Sojaveña Wilds Silver Riverside

[Jackie Cat]

Seth only sniffed and shrugged to Wes' banter, but his eye stopped twitching, at least.

"Alright, truce on the nicknames," he muttered. "Wes."

He considered Wes' question, not answering at first. They were making progress towards town, and he began sniffing the air for strangers. Longer limbs made a fair difference in walking pace, and they'd be likely enough to come across townsfolk before long.

"I never saw a Celebi myself," he muttered. "Just a fancy rock that had something to do with it, and only as it was getting smashed to bits. And if there's a Celebi on Forlas, they'd probably be called the fuckin', Saint of Onions, or some shit. I don't know. Dunno that there's any point looking for 'em."

Seth had said himself that Celebi was considered a credible threat by Cipher in his world. So what did he mean by that? Perhaps that Celebi couldn't be found in so short a time as they had left. Perhaps that he didn't expect he could get the legendary pokémon to help if he did...

 

[HelloYellow17]

Wes snorted at Seth’s “Saint of Onions” joke. “Yeah, true. They’ve got different names for legends here. And I sure as hell don’t know the first thing about where to look for any specific one.”

Seth’s account, though, was an interesting one. “Wait, it was just a rock? How is that supposed to cure Shadows? Cipher really believed the stories enough to consider it a threat?”

 

[Jackie Cat]

Seth nodded. Shrugged. Spat in the shrubs to one side of them.

"Something about the rock having Celebi's power in it. The power to bring back memories of happy times, or whatever sappy shit it was. Whatever it was, Cipher seemed to think it could 'open the hearts' of Shadows. They had a bunch of notes in one of the bases I hit about trainers undoing the Shadowing with bonding and care and love and stuff."

Seth's dismissal of 'sappy shit' was very forced. The way he'd talked about his umbreon and espeon, he hadn't seemed like a detached trainer.

"Maybe they had other reasons. Rui was there. There were retired trainers with pokémon who could've stood up to Cipher. Making a statement. Testing their forces. Whatever the reason, they made sure to smash that rock up real good. Gone for good, now, I guess."

 

[HelloYellow17]

Wes mulled this over and nodded slowly. “We discovered some of that ourselves—the bonding and spending time with the mon, I mean. It’s been making them more stable over time, and even battling helps, though that one is a bit risky.”

Something else was eating at him, though. “You said it worked by bringing back memories, somehow? I’ll be honest, I don’t know if I buy any of that stuff—seems like it’s just old folklore and not much else. But even if it isn’t true, the fact that Cipher caught wind of it and felt it was big enough threat…that tells us something. About how they make Shadows.”

He glanced at Seth. “It means they mess with their memories, somehow. Erasing them or distorting them, maybe? Make them forget who they are?” Wes paused, then took a breath and blurted out his next question before he could change his mind.

“Seth. Do you remember what exactly they did to you?”

 

[Jackie Cat]

Seth grunted, and didn't reply at first. Just kept walking.

Then, when Wes may have been about to say something to break the silence, he let out a pained, sharp sigh. No Shadows, but clearly a lot of mental and emotional strain.

"Kinda. Don't want to, though. So maybe don't ask about it."

Wes might reasonably believe that this was an exceptionally polite and friendly way for Seth to put this particular request. Somehow, it was easy to imagine anyone else getting chewed out, or possibly just punched in the jaw.

"I'm not a fuckin' amnesiac, anyway," he added, with only the slightest tinge of doubt in his rough voice.

They'd be in town soon.

 

[HelloYellow17]

He’d fully expected Seth to bite his head off, at least figuratively if not literally. Yet the response was shockingly…civil. Seth sounded more tired than anything, and it struck Wes that the Wolf had already humored quite a lot of his questions for one day.

“Fair enough,” he said.

They walked on for a few minutes in silence, and Wes found himself not sure what else to say. Everything they had in common seemed to be exhausting and triggering for Seth—understandably so, though it left little room for idle chat, and that was something Wes had never been good at, to begin with.

At length, he finally asked, “So…do your vees have an ungodly obsession with bacon, or are mine just mental?”

 

[Jackie Cat]

Seth's mouth curved into a smile, that became a grin, and at last a sniggering guffaw.

"Buddy, I cannot buy enough rashers to sate those little fuckers," he said, through his laughter. "Can't really blame 'em, Orrean pokémon food being what it is. Does your espy annoy the shit outta your umbry, or did I just raise mine wrong?"

The two humans-turned-wolves could keep this up a while. Long enough to make it into town – and the Sanctum – and long enough to lighten Seth's shadowed heart. Whatever else was true about him, he definitely loved his pokémon.

Just like Wes did.

<><><><><>​

 

[Chibi Pika]

Jade felt her tail swaying behind her as she adjusted her stance on the river bank, breath coming out in a slight mist. The weather was getting colder—she'd never liked the cold much, and a thin layer of fur didn't help much. It was hard enough to get herself to train regularly when she didn't have an entire team of Pokemon to badger her into it. Worse when the weather meant that the first thing she wanted after finishing the morning's deliveries around Frontier Town was to sink into a chair by the fire at Nina's with a hot drink.

But, it was important. So at least a few times a week, she dragged herself out to the riverside to practice some moves. She never wanted to be caught off guard again. Not after what happened at the Ranger HQ.

Jade clenched her paws, feeling the static charge building as she tried to remember that feeling, when she'd first latched onto Brisa's power on the train. And later on, when training with Koa. If she could just call on that power at will, like it was her own...

(She still wasn't sure why she wanted to get the hang of this in particular when there were a dozen other moves she could try, but...)

 

[Tetra]

Ever since the comb, Koa had found ways to keep himself busy. If not his job, then the election. And if not the election, then training. It was easier to stick to the habit of training when he was a pokemon than a human, even without Kitto or Scrapper nagging him.

He didn't expect to run into Jade as he headed out to do his usual training. His thoughts immedaitely turned to the comb again, and then Starr. He wondered how she was doing. For a moment he just watched her, feeling the familiar tingle in the air of electrical charge. What move was she trying?

"Hey Jade," he called, trotting up to her. "What are you working on?"

 

[Chibi Pika]

Jade's ears pricked behind her, and she fought back the instinctual feeling that she'd been caught doing something embarrassing. Just Koa. She'd trained with him plenty. There wasn't anything wrong with practicing moves you weren't already a master at. That was the whole point of practicing.

"Oh, hey!" Jade called out. "Just trying to get the hang of a Thunderbolt. Um. You know, without using Assist or whatever." Was it weird that half of her moves were copied from her teammates? It felt a little bit weird. She didn't want to come off as like, overly fixated on comparing herself to the others. And besides... that wasn't why she wanted to get better at this one in particular.

 

[Tetra]

Thunderbolt? Meowth were normal types, so she probably could learn it... And it never hurt to have a few good distance moves just in case. It reminded him that he probably should drill more on distance attacks, just in case.

"How about a sparring partner?" he asked with a grin. "Maybe I can help you get the hang of it. Or at least... I think. Technically I've never tried to teach a move before to a Meowth," he said in a light voice. It was probably just like teaching one of his own team a move, right? If he'd figured that out, he was pretty sure he could do it as a pokemon.

 

[Chibi Pika]

Jade perked up a bit. "Yeah, sure. Aha, I'll have to make sure I'm still using just my own power. But I guess it couldn't hurt to have an extra pair of eyes." And a bit of moral support couldn't hurt either.

She took up a stance again, trying to keep the self-conscious feeling to a minimum. "I've been relying a lot on Assist ever since I got here. In a way, it kinda reminds me of relying on my team's strength back home. Just, y'know... obviously I couldn't actually use any of their power back then." She clenched her paws rhythmically, letting the static charge build until a few sparks started to show. No flinching. It was hers, it was meant to be there.

"We did train together a lot, though. Er, that is, we went through the same training program. Not sure how common that is where you're from." Not that it was common back home either, but... one way or another, training on the Rebellion had shaped her time as a trainer. No denying it.

 

[Tetra]

Koa nodded as he stretched his legs. "We don't really have training programs like that in my world I guess, just a test to get a license. But I had a friend back home who taught me a lot about fighting. I think somehow he's part of the reason I can use mach punch here..." he mused. A fact that still fascinated him.

Thinking of Kitto made him homesick and happy all at once. "He used to tell me how important it was to be able to fight in case I had to help my team." And Koa'd been glad of it too, when he'd had to face Blackout again.

"Sounds like you probably have more experience than me though." As he studied Jade's movements, he frowned in thought. His mind cycled through the times he'd had to teach his own pokemon a new move. Ice Fang had required Rascal to grasp the move, since it wasn't instinctual for her... Electricity was instinct for his body, but not Jade's...

"So... why Thunderbolt?" he asked curiously. "Sometimes my team would have an easier time with a hard move if they were really interested or determined."

 

[Chibi Pika]

How important it was to be able to fight in case I had to help my team...

"Yeah, yeah that's something we were taught too," Jade said, nodding fervently, her ears and whiskers up. "Well, not fighting directly. More like dodging attacks, staying out of the line of fire, and being able to keep a cool head... that sort of thing."

Her tail swished back and forth. She could feel the charge building in her paws, feel her muscles tensing in response.

"The one who trained us knew we'd be in the line of fire ourselves, not standing on the sidelines. So he had to make sure it was something we were ready for." Her words dipped into bitterness, despite her attempts to avoid it. He'd been right to train them for that, of course. Didn't change the fact that he'd been using them from the start.

Jade shook her head. Koa'd asked about Thunderbolt. She looked down at her paws, coursing with strings of lightning. Lightning that she'd generated herself, not borrowed. The thought of losing hold of it, feeling it turn back and sink into her skin kept flickering through her mind.

Jade gripped her wrist. "Lightning is... something I struggled with back home," she admitted. "Not, not entirely—one of my earliest partners is an electric-type," she added quickly, lifting her eyes to look at Koa. "Nine's helped me out of more scrapes than I can count. So it's not all bad, it's just... I wanna feel like it's something I can control, if that makes any sense."

She exhaled roughly, drawing her arm back, still feeling the bone-deep tingle. "Alright, gonna try to fire it now."

 

[Tetra]

What kind of training Jade done? Kitto teaching him fighting moves sounded a lot different than what Jade was talking about... Why would Jade have to practice dodging attacks and staying out of the line of fire? Not standing on the sidelines? His brow furrowed as he considered her words. Was that related to the problems with legendary pokemon in her world?

"Makes sense," he said amiably. "It's a useful power, especially when you want to slow someone down or paralyze them. Want to practice on a proper target? I can take a hit," he added with a grin. He moved to stand across from her a short ways. "Just envision it like... a straight line between us and let it flow down that line."

He braced himself, facing her with a determined glint in his eyes. "You got this," he added encouragingly. A familiar nostalgic tingle ran through him. It reminded him of training with his team, except maybe more fun since he was a pokemon.

 

[Chibi Pika]

Jade hesitated for a moment, although it really shouldn't have felt different than any other sparring. She'd thrown attacks—and taken attacks—from friends and allies here plenty of times. Not to mention that Koa was an electric-type. Heck, some electric-types would get a boost from being hit by lightning. Would've been convenient if she'd been one of those. It was easy to imagine doing this same exercise with Nine, if he'd somehow been brought to Forlas too.

And, well... the encouragement helped. Made things easier.

Just envision it like a straight line between us and let it flow down that line.

Jade drew a deep breath, lowered one paw to keep herself rooted, and kept that line bright in her mind. Then her her other arm shot forward, palm forward, letting go of the charge while willing it down that straight line, static crackle in her ears and fur standing on end.

 

[Tetra]

Koa's whole body jolted as a buzz coursed through him, making his fur stand on end and paw pads tingle. It stung, but no more distressing than any of the times Kitto had landed a good hit on him or Flurry nailed him with a jet of water.

Once the buzz had faded a grin spread across his face. "That was great! You've got the whole technique down I think. We can just keep working on that so you get the hang of it." Seeing Jade's training payoff made everything feel so normal for a moment.

"Guess your experience back home came in handy. Whoever trained you sounds intense...." He faltered, trailing off as his brow furrowed further. Trained...

We didn't just 'meet', we trained together!" Jade cut in, tail lashing. "For months! On the Rebellion!"

She'd known him. 'Sebastian'. Ralsen had reacted to that name, and not in a way that was a random coincidence. Not the first time there'd beeen two versions of the same person somehow. Starr, Giovanni, same regions, same teams...

His stomach dropped and he stared at her, eyes wide. "Wait did you train together with Ralsen?" He shook himself and blinked. "Or I mean. A version of him?"

 

[Chibi Pika]

Jade couldn't help breaking into a wide-eyed grin in the wake of Koa's enthusiasm, even as she blinked from the bright flash and felt the buzz lingering in her paws and her pulse pounding and her brain needling her with the residual echoes of deep-buried gut-panic. In spite of herself, it felt... good. It felt like a success.

'Guess your experience back home came in handy.' Yeah, it had hadn't it.

"Wait did you train together with Ralsen?" He shook himself and blinked. "Or I mean. A version of him?"

Jade exhaled slowly and stretched her arms, still feeling her paws buzzing. "Yeah, that's right. He trained us to fight the Rockets. So, all that stuff about dealing with attacks coming our way was to make sure we didn't get ourselves killed when fighting them."

Guess his name's Ralsen now. Wasn't like 'Sebastian' was his original name either, the way he told it. And this was... a different version of him, one who'd never taken on the role of Rebellion leader Stalker, so a different name was helpful, in a way.

"I don't... I don't know what to think about him," Jade went on, tail swishing. "I wish I could say it was as simple as, 'he was just using us in some stupid power play with the Kanto Rockets.' But I probably wouldn't be here if it weren't for his training. And then there's the whole catching Legendaries thing..." Her words trailed off. That subject had... it'd seemed like a bit of a sore spot for Koa.

 

[Tetra]

Jade had fought the Rockets. Not just ran into them, but fought them, like it was regular. Her normal life. Like being a trainer.

Because Ral- Sebastian had trained her. It was still hard to wrap his head around the idea that it somehow wasn't the one she had known.

"So you helped him fight Team Rocket in your world?" Half of admired that idea, of fighting back to stop people like them. But Ralsen was... a traitor? A liar? He wasn't sure what. The mention of 'catching legendaries' made his fur prickle with irritation. The way Jade had said it didn't sound like it was good at all.

He frowned, trying to puzzle together the bits he'd gleaned. "And is that what he was trying to do all along? Ca-... control legendary pokemon?" It wasn't a real catch if the legendaries didn't choose it. It never changed, did it? An uncomfortable thought occured to him, that if that was true, did that mean he'd used Jade to help accomplish that?

 

[Chibi Pika]

Jade gave a weary half-smile. "Basically," she said, feeling a weird pang of nostalgia at his tone, like fighting the Rockets was something admirable. She missed that feeling.

"It started out just interfering with the Rockets' operations, stopping them from catching more legends, that sort of thing. Turns out, he'd been catching them himself behind the scenes," Jade muttered, all the spite from back then creeping up on her again as she paced.

She idly kicked a fallen branch and watched it roll down the riverbank. "I don't really know what he was trying to do. Stop some big war between humans and Legendaries? He sort of explained some of it to me the last time we talked, but I was, uh... not in the best mood at the time, so I didn't really absorb any of it." That was putting it mildly, given what had happened. "And even if he did have some big important plan, that doesn't change the way that he was using us."