One year.

It had officially been one year since he’d arrived at the manor, and Seedot had not wasted that time, training as much as he could to catch up to the others.

If it was just another day, he would have been training with his friends, perhaps lounging in his favorite spot with Abra, or simply listening to the stories of the older Pokemon. But today was not just another day, it was an anniversary.

The anniversary of his clan’s death.

What was he supposed to do, on a day like this? Should he have mourned for them? Honored them somehow, built a shrine, or tell their tale?

He didn’t know.

So instead he threw himself into work, latching himself onto Setare’s shoulder as she went about her day, doing different chores around the house. She could sense something was up, letting him help more than he usually did, which he was grateful for. His friends too, had disappeared for the day, recognizing the difference in his attitude and disappearing to work on their own projects.

“Alright Seedot give it a tug, let’s see how this goes.” Setare grinned, clasping her hands in anticipation.

Seedot bit the cord in front of him, before heaving as hard as he could with all his might. Despite his size, he was mostly just a dense ball of muscle, made even stronger from the training and dieting the others had put him on. The cord moved, the engine revved, and the tractor hummed to life, rumbling as the engine rattled about the interior.

“Oh that’s going to be amazing for me.” She sighed, “No more walking for 3 hours tending to berry fields.”

“I could just carry you around.” Alakazam huffed, floating in to land beside her.

“Oh I know sister, but I don’t want to rely on you for everything.”

They were in the back gardens, a new addition to the manor that was simply made up of lines of berry bushes and other plants. Setare had expanded her home since he’d first arrived, with a number of newer pokemon showing up almost every week. There were trainers too, some would come by to adopt Pokemon looking to compete or interested in a journey. All of them were vetted of course, an initial background check from Setare, then a lie detector test from Alakazam during the interview.

As for the Pokémon being adopted, they all had the choice, whether they wanted to stay or go, but Seedot had no intention of leaving, even as one or two trainers thought him to be quite the catch. Still, despite the number of Pokémon adopted, it always seemed like there were more at their doorstep, some were even being dropped off from trainers who’d spotted abused Pokémon but had no idea how to care for them. Her operation had gotten quite popular in the region.

So here they were, setting up an old tractor she’d managed to buy off someone for quite a hefty sum in order to help her with the work, even if Setare had a loyal army of Pokémon willing to do whatever she asked of them. That did put a question in his mind, however, one he’d felt a little shy to ask, but with no one but Alakazam around he felt he’d give it a try.

“Why are you doing all this?” He asked, as she sat down on the tractor.

She glanced at Alakazam, before looking back at him, “What do you mean?”

“All of this, helping us, feeding, sheltering, loving, why? What drives you?”

“...I can’t do it just because?”

“There is poison in you.” Seedot said, before quickly adding, “Not a bad thing! But I see it. I see you fighting to keep it under the surface, but it’s there. You are rotting, you should focus on you, why do you help us instead?”

A shocked silence hung in the air, even the unflappable Alakazam looked stunned, her wide eyes glancing between him and her trainer. Setare sat quietly, turning off the tractor so that only the song of the wind filled the air around them.

“You’re quite the astute one, aren’t you?” Setare asked with a bitter laugh. Seedot made to apologize but she raised a hand to silence him. “Call it guilt. Regret. Shame, would be a good one.”

“You don’t have to speak about this, Setare.” Alakazam said quietly.

“No, no it’s fine. He deserves to know, they all do.” She looked away, her beautiful silver eyes almost dimming as she recalled distant memories. “I was raised on hate, Seedot. I lost people important to me, very important to me, by people whose strength would have laid the whole continent to waste. Fear and hate drove me to take the shattered remnants of the ones I loved and forge them into a weapon, so that I could get my revenge.”

“...What happened?”

“What happened was that the ones I wanted revenge on left, and I got to reap the consequences of my actions.” Her hand drifted to her neck, where a necklace with a beautiful black gemstone was set in place, tiny diamonds glinting and giving off the appearance of the night sky. “There were friends who looked up to me, who needed me after our…they needed me to teach them how to live, but I taught them how to make war.”

“There was a boy I loved, he would have done anything for me, and I took advantage of that. I watched him turn from the sweetest man on earth to a killer…for me.”

She closed her eyes and let out a shaky breath, wiping her eyes dry before speaking again, “I hurt so many Seedot, people, Pokémon, I hurt a lot of them.”

“Some deserved it.” Alakazam said.

“Some, maybe, but many did not. By the time I realized what I’d done, it was too late. I’d turned my family into blades and wondered why they sought blood. I tried to convince them to turn back, to turn away, begged the man I thought would do anything for me to try once again to change himself. It didn’t turn out the way I wanted it to.”

Seedot stared at her, the woman who had saved him from the pits of despair revealing her story. She was the same as him, someone who had lost it all, but turned to hate to fill the void. Seedot wondered if he would have ended up doing the same, if she hadn’t come to save him. Would he have trained to be a killer? Would he have sought revenge against the red man? Declared war? Would he have even succeeded, or would he join the ashes of his family, reduced to nothing but food for the forest.

“I do all this because it’s my way of atoning.” Setare said, “It’s selfish, I know. And maybe you’ll hate me but–”

“I could never hate you.” Seedot interrupted. “Don’t say that.”

“But–”

“I love you. We all do. You saved me, took care of me, healed me. How could I hate you?”

“He’s right, sister.” Alakazam agreed, gently resting a hand on her shoulder, “You’ve given us everything, it’s time to enjoy it, don’t you think?”

Setare’s laughter was like music, as she wiped away the tears from her eyes. “You’re right, you’re right. How about we celebrate today? I’ll order a massive cake, maybe we’ll get some pizza with it too, how does that sound?”

“Delicious!” Seedot chirped, hopping back up onto her shoulder.

“Pizza it is then, we’ll go order, then after why don’t you find your friends? I think I’d like to spend the day with Alakzam.”

Seedot agreed. He felt better helping Setare smile, his own burdens feeling all the more lighter at seeing her happy. Maybe it was because he felt he was paying her back for all the help she’d given him, maybe he needed to help his friends more, show them how much he cared. If he could see their genuine happiness, maybe he could reach his own?

It was surprisingly difficult to find them. After he’d left Setare he’d wandered around the mansion, asking everyone and anyone who wasn’t busy. For some reason they seemed hesitant to answer, like they were in some big secret he wasn’t allowed to know.

By the time he’d given up it was reaching late afternoon, and feeling slightly annoyed Seedot decided to rest in the sun again. It was a simple thing, walking up a trunk of a tree that overlooked the hills, finding an open branch and perching himself onto it.

Only for someone to ruin it just as he got comfortable.

“SEEDOT!” Abra cheered.

“Arceus!” Seedot exclaimed, falling out of his perch. He glared up at his yellow friend who at least had the decency to look slightly apologetic, “Where’ve you guys been? I spent all day looking for you.”

“Sorry, we were just busy getting something ready.”

“Something…?”

“Come on!”

Seedot wanted to ask more questions, but he didn’t get the chance to, with Abra flying down the hills at a fast pace, causing Seedot to use Rollout just to catch up with him. The two disappeared into the foliage, running past bushes and creeks, zooming in between trees in a dead “sprint”. At some point it turned into a race, Seedot doing his best to roll past his friend, even if he didn’t know where they were going.

The trees finally cleared just as Seedot managed to pass Abra, landing in the clearing with a triumphant cry. Gasping and panting, he froze a second later as he saw what was in front of him. There in the clearing, beside a quaint little river, were his friends Mawile and Vigorath, who’d set up a little picnic for them. A blanket was laid out on the ground, a basket of his favorite foods was cut clean and presented in elegant designs, and to top it all off, a small cake without any candles was placed in the very center.

“Surprise!” Abra gasped, fighting for air.

“Oh wow, you made it faster than I thought you would.” Mawile said.

“Looks like ya raced over ‘ere, what’s tha rush?” Vigor laughed.

“What…what is all this?” Seedot asked.

“It’s a…’we love you’ party, I suppose.” Mawile said, tapping her chin. “We know what day it is, it’s been a year since you’ve joined us.”

“An’ we wanted ta show ya we care, lil’buddy.”

“I don’t know what to say.” Seedot whispered.

“Hmmm, thank you would suffice.”

“...thank you. Arceus, thank you.”

“The fuck ya thankin’ Arceus for? We’re the one’s that made it! Now come one! Get some food and then ya train wit me!”

Seedot wouldn’t have had it any other way.

—------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sometimes, Seedot wished he started training earlier, because man, it could be fun.

He was rolling as fast as he could, skidding past Vigor’s first punch before jumping up and trying to land a hit on the older Pokémon's back.

“No you don’t!” Vigoroth said, pivoting out of the way. Before Seedot could fully leap over him however, Vigoroth backhanded his smaller form, sending him careening into the creek nearby.

“An’ that’s another win for the champ, young Viggy!” He cheered.

“I still think that’s a stupid nickname.” Seedot said, shaking water off his body as he hopped up onto the rock.

“You and everyone else.” Mawile sighed, combing through Abra’s fur. “And Abra baby, don’t you dare say anything about his nickname, you’ll just inflate his ego.”

“Aw.”

“And Vig, it’s supposed to be Seedot’s day, at least try to lose once.”

“Where’s tha fun in that!?”

Seedot sighed, but couldn't exactly wipe the smile from his face as he made his way down onto the grass. It was his 11th straight loss in a row, but for some reason, he didn’t feel bad at all. Bullet seed, Harden, Growth, now Rollout. His repertoire was growing. He was improving.

It felt good.

The sun was going down, casting the world in burning oranges and gold as it began to crest below the horizon. Seedot looked away, focusing his attention at the little picnic they’d set up instead, a nice mix of berries and foods from the Manor and its garden, with bottles of juice and lemonade on the side.

His friends had taken him out for his anniversary here, training, talking, relaxing.

Living.

He liked that, he liked it here. He loved his friends, he loved Alakazam, he loved Setare, he loved getting stronger, he loved everything about this place.

And that’s when it started to go wrong.

THOOM-!

The world seemed to rock in place as a massive explosion was let off, all four of them turning in shock at the smoke trailing upwards from the manor. A brief second of silence, and the cries of war began, familiar haunted screams of rage and anger echoing down the hills.

“Mama…” Abra whispered, before teleporting out of sight.

“Abra–no!” Mawile screamed, she turned to look at the Vigor, “We have to go! Seedot–”

“I’m coming!” Seedot yelled. He had to go, he couldn't let them be lost again.

“You can’t! You’re not strong enough!”

“I am! I can fight! I can help!”

“Mawile…” Vigoroth said, his voice serious, “We don’t have time, let’s take him, he can find Abra.”

“...Fine! But you stay away from the fighting, you hear?”

This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.

Seedot nodded, and they were off, rushing through the woods at breakneck speed. Vigoroth bound through the trees, using them as leverage to hurl himself farther and farther into the woods as Mawile followed behind, her larger jaw gripping onto branches as she swung. Carried in her arms was Seedot, readying himself for war.

Adrenaline was surging through his veins, and he tensed himself with Harden, readying himself for the battle to come. Soon enough they arrived, the brawl having already gone underway.

It was sickening, Pokémon that he’d lived and grown beside, who were caught unaware were left broken and bleeding at the foot of the hills. In front of them was a small army, one dressed in strange white uniforms emblazoned with a stylized “G”. A number of the humans already lay dead at the base of the hills, their uniforms stained with dirt, blood, and burns. The ranks of the enemy were consistent, an army of Zubats, Golbats, Stunkys, Croagunk and Bronzor. All in all weaker Pokémon according to Vigor…but there were just so many of them.

“We’ve got more over here!” A team of Grunts yelled, and at once there were about a dozen Pokémon rushing down the hills to meet them in combat.

“Motherfuckers.” Vigoroth growled, beating his chest to hype himself up.

“Seedot, cross the walls and get into the Manor.” Mawile whispered. “Get to Abra.”

“What?” He asked, incredulously, “But there are so many–”

“These are nothin’ but a bunch’a slowdowns, Seedot. Get going, we’ll catch up.”

“Go. Find Abra, help who you can.”

And with that, Mawile threw Seedot as hard she could, sending him towards the walls of the manor. Seedot hurtled through the air, just in time to see Vigoroth and Mawile crash into the enemy, bloodlust in their eyes as they began to rip and tear into flesh and steel.

Seedot fell onto the wall, falling downwards into a rollout off the sloped edge to gain momentum. It was chaos everywhere, gardens and trees were smashed to bits in battle. He could see Ursaring doing battle against a horde of smaller Pokémon. Zubats bit at her arms and legs, Bronzor sent waves of chiming psychic energy, blasting the old warrior’s head. Through it all she raged, Ursaring’s mighty claws rending steel asunder, chopping Zubat and Golbat alike into two, yet still they came.

A sudden buzz of activity as something blurred into existence, and all of a sudden the dozen Zubats who’d harassed Ursurang were dead on the floor. Ninjask dropped onto Ursurang’s shoulders, wiping the blood from his claws.

“Are you alright, my friend?” He asked.

“Hrrng. I’ll survive.” Ursurang replied, “They breached the manor, I saw their leader.”

“The lady shall deal with them. We must focus our efforts on regaining momentum.”

“Rally who you can to me then, Ninjask. We will break their support and reinforce the wall.”

“As you wish, my friend. Be safe.”

The buzzing of wings and Ninjask was off, speeding throughout the manor to help and gather who he could. Ursaring meanwhile let out a shaky breath, dropping to one knee as she heaved for air.

“Ursaring!” Seedot said, rushing over as fast as he could, grabbing a branch of Oran’s and dragging them over.

“...Seedot?”

“You’re hurt! Eat, please!”

“Hrm. These old bones aren’t what they used to be.” Ursaring sighed, gratefully eating the branch in one gulp. At once her wounds began to close, but the fatigue in her eyes remained. “What are you doing here, it’s not safe.”

“Mawile and Vigoroth told me to find Abra, but I can help fight!”

“No, no. Find him, he is Alakazam’s heir. I must take the fight to the gate. Go.”

Seedot bit his lip, but complied, watching as Ninjask appeared on his friend’s shoulder, a dozen or so others wounded joining the small band as they rushed into the field once more. Seedot moved the opposite direction, rolling into the small hidden passageways he’d discovered during his time exploring. The manor shook and rumbled as Seedot rolled through the halls, and more than once he thought the structure would collapse, but through luck or will, the structure held.

Hearing voices getting louder, Seedot left the passageway, entering the main hall. It was a mess, artwork and furniture lay broken and shattered, tiled floors and wooden walls were marred with a dozen fractures, bits of shard crumbling apart like leaves in the wind.

“Argh!” a voice screamed, one Seedot did not recognize.

A Rhyperior, built like a mountain, crashed down the steps where Setare stood, her Milotic–bleeding from a nasty tear at her flank–curled around her protectively. The Rhyperior smashed into the floor, where it twitched once before stopping completely.

“Return.” A voice said, sounding annoyed. Standing there was a man Seedot had never seen before, he was about as tall as Setare, with deep blue hair that curled upwards into two points.

“Since when did you have a Rhyperior, Darius?” Setare asked, her eyes hard despite the joviality in her tone.

“You don’t get to call me that, Venus.” The man–Darius, snarled. “Not after everything you put us through.”

“I…very well, then what are you doing here, Saturn?”

“Exactly what did you think was going to happen when we heard you were active again? Did you think we’d sit still and let you continue as if nothing had ever happened? As if you hadn't tried to have us killed?"

“Despite that you've let me run free for quite a few years, what's changed?”

“Of nothing much, just the fact that you’ve got a 45 million dollar bounty on your head.” Saturn smirked, throwing another pokeball to the floor, “You’ve gotten really good at angering the wrong people.”

Purple and black mist pooled out from where the pokeball landed, obscuring its form. Two yellow, baleful eyes glowed amongst the smog, glaring hatefully up at Setare and Milotic.

“Did you forget who taught you that opening?” Setare asked, before pointing down. “[Hydro Pump!]”

“[Velvet Waltz.]”

A torrent of water crashed into where the mist once was, dispersing it immediately. It didn't, however, hit the purple streak that twisted and flashed around the beam of pressured water. Setare’s eyes went wide as the attack aimed for her, only for Milotic to sweep inwards and take the hit instead. The Pokémon snarled, flicking her tail outwards and sending the enemy flying backwards, who landed perfectly next to Saturn.

Now that it was still, Seedot could see that it was a Toxicroak, every pore of its body dripping purple liquid as if it was sweat, causing the floor around it to sizzle and dissolve just a tad.

“Do you hate me, Darius?” Setare asked, her hand reaching to her belt.

“More than you could ever know.” He answered. “Toxicroak, [Nasty Plot.]”

The two Pokémon rushed to meet each other once more, but Seedot had to turn away from the fight, rolling through the back to find where Abra was, Alakzam too, Setare never kept her in a Pokeball unless it was an emergency, which meant she was outside somewhere.

He raced through the halls, taking every shortcut he knew to find just where the two were. The upper levels were mostly clear of intruders, most of the important fighting taking place downstairs. Still, more than a dozen or so grunts had taken their chances on the upper floors, flying up with Golbats to try and swarm the manor as much as possible.

“There! A Seedot!” One of the grunts called out, “[Air cutter!]”

Fierce winds blew down the hall, and Seedot stared, eyes wide. His training kicked in at the last second, and he lept away, crashing into the nearby room, just as the attack ripped apart the walls.

“Follow i-what? Ark-”

There was an audible snap, as something broke, the Grunt began choking on something, the Golbat screeched in anger, only for it to turn to fear a second later as flesh tore. Seedot peaked out of the room, to find Alakazam drenched in blood, the broken neck of a grunt in one hand, half of Golbat in another.

He couldn’t help the fear that built within him as she turned slowly, the brief flicker of recognition in her eyes being the only thing that had him exhale a breath.

“...Seedot.” She said, and with a sigh. Closing her eyes the blood on her fur immediately was expelled outwards, coating the walls instead. “What are you doing here? Where is Setare?”

“Ah–yes.” Seedot said, momentarily forgetting, “She’s downstairs, fighting a blue haired man! I came to look for you and Abra, you have to help her!”

“Darius…Abra, come out!”

A mini flash, and Abra was there, looking more rattled than ever.

“Stay with Seedot, I need to join Setare.”

“But ma!”

“But nothing! You are too weak to help, you find a place to hide, and you stay, understood?”

“...fine.”

“I shall find you after.” She said, before teleporting away, leaving the two alone.

“We have to follow her!” Abra said.

“What? But she said we needed to hide!” That last attack had been too fast for Seedot to even see. How could they even dream of helping her? At worst, they'd get in her way.

“She could be in danger!”

“She’s stronger than us both!”

“She’s my mother!” Abra screamed, before quieting his voice, “Please, Seedot, I can’t lose her.”

Memories of his own mother came flashing back towards him. Memories that were now tainted with the image of her corpse, with the image of fire and melted bones, of charred skin and blackened wounds. Seedot looked at Abra, his shy friend now so full of conviction.

“Fine.” He muttered, “But we stay out of sight.”

“Deal!”

Abra latched onto Seedot, and the world turned hazy as it shifted around them. A moment later they were back in the main foyer, landing atop the rafter. The building looked as if it had suffered a lot more damage in the last 15 minutes Seedot had gone looking.

Toxicroak was held in the air by Alakazam’s psychic energy, struggling as actual fear flickered across the eyes of both the toxic Pokémon and Saturn.

“Toxicroak.” was all Alakazam said.

“Bitch.” Toxicroak snarled back, her throat ballooning before releasing a torrent of dark energy at Setare’s ace. She was forced to drop the hold on Toxicroak, teleporting to her trainer’s side. Milotic was gone from the field, but Toxicroak wasn’t looking good either. Three of Saturn’s Pokeballs were missing, leaving just two at the belt, was it just Toxicroak and one other then? Setare on the other hand was missing two, Milotic and another, still, 4 left.

“You know you can’t win against me, Darius. Though I will say, you've gotten better.”

“And you've somehow become more insufferable than before.” Saturn sighed, running a hand through his hair, “Alright, I guess we’re doing this then.”

Another Pokeball was thrown out, and Seedot had to wince as the room suddenly got a lot hotter. A Magmortar erupted into existence, its booming laughter echoing across the chamber.

“Is that you, Alakazam?” Magmortar hummed, “You look older than I remember, ha ha ha!”

“Magby…Magmortar now, hm? I assume you forgot what happens when you speak out of turn.”

“Oh I remember, I still have the reminders, haha!” He laughed, pointing to the small scars at his chest.

“And you still think you can fight against me?”

“Oh no no no, I’m not stupid enough to try that.”

“You know the drill, Magmortar. [Overheat: Dying Star.]

"But I will make sure your day is royally fucked."

Magmortar’s body exploded in heat, the sound of roaring flame drowning out the Pokémon's booming laughter. Fire was ripped from his body, drawn into a ball of molten light that turned the dark sky bright with orange light as it grew in size.

“Stop him Alakazam! [Disable!]”

“No you don’t!” Toxicroak snarled, vaulting up to Alakazam. Twin fists lit up with purple energy, only to fade a second later as Alakzam’s eyes flashed a dull grey, removing the attack from play. A wave of psychic energy sent Toxicroak flying backwards, but Saturn returned her a moment later, nodding at the men and women who waited patiently behind him. Four dozen Bronzors flew into existence, a psychic barrier instantly linking together to form a hexagonal shield.

“Alakazam, it’s time!”

“I’m on it!”

Dozens of domes of light covered Alakazam and Setare, and Seedot realized at that point that he too was in danger, turning to Abra and screaming at him to get them out. Too late–the miniature sun collapsed, before exploding outwards into a symphony of destruction, bathing the room in red. One unlucky piece barely grazed his side, but it was enough for Seedot to scream out in pain, falling from the rafters and onto the railings of the steps.

Seedot rose, only to find a familiar feeling rising up and consuming him whole.

Fear.

His home was burning, again.

His family burned, again.

And Seedot could only stand in fear, again.

Prismatic light began to glow deep within Setare’s dome, and it shattered in a bursting of rainbow energy. Seedot’s fear temporarily gave way to nausea as he gazed at Alakazam…something was wrong with her. An evolution that shouldn’t have been reached, an unnatural being with power that shouldn’t have existed. Purple skin sloughed off her arms and shoulders, giving it the look of a loose robe. White hair flowed backwards, drifting through the air as if it were in water, painting swirling patterns in the wind. A red gem flashed from the center of her forehead,

“What…” Saturn breathed, his eyes wide, “What is th-urk!”

He suddenly grabbed at his throat, clawing at an invisible force that seemed to lift him and all of the Grunts with him up from the ground, dragging him closer to where Setare stood. Alakazam watched without a hint of emotion, though Setare held an apologetic look, one that seemed to only infuriate Saturn.

“I’m sorry it had to end like this, Darius.” She said, “But I can’t let you stop me.”

“Monster.” He spat back, “You’ll die tonight, one way or ano-hrk.”

“Silence, child.” Alakazam said, her words actually audible. Even Saturn looked at her in shock. “You’re lucky you haven’t died yet.”

“I warned him you’d be too dangerous to take on alone.”

Alakazam’s attention instantly shifted to the voice that spoke. It was cold like winter, quiet like the gentlest whisper, but carried all the weight of an unfeeling star, impossibly powerful. How a mere voice could make Seedot shiver so, he did not know, yet it did, and there the man stood.

He was tall, even taller than Ursaring, his large jacket barely covering muscles that tensed, the only sign showing off that the man was either nervous or ready to fight. His face was chiselled from stone, hard lines revealing no emotion, only focus as he stared at Setare.

“Cyrus…” She breathed, composing herself a moment later, “If we’re having a reunion, are Avalie and Erum not with us tonight?”

“They're rounding up the last of your followers. Tonight it’s just us.”

“I’m flattered.”

“I know.”

The whole room darkened for a second, and Saturn was free, dragged back to safety by Toxicroak. Setare blinked, before stumbling backwards and collapsing to her knees, a red line suddenly appearing across her chest.

“Wh-”

“NO!” Alakazam screamed, a wave of psychic energy blasting forward. A hundred Bronzongs rose to meet the force, creating layer after layer of interlocking shields in order to block the attack.

A hundred Bronzong fell, clattering to the ground like raindrops as their psychic energy was trampled and consumed.

“Hm.” Was all Cyrus said, raising his eyebrow in interest as Weaville appeared beside him. “A shallow cut.”

“Oh…Cyrus.” Setare chuckled, releasing the remaining three Pokemon on her belt, “You never learned, did you?”

“On the contrary, star of my heart.” Cyrus said, gesturing to the door. A massive Gyrados snarled, breaking the door frame as it entered. In its jaws was the broken body of Ursaring and Ninjask, the latter’s wings still buzzing inconsistently, as if it did not know it was dead.

“I learned more than you could ever know.”

Their battle shook the earth and instilled a fear into Seedot he never knew he’d have. These weren’t Pokémon, these were gods, their wrath wrecking the foundations of his home. His mother had never been this strong, that Camerupt who’d gone through the same false evolution as Alakazam couldn’t keep up. What did he train for? He could never, would never be like them.

Psychic and dark energy collided over and over again, as Alakazam and Weaville fought head to head. Even with Venosaur, Togekiss, and Gardevoir on Alakazam’s side, they were outnumbered. Not only by the monsters Cyrus had at his side, but with the hundreds of other smaller Pokemon that came along with the uniformed men and women.

One by one Setare’s Pokemon fell, until at last it was just Alakazam, gasping and panting for breath as she tried to stem the flow of blood from a thousand wounds.

“What’s wrong, old friend.” The Weaville snarled, “Out of breath already?”

“You…you won’t defeat us.” Alakazam wheezed, “I will stop you.”

“Any last words?” Cyrus asked, his face unchanged.

A sad smile crept up Setare's face, “...I’m sorry.”

Cyrus paused, multitudes of emotion flickering across his face, before settling on fatigue as he said. “[Howling Dance.]”

The world went dark. The fires from Magmortar’s Overheat seemed to disappear, though the scalding wind that still blasted Seedot reminded him they still existed. A thousand whispers seemed to echo out in the space around him, dark words that only promised pain if he truly listened.

And then it was gone.

And so was Alakazam.

“No…” Setare whispered, all the fight draining out of her as she watched her partner collapse to the ground in a crumpled heap. There was a rattle of breath, shaky, uncertain, before she returned the Pokémon to her ball, leaving her at the mercy of the uniformed men.

“You can be assured she’ll live.” Cyrus said, walking slowly up the steps. “She’ll be necessary going forward, her psychic capabilities are the strongest in Sinnoh.”

“Going forward…? Cyrus, what are you planning?”

“That’s not important, not to you.” Cyrus crouched down until they were face to face, “I want you to know, Setare, I’ve only managed to get this far because of you. Thank you.”

Setare gasped, glancing downward, her eyes wide as she stared at the knife protruding from her chest.

“You were the best teacher I could have ever asked for.” Cyrus whispered, driving the knife deeper, before planting a gentle kiss on her forehead, “Rest now, Setare.”

The knife was ripped free, and her body dropped to the floor like a puppet whose strings were cut. The last semblances of light in her brilliant eyes dimmed as she caught glance of Seedot, staring wide-eyed in terror.

“Run…” She whispered. “Run.”

Seedot didn’t remember if he ran or not. He didn’t even know if it mattered, for he was caught not long after, dragged away from his home once more, in the arms of an enemy he was too scared to face. He drifted into stasis once more, familiar feelings of self-hate and fear swallowing him whole.

He let himself sink.

He deserved it.

—-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

What was fear?

What was strength?

Fear was an easy answer. Fear was a monster, a raging beast that clawed at your heart, leaving you frozen as you watched what you loved die. Fear was failure, fear was hate, fear was everything ugly in the world, the barbed cage you were afraid to leave, lest you cut yourself on its thorns.

But strength? What was that? Who was strong? Was his mother strong? Was Alakazam and Setare strong? Could he call them strong if they’d died? And what of Vigoroth and Mawile? Were they even alive anymore?

Was…was Cyrus strong?

He was, he beat them, but how?

Hate. It was hate that made him strong, wasn’t it? Hate for Setare, hate for Alakazam. Was the red man the same? Did he too hate his mother?

Should he hate, then? He could hate Cyrus, definitely, at least he thought he could. Would that be enough? Would that give him the strength to get revenge?

"I was raised on hate, Seedot." Setare's voice echoed. "Fear and hate drove me to take the shattered remnants of the ones I loved and forge them into a weapon, so that I could get my revenge.”

What would he even do with revenge?

He needed time, he needed to think. He wanted to sink in his thoughts, in his sorrow, he was too tired to do anything else.

But then a hand grasped his cell, and opened its doors.

For a while Seedot could forget about his life in the past, sitting atop his new trainer's shoulder. Arun was like the sun, calming, warm, gentle, but there was danger to him. His hands were scratched and cracked like Vigor's, evidence of long-term violence. Against who? Galactic, his captors? Maybe.

Seedot couldn’t communicate with Arun normally, instead they relied on emotional intent, a skill Seedot had never heard nor felt before. It was frustrating at times, words he’d wanted to say would be lost in translation, but there was something intimate about communicating solely through feeling, the sheer honesty meant he could tell how his new trainer was feeling all the time.

It was the first time he battled.

Arun had called him brave, but that was wrong. He’d gone up against Golbat’s, five times his size, 5 times as deadly, and he was scared. He’d hurt them, defeated them, but he was terrified all the same. The fear was real, but so too was the hate, hate for the people that confined him, that destroyed his family. It was enough, it let him win, let him destroy.

Seedot denied the claim, but then Arun said “That’s exactly what being brave is about, you know?” Those simple words instantly catching his attention, “You fight, even though you’re scared. You sacrifice, even if you’d rather do anything else, because you care about what’s right, about the people around you.”

And so Seedot became Valor.

But old habits died hard, and when Valor saw the fire and flame of more cloaked warriors, he refused to fight. Arun choked on sulfur and smoke, and he did nothing. Arun was beaten and broken, and Valor did nothing.

How many times had he failed his friends? How many times had he failed family?

It was the same story, over and over and over again. Valor thought he’d grown, Valor thought he’d become strong. But then the jaws of fear would grip his heart again, and he’d watch them get hurt. It was so…so stupid. He was always watching, always begging for someone else to save him, to help him.

And now the story was being told again.

Arun was supposed to distract that…monster. The beast with axes for hands as Hazel and Emily attempted to smash the door to the security wing open. But Arun had been overconfident, no, he’d been desperate. Fear of his brother’s demise fuelling him to take risks he would never have taken normally. He’d tried to kill the beast on his own, and he failed.

Now the beast walked towards him, and Arun was too hurt to move.

What was fear?

What was strength?

What was Valor?

No.

No more questions. Questions got him nowhere.

Valor took a breath, and broke free of his Pokeball.

It was time to act.