Mindlack

April 9

Time for the next chapter -- we're properly starting the finale of Part 1!

My plot is more advanced than that -- I'm working on the Orphanage part , as I'm trying to figure out how to make Gabriel carry out such a blatant and risky breach of the rules.

Chapter 23: Friends and Foes

Spoiler

And then I felt a very weak gust of wind in my back starting at hips level. It was eerie, as there wasn't any reason why there should be any wind, there were too many trees around. So I turned back and I saw a single bird flying behind. I couldn't be too sure, but I thought it was a Chatot and I thought I recognized it.

Which sent me a panicked adrenaline rush. I was completely unarmed, defenceless. If the Chatot wanted a hit at me, there it was and it wouldn't, ever, get a better chance to end me. I wasn't weary to the point of letting myself die, so, once again, I threw myself to the ground, hoping to be a harder target -- and the Nuzleafs would partly shield me.

I had a cold sweat when I was proven right and the Chatot started attacking. Except that it dived at the Nuzleafs around me, sending them small air whirls, deceptively powerful in spite of their size, that threw them aside.

Once I saw an opening, and the Nuzleafs' full wariness not upon me, I got up and tried to run away. It took maybe a couple of steps before a synchronized yell of rage informed me the Nuzleafs had noticed me and weren't pleased at all. They turned to chase me.

In a race on track, I may have been able to beat them for a while -- I wasn't a great runner, I really wasn't at my best, but I was twice as tall and on adrenaline -- but on the unequal forest ground, where I had to watch every step, every treacherous aerial root, every small local altitude variation, if I didn't want to fall and injure myself (and get captured again), they had a much easier time.

But they hadn't counted on the Chatot. The Nuzleafs racing after me were making themselves an easy target, and, fortunately, the bird chose, again, to attack them instead of me. It was over shortly -- the Nuzleafs didn't have the strength, organization, weapons or resources to put up a fight. They fled.

The Chatot disappeared for a minute while I stood panting, realizing I had no idea what had actually happened. When it came back, it simply said, pointing a wing in a direction: "Remember. Invitations. Funeral watch. Pyre. Us.", before flying away. I found in the direction the Chatot had indicated, my bag and my Trainer belt, with their contents apparently intact. Had the Nuzleafs not even guzzled my candy bars? And... why had it all happened? Was it Taka's behavior? If so, what was his intent?

***********

After a short radio call where I explained the temporary difficulties I had been incurring, a long and laborious forest walk, after another, erm, disagreement with a group of Nuzleafs over their right to hold someone prisoner in some nearby cave (which ended in a pretty one-sided brawl, with Leaf and Wolfgang doing the work and Tailor helping out) -- it definitely didn't occur because I was lost in the forest -- after fighting my way through a tangle of vines, apparently very eager to imprison me, I finally reached another part in western Beryl. Not much was accessible from there, only a large building in dismal state.

The weather had turned from clear to cloudy, with dark ominous clouds looming over, and the air had become colder and more humid. I was hoping for the rain to not fall yet, because it would be a large disadvantage if I had to disable to PULSE again. This was relevant, because that large colorful brick building, not that tall (no more than two storeys) had a glaring holes in its roof, and very many cracks around the wall. Force had shattered every window in sight, and made more damage at the border of the frames.

I felt tired, physically and emotionally, sore and dirty, but I knew I couldn't really delay my assignment. Still, I pushed the door of the building, expecting it to be empty, to sit for five minutes.

I shut my eyes for less than five seconds, before a soft voice whispered in my ear: "Do you need anything?", jerking me awake in panic. The owner of the voice was a single woman, alone in the room, standing in the hall only lit by the decaying light outside. She was about forty, had long brown hair and dark rings under her eyes, and a very gentle expression. The only other things in sight were cracked bookshelves, filled except for a few gaps, and books lying around, not in too good a state.
"I..." I hesitated, afraid and slightly guilty -- "I really need to go."

"Don't look so afraid." she replied, clearly the most diplomatic thing she could have said. "Whatever the reason why you are here, you surely can stay a little longer. You look like you need rest. You've got a Trainer belt, and I can't imagine that your Pokemon are much better. We've got what you need to heal them. I have some food."

"That's... very nice of you, but there are things I have to do that can't be delayed."
"What, exactly?" she said, her tone switching to a stereotypical "concerned thus demanding and authoritative" parent. "What is so urgent that it brings you in this doomed place, that it lets you no time to take an apparently well-deserved nap, or meal?"

I was trapped. I wouldn't be able to make anything but the truth sound plausible, and the truth would only strengthen her case, if she believed it. If she wasn't working for the Meteors, or had an arrangement with them. If it all wasn't part of the necesssarily unbelievably smart master plan they had to have come up with.

As I considered that alternative, I realized I couldn't entrust her with anything. Even though I badly needed the food and the rest. And my Pokemon needed it. At least there was enough stuff in my bag. So I obstinately (and, a small part of my mind noticed reproachfully, quite rudely) declined her offer and moved to make my way out.

You're not being paranoid if they're out to get you (and everyone else).

A Growlithe ran from who knew where and started barking at me. I realized that he was wearing a blue dog collar just like I had seen some at the police station, worn by the Growlithe partnering with some officers. I hadn't exactly been tasked with destroying the PULSE on my own anyway. Doing so would probably make me end on the bad side of both the Meteors and that Salamence. I had also been asked to find police officers. The end of the plant assault would help with the search, but I couldn't neglect such opportunities.

"Where did you find it?" I asked my would-be host, turning back from the door and pointing at the Growlithe that was now at my feet, barking nervously.
"Her master" she corrected me, "was a police officer that got beaten unconscious by the vines while trying to help some people get safe." Her voice turned hoarser. "It turned out he had decided to leave the police force which he found was cowardly, and had dedicated himself to smuggle food and water to the survivors of the Beryl Ward that lived in secret. He died from his wounds a couple of days ago, here."
"Oh. I'm sorry. But... are you saying that this," I designated the ruined room, the precarious shelves, the unprotected windows, "is a safe place?"
"The plants never really attacked it." she answered. "We don't know why."

I thanked the woman and, still declining her offers of rest and food, I went back on my way. The sky was getting paler and less bright, and before long night would have fallen. I did not want to fight in the dark, so I forced myself to walk faster, even if it meant being warier of the treacherous ground (that of the jungle as well as the debris-filled and cracked pavement of the ward). Batley, the mighty Swoobat, acted as my (relatively) high-altitude scout.

The path we found took me back into the jungle, circling slightly around the Ward to assault the PULSE from the back, where hopefully they weren't expecting an attack. Walking again into the jungle, not only on the border, came with the real risk of falling again in a Nuzleaf ambush, but I didn't lower my guard (and, yes, I got lucky) and didn't encounter much trouble.

There was this clearly clumsy defence made with mid-thigh tall sticks of wood densely planted in the ground, like a smaller-scale forest of wooden nails, but it wasn't much of a problem. Instead of looking for a deactivation mechanism or an alternate path, I simply had Swoobat level the structure with a few Air Cutters, most sticks splitting and falling under the wind attack, and asked the much nimbler Wolfgang to tip-toe and cut a real way for me on the now passable for him ground.

And of course, when I came back into the northwestern corner of the Ward, I found Heather, who glared at me in recognition.

"What are you doing here?" she asked angrily. "That's my job to bash these jerks' heads in!"

Her Salamence wasn't out, so I was the most physically impressive person (as well as oldest, smartest -- at least, least imbecilic -- and least immature) in the immediate vicinity. As a consequence, I could afford to actually taunt her:

"Why, then, didn't you do it sooner? You had, like, eight hours?"
"Ugh, shut up." she snapped, causing me to raise my eyebrows. "One second I was flying with Salamence and we were going to blow them to pieces, the next one, Salamence was diving to the ground, barely halting our fall. We think the shot, whatever it was, attacked nerves. We spent the whole day curing it."
"We?" I asked cautiously, but she didn't answer.

I tried to move on to a topic that might interest her: "So, what's the plan?"
"You get out of my way." she replied. "I mess up these jerks."
"Maybe it would work better if you didn't have to handle them on your own." I answered in my reasonable-adult voice, a voice I didn't like using because I usually felt like an imposter. "Like, someone might occupy some of our enemies while you beat up the rest..."
"Someone like you?" she asked. "I've watched you. You're pretty bad."

Point taken.

"I'm not the one who didn't see the blow incapacitating him for the rest of the day."

It took her a couple of seconds to process the sentence, but her eyes narrowed.
"What's your name, by the way?" I asked, because it seemed like what a reasonable adult would have done.
"It's Heather. I've been looking around a bit. Their bosses are a short way from here." she added, pointing somewhere towards the inside of the Ward. "They're holding a guy prisoner nearby. You can go free him."
"Well," I replied, annoyed at her being so commanding, bowing, "I thank Your Majesty for her graciousness in granting my humble self the right to be a first-hand witness to her grace and power and in making me an extension of her will."
"Ugh. Shut up and just go."

I wondered why I actually came to obey her, instead of defending the reasonable-adult viewpoint of "it's too insanely dangerous, I can't let you be anywhere near there and put yourself so recklessly in danger", or simply "I do not care for your tone, child, and you will correct it or I will speak to your parents". Anyway, in a small half-broken cabin, hidden by unkempt hedges from the center of the Beryl Ward, there was indeed a Meteor prisoner.

I probably wasn't being assertive enough because the "warden", a single Meteor grunt, actually battled me for the right of breaking the hostage out. Then again, as he let the man go upon being defeated, maybe I was.

Regardless, the way to the Beryl Ward PULSE was much less of a challenge than in Obsidia or Jasper. It was standing in the open, without any vegetal defences, and there even was one of these amazing light shards that nobody had touched. It gave me another measure of strength and resigned resolve for the fight that I knew was coming, after the already wearing-out day I had had.

On the other hand, it had three high-ranked Meteors as guardians. I recognized two of them, as I had already met them: the unfathomable (and yet looking so utterly normal) Taka, and the creepy shared body known as ZEL. Both of them were pretty bad news.

The third one was one I hadn't met. I couldn't be sure of anything about him, except that it was probably a "him". He was tall and lean, and he was wearing a full dark grey Meteor uniform and a hood that only left his eyes visible. As I could see, he was using a blinking fast and nimble Crobat to attack Heather, who was recklessly flying on her Salamence, giving the dragon a further strain (and incentive) to avoid the swift moves of the Meteor's poisonous bird.

The battle was, to my untrained eye, a matter of time. The Salamence was much more powerful than its foe, if far less nimble, and hampered by its rider. If it landed just one hit at half-power, it was over. Furthermore, even if the dragon couldn't escape all the blows and poisonous bites, they didn't seem to be dealing much damage. The Crobat, simply... had no way of beating its opponent. But it was actually doing a pretty good job of keeping it away from the PULSE, helped at times by precise, low-power icy whirls from ZEL's Pokemon, a Glaceon, and by impromptu vegetal attacks aimed at Heather to force the dragon Pokemon to reverse its course.

Mesmerized by the unplanned performance, I actually stayed motionless for a few minutes, not even thinking of anything.
"Do something!" Heather yelled at me, causing everyone to turn, and -- gulp -- notice me.

ZEL was the first one to react, with a mixture of hatred, resentment and contempt that almost made me shiver.
"You." he spat.

If it weren't for the light shard, I wouldn't have been able to hide the shiver that ran down my spine. By now I had remembered my classics, and I knew that it would be a bad idea to show fear or weakness.

Taka was next.
"Well, how convenient." he said matter-of-factly, pointing at me, but looking at the nameless Meteor. "This is Gabriel, the Trainer that defeated the PULSE in Jasper."
Eve's tone, almost clinically detached, went on: "Gabriel is also responsible for destroying the PULSE in Obsidia."
"Ah. That was you." the unidentified Meteor spoke at last, the tone very monotonous and almost dead. "An alley cat, parading as a tiger." Parading? That was a new one.

"Heroism is vainglory."

That was more cynicism that I could swallow. Usually, heroes had a serious reason for doing what they did. They usually knew when they weren't needed. So it wasn't 'vain' glory.

"But you will learn. You've stepped out of your alley and into the world. I will introduce you to the cold pain of reality."

At this point, the speech had stopped looking spontaneous and just was pure cynicism, or maybe its logical conclusion, philosophical pessimism. It was also becoming more than disturbing, so, trying to keep looking unimpressed (I probably looked at least like I was trying very hard), I borrowed a page from some fictional heroes and gave the guy some lip.

"You're a bit late for that, actually. I've awaken in this anteroom of hell only a few days ago, I've had nothing but trouble here, mugging, poison, rot and murders, and because of you people I can't even leave. You missed your chance. " I took a deep breath to ensure I would keep cool under the quite intense glare of the guy. "I already know how cruel life can be. I suppose it could always be worse, but I don't really care to find out. And I also know that for some reason, life is way better outside of Reborn. Now we're two, and if I managed to destroy the previous PULSES on my own, with my ally and her Salamence, we're going to make mincemeat of that Tangrowth."

The funniest part of the speech was when I almost managed to convince myself that I had destroyed the two other PULSES on my own skill, and not due to ZEL's carelessness (and the Gym Leaders' work) and Taka's possibly willing sub-optimal battle plan.

The not-funny part of the speech was when, after a particularly unbelievable piece of acrobatics which I could only spot in the corner of my eye, the Crobat managed to approach the Salamence and give the dragon a deep poisonous-looking bite. Heather's Pokemon roared and convulsed and mildly thrashed, simply pushing the toxic bat to the ground with unrealistic strength.

"Easy, Salamence, easy." Heather muttered, trying to calm it.
"Well," Taka said with amusement, "isn't it funny that of all people, you allied with little Heather? I mean, like, aren't you supposed to be a good girl at home?" he added for the little girl.
"You won't say that when I'll have beaten you all up," Heather snapped from her unsteady Salamence which was looping around, "you... evil people."

The lead (and still nameless) Meteor spoke again, and his voice was slightly more expressive. It expressed outright disapproval. "Reckless. You're supposed to have been taught better."
"Who cares?" Heather grew angrier. "People try to stop me from doing things all the times, but their rules are totally stupid anyway!"
"Just because you don't understand something doesn't make it stupid." the Meteor replied, in what was obviously the most valuable contribution to the conversation (except possibly for the PULSE's very existence).

"Just! SHUT! UP!" Heather yelled, and directing her Salamence directly towards the PULSE in anger. It opened its mouth and spat a narrow, focused, blast of white-hot flames at the Tangrowth.

Swifter than a reflex (at least any of mine), the lead Meteor drew a Pokeball and threw it into the fire.
"Mareanie, Protect!"

The small, spiky Water Pokemon coming out of the ball managed to raise a protective shield against the flames, but not before being hurt by both their heat and that of the searing-hot air all around. It took all of its strength to keep the protection up till the end of the flame throw. It was an impressive display of spot-on timing trumping raw power. The Crobat took another opportunity to inoculate his poison into the exposed belly of the dragon, forcing it to retreat.

I knew I should have been doing something while the attention was on Heather. If I was quick enough, daring enough, sneaky enough, I might be able to down one of my opponents even before the fight started. There had to be something, some advantage to seize, some way to give our side an overwhelming boost. But my mind blocked, picturing the horrific outcome of taking the chance and missing. That very vivid image froze me in place at the idea of taking such a risk, no matter the stakes, and losing. Realizing I wasn't going to get anything out of this mindset (at least own up to it, I thought bitterly to myself, it's your so useless mindset), I tried to focus on something else.

Even if I didn't seize the initiative, I could at least try to anticipate what would happen when the situation devolved, assess what threats I might have to deal with, and how I could counter them, or stall them. There were, of course, three such problems in sight: the Glaceon, the Crobat, and the PULSE.

There were doubtlessly many other potential threats, but as far as I knew they would take more time to become tangible, giving me also slightly more time to come up with a solution. And, in the time the conversation, and Heather's attack happened, I came up with ideas, and, slowly as to not look too threatening, my hands got closer to my Trainer belt, trying to recognize the Pokemon inside by feel.

"I am taking care of the girl." the lead Meteor said. "Taka, ZEL, you protect the PULSE from the other guy."

Character ratings:

Spoiler

Heather: 5/10 (+1). She still is a reckless, unruly kid. However, I can't help but admire her spirit.

Taka: 4/10 (+1). At least he acts almost normal this time. But what was he then doing in Jasper? But what for? And why did he help me recover my things, if it was his Chatot?

ZEL: 2/10 (+1). Maybe I'm just becoming insane, getting used to the unthinkable, or was <insert new relevant "whatever" pronoun> almost consistent from start to finish?

"Meteor Edge-Lord": 2/10. He almost manages to sound reasonable from time to time. And his mastery of his Crobat to keep the Salamence away was bordering the unbelievable, as if the Crobat figured out in advance the moves of the Dragon-type Pokemon. And that Mareanie trick was really neat. A worrisome enemy indeed.

April 8

8 hours ago, Tikkit said:

Also, on the Crescent discussion... Really though, is her manipulativeness even a surprise anymore? She helped engineer Melia's "death", Ren's joining of team Xen, she tried to push Sharon to her death at her lowest point, completely wiped Nim's personality so that she would want to attack our friends, and I'm certain there's more in store for us. She's been more actively villainous than Madame X, who only ever directly screwed with the cast at Blacksteeple and the Pyramid.

Crescent being edgy, secretive, manipulative and cruel is indeed well-shown. It doesn’t mean that she’s an antagonist (or villainous) in the grand scheme of things.

In general, I’m wondering if Crescent isn’t working on a level of her own — the “Celine” level (whichever side) which eg Madelis was unaware of. Maybe V13 will shed some light (or maybe it’s delayed, who knows?).

There’s some sort of not-too-bad explanation for a lot of her actions anyway.

Melia’s faked death: discourage Team Xen from searching further or keeping hope while protecting the Stormchasers.

Ren’s joining the Xens: she gave him a good reason to join Team Xen to be a mole.

Sharon: (very cynical/angry) At least, that would be one less blood stain on your clothes for you to wash — or did you consider extending mercy to any Xen after what happened to your mother?

Nim: okay, I don’t know for that one.

I also note that Madame X made direct death threats / ordered our deaths each time, while Crescent didn't resort to inflicting physical harm, so I disagree a bit with your ending.

April 8

54 minutes ago, MhicKy said:

But who knows.. Valarie is still not remembering who she is so some brainwashing might had happened too

No question about that. Valarie doesn't remember us, quit her Gym Leader office to be a journalist in GDC... Obviously her mind got seriously tampered with. This happens somehow after the gang gets attacked (in Delpha's memory) by the surfers. So we even have suspects! (although, it could have happened before -- Crescent has repeatedly urged a lot of the cast to not intervene, and changing the people's minds fits this).

One weird thing though: why exactly would the gang not similarly alter the Eldest or Aelita?

April 8

3 hours ago, ShogokiX said:

Also some fan games are really throwing the rare and strong Pokémon at you like a legendary Pokémon bargain sale.

Reborn isn't exempt from this. After all, the game gives us Kricketune almost from the start.

April 6

That makes 100.
~~What next?~~

April 6

I didn't answer the poll because I find that, however fine they seem to be, there never is one that reflects just my position.

So I'll give my two cents in text.

About your fanfiction: it probably needs some improvement, but what fanfiction doesn't? I may be much too keen on that but at the very least, you should proof-read your texts very carefully, as random mistakes sort of slip in (there's a Ruby which sorts of awakes out of the blue in the second chapter). As a suggestion, you may also want to explain how come that Ame and your protagonist know each other so well (specific mentions of family, "I never knew you could draw so well" which sounds surprising if it's a stranger you've just met in the train) (or maybe I'm just interpreting it all sideways, I wouldn't be surprised -- especially if you're seeing your characters in a cultural setting very different from what I'm envisioning).

I'm very interested in the AU aspect, as you'll probably retain the interest of your readers better if stuff doesn't happen quite as they thought it would. Having new characters on screen, new interactions, new plot lines (or plot digressions)... From that point of view, I wouldn't object if your adaptation of the plot doesn't follow the chronology of Reborn -- I'm all for chronological order within your story, but I think it's a plus if you can have events happening differently from the vanilla game, given the changes you've made (or you'll be making) to the universe. Of course, it's probably safer not to -- the butterfly effect works also (especially) with plots.

I don't know what lemon means precisely (just like Terra's vocabulary, I think I know the general idea but I'm glad to not know the specifics), but if mature themes work in your story, by all means go for it (with warnings, of course).

April 6

97

April 4

72

April 3

To be honest, I really don't want Adrienn to be evil. So even though there are definitely good points, I'll grasp at straws here.

6 minutes ago, Devilish said:

Xe then refused to battle Arclight in Devon Corp. From Arclight's POV, it sounds as though xe was acting under the Belrose creed to not acquiesce to Team Meteor but I can see how it could have been set up to appear that way which does match up with the above observation that apart from the player who wins their way through Adrienn was the only one to leave Devon Corp practically unharmed.

The explanation which we're given feels fine. Their behavior sounds smarter than the rest of the cast. Seriously, what is the point of fighting in Devon Corp? If Lin's willing to torture you for losing or not fighting, what makes you believe she'll let you go off scot-free for winning, and let you save your allies too? Better to keep your allies (counting your Pokemon) in shape than get them tired in a pointless fight.

Similarly, I believe that a lot of the "red flags" are concerning, but the innocent explanation seems consistent enough (although, now that you mention it, it is very suspicious that Radomus volunteers an outlandish explanation).

About Adrienn making a deal with Meteor to preserve the city -- what would they be getting out of such a deal (the Meteors)? Why does Lin gain, if she's the one, as hinted by Eclipse, who masterminded the PULSE attacks on the city? A bit of extra sadistic satisfaction? Drive home a message? Disorganize the League? A lot of these can be satisfied without the convoluted Devon Corp. setup with very mundane strategies (or with more publicity). Maybe Adrienn could have given them Labradorra, though.

April 3

I rather like the magic square, even though it has faults. The advantage is that you know where you are and can mostly keep track of where you are going. That doesn’t happen in nightmarish labyrinths such as the Wasteland or the Adventurine Woods.

If you were to give me a spot in the Adventurine Woods, I would probably need to run through at least three quarters of the map before finding it. In the Wasteland, I would probably need to run through the entire map several times and still miss it.

Similarly, what seems utterly beyond me in the Beldum puzzle is how one manages on their own to find the backwards ledge and then finds it again.

March 30

You’re right about Shelly. Her being so young definitely is an important factor that limits her “shipping potential”, without preventing platonic ones.

I’ll trust your word on pre-teens also loving. ^^

23 hours ago, Candy said:

VANILLA RATES: REBORN COMMUNITY

Reveal hidden contents

Mindlack (-10): 0/10 What is that BS ship

Come on, only 0? I clearly haven't been original enough.

But I couldn't remember who she hated most, except that Vanilla x Aladdin felt trite and Vanilla x Jasmin was going to be, um, complicated when Vanilla went back to her revolutionary activities. Maybe Vanilla x Radomus?

Also, there's the question of how I could be a 10/10 beforehand (that's the policy towards readers, they're good enough until they cross a line, maybe?), given how Vanilla reacted to the Reborn cast and the OCs.

March 30

(for characters appearing in the chapter only)?

It fits well the theme of “Shelly learning self-confidence and audacity”. But I really didn’t expect her to learn it this way. I had assumed Shelly ship-proof, I don’t know why.

(Also, you’re aware that stories featuring characters thinking themselves romance-proof overwhelmingly prove them wrong? If you weren’t in full control of the story, that would be begging for a Vanilla ship. How about Vanilla + Archer?)

We’ll stay tuned (and hyped, and re-read earlier chapters, maybe) for Season 4!
Good luck for your exams.

March 28

@Evi Crystal: Thank you!

So I cut down on some text... meaning that a pointless episode was skipped, and you were thus spared about a short chapter's length (and an unjustified appearance of Fern). I suppose that the terribly made screenshots mandate some form of apology -- so please forgive me for their quality, or more accurately total lack thereof.

Which also means that the finale of Part 1 is actually nearing!

Chapter 22: Double or Nothing

Spoiler

What I wanted above all was to lie down and sleep.

Inaccurate, I thought. What I wanted that I could immediately get was to lie down and sleep. But I knew it definitely wouldn't be safe. In such a clearing, as I was possibly surrounded by the dying network of an unearthly plant monster, and maybe with Meteor affiliates as well, I could not afford to sleep. Besides, I hardly had any Pokemon to defend me should somebody assault me. This was a very good reason to not lie down and sleep, but to leave the forest and retreat to the closest Pokemon Center or anything remotely like it. The way back would definitely be easier than the way forward, as there wouldn't be any plant actively opposing it.

This optimistic viewpoint didn't really take the situation into account. I was in a clearing, slightly above the rest of the forest, but, while Taka's fortification had to be decaying, I still couldn't see beyond it. As a result, I didn't know at all which direction I had to head towards. I hated that kind of decision. It was all pointless, I didn't have any kind of information to decide on, I had to pick a side, almost at random, and suffer the consequences. Everything I liked.

Fortunately, I didn't have to decide because, at last, a police officer had arrived. He was walking around the mound, maybe searching for something, seemingly oblivious to my presence right over him. He tensed upon noticing me arriving, then, recognizing me, relaxed.

"Did you find anything up here?" he asked me.

"Yes." I answered. "There was a PULSE with a Meteor in command." I shuddered, thinking how close it had been.

"You used the past tense. Do you mean that?"

"Yes, I somehow managed to take it down a few minutes ago."
"Should have guessed it. These damned plants. They were doing their best to hold me back, and then they just went limp. Just mass. Plain normal." he glanced at me, asking for an opinion.
"Yes. Anyway, there was a battle. I defeated him, and destroyed the PULSE. He fled saying there was another in Beryl. That he would be waiting for us there. But..." The memory was so vivid in my eyes. Thinking back on the sheer insanity of what I had done, I expected to throw up then and there. Or faint. I did neither. "it was very close." I finished in a raw whisper.
"I see." the officer answered after a beat, taking it in. "In this case, we'd better go back to Jasper. Rescue the people we couldn't, plan what we are going to do next."

I didn't want to do anything. I didn't want to keep on planning. I wanted to collapse on the spot. It wasn't my business and it had never been. Yet I knew just as well that I would complete the job. If further action was decided in Beryl, I would go.

"Do you know the way back?" was the only thing I answered.
"Sure I do. I have, you know, lived in these parts for a while." the policeman answered, a hint of mockery in the voice. He gave me a machete which made my arms beg for rest. "It will be easier if we both cut our way through."

****************************************

I really hadn't expected that I would have managed to hand over my Pokeballs at the counter of the emergency Pokemon Center hastily set up in the Jasper Ward. But I did it. I thought I saw a frown in the nurse's eyes as she examined every Pokemon, but she didn't comment on their injuries. Or maybe my looks.

The police chief, at a hasty emergency reunion, had asked the entire force to remain on duty to try and rescue the inhabitants from the wrecked Ward. I specifically wasn't to participate, however, as my mission had been only to give advice on the PULSE, not play emergency crew. I knew the decision was legitimate. I knew I wouldn't be much help. I knew it wouldn't do for me to see mangled corpses of men, women, children, that would have been trapped in the rubble. I knew that my weary limbs would cripple my very efficiency regardless.

And still, I was annoyed. I wasn't a little boy any more. I didn't need sheltering from reality. What part of stuck here for the foreseeable future did they not understand? I had barely had time to rush outside of the station to keep my frustration at bay, and not be seen with teared eyes.

Despite my weariness, I wanted to kick or punch at something. But most of what I saw were buildings. It would only hurt me to try. Hurt me pointlessly, and maybe endanger other people, in the case of precariously stable rubble. Then I saw a little tree blocking an alley it had no right to obstruct thusly.

I was, of course, very disappointed when I noticed that the machete I had kept wasn't very effective (and was outright uncomfortable) against plants when wielded in exasperation as an axe. I mumbled darkly, trying to avoid the actual profanity, and called Wolfgang to cut down the shrub, and to make some music.
The effect of the music wasn't immediate, but it was soothing in the long-term (meaning, a few minutes' time). But even at that point, the alley wasn't easy to really see, as it was filled with debris that blocked the line of sight.

But not hearing. I heard footsteps. They weren't very regular, and didn't sound steady. I motioned at Wolfgang, still beside me, to be silent (I started missing the music in seconds) and went cautiously forward, looking all around me, waiting for whatever was close to appear into sight.

A pallid man with much dry blood on their face very strained gait and an uneasy breathing, wearing torn down blue clothes, hobbled in my direction, leaning on the buildings bordering the alley every few steps. He really looked bad and very weak. When he noticed me, he clearly pushed himself more, taking great pains to leave this place.

The strain was too big for him and he collapsed mid-way. I ran at him.
"Are you okay?" I asked.
His face contorted, indicating very clearly than no. He put his hand next to his mouth in a universal gesture.
"Do you want to drink?" I offered.
He nodded. I took a bottle from my bagpack and offered it to him. He managed, wincing in pain, to sit, and then he could put the bottle to his mouth and start drinking. He drunk thirstily, as if he hadn't in a while. Surprisingly, however, he took overall rather little.
"Help is on the way." I half-lied. "I've got candy to help you pull through."
Again, he nodded enthusiastically and I gave him one of my wonder candy bars, the ones that had helped me throughout my Obsidia Ward-located epic. Again, he accepted only one, refusing outright another. After drinking and eating even a little, his face had gone from deathly pale to very pale. I noticed only then that his lips were blue. What had he suffered through? And I couldn't really help him with that, I didn't even have spare clothes.

The station was maybe half a mile away, I told him, but he shook his head -- he wouldn't manage to walk this far. He didn't want to be on his own in the cold waiting for help, either. I had to call for help, without moving.
"Can you at least move at the border of the alley? We'll be easier to notice then."
"I think..." he winced, talking for the first time. "I think I can. But what about the rampaging plants?"
"It's okay." I reassured him. "It's been taken care of."

His face got slightly brighter, but he still was in a lot of pain. I helped him move the sixty yards, letting him just a dew feet in the alley, so as to protect him against whirls of cold wind. Then I instructed Leaf to keep him warm, while telling Baby to roar every thrity seconds (I was the one keeping the rhythm) to call for help.

To pass some time, I asked the wounded what happened to him. He explained me in a few short sentences, interrupted by grunts of pain, that he was a police officer. Two days ago, the plants had taken him by surprise, slammed him into the ground and pinned him there, breaking his ankle and his radio, fainting his Growlithe. The Pokemon had managed to somehow escape, but he had had to remain there. In agony, I thought. Two days. Hunger and thirst and cold and broken body. How tough.

Help arrived after maybe twenty minutes. The police officers had more equipment and more training, and thus were able to actually help their wounded comrade. So I was left to wander mostly aimlessly, as they still didn't want me to go on rescuing. And even though their arguments were sound, it was annoying.

So I was left on my own, mulling over thoughts so dark and disturbing I stopped paying attention to my surroundings. How had I ended up here? How would I ever come back home? Would I ever come back home? Would I even survive this mess? Couldn't I simply get out of it?

I had already made a decision on some of this, first before the Grand Hall with Victoria, and next with Florinia. But in none of these cases were the decisions truly deliberate: I had, in some way, yielded to some form of peer pressure, or to authority. The fact that I had made the choice to act, to fight, did not prevent that decision from being stupid. Rash and stupid.

But I had already thought about that, I remembered. I had come to the conclusion that not doing anything was worse. Short-sighted. Short-term thinking. If Reborn failed, there wasn't any way back, simple as that. If the plants managed to invade the city, I would be as squished (or, worse, starved) to death as everyone else. If they didn't rebuild the station, I would be stranded there. In what basically amounted to a third-world country, but one struggling to survive on a day-to-day basis. With few, if any, useful skills.

Each time I thought of this possible outcome, some searing form of homesickness struck me, painful and intense. I was a stranger in a crumbling world. Fighting a losing battle against a technology so advanced it wasn't even dreaded in first-world conspiracy theories. Closely avoiding death each time.

I barely noticed that, in a moment of thorough physical and mental weariness, I had leaned against the door of a somewhat isolated house towards the eastern border of the Ward. What I did notice was the door giving way, the unpleasant change of smell, and...

The dead body lying motionless in a pool of partially-dried blood, in the debris-filled room with the half-fallen roof.

Oh...

I rushed out of the room before I felt sick, breathing heavily to temporarily hide the horror of the sight from myself, to try and get the stench out of my nose.

After half a minute, I realized something else. I had never actually seen a dead man. I hadn't even known what had killed him, although the debris were as good a guess as any. I knew from stupid (or maybe wise beyond me) books that it was mostly unhealthy curiosity, but I had to see it again. Then I would notify the police officers. I steeled myself, opened the door and walked in.

The smell was as unpleasant, as morbid, as the "preview" I had been graced with. The view as well. In the thirty seconds I managed to hold out inside, there were rather few details that stuck to my clearly untrained eye.
Not that I wished to be more trained. Even though detective figures were rather awesome.

The body was a man's, lying on his back. He hadn't been very young, but he didn't look very old either. Heavy blocks of concrete had fallen on his thigh and neck, around which the blood was most spread. His face looked agonized -- little wonder. If my memories of crime books, or more generally fiction, was to be trusted, either wound, on their own, would have led him to bleed out. With the debris fallen on his neck, it would have crushed it, or choked him.

A most grisly death either way, I thought after rushing outside. And the mental image caused me to throw up, as I would have expected from books as well. It wasn't even taking into account the motionless blood-stained Mareep lying on its side, its back left leg crushed under a heavy-looking fallen piece of furniture.
The man, I remembered, was unquestionably dead: even if I knew how to properly take someone else's pulse, it was barely worthwhile to check it in this case. The Mareep, however, might have been alive. I had to go back and check. Not morbid curiosity, none at all. Just sincere concern.

I steeled myself again, took a deep breath, and entered the house again. I made sure to avoid the blood stains on the floor (as I would probably be contaminating evidence or whatever) as I stepped carefully towards the wounded sheep Pokemon, trying to avoid looking at the dead man as my stomach twitched uncomfortably.
I realized that the Pokemon was breathing, but it looked weak and quite irregular. It needed immediate treatment, which I could not provide. I definitely couldn't catch the Mareep and carry it to the closest Pokemon Center, either. It would indeed take hours -- much more than what had been planned for the next meeting with the police (and even though I wasn't allowed to help them, I had to attend regardless. How fair was that?).

So, I reasoned, my only solution again was to go to the police for help. At least I could go and reach them this time, instead of clumsily shouting for them. So I ran to the police station, hoping that someone would remain on duty there.

I got lucky: someone was there to explain my dilemma to. It turned out that the police had experience with that kind of situation, so they had devised an effective tool. It was a specific Pokeball designed to effectively capture wounded Pokemon. Upon capturing one, it would be teleported to a Pokemon Center and put on priority for diagnosis and, if necessary, intensive care. The Pokeball would release the Pokemon once it was healed, on the spot where it had been captured. I hadn't known law enforcement had such tools.

******************

It was early afternoon, about half past two, and the police officers (those who weren't wounded and in urgent need of care, anyway) were asked to gather to outline the strategy of the rest of the day. The main decision to take was whether to immediately move against the (still somewhat hypothetical) Beryl PULSE, or try and consolidate, maybe build a better defence against a highly probable Meteor retaliation.

Of course, it was decided to try and slightly improve the security of the Ward, or at least to ready better counters for a similar attack. Of course, someone would have to be sent to scout the enemy's grounds and report on their moves. Naturally, that mission was assigned to the resident PULSE expert (meaning, the only one who actually fighted some and lived to tell the tale out of sheer insane luck), yours truly. At least they had gotten me a radio this time.

This might explain why I was anything but thrilled walking northeast, towards the Beryl Ward. The slope was rather steep, unlike the quite flat Jasper Ward. In between the wards, the debris grew sparser, because, as I had been told, there had been little built: Reborn City was more akin to a collection of loosely interdependent islands, like an urban archipelago, than to a first-world metropolis, with a very continuous stream of buildings.

Again, the farther from the rescued Jasper Ward I walked, the more parasitic weeds I could see, PULSE-bred nuisance plants whose purpose was to invade the flora life and drive out, if not choke, all the different species. It was an ominous sight, a reminder that I was going to attack a power much greater than my own, backed and controlled by really smart people. If I thought too much about it, I realized, I would probably collapse in a puddle of motionless terror.
At least, I had thought about the lesson of the previous fight: I needed several Pokemon to have surviving odds against these manmade nightmares, and I needed all the usefulness of teamwork. And I had a Pokemon that fit the description.

Don't be reckless against people smarter than yourself, all my experience of literature yelled at me. None of these books, however, actually, dealt with the situation when the safest option was sheer recklessness.

According to my Pokegear, I arrived at the southeast corner of the Beryl Ward. On my right, relatively unspoiled, was a bridge. It looked like the sturdier, civilized version of a very narrow crest. Southwards, the slope was vertical, and there were a few buildings underneath. Northwards, it was very steep, but not vertical, and I could see a barren, rocky land at the end.

The Beryl Ward was in the other direction. It was more than a mound of ruins. It looked like a war theater, as if some blood-thirsty general had ordered the place razed to the ground. Virtually no building was left standing, and the Ward was a large cluster of debris.

It was also very quiet, as if nobody were there, or as if somebody was watching. It was unnerving me very quickly. At the very least, that girl should have been there, shouldn't she? And she wasn't exactly the quiet kind, either. Or maybe she was smarter than she looked. Or maye she was setting me up.

I was becoming paranoid, I realized. After what had happened earlier in the day, I wouldn't have the nerves to approach the Meteors quietly on their turf, or for any kind of mind games. I would have to take the way around to the center of the Ward, going through yet another forest (Rhodochrine Jungle, according to the Pokegear).

The flora in Rhodochrine Jungle was, indeed, quite wilder (despite the slightly higher altitude) than in the Malchous Forest below. Even though vines hadn't colonized it at all -- they were present, of course, but rather sparsely, without any massive cluster like I had seen in Obsidia, or worse, in Jasper -- the vegetation managed to be thick and dense, and it was also a struggle to go on where there was barely a path.

Lookouts, I thought. The few PULSE plants there were lookouts. They're counting on the natural vegetation to slow intruders down so that they can give the coup de grâce.

At least, I knew the part I was to investigate, and I thus could keep a rough idea of my location and my target -- it would have to be enough. The PULSE activity was clearly emanating from some place either very close to the Ward or inside it. Now that the matters became actively dangerous, it was time for a precautionary radio report.

"Young to Blue, do you copy?" I asked on the radio, as they had summarily instructed me to do. There hadn't been any time to give me an overview of proper radio protocols, so something one-time and likely very insecure by any professional standards had been set up. Just a couple of codenames for us (I was Young, they were Blue), random codewords for the landmarks and a few keywords. I missed paper.
"Blue to Young, loud and clear." was the reply. "Go ahead."
"I reached Elvenland without anything of notice. At first sight, everything is still. I'll be searching the closer parts of Colossus from south to north. Nothing so far. Over."
"Roger that. Keep us updated. Out."

I walked in the Jungle for a while, but nothing seemed to react at me, and, probably owing also to my fatigue, my watchfulness wavered. So when a precise burst of something I couldn't quite see (and barely hear) targeted my damaged Trainer belt and broke it, causing it to fall to the ground, I wasn't able to react fast. I was bending down to pick it up when several very small shapes (maybe very slightly taller than my waist) hurled themselves at me, unbalancing me and driving me away from the belt. It had all happened in a couple of seconds, and I had barely recognized them as Nuzleafs.

A Nuzleaf picked up the fallen belt and brandished it in the air. There was a cringeworthy scream of triumph, and I realized that about fifteen Nuzleafs were about me, surrounding me. I had no more Pokemon, but they didn't seem tough. I was close to twice their side; how hard would it be to just force a way to my Pokemon?

Very hard, as it turned out. The moment I tried to force my way through their close circle, a Nuzleaf jumped from behind me and grabbed onto my neck, while two others jumped onto each one of my sides to lock my arms. Their coordination was quite frightening, and the strategy was effective: the Pokemon now outweighed me and controlled my every move.

I tried to throw myself backwards, as spy novels advocated, but, with faster-than-human reflexes, the Nuzleaf behind let go of me, and I found myself on the ground, with a dozen Pokemon actually sitting on me, effectively pinning me to the ground.

Beaten by half a second's worth of inattention and a few featherweights. That was simply glorious. Anyway, there wasn't much point in fighting. As I was lying on my back with a swarm of Nuzleafs around, I wouldn't be able to struggle effectively. So I relaxed, and slowly drew my hands backwards, as if to offer surrender (which I was actually doing).

The Nuzleafs took my bag (with the radio and the supplies in it, crap!) not too gently, and only then did they push me up, none too gentle. I noticed that a small group of Pokemon was aside, carrying both my belt and my bag, and that if I struggled again (now that I was in a slightly better situation), I would be overpowered just as before.

There were so many of them. I couldn't fight them head on, not without Pokemon -- the best I could do would be to try a sneakier move when they were less numerous, and pretend to give in for now.

March 26

22 minutes ago, tomikson said:

NOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I really shouldn't be writing this but the opportunity is unmissable.

Search your feelings, you know it to be true.

March 25

5 hours ago, Candy said:

Samson (-1): 4/10 Called me a grandma. I'm offended

Absolutely fabulous.

Otherwise, nice read, quite emotional.

To be honest, I am worried that Candy and Vanilla drift away from one another now, because of what's ahead...

March 21

That was a very pleasant read. I really like how all your characters ring true, even though you vary the situations they are put through (which is another very good point). Flannery... is as good as ever (I would have enjoyed another "fist of justice", but, alas, that would have been very un-Ambassador-like), while Fern's ambivalence is very well conveyed.

I am curious about how you'll make the next episodes look like. At least, there is little doubt that Flannery's previous experiences in fighting terrorist organizations will definitely help!

March 16

I really don't know if anyone reads this, but I guess I'll still post the chapters anyway. As again, any feedback or comment (even on significantly older chapters if you don't want to read it all in one go) is appreciated.

So... as suggested by the status update, I've finally finished my first version of part 1, with 27 chapters. It ends more or less after Corey's Gym. What I am realizing is that this story is becoming, um, huge. I can't give a precise estimate, but it's topping 100 pages without question, maybe in the 130s or even more.

So, when you write something this ludicrously long, you need a better title than "the odd one out". To stress the door-stopper characteristics, I was thinking of moderately amusing stupidities such as "Lords of the keys" or "War and Pieces". If you've got better ideas, I'm interested.

Also, due to attachment size limits we're hitting, I'll be using imgur from now on. I'm not sure I grasped how it worked, but we'll see...

(Final Edit: With proper help, I finally managed to embed the images)

This long, plot-relevant (finally) chapter is the first, I think, where I'm adding "Player's notes" for battles, where I explain what happened in-game, which is (for the rest of part 1, at least), far less action-heavy (and uncertain) than the written version.

And now, it's far past the time for:

Chapter 21: Play Pretend

The vine moving had been very intense exercise, of the kind I wasn't accustomed to (I would have to do something about it), and therefore, as we reached the police station, I fell in the nearest armchair and passed out. It reportedly took the chief several minutes to get me awake, so that he could get my account. I told him everything I had encountered, from the Meteors, to the half-artificial plant forteress in the forest, about the ambush, how they had nearly taken me, how I escaped. The other officer supplied the details about how I (well, more Leaf than I) ended up saving him from the Raticate.

It was, I argued, strong evidence in favor of the existence of a "PULSE" similar to what had been set up in Obsidia. That knowledge, however theoretically interesting, was of little practical use, because it didn't really impact the actions we could take. The forest, the place we had to investigate, remained impenetrable, and there didn't seem to be any move we could make. We couldn't dig a tunnel, because we would have to break through sturdier vines and roots. There hardly was a way around, and it seemed a very risky gambit to believe the other directions wouldn't be well defended. We didn't have anything that could air-take us to the heart of the forest.

Wait a second.

"Do you have some sort of camera?" I suggested. "At daybreak, my Swoobat could carry it over the forest, so that we can get pictures, or footage, of what is happening? Maybe it's going to be blurred or out of focus, but we could get something interesting?"

I got a round of astonished looks.

"We don't have the material for this. Filming gear is too heavy, and we can't develop photographs here." was the consensus, and the discussion went on. Right, so we were low-tech... I missed my more "civilized" phone. What were we going to do?

"I think I'm going to sleep for a while." I answered. "I've been awake for long now, and I think I'll get better ideas in the morning."

The policemen weren't exactly pleased with my choice, but it was more than late and I was quite exhausted, and not in the mood of listening. When I was waken up with sore muscles, (five hours were generous of them, they said, in such an emergency), it was quite early in the morning, and dawn was barely approaching. The officers that had remained active had monitored the situation around the Ward and had provided alarming news. The plants were heavily developing southwards, towards the still intact parts of Reborn City.

Energetic action, it was agreed, was required. While outright arson was still out of the question, it was decided that an entire squadron of policemen (along with me, unfortunately) would make their way in the forest, with the intention of locating and destroying the PULSE.

Here was the catch, though: the officers would be in contact, but still dispatched in different parts of the forest, to force the plants split their force and focus. The rationale was that, according to my account and their observations, several people in a compact group would offer a much easier target. Of course, the actual officers had been given weaponry (more like a machete), and fuel and matches, with instructions to "use it responsibly". Of course, I hadn't been given any of these. After all, I hadn't been properly instructed on how to use them. It was, of course, the responsible decision about me on their part. After all, I could set myself on fire, or cut myself. Or worse, cut somebody else up.

However, wrestling my way in the forest, I couldn't help but feel I was but bait, contributing little. Or even worse than bait, a sitting duck, waiting to be shot. Whatever "shooting" meant in this case. This suited so much better my still hazy mind and my wish to remain relatively safe.

Forcing the tall vines (they had grown to over seven feet) to bend in approximately the way I wanted them to, especially in the darkness preceding dawn, was a straining task, all the more so since they were more antagonistic than in my previous visit. Fortunately, it was more of a passive resistance than attempts to squash me. As I wasn't exactly the cornerstone of the operation, I was satisfied with keeping a low profile.

The forest seemed endless. I had lost track of time (not that I really had kept track of it earlier), wrestling my way into the forest. My already dirty and sweaty clothes hadn't improved, and I was feeling quite wet, and lost in a uniform field of vines. I didn't even know where to go, except as a vague direction that probably didn't indicate anything any more.

Of course, thinking of what to do, at a time when I was already feeling too weary for anything not nap-related, I started reminiscing. About stories. About characters lost in the wilderness making their way back. But as I recalled them, there usually was some sort of knowledgeable (if not always with good intentions) guide, somebody knowing nature inside out. If not, they usually had a bit of equipment, or transportation available. What would such a person have done? But I couldn't answer that; I would prove myself to be just as knowledgeable as they were if I could. They would have some experience to base themselves on, some overview they could apply...

Some overview...

I had suddenly found my next short-term objective. I would have to find an actual tree, climb it a bit, and try to see how deep the vine walls were, if I could reasonably go through them. Cheered up by this shift in purpose, I put my bag back on my shoulders, and starting to push my way through the colonizing vines, ignoring my muscles' protests. As I was progressing, the vines were pushing back harder and harder, but I would then manage to slip between them, and not look behind. Indeed, the vines, when returning to their normal position, were so fast they would overdo it and bang together with frightening strength. Anything between them would be squashed to a pulp.

Still obsessing over this vision of horror, I finally managed to find a tree after much effort, before even dawn was breaking. Even though it thankfully had low enough branches, it was harder to climb it than I had expected and I managed it. Once sufficiently high up, I found out that I had been lucky. The vines indeed covered the woods as far as I could see, and there only was a large uneven circular area, maybe half a kilometer away, where the forestry looked sparser. It would be pretty easy to miss, if one went in the wrong direction. I had no idea where the other officers were, and the light wasn't sufficient to see them. For all I knew, they could still have been wandering the vines anywhere.

I didn't want to jump down from the tree. My gray surroundings were reminding me of existential questions, such as "what was I doing here?", or "what's the point anyway?" or "Arceus I'm tired, I'll nap right there and let the policemen sort it out". That it wasn't my fight. That it might be easier to try and reach Kalos back on foot.

Who was I kidding? I'd pretend to see the job through anyway.
Just not until dawn, I thought. Let me rest till that.

I just sat and watch till the sky became lighter, revealing clouds. If I were sufficiently unlucky, it would be raining, strengthening the plants and weakening me, as well as Leaf. But I forced myself to focus back on my task, as I had exceeded the rest time I had allocated myself. Eyes focused on the clear area, I climbed down from the tree and started muscling my way through the thick vine jungle. It was a harrowing session of over an hour, pushing one plant and then the other, always being watchful, ducking the occasional resentful vine, seldom letting my arms down, but I managed to reach the clearing, at the lower end of a bank. I chided myself for not noting that, but immediately thought up a convenient excuse -- it had been dark. At least, while I was climbing the bank, my arms could get a well-deserved rest.

Of course, it came as a shock when a young man in casual clothes, looking much more confident than I was, seemed to appear out of thin air before me as I was walking up the last part of the slope. Who was he? Had he been somehow expecting me? But how?

"Gabriel, right?" he asked, tone casual, almost friendly.
"How do you know?" I asked, shaken.
"I figured you'd end up around here."
"Why me? I'm hardly the only one searching the forest." I answered, trying nonsensically to nitpick the other's certainties rather than ask the interesting questions about who he were, and how he knew me.
"No," he answered, "but you're not the one facing unexpected plant resistance, and, I suppose, Bug Pokemon webs. My name's Taka, by the way."

This alarmed me even more. How could he have known about that, unless... And in that case, the best thing to do was to let him talk, watch my back and watch my mouth.

"Would you mind following me? There's something I would like to show you."
"Sure, why not?" I answered mechanically, even though it felt ominous. He had been polite enough and the request seemed harmless.

We walked very little until I saw it. It was a PULSE Tangrowth, just like in Obsidia. Except that it was more twisted. It was bulkier, but even more difform, and frankly uglier. And terrifying. The other one had come so close to killing me.

"So yes, that's the PULSE. This single machine is behind all of the destruction in the Jasper Ward. But you wouldn't be impressed, as you destroyed the one in Obsidia."

"You know," I answered uneasily, not knowing what he was driving at, "it really was luck. And this one looks even more developed, more dangerous."
"It is." Taka confirmed. "It has had more time to grow, and it's more powerful. There's a drawback, though."
"Is there?"
"You're not familiar with the PULSE project." Taka answered. So it was a "project", not, like, the literal greatest bioengineering achievement of all time. "PULSE stands for Pokemon Ultimation Link-System Exaggerata. A silly acronym, in my opinion, but..." he had a self-mocking smile. "Anyway, as you saw, it morphs the Pokemon and amplifies to some 'supercharge' point its powers. The supplement is theoretically unbounded, but... here's the catch. Oh," he added in a reassuring tone, "stop looking so tense. I know, I'm with Team Meteor, but we can have a civilized conversation, can't we? I'll warn you with plenty of advance when the truce is over."

"If you wish." I answered, not knowing what to say. I couldn't sneak attack him, and I gained information. Net win if I behaved as he desired. As long as I didn't let myself get surrounded. I had to keep being wary.

"So, where was I. Yes, the catch. Unsurprisingly, it's very hard on a Pokemon's body to destroy a entire city. It's a physical wrestle against the machine to keep itself alive, or functional. That's why, as I heard, the Obsidia Tangrowth died shortly after fainting." That was the reason, then. "I suppose that poisoning the ground under its core roots did help as well." he added, almost a compliment.

How on Earth did he knew so much?

"Long story short, this Tangrowth's exhausted, worse than Beryl's. I suppose it's because of the fortifications. One of my ideas, I'm afraid. I'm assuming you're here to end it anyway?"
"Yes," I answered, not bothering to lie. Or otherwise complicate the situation by explaining my actual goal, which was leaving Reborn as fast as possible.

"You know, I'm almost tempted to do it myself. It's been responsible for loss of lives, limbs and homes. But... " he stopped abruptly, his eyes avoiding me. There was a short break, and I didn't want the situation to escalate. I -- warily, uneasily -- let him do his thinking.

He sighed. "Pity you ruined entirely Obsidia undergrowth structures. Team Meteor as a whole, and most of all the bosses, are quite upset. If I were you, I'd prepare invitations."
"Invitations?" I asked, more and more disturbed. Taka, or so he called himself, hadn't made much sense in these last sentences. Was he about to go loony on me? Was he simply mad?
"Yes, invitations. There are people to invite to your funeral watch, and pyre. Us." Taka was saying the sentence very strangely. Not to mention the weird grammar.
He then took a deep breath.
"Or, you know, I could abide by my orders. Disarm you, bring you in." I shivered at the thought. Or maybe it was just the cool morning and the tiredness. "Stop the infodumping and slightly cryptic monologue. Battle you." He seemed to think about it for a second, then added, still as if it was all an idle game. "Of course, you, the true hero, would probably win against villanous me, but I wouldn't mind."

What?

I wanted to run. I wanted so badly to run. But I knew I was surrounded by a very thick ring of plants. I would never manage to flee. I didn't have any other choice than battle Taka. Or burn the entire forest, which really wasn't better.

Taka's first Pokemon was a frail Exeggcute, which fainted to one hit by Wolfgang, even as the former had to duck the PULSE's attacks. Taka's other Pokemon was a Chatot, a Pokemon which, so far, I hadn't given much thought about, except about it being basically useless. I was, at about the worst possible moment, proven wrong. Taka's Chatot was fast and powerful, and downed Wolfgang without taking a hit. I didn't have anyone matching its capacities, so I would need a Pokemon that could tank the punishment it dished out. Hex, the Swalot, was my best shot, and Batley was there as support. The Swoobat was directing Air Cutters at the vines that got too close, and sending low-power Psychic attacks to keep the Chatot away.

But they couldn't hold on. Somebody had to be put in timeout.

"Hex, Yawn at the Tangrowth!" I shouted. That would take care of it for a while.

In the meantime, I instructed Batley to start hitting harder at the Chatot. The two bird Pokemon got closer, and a subtle dance followed, as they both dodged the moves of their opponents, while trying to outsmart them. The Confusions were fortunately tiring Taka's Pokemon out, but Batley got outthought and took a fully-powered Chatter attack from below, as she was maneuvering above the Chatot. The sheer power of the move quite literally stunned her in mid-air, and, lacking anything to sustain her, she started falling from maybe thirty feet.

I started running towards it, but I knew it wouldn't work out. Luckily, Taka got greedy, and instructed his Pokemon to throw a similar attack to put her out for good. There was my chance. That made the Chatot's moves predictable. Meaning...

"Hex, Acid Spray on the Chatot!"

The Swalot was much slower... But he could grasp enough of the Chatot's future move to hurl the acid at the right spot. Again, the bird didn't react properly and lost its flight. Upon my command, Hex, in a huge effort, propelled herself towards the falling parrot, and hit it with considerable momentum (as I checked out later, she was at least thirty times heavier). The Chatot fell motionless to the ground barely a second after Batley, who also had fainted.

Taka would not send any more Pokemon at me. Instead, he sat on his bag, took out some candy of his, and started to eat it as I was fighting the wakening Tangrowth. It was a relief, as I would hardly have been able to deal with it otherwise. The bad news, obviously, was that he could use the PULSE's horrific capabilities to defeat me. But if he gave orders to the Tangrowth, I couldn't hear them. The Pokemon (was it even one at this point?) had not appreciated its short rest, and thrashed around. It threw many of its already existing vines at me, and made up for lost time by forcing new ones to grow at most alarming rates. It barely missed Batley as I recalled her, but it hammered mercilessly at Hex, who couldn't answer but throw weakening Acid Sprays at it, as her health was under siege.

I went all out for this fight. Mouse the Herdier, Leaf, Baby the Loudred -- my remaining healthy Pokemon -- went into battle, making Taka glee and cheer and pick another candy bar. Despite Mouse's bravery, she was knocked out about immediately by the thrashing of a PULSE-controlled angry plant that Leaf had just set ablaze. Due to her typing, Leaf put up a better fight, but the Tangrowth's Mega Drains and plain vine hits were tiring her out fast, while her Flame Wheels weren't causing the Tangrowth any serious damage. At least, they were painful and diverted resources away from Baby, who was actually doing the work.

As in the previous PULSE fight, Baby did most of the damage. Her Echoed Voice, which she had practised, and whose power increased with repetition, was actually hurting the Tangrowth. The best part probably was that it and Leaf's fiery attacks were distracting the living weapon from trying to beat me to a pulp. After what seemed like an eternity of anguish, of me avoiding comparatively small vine attacks, of Baby screaming her vocal power off, when my back, knees, elbows were begging me to stop, when Baby looked barely able to stand on her own, the Tangrowth wavered, moaned softly, and fell over.
It was the end. Finally.

Spoiler

Player's note: it's an account (with literary flourish, let's say), of my first attempt in this run with Taka. The PULSE nearly destroyed me, as it used Growth right at the start, and so it hit hard. With its massive bulk, it was a formidable enemy. It didn't do that in my second battle, where I didn't lose any member: the old strategy of Yawn+Acid Spray+self-empowering / super effective special attack worked like a charm, even though I got rather lucky with the Chatot not killing my Swalot, or said Swalot hitting three times in a row despite the confusion.

"Well, then. What a shame." was Taka's comment as he stood up, still grinning. "I tried my damnedest, and I failed. This is, I think, the part where I laugh maniacally saying that it was for nought, that my evil plan is still in motion, starting from the Beryl Ward PULSE, and that when we come back, you meddling kid will regret it."

He paused, expecting my reaction.

"Why?" was my panting answer. Why was he behaving this way? Why was Team Meteor savaging Reborn City seemingly without reason? Why... "Why is Team Meteor doing this?"

"Isn't it obvious?" he drew his arm, pointing at the invaded forest, and towards the Jasper Ward, a reminder of the destructive power he had wielded. "Peace." he grabbed his Pokeballs, called something on his walkie-talkie, and left just like that.

It had been very, very close. So unbelievably close. It only would have taken one more blow, one more vine, a couple of wilder moves, an aerial feint from the Chatot, maybe a gambit from Taka, sacrificing his Chatot to let the Tangrowth rampage longer... Or plain squash me, just like it had done to the faster Beedrill. How? How could I have conceivably lived through the ordeal?

And who was that Taka anyway? He was undoubtedly a Meteor member, he had said so himself, but he was unlike any I had met. He wasn't wearing a uniform. He had almost been volunteering information to me, with full awareness of it. But he was in charge of the PULSE, in some way or another, which hinted at him being yet some sort of authority in Team Meteor. What was he up to? What did his parting mean? It looked like anything but genuine... Definitely eerie regardless.

A roar of wind and a heavy impact near me pulled me out of my thoughts. I still hadn't been learning. I could still completely forget about the necessary wariness. A Salamence had landed quite brutally very near me. It was an extremely muscular Pokemon, overflowing with power and confidence. There was no question about where I stood in comparison. Any of my Pokemon, or my very body, would be blown away without a sweat.
How typical, I thought. I had survived the unnatural abomination, but would be devoured by a perfectly natural dragon.
But I didn't. Instead, I heard a seriously annoyed little girl's voice.

"Just what do you even think you're doing?" she shouted at me, hopping from the Salamence. She was small. I was easily one head and a half taller than her. But she could afford to not care, because she had the Salamence. She had bright red hair, a child's face (leading me to assess she couldn't be older than twelve -- talk about taking risky estimates, my inner self-deprecator pointed out) and was wearing absolutely normal clothes, instead of some flight gear one might have been expecting. My eyes were itching, and I was already very weary. I decided there would be no point in making a two-sided confrontation of it. Better hear what she wanted said anyway. Her Salamence was an excellent ambassador in that respect.

"I was gonna mess up these Meteor jerks myself!" What. "It's not even fair. I finally got away from my dad again so I could go stop the bad guys..." she cut herself off, before her storm of indignation blew again. "And he doesn't even let me do that! He doesn't let me go anywhere! What kind of father doesn't let his daughter go out to beat up bad guys?"

That was a mess which I really didn't want to get involved in. I simply answered, keeping nervous eyes on the Salamence, with as even and adult a voice as I could. You're the adult, Gabriel, she's just a whiny child with too much power ranting at you:

"No parent I know would do that. I mean, let their daughter go out and beat up people. Because, when you try it out, they get smart, and they know to fight back."
"Shut up, you don't understand anything." she retorted. Wow. Most parents I knew wouldn't let for their child to verbally abuse a complete adult stranger. Or any stranger, in fact. But no point in mentioning that either. "Sometimes, I think he's trying to punish me because I remind him of Mom."

No, no, I wasn't having that conversation and I was definitely not getting involved with that.

"But the joke's on him because not only did I steal Mom's ring but I snuck out to beat people up too." And he's now aware of it and he would take measures. "But, to go back to the point," she said, pointing at the decaying cyborg Tangrowth, "there's another of these machines up in the Beryl Ward, where I live. I'm gonna blow that one up, and don't you dare try and stop me." her tone was dead serious. "Salamence." she ordered. "We're taking off."

The dragon, of course, took off with their powerful body and large wings, and the gush of wind was enough to make me lose balance.

Who was that? That insufferable, annoying, entitled, tiny, stupid child?

I definitely wouldn't mind her doing the job in my stead, though.

Character ratings:

Spoiler

Taka: 3/10. Definitely creeping me out, and very worrying. I have a terrified feeling that he could have easily mowed me down, but for some reason he didn't. How come?
Heather: 4/10. A rude and reckless child, whose education somebody seems to have much neglected. But that's none of her fault. But how come she can use such a majestic and powerful Pokemon?

March 15

On 3/13/2020 at 12:51 PM, Draconis said:

Reveal hidden contents

Out of curiosity, will we be able to use PULSE2s at some point, if at all?

These are rather villainous, no? Take away a Pokemon's free will and such?

Although, it would solve the level cap issues.

March 15

Oops.

Looks like there's going to be one OC death upcoming. Or maybe Jasmin feels "cruel mercy" instead.

Jasmin is pretty bad in this episode. To all her drawbacks (especially being opposed to the protagonist, that hardly ever serves a character), you added some portion of sadism, a tendancy to gossip about state secrets to about anyone (Aladdin wasn't a police officer, was he?), a cutthroat vision of the world and a very shady moral compass.

Very nice chapter, I like different viewpoints!

March 13

8 hours ago, Corso said:

I now want a war pokemon game (tbh I've always wanted a pokemon x fire emblem crossover but now we even have the backstory).

Wish carefully... I'm not sure you realize just how gruesome it would get. In soft mode, you would unleash two armies' worth of Siriii (plural of Reborn Sirius?) on one another.

March 13

Okay, thank you for clarifying the timeline. I don't know why I thought Aladdin had joined the group in earnest before betraying -- maybe I read too many stories where this was the case and automatically made the assumption.

Thank you also for clarifying Jasmin and Aladdin's status. But now Vanilla remains a threat to them and Everland, as she can simply expose them and watch as an international incident unravels (that would mean chancing that Reborn doesn't end up on her side, which might be risky). You haven't specified the relative strengths of Everland and Reborn: can Everland successfully invade Reborn?

Nice tease for what's next... I wonder exactly how she would come back to Everland...

By train (but then she would need to be hidden, perhaps in somebody's suitcase)?

Or maybe she'll lose a battle in Devon and her punishment will be to be shipped off to face Everland's version of a trial?

March 13

That was dramatic, and quite emotional (maybe check the italics in the middle, I think there's a line which isn't a part of the diary).

And a bit chilling from Vanilla's part. She had to look cool and in control of herself, but still.

Aladdin's behavior isn't shining either: getting Vanilla to kill him would probably do her more harm than good.

BTW, did you/Vanilla mention at some point why Aladdin joined that Defiance group? It doesn't seem like he joined it solely to destroy it, from the conversations (yes, I read the two links, though not their dependencies).

Also, I'm likely overthinking this, but there's something weird in the large-scale politics at play. It is an egregious breach of sovereignty from Everland to send the police capture Vanilla in Reborn. If the higher-ups in Reborn are aware, why aren't they doing anything about it? Did Ame send word along the lines of "we have these foreign people from somewhere, their role is to capture Vanilla which they see as a terrorist -- y'all are supposed to remain officially and unofficially completely neutral in that matter -- Vanilla's helped us, but we don't want to anger Everland needlessly even with plausible deniability"?

Very good chapter in any case!

March 10

4 hours ago, Quentix-hope said:

welp but dont you feel bad for her? i mean she completely got the ultimate anime betrayal in her face out of nowhere like if she got hit by a huge brick of metal that really hurted in the feels dude

The scene is rather emotional (or Gardevoir is) but it was lost on me.

I don’t really buy the “I did it because at last someone cared about me” story. The timeline is anything but clear, but that story doesn’t account for Gardevoir engineering Anathea’s “accident” (at that point, Vitus doesn’t look like he was behind it)

However, one can’t deny that Gardevoir was one of the good guys in the story and deserved more appreciation and sympathy upon her demise.

For instance, she raised the world’s average level of intelligence and honesty by removing the police officers. She’s even responsible for Aelita’s birth (what would we do without her?) and Kenneth’s (brief) happiness.

March 10

Ugh, so much choice.

Gen 1: Vaporeon (Gengar, Jolteon)

Gen 2: Heracross (Azumarill, Skymory)

Gen 3: Breloom (Armaldo, Milotic)

Gen 4: Lucario (Garchomp, Gallade)

Gen 5: Volcarona (Scrafty, Krookodile)

Gen 6: Greninja (Florges, Meowstick)

Gen 7: Ribombee (Primarina, Magearna)

Gen 8: I haven’t had a look at them.

March 6

It's time for a new chapter! As advertised, we get a bit of action in this chapter. Will Gabriel manage to defeat the Jasper PULSE? Or maybe find an unexpected way out of the situation?

Also, I can't help but notice that the view counter keeps going up but nobody actually commented since about ten chapters ago. I'm assuming that some people go on reading but maybe there isn't any?

Did I say/write the wrong thing somewhere? Is my protagonist boring, too unrelatable or too repetitive? Is the text too lengthy or too predictable? Is my English some Frankenstein-like linguistic zombie that devours the brains of anyone reading? Did you all leave when I started mentioning math? Are my pictures (or puns, or titles) repellent instead of merely clumsy?

Anyway, here is the chapter:

Chapter 20: F for Effort

I felt dejected after leaving the police station. My assignment had been ill-defined from the start, but I wondered if I didn't actually prefer the ambiguity, as I was tasked with an impossible job. Worse, it was a matter of life or death. In stories, such situations made the lead character do their best, and pull off impossible feats of wit, stamina or strength. I mostly felt hopeless, and started wandering the Ward.

Very quickly, I found myself walking away from the forest, in the wrong direction, barely aware of what was around me. As I was directly under some tree, I felt some sort of drop fall on my head. Putting distractedly my hand in my hair, I actually found something. Something smelly, colored in a foul dark green. Something thoroughly unnatural...

I took two quick steps away from the tree, as an Alolan Grimer dropped from it. It seemed surprised to land on the pavement instead of somebody's head, but it recovered almost instantly from the shock and tried to leap at me. I managed to get Baby between the Grimer and me, and it took only a few moves to make him back off. I thought it was over, but I heard a Pokeball coming out and a Mudbray appeared.

So somebody was sniping at me? Luckily, while the Pokemon seemed gifted, Baby and Mouse were more than a match for it and it didn't take long for them to win. I backed off, expecting the owner of the Pokemon to show themselves.

"Damn", someone said from somewhere with a male, annoyed voice, maybe from one of the broken alleys around. "I'm not playing anymore. Show yourself."

Fear fell upon me. I wasn't enthusiastic at the idea of being identified -- after all, he could, and probably would take out his defeat on me. I wasn't eager to start running either. Not only did the cracks and the vines make the ground treacherous, but I would also have to expose my back, which (according to stories, at least) wasn't a great idea. So I decided to hide behind the trees from which the Grimer had jumped, paying cautiously attention to my surroundings, including upwards.

Fourtunately, there was nobody there, and I was able to observe my former opponent as he came out of hiding. I felt a terrible apprehension rise in my throat when I recognized the dark grey uniform and the black hood. Meteors. How great.

From a more positive outlook, however, this finding increased the possibility that another, similar, but more developed, PULSE, was to blame for the situation. It probably wasn't some Ent uprising.

The Meteor took some sort of walkie-talkie -- that was so well-planned, why didn't I have one -- and spoke words of dread, still while looking around. He didn't seem to see me, who was hidden against a tree and trying to peek.

"There's a suspicious person in the area. They're a Trainer, with at least a Loudred and a Herdier. Not too bad. Over."

A buzzing noise was all I could make out. The grunt put the device against his ear and waited.

"No, I think not. What are the instructions?"

Noises again.

"Roger that." he put the device away.

Then he turned at the trees and spoke loud and clear.

"I didn't hear you escaping, whoever you are, so you're probably there, even though I can't see you. I would get away from that place right now if I were you." As if it were so simple. "The plants are going to rip what's left of that place to shreds." Oh no. "They're all going to die, but you don't have to go with them."

These words froze me. I tried to get away from the grunt, still remaining under tree cover, but didn't succeed. He was too close, and the tree strip wasn't wide enough.

hidebehindtrees.png.7a907a50b93a8430e45803c1c911408c.png

"You know, you can come out, I pretty much don't care, I've done my job. But you've been spotted. We'll look out for you now. We'll ambush you and defeat your purpose, whatever it is."

And I was trapped behind the trees, as I didn't want him to see me. But I couldn't remain much longer playing peekaboo. So I took a candy bar to give me some courage, and moved as silently as I could out of the tree line, on the side of the police station. The grunt kept his eye on the trees, and, very nervous, I walked until I was sufficiently far from him to be hardly seeable, as it was almost night, then ran into the next alley I could find.

That had been much too close. But I had gathered valuable information. Which the police probably already had, my inner skeptic commented. Regardless, this was heavy evidence favoring the theory that this plant uprising was similar to the Meteor-engineered one back in Obsidia. Therefore, I should be looking for a PULSE.

The Chief had stated that the assault had come from the forest. The logical conclusion was that I should look for this hypothetical PULSE there. Or that I let the actual people whose job it is to protect the inhabitants, the policemen, handle it. They probably already knew about it anyway.

There wasn't a real way to the forest. In what seemed like the main path, many trees had grown, and nasty-looking weeds, the offspring of the unearthly plant growth, were occupying the rest. So I went to the forest by a winding route. It took me in dark alleys, led me to have Wolfgang cut a few trees, plunged under ruins of fallen buildings (although I tried to minimize that part, as the atmosphere there was oppressive and I was forced to find my way by feel, as it was darker than the night), but I was able to get there.

And then I realized why the police hadn't been able to break the PULSE.

discoveryjasperforest.png.e96096080d3fe05e9f386c4e0faf4dd8.png

The Malchous Forest was... more than invaded by the PULSE-bred plants. It was more than taken over. It was... colonized, there hardly was another word for it. Countless vines formed as many layers of fortification. I felt at a loss. Who was I to stand a chance against such numbers? Such odds? And yet, someone had to do this. Maybe the plants wouldn't react too aggressively if I just slipped by?

I started making my way in this very dense, quite oppressive, new vegetal environment. The vines resisted pressure, but, not without effort, I was able to push them one by one, and thus progress through the forest, towards the hypothetical location of the hypothetical PULSE, deep in the woods. But my advance was slow and difficult, and, while I was growing more and more tired, the plants were starting to organize, bracing themselves to resist my push, or waving so threateningly that I didn't want to try and antagonize them too much. As a consequence, my way was anything but straight (something which the very irregular layout of the vines and the darkness made very difficult in any case).

After over an hour of asserting myself against one plant, and the other, my arms and back were protesting so much that I couldn't take it anymore and had to make a stop. I stood against a luckily placed lone tree and tried to rest my strained muscles, while getting my breathing in order.

The forest was quiet and dark, all the more so because of the high density of thick tree trunk-shaped vines and because the night had completely fallen. It hadn't been light exercise I had been doing, and this drove me to doze off. It was so surprisingly peaceful... No cold wind, I wasn't too chilly, if a bit sweaty, due to my physical effort... The buzzing of bugs in the distance... They went wherever they liked... A great life...

As, while falling asleep, I subconsciously focused on these inconsequential sounds, they seemed to become more and more noticeable. They were hardly a distant buzzing at first, then I managed to half-consciously make out several patterns, based on small pauses and pitch of the vibration, then I started hearing air rushing to my ears, then I saw a darker shape before my two-third unfocused eyes...

The air hissed. There was the sound of a brutal impact on something soft, and a moan, all of which jolted me awake. I started when I realized that, not two feet from me, a fallen Beedrill was lying motionless, the abdomen flattened and leaking yellowish blood, its delicate legs twisted at impossible angles. I cautiously knelt near the Pokemon, but it looked beyond saving. I started to feel nauseous. And then terror rushed.

I had to leave this instant.

"Bugger. Couldn't it wait two minutes?" someone with a feminine voice nearby complained in my back.
Adrenaline rushing, I turned back, trying to see who was there. I only could see a dark shape, at the very edge of the tiny clearing around the tree.
"I know you're there. You've escaped us once, but you won't make it far from here. You are trapped."

I needed time to think, I realized. To get my mind back. To process information.

"Who are you?" I asked, with a stressed out tone.

There was a second's worth of silence, then the voice answered again. "I remember you. You were the useless guy that attacked the factory. We've warned you, and you're not going to escape a second time."

Crap. A Meteor. It would be really dumb to engage her on a terrain she so thoroughly was in control of, so I had to leave fast. I called Wolfgang out.
"Start cutting a way through the vines", I whispered to him. "Try going in... that direction" I added, pointing roughly at where I thought was the Jasper Ward.

I felt a draft near my neck, on my left. Something had been flying very close to me, but too fast for me to see. There was only one good counter.
"Batley, please force this flying Pokemon off me. Confusion!"

The Swoobat got out of her Pokeball, soared in the air and quickly identified her target, as it was the only other flying Pokemon close by. It attempted to target the unprotected Wolfgang, who was bravely cutting his way through the unbelievable tangle of increasingy agitated, and angry, vines. However, Batley flew straight at the Pokemon, and the Psychic attack seemed to quite damage it, as it broke off and tried to flee towards me again.
Batley didn't leave the Golbat the time to have a bite at me, and took it down with another Confusion. Whew.

I started walking towards the path Wolfgang had created, but I realized that my feet were almost glued to the grass.
"A commendable aerial battle," the Meteor commented. "However, I can only recommend that you learn to better watch your surroundings. One might," she added, and could hear her smile, "find it easy to land a String Shot on you."

Double crap. I could see her now, with my impediment it would be easy for her to take me as a prisoner or hostage or something, if not straight out murder me, Arceus. I tried to take the string off me with my hands, but it was too sticky and I barely managed to free my hands (returning to the status quo), which were so sticky that they could probably retain water now.

I had to do something. "Something" finally amounted to a desperate thrashing around with my legs, hoping against hope I could free myself, hoping that the string wasn't made for my weight class. And fortunately, it wasn't and gave way. I instantly ran for my life, in the path Wolfgang had created. The weakened string couldn't hold my feet again to the ground. It couldn't compare to the desperate energy terror was filling me with. And when I caught up with Wolfgang, I managed to push the plants out of my way with more desperate strength than I previously had, using only my elbows and legs for fear of finding myself glued to a plant.

But the adrenaline-fueled energy ran out more quickly than I had hoped. I was out of breath, every plant was harder to push around than the previous one, many of them were fighting back, trying to swat me aside like a frail Beedrill, and I had to watch in every direction, duck, push back, or simply take the blow where it wouldn't hurt too badly. Worse, Wolfgang was growing tired and I recalled him. It probably took forty grueling minutes, where I had to focus on my breathing before I got out of this nightmare, and managed to catch a break against a broken building. I was back in the Jasper Ward.

My legs ached by the effort they had made to fight the glue in the String Shot and the dash on the unequal ground of the forest. My arm muscles and my back were sore due to all the vine pushing around, added to my previous injuries. My neck was aching due to all the moves I had had to do to avoid getting hit in the head. The rest of my body was hurt on general principle, pretty much everywhere. My hands felt sticky and dirty.

I was so tired I probably could have passed out on the spot, but a man's screaming prevented me from doing that. It came from inside this very building I was standing against.

At such a strange angle, being inside the building felt a bit like exploring underground ancient ruins. The structure was made of different rooms, rather open to one another. It was pitch black, so I had to call on Leaf, for her Flame Charge to periodically light up the place. Sound also tended to echo a lot, a very disturbing occurrence which made locating the plea's origin harder. However, the building ultimately wasn't very big, and I finally found the screaming person.

raticatevspoliceman.png.432183752c2956e387da21bf56b4db9e.png

They had good reason. They were wrestling with an ugly, massive, and highly aggressive Alolan Raticate, that felt like eating them (or at least, it looked this way). For some reason, they were lying on their back, struggling to not let the Pokemon get at their vital organs. I didn't think and tried to kick the Pokemon away with my full body's weight, something that should have worked beautifully. I got the Raticate in its fat flank instead (I didn't dare aim at its face and big, ugly teeth), and barely dislodged it.

Furious at being deprived of its meal, it leaped at me. Panicked, I stepped backwards, tripped over some debris, fell on my back, and could only witness in naked terror as it sprung at me. Instead of eating my face, it was beautifully intercepted by Leaf, which was originally making light, but whom the repeated Flame Charges had considerably quickened. She delivered a vengeful Double KIck to the rat monster, fainting it.

I rose to my feet, every part aching now, and trembling in tension. But I still knew what to do.

"Are you okay?" I went asking the man. I noticed he had bruises all over his face, a few with dried blood, including a black eye, and that he was wearing a torn blue uniform. The logic asserted itself. "Are you a police officer?"
"I am brused and bitten, but I'll manage." he panted. "I was kidnapped by a Meteor. He threatened to have his Raticate eat me if I moved. When he went away he left his rat guard me. I tried to run, it attacked me, and you came. Thank you."
What a dreadful fate it would have been, I thought.

"Can you get up? There has to be a way to the police station. You'd be safe."
"I know... a shortcut." he panted less heavily, mastering his breathing again. "Help me up."

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