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Old 06-18-2023, 11:17 AM   #151
Missingno. Master
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Father's Day



It was a busy day for the residents of Sludge Wave Coast, but what exactly were those residents doing? Let's find out...

~~~~~

"...Aw, you guys shouldn't have!" Patrick Masters boomed, his voice quivering as he threatened to tear up, for he had just opened his present from Keith and Helena- a framed photo, beautifully restored, him just after officially becoming part of the Lavaridge Town Fire Department. He was standing in his brand new uniform, all except the hat, which was being adorably worn by a Wartortle for whom it was clearly a bit big. "Where did you find this, anyway?"

"Mom was helping us look through some old photo albums," Helena explained. "And when we found this photo, we took it to get restored and resized."

"Friend of ours has a Tinkaton, she was happy to help make the frame," Keith added. "Happy Father's Day, Dad."

"Ahhh, c'mere, you two," smiled Patrick, pulling his son and daughter into a
big hug, a hug that was punctuated by the sound of two Poké Balls opening, and then subsequently comically joined in upon by Patrick's Blastoise and Abomasnow.

~~~~~

"Hair gel?! Gavin, Hordel, how'd you know!?" boomed Zook Golurkson, having just opened the presents from his sons.

"Heh, fuck, are you shitting me, Dad?" grinned Gavin. "You use like a pound of that shit on your hair just about daily. Fucking least we could do."

"Hard to find in stores anymore, either," added Hordel. "The stuff's been on back order, and the place wasn't even going to deliver on time- I had to fly over on Togekiss myself to make sure we would get the stuff by today."

Heheheh, that's my boys," grinned Zook, already working a handful of the stuff into his hair, which had threatened to stop standing straight up in recent minutes. "Ahh, come here, you," he added, pulling Gavin and Hordel into a big hug "You two are the best sons the dashing and terrific Mr. Zook could ever hope for!" he boomed. Gavin and Hordel grinned at each other and shared a fistbump, happy that their presents had gone over so well.

~~~~~

"...and the humans call it Father's Day," Terri was explaining. She and Laugh were inside an ancient ruin, teeming with the presence of Unown, though right now, their attention was solely upon an exclamation mark Unown before them, gazing unblinkingly at them both. "Everyone celebrates their dad and gets them a present to show their appreciation."

"And Terri and I got you something we think you'll appreciate," Laugh stated, handing a book of some sort over to the Unown, who accepted it wordlessly with psychic power, and studied its contents intently.

"...You are quite right," ! said at last. "I appreciate this very much. To know that my T has found such true friends among humanity, it assuages much and more of my fears and concerns. You know, of course, T, that you will always have a home here at Alph should you desire to return, but at the same time, I cannot deny, you seem to have found quite the enviable home yourself."

Terri smiled her mysterious smile, then went in to hug the exclamation mark Unown. The book fell, opening as it hit the ground, revealing to any curious nearby Unown that it was a photo album, and the pictures on the visible pages showed Terri along with the other residents of Sludge Wave Coast; one photo showed Terri eating dinner at her table, with humans and Pokémon alike sitting at said table- Keith Masters was even seen ladling stew into an Eiscue's bowl. Another photo showed Maribel Masters practicing Psychium Z poses with Terri. The third one showed ZZLZZ Starmie with Terri, talking animatedly about something; considering ZZLZZ's Larvesta and Accelgor and Terri's Shedinja and Ribombee could be seen in the background, it was easy to assume what the subject of their discussion might be. ZZLZZ was in mid-glitch when the photo was taken, which made for a slightly alarming effect, but the genuine delight on her face was unmistakable all the same.

~~~~~

Willa Masters, her husband and daughter not far behind, approached a lone tombstone in Kiloude Cemetery, the epitaph confirming it to belong to one Henri Carnet. She placed a bouquet of meticulously chosen flowers upon her father's grave, arranged to look spectacularly like a Polar Pattern Vivillon. Keith placed a hand on his wife's shoulder, to which Willa wordlessly responded with a small, sad smile. "...I'm sorry I never got to meet him," Keith said. "He sounds like a wonderful guy."

"Oh, very much, "Willa nodded, confirming this. "He would have loved the both of you."

~~~~~

"...Now what do we got here?" murmured Robert Starmie, ripping away the wrapping paper from the gift he'd just received from his son and daughter. Moments later, he got the answer to his question, his eyes widening as he
beheld the stack of paper he'd just been given. "Ed, ZZLZZ, this...!" he began, picking up the top newspaper and flipping through it.

"...is every back issue of The Celadon Inquirer we could get our hands on," Eddie finished with a small, proud smile.

"Eddie told me that tabloid newspapers like these are full of useful leads for cryptopokologists, even if most people think they're just nonsense," ZZLZZ chimed in. "Happy Father's Day, Dad!"

"They are indeed, ZZLZZ, sweetie, they are indeed!" beamed Robert. "Oh, come here, you two, thank you so much!" he smiled, pulling his son and daughter into a big hug. Even Incognito got in on this, nuzzling Robert as safely as a Klinklang could hope to.

~~~~~

"...Maribel, sweetie, what-" Keith began. The Masterses had just returned to Sludge Wave Coast, having been visiting Hoenn and then Kalos for most of the day. And now that they were back home, Maribel had rushed ahead of her parents to be the first in the house. And then, when Keith opened the door, he saw exactly what- Maribel was extracting a nicely wrapped present from its clever hiding spot behind a potted Snoverberry tree, and was handing it to her father. Keith ripped it open, smiling as he held in his hands a cleaning kit for his Mega Hat. "Oh, Maribel, this is so thoughtful, thank you," he smiled.

"Happy Father's Day, Dad," Maribel smiled back, hugging Keith tightly. Keith, beaming with fatherly pride, happily hugged his daughter back.

~~~~~

Diana Macks and Marv Liss were both standing before a tombstone in a graveyard on the outskirts of Castelia City. Diana had just placed some beautiful flowers on the grave of one Dan A. Macks, and Marv had just put an arm around his girlfriend. "He sounds like a great guy from what you've told me," Marv said quietly.

"Oh, he was," Diana sniffled, smiling in spite of her tears. "He'd have loved you, Marv. Dad always supported my dreams of making it big on TV, you know." She looked over at Marv, and upon seeing the pained expression on his face, put an arm around him as well. "...Marv, I'm sorry about-" she began.

"Nah, it's- it's OK," Marv shook his head. "Just because my dad was some deadbeat who walked out on Mom before I was even born doesn't mean you don't get to remember happy times with your dad," he said, managing a reassuring smile. "I'd never deny you that."

'Thank you," Diana smiled. "Though even still I do wish you had had... well, if not him, then some kind of father figure in your life."

"Thanks. I do, too," Marv sighed. He and Diana embraced tightly on the spot, with Marv silently vowing that if ever he and Diana had kids, that he would be a far greater father to them than Hart Liss had been to him. Not that he'd set the bar particularly high- Marv would easily exceed him as a father simply by virtue of being present- but he vowed to not use that as an excuse all the same.

~~~~~

Tom stood at the bow of the Banette's Revenge, flipping through an old photo album. He stopped and gave a growling chuckle at one of the pictures, before feeling a hand on his shoulder. "Oh, trying on your father's tricorne for the first time," Lily McPhione murmured, looking at the same picture Tom had stopped to look at. "Oh, it really was too big for you, wasn't it, Tommy? But just look at it now," she added, adjusting the hat Tom wore on his head to this day.

"Aye," Tom nodded, tearing up a little bit. "How're ye holdin' up, then, Mom?" he added. "I mean, what with Grampa and then Dad..."

"I do miss them both," Lily nodded. "It's a pain that never fully goes away, Tommy, but it does get easier and easier to deal with as time goes on. I try to remember your father as the happy man of the sea he always was. Swimming with me every morning, teaching you to talk like a pirate, helping you build the Mock Kelp... speaking of which, I got you something," Lily added, taking her other hand from behind her back, revealing it to be holding an ornate wooden carving of a stunningly beautiful Dragalge.

"Th- the- the Mock Kelp's figurehead?!" Tom spluttered, his eye wide with surprise. "Mom, how'd ye-"

"Seaweed and I went diving last week, just around where you said she sank," Lily explained. "We did our best to recover what we could,, which wasn't a lot, but we made absolutely certain this was among them. Spent the last couple of days cleaning it up, we were thinking maybe it would work for the bow of the Banette's Reven- oof!" she grunted, for Tom had pulled his mother in tightly for a hug. Lily smiled in the next moment and hugged her son back. Then, the mother and son turned back to face the sea once more.

"Ye know, Mom, it always surprised me to learn Grampa were buried at sea as well," Tom spoke up after a moment. "Fer a MicPhione it be a long-standin' tradition, but-"

"-but Simon Lokhlass, while not a McPhione himself, was very much in the same spirit in life," Lily finished with a faint smile. "Undoubtedly this accounts in no small part for why Oliver and I got on as well as we did. It was love at first sight, Tommy... but I've told you this before, of course," she added, somewhat sheepishly.

"Aye, that ye have, Mom," Tom nodded. "Many a time. ...can ye tells it again?" he asked.

Lily smiled at her son, before launching into the story of one young Lily Lokhlass meeting one Oliver McPhione for the first time during the former's initial arrival in Pacifidlog town, many, many years ago.

~~~~~

"...and then the Spiritomb turned on them both, and I tried to call out to warn them, but by the time I'd said anything... Hyper Beam," Rose was saying.

"X-x above," Eddie murmured, putting an arm around his girlfriend. "But why would they call for moves like Focus Blast and Aura Sphere against a Spiritomb anyway?"

"Heh... they didn't get out all that much," Rose said with a sad chuckle. "Didn't know their type matchups very well. I myself... that was the first time I'd ever seen Dad's Sawk and Mom's Mienshao ever fail to do anything to any of their opponents. When the moves passed right through Spiritomb, I... I was shook, Ed," she admitted.

"I mean, if all you knew up to that point was them being so powerful, so absolute and unstoppable, then naturally," Eddie nodded. Following his and ZZLZZ's gift to their father that morning, Eddie had flown out with Rose to Seven Island. Presently they stood before one large tombstone, carved in memory of Striker and Nina Elia- Rose's parents. "And that does explain your fear of Ghost-types more than adequately," he added.

"I... I could never look at one without thinking of that day," Rose sniffed. "Dammit, Ed, I feel so bad now that I know Helena, because she's blatantly a great person and I just flinch whenever I'm near her, and I feel like scum when I do that but I can't stop myself-"

Eddie cut short this ranting by hugging Rose and holding her close to him. "You are not scum," he said firmly. "You are a wonderful person who has seen terrible things nobody should ever have to endure. Helena is aware that you're making an effort with her, everyone's aware of that. Nobody would dare think less of you for what you went through. And believe me, if anyone did, I'd have some choice words for them," he added with a small grin.

Rose gave a chuckle, and hugged Eddie back. "You're real sweet, Ed," she smiled. "Dad would've... OK, yeah, no, I can't lie, I don't think Dad would've let me near you," she admitted. "He and Mom were all pretty wary of this cryptopokology business. They never really got anywhere near Grampa ZZUZZ whenever we visited him, like they were afraid of catching something."

"Yeah, well, still, if they raised someone like you, they still must've been nice people," Eddie persisted. "I do wish I could've had the chance to meet them, maybe try and change their minds on some of this."

"Heh... like I said, Ed, you're real sweet," smiled Rose. And they continued to stand together in respectful silence for the next couple of minutes, Eddie intent on giving Rose all the time she needed before suggesting they start to head back.
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Old 06-26-2023, 07:30 PM   #152
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The Rebirth



"Alright, Keith, what is this idea of yours?" Helena asked. "And... aren't we going home?" she added, noting that Keith had not made the expected right turn onto North Crossbones Avenue, but instead continued going straight down Alph Street.

"Not just yet," Keith stated. "I've been working with Terri and her Pokémon on something in the past few days, and I think you're gonna like what we got for you. Or... well, I hope so, at least," he added with a sheepish chuckle.

"I have many questions," stated Helena.

"Well, don't worry, we got answers," Keith replied, as he rang Terri and Laugh's doorbell.

The double doors opened up within seconds. "Oh, good, you're all here," Terri said, with her mysterious smile. "Come in, come in."

"So the final preparations are done, then?" Keith asked as he led the way inside.

"Mostly," Terri nodded. "We did need you here to finish things up."

"Naturally," Keith nodded. "I'm ready on my end."

"...will someone please explain to me what this is about?" Helena asked.

"We will, Helena," promised Terri. "We're just in agreement that we should show you before we start to tell. This way," she added, leading the way into the Puzzle Room. There, they could see both of Terri's Ninetales, along with her Tinkaton, Runerigus, and Shiny Galarian Slowking. "!!!!!, are they ready?"

"Sure are!" the Tinkaton responded proudly, holding up a pair of small metal objects for Terri to take. "My best work yet, I'd say. I did my bit with 'em, now it's up to all y'all to work your magic."

"Very nice indeed," Terri nodded approvingly, turning the strange objects over in her hands, while Helena looked curiously over her shoulder, trying to get a better look at them. "Undo? Yield?"

"Yield's spellwork has been interwoven into the metal already," reported the Runerigus. "I contributed as best I could- cursed energy and grudges are not exactly one and the same, but the parallels are sufficient that I was able to be of assistance to some degree."

"Undo is being modest," said Yield. "She was marvelous."

"I thank you, Yield," Undo responded, bowing to the Shiny Galarian Slowking as best as one could expect a Runerigus to bow.

"Very nice," Terri nodded. "All right, Keith, then I think it's time for Selia's role in this."

"Right you are," Keith nodded, already throwing the Luxury Ball. "Showtime, Selia!" he declared as his Musharna materialized in a flash of light.

"Ah, so it's time at last. Helena," Selia said as she floated over to the Banette. "Might I trouble you for a memory?"

"Um... well, what sort of memory?" Helena asked, still quite confused.

"Any sort will do, provided that it takes place before your untimely demise," replied Selia. Helena considered this for a moment, then nodded. In response, Selia gently latched onto Helena's head, and executed a variation on her Dream Eater move. Helena felt a curious sensation, and the memory she'd chosen became a bit fuzzier for a moment, though it came back clearly after Selia let go, making Helena exceptionally glad that the memory she chose was not an unpleasant one.

"Did you get a good one?" Terri asked Selia.

"...yes, yes, this will do nicely," Selia nodded thoughtfully. "I thank you, Helena, and please, wait just a few moments more. Your questions will be answered very soon." And with that, Selia puffed out wisps of Dream Mist. Here was where Sunny and Ava came into the picture; they grabbed hold of the Dream Mist with their Extrasensory moves. Terri walked over, holding out the hand that contained the strange implements !!!!! had crafted, and both Ninetales unfurled their tails impressively, psychically imbuing the Dream Mist with the items. The items glowed and rattled for a moment, until all the mist seemed to be gone.

"There. It's done," Terri stated, holding the items out to Helena. "Helena, please put these on."

"...What are these?" Helena asked, picking them up. They seemed like metal bracelets of some sort, but somewhat... squashed. She realized in the next moment that this shape made them a perfect fit to slip onto her cloth arms, and so she did just that. They were surprisingly lightweight and comfortable, but Helena still didn't know what the whole deal had been with them. "...my question still stands," she said, following a few moments of silence.

Terri smiled. "Go into the bathroom, close the door, and then picture yourself as you were before you died," she said.

Helena was beyond confused at this point, but figured that at this stage, just doing as told was more likely to get her answers than continuing to ask, and so she floated through the doorway into the nearby bathroom, and closed the door behind her. There was a moment's silence, then a light thud, the clattering of a Poké Ball hitting a tile floor, and a high-pitched squeal of purest shock and surprise that made Meowth jump nearly a foot into the air. "WHAT THE F-" Helena began.

"Now picture yourself as a Banette," Terri called, entirely unfazed by Helena's reaction to whatever had happened.

Another moment of silence, and then the door opened up, Helena floating back out. She was clutching Delight's Heal Ball in her cloth hands, and her zippered mouth was agape in shock. "...What just happened in there?" she asked weakly. "I... the next thing I knew, I was... I was... and you, you knew I wouldn't have any clothes on, that's why you had me go into the-"

Terri smiled her mysterious smile. "Those wristbands we made for you, I've dubbed the Shifticuffs," she explained. "Imbued with Yield's spellwork and Dream Mist containing details of your human form, all further refined with Undo's particular expertise, they allow you to switch between Banette form and human form simply by willing it."

"I was talking to Terri the other day about you," Keith explained. "And she had this idea- a way to let you look human, in a more robust way than simply your illusions. Like, they work fine, but you tell me they're like, constant effort, even moreso to make them solid."

"I... you did this for me?" Helena murmured, her blue eyes welling up with tears, before pulling both Keith and Terri into a hug. "Thank you," she sniffled.

"We should mention a few limitations on these," Sunny stated, stepping forward. "For one thing, any damage or injury you sustain in one form carries over to the other. It's not a free Substitute or anything of the sort. You are you."

"And before you ask, we cannot modify them to allow you to assume other forms," Ava added. "This only works because you are assuming a form that you yourself have been in in the past. As Sunny said, you are you."

"You are still indisputably a Banette, and will have all capabilities and thought processes thereof, regardless of form... except hovering, that's not a thing you can do in human form," continued Sunny. "Admittedly we're not entirely sure why this doesn't carry over. But this does still mean you are quite weak to Ghost and Dark-type moves."

"And, as you likely already surmised," Ava said with the slightest hint of a chuckle, "the transformation does not include a change of clothes. Though if you are in fact wearing any when you turn back to Banette form, they should carry over to the next time you assume human form. And I assume you had that Heal Ball stored in your mouth? I heard it clatter onto the floor. I think that once you begin carrying a bag of some sort again, you won't have to deal with item droppage when changing forms."

"Well, I'll be trying that out in private to make sure," Helena stated. "In the meantime... Keith?" she said.

"Yes, big sis?" Keith grinned.

Helena grinned back. "...we're going shopping," she stated.

~~~~~

Three hours later, Keith, his wife Willa, and their daughter Maribel, were all standing outside the dressing rooms in Leavanny's Clothing Canopy, a clothing shop in Yupien City, with Meowth and Meowstic as well. "So, Aunt Helena's gonna be human again?" Maribel asked.

"I mean... yes and no," Keith attempted to explain. "It's more gonna be like her illusions of herself, except she doesn't need to continually make the effort to keep up the human appearance, and also she'll actually need clothes, hence our presence here."

"Helena certainly seemed excited," observed Willa. "I wonder how she'll look..."

"You're about to find out!" came a voice from behind one of the dressing room doors. And then, said door swung open, revealing its occupant to look decidedly different than she looked when she floated inside.


"Hey, nice!" Keith smiled.

"I certainly appreciate the purple. Very good look," Willa nodded.

"Lookin' good!" Meowth grinned.

"Very nice indeed," Meowstic concurred with a nod of her own.

"Woooow!" exhaled Maribel. "Aunt Helena, you look beautiful!"

Helena giggled. "Thank you all," she replied. Her smile was a genuine one that seemed to light up the room all on its own. She had bright blue eyes that were very much the same color as when she was a Banette. Her long brown hair was the exact same shade as her brother's. And on her wrists sat large black bands, which seemed to be the transformed state of the Shifticuffs.

"So, how does it feel?" Keith asked.

"Weird, but not in a bad way," Helena stated, moving her limbs experimentally. "Like... I actually stand up and walk now, I don't just project an illusion that shows that happening, and, well, that took a bit of getting used to again," she chuckled. "That's kinda why I took like half an hour in there," she admitted.

"Yeah, Terri warned me that could be the case," Keith nodded. "So, do you like- oof!" he grunted, for the next thing he knew, he was being hugged by his older sister.

"I really, really do," Helena smiled. "Keith, this is the best thing that could have happened to me. Thank you so much."

Keith said nothing. He merely smiled, and hugged Helena back. Willa and Maribel got in on the hug themselves after a few seconds.

~~~~~

"So, is Aunt Helena gonna keep living with us?" Maribel asked. The Masterses were in their truck, driving along Route 3 on their way back to Sludge Wave Coast, and now that Helena was in human form, she was sitting in the back seat as well, right beside her niece.

"I stil gotta think about that," Helena replied. "I do have a private room in the Pokémon Center I could use, but if I'd be welcome to keep living at the Poisonous Pala-"

"Helena, don't be silly, of course you would," Keith stated.

"Maribel, bear in mind, this means you might have to share your room," Willa stated.

"Ooh, really? Awesome!" Maribel cheered. This elicited good-natured chuckling from all present.

"By the way, dear," Willa said to Keith. "Have you heard back from your grandmother about your Wobbuffet yet?"

"Ah, yeah, a little while ago," Keith nodded, his smile fading somewhat. "She says he's doing much better now, that the hot springs worked wonders for him, but also that he doesn't want to leave, so... I told her she could keep him," he sighed. "I said my goodbyes to Smiley over videophone." At this, Willa placed a hand consolingly on her husband's shoulder, and he responded with an appreciative smile through his heavy expression.

"...speaking of Wobbuffet," Helena said, peering intently out the window. "That one kinda looks famili- STOP THE TRUCK!" she screamed, so abruptly that Keith slammed his foot on the brakes, bringing the truck to a screeching halt.

"Helena, what on earth was that about?" Willa demanded, but before she could get the whole question out, Helena had already undone her seat belt and thrown open the door.

"Smiley! Is it you!?" Helena exclaimed, running up to the Wobbuffet she had seen, who had stopped dead in his tracks at the sight of her.

"Helena?!" the Wobbuffet replied in tones of great surprise. "Whoa! I didn't expect to see you looking human again! How is this possible?"

"It's a long story, Smiley," smiled Helena. "But wow, am I happy to see you! What's going on? Where is Teddy?"

"I don't know," admitted Smiley. "Teddy and I went our separate ways some months ago. I was going to settle down with this nice lady Wobbuffet, but it ended up not working out. Ever since then I've been trying to find either Teddy or you, whoever I could get to first. I... I think we made a mistake, not rejoining you after you purified us," he admitted. "Can... Helena, can I... can I be your Pokémon again?"

Helena hugged the Wobbuffet tightly. "Of course you can!" she beamed. "Oh, Smiley!" She reached into her new bag and pulled out a Heal Ball, tapping the Wobbuffet with it. The ball sucked Smiley inside, and Helena jumped for joy as it clicked shut.

"...What was all that?" Willa asked as Helena got back into the truck.

"Helena, was... that Smiley?" Keith asked. "The Wobbuffet she had when she was alive, the one I named mine after," he added, in response to Willa's questioning look.

"It was indeed," confirmed Helena. "Smiley's back on the team, and Teddy's somewhere out there, too. I'm gonna find him someday," she said determinedly.

"I'll help you however I can," promised Maribel.

"As will I," agreed Keith.

"I will offer whatever help I can as well," Willa stated firmly.

Helena said nothing more, her eyes welling up with tears of pure emotion as the family resumed the drive back home.

~~~~~

"...OK, this is not a development I was expecting," Keith admitted with a small, sad chuckle. He and his family, plus Terri, were standing in the living room of the Poisonous Palace, where Helena was sitting on the couch, surrounded by four Pokémon- Selia the Musharna, Willow the Shiftry, Help the Comfey, and Reassure the Blue Flower Florges.

"I expected it," Terri said with a small sigh. "Luna foresaw it yesterday. She told me not to tell you, said it would ruin the moment."

"Luna knows her stuff in that regard," Keith admitted with a shrug. "Well... I mean, Selia and Willow did always get along pretty well with Helena. The latter, probably better than she ever did with me, if I'm being honest..."

"And Help and Reassure practically live at the Pokémon Center these days anyway," nodded Terri. "Will Millicent be all right, though?"

Keith looked over, seeing his Shiftry and Timburr sharing a heartfelt goodbye hug. "...I think so," he nodded. "I mean, it's not truly goodbye, is it? Helena's probably still gonna be living with us. Heh, in fact, Maribel's hoping for it, she's already upstairs getting her room ready," he added, now with a decidedly less sad chuckle.

Helena had gotten up and walked over to Keith and Terri at this point. "...are you both sure this is OK?" she asked.

"Helena, for what I hope to be the last time, yes," Keith stated firmly, though with a small smile. "They want to go with you, and that's honestly all the convincing I need."

"What the Pokémon wants is what matters most," Terri said wisely. "We will be allowed to visit, of course?"

"Naturally," Helena smiled reassuringly.

Terri smiled back. "Then there's really no objections to be made," she said simply.

"I know you'll take good care of them," Keith stated. "Besides, once you accept them, we got more to do, don't we?"

Helena tilted her head. "Like what?" she asked.

Keith's own smile widened. "Well, you're a Trainer again, right? Means you need a Pokédex."

Helena's eyes widened, as did her smile. "...true," she nodded. "Well, all right, then. Let's get going!" And she went to withdraw her newest Pokémon, though waited until Millicent and Willow had finished saying their goodbyes to each other before withdrawing the Shiftry.
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Old 07-17-2023, 08:16 PM   #153
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Dilemma Of A Kakuna



The sun shone brightly above Shadow Clearing Park, and indeed, over the town of Sludge Wave Coast. There was hardly a cloud in the sky, and it was just the most perfect summer weather one could ask for. Perfect conditions for a picnic, and indeed, these were the very lines along which the residents of Sludge Wave Coast seemed to think, because there they were, Pokémon and all, in the park. Manning the grill was Perform, Terri's Normal Form Mr. Mime, wearing his chef's hat and his "KISS THE MIME" apron. While he flipped the burgers with a decidedly invisible spatula (and somehow accompanying each flip with an explosive sound effect), he was shouting encouragement and words of advice to anyone who would listen (and indeed, anyone who wouldn't) who were playing volleyball nearby, the Loud Mime citing his own stellar performance in the Veevee Volleyball Match several years ago. As this took place, many of the Trainers present, as well as their Pokémon, could be seen conversing with one another.

"...and I can still use my attacks like this," Helena was saying to a highly impressed-looking Gavin. "Watch," she added, before assuming a stance not unlike that of a Lucario about to use Aura Sphere, and then charging up a Shadow Ball between her hand, launching it into the air.

Gavin gave a low whistle. "That's some good shit," he remarked. "So what exactly makes this better than your illusions?" he added. "Because you always made those damn convincing, y'know?"

"Yeah, no, I know," Helena nodded. "Just, those take constant energy to maintain, especially if I'm expending psychic power to make them solid. And even then, they wouldn't hold up to a move like Foresight, Odor Sleuth, or Miracle Eye. This, I just will myself to change forms, and that's it."

"Oh, damn, yeah, that makes sense," nodded Gavin. "What happens when you're asleep, then?"

"...I don't know," Helena admitted. "My Ability is Insomnia. I don't sleep."

"...then what do you got a bed for?" Gavin asked, raising an eyebrow. "Maribel's been telling me how you two share a bedroom now."

"Well, it's still nice having somewhere to just lie down and relax, even if I can't fall asleep," Helena explained. "It still helps, you know?"

"Yeah, fair enough," Gavin nodded.

~~~~~

"...but as scared as I was, I knew I couldn't allow him to intercept the Soft-Boiled. So I went in for a Take Down and knocked him away, and I didn't even trigger Static in the process! And... well, I never really felt scared of any Stunfisk ever since that day. Though what had happened to Neville next kinda helped, too- my Trainer actually has his body stuffed and mounted over his fireplace, to serve as a reminder of his past failings, and to remind him of the sorts of mistakes he must never make again." The oddly adorable Ivysaur paused in her story, looking with some concern at her immobile, unresponsive audience of one. "...I can leave if I'm annoying you," she added. "I'm sorry, I just thought maybe you could use some company."

At this, the indestructible shell creaked just a tiny bit open. "...you're not annoying me," Cloyster said in a small tone of voice. Pomona looked into Cloyster's shell, and could just barely make out the faint outline of the Bivalve Pokémon's smile. Pomona smiled back, and continued to talk.

~~~~~

"Ahh, that was good," Salamence sighed contentedly as he came in for a landing.

"Oh, hello, Salamence," came a nearby voice. Salamence turned to look, and saw Albus, Keith's Kakuna, leaning up against a nearby tree. "Did you enjoy your flight?"

"Heh. Is the sky blue?" grinned Salamence. "I always enjoy my flights, Al. These wings are like a blessing. Wanted 'em something fierce since I was just a little Bagon. Frankly, I dunno how you stand it."

"You mean my unwillingness to evolve, yes?" Albus responded.

"Exactly," nodded Salamence. "It'd be like if I never went past the Shelgon stage, y'know? Damn near immobile in some heavy, clunky shell, even though you got these as an option," he said, giving a great flap of his wings for emphasis. "Like... is that any way to live? Like, OK, I know you're more of a bookworm than I am. Well, OK, fine, even Dracovish would qualify as more of a bookworm than me, but my point stands- even so, you still like to battle, yeah?"

"I do," Albus confirmed.

"And OK, yeah, that hard shell, believe me, I know, good for defense, and that's all fine and good, but... don't you feel restricted by it sometimes?" Salamence asked. "Like... I heard about the time Keith was volunteering at the Hatchery, and you were tasked with leading someone into the back room, and you damn near tore up the floor with attacks trying to get back there because you can barely move."

Albus's shell reddened a bit. "...that was my first time using Steel Roller outside of a battle scenario," he said. "I did not know how destructive it would prove to the flooring."

"That ain't even my point and you know it," Salamence said bluntly. "You still gotta resort to your moves just to get around normally, and that ain't a way to live. It's fine for some mons, I guess, if they just don't evolve any further, but you and me ain't like that, man! We do evolve further! We have that luxury! I- ooh," he murmured, sniffing at the air. "I do believe Perform's just about done with my burger, so, uh, to be continued, alright? Think about what I said." With that, Salamence gave a great flap of his wings, and was off to get his food, leaving Albus with much to think about.

~~~~~

A little later on, Albus was standing near his mother, Hermione, while ZZLZZ was carefully shining her stingers. "Mom, can I ask you something?" Albus said.

"Of course, my boy, what's bothering you?" Hermione asked.

"...why do you not wish to evolve?" Albus asked.

"...well, I think I've said this before, have I not?" Hermione responded after a moment's silence.

"I mean, I know you wanted to see how powerful a Weedle could become without evolving, but... well, considering how strong you are now... what's stopping you now?" Albus asked.

"...this isn't about me, is it?" Hermione asked gently.

Albus gave a small sigh. "I was talking to Salamence a little while ago, and he got me thinking about things," the Kakuna admitted. "I never did consider evolving any further than this, but now that he's put these ideas in my head, I've come to realize... this just... this shell feels more like a trap than a shield. Like it's holding me back. I can barely even move around on my own. I... I figured I would be a Kakuna forever, but now, I... I can't even bear the idea of it, and yet I didn't want to disappoint you, since you were partly why I was inspired to do this..."

Hermione, in response, gently pulled away from ZZLZZ, and wrapped her body around her son in the best approximation of a hug she could muster. "...you could never disappoint me," she said, gently but firmly. "In fact, if anything, you've made me so proud just now- you've finally figured it out for yourself."

"Wh... figured what out?" Albus asked, bewildered.

"That the Kakuna stage is no way to live," Hermione stated simply. "Back when learning new moves did not come so easily for me, I myself considered evolving as far as Kakuna for the few extra moves this would afford me. But upon careful consideration, I realized this would be no way to live. I was tempted to tell you this when you initially told me of your intentions in terms of evolution, but I knew that this was a lesson you would be best off learning for yourself. Now, why don't you come over here and let ZZLZZ polish your shell? She's really quite good with Bug-types."

"...OK, Mom," Albus murmured. He hopped his way over to the glitched Bug Catcher, his disdain for this extremely limited mode of transportation growing by the second. To his relief, ZZLZZ scooped him up in her arms within seconds, and began to shine his shell.

"There we go," ZZLZZ said quietly. "Your shell is really nice, too, Albus," she added, observing the Kakuna's shell as only a seasoned Bug Catcher could. "I can tell from it that you've seen a lot of battles, there's a lot of dings and nicks in it, but it's a tough shell too- you're a really strong Kakuna... I hope you're gonna evolve soon, though," she added. "From what I've heard, you don't want to evolve, but if you want my opinion, I think that's a bad idea. Kakuna shells aren't meant to be a permanent defense by any means, and with how much battle yours has seen, I really don't think you should be relying on it too much longer. I don't mean this as an insult," she added, continuing to gently rub the Kakuna's shell with her cloth. "Honestly, I think the fact that your shell has endured for as long as it has is a testament to your strength. I think you've pushed it to the very limits of what a Kakuna could hope for."

"Kunaaa..." Albus considered.

~~~~~

Several hours had passed. Food had been eaten, battles had taken place, volleyball had been played many times over. The sun was starting to set, but nobody seemed ready to pack things in quite yet, instead remaining content to simply sit around and continue talking. And Albus was still over by ZZLZZ, as were both his parents, while Hermione and Albus filled Scorpius in on what was going on.

"...and I think during tomorrow's training I'm going to try to evolve," Albus was saying. "What do you think, Dad?"

At this, the Drapion grinned widely, and put an arm around his son. "I think you're making the right call, my boy," he stated. "Evolution ain't everything, but it's not nothing, either. And if ZZLZZ over there says your shell won't hold up forever, well, I'd listen to that. Your mom says she knows everything about Bug-types."

"Indeed. She's quite knowledgeable," Hermione confirmed. "I might be Eddie's Pokémon, but if she were to give me orders in battle, I would listen in a heartbeat."

"Yeah, she definitely sounds like she knows her stuff," Albus murmured, looking over at ZZLZZ, who was now in the process of massaging her Kleavor's back.

Meanwhile, over on the park's battlefield, a battle was taking place. With much revving and sharp turns, Backfire the Varoom dodged the numerous Psybeams that Make the Claydol was firing off, before striking back with a stream of Sludge that nailed the Claydol right in one of its eyes. "Gah!" Make grunted, before charging up a massive rock above its head. It then launched the rock, which burst apart in midair, the Rock Tomb living up to its name as it trapped Backfire in a huge pile of large stones.

"Oh, oh, oh no, no, no, I gotta get outta here I gotta- I- I-" stammered Backfire, her stress levels rising by the second as she could see though the tiniest crack the sight of Make advancing on her. And then, without warning, to even her own mild surprise, the Varoom used Self-Destruct, blowing the rocks off her with great force. Make was pelted with many rocks and sent flying backwards, while other rocks flew all over the battlefield. Several of them flew especially far, however.

"Hey, watch out!" Gavin exclaimed, jumping out of the way, a rock whizzing right past where his head had just been not a second ago.

"Eeek!" Rose shrieked, making to dodge a rock that was flying towards her own head, but spared from having to do so as Helena quickly struck it down with an Arm Thrust.

And then there were the rocks flying towards ZZLZZ from behind. She didn't see them. She couldn't- she was too busy still massaging her Kleavor's back. But Eddie did see them. "ZZLZZ, look out!" he screamed.

ZZLZZ turned around and shrieked loudly as she saw the oncoming rocks. She couldn't hope to move quick enough, they were already almost upon her...

...but Albus could. Albus saw them before ZZLZZ did, and Albus acted with all due haste. With a great effort, he jumped up high, and used Harden to deflect the oncoming rocks. But though the first two rocks were deflected with no trouble, the third one, with its particularly sharp edges, managed to cut through Albus's defenses.

"Albus!?" Keith exclaimed rushing onto the scene. "What- ZZLZZ, is... Are you OK? And what happened-"

"I- I'm fine," ZZLZZ said breathlessly, now holding the Kakuna in her arms. "Albus, he- he saved me, Mr. Masters, but, b-but his shell, it..." She trailed off, looking at what Keith could now see to be a huge gash ripped in the Kakuna's shell.

"...oh, Albus, no," Keith murmured, shaking his head as he walked up.

"Drapiii?" Scorpius asked worriedly, looking down at Hermione. The Weedle had said nothing, and was peering intently at the torn shell in ZZLZZ's arms, almost as though expecting something.

For a few moments, nothing happened. Tears came to Keith's eyes, but before they could begin to fall, a brilliant light shone out of the gash in Albus's shell. A collective gasp went up as everyone present knew what was happening. The shell lost any spark of life in its eyes as the source of said spark emerged from the gash, wings unfurling majestically as the glow died down and the took flight for the first time in his life!

"...He evolved?!" Keith exclaimed. "I... Albus!" he chuckled relievedly. "You're OK?" Albus buzzed in response, nodding to confirm this. Salamence roared his approval as Albus flew around experimentally, as though testing his new wings out, while ZZLZZ took out her Pokédex and pointed it at Albus.

"Beedrill, the Poison Bee Pokémon. A Bug and Poison-type, and the evolved form of Kakuna," droned the device. "Beedrill's preferred battle style involves flying around at high speeds and striking with poison needles before flying away. Its tail stinger secretes its most powerful poison."

"I... Wow," Keith murmured, still chuckling. "I'm, I mean, I'm glad he's OK, just, I..."

"...You didn't think he was ever gonna evolve?" ZZLZZ supplied.

"Exactly," Keith nodded. "Like, he's like his mother, he never wanted to evolve any further."

"...I was talking to him when I was polishing his shell earlier, Mr. Masters," said ZZLZZ. "His shell wasn't gonna last much longer, I was gonna tell you that before we left tonight. It's honestly for the best he evolved when he did."

"...Wow," Keith murmured. "And I had no idea... I'm betting Albus didn't, either, or else he'd probably have evolved of his own volition by now."

"I think he'll be happier like this," stated ZZLZZ, smiling as the Beedrill descended, looking at her intently. "I'm OK, Albus, thanks to you," she said, hugging the Beedrill. The Beedrill, blushing slightly, hugged her back.

Keith watched this with a bemused expression on his face. He saw where this was going at once, and knew that it was almost certainly for the best. "...ZZLZZ, I have a suggestion to make," he said. "How about... you take Albus?"

"Bzzt?!" Albus buzzed in surprise.

"What- me?" breathed ZZLZZ. "I- is it really OK, Mr. Masters?" she asked.

"It is," Keith confirmed. "Provided, of course, it's OK with Albus," he added, gesturing to his newly evolved Beedrill. "It sounds to me like you understand him better than I ever did. Al... what do you think?" he added, now addressing the Beedrill. "You're obviously welcome to stay with me if that's what you'd prefer, but if ever I were to entrust you to another Trainer, it'd be ZZLZZ above anyone else."

"Ahem," came a familiar voice from behind Keith.

"...above anyone else I'm not related to," Keith amended with a chuckle as he put an arm around his wife, Willa having walked up behind Keith during this little talk and smirking amusedly at her husband. "But my point does stand, Albus. Ultimately, though, the choice is yours, and I can promise you there'll be no hard feelings whatever you decide."

Albus buzzed thoughtfully. The suggestion had caught him off-guard, but the more he thought about it, the more it made sense to him. ZZLZZ really did know her stuff about Bug-types. Hell, hadn't this incident served to prove her point about his shell quite nicely? Even a Harden wasn't enough to stop that last rock from ripping his shell wide open, no doubt it had struck an old nick and torn it clean open. Not an outcome he or Keith ever considered. Perhaps... perhaps ZZLZZ really was the right choice. And even beyond the sheer logic of it all, he couldn't deny that he just really liked the way she polished his shell. Keith had done this as well over the years, of course, but ZZLZZ seemed to have more of a knack for this sort of thing. He could imagine her polishing his stingers just as she'd done for Hermione's earlier. At last, his mind made up, Albus flew over to Keith and hugged him for a moment, before flying over and hovering beside ZZLZZ.

Keith nodded with a small sigh, but also a smile. "I had a feeling," he said. "ZZLZZ?" he added, reaching into his bag, and pulling out a green and white sphere- Albus's Friend Ball. "Take good care of him, OK?" he asked, smiling as he held out the Friend Ball to her.

Instead of grabbing the Friend Ball, ZZLZZ threw her arms around Keith. "Thank you! Thank you so much, Mr. Masters! I'll take such good care of Albus, I promise!" she exclaimed, as Keith and Willa both glitched up just as ZZLZZ was doing. The couple chuckled, then hugged ZZLZZ back. When the hug broke apart, ZZLZZ accepted the Friend Ball from Keith, then turned to who was now her own Beedrill. "Welcome to the team, Albus," she smiled. "We'll be a great team, I know it."

Albus simply nodded in response. It would be a lot of new experiences moving forward for him, he knew, none of which he'd so much as considered not twenty-four hours ago, but at the same time, he knew, sometimes change was a good thing.


Quote:
What? Kakuna is evolving!



...

...

...!



Congratulations! Your Kakuna evolved into Beedrill!

*Albus learned Fury Attack!*

*Albus learned Twineedle!*

*Albus learned Peck!*

*Albus learned Focus Energy!*

*Albus learned Rage!*

*Albus learned Laser Focus!*

*Albus learned Pursuit!*

*Albus learned Poison Jab!*

*Albus learned Venoshock!*

*Albus learned Agility!*

*Albus learned Toxic Spikes!*

*Albus learned Assurance!*

Last edited by Missingno. Master; 07-18-2023 at 08:42 AM. Reason: Minor grammatical fix.
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Old 07-23-2023, 05:58 PM   #154
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We're Missing No Opportunities



"The effort involved was nothing short of grueling, and is absolutely not something anyone should try to force their own Missingno. to do- it seems being contained in a Poké Ball severely hampers Missingno.'s capacity to do this, whereas in the wild it does this without conscious thought. However, and only after making quite certain that mine was willing to see this through for the purposes of my research, I encouraged my Missingno. to try his best to do that which his species is best known for doing; to take one Rare Candy and make a multitude of them. And on this day, I'm pleased to announce... we have succeeded!"

Eddie announced these last words to the vast audience, which included the entire population of Sludge Wave Coast, people and Pokémon alike. They had all gathered at Shadow Clearing Park at his request. A slightly weary-looking Kabutops Skeleton Missingno. stood beside him, and behind them both, a mountain of Rare Candy. It almost reminded Keith of the grandiose prize from the Cute Contest he'd entered Pomona in, though this still paled in comparison to that.

"And so we get to why I have called you all here today," Eddie continued. "I hereby donate these Rare Candies to the Pokémon of Sludge Wave Coast! Eat up!" With that, he and Missingno. stood aside, leaving the humongous pile of Rare Candies completely unguarded. For a moment, nobody moved, all staring in stunned silence, but this did not last long; the next instant, they swarmed the pile, almost every Pokémon present, including most of Eddie's, eating at least some. A good amount of Keith's Pokémon had gotten there first, and so had ended up eating easily the most, but others weren't too far behind, either.

"Cro," murmured Hedwig, the Crobat eyeing the pile of Rare Candies with decided disinterest. Delicious though they were, what use were they to her? However, she then saw Eddie grinning, and gesturing to another pile of items- this one appeared to be comprised of Cranberry Juices. The Crobat arched an eyebrow at this, but seconds later decided to not question it, and simply swooped down upon it. Several of her similarly-leveled brethren followed suit, drinking their fill.

ZZLZZ watched closely as her two Surskit went in on the Rare Candies, but Cruise had gotten more out of the pile than Glide was able to manage. Glide had eaten his Candies and was now watching Cruise work on his significantly greater stash. Glide seethed in jealousy- his brother didn't even want to evolve!

"Psst. Hey, Glide," ZZLZZ whispered, cutting across her Surskit's furious internal monologue.

Glide turned to ZZLZZ. "Skit?" he squeaked.

ZZLZZ smiled, revealing an armful of Rare Candies. "I grabbed some extra when I saw you didn't get so many. Come here, have at them," she offered.

"SKIT?! Suuuuurskitskitskitskit!" trilled Glide. His expression brightened at once, and he almost barreled into his Trainer before scarfing down Rare Candy after Rare Candy. And as he swallowed up the last one, he began glowing! Glide's long, spindly legs grew shorter and broader, his antenna thickened towards the base to give the impression of a longer, more teardrop-shaped head, while two massive antennae sprouted. And moments later, the brand-new was zipping around in midair, fluttering his four wings and crying out in absolute triumph. ZZLZZ happily took out her Pokédex, though she knew damn well what this was.

"Masquerain, the Eyeball Pokémon. A Bug and Flying-type, and the evolved form of Surskit," droned the device. "Masquerain uses its eyelike antenna pattern to intimidate enemies, and flaps its wings to fly freely in any direction just like a helicopter."

~~~~~

Elsewhere, Pisces had just wolfed down an absurd amount of Rare Candy, and was about to go for even more, when she stopped, looking to see the paltry selection her boyfriend had gone for. "Arrokuda, babe, you not hungry?" she asked.

"Yeah, I am, but like, didn't get to grab a lot," Arrokuda responded, shrugging his fins. "I'll go back for a few more after I eat these."

"That's bullshit," spat Pisces. "Pile's almost already gone. Here, have some of these," she offered, using a fin to push her last three Rare Candies his way.

"Aw, Pisce, I couldn't do that to you-" began Arrokuda.

"My ass," Pisces interrupted. "I already outlevel you by leaps and fucking bounds, I ain't about to let you fall that far behind if I can help it. Besides, how long have you wanted to do this now?"

"...too damn long," Arrokuda sighed in agreement, giving a small smile- as ever, his girlfriend was completely and utterly right. And so he wolfed down the remaining Rare Candies, including those Pisces had pushed his way, and immediately he too started glowing! His head gained more shape, looking almost like an arrowhead of some sort, while his tail fins began to spin around, and Pisces soon found herself gazing at the that she was proud to call her boyfriend.

"...now that's what I'm talking about!" Pisces grinned. "Looking good, Barra!"

"...by Kyogre, I love you," grinned Barraskewda.

"I love ya too, man," Pisces replied, an underlying gentleness to her usual gruff tone, and the pair of fish nuzzled affectionately. Tom and Rose were looking on from afar, smiling at this, while the former took out his Pokédex and pointed it at his newly evolved Pokémon.

"Barraskewda, the Skewer Pokémon. A Water-type, and the evolved form of Arrokuda," droned the device. "Barraskewda's jaw is sharp as a spear and strong as steel. It spins its tail fins to propel itself at high speeds, using its jaw to spear its prey."

~~~~~

Marv knelt down beside Baa, looking at the Lillipup with some concern. "Baa, what's the matter?" he asked. "If you want more Rare Candy, you can just take some."

"Puppup..." Baa whined. He shook his head, seemingly unwilling to take more than he had already eaten, yet at the same time he was looking at the remaining stash hungrily.

I think I know, intoned Steakknife, the Gallade's telepathic tone sounding in Marv and Baa's heads. The final straw with Baa's original Trainer was when Baa went to take more food than he'd been given, because his portions were... not large. I think Baa is afraid of a repeat.

Marv looked at the Lillipup once more- now Baa had tears in his eyes. "Oh, come here, boy," Marv whispered, scooping up the Puppy Pokémon in his arms. "Listen to me, I would never do that to you for taking more food, I don't ever want you to go hungry like that. In fact, come on, let's go get more Rare Candies together, OK?"

"Puppup," Baa yipped, sounding uncertain. However, he watched as Marv went over to the rapidly dwindling pile, and scooped up more Rare Candies. Baa's expression brightened as Marv fed him the Candies one by one, and by the time he'd eaten the last one, he was jumping up and licking Marv's face, all while beginning to glow, beginning to grow, until Marv was knocked on his back while his new continued licking his face. Once he was able to get up, Marv took out his Pokédex and pointed it at Baa.

"Herdier, the Loyal Dog Pokémon. A Normal-type, and the evolved form of Lillipup," droned the device. "Herdier have helped Trainers raise Pokémon since times long gone. It is theorized that Herdier was the first Pokémon to ever partner with people."

Eventually, all the Rare Candies had been eaten, and all the Cranberry Juices were drank. Most everyone went home after thanking Eddie, and in some cases showing him how their Pokémon had evolved. Eventually, ZZLZZ had left for home to show off Glide's evolution to her and Eddie's parents, leaving Eddie alone at the park with Rose.

"So, this went pretty well, huh?" Rose grinned. "How's Missingno. doing?"

"He's still a little out of it, and needs a few days of rest, but he will be all right," Eddie replied, looking at the Great Ball in his hand, in which his Kabutops Skeleton Missingno. was now resting comfortably. "Thank you for the concern, Rose- I honestly wasn't sure whether pushing for him to do this was the right thing, and after seeing how much of a toll it took on him, I'm still not."

Rose pulled Eddie rather forcefully into a hug. "Listen," she murmured. "I know you, Ed. I know you ain't the type to push Pokémon too far like that. I know this was just a one-and-done for your research. And you know all that about yourself too, and don't tell me you don't, huh?"

Eddie hugged Rose back. "I suppose you're right," he conceded. "Just, you always hear about scientists pushing the boundaries of what they can do to the point where they disregard whether they actually ought to, and just... I never want to be like that."

"Y'know what I'm thinking?" Rose said after a few moments' thought. "I'm thinking you keep this quiet, y'know? Don't let on that Missingno. that are caught are still capable of doing this whole item duplication stuff. You might not be willing to abuse it, but not everyone in the world has your kind of heart," she frowned.

"That's a very valid point," Eddie nodded thoughtfully. "Yes... yes, perhaps this is one aspect of cryptopokology that should not be made common knowledge."

"Yeah, for sure," agreed Rose. "Hey, uh, Ed," she added. "I dunno if your mom's making dinner for y'all or what, but, uh... any chance I could get you to swing by my place for dinner instead?" she asked.

Eddie smiled at his girlfriend. "I'd love that," he replied. Rose smiled back, and hand in hand, the couple headed off south down Alph Street, towards Rose's house.


Quote:
What? Surskit is evolving!



...

...

...!



Congratulations! Your Surskit evolved into Masquerain!

*Glide learned Baton Pass!*

*Glide learned Bug Buzz!*

*Glide learned Haze!*

*Glide learned Mist!*

*Glide learned Ominous Wind!*

*Glide learned Sticky Web!*

*Glide learned Whirlwind!*

*Glide learned Gust!*

*Glide learned Air Cutter!*
Quote:
What? Arrokuda is evolving!



...

...

...!



Congratulations! Your Arrokuda evolved into Barraskewda!

*Barraskewda learned Throat Chop!*
Quote:
What? Lillipup is evolving!



...

...

...!



Congratulations! Your Lillipup evolved into Herdier!
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Old 07-30-2023, 11:06 PM   #155
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Fear



"Ahhh," Eddie sighed in utter contentment, sitting back in his seat. "Rose, that was unbelievable. Best berry stew I've ever had. You could give Terri's Mr. Mime a run for his money."

"Heh," Rose grinned from across her dining room table. "Thanks, Ed. Having eaten at Terri's once before, I'm gonna take that as high praise."

"You should," Eddie nodded emphatically. "Did you learn about cooking from your uncle?" he asked.

Rose shook her head with a chuckle. "No damn way," she grinned. "I love Uncle Bruno to death, but the man's hopeless in the kitchen. Dude once ruined microwave popcornn, not even sure how that one happened. Nah, I'm self-taught, Ed. Spent a lot of time out in the wilderness, must've spent more nights in a tent than in my room. Me and Kasa'd always go foraging for berries, and I'd make a stew out of whatever we could find. We'd make enough to last for like three days, except I'd finish it all that night."

"I, uh, am not surprised, after what I saw earlier," Eddie admitted. "You must have eaten more than twice as much as me tonight, and I can't fathom where it even goes."

Rose gave a laugh. "Ah, you're sweet, Ed," she said her grin looking somewhere between amused and appreciative. "I mean, I don't think it's much of a mystery myself- staying as active as I do, that takes energy, yeah?"

"I suppose that tracks," Eddie nodded. Then, something about his girlfriend's previous words registered in his mind. "...how was it, eating at Terri's?" he added. "I've eaten there myself, and I know Terri has a number of Ghost-type Pokémon, to say nothing of Laugh."

"...yeah, that was a big concern of mine as well," Rose admitted. "They were really accommodating, though, Terri made sure anyone that was Ghost-type sat as far away from me as possible. Even managed to have a little conversation with Laugh, she seems nice."

"Indeed she is," Eddie confirmed. "It really does seem like you're making progress with your fear."

Rose looked uncertain. "...I mean, if you wanna call it progress when I still can just barely keep it together long enough for a short conversation half-shouted clear across a dining room table," she muttered.

"Well, when I first met you, you wouldn't have stomached even that," Eddie persisted. "You've been making a serious effort and it shows. You didn't even seem unnerved by Helena being present in the park earlier."

"I mean, I guess that's true, though I still didn't really talk to her today," Rose replied. "Also, the, uh, the human body, I guess that helped some? Maybe?" She shrugged her shoulders. "Still not entirely sure what the story is with that, but I've been told it's not just ghostly illusions."

"I've been curious about that myself," Eddie said. "Terri's told me that a lot of strange powers went into Helena's Shifticuffs, and that they allow her to change between Banette and human form at her will. The distinction is that unlike her illusions, this does not require a constant effort on Helena's part to maintain. And she says it's even harder for her to continually make said illusions solid through manipulation of the air via psychic power... Rose?" he added, for his girlfriend looked deep in thought. "Is everything OK? Was it what I was sayi-"

"Nah, no, nothing like that," Rose shook her head. "Just... I'm thinking back to when Keith's Varoom used Self-Destruct, sent them rocks flying... It didn't really occur to me in the moment, but... Helena kinda saved me back there, knocked down this big rock that was flyin' right at me. And it's just... damn," she groaned, leaning forward onto the table, resting her head in her hands. "I'm a damn ungrateful jerk, Ed," she sighed.

"What? No, you're not!" Eddie protested. He stood up at once and walked around the table, placing a hand on Rose. "You have a valid phobia with legitimate reasoning behind it, and you've been making a serious, conscious effort to work through it. I know it, you know it, Helena knows it."

Rose shook her head. "I can see it in her eyes, Ed, every damn time I won't get close to her in the Pokémon Center. The sadness, the disappointment. I mean, hell, she's told me over the phone how she sometimes hates being a Banette because people fear her on that basis alone, and I can't even pull myself together to get past the fact that she's a Ghost-type?"

Eddie now put his arm around Rose, held her close to him. "You demand too much of yourself," he stated firmly. "If you were an ungrateful jerk, you wouldn't have made the strides you've made thus far. You wouldn't be feeling this unfounded guilt in the first place. You fear Helena but you know she's a good person, and so you are striving to conquer that fear for her sake. That is not what an ungrateful jerk does; that is what a strong, determined, good-hearted person does. And it makes me love you all the more," he concluded with a small smile.

Rose said nothing at first in response for this. Slowly she began to smile again; a minute later, she grabbed hold of Eddie and yanked him in rather forcefully for a kiss, a kiss that a surprised yet willing Eddie reciprocated within seconds. "...thanks, Ed," she said quietly once they'd broken apart. "Needed to hear that stuff. I love you too."

Eddie smiled back, though blinked in surprise. "...this is the first time either one of us has openly admitted to loving the other, isn't it?" he asked.

"...well, shit, I think it is," Rose replied, following a few seconds of stunned silence on her part. "Heh... Today's just full of unexpected twists, ain't it? And y'know what? It's not over yet," she added decisively as she stood up suddenly. "Come on, Ed," she stated, leading the way to the door. "We're going to the Pokémon Center."

~~~~~

It had been a slow day at the Sludge Wave Coast Pokémon Center- not necessarily a bad thing for a kind of hospital, of course. The sort of day Helena had seen many a time before, the sort of day where she knew more or less what to expect; a whole lot of nothing, occasionally interrupted by the need to fire up the healing machine and load up its Poké Ball tray.

She was, therefore, quite surprised to see Rose march in through the double doors, and all the more surprised to see the Trainer striding purposefully up to the counter, maintaining determined eye contact. And when Rose got close enough, she held out her right hand. Helena did not say anything as this act registered in her mind. She could still taste the usual fear, but the flavor was a lot less pronounced than usual. While still undeniably there, it was almost as though Rose was willing herself to suppress said fear.

Slowly, Helena extended her own right hand. Rose's hand shook a bit, but she did not pull it back. Emboldened by this, Helena reached further, until she found that she was shaking Rose's hand for the first time ever. Both women began to smile, then to laugh.

"...This is not a complaint by any stretch of the imagination, but what prompted this?" Helena asked. It was ten minutes later- Helena had called in someone to take her place so she could relax for a while, and now she, Rose, and Eddie were all seated in the waiting room.

"Eh, the subject came up while me and Ed were eating dinner," said Rose. "And I started feeling all icky about how I couldn't get my shit together when clearly you're a wonderful person."

Helena shook her head. "You mustn't think so poorly of yourself," she said gently. "Phobias are sad to see in action, but still nothing to make light of. Even if the fear is sad for me to see, I'm also seeing the obvious effort you're putting in to try and beat that fear, and that warms my heart like little else."

Rose nodded. "Eddie was saying as much himself, and it's honestly something I needed to hear," she smiled. "Between all that, and you saving my life back in the park, I knew I had to cut this Tauros shit out sooner or later. Uh, thanks for that, by the way," she added.

"Oh, it's really no problem," Helena smiled. "I wasn't just gonna let that rock take your head off. Also, uh, I kinda only just learned Arm Thrust a while back," she admitted with a chuckle. "Usually I probably would've opted for a Shadow Ball or something, but, like, you know how your Pokémon learn new moves and then they just love to show off their newest move at but the flimsiest of provocations? It's, uh, fairly universal," she chuckled sheepishly.

Rose, however, looked intrigued. "Arm Thrust, you say?" she said. "Hey, uh, can you, like, show me the kind of movements for that move?" she requested. "You know the thing I do, right, where I try and move like my Pokémon would do when they use the move I'm calling for them to use?"

"Yeah, I saw you doing that!" Helena nodded. "It's honestly really cool, I was considering trying the same thing with my own Pokémon. Why do you ask?"

"Because I was trying to work with Helga, but I ain't really nailed the Arm Thrust movements," explained Rose. "Do you think you can give me some pointers? I was kinda using the Fightinium Z poses as a frame of reference, only with open palms instead of fists, but-"

"-yeah, that's definitely not the play," Helena shook her head. "Come on, stand up, I"ll show you how," she offered, standing up herself. And Rose stood up, leaving Eddie to sit back and watch his girlfriend take direction on copying the movements of the Arm Thrust move from a Banette in human form. Quite possibly the strangest sentence he'd ever uttered, whether in or out of his mind, but then, since coming to Fizzytopia, Eddie had come to expect the unexpected, come to find it all very interesting.

And Eddie liked interesting.
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Old 08-14-2023, 11:44 AM   #156
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Let It Snow



"Pow, now give it a Rock Slide!* Rose exclaimed.

"Tyyyyrrrogue!" trilled the tenacious Tyrogue, as the Fighting-type began punching the air, while his Trainer stood behind him mimicking these movements precisely. With each punch, Pow generated a rock and sent it flying towards its opponent.

Said opponent stood strong in the face of this approaching move, as did his own Trainer. "Now, Amaura- Snowscape!" Maribel called out.

"Amauuuuuur..." hummed Amaura, closing his eyes and focusing hard. The icy crystals on his body began to glow a vibrant blue... before the glow died down, the move failing altogether. This left Amaura defenseless as the Rock Slide pelted it. He cried out piteously with each rock that struck him, and he staggered backwards.

"Oh, no," Maribel sighed, running over to the Rock/Ice-type and putting an arm around him. "I thought you had it that time for sure, Amaura," she said.

"Yeah, honestly, kid, so did I," Rose stated, walking across the battlefield. "I saw those glowing crystals, it's clear he's got that kind of power..."

"Maurrr," Amaura whined, looking down at the ground. Not that he could see very much of it- the sun was setting, and had sunk fairly low in the sky by this point.

"Aw, Amaura," Maribel murmured. "Listen to me, it's OK. Just because it's taking you a while to get the hang of this move doesn't mean it's hopeless, not even close. You've come a long way since I first started to teach you the move."

"So, what exactly is the big deal behind this Snowscape deal anyways?" Rose asked. "Ain't even heard of the move until recently, ain't it similar to Hail?"

"Kinda, but not quite," said Maribel. "Snowscape makes it snow instead of hail. Snow has the same effects on moves like Blizzard, but instead of damaging non-Ice-types, it instead boosts the Defense of Ice-type Pokémon."

"Ohh, that's why you wanted to train Amaura against my Fighting-types for this," Rose nodded. "Heh, I gotta say, that's some clever thinking there, kid," she grinned. "But yeah... your Amaura, he don't like fighting much, does he?"

"Well, not so much," admitted Maribel. "He's always up for a friendly battle, but he truly dislikes real conflict. I wouldn't force him to battle if he didn't want to, though, and he knows this... you do know this, right?" she added, this time addressing Amaura.

"Maaur~" Amaura responded, this time with a smile and a nod before nuzzling Maribel, who giggled as she hugged the Tundra Pokémon. Rose and Pow smiled, looking on as Maribel fed Amaura some chilled Oran Berries.

"There you go," Maribel murmured as Amaura ate them one by one. "I know you like 'em cold like that. And just think- once you master Snowscape, it won't just be battles you can use it for- you can make it snow anytime you think it's too warm."

"Amaaaaur..." considered Amaura. "...maur! Amaura maur!" he decided, turning to face Rose and pow, looking ready to fight.

"...well, I'mma leave it up to you, kid," Rose stated. "It's getting kinda late out, but Amaura certainly looks ready to go."

Maribel said nothing at first, merely exchanging looks with Amaura. After a few seconds of silent eye contact, Amaura nodded firmly. Maribel nodded back, then turned back to Rose. "We're ready," she stated. "Amaura, let's make this a good one!"

And with that said, the combatants resumed their positions at either end of Shadow Clearing Park's battlefield. "Pow, you ready?" Rose asked.

"Tyrogue!" responded Pow, who then proceeded to erase any and all doubts as to his readiness then and there by glowing vividly.

"Hey, woah!" Rose laughed, grinning widely as Pow began to change shape. "Didn't realize this was coming so soon!"

"Mauur..." Amaura whined worriedly.

Pow got taller. A few extra ridges formed atop his head, and the whole formation turned sideways. His fingers fused together as his hands furled themselves into perpetual fists. His shoulders grew pointier, and a skirtlike adornment flared out from his waist. And at last, the glow died down, the newly-evolved standing ready to fight!

"Ooh, that's different from what Wire evolved into, Mom told me he evolved from Tyrogue as well!" Maribel breathed, digging out her Rotom Phone. "OK, Rotom- who's that Pokémon?"

"Hitmonchan, the Punching Pokémon. A Fighting-type, and an evolved form of Tyrogue," said Rotom. "Hitmonchan's arm-twisting punches can pulverize even concrete, and it has to rest every three minutes during a fight because it's such a weenie."

"Rotom!" Maribel admonished, but the damage was done- Pow looked incensed upon overhearing this entry.

"Monchan!?" Pow exclaimed, gritting his teeth in anger.

"Hey, Pow, cool it, you got nothing to prove to that Rotom Phone-" began Rose.

"HIIIIIIT!" bellowed Pow, shrugging off his Trainer's words and lunging at Amaura, landing a solid Mach Punch without waiting for orders, further bolstered by the Pokémon's Iron Fist!

"HEY!" Rose thundered. "Pow, cut that out right now!"

Pow pretended to not notice. Instead, the Hitmonchan continued to beat on the confused and hurt Amaura, his fists now mere blurs as he rained blows upon him with Comet Punch.

"Amaura, fight back!" Maribel exclaimed. "Use Hyper Voice!"

"Aaaaa... MAUUUUUUUUUUUR!" bellowed Amaura, visible soundwaves emanating from her mouth which succeeded in driving Pow back, though the Hitmonchan looked no happier about this.

Rose, meanwhile, had whipped out a Poké Ball and was holding it out. "Pow, return!" she declared.

"Mon! Chan!" Pow grunted, deftly dodging the recall beam at every turn, ducking and weaving as the Punching Pokémon sought to pacify his wounded pride.

"Amaura, you don't have to do this," Maribel whispered as Rose continued to try and withdraw Pow. "Get back in the ball, I'll run you over to the Pokémon Center, I'll let Salamence try and stop Pow instead."

But Amaura shook his head. "Mauuuur," he said determinedly. He looked at Maribel, making intent eye contact, and after a moment, Maribel understood.

"...OK, if you're sure," she said. "Amaura, use Snowscape."

Amaura took a deep breath. "Aaaaaa... MAUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUR," he sang. His icy crystals glowed a vibrant blue. His sails rippled as though in a breeze, aglow with vibrant rainbow colors as though the aurora borealis itself was localized entirely within this park. And to general amazement, snow began to fall upon Sludge Wave Coast. Even Pow paused for a moment, bewildered by this change in the weather. And then, amid the beautiful snow falling all around it, Amaura began to glow brightly in the night. He too grew larger, towering over all present, until a magnificent could be seen. "AuuuuROOOOOOOOOOOOR," he sang, causing brilliant auroras to shine in the night sky above.

"Mon... HITMONCHAN!" Pow exclaimed, lunging forward again, but this time Rose tackled him from behind, throwing her arms around the Fighting-type to restrain him as they tumbled to the ground.

"Cobalion above, Pow, take it easy for a second!" Rose bellowed over Pow's agitated struggling.

"HEY!"

Rose and Maribel both blinked, for the voice that had just yelled out belonged to none other than Maribel's Rotom Phone. The errant electronic had just floated out of Maribel's bag and was approaching the irate Hitmonchan. "Hiiiit-" growled Pow.

"I'm sorry, OK?" Rotom interrupted. "I only meant it as a joke, I didn't think you'd take that much offense to it. I don't mean any of those things personally, I add my little wisecracks and commentary to every single dex entry I do. Oh, yeah, uh, Maribel, Aurorus has been registered to your Pokédex!"

"I, uh, noticed," Maribel nodded with a faint smile.

"Now watch and learn," Rotom said to Pow before an image of Aurorus appeared on the screen. "Aurorus, the Tundra Pokémon. A Rock and Ice-type, and the evolved form of Amaura. Aurorus uses its diamond-shaped crystals to make a wall of ice to block an opponent's attack. When gripped by rage, it emanates freezing air, covering everything around it in ice. Sheesh, and I thought you could throw a tantrum!"

"Heh... hitmon," Pow gave a small chuckle.

"Yeah, see? Nothing personal. So quit goin' nuts like that, alright?" said Rotom.

"...monchan," nodded Pow. At this, Rose got up off of him, which in turn allowed the Hitmonchan to stand up. He walked over to Maribel and Aurorus, bowing deeply. "Hitmon, Hitmonchan," he apologized.

Maribel looked at Aurorus. "What do you think, Aurorus?" she asked.

"Auroooor~" Aurorus responded, bowing back to Hitmonchan.

Maribel giggled. "That's good enough for me," she said. "All is forgiven, Pow."

"Yeah, and Pow?" Rose said, walking up alongside her Hitmonchan. "We're cool too, but never friggin' do that again, OK? You're damn strong, you don't need to go nuts to prove it to every naysayer."

"Hitmon," Pow chuckled nervously, rubbing the back of his neck with a perpetual fist.

"Hey, Rose," said Maribel. "Do you want to continue the battle? Aurorus sure seems ready to go, especially now that he's mastered Snowscape."

"Heh, hard to argue with that," Rose grinned. "C'mon, Pow, and this time, work with me, yeah?"

"Monchan!" nodded Pow. And with that, the friends resumed their training battle, now illuminated by the beautiful auroras in the night sky that were born from Aurorus's howling.


Quote:
What? Tyrogue is evolving!



...

...

...!



Congratulations! Your Tyrogue evolved into Hitmonchan!

*Pow learned Comet Punch!*

*Pow learned Drain Punch!*

*Pow learned Agility!*

*Pow learned Bullet Punch!*

*Pow learned Close Combat!*

*Pow learned Counter!*

*Pow learned Feint!*

*Pow learned Focus Punch!*

*Pow learned Pursuit!*

*Pow learned Revenge!*

*Pow learned Vacuum Wave!*

*Pow learned Leer!*

*Pow learned Power-Up Punch!*

*Pow learned Detect!*

*Pow learned Swift!*
Quote:
What? Amaura is evolving!



...

...

...!



Congratulations! Your Amaura evolved into Aurorus!
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Old 09-07-2023, 07:18 PM   #157
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Nightmares



"No... it... killed them all..."

"Only... supposed to affect... the battle..."

"GAAAAH!" exclaimed Keith and Willa Masters simultaneously. In unison, the married couple awoke, sitting bolt upright in bed. For one instant, they simply sat there, breathing heavily, trying to calm themselves down. The next instant, each noticed that the other was doing the exact same thing.

"...the Koffing and Weezing corpses?" Willa inquired after a few seconds.

"Yeah," Keith murmured. "...the helicopters?" he asked.

Willa gave a small nod. "Indeed," she confirmed. "I just..." she shook her head shakily. "...it was only supposed to affect the battle, Keith..."

Keith put an arm around his wife and held her close to him. "I know, my love, I know," he whispered, though there was still a rattled quality to his own voice, one which Willa was quick to pick up on.

"...Keith, you realize you've done more to avenge those Koffing and Weezing than anyone else would have done, yes?" Willa asked.

"...I mean, I guess, yeah," Keith conceded.

"You guess?" Willa responded, turning to look at Keith again with an amused smirk. "You stormed into the lair of a gigantic volcano god Heatran and struck it down, saving every Pokémon that calls Mt. Aduro home."

"I get that, yeah," Keith nodded. "But like, just... that's a shocking kind of image, one that doesn't let go of your mind so easily, y'know?"

"...a valid point," Willa murmured, her small smirk vanishing. "It's... it's much the same with the helicopters, really. In reality I know it was not my fault, and that no lasting harm was done and no lives were lost, but..."

"...but try telling your subconscious that, right?" Keith supplied. At this, Willa put her arms around her husband, and the two simply sat up in bed in silence for the next few minutes, holding each other close. No words were spoken in these minutes, but they were ultimately unnecessary anyway- this prolonged embrace spoke many mouthfuls indeed.

After a while, they let go of each other and looked around. Their bedroom was a massive one, taking up the entirety of the third floor of the Poisonous Palace, and within it, most of their Pokémon tended to sleep. It was still dark, this being 2:00 in the morning, but they were able to see well enough that their Pokémon were all still asleep. "...I'm glad we didn't wake any of them up," Willa murmured.

"Yeah," Keith agreed. "No sense disrupting their good night's sleep with our recurring nightmares, right?"

"No indeed," Willa agreed. "...Keith, thank you," she added. "I... I sometimes worry whether me having the same nightmare and waking up like this might be getting on your nerves," she admitted.

Keith put an arm around Willa once more. "Never," he assured her. "I love you, Willa. If those nightmares are still getting to you like that, I'll be right there every time, willingly and gladly. Besides, I, uh, I know I've had far more than my fair share of my own nightmares, and, uh... well, thanks, Willa, for always comforting me when they wake me up."

Willa smiled. "Of course," she responded.

Keith smiled back, saying nothing for a few moments more. "...Willa, do you think when we're training tomorrow-" he began.

"No," Willa cut Keith's question short, her smile vanishing.

"You don't even know what I was going to-"

"You were about to suggest I use Flapple," said Willa, sounding resigned. "And you were going to suggest that I start trying to work Gravity into our strategy again. Just like the last three times you suggested, and my answer remains unchanged."

"...yeah, alright, fair enough," conceded Keith. "Just... Willa, you do realize I will continue to periodically bring this up until you feel ready to do this, right?"

"...indeed," Willa conceded, the tiniest trace of her smile returning. "You are perhaps the most stubborn man I have ever met, Keith Masters... and I would not want you any other way," she admitted. With that, she and Keith moved in close and shared a brief kiss.

"And I wouldn't want you any other way, either," Keith smiled, before stifling a yawn.

Willa gave the tiniest hint of a giggle. "Go back to sleep, Keith," she said gently.

"Alright, yeah, I should do that," Keith nodded. "You too, though, OK? We're training with Eddie and Rose in the morning, and you know Rose gets up bright and early."

"Oh, as if I don't get up bright and early myself?" Willa retorted, though she was already lying back down in the bed.

"Oh, yeah, bright and early, at the crack of noon," Keith joked. "Goodnight, dear."

"Goodnight, mon amour," Willa murmured. Nothing more was said as the couple went back to sleep, though within minutes of falling asleep, and after some unconscious tossing and turning and readjusting, they were asleep in each other's arms.

Last edited by Missingno. Master; 09-08-2023 at 05:12 AM. Reason: Minor grammatical fix.
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Old 09-27-2023, 08:32 PM   #158
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Maribel And The Mega Stone



"What a day!" Maribel exclaimed happily. The Masters family had just left Route 1 and had walked right back into the town of Sludge Wave Coast, following a fun-filled day. "I can't wait to show ZZLZZ the Granbull I caught! And Mom, Dad, you two were amazing in the battle tournament!"

"Thank you, sweetie," Willa smiled gently. "I must say, I might have only just caught her, but Dachsbun and I make a rather good team."

"That you do," Keith nodded. "Gave me and Pepper a really good battle in the finals."

"I would hope you think the battle was good, considering you won it," Willa smirked. "Of course, bringing a Galarian Weezing to a Fairy-type tournament would tend to give you an edge," she added.

"Ah, gimme some credit here, there were Mawile and Klefki to contend with," Keith retorted. "And I hadn't gotten around to teaching Pepper and Spray how to use Caustic Crossbones just yet, either, that would've really rocked them."

"I know," Willa nodded. "I- now, what in the...?" she added, for as she turned to look ahead, she could see what appeared to be a sentient fluffy cloud floating above Lily's house. "An Altaria...?"

"Huh, and there's Lily, feeding it," Keith observed. "Yeah, looks like she caught herself an Altaria. Well, hey, Maribel, here's your chance, you've been talking about finding someone to give that Altarianite you won to, right?"

"O-oh, yeah," Maribel murmured. She didn't look at her parents, and was simply staring straight ahead, at the massive Altaria.

Willa turned to look at her daughter. "Maribel?" she asked quietly. "Is everything OK?"

Before Maribel could answer, however, the family noticed Lily walking their way. "Oh, hello," she said, greeting them with her usual warm and gentle smile. "I do hope your day out was fun?"

"Very much so," Keith confirmed with a nod. "And it seems you've had a good day yourself, Lily," he added, with a glance at the Altaria flapping its huge cloudlike wings to stay airborne.

"Oh, yes, quite," Lily nodded. "This is Stormfront, formerly the sole cause of Bolt Strike Pass's perpetually inclement weather. I intend to work with her to help her harness her considerable power." Unheard by anyone present, Maribel let out an odd squeaking noise not unlike a Shroodle getting stepped on.

"Well, it's funny you talk about harnessing an Altaria's power," Willa began. "Becau-"

"I have to go!" Maribel interrupted suddenly, before breaking into a run.

"My goodness," Lily murmured, watching as Maribel ran for the Poisonous Palace. "I do hope everything is OK?" Neither Keith nor Willa answered, the married couple merely exchanging bewildered glances.

~~~~~

"I can't give it to her, I just can't," Maribel whimpered. Once she had ran all the way behind the Poisonous Palace, she came to a stop and huddled beneath a tree on the edge of the northern forest. As she sat, wholly unwelcome memories flashed through her mind, and Maribel squeezed her eyes shut as though to try and prevent the tears from escaping.

"M-Maribel?"

Maribel's eyes flew open at the sound of her name. She looked in the direction the voice came from, and saw the glitching form of a Bug Catcher approaching. "Oh, hey, ZZLZZ," Maribel murmured.

"Are you OK?" ZZLZZ asked. "I saw you running back here, and, and you didn't look too happy. Is something wrong?"

"I..." began Maribel, very much unsure as to whether she wanted to finish that sentence truthfully. Already she felt ashamed of how she'd just acted, but she didn't relish the idea of lying to her best friend, either. She looked back up at ZZLZZ, and saw the concern, the genuine worry, in ZZLZZ's glitching, flickering expression. "...you know how when Ms. McPhione first arrived in town, I battled her and lost?" Maribel began.

"Yeah?" said ZZLZZ.

"Well... I've been trying to get stronger so that the next time I battle her, we could actually win," Maribel continued. "But... today, I caught a Granbull that won me first prize in Pechagrove Town's Fairy Catching Contest, and the first prize was an Altarianite, and I don't see myself raising an Altaria, so I want to find someone to give it to, but then I saw that-"

"-that she caught an Altaria today," finished ZZLZZ. She sat down beside Maribel, neither girl caring that the bugged Bug Catcher sitting up against the tree caused the entire tree to glitch as well. "I get it. You don't want to make her even stronger when she's already plenty strong?"

Maribel nodded, tearing up. "I know it's awful and selfish, but I just... I just don't want to lose to her again!" she exclaimed.

"But you've been getting stronger too, right?" said ZZLZZ. "You caught a Granbull that was so good it won you that whole contest!"

"...yeah, that's true," conceded Maribel. "I don't know, though, just... Almost nothing scares me, but... to see Salamence get beaten so easily, and after Mega Evolving, it just..."

"Well, Mr. McPhione said she's been a Trainer for a very long time," said ZZLZZ. "And she's won all those badges from Hoenn's Gyms, too. It makes sense she'd be really strong. But you're strong, too, Maribel! You can get better than her, I know you can!"

Maribel looked at ZZLZZ. "You really think so?" she said with a small smile.

"Yeah!" ZZLZZ smiled back. "I... honestly? You're exactly the kind of Trainer I wanna be like," she admitted. "You're just really good with Pokémon, and you're never afraid, and you're always looking to improve, and just... I don't think you'd let something like Ms. McPhione getting a Mega Altaria get in your way, you know? I think even if you give her that Altarianite, you can still get good enough to beat her in your next battle! I-in fact, we could train together if you like, I'd love to help you work with your Pokémon!"

Maribel said nothing for a moment, before pulling her friend into a hug. "Thank you, ZZLZZ. I really needed to hear this," she said. Once the hug broke apart, Maribel stood back up. "I gotta get back out there," she said. "But yeah, let's definitely train later!" With that, she turned and walked away. ZZLZZ said nothing, merely smiling after her friend.

~~~~~

"Maribel, there you are!" Keith exclaimed as he saw his daughter approaching. "What was that about? Are you OK?"

Maribel nodded, but focused her attention on Lily. "...here," she said, holding out the Altarianite to Lily. "For Stormfront. It's an Altarianite, I won it today. And... I'm sorry," she added. "I... I got scared when I realized you'd caught an Altaria, because... I..."

Lily nodded understandingly as she accepted the Mega Stone. "...because you figured you would be making your own rival even stronger when you're trying to get strong enough to defeat me yourself," she finished. "That sort of moral quandary is tough for many Trainers. Choosing to handle it in this way is a very mature thing to do, and I respect you for it," she nodded.

"...I didn't exactly decide on it all on my own, either," Maribel admitted. "I was sitting behind our house, and ZZLZZ came up and talked to me, and she helped me see sense."

"Oh, we know," Keith said lightly. "You two sat right up against that big tree in the back, right? Big tall one you can see over the roof?"

"How did- oh, right," Maribel chuckled as her father's words caught up with her. "Eheheh, uh, yeah."

"Well, that's honestly not even a problem," Keith continued. "Maribel, there's no shame, no shame at all, in accepting help from friends when you don't know what to do."

"Yeah, I know, Dad," nodded Maribel. "I guess I just... maybe needed reminding of it," she shrugged.

"That can absolutely happen to the best of us," nodded Willa.

"Yes, indeed," concurred Lily. "Maribel, would you like to meet Stormfront?" she asked, gesturing to the giant Altaria.

Maribel gave a small smile. "...I'd like that," she nodded, and she stepped towards the Humming Pokémon.

"...we really did raise her right," Keith murmured to Willa as they watched Maribel petting the Altaria.

"Indeed," nodded Willa. "Though I'm not certain I fully believe Lily's claims that this Altaria is the cause of the thunderstorms that plague Bolt Strike Pass..."

Keith opened his mouth to respond to this, but had no chance to do so before Stormfront let out a contented sigh as Maribel started petting somewhere she seemed to like particularly. This contented sigh shook the ground as the rumbling of thunder echoed all around. "...I believe it," he said, breaking the stunned silence. At this, Willa could only chuckle, finding this point exceptionally hard to argue with.
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Old 10-02-2023, 01:52 AM   #159
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Sizzle & Crackle



"Now, Chewtle- Megahorn!"

"Crackle, give it the Spark attack!"

With the orders given, Maribel's Chewtle and ZZLZZ's Grubbin lunged at each other, with Chewtle's horn glowing harshly, and Crackle's body cloaked in electricity. Sparks flew from the point of impact, and the two struggled against each other for a few seconds. In the end, both Pokémon ended up backing down, their attacks having resulted in a stalemate. And then, without warning, both Pokémon began to glow brightly!

"Oh!" Maribel gasped.

"Crackle, you're...!" breathed ZZLZZ.

Chewtle and Crackle both grew, though one grew more drastically than the other. Indeed, Chewtle grew a lot larger, taking on an overall more jagged appearance, while Crackle seemed to stay more or less a similar size, just becoming more... rectangular. And then, the glowing died down, revealing a and a !

A ping sounded from Maribel's bag, and as she drew her Rotom Phone out of it, an image of her newest Pokémon appeared on screen. "Drednaw has been registered to your Pokédex!" declared Rotom. "Drednaw, the Bite Pokémon. A Water and Rock-type, and the evolved form of Chewtle. Drednaw's jaws can shear through steel rods. It extends its retractable neck to bite distant enemies, and considering its vicious temperament, I think I'm gonna leave it at that."

ZZLZZ, meanwhile, pointed her Pokédex at Crackle. "Charjabug, the Battery Pokémon. A Bug and Electric-type, and the evolved form of Grubbin," droned the device. "Charjabug stores electricity in its body that it generates from eating leaves, and discharges it from the tips of its jaws."

"Wow, they both evolved, that's so cool!" exclaimed ZZLZZ. "Crackle, I'm so proud of you!" she said, kneeling down and hugging the Charjabug.

"Charja~" Crackle responded happily.

"And Drednaw, you were amazing, too," Maribel smiled, likewise hugging her own newly evolved Pokémon.

"DREEED! NAWWW!" Drednaw roared happily. She leaned into Maribel with such force that this caused the girl to stumble back a bit, but as it quickly became clear that Drednaw was simply trying to nuzzle her affectionately, Maribel was more than willing to forgive here.

"Haha, wow, I didn't think they were gonna evolve like that," smiled ZZLZZ, walking over to Maribel. "Thanks so much, Maribel, it took a really tough opponent like Drednaw to get Crackle to evolve!"

"Well, Crackle's pretty tough herself, I think that's just the push Drednaw here needed," responded Maribel. "That Spark attack was really good, you said she only just learned that?"

"Uh huh!" nodded ZZLZZ. "And that Megahorn was super strong- it's the most powerful Bug-type move, so to see it used so well- your Drednaw's amazing!"

"Dreeeeed," Drednaw growled, though in a noticeably happy tone of voice, pleased to hear such praise.

While ZZLZZ and Maribel talked, Crackle crawled over to where the girls' other Pokémon had been watching. "What! Chewtle evolved!" Zigzagoon was saying, sounding more agitated than was usual for her. "Gah! What am I just sitting here for?! Hey! Grimmsnarl! Fight me!"

"...Zigzagoon, we've been over this," Grimmsnarl growled gently. "I'll start sparring against you when you can take one of my attacks without fainting instantl-"

"Coward! Wimp!" interrupted Zigzagoon. "Bah! Where's Kecleon? Kecleon??" she called out, running off restlessly in search of her teammate. Unbeknownst to her, Kecleon resumed her usual coloration, revealing herself to have been standing nearby the entire time, breathing a sigh of relief.

But Crackle wasn't paying any attention to any of that. Instead, she crawled over to her fellow Bug-type. "What'd you think, Sizzle?" she asked.

The Larvesta smiled. "I think you were excellent, Crackle," she replied. "Congratulations on evolving."

"Ehhh, I dunno about congratulations," Crackle sighed. "I, uh, dunno if you noticed, but this ain't that drastic of a change."

"It's still an important transitional stage," persisted Sizzle. "Every step forward counts."

"I guess that's true," conceded the Charjabug. "So, uh, you up for a little sparring match next?"

At this, however, the Larvesta shifted uncomfortably. "...I don't know," she murmured. "I..."

"Well, what? Is something wrong?" asked Crackle.

"...Crackle, look around," said Sizzle.

Crackle did as told, then looked back at the Larvesta. "...I see our teammates and Maribel's Pokémon," she said, with an inflection suggesting that she would be shrugging her shoulders if she had any.

"Exactly," said Sizzle. "And where are they all in relation to me?"

"...kinda far away," said Crackle. "This again, huh?"

"Yes, this again!" snapped Sizzle. "Crackle, I just... I don't want this, this level of reverence, this respectful distance being kept because they don't feel worthy or whatever it is... I'm not some goddess. I'm not some legendary Pokémon. I'm just... me. I just..."

"...you're getting close to evolving, ain't you?" asked Crackle. "Yeah... if they're like this when you're just a Larvesta, than eesh..."

"Eesh indeed, Crackle," sighed Sizzle. "Eesh indeed."

"...you know what, screw what they think of you," said the Charjabug. "If they wanna get so wrapped up in their delusions that they're in the presence of some goddess and don't even try to get to know you, that's their loss. I'll always wanna be around you."

"...if I evolve, I'll grow wings," said Sizzle. "And you'll still need to evolve again if you wanted to fly with me, and I couldn't ask that of you if you weren't ready to-"

"And who says I ain't?" asked Charjabug. "All I need is to crawl into ZZLZZ's bag and swipe that Thunder Stone, right? Besides, I don't exactly dig this form, you know?"

"...so if, for example, I were to have already fished out the Thunder Stone in the hopes that you might have this exact point of view...?" began Sizzle.

"...Oh my Zekrom, tell me you did it," chuckled Crackle. "Tell me you know me that well." Sizzle said nothing, but gave a small, shy, and somewhat sly smile as she revealed the Thunder Stone she had been concealing under her body, eliciting a peal of gleeful laughter from the Charjabug. "Ahaha, Sizzle, here you are apologizing to me, when it turns out you had the measure of what I'd do all along! Oh, man, I love you, this is great- what?" she added, for Sizzle's eyes widened slightly.

"...you said you love me?" Sizzle asked quietly.

That shut Crackle up but good. "...I did, didn't I?" she murmured. "I... I mean... like... shit, I mean..."

The Larvesta intently watched this display for a minute. She half expected Crackle to try and walk back her words, or otherwise downplay what she meant. But this wasn't happening- the Charjabug was continuing to look at her, even appearing to blush a bit.

"...and I mean, like, I don't know that I didn't mean it, but like at the same time, if it's not a thing you're thinking- like, I don't even, you know, if you're into ladies too, you never really, we- we never really got on that topic, but like, my point being, like, I wouldn't want this to like drive a wedge in what we got, I still wanna hang out with you and-"

The Larvesta cut this babbling short at last, crawling forward. "I love you too," she said. Short, sweet, to the point, and for the second time that day, she shut Crackle up but good. The pair of Bug-types gazed into each other's eyes, before crawling forward and nuzzling each other affectionately.

The first thing to begin glowing was the Thunder Stone, a glow that spread to the Charjabug's shell. At the same time, Sizzle began to glow as well. The Thunder Stone was magnetically drawn to Crackle, shattering her shell on impact, revealing the Grubbin body within just as it began to change shape. The massive mandibles grew even moreso, the leglike stubs became all the more pronounced and defined, and the back opened up to reveal big wings. At the same time, Sizzle's body lengthened, the fiery horns moving down her back and blooming into big, beautiful wings themselves. As this took place, sparks of electricity and dancing embers whirled around them both. They took to the air, now locked in an embrace, and in one final burst of energy, the sparks and embers ceased, and the and broke apart at last.

"Whoa!" Maribel breathed. "ZZLZZ, look! They evolved- Sizzle and Crackle!"

"They what- Oh! OH!" ZZLZZ exclaimed, as she turned around and saw the pair of airborne bugs flying around each other. "Ohhh, I knew Sizzle was getting close, and I should've guessed Crackle would find my Thunder Stone!" Pokédex still in hand, she held it up, pointing it at the couple.

"Vikavolt, the Stag Beetle Pokémon. A Bug and Electric-type, and the evolved form of Charjabug," droned the device. "Vikavolt zips around, firing powerful electrical blasts from its large jaws as soon as it spots an opening. If it carries a Charjabug to use as a spare battery, it can rapidly fire high-powered beams of electricity." Then, the image on the screen changed. "Volcarona, the Sun Pokémon A Bug and Fire-type, and the evolved form of Larvesta. Volcarona is thought to be an embodiment of the sun. It scatters burning scales with every flap of its wings."

"Wow, so cool!" smiled Maribel. "And they're dancing with each other, too, it looks like?" she added, for the pair indeed seemed to be dancing around each other in midair.

"That's a courtship dance," explained ZZLZZ. "When a Bug Pokémon falls in love, it tries to initiate such a dance. If the Pokémon it's trying this with loves it back, it... it reciprocates the dance." As she stopped speaking, ZZLZZ snuck a look at Maribel, who was watching the Vikavolt and Volcarona, looking awed by the pair of fully-evolved Bug-types. Seeing this, ZZLZZ smiled, and turned to watch her Pokémon continue to dance.


Quote:
What? Chewtle is evolving!



...

...

...!



Congratulations! Your Chewtle evolved into Drednaw!

*Drednaw learned Rock Tomb!*

*Drednaw learned Crunch!*

*Drednaw learned Razor Shell!*

*Drednaw learned Rock Polish!*
Quote:
What? Grubbin is evolving!



...

...

...!



Congratulations! Your Grubbin evolved into Charjabug!

*Crackle learned Charge!*
Quote:
What? Charjabug is evolving!



...

...

...!



Congratulations! Your Charjabug evolved into Vikavolt!

*Crackle learned Thunderbolt!*

*Crackle learned Air Slash!*

*Crackle learned Crunch!*

*Crackle learned Dig!*

*Crackle learned Iron Defense!*

*Crackle learned X-Scissor!*
Quote:
What? Larvesta is evolving!



...

...

...!



Congratulations! Your Larvesta evolved into Volcarona!

*Sizzle learned Quiver Dance!*

*Sizzle learned Fiery Dance!*

*Sizzle learned Fire Spin!*

*Sizzle learned Flare Blitz!*

*Sizzle learned Gust!*

*Sizzle learned Heat Wave!*

*Sizzle learned Hurricane!*

*Sizzle learned Rage Powder!*

*Sizzle learned Thrash!*

*Sizzle learned Whirlwind!*

*Sizzle learned Silver Wind!*

Last edited by Missingno. Master; 10-03-2023 at 09:52 PM. Reason: Minor grammatical fix.
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Old 10-23-2023, 10:25 AM   #160
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Engine, Blob, & Beast



"Ohhh... I hope everything is OK up there..." Backfire murmured. Night had fallen, and the Varoom was idling on the roof of the Poisonous Palace, looking up at the starry sky, worry and concern evident in her eyes.

"Backfire?" came a voice from behind the Varoom. This prompted a double take as the Varoom wheeled around, only to see her Paldean Wooper teammate walking her way.

"O-oh, hi, Crossbones," said Backfire. "How did you get up here?"

The Wooper made a movement that suggested she'd be shrugging her shoulders if she had any. "Climbed up the chimney," she said nonchalantly. "It's not that hard if you know which bricks to use as footholds."

"Cool," smiled Backfire. "I had to have Perform make me an invisible Barrier ramp. Which was... very nerve-wracking in hindsight," she admitted. "Why did you come up here, anyway?"

"Probably the same reason I did," said the Shiny Paldean Wooper as she turned and looked up at the starry sky. "...He's up there right now, isn't he? Helping Eddie out with this Eternatus thing?"

"Yeah," Backfire murmured. "I just... I hope Keith is OK. He... I mean, you've seen how I used to be, it took just the slightest thing to set off my Self-Destruct. Who else would've been so patient with me?"

The Wooper did not look away, merely continuing to look skyward, a content smile on her face. "He will be fine," she said. "I think we should both know this by this point, Backfire, yeah? You've heard the stories, same as me."

"Salutations, friends!" came a voice from behind them both. Crossbones didn't react much, but Backfire leapt at least a foot into the air, coughing out a Smog cloud in sheer surprise, wheeling around once more to see the pleasantly glowing cyan smile that instantly identified the newcomer.

"...Oh, Hexane, it's you," exhaled Backfire. "You scared me for a second, I wasn't expecting anyone else up here."

"I'm very sorry, Backfire," the Poipole nodded. "I was floating around and heard the two of you about to tell stories about Keith. I don't have many to share myself, but I always love to hear more about him."

"Well, I would say you have a decent one yourself," said Crossbones. "He figured out your poison clog after only having just learned of your species' existence, yes?"

"Oh, true! Very true!" nodded the Poipole. "He sprayed that Antidote into my central needle, it felt very weird, but then I was back to normal! I knew in that instant I wished to stay with him."

"How did he know how to help you so quickly?" asked Backfire in wonder.

"Well, isn't it obvious?" smiled Crossbones. "Keith is a man who understands the hearts of Poison-types. No matter where in the world, or even in the universe, they might be from."

"...I did hear all about how Keith raised Eddie's Weedle, Hermione, to be super powerful without ever even evolving," admitted Backfire, idling thoughtfully. "I mean... Weedle aren't usually that strong, but Hermione...!"

"Fascinating," murmured Hexane. "Hermione is the only Weedle I have ever seen. I figured her to be the baseline rather than an outlier."

"Oh, you're in a town full of outliers, Hexane," chuckled Backfire.

"Me, for instance- I'm a Shiny," Crossbones added. "Normally Paldean Wooper are much more brown."

Hexane tilted its large head. "I thought Wooper were blue normally and pink when Shiny?" it asked.

"That's Normal Form Wooper," explained Crossbones. "I'm a Paldean Wooper. I'm Poison and Ground rather than Water and Ground."

"Ohhhh, OK!" smiled Hexane.

"Not the first regional form to gain the Poison-type that Keith's ever dealt with, either," added Backfire. "Sirius's kid, Carla? She evolved from a Sneasel- a Hisuian Sneasel. A regional form long thought to be extinct!"

"No, no, you want to talk long extinct, let's talk about Six- he's descended from the ancient Ultramoonguss," said Crossbones. "An ancient race of warrior Amoonguss that can only evolve by demonstrating great bravery."

"And Marvolo- he's easily the strongest Seviper I've ever seen," added Backfire.

"Oh, yes- Seviper do not show respect so easily, particularly if they're strong, but Keith well and truly has Marvolo's respect," nodded Crossbones.

"Fascinating!" smiled Hexane. "It seems I was right, then, to make the choice to stay here with Keith, then. Well, beyond just all the great friends I've made," it added, glancing at the Varoom and the Wooper.

Backfire and Crossbones smiled back at Hexane. "True," nodded Crossbones. "Were it not for Keith, the three of us would almost certainly never have met. And now," she added, turning to look back up at the sky. "...now he's trying to befriend another Poison-type."

"Keith has been reading about Eternatus over the previous week," Hexane intoned. "He believes it has an unnecessarily negative reputation due to the circumstances most people know of it from. He intends to-"

"-to help people see the good in it," finished Backfire. The Varoom had gone back to looking up at the night sky, her hushed voice full of admiration as Hexane wordlessly nodded to confirm this. "Y'know what, I think he can do it. I really think he can."

Nothing more was said as the trio of Poison-types continued to gaze at the starry sky, much as their minds raced. Was everything going alright up there? What would Eternatus really be like? Which of these stars was really the space station? And then, as if it had been planned out beforehand, even though nothing of the sort was actually true, the trio began to glow. Crossbones's body filled out considerably, becoming more of a bloblike loaf than anything else, but far more horizontally inclined than your average Quagsire. Backfire's engine expanded massively, her undercarriage adjusting accordingly, including the growth of two additional wheels. And Hexane turned upside-down and made a drastic transformation, including growing a pair of extremely cool wings. And soon, gazing up at the sky and hoping for the best for the Trainer they all so admired, were a , a , and a . Nothing Keith had ever seen before, and so very much sure to be an excellent welcome-home surprise.


Quote:
What? Wooper is evolving!



...

...

...!



Congratulations! Your Wooper evolved into Clodsire!

*Crossbones learned Amnesia!*

*Crossbones learned Poison Sting!*
Quote:
What? Varoom is evolving!



...

...

...!



Congratulations! Your Varoom evolved into Revavroom!

*Backfire learned Shift Gear!*

*Backfire learned Magnet Rise!
Quote:
What? Poipole is evolving!



...

...

...!



Congratulations! Your Poipole evolved into Naganadel!

*Hexane learned Air Cutter!*

*Hexane learned Air Slash!*
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Old 10-30-2023, 08:05 AM   #161
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Join Date: Nov 2008
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Mmm... Donuts



...oh, yippee friggin' skippy. Time for another long, boring day to begin. Ah, well. At least we got good food around here. Slept well, too, pleasant surprise there. Eh, maybe today won't be so bad.

Alright, let's see what we got here... ooh, Sandy bought the cream-filled donuts this week, I see. Excellent choice. And, uh... ooh, look at that, leftover bacon. Perfect side dish right there- what's this here? 'For Robert Starmie only, nobody else touch. Homer, this means you especially.' Gee, I wonder if Robert's a little possessive of the food around here. Then again, it's bacon. If I had legitimate claim to lay to any bacon around here, I'd likely do the same. Or, y'know, just eat it then and there.

...hell, I could just eat the man's bacon right here and now. Y'know what, I'll take a piece or two, he ain't gonna miss that much. What- oh, he wrote more on the backside of the sticky note... '7 strips of bacon. I counted 'em, Homer.' Well, shit.

Alright, just the donuts, then, I guess. I've had worse breakfasts. Aaaand... mmm... donuts... Mmph. Mm. Oh, yeah, that's the stuff.
*BLUUUUUUURP!* Heh. Mm, last's night's dinner was good, damn.

Ahh, good breakfast. Good breakfast. Alrighty, no time to waste... oh, come on, he password protected his computer before he left? Friggin'... OK, well, no point sitting around and bitching about it, might as well get to guessing. Let's see... "RoseStarmie407121"... holy shit, that was it. Haha, Eddie, you are not subtle.

Aaaand, let's see what an Alakazite's going for on PokéBay... too expensive... oof, that one's even more expensive... this one's one of those scammers, that's clearly a Ditto in the pic... oh, here's a laugh, look at this one, that is a Ball Capsule slathered in toothpaste, and they're counting on the quality of the photo to hide it? Jesus- that pic is fuzzier than Bouffalant's afro. What in the... oh, man, and it only gets worse as I scroll down, too, look at these listings!

OK, I guess buying an Alakazite online is off the table today. Might as well go touch grass, I suppose.

...OK, I will admit, damn nice day today. ...and no sign of an ice cream truck. Damn. Well- huh. Something's going on at the beach north of town...

...oh, that's where ZZLZZ went. I guess a beach kinda works for training a Sandy Cloak Burmy, but a Trapinch to boot? Dunno if Goggles'll appreciate any waves coming in. Yeesh. Goggles and Sandy are clearly into each other, they ain't even subtle about it. Nobody in this lab is subtle about love, not Eddie, not Goggles or Sandy, not Robert and Sandy- human Sandy- not even ZZLZZ with- oh, and there we go, stereotypical double evolution, right on schedule. And ZZLZZ ain't that surprised, she knew this was coming, and I'll bet my cutlery that's why she went to the beach to train, because she knew Sandy was about to evolve, and yeah, yep, and , not even surprised.

...y'know what, ZZLZZ has been going nuts with the training ever since Eddie and Keith set off. Figured it was to distract her from worrying about 'em. I mean, they are going after Eternatus, after all, I'd have a lower opinion of her if she wasn't worried. Hell, I'm worried. Not that I'm gonna tell her that, of course, make her worry even more. Nah. She's worried the right amount.

...but yeah, the training. She's gotta have something in mind. Y'know what, I'll ask...

Hey, ZZLZZ.


"Oh! Hey, Homer! Hey, look, look- Sandy and Goggles just evolved at once!"

I saw. Just wondering, what's with the big training kick lately?

"Oh, well... there's a Pokémon I'm hoping to catch, you see. I've been keeping an ear open for any sightings of it, and in the meantime, I wanna train up my Pokémon to make sure we're ready when the time comes."

Uh... huh. And I'm guessing this has everything to do with what that N guy was talking about when he gave you Armora?

"Yep."

...I wish you luck with that, ZZLZZ. I really do.

"...hey, Homer?"

Hmm?

"Do... do you think Eddie and Keith are gonna be OK up there in space?"

...yeah. I rag on your brother a lot, but he knows his stuff. And Keith is one of the best Pokémon Trainers in town. They'll be just fine.

"Thanks, Homer. I really needed that."

I- ah, no problem.

~~~~~

I mean, I wasn't gonna tell her I'm worried, too. No sense in making her even more worried. Heh... and that hug she gave me after I put her mind at ease, that... I really did good today, didn't I?

...welp, time to reward that good behavior. I'd like to think that given the choice between a distressed daughter and a lack of bacon, Robert Starmie'd take the lack of bacon. Lunchtime!


Quote:
What? Burmy is evolving!



...

...

...!



Congratulations! Your Burmy evolved into Wormadam!

*Sandy learned Quiver Dance!*

*Sandy learned Sucker Punch!*

*Sandy learned Gust!*

*Sandy learned Confusion!*

*Sandy learned Silver Wind!*
Quote:
What? Trapinch is evolving!



...

...

...!



Congratulations! Your Trapinch evolved into Vibrava!

*Goggles learned Dragon Breath!*

*Goggles learned Sonic Boom!*

*Goggles learned Supersonic!*

*Goggles learned Dragon Tail!*

*Goggles learned Screech!*

*Goggles learned Bug Buzz!*
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Old 11-20-2023, 06:49 PM   #162
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Maximum Eon



"...where the final round of today's Colosseum challenge is about to get underway!" Gavin Golurkson was announcing, to uproarious applause. "On my left, you all know her, whether for her good looks or hard-hitting journalism! As seen on TV- Diana Macks from Castelia City, Unova! And on my right, the very founder of Sludge Wave Coast, he's from Lavaridge Town, born and raised in the Hoenn region- the birthplace of the double battle! Give it up for Keith Masters!"

At this introduction, Keith and Diana stepped forward, taking their positions on the battlefield. "Made it to the finals, huh?" Keith grinned. "Good stuff. But this is where your win streak ends!"

"We'll see about that!" Diana grinned back. "We got a few surprises up our sleeves!"

"All right, Trainers, you better damn well know the rules this late into the proceedings," Gavin declared with a chuckle. "Pokémon to the battlefield, and let the final! Battle! BEGIN!!!"

Keith plucked a pair of Premier Balls off his belt and threw them both. "Eon! Rotenone! Let's win this!" he declared.

Diana, meanwhile, produced a Poké Ball and a Luxury Ball, and threw them out as well. "It's time- Jack! Minty!" she exclaimed.

In twin flashes of light, one of which was accompanied by brilliant blue sparkles, Keith's Trubbfish and Shiny Eevee appeared. But on Diana's side of the battlefield, instead of the Pansear and Minccino Keith expected to see, there instead stood a and a ! "Whoa!" Keith exclaimed. And in that instant, based on the outbreak of excited murmuring emanating from the crowd, Keith got the idea that these evolutions had not happened until after the semifinals.

"Well, would you look at that!" Gavin declared. "Diana seems to know good and well what she's up against here, so it seems she went and evolved her Pansear and Minccino following that close battle against Terri Alph! This should make things pretty fucking interesting!" Keith, silently concurring with Gavin, took out his Pokédex and pointed it at his opponents.

"Simisear, the Ember Pokémon. A Fire-type, and the evolved form of Pansear," droned the device. "Simisear loves sweets, as they become fuel for the fire that burns inside its body. When it gets excited, embers rise from its head and tail." Then the image on the screen changed. "Cinccino, the Scarf Pokémon. A Normal-type, and the evolved form of Minccino," it continued. "Cinccino's fur repels dust and prevents the buildup of static electricity, and its body is coated in a special oil that helps it deflect attacks like punches."

"Alright, yeah, this is gonna be interesting," Keith stated, stowing his Pokédex away. "Eon, Rotenone, stay on guard, OK?"

"Eevui!"Eon declared.

"Trubb! Fish!" gurgled Rotenone.

Diana made the first move. "Jack! Flame Burst, let's go!" she called out.

"Simiiii... SEEEEEAR!" screeched Jack, while he spat a fireball out of his mouth.

But Keith was quick on the uptake. "Rotenone! Water Gun!" he commanded.

"Truuub... FIIIISH!" Rotenone gurgled, opening his mouth wide and spraying a jet of water that extinguished the Flame Burst in midair. And, not content to stop there, the attack kept going, striking Jack clean in the face, eliciting screeches of disapproval and discomfort alike from the soaked Simisear.

"And there go the type matchups rearing their ugly head, as they tend to do!" Gavin declared. "Trubbfish's Water Gun douses Simisear's Flame Burst and lands a super effective blow Simisear won't soon forget!"

"You gotta do better than that!" Diana grinned. "Helping Hand and Scald attack!"

"Cciiiiinooooo!" trilled Minty, the Cinccino clapping eagerly for her teammate. This sent waves of golden energy flowing into the Simisear, who responded by launching a high-pressure jet of boiling water from his mouth, forcing Rotenone's Water Gun back. Immediately, steam began to rise from where the attacks were colliding, and soon, neither Keith nor his Pokémon could see a thing.

"Careful, you two," Keith advised his Pokémon. "Eon, clear it out using Hurricane!"

"Vui!" nodded Eon. She opened her mouth and took a deep breath-"

"Jack, Mega Punch!" Diana exclaimed, and no sooner had she said that did Jack lunge from out of the steam, landing a powerful punch that sent the Shiny skidding backwards!

"Hot damn, pun intended!" Gavin exclaimed. "Using the steam from Scald as a makeshift Smokescreen, Diana's Simisear lands a powerful Mega Punch before Eevee could even begin to attack!"

"And it doesn't end there!" Diana declared. "Bullet Seed, Minty!"

"Ciiiiiiiin.... Ccino! Ccino! Ccino! Ccino!" squealed Minty. Though she was still obscured by the steam, a barrage of seeds flew out of the obscuring clouds, pelting Rotenone for super effective damage!

"Ice Beam!" Keith called out to Rotenone. "Eon, you use Hurricane!"

"TruuuubFIIIISH!" Rotenone responded, blasting a frigid beam at the oncoming Bullet Seed. This succeeded at holding them at bay, but Minty's relentless onslaught likewise prevented Rotenone's Ice Beam from making any headway.

"Vuiiiiii... VUIIIIIII!" Eon exclaimed, exhaling gale-force winds from her mouth. The steam blew away at once, revealing Minty and Jack's locations at last.

"Never mind that, keep up the pressure!" Diana ordered. "Jack, use Leer! Minty, use Bullet Seed!"

"Sear!" declared Jack, glaring sharply at his opponents, causing them to freeze up for a moment. This was all the opening Minty needed, and the Cinccino pelted Rotenone with seeds anew. And this time, the Trubbfish found no opening to counterattack before falling on his back.

"Trubbfish is unable to battle!" Gavin declared.

"Aaaah... Rotenone, return!" Keith exclaimed, withdrawing his Trubbfish. "You were great today, buddy," he murmured to the Premier Ball. "We got it from here. Alright- Eon," he said, now addressing his Shiny Eevee. "Ready to turn this around?"

Eon turned back to face Keith and grinned confidently. "Vui!" she nodded.

"All right- time to go big or go home, and I mean that literally!" Keith declared. He held out a Premier Ball, withdrawing Eon, before holding the ball out to the side, revealing his Dynamax Band. "The strange energy that courses through us both... let us embrace it... harness it... use it to draw out our true power!" Keith exclaimed, while Dynamax Energy flooded into Eon's Premier Ball, bloating it up to massive sizes. "Here we go, Eon- Dynamax!!!" he called out as he heaved the ball upward.

The ball seemed to evaporate in midair, but as it did so, Eon reappeared in its place, growing bigger by the second, until she towered over everyone present! "VUIIIIIIIII!" she rumbled. Unseen by Eon or Keith, one man in the stands shook his head in disappointment.

"Here it is- Keith's just Dynamaxed his Eevee! Things are really taking off now!" Gavin declared.

"Now let's take that Simisear down first! Use Max Geyser!" Keith commanded.

"EEEEEEE... VUIIIIIII!" Eon thundered, letting loose a powerful jet of water, but before it could make contact, Diana had withdrawn her Simisear into his Poké Ball!

"What-" Keith began.

"The latest scoop... as seen on TV..." Diana was saying, Dynamax Energy flowing out of her own Dynamax Band, and engorging Jack's Poké Ball. "And now... time for Diana Macks... to Dynamax!!!" she declared, heaving the ball forward. And much like Eon had done, Diana's Simisear reappeared, but much larger than usual and growing larger still by the second!

"Dynamaxing in such a timely fashion to avoid one of only three Max Moves Eevee can pull off! Fucking inspired!" Gavin exclaimed. "That's exactly the sort of out-of-the-box thinking you can only get here at Sludge Wave Colosseum!"

"Use Helping Hand and Max Flare!" Diana called out.

"Use Max Geyser one more time and shut it down!" Keith commanded.

The pair of colossal combatants took action at once, and Eon was blasting another jet of water, this time fending off a massive fireball with it. Steam erupted from the point of impact- the Max Flare, already a powerful Max Move in its own right, was bolstered all the further by Minty's Helping Hand, and was hot enough that it was managing to evaporate much of the Max Geyser.

"Max Rockfall, then! Let's do it!" Keith exclaimed, undaunted.

Diana grinned. "Use Max Guard!" she commanded.

Keith's heart sank just as quickly as Eon caused a massive stone slab to rise up out of the ground, for he knew he'd just made a blunder that would cost him dearly. Indeed, the Max Rockfall hit a protective barrier Jack had set up, crumbling away harmlessly, not even causing a sandstorm. After this, Eon shrank back down to normal size, looking decidedly less confident. "...Eon, use Calm Mind!" he called out.

"Minty, use Swift! Jack, Max Flare!" Diana called out.

"Eon!!!" Keith exclaimed.

~~~~~

"...well, I still think you battled very well today," Willa was saying.

"Thanks, dear," Keith said with a small smile. "I mean, I'd still have liked to win, but I can't deny, Diana earned that one."

"And yet, I can't help but wonder- did you truly pull out all the stops in that last battle?"

"What the-" Keith chuckled as he and Willa wheeled around. Sure enough, they could see a grinning old man standing behind them, having clearly followed them down the street from the Colosseum. "Master Mustard! Long time no see!"

"This is truly a surprise," Willa added as she and her husband bowed to Mustard. "I was not expecting to see you leave the Master Dojo."

"Ohoho, never presume to know what I might or might not do," grinned Mustard. "I decided the time was right to come and watch one of these Colosseum challenges, and see how the Masterses might fare, after all the training you all underwent at my dojo. And I must say, I was impressed... for the most part," he shrugged.

Willa's eyes narrowed slightly. "...what do you mean?" she inquired.

"Well, specifically, Keith, I couldn't help but notice your Eevee merely... Dynamaxing," he said to Keith.

"Well... yeah," Keith shrugged. "I mean... it's not like Eevee has a Gigantamax form or anything, right?" In response, Mustard's grin merely grew. "...are you serious?" Keith chuckled. "So all this time I could've fed that Max Soup you gave us to Eon?"

"Precisely!" nodded Mustard. "Do you still have it?"

"I do," Keith confirmed. "Y'know what, let's run home and give it to Eon, then."

"A word of caution, of course," Mustard stated. "Eevee that are capable of Gigantamaxing are incapable of evolving."

"...that works out even better," Keith chuckled. "Eon doesn't want to evolve anyway!"

"Splendid, my boy!" grinned Mustard. "You know what? Once you've fed Eon the Max Soup, might I ask for a battle? Preferably on a battlefield within range of this town's Power Spot?"

"I think that can be arranged," Willa nodded. "Keith, you go and get the Max Soup. I'll talk to Gavin about using the Colosseum."

"Sounds like a plan," Keith agreed.

~~~~~

"...hot shit, so Keith and Willa weren't kidding when they said they trained at the Master Dojo during their last trip to Galar," Gavin remarked, sounding blown away.

"No indeed," grinned Mustard. "Gavin, was it? Thanks very much for allowing us the use of your splendid Colosseum for this battle."

"Yeah, no, it's no problem," Gavin shrugged. "Ain't the first time I've allowed it to be used outside of a Colosseum challenge, sure as shit it won't be the last. Want me to referee?"

"Long as you don't gotta be anywhere," Keith stated. "It's cool if you do, for the record."

"Nah, I get that, man," Gavin shook his head. "Yeah, no, schedule's wide open right now, I'll be glad to ref."

"This works for me," Mustard nodded. "It will be a single battle, one Pokémon apiece." With that, Mustard made his way to one end of the battlefield, moving surprisingly sprightly for a man of his age, to the point where he made it to his end before Keith reached the other end.

"...all right, then," Gavin shrugged. "One-on-one battle between Keith and Mustard! Begin!"

"Eon, let's go!" Keith declared, throwing his Premier Ball.

Mustard, meanwhile, threw an Ultra Ball. "Urshifu, come on out!" he called.

As Eon emerged and sparkled, a wholly unfamiliar Pokémon appeared on Mustard's side of the battlefield, a large bearlike beast that stood still, striking a pose, looking ready for battle. "...Who's that Pokémon?" Keith murmured, as he consulted his Pokédex.

"Urshifu- Single Strike Style- the Wushu Pokémon. A Fighting and Dark-type, and an evolved form of Kubfu," droned the device. "Single Strike Style Urshifu is a strong believer in the one-hit KO. It leaps in close to its opponent and lands a devastating blow with a hardened fist. Its special attack is the Wicked Blow."

"Hmm," Keith murmured. "This could be tricky. Eon, be ready for anything."

"Vui!" Eon responded, standing at the ready.

Mustard grinned. "Urshifu, Focus Energy!" he ordered.

"Alright, Eon- Misty Terrain!" Keith commanded.

"Vuiiiiii..." hummed Eon. A pulse of energy emanated from her feet, rippling across the battlefield. In the wake of the ripple, pink mist began to rise up from the battlefield.

Mustard's grin widened considerably. "Wicked Blow!"

"Use Camouflage!" Keith exclaimed.

"Vui!" Eon exclaimed, seeming to vanish completely amid the mist. Urshifu rushed in to land a powerful punch, but swung at naught but mist.

"Hm! Urshifu, be on your guard," Mustard stated.

"Urrrr," growled Urshifu, glancing around warily.

"Now use Terrain Pulse!" Keith grinned.

"VUI!" Eon exclaimed, firing a beam of energy that seemed to absorb mist from the battlefield as it traveled, knocking Urshifu for a loop.

"Hah!" declared Mustard, holding out Urshifu's Ultra Ball, withdrawing the Fighting/Dark-type. "A fine showing so far, but now I want you to push little Eon beyond what you've ever done before!" he told Keith. "Now, Urshifu- become the gigantic fist that breaks your opponent- as one would smash through a board!" As he said this, his Dynamax Band sent Dynamax Energy flowing into Urshifu's Ultra Ball, engorging it. "Gigantamax!!!"

Keith looked on in awe as Mustard's Urshifu grew huge before him, looking drastically different- white with red stripes. "...Eon, are you ready?" he called out.

Eon turned back to Keith, grinning confidently. "Vui!" she nodded firmly.

"All right- let's go, then!" Keith declared. He held out the Premier Ball, withdrawing Eon, before holding the ball out to the side, revealing his Dynamax Band. "The strange energy that courses through us both... let us embrace it... harness it... use it to draw out our true power!" Keith exclaimed, while Dynamax Energy flooded into Eon's Premier Ball, bloating it up to massive sizes. "Here we go, Eon- Gigantamax!!!" he called out as he heaved the ball upward.

Once more, Eon emerged from the ball, but unlike in the battle against Diana, there was a definite difference. Mainly, the ears looked bigger, but the real difference was in the fluffy collar, which looked far fluffier than ever before. And as the growing stopped, Eon stood at the ready, a formidable ! "EEEEE VAAAAAH!" Eon rumbled cutely.

"Give it what for, Urshifu!" Mustard called out. "Use G-Max One Blow!"

"This sounds completely ridiculous, but Eon, use G-Max Cuddle!" Keith commanded.

"VUIIIIII!" Eon exclaimed, prancing towards Urshifu with footsteps that shook the Colosseum. Energy erupted from beneath Urshifu as Eevee nuzzled it affectionately, causing it to stumble backwards. And even as the attack subsided, Urshifu simply stared at Eon, blushing slightly, all thoughts of using G-Max One Blow wiped out of its mind.

"We'll take it!" Keith grinned. "Max Starfall, finish it!"

"VAAAAAAH!" Eon cried out. As if in response to her cry, a number of massive shooting stars came streaking down from above, plowing into Urshifu with great force. Mustard's commands for Max Guard went unheard as Urshifu collapsed altogether, resuming its usual size and form.

"...Urshifu is unable to battle!" Gavin declared, breaking the stunned silence. "Keith and his Eevee win it!"

"Yeah! Eon, way to go!" Keith cheered as his Eevee resumed her normal size and form as well.

"Truly amazing," Mustard grinned. "I trust you've discerned by now what G-Max Cuddle does as its side effect?"

"...your Urshifu is male, isn't it?" Keith asked after a moment's consideration.

Mustard's grin widened. "Very astute of you!" he beamed. "Obviously, attraction is far from the most consistent strategy, but it can serve you well when everything lines up correctly. And besides," he added, his grin becoming more akin to a smirk. "I was watching your second round battle as well. G-Max Cuddle hardly sounds more ridiculous than Baddy Bad." Keith had no response to this but to laugh, with Mustard laughing along with great gusto, and Gavin and Willa joining in moments later.


Quote:
What? Pansear is evolving!



...

...

...!



Congratulations! Your Pansear evolved into Simisear!

*Jack learned Flame Burst!*

*Jack learned Fury Swipes!*

*Jack learned Lick!*
Quote:
What? Minccino is evolving!



...

...

...!



Congratulations! Your Minccino evolved into Cinccino!

*Minty learned After You!*

*Minty learned Bullet Seed!*

*Minty learned Charm!*

*Minty learned Encore!*

*Minty learned Hyper Voice!*

*Minty learned Last Resort!*

*Minty learned Rock Blast!*

*Minty learned Sing!*

*Minty learned Slam!*

*Minty learned Swift!*

*Minty learned Tail Slap!*

Last edited by Missingno. Master; 11-23-2023 at 12:01 PM. Reason: Minor grammatical fix.
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Old 11-24-2023, 06:17 PM   #163
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Wottever It Takes



"...All right, everyone, breakfast is ready!" Lily called out. Immediately, a commotion could be heard from the direction of her battle room, but the first one to enter the kitchen was a small, eager Oshawott.

"Oshasha, oshasha, Oshawottt!" Maelstrom declared as he raced over to Lily, reaching up towards her, eliciting a small smile from the older Trainer.

"All right, Maelstrom, here you go," Lily said, handing over one of the dishes of Pokémon food. "And who's next- no, no, Maelstrom, that was for you," Lily chuckled, for as she turned to look, she could see her Oshawott offering his food dish to a suitably surprised Shellos. "You don't need to help me hand out the food. I do appreciate the thoughtfulness, of course, but it's really no trouble for me."

"Oshaa..." Maelstrom murmured sheepishly. He sat down on the floor as Lily doled out dishes of food to her Shellos and Clauncher, and then brought out even bigger dishes of food once the Altaria, Haxorus, Lapras, and Dragalge came on in.

"...Maelstrom, something wrong?" asked the Shellos, for indeed, she couldn't help but notice that the Oshawott wasn't eating."

"O-oh, no, Tidepool, it's just..." murmured Oshawott. "I just... I wanted to help Lily out with handing out the food just now, but she didn't let me."

"Oh? Well, that's nothing to worry about," Tidepool shook her head. "I tried the same thing when I was new to the team, and she responded the same way. It's nothing personal, you know? Lily just doesn't want to seem like she's forcing us to help her out."

Maelstrom did not look convinced. "...I just... I don't wanna blow this," he murmured. "I haven't had a Trainer in a long time, and I... I don't want this to end the same way..."

"...It won't," the Shellos said gently. "I know how you're feeling-"

"How?" interrupted Maelstrom. "How do you know how I'm feeling? Lily's your first Trainer!"

"Yeah, she is," agreed Tidepool patiently cutting through Maelstrom's rant like a knife through extremely agitated butter. "But she's also the kindest, most loving human I've ever met in my life. When she found me, I was getting the snot beaten out of me. Literally. Like, these hooligans were beating up on me to make me ooze my purple mucus, apparently it's worth money to them or something. I realized real quick, this was the good kind of human. Am I correct in assuming your previous Trainer wasn't all that great?"

"...I don't wanna talk about it," Maelstrom said heavily. "I just... After that, I clung to whatever semblance of family I could find. Those Inkay, for a while, they were family to me. And then when they got reunited with their Trainer, I was... I was happy for them, but at the same time... a-and that's when Lily asked if I wanted to go with her, and, well, I wanted to, because I'd seen how nice she is, and-"

"-and that should answer it for you right there," finished Tidepool. "Lily isn't about to abandon you, or me, or any one of us. If anything, you got something big in common with Lily."

"What's that?" asked Maelstrom.

The Shellos smiled. "You value family above all else," Tidepool replied simply. "And we're your family now, Maelstrom. All of us, and Lily, too. And I'd bet several gallons of purple mucus that that's just the way it's gonna stay moving forward.

Maelstrom had no words. He blinked the tears out of his eyes, then looked back over to Lily, who was sitting at the table, eating her own breakfast. Seagallop was eating there as well, presumably to not have so far to crane her neck to reach the dish, but other than that, nobody else was eating at the table. After a few moments of consideration, Maelstrom picked up his dish and walked over to the table. "...Osha? Wott?" he called up to Lily.

Lily turned and looked down. "Ah, Maelstrom," she said with a gentle smile. "Would you like to eat up here with me?"

"Oshawott!" nodded Maelstrom. At this, Lily bent down and scooped up the Water-type, placing him gently down atop the table, food dish and all. Maelstrom sat down and began eating his food.

"I hope you didn't take offense to my refusal of your help earlier," Lily said, a few mouthfuls of food later. "I really do appreciate your offer to help, of course, but I don't want any of my Pokémon to think they are required to work for their keep or any such thing."

"Osha..." Maelstrom sweatdropped.

Lily chuckled warmly. "It's quite all right," she said gently. "In fact, after breakfast, what do you say we do some training, you and me? I would quite like to see how well we can work as a team."

"Osha!" grinned Maelstrom. This had his attention.

~~~~~

Maelstrom turned around, glancing sharply at his surroundings- on every side, he was surrounded by ferocious, stunningly beautiful Dragalge! And then, one of them lunged!

"Use Razor Shell!" Lily called out.

"Osha!" grunted Maelstrom. He gripped his scalchop as water swirled around it, and with deft movements, swung it at the oncoming Dragalge. On contact, the Double Team copy vanished into thin air, only to reveal three more lunging his way!

"Fury Cutter!" Lily commanded.

"Wott! Osha!" Maelstrom responded. The water dissipated from around his scalchop, and now it was aglow with a green aura. "Oshaaaaaa... Wott! Wott! Wott! Wott!" Maelstrom cried out, hacking and slashing away, destroying the Double Team copies as they came within range.

"Very nice," smiled Lily. "But I think we can do all the better, hmm?" And she snapped her fingers, and all the remaining Double Team copies lunged at Maelstrom at once. "Spinning Aqua Jet!" she called out.

And at once, water swirled all around the Oshawott, and he began to spin in place. This caused water to spiral off him, keeping the Dragalge doppelgangers at bay. But even as he destroyed them, more copies kept coming.

"Now! Aqua Cutter!" Lily cried out.

"Osha..." hummed Maelstrom, focusing hard. Somehow, he knew exactly what it was Lily was expecting to see. He drew his scalchop again, but immediately knew... he could do better than that, now couldn't he?

Rays of brilliant light shone from within the swirling water. Lily looked on, unsurprised yet pleased, as something changed shape within. And then, not one, but two scalchops protruded from the swirling water, sucking in the water as Maelstrom himself spun around. And then, the water surrounding the scalchops jutted out as two long, sharp-looking blades. The Dragalge copies were vaporized on contact, and when they finally stopped coming, Maelstrom stopped spinning, the sheathing his scalchops in a satisfied way. Lily, now beaming with pride, took out her Pokédex and pointed it at Maelstrom.

"Dewott, the Discipline Pokémon. A Water-type, and the evolved form of Oshawott," droned the device. "Dewott maintains its flowing double scalchop technique through strict training. No two Dewott have the exact same fighting style."

"Very nicely done, Maelstrom," Lily smiled. "I had a feeling you were nearing evolution, and clearly I was right. I look forward to helping you hone your techniques all the further, but for now, what do you say we rest for a little bit? Proper rest is just as important as the training itself, after all."

"Dew... Dewott wott," nodded Maelstrom with a sheepish grin. How had Lily known he had been about to object to the notion of rest on the grounds of wanting to train more...? Perhaps she really did have the measure of him after all. He looked back up at Lily as she led the way back inside, and the Dewott began to think... he truly was home, wasn't he?


Quote:
What? Oshawott is evolving!



...

...

...!



Congratulations! Your Oshwott evolved into Dewott!
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Old 12-28-2023, 08:53 PM   #164
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All Fired Up



The attacks collided with great impact, the purple Sawk's Rock Smash struggling against the dark red Combusken's Slash. In the end, however, Dakim won out with Rock Smash, sending his teammate skidding backwards. If Zook had teeth, he'd have gritted them as he rushed back in, this time with a Flame Charge, which Dakim met head-on with Karate Chop-

"Hey! HEY! FUCKING COOL IT, YOU TWO!!"

"...Sawk?" Dakim murmured.

"Busken?" clucked Zook, as he followed Dakim's gaze. For indeed, standing right near them, arms folded, thoroughly unamused, was their Trainer, Gavin Golurkson.

"Yeah, you heard me- chill the fuck out," Gavin stated. "We're in the house, not the Colosseum. What were you two even fighting over this ti- oh, of fucking course," he rolled his eyes, for sitting on a nearby table was a plate containing one singular chocolate chip cookie, the last trace of the Golurkson family's Chriistmas cookies for the year. "OK, guys, this is going too far," he said. "I know my mom makes the best damn cookies in the known universe. Believe me, I know that," he added with a slight grin. "But you two have been at each other's Arceusdamn throats lately over the stupidest shit. Now, I can respect a healthy rivalry, but this shit ain't healthy. Two hotheaded Fighting-types in the same team, but even then I couldn't have called this."

"Sawk Sawk, Sawk Sawk Sawk Sawk Sawk!" Dakim declared, pointing accusingly at Zook.

"Combuskenbusken! Commmmmmbusken!" exploded Zook, gesticulating angrily at Dakim.

"Sawk Sawk-" began Dakim, but before the two could lunge right back at each other, Gavin lunged in and forcefully pulled them apart.

"Alright, that tears it!" Gavin declared, holding the pair of Fighting-types at arm's length, keeping them as far away from each other as he was physically able to. "You two, with me. Now." And he let go of them and marched across the house. Zook and Dakim exchanged looks, shrugged, and followed Gavin. He opened the door that led directly to Sludge Wave Colosseum, and led the way right onto the battlefield.

"...busken?" Zook clucked inquisitively, looking around.

"Well, the way I see it," Gavin stated, sounding a bit calmer than before. "You two ain't gonna stop this, so I figure I might as well at least make you take it to a more suitable venue." And he strolled over to his usual position on the sidelines. "Have at it, then," he said. "Get out all that aggression."

Dakim and Zook looked at each other for a moment, then lunged right at each other. The Shiny Sawk made to strike with Dual Chop, but Zook blocked it expertly with a well-timed Double Kick. Then came the follow-up Flamethrower, which Dakim deflected through use of Darkest Lariat before continuing onward, barreling right into the Combusken.

Taking a deep breath, Zook used Focus Energy, before dashing forward at great speeds, confounding Dakim from all angles before striking with an expertly flowing combination- Quick Attack into Aerial Ace! And the speed wasn't just from the Quick Attack, either- Zook's Speed Boost was kicking in big-time. Dakim cried out in anger, working himself up into a Rage all the while, and used that anger to strike back with great force.

Gavin watched the fight unfold with interest. Quick Attack halted by Quick Guard, Karate Chop clashing with Slash, Low Sweep, Acrobatics, Peck, Reversal... until finally, Dakim landed a critical hit Karate Chop that sent Zook tumbling to the ground, the Combusken struggling to get back up.

Gavin raised a hand. "Zook is unable to-" he began.

"Sawk Sawk!" interrupted Dakim, holding out a hand to try and stop Gavin from finishing that sentence. Gavin looked- Dakim was staring intently at Zook as the Shiny Combusken lay struggling on the ground. "Sawk, Sawk Sawk Sawk," Dakim muttered. "Sawk SAWK Sawk Sawk! Sawk Sawk, Sawk SAWK!" he declared, punching his right fist into his left hand.

"Busken..." Zook responded wonderingly. Gavin couldn't understand what was being said, but seeing the look in his Combusken's eyes, he knew that Dakim had to have been giving him words of encouragement. To what end, he didn't exactly know... for all of two seconds, until Zook began glowing. With vigor anew, Zook sprang to his feet as his legs lengthened and thickened, his crest growing out massively and moving to the back of his head. Flames erupted around his wrists as the glow faded away, leaving a tired but triumphant facing off against Dakim! Gavin, now grinning, took out his P*DA and opened up the Strategy Memo app.

"Blaziken, the Blaze Pokémon. Type: Fire and Fighting. The evolved form of Combusken," droned the device. "Can easily clear a 30-story building in one leap. Emits flames from its wrists to attack with fiery punches."

Dakim beamed at Zook, then bowed low. "Sawk, Sawk," he stated firmly. Zook blinked in surprise, but bowed back.

"...so, you two cool now?" Gavin asked.

The Sawk and Blaziken exchanged looks, nodded, then turned to nod at Gavin. "Sawk!" said Dakim firmly.

"Blazi!" agreed Zook. As if to drive the point home, the pair of Shiny Fighting-types even exchanged a fistbump.

"...this was about pushing Zook to evolve, wasn't it?" Gavin said at length. "Dakim, you knew he was getting close and wanted to give him that final push, right?"

"Sawk Sawk!" Dakim nodded.

"Heh. Alright, I can't fault you for that," Gavin grinned. "Just, next time, don't do it in the house, yeah?" This elicited hearty laughter from both Shinies, laughter that Gavin was quick to join in on as he led the way back to the house, whereupon he planned to let the two Fighting-types split the remaining cookie. Provided, of course, that Duking hadn't eaten it in their absence- with that Swalot, it was a legitimate concern.


Quote:
What? Combusken is evolving!



...

...

...!



Congratulations! Your Combusken evolved into Blaziken!

*Zook learned Blaze Kick!*

*Zook learned Brave Bird!*

*Zook learned Close Combat!*

*Zook learned Fire Punch!*

*Zook learned Flare Blitz!*

*Zook learned High Jump Kick!*
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Old 01-07-2024, 11:22 AM   #165
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The Bear And The Beartrap



The Channel 110 news van came driving up South Crossbones Avenue, coming to a stop across the street from the Pokémon Center. Night was beginning to fall as Diana and Marv exited the vehicle, only to see a number of their friends approaching, along with Captain Phyco. "We saw your report," Keith said, looking visibly concerned. "What was wrong with everyone?"

Diana exhaled. "I'd like to know the same thing," she responded. "Bunch of idiots just climbing all over this thing while we're trying to keep them away and inform the public that it's dangerous."

"Your broadcast cut out before any manner of a resolution was made clear," Phyco intoned. "What exactly transpired after you stopped broadcasting?"

"Well, Diana got the idea to try and talk to Celesteela, get it to not take off until those oblivious jerks got the hint," said Marv. "She tried climbing up it-"

"A bad idea," Phyco said at once. "Celesteela lacks suitable handholds and footholds about three quarters of the way up."

"Yeah, I, uh, noticed," Diana chuckled sheepishly. "Kinda fell. I'm fine, though- check it out, Quency saved me!" she added, throwing a Poké Ball, from which her newly evolved Noivern emerged. Unseen by anyone else, a lurking Crobat did a double take at the sight of Quency, keeping her yellow eyes fixed on him in apparent fascination...

"Very nice," Willa nodded.

"Oh, yes, indeed," agreed Lily. "A fine specimen of a Noivern."

"Thanks," grinned Diana. "But yeah- Celesteela was cool about it, and once I pleaded my case to her, she kinda just gently moved her arms, just enough to scare those idiots away. And, well, and then, she, uh..." She trailed off as she produced the Beast Ball from he rbag.

"...you caught it?" Phyco said flatly.

"I want to try working with her," said Diana. "In fact, do you all wanna see her?"

Phyco gave a deep sigh as everyone else around voiced their agreement with Diana's suggestion. Eventually, the Ultra Recon Squad captain gave a nod himself. "I have my reservations, but will ultimately defer to your judgement," he said.

Diana threw the Beast Ball. "Come on out, Beartrap!" she exclaimed.

In a flash of light, the Celesteela appeared, taking up the entire width of the street and then some. "Leh stee lah," she said, her charming voice carrying on the wind as she bowed her tiny head to those she didn't recognize.

"...Wow," Keith remarked. "Hello, Beartrap."

"Ceh leh steee!" Beartrap responded enthusiastically.

Terri said nothing, merely regarding Beartrap with a mysterious smile. Then, she took out a Jet Ball and opened it up, sending Bear out. The Golurk looked around, stopping only as it spotted the Celesteela.

"...HUMAN TERRI," Bear droned inexplicably softly, backing up a bit, as though attempting to whisper. "MAY I ASK YOU SOMETHING OVER THERE?" he asked, pointing to behind the Pokémon Center.

"Of course, Bear," smiled Terri. And she led the way over to behind the building. "Is everything OK?" she whispered to the Golurk once they were back there.

"I... I..." began Bear uncertainly. "I AM ACUTELY AWARE- MORE THAN I USUALLY WOULD BE- JUST HOW BEAUTIFUL THAT NEW POKéMON IS. I FEEL OVERWHELMINGLY EXCITED AND UNCERTAIN AT THE SAME TIME. WHAT ARE THESE CONFLICTING SENSATIONS, HUMAN TERRI?"

Terri smiled her mysterious smile. "Love," she said simply. "You're falling in love with Beartrap."

"BEARTRAP!" repeated Bear. "WHAT A BEAUTIFUL NAME... I... NO... HUMAN TERRI, I... I AM MADE TO SERVE THE DESIRES OF OTHERS. TO HELP, NOT TO SEEK PLEASURE MYSELF. I..."

Terri patted the Golurk's leg, the highest point on it she could reach. "And I've told you, many times before, Bear, that your happiness means just as much to me as my own. Luna had a premonition this morning, of exactly this happening. This is why I sought to send you out when I did. Go to her, Bear. Get to know her. Let her get to know you."

"...WHAT IF SHE GETS TO KNOW ME AND DOES NOT LIKE ME?" Bear fretted, a tinge of worry in its usual mechanical monotone.

Terri tilted her head. "What's not to like?" she said. "You care about the happiness of others. You could even tell her about what you were doing when you and I first met, I bet she'd love that."

"I WOULD NEVER BETRAY THE CONFIDENCE OF LADY MELOETT-" began Bear, before stopping itself and lowering its voice yet again. "I WOULD NEVER BETRAY THE CONFIDENCE OF LADY MELOETTA, LEAST OF ALL FOR MY OWN PERSONAL GAIN," it droned.

"That's fair," conceded Terri. "But speaking of Meloetta, do you remember why she had you come with me?"

"AFFIRMATIVE," confirmed Bear. "IT WAS HER WAY OF REPAYING MY LOYALTY TO HER. A CHANCE FOR ME TO SEE THE WORLD BEYOND MELODY CAVERN."

"Exactly," smiled Terri. "She was repaying your loyalty to her. She wanted you to be happy. Would this not make you happy?"

"...IT WOULD," the Golurk admitted. "I... ARE YOU CERTAIN THIS IS OK?"

"Positive," Terri nodded. With that, Terri led the way back over to the others, with Bear not far behind. "Sorry about that," she said. "Bear had some questions for me, I was happy to answer them. Ah, yes- Beartrap, this is Bear," she added, looking up at the Celesteela.

"Bear?" Beartrap repeated, smiling invitingly at the nervous Golurk. "I like that name," she said softly. "One so handsome as you, and yet so capable of bearing heavy burdens."

"INDEED. THAT IS THE INTENDED ORIGIN OF MY NAME," Bear droned, its voice shaking somewhat as though out of nerves. "I... IF I MAY SAY SO, LADY BEARTRAP, YOU LOOK ABSOLUTELY BEAUTIFUL."

Beartrap gave a giggle. "You are too kind, Sir Bear," she replied. "I would very much like to get to know you all the better."

"AS WOULD I YOU," Bear responded. Then, on a sudden inspiration, it glanced up at the night sky- for the sun had well and truly set now, and the stars twinkled beautifully over the town. "...SHALL WE DANCE IN THE NIGHT SKY?" it invited her.

"I would love to," smiled Beartrap. "Um, Diana," she called down to her bewildered Trainer. "Can you ensure nobody is in the way? I wish to lift off."

Diana, of course, couldn't undertand Celesteela language, but Terri could. "Beartrap wishes to lift off," she said. "Everyone clear out!" And since the general population of Sludge Wave Coast, quite unlike the idiots who were taking selfies in the desert earlier, did not in fact have the collective IQ of an Eggant Berry, they were quick to back away.

"...What," Diana said flatly, for as she looked on, both Bear and Beartrap took off at once, and arm in arm, began to slow dance in the sky above town. As though to complete the bizarre picture, DJ Skweekz, Diana's Dedenne, emerged from his ball and sent an Eerie Impulse into his radio, causing a beautiful slow song to begin playing. And from there, the townsfolk decided to embrace the weirdness, and all couples present began to dance. Keith and Willa, Terri and Laugh, Diana and Marv, Maribel even sent out her Grimmsnarl so he could dance with DJ Skweekz. Only Phyco and Maribel were left not dancing with anybody; Phyco contented himself with taking notes on Beartrap's behavios, and while Maribel was fine with simply watching as near as she could tell, she found herself glancing off in the direction of the Starmie Cryptopokology Research Laboratory once or twice.
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Old 02-01-2024, 06:55 PM   #166
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There's No Space Like Home



The trip home from the immense space station known as Starlight Frontier was an enjoyable trek for Keith and Eddie, with the former catching the latter up on what all went down during the final portion of the epic climactic battle in space, catching the cryptopokologist's attention and interest alike. And now, they finally arrived back home in the town of Sludge Wave Coast. And, it had to be said, their arrival did not go unnoticed.

The first thing either of them noticed was Rose running down South Crossbones Avenue. Eddie chuckled and braced himself as his girlfriend all but tackle-hugged him. "Damn, Ed, it's so good to see you back!" Rose exclaimed as she continued her fairly convincing Bewear impression.

"It's great to be back, Rose," Eddie choked out. "And in the interest of keeping it that way, can I ask you to maybe loosen your grip?"

"Oh, eheheh, right, my bad, Ed," Rose chuckled sheepishly, relaxing her hold on her boyfriend. "Just, you guys been gone for a while now, going up into space to take on- what in the hell is that?!" she exclaimed, pointing at the large purple skeletal dragon floating in over the trees.

"Oh, this is Max," Keith said lightly. "Yeah, you know that Eternatus thing Eddie was reading about? This is that."

"...Holy crap!" Rose blurted out, gazing up at the Eternatus. "Keith, dude, that thing's enormous!" As she spoke, she took out her Pokédex and pointed it at Max.

"Eternatus, the Gigantic Pokémon. A Poison and Dragon-type," droned the device. "It absorbs energy through the core on its chest to stay active. It was inside a meteorite that fell 20,000 years ago, and has some connection to the Dynamax phenomenon."

"Pretty cool, right?" Keith grinned. "Max, this here's Rose," he called up to the Eternatus. "She's Eddie's girlfriend." At this, Max gave a soft growl while waving a clawed arm in greeting. Rose, in a suitable state of shock, waved back. And then, Keith found himself being grabbed from behind and pulled into a tight hug. "WAH!" he exclaimed, a shout that turned into a happy laugh as he turned around and hugged his wife back. "Heya, Willa," he smiled. "Boy, are you a sight for sore eyes."

"I could say the same about you," Willa responded. Her smile was cool and calm, but her eyes blazed intensely in stark contrast- she'd missed him something fierce, Keith knew, and he smiled back at her knowing this good and well. The two then shared a kiss, which was short-lived as they heard oncoming footsteps.

"Whoooaaa!" exclaimed Maribel, mouth agape as she looked up at Max. "Dad, is this Eternatus?" she asked.

"It is indeed," Keith smiled. "Hi, sweetie."

"Hi, Dad!" Maribel smiled back, hugging Keith at once.

"So yeah, this is Eternatus, but I've nicknamed it Max," Keith continued casually.

"Nicknamed it?" Willa repeated. "Then you caught it?"

"Yep," Keith nodded. "I mean, what, you thought it just followed me home?" he chuckled.

"Oh, you know what I mean," Willa smirked. "This is not something I was expecting, even for someone of your skills. You and Meowth will simply have to fill us in on all the details."

"Ah," Keith began, glancing at the enfeebled feline on his shoulder, who looked a bit sheepish now. "...Meowth's not in the greatest of shape at the moment," he explained quietly. "There was an incident up there. Max was trying to communicate its intentions, and took control of Meowth to do so at one point, one thing led to another, and Meowth was greatly affected by what's called Eternamax sickness. He can't battle at his full capacity, and he... can't speak human language at the moment.

"Meow meow Meowth," Meowth chimed in, as though to illustrate the point.

"...oh," Willa murmured. "Should we perhaps get Meowth to the Pokémon Center?"

"Y'know what, that's a great idea," Keith nodded. "The doctor did everything he could up there, but I'm willing to bet Helena can do more.

~~~~~

After a while, Helena emerged from the back, carrying Meowth in her arms as she approached the rest of the Masterses. "...so, much of it is as you told me," she began, addressing Keith. "Meowth was traumatized by the experience, and the Eternamax sickness has made some changes. There are three main changes- his Gigantamax Factor, his power level, and his ability to speak human language."

"OK," Keith nodded. "So... what's caused by what, and how do we work on fixing it?"

Helena took a deep breath. "...the Gigantamax Factor is warped by the Eternamax sickness. If we can remove the remaining Eternamax energy from Meowth, his Gigantamax Factor should return to normal. Until then, don't Gigantamax him, whatever you do," she urged her little brother. "I wouldn't even suggest giving him back his Gigantaband until then. Next, his power level- that should return to normal with physical therapy and training. I would estimate him to be at maybe an eighth of his usual strength right now, discounting his additional current exhaustion. It'll be a long road, but I have no doubt he'll get there."

"OK, that's more or less what I expected on that front," Keith nodded. "What of the human speech?"

"...that's a result of the trauma," Helena said. "I've been talking to Meowth- his memories and personality are the same as ever, by the way- and he's actively trying to speak human language, but for reasons he can't fathom, it all comes out in Meowth language. I believe he was trying so badly to resist Max's control that his subconscious stops him from speaking human language at all anymore, since that's what Max was trying to use him for- translation."

"Damn," Keith sighed, looking down at Meowth, who mutely nodded to confirm Helena hadn't misquoted him. "Well... are you able to, like, help with the trauma? Being, y'know, what you are?" he asked.

"Yes, but not as instantaneously as you would undoubtedly like," Helena stated. "It's like... remember when Mom made you that rich chocolate cake for your birthday? How it was delicious, but so decadent, dense, and rich that you couldn't conceivably eat the whole thing if you wanted to? Meowth's trauma is basically that- I can eat away at some of it at a time, but all of it at once is too much to ask of any Banette. That said," she added, now smiling. "You can count on me to help chip away at that trauma as much as I can."

"I knew that I could," Keith smiled back. "So... OK, the Eternamax energy. How do we deal with that?"

"I have a theory," Helena stated. "I've called Terri a few minutes ago and asked her to come in, and to bring Yield."

"Yield?" Keith repeated.

Helena nodded. "If Yield can take a small sampling of Eternamax energy, he might be able to formulate an antidote to it."

"Meowth?" Meowth perked up at this.

"Hey, there you go, buddy!" Keith grinned. "OK, that's pretty promising! It's still gonna be a long road to get you back to normal, but I'm with you every step of the way, Meowth," he promised. In response, Meowth climbed back up onto Keith's shoulder and purred.

Terri and Yield arrived a few minutes later. The Shiny Galarian Slowking clapped eyes on Meowth, and said eyes widened at once. "Eternamax sickness," he murmured.

"That's correct, Yield," Helena confirmed. "I was wondering if you would be able to fashion an antidote to it if you had a small sampling of that energy for yourself?"

"Hmm..." considered Yield. He began pacing around, murmuring to himself "All said about Eternamax Energy is that it's much like Dynamax Energy, only moreso... in theory, an antidote should be easy enough to fashion if we follow that logic..."

Meanwhile, Willa's Meowstic approached Keith and tugged on his pant leg. Keith, upon seeing Meowstic, lowered Meowth to the ground, whereupon Meowstic hugged him. "I have missed you," she said, quietly but sincerely.

"...I've missed youse too," Meowth said shakily, before breaking down and sobbing into Meowstic's shoulder, hugging her tightly all the same. Meowstic, knowing good and well Meowth needed this, held him close all the while.

"There, there," she said soothingly. "Keith told me what was going on while Helena was examining you. How are you holding up?"

"I... OK, I guess," Meowth replied. "Just... I can't speak human language no more fer some reason, and... and I can't battle like I used ta. I'm weaker den a Wurmple fresh outta the Egg... And Keith's sayin' he'll be helpin' me recova, and I'm grateful ta him and all dat, but I just... I just wish I could tell him how sorry I am fer bein' such a burden all of a sudden..."

At this, Meowstic looked Meowth in the eye. "You are not a burden," she said flatly. "You are Keith's best friend, and the love of my life. If I thought of you as a burden I would not be bothering with niceties, you know this about me, Meowth. Meowth, I love you so much, and I will be by your side throughout this, no matter how long it may take, and gladly so." Meowth blinked away tears, unable to articulate a response in any spoken language as he gazed into Meowstic's eyes.

"...and with some diluted Pecha juice, then... yes, that could work!" Yield finally stated. He turned to Terri. "Terri- you heard what I was saying just now, yes? Can you please fetch the necessary ingredients?"

"Sure," smiled Terri, and she made her way back outside at once.

Helena then turned to Keith. "Can Max supply a bit of Eternamax energy?" she asked. "It seems Yield can make an antidote."

"Lemme ask," Keith said at once, and he followed Terri outside. While Terri was heading back to the House of Alph, Keith looked up at the massive dragon hovering above the Pokémon Center. "Max!" he called up. "Terri's Galarian Slowking can maybe make an antidote for Meowth, but he'll need just a little bit of Eternamax energy- can you give it some?" Max growled and nodded in response. "Excellent!" Keith grinned. At this moment, Yield stepped outside. "Yield, just tell Max how much you need, alright?"

"Slow, Slowking slow," nodded Yield. He turned and looked up at Max. "King king, Slowking king slow," he stated. Max gave a small growl of acknowledgement, and reached down with a clawed arm. A tiny drop of red-purple liquid formed on the tip of one of its claws, and Yield stepped right under it. The drop fell, and was absorbed into the Shellder, who glowed briefly, but ultimately seemed OK.

~~~~~

Some time later, Terri had returned with various ingredients, all of which were poured or sprinkled into the Shellder. Yield mumbled an incomprehensible incantation, casting an Eerie Spell on the ingredients within his shell. And then, finally, he leaned to the left, and poured a strange purple fluid from a hole in the shell into the cup Helena had provided, the Curious Medicine ready at last.

"All right, that's it right there," Terri reported. "Meowth should drink that directly."

"Well, you heard her, Meowth," Keith said, taking the cup and offering it to Meowth.

"Meowth..." Meowth meowed uncertainly as he accepted the cup. He glanced nervously up at Yield, who nodded reassuringly. Then he looked at Keith, who smiled and likewise nodded reassuringly. Meowth then took a deep breath, and chugged the potion, as though trying to get it over with before he could change his mind. As he drained the last of it, he let loose with such a potent belch one would be forgiven for thinking he knew the move. "...Meowth?" he meowed, looking down at himself.

"Did anything happen?" Keith asked. Neither Helena nor Terri answered him, as they had no idea.

Yield, however, nodded emphatically. "Success!" he declared. "The Eternamax energy remnants are neutralized! Meowth's Gigantamax factor is reverting to normal! It's not there yet- I wouldn't recommend Gigantamaxing him for at least a week- but it's on its way!"

"Oh, wonderful news!" Terri smiled. "Yield says his antidote is working, and Meowth should be able to Gigantamax properly again, he thinks maybe in a week."

"Hey, there we go!" Keith grinned, picking up Meowth and hugging him. "See, Meowth? We're getting there, that's one issue down!" He then turned to everyone else. "Helena, Terri, Yield, thank you all so much," he smiled.

"Well, of course," smiled Helena. "This is Meowth we're talking about here, we're happy to help."

"I couldn't have said it better myself," Terri nodded.

"Slow king!" Yield added.

"Mrrrowstic!" Meowstic nodded as well.

"Agreed," Willa nodded firmly.

"Yeah!" Maribel added.

Meowth looked around at everyone, eyes welling up with tears. Then, he looked down at Meowstic, who was smiling up at him. He began to think maybe he wasn't being such a burden after all.
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Old 02-01-2024, 08:49 PM   #167
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The Gravity Of The Situation



It had been several weeks since Keith and Eddie had headed out to NYX Labs. Max had gotten to know its new teammates, as well as a number of other Pokémon in town. It wasn't uncommon to see it flying around overhead with Bear and Beartrap, skimming the surface of the sea while talking with Tom's Wailord, or even chatting animatedly with Hexane or Eddie's Missingno.

Meowth had been making great strides in his recovery as well. It took him a week and a half for his Gigantamax Factor to return to normal, and he no longer looked so frail and feeble. He still couldn't battle at his usual capacity, however, but was able to handle light training battles against some of his less experienced teammates. And he still couldn't speak human language like he used to. His improvement was progressing in leaps and bounds, and everyone was proud of him. But for one person in particular, Meowth's progress got her thinking.

One night, Meowth was sitting on the couch in the living room, using the remote control to flip through the TV channels. "Meowth... Meowth... Nyehhhh... Meowth... Meow Meowth..." he meowed in a bored tone as he channel surfed. Then, he heard footsteps, and turned to see Willa walking into the living room. "Meowth?" he meowed in mild surprise.

"...I know, I went to bed hours ago," Willa nodded. "Truth be told, Meowth, I was hoping to talk to you."

"...mmmeow meow," Meowth meowed uncertainly, gesturing to his own throat.

Willa gave a slight chuckle. "...I do expect the conversation to be a bit one-sided," she conceded. "But all the same..." And she sat down beside Meowth. "...I've been paying attention to how you've been improving over the past few weeks," she said quietly. "It's incredible, honestly, considering what you've been through. I..." She trailed off once again, and her tone clued Meowth in to the fact that this wasn't really about him.

"...Meowth," Meowth meowed knowingly, looking up at Willa.

Willa nodded. "...how long ago was the Gravity incident now?" she breathed. "I still... to this day, I have not told Flapple to use Gravity even once since then. Every time I even consider it, I just hear the- the helicopters again..." she admitted, her voice breaking a bit. At this, Meowth put a paw on her in a consoling way. "...thank you," she said. "Just... Meowth, how? How does it not get to you? How do you push past what you went through?"

Meowth thought about this. Remembered his initial fear at the prospect of properly meeting Max for the first time, remembered the reassuring look from his Trainer that steadied his nerves, and led to him making a new friend out of that whom had so unintentionally traumatized him. "...Mmmmmeowth," he meowed. "M...mmmeow... mmmmmeeeeith," he managed.

Willa blinked in shock. "You just...!" she breathed. "You... you were trying to say 'Keith' there, weren't you?"

"Mmmmmeowwss," Meowth meowed, nodding vigorously, backing up the notion that he might have just been trying to say 'yes' there.

Willa considered this, doing a bit of recollecting of her own. "...Keith has been asking me for ages now to use Flapple in our training battles, trying to get me to try using Gravity with him again," she murmured. "I... I've shot down the idea every single time. He... I... he's just trying to help, I know. I... I know I should do it," she said. "I just... I saw how well you were doing in trying to move past your trauma, and just... wondered how. And I've been married to the answer all this time," she said with a small smile. "And I've been pushing away that help all this time... Meowth, thank you," she said. "I... in fact, have you seen Flapple anywhere?"

"Meow Meowth," Meowth meowed, pointing north. "Mmmmeownd meow meowse."

"...behind the house?" guessed Willa.

"Meowth!" Meowth declared, nodding once again.

"Thank you," Willa smiled. "And keep working on that speaking, by the way. You're making progress there as well. Keith will be thrilled to know this."

"Meowwww," Meowth purred, unable to stop smiling at this as he continued flipping through the channels, even as he continued to not find any worthwhile programming.

~~~~~

Behind the Poisonous Palace, Flapple looked around carefully. Nobody around. "Flap," he sighed in relief. "Flaaap... Flapple!" he declared, as he exerted a strange power, causing Gravity to intensify in the vicinity. Several berries that had been growing on the nearby trees suddenly broke free and plummeted to the ground. "Flaaap~" Flapple smiled, hopping over to them and beginning to eat them.

"...Flapple?"

"FLAP?!" Flapple exclaimed, wheeling around to see his Trainer nearby. "F-f-flap, Flapple apple apple!" he cried out frantically, waving his wings wildly.

Willa gave a sigh, and walked over to Flapple. "It's OK," she said gently. "I should have guessed you might be practicing that move in secret. Xerneas knows you haven't been getting any help from me on that front. Flapple, in all honesty, I owe you an apology," she said. "That you felt the need to go behind my back just to practice one of your moves... that's a failing on my part. But no more," she added. "I... tomorrow, I want to train with you. Particularly with using Gravity."

"Flapple?" Flapple asked hopefully.

Willa smiled and nodded. "Yes," she confirmed. "It won't be easy for me, but... I think it's time I stopped refusing Keith's attempts at helping me out with this. If Meowth can make such strides in only a few weeks... I think I have no excuse for waiting several years. What say you?"

"Flap Flapple!" Flapple cheered, hopping in place jubilantly.

Willa picked up the Apple Wing Pokémon. "Let's go to bed, Flapple," she said.

~~~~~

The next morning, Keith, Willa, and Maribel finished eating their breakfast. "Ahh, that was good cooking, dear," Keith smiled.

"Yeah, great food, Mom!" added Maribel.

"You two are too kind," Willa said modestly. "Now, then... Keith. I was thinking you and I could do some training today?"

"Training, huh?" Keith said. "Well, sure. I haven't heard back from my contacts in Galar just yet, and that was all I had on the agenda today was waiting for word from them. Alright, sure. And, uh, OK, look, I probably know what you're gonna say, but suppose you were to-"

"-to use Flapple? I think that's a marvelous idea," Willa finished.

"OK, at least hear me out before you dismiss- wait, what?" Keith blinked.

"I said I think it's a marvelous idea," Willa said.

"Whoa, Mom, you're gonna-" began Maribel.

"I think it's high time," Willa confirmed. "Keith, I owe you an apology. Every time you've been asking me to try doing this, you've been doing your best to try and help me through my trauma, and every time I dismissed it out of hand, not seeing it as the help you intended it as." She shook her head. "No longer," she declared. "If Meowth can make such great strides in mere weeks, I well and truly have no excuse to at least try."

"Willa, I..." began Keith. "Wow. Well, then, if you're on board with this, what the heck are we waiting for? To the park!"

"Yeah!" Maribel cheered. "I'll come train, too- I think Larvitar's on the brink of learning Flamethrower!"

"Of course, sweetie," Keith smiled. "Go and grab your Poké Balls, all right? I wanna talk to your mother for a minute."

"OK, Dad!" nodded Maribel, and she ran out of the kitchen and right for the stairs.

Keith turned to Willa. "This is not a complaint by any stretch, but what brought this on?" he asked with a small smile.

"I was talking to Meowth last night," Willa responded. "I naturally expected it to be a bit one-sided, of course, but I couldn't help but wonder how he was making such progress. I asked him as such without really expecting an answer... and he meowed out your name."

Keith did a double take. "He what?!" he breathed. "So can he-"

"Not just yet," Willa stated, forestalling the obvious question. "It takes him considerable effort, and the words are only just barely distinguishable as human language, but he's getting there."

"Ha haaa!" Keith cheered. "Oh, Meowth's really getting there! I... and he said I was how he was making such progress?" he added.

Willa nodded. "You've been there for him at every step of the way. You're his best friend, and have stood by him even at his lowest point," she stated. "...much as you've tried to do with me. And I've only pushed you away. Keith, I'm sorry. I never so much as considered your repeated suggestions to try training with Flapple's Gravity. But now that I reflect on it... I see how much you were trying to help me."

"...I don't need an apology," Keith said gently. "Everyone works through these things at their own pace, y'know?"

Willa shook her head. "It's always going to take effort," she stated. "It won't magically get easy. I don't think I expected it to, and yet... it seems I never so much as made the effort. And regardless of how justified I might or might not have been in the right, the fact remains that right now I regret how I dismissed your attempts to help in the past, and I hope you'd be willing to help me out with this now."

Keith smiled as he put his arms around Willa. "I would be glad to," he assured her. "I was originally gonna use Max, see if we could work on some of those special moves it's got, but for this, I think I might start with Telson, what do you say?"

"I like the idea," nodded Willa. "Shall we head out, then?"

"Let's, my love," Keith said. And with that, the married couple departed the kitchen, hand in hand.

Last edited by Missingno. Master; 02-02-2024 at 06:41 PM.
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Old 02-02-2024, 06:41 PM   #168
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Galar: A Mystery



Weeks had passed since Willa's talk with Meowth in the night, and much took place in that time. A very eventful Christmas Eve, to put it mildly. But now, the holidays had come and gone. Meowth had made further strides in his recovery- he still wasn't at full strength, but could hold his own against some of Keith and Willa's more moderately strong Pokémon, was spending less time sleeping throughout the day, and on a good day was even capable of pulling off a Z-Move. And he still hadn't fully regained his capability for human speech, but he was getting a bit better at sort of meowing out how the words were intended to sound. And now, he sat in his usual spot on Keith's shoulder as he, along with Willa, Maribel, Eddie, ZZLZZ, and Rose, all stood on the deck of the Banette's Revenge.

"Yarrgh, shan't be much longer, me hearties!" Tom called from his position at the helm. "We'll be makin' port near Spikemuth within half an hour!"

"Shan't be much longer! Shan't be much longer! Awwk!" cawed the Chatot on Tom's left shoulder.

"Half an hour! Awwk! Half an hour!" cawed the Squawkabilly on Tom's right shoulder.

"Excellent," Eddie nodded. "From there it should be a quick walk to Hammerlocke."

"Yep," Keith nodded. "And then..." he trailed off as he turned to look at the fairly massive skeletal dragon flying behind the ship. "...and then, Max, we'll be freeing your imprisoned brethren." The Eternatus gave an excited growl in response.

"Oh, this'll be so cool," ZZLZZ breathed. "Maribel, you told me about that time you watched a Gym battle in Galar, do you think we'll get to see one in action here?"

"Yeah, I think we might," smiled Maribel. "I know Hammerlocke has a stadium as well. I think the Hammerlocke Gym Leader specializes in Dragon-types, and I heard they do double battles like in Sludge Wave Colosseum, too, so maybe we'll get to watch one."

'That'd be awesome!" exclaimed ZZLZZ. Maribel watched as her best friend walked up to the bow, clutching the guardrail (and in the process causing the entire ship to glitch out). She took a deep breath and moved as though about to step forward, but then shook her head and exhaled, instead opting to watch the horizon from where she stood.

~~~~~

True to Tom's word, it wasn't much longer before they made port just on the outskirts of Spikemuth. Keith withdrew Max into its Heavy Ball before they went ashore, deciding it might be best if the people of Hammerlocke didn't suddenly see an Eternatus without knowing the context, considering the history there. From there, the Masterses and the Starmies made the short, uneventful trek to the city of Hammerlocke, immediately marveling at the impressive stadium.

"...alright, here we are," Keith stated. "Willa, can you take the others to the Pokémon Center, get us checked into our rooms, while me and Eddie hit up the stadium? With any luck, we'll get this over and done with in no time, and the rest of the time we spend here can just be a peaceful and fun vacation."

"Certainly," Willa nodded. And with that, she led Maribel, Rose, and ZZLZZ further down the street, while Keith and Eddie turned off and headed towards the stadium.

"Welcome to Hammerlocke Stadium!" a receptionist greeted them. "Are either of you here as part of the Gym Challenge?"

"Ah, no," Eddie stated. "I am Edward Tentacruel Starmie, director of the Starmie Cryptopokology Research Laboratory in Sludge Wave Coast, Fizzytopia. This is my associate and good friend Keith Masters. We are to meet with the professor and the chairman here?"

"...ah, yes, yes, I have it right here," nodded the receptionist, following several seconds of pulling up files on her computer. "If I can just confirm your IDs...? Perfect," she nodded, as Keith and Eddie produced their Pokédexes, having pulled up their respective Trainer IDs on them. "Everything is in order, Mr. Starmie and Mr. Masters. Just a little further down, elevator on your right, they should be down there already."

"Thank you," Eddie nodded. He led the way past the reception desk, and true enough, there was an elevator on the right side of the wall. They both got in, and with only two buttons to press, 1f and b1f, the choice was fairly obvious.

When they got out,, they saw two people approaching them. One was a dark-skinned man, reasonably well-built, with wild purple hair. The other was a redhead woman wearing a lab coat. "Chairman Leon and Professor Sonia, I presume?" Eddie said. "Edward Starmie, but please, call me Eddie."

"Keith Masters," Keith added, likewise introducing himself.

"Nice to meet you both," Professor Sonia replied, shaking their hands. "Though I have to admit I'm wondering exactly what it was you wished to discuss with us," she admitted.

"Oh, I think I know," Leon said. "Why else would we be meeting down here of all places?"

"Very astute, Mr. Chairman," Eddie nodded. "As you may in fact have surmised, my friend and I are here to discuss the topic of Eternatus."

"Eternatus," Professor Sonia frowned distastefully. "Well... not to sound like a shameless plug, but Mr. Starmie, if you'd read my book, I'm sure you would learn everything about it you could hope to learn."

"Oh, I've read Galar: A History," Eddie stated. "Cover to cover. Multiple times, in fact- a fascinating and enlightening read, professor," he added with a respectful nod.

"..oh! Well... eheheh, uh, thank you," Professor Sonia replied, smiling a bit. "But, um..."

"...what exactly is it you wish to discuss regarding Eternatus that Sonia's book doesn't cover?" asked Leon, finishing Sonia's question for her.

"Well," said Keith. "We know Eternatus was on the rampage. We know it was because your predecessor pumped it so full of excess energy that it couldn't control itself. What we don't know, is why it's being imprisoned for a crime that was beyond its control."

Sonia and Leon were silent for a second. "...are you suggesting, Mr. Masters, that we release Eternatus into the wild?" Sonia demanded. "Why on earth would anyone ever think that to be a good idea?"

"Well," Keith said grimly, "it sure beats the alternative."

"Alternative?" Leon repeated, arching an eyebrow.

"Months ago, Eddie and I secured invitations to NYX Labs on the Starlight Frontier space station," explained Keith. "We had heard about them having Eternatus problems, and as it's relevant to both my own interests as a Poison-type specialist, and Eddie's research as a cryptopokologist, we volunteered to help however we could."

"Wait, wait wait wait," Sonia shook her head. "How were they having Eternatus problems? Eternatus has, as I'm sure you already knew, been sealed away down here ever since the second Darkest Day!"

Keith shook his head. "That Eternatus was," he stated. He then plucked the Heavy Ball off his belt and held it up. "This one wasn't."

Leon and Sonia looked thunderstruck as the truth dawned on them. "...there's more than one Eternatus, and you caught one?!" Leon breathed.

"Eternatus are extraterrestrial Pokémon," Eddie stated. "They hail from another world alien to our own. It might give the impression of being one-of-a-kind, when in fact that's only because only one had ever been known to arrive on our planet. Until recently, that is."

"During the course of our investigation and assistance, we were able to discern this Eternatus's objectives," Keith stated. "Freeing its imprisoned brethren. Do you see it now? Professor, surely you see where this is going?" he asked.

Sonia, sure enough, nodded thoughtfully. "...if one more Eternatus came from their world to free its brethren... and didn't succeed..."

"...then it would stop at nothing, possibly bringing backup for subsequent attempts," Leon finished. "So in keeping Eternatus locked away-"

"-we're basically just begging for more Darkest Days," Eddie finished grimly. "Which, I think we can all agree, we do not want."

"No, indeed," Sonia shook her head. "All right, you've convinced me. Leon, can you unseal it?"

"...I can't right now," Leon admitted. "The key is in Hammerlocke Vault, for security purposes. I can run and get it real quick, though."

"Not without me," Sonia shook her head. "You're dreadful with directions as ever- you'll end up in Motostoke before you realize something's wrong. Mr. Masters, Mr. Starmie, can I ask you to wait outside the stadium while we go and get the key?"

"Certainly," Eddie nodded. With that, the four made for the elevator, and soon exited the stadium.

"How about that!" Keith chuckled as they stood outside the entrance to the majestic stadium. "That went so well, Ed!"

"It really did," Eddie nodded. "...Keith, I have to run to the restroom, actually," he added after a moment. "Can you keep an eye out for Sonia and Leon?"

"Yeah, sure, man," Keith nodded. But as he kept watch, he saw his daughter wandering around just outside the Pokémon Center. As Maribel saw Keith standing outside Hammerlocke Stadium, she hesitated, before seeming to make up her mind about something, at which point she began walking over to her father. "Maribel, sweetie, is everything OK?" Keith asked.

"Yeah, Dad, I just wanted to take a walk, get some fresh air, and... well, I think I wanna talk to you about something, if it's OK?" she said, sounding uncharacteristically hesitant.

Keith and Meowth exchanged looks, before turning back to Maribel. "What is it, sweetie?" Keith asked.

"...you know how that strange rain Queen Tsulah made happen, how it made everyone have these... visions?" Maribel began.

"...vividly," Keith nodded with a frown. He didn't much like thinking back on that abhorrent Abyssal, but could do so far more easily now that she was guaranteed to not be a threat. "Why? Is this about whatever the rain made you see? You never did say..."

Maribel did not answer right away. Her eyes betrayed conflict, uncertainty. "...I saw a vision of me, in the future," she began. "Older. Like... like Mom's age. And... I was married. In the vision, we were so happy together, we hugged and kissed a lot just like you and Mom do."

"Is that so?" Keith asked. "If you don't mind my asking, married to whom?"

Maribel took a deep breath to steel herself. "...to ZZLZZ," she replied.

"...oh." Keith exhaled. "...OH!" he repeated, as his daughter's words sank in all the more. "So, then you..."

"...Dad, I'm not sure what to think," she murmured. "Ever since then, every time I look at ZZLZZ, I... I think back to that vision, and... the more I think about it, the more it... the more it feels right. I... Dad, is this how you felt when you fell in love with Mom?"

"...It's a little soon to say for certain, sweetie," Keith said. "You're definitely not old enough to be seriously thinking about marriage just yet. But, the possibility can't be ruled out so quickly either, in all fairness. Grandma and Grampa Masters fell in love when they were around your age, after all. Have you talked to ZZLZZ about this?"

Maribel shook her head. "That's just it- I- what if she doesn't feel the same?" she asked, almost sounding fearful, tears in her eyes. "Dad, she's my best friend, I don't wanna ruin our friendship over this!"

At this, Keith pulled his conflicted daughter into a hug. "There's no easy answers here, Maribel," he murmured. "If you want to find out for sure, you're going to have to take that chance. If you don't want to risk ruining a perfectly good friendship, that's valid, and nobody would think any less of you for it. Ultimately, only you can make that decision. Just know that your mom and I will love you and support you no matter which way you decide."

"Meeeeowtooo," Meowth meowed.

Maribel gave a small chuckle. "...thanks, Dad, Meowth," she smiled. "I-"

At that point, however, an explosive roar sounded from the sky. Keith's smile faded as he looked up at the sky. "...Oh, no," he groaned. "Maribel, sweetie, get to the Pokémon Center right now, OK? See to it that your mom, Rose, and ZZLZZ are safe."

"No, Dad, I..." began Maribel. However, her father's mention of seeing to ZZLZZ's safety stuck in the young Trainer's mind. "...All right," she nodded, and she ran off for the Pokémon Center.

"Keith!" Eddie exclaimed- moments later, he ran up, with Sonia and Leon in tow. "Keith, we heard the roar, what's going on?"

"I think I have an idea," Keith said grimly. "It's exactly what we were trying to prevent."

"So another Eternatus is coming to rescue the first two," Leon gritted his teeth.

"It's alright, it's OK, we can still pull this off." Keith stated. "Ed, go with Leon to get out the imprisoned Eternatus. Sonia, can you show me a way to the top of this tower?"

"Well, sure, but what are you gonna do?" Sonia asked.

"Whatever I can," Keith stated simply.

~~~~~

At first, Keith was confused as to why they were all taking the elevator to the basement again. And then, he could see the other elevator that only stopped on the roof. "...that is some poor building design," he remarked.

"Don't I know it," Sonia chuckled as the elevator closed behind her. "I should tell you right now, I've only a Yamper who's getting on in years. I won't be much help in a battle."

"That's all right," Keith stated. "I'm not looking to fight Eternatus- just stall it, give Eddie and Leon more time."

"Can you do that?" inquired Sonia. "If this Eternatus is Eternamaxed, there's not much that can block that sort of power..."

"No, indeed," Keith agreed gravely. "But I think I have one of the few things that can."

"...I see," Sonia murmured. "I hope you know what you're doing."

"So do I, Sonia," Keith stated. "So do I."

At that moment, they reached the rooftop. And as they exited the elevator, Keith's heart dropped. Descending towards the top of the tower was a purple and red draconic hand. "M-m-meowwwth," Meowth whimpered.

"Oh, don't worry, buddy," Keith murmured. "We got this." And he threw the Heavy Ball. "Max, come out!" he declared as his own Eternatus emerged in a flash of light.

Max flew up to the other Eternatus, roaring in greeting. The wild Eternatus, however, sounded less than impressed, roaring angrily, gesturing towards Keith with the giant hand.

"I wonder what they're saying..." Keith muttered. Meowth felt his heart sink. He could understand them perfectly, of course, and the desire to translate was stronger than ever. But he knew that he couldn't.

Max cried out persistantly, but its wild brethren sounded undeterred. And then, the hand began to charge up power. Max turned to look at Keith, growling pleadingly and shaking his head.

Keith smiled. "Don't worry, Max, you're not fighting- you're just helping us stall. Here we go!" he stated. "Max, get back!" he then declared, withdrawing the Eternatus, and holding the Heavy Ball out at arm's length. "All right... the strange energy that courses through us both... let us embrace it... harness it... use it to draw out our true power!" As he spoke, energy flowed from his Dynamax Band into the Heavy Ball, engorging it once more. "Now, Max, to protect the world from devastation... Eternamax!!!" he bellowed, heaving the ball straight up.

The ball seemed to evaporate in midair. Sonia audibly whimpered as Max emerged, this time as yet another , roaring determinedly. The wild Eternatus, undeterred, fired off a Dynamax Cannon.

This was Keith's chance. "Block it, Max! Use E-Max Guard!!!"

Max roared loudly, holding up the giant hand, and from that hand emerged a massive glittering barrier. The Dynamax Cannon slammed into the barrier, but couldn't penetrate it.

"Sonia! Any sign of them yet?" Keith called out.

"Not yet," Sonia replied nervously. "Keith, are you sure about this?"

"You don't want an honest answer to that!" Keith called back. "Max, look out!" he added, for the wild Eternatus seemed to be gearing up for an E-Max Wyrmwind. "We'll use E-Max Wyrmwind as well, but in the opposite direction!!! Neutralize it!"

And Max roared as it did just that. The E-Max Wyrmwinds collided with great force, but being two opposing forces of equal power, they soon cancelled each other out. Meowth meowed in awe, but then again in fear as energy began to build in each and every one of Eternatus's fingertips.

"...ah, geez, that's Eternabeam!" Keith whispered. "I... wait, this is our chance! Max! Use E-Max Guard one more time!!!" he called out. And once more, Max summoned a massive, glittering barrier. It seemed to strain under the force of the Eternabeam, but thankfully it held up. Max, however, began to shrink back down to its (still insanely huge) size, resuming its usual form.

"Uh-oh," Sonia murmured. Without E-Max Guard up their sleeve, she couldn't see how they could stall any longer.

But Keith could. "OK!" he murmured. "Eternatus can't move for a while after using Eternabeam! Max!" he called. "Take me up! I'm gonna talk to it myself!"

"MEOW!?" Meowth screeched incredulously.

"I know I don't know the situation as well as I'd like, but I gotta try!" Keith insisted. At this, Meowth broke out into a flurry of incoherent meowing. His efforts to enunciate were blatantly obvious, unsuccessful as they were. "OK, easy, easy, Meowth," Keith said soothingly.

"Meowwwwn meow meowwwve," Meowth replied insistently. "Meoooooowve..." He was growing more agitated by the second- he had to get this information through to Keith! "Meoww... Meoww meoww... Meow meowwwnatus is in love wit the otha one!" he exclaimed, his meowing giving way at last.

Keith's eyes lit up as Max lowered a clawed hand to the top of the tower. "Meowth, you...!" he gasped.

"I did! I really did!" Meowth exclaimed, sounding just as surprised as Keith. "Keith- dat Eternatus, it's in love wit da one dat's bein' kept here! Max is just a mutual friend o' both, and dis big lug up dere's all enraged, tinkin' Max has turned its back on Eternatuskind!"

"...OK, now I have to get up there and talk to it," Keith stated. "Beam me up, Maxy!" he called, stepping onto the gigantic clawed hand. "Meowth, if you want to stay on the tower-"

"Nuh-uh," Meowth shook his head stubbornly. "I don't care if I still ain't got my full strength back, I ain't lettin' youse go up dere alone!"

"Heh, I figured as much," Keith grinned. At that moment, Max placed Keith atop his large head. Keith stood there, holding onto a colossal spike for balance, as Max approached the recharging Eternatus. "Eternatus!" Keith called up. "I know- I know you're in love with the Eternatus that's been held here! I don't intend to stand in your way- especially when it's between two Pokémon that love each other! I know how great it is to be in love, and I know good and well the lengths one goes to for the sake of their loved ones. I have a beautiful, wonderful wife, and I would be doing the same thing you're doing if it meant freeing her. And my daughter, even my daughter's just realized her feelings for her best friend. Whether it's true, lasting love like what me and Willa have, that's yet to be determined, they're still so young, but I'll be damned if I don't let them find out. But you don't have to attack us! I came here today to secure the other Eternatus's freedom! My friend is down there right now trying to get it out! Please- just give him five minutes!" As Keith stopped talking, Max roared up at the other Eternatus pleadingly.

Eternatus made no response just yet. It seemed to be contemplating Keith and Max's words. Finally, it gave a decisive growl, and simply hovered there.

Keith exhaled. "OK, now we just hope it doesn't take Eddie longer than five minutes to get up here," he stated. "Which I doubt would actually be the case," he chuckled.

Three minutes later, Keith wasn't chuckling anymore. Eternatus was growling warningly as Keith continued to watch the elevator doors, now back on the tower roof, sweating profusely. And then, to his immense relief, the doors flew open, and Eddie emerged. "Sorry I'm late!" he called, brandishing nothing less than a Master Ball in his hands. "Leon really had this thing locked up but good!" Leon, who had walked in behind Eddie, chuckled sheepishly and nodded to confirm Eddie's words as fact.

"Heh. Not at all, Ed, you're just in time!" Keith grinned in relief. "Bring it on out!"

Eddie nodded, and fiddled with the Master Ball in his hand before throwing it. It split apart, and in a flash of peculiar blue light, the kind that signified a release, yet another Eternatus emerged. The Eternamax Eternatus gave a surprised, happy growl, shrinking down to size at once, as the newly-freed Eternatus flew up to meet it. Eddie looked on, mouth agape, as the pair of Eternatus nuzzled each other affectionately. "...they're in love?" Eddie murmured.

"They are," Keith confirmed. "And I got this guy to thank for helping me figure it out," he added, glancing over at Meowth.

"Ahh, weren't nuttin'," Meowth purred.

Eddie blinked. "Meowth can talk again?" he inquired.

"Meowth can talk again!" Keith confirmed, beaming.

"Dat's right!" grinned Meowth.

Max floated up to the Eternatus couple. Their roars were a lot more amicable this time around. Meowth, this time, was more than capable of translating for Keith- the one who had been attacking was now apologizing profusely for attacking, for thinking Max had become a traitor, and asked Max if it wanted to return to their home world with them. Keith's smile faded at this prospect, but Max shook its head and floated down, gesturing to Keith before roaring out his response.

"Max says dis is its home now," Meowth translated. "Witout youse, it never would'a seen da good in humanity, and it's lovin' dis strange new world more an' more. All it asks is dat dey spread da word on dier home turf dat humans is OK, and dat Max ain't bein' held here against its will."

Keith smiled at this, and patted his Eternatus's ribcage. "Thank you, Max," he said, as they watched the pair of Eternatus fly away high into the sky, higher and higher still, until they were no longer visible.

At this moment, Sonia and Leon stepped forward. "...I can't believe what I just witnessed," Leon said weakly. "That was the most unbelievable thing."

"I know," Sonia nodded. Then, she grinned. "Your command of Eternatus is amazing!" he told Keith. "You share a real bond with it, don't you?"

Keith chuckled. "Well, we've gained kind of a mutual respect for one another," he said modestly. Then, he turned to look as he heard cheering from down below. Willa, Maribel, ZZLZZ, and Rose were all looking up from the streets below, and they weren't alone- what looked to be every single resident of Hammerlocke had come out to witness the battle, as well as its aftermath. "...I guess we had a bit of an audience," he grinned. "Heh... Hey, Max, what do you say we give them a bit of a fireworks show?" he added. "Use Eternabeam, but point it skyward, so the beams explode in midair." Max roared in agreement, rising up and assuming the Eternamax form once more. However, its hand faced skyward as the beams of light erupted from its fingertips, and the blasts in midair looked more incredible than any fireworks display Keith had ever seen before. The crowd had initially looked wary upon seeing Max change form, but now Keith could hear a chorus of "ooh"s and "ahh"s from down below.

"...Wow, it's so pretty," ZZLZZ whispered.

"Yeah," Maribel murmured, though she was looking at the glitched Bug Catcher and blushing visibly. "So pretty..."

ZZLZZ turned to look at Maribel, and was surprised to see her blushing. "Is... everything OK?" ZZLZZ asked.

At first, Maribel didn't want to answer truthfully. As she'd told her dad, she didn't want to potentially wreck a perfectly good friendship over potentially nothing. But as she saw the concern in ZZLZZ's eyes, she knew she couldn't bring herself to lie, either. "...ZZLZZ, I, um," she began. "I'm... I've never had to do this before... I... wh-when that Queen Tsulah made it rain and gave everyone in town strange visions, mine was, um... something I realized I was actually hoping would happen. It... it showed me, and... and you... as grown women... m-married... to..." She hesitated, but steeled herself- no going back this far into it. "...to each other," she finished.

ZZLZZ's eyes widened, her mouth fell open, and for a moment her appearance glitched even more virulently than usual. "...you had that vision too?" she whispered.

Now Maribel's eyes widened. "You mean you-" she breathed.

"I... I never did feel that way about boys," ZZLZZ admitted. "The other Bug Catchers in Viridian Forest were cool enough, but I never thought of them as anything more than friends. But... but with you it's... it feels more to me like how Eddie and Rose feel about each other, if... if that makes sense?"

Maribel managed a small smile. "It makes sense to me," she said.

From high up on Hammerlocke Tower, Keith had been watching his daughter and ZZLZZ talking, even if he couldn't hear what they were saying- after their heart-to-heart earlier, he had to know how this went. And finally, he saw the two girls move in, and although he didn't quite see their lips meet, he did see his daughter momentarily glitch up as well as ZZLZZ. "...Attagirl," Keith murmured, beaming with fatherly pride.

"...Maribel and ZZLZZ?" Eddie murmured wonderingly. "Wow... I knew ZZLZZ had something weighing on her mind as of late, but I never considered this as a possibility." Then he frowned. "Maribel's glitching up again, how long is that kiss going on for?" he demanded.

"...no, looks like they're just holding hands right now," Keith replied, squinting for a better look.

"Ahh, OK," Eddie nodded. "Should we head on down now?" he added.

"Yeah, probably," Keith nodded as the fireworks display died down. "Max must be exhausted from all that. Come back now, buddy," he added, withdrawing his Eternatus.

Soon, they were back down on the ground, and cheers erupted from the crowd as they walked out of Hammerlocke Stadium. Willa and Rose ran up and hugged their respective men. "I couldn't believe what I was seeing up there!" Rose exclaimed.

"Nor I," Willa stated. "And Keith... I don't know if you saw, but something was also happening down here," she added with a small smile.

"I saw," Keith smiled back, before looking over at Maribel and ZZLZZ. The two were still holding hands as they made their way towards the stadium, and thus, were both glitching out. "Maribel actually saw me outside just before this all kicked off, and talked to me about it. She was so worried about potentially ruining her friendship with ZZLZZ."

"They make such a cute couple," smiled Rose.

"Yeah, dey do," Meowth agreed. "Hey, but Keith, ain't youse gots sometin' else ta tell 'em?"

Keith chuckled as Rose and Willa did double-takes. "I think you already covered that, Meowth," he grinned.

"Meowth!" smiled Willa. "So you can finally...!"

"Me and my big me-owth are back in business," Meowth purred. "I still don't feel a hundred percent as far as battlin' goes, but I'll take dis!"

"As will I," Keith nodded. "It's good to hear your voice again, Meowth."

"Yeah... hey, Keith?" Meowth added. "I wanted ta apologize. Eva since the incident, I feel like I been nuttin' but a burden on youse, havin' ta nurse me back ta health, train me up all ova again, all while I couldn't even talk ta youse..."

Keith pulled Meowth into a hug. "You're no burden," he said simply. "I was happy to do it, to stick with you as you recovered. You're my friend, Meowth, and I love you."

Willa stepped forward and got in on the hug as well. "I feel the same way, Meowth," she said. "In point of fact, I ought to be thanking you. Your progress inspired me to make the effort to try and work with Flapple on using Gravity again."

"...ahhh, I love youse guys, too," Meowth murmured, hugging the Masterses back as best he could. "...hey, Keith? Ya wanna do da ting now? I weren't in no shape fer it back in NYX Labs, but now..."

Keith's eyes lit up. "...oh, hell, why not?" he grinned. He backed up, plucked the Heavy Ball off his belt, and cleared his throat. "...All right!" he exclaimed, holding up the Heavy Ball. "I caught... an Eternatus!"

"Meeeowth, dat's right!" Meowth declared.

Following the good-natured chuckling that ensued all around, Willa spoke up. "Speaking of which," she said. "Max is staying, then? I didn't have the benefit of Meowth's translations, but I get the feeling the other Eternatus were inviting Max to go home with them."

"They were," Keith confirmed. "But Max told them no. It said that... that this is its home now," he smiled.

Just then, Leon stepped outside. "Hey," he said to the Masterses and the Starmies. "So, I was just talking to Raihan, the Gym Leader here. He's scheduled for a Gym battle here in just fifteen minutes, and it turns out it's not getting cancelled due to Eternatus attack, so as my little way of thanking you for what just went down, I managed to swing free front-row tickets to watch the battle!"

"Hey, that'd be awesome, thanks, Leon!" Keith grinned.

"Ooh, wow, we get to watch a Galar Gym battle from the front row?!" exclaimed Maribel, as she and ZZLZZ ran over.

"We do," Willa confirmed.

"We got Leon here to thank for that," Keith added.

"Thank you, Mr. Leon!" Maribel and ZZLZZ said in unison. Leon chuckled modestly at this.

As everyone else made to file into the stadium, Maribel spoke up. "...Dad?" she said.

Keith turned around. "Yeah, sweetie?" he said.

Maribel smiled and hugged him. "Thank you," she said. "I didn't know how ZZLZZ would react... it turns out, she had had the same vision herself."

Keith smiled and hugged his daughter. "It takes a special kind of bravery to make the decision you made," he said. "I'm proud of you, sweetie. Now... you and ZZLZZ head on in, OK?"

"OK, Dad!" Maribel smiled. She let go of Keith and raced inside after her new girlfriend.

"Man," Meowth murmured. "Ain't neva pictured today bein' dis eventful."

"Same, Meowth," Keith nodded. "Can't complain, either, especially about one thing in particular. Then again, there was a certain charm to how quiet it's been up until now," he added with a smirk.

"Ehhhh, you missed my witty banter and ya knows it, ya big lug," Meowth retorted. "Ya missed matchin' wits wit ol' Meowth."

"Nah, see, for it to be a battle of wits, both sides have to come armed," Keith grinned.

"I know, so why don't ya?" Meowth purred. At this, they both burst into laughter as the friends brought up the rear and headed into Hammerlocke Stadium, ready and more than willing to enjoy their time in Galar.

Last edited by Missingno. Master; 02-03-2024 at 08:39 AM. Reason: Minor grammatical fix.
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Old 02-08-2024, 05:53 AM   #169
Missingno. Master
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The First Date



"...Oh! Eddie, th-that's her! How do I look?"

Eddie gave an amused sigh. "You look great, ZZLZZ," he assured his sister. "Honestly, there's really no reason for you to be nervous- you and Maribel have known each other for years now."

"I know, just... I want to make sure this date goes well," ZZLZZ persisted. "It's... it's our first Valentine's Day as a couple, y'know?"

"...that's fair," Eddie conceded. "I was nervous myself before going on my first date with Rose.

"Nervous is an understatement!" came Rose's voice from further back in the lab. "You were sweating so much your glasses needed windshield wipers! ZZLZZ, take it from me- just be yourself."

ZZLZZ took a deep breath, glitching out as she exhaled. "...OK," she stated. She adjusted her clothes, straightened her hat and glasses, and walked over to the lab's door, pulling it open. Indeed, on the other side, hand raised as though about to knock again, was Maribel Masters, dressed about the same as ever, but her clothes looked especially nice, as though she'd picked out her best skirt and blouse. Even her Mega Hat looked freshly cleaned, the Key Stone gleaming in the light. "Hi, Maribel!" ZZLZZ said, smiling even through her nervousness.

"Hi, ZZLZZ," Maribel smiled back. "You look great!"

"I... eheheh... th-thank you," smiled ZZLZZ, blushing and glitching at the compliment. She had likewise dressed much the same as usual, just with her nicest pieces of clothing, her hat also cleaned and free of grass stains and the like. She didn't have her usual Butterfree net on hand, having opted to leave it in her room. "You look great, too," she added.

"Thank you!" beamed Maribel, blushing slightly herself. "Ready to go?"

"Yeah!" ZZLZZ replied. "Where are we going, anyway?"

"I thought we could take a walk into the city," Maribel replied. "Maybe get some pizza at Pansear Pizza Parlor?"

"Oh- that sounds great," said ZZLZZ happily.

"Have fun, you two," Eddie smiled. "Maribel, don't bring her back too late, OK?"

"Eddie!" protested ZZLZZ, blushing again.

Maribel giggled, however. "Nothing to worry about, Eddie," she assured the cryptopokologist. She held out her hand, offering to ZZLZZ, who took hold of it, causing her constant glitchiness to spread to her girlfriend. And hand in hand, they left the house and began strolling the streets of Sludge Wave Coast.

You couldn't ask for better weather on Valentine's Day if you tried. The sky was a beautiful shade of blue, dotted with a few fluffy white clouds in the most picturesque sort of way. The wind had no more of a presence than the occasional gentle breeze, and the temperature was fairly mild for this time of year.

"...So, how did your parents react to finding out we were gonna be dating?" Maribel asked ZZLZZ.

At this, ZZLZZ gave a small smile. "Heh... they were both a little surprised," she said. "I'd never told them I like girls that way. But once the initial shock wore off, they told me they thought it was a great idea. They like you, and they said that as long as I'm happy, that's what matters to them."

"That's great to hear," smiled Maribel. "My mom and dad were surprised as well. Not Aunt Helena, though- I think she knew all along. Then again, she can taste emotions, so that's not all that surprising, I guess."

"Heh... Rose wasn't surprised, either," chuckled ZZLZZ. "She grabbed me in a hug and was shouting 'OH MY COBALION, YES! I SHIP IT!' at the top of her lungs." This got both girls giggling.

"...I'd never told my parents that I like girls, either," Maribel said after the giggling had died down. "But then... honestly, I didn't even really know that about myself until that vision," she admitted. "Until then, I just took it for granted that I just liked boys. I know it's possible for some people to like both- just look at Terri- but I didn't think it was a thing for me, I guess," she attempted to explain.

"...I knew all along how I felt about girls," said ZZLZZ. "I... I don't think I realized at first how I- how I feel about you, but... w-when we first met, I... I remember thinking how pretty you were," she admitted, starting to blush again.

Maribel smiled, blushing slightly herself. "Honestly, it's kind of the same with me," she said. "I... I always thought you were pretty, too."

"M-me?" ZZLZZ asked. "I... n-none of the Bug Catchers back in Viridian Forest ever thought that about me. And that was before... w-well..." she trailed off, looking down at her body, which was continuing to glitch out.

Maribel gently squeezed ZZLZZ's hand. "Then they don't know what they were missing," she said simply. ZZLZZ had no response to this beyond blushing all the more, and so the couple continued on in silence for a few minutes, taking in the beautiful weather as they approached Route 1, glitching out as they went.

Several minutes later, ZZLZZ spoke up again. "...I've been wondering, actually," she said. "Maribel, you... you came from the future, right? You and your mom and dad went back ten years to the day after they got married?"

"Yeah, why do you ask?" said Maribel.

"I... how were... d-did we... you know... get along when I was that much older than you?" ZZLZZ nervously ventured.

"...actually, in that version of the timeline, Eddie never found you," admitted Maribel.

ZZLZZ glitched out in shock. "What?!" she breathed. "So- so then, did- w-was I just..."

"I have no idea, I'm afraid," said Maribel. "I don't understand it all myself. All I know is, there's all sorts of differences in the timeline thanks to us being snapped back ten years. In any case, I'd have been two at this point in time, so I wouldn't have remembered any differences anyway," she admitted. "But I do know this," she added. "Right now, in this timeline, the timeline that matters to you and me in the here and now, Eddie did find you, he did bring you back to Sludge Wave Coast, and the Starmies did adopt you. And I'm glad for it," she smiled. "Otherwise we might never have met."

"...I never really thought too much about it, but... it really is extremely lucky that we ever got to meet, isn't it?" ZZLZZ pondered. "At least... I think it's lucky," she added.

Maribel's smile widened as she turned to look into ZZLZZ's eyes. "I think it's lucky, too," she said.

~~~~~

The rest of the walk down Route 1, and subsequently Route 2, was in relative silence, but neither girl seemed to mind- they were content to simply enjoy the beautiful day, and each other's company. And then they arrived in Yupien City, where other people could see them. Maribel frowned as the sight of her and ZZLZZ was met with looks of shock and disgust, as though they were afraid of catching whatever was making them glitch out. Then, Maribel felt ZZLZZ squirm uncomfortably, and turned to look. The Bug Catcher was blushing vibrantly, but looked close to tears. In response, Maribel squeezed her hand gently to catch her attention, and gave her a reassuring smile. This seemed to steady ZZLZZ's nerves, and she smiled back.

Once they were in Pansear Pizza Parlor, Maribel kept a wary eye on the waitress assigned to their table, but thankfully she had a lot more tact than the people outside. Once the waitress had brought them water and left them to peruse their menus, Maribel looked across the table at ZZLZZ. "...people still react like that to your condition, huh?" she asked gently.

ZZLZZ looked down. "...I hadn't even thought about it, but... now they were looking at you like that, too, because we were holding hands, and you were glitching up as well," she sniffed. "I... I'm sorry, Maribel, I didn't want that to happen..."

Maribel shook her head. "You have nothing to be sorry for," she said firmly. "If they're gonna just be ignorant about all this, that's their problem. Makes it all the more important, the kind of work your brother is doing."

"Yeah," nodded ZZLZZ. "... Maribel, how... how were you able to be so brave when everyone was looking at us like that?" she asked. "I... th-that's honestly one of the things I really admire about you, is how brave you can be. Like... y-you're never scared of anything."

"...I wouldn't exactly say never," Maribel replied, somewhat sheepishly. "I was scared before I told you how I feel about you," she admitted.

ZZLZZ's mouth fell open. "You? Scared?" she whispered in disbelief.

Maribel nodded. "I was scared that you might not feel the same way. I was scared of ruining our friendship."

ZZLZZ gave a soft gasp. "That's exactly why I never said anything!" she breathed.

"...and then there was that time with the Altarianite," Maribel continued.

"...oh, I remember that now," said ZZLZZ quietly. "That's right- you were more scared than I've ever seen you before or since. And... And that time, it was..." she trailed off, blushing a bit.

"...you," Maribel finished, now smiling again. "You helped me through that, said exactly what I needed to hear. ZZLZZ, you... you're braver than you realize, and it comes out when it really matters. And... And I really admire that about you. That and how passionate you get about Bug Pokémon," she added. "Your eyes always just light up like- like they're doing right now," she added with a giggle, for indeed, ZZLZZ's eyes had lit up at the very mention of her specialty type.

"Eheheh... yeah, that's a big thing with me," ZZLZZ admitted. "But yeah, there's that, too- you like Bug-types, too! Maybe you're not as crazy for them as me, but you still appreciate them, a-and you don't think it's weird for a girl to be a Bug Catcher, and... and I honestly think even your non-Bug-types are cool, too, like your Grimmsnarl, and your Weezing, and your Aurorus..."

Before the conversation could continue much more, the waitress reappeared, ready to take their orders. "I'll have a slice of meat lover's, please," said Maribel.

"I... um... I want the same thing, but... but with diced Tamato Berry, please," ZZLZZ said shyly.

"Coming right up," the waitress smiled, before walking away.

"...diced Tamato Berry?" Maribel repeated. "That's pretty spicy, ZZLZZ, I didn't realize you liked food that spicy."

"Yeah, I... I tried it recently at Rose's suggestion," said ZZLZZ. "She knew what she was talking about. It's gonna be so cool to have her around all the time."

"Wait, what?" Maribel asked.

ZZLZZ'S eyes widened, her body glitching out more intensely than usual, as she clapped her hands over her mouth. "I shouldn't have said anything!" she whispered. "I... Maribel, can you keep a secret?"

"Of course," said Maribel, her curiosity piqued.

ZZLZZ slowly started to smile. "...Rose told me in secret that she and Eddie are talking about moving in together. If all goes well, Rose'll be moving into the lab with us!" she whispered.

Maribel's face lit up. "That's great!" she whispered back. "So those two are still going strong?"

"Stronger than ever, ever since he and your dad went up in space," said ZZLZZ. "Rose really missed Eddie when he was up there, and from what Eddie's saying, he's missed her too."

"...Mom and Dad really missed each other, too," nodded Maribel. "And Meowstic really missed Meowth, Trevenant was telling me."

"Oh, right- how's Meowth doing?" asked ZZLZZ.

"Oh, so much better," smiled Maribel. "Dad says he's still not back to his full strength, but he's improved to the point where he can handle using multiple Z-Moves over the course of a day, and he's even gonna try Gigantamaxing him soon. Terri says that Yield confirmed that his Gigantamax Factor should be back to normal by now, but Dad's been hesitant to actually try it. But honestly, we're all just glad he can talk again."

ZZLZZ nodded. "Meowth must have been so scared and confused," she murmured. "I'm really glad he had loved ones to help him through it all. It... it really helped with me."

Maribel looked across the table at her girlfriend. She knew she had to be remembering the events that unfolded that fateful day in Viridian Forest, when she came face to face with the ZZAZZ phenomenon and, against all odds, survived. "I'm glad, too," she said. "For both Meowth and you." Just then, their waitress arrived to give them their pizza, and they dug in. ZZLZZ began to visibly sweat as she ate her Tamato Berry-topped slice, but at the same time, Maribel could see that she was genuinely enjoying the intense heat.

At this point, however, one of the other patrons of the restaurant stormed over to their table. "What the hell is this?!" she screeched, gesturing to ZZLZZ as though she was a pile of Mightyena droppings on the floor. "I'm trying to eat my pizza in peace, and I keep seeing this... this... whatever the hell it is, and I'm losing my appetite! Turn it off or get out!"

ZZLZZ said nothing, looking determinedly down at her lap as she tried to not burst into tears. Maribel, on the other hand, stood up. "If you're losing your appetite, nobody is making you stay in here," she said firmly to the unpleasant woman.

"Maribel, it's- it's OK," sniveled ZZLZZ. "I- I don't want to cause trouble-"

"She's the one causing trouble, ZZLZZ," Maribel stated firmly.

"Excuse me?!" screeched the woman. "You should have more respect for your elders!"

"My elders should be deserving of my respect," Maribel shot back. "And mostly they are. But if you have a problem with my girlfriend, you have a problem with me."

At this point, their waitress hastened back over, having only just seen the issue, with who appeared to be the manager in tow. "Excuse me," the manager said to the woman.

"Ah! Good, good, it's about damn time someone got over here," interrupted the woman. "Please remove this trash from the premises so that everyone can eat in peace."

"...I've heard everything I need to hear," replied the manager. He put a hand on the woman's shoulder and began to guide her towards the door.

"...what the hell do you think you're doing?!" the woman screeched.

"Removing this trash from the premises so that everyone can eat in peace," the manager stated firmly. "Get out and don't come back."

The woman launched into a profanity-laden tirade at this. At one point during it, she demanded to see the manager, whereupon the man confirmed Maribel's suspicions that he was indeed the manager. At last, the woman left, at which point the other patrons cheered.

"...I am so sorry about this," the waitress said as she approached Maribel and ZZLZZ. "My father is also a ZZAZZ survivor. I'd have gotten her out sooner, but I had trouble finding the manager," she apologized.

"It's OK," ZZLZZ said. "I... th-thank you," she smiled.

"Your pizza, of course, is on the house," continued the waitress. "Also, I overheard what you were saying- you two are here as a couple, yes?" she asked.

Maribel and ZZLZZ looked at each other, smiling and blushing slightly, before turning back to the waitress. "We are," Maribel confirmed.

"Well, then, you should know that we have a Valentine's Day special here at Pansear Pizza Parlor," said the waitress. "Couples can challenge the manager and his wife to a tag battle, and if they win, their meals are free. Your meals this time are free already, of course, but I'm sure we can work it out so that your next meals here would be free in addition. What do you think?"

"Ooh! What do you think, ZZLZZ?" Maribel asked.

At first, ZZLZZ wasn't sure. She'd never taken part in a tag battle before. But seeing the look of eagerness on Maribel's face seemed to strengthen her resolve. "...Let's do it," she decided.

The waitress nodded. "I will inform the manager at once," she said. "Let me know when you're both ready." With that, she walked away.

"How cool is this?" Maribel grinned. "I was hoping to get to battle alongside you at some point, see how well we work together in a tag battle, but I figured we'd have to wait until Dad and Uncle Gavin could arrange another tag battle Colosseum challenge..."

"M-Maribel?" said ZZLZZ. "Um... I... when you... th-thanks," she said, blushing progressively redder. "F-for standing up for me."

Maribel shook her head. "You don't need to thank me," she said. "That woman had no right to talk about you like that, and-"

"I- I don't care, I'm thanking you anyway," ZZLZZ interrupted insistently. "I just... it meant the world to me," she admitted. "That and... and hearing you call me your girlfriend. It... I mean, I- I know that you and I are... but to hear you actually say the word, it just..."

Maribel smiled. "...it felt good to say," she said. "It felt... it felt right."

ZZLZZ had no response. She and Maribel spent the next few minutes just gazing at each other as they continued to eat their pizza. Maribel even ventured to try a bite of ZZLZZ's, but quickly found the Tamato Berry to be a bit too much of a kick for her liking.

Soon, their food was done, and they stood side by side at one end of the big arena set up in the middle of the restaurant, positioned so that most patrons would have a good view of the battle. At the other end stood the man who had thrown the unpleasant woman out of the restaurant, and a beautiful woman who had to be his wife. "This will be a tag battle between our restaurant's manager and his wife, and this lovely young couple, Maribel Masters and ZZLZZ Starmie!" their waitress stated from her position on the sidelines. "If these Luvdisc can best our manager and his wife in battle, their next meal here is free! One Pokémon per Trainer, and the battle is over when both Pokémon on one side are declared unable to battle. And remember, this restaurant is not built on a Power Spot. Now... let the battle begin!"

Maribel threw a Luxury Ball. "Come out- Salamence!" she declared.

ZZLZZ threw a Net Ball. "Let's do it, Dusty!" she exclaimed.

The manager tossed a Fast Ball. "Tauros, let's go!" he declared.

The manager's wife threw a Love Ball. "I choose Miltank!" she called out.

In four flashes of light, the Pokémon appeared. On one side, Maribel's Salamence and ZZLZZ's Shiny Venusaur, their respective starters. The crowd sounded impressed as blue sparkles swirled around Dusty. On the other side, there was a perfectly ordinary Miltank, but the Tauros was not like anything the couple had ever seen before. Maribel dug out her Rotom Phone and pointed the camera at the bewildering bovine. "OK, Rotom- who's that Pokémon?" she asked.

"Tauros- Paldean Form, Blaze Breed- the Wild Bull Pokémon. A Fighting and Fire-type," said Rotom. "Tauros's horns can get hotter than 1,800 degrees Fahrenheit when heated up. Wow. What a day to use something so horny. Huh? Huh?" Rotom chuckled at its own incredibly lame pun, and quickly proved to be the only one. "...my jokes are wasted on you people," it grumbled before diving back into Maribel's bag.

"I've never seen a Tauros like that in my life," breathed ZZLZZ.

"Neither have I," Maribel whispered. "And it's a Fire-type, too, so you gotta be careful with Dusty."

"Don't worry, I got just the thing!" ZZLZZ whispered back.

"And battle... begin!" declared the waitress.

ZZLZZ made the first move. "Dusty! Glitch Room!" she ordered.

"VEEE VEEEEEEE!" Dusty rumbled, the Venusaur creating a glitched, warped space all around the battlefield. Tauros snorted in bewilderment, while Miltank mooed in concern.

Maribel was quick on the uptake, pointing at Miltank. "Ominous Wind, now!" she ordered.

"Ominous Wind?" repeated the woman. "But that's a Ghost move, it won't do a thing to my- Miltank!" she shrieked, for in direct spite of all logic and reason, the cursed winds seemed to blow Miltank back with great force!

"Nice!" grinned ZZLZZ. "All right, Dusty, you use Razor Leaf!"

"This Glitch Room must invert the type matchups!" the manager declared. "Tauros, use your Raging Bull attack now!" Tauros bellowed wildly, and his body took on a fiery aura. He failed to power through the Razor Leaf, which hit both him and Miltank, but once it was through, he charged straight at Salamence, delivering a super effective blow! Maribel, confused, took her Rotom Phone back out.

"Tauros's special attack- Raging Bull," said Rotom. "Tauros performs a wild tackle that can break barriers like Reflect. Its type depends on the user's form. When used by a Blaze Breed Paldean Tauros, Raging Bull is a Fire attack. Obviously."

"Miltank! Earthquake attack!" called the woman.

"Uh-oh," murmured Maribel. "Salamence, Protect!"

"Dusty, Iron Defense!" called ZZLZZ.

Salamence grunted, casting a protective dome over itself, while Dusty stiffened her entire body. Miltank landed the Earthquake, doing somewhat decent damage to Dusty, none whatsoever to Salamence, and disappointingly minimal damage to the manager's Tauros. The edges of the battlefield absorbed the shock well, so the rest of the restaurant felt nary a tremor from the attack.

Maribel turned to ZZLZZ. "I think we can pull this off, but we have to go all-out," she murmured. "Have you ever used Dusty's Gigantaband before?"

"B-but the waitress said this isn't a Power Spot," ZZLZZ whispered.

Maribel smiled. "It doesn't need to be," she said. "Do you have your Dynamax Band?"

"N-no..." ZZLZZ admitted nervously.

"...borrow mine," said Maribel, taking her own Dynamax Band out of her bag and gently putting it on her girlfriend's wrist (which got ZZLZZ blushing redder than an Electrode's ass). "Now hold it up."

"OK..." murmured ZZLZZ. She did just that, and in that instant, red light streamed out of the Wishing Star and into the Gigantaband Dusty wore on her ankle. Dusty began to transform at once, flower blooming unbelievably, until a mercifully scaled-down stood before the stunned restaurant patrons.

Maribel, meanwhile, gripped the brim of her Mega Hat. "Here we go, Salamence!" she declared. "Time to show just how high we can soar!" And in a magnificent imitation of her father, she swept the Mega Hat off her head and held it up high. "Mega Evolve!!!" exclaimed Maribel. And at once, beams of light connected the Key Stone to the Salamencite, the Mega Hat to the Salamencite Collar- connected Maribel to Salamence. And Salamence transformed on the spot, wings fusing together to form a single deadly crescent. At last, the hovered before them, giving a mighty roar!


Quote:


Salamence's Salamencite is reacting to Maribel's Mega Hat!

!!!

!!!!

!!!!!




Salamence has Mega Evolved into Mega Salamence!
The manager and his wife exchanged looks. "We'll have to finish this fast, my dear," stated the manager.

"Indeed," concurred his wife. "Let's try and do this in one move apiece."

"Now, Tauros!" declared the manager, revealing a Z-Ring on his wrist as he began to strike poses. "Time to power through to the bitter end! Beyond our limits as we strive... for victory!" Z-Power flowed into Tauros as his Close Combat move was changed, powered up, turned into something far stronger. "Use All-Out Pummeling!!!" commanded the manager.

"Don't even give it the chance, Dusty!" called ZZLZZ. "G-Max Vine Lash, go!!!"

"VEEEEEE!" bellowed Dusty as two massive vines rose up from behind her flower, the tips of the vines aglow with energy. She then brought these vines down as Tauros began to launch the projectile portion of the Z-Move, cutting the whole thing short with an impossibly super effective blow.

"It's over!" grinned Maribel. "Salamence, hit Miltank with a Hyper Beam!" However, just as she said this, the Glitch Room faded away.

"Perfect!" grinned the wife, pulling out a Tera Orb. "Miltank, let's show them true fright from beyond the grave!" she declared as her Tera Orb charged with energy. She then threw the Tera Orb. "Terastallize!!!"

Maribel, however, only grinned wider as Miltank emerged from the crystalline cocoon with the Ghost Tera Jewel atop her head. Salamence let fly a devastating Hyper Beam, but to the wife's shock and surprise, Miltank was hit hard. "How?!" she exclaimed. "Miltank's Tera Type is Ghost, and the Glitch Room wore off!"

"You didn't account for Mega Salamence's Ability!" grinned Maribel. "Aerilate- it turns all of Mega Salamence's Normal moves into Flying moves!" She grinned all the more broadly at the look of stunned disbelief on the manager's wife's face as she registered this information. And then, the dust settled, leaving the waitress with a call to make.

"...Tauros and Miltank are both unable to battle!" she declared, for indeed, the battered bovines were beaten. "The winners are Maribel and ZZLZZ, whose next meal here is on the house!" The restaurant erupted into cheers, the patrons having been nothing short of enthralled by the battle they just witnessed.

"YES!" cheered ZZLZZ. "We really did it! I... I..." And then, unable to articulate her feelings into further words, ZZLZZ instead moved in close and kissed Maribel on the cheek. Maribel blushed at this, and turned to look; ZZLZZ was blushing as well, looking surprised at her own daring. Maribel then pulled ZZLZZ in close, and the two shared another kiss, this one slightly longer than the last one, during which several heart-shaped wisps of Smog rose up off of Maribel.

ZZLZZ gasped as she caught sight of these. "Maribel, that-!" she breathed.

Maribel followed her girlfriend's gaze, and her eyes widened as she saw the quickly dissipating puffs of yellow smoke. "Did I just...?" she murmured. Before she could do anything more with this, however, the couple left the battlefield, hand in hand, glitching all the way as they proceeded outside (though not before Maribel left a very sizable tip for their waitress).

Once they were outside, they were met with an orange glow in the sky- the sun was going down. "...it was, wasn't it?" ZZLZZ asked excitedly. "I think you used Smog in there!"

"I... I think I might have," Maribel murmured in surprise. "I... Oh, Dad's gonna be ecstatic," she chuckled. "He's always wondered whether I inherited any Gastly qualities from him." She then closed her eyes and focused hard.

"W-w-wait!" exclaimed ZZLZZ. "Using attacks really wears your dad out, and he's 25% Gastly. You're probably even less Gastly than that!"

"...oh, yeah, you're right," Maribel murmured. "I'd have to be, like, 12.5% Gastly, unless Mom's been keeping something secret all this time," she chuckled. "So, what do you say we start heading home?" she asked ZZLZZ. "Sun's going down, and I don't want anyone back home to start worrying, y'know?"

"Y-yeah, that's true," nodded ZZLZZ. Then, she reached into her bag and took out a small gift-wrapped box, and handed it to Maribel. "H-here," she added. "Happy Valentine's Day."

"...Oh, ZZLZZ, thank you," Maribel smiled, accepting the present. She deftly ripped off the wrapping paper, and her eyes widened as she saw what was inside the box. "...is this me?" she murmured, for indeed, she was holding what appeared to be a figurine of herself, made from some sort of hard yellow material.

"D-do you like it?" asked ZZLZZ. "That... it's made out of Albus's old shell, we kept it after he evolved from Kakuna, and he actually helped me carve it. S-some of it had to be glued together with String Shot. I... I wanted to try and paint it too, so it really would look like you, but I had the idea way too late, and... and I didn't want it to look rushed and sloppy..."

Maribel pulled ZZLZZ into a hug. "I love it, thank you so much," she smiled. "Now lemme give you your gift," she added, letting go so as to reach into her bag.

"Y-you got me something, too?" ZZLZZ asked.

"Of course- it's Valentine's Day," Maribel replied. "I wasn't gonna just come on this date empty-handed. You didn't, after all. Ah, here it is!" she added, pulling a gift-wrapped box out of her bag and handing it to ZZLZZ. "Happy Valentine's Day," she smiled.

ZZLZZ took the box and carefully pulled off the gift wrap, her eyes widening as she saw what she'd received. "...a Butterfree net maintenance kit?" she breathed.

"I got the right one, right?" Maribel asked anxiously. "Yours is an Insect Incarcerator 2020 Deluxe?"

"You remembered that?" smiled ZZLZZ. "I- I only mentioned it once to you!"

"Well, once is all it took," Maribel shrugged. "So... you didn't already have one or anything? This is good? I- oof!" she grunted, so forcefully did ZZLZZ hug her.

"It's great, I really love it," ZZLZZ smiled. "Maribel... th-thank you." Maribel said nothing, instead hugging her girlfriend back, getting the shrewd feeling that that thanks went way farther than just the gift.

Soon afterwards, they were headed home, and back on Route 1, talking once more. "...so you think you know where Genesect might be?" Maribel was saying.

ZZLZZ nodded. "Yep- all the reported sightings I was able to find place it in the Defiled Oasis in the Unreal Archipelago. I... I want to ask Tom to take me there," she said.

Maribel turned to look. "That's supposed to be a seriously dangerous place," she said. "Are you sure that's what you wanna do?"

"Yes!" ZZLZZ replied insistently. "I... Genesect... it's been modified by Team Plasma against its will. I... I can kinda relate to that." As if to punctuate her point, her body glitched out particularly wildly for a moment.

Maribel nodded thoughtfully. "...you might be just the friend Genesect needs," she decided. "As long as you're careful when you're there, OK? I want you to be able to come back and show me Genesect. And maybe even battle me with it," she grinned.

"Heh... you can count on it," ZZLZZ promised, grinning back. "W-what about you, Maribel? Are there any amazingly rare Pokémon you want to try and find?"

Maribel thought about this. "...there is one I'm considering," she admitted. "But... I'm not even sure if it's real."

"What is it?" ZZLZZ asked.

"I've heard of a Pokémon, a ghostly horse Pokémon," began Maribel. "Black with a flowing purple mane, hooves that aren't physically attached to its legs... I know it sounds insane, but... but I've seen these pictures of it from old legends, and it's gorgeous!" she added, now taking out her Rotom Phone. "OK, Rotom, bring up those pictures," she added.

"Whatever," Rotom retorted, though on the screen of the phone there did indeed appear several images depicting a horse Pokémon the likes of which Maribel had just described.

"See?" Maribel said to ZZLZZ, showing them to her. "According to legend, this is the Swift Horse Pokémon, Spectrier! I... I'd love to ride on its back," she admitted. ZZLZZ did not reply, and she seemed to be blushing. "...are you imagining me riding it?" Maribel asked with a small grin.

"No!" ZZLZZ blurted out defensively, her face going redder than an Electrode's ass. "...y-yes," she admitted a second later. "I just... y-you'd look so amazing on its back..." she muttered.

"...that's all I need to hear. I'm gonna try and find it," Maribel said decisively. "Let's promise, here and now, that we'll both get the Pokémon we're going after."

ZZLZZ smiled. "It's a promise," she nodded.

The rest of the walk home was quiet, uneventful, but enjoyed and appreciated nonetheless. At last, they came to the front door of the Starmie Cryptopokology Research Laboratory. "Here we are," said Maribel. "Um... ZZLZZ?" she added. "I had a really good time tonight," she smiled.

"I did too, Maribel," ZZLZZ smiled back. "We should do this again sometime."

"Definitely, and sometime soon," Maribel agreed. "Let's talk tomorrow, OK?"

"OK," nodded ZZLZZ. "Um... g-goodnight, Maribel."

Maribel smiled, and took a step closer to ZZLZZ. The girls moved closer and closer, until their lips met. This did not last long, however- as they heard a jubilant cry from within the lab, they sprang apart; both of them could see Rose through the window, her hands clapped over her mouth. Maribel and ZZLZZ looked at her, then at each other, and started to giggle. "...she really does ship it, doesn't she?" Maribel chuckled.

"Told ya," ZZLZZ chuckled. "Goodnight, Maribel."

"Goodnight, ZZLZZ," smiled Maribel. At this, she walked off, back towards the Poisonous Palace, with ZZLZZ watching her the whole way. Once back there, she turned, gave ZZLZZ one last smile and a wave, and made her way back inside. ZZLZZ gazed in that direction for a few seconds more before turning to her own front door and proceeding back inside herself. Rose was already starting to sheepishly apologize, but with how well the evening had gone, ZZLZZ couldn't even be a little mad.
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Old 02-13-2024, 11:36 PM   #170
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Willa exhaled as she arrived back in the lobby of Sludge Wave Colosseum. The first round of the Colosseum challenge had come and gone, with her having lost to ZZLZZ Starmie and her Surskit and Masquerain. "Never mind," she murmured to the Ultra Balls in her hand. "We'll get them next time. Exeggutor, Vanilluxe, you both did your best and I'm very proud of you." And then, as she looked around, she saw Maribel sitting on the floor, her back up against a wall, arms wrapped around her knees. At once, Willa got the sense that something was amiss, and so she walked over. "...is something the matter, sweetie?" she asked.

Maribel barely looked up at this. "...I lost in the first round," she murmured.

"Ah," nodded Willa. "I know that feeling. The same happened with me today. It's never easy."

Maribel did not look comforted. "...I could've won, though," she added quietly. "I just..." She trailed off, however, shaking her head.

"...just what, sweetie?" asked Willa.

"...I just... I was annoyed because of earlier," admitted Maribel. "When you scolded me in front of miss Jane for-"

"Maribel Diantha Masters, you are not about to blame your loss on me, are you?" Willa asked.

"I- well, not exactly-" began Maribel.

"In this family, we accept that losing battles is a part of being a Trainer, and we take all due responsibility for it," Willa continued firmly.

"It's not even just the losing-" Maribel attempted to explain.

"And what you were saying earlier is not something to be brought up when company is present, and I would prefer it not be something dragged up out in public either, for that matter," Willa continued.

"But then when-"

"If I'm being honest, I really don't think there's much to be said on the matter that hasn't already been said," Willa continued, shaking her head, oblivious to how red her daughter's face was turning.

"Mom, will you just listen to me-"

"Maribel, you listen to me, OK? I will ease up on your Uncle Gavin when and if I decide it is appropriate to-"

"Mom!"

"Maribel, stop interrupting me!"

"NO! FUCK THAT SHIT!" Maribel exploded. She sprang to her feet, and ran out the door before her mother had so much as the slightest chance to respond.

"I- well!" Willa exhaled indignantly. "Of all the-"

At that moment, however, she heard footsteps approaching from behind. Willa wheeled around and was met with the sight of Gavin, arms folded, expression distinctly unamused. "I just got done with Round 1 and this is what I come out here to? The fuck just happened?" he demanded.

"Gavin, I apologize, I don't know what's gotten into her-" began Willa.

"OK, I'mma stop you right there," Gavin interrupted. "You shouldn't be apologizing for Maribel, you should be apologizing to her."

"...For what?" demanded Willa. "She keeps trying to drag up this frankly inappropriate topic of conversation for no good reason, and I don't want it talked about in public or in front of company. What is so hard to understand about that?"

"Well, the way I see it, Maribel's the one not being understood," said Gavin. "You know why she wants you to ease up on me? She doesn't think you trust her to not swear like a sailor."

"What- how dare..." Willa murmured. "You think my daughter would think such things about me?"

Gavin arched an eyebrow. "Is she wrong?" he asked bluntly. "Every time I swear with her even remotely in earshot, you're all 'GAVIN! LANGUAGE!'. Why?"

"Gavin, do I really need to explain this?" demanded Willa. "I don't want her learning such foul language at such a young age-"

"Maribel's first word was 'shit'," Gavin interrupted. "And she's long since heard a buttload of shit out of my mouth. That ship has sailed, hit an iceberg, sank, and had a movie made about it. So I'mma ask again- why?" He paused, but Willa did not seem to have an answer. "Exactly," he said. "She knows a fuckton of swear words. Not saying that's not on me, because it is, and we both know it. But riddle me this- after all the slipups and gaffes on my part in this department, with a colorful enough vocabulary to make my old man faint, discounting her first word and her little outburst just now, how many times have you had to admonish her for swearing?"

"Well... almost none," Willa replied, following a moment's thought.

"Almost none," Gavin repeated, nodding. "And why would that be?"

"Well, because she knows better than... than to..." Willa trailed off, her eyes widening.

Gavin gave a knowing smile. "Aaand, we're there," he nodded. "Maribel's a good kid. She knows more swearwords than kids her age growin' up in Pyrite, and that's saying something. And yet, she's got way more politeness and self-control when it comes to lettin' 'em rip. So the fuck are you even worried about?" he grinned.

"I... I never considered it like that," Willa murmured. "Gavin, I-"

Gavin shook his head with a small smile, holding up a hand to forestall whatever Willa was going to end that sentence with. "You don't need to say it," he said. "What you do need to do, is go to Maribel and make this shit right, yeah?"

"...right," Willa nodded, already stepping towards the door. "Thank you, Gavin."

Gavin nodded. "Hey, I look out for my goddaughter," he shrugged. "Oh, yeah- make sure you tell Salamence that Uncle Gavin sent you. Trust me," he added in response to Willa's bewildered glance.

~~~~~

Gavin's piece of advice made a bit more sense as Willa arrived on the second floor of the Poisonous Palace, for there was a Salamence standing guard outside Maribel's bedroom door. "Salamence," Willa stated, stepping forward. Salamence growled at Willa in response, prompting a sigh from her. "Uncle Gavin sent me," she said. This caused Salamence's growling to subside, though he still regarded her with a wary look. "Salamence, I messed up," she said quietly. "I am the reason Maribel is so upset right now, and I wish to put things right. Will you please permit me the chance?" Salamence growled again, this time in a more contemplative tone, before ultimately nodding and stepping aside. Willa nodded back, and walked into Maribel's room. "Maribel?" she said.

Maribel was lying facedown on the giant Drednaw plush that she had fashioned into her bed. "Salamence wasn't supposed to let anyone in!" she snapped.

"Salamence has your best interests at heart," Willa stated. "You and he share a profound bond, truly-"

"What do you want?" Maribel interjected.

"I want to talk," said Willa. "I want... us... to talk."

Maribel made a sound that came off somewhere between a sniffle and a snort. "I tried that earlier and you kept brushing me off."

"Yes, I did," said Willa. "And that's exactly what I wish to apologize for."

This prompted Maribel to finally look up. Judging by the redness of her eyes and the visible stains on her pillow, it looked as though she'd been crying. "...what?" she murmured, slightly incredulously.

Willa took a deep breath. "I'm sorry, Maribel," she said humbly. "I didn't listen to you. I didn't even try. But... I'm here now. I'm listening now," she added. "If you are still willing, I would love to hear you out."

Maribel did not speak up right away. She looked doubtful. Willa waited patiently, and finally, her daughter spoke up. "...you promise you won't interrupt, that you'll let me say what's bothering me?" she asked.

"I promise," Willa said firmly.

Maribel took this in, and finally, took a deep breath and spoke. "...I was so annoyed during the battle because you keep refusing to let Uncle Gavin swear around me," she began. She paused, but as her mother did not say anything, this seemed to spur Maribel to continue. "...and it's not because I want to learn more swear words or anything, but just... I... I don't think you trust me to not repeat what he says, but I've been trying to earn that trust from you for... for pretty much all my life, and... and I just... I don't know what it'll take for m-my own mother t-to trust me..." she admitted, before bursting into tears.

At this, Willa pulled her daughter into a hug, shedding a few tears herself as the magnitude of her mistake hit her, and hit her hard. "...I'm so sorry, Maribel," she whispered. "I... never considered the fact that I wasn't trusting you. I took for granted that I was. And you were trying to get this through to me all this time, weren't you?" Maribel said nothing, but as she was busy crying into her mother's shoulder, Willa felt her nod. "I never was the most trusting person," she murmured. "But even then I thought for sure I trusted my family without hesitation. And all this time I was just making you think I didn't trust you..." Then, a thought occurred to Willa. "...Maribel," she said. "Is... is this why you wouldn't confide in me back in Hammerlocke, about how you felt about ZZLZZ, but instead went out for a walk to see if you could spot your father?"

Maribel nodded again, more slowly this time. "I... I was so... I needed to talk to either you or Dad, and... I just... I felt like I could trust Dad more... I'm sorry, Mom..."

"Oh... sweetie, I'm sorry," Willa said, holding Maribel close to her. "If I made you feel like you couldn't confide in me, that is a failing on my part entirely. You have nothing to be sorry about there. For the record, you... you can come to me with any problem you might have, sweetie, OK? Any problem at all. I know I couldn't have been giving you much reason to trust me lately, but I want to change that. I want you to be able to come to me with your problems just as readily as you can come to your father with them."

"...I'll try," Maribel murmured.

"And I'll try, too," said Willa gently. "I'll try to have more faith that you'll know better than to swear in inappropriate situations. I'll try to listen to you better. Maribel... let's both promise, here and now, to try and trust each other more, all right?"

"All right," Maribel agreed. "Mom, I'm sorry I shouted at you back at the Colosseum," she continued.

"It's all OK," Willa responded, shaking her head firmly. "In hindsight I'm actually surprised it took you this long to snap at me like that. I must have been insufferable..."

"...kinda," Maribel admitted. There was a short pause, and Willa giggled a bit. This got Maribel to giggle as well, and the two started laughing, the tension in the room dissipating almost instantly. And as the hug broke apart at last, they were smiling at each other. "So... can Uncle Gavin swear around me now without you shouting at him?" Maribel asked.

"...as long as he isn't teaching you anything new in that regard," Willa decided. "And even then, even if he does... I think I can trust you to have good judgement about it," she smiled.

Maribel smiled back. "Thanks, Mom," she said, hugging Willa once more. Willa wordlessly hugged her daughter back, shedding tears once more, but for a different reason this time.

"So... how was that date with ZZLZZ the other day?" Willa asked after a few minutes of this.

This prompted Maribel's face to go red again, but for a different reason. "...it was really good," she admitted with a smile. "I... I just..."

"Just what?" Willa asked gently.

"...I'm scared, Mom," Maribel admitted quietly. "It was so good and it felt so right, and... and considering what got me to realize how I felt in the first place, I... I'm just waiting to see how it all goes wrong..."

Willa held Maribel close to her once more. "...I understand that sort of fear," she murmured. "When I first met your father, I didn't dare let on how I was beginning to feel about him, for fear of rejection. But Maribel... I faced that fear, and look where it got me," she smiled. "Now I'm married to the love of my life, and we have the most wonderful daughter anyone could ever ask for. Now, listen to me for a second, OK? That- pardon me- that bitch of a Jellicent does not control shit about how we live our lives. Undoubtedly she knew you would distrust her on instinct, you being as smart as you are, and decided to use that to her advantage. Show you a happy future with no strings attached, and leave you looking for those strings instead of focusing on the happy future. Maribel- I will be very, very surprised if there are any strings attached here. And even if they were initially, they've long since been severed. She holds no more power in this timeline, no influence over anyone's destiny. If you and ZZLZZ someday determine that your destinies are to intertwine as your father's and mine have, that is all that matters. Nobody else can write your destiny for you. Never forget that."

"...Thank you so much, Mom," smiled Maribel. "I feel a lot better. And... I wasn't expecting to hear you swear!" she added, her smile widening.

"Well, like I say, there's a time and a place," Willa said with a modest smile. "This just happened to be both." Following this was a few moments of silence. "...What do you say we head back to the Colosseum?" she suggested. "Round 2 might be over by now, but if we hurry, we might get back in time to watch the finals, maybe your father will have made it there"

Maribel smiled broadly. "What are we waiting for, then?" she declared. She got up off her bed at last, and Willa, smiling far more than she anticipated smiling going into this conversation, led the way out. Salamence, who had been waiting in the hallway all this time, roared happily as he saw his Trainer's improved mood, and followed them out of the house. Keith might not have made it to the finals, but they'd still get there in time to see said finals in action.

Last edited by Missingno. Master; 03-09-2024 at 07:55 AM. Reason: Minor grammatical fix.
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Old 02-25-2024, 08:51 AM   #171
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West Sea Story



The rumbling of thunder echoed all around. Intermittent flashes illuminated the sea of dark clouds in the sky amid the light rainfall.

"Stormfront! Thunder attack!" Lily commanded.

The Altaria trilled with a powerful, booming voice that almost seemed to coincide perfectly with the thunderous rumbling all around. And then, a bolt of lightning descended from the heavens, almost as though bidden to do so by the Altaria. The lightning struck with explosive impact, shattering the platelets of Norbert's Defensive Shield, and lighting the Haxorus up like a Christmas tree. "Haaa-aaa-aaxoooor..." Norbert groaned in a pained roar as his teammate's Thunder attack coursed through his body.

At last, the lightning let up, and Norbert collapsed to the ground. Lily was at his side at once. "Dear me, Norbert, I do apologize," she said gently, while feeding the Haxorus a Sitrus Berry. "It seems Defensive Shield isn't the answer I was hoping for after all."

"Tariiii..." Stormfront gave a rumbling, dejected sigh.

"Oh, come now, Stormfront, don't lose hope," Lily stated. "You've been improving by leaps and bounds. You no longer create thunderstorms involuntarily, and you are far better at controlling where your lightning strikes. It's now merely a question of finding a suitable assistant for helping you out with training."

"Haaaax, haxoooor," Norbert growled pleadingly, shaking his head frantically.

"I quite understand, Norbert," Lily said gently, stroking the Haxorus's scaly hide. "This will be entirely voluntary, I will not force it upon any of you. I thank you truly and sincerely for the help you've provided thus far."

"Haaaax," Norbert sighed in relief.

Then, another voice sounded, this one coming from behind Lily. "Shel! Shello!"

Lily turned around to see her West Sea Shellos looking up at her. "Tidepool?" she inquired. "You mean to tell me-"

"Shel shello shel! Shellooo!" gurgled Tidepool insistently.

"...I admire your spirit, but I cannot conceivably permit it," Lily said gently. "You are weak to Electric. Norbert here resists it and still took the hit quite badly. I will not bring myself to imagine what Stormfront's Thunder would do to you, nor will I endeavor to find out firsthand," she stated firmly.

"Shello shello!" Tidepool gurgled in response. And she arched her head back and spewed mud into the air, allowing it to splatter back down upon her.

"...I will admit I didn't consider Mud Sport," Lily conceded. "But it doesn't change my answer. Mud Sport merely cancels out your weakness to Electric. You would still take the hit worse than Norbert, and considering how hard he took it... out of the question," she shook her head. "You mean far too much to us, Tidepool, for me to permit you to risk your life in such a way."

"Shello..." Tidepool sighed.

At this, Lily scooped up the Shellos in her arms. "I know good and well that look," she said gently. "So permit me to make this much as clear as I can- you are not useless," she stated. "Not even a little bit. You have been making every effort to assist in your teammates' training, to assist me as best you can, to improve yourself in battle... that has not gone unnoticed by any means, nor has it gone unappreciated."

"Shello~" Tidepool gurgled, this time permitting herself a small smile.

"Tariaaa~" Stormfront trilled happily at this. Then, it happened- the winds blew several leaves right past the Altaria's beak, coming very close indeed. Too close- they tickled. Stormfront tried to hold it back, but couldn't, and let loose a powerful, rumbling sneeze that elicited flashes anew from the heavens. And then came a potent bolt of Thunder, streaking down right towards Lily!

"Oh!" Lily gasped.

"Altaaar!" shrieked Stormfront in horror. She took wing at once, but couldn't move fast enough to block the bolt.

"SHELLO!" exclaimed Tidepool. She didn't know if what she was about to do was the best plan, or even smart by any metric. All she knew for sure was that she had to do something. She wriggled free of Lily's grip, oozed furiously up her arm, and jumped, jumped for all she was worth to meet the Thunder attack head-on, giving Lily time to duck out of the way. And it was pain. Stormfront gave a horrified cry as she saw her friend screaming in response to the powerful lightning. But, rather than black out on the spot, something deep within Tidepool, that part of her that always knew she was a dragon deep down, wouldn't let her submit to this.

An intense glow erupted from the Shellos, and she began to grow larger. Her back changed, looking more like a shell than it had previously done, and curved horns now adorned her head. The screams of agony stopped at the same time as the glowing and the Thunder, all of which conspired to reveal in epic fashion the that Tidepool had become! Lily, smiling, took out her Pokédex.

"Gastrodon- West Sea- the Sea Slug Pokémon. A Water and Ground type, and the evolved form of Shellos. Gastrodon once had a shell on its back, but a vestigial plate is all that remains of it, offering little protection. It regenerates any torn-off part of its pliable body."

"Ground type," Lily repeated. "Ground type...!" She looked on, as indeed, Tidepool was taking the rest of the Thunder with no ill effects. "How did that never occur to me even once?" Lily murmured to herself. "Of course- a Ground-type would be perfect for Stormfront to train with!" And she stepped forward, and hugged the Gastrodon. "Tidepool, thank you so much," she said. "You saved me just now. And I humbly apologize for underestimating you. Yours well and truly is the soul of a dragon," she smiled.

"Gaaastro!" Tidepool replied happily.

"Tarrri..." came a sorrowful voice from behind Lily. She turned to see Stormfront bowing apologetically, eyes closed tight with tears leaking out of them. Lily let go of her Gastrodon, and began to stroke her Altaria's head.

"Chin up, now, Stormfront," Lily said gently. "It was not your fault. None of us blame you, and you should not blame yourself either. This is exactly what makes this training so crucial, after all- the entire point is getting you to have better control over your power. You've been making great strides, but we all know you aren't quite there yet, and we will gladly continue to help you improve. There, there," she added gently, for the Altaria had begun sobbing into her Trainer's shoulder. She stood there, allowing Stormfront to get out her sorrow for as long as the Altaria needed her to be there. And at last, the Altaria could bring herself to look Lily in the eye, and Lily could have sworn she saw a smile on her beak, however physically impossible this was. "Feeling better now?" Lily asked.

"Altaaar! Taaaria!" trilled Stormfront.

"I'm happy to hear it," smiled Lily. "Especially since we now have the most perfect training partner for you- now that Tidepool is a Ground-type, your Thunder attacks will not hurt her in the slightest."

"Gastro! Gastrodon!" Tidepool chimed in happily.

"Taaaaria?" murmured Stormfront, as though not daring to believe it.

Lily smiled wider. "Give it a try," she encouraged her Altaria.

At first, Stormfront looked uncertain. Then, she focused. Thunder rumbled all around once more, and a wicked bolt of lightning erupted from the clouds above, striking the Gastrodon with grim precision, but the Water/Ground-type took the attack with nary a hit point out of place, still grinning broadly as the attack ceased.

Stormfront's eyes widened. "TAAAria!" she chirped in awe.

"You see?" smiled Lily. "Now, shall we keep going? If young Maribel is well and truly after a legendary Pokémon, it would not do for us to slouch on our training now," she added with a somewhat excited chuckle. "She is improving by leaps and bounds, but by no means do I intend to simply roll over and give her the win when next we battle!" This proclamation was met by cries of agreement by her Altaria, Haxorus, and Gastrodon alike, and with that, the training resumed at once.


Quote:
What? Shellos is evolving!



...

...

...!!



Congratulations! Your Shellos evolved into Gastrodon!
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