Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Hands of Creation

Special Episode 11 - Dark Radiance

The bruises still hurt, though.

"Aaaaah!"

"Quit screaming!" Xander spat. "Bite! Keep biting!"

They nipped at Mother's shoulders, trying to force her to let go, but they were already ascending. When they let go to get a firmer grip, she abruptly released them, and they were free-falling toward the ground, ocean air drowning out all other sounds and smells.

They were running out of time to steady their descent. Suddenly, though, they were caught by Mother again, and their crash instead became a harsh stop. Then, their paws touched sandy soil, and Alex heaved a sigh of relief.

"Ugh... lost again," muttered Xander.

"You did very well that time," Mother said gently. "Come, let's recuperate over some lunch."

"We've only been training for a few hours, though," Xander said. "At this rate, we aren't gonna evolve until we're, like, thirty..."

"Oh, don't say that. You're so close!" Mother giggled, patting them both on the head. "Besides, you shouldn't be in such a rush to evolve. You two need to reconcile first."

Alex huffed. "You speak as if it's so easy..."

"Well... I'm sure it isn't. That's true... But all the more reason to spend more time, yes? Compared to being a Deino, you don't have as much time as a Zweilous to get your heads in order. That much I know."

They both sighed. "Yes, Mother..."

"Now, let's get breakfast! I want to check on the egg, anyway."

"Right..." They started walking back, Mother drifting near them with a little humming tune.

It was still going to be a long walk.

"You seem lost in thought," Mother said.

"Huh?" they both replied.

"My comment about evolving didn't bother you, did it?"

"Nah," Xander said.

"A little," Alex said.

Alex felt their body shifting as Xander readied to headbutt him, but he'd been stopped by Mother.

"Now, don't do that," Mother said. "We can't have feuding. Not when you're so close. You don't want to have a turbulent psyche, do you?"

They'd never really talked much about evolving. Father only said that he should evolve as fast as possible, for some reason, and that it was part of some great tradition... He still didn't really understand.

"Father didn't tell us much," Alex said. "And Hydreigon are pretty rare out there... We've never met a single other one... You aren't even a true one, so... o-oh, I'm sorry. If that's terrible to say."

"Just the truth," Xander replied with a hint of indignation. "But... you know, I still love you, and stuff. You just don't get what it means to be stuck with him, though."

"I'm sure it's difficult for both of you," Mother said. "But I think you'll still do fine in the end. Don't forget that, okay?"

"I'll try..." Alex dipped his head down. "I don't get it, though. I've talked to other Pokémon sometimes, and they say that you can't become a Hydreigon without being a Zweilous first. But you say you've always been a Hydreigon?"

"Well..." Mother trailed off. "No. That's not exactly it. Your father has special abilities that only he does. It's a power he had acquired from the gods after saving the world from the Dark War."

More foreign things that Alex only heard tell of and little else. Xander was probably just as stumped, the way he wasn't saying anything.

"What was the Dark War?" Alex asked. "Everyone talks about it like it's ancient history, but..."