Arc Two // Terminal Velocity // Chapters 12-21
Alec stretched and looked up toward the rising sun.
As he walked through the streets of Jubilife Village, a few villagers happily waved to him. They all said “Glad to see you healthy!” or some variation. He grinned, thankful to be out of Joyce’s clinic.
Auster and Tricky were both riding on his shoulders. The first thing he’d done that morning when he woke up and got cleared to leave was dash to the pasture and pick them up. They’d had fun but they were both ready to see their Trainer again.
“Before we start the day,” Alec said, “We need to visit Laventon’s first. We’re starting to hit a wall in terms of documenting new species, so I want to ask where I should look. All of our recent hauls have pretty much been the same few species repeated.”
He made a turn at the street corner, turning away from the village gate and heading toward Laventon’s.
Cyllene hadn’t offered any information on how difficult it was to gain more stars when he’d visited for his first one the other day. The star was still dutifully pinned to his hoodie, over his heart. Laventon had said he’d surpassed the threshold for the first one. Maybe he’d know how close Alec was to the next star.
Come to think of it, they also never told me how many granted clearance to visit other areas, Alec thought. He wondered what the other parts of Hisui were like. He’d never been too interested in geography so he didn’t know what parts were left.
It probably wasn’t the mountains on the horizon as peaks were typically the home of very strong Pokemon. Maybe it was the icelands that Irida mentioned the Pearl clan settlement was in? Either way, he’d find out soon.
His train of thought abruptly ended as Alec reached Laventon’s lab. He rapped hard on the wooden door a few times and stepped back to wait for him to let him in.
The professor opened the door a moment later and gladly beckoned him inside. “What can I do for you, young Alec?” he asked.
“I noticed that I haven’t been finding any new species lately. Any ideas which ones I’m missing and where to look for them?”
“New species, hmm?” He raised his hand to his chin in thought and walked over to a framed map on the wall. “Sinnoh, what did I do to deserve such a passionate assistant?” he muttered under his breath.
“You’ve been sticking to the upper areas like Aspiration Hill and the Horshoe Plains, and Deertrack Island, right?” he asked, gesturing to the respective areas on the map. At Alec’s nod, he continued. “All the Pokemon you’ve brought back have been from those areas.”
He pointed toward an area on the bottom right of the map. “You’d best try around the Sandgem Flats. I’d bet my left thumb that you’ll find plenty of new species there.”
“Any ideas what I’ll find?” Alec asked hesitantly.
Laventon thought for a moment then turned and hurried to the table where the Pokedex rested. He opened the book with a thump and licked his finger to leaf through its numerous pages.
“Be wary of Luxio and Luxray, the evolved forms of your Shinx. There’s usually a pack of them that likes to hunt around the Flats. Try to stay as far away from them as you can. And whatever you do, do not engage with an Alakazam.”
“Why not?”
“The species is a Psychic-type, and they’re quite proficient with teleportation. So proficient, in fact, that they can teleport your head right off your neck,” he said with a shudder. “They won’t do so unless provoked, but it’s better to play it safe.”
Alec hummed in agreement, trying to process the fact that a Pokemon could kill so effortlessly.
“On a lighter note, you’ll find Abra and Shellos here. Both should be rather easy for a young go-getter like yourself!” he said, clapping Alec on the back.
“Thanks, professor,” he laughed. “One more question. How close am I to my second star?”
“Your second star? Yes, come to think of it, you are approaching it.” He paused for a moment. “I’d say that you’re so close that a decent haul of Abra and Shellos would just push you over the cusp. I might be wrong, but the second star grants access to another area.”
“Sweet, thanks!” Alec replied. “I’ll go get to it, then.”
“Good luck,” Laventon said. “Though I don’t think you’ll need it.”
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Alec walked down the coastline, feeling the sand crunch beneath his shoes. The waters of the Ramanas River created a sort of mini-beach as they flowed out to the nearby ocean. Occasionally, he’d see a sliver of Pokemon like Basculin and Quilfish swimming up the river from the ocean.
He checked his compass to ensure he was still heading in the right direction. Sure enough, he was still heading southward. Looking at the map at Laventon’s lab, he figured that he could head south until he hit the tip of the island.
Previously, he’d found a massive Snorlax, which you’d think would be a redundant statement. All Snorlax were massive, that’s just how they were. But this one put every other Snorlax that Alec had seen on TV to shame.
Luckily, it was sound asleep, wedged between two trees for shade. He just crept around it, giving it a clear berth. An intrusive thought boldly told him to toss one of his new Heavy Balls at it to test their capabilities, as he hadn’t tried them out yet and he had a clear shot.
Obviously, he hadn’t done that. He may have been foolhardy and reckless sometimes, but he wasn’t an idiot.
I’ll come back for you, Alec thought. Just you wait.
As the river began to curve to the right, Alec figured that he’d arrived at the Sandgem Flats. He tossed Auster’s Pokeball forward and held his arm out for him to perch on.
“Hey buddy,” he said, scratching him on his favorite spot, under his chin. Auster let out a low warble, leaning into Alec’s hand.
Alec looked around the nearby area, taking in the hills and rocks of the landscape. He couldn’t see any Pokemon in his immediate surroundings.
“Do you mind flying up and looking for some Pokemon, Auster? Specifically any species we haven’t seen before.”
That was one integral part of Alec’s hunting process, taking advantage of Auster’s razor-sharp eyes. It was a win-win for both of them; Alec got an excellent scout for any Pokemon to catch and Auster got the exhilaration of flying high.
Auster happily chirped and took off from Alec’s outstretched arm, spiraling upwards in a wide circle. Alec held his hand up to block the sunlight as he watched his partner fly higher and higher.
After a moment, Auster chirped out and began flying off in a seemingly arbitrary direction. Alec recognized that this meant he’d found something and quickly set off to follow him.
Auster led him over a large pile of rocks nearby, conveniently granting Alec a vantage point that doubled as cover for him to crouch behind. He climbed up on the rocks, quickly scaling them. When he slowly peeked over the top, he saw a small pack of Pokemon he recognized as Shellos.
Strange, he thought. They’re all a different color from the one that Laventon showed me. They can’t all be shiny, can they? he thought. Maybe it’s some kind of alternate form or gender difference.
It had been a while since he’d studied Pokemon that closely. A handful of years ago, he’d jumped at the chance to take a class at school on Pokemon, called Pokemology. It covered the basics of care, typings, and other things more suited for a daycare worker than a Trainer.
He’d since forgotten almost everything they’d covered in that class but he faintly remembered that some Pokemon could look different based on factors like their gender or diet.
There were five Shellos in total, and one Pokemon that resembled a Shellos, but far larger and with a different pattern. Alec immediately assumed it to be its evolved form, though he didn’t remember its name.
Not taking his eyes off them, he reached into his satchel and readied five Pokeballs, one for each Shellos. He held one in his hand and kept the others in his front hoodie pocket.
Now would also be a great time to test out a Heavy Ball, thought Alec. That evolved Shellos would be his.
He remembered Rei and Akari telling him about one of their strategies for distracting Pokemon, where they grabbed balls of dirt and flung them at it. If it worked as a distraction, why shouldn’t it work while catching? The dirt, made into mud by the river, would work perfectly.
Alec quickly glanced at Auster circling above, ready to swoop down at a moment’s notice. The odds were stacked in his favor, but on the off chance that something went south, he’d have backup. Plus, something told him that these Shellos were on the slow side, due to their lack of legs and all.
In one fluid motion, he leaped from his perch on the rock and fell to the ground below, landing smoothly and grabbing a fistful of mud. He quickly flung it at the first Shellos, which had only just noticed him, and followed it up with a Pokeball. Both projectiles struck true and the sea slug was quickly sucked inside.
It was only inside for a moment. Alec whirled around when he heard the telltale sound of cracking wood as the ball broke apart.
“Legendaries Above!” he quickly swore, already bending down to grab another fistful of dirt. He was caught off guard by the strange sounds the Shellos were making. He looked up to find all five of them, plus the evolved one, slowly crawling towards him.
He grabbed the dirt and flung it at the same Shellos again, already backpedaling away from them. This time, when he threw the Pokeball, it held true and kept it secured inside. The little sparkler sounded off, signaling to Alec that it was successful.
The Shellos continued to crawl toward him, occasionally barking their strange cries that resembled a gurgling delta in a river. He wrinkled his nose in disgust at their stench, like week-old garbage that he’d forgotten to bring to the curb to be collected.
Alec continued the process four more times, tossing balls of mud followed by Pokeballs at the Shellos and backpedaling. He’d grabbed another Pokeball to replace the one that broke open, making sure it was carved properly before throwing it.
Finally, it was just the evolved Shellos left, which strangely didn’t seem too upset at the fact that all of its packmates were gone. Some species were naturally smarter than others, and the Shellos line didn’t seem to rank too highly on that list.
Alec shook his head to clear his thoughts and grabbed a Heavy Ball. He still wasn’t used to the ball’s weight so throwing it overhand was a no-go. It weighed, surprisingly enough, as much as a small watermelon, meaning throwing it would be more of a heave than a throw.
He inhaled, raising the ball up and pushing it forward, like a shot-put thrower in a track and field event. The evolved Shellos just watched as Alec grunted, throwing the ball forward.
Luckily, his aim was precise, and the large slug Pokemon was sucked inside. The ball wobbled once, twice, then thrice.
Alec let out his held breath as the sparklers shot off, signaling the successful catch. He wiped his brow and felt the satisfaction wash over him.
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Gotcha now, Alec thought as he crept through the tall grass as silently as he could. His target, a lone Abra that he’d chased for about thirty minutes thus far, floated unaware in a clearing. It was preoccupied with a berry tree, holding its arms out as it tried to levitate a berry from the tree. It seemed frustrated as the berry strained against its stem, unyielding.
Alec had studied its movements for a while now. The Abra’s first instinct on hearing a loud noise was to immediately teleport away. Its next position was completely unpredictable as he couldn’t find any patterns to exploit.
He had briefly considered adding it to his team but he felt there was a difference between the Pokemon he caught for Laventon and the ones he’d add to his lineup. For Laventon, he caught first and asked questions later, knowing they’d be released back into the wild in a day or two once Laventon examined them.
On the other hand, he wanted the Pokemon on his team to agree to join him. There was no way he’d ever convince the Abra to sit down and talk to him as-is, though. He wanted a Psychic type eventually, but he’d have to wait to get one. According to Laventon, the Abra line was the only Psychic type that inhabited the fieldlands.
This throw’s gonna have to be a fastball, Alec thought as he turned a Pokeball over in his hand a few times to fidget. He knew its reaction time wouldn’t be perfect, so he’d have to rely on a fast throw.
Before him, the Abra was notably still engrossed in the tree. It hadn’t even glanced in Alec’s direction in a while.
Not wanting to introduce any factors to throw off his aim, he slowly sucked in a deep breath and blinked a few times so he could avoid breathing and blinking. He paused for a moment to calm his mind too, then flung the ball as fast as he could.
The ball whizzed through the air, like a red and white bullet, heading straight toward the unaware Abra. Right at the last moment, it snapped its head to look right at the ball and blinked out of existence. The fabric of reality folded itself into a knot, allowing the little Abra to slip through a crack and reappear somewhere else.
Alec gaped at the great display of skill, until he heard a warping noise right next to him. Startled, he shot to his feet and took several steps back, seeing the Abra appear right next to him.
The two stared at each other in silence for a moment or two, with Alec’s chest heaving and the Abra completely stoic. Its closed eyes seemed to bear right into Alec’s mind, breaching his brain and sifting through his psyche.
You have been following me for twenty-nine minutes and six seconds, he heard a monotone voice say in his head.
Alec’s gaping mouth somehow opened even more, and he slowly nodded in shock. It knew he was there?
Yes. Your mind is rather loud, I must say. Humans, with their noisy thoughts and turbulent minds, it said. I know you are trying to capture me for some purpose, with that ball. Why?
The Pokeball? Alec slowly tried to regain his composure and steady his breathing. “Um, it’s called a Pokeball. I, uh, work for a professor. He’s trying to catalog and study Pokemon species.”
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Ah. And I presume this ‘professor’ wants to study me? And what happens next?
Alec was still in disbelief at the fact that he was having an actual telepathic conversation with a Pokemon. It must’ve read his mind to glean his intents!
Yes, I did pull information from your mind. As I mentioned, you are broadcasting your thoughts rather loudly.
He gasped and took another step back. This was unbelievable, it happened again! No, he had to calm himself and actually process the situation. He took a deep breath and steadied his mind again, like he had when he threw the Pokeball. The Abra hadn’t shown any signs of hostility as it patiently waited and watched him.
“Uh, he’ll take measurements of you, stuff like height and weight. We’re also cataloging data on preferred foods, so you’ll get to eat some of that. Then you’ll get some food and be released back here.” Alec nervously twitched and fidgeted with his hands as he spoke.
Intriguing, the Abra said in the same monotone. I do not sense any deceit from you. I will consent to be studied, though I will not be contained in one of those balls. Where is this professor? I will go to him myself.
Alec thought for a moment. “Do you know where Jubilife Village is?” He spoke slowly and with a confused edge to his voice, as if by delaying his speech, he’ll stall for enough time to process what was happening.
No. Kindly bring the location to the forefront of your mind. I am not proficient enough at the art of telepathy to glean information that you are not actively thinking about.
Alec hummed and squeezed his eyes shut, concentrating on the visage of Laventon’s lab. He imagined a flying’s-eye view of Jubilife that pinpointed right where to go.
Understood. I will meet this “Laventon” and allow him to study me.
And with that, the small Abra warped out of existence again, sending a faint purple ripple through the air as it left.
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Back at his lab, Laventon was performing an experiment. He was carefully holding a glass beaker, swirling it gently with his hand to ensure the chemicals inside were as homogenized as possible.
Hello, an unknown voice suddenly said from inside his head.
He yelped, jumping at least three feet in the air, and dropped the beaker.
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Alec sighed as he sat down on a rock for a moment to rest his feet. He checked his necklace watch. 3:47 in the afternoon.
The midday sun above him seemed to evaporate his energy like ice in a volcano. He wiped the sweat from his forehead with his sleeve and brushed his damp hair out of his eyes. Today wasn’t the hottest day ever but the unprecedented heat definitely caught him off guard.
His satchel was significantly heavier than it was earlier that day. He shrugged his shoulders, trying to alleviate the weight. Twelve previously unfilled Pokeballs contributed the most to this increase in weight.
Laventon was right, this area had plenty of Pokemon to catch, Alec thought. This time midday was typically rather early to end an expedition but Alec was already satisfied with the work he’d done.
Since he’d been essentially circling around the same small area, he hadn’t harvested many trees or rocks for their resources. He’d gotten all the trees and ore deposits in the immediate area but elected to keep catching Pokemon since it was more efficient than looking for more supplies.
With a grunt, he rose to his feet and rolled his arms in wide circles a few times, trying to alleviate the sore feeling from throwing so many fastballs. This time, his wrist especially stung from all the Heavy Balls he’d used. He still had six left unused in his satchel but he’d gotten three of the evolved Shellos to show for it. Sadly, one had broken out of its ball before it was caught, meaning he had to spend another Heavy Ball on it.
A fleeting thought reminded him of his team and his responsibility as a Trainer to ensure their peak shape. Neither Auster nor Tricky had seen much use today, since he was mostly catching weak Pokemon who didn’t need to be battled. That meant both would be bursting with energy and raring to let it out through training.
Time wasn’t the limiting factor, though. He started the walk back north, mentally stitching a plan together. He’d rest for a while, then when the sun started to set and evening fell, he’d find somewhere secluded and help his Pokemon train.
Briefly glancing at his compass to ensure he was heading in the right direction, he headed back toward Jubilife. Off in the distance, he could barely see the treeline where the massive Snorlax was sleeping. Hopefully, it would still be sleeping when he got there.
Immediately to his right was Ramanas River, and across it was Deetrack Island. The large landmass was technically an island, separated from the rest of the greater Hisui by rivers. Several dams and bridges had since been constructed, making the landmass accessible.
As he silently walked back, Alec felt the breeze pick up. He loved the feeling as the wind picked up his hair and tossed it to and fro messily. The landscape of the fieldlands felt rather picturesque and calm.
Reminding Alec of a painting, he looked up to the sky to see a dense cloud cover. That’s strange, he thought. There weren’t any clouds at all just a few minutes ago.
Strangely, the clouds only seemed to be covering the area over Deertrack Island. The forming dark clouds quickly blotted out the sun’s sharp gaze. While Alec had only been in Hisui for a handful of weeks, he hadn’t yet experienced a rainstorm.
He shrugged and quickened his pace, not wanting to get caught in the storm. Judging by how dark the clouds were, he assumed it would be a rough one.
The clouds cracked with thunder, quickly drawing his attention. Upon looking closer at the island, he immediately noticed how low the clouds were to the land. They almost seemed to spiral down like a tornado touching down.
Alec’s stomach dropped like the moment of suspension atop a rollercoaster, right before the carriage tips forward and sends you into freefall. Something about the very air itself felt different. He winced as his ears popped, and he swallowed to subdue the feeling.
Something’s not right here, he thought. No, something’s very wrong. Hesitantly, he made up his mind to go examine what was going on, promising himself to keep plenty of distance from the clouds.
He quickly made his way over to the land bridge at Aspiration Hill, which directly led to Deertrack Island. He looked over at the epicenter of the clouds, noticing how distorted the air seemed around there.
The image of the landscape twisted and warped like it was caught in the heat haze of a sweltering fire. From such a distance, Alec was reasonably sure the area was caught in a refractive effect caused by the sudden storm. Faintly, he could see rain pouring down already.
He didn’t know too much about meteorology but he knew enough that sudden storms could cause vast pressure differences. Maybe this was happening here?
A Pokeball on his belt rattled for a moment before popping open as Tricky released himself. He seemed alert, looking around the nearby area trying to find a threat.
“What’s wrong?” Alec asked, kneeling down to Tricky.
Tricky kept looking about for a moment longer before staring straight at the budding storm. He sniffed the air a few times and looked back at Alec, clearly confused.
“I don’t know what’s wrong, either. Let’s check it out, though we gotta be careful,” he said. Tricky seemed just as uneasy as he was, his hackles sharply raised and electricity faintly crackling around him.
Without warning, he took off running straight toward the budding storm, unbothered by the strange feeling hanging in the air. Alec cursed and took of running after him.
Since Deertrack Island was rather hilly, Alec had to run perpendicular a few times while scaling hills. The beaten path in the grass twisted and turned like a Seviper as it led up the hill. Sometime later, he started to feel the rain on his face. It gradually got worse as he trekked up the hill until he needed to squint to see properly.
Once Alec reached the plateau atop the hill, he looked around and called out. He held his hand raised just in front of his eyes to shield him from the storm. “Tricky!” he shouted. “Where’d you go? Come back!”
Suddenly, another thunderclap reverberated from the storm. The clouds began to glow a deep purple, like the hue of an amethyst gemstone. The clouds themselves were alight with vibrant plasma, as if the clouds themselves were bottling the lightning shut inside.
The nearby area, pulsing with strange, otherworldly energy, began to warp and distort beyond what the refraction previously had done. The clouds began to swirl and crash down, as if whatever force holding them up in the sky vanished. Panicking, Alec spun around, looking for danger and for Tricky. He quickly noticed how the sun was entirely blotched out, leaving only a faint lavender circle in the sky above him. The air around him left a feeling of extreme unease in his stomach, almost supernatural in nature. It wasn’t the physical unease that makes you want to vomit; this was something else entirely.
A harsh ringing cut through his ears, bringing him back to the present. Strangely, the rain was nowhere to be found. The wind still tossed his hair and clothes about, sending a sharp chill across Alec’s exposed skin. Still, he kept turning around in circles, looking closely for any sign of Tricky nearby. Shouting over the raging wind, Alec kept shouting Tricky’s name.
The uneasy feeling in his stomach intensified like a water-filled pot boiling over. His ears kept singing their discordant note, drowning out the world with their ringing.
A small gleam of light caught his attention, shining near his feet. Just in time, he glanced down to find a small beacon, glowing in the same lavender color as the sun. He scrambled back, startled by the light’s sudden appearance.
Just as Alec got a close look at it, the light faded as quickly as it appeared, leaving behind a red box, about the height of a deck of cards. It was made of metal, with air vents poked into one side and a hole in the largest face, alight with a magma-like glow.
His understanding of the situation was akin to trying to read a book in a language he'd never seen. The strange object was completely inert and silent, displaying no dangerous properties. The light inside it seemed to ebb and flow, as if it was housing a small flame that flickered in the punishing winds.
Slowly, Alec crouched down to inspect it, carefully grabbing it and inspecting its sides. Looking in the hole left small purple spots dancing across his vision, leaving him watery-eyed and blinking. Hoping that someone back at Jubilife would know what to make of it, he slipped the box into his satchel and rose back to his full height.
As he reevaluated the landscape, several more lavender lights were sprinkled throughout the nearby area inside the stormcloud.
Thoughts of uncertainty, confusion, and worry bounced inside Alec’s skull, knocking coherent thoughts aside and drowning out all reason with their noise. Legendaries Above, what was happening? Where was Tricky?
The strange feeling in his gut reminded him of something eerily familiar. Alec looked down, to see his necklace leaning on his chest with the compass side up. Even though it was hanging down vertically, its needle was spinning wildly.
Seeing the needle’s movement triggered an old memory, of the day he was ripped from his time and sent back to Hisui. While the Unown spun around him, forcing space and time to fold, his necklace behaved similarly.
Does that mean this is another temporal distortion? he thought. The power in the air felt distinctly unique from the aura around Kleavor and from the Unown, implying that this was caused by another power.
His train of thought was hijacked by a loud crack, like gunfire, sounding off behind him. He whirled around, just in time to see a massive Haunter staring him down with a manic grin, eyes gleaming with madness. Its tongue lolled out of its mouth, saliva dripping and withering the grass upon contact.
Immediately, Alec felt every hair on his body stand up in dread. This was nothing like the Gastly he’d caught for Laventon. Though the Haunter stared at him dead-on, he felt the uncanny urge to turn around. Inexplicably, the feeling of eyes watching him from behind froze him in place.
Slowly, the Haunter waved its floating hands about in some bizarre spell, manifesting a purple ball of ghostly energy. It slowly grew in size, pulling heat from the air and sending chills down Alec’s spine.
“Shi shi shinx!”
Just as the ball of malicious energy reached the size of a basketball, Tricky leaped from a nearby patch of tall grass and drove a vicious Bite directly into the Haunter’s face. It cried out in pain, echoing off of nothing and dispersing the Shadow Ball. Tricky glared at the Haunter, electric power dancing threateningly, panting as if he’d just run a mile.
“Tricky!” Alec shouted, grateful desperation in his voice. Tricky dared not take his eyes off the Haunter. He barked in affirmation to Alec, who ran and scooped him up as fast as he could. Clutching him tight, he skidded to a stop in the closest patch of tall grass, hoping it was enough to fully conceal him.
The Haunter shook itself and let out a bone-chilling cry, beginning to form another Shadow Ball. Its dilated pupils frantically jumped around its eyes. There was clearly no rational mind behind the Haunter’s frenzied actions. It searched for Alec frantically, with raspy cries of “Haunter!”
Alec held Tricky in his arms tightly and the breath in his lungs tighter. Though the immediate danger was passed, the feeling of dread the Haunter had exuded still lingered in his lungs like a heavy smog over a fire. He dared not move a muscle and betray their position to the Haunter. He began looking for other options, knowing he couldn’t take the Haunter in a fight for long, even with Tricky’s Type advantage.
Daring to shoot a glance toward his surroundings, Alec nearly gasped when he saw more Pokemon, all acting frenzied. He saw Pokemon like Ursaring, Weavile, and Alakazam stalking around, daring any others to approach them. With each passing second, more Pokemon appeared in lavender flashes, just as the Haunter had.
Alec felt a sick feeling in his stomach as all hopes of his escape quickly warped away. He felt the urge to remain in the patch of grass forever, where it was relatively safe.
No. I’ve got to get out of here, thought Alec. The cloud cover still acted like a perimeter around them, swirling and occasionally flashing with violet energy. There’s my way out, he thought.
Right now, the Haunter was the only Pokemon immediately near him. If he could get past it, he’d have a clear shot to the edge of the storm, about fifty yards away.
With a whispered promise, he recalled Tricky and reattached the ball to his belt, patting it a few times to ensure it was secured. If all went well, he wouldn’t need Tricky’s strength to fight any more Pokemon.
Instead, he grabbed Auster’s Pokeball, but waited to release him. In his left hand, he slowly pulled a berry from his satchel. He raised the Pokeball to his lips and whispered his forming plan as quietly as he could, hoping Auster would be ready. In one fluid motion, he tossed the berry out toward the Haunter and lobbed Auster’s ball up into the air, allowing him to come out already airborne.
As the Haunter was distracted by the berry, Alec got up and sprinted away, leaving it behind quickly. Fueled only by adrenaline, Alec cleared the first ten yards of the fifty in what felt like an eyeblink.
He dared not look back, instead solely focusing on the path in front of him. Instead of wasting time running around a large rock, Alec instead lept straight over it, feeling like he was sailing ten feet high. Above him, Auster followed, carefully watching the area ahead of Alec and ready to swoop down if danger appeared.
Alec cursed as Auster tucked his wings in and dropped into a dive, seeing something in front of him. He looked closely to find another swirling lavender spark forming in front of him, quickly revealing a large and frenzied Glaceon.
The air immediately dropped several degrees in temperature as the Glaceon saw him. It narrowed its eyes and roared, summoning sharp-looking icicles in the air around it. Alec quickly skidded to a stop ten paces from it.
“ROW!” Auster shouted as he swooped down, directly between the two.
He was acting purely on adrenaline and without Alec’s command. There was typically a reason why Pokemon stuck to Trainers to get stronger, excluding having a partner to help them. One fact was simple: Humans understood type matchups and were naturally better at strategy.
As such, Auster completely failed to realize that, as a Flying and Grass-type, he’d take colossal damage from Ice-type attacks. He also failed to realize that the Glaceon was likely significantly stronger than he was, compounding his Type disadvantage.
Still, even if he understood vague human concepts like the Type chart, nothing would’ve changed.
For his partner was in danger.
With a mighty caw, Auster sent forward a mighty Gust, riling up the grass and dirt and disorienting the Glaceon. It winced and grit its teeth, then let out a battle cry as it launched its attack in retaliation. The array of Icicle Spears sliced through the air, sparkling in a manner that might’ve been considered beautiful under different circumstances.
Several were impeded by Auster’s Gust, either being knocked aside or having lost their momentum. Still, the larger icicles, unbothered by the attack, slammed into him, dropping him from the sky and burying their freezing points deep in his skin.
“NO!” Alec shouted, cemented in place in fear. Helpless to watch, his first partner fell out of the air and landed heavily on the ground. He struggled to push himself upright with his wings before collapsing with a groan. He wasn’t unconscious but he didn’t have the strength to move.
With the horror of a man trapped in the same room as an axe-wielding killer, Alec felt his blood turn to freezing nitrogen as he saw the Glaceon gathering Ice-type energy around its mouth. It stared at him with nothing behind its eyes, no semblance of intelligence, only bone-cold and desert-dry killing intent. It recognized that Auster was no longer a threat and moved on to the only other living thing challenging its authority:
Alec.
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On the dirt, Auster barely felt any pain at all.
Yes, his wings felt like they’d been crushed under a boulder, but he had something else to take his mind off the crushing physical agony he felt: The crushing emotional guilt of letting down his trainer.
He tried again, to no avail, to push himself upright and muster some kind of counterattack or defense to stop the frenzied Glaceon. When he’d met Alec and he’d helped him, they’d formed an unbreakable bond between human and Pokemon, two partners, to protect each other.
Where was his honor? His drive to uphold the promise they shared with each other?
A new feeling filled his mind, one of exhilaration and newfound strength. Something never felt before, that allowed him to spit in the face of his old limits.
No, Auster would not allow harm to come to the human that he trusted. Not as long as he was breathing. And even if he had to die, he’d die with valor, protecting his trainer.
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Alec breathed in for what he thought would be his last time. He forced himself to keep his eyes open. If he was to meet death, he’d meet it head-on, with no regrets.
This was more an act of bravado to feign confidence than an actual philosophy. In reality, he had more regrets than he had hairs on his head. He barely needed to ponder for a moment before his brain reminded him of everyone he’d be letting down.
I’m sorry, he thought. Still, he pinned his eyes open. The Glaceon finished gathering energy and sprinted forward, with Ice Fang gleaming in the eerie purple light.
But instead of a cold end, he saw a brilliant white light slam into Glaceon’s side in an overhead kick, sending it reeling. The light left dark purple spots in his vision as moved into action. Like burning magnesium, it shone with unparalleled and inextinguishable brilliance.
“Auster?” he thought aloud. The gleaming light seemed to grow larger, and the pure white silhouette inside it stretched out its wings, which now spanned roughly five to six feet from tip to tip.
The light slowly faded away and Alec gaped at Dartrix, now about two feet tall. Auster’s brown primary feathers had darkened and changed their pattern, now only covering his chest in a dark hickory brown. His beak had sharpened and it now had stunning coniferous green plumage feathers on its head, mimicking hair.
“Dar!” he chirped ecstatically, swooping over and allowing Alec to grab him into a hug. The moment didn’t last long as both of them had more adrenaline than blood in their veins and they knew the Glaceon would get up any minute.
Quickly, Auster took off into the sky again and Alec bolted for the edge of the distortion. The cloudy finish line was about thirty yards away. Auster, now a much faster flier, beat Alec to it and hovered right on the edge, looking back.
Alec felt like a spelunker who’d been trapped in a cave for days finally seeing a spark of light as he dove straight through the cloud cover, emerging back into reality. Once he exited, he didn’t stop running until he was a good fifty feet away from the distortion.
The harsh rainstorm, still raging outside the distortion, felt like the warm embrace of a friend after the hell that was the distortion. He bent over, supporting his hands on his knees, panting heavily.
Up in the sky, the alien, strange, distorted, wrong lavender sun was gone. The normal, peaceful, calming, yellow sun was back on its rightful throne in the sky.
The danger was gone. They were safe.