"Bond detected. You may now exit"
Breach followed Jett soon after, finding her Froakie sitting atop her head, Jett's face to the floor again. He shook his head at his Larvitar who copied him, he picked up Jett with one arm as her Froakie crawled up his shoulder.
"Froakie"
"Larvi"
"You two could have at least not burned down that tree"
"Froakie"
"Larvi- Larvi!"
The two disagreed with Breach, he just sighed, carrying Jett over to the professor with their Pokemon. He was surprised that they were even earlier than most of the others, he expected at the very least Skye and Gekko to have been here already-
"Over here boy! Come! Come! Come on!"
"Aqui! Aqui! Here boy! *whistle* Come on!"
Neon and Gekko stood opposite of each other, both pleading out at a wild Electrike at the center of their standoff- like an infant's first time crawling to one of their parents. Gekko outstretched its hands to it, ready for it to pounce onto his chest like Thrash, Neon fell to the ground, meeting the Pokemon's height, Electrike's attention shifted between them, Gekko, Neon, Gekko-
"Yes... yes! Come on lil' buddy! Come on!"
The showdown had come to a close as the Electrike pounced Gekko to the floor, licking his face, and cuddling up to his cheek.
"Hey! No fair! You already have like four of those things!"
"Nuh-uh! My pets aren't Pokemon!"
The two of them blew raspberries at each other, Gekko held up his new companion, his eyes beaming with trust, compassion, love, and-
*ZZZT*
"Trike! Elec-Trike!"
"Aye... pin...che..."
Gekko fell back to the floor, having endured a hundred volts from the Electrike who promptly pounced at Neon, jumping into her arms and-
*ZZZT*
"Haha~ won't work on me pal~ and I guess that means I'm the winner. Sorry man~"
Gekko sat up, his green hairs standing up slightly puffier than they should ever be. He watched Neon walk off with the Electrike, smiling as it surged an endless amount of volts into her, of course, she was unphased, electrified- you could say.
"Ya cheeky lil' bugger you!"
Skye was chasing the Drifloon up the mountain path, Chikorita reaching for her hand to no avail, she couldn't keep up with it. The Drifloon started floating straight upward, she definitely wouldn't be able to catch it if it was going straight up the mountain. Skye looked around, for another option, for an alternative, for the answer- then she realized she had it in her all along. She pulled out one of her hawk totems, imbuing it with life, she set her sights on the Drifloon and breathed life into her totem. Weaves of green and white light burst from it and a hawk took to the sky, Skye directing it with her outstretched arms, this was her answer
"Hawk out!"
"Chi! Chi!"
"Right... there!"
Skye swayed her arms right, sending the hawk right into the Drifloon, knocking Chikorita out of its hands.
"Chi! Chi!!!"
As Chikorita fell, Skye looked for another answer within herself, finding her wolf totem, and imbuing it with the same life. It roared as it was summoned, jumping from the jagged sides of the mountain up toward the falling Chikorita- Skye would save it.
"-Now!"
Skye's wolf, in a blur of orange and green, swooped underneath Chikorita, catching it with both of them in the air, Skye was running back, ready to catch them.
"Chi...!"
Skye's wolf landed on her, reducing back into a totem on the ground beside her, leaving behind leaves and wood chippings. She opened her eyes, having braced them for the impact- Chikorita laid across her chest, unharmed, unphased,
"Chi! Chi~"
It walked up to Skye's face, nuzzling her cheek, the leaf on its head tickling her nose, Skye laughed in relief-
"Aww you~ stop it, you'll make me sneeze~"
Skye held the Chikorita in her armpit, looking down at the mountain she had chased it up, she was near the top, about three-quarters of the way to the clouds. She tightened her arm around her Chikorita, readying herself to head down the mountain, it looked like a long journey back, and it took a long journey to get there, but the friend she made along the way was worth it~
"Omen, here."
Fade and Omen had roamed throughout the enclosure, the sun seemed all too much for them, they considered heading to the mountains to find some cave Pokemon but thought it'd be too much work. However, nothing out in the open seemed to match their peculiar taste, Fade didn't expect to find some eldritch horror like the ones her Nightmare had shown her, but at least something scary... at least something... mostly not cute.
"So... bright... the sun of this world drains my energy..."
"Mine too, so hurry."
Fade paced about the forest with Omen. Hidden creeks and illuminated glades didn't pique their interest in the slightest.
"Something... something sinister draws- closer..."
Omen's warning alongside dark whispers in Fade's ear didn't seem coincidental, Fade looked around, the rustling in the bushes suddenly becoming hostile, the eyes in the trees, stalking their prey, stalking them. Fade curled her lips into a wicked smile, pushing through the wilted leaves of dying bushes, facing the wrath of nature head-on. Or more over, lack thereof. Fade exited the forest, the alive part of it anyway, and had uncovered a dark, burnt, willowed down portion of it.
"Seems like this place doesn't get much maintenance"
Fade looked around as Omen joined her, she felt the presence of a million things yet she saw none. Spirits maybe, spirits... good or bad...
"The cycle of death seems untainted here... natural..."
Fade had strayed off from Omen, thinking about Breach's nickname from earlier, 'Black Cat', it suited her; mischief, nasty plotting, malefic warnings. She felt something, something in the air, drawing ever closer... Everything was silent yet- she could hear something telling her to find them. She smiled, accepting the challenge, letting herself follow the shadows in her vision and the voices in her head.
Minutes passed as she paced about the ruined forest, everything covered in charcoal or ash, her fingers blackened from searching, stained. Then she felt it, a vibration in the ground, the stillness of the air, the world slowing down around her... She scanned everything around her, the trees, the sky, the-
*RUSTLE*
The bush- she walked toward it, dismembered and burned, wilting, decaying, dying. She watched it age a thousand lives yet remain unchanged, unturned. Each step she drew closer was another line she shouldn't have crossed, another warning she ignored, another nightmare.
"Show me what you are~"
Fade postured herself next to the bush, closing in on her prey, getting closer to the ground, 'Black Cat' she thought, she had found the mouse. She dug her hands into the bristled branches of the push, pulling aside the twigs, ripping apart the leaves, opening Pandora's box to find- nothing. It was empty, it was all shadows and dead leaves. She got up, disappointed, staring at the once menacing bush, she turned around an-
"GHA!"
"AUH!"
Her heart rate doubled, her blood ran cold, the air was sucked out of her lungs, the life was sucked out of her body. She fell to her knees, weak, afraid, startled - she looked up at the spirit, at her assailant, the ambush. A purple orb, shrouded in a shadowy, thick fog, its face the kind that would be carved into a pumpkin.
"Gha! Ghastly!"
"You, my friend, are truly something."
Fade lifted her hand to touch it, her hand phasing through it instead. She let it rest below it, prompting the Ghastly to let itself fall, hovering above her palm, it sat floating above her hand even as she moved it. It was a real ghost, one of these creatures' spirits, it was dead, it was alive, it was hers.
"I'll show you the ropes. And you'll go from startling, to scary~"
"Ghas!"
Omen paced about the wasteland, the area seeming completely rid of all life, but the energy... he could feel it... it loomed in the air. He couldn't sense anything... at least not anything physically there... he had been ripped apart many times before, so he wondered if the void where his mind should be was playing tricks on him again.
"Lit~ Litwick!"
Omen turned to the sound of the noise, finding an already burned tree, its black bark fallen down on the Earth it once came from. It seemed to brim with new fire, purple fire, the flames of death.
"Lit- Litwick!"
He watched as a small white figure revealed itself from atop the burning tree, walking out of the purple flames like Lucifer leaving Hell, he wondered why he felt that way. Omen searched its energy, its life - the creature seemed empty, it was dead, it wasn't there, another trick. Maybe it was, but Omen proceeded. He looked closer, his findings making sense of the deadly aura it exuded.
"A harbinger of death, through its flame, purifying its victims of life"
Although the Pokemon itself held no life force, he looked at the flame adorning its stubby wax head. The fire screamed and it wretched, an unfinished soul damned to the hollow smile of its host, the purifying flame of death, soiled with the malefic visions of knowing life once before. Omen resonated with the creature, his energy, his shadow, his story, aligning with the purple light atop the creature's head, and the hollow yellow windows it had as eyes. He looked at the forest, purple, it was all burned black, eroded into gray, or burning... burning purple.
"Omen, look what I found,"
Fade held up her Ghastly like a crystal ball, its voice and its secrets displayed on its dopey face, masking its previous life, its previous soul. Omen held his Litwick up to her, it purred in his hand, its smile unwavering, unchanging, unsettling.
"Lit- Litwick!"
"Are you sure it suits you? It looks friendly, should it?"
"Fade... tell me... around us, what color are the dead burning?"
Killjoy wiped her glasses off, walking away from another failed attempt to capture a Pokemon, this time it was an Aipom, the last time it was a Togademaru, and before that was the Magnemite. She found it all so arbitrary, she had overheard Brimstone earlier, he said they usually just give them one of these things, he didn't know why they made them work for it this time, and she didn't know why she bothered. The frizziness of her hair was only hidden by her beanie, and the contempt of the situation was hidden behind her glasses, although they'd been tainted by mud and dirt. Her resolve had been tainted too, she felt, helpless, and hopeless, pacing blindly about the forest hoping for something to happen to her, hoping that something would save her...
"Spri!"
*WTCHK*
Killjoy paused for a moment, rationalizing the noise, wondering whether that was a mating call or just something in her head or-
*WTCHK*
"Spri!"
A cry for help. Killjoy darted toward the noise, scraping herself on the branches, pulling her already beat-up body through vines and fauna. Everything seemed to hold her back, everything latched on to her, but she pushed through it all, maybe it wasn't them, it was her. She cleared her mind, focusing on one thing, the noise, she had been tossed around by the trees and shrubs in her way that she'd lost the direction. The woods were filled with noise, filled with sounds, but Killjoy needed to hear, she stopped, and she listened.
"Spri!"
"There!"
It called out to her once more, allowing Killjoy to pinpoint the direction, pinpoint the cry, she boomed toward it, full throttle.
"Spri! Spriga!"
*WTCHK*
She'd found it, the scene of the crime, only it was still ongoing, right in front of her. Killjoy scanned the small area, various plants and stumps riddled the terrain, making it hard to see, but she spotted it; a wounded cat, barely managing to stand, it looked helpless, it looked hopeless... it was... her.
"Spri! Spriga!"
*WTCHK*
A vine lashed out at the cat, sending it into a nearby tree,
*CRASH*
Leaves and twigs collapsed on the poor cat as it impacted the tree. The inhabiting birds above fly away, fleeing the scene, fleeing the danger. She looked to where the vine came from, cautious, scared. She spotted a stubby green bullfrog, although it was four sizes too large and adorned a green bulb on its back, the criminal vines protruding from its back, readying themselves to strike again.
"Spriga..."
Killjoy looked back at the cat, purple tints on its cheeks where light green should be, that thing had poisoned it she thought. It looked so weak, it looked done for, down for the count, it was already out, it was just buying time for the Bulbasaur to make its way over. Killjoy's heart sank she couldn't think, she couldn't watch, she couldn't see - tear streaks ran down her cheeks as she watched the Bulbasaur draw closer, and closer, until-
*WTCHK*
"Spriga...!"
"Ahck-!"
Killjoy's body had moved before she could think, she acted before she could plan, and she jumped in front of the vine, whipping her back, the pain more than she expected. That thing, it was strong, it was dangerous, it was deadly, she braced the cat in her arms, looking at its fading expression, the purple tint spreading even further. Killjoy had been helpless, just like it, hopeless, too weak for the task at hand, but she wasn't too weak to stand by. Sprigatito looked up at her, opening its eyes one last time before its eyes closed, and it went limp.
*WTCHK*
"Ahck...!"
The merciless Bulbasaur whipped at her back again, raging over its stolen prey. Killjoy knew she had to act fast to save the Sprigatito, she had to bring it to the professor
*WTCHK*
She dodged the incoming vine, wasting no time to leave the area, running through the forest, with no direction, no waypoint. All she knew was to run faster, to push through the pain, to save this cat's life.
*THWACK*
A stray branch she pushed by snapped back and hit the back of her head, knocking her to her knees. She hugged the cat close though, unwilling to let it wilt away, not ready to give up, she got up and-
*Wshhh...*
She looked up; her glasses fell to the tip of her nose, fogged, the Sprigatito was suspended in the air, hoisted up by its torso, its frail body hanging like a pinata, by the string of the Drifloon. It started to fly away, but Killjoy's reflexes took hold once more, over her mind, over her feelings, over her fear, she latched onto the Sprigatito's weak arms, it still had life in it, and she wouldn't let it be taken.
"Spri..ga..."
That voice, that soft, delicate voice, Killjoy couldn't bear to hear it in pain any longer, she clung to its arms and pulled, pulled against the demon coiled around its torso. She heaved, and she swung-
"GET- OFF! AHG!"
She swung the Drifloon into a tree, its head smacked at least a dozen branches during its round trip, it was weak, and it was losing grip-
"HNG-YA!"
Killjoy slammed the Drifloon into the ground, its strings finally weak enough to pull her Sprigatito free, she hugged it tight to her chest, and ran out of the forest. She spotted the gate, racing toward it, racing for the exit, racing for a chance to save a life-
The Bulbasaur watched her run, its menacing eyes scoffing at her escape, its vines retreated into its bulb, awaiting the next encounter. Little did she know, it was right behind her,
"I saw what you did back there little mouse~ How would you like to be my... lab partner~"
Chamber strolled along the edge of the enclosure, he examined the surrounding creatures, shape, size, speed, and if they could breathe fire or not. But through all that he couldn't find anything that truly resonated with him, he wondered if he was being picky, and then he stopped wondering- realizing he didn't quite care. He kept his chin down and a low profile to not scare off anything near him he might want, no matter how little the chances of him finding something worthwhile would be.
"Chamber, where's Killjoy?"
He looked up to find a familiar robot, straightforward and cold as ever, he thought
"I am afraid to inform you, I do not know where she is, Monsieur, *ahem* robot Pokemon Trainer hmhm~"
He chuckled at himself, at KAY/0's new title, although the robot himself didn't appear amused.
"Ha, Ha. Very funny. Well as an artificial Pokemon trainer, I'd ask you to battle, but you're empty-handed"
"Wow! Is that sass I hear from the robot? Maybe this first generation is defective~ I do not see anything in your hands either toaster~"
"Huh, I can get one whenever I want"
"Oh really? These things cannot be pulled out of the air, but I welcome myself to watch you try~"
"Okay"
Chamber smirked at the robot, placing his hand on his hip and holding his chin high, arrogance wasn't arrogance as long as you were right, then it's just confidence. A cocky bastard he was, he laughed to himself watching the robot look around aimlessly, he was more hopeless than him, he thought. KAY/0 reached into the air without warning. *CLANK* Catching something in his hand, he brought it to Chamber's face, uncovering its head with his thumb, it was a Beldum, its singular eye stared at Chamber in judgment. The French man just crossed his arms and pouted
"See I- That is different, you can catch things with your metal hands- if I had metal hands then-"
"Yeah, yeah, tell it to the judge."
KAY/0 dismissed the French man as he walked away, Chamber turned around once KAY/0 was far enough, facepalming. He looked stupid, cocky like always, but also stupid, what are the chances, he thought. Chamber took his walk of shame over to a nearby pond, the resident Lotads swimming in circles. He sat on its edge, staring into his reflection, in this world it seemed like skill didn't matter, like it was all luck, like he didn't matter anymore. His aim, his intellect, his tactile genius, and the eye of a marksman all seemed to go to waste, he wondered if that's what he was to this world, a waste.
"Let me guess, you got rejected by your pick too, four eyes?"
Chamber looked to his side, Yoru was sitting beside him, he was unsure if he got there before or after, did it matter? They were both at the Lotad pond of reflection he dubbed it, reflecting on how discarded they could feel while being some of the most skilled, dangerous, deadly people on the planet, their planet anyway.
"No, no... I just... I haven't found the right one yet"
"Well cry me a river, at least you didn't get attacked by the one you picked. *Sigh*"
"*Sigh* Oui, I guess in that case I am doing better than you ah...? ... Pardon a mi..."
The two sat in somber silence, the pond itself brimmed with ribbits and whatever sounds Lotads made, but the two of them, their bubble, their isolated connection, sat in silence. Yoru started skipping stones into the pond and Chamber just watched him, just two discarded world defenders,
"Sob... sobble..."
The two sad men looked at each other, mistaken by the noise, at first they thought the other was mimicking them, that was until they looked down. A shy, blue, sad lizard sat between them, also staring into its reflection, its cheeks reminiscent of tears and its eyes shone like it was about to cry. Its voice held an ounce of pain though, the same kind of discarded rasp the two men it was between shared.
"Sob- sobble..."
"He yours?"
"Non, feel free"
Yoru leaned over to the sad lizard offering his arm for it to climb on, he put his face in front of it and smiled, a rare thing to see from the often 'other' cocky bastard of the bunch.
"Hey, it's okay- come with me~"
"Sob- Sob...?"
*FSHHHH*
The Sobble blasted jetstreams of tears out of its eyes, spewing Yoru into the water-
"Ahh-! *BrBrBrBr* Kuso..."
Yoru reemerged from the pond, his hair now flopped over his eyes, his dye job now damp and wilted. He crawled out of the pond, wringing the water out of his jacket before putting it back on. He cussed under his breath, Chamber could barely contain his amusement, the Sobble just looked back and forth between the both of them, oblivious.
"He's all yours..."
Yoru stormed off from the pond, leaving Chamber alone with the Sobble, he looked at it, wondering how something so powerful could be so sad. Then he looked at himself, realizing the cliche he set up-
"Mon ami... I think we share the same feelings,"
"Sob-ble...?"
"I mean, I think we both have great potential, and... we are just both sad right now, but we can do better! Right?"
"Sob-ble?"
It seemed to barely understand him, but at least it didn't look ready to blast him. The Sobble crawled over to him and on top of his knee, nodding its head in a final affirmation
"Sobble"
Chamber smiled, looking back at Yoru, realizing he wasn't the only one feeling discarded, it made him feel just a little less alone, and a minuscule smidge more humble. He put his arm out for the Sobble to mount and set off toward the gate with a new companion, one just like him, destined for greatness, destined for more.
"Coach!"
"Ahh- my protege!"
Gekko ran to Harbor, practically tackling him into the creek.
"Wait!"
*SPLASH*
Gekko opened his eyes underwater, looking at Harbor and the fish in the creek. Different Pokemon seemed to inhabit different areas of the enclosure, it was like it was its own massive ecosystem, with mountains and forests and the creek. Differing fish swam by, a Qwilfish, a Luvdisc, a Feebas, and more; he couldn't get a better look before Harbor's relic started glowing. The gold tint shined even brighter in the water, surging with power - Harbor swung his hand up, and the water followed-
*FSHHH*
They flew out of the water, a geyser shooting them up and back onto the ground, Gekko landed across Harbor's chest, the two of them laughing, out of breath but still laughing.
"Ahh... you are a ruckus!"
"Haha~ I could say the same about you coach~"
"Hmm~ did you umm... find a Pokemon yet?"
Gekko shook his head while getting off of the water bender
"Nnno, not yet- but I know I'm getting close! I just need to find the right one"
"Ahh... isn't that what we all say?"
Harbor smiled somberly at Gekko as they sat beside the creek. The Illumise and Volbeat provide moody lighting, dancing shadows, and a sense of security. Gekko looked to the man that trained him, he looked to him for guidance, for reassurance, for closure.
"Look, Gekko, all of us are trying to find what we want, right?"
"Right, yeah"
"But that's not what we'll get,"
"Huh? What do you mean by that?"
Gekko looked at Harbor confused, wondering if he had given up or was being weirdly vague
"I mean... why is that scanner there?"
"To make sure we have a bond with a Pokemon we choose"
"Wrong~"
"Huh? No, the door makes sure-"
"The door makes sure you choose the Pokemon you bonded with."
Gekko tilted his head at him, thinking harder about what Harbor said, Harbor sighed and explained further-
"You can choose whatever Pokemon you want, right? You can physically take any of these Pokemon, and bring them to that door,"
"Uh-huh..."
"But the door won't open if you just choose a Pokemon and try to bond
with it, the door opens if-"
"If you choose the Pokemon that you bonded with- already- that you already bonded... with?"
He looked at Harbor, unsure if his answer was correct, Harbor just laughed,
"Yes, I think you're starting to get it."
Gekko sort of understood it, it was a 'this one chose me, I did not choose it' type scenario, at least from what he understood. Then he thought about Astra, think, did Astra see the Eevee first and run at it, immediately wanting to take that one outside? No, she stumbled upon it, she played with it, and it chose to sit in her lap, it chose to trust her, Gekko wondered how long it would take him to find something like that, a connection like that-
"You're probably wondering how long it'll take you to find something that special, am I right?"
"Yeah- I- How did you-"
"Because... I was wondering the same for myself,"
Harbor looked at the pond, his eyes glistening from the reflected sunlight, the hazel in his pupils seemed to move and dance while the water rippled.
"I know that you will find what you need. And so will I, for now, we just need to give it time... look to the water for guidance... maybe you need to stop looking, and let it come, to you~"
*SPLASH*
"MNH—"
"Coach!"
"Karp! Karp!"
Right as Harbor finished his ever-so-inspiring speech, a Magikarp jumped out of the bond and fully swallowed his head, Harbor got up and started running around like a headless chicken, trying to pull it off like it was some sort of shrunken hat.
"AHHHH! GET IT OFF!"
"I gotcha! I gotcha!"
Gekko grabbed the Magikarp by the fins, pulling it toward him, Harbor kept pushing while Gekko pulled, desperate to release himself from the fish's jaws. But with no leverage on the slippery Pokemon, Gekko lost grip and Harbor flew back, tumbling through the woods-
"I gotcha! I- wah-! I... don't gotcha..."
"AHHHHhhh...!"
Harbor's voice echoed in the distance, at least Gekko had shoved him in the direction of the gate. 'I don't think that's what he thought of when saying to let them come to you' Gekko thought. He left the creek and ventured deeper into the forest, finding a small patch of grass with no sunlight amidst the trees. The shadows of the woods seemed to grow bigger, and suddenly he felt more lost, more... vulnerable.
"Okay well, coach's advice. Let something - come to us~"
Gekko took a seat in the grass, closing his eyes, manifesting for something to just jump out of the bushes at him, maybe even right into his arms, or maybe something would appear when he opened his eyes. He sat there for what felt like hours, days, it felt like a timeless paradox of waiting, the waiting game was always so tedious, 'wait for them to defuse', 'wait for them to peek', 'wait for Reyna to pick you up'. He was sick of waiting, he opened his eyes. To no one's surprise, nothing appeared, nothing jumped out at him for a hug, nothing was there, nothing. Gekko tied his shoes and got up to leave, already let down by the hopeful mindset his coach had tried to instill, although, to be fair, it should've died when they got ambushed by a Magikarp.
*Thud Thud*
Footsteps, Gekko thought, those were definitely footsteps, big ones at that. He couldn't tell if they were his, or if they were even real, Gekko opted for the paranoia explanation, making his way out of the dark grove already-
"Rrrght..."
"Yeah, I know girl, this place gives me the heebie-jeebies too."
Even Dizzy had started growling, Thrash was dormant still, asleep. A sinking feeling overcame the monster tamer, paranoia didn't seem like too plausible of an explanation right now, he thought. He stood still for a second, awaiting the boss music to start playing, but nothing happened... Gekko started to leave right when-
*CRACK*
"Woah!"
Gekko slipped on a large twig, falling to the floor, he gathered his crew, making sure they were complete. He looked around, scooting away from the treeline, the wild eyes in the shadows didn't seem very friendly after all,
*RUSTLE*
"Yo...? Who's there?"
The rustling in the bushes wasn't only unsettling, it was threatening, genuinely, threatening. Gekko got up, backing all of his creatures behind him, ready to protect them at any cost, just as Wingman would do for him. The rustling suddenly stopped... silence... silence deafened out anything else, pure, silence. But he knew, Gekko knew - he narrowed his eyes at the treeline, readying himself, Thrash woke up, Dizzy was already floating, and finally Gekko gripped Mosh with a pitcher's wrist.
"Ursa... RINGGG!"
"Alright! Show me what you got!"