyed.

The void-like flames imploded, the compounding energy of untold centuries of regret, suffering, and longing bursting away from Tenaz. Each Dark Pulse met the Melmetal with nothing short of devastating effect, ripping away entire chunks of the ancient Pokémon. The Steel type shrieked in agony, pulling itself out of the earth completely in a desperate bid to escape the onslaught that had been brought upon it. It swung its hex nut into the ground, digging into the cavern floor to wrench itself past Tenaz and out into the Jubiwell tunnels. The fist found purchase in the stone, only to have the arm severed by Tenaz with a Flame Wheel.

“I don’t think so, jackass! You don’t get to run away! That wouldn’t be fair, now would it? So you get to stay with us!” The Cyndaquil taunted, a grin made from vindication and retribution adorned on his face as he watched the once mighty Titan thrash about and wail in new pain with each and every Dark Pulse.

The Melmetal collapsed, losing all but a single hex nut limb and half of its upper body to Tenaz’s combination of attacks. It made no noise, made no movements beyond the weakened limb clawing into the dirt, still trying to escape. Still trying to survive.

‘Well we can’t have that, now can we? Nononono, no. None of that kind of behavior here. Not anymore.’

Tenaz waddled forward, trampling over the pseudo-legendary to stomp his paws onto the Titan’s face, still grinning wide as his eyes slowly glowed into the same bright green the edges of his flame held not too long ago. “Y’know…I feel that I simply must thank you. Without you being the instinct driven moron that you are, oh, excuse me, that you were, I would’ve never have found these new friends of mine. We are getting along quite well, as you can see. So thank you, Melmetal. Thank you for the gift you have inadvertently given us. Now, kindly do us the favor of dying.” Tenaz curled into a ball one more time, using a jet of fire to launch himself into the air and fire himself through the Melmetal’s head with a Flame Wheel alongside sending out another Dark Pulse, wiping away the last conscious remnants of the ancient Melmetal.

The Cyndaquil uncurled and exhaled a puff of smoke from his nostrils, marching back over to where the pouch of stones had been thrown to after he had been viciously…’Why the fuck does my mind keep yelling the words “Wombo-Combo’d”? What the fuck even is a “Wombo-Combo”?!’

He shook his head, picking the pouch back up and using Extrasensory to fumble around to tie it around his stomach. Tenaz double-checked its secured status on his stomach, then checked one last time to be sure. ‘Nice and snug. Good. Last thing I need is to slow myself down for these damn stones.’

The Johto starter took in a deep breath, the back of his neck tickling as the blues of his fire changed to the purple of before. Tenaz, of course, took one look at that and immediately declared it to be a ‘Future Tenaz Problem’ as he made his way for the cavern exit.

“God I hope no one else had to deal with anything remotely like that bullshit for their jobs. What a fucking nightmare! Ugh, let’s…Alrighty, let’s go get fucking paid! …Yay.”

Chapter Text

Sitting was weird for Irene. Logically, she knew how others did it and how she could do it. If someone had legs, they could sit closer to the edge with their legs hooking around the seat. If someone only had arms, well, they would want to be on a seat they could pull themselves up to.

It didn’t occur to her until now that establishments would have a different assortment of seats for their guests. The Addams family had a style and tended to stick to it, so their chairs had full backs and armrests with a few exceptions for pokémon that had no way of fitting into them. The Pan-Fried Bar and Grill had two dozen different seats for their customers to choose between. Everything from booths large enough for a Snorlax to stools tall enough for a Joltik were available. Although some had to be asked for.

Irene was a flexible Dratini. She could fly and she could coil herself up onto a relatively small space. Her first instinct was to float next to the countertop and remain there. Pansage—or Benny as he had later introduced himself—insisted she sit down on a stool and relax. So she picked one of the taller ones and placed her tiny sack of Poké in the middle of it, allowing her to curl most of her body around it.

“We can’t thank you enough,” a Pansear shouted from the kitchen. A long opening in the wall gave her a clear view of the Fire-type manning the stove. Clapping his hands together, Pansear lit the fire by rubbing his mitten-like hands together. “Now, what can I do for the lady of the hour?”

Irene glanced around the counter. On the other side of it were bottles that Irene couldn’t quite discern the contents of. There wasn’t really a menu for her to look at and pick from. “I guess something with meat? Grandmama and Argo made really nice kebabs yesterday.” A thin tongue flicked out and licked under her big white nose. “Yeah, those were nice.”

“Alright! Let’s get you a slider.” Grabbing a chop of meat from somewhere, Pansear got to work with a smile on his face. And, well, Irene’s mental image of a slider was a messy sandwich. Whatever came out of that kitchen, Irene hoped it would be delicious enough that she’d be licking her plate clean.

Sauntering out of the kitchen door, a Panpour made his way over to the counter. He leaned on the side across from her with an open palm offered out. “How about a drink while you wait?”

“Some water would be nice.” It had been hours since she sat for a meal, much less had something to drink. Huh, she should probably be starving and thirsty right about now. Especially with the smell of searing meat wafting through the air. Yet she felt mostly fine. A bit tired after flying for an hour, but otherwise, in perfect health.

Panpour grabbed a tall glass and dangled it over the counter. “You sure?” he asked. “Cause I can whip up a drink just as sweet as you.”

“Water’s fine. I’m not picky.” Irene waved the tip of her tail in dismissal. The smell emanating from the kitchen was much more alluring than the promise of a sweet drink.

Pansear snickered, a barely there sound over the sizzling of meat and fat. “Swing and a miss.” Whipping around, Panpour glared at the Fire-type, but the harsh look didn’t even make Pansear blink. “Hey, maybe you’ll have better luck with one of her friends.”

Right on cue, Benny walked into the restaurant with a crate of fruits of vegetables in his arms. “Pretty sure Wednesday already called dibs on the Ralts.”

“She did?” Irene swiveled around on her stool. “When?”

Benny shrugged. “No clue, but Ma and the ladies in the garden were whispering about it.” He shuffled over to the kitchen and pushed the door open with his foot. “Speaking of which! Colin, go get the good stuff!”

Panpour groaned. “Do I have to?”

“Yes!” cried both Pansage and Pansear.

Rolling his eyes, Panpour—or Colin, she supposed—held his club-shaped tail above the glass in his hand. From his tail, a steady stream of glistening clear water poured out, filling up the glass. “Here.” He slid the drink across the counter. “I’ll be back in a few if you wanna talk or whatever.” The sudden mopey-ness in his voice wasn’t lost on Irene, but when he left the counter, she had a new conundrum.

How did she grip a glass? Her tail had some amount of grip, but her scales were made to slide across things. She slithered and wiggled around. Or, well, she was supposed to. Instead, she defied the conventional Dratini’s skillset and flew around. She really should go for a walk and see if she ran into that Gyarados again. They taught her a lot about being a big ol’ worm.

Unfortunately, grabbing things was not a lesson she had time for. Irene had made due by constricting around things like doorknobs to twist them, but she was much less concerned about damaging those compared to a glass of water. A doorknob could take some damage. Glass shards cutting into her skin didn’t sound like a great way to spend her evening. Maybe she could tip the glass and drink that way? She would still spill some water though.

“Did Colin not give you a straw?” A tall Grass-type sauntered around the counter. Her shiny red legs shined under the lights of the restaurant and the large, thick leaves hanging off her head dangled around almost hypnotically. “I could’ve sworn I taught that boy better.” Despite her words, the Grass-type smiled fondly as she plucked a straw out from behind the counter and stuck it in Irene’s glass. “Name’s Tifa.”

“I-Irene.” The Dratini tried to smile, but her teeth barely showed around her big nose. “Hi.”

“Hi.” She couldn’t see Tifa’s mouth thanks to the red frills of her collar. Was it a collar? It certainly looked like Tifa was wearing a shirt of some kind considering that Tifa’s face was white and not red. “So, you’re one of the new folks around here?”

Right. Proper introductions. Stop staring at the big lady. Irene nodded and cleared her throat. “We’re Team Pyro as of today. The newest and best Rescue Team out there!”

Tifa giggled. “Well, you’ve certainly got the spunk. Hopefully you’ve got the drive to back that up.”

“Drive?” Like motivation? Well, Irene didn’t exactly have strong motivations. This Rescue Team thing was something to do and she felt qualified to go explore dungeons to do odd jobs.

“You know, what keeps you going out and fighting.” Grabbing a bottle from behind her and a small glass, Tifa poured herself a drink of amber liquid. After that, she grabbed two ice cubes and dropped them in. “Team H2O has fame going for them. It keeps them going and wanting to be stronger.”

That… well, Irene would have never garnered that from her interactions with them. Most of them were jerks, but people could be mean for the silliest of reasons. “So they want to be known by more people? That’s why they’re a Rescue Team?”

“It’s a little more complicated than that.” Ice cubes crashed with satisfying little thunks against Tifa’s glass. She pulled back her collar and took a sip. “I guess the short version is that they defeated a strong and unknown pokémon a couple months back and shot up in the ranks. That kind of thing really gets into someone’s head.” The Grass-type looked past Irene and out the window. “Most of them aren’t that bad either.”

“Like Hydro?” It took all of Irene’s brainpower not to blurt out Pinky Floaty Thing instead of her friend’s name.

“Like Hydro.” Tifa nodded. “But they’ve got the drive to be better at least. Lots of mons just reach a plateau and stay there.” If they were strong enough to do what they needed to do, then Irene couldn’t hold that against them. She felt somewhat strong, but not strong enough for what waited in the future. She didn’t have a concrete idea of what was waiting. Just a vague feeling in her gut that she trusted more than she probably should have.

Irene took a long draft from her straw. “Say, do you know a lot about Rescue Teams? You seem to know quite a bit.”

“You can say that.” The Grass-type took a gulp of her drink, letting the chill of the amber liquid wash down her throat. “An old friend of mine was part of one, but he’s gone missing. Guess I picked up a few things when he decided to talk.”

“Oh. I hope you find your friend,” mumbled Irene. It felt lackluster coming out of her mouth, but the condolence was the barest she could offer. “Maybe my team could find him! I rescued Pansage from a dungeon today, I’m sure I can find your friend and bring him back.”

Tifa smiled softly at the Dragon. “That’s sweet of you, but I think that mission is a little above your paygrade.” Reaching over, Tifa patted Irene on the head. “Leave this one to me, alright? I can take care of our friends.”

“But who’s going to look after you?” pointed out the blue worm of a dragon.

“Me, of course!” A Lilligant skipped into the restaurant, sidling up onto the stool next to Irene. The giant flower on her head was a pale yellow with thin, delicate petals compared to the thick green leaves covering the rest of her body. “I’ll always have Tifa’s back.”

“Aerith!” Tifa tugged her collar up, hiding her face as much as possible. That wasn’t much considering the tightness of the red material.

“What? You’d do that for your friends too,” teased the Lilligant. “After all, weren’t you the one who took that Draco Meteor for me?”

“I didn’t take it for you,” huffed the taller Grass-type. “I kicked it so it didn’t hit you. And it didn’t mean anything. I was just protecting our healer since you were busy keeping Barret up.”

Aerith put a hand over her thin mouth, hiding the mischievous grin on her face. “Of course. We’d all do the same for each other when there’s a fight.” Her tone was placating, which only incensed the Tsareena further. “I’m sure Barret and Cid would love to do all the things you do for me.”

“Ah—Aerith! Not in front of the child!” Tifa gestured over to Irene, who was more entertained than anything. Besides, she hardly felt like a child even if she was a bit small compared to the two of them.

“I’m sure she’s heard worse by now.” Finally, Aerith looked at Irene and paused at the sight, mouth slightly ajar. Reaching out, she cupped the Dragon’s face. “Oh my, you’re a special one, aren’t you?”

“I am?” Irene, quite liking the new focus of attention, leaned into the leaf-hand. “Well me and my friends kinda just appeared on the beach one day. They’re also super strong for their size. I guess we’d be considered a bit special.”

Smiling, Aerith patted Irene’s cheek. “It’s a bit more than that, but you’ll figure it out. Heroes always do.” Pulling away from Irene, Aerith looked toward her friend. “Shall we get going?”

Tifa finished off her drink with two hearty gulps and slammed the glass down on the counter. “Let’s go.” The two left the restaurant, hand in hand as if they weren’t bickering a moment ago. Irene watched them go, mesmerized by the sight.

Though they raised some good points throughout that conversation. She needed to get strong to protect her friends and make sure they didn’t get separated or went missing. If she continued to get stronger, they couldn’t be taken away. The stronger she was, the better off all her friends would be. Helping people as part of a Rescue Team was only the first step to getting stronger. But if she kept doing missions, she not only got stronger but she helped other people along the way. The best of both worlds for Irene, especially when her friends were already mighty strong.

Idly, she wondered just how strong they could get. There had to be a limit somewhere along the way. Maybe far into the future, but they would eventually get there. If they did, well, she would rely on her friend’s to fill in for her weaknesses and she could fill in for theirs. After all, that’s what friends were for, to help each other and have each other’s backs. Aerith and Tifa were just one such example. Huh, maybe Irene should follow—

“Sliders are ready!” shouted Pansear as he busted out from the kitchen with a plateful of small, juicy sandwiches.

“Yay!” cheered Irene. “Thank you for the food!”

Chapter Text

Chapter 24: Arc 2: Chill Wind. Chapter 13 The flames of the heart (Gin 4)

Gin blinked as the sun began to set, he sighed as he realized that he would need to stay out and camp for the night. Not that his body complained too much at the idea of rest, he definitely felt some level of kinship with Sapphire now due to how exhausted the idea of using a move made him feel; never mind the pain that actually forcing it did. His mind went back to the cavern and the pokémon that were left alive after he left it and he wondered what the hell had happened. By the description the mission should've been an easy get in and out mission, not something so exhausting, furthermore there was the issue with the various types that lived there. 

Mostly electric types with the exception of Zubat and Roggenrola, which meant that either the rock types were there to stop any adventuring pokémon or to keep certain pokémon in. Plus there was the environment itself of the cave, he knew that some were referred to as mystery dungeons, but how did it go from cavern to pseudo clearing? These questions and more distracted his mind as he stepped off the main road back to Summerleaf and into the nearby woods. The games had said tall grass, but that was underestimating it, Gin felt like if he stood still he would be swallowed in the underbrush. It took a few minutes but he eventually found a decent place to lie down and most importantly a hollow tree. 

He imagined a pokemon once used it as its home since it definitely bore marks of being molded. But it was abandoned, vines covering the entrance, but a small shove and he was inside. It was nice and warm as he curled on himself and let out a cry, “Fuck me, last time I get hit so often. Gomez was right, I need to dodge more.” he thought as he could feel his body slowly heal. He breathed out a pained gasp as he let his exhaustion drop him into sleep.

His dreams were chaotic in nature, he dreamed of a cave inside of it a cold star began freezing The mountains surrounding it. He dreamed of a gaping maw consuming worlds and its people. He dreamed of his last moments, the odd smell and then… red. Fire consumed his body, waking up on a beach…

“Huurgh.” He groaned as he slowly uncurled himself. He wasn't back to 100%, but he definitely wasn't nearly dead. Nearby a Timburr appeared carrying apples, Gin stood perfectly still as it approached his location, placed a couple of apples and grunted before turning around and leaving him.

“Was that? Oh.” He remembered the pokémon he managed to save the day before, and left the hollow tree. Smelling the apple he took a bite, then another and another until they had all been devoured. A smile crept up his muzzle as the morning sun rose.

“The darkness is pierced by the morning sun~”

A song played in his head as he headed back to Summerleaf. “The light is beautiful, I'm mesmerized by it~” he sang following the music that now played in his mind and soul. He didn't feel like caring about how off key he sounded, or how he was broadcasting his location. All he could feel was the warmth of the sun washing away the cold dread of his dreams.

For the briefest of moments, a tiny squiggle of a creature passed between Gin and the sun. If he blinked, he would have missed the shadow that flew over him. Said shadow didn’t miss the bright colors of the Vulpix. “Gin!”

“Hi Irene!” He replied, “Did you also just arrive back?” He asked while following the floating dragon. 

Irene floated down closer to Gin and slowed down to match his speed. “I got back yesterday. Didn’t really feel like sticking around the dungeon after I found the mon I needed to rescue.” Taking in the sight of her friend, Irene eyed the backpack slung around Gin’s back. “What about you? How was your quest?”

“Heh, Heh…” He barked out before clearing his throat, “Well I definitely went in under prepared. My dungeon was rather big and the pokemon there weren't the most friendly. On the flip side I did get the TMs that Orion asked for. And learned how to do basic shadow clones. Still need to work on fine tuning them.” 

“Shadow Clones?” Irene tilted her head. “Why does that sound familiar?”

“Maybe you heard it in your past life?” Gin mentioned also tilting his head, “Or it could be something you saw in town?” He added, since maybe the world of pokémon had their own version of that show.

The Dratini shook her head. “I think it was something in my past. Which probably doesn’t mean much?” She wiggled around, letting out what seemed to be a shiver. “I can’t really remember anything before I appeared here. A few facts and images here and there, but not really any memories. Does that make sense?”

Shivering slightly at the memories of his last day as a human popping back up from his dreams Gin said, “Makes sense. I've been getting mine through dreams. Not the most fun things personally.” He sighed as he thought of how to express his thoughts, “But… if you want to pursue those memories, then go for it. If not, then that's also okay. I'll assist you where I can.” He added after a few seconds.

“Aw, thanks, Gin. I’ll assist you too.” Irene did her best to smile around her big white nose. “Well, I’ll try to help out. I don’t know how I can really help with dream stuff, but if you need a hug or a cuddle, then I’m here.” She offered her tail toward Gin. “Might be a bit cold at first though. Pretty sure I’m cold-blooded and this Spring isn’t Springing.”

Barking out a laugh Gin smiled, “Might take you up on that one day, though the cold never bothered me anyway. Especially now that I'm literally a Fire type.” Sniffing the air he did notice the lack of spring smells, “But you do have a point on the entire Spring isn't Springing, you'd think we'd get some floral scents or something. Spring should be blooming.” Worry seeped into his tone as the image of an ice age crept back into his mind, but he shook his head dismissing it. 

“Hopefully we’re just early. I don’t want to find out how weak Dragons are to Ice.” Irene tried to sniff the air as well, but didn’t find much besides the rich scents coming off Gin. Flicking out her tongue rewarded her with little besides the cool breeze. 

Letting loose some Fire type energy around him Gin sent a small flame next to Irene, “Well if it gets too cold, just tell me. I've got fire to spare.” He stated confidently, letting out a few more orbs of flame next to her.

“Oh, that feels nice,” moaned Irene as she floated closer to the orbs. She flicked her tail through one, letting the heat wash over her scales. “Hey, keeping these up doesn't tire you out, do they?”

“Not really. If I'm bring honest it's genuinely more relaxing for me.” Gin admitted producing yet another one and directing it to float around his head like a small halo. “Kinda like stretching to be honest, feels good and isn't tiresome. Or maybe its like letting loose steam from a boiler? I dunno how else to describe it, all I know is that I can do this all day and not feel tired.”

Irene watched the orb of fire around Gin’s head bob up and down with his gait. An almost hypnotic movement with all the other orbs floating around him. “That must feel good. Pretty different from my Dragon energy too. That’s all greedy and destructive.” She hummed, drifting closer to the haven of warmth that was her friend. “Even my other attacks are kind of like that. So it’s probably a Dragon pokémon thing rather than me being weird. I hope so, anyway.”

Gin hummed and said, “Nah, you're perfectly fine. A lot of moves are attack based, sure you have stuff like Protect, Wish, Safeguard, Baton Pass, and the list goes on. But a lot of it is destructive, but that's also okay. Because before creation comes destruction, and you've got a good head on your shou… neck?” He stopped awkwardly as he realized that Dratini do not in fact have shoulders, they are noodle friend shaped. Regardless he cleared his throat and continued, “Point is Irene, you're a good Pokémon and I trust your judgment, so I know that if you blow something up, it'll be for a good reason.”

“Gin, we’ve known each other for like three days.” Irene reached over with her tail and bopped the Vulpix on the nose. “And I feel like you’re referencing something that I don’t remember, so…” She snaked around Gin’s torso and gave him a soft squeeze. “Thanks. That stuff means a lot.”

“Any time buddy, any time.” Gin thanked her for the hug. “Anyways, I'll head over to the guild first and get my reward. Want to come with or are you heading back to the hotel?” He asked as they approached the town.

Unable to properly shrug, Irene blurted out. “I dunno. I could pick up a new mission, but I kinda want to check in on everyone else before I leave again.” Unraveling from the little hug, Irene floated above Gin. “Last night, I kinda just went to bed. Didn’t really get a chance to see how Argo, Sapphire, or Nix’s mission went.” She paused. “No idea where Tenaz is either.”

“Hmmm, I think Tenaz was heading to a dungeon near where I was but I didn't see him. So either he's still exploring, or has arrived at the guild or he's camping out like I did.” Gin concluded after a few seconds of searching his memories. “But as far as the others go? I hope things went better than mine did. Then again, I can't complain, learned how to pull off something new and finished the mission.” He said, cheering himself up. 

“Sounds better than my reward.” Irene sped up a tiny bit as they entered Summerleaf Town proper. “Got some Poké and a free meal. Oh, also meet these two really nice ladies but that wasn’t part of the mission. They just kind of showed up and talked and gave me important life advice before disappearing into the night.”

Gin stopped when he heard that bit of information and blinked, “That's actually pretty cool. Mysterious life advice is always useful.” He nodded, “I'll see you later then Irene.” He said as a form of goodbye.

“Bye, bye!” Irene wagged her tail in a semblance of a wave before flying off.

After seeing her float away Gin walked to the guild hall. Unsurprisingly the ground outside still bore the damage of Argo’s flame and Gin smirked as the memory floated into his mind.

“You seem to be in a good mood.” The guildmaster mentioned, sneaking up on Gin and making him dash forward before turning to face her, “Good reaction! I can see how you escaped the dungeon so quickly!” She added gleefully and much to Gin’s surprise she had the TMs in her hands already.

“How did you-?” Gin began to ask as she dragged him to the desk, and stamped down the mission as complete in a swift flurry of movement. “I'm the guildmaster.” She summed up much to Gin’s frustration. “Also it seems you brought in unknown TMs, you'll need to speak with Orion about those, he'll handle your pay for the requested one as well.” 

“Orion?” Gin asked, turning his head to see if anyone reacted to that name. No pokémon inside the hall did so he assumed that he would need to travel somewhere in town.

“He's our historian. He also handles the TMs for everyone. Well him and Mr. Addams, though you are familiar with the latter, so no need to introduce him.” She explained while handing him back the TMs, “Just head over to the building next door, you can use the passage over there to get there faster.” She pointed at the door as Gin exited the building, never wondering why the guildmaster would also do receptionist duty.

The other building was the opposite of a guild hall, where one was rather spacious given the amount of desks around this one wasn't. In fact the best way Gin could describe it was a maze of books, towering over himself as a Metagross floated amongst the bookshelves. Gin took a tentative step inside as he saw the pokémon float down with purpose and state, “Welcome to the Summerleaf Archives. My name is Orion,” a voice seemed to boom in his head as the Metagross slowly adjusted his tone, “I handle the debriefing of missions, general history of the town and its inhabitants and also provide TM services.”

Gin gulped and replied, “I'm here because of the request at Crackling Cove.”

“Ah, perfect!” There was an undeniable sense of joy and excitement as the Metagross grabbed a chair and indicated to Gin that he should sit on it, “Let us begin with the debriefing first, before moving to the TM appraisal.” Gin could feel that he would in fact not be leaving anytime soon, as he saw the Metagross float several stacks of paper and various pens and quills.

“So it all started yesterday…” Gin began to recount, surrendering to the fate of detailed paperwork.

Chapter Text

New day, new stuff. Argo smiled as she settled back on her bed. Gomez had been happy to lend her a CD reader so she could actually use the Thunder Punch TM she’d borrowed. It promised to be quite enlightening. She’d had experience with Fire and Ice by this point and adding Electric will be interesting. 

“Probably shouldn’t do more after that.” She rubbed her neck with one hand as she stuck the TM into the slot. “Three will be more than enough for now. Until I manage to get Fire properly understood.”

That feels like it’ll come soon at least. Then… maybe look toward Psychic? It’d certainly be useful. Ah, just wait a bit and figure it out later. Ice will likely bring enough trouble on its own that getting a third immediately after getting the easiest wouldn’t be a good idea. Ugh… this is turning out to be a lot of trouble.

“Let’s just work on Thunder Punch right now.” She hit the play button and settled in. “Oh god this is done like an infomercial.” An informative one at least but still. “So what I have to do is…”

Electric typing is a little weird. Most would associate it with thunder, and that is one of its most prominent moves, but that isn’t actually what it really boils down to at the end of the day. Thunder is just one move, and while it is an iconic one it isn’t even close to how the rest of the Type expresses itself. Take Thunder Punch, for instance, it’s not at all anything like Thunder.

Thunder is a single point of power crashing down onto the world. Thunder Punch works through a continual charge of power being held over a fist and then being sent into the opponent. The base element is the same, but the method of delivery and the length of time they work for is very different. Though there are some similarities, thinking about it deeper. Some more exploration is needed to really get a taste of the Type. Using Thunder Punch more should do nicely.

“For right now though…” Argo pulled herself up and retrieved the disc, “gotta get this over to Gomez.”

Or maybe just give it to Lurch to get to Gomez. Finding the Mr. Rime was really annoying sometimes and other times it was way too easy and not advisable to actually follow the trail to wherever he was. Yeah… just give it to Lurch. That's the better plan. 

Lurch hadn’t been at the front desk, so Argo just put it back in her room and headed to the backlot. It wasn’t like the entire thing needed to be done immediately or anything. She huffed as she dropped herself into a seat amongst the tombstones of the Addams’ backlot. There wasn’t any better place to play with fire and Argo planned to play with a lot of fire. Or well… Fire.

“It went blue.” She’d been… a little angry to really realize what it meant that her Fire Pledge had burned blue back in the cave. See… Fire Pledge wasn’t a move that you could really alter like that. It was a pledge to Fire, hence the name, and that meant it wasn’t something so easily altered as something like Fire Blast. It wasn’t the strongest or hottest fire, that’d be Blast Burn, but it was the most fire. It burned and consumed and was exceptionally difficult to put out because it was an imitation of a direct pillar of reality. “I shouldn’t have been able to change it like that.”

About the only thing that should have been able to was magic. That was all about going outside the bounds of Arceus designs. Grandmama said it was something granted by Giratina and the Reverse World, and frankly speaking she was probably correct. Ghost is about sort of the same thing and Giratina is the biggest Ghost of them all.

“Huh. Does that mean Giratina died when Arceus sent them to the Reverse World?” It’d certainly explain why they had been so angry. “Ah, whatever. Back to Fire.”

It certainly hadn’t been magic that had made that change. Magic wasn’t exactly blue- more purple if Argo had to put a color to it. Which made sense since it was associated with the Ghost Type. Hm… something to think about later. Still- back to Fire.

“I was just so angry.” Fire is associated with anger, but it shouldn’t have messed with the Pledge like that. “Ugh… the entire thing feels weird. Can’t remember what I did.”

She raised her hand and let a ball of fire form. It felt easier- she wouldn’t have been able to do this a day ago, but she’d also evolved in that time. It could have nothing to do with her making the Pledge blue, or it could have a lot to do with it. Regardless of which thing it was, the ball felt… interesting. Fire had felt, previously, present but distant. A thing she knew but not something to touch, not really. Metaphorically anyway- she could touch fire all she wanted and not really have any problems with it.

Now, though… in addition to the whispers that came from fire is something else. A connection- though she’d be hesitant to actually call it that- between herself and the fire. An impression of… not control, necessarily, since fire isn’t really something that takes well to control, but of possibility.

“I wonder…” Argo focused. Most of the time someone shaping something with their mind is described as focusing on the shape they want something to be and pressing that onto the thing. Sort of molding it into the shape in their mind. That isn’t possible for someone with Aphantasia. Her mind doesn’t work that way. So in the absence of that… something more physical would have to do.

The fire felt more like jelly than anything else. Still obviously not solid yet still responding to her touch. Or perhaps it would be her intentions. Regardless, the ball of fire changed. Her hand pinched the top and pulled it outward. The entire thing sparked and hissed as it stretched into a long rod of fire. 

“Interesting… how about…” Both hands came up this time. One wrapped around the base of the rod and squished it into shape beneath her fingers. The other took a more careful approach. Sparks and lashes of flame gently pulled away to dissipate into the air as she ‘carved’ at the fire in her grasp. It was rough, nowhere near what any of her more artistic friends could produce, but the shape was a simple one and quite obvious. “Huh. Guess fire doesn’t quite like that idea…”

It never rested straight. No matter what she did the entire thing bent a little bit forward no matter what. That was fine though, a katana and a broadsword are plenty different when made of metal but when made of fire it got a little ephemeral. It’s not like this one mattered, honestly, since it was only a first draft. Refining it was part of the process.

“Now… can I…” Her claws dug into the fire at the ‘edge’ of the ‘blade’ as she rested it in her lap. Gradually she stroked down the length, much like one would use a whetstone. Probably. She’d never actually seen one used in life after all. Regardless she ‘sharpened’ her blade. “Hm…”

It was difficult. The fire got greedier, angrier at every pass down the blade. It hissed and spit as it attempted to flare up, consume more and take more space. It was not allowed, but Argo could feel the effort draining her. Still she continued.

The heat increased to a point even she could feel it. The chill of the air washed away in the face of something burning so hot. She smiled as she finally lifted the blade. The edge glowed blue. It even looked sharp, somehow, despite still being made of fire. Perhaps she could cut something with it, after a fashion. That would be interesting. Maybe another trip out on a mission is due soon.

“Hm… I should take Irene.” The noodle wasn’t one she’d talked with a lot. If she was supposed to be the leader that’d need to change. It would be her job to make sure they were all happy and had everything they needed to keep going and doing what they wanted. “Ugh, gonna need to make a journal or something.” She might be able to keep most things straight but relying on her own memory isn’t something that is a good idea.

“Well that's certainly impressive!” Argo jolted as Grandmama cackled. The katana burned hotter, the flames striking out to try and find something to consume. Luckily there wasn’t anything around for them to catch. “Haven’t seen blue flame in an age. It’s something special you know.”

“I just kinda figured it out. Still don’t really know how I’m doing it…” It’s actually really annoying.

“Ah, some mysteries nobody can solve, dearie. You’ll just have to be content not learning everything there is to know in the universe.” She chuckled again. “Now, come along. Now that you’ve got paws it’s time to really work on some of the big stuff! You’re going to need that treatment for inflammability pretty soon or things might get a bit nasty. Nothing like waking up and your bedding is on fire!”

“Right. Let’s avoid that.” Argo grit her teeth and clenched her fist. The katana spat menacingly but winked out without too much extra trouble. “Haah… oh I didn’t realize how hard that was.”

“You’ll get used to it! Especially after you evolve. That sort of stuff is only done at final evolution for a reason, dearie.”

“Guess I’m just getting a head start.” Argo pulled herself to her feet. “So what are we going to do today, Grandmama?”

“The inflammability treatment, as I’ve said, and maybe a little something extra.” Grandmama cackled. “You’ve got some interesting fire so I figure teaching you Will-o-wisp would be a good idea! It’s a ghosty sort of fire and that’ll be helpful for using magic fire later on!”

“That certainly sounds fun.” Will-o-wisp just causes a burn, right? Could be interesting to mess with a fire that burns but doesn’t hurt. Has to be due to the Ghost influence on the move. Wouldn’t make sense otherwise. Maybe she could make a Fire/Ghost Pledge based on that? Or would that just be being able to use Fire Pledge and Ghost Pledge at the same time? “Should we go to the kitchen then?”

“Of course! We have to start on dinner too.” Grandmama floated toward the door to the hotel. “What do you think we should do for that today?”

“Hm… maybe ramen?” Do they have ramen here? They fucking better. “Noodles would be nice.”

“Ramen it is! We can use Will-o-wisp to heat it up after I teach you. Gives the broth a good punch!” Grandmama’s cackle was cut off by her floating through the wall of the building.

Argo just sighed and walked through the door. Looks like Grandmama forgot she couldn’t go through walls and went straight to the kitchen again. It’s not the worst thing, just a little annoying. Big question is when everyone else is going to come back. Sapphire should be done, Nix too, but the rest are question marks. Hopefully they didn’t take anything too hard for their first missions.

“They absolutely would, wouldn’t they?” Nix certainly looked like he’d gone through a woodchipper after he got back. Plus there was Irene coming back really hurt from doing something before they’d all even been an official team of busybodies delving into dangerous locations. “Ah… looks like I really should keep a closer eye on Irene. Might have a bit of a knack for trouble there.”

Could be worse. The entire team seemed to have a knack for getting into trouble. Comes with being isekai’d or resurrected or whatever the hell this counted as. Though that thought does bring to mind the big problem. They’re going to need to make certain the world doesn’t end by beating a legendary or two up. Probably anyway. It’s a good goal even if they don’t actually need to do that. Especially if Mewtwo is still out there.

“Oh, problems and problems. Hopefully they stay away long enough that most of us can get strong enough to deal with them.” As long as they win they can get experience, level up, and evolve. Which they could use to face bigger challenges. That did require facing big challenges in the first place though. “Ugh… let’s just deal with this first.” Argo pushed through the door into the kitchen.

Chapter Text

“Mmm…. mmmm….” Sapphire mumbled to herself as she picked through the market deeper in Summerleaf town, idly flexing her little hands as she examined the wares and stores there. It wasn’t exactly much, honestly. Not a lot of fresh produce, this time of year. That made sense, at least- it was a cold springtime apparently, and usually the big harvest festivals didn’t happen until the fall. That said, there were a couple of traveling vendors that set up with carts from places like Alola, Hoenn, Kanto, even Johto. Seemed like the unseasonable cold hadn’t hit them yet, so there was at least a good amount of produce.

Including Pumkin berries.

Ohhhh, sweet, sweet Pumkin berries.

Or, rather. Sour.

Sapphire had only had the one after taking her turn with the TMs that Gin brought back the other day (learning both Energy and Triple Axel, which was nice), as well as borrowing the Recycled TM that Argo brought to learn Thunder Punch, but… whoof. Ahem. 

Pumkin berries were sour. Really sour. Really, really sour. And they were delicious. Not actually pumpkin flavored, despite the name similarity, but just… wow. They made her mouth tingle and her tongue burn.

Hmm… she shouldn’t buy too many at the moment, she didn’t actually get that much money from Orion- even with the extra money that Orion gave her for bringing back so much salvage from Nuvema Town, Team Pyro needed to focus more on getting their own house built first before going off and splurging on whatever they pleased. 

Sigh… the curse of being fiscally responsible when there were sour treats to be had. At least it was good scouting, learning the kinds of things available in town- like the juice bar that boasted specialty drinks that would permanently raise a pokemon’s stats for… twice as much as a regular drink cost.

Well. Then again. Those were for Explorer Teams so… eh. They could eat that cost, really. It went back into the community anyway. There was also that clothing shop that Nix had been to, a few places for dungeoning equipment, a place that sold throwable items like Blast Seeds and high density rocks, spikes, random stuff with specialty effects… twigs.

… Wait, why did the throwable items store sell twigs, even if they were- nevermind.

Sapphire shook her head, continuing on through town as she window shopped around for stuff. Not really a lot of stuff, honestly, most of it didn’t catch her attention, though there was one shop… but… she didn’t really have that much Poké… mm…

“... Either this is gonna be a bad idea for our savings, or it’s gonna be a great idea for Argo’s mental health,” Sapphire mumbled to herself, walking into the toy shop whilst rubbing her chin. She mentally kept track of how much Poké she had, then compared that amount to the prices she saw on the tags. “Whoof… some of this is expensive…”

“We do get specialty items from all over the world, dear. Even if it’s not much, such exotic goods with their hidden manufacturing secrets demand more than a pretty price,” a random Marill called out- thankfully not that asshole Gen from Team H2O, but a different Marill with a bright yellow tail ball instead of the normal colors. “Feel free to take a look around- anything I can help you with?”

“Mm… do you have fireproof plushies? One of my friends could do with a few more plushies… she doesn’t really have any right now but…” Sapphire shrugged a little awkwardly, not really sure how many Poké she’d need to shell out. She only got a little over a hundred-ish from that one mission she’d done, so as long as the prices weren’t too high…”

“Back row, dear. Don’t fall over!” 

“Thanks,” Sapphire nodded, immediately moving past the assorted children’s toys (lots of which seemed to be leftovers or recreations of old human media and toys, it seemed), all the way back to the section helpfully labeled “Fireproof”. Not all of that section was plushies, sadly, but there were more than a few going on and Sapphire had a good idea of where to start. That being… a 2x size Scorbunny plushie, literally twice as tall as Sapphire was. How and why there was a Scorbunny plushie twice as big as Sapphire was in a store run by a pokemon half its height was a mystery, but… well.

She didn’t particularly care.

Because it turned out that giant plushie was only sixty Poké.

Perfect.

“Is that gonna be all for today?” the Marill at the counter asked once Sapphire dropped the giant (to her, currently at least) plushie down with her psychic grasp. “See anything else you want, dear?”

“Aaah, maybe later. I’m just gifting this to a friend to kickstart her plushie collection for now… I’ll buy my own things on my own time… um,” Sapphire paused, looking at one of the toys in the cheap two Poké basket and blinking a few times. “Is that a metal puzzle cube?”

“Yup! Dunno where I got it from, but I betcha that weirdo Xatu merchant stuck it in here the last time he came by with all’a his weird stuff he gets from who knows where,” the Marill shrugged, fishing the metal cube out of the basket and handing it over. “You’re the first one to notice it there, dear. Take it. Seems like it’s important if yer the only one who’s wanted it.”

“A-are you sure?”

“Yer already givin’ me sixty Poké for a big ol’ Scorbunny plushie, two Poké for a toy I got fer free doesn’t matter much. Now- y’want that bunny giftwrapped?”

“Ah…” Sapphire shook her head, taking the toy cube and holding it in her psychic grasp as she counted out her payment. “No, but if you’ve got a note card I could write on?”

The Marill smiled, pulling out a little stack of cardstock sheets from beneath the counter and sliding it over, along with a pen. “Here ya go. String, too.”

“Thanks.” Uncapping the pen, Sapphire hummed to herself for a moment before nodding to herself and writing out a message in neat, clean cursive.

Argo,

Thanks for being a good friend and helping me through my trauma the other day. I saw this in a shop and thought of you. Hope this helps with your own troubles.

Sapphire.

Once the note was finished and attached to the Scorbunny plushie with a little length of colorful string, Sapphire thanked the Marill, left the shop, eyeballed the Addams hotel visible at the edge of town (it being the tallest building in Summerleaf), and teleported back to Argo’s room so she could lay the entire thing down on the bed, waiting for her friend to get back from her mission with Irene. 

And then she made a quick stop to drop off the puzzle cube in her room so she could actually give it a go later on. She’d never managed to solve a Rubik's cube back in her previous life… maybe having a Psychic type brain would actually make it easier this time around?

… Then again, she wasn’t an Alakazam or anything. Maybe she’d be just as dumb, except now she wouldn’t have to use her hands to turn the sides.

Anyway.

“Hey Wednesday!” Sapphire waved as she teleported down to the foyer of the hotel where Wednesday was dubiously working. Really, it seemed more as if the Gothorita was more busy reading the newspaper and juggling knives with her psychic field than she was preparing to greet anyone that came in through those doors. Well. It wasn’t like there was much tourism going on at the moment, what with the cold spring and, as Wednesday had said the other day, previous bad winter. Then again… Wednesday also didn’t exactly seem like the kind of person that greeted customers much at all unless forced to.

“Sapphire,” Wednesday greeted gently, a smile gracing her features as she stabbed her knife into the desk and caught the other two as they fell. “Just the Ralts I wanted to see. How was your outing?”

“Productive, if draining on my wallet,” Sapphire answered just as easily as she slid into the seat next to Wednesday- though she couldn’t exactly see over the counter as well as Wednesday could, she still liked sitting next to her new friend (possibly girlfriend) while she did… whatever. Honestly, Sapphire wasn’t picky. “Bought a plushie for Argo. She seemed like she needed it- said something about plushies once and she felt really sad, so…”

“Mm, that’s sweet,” Wednesday nodded, smiling a little as she resumed playing around with her knives. “I’m sure she’ll appreciate it. Did you buy anything for yourself?”

Sapphire shook her head, sighing a little. “Mm… no. I figured I shouldn’t splurge too much since we’re still racking up a bill for staying here. I’ll be going out on another job soon enough, probably just grab a couple off the board and do ‘em one at a time if they’re not urgent… I like staying here, I really do, but… I hate having debts, y’know?”

“And I’ve told you that you and your friends need not worry- you’re part of the family now, at this point. Frankly, you’ll have Grandmama shoving spare Poké into your hands more often than you’ll have to deal with any of us asking you to pay your debts,” Wednesday answered calmly, reaching out and patting Sapphire’s head with an indulgent smile. “If you wish to go, though, I won’t stop you from achieving your dreams. That said… do make sure to visit often, hmm? If you and your team all decide to live in a home on the edge of our property, you’ll still be expected to visit for dinner, you know?”

“Mm. Wouldn’t miss it for the world,” Sapphire nodded right back, giggling and blushing quietly as she leaned into the Gothorita’s touch, her psychic field flaring and sending out warm fuzzy feelings only matched by Wednesday’s cool, sedate vibes that made Sapphire feel kinda gooey and giggly on the inside.

Gods, she’d only known this girl for a few days but she was already in love a little. 

Well, okay, it was just a touch of infatuation but c’mon. Wednesday was cute and nice and showed off her knife collection and helped Sapphire recover from a psychic overdose headache and allowed her and the others to stay free of charge and the entire family had more or less adopted all six of their wandering lost souls and it was just a little hard to not be devastatingly gay towards someone like that. 

“Speaking of, you’ll need a satchel and a pack before you go,” Wednesday mentioned, humming as she continued patting Sapphire’s head without a care in the world. She flared her psychic energy slightly, motioning towards the back rooms of the hotel. “Grandmama will help you. She’s made a number of adventurers’ satchels before… you’ll certainly need something to keep your new trinkets on you, and you won’t be able to wear a repurposed ankle pouch forever, you know.”

“Mm… yeah. Dunno what I’ll do with these anyway…” Sapphire mumbled a little, blinking sleepily as she scooted her chair over and leaned against Wednesday with a little smile. “Thanks for helping so much… dunno what I’d do if I hadn’t met you.”

“You’d have likely died in the woods,” Wednesday deadpanned. “Your propensity for overusing Teleport would have gotten you killed, especially with your unfamiliarity with this region.”

“Heh… yeah, probably.” Sapphire winced a little, but took it in stride anyway- Wednesday was right anyway. If she hadn’t been found by Wednesday and the others, it was entirely possible that she would have overused Teleport on the first day, passed out in a bush somewhere, and then died never knowing that there’d been safety not too far away from where she’d teleported to in the first place.

What a shame that would have been.

She sighed, shaking her head after a moment as she looked at the clock and pursed her lips. “... I should get going. I need to follow up with Orion to see if any of the stuff I salvaged out of Nuvema is useful. Did Grandmama like the stuff I brought back here?”

“Oh yes, she quite enjoyed those bottles of vitamins. I’m sad that you have a trauma around them, but Grandmama did say she was planning on incorporating them into meals to help you all grow stronger,” Wednesday mentioned, then tapped her chin. “Though with how strong you and your friends naturally are, it might be somewhat redundant.”

“Hey, anything to help in a pinch, right?”

“Of course. Now, go see Grandmama before you leave- she’ll have some more supplies for you to take out if you’ll be gone overnight.”

“Right. Thanks Wends. I’ll try to make it back for dinner,” Sapphire grinned, hopping out of her chair with a jaunty wave as she headed towards where she knew Grandmama was in the hotel.

Wednesday waved back slowly, a subtle smile on her face. “Be safe, Sapphire.”

Chapter Text

Striaton City. Or what had formerly been Striaton City. Irene hadn’t really flown close to it last time she was in the area, and now that she was wiggling her way through, she wasn’t really impressed. While the buildings had remained in mostly one piece and some even stood high into the sky, everything was in disrepair. Windows had long been broken through, lampposts were ripped up and thrown around, and the asphalt of the streets were torn to shreds.

Irene didn’t really like it. At least, not compared to Summerleaf. It didn’t give her the same ominous foreboding that the Dream Ruins did, but there was still the sense that it was wrong. She twisted around, flying backward to look at her companion for today. “Hey, Argo. Any idea where to start?”

“Apparently it was a training trip, so somewhere he could get training he couldn't just get in a field.” Argo looked down at the ruined city with a frown. “Really got stripped bare, huh? Not much signage or anything left. Guess age and scavengers took care of any bodies that might have been left too.”

“That doesn’t really narrow it down. What would make this place any different from anywhere else?” Irene drifted up toward a building and peered inside. The room was bare, just dust where furnishings may have once been. “Probably not the amenities.”

“Might have old facilities or something. I imagine most stuff would've been picked up by someone but weights and stuff might have been too much a hassle.” She settled back with a frown. “Whatever gym was once here, maybe. Or a school. Maybe a professor's place if the city had one. Guy might have been looking for enlightenment or something. Probably have to hit street level and try to find an old map.”

Grumbling, Irene floated closer down to the ground but refused to touch the uneven surface. “We should’ve asked Orion for a map. He probably had one in better condition than” —she gestured widely with her tail— “anything here.” The local streets certainly didn’t have any conveniently placed directions. Maybe if they backtracked to the edge of town, they’d be able to make out what remained of the signs, but Irene wasn’t confident about that.

“Probably, but what's his face sounded pretty worried. Someone missing for that long who knows when he ran into trouble.” Argo shrugged. “If we're really unlucky he never made it into the city in the first place. Let's just find the biggest, weirdest building in town. That's usually the gym and it might have maps. Or loot. I'm not about to be picky.”

“Should we really be looting this place? What if some wild pokémon made their home here?” Irene zipped forward, barreling down the street. When she hit a crossroads, she flitted up higher and took in the sights. Most of which were former apartment buildings and much smaller stores. Not much for her to consider weird unless the buildings with better preserved ceilings were weirder than the rest.

“Well, they can't exactly use most of it. Berries are easy, but stuff like TMs and HMs require a bit more than a wild Pokémon would have. Plus potions and stuff aren't the most intuitive thing to someone who's never seen them before.” Argo hummed. “Probably are a few that made their home here though. Dry buildings and apparently they built shit to last. Hey maybe check that place?”

That place was what looked to be a multi story Roman building. Complete with columns out front. The curved roof just by itself was a distinct break from the surrounding buildings. The rest of it just solidified the place as something that definitely belonged to an eccentric. Which in this universe generally meant a gym leader.

“On it, Captain!” Irene surged onward, slipping through the first hole she spotted. A feat that wasn’t hard considering the open windows that were built into this place. They were completely open without a hint of glass. Some had been blocked by debris, sure, but that was maybe one or two of the six one each side of the building.

Once she was through, the Dratini found herself floating above metal tables and chairs. Well-preserved ones too, but they were all next to the railing hanging over the first floor of the building. It was a veritable trove of furniture, all of which were stuffed toward the sides of the room to give a clear view of the center. White markings cut off a rectangular field in the floor with boxes on the shorter ends. In the middle, it was cut off by a large circle.

Well, there didn’t seem to be anything obvious to loot from a glance. Going back out the way she came, Irene flew back over to Argo. “Coast’s clear, but I didn’t see a Sawk. They might be further into the building, but it looks like there’s some sort of battlefield set up in there. Pretty good condition too.”

“Huh. This really must've been the gym then.” Argo rolled her neck and stepped toward the building. “Let's check out the back and see if we can find anything. Hints or loot.”

“Is this a leader first situation or should I go wiggle around ahead of you?” Irene hovered by Argo’s side, taking in the rather resplendent entrance that seemed a bit grand for a gym. Not that she would really know what they should look like. All she knew was that pokémon were brought there to beat each other up.

“I'll go first.” Argo rubbed Irene's head for a moment before heading inside the building. A glowing ball of fire appeared in a raised palm as she moved into the relative darkness of the unlit building. “Definitely was a gym.”

“Were gym battles supposed to be spectacles?” Irene asked, just a pace behind the team leader. She eyed the numerous seating arrangements, ranging from booths stuck into the walls and corners to large tables. “I vaguely recall them being tests of strength, but not… colosseum matches? This building gives me major colosseum vibes.” From the marble architecture to the pillars standing outside without holding anything up.

“It really does, doesn't it?” Argo chuckled. She moved the ball of fire around for a moment before heading straight to the door behind the counter. “Some were. Some weren't. It depended on the gym leader and on the culture of the place. Galar was big on stadium fights with large crowds. Kanto wasn't. Battling was everywhere, but how you battled depended on the region. I think Unova had triple battles and maybe sky battles? It was weird and never showed up again so eh.”

Following Argo, the two entered a kitchen. A rusted over and dusty kitchen, but one nonetheless. Bereft of food and utensils, but the stoves, countertops, and sinks were still there despite the years. “I take it these gym leaders were eccentric then,” Irene mumbled as she coiled up her tail. The less of her wiggling freely, the less chance to cut herself on the looted and damaged wares around the place.

“They all were. It takes a special kind to set up Pokémon battles for mostly small children to teenagers in an attempt to test what they've learned. I can't remember a gym leader whose only job was being a gym leader.” Argo idly looked over the kitchen before stopping in front of what might once have been the delivery area. Where all the food got placed so the waiters could take it out. “Now what's in you?” A strongbox rested on the counter, still intact and closed despite the years.

“Maybe you can use your stick to poke the lock?” Irene squinted at it. However long it had been here, it was in good condition. The wild pokémon around the area must’ve ignored the box in favor of picking apart whatever else had once been in here. “Or try and burn the latch off.”

“They probably have a key around here somewhere. I sure as hell don't know how to pick a lock.” She lifted it just a bit with one hand. “Isn't too heavy either. We could grab it on the way out and just get one of the Addams to open it.”

“Oh right, there’s no way one of them doesn’t know how to pick a lock.” Irene drifted over to the cabinets which had been thoroughly ransacked by whoever passed through here before them. “Wait, should I be worried about locking my door at night? I know they have the keys already, but knowing that they can lockpick makes me feel somehow less safe.”

“They only eat the people who fuck with them. You're fine.” Argo spun around slowly before marching toward another door. This one to the side of the room- easily missed right next to the entrance to the kitchen. The door into the place must've covered it when they came in. “This might be the office. Only other door looked like a freezer.”

“And I haven’t heard anything that sounds like training yet. No punchies,” mumbled the noodle Dragon. She took the risk of pulling open the freezer, expecting a freezing chill to blast her in the face. Instead, there was a small poof as the sealed air was finally allowed to move out. Inside, everything was rotting and barely seemed to stay in one piece. “Yeah, so they’re probably not here. And there’s no electricity. Or Ice-type pokémon hanging around here.”

“Huh. Half expected to be an Ice type around. Definitely be the place for a Vanilluxe to hang out.” The other door protested loudly as it opened. Behind it was an office. A boring office with some papers scattered around the floor. “I'll check through here. Can you fly around and see if you can hear anything? If he got into a fight or something maybe you could hear it while moving at street level.”

“Sure. Be back in a few!” Flying out of the building in relative darkness wasn’t difficult, though Irene did bump into an old light fixture. It stung to slam her nose into it, but she made it out and that’s what mattered.

Flying at a pace that she could hear someone training or a fight was another matter though. Alone, her body screamed to soar into the sky and break through the clouds. Fly wanted to be free. That was tempered by her own self-control and the desire to stay close to others. The streets themselves were free of others yet whatever Dragon instincts were stuck into her body craved more. They hungered for the best that she could give and strove for even more.

Staying at street level and at a sedate pace was an exercise in self-control and multi-tasking. Irene didn’t have the hearing of her comrades, especially not when their ears were much larger than hers. The rustling of foliage and overgrowth didn’t escape her though. Wild pokémon roamed through the streets and made their nests in the ruins of the city, slowly reclaiming it for nature. Not a sign of battle though. These wild predators knew their territories and none of them tried to knock her out of the sky for passing through.

When she neared one of the wider buildings, she spotted another battlefield drawn in the packed dirt of a schoolyard. Most of the markings had been dug away or covered up by grass, but the white paint was in the same shape as the one in the gym. It was unmistakable, but gave way to the nagging thought of the other jobs gym leaders used to have. Was a gym leader the best fit to be a school teacher? Surely they had to be a bit more sane than their peers to maintain a job like that.

Well, she wouldn’t get an answer just flying around. Tempted as she was to explore the school, Irene picked up the speed and soared back through the streets. The gym came easily into view and she wiggled back into the kitchen, following what little light was in the building.

“Argo! I’m back!” she shouted as she wormed her way into the office. “I may have found another gym. That or humans were so obsessed with battling that they taught kids to do it.” Irene paused, scratching her nose with her tail. “Not quite sure how I feel about that, but that doesn’t happen anymore, so I guess it’s whatever.”

“Battling was like the only sport this place had. Plus Pokémon like to do it and they're everywhere. Not something you can avoid so you may as well stuff the rules into their little heads so they don't do dumbshit when it’ll result in actual charges.” Argo looked up from her seat. It looked a little funny- the seat was made for a human and Argo was, at worst, half the height of the average human. With the big desk in front of her… well it was like a kid playing at being their office worker father. “Some of these got pawed through before we were here- especially this one. Talking about visiting the town professor.”

“Maybe it’s a hint. Any clue where that professor is? Or was, I guess.” Irene took in the sight of her team leader and tilted her head. If she floated up a bit higher, Argo didn’t look terrible. The desk was still too big for her though. “Should we invest in an office when we get our own house?”

“Maybe. Depends on how much paperwork we need to deal with.” Argo slid off the chair. She held up a key. “Let's check that lockbox and then head over to the professor’s place.”

Slipping back into the kitchen, the two surrounded the lockbox on either side. When Argo used the key, the box creaked open under her paw and revealed “Pins?” Irene tried to grab one with the end of her tail, but couldn’t quite squeeze the tiny object well enough. “They’re kinda pretty, definitely fitting for a collection, but why so many?”

“There's free TMs here too it looks like.” Argo grabbed a pin and held it up to the light. “Must've been their badge. Not worth much now but…” She turned and headed back into the office without a word. A second later she came out again, holding a bunch of small boxes. “Here.” One pin was placed in each of the six boxes. “May as well get all the badges, yeah?”

“Sounds good to me. But uh, do you have a bag for these?” Irene gestured to the small boxes that now each held a single badge. “We could probably stuff them into the lockbox and I could carry that. It’s definitely big enough for me to wrap around.”

“We'll want to take all the TMs anyway. Plus we could throw anything else we find in it.” Argo threw the cases into the lockbox, shut it, and locked it. “Right. After you.”

Irene coiled around the lockbox and floated up a bit awkwardly. She appeared more like a flying box with a worm holding on for dear life, but at least it was secure. “This way!” Flying back through the former gym, Irene narrowly avoided hitting a dangling light fixture thanks to Argo’s fireball providing light.

While the city hadn’t changed much since they entered besides the stretch of the shadows, the pair now had a proper set of directions to follow. A destination that they could head toward and be somewhat confident in finding something in. Granted, Irene didn’t expect to go toward an apartment building when they were trying to find the professor’s lab, but maybe it was more than meets the eye. For all that the outside looked ordinary and in rather bad shape, the actual insides might be in better quality than most places.

“Huh. Didn't really expect that.” Argo stared up at the building. “I think we need to go to the top floor. Or at least somewhere around that. Whoever wrote the paper complained about all the steps.”

Looking between herself and Argo, Irene blinked. “You wanna test if I can fly with you?”

“Can you? I'm pretty sure you should be able to.” Argo looked around the area. “Probably fine to try it here. Maybe there's a roof access we can use at the topp and skip some stairs.”

“Okay, hold this for a minute.” Unraveling, Irene dropped the lockbox into Argo’s arms. Then she took stock of Argo’s body. A Fennekin would be very easy to wrap around. A Braixen was a bit too big to just carry around, so Irene did the next best thing and snaked around Argo’s waist a couple times. With a little wiggling, Irene began using Fly to ascend straight up with a bit more power behind it than she was used to.

“Woah.” Argo stilled herself as best she could. “Right. Just to the roof then.”

“Roof. Roof. To the roof,” chanted Irene. They ascended up to the roof and she was surprised it was intact. Once Argo’s paws were on stable ground, Irene snaked away. “Neat. Small but strong. Guess being a noodle is good for more than wiggles.”

“Indeed.” Argo looked around and pointed toward a doorway a bit to their side. “That should get us in.” She moved toward it. “Come on.”

“Kay.” Irene wiggled over Argo’s shoulder. The steps were in surprisingly good condition, but the same seemed to be applied to the entirety of the building. “So uh, while I have the chance, I should probably ask why you chose me for this mission. Pretty sure we were all in town too.”

“Think we were. Doesn't matter. I wanted to head out with you.” Argo shrugged as she tried the door. It swung open without any issues. “Don't think we talked much and I wanted to get to know you better. Probably do it with everyone eventually, but you came to mind first.”

“Aww, that’s sweet of you!” If her scales could blush, Irene was sure a little hint of pink would be on her cheeks. “I know you’re super close to Sapphire, but the others are cool too. A bit too vulgar for me, but we’re all friends so it’s fine.”

The two stepped into the beginnings of an apartment. A simple living room with a couch and TV set miraculously still where they belong. Even a few shelves remained in place after all these years. The potted plants were worse for wear, but that was to be expected after so long without care. Against the wall, a short flight of stairs led back up.

“Anyone here?” Argo lit another ball flame above her hand. “We're here to find a Sawk and take everything not nailed down!” She paused for a moment. “We need to get a crowbar.”

“Or more of us need to get hands.” Irene floated over to the couch. “Maybe a few of us could learn Teleport to make things even easier. Don’t want Sapphire getting headaches just to move some furniture around.”

“I could probably learn it. Make things easier if I did.” Argo moved further into the room. “I'll ask Sapphire about it sometime.” She held her light higher to reveal pages strewn about the room. Most looked written in a hurry. “Hm. These shouldn't have survived this long, right? Weird the paper back at the gym survived too. Maybe they made it out of something different.”

“Should we put it in the box then? I’m sure Orion would like to read up on whatever’s around here.” Irene tried to grip the papers, but only made more of a mess.

“Yeah, I'll gather it all up. Check around the apartment and see if our guy is around here.” Argo paused as she kneeled down to grab a few pages. “Just avoid any room that smells bad. I'll check those myself.”

“Will do, Cap’n!” Irene did a quick lap around the living room before hurrying up the stairs. Up there, it was clear that this was a laboratory built into an apartment. While a small sitting area had been reserved into a corner, it was still flooded with notebooks and loose papers, little of which made sense to Irene.

As for the rest, machines aplenty were left strewn about. A bed had been bookended by two different machines and had one giant one hanging above it with a helmet fit for a human. Connected to that helmet was a mess of wires barely held together by plastic zip ties. There was a vat of some liquid stuffed into a corner, taller than Irene was long. Floating over to it, Irene couldn’t get a hint of the smell, but whatever concoction was inside, she didn’t want to know what it was for.

Scanning the room, she eyed two more doors left to explore. One had a rancid smell coming from it, so following the orders of the Team Leader, she went to the second one. She pushed down with her tail and the door clicked open, swinging wide.

The bedroom within was much messier than anything Irene had seen before. Human clothes littered the floor and desk. The shelf had books shoved into it in all manner of ways ranging from upside down to sideways. Thankfully, the bed had some semblance of order plus a big blue pokémon. That was staring at her with a book in his hands.

She stared back. “Hey, are you Tibald the Sawk?”

“Indeed, I am.” He snapped the book shut and held it under his arm. “I presume Scott sent you to look for me?” The noodle Dragon nodded. “I should have expected as much. Allow me a moment to gather some books for the road then.”

“Kay.” Irene let the Sawk get to work. It was probably harmless. What kind of books did a professor even keep in their bedroom? Probably some science mumbo jumbo. Definitely nothing that would pique her interest then. So, she drifted back downstairs.

“There we go.” Argo stood up, the lockbox in front of her locked again. “Found some other stuff tucked on some shelves so I grabbed that too. Might be phones, but they need charge. Gonna ask the Addams if they have a working outlet somewhere. Also work on getting used to the Electric type. Charging stuff all on my own seems like it'd be useful.”

“Hey Argo, I found Tibald!” Irene shouted as she flew over to her leader. The floor had almost been swept clean of every piece of paper around, cleaning it up far more than expected. “He’s surprisingly calm about all of this, so I don’t think this is the first time that Scott sent a Rescue Team out for him. Should we be worried about that? Seems like a weird relationship.”

“Not unless we think something bad’s going on. They seem pretty gone to me- Scott was genuinely worried.” Argo shrugged. “They probably need to have a talk or something about why it keeps happening.”

“Makes sense, I guess. Definitely have some tension to work out between those two.” Slinking onto the counter, Irene gingerly lowered onto it, slipping her scales against the smooth surface. “I wonder if there’s something more there. Two fighting buddies, one of them is super worried about the other and one is used to the other’s worries. That’s gotta be a rom-com of some sort.”

“Maybe. I never really watched those.” Argo stretched herself. “I'm gonna check the rest of the rooms right quick. Grab whatever looks useful. Once Tibald is ready we can head back.”

“No need.” The Sawk in question strode into the room. “We can leave immediately. About valuable things still in this location are books, which can be retrieved later. The other are these,” he held up a few disks, “which I shall leave to you. They were labeled as Cut, so I can't use them, but you all should be able to get more use from them. Either in using them or handing them into Orion for pay.” He sighed and ran a hand over his face. “I really do need to get a watch. I am not concerned with time and it slips away from me. My… friend is overly concerned with such. Which leads to these situations.”

“Oh, neat. I think Tenaz and Nix could use these. It’d round out their physical damage even more.” Irene looped her tail around the disks and brought them over to Argo, where they were promptly stored inside the lockbox. “Thanks, Tibald! We’ll make sure to use them well.”

“I would expect no less from members of a Rescue Team.” Sawk bowed his head slightly. “Now, let us be off before we give my friend any more reason to worry. Reshiram knows he does that enough for the both of us and then some.”

“Right.” Argo turned to the stairs. “Let's head out then. We can check the rest of the city later.”

Grabbing the lockbox, Irene saluted. “Aye, aye, Captain!”

Chapter Text

“You two have a nice evening.” Irene waved goodbye at Scott the Throh and Tibald the Sawk. The former had a box of tissues cradled under his arm while the latter was using said tissues to wipe the former’s face. Standing side-by-side the two really did work well together. Red and blue, short and tall, both liked fighting.

Yeah, that was all Irene knew about them. Still, they looked pretty cute together. In that, they were close friends according to textbooks sort of way. Either that or they were roommates for life. Both options probably meant they were butt buddies or would be.

Well, at least they were happy. Irene liked it when people were happy. It made her happy. In a roundabout sort of way that probably meant she was less happy than the people she helped make happy, but hey, if it worked then she wasn’t going to change it. No, not one bit. Trying to make herself and only herself happy was nice and all, but why not spread the love around? That’s what happiness was for: being shared.

Irene soared above Summerleaf with a smile on her face. Two days as part of a Rescue Team and she had made a good handful of people happy already. On her first day, it was the Pan family—or was that Simi family because of their mothers? Anyway, that family was happy and reunited with Benny the Pansage. Today, Tibald was reunited with his very close friend, making them both happy. Overall, she was satisfied with her time so far.

Riding high on that satisfaction, Irene picked up speed and focused on the feeling of Fly. Flying-type energy surrounded her, protecting her from the elements as a thin veil around her body. The chill of this cold spring was inescapable and her rising elevation certainly didn’t help keep her warm. However, her body yearned for the heights. It craved the thrill of soaring into the heavens and piercing through the clouds.

When the town and its people became specs on the ground, Irene let her thoughts fade away. Instincts roared so much louder than her mind could ever scream. Desires from deep within reached out, conflicting with each other. A part of her wished to dive deep into the ocean and swim among the depths. Another wanted to return home and find someone to hug and hold. The loudest instinct called for the clouds right now. They wished to float among the clouds, to bask in their fluffy wetness.

It probably didn’t help that Flying-type energy was flowing through and around her body. Some part of her genetics likely drank it up as if it was the nectar of the gods. Perhaps it was the part that would evolve into a Dragonite one day. They could fly for hours, though none of the facts swimming in Irene’s head told her of any desire to be in the clouds.

Nevertheless, she kept climbing up. The troposphere was no obstacle to her when Fly came so easily to her. Even without wings, it was just a muscle in her body somewhere. A switch had been flicked when she had gone for that walk, one that couldn’t be flicked off. So she took to the sky every moment that she could and rejoiced in the freedom that she experienced. It may not have had the speed that a Teleport did, but there was nothing like the feeling of flying under her own power. Anywhere she wanted to go, she could head towards. She may not make it as the lowest evolution in the chain, but she sure as hell could try.

The clouds welcomed Irene like an old friend. She slipped into the cloud, basking in damp fluff around her for a moment. When she popped out of the clouds, a thin sheen of water coated her scales and slid off of her. Atop a cloud, those droplets found their way back into one of the many clumps of water floating in the sky. Meanwhile, Irene enjoyed the feeling of the sun on her back.

This was the highest she had flown yet it felt natural to her. This body had been built to traverse through the skies despite its innocent appearance. As such, it took little effort to stay afloat now that she had boarded a cloud. Some small part of her brain was devoted to flying, allowing her to ruminate and concentrate on other things.

Not that there was much that Irene wanted to focus on. An afternoon devoted to relaxing sounded divine to her.

Unfortunately, she doubted the rest of her team would agree. Argo was amicable and Irene liked Argo even if she didn’t really know much about the leader of their group. Still, Argo seemed like the go-getter type, ready to keep going if it was healthy to do so. A bit of a contrast to Sapphire who was constantly doing something when she wasn’t around Wednesday. Neither seemed like the type to really push Irene into doing extra work, but she had the distinct feeling that the two would radiate an aura of disappointment and that would be enough for Irene to cave. Particularly Argo. Very parental and responsible, that one.

Nix and Tenaz seemed a bit too preoccupied with their own things to really give her the time of day. Neither of them really clicked with their bodies and abilities until push came to shove. At least, not compared to the others in their motley crew. Whether that meant they were normal or outliers was a mystery to Irene. What she did know is that they seemed too busy to care if she spent a few hours quite literally dozing in the clouds. Although she probably should try and spend some time with them. Vulgar and violent they may be, they didn’t seem like bad people. Just impolite.

Gin was a good friend though. He struck a nice balance between the other two groups that Irene appreciated. While he worked hard, he had a level head about him. Sure, he could make clones and spit out Flamethrower but oddly advanced abilities for their evolution stage seemed to be a norm for their team. So she wasn’t really worried about him getting on her case. He was a friend and she appreciated him for that. There wasn’t really much more than that.

Now that she’s let her mind wander a bit though, Irene did have a nagging urge to do something more than just laze about. Maybe she could fly around a bit more. Darting through clouds and making some weird formations did sound fun. She was no artist but messing with people who were cloud watching seemed like a harmless prank.

Yet there was more that she could do. Looking down, Irene could barely differentiate between which buildings were which. Even the giant hotel belonging to the Addams would have been hard to spot if not for it being located on the outskirts of Summerleaf Town. From up this high, Fly would get some really good momentum on the way down. It’d practically be a guaranteed critical hit thanks to gravity.

But gravity couldn’t do all the work.

Irene didn’t know the specific technique to do what she had in mind. Hell, she barely had a general idea of how to accomplish her silly idea. Unfortunately it was silly, and thus, she really wanted to do it. Even if going that fast probably wasn’t safe for her body. Unless her weird biology was built to survive that too, in which case, she would do this for fun.

Well, no time like the present to find out! Irene flew away from the cloud and aimed her body away from civilization. Instead, she would be taking a dive into the forest. So if this went wrong somewhere, she could take another walk.

First things first, she focused on Flying-type energy. The energy of the winds themselves manifested in a variety of forms. Sometimes, they were replicating the birds whose instincts were to fly. Other times, they were controlling the winds to obey the whims of those who called upon their power. Irene was familiar with the latter through her use of Fly, which expressed itself as a protective veil of energy that protected her until it burst against whatever she slammed into.

With Fly surrounding her, Irene dove. She dove and dove. The sky around her became a blur. The ground was the only constant for her to focus her aim on and that was more than enough. The Flying-type energy sharpened into a torpedo of blue shooting toward the local forest. It was powerful, it was fast, and most importantly, Irene felt free.

Nothing could stop her descent and something carnal inside her little Dragon body loved that. She was the one in control. No one could stop the blue torpedo from burning up into an orange missile streaking through the sky.

Unstoppable. The attack screeched as it lit on fire, engulfing the Dratini on all sides. In the blink of an eye, the distance between her and the ground closed until she was just seconds from making impact head-first. And, well, she was unstoppable, not out of control.

Yanking the Flying-type energy upward, the rough-shod Sky Attack shrieked as it was directed back into the empty sky. With no targets, the attack didn’t burst into an explosion of raw power. It kept soaring and Irene flew with it, steering it ever so slightly to paint circles of fire and smoke in the sky. Her body didn’t want to give up on the power, no, it wanted to maintain it and strike something with the accumulation of all the energy she could gather.

Her body had been honed for fighting. Pokémon were inclined to battle and trained to do it for generations, both with and without humans. It was natural for her instinct to be this way. There was nothing wrong with wanting to hit things as hard as possible.

Except the damage that followed wasn’t what Irene wanted. Her conscious mind didn’t crave destruction or yearn to triumph over a foe. The Dragon was strong and wanted strength. Whatever she was before didn’t want violence. Irene wanted to live peacefully and to be content with whatever life gave her.

So she let go of the Flying-type energy. The missile dispersed in an instant, falling apart without her will pulling it together into its tight shape. And without it, Irene shot through the sky, slowly losing elevation as gravity grasped onto her again.

Falling was weird. Thrilling with its speed yet still filling her with the fear that she would crash into the ground. A certain powerlessness tried to overwhelm her, to trap her mind by using fear.

When she could fly, that fear had no power over her. Every fall was something she allowed herself to do. Defying gravity—defying the conventional laws of the world—was instinct to her. Once she neared the ground, those instincts snapped back into place and Irene soared gracefully above the treeline. Everything about this movement was under her control. She could soar back into the clouds and satisfy one of the tiny voices in the back of her head. Or she could visit the beach once more and dip into the ocean until light struggled to follow her.

The loudest voice craved to be back with her team. Maybe she could check in on them if they had made it back. Sometime after that, she could give Sky Attack another shot. The desires of her body would come back with a vengeance, but that was just what she would deal with. In the heat of battle, they were fleeting feelings. She could control them outside of battle and reign over herself.

But overall, it felt like a success. It would need quite a bit of workshopping, but she would have a rudimentary Sky Attack by the end of the day. An entirely impractical move inside of a cave or dungeon, but an immensely powerful one, especially when she eventually gained the Flying-type.

Speaking of types though, she should probably check out the TMs that everyone had gathered. Surely she could make use of something there to round out of her rather pitiful move pool.

Chapter Text

“I wonder if I shouldn’t have used more than just the Fire Punch TM earlier… I could use some more powerful moves right now…” Sapphire mumbled to herself, picking her way through the old Nuvema town ruins again in order to reach the cave on the western side of town- not quite near the ocean on the other side of the peninsula, but rather in the deep woods surprisingly not all that far from where she’d first landed a few days ago.

Wow. It really had only been a few days…

Sapphire shook her head shrugging as she idly ruffled around in the satchel that Grandmama had given her- a cute little thing embedded with strange Ghost type magics that would resize itself appropriately to be a nice, convenient belt pouch for her no matter what form she took- and pulled out the flier for what her current mission. Apparently a special artifact had been stolen from the local museum (which, wow, there was an actual museum in Summerleaf? Must have been a small one) by some roving ruffians of some kind, and while the Noctowl (Chirrup) hadn’t been the kind to get it himself, his use of his innate psychic powers allowed him to track the artifact down to the Deepwoods Cave and locate the ones responsible for the theft.

Supposedly, it was a pair of Nickits that kept getting into trouble around the general area, but Chirrup had also warned of some… dangerous elements in the area. He didn’t know what they were, but he cautioned that Sapphire should prioritize her own life first instead of retrieving what was, ultimately, just a shiny piece of the past. He didn’t even really know what it was, just that it was a green, rock encrusted rectangle that he’d found in an actual old museum once upon a time in the past before he’d moved to Unova from Sinnoh.

… Chirrup had spent more than a little time talking, and Sapphire kind of regretted taking a mission so late, especially since it was already getting close to sundown and she didn’t exactly have a lot of supplies for camping… especially since it was so fucking cold outside that even the scarf that Grandmama had given her wasn’t enough to fully ward off the chill.

She’d probably have to camp somewhere, maybe even in the cave if she had to. Aa… but that might be dangerous.

Wait.

What was that smell?

It smelled like… blood?

Sapphire paused, blinking a few times as she looked around oddly, noting just how quiet the forest was. Usually there was a persistent sound of all kinds of pokemon- if not loud, then always in the underbrush and in the distance. But right now, it was… silent. And it smelled like blood.

That wasn’t good.

Sapphire hissed under her breath, coming closer upon the cave and- 

Oh.

Oh shit.

That was a dead Nickit. And not just a dead Nickit, that was a dead Nickit that looked like it’d been torn to shreds and the color of the blood everywhere suggested poison.

Fuck.

Had the Nickit twins turned on each other? Sapphire didn’t know, but it was entirely likely that whatever had killed the first Nickit had done serious damage to the other, given the blood trail leading back into the cave.

Shit.

“Fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuck…” Sapphire whispered, wincing as she crept closer to the cave entrance and covering her mouth to avoid breathing too deeply. “Arceus, if you’re there? Please don’t let me die in this cave without doing something really cool…”

She sighed, descending into the depths little by little and keeping close to the walls to avoid drawing attention… even though she was a bright white shiny Ralts wearing a red scarf… in a dark cave.

… And it was cold, and she couldn’t see well in the dark and she had to light a fire in order to actually not trip over her feet…

…

Sapphire sighed, descending into the cave depths little by little, grimacing as she continued to find blood trailing around… in a pattern that suggested dragging and struggling more than it suggested an injured party limping along.

… Not good.

Still. Most of the cave was largely quiet so far- a roomy, gentle slope down into the rocky depths that only got a little tight here and there (though, not for a Ralts her size) before it all widened out into a larger cavern.

A larger cavern that looked a lot like an underground arena, where there were spiderwebs in one corner along with the twitching body of something bleeding through the silk.

A larger cavern that seemed to be guarded by a big fucking Ariados smack dab in the middle of it.

A larger cavern that had a number of skeletons strewn about, scattered remnants of the pokemon that had been there before… and also human skeletons too. Somehow. Granted, they were fragmentary and aged to the point of being almost unidentifiable but those were still definitely human remains.

… 

“... Something about that doesn’t feel right about this… something really doesn’t feel right…” Sapphire muttered, scooting around the edge of the cave away from the Ariados as quietly as she could, wondering why the fuck its eyes were glowing green as it stared off into space…

And then froze as her foot made contact with a pebble and sent it skittering along the rocks.

Shit.

“SKREEEEEEEEEEEEEE!”

Double shit.

“Shit shit shit shit shit!” Sapphire shrieked, dodging out of the way of the Ariados’ immediate attack- a rapidly fired Pin Missile that shot out like a fucking machine gun and buzzed over her previous position with such fierceness that she could feel the malevolent, hungry energy in the attacks licking over her skin even as she ducked away and teleported across the cavern. 

Still, she wasn’t about to go down without a fight, and there was no way in hell that she was letting an Ariados this violent get out and keep causing trouble! 

Maybe that wasn’t the best of motivations but she was a little busy dodging Pin Missile shots, dammit! 

Fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck-

Sapphire gasped as she ducked behind a large rock and teleported the moment she heard the Ariados heading towards her cover, getting around behind it before teleporting again and lashing out with a fist- maybe she had scrawny baby arms, but she didn’t care about her physical lack of strength, she only cared about hitting the bastard dead on with a Fire Punch!

And with an explosion of flames, the Ariados shrieked and bucked as her punch landed squarely on the back of its head and knocked it to the floor until the ground beneath cracked.  

Whoof.

Strong punch.

Still, it wasn’t enough. Of course it wasn’t fucking enough- even with Sapphire’s current level she knew damn well that Ariados was stronger than her, could sense it somehow just by seeing it. Still, she didn’t give up. Giving up here and running away would mean failure, and Sapphire hated failing.

So she darted around again, cursing her tiny stubby legs and teleporting again as the Ariados lunged and almost fucking snapped its pincers around her with a horrible purple glow that she just knew had to be Poison Jab.

Still, she didn’t relent. She blasted Mystical Fire at the thing’s face, teleporting into the air again as she blinded it and swapped from the relatively light blast of Mystical Fire to the overwhelming heat of Flamethrower- coughing a little as it left her lungs but still sustaining the blast as the Bug/Poison type squealed and writhed as it was cooked alive.

And then a glow of Psychic energy flashed into existence around Sapphire and slammed her into a sticky spider web with such force that she felt a rib pop.

“GAH-” she choked out a wheeze, unable to actually cry out more than that singular burst of sound due to the fucking pain of having a busted rib.

Fuck… 

Was she gonna die here?

Gods she hoped not.

Sapphire coughed again, struggling in the web and watching with trepidation as the Ariados readied the green, vibrant glow of Pin Missile again- knowing she couldn’t dodge it and knowing that it could probably shred her underdeveloped stage one body if she got hit too many times.

Maybe she could resist it, fight back a little… but that thing was almost twice as strong as she was.

There really wasn’t a good way to handle this.

Sapphire grimaced, taking a deep breath and struggling against the webs as the attack continued charging, charging…

And then she let loose the strongest blast of Psychic that she had, lifting the Ariados up and throwing it with such force that the backlash sent agony into her skull and caused the spider pokemon to go flying through the air- Pin Missile missing entirely as it shot up ineffectually into the ceiling of the cavern and knocked a few stalactites down. Thankfully, none of them came near Sapphire as she burned her way out of the webs.

She hissed quietly, though, at the sound of chittering and screeching. It seemed that the Ariados wasn’t done yet if the sounds of legs on stone were any indication. 

“Ugh… just my fucking luck…” Sapphire mumbled, pulling an Oran berry out of her satchel and stuffing it down her throat with a pained grimace- feeling the injury to her side lessen but still tug painfully every time she breathed. 

Shit… she hoped the Ariados was the only big threat in the cave otherwise she was fucking screwed.

Still… it sounded wounded. Dragging its feet. It shuffled back into view, shell cracked and burnt and bleeding as it glared at her with such venomous hatred that she knew that if it were to talk it would curse her out for thirteen generations.

There really wasn’t much time to keep fighting, though- if she wanted to get through the cave with a minimum of injury, she’d have to take out the Ariados and keep going… and there was no guarantee that just fainting it would keep her safe.

Sapphire grimaced, rubbing her head slightly as she slowly took a few steps forward, the Ariados tracking her movements as they both circled around each other… until Sapphire took one last step forward, placed her hand on one of the fallen stalactites on the ground… and Teleported it straight into the Ariados’ skull.

Crunch.

And like that, Sapphire breathed a sigh of relief as the giant spider pokemon died without fanfare. Beating it from the outside in had weakened it just enough to the point that she instinctively knew that it was weak to being telefragged, and even though she probably wouldn’t be able to use teleport for too many more uses… at least she’d handled the biggest threat in the cave so far.

The only problem was that there wasn’t any sign of the artifact that Chirrup had mentioned earlier. And the Ariados didn’t seem like it had eaten the thing. Then again… its eyes were glowing. That wasn’t normal, right? And those Pin Missiles were weirdly strong- she could sense the energy wafting off of them to the point that it almost made her nose sting. To say nothing about how much the Poison Jab made her entire body shudder in revulsion…

Ugh. Stupid weakness to Poison. She’d have to work on that, somehow. Maybe later. Still… it felt good to actually hit something for once. Maybe she’d end up becoming a mix of a physical and special attacker? That’d be pretty cool, honestly. 

Sapphire sighed again, stretching slightly as she cracked open the can of lemonade that Grandmama had packed into her satchel and chugged it down- feeling the minerals and vitamins in the drink immediately soothe away the aches and scrapes and pains of the fight away in a rush of endorphins that made her feel better than she had earlier.

… She’d save the other two cans for later, if she really needed them.

Hopefully she wouldn’t need the sheer amount of restoratives that Grandmama had packed into her bag… but then again, the old Mismagius was weirdly prescient about things so… Sapphire sighed, shaking her head and grimacing as she moved over to the corpse of the Ariados, intending on checking it to see if the artifact was there and-

Crack.

… uh oh.

The cracked floor beneath the Ariados gave way into pitch darkness below the floor, Sapphire tumbling along with it with an ungainly scream of distress.

“FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU-!”

Chapter Text

Chapter 30: Arc 3: Brisk Work. Chapter 6: Sparks of progress. (Gin 5)

It took 4 hours, Gin was sure Orion had written down even the amount of times he caught his breath while writing down the report. On the flip side his reward had been increased given the unexpected difficulty and extra TM'S found.

“TM 53: Energy Ball. This should be more than useful for your coverage. It worries me that there was an entire floor with sleeping Roggenrolas, they shouldn't be hibernating or anything like that… Regardless, I do apologize for underestimating the possible difficulties.”

Orion's words echoed as he made his way up to the Addams hotel, Gin hoped they would lend him the TM player to let him learn it, or at least accept some sort of payment for helping him get started and putting a roof over his head. He saw several pokémon talking to each other as he approached the lonely hotel, snippets of conversation played in the background. Nothing really stood out beyond them complaining about the cold, something he wondered if his typing just made him ignore it naturally or if they were more sensitive to it.

“Too bad Castform isn't around, they should know about weather better than anyone else.” He mumbled as he approached the hotel. Seeing the Trevenant Gin focused his thoughts and said:

“Hi Ichabod. I'm back, how have you been?”

“WELL.” The ancient pokémon replied with a sound that was closer to the earth splitting apart in his mind. Brief images of his fellow guildmates flashed in his mind as Gin nodded.

“Thank you, I'll talk to them as well.” The Vulpix replied back. Ichabod did the equivalent of a mental grunt of acknowledgement and went back to his usual state of rest. Lurch stared at Gin and nodded as the latter entered the main hall of the hotel.

“Welcome Baaack.” Lurch greeted the Vulpix who replied, “Hi Lurch, it's good to be home.”

“Goooood.” The Golurk replied and Gin could feel something akin to joy in his tone, despite the monotone voice.

 Looking around and seeing no none outside of Lurch, Gin asked; “Lurch, where could I find Mr. or Mrs. Addams? I need to ask for a small favor.”

Before Lurch could respond, Thing dropped down from the ceiling and on top of Gin. Gin yelped in surprise and found himself forgetting he had no hands again as he tried to raise his paws to his back. He settled for doing a roll as the autonomous hand crawled off his back and pointed to the library, giggling as the sound of static filled the air between laughs. 

“Laugh it up, Thing. I'll learn stealth and then surprise you a few times.” Gin grumbled and the hand gave him a thumbs up. The hotel still had that haunted feeling and yet Gin couldn't help but feel warmth from it as he made his way to the library. Inside it stood Morticia, or rather sat Morticia, lounging in the chair as Mimikyu and a Mime Jr. sat listening to her read. Gin was about to excuse himself whenever stopped and asked,

“Honored guest, you have returned. How can I help you today?”

“Hello, I was wondering if I could borrow the TM player for a moment. Or is this a bad time?”

“It is never a bad time.” Morticia calmly said as she extended her hand and the player appeared. “It is merely time, good or bad depends on your own experience with it. Though I am curious to know what you seek to learn.” She continued on as if she hadn't teleported something to her, which only made Gin more curious as to what were the limits of Pokémon moves in this world.

“Oh, Energy Ball.” Gin replied after a few seconds, which was when the Mime Jr asked; “Why not Explosion or Fire Blast?”

“Type coverage, some enemies are immune to Fire so a Grass type move would be useful, and I'm Gin. Who are you?”

“Pugsley.” The Mime Jr. replied, “You feel different mentally, before you felt closer to a house teetering on the edge of a cliff. Now there's no cliff.”

“Does everyone in this house just read minds?” Gin asked, not particularly annoyed by it, just somewhat tired of it happening.

Morticia smiled, “It is a bit of a hard thing to avoid when you're constantly broadcasting your thoughts. But Pugsley,” she added facing her son, “remember to be mindful of our guests, not everyone is comfortable with mind reading.”

“‘Kay, mom.” Pugsley replied standing up and grabbing Pubert by the arm, “Let's go Pubert, Uncle Fester said he'd show us his mine collection today.”

“Gaabu.” Pubert seemingly agreed and they left as Morticia handed Gin the player. Sitting back in her chair and pulling up several books Morticia left Gin to the player's effect. It didn't take long, but his mind felt like someone had dumped several infomercials into it at 2x speed.

“That's… definitely a new feeling.” Gin murmured as with a snap of her finger Morticia teleported the player and the TM somewhere in the hotel. Gin nodded in thanks and began feeling out the Grass Type energy that he could now feel. Or rather the best way to describe it is becoming aware that it was Grass type energy, it used to feel muted in his mind but he could now actually feel it.

“Mrs. Addams?” Gin asked as Morticia casually summoned several energy balls around her hand. The small pang of jealousy that filled his heart left as soon as it appeared, he knew one day he would be able to do the same. 

“Yes, honored guest?” She replied calmly dismissing each orb in an instant.

“Do you think Mr. Addams would be agreeable to train me again?”

“You might make his day if you asked. Isn't that right Darling?” She asked Gomez who was seemingly summoned by her voice alone. Gin managed to stop himself from jumping in surprise at the sudden appearance of the Mr. Rime.

“Amada Mia, you know me too well.” Gomez said, kissing her hand. The smile on her face could only be described as hungry, but it was for a mere moment before it became calm again.

“Gomez, are you speaking Paldean? After you train him…” She didn't need to finish the sentence, Gin wondered if maybe it would've been better for him to ask someone else to train him. But it was too late as he was grabbed by Mr. Rime and taken outside once again. The afternoon sun's rays made a stark contrast to the memories of the day before. Gin took his stance and Gomez smiled.

“Now then, shall we begin?” Gomez asked and Gin rushed at him with a Quick Attack. The icy cane met his forehead as the clash shook the ground. “Excellent!” Gomez barked out in laughter as he knocked Gin away. Launching several Icicle Spears after the Vulpix. Using another Quick Attack to get back to the ground, Gin focused his Fire Type energy and blasted the spears with a flamethrower. Grinning at his work Gin was surprised when Gomez was nowhere to be found, the swift strike to his side was the only warning he received as he was sent flying by the powerful Psychic and Ice type Pokémon.

“Remember, dodge.” Gomez's good humor shone even when he was knocking Gin around like a ragdoll. With a loud crash Gin found himself in a small crater on the ground, smiling.

“Yeah.” He thought as he stood back up letting loose more Fire Type energy around his body, “That's it, that's what I need. I need this challenge, this rush.” His realization made him laugh, Gomez soon laughed as well. Then in one swift move both pokémon blasted each other with fire and ice respectively.

“Shadow Clone Jutsu!” Gin yelled as Gomez paused his attacks. Several dozen Vulpix launched themselves at Gomez, who pointed his cane at them and murmured, “Psychic.” A wave of pure energy blasted them away, tearing apart the bodies with ease. He stared at where Gin had been but found that the Vulpix had disappeared.

“Ember!” Gin shouted from above peppering Gomez with enough fire to count as a pyre. Breathing out, Gomez let out a groan of pain and shot more Icicle Spears at Gin. They did not miss their target as Gin yelped in pain as they struck. The Psychic attack that followed blasted Gin near the hotel itself, his body bounced on the pavement and landed right next to the steps.

“Again.” Gin asked as he coughed out the dust that had entered his mouth. 

Gomez stared at the Vulpix and asked, “Are you sure?”

“Yeah, I think I got it. How it works.” Gin answered mysteriously as the Fire Type energy flowed back into himself and a light purple hue surrounded his body. Gomez nodded and launched another Psychic blast, but instead of dodging Gin stared at it. At the last moment his eyes glowed red and the blast stopped in its tracks. The extrasensory worked as a counter to psychic.

“So that's how you use it to attack.” Gin spoke to himself, ignoring the pain in his body as he tapped into Grass Type energy. His breathing steadied as he felt a calm wash over him, unlike fire this represented in his mind a different sort of life, one that is slowly nurtured instead of consumed. Light formed in front of his eyes, twisting and rotating quickly.

“Energy Ball!” Gin shouted and blasted the orb at Gomez, who didn't move instead his eyes glowed with power as he raised his fist. “ICE PUNCH!!!” He shouted as the attacks clashed, Gin could've sworn he heard the sound of thunder as the resulting explosion shook the ground. 

“It truly is amazing. In a day, you've grown so much, you truly are interesting.” Gomez complimented Gin as the latter found himself too stunned to move. “When did he?” Gin began to ask in the depths of his mind as two powerful kicks launched him to the sky.

“Dammit!” Gin screamed, twisting his body around and using another boost thanks to Extrasensory he launched himself back towards Gomez, forcing his body to crash down like a comet on top of the Addam's patriarch. “That's the spirit, allow me to match it with my own!” Gomez exclaimed, his cane rose and pointed itself at Gin. The same purple light that covered Gin’s body began to glow along it. A desperate idea formed, once again he tapped into that fire within him. His fur glowed red, then hints of gold began to flow outwards.

“Psychic!”/“Flamethrower!” Both pokémon shouted as their respective moves clashed. It was like a lighting bolt falling from the sky, both were blinded by the resulting clash. Gin hit the ground and soon found the end of a cane on his throat, a bruised Mr. Rime stood triumphantly over him.

“This was fun.” Gin muttered between pained breaths, Gomez laughed in agreement. 

“Gaboom.” Pubert said from his seat on top of a Drampa's head, “That's right Pubert, your father and our guest made a great boom. Ah Gomez, had a fun warm up session?”

“Brother! You know it, this guest is truly great to fight.” Gomez complimented Gin who only groaned in protest over the term warm up being used for training. “Ah Fester, would you be so kind as to attend to our guest? I feel mi amada-” was all he said before being grabbed by Morticia and disappearing.

“Ha! Of course brother!” Fester said walking towards Gin who couldn't help but groan as he felt every muscle in his body complain. “To be young again… Ah, where are my manners? My name is Fester. Fester Addams, though you can call me Uncle Fester as well, given how my brother has doted on you.” Grabbing Gin with surprising gentleness they began heading to the hotel, where Lurch awaited with a super potion on hand.

After healing and retreating into his room, Gin fell asleep for a few hours. By the time night rolled over he awoke to find a plate full of food and a note next to the TM player.

{As a reward for beginning to master Type energy, we would like to give you a useful skill given your fighting style. This is TM 90: Substitute. If used properly it will be invaluable.

-Gomez and Morticia Addams}

“Thank you.” Gin uttered as he diligently played the TM and ate. Closing his eyes he could feel the fire inside him, and more now, slowly growing as he drifted to sleep. Not even dreams touched his mind as oblivion took hold of it.

Chapter Text

She was back in the field, nestled between the roots of a tree that welcomed the waif. She sat there, taking in what little sensations she could. Her thick clothes were warm and her thin hands could barely feel the texture of them or anything else. Even the grass and dirt felt like nothing against numb fingers.

She looked around, half-expecting for this dream to be swallowed up and stolen from her. It wasn’t. Maybe it should have been.

The field didn’t last forever. Even in a fantasy, it was stopped short by a chain link fence. A bare, rusted little thing that still prevented her from leaving the grassy patch of land. But what was beyond that tiny barrier? Was she being kept in paradise or were greener pastures being blocked off from her?

Curiosity on the mind, she stood up using the roots around her as footholds. To say she stood up would have been generous. She hobbled to her feet and the tree behind her was the only thing keeping her upright. When she stumbled, she wrapped her hands around the tree, hugging it for all the support it could give her.

Then she coughed. And coughed. And clutched her chest.

It hurt to breathe.

Why was it so difficult to breathe?

She couldn’t breathe!

Irene gasped when she awoke. It was a dream. All of that was a dream. Her lungs were perfectly fine, she didn’t have hands to clutch at anything. That didn’t stop her from taking as many breaths as she could to fill up her body until the ringing in her ears and the screaming in her head stopped.

When her breathing evened out, Irene looked down at herself. Blue scales were her new normal. Warm flesh and soft skin was a memory trapped in the recesses of her mind. However, not everything was right with her bedding this morning. A shed was still peeling off from the lower half of her tail, leaving behind a bright green mucus. She didn’t recall that from her time in the Dream Ruins. That shed was swift and clean.

As she slithered away from her bedding, the mucus stretched out until it finally snapped and fell limp against her sides. Somehow her body was producing this sticky green slime. For what reason, she wasn’t quite sure. Perhaps it was simply meant to ease the shedding process, gross as it was. It didn’t seem to make sliding out of her molt any easier. If anything, the old layer of skin was harder to shimmy out of.

Now that she was out of it, Irene flexed her muscles and called upon the Flying-type energy that flowed freely through her body. And it… well it responded to her call. She flew with instincts and a rather negligible amount of thought toward where she wanted to go. Yet her body felt awkward in the air.

Instead of a loose spiral hanging around, her tail was limp as that slime dripped off the tip. A tiny amount of green ooze, but still more than enough to stand out against her white belly and blue back. She could feel her tail. She could feel how Flying-type energy warped around it, protecting her body without her needing to think about it. For a whole part of her body—her spine—to fall limp, something was wrong.

“But I can feel it,” whispered the Dratini. “I can feel my body. It’s still there.” She could see it. Focusing all her efforts on moving, Irene’s tail flicked out and sprayed the wall with globs of green slime. Then her tail fell limp again, drooping down with all the weight it had. Raising up the rest of her body didn’t miraculously make her motor control return. Although it did show her the disturbing image of her tail folding over itself like a limp noodle.

She should probably stop looking at it. A scream was crawling up her throat and threatening to wake up everyone in the hotel. All of the family and the team needed their rest, especially when she was… Irene flew over to the window and ignored the sensation of her tail flapping behind her with the sudden movement. She poked her head behind the dark curtain.

The moon stared back at her. Definitely don’t want to wake anyone else up then. Guess she could tell someone about the slimy shed later then. Pugsley or Itt ought to be able to clean it up and replace her sheets without any issue. The slime on the wall would hopefully not be a problem either. Irene considered scraping it off the wall herself, but her tail was still producing a small, steady amount of the sticky substance.

“Oh my,” Grandmama loudly announced her entrance through the floor. Irene whipped around and wrapped her limp tail around the rest of her body in a vain attempt to hide it. Despite that, the Mismagius caught onto Irene’s little dilemma anyway. “Come here and let me have a look at you, dearie. I don’t bite, not anymore at least.”

With a sigh, Irene floated over to the Ghost and unraveled as best she could. While her head and most of her body were willing to straighten out, the end of her tail remained stubbornly limp. “I just woke up like this,” she whispered, almost ashamed of herself.

Grandmama nodded, reaching out toward Irene’s tail. Her cloth-like appendages danced around the limp end and held it up. Slime dripped down and fell through Grandmama’s body, phasing into the ghost’s body without a single issue. “Well, your little issue isn’t magical in nature. At least, there isn’t a trace of magic left over from whatever caused this. With the dubious histories of you and your friends, we’d have to ask cousin Giratina to see if any of their siblings had any part in this.”

“But there’s still something wrong with me,” whimpered Irene. She resisted the urge to hold her tail. Her slime was pleasing to look at, but she couldn’t imagine that it was altogether pleasant to touch. Even against scales, they stuck to her and took a touch of effort to break away from.

“Not necessarily, dearie.” Grandmama grabbed Irene by the chin, forcing the Dragon to look at her. With the other end of her cloth body, Grandmama reached up to stroke the top of Irene’s head. “Slime is something many pokémon have, but these little antennae could only belong to one line.”

“Antennae?” Irene focused on the muscles and sensations around her head. Fin-like ears flicked out to the sides and hit something soft. A tiny twinge rang around the top of Irene’s skull.

“See for yourself.” Gesturing toward a mirror on the wall, Grandmama floated over. Not a single drop of slime trickled onto her. Really, the Ghost was spotless and remained in perfect form.

Irene hesitated to check her own form. The slime and her limp tail were something she could handle. With a capable healer, she had the hope this was only a temporary problem for her to deal with. If she had a pair of antennas? She may as well scream and dart under her pillow and never leave from that little hiding spot.

“Come on now. No time like the present.” The little zig-zag grin on Grandmama’s face was not reassuring in the slightest. If anything, it made Irene want to hide even more than before. “Unless you’d like to join the family as a Ghost, of course.”

“No thank you!” Cowed, Irene snapped over to the mirror and took a shuddering breath. Her scales were the same blue that she expected, even after a rather odd shed. Her ears were still sharp fins that matched the white of her nose and belly. Her nose hadn’t changed either. It was round, white, and covered the row of fangs in her mouth behind an innocent facade.

It was the top of her head that changed. Nestled right behind her nub of a horn were two flat antennae. They stretched out for a foot each and flapped easily with the movements of her head. Tucked between those two were even more tiny additions much shorter than the rest. These ones numbered four in total, split off into two pairs with the longer four-inch antennae resting behind ones that were half their size. All six of the new parts attached to her felt weird, completely at odds with what she thought her body should be like.

“It’s difficult to say what these are from.” Grandmama grabbed the flat antennae and Irene couldn’t help flinching at the touch. Sensitive. Much more sensitive than her ears. “On the other hand, these must be from your daddy.” The Mismagius stroked the tiny round nubs. Unlike their longer counterparts, she could barely feel the touch any more than she would have felt it against her scales. “Your mother must have snagged quite the strong Goodra for herself if your body is like this already.”

“Is this unusual?” Irene squeaked as Grandmama flicked the nubs on her head.

“At your stage, I never would’ve expected it to happen. Even Wednesday hasn’t shown any of her father’s traits yet and he’s an Addams.” Grandmama flitted over to Irene’s bedding, where the remnants of her shed were still sitting. Picking it up, Grandmama turned it around and a big glob of slime dropped out. “I’ll be taking this for myself. Dragon hide is oh so hard to come by when it’s fresh and ready for a little touch of magic.”

Without any warning, the Ghost phased through the floor with the shed skin in tow. Whatever power Ghost-types had to pass through objects carried over to what they were carrying. A frightening thought, but Irene hoped that was an ability that came with practice and wasn’t natural. Losing her belongings and mission items seemed far from ideal.

Then Grandmama’s wide-brimmed head popped through the floor again. “Oh, dearie, if you’re worried about your health, there’s a healer in town. Just look for the red roof, alright?” Irene nodded shakily. “Good. Now, take care!”

Once more, Grandmama disappeared through the floor and left to go wherever she did her experiments. More than a little unnerving during the tail end of the night, but the Ghost meant no harm. At least, Irene didn’t think she did. There was always room for accidents to occur.

Speaking of which, Irene should probably try and get some further understanding of what was happening to her before any accidents happened. So, she left the hotel as quietly as possible. Thanks to her flight, she avoided stepping on any creaky floorboards. The ever-active members of the family noticed her and continued on with their day, unbothered by one of their guests leaving.

For better or for worse, Irene sped over to Summerleaf Town. Her body didn’t reject the speed. Granted, it was on the lower end of the spectrum for what she was capable of, but it was probably still a good sign that she hadn’t thrown up or anything.

The red-roofed building was easy to spot with its bright lights acting like a beacon when the moon was her guiding light. Entering the establishment was just as simple as finding it. The door was unlocked and was large enough for the largest of pokémon to fit through with ease. Inside, the building felt quite small. To one side, an Audino was performing a check-up on a Stoutland and grooming out his rather thick mustache. On the other, an empty counter cut Irene off from touching the large stockpile of berries and medicine behind it.

“Ah, one moment please!” The Audino tugged a brush through Stoutland’s fur and came away with layers upon layers of shed hair. Picking out the fur, Audino ran the brush down the fluffy canine’s back a few more times before calling it quits. With a pat on their back, Audino sent Stoutland on their way. “Good luck with patrol, Officer.”

Stoutland nodded. “Have a nice night, Healer.” Was Healer her name? It seemed a bit on the nose, especially when Guildmaster Audino was down the road. Although Irene shouldn’t really be one to judge. If she hadn’t gone on that walk a few days ago, she would probably just be going by Dratini.

Healer Audino strolled over to her on her stubby legs, waddling forward. On top of her head was a white nurse’s cap that was tucked behind her ears. “Oh my, I don’t recognize you. What’s your name, sweetheart?”

“Irene. I’m a member of Team Pyro if that means anything.” She raised the end of her tail and watched the end drop like a wet noodle. “I sorta woke up like this. Can’t really move my tail and green slime has been dripping out.”

“I see.” Healer Audino snapped her fingers and a bright green pulse of energy splashed against Irene’s body. Soothing energy washed over Irene, easing away the aches in her spine. It didn’t return her motor control over her tail, but it did make her feel somewhat better. “Is there anything else you can tell me about this?”

“Grandmama said I’m expressing traits from my father,” mumbled Irene. “Something about a very strong Goodra and that’s why my tail is like this. It doesn’t explain how these appeared.” Using her new muscle groups, Irene flicked the flat antennae around so they swung around her like little ribbons attached to her head.

“May I?” Irene nodded and Healer Audino took the longest antennae between her fingers. She stroked down their length, causing Irene to tremble at the sensation. “Sensitive then. The scales aren’t as thick here as they could be, but it’s definitely not the same texture as Dragonite antennae. Those are much more akin to whiskers and are for channeling power.” Pulling one hand back from Irene’s head, Healer Audino grabbed the end of the Dratini’s tail. Squeezing it made Irene squeak. “The flesh and muscles here have much more give than they should.”

When those cream-colored fingers trailed up Irene’s tail, the Dragon sucked in a sharp breath. “Please don’t,” she whispered.

Then Healer Audino squeezed. Irene squirmed, biting her tongue. “Definitely the same scale texture, but your Goodra heritage is coming out quite oddly. Not quite the clean split, though it may be possible for you to control the solidity of your form.” Tugging on Irene’s tail, Healer Audino cupped it and stroked down the scaly body, focusing particularly over the area where limp muscles met tight ones. “With evolution, your body should become thicker and harder. At the moment, it seems you’ve inherited more Goomy than Goodra so the muscle and bones in your tail have softened up.”

“Is there anything I can do,” stuttered Irene. She shuddered at the thought of pulling away, only for the Audino to pull her back in. So she squirmed and wiggled a tiny bit in the healer’s arms. It didn’t bother Healer Audino in the slightest. If anything, the bigger pokémon’s grip only grew more firm around the noodle of a Dragon.

“Nothing immediately. Your body is a medical miracle. Obviously your mother had to be a Dragonite or Dragonair.” For emphasis, she brushed her fingers against Irene’s fin-shaped ears. “Your father must have been a Goodra for these traits to be so prominent.” Healer Audino rubbed the tiny nubs on Irene’s head. “And an Altaria had to be one of your grandparents. An incredibly strong one too for any traits at all to show up during any point of your lifespan.”

A Dragonite, a Goodra, and an Altaria walk into a bar… then Irene pops out of an egg months later. That seemed like a mess of Dragon-types, an almost unnatural mix only allowed together by the grace of whatever god smiled down upon her.

“If you evolve, you’ll likely have better control over your body. For the time being, make sure to stay hydrated so your Goomy parts don’t dry out.” Finally, Healer Audino pulled her hands away from Irene. But not without a pat on her head of course. “Make sure to take care of yourself, sweetie.”

“I will,” muttered the Dragon hybrid. Staying hydrated shouldn’t be hard. She resisted Fire anyway, so she’d be fine. Yeah, she’d be fine.

Chapter Text

Argo settled back into her spot in the Addams’ backlot. Or did it count as her spot now? Nobody else seemed to use it, but she'd only used it… thrice now? Not really indicative of any actual claim. Ah whatever.

“Better think about you.” She raised a crackling fist and then flicked her fingers forward. Electricity crackled as the Thunder Punch lost cohesion and collapsed. “Electric, huh.”

It's an interesting Type for sure. Not quite unlike Fire but also nowhere close. The video had been actually quite clear about a few things that applied to the Type as a whole despite being very focused on performing Thunder Punch. It only stood to reason it'd be like that- actually performing the move does require knowing how to use the Electric Type.

“Moves are a lot more intuitive than I expected.” It shouldn't be a surprise, really, but it is. Pokémon learn moves randomly all the time. That those moves actually contain some level of deeper understanding of the Type the move belongs to just felt a little at odds with the idea. Like getting the secrets of the universe from the teaser at the back of a book. “Maybe that's why Fire came so easily.” She knows a few moves of that Type, plus it's her own base Type.

Regardless, that isn't why she was sitting in the back lot again. Electricity was. While the Addams did have outlets for the C-Gear and Pal Pads they'd taken from Striaton City, and they could hold a charge for a very long time, it wasn't perfect. Being able to charge on the go would be necessary in the future. If nothing else because Argo was the leader and she should always be able to be contacted.

“Hopefully not too often…” She shifted herself and settled back again. There were chargers that were capable of taking in electricity from an Electric Type and charging things with it. It was just thought to be limited to something only Electric Types could use. The level of control of the electricity going in needed to be rather high, apparently.

“Not gonna stop me.” Argo huffed and clenched her fist again. Electricity danced around it as she stared at the arcing mass. “Hmm…”

Electricity is a curious thing. Much like Fire it always moved, but unlike fire taming it was a different story. You could direct it, suppress it, or stop it, but rendering it down into something equivalent to a campfire was difficult. Something ever charging forth that could be carved down but never stopped until it died.

It was unlike Fire in that way. Fire could wait or be content. Electricity, and the Electric Type, never could. It would die first.

That was likely why using Thunder Punch was so odd. It required a focus that Fire moves didn't. The electricity needed to keep flowing and keep being created. The science behind the move worked much like a lightning strike- opposite poles given enough charge. The initial charge though… that must be Aura. An unconscious instinctive use of Aura.

Argo could cheat using Fire moves. She was a Fire Type and always had flame. Electric Types would presumably have the same- they could store electricity. Without that well the initial spark had to come from somewhere. Aura served the purpose well enough, but it wouldn't allow full mastery. Likely not even enough skill to utilize the charging machine.

“Have to be like an Electric Type.” What characterized an Electric Type? Electricity. Some natural ability to produce or store electricity. “Doesn't everything do that?’ The body ran on electric signals. They just weren't something that could be used.

Normally.

“This is a terrible fucking idea.” Argo let the Thunder Punch die out and stared at her hand. The instinctive way, in this case, would be the wrong one. She had to ensure that the electricity didn't come from an Aura created spark but instead from the natural signals that were sent to her hand. That meant not only amping up the signals but ensuring they didn't harm her or her nerves when done so. “Ouch! Fuck.”

Well test one failed. She shook her hand, the shock having rendered it numb. Still… it did prove the concept. She just had to get better at it.

“Might take a while though.” Maybe going backwards would be the way? Stare at Thunder Punch and still the electricity until… no that'd just cause uncontrollable muscle spasms. That'd be less good. “Ah, fuck it. I've got time.” She didn't need to start on dinner with Grandmama for a while.

Testing was… mixed. Or probably bad. The stiffness of her hand, plus a consistent ache, made it clear that this probably wasn’t something she should be messing with. On the bright side she had gotten the move working with just her own electricity. It took way too much out of her to use normally but it granted some interesting ideas. At the very least something about using Thunder Punch normally felt… better. Different in a way that was hard to describe but distinctly and obviously more powerful.

“Well… that was a bad idea and it worked.” Argo shook her hand again. It still felt bad. Her brow furrowed as she focused on smoothing out the electricity she could feel there. It was still distant, and took a little effort to really notice, but it was definitely something that was just… something she could mess with now. The jolts were not firing correctly- jerky and sparking out of place. “Hmm…”

She smoothed out the signals. As best she could, anyway. No matter her abilities she wasn’t an Electric Type and didn’t have an instinctive grasp of such things. That didn’t make it any less surprising when her hand suddenly started moving a lot faster. Didn’t get rid of the ache though.

“Huh. I could swear I’ve heard of something like that. Fucking… people messing with their nerves to make them go faster and get super speed or something.” Argo clenched her hand. “Right, gonna try that. Later. Wish upon a star!” Wish shot into the sky. “Hope that works.”

Enough electricity for now. Back to Fire. Not that there’s much to do there, but she’d used the Cut HM. That… that brought some ideas. For a sorta bad Normal Type move it was very broad in its application. Apply it right to her katana… well. There’s definitely something there.

“Hmm…” The energy to Cut gathered in her and she focused on her katana. Not the image of it, that wasn’t possible, but the idea of it and what it felt like to hold. “Slash!”

The weapons sparked to life as she cut. The wave of fire that went out a fierce blue. Argo smiled. That… that had some very interesting potential. Perhaps even more- Cut hadn’t been fully realized in that. Some of the power drained out and was lost. Without that loss… it could be even stronger.

“Ohh that’ll be fun.” She chuckled as she looked down at the sword. “Should I name you?” It wasn’t a traditional sword- she remade it each time she needed it. Still… it was her weapon, one that’d likely be with her forever. Wouldn’t make much sense to get a normal sword when it’d just get ruined pretty quick from the heat.

Or perhaps not. If she could find a Pokémon resistant to fire that made its own metal that may serve as an effective weapon. Might still have issues just due to how hot she can get her fire but it'd be better than any normal metal. The only problem would be finding it. Plus getting someone to actually make it but there were probably a few blacksmith Pokémon out there. Just a matter of finding one that wouldn't be too squicked out by using the remains of another Pokémon.

“Gomez might have some idea.” Might even have a member of the family that'd do it. A loud crackle brought Argo’s attention out of her head and down to the sword. The shape of it had gotten loose and I'd managed to droop down enough to curl around some old leaves. “Hungry thing, aren't you? Hah! And so we feast! Consume all that stands against us… hmm.” 

Some work shopping needed. Plus a name- wendigo came to mind but they're associated with cold and ice. Skoll maybe? Not exactly known for eating but was hungry and associated with fire. Even if that was more because that wolf would eat fire. Ahh, she'd have to talk to the others. At least nobody could complain about a chunni line like that here.

“Never even really watched Bleach.” She had looked up a lot of it though. Plus read some stuff. “Should start working on incorporating Will-o-wisp then. If I'm gonna have a Shikai release line it may as well be for a Ghost sword.”

Ghost might prove a little troublesome, but the Addams should be able to help plenty. Plus learning magic is a good primer on how the Ghost Type works. Maybe Grandmama will know a few moves she could teach. That'd be nice. Knowing a move of the right Type definitely makes it easier to figure things out.

Speaking of Grandmama. “Probably should get in to start dinner.” The katana snuffed out with a momentary effort and Argo pulled herself to her feet. Walking into the building felt nice, even if her hand still felt a little tingly.

“Why, what do we have here!” A long cloud dragon eel… thing Pokémon immediately stuck his (?) head in front of her. “Playing with electricity? Brilliant!”

“Yep. Very shocking.” Who was this one? Argo didn't think they'd met. “I'm Argo.”

“Just call me Uncle Fester. Everyone does.” He laughed. “If you're willing to play with electricity you really should come to me. I've been shocked so many times Lurch is jealous!”

“Uuuhhh…” Lurch… added from his position still behind the desk.

“See, he even agrees with me.” One… cloud hand thing wrapped around Argo. “Let's see what you've done! Any tingling? The tingling is the best part.”

“Some in my hand…” Fester probably doesn't mean any harm. He's just… an Addams. “Was trying to use my natural electricity to do Electric moves.”

“Ah! That'd be the nerve damage then!” Fester laughed as he pushed Argo deeper into the hotel. “Grandmama won't be too annoyed about missing you. I haven't had anyone to talk to about that before. Would you believe that everyone else thinks it's dangerous? A good healing move or two and you're fine!”

“People get over attached to things like that.” Not that Argo isn't but the Addams have a different outlook. It's not like it's wrong considering how hardy they all are. Plus healing moves apparently do a lot. Like take care of nerve damage. Nice. “Have you ever tried to use it to boost your speed and reaction time? I think I've heard of that sort of thing before.”

“Of course! It's quite fun, but gets boring once you're used to it. Especially since there’s only so far it can be pushed.” The area of the hotel they both found themselves in was definitely not supposed to be for guests. Deep beneath the place where the pipes were unhidden. “What's more fun is using it to call lightning strikes! Bit hard to set up but there isn't a replacement for a natural strike!”

“That sort of power is hard to find.” It'd probably feel different too. The energy that made it up not quite as directed as something like a move would be. “Could you show me what you have about boosting?”

“Sure! They're pretty old though.” Fester grabbed a stack of papers from what seemed like a random bench. 

Argo nodded and thanked him as she began to study them. It was laid out much like a guide was. Useful that, meant she could learn it much faster. Though it probably wouldn't be a good idea to really use it as a move. The boost required some level of ramping up to not make the user totally useless afterward. They'd get about five minutes before flopping over as their nerves basically all overloaded and shut off.

Much better to practice with it until she could just do it unconsciously as she got into a fight. It wouldn't be an immediate boost, rather a ramping one, but it'd still be very useful. Just a matter of doing it.

“Interesting.” Argo smiled. “Thanks for showing me that, Uncle Fester. You also said something about lightning strikes?”

“The fun result of my research!” He paused for a second. “Well… one of them. Come on! I'll show you.”

This was bound to be enlightening.

Chapter Text

“Guh… huh…. Oh gods… ow… my- owwwww….” Sapphire groaned, wheezing and groaning as she finally pulled herself out of the cave and laid out there in the grass as she took in the late afternoon sky.

Fuck.

She really had been out literally all night. And most of the day too.

Fuck… why had it taken so long!?

Guhhhh….

The Gardevoir slowly pushed herself up, groaning and wincing as she flexed her fingers and gave herself a onceover. She definitely wasn’t a normal Gardevoir just based on the coloration of her body, what with the black dress and gloves and the armor plate over her chest (and boobs!!) that had sort of come out of nowhere.

When had she evolved, anyway? All she remembered of the last bit of the cave depths was fighting a really, really strong Volcarona that had the artifact chained around its body- freed from the rocks and now converted into what Sapphire had known was Arceus’ Insect Plate upon first sight. 

Also, after the Ariados, she’d had to fight a fucking Gliscor, a goddamn Drapion, a motherfucking Vespiquen, a Lokix (why a Lokix!? Why did First Impression hit so hard!?), of all things a Scizor, a whole shitload of pissed off Nymble that were mad that she’d killed their parent, and also that FUCKING VOLCARONA at the end.

Ugh.

Sapphire felt singed all over and also her legs REALLY FUCKING HURT.

It was her fault, though, for evolving mid-fight into a Kirlia and then deciding that she really had to kick the shit out of everything in that cave.

Aaa…. good thing she could still float… her skinny lil twig legs were so sore she wouldn’t have been surprised if they were broken.

What was really weird about her current condition was… well. The fact that a lot of the new moves she’d learned were fire based… which didn’t really make sense? She was a Psychic/Fairy type. She shouldn’t know that many Fire type moves… then again, Fire Punch had come really easily to her… and also Flamethrower and Mystical Fire. Maybe the fact that she was visibly not a Gardevoir could help figure out why the fuck she was, one: able to learn so many Fire type moves in such quick succession, and two: FUCKING IMMUNE TO FIRE.

Guh.

That was the weird one, really. She was immune to fire- it hurt to be on fire, of course, but it did no damage and the only thing it did was leave her feeling a little crispy. But… it didn’t burn the way it ought to. It didn’t leave her flesh charred or skin blackened, didn’t destroy her body or leave her with surface burns… she just… felt a little crispy and singed, as if she’d stood in the hot sun with a hot wind for too long. That same kind of feeling one got in their eyebrows when they stood a little too close to a bonfire. 

She’d also… pulled out a flaming sword attack at one point? That Volcarona had been really… really strong, and she had absolutely no clue how she managed to survive the damn thing, but… that sword. It had come out of her arm and she’d just known how to use it. Had summoned up all of those negative feelings about everything just writhing in her heart and slashed with all her might with a flaming slash that had splashed a pillar into the sky… and also left her drained to the point that she could barely climb out and recuperate in the grass.

And now she was here, groaning in pain and knowing damn well that, despite having restored most of her health with that final attack against that Volcarona and recovered the Insect Plate, she wasn’t in any state to move. Her head hurt, her legs ached, her arms were sore from punching so much, and also she just felt… tired.

She’d learned and used a bunch of moves all at once in her haste to get through the cave and survive, and not all of those moves had been used in service of fighting the pokemon there- no, the deeper she’d gone the more the fights tended to destabilize the caverns behind and above, and by the time she’d finished the fight and blasted a hole to the surface on accident, she’d been wondering if she’d just be buried alive somehow. 

Thank fuck she hadn’t.

“... Shoulda packed more lemonade… or maybe some food… I could use a few Oran berries right now…” Sapphire mumbled almost drunkenly, crawling rather pathetically away from the hole in the ground that used to be a cave until she could lean up against a tree and slowly catch her breath. “Least it doesn’t feel cold right now… it’s nice… could stay out like this for a while…”

Gin blinked as he saw the Gardevoir on the ground, he had seen the pillar of flame from his room and had dashed like a maniac worried about Sapphire, since as far as he had known she was the only one that had headed out there. “Sapphire?” He asked as he approached her, eyes darting around the area; expecting an ambush.

Nix had followed shortly behind the Vulpix, hoisting about a bag of berries Wednesday had nearly lopped his head off with as he left. “Sapphire? Holy Shit, you look like you’ve seen better… Millenia , what the hell happened to ya’?” He slid carefully down the small hill that led to her side. “You evolved, too. Twice.”

“That’s not normal, right?” Irene floated over to the group, her tail floating limply behind her. She dropped down next to the newly evolved Gardevoir. “You look cool but definitely not normal.”

“I fought… like… thirty dudes down there… and the only ones that weren’t at least twice as strong as I was were the fucking Nymble,” Sapphire groaned, waving weakly at the three of them and blinking a few times. “Does anyone have a Leppa berry…? O-or anything for headaches…? Burn heal? I feel really crispy right now even though I think I’m mostly… entirely…? Some kinda fireproof. There was a Volcarona. A really big, angry Volcarona. It had… this.” 

She trailed off, holding up the Insect Plate in one hand and coughing a few times. “I don’t know how a Volcarona learned Megahorn… but it really hurt getting hit in the gut by that shit.”

Nix dashed a paw into the bag around his neck and procured a handful of berries. “I haven’t figured out the specifics, I’m hoping either one of you recognize em’, or you’re at least cognizant enough to tell.” He spared a passing glance at the Plate. “That thing… is giving me the nerves for some reason.”

“That's a plate… How the fuck is there a plate here?” Gin remarked before shaking his head, “Don't answer that, it doesn't matter, at least not right now. And” Gin pointed out at the red and yellow berry in Nix’s paw, “that one is a Leppa Berry.”

Nix nodded and handed the newly evolved Gardevoir the berry in question.

“Thank youuuu…” Sapphire groaned happily as she chewed and swallowed the berry, visibly perking up slightly as the headache pounding in her brain lessened to the point that she could properly sit up. “Guh… what’re you guys even doing out here? Didn’t you all have other stuff going on…?”

“I was letting myself rest at the Hotel after getting my rib busted. I trust Argo’s ability, but the phrase better safe than sorry is burned into my skull. I saw that giant plume of fire and sprinted over as soon as I could.” Nix gave Sapphire a once-over. “Man, you look dinged up. But… also pretty cool. I don’t remember Gardevoirs having armor, though.”

The massive ball of approaching fire cut off further talk. It swiftly resolved itself into Argo, a katana made of blue flame with a white edge clenched in her fist. “I’m good for like five minutes before I probably need serious recovery time. What needs to be ultrakilled?” Sparks danced across her fur- all of it moved just as she did, flowing in a way that was distinctly natural and yet not. “Oh hey Sapphire, the plushie you got me was awesome! Really helped.” Her offhand flicked a Wish into the sky.

“Oh hey Argo,” Sapphire waved tiredly, smiling at the Braixen and blinking sleepily as she scratched her cheek. “Glad you liked it! I saw it and thought of you… and uhhh… I just finished ultrakilling, actually… and look- we’re sword buddies now!” She focused for a moment, her raised hand stilling as it flared with ghostly blue fire and formed into a glowing blade that pulsed with heat as it all took the form of something approximating a large broadsword almost half again as tall as Sapphire herself. “I think it’s called Bitter Blade! It uh… gets stronger the angrier and more depressed I get… and it heals me if I hit something with it!”

“Fancy. I’d ask to learn it but I really don’t think it’d work for me.” The sparks stopped and the blade dispersed. Argo let out a shaky breath and flicked another Wish into the sky. “Yeah, that isn’t finished just yet.”

“You good? What… was that by the way? And… mmm, thanks for the healing. I think I actually learned some healing down there… heh… I got fucked up a few times… pretty sure I broke a couple ribs before I somehow healed myself,” Sapphire giggled a little, then slowly stood up and doused her own sword before stumbling over so she could give Argo a hug. “Bleh… I’m tired now… and tall…”

The first Wish fell down. “The result of a very ill advised experiment. I’m going to have nerve damage for a little bit until the Wish comes down.” Argo was silent for a moment. “Did you know Wish could heal nerve damage? I didn’t but apparently it can. Anyway- I got phones for everyone. I can also charge them in the field now.”

“That move is probably going to be the most useful move any of us come across- wait, Phones???” Nix barked. “How in Mew’s Ass did you find phones?!?”

“Raided a professor’s place with Irene. They’re called C-Gears and they’re trainer grade so they should survive everything. Also got Pal Pads, which is basically a contact list.” Argo shrugged and let out a soft moan as the Wish fell onto her. “Oh that's the stuff…”

“It’ll probably be awkward to use them for some of us.” Irene gestured toward herself and Gin with her tail. As she did so, a tiny glob of slime dripped down onto the grass. “But I’m sure we’ll figure it out. Probably after we figure out how Sapphire ended up like a magic knight?”

“I think we should try helping her back to the hotel before asking. I think a couch or bed would be a better meet-up spot than the woods right now.” Nix got back up onto his paws and tied the berry bag.

Argo nodded and kneeled down. “I need to get started on dinner with Grandmama.” She gently attempted to lift the now taller ‘mon.

“I think I’ve got enough juice for… ooooone…? Last long distance teleport… maybe a short one after,” Sapphire breathed deeply, slowly standing up with Argo’s help before looking around and glowing slightly. “Everyone ready?”

And immediately once everyone had answered yes, she flared her psychic power, glowed bright blue for a moment… and then dumped them all right back into the main foyer of the Addams hotel. And then she collapsed into the nearest armchair so she could fan herself a little and take a few more deep breaths. “Guh… I have got to stop overdoing it… third time in five fucking days…”

“Let’s just take a rest, alright.” Argo rubbed the back of her neck. “We should be able to have a quiet day tomorrow where nothing bad happens. That’s usually how it works after a bad mission- few days of rest before the next crazy event.”

Nix groaned and hopped into his own chair. “I think the whole Rescue Team organization, or whoever the Hell that GM answers to, if anyone, really understates these mission’s danger levels. Sapphire’s done enough fighting to evolve into a Gardevoir, I fought a Fucking Kaiju, no clue what you,” He pointed at Argo. “Or Gin have been up to, and Tenaz- hey, where is Tenaz?”

“Word around is that he’s doing some training by himself.” Irene curled up on the floor, avoiding the carpet in fear of staining it. “Barely caught him leaving, but he should be back for dinner.”

Nix hummed. “Hope he’s having good luck with that. So, Sapphire, how are you feeling?” Turning back to the Gardevoir, idly sorting through the berries around his neck, silently hoping some random Big Book Of Berries would drop out of the sky and ding him on the noggin’.

“To be fair… Chirrup priced that mission thinking I was just gonna have to retrieve an old rock thing from a pair of Nickits in a cave,” Sapphire deadpanned, idly taking the Insect Plate out of her satchel and examining it again. “He didn’t know this was a Plate… and he had no idea what I’d end up fighting down there. And when I went to Nuvema, I had the bad luck of being a Ralts in an area with a bunch of Poochyena. If anything, me going out without any camouflage was on me. Either way… I’m alright now. Sorta. I’m gonna… really need to take a long nap soon. Argo, can I sleep in your room again? You’re… really fluffy and warm.”

“You’re always welcome.” Argo gave a nod as she headed toward the dining room. “I’ll bring up some dinner once it’s done.”

“Thaaaaaaaaank youuuuu~” Sapphire grinned a little woozily, and then teleported off to go take a nap. “G’niiiiiight~”

Chapter Text

“You know, I had to do a check on little Irene just the other day- and now you? My my, what an odd bunch you and your friends seem to be,” Grandmama chuckled as she idly flitted around Sapphire and trailed her ghostly… skirt arms? Whatever they were- around the Gardevoir’s body. “Mmm… a Gardevoir in armor… there’s only a few pokemon out there that could produce markings like these… and the Ghost in you- haha, little Sapphire has more than a little bitterness in that soft squishy heart, eh?”

“I’m a Ghost type now…?” Sapphire mumbled, looking up at Grandmama curiously whilst laying around in Argo’s bed. She hadn’t really moved since last night, just languishing as her body mended itself from her ill advised escapade into the hellhole that had once been the Deepwoods Cave. Fuck that cave. Thank whatever gods were listening that Sapphire had turned it into nothing more than a cave of collapsed rubble with a bunch of charred and destroyed corpses inside. And thank the gods that Wednesday had managed to talk Chirrup into upping the mission pay from sixty Poké to just shy of four hundred. She’d have asked for more, but it was still a lot of Poké. Especially since a routine item retrieval mission turned into a literal fight for survival against a boss rush of freaks that shouldn’t have been Super Effective against her as a Psychic/Fairy, but somehow were anyway. “I thought I was Fire type… I swear I have Flash Fire…”

“Mmm, your type energies are all out of sorts, dearie. Most pokemon only have two for a reason- the energies get all bundled up and it’s hell to sort it out. Though, you seem to have handled it remarkably well!” Grandmama cackled a little as she waved a bundle of herbs over Sapphire, the strong, smoky, almost floral scent providing a balm to the lingering headache in the back of Sapphire’s skull whilst a spoonful of soup helped heal her tired body. “Perhaps there’s more to all of you than meets the eye- I knew I had a good feeling about your bunch when you first arrived!”

“Heh… I guess that’s good… does that mean I’m a quad-type now…?” Sapphire asked, blinking slowly as she continued to watch Grandmama more or less putter around and poke her in a few places. “And… why do I have armor? I mean… I know that I started kicking things a bunch as sort of a reference to an old show but… it doesn’t explain the armor at all…”

“Well you’ve got more than a little bit of some kinda Ghost type in you, dearie. Plus the Fire… well, there’s not really a lot of options as to who your daddy could be,” Grandmama shrugged and returned her magical implements back to their proper place before leaning over and staring Sapphire dead in the eyes as if examining them. “Mm! Good strong spirit flame in your pupils too. It’ll make looking in mirrors a little weird, but I’m sure you’ll be fine. We’ll have to move you to the third floor, though- you’re much too big to fit in a Ralts sized bed anymore… unless you want to see if a Ghost typing negates back pain! Haha!”

She paused, then leaned in even closer with a slightly menacing aura. “Spoiler warning: It doesn’t.”

“... Grandmama, is your back okay?” Sapphire mumbled, nonplussed by the sudden declaration.

Grandmama cackled. “I don’t have a back, dearie! I’m a head with a wiggly skirt! Kahahaha! Ow, my back!”

“Eh-”

“Just kidding, dearie.”

“... Ah…”

Sapphire stared for a moment, then sighed and started to sit up slowly- body aches receding with the level of whatever the fuck Grandmama put into the soup and headache receding with… everything else Grandmama had done to her earlier. “... Should I get checked out by a medical professional or something? I feel like I oughta, just to see what the hell is up with my body. This isn’t normal, right?”

“Absolutely bonkers, dearie. Now, seems like you’ve got less traits than your friend Irene but… they seemed to have come through stronger. You’ll probably get a lot of weird looks, come to think of it,” Grandmama mused, fluttering her cloak body with a little cackle. “Then again, you already get weird looks! Kahaha, you live here, after all!”

“... I do live here…” Sapphire mumbled, rubbing her temples a little and sighing in relief as the headache finally went away once she finished her soup- ladling spoonfuls into her mouth with her psychic powers until the bowl was empty. “Where should I go for a checkup anyway?”

“Oh there’s a lovely little place in town- just look for the red roof, dear,” Grandmama answered, chuckling a little as she patted Sapphire’s head with a little gust of Ghost type energy in lieu of an actual hand. “You know, Irene went there just the other day- here, I’ll show you where it is.”

And before Sapphire could react, Grandmama smacked her full over the eye- because her hair blocked her forehead- with a tendril from her cloak and pulsed with Psychic energy until-

“Gah!”

Sapphire fell back and landed ass over teakettle in the very clinic that Grandmama had just shown her a psychic image of.

…

Maybe she should get a hang on that whole “instinctively teleporting when faced with a surprise” thing that she had going on. It wouldn’t do to run into a harmless surprise and then suddenly end up half a mile away just because she got startled by something that wouldn’t hurt her. But gods had that come as a shock- usually she was so good at intuiting someone’s actions because their telepathic field were pretty much an open book to her. Except for Dark types. She wasn’t good at getting anything from Dark types, but that was because Dark types were immune to psychic stuff unless they didn’t want to be.

“Oh my, are you alright?” someone asked, and Sapphire turned to see… an Audino. Different from Guildmaster Audino, this one was… softer? No, she just had more of a healer’s disposition, or something. Sapphire’s psychic senses were fucking weird now, and the increased strength really didn’t help as much as she’d have liked. “That seemed like quite a fall there- did you just teleport in?”

“Guh… yeah… Grandmama knocked me on my ass with a psychic image and I teleported on instinct…” Sapphire groaned, shaking her head as she stood up and returned to floating. Which. That was just a thing she did now. Float a few inches off the ground anytime she wasn’t sitting down or leaning on something or sleeping. 

She supposed that was just what Gardevoir did- float off the ground because of their psychic mastery allowing them full defiance of gravity- but still. It was weird being ground bound as a Ralts and then as a Kirlia, only to then realize more or less just now that she could float. 

“The Addamses sure do seem to be a wild lot at times… well, you can call me Healer, or Healer Audino. Did you need a checkup?” the Audino asked, tilting her head at Sapphire as she looked up and smiled. “My, you remind me of that Dratini that came in yesterday- your parents’ traits are showing through very strongly, it seems. Gardevoir and… well, I don’t think there’s anything those markings in your hair could be other than Ceruledge!”

“Markings?” Sapphire mumbled, then shook her head and looked down at Healer Audino in surprise. “Wait- what’s a Ceruledge?”

“Oh, you probably haven’t seen yourself yet- here, come with me, there’s a full body mirror just over this way,” the healer stated, puttering off towards the side of the building whilst Sapphire followed, leading towards a small checkup room with, indeed, a full length mirror set onto one wall. “There you are. My- your traits make you look pretty, though. It almost makes me wish my parents had been something other than Audino so I could look a little like that- but what am I saying. Take a look!”

And so…

Sapphire looked into the mirror, frowning slightly as she saw herself in full for the first time and gasping when the fullness of her body came into view. She was… well. Gothic would be a good descriptor, honestly. Her hair was no longer as vibrantly sky blue as it had been before, and had darkened to a more teal color. Her eyes weren’t really red, but more of a reddish pink that glowed from within. And, instead of visible pupils, she had ghostly flames trailing from the center of each eye- the so-called spirit flame that Grandmama must have been talking about earlier. It was honestly kinda cool, as was the way her hair spiked up in the back (so that’s why sleeping had felt a little weird) and how her head fins seemed to have a slightly more horn-like construction on the lower two, which were now both blue- the middle fin dark blue, and the lowest now more of a steel-colored spike . There were also some triangular markings on her face as if she was wearing jaw armor or just had some weird tattoos- no, those spots were slightly more durable than the rest of her skin, it might have actually been armor. Oh, and the front of her hair was like a pitch black… three lobed… triangular section… thing. 

For some reason, the first thing that came to mind was the Adidas logo, whatever the fuck Adidas was. Also, there were three faintly glowing teardrop shaped marks in her hair- the same reddish pink as her eyes- each one pointed towards the pointy tip of her hair. Her neck was… normal? Nothing interesting there. Further down, though, it seemed like her normal Gardevoir clothes had fused with something entirely different, to the point that she had a flexible breastplate over her ribs- the normal emotion sensing horn there had simply turned into a glowing protrusion in the breastplate, and for some reason it seemed… slightly disconnected? Like she could take off her armor and dress… or something. Oh, and she had a tabard! Which meant that, seeing as she didn’t have any underwear, she wouldn’t be flashing anything and everyone that happened to be directly in front of her when the wind kicked up! 

Nice.

Her dress was black too, with dark teal flame patterns along the bottom edge and a teal inner layer, while her gloves were… actual black opera gloves, no longer part of her shirt sleeve skin pattern. Also her dress had some odd stripes near her hips- purple and blue, that seemed almost like they were denoting where armor was. Given that said dress was stiffer around those areas, it might have actually been mild protection. Aaaand then…. She realized she was more or less wearing thigh highs. Black patterns going up to mid-thigh, switching to purple near her knees as if denoting an armored boot, and then white near the bottoms of her legs as if denoting where a shoe would begin if she actually had, y’know. Feet.

Overall… she looked really different from a normal Gardevoir, but… huh. She kinda matched perfectly with the Addams family at this point- gothic, ghostly appearance and all. Wednesday would like that, probably. She hadn’t actually talked to the Gothorita today outside of the note pinned beneath a bag full of Poké (and apparently the Insect Plate) that Wednesday had left on her (well, Argo’s) bedside table.

Finishing her examination, Sapphire breathed deeply, then sat down on the nearest examination table. “Okay. So… um… I guess I should get a checkup too? Grandmama said my type energies were all… weird…”

“Well… you look pretty healthy as it is, but yes- a routine checkup is useful just to make sure there aren’t any outstanding health issues… oh- dear, out of sync type energies? That’s unusual…” Healer Audino mumbled, taking out a stethoscope before bouncing up to Sapphire and starting to poke and prod her in a few places with a concerned look. “Interesting… you’re very warm, did you know that? Most Gardevoir run quite cool, but you’re running around Fire type levels right now… except I can feel a Ghost type chill too. But you’re a Gardevoir so you should only be Psychic and Fairy… curious… curious…”

“... Grandmama said as much, I think… I’m pretty sure I’m fireproof now, too… so…” Sapphire shrugged. “Make of it what you will, I guess?”

“Mm… well. We’ll get you sorted out quick, though. Now- just lay back and we’ll make sure you’re lickety split!” Healer Audino smiled, motioning for Sapphire to lie down.

“Uh… sure. Thanks, doc.”

“You’re very welcome!”

Chapter Text

Nix stared blankly at the tree in front of him. Early morning, and he was just outside the Addams Hotel, and what for?

On Argo’s advice, figuring out what the Hell he can actually do.

So far, Nix knew he could use Fire Punch and Double Kick. Pretty useful, especially when they were backed by his natural physical strength, especially from his ears. A burning punch is bad enough, but imagine that punch also hitting like a train. Hah, that damn Ariados didn’t have to imagine it.

“Training?” Sapphire asked from behind Nix, suddenly appearing with a rush of displaced air that marked a teleport. “Or are you just enjoying nature?”

Nix let out a bark / yip / unidentifiable noise and jumped a good few meters into the air. Once he landed, he shot a half-hearted glare at the Gardevoir. “Arceus Tap Dancing, Sapphire. Scared me damn near outta my skin.” He sighed. “But yeah, I’m training. Well, trying to. Argo mentioned some stuff about ‘Looking Inside’ during breakfast and I decided to try it out, see if I can glean anything from ‘Within'.” He frowned. “I’ve had no luck in that department. All I know is that I can use Fire Punch and Double Kick, that’s about it.”

“... Hmm… well… if you need help trying to draw out some Moves from what you should be able to do… I did get Orion to lend me copies of everyone’s potential move lists,” Sapphire mentioned, holding up a sheet of paper with “Buneary” labeled at the top of one column of text, and “Lopunny” at the top of another. “I also do have some… probably really shitty advice, if you wanna hear it?”

“I’m all for both.” Nix mumbled, taking the offered paper. Skimming over it, his nearly invisible brows lowered. “Wow… I am not looking at much here. And most of these aren’t really straight up attacks, either… Hm, Healing Wish would be neat tho.” His eyes trained on the second column. “The hell is a Lopunny?”

“In reverse order: A Lopunny is what you evolve into… usually. Apparently we might all be freaks of nature considering I’m nowhere near a normal Gardevoir and I have four fucking types even if I can only use two at a time,” Sapphire started, then shook her head. “Also, Healing Wish makes you pass out to heal someone else , Nix.” 

“Damn it.”

“Yeah. Try like… honestly, I have no idea what a normal move pool is anymore, I’ve got moves in my head that neither half of my body should be able to use,” Sapphire shrugged, leaning down and patting Nix on the head gently. “Don’t try to stick too close to that anyway. And… well. Here’s the really shitty advice: Fight a bunch of pokemon that you can sense are stronger than you. And probably almost die like… six… ten? About thirty times. In the span of twenty four hours. It worked great for me! Kinda! And I learned a bunch of moves that I shouldn’t be able to, like Mega Kick!”

Nix gave Sapphire a deadpan stare. “Sapphire, I’m not sure anyone is gonna take that advice. Especially not a small ass bunny who barely got away with one near-death experience. Hm… Wait, Mega Kick?”

“Heh, yeah, it’s shit advice and it almost made me shit my gigantic psychic type brain out my ass when I did it,” Sapphire chuckled a little, then stretched lightly before blinking a few times- visibly glowing as she sent a psychic message off to Wednesday before rolling her neck. “And yeah. Mega Kick. Like this, see?”

And without any further ado, she ran towards the tree Nix had been staring at, jumped into the air, did a somersault, and did a flying side kick into the tree trunk so hard the entire thing uprooted and went flying off into the forest behind the Addams hotel backlot with a loud series of consecutive, earsplitting crashes and thuds. And then the tree exploded almost a hundred meters away from where it once stood. “Tadaaaa~ Had to use that against this giant fuckin’ Drapion in that cave the other day. It sucked. I almost died in a cave-in.”

Nix stared at the trail of destruction, mouth agape. “... Wow.” Closing his trap before a bug or something flew into it, before looking down at his paws, ears dangling not too far out of his line of sight. “That’s… kinda similar to Double Kick, but with waaay more Oomph put into it. Dunno if I can learn it, but I could probably emulate it…” Nix scratched at his ears. “Only issue with that method is Double Kick taking the piss outta my legs every time. Didn’t notice it when I was high on adrenaline, so trying to push all that Energy into one leg might…” The Buneary gulped. “... Blow it clean off…”

“... yeeaaah, probably best to try and only do that once you evolve. I think Lopunny are better at kicking anyway. If I remember… you won’t learn a lot of kicks til you evolve. Probably? I dunno, if your legs are weak you might as well work out or something?” Sapphire shrugged, then looked down at herself oddly. “I’m pretty sure I skip past that somehow by being a Ghost and Psychic so… not… entirely sure my body is wholly physical anymore…? Anyway. Uhh… Blaze Kick, maybe? It’s basically just Fire Punch, but you… y’know. Kick.”

Nix looked up at Sapphire. “That… hey, that might actually work! Take the idea of putting all of Double Kick’s energy into a single leg, but replace that Physical Energy with the Fire from my ear…” Tapping his chin, Nix nodded. “Well, might as well try it out. If my leg explodes though, you owe me 60 Poke. I’d go for more but I ain’t sure any of us have any more than like, 40 or so.”

Nix stepped away from the Gardevoir and rolled his leg, letting the feelings that caused Fire Punch to ignite inside of him build up to the surface again. The feeling was like pulling an ocean of Flame towards his core, the boiling heat already stemming through his veins. Though now, he pulled and tugged at the force, stopping it from heading Upwards towards his ear, and instead Downwards, towards his leg.

For a few moments, nothing happened. All he felt was that ungodly Burning, like he had run a marathon with these stubby little legs, but all it took was a slight twitch . With just the twitch of muscle, sinew, and fiber and flesh, his veins burned, and that fire escaped him. Nix found his leg engulfed in a wreath of fire, orange cinders tickling his paw. Along with that, was a sudden rush of pain , but he had gotten used to suffocating pain. He, instead, raised his left leg, twisted on his right ankle, and swung his entire body.

The Fire found its escape in a large arc, an almost crescent slice that engulfed the air in boiling temperatures. The biting cold of the morning was expelled, and the trees in front of the two found themselves either torn in half from the force, ignited by flame, or sliced by concentrated Fire.

Sapphire blinked, holding up a hand to shield her eyes from the light for a moment, completely unbothered by the amount of fire being thrown around by Nix’s attack. “... hey Nix? I think I figured out why it hurts to use some moves. You’re reeeeeeeally overpowering some of them. Blaze Kick isn’t supposed to do uh… quite this much damage usually.”

“You… think…?” Nix panted, falling on his back. Physically fine, but Good Arceus his leg hurt . Cinders still clung harmlessly to his fur, but it felt like someone injected pure magma into his muscles. “But.. hey! My hypothesis worked! And I’m not dead or dying, so that’s a plus…”

“... Yeah. Maybe… try again but with less this time? Might help your Double Kick too… makes it weaker, but you don’t currently have any self-heal moves so… probably best to wear enemies down instead of… y’know. Breaking your legs hitting them once,” Sapphire mentioned, then sent a sparkly wave of Heal Pulse towards Nix, the Psychic energy washing over him and restoring just about all of the damage he’d just done to himself. Well, except for some of the singed fur. “By the way, I know like… a couple healing moves now. So. Y’know. Try not to actually knock yourself out but… knock yourself out.”

Nix nodded and smiled. “Thanks.” Getting back to his paws, he ‘ looked within ’ himself again. That boiling ocean was still there, but this time, he had some kind of idea what to do. Last time, he had reached out with metaphorical claws, digging into the ocean as if it was tearing open a dam. This time, he tried cupping those claws, dipping into the energy. It was… difficult . It felt like suffocating himself, as if the very thought of limiting the output was strangling his lungs, but he made due.

A small pool of energy split off from the mass, and slowly poured into his leg. Too slow to be optimal, but this was what training was for. This time, instead of going up like a pyre, his leg glowed softly, cinders and sparks floating off of him. His veins were almost visible through the fur, but faded as the energy stabilized itself.

“Ok… let’s try this on for size.” Nix growled, before kicking. The effects weren’t as horrific yet beautiful as the prior Overcharged Blaze Kick, but the sudden spout of fire that shot from his paw was far, far, Far less painful. And also caused less property damage. The plume shot out a good meter or so, before dying out, the wind shifting with the force. “Woah… Holy Shit, I actually made it work!”

Sapphire grinned, patting Nix’s head again. “Congrats on learning a new move. So. Wanna try Double Kick again without breaking your leg? Cuz, y’know. A Move is supposed to just feel like it’s flowing without hurting. If you’re hurting yourself…”

She trailed off, rubbing her throat a little. “Well. I’ve got some experience with that too. A-anyway. I can probably teach you, what… Triple Kick? Jump Kick? Low Kick? Rolling Kick? Probably not High Jump Kick or Thunderous Kick unless you’ve got Speed Boost or Agility on. And don’t get me started on Flare Blitz. That Volcarona was a bitch to fight…”

Nix tapped his jaw. “I think Triple Kick would be a bit too much for these tiny ass legs, but those other three sound possible. Also, why’s Thunderous Kick need Speed Boost, anyway?” He kicked at the dirt floor absentmindedly.

“Speed is momentum. Momentum is kinetic energy,” Sapphire answered, trailing off at the end as she focused her energies, flashing with light as she seemed to vibrate in place for a moment, visibly speeding up as she used Agility twice in quick succession. After a moment, she seemed to just utterly vanish in a blur of dust and wind- an afterimage kicking up as she dashed around the backlot like she was flying. 

And then she kicked one of the large rocks sitting in the backlot hard enough to spear her leg straight through the stone before the secondary blast of wind that followed her wake utterly shattered the thing into pieces. “And energy means that whatever you kick gets hurt way more.”

She paused, clearing her throat as she shook out her now dust covered leg. “... Don’t try to stab things with your legs, though. It only works for me cuz I’m so skinny and pointy… and bony. See?” Indeed, as she flared out her skirt to expose her legs, she was in fact very pointy in the leg area. “... Also I have psychic shields up when I do an attack. You don’t.”

“That makes sense. And wow , you do have thin legs.” Nix scratched his ear. “Here’s hoping nowhere we go has any storm grates, you might get stuck.” He giggled. The laughter tapered off as he stared down at his paws. “Hm, now, making Double Kick not hurt…”

Second Verse, same as the first, Nix discovered. Like Sapphire had said, he put far too much energy into his attacks, which while it made them powerful also made them hurt like a motherfucker. Double Kick was easy enough to lessen, thankfully, the process not taking too much thought, unlike Blaze Kick. Annoyingly, though, that’s when he slammed head-first into a metaphorical wall.

Jump Kick, Low Kick, and Rolling Kick (which hurt like a bitch to try out mind you), had all escaped him. Every attempt to turn his energy into a Different kick, his energy just bit back and became Double Kick, or, well, Single Kick, in this scenario. This was entirely different from his prior issue of putting Too Much energy into an attack, and it was starting to piss him off. The Buneary’s fur was starting to stand on end.

“Sunnuva FUCK-” Nix snarled and slamned an ear to the ground as he rolled over from another failed Rolling Kick. “What the hell am I missing?!”

“Mmm… not… sure? Maybe you have a visualization problem? Like… gods this is gonna sound dumb,” Sapphire muttered, scratching her head a little as she adjusted her scarf and patted her leg. “Okay so, while I was down in that fuckass cave and almost died a bunch, I kept thinking about Kamen Rider and how much I kinda wished I was one, because then I’d beat the shit out of all those guys down there and come out on top. So… when I learned all those kick moves, I was thinking about all of the Rider Kicks I know. Like…” 

She paused, then held out her hand awkwardly. “... I can show you my imagination for the kicks in question, if you think it’ll help? It’s… kinda nerdy though? And… it’s also kinda sorta fucked that the only thing I remember of my entire past life is Kamen Rider but whatever.”

Nix breathed in deeply, trying his best to simmer down the boiling over anger. He rubbed at the fur on his head to pat it back down. “I… think that’d help. And hey, at least you remember something. I don’t even remember my name, or face. I just pulled ‘ Nix ’ outta my ass.”

“Just makes more room for new memories, I guess? I dunno, I’m not a therapist. Anyway uh… here.” And without further ado, Sapphire placed her hand on Nix’s head and pulsed her Psychic energy until the memories in Sapphire’s mind found themselves in Nix’s- images and flashes of assorted Kamen Riders doing their assorted kicks, each one relevant to some of the moves in question. There were… a lot of karate bugmen kicking things, honestly. It was kinda rad.

The sheer flood of images was scrutinized by Nix’s inner eyes, each and every single electron-spawned millimeter observed in an almost mechanical manner. At first, they didn’t serve much help, but as he repeated them again, and again, his brain began to turn a switch he didn’t remember having. Slowly, the movements began to slow to frames, then half frames. Each twitch of the impressive costumes became almost sketch-like, pausing and rewinding, going back and forth.

Nix’s inner eyes blinked, and a lightbulb ignited above the ocean of energy. The two disconnected the psychic link and Nix backed up quickly. If Sapphire said anything, he missed it, mind turning back towards itself. That ocean of energy writhed and curled, biting at itself, but Nix had an idea.

Sapphire’s previous mention of “Imagination” and “Visualization” came to mind, and his mind began to reach out with those claws once more. This time, they dipped below the surface, to the soft “mud” at the bottom, and dragged clumps up to the surface. The claws began to mold the mud, slowly adding form to the more solid energy, before letting the newly forged figures fall to the water’s surface. Instead of breaking past the surface, the figures landed on unstable boots, hardly even being classifiable as “figures”. But they had two legs, two arms, a torso, and a head, and that’s what he needed.

They rose up, and energy began to flow into them. In the Real, Nix’s actual eyes locked onto another tree, one slightly nibbled on by the now dead inferno his first Blaze Kick invoked. Within his mind, the figures Moved, and he mimicked.

“You uh… you good there? You’ve been standing there for like thirty seconds now,” Sapphire asked, tilting her head at Nix’s sudden focus. “Y’got it?”

Sapphire’s answer was found in a silver glow encapsulating Nix’s leg, and the Buneary lunging high into the air. With an almost invisible Boost, his paw found purchase in the burned tree’s core, almost as fast as a blink.

>Nix Used Jump Kick!

The bunny pierced the wooden flesh and exited on the other side. Though, Nix found himself a few meters further away, his path digging into the ground. Along with his body. “ Oooooowwwww… ”

“... Ooo… you good homie?” Sapphire winced, teleporting to Nix’s side and kneeling down by him as she sort of gingerly brushed the dirt off of him and examined the new trench in the ground. “Oof… well… you got a good kick going, I’ll give you that. But uh… probably a good idea to learn how to stop? Nnnnot that I can say anything. My first Jump Kick nearly got me impaled. Y’need healing?”

Nix mumbled under breath and dragged himself out of the hole he had made. “I don’t think so. A little sore, but other than that I feel… kinda amazing, actually.” He rolled his shoulder, missing a small red spark leap between his arm and ear. “Weirdly awake, too. I don’t think Jump Kick carries an energy boost, does it? Or does Kamen Rider just go that hard that it feels like an energy drink kick-in-the-ass?”

“I think that’s just the sheer rush of fucking awesome that Kamen Rider has,” Sapphire deadpanned, helping Nix stand before narrowing her eyes. “... Huh. Thought I saw something just now. Weird… uh… anyway. Yeah. Kamen Rider’s badass, dude. You might just be high on your own hype.”

Nix smiled widely and tilted his head. “Maybe! I feel like I could kick Arceus in the-"

Whatever he was about to say was cut off by a sudden bolt of Red as his ear skimmed past his waist fur. His teeth chattered, his body spasmed, and Nix let out a wheeze as he fell over.

“Oh shit- shit shit shit, are you okay? What the hell was that?” Sapphire yelped, patting Nix again as she used Heal Pulse on him once more. “Fuck, that’s not normal, Nix- tell me how you feel, does it hurt anywhere?”

Nix coughed, a small plume of black something that was vaguely similar to smoke wafting out from his lips. “I-I-I-I-” Whatever he was trying to say seemed stuck, almost.

“Shiiiiiiit. Shit shit shit- uh, fuck, shit,” Sapphire mumbled, digging through the pouch at her waist before pulling an Oran berry out and jamming it up to Nix’s lips. “Eat this, it’ll- uh. Maybe??? Fix something?”

The chittering sure helped the chewing, even if he fumbled a little on the swallowing part.

“... Well shit, I have no idea what to do anymore beyond that…” Sapphire winced, then looked around awkwardly before tossing another Heal Pulse at Nix just to see if it would help. “... Should- should I use Wish instead? But Wish takes time… fuck… fuck fuck fucking fuck!”

The panic seemed to mask the fact that the two had practically become a giant beacon of activity in this forest, just far out enough to count as being Wild. And that fact snuck right up behind them. That fact was a rather ballsy, and rather angry at that, Minccino. It was chittering in annoyance at the two strange Pokemon intruding on its territory.

Being Feral, it saw no issue in the odd Gardevoir, the biggest thing in sight, and as a territorial animal will, it lunged out to bite. Of course, this wouldn’t do much, on account of Sapphire’s partial ghostly existence, but it didn’t know that. Though, what it very much so didn’t expect, just a scant few moments away from biting the intruder’s nose, was an ear.

A very Red, Sparky, and Angry ear.

>Nix Used Thunder Punch!

Red lightning rolled and ripped across his fur, Nix’s body acting entirely on instinct. The edge of his ear-fluff struck the Minccino in the chest, knocking its breath clean out. And then, the Thunder struck.

One moment, there was a feral Minccino. The next, there was Not.

“... Well, I was about to annihilate that little fucker but I guess you saved me the trouble,” Sapphire mumbled, then looked down at Nix one last time before floating a stick over with her telekinesis and poking him with it, wary of getting hit by lightning just like that Minccino had been. “... You good now? Do you need another Heal Pulse? Should I ask Grandmama for some kind of electric fixing berry? Or something?”

Nix had fallen onto the dirt, but managed to rise to his paws. “I’m…” He stumbled a little, small sparks leaping off of him and into the ground. “Alright… Just… tired…” He huffed out, before collapsing again. The sparks finally stopped, thankfully. “I… don’t think I can move…”

“... Well that’s not good,” Sapphire mumbled, finally deciding to cast Wish on the area- differently from how Argo did it, instead of sending a pulse of energy into the air to crash back down, she simply drew a circle around the both of them with glowing golden energy and waited patiently until it activated. “There-! That should help, I think? Are you… does that feel any better? What was that?”

Nix was able to roll over and lean up against the Gardevoir. “I… think that was Thunder Punch? I think I’m using Energy wrong, because it feels like, like- like how Static Electricity builds up! But instead of just the body doing it, it was that energy pool. Fuck , I think I burned out my nervous system with that…” He carefully scratched his ear. “It was like all that energy was a rolling ocean, angry. In my head I tried making little figures of those Riders you showed me, to mimic their movements to do Jump Kick, but after that something… twitched wrong, and… it was like a bolt of lightning Inside of me.” Stopping at his scratching for a moment, his eyes darted away. “... I guess more like a bolt of Thunder, actually. Heh.”

Nix looked down at his paws. “Why was it red…?”

“Not a single clue, but it looked cool. Except for the fact that it was hurting you,” Sapphire huffed, gathering Nix up into her arms and hugging him without a second thought. Given that he was the size of a living plushie and she was now somewhere just over five feet tall, it wasn’t exactly hard for her to hug him to her chest. “Glad you aren’t dead, though. That was scary.”

Nix looked blankly ahead of them. “Yeah…

Sapphire sighed, continuing to hug Nix gently before patting him on the head and letting him go. “So… you wanna keep going or do you wanna take a break and try and figure out what’s wrong with your type energy? Because I’m pretty sure you might need to talk to Grandmama for help with… whatever the fuck just happened.”

Nix scratched his ear and nodded. “I think taking a break is the best option for both of us.” He couldn’t help but smirk. “Looks like I got you back for nearly giving me a heart attack earlier, huh?”

“Heh… yeah. Let’s go talk to Grandmama. Maybe she’ll have answers… hopefully…” Sapphire mumbled, picking Nix up again before teleporting away to Grandmama’s location in the hotel.

Neither noticed a small pink spark shimmer from Nix’s chest, hidden by the Gardevoir’s hand.

Chapter Text

“Sooooooo… Nix is getting checked on by Grandmama, the others are doing… whatever, I’m pretty much free right now… wanna hang out?” Sapphire asked as she floated over near Irene, her skirt fluttering around her legs as she settled down from where she’d apparently been flying not five minutes prior. Actually flying, given the angle that she approached from.

“Sure?” Irene blinked at the newfound… probably not floaty thing, but Hydro would probably find some way to rope that into a nickname. “I'm just relaxing today anyway on account of everything.” For emphasis, she flicked her tail up and a tiny glob of green slime rolled down the side. Thankfully it hadn't gone flying like the other times she'd flicked her body around, but it was only a small improvement. “So, how does hanging out work? Is it training? Going on a quest? What's up?”

“Honestly? Kinda just felt like… doing nothing,” Sapphire shrugged, crossing her legs and hovering just over the surface of the roof with a small smile. “It’s a nice day… eh, even if it’s a little chilly. Figure I might as well relax on the roof and chill for a while. Y’know?”

“Yeah, I getcha.” Irene laid out her body across the dark tiles of the roof. Scales soaked in what little sunlight filtered through the chills of a particularly cold spring. “After a busy week, it's nice to just relax and not have to worry about working. Suppose not everyone agrees though. It was Nix that almost started a forest fire earlier, right?”

“Yeeeeaaaah…. To be fair, though, technically the first explosion was my fault,” Sapphire chuckled a little awkwardly, scratching her head as she looked over at the big scorch mark in the forest past the hotel backlot. “... So as I told Nix, I uh… learned a bunch of moves in that terrible, awful, bug filled cave that I almost died like thirty times in… and uh… yeah. Mega Kick. But like, my visualization technique is Kamen Rider so y’know… everything but the actual punch moves kinda manifests as Rider Kicks. Including Giga Impact.”

“How does that even—” Irene shook her head. “Nevermind. I'll just not question it or how anything happened. Yesterday was weird enough as is without thinking about it.” The Dragon wiggled around and coiled into herself until she was a loose spiral of scales and slime. “So, I guess you're the undisputed strongest of the team now. How's it feel?”

“Like I crawled out of a hole in the ground after breaking and healing my ribs at least six times,” Sapphire deadpanned, rubbing her chest slightly and knocking her knuckles against her breastplate. “Get the feeling this armor plate manifested for a reason. I swear, I hope our missions after this are easier because almost dying thirty fucking times in a hole in the ground was not worth the four hundred Pokė and getting Chirrup’s stupid Insect Plate as a reward. I kinda wanna not be the strongest? I’d have liked to have been a Kirlia for a while…”

“Hey, at least you're tall now. And hot.” Irene looked in the vague direction of the Addams' rooms. “I'm sure your girlfriend appreciates being the smaller one. Probably didn't expect it to change after four days, but I don't think anyone expected their missions to be so hard.” Reminded on the rather perilous stories, Irene made a confused squeak. “Was I the only one with normal missions?”

“... Probably? You and Argo seemed to have the easiest time. Meanwhile I’ve been on two missions and both times I almost fucking died,” Sapphire sighed, fully flopping down onto the roof and resting her arm over her eyes. “Aa… It’s always the ribs. Why is it always the ribs with wild pokemon? I mean that Minccino earlier went for my face but Nix obliterated the poor thing but… why my ribs?”

She paused, then looked over at Irene oddly. “... Wednesday isn’t my girlfriend? I- well. I’d like it if she was but… I mean. We met less than a week ago. Maybe if we take a little more time to get to know each other, though…”

“Hasn’t stopped people before,” grumbled the Dragon. She laid her head at the center of her coils, muffling her voice a bit behind her body. “Maybe you could go hang out with her after you’re done doing nothing. Gotta start somewhere and all that. Oh, you could visit the community garden. There’s a beautiful flower garden that the Grass types have been working hard to keep growing despite the cold.”

“Yeah… wait, there’s a community garden? Oh, that sounds lovely…” Sapphire murmured, blinking a few times as she sat up slightly and took a few breaths to drive away the memories of the last day or so. “Actually yeah… that sounds really, really good. Speaking of the cold, are you doing alright? You’re… Dragon type, right? I swear it’s been getting colder instead of warmer this past week- you’re keeping warm, right?”

As if on cue, a breeze brushed over them and Irene shivered from horn to tail. The longer antennae fluttered with the wind while the thicker nubs barely twitched. “I’m mostly okay. Not taking damage yet, but it hasn’t snowed or hailed since we got here.” Irene’s breath came out in a stark white cloud. The slimy tip of her tail wiggled in a vain attempt to keep the wet end of her body warm. “Part of me wants to learn a Fire move just to keep myself warm, but I’d rather spend the time learning something like Rain Dance or Hydro Pump so I can put out the fires you guys start.”

“Haha… yeah, that’s… probably for the best. Hey uh-” Sapphire paused, halfway reaching out to Irene before pulling back. “... Do you want a hug? I mean, I’m not like… full Fire type right now, but it’s… somewhere in me. I could keep you warm while we’re up here, at least?”

Irene snickered. “I’d look like a thrift store scarf if I hugged you. But sure.” Irene floated up and drew closer to Sapphire, unsure of where to wrap her long body around. “Just until I start feeling dehydrated though. I really don’t want to find out what happens to my Goomy parts when that happens.”

“... I mean, I also learned Life Dew down in that hell cave,” Sapphire mumbled, sort of awkwardly holding her arms out and sitting up so Irene could choose where to wrap around. “But yeah, bring it in. Pretty sure I’m kinda warm if I focus on… not being a Ghost.”

With her length, Irene could wrap around any part of Sapphire’s body with a couple feet to spare. So, she snaked around the Gardevoir’s waist and tucked her tail around herself like an odd sash. “Mmm… just focus on being you. That’s all I want.”

“Whoof- ooh, that’s actually kinda…” Sapphire paused, awkwardly shimmying a little until she was comfortable again. “There we go, that’s better. Liiiiiittle gooey but… eh. I can’t complain. You feeling any better? Warm, cold? I can turn up the heat or use Life Dew a few times if you feel dry?”

“Much warmer than I was before. Not quite as warm as when I hugged Argo, but she’s got fur so that’s no fair.” Irene closed her eyes, basking in the heat radiating from her friend. “Sorry about the goo though. I’m working on controlling it, but Healer Audino said I’d get naturally better control when I evolve. Probably. A three-way hybrid is pretty unprecedented.”

“Yeah… I mean, theoretically all of us might end up being complete freaks of nature- Nix learned moves that Buneary isn’t supposed to know just by watching me, Argo’s got… whatever the hell she’s got going on. You’re a three-way hybrid, I’m… a quad type hybrid,” Sapphire shrugged a little, flaring up her warmth slightly so it spread into the air around them instead of just the parts touching Irene’s body. “Aah… this is nice. Hey- by the way, do you wanna go flying when we have some extra free time? Maybe not now but like… whenever?”

“Granny Altaria gave me a love for flying, so just give me a call.” Irene cracked open an eye and looked toward the cloudy sky. “Any idea about your maximum altitude? I can fly pretty comfortably among the clouds and a while higher thanks to being a—what did you call us—freaks of nature? Probably not what we should publicly call ourselves if we don’t want to get stared at. Any more than we already are anyway.”

Sapphire paused, pursing her lips a little. “... I don’t know if I have a maximum altitude yet. Haven’t really done much flying but… I’m Ghost type now. And I could already float with Psychic energy so… theoretically I might not… have one? Maybe? I probably do but… ah… whatever. Whatever ends up working is fine. I know I can at least get high enough to get a really nice view of everything around Summerleaf, if nothing else.”

“Good enough for me. That should be more than enough to have a good time. Although if Ghosts aren’t affected by physical limits as much, then you’re probably the faster flier between the two of us now.” Irene let out an exasperated sigh. “And here I thought I had something special for me. Guess I’ll have to settle for not being a pyromaniac on Team Pyro.”

“I mean, you’re still a dragon. Dragons are fucking cool,” Sapphire pointed out, patting Irene’s scales gently and hugging her a little. “And you are special! You’re you, and you’re my friend. That’s enough for me, really. Also I’d like to point out that if your typing works out great you might end up kind of a super tank on the team? Or at least, I think? I dunno, I might have read Orion’s typing charts wrong.”

“As far as I know, I’m tripling down on Dragon and doubling down on Flying. If you’ve got different stuff  from Orion, I’d like to see it for myself.” Using her rather weak control over her antennae, Irene pushed them away from Sapphire’s body, letting them flutter in the gentle wind. “Unless I can somehow mega evolve, but even after I evolve, I’ll be mostly a Dragonite. No Altarianite in the world should be able to tap into that fraction of DNA. Although being part Fairy does seem interesting. Might temper down all the Dragon instincts a bit.”

“Mmm… maybe. I dunno, I thiiiiiiink…?” Sapphire paused, scratching her head for a moment as she tried to sort out a sudden flash of confusing memories. “Bleh- gah. Fucking… Ghost type bullshit. Psychic type bullshit. Feels like shit I shouldn’t know is in my head… For some reason I could have sworn you’d be getting a Steel type in there but I have no idea why.”

“That’d be cool if I could.” Irene pinched her eyes shut and tried to dig into the wealth of knowledge roaming around her skull. Unfortunately, the neurons were being quite obtuse about rubbing against each other. “I dunno. Might have to meet some kind of god to work that miracle. In the meantime, I’m happy with how I am. Just a worm that can Extreme Speed across the country.”

“A very huggable noodle,” Sapphire nodded sagely, gently squeezing Irene again for good measure. “Well. Whatever. We’ve got the entire rest of our lives here to do… whatever. I’m probably not gonna stay the strongest forever and I already know that if I get hit by an actual Ghost type attack I’m gonna go down like a rock so… eh? Probably best to just not think about it too much, y’know?”

“Okay, but did you mean to make that rock joke?” Irene squeezed Sapphire’s waist in return and nuzzled the side of her face into the edges of the Gardevoir’s armor. 

“... Rock joke?” Sapphire blinked, tilting her head. “... What rock joke? Did I make a pun on accident or something?”

“... You were talking about how you were weak to Ghost types. Then you said rock. Like Rock type.” Irene wanted to squirm to visibly show how uncomfortable she was explaining it, but didn’t wish to upset Sapphire’s position on the roof. “You know, the type that over half our team is currently weak to.”

“... Oh god we’re all gonna get fucking owned the moment a Graveler or something decides to hit us with Rock Throw,” Sapphire mumbled, realizing just how screwed they all were in case of angry Rock types. “... Oh fuck I’m weak to Rock types now. Shit!”

“ Shoot , you’re right.” Irene sighed and looked up at her friend. “Uh, I’ll try to tank hits for you guys? Probably won’t be able to take much more than the rest of you, but with my weird family tree, I should be pretty flexible. Still gonna evolve into a Flying type, but there isn’t much we can do about that.”

“Yeah… well… hopefully it all works out in the end,” Sapphire nodded, then slowly leaned back with Irene still in her arms, trailing off as she fell silent and decided to just enjoy the chilly, sunny day instead of talking further.

“So long as we have each other, we’ll make it work out.” Joining Sapphire in relaxing, Irene closed her eyes, content.

And so it was.

Chapter Text

Nix was left alone after Sapphire teleported the two of them back into the hotel. After that, she wandered off, searching for something to take her mind off of the previous few minutes. Nix looked down to his paws and clenched them.

“Where can I find her, I shoulda asked that. Damnit.”

“Ask for whom, dearie?”

If Nix’s blood and body weren’t already dead tired, he’d have jumped out of his skin. Instead, he looked behind himself, where Grandmama Addams had seemingly manifested. He blinked slowly. “You.”

The Mismagius smiled, tilting her head slowly. “Ah, and you’ve found me! Or rather, I’ve found a sorry spoilsport.” Her smile dampened slightly at Nix’s expression. “Hm. I see you’ve had a rather poor afternoon, hm?”

Nix scratched at his eye. “You could say that. Sapphire and I were training, and I ended up learning a few things but… Hurt myself, too. She said I should find you. You’re the wisest being in the town, apparently. Honestly, I don’t think we’ve even talked before.”

Grandmama chuckled. “That we haven’t, a fault of my own I must admit. Before now, your friends have been rather more… Fascinating.” Nix scratched harder at his eye at that statement.

She floated closer, giving careful consideration to his faded wounds, and the slow growth of white fur at the edges of his ears. “Hmmm, that looks rather painful. So much stress on such a tiny body could not have been good for you.”

Scratch, scratch. “Sapphire helped with Wish and a smacking of Heal Pulses, but it still hurts. Especially my eyes.”

“Mmm, that’d be the nerve damage. Even if it’s been healed, there will still be lingering pains and itches here and there. Tell me, how’d you manage to do that to yourself?”

Nix looked down at his paws, his ears curling. “I… used Thunder Punch. But, wrong. Backwards. All that energy in my body lashed out at me after throwing it around to use Blaze Kick and Jump Kick.”

Grandmama raised a brow. “Backlashing energy? I’ve only heard of that occurring in Pichu, though that’s more a fault of their own electric charge being too much to contain. Here, lemme get a gooood look atcha, son.”

Floating far too close for comfort, she gave careful watch over his body, her ghastly eyes passing by the flesh and muscle. “Hmmm, oh yes, I can see the issue, I can see it good and well enough.”

“And it’s…?” Nix tilted his head.

“Your energy hates you, sonny. Your heart’s got spite that’d give a man thrice your size issues, and it’s affecting you.” She finished off by poking him in the chest.

Nix blinked. “Wha- what the hell do you mean my energy ‘hates me’?! How the hell does energy hate!?”

Grandmama chuckled and floated about. “Don’t ask me, I’m not an expert. Now, the real expert woulda been my good friend Charles, but he’s been dead for 80 years. Oh, poor Charles, you never saw that Snorlax coming…”

She mumbled off into the distance, leaving Nix by his lonesome. “Wha… yeah, real helpful grandma, tell me my own fucking Energy hates me and might give me random bouts of severe nerve damage at the drop of a fucking hat, and then piss off to Arceus knows where. Great, great, really helpful, GREAT-”

Nix stopped himself short of screaming his lungs out. He focused, instead, on scratching at his ear. It hurt, but it distracted him. Turning to one of the couches in the Lobby, he hopped up onto it, still scratching at his ear. Arceus Beyond, this day was… Awful. Hellfire, Shit, Ass, a royal smothering of Fuck. Even after all that healing from Sapphire, he could still feel his nerves burning. At this point he couldn’t tell if it was just lingering internal damage Wish somehow failed to repair, or just phantom pains. Either way, it was there.

Arceus… how many times in this week alone would he end up nearly dying? Twice in the span of two days was an unnatural number, only beaten by, to his knowledge, Sapphire. Not that it was a contest, he’d be proud to lose that one. He’d turn his mind from the thought but…

There wasn’t anything to turn his mind to. His body hurt too much to go out and punch something, he had no missions, and it appeared Television (whatever that was) hadn’t survived whatever made all these ruins. All Nix had was himself. And himself Hurt. Hurt a lot.

Small claws etched their way out of his paws, something Buneary weren’t supposed to have to Nix’s knowledge, and dug into his fur, just barely skimming over his flesh. Everywhere he looked ended up looking more and more like the woods, his eyes always turning towards Himself.

Scratch, Scratch .

His eyes darted around faster. Spiraling. Thoughts began layering onto one another, muffling his brain. His claws dug a little bit deeper. Out of the corner of his eye, he swore he saw a flash of red and a tingling run through his skin, burning the back of his brain. Burning.

How close was he to dying? He had lowered the severity of his injuries to Sapphire, to avoid making the Gardevoir panic worse than she already was. In the moment, he was unable to move. That Thunder Punch was sheer luck, a fluke . It wasn’t even an attack, just his muscles reacting to the electrical shocks. Everything had been burned out, rendering him a useless puppet, until Sapphire healed him.

Scratch, Scratch, Scratch.

Nix swallowed hard. It felt like drowning. That inner ocean of his, the one that hated him, he could feel it. Scratching at the walls. Where was he? His claws reached further, now digging into flesh. Was he in the hotel, or still outside? Was the past twenty minutes just his brain firing off in a vain hope of surviving? Argo survived it well and good enough- Dumb comparison. She’s made of sterner stuff than you.

Scritch, Scritch, Scratch.

His heart wasn’t racing. In spite of it all, it was slow. Almost still. Was he dead? Nix wanted to scream, but his throat closed in on itself. Focus, Focus, Focus, find something to ground, something, anything. When, Where, How, What? When, Where, How, What?

When? Now. Just before lunchtime.

Where? The Hotel. He hadn’t left, he hadn’t been left outside.

How? Grandmama. She tried helping. It didn’t help.

What…

Drip, Drip, Schriiiitch.

Everything halted at the sudden piercing pain that was focused on his face, just above his eye. A small dribble of red went around the black eye, catching his attention. His scratching went too far, and his claws dug into his flesh, ruining Sapphire’s healing.

Intentional or not, he had something. Forcing his breath to continue, he observed the area. Nix was still sitting on the couch, now covered in a mix of torn fur and blood droplets. He was still in the lobby, as cold and empty as it was before. It was just past 12 PM. The plush, old cushions digging into his back. His nails scraped just above the lower musculature layer.

Carefully, he pulled these claws out. Nix held back a scream of pain, biting down instead on his tongue. It wasn’t too deep that it needed stitches, but some healing would be appreciated. His eyes turned to something he missed earlier, since they had arrived at the Hotel. An emergency aid kit, haphazardly thrown onto the center table of the Hotel. For a moment, his mind turned to finding Argo, or Sapphire, but he shoved those thoughts down.

Nix didn’t want to interrupt their time. Instead, he grabbed the medkit and headed off to the hallway, where a dresser and mirror had been left there, meant for the upper floors but never moved out of… Hell if Nix knew, laziness? Whatever, he used the mirror to stare at the wound.

It wasn’t… that bad, to the untrained eye. But it could get worse if it got infected, obviously. So, he nabbed the small bottle of alcohol in the bag, dabbed it onto a provided towelette, and carefully dabbed at his wound. It burned like hell, but the panic in his heart made it easy to shut down. After making sure it was clean, he grabbed a roll of gauze and tied it tight around his forehead, praying to whoever and whatever was listening that no one would question his new “accessory”.

“And just what have you gotten yourself into now, little Buneary?” The sound of Wednesday’s voice echoed through the hall as the Gothorita stepped out of the shadows, having melded with them so deeply it’d been impossible to sense her coming at all. “Wounded so soon after my dear Sapphire healed you? Poor thing.”

Nix’s eyes shot at Wednesday with a… odd look to them. Focused, but hazy. “Scratched too hard.” His voice shared that odd quality.

“Then you need healing. Of the body, and the mind. Something is desperately wrong with you right now, and you will only continue to hurt yourself further should you leave it go untreated,” Wednesday stated, walking closer as one hand came up and began drawing Psychic lines in the air, forming a small pentagram whilst the Gothorita mumbled a chant under her breath. “I do not know Heal Pulse as Sapphire does, but this is one of Grandmama’s old spells. I understand that she did not quite help you earlier, but this should more than suffice to heal your body’s wound, if not your mind.” With a wave of her hand, the pentagram expanded into a gentle burst of pink light and warmth that washed over Nix’s form and healed away the scratch he’d dug into his flesh as though it had never been there at all.

His paw almost instinctively went up to his eye to scratch, but paused at the now wasted gauze. “... Sorry.” The gauze at least served as a catcher for the droplet of blood still resting on his exposed claws, which still hadn’t hidden themselves away.

Wednesday allowed herself the slightest of smiles. “Don’t be. I’d much rather those supplies be used than catch flies. Now. What ails your mind so that even now, hours past when the others have gone to rest, you are awake and full of turmoil?”

Nix’s eyes found themselves moving towards the clock. It wasn’t 12 PM. The dust had played tricks on him, catching the light and making the AM invisible. “I… Spiraled, I guess.” He went to scratch at his ear, but caught himself. “Your Grandmother… Sapphire sent me to her to seek guidance. To figure out why my Energy was so unstable. All she told me was that my energy Hates me, and that my heart was too small for so much anger . I guess after that, nearly dying finally set in and I just…”

He gestured to the couch, the blood stains still fresh on its cushion. “... Found myself elsewhere.”

“Indeed. Have you tried visiting the healer’s center? I’ve never been, but I’m told most residents in Summerleaf, be they struck by problems of body or mind or both, tend to wander there quite often. Grandmama knows much, but our family records are, woefully, nowhere near as complete as they had been before the fall,” Wednesday shrugged, reaching out and pulling a wet towel from seeming nowhere so she could start wiping the blood out of Nix’s fur- removing the now useless gauze and bundling it up for later disposal. “Mental health issues tend to be celebrated in this family, after all. Though, if it comes to risk your own well being… I suggest learning to heal yourself quickly.” She paused in the middle of wiping Nix’s brow, pursing her lips and staring dead into his eyes. “There is… one other option that comes to mind, though. I could Hypnotize you, let your mind confront itself in slumber rather than damaging your body in the waking world. A journey for yourself, rather than whatever process you may otherwise desire. Grandmama tells me I’m quite good at using Dream Eater to guide such souls.”

Nix blinked blankly, before his eyes finally softened. “That… That’d be nice, I think.”

Wednesday’s barely-there smile grew slightly, her gaze softening as she patted Nix’s head whilst her hands and eyes buzzed with a potent swirl of Psychic energy that started to surround Nix’s eyes and ears, filling them with warmth and cotton as Wednesday’s voice seemed to echo through his entire body.

“Then sleep, little Nix. Sleep and heal from your troubles. Journey through your inner turmoil and emerge in the morning a newer, happier person.”

Chapter Text

Lightning, Thunder, and overwhelming waves. That’s what Nix found himself amongst once Wednesday’s Hypnosis took effect. Sputtering up red water, he barely managed to drag himself to the surface, and somehow Stood atop the surface. “Arceus Almighty… If this is my mind, I really hope that the Healer's Center has some magic bullshit to help it.”

All things considered, Nix had no idea if the endless red ocean, lit by a dark red sky, was normal or not. Not every day you get a look into the boundless energy that makes up a Pokemon’s core, y’know. Looking around, he scratched his head.

“What am I looking for? Wednesday said she’d help using Dream Eater but… what’s there to use it on?” Turning on heel, he nearly jumped out of his fur when lightning lashed out at the ocean’s surface. “Starting to feel a little insulted by how empty it is out here…”

As if his mind heard his voice, the ocean shifted. In the distance, a series of buildings rose into the sky, familiar ruins. It looked like Summerleaf’s West Ruins, but a bit… off. Last he checked, the old dilapidated buildings didn’t reach to the edges of the skies. Another rumble in the distance dragged his view to what looked like the Addams Hotel, rising not too far from him.

“Huh. Ok, that is… a lot more like I expected a Dream World to resemble.” Nix scratched his ear. “Now, I can’t tell if this is Dream Eater’s doing, or my own Subconscious… Eh, either or. Let’s see if anything’s inside the Hotel…”

The Bunny passed by the ocean red to the entrance, noting the doors now hanging limp on broken hinges. The lobby looked… Well, if the Addams could see it, they’d be impressed. It looked like Halloween Central, a Horror Director’s wet dream. Blood stained tiles, skeletons of creatures his mind failed to put names to, and Lurch. Or, well, what used to be Lurch. The big lad was a burned out husk, still smoking from the cracked and shattered armor that made up his body.

“Man… What the hell invoked this kinda imagery? Honestly, I was kinda expecting like, Kamen Rider or something after Sapphire beamed all that info into my head. That would've been cool, eh, Mind?”

The Ocean did not respond. Nix pouted. “Bite my ass…”

Lobby explored, he made his way Up, bouncing up the stairs to investigate further. It… wasn’t a pretty sight. The second floor looked like the walls had been gummed up by melted flesh and glass, the floor thankfully was still tile. Only two doors were open, leading to Sapphire and Irene’s rooms in the Waking World.

Nix, thankfully, didn’t see anyone inside, only a vaguely Gardevoir shaped indent on the bed, somehow untouched by the nightmare tainting everything else. “Huh. I guess even in my Nightmares her presence is too much. Hm. Good for her.”

Moving a few over to Irene’s, he flinched at the sight. Nothing graphic, thankfully, but the strange, skeletal figure coiled up on Irene’s bed gave him pause. Didn’t move, thank Arceus. Leaving as fast as possible, he moved up to the Third. Though, at the top, he paused. “Wait, is Irene on the Second Floor?” Tapping his chin, Nix shook his head. “Eh, Dream Maps are bullshit.”

The third floor was also nasty looking, though now a strange statue stood at the end of the hall. It was of an odd, bipedal figure, somewhat like Sapphire, but more ape-like. Whatever the Fuck an ape was, sunnuva bitch. Whatever that was, they were dressed in a loose gown, holding some kind of blade to their stomach. The handle and blade were wreathed in barbs and spikes.

“Concerning.” Nix muttered, paying the statue no mind as he opened a random door. This door seemed to lead to Gin’s room in the Waking, now covered in fire and floating wisps of energy. No Gin, either. “Psychic types must be the odd ones out when it comes to Dreams.”

Exiting, Nix took a moment to notice the Hotel wobbling ever so slowly. His brows tightened, but he continued forth. The next room was likely Argo’s, or Tenaz’s, he couldn’t tell. Either way, it was bathed in purple-ish flames and ethereal screams.

That door shut quickly, and the final floor he knew of was approached. There was only one door here, his own. How could he tell? Simple, because when he opened the door, he saw himself. A freakish mockery of himself, at that. The nightmare’s body was twisted and pierced by what looked like frozen lightning, pulsing out into his veins and burning the fur and flesh away.

Nix’s gaze turned into a glare. “Of course a nightmare would involve that…” He spat at the ground. “Get bent you wayward-”

The horrific knock-off turned its head 180 degrees to look him dead in the eyes, stealing Nix’s breath and striking panic into his heart. It slowly opened its mouth, a horrific scream slowly making itself known. “What the fuck-” Shut down once again, Nix found himself flying over the red ocean, blasted away by the Hotel being blown to smitherines.

When he landed, Nix was faced with a horrific plume of black smoke, rising from where the Hotel once stood. Now, all he could see was fire and smog, and the quickly approaching figure of his doppelganger. When it landed, it was with a horrific cracking sound, its body tearing itself back into place. When the silence returned, the mimic had taken on the face of a normal Buneary.

That didn’t last. With a horrific growl, its flesh began to boil and bubble, before sloughing off of its muscles. Bones cracked and snapped as it began to morph, muscle igniting and charing into a disgusting mass that resembled volcanic rock and ash, matted together with dried blood. Even from here Nix could see what looked like Lava racing through its exposed veins.

Slowly, it became taller, and taller, before it stood almost as tall as Sapphire, just a foot or so short. Its arms tore in half, gaining mass, before a horrific amalgamation of a Gardevoir, or so it looked to Nix, and a Machamp stood towering above him. Nix blinked, and the Beast did the very same, its eyes igniting in horrific light, like pools of molten slag.

“What the hell are you…?” Nix murmured, stepping back. The Beast did not answer, in words at least. No, its answer was in movement, rushing forward and slamming a fist right into Nix’s gut. All wind was tore away from him and the poor bunny was launched away into the ruins of Summerleaf with a strangled scream, it following close behind.

When Nix landed, it was on the hood of a rusted away car, looking up in agony. “Wednesday… if you can hear me, now would be a good time to wake me up.”

If the Dreamer spoke to the Waking, the world didn’t show it, instead showing the Beast’s fist crushing the car where Nix’s head once was. He had, thankfully, rolled out of the way just moments before impact, and was now running like Hell itself was on his heels. And in a way, it might as well have been…

The Beast grabbed the car its arm was stuck inside of and flung it like a scrap of paper, missing Nix by a mere foot. It growled, and moved once more. Nix’s mind was far from fighting, now instead trying to wake himself up. Pinching his cheek, punching his jaw, even clawing at his ears did nothing to help stir the Buneary. Instead, it just distracted him from the Beast’s southpaw, landing right into the base of his neck.

He was sent flying again, and when he landed it took Everything he had to not vomit. “F-fuc-FUCK! What the hell, what the hell, what the hell?!” He snarled, shakily getting to his paws. “Why can’t I wake up?!? What’s going on!? Wednesday, what the hell is happening?!?”

In the Waking, Wednesday was none the wiser. To her, at Nix’s bedside, her physic energy enrapturing his mind, it was as silent as the night. However, this did have an unintended consequence. Within the walls of the Hotel, not everyone was asleep. Some were making use of the night to do a little, let’s call it homework . That some, happened to be Gin.

Gin blinked as he saw the ruins of the Addams Hotel around him. He growled, fully expecting a vision or something to show him an invasion of Ultra Beasts or even the destruction of humanity. But nothing came to his mind. Scanning the area he felt off, like he was in a dream, but it didn't feel like his. No ever encompassing flame, no void, nothing that was familiar. His ears heard a noise, something akin to the earth breaking apart, it was a roar, a curse and his body moved. “Shit!” He screamed as he moved faster in the direction, as a foreboding feeling began to take hold.

Gin would have been smart to not have done that, however, as he discovered the flying form of Nix slamming into the endless ocean before him. Nix rose on trembling paws, his eyes skimming over Gin’s form absentmindedly. Then, they blew open and locked to the fox. “GIN?!”

“Nix? Why are you in my meditation?” The vulpix asked, ignoring the incoming beast of rage.

“Fuck that- Wake up! Wake the FUCK UP AND WAKE ME UP -” Nix’s begging screams were silenced as the Beast caught up to him, grabbing ahold of his face and chest with it’s two right arms. With a roar that could make most tremble in their boots, it swung at Gin with Nix, colliding the two and sending them flying across the endless red ocean.

“Why is there an ocean of blood!? And what the fuck is that asshole?” Gin asked, coughing up dust as he stood back up. 

“It’s not Blood, it’s my energy.” Nix moaned in pain. “Wednesday found me spiraling at midnight and used Hypnosis, and Dream Eater, to help me face this Inner Turmoil that was eating me up.” Looking into the distance, his eyes blew open. “Which might be sooner than later- MOVE!”

The threat was a building, one of the impossibly massive skyscrapers from Summerleaf’s ruins. When it struck the ocean, the Buneary and Vulpix were swept up in the waves of pure energy, floundering about in a vain attempt to escape the sudden whirlpool. Thankfully, it came to an end with the two being flung into the sky by the death of the whirlpool.

Not thankfully was the Beast now flying towards them, it’s form almost… shifting mid-air. When it landed, it was with an oversized blade, its body now a cruel mockery of Sapphire, though now with far, far, far too many teeth lining its body.

“You know?” Gin asked standing and glaring at the abomination, “They say that living to fight another day is something. Yet I don't think that Chuckles the magical hare will let us leave. So, let's kick it's ass.” Fire Type energy exploded outwards drying both Gin and Nix. Several embers began to float around the vulpix.

“Balls of Fucking Steel, Gin. I’ll go for the knees, try and burn its eyes out.” Nix growled, forcing his panic back down his throat and gathering what strength he had. Surrounded by his own Energy, it should have been easy. Should .

Embers spared through the sky like missiles, landing on the beast, some were cut mid flight by its blade. Others landed, seemingly having no effect beyond setting the monster on fire. Gin snarled and launched another volley to distract the creature so Nix could land a critical blow.

Nix abused his small size and sprinted around the Beast’s flank, the silver energy of Double Kick forming within his muscles. His jump, however, was blocked by a lucky swing of the Beast’s sword, instead turning Double Kick into Launch-Pad Kick and sending Nix into the ocean red. He surfaced with a scream and fire in his paws. That sudden dive turned out better off for the Buneary as it gave him free clearance to land a Fire Bunch to the Beast’s knee.

It didn’t collapse, or crumple, but it did knock it off course. It offered a prime target for Gin’s next attack, right at its ‘face’.

Gin capitalized on the opening by using a full powered flamethrower that roared like a jet engine at point blank range. Orange flames tinted blue due to the sheer force behind them, and yet a clawed hand swiped at the Vulpix knocking him into the ruins and crumbling a wall on top of him.

“Sunnva fuck-” Nix cursed, barely dodging a slash the Beast made, abusing the centrifugal force gained by it’s claw swipe. The Buneary managed to roll over his fumble, forcing the faint embers of Fire Punch into his leg, and Blaze Kick formed. It struck center mass, crumbling the volcanic flesh that tried taking the appearance of Sapphire’s chest plate. Sadly, it reformed once the force knocked it away, and the Beast roared once more. The sheer force of it moved Nix, sending him flying next to Gin.

“Ok, that hurt. But, on the bright side, we are doing damage!” Nix let a smirk form.

“Yeah!” Gin grinned back with a pained smile. “Just gotta break it's head in. Can't recover if it doesn't have a brain.” He reasoned.

“I don’t think it Has a brain, but fuck yeah!” Nix pumped his fist. Then, an odd feeling overcame him. “Uh, Gin, do you feel that?”

“Yeah, feels like… the sun? Dunno what it is but I feel a lot better.” He replied, his body glowing with energy.

That energy came in use, as the world Shuddered. Lighting painted the sky in blinding light and sound, and the duo saw the Beast raise its blade high up above its head.

>N i x Used BITTER BLADE!

Dark energy pulled itself from the ocean’s depths, flowing into the Beast’s blade. Its blade became impossibly bright, overflowing with power that dug into what felt like their very souls. “Oh Shit- LEFT RUN LEFT-” Nix screamed, grabbing Gin and using Double Kick to launch them away, just as the Beast swung.

The cleave split the ocean in two, the force sending them flying for what felt like miles.

“Shit.” Gin snarled as they began to descend, “Hold on to me! Shadow Clone Jutsu!” He screamed as several dozen vulpix appeared mid air, creating a horde of bodies that popped as they landed on them, but reducing the impact of the fall.

“Shadow clones? Where’d you pull that one out of?” Nix groaned, getting up from the ocean surface. “Whatever, where’s the Beast now?”

“Believe it or not, Gomez and Morticia.” Gin answered as the Beast leapt into the air and threatened to slam into them, its blade still glowing with the fury of a thousand suns.

“Here it comes! When it lands, do you think you can do that Shadow Clone trick again?” Nix gathered as much energy into his legs as he could, Jump Kick coming to mind. “I’m going to intercept and get that blade out of the game, I want you to jump its ass!”

Nodding Gin focused, and slowly several more Vulpix formed out of thin air, their eyes glowing red and glaring at the beast. 

Nix nodded, crouched down, and blasted away into the sky. With good aim, he managed to angle himself above the Beast, at the prime angle to let out a Blast of silver energy. Manifesting his inner Sapphire, his heart roared and pierced into the Beast’s back, sending it down to the earth like a spear, the blade flying off and falling into the ocean red.

The beast roared in pain, and its cries were drowned out by the screams of several Gins blasting it with more and more fire. While the real Gin was behind focusing on making an energy ball, and slowly adding psychic energy to it. The blue orb glowed deep purple as he launched it at the beast, who had managed to shake off several clones. It landed, and then it screamed in pain as its torso seemed to collapse into itself. Flesh and armor imploded as a chunk of its chest disappeared, forming a perfectly spherical hole.

“Fuck you…” Gin muttered as he fell forward, drained of all his energy.

Nix landed shortly after, also panting. “Holy shit, it isn’t moving anymore… I think we did it!” Nix cheered. Though, his joy was short lived, confusion replacing it. “Now how do I wake up?” He mused, not noticing, or perhaps not caring as the Beast sunk down into the ocean.

And ocean of veritable Energy. An endless ocean. A Deep Ocean. Its body twisted, the remaining flesh tearing and molting as energy became mass. The ocean rumbled, and the duo looked around in confusion.

“Uh, do you feel that?” Thunder roared.

“Fucking phase two. Got any healing moves?” Gin grunted out staring at the monster. Despite everything, he still felt light, he could feel something inside him telling him to stand again.

The Beast morphed more and more, the ocean turning darker and darker as it grew. The duo stepped back slowly as the ocean became a dark red. Slowly, what it became rose from the depths, showering Nix and Gin in red rain.

It had, like before, copied one of their friends, now taking Irene’s face. But last they checked, Irene wasn’t the size of Summerleaf, perhaps even bigger, with teeth as long as the town. A veritable Kaiju, its head rising higher, and higher, and Higher into the heavens.

“You know? I wouldn't be angry if it didn't use our friend's face.” Gin said, his eyes beginning to glow a dangerous shade of red, “But this, just pisses me off. Hey Chuckles! Get down here so I can kill you again!” He roared.

“You really think grabbing its attention is a good idea- wait, kill?” Something clicked. “Kill… That’s right!” His attention turned to the blade that had gotten trapped in the ocean’s surface. He sprinted towards it as the Beast began to roar, lunging towards the duo.

Gin saw Nix run towards the blade and charged at the kaiju, he smiled as he crashed against it, his substitute exploding like a bomb as he aimed his final move, Extrasensory. Right into the Beast’s eye. It was as if someone had shoved a chainsaw into it. Gore flew outwards as Gin fell into the blood red ocean with a smile on his face.

Nix grabbed the blade, ignoring the horrific heat that came from its hilt, and watched Gin fall. The Beast reared its head back once more, snarling, preparing to lash out and consume him whole. “Like Hell.” Nix snarled, sprinting forward. Gin rose to the surface as Nix made it to his side, armed with that horrific weapon, and smiled at the Vulpix.

“Hey, Gin?”

“Yeah.” 

“See you on the other side.”

And so, Nix rose the blade, and speared it into his heart. The world screamed, and turned to nothing.

In the Waking, Gin practically launched out of his bed. “Fuck!” He ran through the door, towards Nix’s room.

Even in the halls, Gin could hear the screams of agony, door flinging open to Wednesday in a panic, doing her best to hold down the screaming Buneary. His fur was spattered with white furry spots, and a large bruise, even visible underneath his fur, blooming above his heart.

Gin stared at the scene and his body moved without thinking. He flooded himself with psychic energy and made a single wish. He fainted as his energy flooded Nix. His last conscious thought was: “Please don't be late. Let me save someone, once at least.”

Nix coughed and sputtered as the Wish slammed into his heart, the pain being eradicated. His heart still raced, breath still stolen from his lungs, but the pain from his chest faded. “Fffffffffffffffffffffff-UCK!” He bellowed, before laughing his merry little ass off. “Told ya’ to trust me, Gin!” He giggled. “And look at that, my plan worked! We’re out!”

Wednesday stared with barely stemmed panic. “ What -” She swallowed, composing herself. “What was that?”

Nix turned to her with a wide smile, an odd feeling of joy boiling inside of him. Neither noticed a pink glow stemming from the area above his heart. “Well, turns out, your idea didn’t work! But now, I get what Grandmama meant.” He turned to the unconscious Gin beside him. “Help me get him downstairs, I think he’ll want a drink after the hell we just went through. I’ll explain on the way.”

Chapter Text

“Y’know, I forgot to ask before since… everything happened so fast in the last few days, but… did we ever end up changing out who the leader of our team is?” Sapphire asked idly as she sort of puttered around in the kitchen near Argo, helping out with breakfast since she’d found herself dreadfully awake after only a few hours of sleep the night previous. “Like, I remember I said I was only gonna be leader until someone evolved usable hands and… well. You evolved like five minutes after that. And then I kinda almost died… and then I almost died again… and Nix nearly paralyzed himself completely yesterday…”

“I don’t think so.” Argo stared harder at the cauldron in front of her. Somehow it didn’t feel weird that Grandmama had a cauldron, only that it was somehow high tech? Like… it had an in built temperature gauge. As well as a fullness meter to help with ensuring the potion/salve/etc didn’t overflow and ruin things. “Probably should take care of that at some point. Have you even needed to do anything with that? I kinda feel like there should’ve been some forms or something considering how often you all seem to almost die.”

“I… not really? Maybe Guildmaster Audino has some forms to fill out but honestly I haven’t really mentioned anything. Like… I’ve only taken the two jobs and I feel like it’s waaaay too early to start asking if it’s normal to nearly die that much. Then again… that might just be my pride talking,” Sapphire shrugged, leaning over the cauldron and looking at the contents inside. “Eh , I’ll go talk to the Guildmaster later, hand over leadership to… you, I guess? Whatever. Soooo… what’re we doing today for breakfast anyway?”

“It isn’t normal, you’re all overachievers and I really want you all to stop doing that. Please don’t pull a Team 7 and just go out and have a normal mission for once, okay?” Argo sighed and paused her overly fast stirring. “Just… please find something very easy looking and take everyone with you. Maybe for the next mission? We should have some easy times ahead- at least until the house is done I think.” She shook her head and looked back into the cauldron. “Grandmama brought back mystery meat from an excursion or something. It was floating so she may have killed a coven rival and is using us to cover it up. I recommend sticking to the croquettes. There was an old recipe in the back that said something about silly string liking it? It looked good at least…”

“... Silly string…? Whatever. I- y’know what, sure. Croquettes it is. Are they ready or do we have to make ‘em first?” Sapphire asked, idly deciding to not question whatever it was in the cauldron and instead looked around the kitchen for a moment. “Y’think anyone would like scrambled eggs? I’m… pretty sure I can cook, though I have no clue when or where I learned… might be a holdover from the past, come to think of it.”

“Probably? I really haven’t talked about food preferences or allergies with anyone.” Argo chuckled. “The Addams may consider anaphylaxis a pleasant way to start the day anyway.”

“Maybe, but I’d rather not do that to anyone. I rather enjoy my choking to be a two person activity,” Sapphire deadpanned, then shrugged and turned so she could start working on making scrambled eggs and the aforementioned croquettes- using her telekinesis to retrieve ingredients from the fridge and multitask the preparations for both dishes all at once. “Y’know, if there’s one good thing that came out of almost dying in a bug infested hole in the ground, it’s that I have way more multitasking power now. This is great.”

“Nice. Makes me interested in seeing what happens when I level up.” Argo rolled her shoulders and resumed stirring the pot. “Kinda interested to see whatever the fuck ends up in my evolution too. All of you are getting some weird shit that is definitely from whatever parents you supposedly have. Except none of us have parents here because these bodies just kinda came into existence. So… the llama is kinda pulling shit or something. At least nobody has somehow managed to get two parents that absolutely should not be able to breed… according to the lack of screaming townsfolk anyway.”

“Well… probably, at least,” Sapphire pointed out, vaguely waving at Argo with a wooden spoon as she stirred the eggs around in a skillet. “We won’t know for sure until everyone evolves. Also, not gonna lie? I straight up had no fucking clue what a Ceruledge was until yesterday when I talked to the Healers in town. They look hella cool though, and it at least explains where I got the armor more than like… some weird Gallade mutation, I guess. But yeah. Arceus definitely pulled some shit with us and I have no idea why. Though… it might be a good excuse to go on a world tour at some point?”

“World tour sounds cool. We could visit some interesting places and rob them of their unique culture in order to do more cool shit. Like Z-crystals.” Argo smiled. Z-moves are cool. “I would like to be able to use… was it Inferno Overdrive? Fuck… what was the name of that one?”

“Not a clue, but it sounds really cool regardless,” Sapphire nodded, pursing her lips slightly before tilting her head. “I wonder if I should try and pick up a Z-crystal. Could we even do Z-moves? Or… even Mega Evolve? Because I know I brought back all of those Mega Stones for Orion but… I dunno, don’t both of those things need a trainer bond or something?”

“Maybe? It just requires a connection, right? Mega Evolving anyway. Pretty sure we could all count for each other to do it, but it might be a little tricky if we’re all fighting. Z-moves should be fine. You just do a stupid looking pose and it activates. Just easier if someone else does it- don’t think the trainer had to have anything like a G-max band or whatever that stone that makes Mega Evolution possible.” Argo hummed. Maybe Grandmama would know? Or Guildmaster Audino. That both at least had a reason to know about something like that. Otherwise… probably have to try testing it out, and Argo really feared for the health and safety of everything in the area including the testers if any of her team tried it. “We could ask someone at least. Oh! Orion would probably know.” Yeah, that made more sense.

“... Oh yeah… Orion did have a Mega Stone too…” Sapphire paused, scratching her head as she piled scrambled eggs onto a serving platter and sprinkled bacon bits on top without really thinking about it. “... Hmmm… ahhh whatever, it’s too early to be thinking so hard about the mechanics of random bullshit in this world. I’m not a pokemon professor and I’m not a professor of pokemon either. Let’s talk about normal things like… uh… how did you sleep last night?”

Argo shrugged. “Same as you saw the day before last. Hugging that plushie and pretty well. How about you?”

“Woke up really weirdly early? Also I’m pretty sure my appetite’s been… not… gone… but I’m pretty sure my body is starting to need less food too? Um… I dunno, I didn’t exactly take great care of myself as a human so I don’t… actually know… what’s normal for a Gardevoir,” Sapphire trailed off, patting her stomach and then her chest oddly as she considered the ramifications of being a full quad-Type Ghost/Fire/Psychic/Fairy hybrid. “... I think I legally count as dead now too, I just realized I can’t feel my heartbeat anymore.”

“That’d be concerning if ‘being dead’ wasn’t a natural enough state of being here that it counted as a pillar of reality.” Argo chuckled. “Don’t worry too much about it. With the weirdness going on I’ll probably join you as a Ghost Type eventually. Certainly seems to be how things are shaping up for me, what with,” she gestures at the kitchen, “all of this I’m helping with.”

“I’m sure whatever happens it’ll at least probably really hilarious in a cosmic sorta way in a few years,” Sapphire nodded easily, chuckling softly as she shook her head and finished her breakfast preparations. “Regardless. I think I only need like… three, four hours of sleep now. And… gods, I swear I sensed Nix doing stuff last night but I have no clue what. Just that it felt… wonky? Bleh. Emotion senses are hard and I don’t think the leftover autism brain helps in that regard…”

“I think that's just how Nix feels in general. Something is not right with that bunny.” Shame that, bunnies are great. Being a fox is nice, but a Scorbunny would have been aces. “He needs more hugs. Buneary are a friendship evolution too, so he needs double the hugs. I should get Irene to hug him more.”

“I should hug him more,” Sapphire hummed, resolving to do just that the next time she saw Nix. “Thank fuck I’m not a regular Gardevoir right now otherwise having a big frickin’ chest horn would make hugs really awkward and possibly painful. As it is at least the armor is removable… although it’s… still part of my body? Guh, don’t wanna think about how that’s possible.”

“Pokemon fashion is not for the faint of heart. At least you aren’t a Lucario…” That chest spike would cause all sorts of issues. “Huh. Apropos of nothing- what should we do if we find a Pokéball? Especially a working one. Using it would feel kinda awkward…”

“... If it’s full, release whatever pokemon is inside and hope they’re still sane and capable of rational thought,” Sapphire shuddered a little. “If it’s empty? Crush it. Even if it would be fun to have a collection of empty pokeballs… I don’t think it’d be really worth it to keep them around, especially if they’re still functional. We’re not trainers, after all.”

“Probably for the best, yeah.” Argo rubbed her neck and looked at the cauldron. “Almost done with this. Should have breakfast up and ready soon as you’re all done.” She hummed and tapped a finger on the edge of the cauldron. May as well ask. “Any ideas for a name for a fire sword? May as well go full chunni with it and name the damn thing.” Especially if she’s going to use a release phrase like a wannabe Dusknoir.

“Ehhh… I’m pretty much done here too,” Sapphire nodded, finishing up her cooking and setting the eggs and croquettes aside to rest a little. “As for a fire sword… mmmm… I mean, all of the names I could come up with are Kamen Rider themed. So… like… maybe not me if you wanna go chuuni chuuni, but… I dunno, Kitsu-Flamebreaker?”

Argo just stared for a long time. “I’m… just gonna call it Skoll. For now.” Skoll technically was more about eating the sun but whatever. Associated enough with fire that she’d call it even. Not like anyone could really call her out on it. “Let’s get this out and plated up.”

“Look, I told you my naming sense is entirely based on Kamen Rider, and Kamen Rider is a franchise with things named shit like Beat Crosser, and Drag-Redder, and Decadriver, among other shit like Twin Breaker and Signal Ax and whatnot,” Sapphire shrugged, taking everything in her telekinesis so Argo wouldn’t have to handle dragging around a big cauldron. “But yeah. Breakfast time.”

“Thanks.” Argo stepped back and let Sapphire take care of moving everything. “Seriously though- those really are the names? I never was into that but what the fuck. It has to sound better in Japanese, right? Or was it originally in English and they didn’t translate it into another language for overseas so it just kinda ended as an Engrish salad?”

“It’s uh… yeah. Those are the names. And yes, they do sound better if you say it all with a Japanese accent,” Sapphire snorted, rolling her eyes a little as she formed a flaming blade around one hand for emphasis and started naming things with a Japanese accent. “Y’know, shit like Musou Seibaa or Daidaimaru or Sangurasurassha!” She paused, dispelling the blade around her hand with a shake of her wrist. “And yes, before you ask, there was a Kamen Rider series where one of the main weapons was a sword gun thing themed with a pair of sunglasses. It was not a great show.”

“Guess things really do sound better if you don’t know what the fuck it means.” Argo chuckled. “Whatever, let's get breakfast started and talk to everyone about what to do next. My plan is to switch who the leader is and get all of you off on a nice, normal mission where you won’t come even close to dying.”

That said, she stepped through the door to the dining room. Guildmaster Audino waved from her seat at the table. “So there’s been a problem…”

Mother fucker.

Chapter Text

“Team H2O has gone missing,” Guildmaster Audino stated, laying out a set of maps and papers out onto the breakfast table once everyone had made it into the room. It was a little awkward having breakfast while someone was talking about an entire Explorer Team going missing- a team of six, no less- but breakfast was on the table and even the Audino herself was chewing on a croquette while she spoke. “They were tasked with investigating and possibly clearing out the climate center near Reversal Mountain- the one north of Forest Town. Sadly, there’s been no news for several days now, and my counterpart Guildmaster Blissey has informed me that they haven’t received any news either- no scheduled check-ins, no flares, nothing. Therefore, it is up to you six to retrieve them. I understand that it’s a bit odd asking a rookie team that’s only been in existence for four days now to retrieve a veteran team, but there are precious few powerful teams on this side of the East River. You all, at the very least, have a stage two and a stage three with you, and have enough Fire types that the local Ice pokemon shouldn’t be a bother.”

She paused, looking around the room with her usual blank, friendly, cheerful expression replaced with something more serious- something that almost seemed afraid despite the fact that Team H2O had a less than stellar reputation in Summerleaf Town. “I’m afraid that there is no choice to back out on this. I refuse to lose one of my Teams no matter how unpleasant they may be. Please. Save them.”

“... Well. That explains a few things,” Sapphire mumbled quietly in response to the Audino’s words, looking over at the maps with pursed lips as she tried to come up with anything to say. “... I mean. We can’t exactly refuse. Anyone else have something to say? And… Guildmaster, what’re the details of this whole mission anyway? What was Team H2O supposed to be investigating in the first place?”

“Something to do with a lot of Ice types, right?” Argo bit into a croquette. “Huh… well damn these are good.”

“Sending a team of primarily Water Types to investigate an area flush with Ice Types?” Nix grumbled and scratched at his eye. “ Brilliant planning there.”

“Didn't they have an Ice type as well? Actually why did they get sent if the match up was that bad?” Gin asked, finishing his breakfast. 

“There were reports of increased wild Ground and Rock type activity- Gravelers, Geodudes, possibly Onix or Rhyhorn. It seems that not only was there that, but increased Ice type activity as well- if Guildmaster Blissey’s letters about increased hail and icy winds off the mountain slopes is accurate.” Guildmaster Audino answered, then sighed quietly as she looked away. “That… and Team H2O has never been particularly smart about their battles. I warned them that the mission had a high chance of encountering Ice type wild pokemon, I truly did. Regardless. We have a limited time to act- you’ll have full access to the Guild’s armory and supplies for this, no extra charge. Healing items, throwables, anything. Lives are at stake here, Team Pyro.”

“Anything? We'll probably need escape ropes to drag them out if they're in the building…” Gin began musing, “Potions and Ice Heal? Anyone have any other suggestions?” 

“Blast Seeds, for dealing with Ice types and for warmth. If it’s cold up there, then Nix and Irene are going to be at risk,” Sapphire mentioned, tapping her fingers against the table as she read off the list of inventory that Guildmaster Audino had brought. “Plenty of Seeds and Berries, really. Reviver Seeds, if we can. Other than that… we’re probably strong enough to handle anything else that comes our way. Just… us Fire types have to be wary of Rock type attacks.”

“Grab any held items you can. More if you can double up. Charcoal, Assault Vests, anything that might give you a boost.” Argo rubbed her neck and stretched. “Regardless of their actual abilities Team H2O aren’t pushovers. Anything that can drop all of them simultaneously enough that no word gets out isn’t anything to screw around with. They do resist Ice even if they aren’t very effective against them.” She paused. “No Life Orbs. We may need to break up to cover the entire ground and I can’t be following along with someone who decided to grab one.”

“... Why would any of us use a life orb…?” Sapphire mumbled, then shook her head as she looked around. “Regardless. Meet up by the north road out of town in an hour? Pick up whatever supplies from wherever necessary.”

“Sounds like a good bet. Check what you’re bringing twice, and if you can’t set yourself on fire without too much issue bring a good jacket.” Argo swept her gaze across the entire team. “There have been far too many near death experiences from you all. Stop it. Study the map, grab whatever you need, and then grab some stuff for emergencies. Don’t be afraid to use them- I know all about ‘what if I need it later’ and later doesn’t matter if I have to realign your spine.”

“I'll take the Leftovers then, might as well accept I'll get hit.” Gin lamented as he stood up and headed to where the Guildmaster had left the supplies. “Now where are the Leppa Berries…” He mused as he began sifting through supplies using Psychic energy.

“I’ll go ask Grandmama about something to keep me warm.” Irene scarfed down the last few bites of a croquette before flying out of her seat. “She should have some stuff we can’t get elsewhere. Plus, she stole my shed to make something and I would be lying to say if I wasn’t curious what magic could do with dragon scales and some slime.”

Nix scratched now at his ear. “Other than Healing supplies, I got no clue what to bring with… Man, I should have asked Orion for an encyclopedia, or something.” Flapping an arm, he looked at his cloak. “At least I got this cloak, that's helpful. Kinda.”

“Your style is a credit to us all.” Argo headed to the door. “If you’ve got room, you don’t have room. You’re missing medical supplies. I’m going to grab stuff to make more fire. See you all later. I will be inspecting what you’ve decided to bring. Yes, it is a test.”

“Wait, what?” shouted Irene. “You can’t just leave after saying that! I didn’t sign up for tests when I joined the team.”

Nix gave a lazy salute. “Ma'am yes ma'am.” And wisely fucked off to look at the stock.

“Huh, Smoke Balls… wait what test?” Gin exclaimed looking for Argo before deciding that if he had time to be distracted, he had time to finish his backpack. Lots of options, but little time and less space to get through it all.

“Oi vey… better bring as much as I can carry, then,” Sapphire sighed, then spun around the room and teleported away.

Tenaz let out a small wheeze, puffing out a small cloud of smoke as he gorged on whatever food he could get his paws on. “Look. Let's be honest amongst ourselves, yeah? We have to go into this assuming at least one of them is dead, right? Maybe not the Ice type, but Water typing be damned, hypothermia is still fatal.” He side eyed the general direction of where Audino was, too preoccupied with eating to actually focus his peripheral vision on the Guildmaster. “No offense, of course. Just have to be realistic about the situation.”

“Team H2O is tough. They’re alive,” Guildmaster Audino stared at Tenaz seriously, narrowing her eyes. “They. Are. Alive. Now go. You have preparations to make.”

The Cyndaquil snorted, pushing himself away from the table and heading back towards his room. “Of course, of course. Nothing to worry about when it comes to the great Team Hydro . Nothing to worry about at. All.”

“Okay, I’ve got… Potions, a few revival items, more than enough travel meals and rations for the entire round trip and back, like thirteen Blast Seeds in case any of us run out of power for our actual Fire type attacks, a few Revival Seeds, Wednesday and Grandmama swapped out my scarf for a stat boosting one so that’s nice… um… Water for hydration and healing. Lemonade? And a couple iron spikes in case I need to throw them at a Rock type. It ain’t a proper Steel type attack but… it’ll do, I think,” Sapphire mentioned, ruffling through the satchel at her side that was definitely bigger on the inside now that she’d packed it full for once. “Plus Berries. A whole bunch of Oran berries, mostly. Leppa berries for restoring power, a few Charti and Shuca Berries to help with Rock and Ground type attacks, Aspear and Yache Berries for the Ice types… it’s not many but… it’s also not a great time for berry harvests and we’re kinda gonna have to make do with the dried versions.”

“So long as we aren't frozen solid, even dried berries will be good. Got some escape ropes, smoke balls for team H2O in case they're in any state to use them, a decent amount of Leppa and Oran berries as well. Plus Aspear for frozen status, and a couple of smoke bombs.” Gin rattled off, adjusting the Leftover device over his muzzle. His own backpack filled for a longer trip just in case things went awry, he didn't want a repeat of being undergeared like last time.

Irene sat coiled up on her tail. After her search for items, she had come back with a light green scarf tied right under her chin with a large chunk of its fabric draped over what could only be described as a fanny pack. “Grandmama made my shed into a scarf. Won’t really do much to keep me warm, but it’s supposed to heal me gradually like a set of leftovers.” She grimaced. “Supposedly. Oh, she also gave me a few orbs. There’s a Warp, Switcher, Petrify, Invisify, and Decoy orb in here.” Irene gestured to her fanny pack. “Oh, and I owe her my next five sheds, but don’t worry about that stuff.”

“Odd thing to owe someone…” Nix gave Irene a slightly concerned stare. Shaking his head, he turned back to his cloak, and a series of bags that actually fit him. Which, considering how small he was proportionally, was only three bags that’s practically a pair of fanny bags. Along with the two pockets inside his cloak, he stashed healing berries in one, status berries in the other, and water in the last. In his pockets, he haphazardly shoved a handful of Blast Seeds and spikes. Not much, but it was all he could physically carry.

“Given what the Others say she considered asking in exchange, I'd say Irene got off easy.” Tenaz swung his body around to reorient the tied together bag of items he had fastened to his stomach. A few Energy Roots, a couple of Revives, and a pawful of Lemonades. Lackluster supplies, but Tenaz was lacking in available space to put it in without also setting it on fire.

“Magic requires some weird shit.” Argo shrugged as she walked up. “And all of that weird shit is different for everybody. Figures it’s associated with distortion or whatever Giratina was supposed to look over.” She placed one hand on her hip and dropped her bag to the ground. “So what all have you brought? Because if it isn’t enough to mummify Irene twice over we might need more. Not that I think we’ll need to use it, but considering the last few times you all have gone out to do shit…”

“Just the essentials for rescue on my end, healing, status recovery and escape options.” Gin mentioned looking at everyone else, he could feel the tension in the air.

“Well… I just mentioned it but I’ve got a bunch of medical supplies, food, a stat boosting scarf, berries, and also iron spikes in case there’s a stubborn Rock type we need to move,” Sapphire reiterated, quickly unpacking and repacking her bag with a flare of telekinesis to show Argo what she’d brought before shaking her head. “The others did the same, seems like. Irene’s got… orbs? From Grandmama. Also, gods help us if we find a Tyranitar up on that mountain because that… is not something I want to deal with.”

“I think if we find that we just kinda run. None of us are ready to face a pseudo-legendary yet.” Argo chuckled, her grin distinctly dangerous. “Yet.”

“Your excitement to potentially go toe-to-toe with beings that could possibly flatten towns in a matter of minutes concerns me greatly.” Nix deadpanned, fluffing his cloak and slipping on a simple cloth mask he bought from Divine Furfrou. “I’m also carrying meds, status breakers, sharp shit and bombs.”

“If I have to fight another pseudo, you're all dead to me. The Others may favor me, but favors don't make miracles.” Tenaz marched past Argo, giving her a not quite sharp enough glare.

“Considering how many of us have had near death experiences so far, saying we’re dead to you falls flat.” Nix chuckled.

“I’m pretty sure Sapphire counts as actually dead. She just told Yveltal to fuck off.” Argo shouldered her pack. “I expect all of you to do the same if it comes to it. Now let's go be big damn heroes.”

“So… are we going to have someone teleport us there or what? Because I’m sure Sapphire could do it in one go, but it feels like we should conserve the strength of our strongest team member.” Irene jabbed the tip of her tail in the Gardevoir’s direction then waved toward the rest of the team. “I could fly and get there with one Extreme Speed if I need to, but I definitely shouldn’t try that with a passenger.”

“Y’know, I’m pretty sure I actually had a hallucination of a bird down in that cave,” Sapphire mumbled, then snickered to herself. “Nah, kidding. Wouldn’t that be something though?” She paused for a moment, then shook her head as she focused back on the situation at hand. “Anyway- everyone get in close. I can prooobably teleport everyone without physical contact but… probably safer and easier if you’re all either touching me or each other. So- yeah.”

“Group hug, yaaaay.” Nix bounced up to Sapphire’s shoulder. “Also, Bitter Blade is fucking terrifying, thanks for letting us know about it.” The sarcasm was rather heavy on that one.

Sapphire blinked. “Eh? What’s wrong with Bitter Blade…?”

“Nothing, nothing at all… Except that it’s apparently really friendly with demonic rip-offs of your friends in a hell dream…” Nix trailed off. “Hey, do you think you could use your fancy Emotion Sensing to make an emergency line between the User and a Target to get a free overcharge on that fancy attack of yours?”

“Did… did you have a near death experience in a dream?” Argo half raised one finger before letting her hand drop. “I cannot let any of you do anything, can I?”

“Hah, near death? Ask Gin, he had a front row seat to my self-inflicted coronary artery bypass.” Nix absentmindedly rubbed at his chest.

“... Man, I have got to get better at emotion sensing if that’s the kind of shit you get up to in your sleep,” Sapphire mumbled, then vaguely looked around with half of a grimace. “Well… aside from that…. Everyone touching? Group hug established? Ready for transport?”

“Ready!” Irene chirped from where she had wrapped herself around someone’s leg.

“I’m ready.” Argo settled a hand on Sapphire’s shoulder.

“Let's just go and get this over with.” Tenaz huffed, moving himself to rest a paw on Irene's body.

Nix patted Sapphire’s head. “I’m here, aren’t I? Hopefully this one won’t give me a headache this time… ”

“Let's go!” Gin said with a smile, prepared for what would be coming ahead, approached the group.

“Alright alright! And awaaaaaaay~ we go!” Sapphire called out, glowing brightly as she focused her psychic powers, the energies moving until everyone was covered before she teleported-

-and landed on the north side of Forest Town, right in front of a large Blissey that was likely to be Guildmaster Blissey.

“Ah! You made it! Good- I hate to send you all off without a proper introduction to Forest Town, but time is of the essence! Up north on the path is Team H2O’s base camp, not much more than an hour away in a place marked Reversal Grotto. Beyond that, the weather station is another hour up the mountain. There’s a few routes up to the station, though… please search as thoroughly as you can!” Guildmaster Blissey stated, forcing a smile onto her face as she bowed as best as she could. “Hurry- they may not have much time!”

Sapphire sighed, disentangling herself from the group and shaking her head. “Well. Better get to it then. Team Pyro! Let’s go save some jackasses from their own stupidity!”

Chapter Text

With a team of six tasked to find six different people, it only made sense for them to split up to divide and conquer. So they divided into thirds under Argo’s direction, leaving the two capable of flight to soar ahead to scout out the weather institute. Irene and Sapphire avoided the perils of whichever ice-types holed themselves up around the mountain’s base and sides, zipping straight toward the station.

However, they did have to fly higher when a territorial wild pokémon decided to fire an Ice Beam in their direction. Not that it was much of a problem after Sapphire launched a Shadow Ball at them. It was probably a bad sign that there wasn’t any retaliation once the attack landed. Much to Irene’s displeasure, they didn’t exactly have the time to check on random strangers.

“Y’know, when I said I wanted to go flying with you the other day, this isn’t quite what I had in mind!” Sapphire called out, flying close to Irene as they neared the weather station and squinting against the wind. “Are you doing alright? Not too cold?”

“I’ll be fine for now. Flying’s in my blood twice over,” Irene shouted back before they stalled in the air. Below them the station had been snowed over with large spikes of ice jutting outward like a defensive wall. Perhaps that was a coincidence thanks to the obvious signs of battle left around the ring of buildings. Craters in the surrounding mountain, holes through walls that somehow didn’t  break the buildings’ integrity, and shards of ice littered around the area. 

The biggest of the buildings was only three floors, but was lodged into the side of the mountain while the others were placed on flat sections of ground. Sprouting out from the top was a large antenna that had clearly seen better days. The windows of the third were broken with shards of glass still stuck in their frames. Although that damage didn’t compare to the second floor, where half the wall on one side had been replaced with ice.

“Well… I can certainly sense a lot of activity down there… and there’s… well, obviously a lot of ice,” Sapphire mumbled, coming to a halt slowly and drifting into a position to intercept any Ice attacks before they could hit Irene. “Y’think some of the ice damage is cuz Team H2O was a little trigger happy and splashed around a bunch of water? Also… man, why do all of these spikes remind me of something…? I swear, the only things I remember from my human life are severe depression and tokusatsu…”

“It certainly looks familiar to something I’ve seen before. No idea what though.” Irene bundled herself up into a coil, shrinking down any potential target she could make. “It’s definitely Team H2O’s fault to some degree. I don’t think there’d be that much damage from some wild pokémon driving out intruders. Plus, don’t they have an Ice-type on their team?”

“Yeah, uh… what’s their name, the vulpix? Something like that,” Sapphire nodded, peering down and pursing her lips slightly. “Should we go down and see what there is or do you think we should try and establish a safe point to push from while the others come up?”

Squinting at the area, Irene felt a shiver go down her spine. There was far too much ice for her own comfort, whether that be personal or a biological discomfort. “Let’s scout it out first. The Guildmasters said there supposed to be an upsurge Ground and Rock pokémon. May as well see if that’s still happening before three Fire-types stroll up the mountain.”

“Right… yeah. Maybe the ice pokemon in the area moved the Rock and Ground types out? I haven’t seen any, though…” Sapphire paused, then pointed vaguely down to the slopes lower down from the weather station. “Maybe over there? Kinda looks like there was a landslide there. Or… something? I dunno, I don’t know shit about geology.”

“Neither do I.” With that in mind, Irene wiggled past Sapphire and darted toward the pile of rocks, gravel, and snow at the edge of the station. “Race you there!” Pumping on the speed, Irene blitzed forward, her scarf flapping endlessly against her body.

The chilling winds whipped at Irene’s body. By nature, Dragons were weak to Ice and Irene felt that biological weakness in every part of her body. Maybe her DNA tripling down on the typing was the reason why she felt the cold trickling down at her health. Maybe it was just the presence of Ice-types worsening the weather to the point that snowflakes felt like they were burning her skin like acid rain. Either way, Irene owed Grandmama way more than five of her sheds.

The light green scarf was soothing over every biting touch. It wasn’t the warm touch of her Fire-type friends, but a cool press alongside her sides. If not for this scarf, Irene would probably not be able to go through with the mission for long. She ought to find some good materials to repay the Mismagius.

Arriving at the landslide, Irene hovered over a large bank of snow and a group of boulders, many of which were larger than Argo was. The corners of a building poked out from the white powder and were being threatened to be swallowed up by the constant snowfall. Now, what were the chances that something important was buried under there? Probably not zero.

“You do realize I can teleport, right?” Sapphire deadpanned, already standing by the building with a roll of her eyes. “I coulda just brought you with. Anyway uh… hmm… What are we looking for here… I can sense some movement in the nearby area but honestly I’m not great at psychic stuff like that. Much better at beating the shit outta people. Do you think there’s any Rock/Ground types in the area we could talk to about why all the Ice types are here?”

“Not unless your Psychic powers can translate wild pokémon sounds for you.” Irene pouted at Sapphire’s use of Teleport. Before she could whine half-heartedly about it, her longer antennae twitched with a sudden gust of wind blowing past. Snapping around with the twitch, Irene glanced over at the spike wall surrounding the station. “...Hey, so how well does ice preserve pokémon?”

Stuck inside the giant spikes were numerous pokémon frozen in the middle of a run. Gravelers were caught trying to roll away, a Gigalith was stopped in the middle of a step, even a herd of Rhyhorn were captured during a stampede away from the biggest building of the camp.

“.... I don’t even wanna think about if they’re alive or not,” Sapphire winced, staring at the trapped pokemon and shuddering ever so slightly as she took in their expressions. “... That’s… kinda haunting. Should we try and free them? I feel like that’s gonna cause a commotion, get too much attention on us. And uh… I’m good with Flamethrower but not enough to handle an entire weather station full of pissed Ice types.”

“Let’s hold off on… that… until we’ve found Team H2O. Priorities and all that,” Irene nervously chuckled. Floating around, she studied the other buildings as best she could at a distance. “Can you see anyone from here? Maybe with those fancy glowing eyes of yours. Hopefully someone that’s not an ice sculpture.”

“Mmm… I think I see a Snorunt over there,” Sapphire pointed off to the side, where there was a Snorunt just… standing out in the open, not ten feet away. And just staring at them silently. “... Hey lil buddy.”

“Sno!” the Snorunt replied, waving with one of its lil hand nubbins.

Lowering herself just above the snow, Irene tried to make herself as small as possible. “Hi there, little one. Is your family around here?”

Snorunt hopped up happily, bouncing on the snow as if it wasn’t at least six inches tall and its two-foot body wouldn’t sink like a stone. “Runt run!” 

“I… think he… it… is saying yes? I dunno, I’m mostly just getting vibes here. Uh… So… do you know why all these Ice types are here?” Sapphire asked, tilting her head slowly and scratching her head a little. “... Also are you a kid or…?”

“Snoru! Sno! Runt! Ru!” Snorunt continued to sort of chirp and call, bouncing on top of the snow still as it answered.

“... Right. So… the leader of the Ice tribe up near the top of the mountain said to move lower for better hunting even though it’s Spring… and you’re… five? Six? Six winters old. Got it. Okay. Um…” Sapphire paused, then looked over at Irene. “... I think this is just a case of an early migration because the weather’s good for it? Don’t think they’re gonna leave now, though, when they’re already trenched in.”

The Dragon blinked at her much taller friend. “You got all that from feeling their vibes?” She looked at the Snorunt, who was nodding along. “I’m not even confused at this point. I’m more impressed than anything. They said like five syllables.”

“I dunno, it just felt like the right vibes, and they look like they’re agreeing with me so…?” Sapphire shrugged, not at all sure about how the hell she’d figured out literally anything that the Snorunt just said. “Well… other than that uhh… I mean… what do we even really do here? Other than rescue Team H2O, I guess… which… hey kid, you seen a group of Water types around here? Five of ‘em, kinda dickish, probably the kind to fight first and ask questions later? Probably a white Vulpix with ‘em?”

“Runt! Runt! Snorunt! Sno-Runt!” Snorunt nodded, moving their entire body to indicate their agreement before point up at one of the walls, where a half frozen tail seemed to be sticking out of a wall. One with a bright blue ball on the end. 

“... Man, I know Guildmaster Audino and Blissey said that we should retrieve ‘em alive but that Marill looks dead as hell,” Sapphire mumbled, scratching her cheek awkwardly as she looked at the insensate, almost certainly hypothermic and knocked out form of one of the members of Team H2O. Gen, if Sapphire remembered right. “Is it wrong if I say I wouldn’t mind if she was… eh, nah, that feels too meanspirited right now.”

“It would be very wrong, Sapphire. They’re… mean and very loud, but they’re still part of the Guild.” Irene stifled down the part of her that wanted some form of retribution for their first meeting with Team H2O. However, this was much too far. “Remember what Guildmaster Audino said? When you’re here, you’re family!” With forced cheer, Irene bobbed up into the air. “Even when they’re rude.”

“My family drove me to chug sleeping pills and down them with coke so,” Sapphire shrugged, grimacing wider. “I’m not exactly big on the concept of family. Well… whatever, let’s pull the idiot out of the ice and see if she’s still alive…”

And with that, Sapphire floated up alongside Iryne, running a handful of Fire over the frozen prison until she could grab the very end of Gen’s tail… and teleported just far enough to the side to completely free the encased Marill from her frozen prison. She paused, flipping the unconscious ‘mon over until she could actually put her ear up against Gen’s face and torso area. “... Oh my gods, she’s still breathing. And there’s a heartbeat. How? I swear that ice encased her whole fucking body!”

“What?” Irene zipped over, pressing her ear against Gen’s back. Sure enough, a steady heartbeat kept its rhythm, albeit a bit slower than it should have. “How is that possible? She had to be frozen for hours, maybe even a whole day. Even if she was a fire-type, being frozen solid should have done her in.” Irene drew back from the unconscious Marill and turned around toward the spike wall. “If she’s alive…”

“... There’s no guarantee those other ‘mon are too. But it’s worth checking anyway,” Sapphire mumbled, holding a handful of fire over Gen’s body to warm her up before gently shaking her. “Oi. Wake up. You alive in there? Wake up. Wake uuuuuuuup. C’mon, c’mon… don’t make me Dream Eater you to wake your ass up, I don’t have the TM for it!”

“Mm… Five more minutes, Di…” mumbled Gen as if they were being awakened from a light snooze instead of being pulled out of a frozen coffin.

“Oh for fuck- Wake up!” Sapphire finally shouted a little, smacking Gen on the forehead with a chop of her hand charged with just the tiniest jolt of Thunder Punch. “This is no place to be sleeping dammit! How the fuck are you alive and why were you halfway stuck in a wall!?”

“Yeeouch!” Gen waved her tiny nubbins to reach for the thumping red spot in the middle of her face. “What’s the bright idea, you little—uh… who the hell are you?” She twisted around in Sapphire’s grasp, looking around here. “Where’s that Baxcalibur? No, wait. Where the hell is my team!?”

“Baxcalibur?” Irene shook her head. “We’ll get back to that in a second. Gen, we’re Team Pyro. We were sent by Guildmaster Audino to find your team and rescue you guys, but we need to know how you survived being frozen. Was it a fluke?”

“And the fuck do you mea-” Sapphire paused, frowning as she held up Gen in her psychic grasp instead of actually cradling the smaller ‘mon in her arms. “... Actually nevermind, I look way different now. It’s Sapphire, the Ralts? Whatever. What Irene said. How did you survive, weren’t you entirely encased?”

“Was that all that happened to me?” Gen asked in return, completely unbothered by the concept. 

“What do you mean ‘Is that all that happened?’” Irene mocked. “You were frozen from head to tail. The ice was a foot thick all around you. Heck, it could’ve been over a day since you were frozen. By all means, you should be a popsicle!”

“Holy shit, were you always this loud? I thought you were the little bitch of the bunch,” groaned Gen. “It’s like you’ve never been frozen before. Guess that’s what I should expect from a newbie. Bet you haven’t even fought a dungeon boss yet.”

“I-I-Ugh! Shut up!” Irene shouted into the sky, barely holding back the urge to smack the Marill in the face. “We came here to save you and your jerk friends, you could at least say thank you. It’s not like we’re risking our health to go help a bunch of people we don’t like or anything.”

Gen looked between the Dratini and the odd-looking Gardevoir. “Nah, I’m good.”

“.... Right, well. In that case if you’re fine, I’m teleporting you back to Forest Town. Pray that my good mercy puts you on your ass in the street instead of halfway into a tree trunk,” Sapphire deadpanned, grabbing Gen by the top of her body once more as her eyes began glowing. “Because gods you’re such a bitch.” 

And without waiting for Gen to say anything else, Sapphire teleported Gen back to the edge of Forest Town before sighing and drifting back to the ground with a heavy sigh. “So. What do you think are the odds of at least one of the other assholes being stuck inside that mess? And… do you know what a Baxcalibur is?”

“My brain says a fully-evolved Dragon. My gut says they’re going to dropkick me if I step into the territory just because I’m a Dragon.” Irene looked down at herself and the mess of three species that she was. Then she blinked away that concern and up at Sapphire. “So I’d bet five Poké that one more is frozen somewhere.”

“... Right…” Sapphire paused, then turned and faced the weather station as a deafening roar seemed to shake the entire area, sending rocks and snow tumbling down the slopes as the ice crystals around them shattered from the sheer volume of the sound. “... Hm. How much you wanna bet that thing knows we’re here by now?”

She paused again, looking around as a thought occurred to her- turning to where the Snorunt had been, only to see little divots in the snow like footprints… leading back into the weather station. “... Aww fuck. Lil dude sold us out!”

Chapter Text

“... Hm. We are in… quite a pickle right now,” Sapphire mumbled, watching as the area around the weather station came alive with the sound and motion of various Ice type pokemon unearthing themselves and exiting the building- most of whom seemed quite cross about being there, and all of whom were a lot stronger than the average pokemon found down south near Summerleaf. “... There are a lot more pokemon here than I thought there’d be- are those kids too? Fuck, this really is just a really badly timed migration…”

“What are the chances they’ll be non-hostile?” Irene stared at the veritable horde, utterly transfixed the sheer number of them. “Because uh, I haven’t exactly tested how big I can make Twister and I don’t think ramming myself against a bunch of Ice pokémon is a good idea.”

“Considering they haven’t started firing on us yet, I think that they’re… definitely not happy to see us, but also… I don’t wanna start a fight and I really don’t wanna try anything right now,” Sapphire mumbled, wincing a little as she tried to cover Irene from getting hit if they did get attacked. “... Do you think we should retreat? We’re definitely strong but… I kinda feel bad just clearing this place out… and they’ve got way too many ‘mon here for us to fight all at once.”

“Definitely too many. Plus, that’s a lot of super effective moves that could hit me.” Irene shuddered at the mere idea. There were so many pokémon that it’d be impossible for her to dodge every single Ice Beam, or heavens forbid, Avalanche. “We should probably fly out and warn the others before they light the mountain on fire.”

“Right. Let’s do that,” Sapphire nodded, then grabbed Irene and teleported them up and away from the massive crowd of Ice types- coming to a halt in midair as they left the station behind and sighing in relief once they were fully out of range… eh. Hopefully. “Whoof… lucky they were just scoping us out instead of being actually pissed. Still a little mad that lil Snorunt sold us out, though… but I can’t say I’m surprised.”

“You are a bit intimidating, so I can’t blame them. Especially after Team H2O came by.” Despite being high up in the air, Irene kept close to Sapphire on the off chance an attack came flying at them. “If Gen is anything to go by, they’re not going to be friendly to us. Well, at least to all our Fire types. Maybe they’ll be fine with me and Nix.” She paused. “On second thought, Nix’s sheer aura of rage and frustration might incite a massacre.”

“... Wait, what do you mean I’m intimidating?” Sapphire asked, staring at Irene as if she couldn’t believe what she just heard. “I mean, yeah I’ve got a lot of really strong moves and all but how am I intimidating? I’m cute! Wednesday says so!”

“Wednesday thinks a genocidal maniac would be cute! She’s hardly the right frame of reference.” Irene gestured toward Sapphire’s odd mix of Gardevoir and Ceruledge that became an aesthetically pleasing and blatant reference. “Just look in a mirror. You’ve got that armor, your little trenchcoat has a fire pattern on it, your helmet/hair situation just screams fierce, not to mention your glowing eyes ! Frankly, it’s all… well, hot in a ‘She could kill me’ kind of way, you know?”

“I- wh-...” Sapphire paused, then looked down at herself in confusion as she actually examined herself for once. Hm. “... Okay, I think you may have a point there, but I’d also like to remind you that I’m not a very intimidating person in general! And it’s not like I chose this look in the first place!”

“Neither did I, but now I have six antennae.” She wiggled the little nubs on her head. “And sure, you’re not intimidating in general, but would you want to mess with someone who looks like an eldritch knight? Or someone who could telefrag you with a wave of her hand?”

Sapphire sighed, shaking her head and slumping in midair. “... Ugh… fair point… still not used to thinking of myself as intimidating, just… tall, I guess? I mean, I was literally a foot tall until like two days ago. And adorable. Actually adorable, not Wednesday adorable.”

“No arguments there. We were all perfect to model plushies after when we first got here.” Irene thought back to the day they woke up on the beach. A rather hectic day all things considered but somehow the least agonizing day for their entire team. “...didn’t you murder like seven Poochyena on our first day?”

“That was self defense! They were trying to eat me!” Sapphire complained, burying her face in her hands and sort of folding herself into a fetal position as if it would actually hide her from sight. In midair. With nothing for hundreds of meters around. “I didn’t wanna! They just started barking and biting and it was really stressful, okay?”

“Sorry, sorry.” Irene hovered around, unsure of how to approach Sapphire. “Just… half the things you do scare me and the other half are everyday things. Same goes for most of the team, really,” she mumbled before shaking her head. “Anyway, uh, you’re hot? I can’t say adorable in good conscience, but you’re hot and not in the Fire type pun way. I’m sure Wednesday appreciates everything about you.”

“Guh… thanks,” Sapphire mumbled, uncurling slightly and lowering her hands to expose the fact that she’s violently blushing. “I dunno… bleh. This week has been so weird… I almost died a few times, I evolved twice in a cave… I’m a quarter Ghost type now and probably biologically dead… and now we’re rescuing a bunch of assholes from their own stupid decisions on a mountain where you’ll probably get knocked out immediately if you get hit by an Ice type move. Maybe we should take a breather or something after this. Spend a week doing jack shit except the really easy jobs? Or two. Three weeks.”

“Probably for the best, but with everyone’s luck, a D-rank mission will probably become an A-rank mission just by their presence alone. Except for me, I think? Argo’s first job seemed fine but definitely wasn’t what was on the quest list.” Irene blinked a few times, letting that information sink in. “Was I really the only one who had a mission go as it was supposed to?”

“Apparently! My first mission resulted in me getting chased by a pack of Poochyena and then almost getting my head bit off by a Mightyena!” Sapphire groaned, rubbing her neck uncomfortably at the reminder of what had happened literally four days ago. “Bleh… that was… wow that was not a good time. And the second mission was worse. How the fuck have I only done two missions as part of an Explorer team and yet I’ve already almost died like twelve times in four days? Fucking annoying, man… a-anyway. We should probably search around the slopes, see if the rest of Team H2O is around… or something. Maybe they’re frozen too?”

“Hopefully being frozen alive doesn’t even make them blink. Probably won’t make them more tolerable, but it’s better than finding them unconscious in a ditch.” Irene looked down at the climate center and the horde of Ice pokémon still passing through it. “And yeah, checking out the slopes sounds good to me. I’m perfectly fine with never coming back here so long as this is happening.”

“Great- great… Um…” Sapphire hummed, looking down at the paths down to the base camp below with a keen eye. “Well, there’s at least three paths here and I’m not entirely sure if we’ll find anyone, especially with all these trees and boulders and there’s no guarantee one of our merry band of assholes hasn’t like… frozen themselves in a lake or something… Mmm… And we can at least assume there’s one other idiot in the weather station itself… do you think we should do a flyover, see if we can’t see anything from above?”

“Maybe? We’re the only ones who could get a bird’s eye view, but how are we supposed to tell apart a frozen wild pokémon and a jerk-cicle?” Irene tugged on her scarf, adjusting it so the free-flowing fabric was away from her face. “Maybe we can find that Baxcalibur Snorunt was talking about. Learn where to avoid and all that.”

“Mmm… maybe? But I get the feeling that Baxcalibur won’t be happy to see us considering… everything,” Sapphire shrugged, peering down at the trails below and pursing her lips. “Mmm…. If we find any frozen ‘mon away from the station, should be fine to let ‘em go as long as they don’t charge back up and try to fight. I dunno, how smart do you think wild Rock types are?”

“Smart enough to know to run away from Ice types, but dumb enough that they still might try and fight if they don’t see the entire horde.” Irene drifted toward the farthest slope from Forest Town. With any good luck, their teammates wouldn’t have somehow found themselves on the opposite side of the mountain from where they started. “So conserve your strength, I guess? We have four bad luck magnets on the same mission and are bound to fight that Baxcalibur one way or another. Really, it’s just a question of who’s gonna get the final blow. Personally, I’m betting on you doing some big dramatic kick.”

“Honestly? That’d be super cool if I could end this whole thing with a Rider Kick,” Sapphire mumbled, slowly following along with Irene as she hummed in thought. “But whoever gets it, gets it. Maybe Argo’ll do it. She’s got some cool stuff to show off, I think… um… hm… Wait… uh… Hey, Irene?”

“What’s up?” Irene twisted around, tossing globs of slime toward the ground with the swift movement. “You spot something?”

“I think so? I swear I just saw something pink stuck in that… big… ice formation over there…” Sapphire paused and drifted down slightly, peering at what looked like a big V-shaped hunk of ice not half a kilometer from the weather station, shaped in such a way that it was clearly the remnant of a powerful beam attack. Whatever did it must have been strong to leave such a clear indicator of frost on the ground, plus the actual starburst pattern of the impact. Though… it seemed like whatever it had hit… its actual target was long gone, given the footprints in the snow leading off and then vanishing once the snow became rock and dirt. “... I have kinda a bad feeling about whatever the hell did this. Maybe it’s my Ghost half resonating weird with time but something tells me that I’m not gonna like what we’re about to hear in a few minutes.”

“You and me both.” Irene followed behind with a wary eye. Whatever created that much ice would most certainly knock her out with a single Ice attack, no matter which one. “Every Dragon instinct inside me is screaming to run away while I still can. It’s… kinda dizzying.” She shook her head. “Should we fly slowly or teleport closer?”

“... I think we should fly slowly, keep an eye out. Don’t wanna drop into an ambush or something,” Sapphire shook her head, slowly descending towards the ground below with a sort of trepidation in her movements, psychic energy flaring out of her as she tried to sense anything that could attack them. Finding nothing, she descended a little faster with a nod. “I think we’re okay for now. I can’t sense anyone else around us… so… unless there’s a Dark type around, we should be fine.”

Irene followed her teammate while focusing on the twitching of her longer antennae. They fluttered with the wind, following its flow. “Shout and I’ll take any Dark type as far as I can. One Extreme Speed ought to bring me back to Forest Town with one.” Not that she could see any such Dark types, but the point stood. “Now, hopefully no one’s stuck in—Pink floaty thing!” In a blue blur, Irene flew toward the giant hunk of ice.

Stuck at the bottom of the V-shape, Hydro was frozen solid with her mouth left agape. Whatever pokémon attacked her had shot her face-first with their attack. Behind Hydro, a chunk of ice had been ripped out around her head and neck as if something had been purposely pulled out from there. Yet whatever that was couldn’t have been the gear on her. She still had pouches strapped to half her tentacles, all of which were full.

“Sapphire! You’ve gotta do the thing. Fire. Unfreeze her. Hurry!” Irene frantically slithered around, trying to find any gap where she could pull out ice or do anything to help. Without any Fire type moves or any solid limbs, she couldn’t do much without resorting to bashing herself into the giant ice sculpture.

“Huh- shit, yeah yeah, one sec, one sec!” Sapphire sort of yelped, scurrying over quickly before quickly blasting the entire mess of ice with Mystical Fire- doing her best to control it for a slow, even thawing without overmelting one area or another. She swept her flames from top to bottom, turning ice to water and water to steam until the Frillish trapped inside the ice could be pulled free without hurting her. “There- whew… I think she’s good… I don’t know if Frillish have hearts or breathe but I can still sense a mind now that the ice is gone. She’ll… she’s alive, at least.”

Irene hefted the admittedly light body of the Frillish, her tail wrapped under a few tentacles. “Oh thank goodness. Hydro is the only member of Team H2O I can stand. If she was gone when the other jerks weren’t, I’d go find whoever Arceus is and demand a refund.” Drifting around, Irene adjusted her grip to ensure Hydro wasn’t going to slip out. “Now, should we wake her up or do you want to teleport her back to town?”

“I think we should wake her up, make sure she’s not injured- she might be hurt worse than Gen was, if the ice burn I can see on her tendrils is any indication…” Sapphire mumbled, pulling out a few bits and bobs from her pouch before reaching over and gently jostling the Frillish with one arm. “Hydro. Hydro- wake up. Wake up, wake uuuuppp….”

Hydro groaned, head rolling around until she made eye contact with Sapphire. “Woah, hey scary lady. What’s… going on? Where’s Mon? He okay?” She looked behind her where a faint amount of tracks lead away from them. “Oh…”

“Is that bad ‘Oh’ or a good ‘Oh?’ Because that really sounded like a bad ‘Oh’ and I know that Nix is looking for a chance to beat Mon up.” Irene loosened her grip on Hydro, but kept pulling up the Frillish just in case.

“Nah, it’s all good. I’m just glad he didn’t get caught in that attack, ya know?” Hydro winced when she moved her tentacles. “Could’ve done without being used as a shield, but that’s just life with Di and Mon. Some cutthroat dicks, but they’re the heavy hitters. It’s my job to keep them standing or whatever.” Rubbing her tentacles together, Hydro fluttered up a bit, trying to support herself. “So I recognize Irene. That must mean you’re Sapphire, right? Talk about a glow up. Leave for a week and you’re looking like the queen of Kalos.”

“Uh- thanks? Heh… I did get kind of a glow up- wait,” Sapphire paused in the middle of her awkward chuckle, staring at Hydro with a slowly mounting sense of horror. “He used you as a shield!? Why!? Teammates aren’t supposed to do that! That’s in the Guild charter! Teammates take care of each other, dammit! That’s it- the moment I find that bastard I’m putting a Thunder Punch straight up his stupid swirly patterned asshole!”

She paused, then sighed a little as her instinctive rage fled her the moment she saw Hydro wincing again- turning and instead throwing a Heal Pulse at the Frillish before holding out a handful of mixed dried Aspear and Oran berries. “... Here. Take these and eat them. They’ll help with the frostburn. Do you have any other supplies on you that you can use to get back down to Forest Town?”

“Got a few wands from other dungeons.” Hydro tossed the berries into her mouth, munching on them quickly. “Ooh, now that’s the good stuff! Yeah, I’ll be good to get back on my own. Got enough wands to avoid any fights.” For emphasis, Hydro reached into one of the small pouches strapped to her and pulled out a wooden staff half her size. “I’m guessin’ that your team got assigned rescue duty?”

Irene nodded. “We’ve already saved Gen and sent her back to Forest Town. The rest of our team are looking out for your allies too, so unless someone died before we got here, you’ll all be reunited by the end of the day.”

“Gen was also super bitchy about being rescued,” Sapphire cut in dryly, then shrugged a little. “Anyway uh… do you wanna fly back on your own or would you rather be teleported? It’s kinda cold and the weather seems like it might take a turn for the worse in a few hours… don’t really like the look of those clouds up there…”

Hydro looked up toward the thick snow traveling down the mountain. “I can phase through any weather, but if it ain’t a problem, being teleported would be sublime.”

“Right. One to Forest Town. Beaming up now,” Sapphire nodded, patting Hydro on the tentacle and sending her back to Forest Town with a little flash of light and a pop of air. “Well. That’s two down. I think we’re doing great with this whole rescue thing! And I haven’t had to panic fry anything that tried ripping my throat out yet!”

“Thank goodness for that. I would really rather avoid any fighting while we can. You’re strong and all, but I’d rather not see just how strong you are now. That forest fire yesterday was enough for me.” Irene shivered at the thought, only compounded by the cold. “Hopefully everyone else is having an easy time with this.”

Sapphire huffed. “Knowing them? Something’s probably already on fire.”

Chapter Text

Chapter 43: Arc 4: Rising Storm, Chapter 5: Rescue Team Pyro. (Gin 6)

The encampment was unsurprisingly abandoned by the time the team arrived. Remains of a fire stood against the ever growing cold of the mountain, old tents that were patched with care only made the scene more haunting. Gin tried to smell any traces of the team, but the abandoned building only smelled of dust and snow, he sneezed and frowned. Flicking a small wisp of fire toward the campfire itself he asked Argo, “See anything like a map? Or something that tells us where they could've headed?”

“Anything that could tell us that is buried under the snow.” Argo sent up a ball of fire, burning bright, and warm, like a second sun. “Let’s check the buildings down here first. I think I see a cabin or something over that way.” She pointed at a vaguely dark shape only visible because of the fire driving back the snow.

“Got it.” Gin replied heading towards the cabin, what made him nervous was the lack of pokémon in the area. It was too quiet for his liking and the fur on his back was beginning to stand on its end. “Really wish I could see imprints of the past or something right about now. Would make things easier.” He muttered to himself as he reached the door, gently opening it with a loud creak he found an abandoned cabin, though one with foot prints of various pokémon in it. Discarded food laid near a trash can, some old looking equipment shone as a flame floated above it.

“I might be getting glimpses of the future, but I’d need to set something big on fire to get anything out of it. Not to mention how wobbly the future is.” Argo sent a few more orbs of fire into the cabin revealing the entire space. “Was this a half business or something?” One of the orbs of fire sparked, the brief burst of light illuminating a counter much like those in almost every cafe ever. “Definitely a takeout counter or something here.”

“Wonder if there's something left here…” Gin mused as he leapt on top of the counter, the cashier was empty, the drawers as well and beside the odd paw print there were no signs of anything being left. Glancing to the side he saw some old ceramic mugs with logos on it, part of him wondered if there was still coffee in the shop. “Well someone was here a while back, but I'm no expert on prints, so I can't say if it was H2O or a wild pokémon.” He reported leaping off of the counter.

“Could be both. Who knows how long this place has been abandoned.” Argo pointed at some of the bags behind the counter. “Don't think many Pokémon are into coffee.” She pulled her hand back with a shrug. “Should probably grab those on the way out if we can. For now let's check the back and then the tents. Everyone else has been left unattended for five minutes. So they should be fighting for their lives and we'll need to make sure to be somewhere where we can hear the explosions and screaming.”

“We're…” Gin began to try and defend their recent encounters, before remembering that they literally have been fighting for their lives over the last few days. Sighing, he grabbed the bags and placed them in his backpack. “Okay, good point. We should probably be prepared for a legendary to attack us since our collective luck is focused on one location.” 

“It'll probably be an asshole messing with the legendaries stuff or something. It's very rarely actually the legendary wrecking shit.” Argo stepped over the door toward whatever backroom this place had. A quick test showed it was unlocked, and it swung forward without any issues. “Huh. None of H2O are back here.” Argo stepped backwards and promptly made a spirited attempt to set the other room on fire. “Apparently Cryogonal have teeth. Or maybe that's just how water freezes in their mouth.”

Seeing the ice melt, Gin entered the room and began to dry it rapidly. “Fair point, you think Giovanni or someone like him is still alive to mess with the legendaries?” Gin asked, looking over the remains of the office space in the back room. “Or maybe someone annoyed a legendary pokémon accidentally? I hope it's more of the latter than the former. An accident can be explained, but willingly messing with a legendary is a death sentence.” He still couldn't pick up a scent or anything that might've belonged to the other team.

“Maybe. I wouldn't put it past them to have some sort of bullshit immortality thing.” Argo stepped in behind Gin and burned a piece of ice that looked a little too animated. “Be careful, might be more Cryogonal about.”

“Got it Boss.” Gin replied, as he headed back out of the room. His wisps of flame dancing around him and flying towards patches of ice. The flames shimmered and yet no movement was seen, as he looked in the direction of the exit he saw that the door had been frozen shut. “Motherfu-” was all Gin managed to curse out as Icy Wind was launched from above him. He managed to barely dodged the blow as it grazed his fur and launched a few Embers in retaliation.

“We probably should have planned for that.” Argo waved a hand and fire sprouted from it. It arced through the air, twisting about itself for a second before accelerating straight toward the enemy Pokémon. “Though I didn't expect the wild mon to be smart enough to block the exit while simultaneously stupid enough to box themselves in with two Fire types.” An Icy Wind shot toward her and was burned out of the air with a frown and a burst of blue fire.

Gin's eyes glowed red as Disable took hold and the Cryogonal let out a surprised cry. More embers crashed into it as it fell into the ground, beginning to melt. “Yeah, I don’t like this.” He grumbled, summoning more Embers that floated above him, fully expecting an ambush the moment they opened the way outside. “I sure hope H2O appreciates the effort we're putting into cleaning up after them.” Gin snarked, as tension began to leave his body in preparation for the battle.

“They might, might not. All I know is we're holding this over their heads for the rest of time.” Argo flicked a hand toward the iced over doorway and started melting a way out. “Let's check the tents and then head inside. Wouldn't want to miss someone would we?”

“Let’s.” Gin replied smiling, with a wave of Psychic Energy the door opened and revealed several Cryogonal, floating around. Icy Wind met a hail of embers as Gin began blasting them immediately. He didn't want to get ambushed again, so he rushed out to act as bait, trusting Argo to cover him.

Argo didn't respond. She only let more Fire burn into the air. It shifted and moved, often jerkily, but enough to avoid or move around what defenses the Cryogonal attempted. If it didn't simply overwhelm them with more fire than they could handle. She barely moved from her position in front of the door, a sword of some sort flared in one hand to eliminate any attack that was sent at her before flickering out.

The battle, if it could be called that, lasted barely more than a few minutes. Overwhelming firepower tore through the attempted ambush, the Cryogonals tried their best, but they couldn't match the intensity of the flames. Wet slush was all that was left from the snowy field. Gin felt pity for them, however time was not on his side; he reminded himself he could feel pity later, first he needed to find the other team.

“That was easier than expected. Got into a bit of a flow state there. Almost could just… read what they were going to do in the fire?” Argo shook her head and stepped forward. “Whatever. To the tents!”

“Right… Let me do something first. Cause I'm getting tired of getting ambushed every time I go out.” Gin said, shaking his head, “Shadow Clone Jutsu!” Several clones jumped out of thin air and ran towards the tents, none popped before being dismissed. “So either my clones have the best luck in the world or there are no more traps or ambushes in that direction.” Gin mentioned, walking towards the tents in the distance, a leppa berry slipping out of his backpack and into his mouth, he reasoned it was better to restore some energy now rather than later.

“Huh. Neat. Very neat.” Argo walked alongside Gin. “Interesting way to use that. Though I think you might not want to use it when any of the Froakie line are around. They will definitely give you a CnD.”

“It's a work in progress, they're… incomplete. Can only get flashes of what happened and give basic orders like attack this, or walk there. So they're not true shadow clones yet. Plus they don't own the ninja shtick!” Gin grinned as he imagined a pokemon court proceeding. “So… We can definitely say they never came back here. Or at least they still haven't arrived. Unless they're hiding in a hole somewhere, I think we can call this area clear.” Gin mentioned sitting next to the tents.

“I’d think they’re a bit too proud to hide in a hole… though,” Argo let the fire grow larger, “I think we might need to step carefully.” A flick had a flame burn directly in front of her feet, burning away slush to reveal what once might have been a latrine. “Even without actual traps there are still plenty of reasons to dig holes. Which may be dangerous when they aren’t kept marked and clear.”

“Too true.” Gin agreed, remembering falling down a hole a few times, “Not really fun when you can't climb out of a trap hole… Actually, do you think they made a secret base or something?” 

“No, that's a Sinnoh thing.” Argo swept a flame in front of them as they walked. It made the path wet and generally slightly more miserable but also kept them from falling into any pits. “Can any of them even learn Dig? Though if they were running one of them might’ve tried it.”

“I'm pretty sure Frosty… Actually what the hell was that bastard's name? Wait, no, nevermind doesn't matter. The Alolan Vulpix can learn dig just like me” Gin recalled some of his old pokemon experiences. “But you're right that it's a Sinnoh thing. Still it would be cool to make a secret base one day.”

“I’d call him Snow Miser but that guy had class.” Argo looked up at the climate center. “Well… I don’t think there are any new holes. Yet.” She let the silence linger for a moment. “Let’s check around the outside a bit. See if there's a back way in. Or if someone jumped out a window or something.”

Gin was about to agree when he heard a cry, it was faint, but it definitely sounded not like a wild pokémon. “Hey… Am I imagining things, or did you also hear something?” Gin asked, closing his eyes and focusing his hearing. It sounded nearby, within a few dozen meters, at the very least.

“Alright, Lassie, show me the way.” Argo frowned. “Fuck, was it Lassie? I don’t think it was Lassie…”

“Hey! I resemble that remark.” Gin joked in good humor despite the nagging feeling in his gut. Following his ears he led Argo down an unmarked trail, deeper into the mountain. Every step only made the sound grow louder until…

“FUCKING HOLE!” A familiar voice screamed nearby. “Of course I had to fall into one! Couldn't have been someone like Oxide with thumbs. Shit where's Hydro? Or anyone…” The voice trailed off, lamenting their situation growing more hoarse by the complaint.

“I need to get a hat.” Argo walked up to the edge of the pit and nodded at the Alolan Vulpix trapped inside. “‘Sup. Jesusmon here to take your confession.”

“Oh sweet Arceus, no…” They complained as they recognized Argo, their eyes looked up and saw Gin, “What the hell is a weakling like you do here?”

“Saving your incompetent ass, cousin Frosty the snow bitch.” Gin snarked, “So care to tell us what happened?”

“First off, burnt stick. My name is Chill.” The Vulpix introduced themselves, “Second I'm not your cousin. And third, we have a problem.” Chill confessed, waiting for a rope or something to be thrown down so they could be lifted out. Or climb out by themselves.

“We usually have a problem. The answer is generally extreme violence.” Argo looked into the sky. “Papa Doomguy would be proud.”

Chapter Text

“So…You want to provide context for why we got stuck doing detective work on where these dumbasses might be? Because, let me tell you, tracking shit in snow is a coin toss.” Tenaz hopped up again, flaring out more and more fire to melt the snow around him so he wouldn't sink below the surface.

“Well, for one, we pulled sticks.” Nix held up two sticks, already covered in frost. “And two, we chose to go this direction. Whiiiiich is proving to have probably been a mistake. The snow and ice on this side is way worse over here, shoulda sent Sapphire.”

“And what would she even do here? Sense out paw imprints? Slaughter another family of five thrice over? She's clever, don't get me wrong, but this requires precision. We need a scalpel, not a crate of dynamite.”

Nix stepped a little closer to the billowing flames. “Well, for Three, she could do that. She’s a Gardevoir, the entire line is sensitive to emotions. Panic, Fear, Anger, Mild Annoyance, Hangry, all that jazz. Considering we’re somewhat near where that nice family of Diglets saw Mon and Hydro last, it’d be easy to pick up the scent of Motherfucker and… eh, Hydro’s nice, I won’t insult her.” He scratched at his ear, plucking snowflakes off the fluff. “Also, she’s over 5 feet.”

“With legs like cinnamon sticks. …Oh shit, yeah, she can levitate, right? That…Fuck, there goes my next comment. Just takes the wind right out of my sails.” Tenaz muttered, spitting a small flame out beside the duo, the flame slowly taking a purple hue and staying put. “Whatever. I'm sure we can do this shit on our own just fine.”

Turning to the faint shadow of the Weather Station, Nix raised a brow. “I appreciate the confidence.”

“Well, fucking…One of us has to be! Overconfidence may be a slow and insidious killer, but a weak will can bury you just as easily!” Tenaz barked, puffing out smoke from his nostril and trucking through another light patch of powdery snow.

“Honestly, I’m just down because I lost feeling in my ass 30 minutes ago. Seriously, it’s fucking, what, Spring? Why the hell is it Antarctic level cold? Also, rude.” Nix stretched an arm out to get the blood flowing again, before sneaking a small glance around and tapping into his Energy. The frost that Tenaz’s fire failed to reach melted off of his side as cinders wafted off of him.

“One, it's a mountain. Unless it's Summer, a mountain stays cold. Two, we're on the windswept side of said mountain. An entire hemisphere's worth of wind rushes here and stops here. The other side is more than likely quite dry and notably not as cold.”

Nix rolled his eyes. “Contrarian.” Looking a little closer, one of the Weather Station remote buildings was in better view. He whistled. “Damn, this place has seen better days. I thought these things were built for weather like this, the whole damn roof is caved in.”

Tenaz hums, furrowing his brow at the condition. “...That shouldn't be possible. Look at the walls. Most are fine, which shouldn't be the case if the ceiling collapsed. Should've taken most of the supporting walls with it.”

“Someone either blew it Out, or dropped Into it.” Nix murmured. “Here’s hoping those dumbfucks at H20 (except Hydro) didn’t become either a rocket or a meteor.”

“Huh.” Tenaz looked back at Nix, lips drawn thin. “I just felt the weirdest urge to say something about that, but I can't quite tell what I'm meant to say. Just that I should have a response to that.”

“Weird.” The Weather Station’s remote building was fully in view now, and the roof wasn’t the only fucked up part it seemed. The walls had ice crystals piercing it, some giant ass cubes resting outside of it, and what looked like frozen bodies. “Mmmmmm, that’s not good. These Pokemon don’t look like they were frozen by an Ice attack, it’s way too loose and messy. And the way some of these spikes look… I think these guys got hit with a Water attack.”

“Splash patterns, white ice, fresh powdered snow interspersed with compact.” Tenaz listed off each and every thing of note he saw, pointing it out. Well, as best he could without hands, of course. “Fight was days ago, yeah. But the new snow implies something has been back and forth from the station to… Somewhere else, I guess.”

“Want to try defrosting one of them, see if we can get some info or… at least to see if they somehow, through some Arceus Damned Miracle, they’re still alive?” Nix gave the Pokemon a weary gaze.

“...No. Even if they were still alive, I doubt they'd be conscious, let alone aware enough to answer questions. We don't have the supplies to care for someone who's that injured. We could… I could leave an Ember behind? Make sure to have the team or someone else pick them up for medical care? Or uh…Or for burial.”

Nix’s gaze fell, instead dashing his paws into his cloak to grab a map he nabbed on the way out. With a spare red pen, he noted out the location with as many red circles and exclamation marks he could. Underneath, he wrote ‘EMERGENCY MEDICAL’ before stashing it away. He gave the frozen Pokemon a final glance, before walking to the entrance. “Let's see if we can find our targets…”

His gaze tightened, though. “I’m hoping the nagging feeling I’m getting isn’t right.”

Tenaz snorted, nudging Nix with right nub. “Nice try, but this entire little trek of ours screams something isn't right. Arceus knows how bad my luck is when it comes to shit like this. Sorry you've gotta be around me when it comes down to it.”

“Eh, it could be worse. I think this is the first conversation we’ve actually had before.” Nix scratched at his eye. “Could be better, could be worse. That’s life.”

“Right, right. I've been…I don't have a reason this time around, actually. I guess I've been ignoring the whole social aspect of being a part of a team, huh?” Tenaz sighed, sneezing a small cloud of smog as another strong gust of wind blew up and passed them both. “S-Son of a bitch!”

Nix damn near lost his breath as the wind passed by, chilling him to the bone. The cinders he formed earlier died, but with a snarl they were forced back to life, now covering a more significant amount of his body.

“Fuck cold! Just…Fuck cold as a concept!” Tenaz sucked in the frigid air, steam rising up from his fur as he tried to physically shake off the chill. “You good Nix? Need to warm up? Pretty sure I can prevent myself from setting you on fire.”

Shaking the sudden frost build-up off, Nix gave Tenaz a smirk. “I think I got it, at least until we get inside, it should be warmer there. Well, at least safer from the wind. Speaking of, let’s haul ass before mine falls off.”

Tenaz rolled his eyes at the smirk, marching forward with a renewed determination. “Yeah, yeah, c'mon then pretty boy, let's get you somewhere nice and warm.”

“Call me pretty boy again and I’m putting a Thunder Punch directly into your ass.”

“Hey! Keep your fetishes to yourself, yeah? You're cute, but not that cute, alright? I have standards.”

The inside of the remote station looked just as ass as the outside, but it was less cold, so that was a bonus. What wasn’t, was the trail of frozen puddles, a handful of pokemon, and equipment. Books, radar scans, computers, at least the ones that weren’t already fried, it was all fucked. Thankfully, that wasn’t their job to worry about. “Man, we definitely have to be on H20’s tail by now.” Nix muttered.

“What a disaster. This entire place looks like a fucking death trap with each and every room.” Tenaz hisses, scanning around the both of them again and again, paranoia flaring back up in the recesses of the Cyndaquil’s mind.

“That it does. Or perhaps, a murder mystery. Look over here, a trail. Water, hasn’t fully frozen over yet. Whoever’s been using these attacks isn’t far away.”

“Sloppy. Either they're exhausted, they're injured, or they're dead. I'm hoping exhausted but I'm expecting dead.”

“Well, whichever, whatever, they’re not going to have a good time when we- Hey, they left someone not fully frozen!” Nix rushed into a side room, the cinders on his body intensifying as he came across some poor Pokemon, their legs frozen solid. Their upper body was soaking wet, but not frozen. A Marked Zoroark. “Wait a minute, aren’t you from Pathos’s village?”

“Sweet Mew, I…’ Tenaz stopped, and slowly rotated himself using the back of his paws. ‘You know this poor sap?”

“Not really. In the ruins of Summerleaf West, there’s a village way down, at the bottom of the place, there’s a village of Zoroark and Zorua, led by a retired Rescue Team Leader, Pathos.” Nix explained, getting closer to the half-frozen Pokemon to help try and dry them. “Why are you up here?”

The Zoroark shivered, leaning down as far as they could to the burning bunny. “P-P-P-Pathos sent me, t-t-to check in on an old f-friend.” She stuttered, steam now rolling off of her fur. “I heard s-some noise d-down here, and went to investing-gate, when someone hit me with some w-water, and froze me here.” The Zoroark pointed to an ajar door, snow building up by it. “H-he attacked me out there, and I managed to get th-this far before getting s-stuck.”

“Once again, whoever this mystery ‘mon is is sloppy, but not likely to be injured. More points towards exhaustion or death, but nothing concrete.” Tenaz sneered at the shoddy attack patterns and torn apart room. “Hey, Zoroark. If I defrost you, do you think you'll be fine here long enough to rest and then get back home?”

She nodded after some consideration. “I-I’ve only been here for a few minutes.”

Nix regarded the path of snow as Tenaz got closer. “Any clue who attacked you?” The Zoroark shook her head.

“N-No, but I think he w-wasn’t aiming to kill. I th-think he was using us as Distrac-c-tions.”

Tenaz stopped, sneer fading into a snarl as he glared at the path of half-frozen Water attacks yet again. “Coward. These people aren't victims or targets. They're fucking meatshields. Accidental bait to keep our guy alive.”

Nix glared. “If he’s alive, I’m putting a Thunder Punch into his throat.”

“If you think you're getting the first shot at him, fight me for it.” Tenaz snarked back, waddling up to the Zoroark and sitting with his back to her frozen legs, letting his fire lick away at the ice in his stead. “There. Nice and slow so you don't get a shock and we have to cut a leg to keep you alive.”

The Zoroark flinched, but smiled. “Th-thank you.”

Nix nodded and returned the smile. “Tell Pathos I said hi.” The smile faded as he turned to the door. Whoever was running for their life better have prayed today.

“...She seemed nice. Pretty in a painting's pretty way, too.” Tenaz hummed, sucking in more air to distract himself from a bubbling rage beneath the surface at the transgressions inflicted on everyone the duo had come across at this point.

“The local Zoroark and Zorua community are surprisingly nice around here. I really need to go back to the village, they had some nice sandwiches.” Nix scratched his eye. “Wish I didn’t get blood all over mine.”

“Really? I'll have to keep that in mind. Learning how to cook has been a casual thought in my head for a while now. Maybe it's something old Tenaz used to do?” The Cyndaquil muttered, introspection taking over for a fleeting series of moments. “Ah, fuck, getting side tracked! We have a coward to crucify! …I mean we have a Pokémon to rescue. Yes. Rescue.”

“Rescue may or may not be in a few extra pieces though… Hey, this snow is freshly moved, I think we’re close.” Nix ran a claw through it. “Really thin, too. Fat fucker came through, probably Mon.”

“Oh joy. Y'know, maybe he'll be collapsed in the snow and we can just leave him and say he's dead. By the time we get back, it'll certainly be true. A craven tactic, yeah, but we won't be liars!”

Nix glared sharply at Tenaz. “No. If he’s alive, we’re dragging him back Screaming. If even one of those Pokemon died being frozen, we’ll let the Families and Friends have their time.”

Tenaz looked back at Nix, nodding along. “Very fair, very fair indeed. We weren't opposed to taking him back, just…Laying down the noteworthy option of letting Mother Nature take justice in our stead.”

Speaking of Mother Nature’s justice, the trail began becoming looser and looser, more visible footsteps rather than trails of half-buried marks. In the distance, the Duo could just make out a roundish shadow, stumbling over his own feet. Even from here, Nix could recognize Mon’s Arceus Damned design. “Put the heat on slow, I’d rather he spilled the beans himself first.”

Tenaz cackled, spitting out two Embers on either side of Mon. “Gladly. Let's watch the coward choke on fear. I'd take bets on what he'll say, but I don't bet on lost causes.”

Mon swung around to the fire in a panic, visibly glowing with energy. The moment he spotted the two Pyro members, his fear became anger. “Ah, Team Pyro, the pissants. I assume that idiot Guild Master sent you to try and find us?”

Tenaz paused, weighing his options for how to respond to the audacious question. Instead, he began to cackle even louder, wheezing and snorting wildly as he stippy-stomped in a circle. “I can't! I fucking can't with these clowns!”

Mon growled. “Who in the good name of the Mon Family are you calling a Clown, Weakling?!”

“You.” Nix did not growl. His voice was kept a lot straighter than Tenaz’s, but carried an inflection that, to anyone actually paying attention, would have worried them. “Step closer to the fire, Mon. You must be Freezing.”

Tenaz sighed, wiping away several tears in his eyes as he nudged the fires closer to the Poliwrath as the fat frog moved towards them in painstakingly slow steps. “C'mon topsy-turvy. Move faster. My partner is patient. I'm not.”

Mon rolled his eyes and hurried up, visibly relaxing in the fires glow. He failed to notice Nix waving to Tenaz, lowering his paw. Let it weaken. “I’ll have you know, I’ve been freezing half to death for hours now. No thanks to my teammates, the pathetic cowards they are.”

“And where are they now?” Nix hummed, stepping closer. Mon simply shrugged, though his eyes did dart to the mountainside.

“We split apart after getting here, after we were ganged up on by some of those Disgusting ferals.”

Tenaz let out a scoff at the insult, sitting closer to Mon so he wouldn't quite notice the dimming warmth as one Ember faded away and the other grew weaker with every breeze passing by. “Hardly. Any creature that can kill you just as easily as you can kill it deserves respect, begrudging or otherwise.”

The mention of killing got the Poliwrath squirming in his skin, leaning closer to the dying flame. “A-as if! I’m the greatest fighter in the land, not one brain dead freak on this mountain could even bother me.”

Nix stepped closer. “So, speaking of teams, we saw two trails connected to yours by the Remote Station. Who was following you?”

Mon went pale, eyes darting about. “I-I don’t know what you’re on about. I went alone.”

“Strike two, Mon. Both Nix and I saw the trails. Are you calling us liars, Mon? Because that's not very nice, y'know.” Tenaz hissed the last sentence, eyes gleaming a far more toxic shade of green in the fading fire.

“What was the status of your team before splitting off?”

Mon rolled a shoulder and hissed. “Di, the arrogant idiot, fucked off first to the primary Weather Station, lost track of Gen and Oxide after that, and last I heard, Chill screamed something about a hole.”

Nix’s glare sharpened. He was with Hydro.

“Huh. Hey Nix, that's five names, right? And aren't teams made up of six people? Now, I don't want to question Mon’s abilities at basic arithmetic, but it sounds like he forgot someone.” Tenaz grinned at Nix, his tone akin to the tone of a bemused yet still oh so very condescending teacher.

Small sparks licked at Nix’s fur. “Where Is Hydro.”

Mon went pale, dashing his gaze back up the mountain. “She-” He gulped. “Oh, alas, poor Hydro took the fall for me, and saved me from a horrible Ice Attack.”