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A Winkle in Reality: Chapter 24.
🕑 Added 2025-08-25 15:00:21 +0000 UTCBeen a couple of chapters since we got a Pokémon. Let's fix that.
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It was not great.
In fact, it sucked pretty hard.
"Where the fuck am I!?" The tree leaves shook furiously as a small flock of Pidgey got startled by my sudden outburst. I didn't care. Full-blown branches and twigs were sticking out of my knotted, near afro-like hair, my skin sticky and itchy from sap and who-fucking-knew what other crap had smeared off the wilderness I'd been pushing myself through over the last two hours. Frantically, feeling more than a little insane despite the short amount of time I'd been searching, I scanned the forest bed for the tracks I'd been following, finding nothing other than a self-made mudhole. Mumbling curses under my breath, I whipped out my compass to get my bearings.
It didn't help.
"How did I go west!? I was pointing fucking north!" Spinning around in a circle, I watched as the small needle turned with me before coming to rest in a direction that was supposedly north, despite it pointing right at the high noon sun. The glass cracked under the increasing pressure of my fingers, a growling noise leaving my lips before I took a deep breath, putting those meditation exercises to use.
If it had just been walking through the forest for a couple of hours, it wouldn't have been that bad. I'd gone through a lot fucking worse that led me to a new Pokémon, and I'd have been ready to spend significantly more time out there.
But it wasn't just that.
Almost as soon as I'd parted ways with Misty, I'd stumbled on some footprints that I didn't recognise. To be fair, that didn't mean that much. Through Oak's schooling, I'd become familiar with the traces Pidgey, Rattata, Spearow, and other common Kanto natives left behind, but anything outside the immediate Pallet area was a mystery. But I had nowhere else to fucking start, so I went with it. It had two feet and seemed somewhat heavy, so it might be my prey.
Mistake, as it turned out.
The fucking tracks just stopped. Not in a clearing or by a river, or something else that made sense, but in the middle of the fucking dirt path I'd been following, like whatever it was had been abducted by fucking aliens between one step and the next. So after my lead ran dry, I backtracked as best as I could, only to come across another set of prints. That time, there had been one large bipedal, followed by a group of smaller ones. Deciding that was my next best bet, I tried to track that one, only for that to fucking disappear as well! Only, instead of being yoinked by a giant Flying-Type, the new fuckers went down into a rabbit-esque hole.
I'd been a little annoyed at that point, and kind of kicked the burrow, which I felt bad about. It wasn't the inhabitants' fault that I hunted them down by mistake. As I was beating myself up about my blowup, something had moved in the corner of my eye.
Something yellow, bipedal, and not that tall. Exactly what I was looking for.
So I spent another 15 minutes doing my best to stealth through the undergrowth, to quite embarrassing results. Pretty sure I could've woken a fucking Snorlax with the sounds of my stomps and broken tree limbs. Yet I kept at it, and even managed to 'carefully' catch up to the Pokémon I'd been chasing. It was slow, slower than I thought an Electric-Type would be, though I knew the Electabuzz line wasn't known for their speed, so I didn't think much of it, or the awkward way the presumed Elekid was moving through the trees. It was a baby Pokémon, even if it had to be at least a couple of months old for Misty to know about it before leaving home.
No reason to be suspicious.
There were multiple chances to jump the little guy, or girl, despite it always being somewhat obscured, but I didn't. Forcefully grabbing wild Pokémon wasn't illegal, necessarily, as it was damn hard to prove, but it was getting uncomfortably close to poaching for my taste.
I'd been confused as to how poachers differed from Trainers, but as far as I knew, it came down to technique and intention. A poacher used means outside of regulated ones, like fucking bear traps or poison darts, or unfair battles, like jumping a young Pokémon with a full team and beating it down, with the intention of selling it for profit, rather than building a bond with it. It was some scummy shit, and I wanted no part of it.
I'd rather hang back a bit and observe before committing one way or the other.
As the form stumbled into a small clearing, I hid behind a large fern-esque growth and waited with bated breath. My heart galloped with anticipation, my palms sweaty around Sol's Pokéball. Betty was resistant to Electric moves, but an apex predator doing its best to eat it wasn't the first impression I wanted to make.
Trembling with eagerness, I peeked around the plant, right as the yellow Pokémon joined a group of its peers.
"PSYQAWCK?!"
"PSYQAWCK?! PSYQAWCK?!"
"PSYQAWCK?!"
My disappointment was immeasurable. What the fuck were Psyducks doing in the forest!?
Dumb fucks. You're a Water-Type, stay by the lake.
So, once again, I attempted to get back to where I started, yet by that point I'd gotten so fucking turned around that I needed to use my compass.
Just one problem with that.
I didn't look at it when I started. Oh, and apparently IT DIDN'T FUCKING WORK!
"Calm, Peri. Calm. Don't burn down the forest. You're better than that." I took several deep breaths while giving myself a minor pep talk. Though fantasizing about lighting every bitch-ass tree on fire did give me a thought I really should've had earlier.
Sol manifested in a flash of scarlet, looking around curiously for a moment before lying down across my shoes with a yawn.
"No, no sleeping right now. Get up, we're going hunting, boy!"
He did not appear to share my excitement, rolling his eyes and struggling to get up, stretching with another big-ass yawn that exposed his inch-long fangs, before smacking his jaws a couple of times. I really should've done this from the beginning, but I suppose I subconsciously demoted Sol from the role of tracker after Mt. Moon. Which wasn't very fair of me. How was he going to get better if he didn't get to try?
"Alright, we're looking for Electabuzz and Elekid. They look like this," I showed him a picture on my PokéDex of the whole evolutionary line, while telling him to ignore the hulking Electivire. Sol studied the photos for a moment before looking up at me like I was a dumbass. "Yes, I know you can't smell a picture, thank you, smart-ass. I'm just telling you what the target is. Fucking sniff around and find something, you lazy bastard."
Unenthusiastically, the Growlithe did as I asked, rubbing his snout around in the dirt. I wasn't sure if he was actually trying to pick anything up and not just fucking around, but before I could ask, his head lifted, and without even a glance at me, he started lumbering deeper into the woods, his massive shape knocking over shrubs and young saplings without care, no fucks given towards sneakiness.
And so, I was again, again, again, walking through the forest, getting beaten in the face by the few branches Sol didn't break and merely bent.
I was so over being a regular Trainer. Call me an over-privileged piece of shit, I didn't give a fuck anymore. Give me a secret terrorist base any day over walking around like a schmuck.
At least Sol legit looked like he was onto something. The further we went, the closer he stuck to the ground, doubling back at one point to find the right trail. The terrain started to shift a little, more puddles reappearing in various sizes, and the trees thinning as we started cresting a hill. Perhaps I'd been a little harsh on the Psyduck if there was water this close-
-Sol froze, one paw lifted off the earth in the middle of a step, eyes dilated and nose twitching. I held my breath and crouched down beside him, shifting some leaves out of the way to get a clearer look at what he found-
-Only to find myself about a foot away from a pair of big, blank eyes. I froze myself, worry about to set in regarding the potentially dangerous creature right next to my face, yet as I took in the brown, fuzzy head surrounding the unfocused stare that peered right through me, I exhaled with a big sigh and turned to my Pokémon with a half-lidded gaze.
"You're not fucking funny."
I hadn't expected to come face-to-face with a Legendary so early in my journey, so there was that, at least.
The brown, rodent-like Pokémon didn't seem to realise that I was even there. The short, dark brown snout and small, red nose twitched a few times; the tufts of fur lining the bottom of its head, encircling the cream-colored face, and covering its ears moved with it. Spotting something on the ground, the similarly cream-colored underside lowered down on black, three-toed and webbed paws, the short tail of five more round clumps of hair wiggling on its ass. Finding whatever it was looking for with a surprisingly deep grunt of satisfaction, the Pokémon raised its head again to lock eyes with me once more, a long branch held between its large front incisors, the protruding teeth slowly chewing their way through the wood.
"I'm tempted to catch you just for the meme, but… I do not want a fucking Bidoof."
A Champion-level Bibarel would be super fucking funny, though. Ah, the downsides of it actually taking time, effort, and resources to properly raise a Pokémon. It just wasn't worth it, especially when I already had a Water-Type.
"The hell are you doing in Kanto, anyway?" I questioned, slowly reaching up to give the Bidoof a scratch behind the ear. It took me a moment to locate the appendage, but Bidoof gave me plenty of time, the only evidence it even noticed being its eyelids descending a little bit. It was just vibing, eating its wood, and waiting for the hairless Mankey to go away.
"Maybe Misty wants you? Yet, and no offense, you're a Bidoof… hold on buddy." Batting Sol away as he got jealous of the petting and started nudging my hand aggressively, I fished out my PokéDex. Taking a quick moment to scan it while scrolling through my contacts, the monotonous voice of Dexter rang out in the glade.
"Bidoof, The Plumb Mouse Pokémon. This Pokémon is native to Sinnoh. With nerves of steel, nothing can perturb it. It is more agile and active than it appears. It lives in groups by the water. It chews up boulders and trees around its nest with its incisors to whittle down its front teeth. A comparison revealed that Bidoof's front teeth grow at the same rate as Rattata's."
"This Bidoof has the ability: Unaware, and knows the moves: Tackle, Growl, Defense Curl, Rollout, and Headbutt.
"Nothing terribly exciting," I mumbled to myself as my Fire-Type got tired of begging for pets and started nosing the Bidoof around, trying to elicit a reaction, yet received nothing. At least, until he tried to take the stick out of Bidoof's mouth and caught a Headbutt to the chin. I didn't pay them much attention, simply dialing as Sol shook his head and went back for more.
It was a fucking Bidoof, and a low-level one at that. If Sol couldn't handle it, I might as well go back to Pallet; we'd be so fucking cooked.
The tone echoed out two, three, four times, without any answer. I was beginning to think I wouldn't get one, when a soft click! finally came, and the screen became a blur of motion. A tired voice spoke from the other side.
"Peri? Is that you? Why are you calling in the middle of the night? Just because you're on your own doesn't mean you should pick up bad habits, young man. Delia would be disappointed."
"It's like, 2 PM, Professor." You Go-Mew damned hypocrite.
"Huh!? Oh. So it is. My apologies, I've been working on something for Silph Co., and it's Ariados mating season. They spin an almost hammock-esque web high in the trees to do the actual deed and then lay their eggs in the same place. Fascinating stuff, very few Pokémon make that kind of dedicated nest. I attempted to climb up and get a look, but they spotted me, and they're highly aggressive during the process. Chansey's been taking care of me, but I'm still a little loopy, I'm afraid."
Sounded like the normal shit to me, though on closer inspection, Oak did look kind of bad. The permanent dark circles under his eyes were near-black, his skin pale and feverish. His eyes were glazed, his pupils contracting and expanding as he struggled to focus, and his hair looked like a solid clump atop his head. I was also pretty sure his shirt was not only inside out, but also one of Gary's old ones, with the way I could see the middle-aged man's midriff when he stretched.
"It's all good, Prof. When was the last time you slept, tho?"
"Oh, not that long ago." He waved me off with a careless gesture, knocking some kind of anatomical figure off his desk, shattering it on the floor, based on the multiple pieces I could hear bouncing off the wooden boards. Oak didn't seem to notice. "I slept Monday."
"... Professor, it's Thursday."
The man blinked at me, mystified for a moment, before leaning down to stare at the bottom of his screen, quickly putting on a pair of glasses to get even closer.
"Ah… between you and me, Peri, I've kind of lost track of things after Gary and you left. The days are blurring together somewhat."
"Set up some more lunches with Delia. Don't argue," I cut him off before he could do more than open his mouth, "you know she doesn't mind. Anyway, that's not why I called. I might've found a Pokémon for you."
"Oh? Something interesting." A glint spawned in the grey-haired man's eye, despite his condition.
"Well… I'll just show you." I flipped the PokéDex to display the Bidoof slowly lumbering towards Sol as the Growlithe backed up, snapped stick lying on the forest bed.
"... that's a Bidoof."
"Sure is. You want it?"
"Do I want-no! No, I don't want a Bidoof. I've got dozens of Bidoof, and can get hundreds more with a single phone call-wait. Where are you!? When did you get to Sinnoh!? As your sponsor, you should really tell me these kinds of things, Peri! I-"
"I'm not in fucking Sinnoh! That's why I'm calling, I'm outside Cerulean and met this Bidoof!" Senile old idiot. It was like he'd forgotten that I was the one mad at him, not the other way around. Maybe I should just hang up, let the bitch stew.
"OH! I see! Hmmm, I haven't heard anything about Bidoof in the area. Surprisingly sparse Pokémon for how common it is in Sinnoh. Yes. Yes, on second thought, I will take the Bidoof. Who knows how the change in environment has affected it behaviorally, or physiologically, for that matter. Do you see any more? Bidoof typically live in packs, after all."
Scanning the area, I saw nothing. There might be more hidden within the bushes, but there were limits to how much effort I was willing to put into hunting fucking Bidoof, especially when I still had my own target.
The old man would have to spend some of that dough he took from me to hire someone else if he was that interested.
"Nope. Just the one."
"Hmmmm, curious and curiouser. Still, I'll happily take it. Good work, Peri."
"Thanks. Imma offer it to Misty first, but I'm sure she'll let you look it over. Alright, that's it," I raised my voice as he started to sputter, "talk to you later."
"Wait, wha-"
Click!
Suck it.
Gazing back up, I ignored Sol, poorly hiding behind me and peeking over my shoulder, finding myself face-to-face with the rodent Pokémon once more, a new branch partly chewed through already. I thought about trying to explain, but if it didn't understand what was going on from my conversation, which, given the still stoned expression, it definitely didn't, then it wouldn't.
Instead, I just reached down for an empty Pokéball and tossed it at him.
CLICK!
The ball hit Bidoof right between the eyes and sucked it in without a flinch. The ball didn't even shake, just going straight to flashing red to indicate a successful catch.
Picking up the ball, I stood up and cracked my back, looking down at Sol as he finally relaxed now that his apparent mortal enemy was gone.
"Alright, you big baby, back to it. We still need to find the Electabuzz."
Turning around, I went to take a step back the way we came, only to freeze once more and swiftly crouch back down.
No fucking way. Bidoof, you really are a fucking God. I might keep him around just for the luck boost.
Off in the distance, down the hill and near the closest edge of a medium-sized lake, a small group of yellow, round-bodied figures with black stripes moved around, appearing to be playing. The disproportionately bulky arms, with claws at the tip instead of fingers, were raised, swinging around like a windmill as electricity built around them, buzzing between the two horns on top of its head, like the prongs of a power plug with holes on the side. Slowly, the head protrusions of the Pokémon in the center of the gathering glowed a bluish-white, before it threw its arms forward, lightning leaping from it and arching through the air towards another one that stood on the very edge of the group.
The target Elekid took the Thunder Shock head-on, its teeth visibly gritting as I fumbled around for my binoculars and got a closer look, trying to balance it with my recording PokéDex. Electricity leaped from its body in random directions, unable to fully control the energy. With a roar that I could see, but not hear, it spread its arms wide and sent the attack back to sender.
Fucking found you, bitch.
I watched the game, or competition, as I considered my options. I couldn't see the Electabuzz parent that was supposedly around, but that didn't mean that it wasn't there, and running up, ball in hand, to try and take one of their kids probably wouldn't end well. I was confident that Betty and Sol could take the baby Pokémon, but including an Electabuzz would make it dicey.
So for now, I observed. The Thunder Shock hit the original Elekid, which, with my closer look, I could see was quite a bit bigger than the other one, and barely flinched. It simply grinned and didn't even bother building up more of a charge, instantly sending it right back. Caught off guard, the smaller one got smacked right in the chest and fell backwards with what I imagined was a noise of pain. The other Elekid all threw their arms up and cheered, crowding around the big one that wasn't actually that much bigger than the rest of the group, ignoring the loser, other than to point and laugh at it. A few of them even threw a couple of weak blasts of thunder at it, making it twitch, unable to absorb them.
Wait a minute. That wasn't playing, that was bullying. They were ganging up on the shortest one.
Humming to myself, I faced a choice as the group meandered off, laughing with each other, while the defeated one was left behind to slowly get up by himself. Instinct told me that the best one was the biggest one. Even beyond the size, it was clearly stronger than the victim, and potentially the whole group, with how it got treated.
On the other hand, it seemed like a dickhead. I wasn't one to throw stones from my glass house; both my team and I had our attitude problems, but I already had an above-average proportioned, arrogant asshole in the form of Sol, and the Elekid seemed even worse.
I watched as the runt of the litter dejectedly slumped off to the side, doing its best to ignore the distant heckling. It seemed to focus for a moment, straightening its posture with a deep inhale, before snapping its eyes open. My eyebrow rose as it took a stance in front of a tree, the thudding of flesh on wood soon echoing all the way up to my position.
Huh. Perhaps there was something to be said about an underdog with something to prove.
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His knuckles barely ached anymore as they slammed into the large tree before him, twigs and litter raining down on him. He kept them pressed against the bark for a moment, one breath in and one out, before launching the other one.
THUD-CREAK!
He hit a weird spot that sent vibrations all the way up through his arm, but he ignored it. It was minor compared to what that particular tree had done to him. Many moon cycles ago, back when he'd first started hitting it in anger and sadness, lifeblood had spilled from his hands within minutes, coating his fur red. His fingers had broken and his wrists twisted, yet, day after day, he found himself there, pummeling away at it as if it was going to make things better.
It didn't.
Wounds and shattered bones only made it harder to defend himself. He was shorter than the others, but wider, and his strength was the only thing he had. With useless fists and an exhausted body, he'd had to fall back on his lightning.
He'd probably have better luck with his broken hands.
The looming timber groaned and creaked as he punched his emotions into it. Feeling himself getting caught up in them, he reset his stance and took his time. Mother had shown him those moves, and he refused to embarrass her any more than he already had.
The muscles in his legs spasmed, making him grip them with bruising force. The aftershocks of Biggest-Brother's attack still ran through his body, and likely would for hours. Elekid knew that a stronger Electric-Type wouldn't have that issue, but his pathetic reserves had been overloaded to such a degree that it would leak from him for the rest of the day.
It wasn't fair. Biggest-Brother hadn't even tried, and Elekid had been knocked to the ground. No matter how many attacks he absorbed or how many times he tried to build a greater charge, he just couldn't. It wasn't fair.
Why was he born so wrong? So weak?
He didn't know. But he refused to let it stop him.
The bark splintered under his pounding, joining the rest around the smooth indent he'd slowly carved halfway into the tree. He glared at his training post. It wouldn't last much longer, just like the last nine didn't, and wasn't giving him as much anyway.
He'd outgrown the trees. It was time to move on.
Fortunately, he'd already picked a large boulder nearby as his next victim.
SLAP!
The sensation of flesh against stone was new. The feeling of his skin splitting immediately was not. Despite the sharp sting of pain and the flashes of agony as bared meat and bone hit an immovable object, he felt satisfaction well up within him.
He'd missed that feeling. Pain was an old friend. He couldn't remember a time when he didn't know pain, the pain inflicted by his brothers and the pain of training, sometimes felt like they were even older than him, which didn't make sense.
But he'd learnt pain. He understood it.
Pain was weakness leaving the body. Anything that didn't kill or cripple him instantly could, and would, be recovered from, and he'd come out stronger.
It was a mantra that rang in his head with every blow, every tearing smack! against the rock. It was all he had.
He wasn't big like Biggest-Brother. His electricity wasn't as strong as Biggest-Brother's. He wasn't as well-liked as Biggest-Brother.
But what he did have was his will and his fists. That would be enough, or it would kill him.
He refused any other option. Give him strength or give him death.
"Damn, you're really going at it, huh?"
Elekid whirled around, fists raised, meager sparks crackling to life. They wouldn't do much, in Elekid's experience, but intimidation was a value all on its own, or so Mother told him.
Standing before him, hairless hands raised in a gesture Elekid understood to be non-threatening, was a human. Elekid was surprised, but didn't falter. He'd never seen a human so close. Occasionally, some would pass by, yet Mother always made sure to hide until they'd passed. Yet, here one stood, in the middle of their territory.
Elekid wasn't an expert, but the human looked young, smaller than some he'd seen from a distance, and lacking the face-fur the bigger males had, though maybe he was just born worse like Elekid. What fur the human did have, though, was shiny and well kept, the deep red appearing soft to the touch. The fake furs that the male clad himself in were a little dirtier, but nothing extreme. The human appeared healthy and well-groomed.
Which was a problem. Healthy enemies were stronger.
"EEEEELLRRRRHHHHHH!" He let out a whirring screech, making the human take a step back. Good. Elekid wasn't strong, but Mother was rarely far, so all he had to do was buy time.
He could do that. No, he would do it. It was his first true challenge, and he would not fail.
"Hey, hey, it's okay. I didn't mean to startle you; that's my bad. I-... well, I'mma just be truthful with you. I was watching for a while and didn't know how to approach you, so I just said 'fuck it' and came over to say hi. So, uh. Hi."
Elekid stared at the human-youth. The human didn't have any Pokémon with him, which had Elekid snort and turn back to his rock for more punching. Humans were weak, weaker even than most young Pokémon, and were little threat by themselves. That's why they formed packs with other Pokémon.
Mother had told Elekid about humans catching Pokémon to protect them, in return for food and safety. Apparently, they even had big competitions to see who had the stronger pack Pokémon, and worked with them to be stronger-
-Wait. Was… was that why the human was there? Was he there to take one of the Elekid, to give them human training, to make them strong? A tiny ember of anticipation, of hope, lit within Elekid's chest, but was swiftly snuffed out. It probably was why the human was there, but not for Elekid. No, the human would want someone strong, someone who could be raised even higher. Mother wouldn't leave him and his siblings, Elekid was sure of that, but Biggest-Brother would leap at the chance. His fists flew even harder, and he ignored the flickers of blood that sprayed back onto his face.
It wasn't fair.
"Hey, calm down, you're gonna hurt yourself."
Elekid didn't listen. The human sighed, yet kept speaking.
"Especially with such bad form."
That made him spin around again, screeching in disagreement. The human was wrong! Mother herself had shown Elekid those moves, and he'd felled many trees with them. What would a human know about punching!?
As if to answer his unspoken question, the red-furred human stepped up to the boulder. Elekid's eyes widened as his foot slid back and his arms came up, taking the same stance as Elekid himself did. Or, almost the same. As the bare hand flew forward with a sharp 'ha!' from the human, he twisted his back along with his arm, his whole body following the motion. The fist hit with a thud! making the human wince and pull back, a bloody mark left behind on the cold mineralogical formation.
"Aww! Damn, that's hard! They just healed, as well. I mean, it's a rock, so it makes sense, but fuck! I haven't graduated from trees myself just yet." The human held out his hurt hand slowly. Elekid backed away slightly, yet seeing no other movements from the human, he leaned in slightly to look. It was immediately evident what the human was trying to show him. The knuckles of his hand were split, much like Elekid's, new and somewhat recovered wounds covering the bony protrusions. Beneath the scabs and cuts, Elekid could see even older lines, long-healed scars that spoke of years of training. Elekid couldn't help but hold up his own hand beside the human one.
Their wounds were almost identical. Elekid gave the human a nod of respect.
The human knew punching. Perhaps, he'd come to train with Elekid?
It seemed so as they took their stances side-by-side and started punching, the human saying one last thing before they began.
"I'm Peri, by the way. Well, Periwinkle, but Peri is just fine."
An odd name for a warrior-human, but not terrible.
Time passed as they punched. They started in their own rhythms, Human-Peri a little faster, Elekid a little slower, but somewhere along the way, they synchronized. The alternating, off-beat thudding became one, their fists impacting and blood splattering like one. It wasn't long; the sun had barely moved before human-Peri stopped and shook his hands gingerly, but for that brief moment, Elekid truly felt like he'd found someone. Someone who didn't care that he was small and weak, someone who didn't coast on natural advantages. Someone who understood the value of hard work, who put their backs into it like Elekid, who understood that pain was fleeting, but strength…
Strength was eternal.
"Fuuuuck! That was a bad idea. Shouldn't punch rocks." Human-Peri muttered, flinching as he riffled through the large, ornate sack on his bag. Soon, he pulled out a purple bottle of some sort and waved Elekid over.
"This is a Potion," the human explained while pressing a moving part, making liquid shoot out of the tip. The water hurt as it washed over his wounds, but he'd felt worse. "It makes you heal faster, though I get the feeling that you'd need at least a Super Potion to stop you from tearing it open again." Elekid didn't know what a Super Potion was, but he could feel the itch of healing already starting, magnified many times over. Mother was right, the humans had truly improved the art of training.
"I started watching before you started training." Elekid stilled at those words, knowing what human-Peri must have seen. His weakness on full display. How embarrassing. "Those guys sure are assholes, huh?" He wasn't sure what rectums had to do with it, but it sounded like an insult, which Elekid liked.
"Say," Peri continued, crouching down closer to Elekid's height. "I didn't come over just to train with you, though that was great. I heard that you guys were out here, and I'd hoped to convince one of you to join my team. Uh, do you know what a Trainer is?" Elekid nodded. Despite not knowing the exact term, he could connect the dots. His heart rate picked up.
Here it came. Human-Peri was going to ask about Biggest-Brother and take him away to become even more better than Elekid.
"Good. Well, I'll just say it, I guess. You seem like a straightforward guy." Elekid appreciated that Peri wasn't going to coat his request in Oran Berry.
"Do you wanna come with me?"
Elekid froze. He blinked. His eyes widened
What?
"I know it's a big decision, and I understand if you need some time to think it over, you know, talk to your parent and shit," Peri kept going, mistaking Elekid's disbelief for reluctance, "so I know it's not really fair, but I'm not in the area for long and I think you'd be a great fit. Need to calm down a little, stop over-training, yet I think we could go far together and… you okay?"
Elekid didn't understand. Surely, human-Peri had misspoken, some kind of communication error between species.
To help clear it up, he pointed to himself with a red dripping finger.
"Huh? Yeah, you. Who'd you think I was talking about?"
But human-Peri had seen. He'd seen how weak Elekid was. Who wanted an Electric-Type that could barely use Electric-Type attacks? To demonstrate, he called upon his feeble sparks, watching as Peri barely flinched when they brushed against his skin.
"Oh, that? Nah, don't worry about it. You're young, we'll get there. Besides, you pack a fucking wallop with those tiny hands. Actually, hold on." Reaching into his pocket, human-Peri pulled out a red square thing and pointed it at Elekid. He jumped as a new voice suddenly started speaking.
"Elekid, The Electric Pokémon. Elekid stores electricity in its body. If it touches metal and accidentally discharges all its built-up electricity, this Pokémon begins swinging its arms in circles to recharge itself. Even in the most vicious storm, this Pokémon plays happily if thunder rumbles in the sky."
"This Elekid has the ability: Static, and knows the moves: Quick Attack, Leer, Thunder Shock, Swift, Low Kick, Hammer Arm (egg move), Focus Punch (egg move), Cross Chop (egg move).
Elekid understood that the voice was talking about him, but he didn't really get it. Human-Peri, on the other hand, seemed very surprised, leaning back from his square in shock.
"What the fuck!? What's with all these Fighting moves!? Fuck your electricity, you're basically half Fighting-Type! I know that one of your parents is somewhere around here, but do you know who your other one was?"
Elekid shook his head. He'd never met his father, and Mother had never mentioned him. All he knew was that Biggest-Brother and his oldest siblings had a different father than him, but his full-blooded siblings were still stronger than him.
"I'd fucking bet you it was a Fighting-Type. Makes sense that your Electric-Type moves are a little weak; you take more after the other one. Huh. How about that? You're quite special, buddy."
Elekid felt like his heart was going to leap out of his chest.
He was special?
"Oh, now you have to come with me! What do you say, huh!? Do you wanna be the strongest Electivire ever!? Do you wanna punch mountains!?"
Swept up in the mood, Elekid heard himself give a cry in response.
"I can't hear you! I said, DO YOU WANNA BE THE STRONGEST!?" Human-Peri pumped one of his hands into the air, Elekid following him with another screech.
"EEEEEELLLLLLLEEEEEEE!"
"THAT'S IT, LET THEM ALL HEAR IT! WE'RE GONNA BE THE BEST!" Human-Peri lifted both arms this time and curled them at the elbows in a way that made his arm muscles bulge. Elekid mirrored him again, screaming louder than he'd ever done. It was kind of fun.
"Hahahaha, look at those muscles! I know just what to call you. Hercules!"
Elekid didn't know what that meant, but he liked it! Hum-... no, Trainer-Peri swung his hand out with an expectant look, and Hercules had seen other humans do the same, so he knew to grab it with his own, their blood mixing on their palms.
"Awesome! Today turned out good! Now, do you want to say goodbye before we go?"
Elekid nodded. He needed to say farewell to Mother. He was old enough to leave the pack, but that didn't mean he wasn't going to miss her.
Something he let her know as he ran past Trainer-Peri and latched onto the Electabuzz's legs where she was standing a few feet behind the human.
"Where are y-HOLY SHIT!" Something Trainer-Peri apparently hadn't noticed. It made sense that humans needed Pokémon if they were that unaware of their surroundings.
He felt Mother's big, warm palm on his back for a moment before she pushed him off her. Mother was a good mother, but she didn't coddle them. Even when the others ganged up on Hercules, she didn't interfere, and she wouldn't do so now. The world could be a harsh and cruel place. They needed to be ready for that.
Free of Mother's grasp, he looked behind her to where his siblings had gathered a little ways away, Biggest-Brother in front, scowling at Hercules. Maybe he was jealous that Hercules got a Trainer and he didn't. Hercules certainly liked to think so, but it didn't matter.
Thrusting his fist out, he barked a challenge, mixed with a goodbye. He'd never liked any of them and wasn't sad to be leaving them.
But he would be back. As a big, mighty Electivire, he would come back and beat them all.
Perhaps he should have waited until then to make his challenge; however, as Biggest-Brother and the others took exception to his challenge and ran towards them, Thunder Shocks flying over their ears as Trainer-Peri and he fled.
Hercules didn't see the small quirk of the Electabuzz's lips, but he didn't need to.
He'd see it next time.
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I really like writing Hercules' part. Seeing the perspective of the Pokémon is something I'll definitely do in the future.
Also, rogue Bidoof. Because funny.
Thank you for reading. Hopefully you enjoyed.
Comments
Noctus Tagaris
God I love Electivires!!! They're so awesome. And they even got an upgrade in S/V with Supercell Slam. You give it a Jolly Nature Supercell Slam Trailblaze Bulk Up Ice Punch it kicks so much ass. Especially if you use Galvantula as your lead with the Sticky Web thing. I always thought of Supercell Slam looking like the Raikage's Raiger Bomb from naruto. But hell yeah! Milotic Arcanine Salamence Electivire is a great start!
wretched Cat
Awesome chapter man, I love the elctabuzz line! Now all they need to do is outrun the angry siblings:) Ive got ten bucks on Hercules dad being a Machop or Machoke.
