Chapter 6:

Ignition

----------------------------------------

…

—"Gardevoir. The embrace pokémon. Psychic and Fairy type. It has the ability to read the future. It unleashes psychokinetic energy at full power when protecting a Trainer it has bonded closely with. This specimen is female, and has a rare coloration."—

—"Update: all shinies both found and undiscovered have been deemed extremely dangerous due to their inordinate circumstances and volatile nature by authorities, and are to be reported to the OPUS-TD (*Office of Pokémon Universal Science and Tech Department) immediately".—

—"Recommended action: If five badge trainer or higher, capture and call local authorities for extraction. If trainer under five badges, immediate retreat and contacting local authorities is highly recommended."—

"Pff, fat chance," said Andy as he ogled Meagan, putting away his pokédex. "Now…The closest thing that's a match to you I've got is—"

"Emryth! Don't let them throw those balls!" called Meagan.

Thankfully, the kirlia reacted and sent Andy tumbling with a psionic pulse.

"Hey! You'll pay for that!" hollered Ross as he launched his pokéball. "Go, Berus!" With a pop and flash, a horned black hound with an extra set of white external ribs and red undertones to his coat materialized…A houndoom.

Meagan almost vomited from the drastic upheaval of his fortune. He couldn't use fairy moves, much less any other psychic move at the moment, and the siblings probably didn't know any of the former. Even if they did, they were too tired out, and while fairy energy was super effective versus dark types, it didn't fair well against fire which meant its effectiveness relied on the attacker's base strength versus this particular dual-type, and a kirlia's would certainly fall short against a houndoom…Shit.

All they could do was—

"Run!"

He shoved the siblings into a sprint through the forest, though Alis had the mind to levitate them over some trees, but her face gleamed with sweat and she heaved. Emryth wasn't doing any better. They were exhausted from their effort against Amodius.

A wild howl percussed in the air. The houndoom was on the hunt. Those fuckers had one of the best olfactory senses in the pokémon kingdom, and they were fast.

No matter what he could come up with, Meagan couldn't see his group getting away.

Was it perhaps better to just let the trainers…No.

Anything but that.

The utter humiliation to his dignity (or whatever was left of it) was not worth it. He would not be a servant to anyone but himself.

Alis looked like she was about to give in any moment now. The idea of using one of the siblings as a meat shield passed his panicked mind for a moment, but the other would never forgive him and he'd lose both of his only defenders.

Either way, something had to be done.

Before he could finish thinking, gravity took hold of them once more and they tumbled into a bush. Alis heaved frantically and Emryth looked paler than usual as he held his gut.

The two were tuckered out, but Meagan didn't care. He pushed them up again.

"Guys! We have to go, the houndoom might be here any minute!"

Alis tried but she didn't even leave the ground. Damn it all.

He picked her up in his arms and turned to Emryth. "Can you still run?"

"Yes, my lady."

"Then we need to find a place to hide. Move!"

They ran as fast as they could through the woods, and in their desperation didn't notice the ravine through the shrubs. They were weightless though Emryth grunted in effort and encapsulated them in an energy sphere as they tumbled.

The sphere shattered as they slammed into a trunk on the decline, separating them before they rolled to a stop at the bottom.

Groaning with fresh scrapes, cuts, bruises, and aches, Meagan forced himself to his feet. Emryth was nearby still collapsed, but he could sense Alis was further away.

He stumbled over to Emryth and shook him. "Hey, c'mon. We've gotta' find Alis quickly."

The male kirlia didn't budge.

"Oh shit, don't tell me…" Meagan put a finger on the smaller mons' warm neck and a beat put his fear to rest. However, that came with its own set of problems.

If Alis was too hurt or tired to move, he couldn't carry the both of them and get away from the dark canine. Regardless, he had to find her or Emryth would never forgive him and leave him too…Huh. Strange thought. Was that the remnant impulse of Celeste's camaraderie or his own self-interest for survival? Questions for later.

He picked Emryth up in his arms and trotted toward Alis' wavelength. Around the curve of the ravine's dry river bank was Alis' prone form, her green hair almost mingled with the grass stalks if it weren't for her red head crests.

Meagan made to move toward her but he didn't get a step closer before a shadow blazed down the ravine decline, leaving a trail of flames as it stopped a few meters behind the downed Kirlia, putting her in the middle between both parties.

The houndoom stalked forward. Fire jetted out from the sides of his maws as the burning coals of his gaze flickered between Alis and Meagan; his fangs shone with his sinister grin.

Meagan stood there frozen. The dark canine was far faster on all fours than he was on two, it would make no sense to even try to race him toward Alis. Maybe he should run and just take Emryth. Maybe he should—wait why was he walking forward?

"Oh ho! Now that you're friend is a few moments from the clutches of my jaw you decide to develop a spine, gardevoir?" said the houndoom with a chuckle.

Seriously, why was he walking forward!? What was wrong with this body!? Thought Meagan before it registered that his heart was pounding and his brain throbbed from the adrenaline coursing through.

Celeste, again. But this was…Stronger. Much stronger, almost as though the choice between self-preservation and altruism was obvious, and the fact that this was an incredibly stupid idea meant nothing to Celeste.

"Get away from her, mutt." The words came out even before he could stop himself.

"Or what? You're going to run on me again?" The houndoom snorted. "Please, cut the false bravado, you look like you're about to fall apart. Why don't you make this easier and just give up? And maybe I'll consider sparing her, hmm?"

"You won't kill her, your master would disapprove, and his friend needs the kirlias."

"Ha! Maybe, but he only requires one kirlia. They'll get over it."

Alis moaned and barely managed to lean on her elbows.

"J-just leave me, Celeste. Save yourself and my brother."

His heartbeat skipped…his friend was in danger…Wait, his friend? Alis wasn't his friend. Why did he think that? He isn't Celeste! he furiously thought. No, he was Meagan. Meagan!

"No! I'm coming for you!"

The houndoom pounced but crashed against a barrier. Alis boxed herself in a cubical light screen, but the canine rammed against it repeatedly. With every hit, the barrier cracked.

The host body moved on its own to save Alis despite Meagan's every attempt to resist the intense urge. An invisible impact shoved him away, and it became apparent it was Alis who did so.

"Just go, Celeste!"

"No!"

The barrier cracked further and further with the houndoom growling in effort.

Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit.

Through her dirt and bloodied face, Alis gave Meagan her best smile.

"Celeste, look after my brother…Tell him I'll always love him, and that mother would be proud."

"No! Alis!" Celeste tried to get up but toppled over from another pulsation.

"As for you…" The barrier was shattering piece by piece.

Water trickled from Alis' eyes. "You're the sister I never had. You'll always be my best fr—"

Shattering shards of yellow and flaming fangs brought an end to her voice.

He didn't know who he was, or was he a she? It didn't matter who or what they were because they just broke a promise and a part of them died. Though for a moment the draconian part of their mind considered the sweet release from death a form of freedom, they promised freedom in life.

With a wet spurt, the houndoom let the body go. The blood on his fangs sizzled and steamed from the heat of his bite.

"Oops. Looks like I went a little too far," said the houndoom with a grin. "No matter, I'll be more careful with the two of you."

Alis' wavelengths disappeared.

There was nothing.

"You killed her."

The black dog laughed. "Oh, but on the contrary, you did. You brought this on yourselves. If only you'd have been more compliant."

"You killed her."

The houndoom rolled his eyes. "Yes, yes, we've been over this. Is your spirit so crushed that you've become insane?"

"You killed her!"

It had been a long time since Meagan knew the pain of loss, he was certainly familiar with the feeling…Yet why was this one so profound as to break him to pieces on the inside? But one thing was for sure…

"Oh please, before long you won't even have the time to mourn under my master's ownership. You'll get over it."

When someone stole from Meagan…

The houndoom stalked toward the blue gardevoir and unconscious male kirlia but stopped as the prior walked forward, gripping their fist so hard that blood dripped. The fire/dark type chortled. "Ha! This is just precious. What do you think you can do against me? I'm practically the antithesis of your kind."

He would make it his life's mission to completely ruin theirs…

Though he didn't understand why, only one thing defined Meagan's quintessential being at this moment…unyielding rage.

The meta-limb within ripped free from its paresthesia and erupted to life, though deep down it knew dark types were immune to psionics. So it changed.

Instead of a violet hue, the energy took on a more saffron glow and condensed itself to his fists.

The houndoom's breath hitched loudly at the sight and he stopped, clearly disturbed by the energy radiating from the curse-mon.

Meagan stalked toward the overgrown mutt, raising his right fist with murder in his eyes.

"I'm going to shove this fist down your fucking throat."

The houndoom reeled in confusion. "What the hell, how are you—?"

In a flash a blue fist sunk the hound's face with a solid clap, sending the fiery dark type tumbling for several meters, picking up pebbles and rocks with the force.

Though he struggled, Berus got up wearing disbelief on his face. "No way…Agh…That was fighting-type energy! How!?"

The blue gardevoir only responded with a venomous glare flooded with bloodlust.

The houndoom pawed at his swelling cheek, hissing in pain. "Tch. You'll pay for—"

Again she blinked forth, energy arcing with her swing but he dodged it just in time to feel the rush of air before expanding his diaphragm and unleashing a fire blast.

The whooshing flame currents indicated it was a direct hit at point-blank range.

"Damned, I hope I didn't over do it, Ross wouldn't like that."

The fire parted in a circle and out came the curse-mon, with the flames licking at the invisible light screen but never touching her.

"Pointless," she said.

Aggravated, Berus brought forth the darkness in his fangs and lashed out at her. He bit on something hard, shattering it before barely puncturing her skin. Clever, she reduced the impact with another barrier.

He made to jump off her but something had a solid grasp on one of his horns and he found himself stuck…This did not bode well.

"Tell me briefly why you thought this was a good idea?" she asked, not sounding the least affected by his dark crunch attack.

"Uhh…" he only managed with his mouth occupied.

"Yeah, I don't get it either."

A golden fist smashed his gut in over and over and over before the gardevoir seized his other horn and pulled him off her, leaving bloody gashes on her left shoulder.

"Now that you've tasted my shoulder, why don't you try my knee?" She said as the amber energy flowed to said body part.

"N-now now," he said with a quiver staring at the fighting-type glow. "Let's not get hasty—"

"Oh, but I insist."

With a sickening crunch that echoed throughout the ravine, Meagan rocketed his fighting-enhanced knee straight into the houndoom's snout, instantly shattering his nose and teeth into a bone-splintered mess. Blood squirted from every angle and tooth fragments flew everywhere.

"Yes…Ÿệṩ! Ṃöŕệ!" Echoed the same demonic voice from the Red-eye ridge bar, but Meagan was too busy relishing in the suffering of this execrable vermin.

The houndoom gurgled in agony.

"What's that? You want seconds? But of course!"

Still having a firm grip on his horns, Meagan yanked the houndoom inward on sync with his rising knee and bashed his face in again.

"¡Ṃöŕệ!"

"Still hungry!? Have another!"

Again, and again, until with a final massive high-kick, he sent the wretch spiraling into the air until he landed with a crack.

The houndoom didn't get up again…

"¡Ṃöŕệ!"

But Meagan wasn't done.

With his foe's blood splattered all over his leg, a stark contrast to the alabaster skin, Meagan walked over and looked down on the whimpering and slobbering pile of misery, futilely pawing at the mess that was once his snout with barely any life, before he whined in fear at the sight of him like a sick, dying puppy.

He grabbed the utterly defenseless dog by his upper snout, eliciting a yelp in pain.

"Now," began Meagan while raising his other fist blazing with the color of combat. "I may not be a morally impeccable angel, but I am a man of my word; however, since you made me break my promise to Alis, I'm gonna' have to build my record up all over again…And I do believe I made you a promise earlier, so I'll start by keeping this one. "

"N-no, no, no! Wha' agh' ya' gon' do o' me!?" A crying Berus barely managed through his destroyed face.

Meagan grinned savagely. "Put simply…I'm about to fist you like no one else has."

The houndoom blinked in confusion. "W-wha' the he—"

"No homo."

"¡ṂöŔệ ḄŀÖöĎ!"

Meagan roared as with ungodly strength he yanked the houndoom by the top of his snout into the air.

He cocked his fist back, charging the energy, ready for the right moment.

For an instant, Meagan had the oddest sensation of déjà vu, it was almost as though he foresaw the houndoom's life flash before his eyes as he fired a desperate point-blank fire blast—

"¡ṂöŔệ ḄŀÖöĎ!"

Meagan roared as with ungodly strength he yanked the houndoom by the top of his snout into the air.

He cocked his fist back, charging the energy, ready for the right moment.

For an instant, Meagan had the oddest sensation of déjà vu, it was almost as though he foresaw the houndoom's life flash before his eyes as he…

The houndoom opened his burning maw.

"¡ṂöŔệ ḄŀÖöĎ ḞöŔ ÖüŔ ĊŕÏṃṨöŃ Ġöď!"

Perfect.

Before any flames could erupt, he blasted his fist straight into the dark hound's maw and sunk his entire arm down his throat, bursting and crushing all manner of bone, tissue, sinew, and viscera, clawing onto whatever he could at the end of the punch and ripping it back, effectively turning the houndoom inside out.

Snarling in disgust, Meagan dropped the putrid mess with a wet splatter, painting the ground with a hot splash of fluids and innards.

Meagan heaved, once more morbidly fascinated yet disgusted at his actions and the mess he left.

"'Oops. Looks like I went a little too far'."

Meagan spat on the corpse and turned to Alis' direction.

There she lay, motionless, lifeless, and…

He keeled over and vomited, unable to take anymore. Celeste just had to tip him over the edge, didn't she?

Meagan got up, wiping the bile off his lips when a sharp pain scythed through his mind. What now!?

"Ḳïŀŀ ẗḧệṃ äŀŀ."

A warm fluid ran down from his nasal pore.

Red. Lethargy threatened to take over.

"Ṃöŕệ ḅŀööď…"

"Shut up! Ugh, looks like I actually did overdo it."

Some bush rustling and dirt scrapes came further up. It was Ross, the houndoom's trainer.

"Ah, good," said Meagan.

"Ḳïŀŀ ẗḧệṃ äŀŀ. Ṃöŕệ ḅŀööď!"

"The Master has come to join his servant." Meagan grinned, the bloodlust igniting once more in his veins.

Ross' blue eyes shot open in shock. "Did you just…You can talk!?"

Meagan rolled his eyes. "Can't we all?"

Then the trainer gazed over at the pile of flesh, confusion sketched on his face until it twisted into horror. "B-Berus!?"

The houndoom didn't respond. "No…" Ross shook his head and pulled out his pokéball, attempting to return it. The laser shot out and touched the cadaver, but it quickly fizzled out, with the pokéball beeping erratically.

The pokédex voice spoke out from Ross' pocket.

—"Re-encapsulation unsuccessful. Vital signs are absent for registry number #02160229/A231. Signal sent to authorities. Please remain within the area, help will arrive shortly, failing to do so will incur a prosecution in addition to an investigation of trainer A231, Rauschvolt Lighton."

Meagan rose a brow, more so at the surname than the first. 'Lighton'? Wasn't that the surname of the current leader of the Hoenn branch Instinct Guild?

Ross staggered back in disbelief at all the events and stared at the shiny gardevoir. "What…What did you do to him!?"

Meagan snorted. "Isn't that obvious?"

"But…Why?"

"Oh, I don't know, maybe because," he stabbed a finger in Alis' direction. "He fucking murdered my friend!?"

"I'm sorry…I didn't command him to go so far."

"Look how well that turned out."

Ross looked guilty, but then hardened his gaze. "But that still doesn't give you the right to do that to my pokémon."

Meagan glared at him before breathing in. The meta-limb changed back to psychic-type, and he charged psionic energy on his palm.

"Let me get this straight…The same little shit who just waltzes by, chases me, foils my plans and kills one of my 'associates', now wants to teach me ethics?" He aimed his palm at Ross. "I think I've heard enough."

The umber-haired teen panicked and threw out the rest of his pokéballs, unleashing three more pokémon, but before they finished materializing, Meagan adjusted his aim and unleashed his psybeam. The violet jet of raw, brilliant energy instantly wiped the rest of Ross' team before they could even register what happened.

A stabbing pain almost sent Meagan to his knees…

"Ḳïŀŀ ḧïṃ."

He stopped his fall, and with every ounce of whatever energy was left, stood up and summoned psionic energy to his palm once more.

A vein in his left eye burst and clouded up with red from the effort, and some of his muscles twitched and cramped like mad, but Celeste pushed through. She would see retribution for her friend and end this repulsive human. At this point, Meagan didn't give a damn who was who in the body.

"Pfft. Don't tell me the houndoom was the strongest you had?" He cackled. "I mean I just literally vaporized the rest of your team; weak as shit. Clearly, you don't take after the Lighton side of the family, ha!"

Ross looked like he was about to pass out. His arms flopped to the side and he quivered on the spot, left stammering incoherencies to himself.

"This…This is a nightmare," said Ross with a snivel.

"Maybe," replied Meagan as he aimed the pulsating psychic energy at him. "But unlike others, you won't wake up from this one."

He fired. The beam tore through the air dead straight toward a defeated Ross' head, but a messy bundle of blonde rushed in and pushed him, though both of them still took the hit.

Meagan wasn't sure what happened, but he definitely hit someone. He would go and check, but right now agonizing pressure threatened to split his skull, the muscles on his raised arm squeezed and spasmed, blood cascaded from his nose pore, spots sparkled in his vision, and he was pretty sure his heart was about to explode. Yep, he overdid it.

As though on instinct, the host body turned to have at least one last look at Alis and Emryth—

"'Ḧệ' ïṩ ṗŀệäṩệď..."

But darkness took him once more…

----------------------------------------