Blaguarro Town Blaguarro Outskirts

[Butterfree]

Dave raised his eyebrows at Jaak’s explanation. That… that sounded almost like a mangled version of the cutesy narrative people told kids about how their ‘inner strength’ made their Pokémon stronger, instead of sheer raw practice and the fact they had more brains and could devote them solely to strategy. Either it was fairy-tale bullshit, or he’d gotten sucked into a fairy tale and all bets were off. Hard to tell. Either way, if he had ‘immense power’ he sure wasn’t feeling it.

At least it sounded like being human wasn’t bad in this universe. He wasn’t sure he’d be able to say the same about the Sneasel’s universe, given the urgency with which she asked what they were ‘in for’.

“Well, surprise, I’m also a human back home. And it’s just a lot like being a Pokémon seems to be here, except with more bipedality and less elemental powers. Don’t know if we’ve got any way of proving it besides our word, though.”

Would they want to avoid telling people they were humans from here, to avoid people thinking they were a bunch of delusional lunatics? Or maybe they should, and everyone’d be as enthusiastic as the Vigoroth. If only.

Meanwhile Bellatrix and Odette were talking about Ghost-types as if all those old spooky tales about souls born of spite or whatever the fuck were real. Was that seriously also a thing in some worlds, or were they just superstitious? (If Odette was human, surely she should be from a universe a bit more like his, right?) Impossible to tell with this place, as usual. He was going to return home with a few gray hairs, and it wouldn’t be because he’d been a fucking Poochyena.

 

[Sinderella]

""What?" Oh fuck. Great. She knew a version of him— was ostensibly close friends with him. Because it was another version of him, he was sure of that. It had to be. It wasn't another guy named Gladion, because Gladion wasn't a real fucking name, it was something he made up as a fourteen year old that no adult would ever conceive of naming their infant child and frankly it was kind of incredible that nobody had called him on that yet. She must've figured the same thing, too. Nobody reacts like that to hearing there's a second guy named 'Frank' out there somewhere.

Odette stiffened at Gladion's response. She gave him a look that bordered on weary and apologetic, raising her hands defensively.

"I'm sorry, I said forget it," she said, trying to sound non-combative. It was probably just some parallel world shit at play; she was rather familiar with that aspect of the multiverse, so she shouldn't have even said anything. But one thing was similar; it sounded like this Gladion definitely had a similar icy attitude to hers. Something that probably would have annoyed her otherwise was oddly comforting in this bizarre time, even if the look on the null's face showed everything but a sense of solace.

Isidora glanced at Wes, then at Odette. Both of them. And what was it that Dave said earlier again? And is Gladion a human name? And Bellatrix looked startled for a moment but now she was being very nonchalant with a human of all freaking things-

She did meet Isidora's eyes, and narrowed hers slightly when she saw just how perplexed, and even disturbed the sneasel looked. She tightened her grip on her jaws, for fear of another round of heckling. She wasn't in the right mind to poke whatever beartic was causing that.

"I think my greatest fascination from them stems from their connection to the shadows. Otherworlds. Which lets them see things nobody else can."

She nodded in agreement. "I'm inclined to agree. Otherworldly insight has proven quite helpful to me in the past," she said. Having Loic's ability to bounce between shadows without a trace and Isaur and Ange's collective ability to pick up on things she couldn't quite sense had been integral to her sleuthing back in Kalos. Though, now that she was all too familiar with the existence of blood types, that sense of the "otherworld" quickly got a whole lot bigger and a whole lot more horrifying.

Hopefully, nothing here would serve to top that level of scary. She didn't feel entirely equipped enough to deal with more occult deviousness.

“Well, surprise, I’m also a human back home. And it’s just a lot like being a Pokémon seems to be here, except with more bipedality and less elemental powers. Don’t know if we’ve got any way of proving it besides our word, though.”

Odette guessed that if she was going to be a Pokemon, she was glad it was something human-shaped like a mawile. Minus the set of Odile-sounding jaws, she still walked on two feet and still had opposable thumbs (despite one less finger). Something told her she'd need to be on the lookout for small victories while she was here because big ones would be few and far between. Nothing good ever came out of a desert.

"Maybe that's a good thing," she said. "Surely, if there are tales about humans showing up to save the damn world, there are going to be some that oppose the prospects of that happening, and I'd rather not be on their radars. I'd imagine there are a few who aren't very keen to know we exist."

 

[HelloYellow17]

It wasn’t easy to keep up with the group with his bad leg, but Wes clenched his teeth and made do, trying his best to hide his limp. It was fine, he was fine, and he’d certainly dealt with far worse. This was nothing.

He listened quietly to Odette and Bellatrix chat away about ghost types, revealing that apparently Miss Snooty Fox was something called a Zorua with an unusual typing. Huh. He mentally filed that away before noticing Patchwork—no, Gladion, what a name—freeze up a bit. He shot him a sideways glance and hesitantly asked, “You, uh, doing all right over there?”

Why am I even asking? What do I care? The guy was an asshole, but the panic on his face wasn’t too far off from how Wes felt in the presence of that snarky Skarmory, and he had to admit he sympathized a little.

"The old stories, of course!" exclaimed Jaak. "You know, of humans turning up in Forlas and saving the world with the help of an inseparable partner - wait, no, you wouldn't if you weren't, silly me. A lotta folks, especially around these parts, will laugh you out of the room if you make a claim like that but I know, no knew, they had to be true." In his excitement, the vigoroth started skipping ahead.

Wes didn’t have the heart to burst Jaak’s bubble, but he was pretty damn sure that whoever summoned them here was just grasping at straws. The fact that he himself himself had somehow gotten dragged into this mess seemed proof enough.

“I wasn’t brought here with a partner,” he said ponderingly, half to himself. “What does that mean, then?”

Saying out loud made him feel more alone than before. What he wouldn’t give to have Neo and Novo by his side right now…he’d certainly feel much more at ease with them, though hearing them talk like the Pokémon in this world would be quite the experience. Were ordinary Pokémon from human worlds even possible candidates for something like this? Whatever the rules were, it would have been nice to have come here with someone…

A certain blue-eyed redhead suddenly popped into his mind, and he nearly stopped in his tracks. What—oh, hell no. No. For one thing, he did not need her help, and for another, she had more than enough to deal with back in Orre. She certainly wouldn’t thank him for dragging her here, and he wouldn’t blame her for that. He shook himself irritably, hating how freaking dog-like the motion was, and kept walking.

“Well, surprise, I’m also a human back home. And it’s just a lot like being a Pokémon seems to be here, except with more bipedality and less elemental powers. Don’t know if we’ve got any way of proving it besides our word, though.”

Wes snorted lightly in amusement. “When you put it that way, it makes being human sound boring. But if I’m being honest, I think I’d trade the elemental powers for having opposable thumbs again.” He still didn’t even know what species he was, let alone what type…hm. The heat and the sand had been surprisingly less bothersome than he’d expected, especially with having a coat of fur. Wes had more or less chalked that up to being used to the desert in the first place, but maybe he was some sort of fire or ground type? How would he even test that?

He squinted and concentrated hard at the sand swirling around his paws, trying to make it move. Or something. When nothing happened, he made an experimental swipe at the ground. All he managed to do was spray bits of sand up in his face.

Yeah, all right, he had no idea.

 

[Shiny Phantump]

"I'm sorry, I said forget it," she said, trying to sound non-combative. It was probably just some parallel world shit at play; she was rather familiar with that aspect of the multiverse, so she shouldn't have even said anything.

Gladion took a deep breath and tried to suppress the urge to scream. “Yeah. Sure. I’ll just forget it. It doesn’t matter! Couldn’t be important. Consider it already forgotten. It was silly of me to think for a moment it could’ve been another someone from a copy-world to mine when it would require a version of me to find you amicable.”

He shot him a sideways glance and hesitantly asked, “You, uh, doing all right over there?”

“For sure, I’m totally fine,” Gladion laughed. “I feel like there might’ve been thinking about something existentially disturbing a moment ago but whatever it is I’ve already forgotten it! Nothing to worry about here. So, how’s the weather?”

 

[HelloYellow17]

Well, damn. This guy was decidedly not okay.

“Funny you should ask that,” Wes said. “Because we’re in the middle of a desert in the middle of the day and somehow I’m not baking to death here, and I’m wondering if it has anything to do with my species, though I don’t have a single clue as to what that might be. On the other hand, you seem to know exactly what you are and you’re apparently having a great time with that nugget of information.”

…huh. He realized about two seconds after the words left his mouth that that probably made him look utterly unhinged to anybody else who was listening. Whoops.

He couldn’t hide his grin at Gladion’s comment to Odette, however. Man, this guy had more snark in a single talon than most people had in their entire body. It was annoying as all get-out, but thoroughly entertaining when it was directed at someone like Miss Demon Jaws.

 

[Butterfree]

"Maybe that's a good thing," she said. "Surely, if there are tales about humans showing up to save the damn world, there are going to be some that oppose the prospects of that happening, and I'd rather not be on their radars. I'd imagine there are a few who aren't very keen to know we exist."

"Well, so long as you're vague enough about what 'saving the world' means, everyone tends to be in favor of saving the world." And their cloudy benefactor sure had been extremely vague.

But Dave supposed if there really had been human heroes, as the cloud had seemed to imply what with the one who'd supposedly called them, there would exist stories a little more complicated than the rosiest of fairy tales. No way had there been humans casually more powerful than everyone else prancing around and not becoming controversial in one or another way.

Dave glanced back at Jaak. "Do any of these fairy stories about humans saving the world have any specifics, by any chance? Any historical humans we should know about?"

Gladion took a deep breath and tried to suppress the urge to scream. “Yeah. Sure. I’ll just forget it. It doesn’t matter! Couldn’t be important. Consider it already forgotten. It was silly of me to think for a moment it could’ve been another someone from a copy-world to mine when it would require a version of me to find you amicable.”

“For sure, I’m totally fine,” Gladion laughed. “I feel like there might’ve been thinking about something existentially disturbing a moment ago but whatever it is I’ve already forgotten it! Nothing to worry about here. So, how’s the weather?”

“Funny you should ask that,” Wes said. “Because we’re in the middle of a desert in the middle of the day and somehow I’m not baking to death here, and I’m wondering if it has anything to do with my species, though I don’t have a single clue as to what that might be. On the other hand, you seem to know exactly what you are and you’re apparently having a great time with that nugget of information.”

Meanwhile, the chimera and the Rockruff - Wes? - were having an extremely normal one. Jesus Christ.

"You're a Rockruff," Dave said, raising his eyebrow. "Rock-type, right at home in a desert. None of those where you live?"

 

[Sinderella]

Gladion took a deep breath and tried to suppress the urge to scream. “Yeah. Sure. I’ll just forget it. It doesn’t matter! Couldn’t be important. Consider it already forgotten. It was silly of me to think for a moment it could’ve been another someone from a copy-world to mine when it would require a version of me to find you amicable.”

Odette's look shrunk down into a glare, and for a moment, she wasn't sure how to respond. "Dude, what the--" was all she could manage at first. She didn't want to keep her anger rolling, she'd already made enough of the group wary of her, but the sheer unsolicited sarcasm in his voice sent her blood pressure through her head. "What is your fucking deal? Do you know what the multiverse is? I'm so fucking sorry I even said anything; so fucking sorry you don't know how a multiverse works. You're a parallel copy, but yep, I don't know you, and you sure as fuck don't know me. I don't need you to find me fucking amicable, but you better--"

She stopped, something cold crossing her red eyes before she dropped her hands to her side. "You know what? Go off."

A malicious smirk curled her jaws, followed by a derisive giggle.

"̸Y̷o̴u̵'̷r̷e̶ ̵a̵ ̶b̴i̸t̵ ̶o̸f̶ ̸a̸ ̵s̷p̵i̵t̴f̴u̵c̶k̴,̸ ̶a̷r̶e̴n̷'̵t̵ ̴y̵o̵u̵?̷ ̶M̴a̸k̶e̴s̴ ̷s̴e̵n̶s̸e̷ ̸c̶o̵n̶s̶i̶d̴e̶r̶i̶n̴g̵ ̸y̴o̵u̸'̶r̷e̷ ̶i̴n̶ ̵a̵ ̵b̴o̴d̶y̵ ̵t̵h̷a̴t̷ ̵l̵o̵o̴k̵s̸ ̷l̶i̸k̸e̷ ̴i̸t̷ ̵c̴l̶i̷m̷b̷e̶d̵ ̴o̷u̶t̴ ̵o̵f̴ ̴t̵h̵e̶ ̴'̸b̴l̴i̵n̷d̵ ̶m̶e̶t̷h̵ ̴u̸s̵e̵r̵s̴ ̷p̷u̴t̶ ̷t̴o̵g̶e̴t̷h̷e̷r̵ ̵c̵h̵i̶l̴d̷r̸e̴n̶'̶s̴ ̶t̶o̷y̴s̵'̸ ̶c̴o̷n̵v̴e̶n̸t̵i̶o̴n̶.̶ ̴I̸ ̷p̶i̷t̷y̶ ̷t̵h̶e̶ ̴p̶o̸o̶r̵ ̸s̴o̸u̸l̸ ̶w̵h̴o̷ ̴e̴n̷d̷e̷d̷ ̴u̵p̵ ̵w̴i̸t̸h̶ ̸t̸h̷a̶t̷ ̴g̷y̷a̴r̴a̸d̶o̴s̵ ̴r̷e̵j̸e̴c̷t̷-̴a̴s̵s̴ ̶t̶a̶i̵l̸ ̵i̴n̵ ̷t̷h̶e̴i̵r̶ ̴g̸r̸o̵i̴n̷,̵ ̸'̵c̸a̵u̶s̵e̶ ̸g̸o̸o̸d̴ ̶f̸u̴c̴k̸i̷n̵g̴ ̴l̷o̷r̸d̸,̸ ̷I̴'̵d̵ ̷w̸a̵n̴n̶a̸ ̸s̸c̷r̶e̵a̴m̴ ̸i̵n̶ ̴p̸a̸i̷n̸ ̵t̸o̴o̷ ̸i̵f̶ ̶I̷ ̷h̵a̷d̶ ̷t̷h̶a̶t̷ ̵s̸h̵i̸t̴ ̵i̶n̶ ̵m̷y̸ ̸p̵e̸r̴s̴o̵n̴a̴l̸ ̷s̷p̶a̸c̶e̷.̸ ̵A̸n̸d̵ ̴w̵h̶a̸t̷ ̸t̵h̵e̵ ̴f̸u̷c̶k̵ ̴i̸s̵ ̵t̸h̸a̴t̸ ̵o̶n̶ ̷y̶o̵u̴r̵ ̷h̸e̵a̴d̸,̴ ̸a̷n̶ ̶a̴x̶e̷?̷ ̸A̶ ̵d̸i̷v̷e̵r̸ ̷h̸e̸l̴m̶e̸t̶?̶ ̷Y̸o̵u̷ ̷a̸n̶ ̴a̶x̶e̴ ̵m̴u̸r̶d̵e̵r̶e̷r̴ ̴g̴o̶i̷n̴g̷ ̵f̴o̷r̴ ̶a̷ ̴f̷u̴c̷k̷i̵n̶g̸ ̸S̷u̶n̸d̸a̴y̴ ̵s̵c̸u̴b̶a̵ ̶d̶i̸v̵e̵ ̴a̷f̷t̷e̴r̴ ̶y̸o̶u̵ ̵f̵i̸n̶i̸s̶h̵ ̸c̷h̴o̵p̷p̴i̴n̷g̶ ̶t̸h̶e̶ ̴h̷e̶a̵d̵s̶ ̶o̷f̶f̶ ̵s̸o̸m̴e̵ ̷o̵r̶p̴h̵a̴n̴s̵?̷ ̴T̸h̸o̶u̸g̴h̵ ̸i̵t̶'̵s̵ ̷w̷i̷l̵d̵ ̶t̵o̶ ̶t̵h̴i̷n̷k̶ ̵y̴o̸u̸'̵d̵ ̶h̸a̴v̶e̴ ̷t̴h̶a̶t̸ ̸k̷i̷n̵d̵ ̶o̷f̷ ̷c̶o̵n̴v̷i̵c̶t̵i̵o̷n̷ ̷s̵i̸n̶c̵e̴ ̵y̷o̵u̷'̴r̶e̵ ̴a̵c̴t̴i̵n̶g̸ ̷l̸i̷k̸e̷ ̶s̸u̴c̸h̵ ̵a̴ ̶p̶u̴s̴s̸y̶ ̴a̷s̷s̷ ̵b̸i̶t̶c̵h̷ ̸r̸i̵g̴h̵t̵ ̸n̷o̷w̸.̴ ̴B̷u̵t̶,̸ ̶i̷t̵ ̴m̴a̸k̶e̷s̵ ̸s̶e̵n̸s̸e̷-̸-̴f̴a̴t̶t̴e̶s̸t̴ ̷i̷n̷ ̸t̴h̶e̴ ̵g̶r̴o̵u̶p̴,̶ ̸f̸a̷t̴t̷e̶s̶t̴ ̶b̵i̸t̷c̷h̴.̸ ̵I̵t̷'̴s̴ ̸s̸c̷i̴e̸n̴c̸e̸.̴ ̴M̵a̸y̶b̸e̶ ̶y̴o̶u̴'̶d̵ ̴l̶o̷s̵e̵ ̸s̷o̶m̸e̵ ̷w̴e̶i̵g̵h̶t̵ ̸i̵f̶ ̶y̸o̵u̸ ̶t̴o̶o̸k̶ ̵t̶h̸a̶t̵ ̵f̸u̷c̵k̸i̵n̸g̸ ̷s̵c̸r̷a̴p̷ ̵m̸e̸t̸a̶l̸ ̶h̴e̵l̷m̷e̸t̶ ̵o̶f̸f̸ ̷y̷o̴u̴r̸ ̴b̴i̷g̵ ̵a̴s̷s̶ ̵h̴e̵a̶d̴;̵ ̷t̴h̶a̴t̸ ̵m̸e̴t̸a̴l̶ ̴w̵o̶u̵l̸d̴ ̷f̴a̸r̴e̴ ̶b̸e̷t̷t̷e̸r̶ ̶b̵e̴i̸n̷g̵ ̶r̴e̴m̶a̷d̸e̷ ̷i̷n̴t̸o̴ ̸a̸ ̶t̸e̵s̶t̸i̸c̴u̸l̵a̴r̷ ̴p̵i̷e̶r̴c̵i̶n̴g̸ ̸o̵r̸ ̴a̷ ̶h̶i̶p̵ ̶r̷e̸p̸l̸a̶c̶e̴m̵e̵n̵t̷ ̴f̵o̸r̷ ̷a̸ ̸f̴u̸c̴k̷i̸n̶g̸ ̸8̴0̸-̸y̷e̵a̴r̸-̴o̷l̵d̸;̶ ̵a̸t̵ ̴l̴e̶a̴s̶t̸ ̵i̸t̶'̶d̸ ̴b̷e̶ ̷s̸e̶r̴v̸i̵n̵g̷ ̷a̸s̵ ̴s̸o̴m̸e̷t̵h̶i̴n̶g̴ ̸u̷s̸e̶f̵u̴l̴ ̸i̵n̷ ̴e̴i̴t̶h̷e̷r̷ ̷o̵f̴ ̵t̵h̷o̴s̴e̸ ̸c̸a̴s̶e̸s̶.̵ ̶D̶o̶ ̸y̵o̵u̷r̸s̸e̸l̸f̶ ̵a̴ ̷f̵a̵v̸o̷r̸ ̴a̶n̶d̵ ̶k̸e̸e̶p̵ ̷t̴h̴a̵t̴ ̶p̶a̷n̵s̸y̸ ̸f̴u̷c̸k̵i̷n̴g̸ ̴t̷o̸n̷g̵u̵e̶ ̶i̷n̴s̴i̸d̷e̸ ̵y̵o̴u̷r̷ ̴p̵a̵n̵s̶y̷ ̸f̸u̶c̷k̴i̸n̸g̷ ̴m̷o̴u̶t̵h̵,̶ ̷o̴r̷ ̶I̵'̶l̴l̵ ̴s̴h̷o̷v̵e̷ ̷i̴t̷ ̶u̶p̵ ̸t̵h̸e̸ ̶b̸a̶c̸k̵ ̷e̷n̵d̴ ̵o̴f̷ ̶a̷n̸ ̴u̴n̵w̴i̷l̴l̸i̶n̸g̸ ̶s̶l̶u̷g̶m̶a̵.̵"̷ ̴

When the tirade finished, Odette clamped her jaws once more.

"You have a blessed and amicable day."

 

[Shiny Phantump]

Odette's look shrunk down into a glare, and for a moment, she wasn't sure how to respond. "Dude, what the--" was all she could manage at first. She didn't want to keep her anger rolling, she'd already made enough of the group wary of her, but the sheer unsolicited sarcasm in his voice sent her blood pressure through her head. "What is your fucking deal? Do you know what the multiverse is? I'm so fucking sorry I even said anything; so fucking sorry you don't know how a multiverse works. You're a parallel copy, but yep, I don't know you, and you sure as fuck don't know me. I don't need you to find me fucking amicable, but you better--"

She stopped, something cold crossing her red eyes before she dropped her hands to her side. "You know what? Go off."

A malicious smirk curled her jaws, followed by a derisive giggle.

"̸Y̷o̴u̵'̷r̷e̶ ̵a̵ ̶b̴i̸t̵ ̶o̸f̶ ̸a̸ ̵s̷p̵i̵t̴f̴u̵c̶k̴,̸ ̶a̷r̶e̴n̷'̵t̵ ̴y̵o̵u̵?̷ ̶M̴a̸k̶e̴s̴ ̷s̴e̵n̶s̸e̷ ̸c̶o̵n̶s̶i̶d̴e̶r̶i̶n̴g̵ ̸y̴o̵u̸'̶r̷e̷ ̶i̴n̶ ̵a̵ ̵b̴o̴d̶y̵ ̵t̵h̷a̴t̷ ̵l̵o̵o̴k̵s̸ ̷l̶i̸k̸e̷ ̴i̸t̷ ̵c̴l̶i̷m̷b̷e̶d̵ ̴o̷u̶t̴ ̵o̵f̷ ̷t̷h̶e̸ ̵b̴a̸c̷k̸ ̷e̶n̶d̸ ̸o̵f̴ ̴t̵h̵e̶ ̴'̸b̴l̴i̵n̷d̵ ̶m̶e̶t̷h̵ ̴u̸s̵e̵r̵s̴ ̷p̷u̴t̶ ̷t̴o̵g̶e̴t̷h̷e̷r̵ ̵c̵h̵i̶l̴d̷r̸e̴n̶'̶s̴ ̶t̶o̷y̴s̵'̸ ̶c̴o̷n̵v̴e̶n̸t̵i̶o̴n̶.̶ ̴I̸ ̷p̶i̷t̷y̶ ̷t̵h̶e̶ ̴p̶o̸o̶r̵ ̸s̴o̸u̸l̸ ̶w̵h̴o̷ ̴e̴n̷d̷e̷d̷ ̴u̵p̵ ̵w̴i̸t̸h̶ ̸t̸h̷a̶t̷ ̴g̷y̷a̴r̴a̸d̶o̴s̵ ̴r̷e̵j̸e̴c̷t̷-̴a̴s̵s̴ ̶t̶a̶i̵l̸ ̵i̴n̵ ̷t̷h̶e̴i̵r̶ ̴g̸r̸o̵i̴n̷,̵ ̸'̵c̸a̵u̶s̵e̶ ̸g̸o̸o̸d̴ ̶f̸u̴c̴k̸i̷n̵g̴ ̴l̷o̷r̸d̸,̸ ̷I̴'̵d̵ ̷w̸a̵n̴n̶a̸ ̸s̸c̷r̶e̵a̴m̴ ̸i̵n̶ ̴p̸a̸i̷n̸ ̵t̸o̴o̷ ̸i̵f̶ ̶I̷ ̷h̵a̷d̶ ̷t̷h̶a̶t̷ ̵s̸h̵i̸t̴ ̵i̶n̶ ̵m̷y̸ ̸p̵e̸r̴s̴o̵n̴a̴l̸ ̷s̷p̶a̸c̶e̷.̸ ̵A̸n̸d̵ ̴w̵h̶a̸t̷ ̸t̵h̵e̵ ̴f̸u̷c̶k̵ ̴i̸s̵ ̵t̸h̸a̴t̸ ̵o̶n̶ ̷y̶o̵u̴r̵ ̷h̸e̵a̴d̸,̴ ̸a̷n̶ ̶a̴x̶e̷?̷ ̸A̶ ̵d̸i̷v̷e̵r̸ ̷h̸e̸l̴m̶e̸t̶?̶ ̷Y̸o̵u̷ ̷a̸n̶ ̴a̶x̶e̴ ̵m̴u̸r̶d̵e̵r̶e̷r̴ ̴g̴o̶i̷n̴g̷ ̵f̴o̷r̴ ̶a̷ ̴f̷u̴c̷k̷i̵n̶g̸ ̸S̷u̶n̸d̸a̴y̴ ̵s̵c̸u̴b̶a̵ ̶d̶i̸v̵e̵ ̴a̷f̷t̷e̴r̴ ̶y̸o̶u̵ ̵f̵i̸n̶i̸s̶h̵ ̸c̷h̴o̵p̷p̴i̴n̷g̶ ̶t̸h̶e̶ ̴h̷e̶a̵d̵s̶ ̶o̷f̶f̶ ̵s̸o̸m̴e̵ ̷o̵r̶p̴h̵a̴n̴s̵?̷ ̴T̸h̸o̶u̸g̴h̵ ̸i̵t̶'̵s̵ ̷w̷i̷l̵d̵ ̶t̵o̶ ̶t̵h̴i̷n̷k̶ ̵y̴o̸u̸'̵d̵ ̶h̸a̴v̶e̴ ̷t̴h̶a̶t̸ ̸k̷i̷n̵d̵ ̶o̷f̷ ̷c̶o̵n̴v̷i̵c̶t̵i̵o̷n̷ ̷s̵i̸n̶c̵e̴ ̵y̷o̵u̷'̴r̶e̵ ̴a̵c̴t̴i̵n̶g̸ ̷l̸i̷k̸e̷ ̶s̸u̴c̸h̵ ̵a̴ ̶p̶u̴s̴s̸y̶ ̴a̷s̷s̷ ̵b̸i̶t̶c̵h̷ ̸r̸i̵g̴h̵t̵ ̸n̷o̷w̸.̴ ̴B̷u̵t̶,̸ ̶i̷t̵ ̴m̴a̸k̶e̷s̵ ̸s̶e̵n̸s̸e̷-̸-̴f̴a̴t̶t̴e̶s̸t̴ ̷i̷n̷ ̸t̴h̶e̴ ̵g̶r̴o̵u̶p̴,̶ ̸f̸a̷t̴t̷e̶s̶t̴ ̶b̵i̸t̷c̷h̴.̸ ̵I̵t̷'̴s̴ ̸s̸c̷i̴e̸n̴c̸e̸.̴ ̴M̵a̸y̶b̸e̶ ̶y̴o̶u̴'̶d̵ ̴l̶o̷s̵e̵ ̸s̷o̶m̸e̵ ̷w̴e̶i̵g̵h̶t̵ ̸i̵f̶ ̶y̸o̵u̸ ̶t̴o̶o̸k̶ ̵t̶h̸a̶t̵ ̵f̸u̷c̵k̸i̵n̸g̸ ̷s̵c̸r̷a̴p̷ ̵m̸e̸t̸a̶l̸ ̶h̴e̵l̷m̷e̸t̶ ̵o̶f̸f̸ ̷y̷o̴u̴r̸ ̴b̴i̷g̵ ̵a̴s̷s̶ ̵h̴e̵a̶d̴;̵ ̷t̴h̶a̴t̸ ̵m̸e̴t̸a̴l̶ ̴w̵o̶u̵l̸d̴ ̷f̴a̸r̴e̴ ̶b̸e̷t̷t̷e̸r̶ ̶b̵e̴i̸n̷g̵ ̶r̴e̴m̶a̷d̸e̷ ̷i̷n̴t̸o̴ ̸a̸ ̶t̸e̵s̶t̸i̸c̴u̸l̵a̴r̷ ̴p̵i̷e̶r̴c̵i̶n̴g̸ ̸o̵r̸ ̴a̷ ̶h̶i̶p̵ ̶r̷e̸p̸l̸a̶c̶e̴m̵e̵n̵t̷ ̴f̵o̸r̷ ̷a̸ ̸f̴u̸c̴k̷i̸n̶g̸ ̸8̴0̸-̸y̷e̵a̴r̸-̴o̷l̵d̸;̶ ̵a̸t̵ ̴l̴e̶a̴s̶t̸ ̵i̸t̶'̶d̸ ̴b̷e̶ ̷s̸e̶r̴v̸i̵n̵g̷ ̷a̸s̵ ̴s̸o̴m̸e̷t̵h̶i̴n̶g̴ ̸u̷s̸e̶f̵u̴l̴ ̸i̵n̷ ̴e̴i̴t̶h̷e̷r̷ ̷o̵f̴ ̵t̵h̷o̴s̴e̸ ̸c̸a̴s̶e̸s̶.̵ ̶D̶o̶ ̸y̵o̵u̷r̸s̸e̸l̸f̶ ̵a̴ ̷f̵a̵v̸o̷r̸ ̴a̶n̶d̵ ̶k̸e̸e̶p̵ ̷t̴h̴a̵t̴ ̶p̶a̷n̵s̸y̸ ̸f̴u̷c̸k̵i̷n̴g̸ ̴t̷o̸n̷g̵u̵e̶ ̶i̷n̴s̴i̸d̷e̸ ̵y̵o̴u̷r̷ ̴p̵a̵n̵s̶y̷ ̸f̸u̶c̷k̴i̸n̸g̷ ̴m̷o̴u̶t̵h̵,̶ ̷o̴r̷ ̶I̵'̶l̴l̵ ̴s̴h̷o̷v̵e̷ ̷i̴t̷ ̶u̶p̵ ̸t̵h̸e̸ ̶b̸a̶c̸k̵ ̷e̷n̵d̴ ̵o̴f̷ ̶a̷n̸ ̴u̴n̵w̴i̷l̴l̸i̶n̸g̸ ̶s̶l̶u̷g̶m̶a̵.̵"̷ ̴

A switch flipped in Gladion's head as he went from running on high heat, to being filled with a sheer cold as the emotion drained out of him blood from a wound. He took a moment of thought to compose a response, then spoke in a calm, gentle, and measured tone— one that would be the friendliest and most relaxed he'd been thus far, if not for the contents of his speech.

(If he stopped to think about something other than wanting to hurt her, he may see some resemblance between his demeanour and that of someone else, which would have deeply disconcerted him. But single-mindedly focused on the task at hand as he was, he did not do this.)

"Yes, I pity her soul too. I take it that, based on the fact you never met my partner, that she passes away," he said, his voice briefly wavering from the collected tone for two words at that moment, "sometime between the time in my world and your own. I suppose I've no right to be surprised, given that everything you've identified was hardly unlikely to be comorbid with health complications. It is strange, though, that your close friend never deigned to tell you about that, given it would be rather important and he certainly had one. I suppose he must not have thought it was something he should trust you with, which I suppose I can't fault him for, given it seems he was right not to. Perhaps my otherworldly counterparts do have sense after all, and you just haven't the social skills to notice that your feelings are not reciprocated. That is good for me, though. I'm glad you don't know anything too sensitive about me."

He took a deep breath, then looked more directly at her, his tone of voice creeping a bit deeper. "Since you meant to insult me, I'm going to overlook this. However, should you ever tire of this place, please repeat that to me and I will be your ferryman back home, if you don't mind taking the hard route."

“Funny you should ask that,” Wes said. “Because we’re in the middle of a desert in the middle of the day and somehow I’m not baking to death here, and I’m wondering if it has anything to do with my species, though I don’t have a single clue as to what that might be. On the other hand, you seem to know exactly what you are and you’re apparently having a great time with that nugget of information.”

"You're a Rockruff," Dave said, raising his eyebrow. "Rock-type, right at home in a desert. None of those where you live?"

Gladion took a deep breath and tore his attention from Odette. He spoke again in a similarly casual tone, as if the shift in subject was small. Though in spite of that, a noticable amount of warmth returned to his voice.

"Dave is correct in saying that you are a Rockruff. The have some populations in a couple other regions, but their largest population is actually on Melemele Island in Alola, in a place called Ten Carat Hill— Craggy, not far off of qualifying as mountainous, and experiences notable tropical heat, but isn't really a desert. A pure rock type. Normally a grey colour, but there's been documentation in rare instances of ones developing deeper in the caves who end up consuming far larger than normal amounts of lapis silicates, discolouring their coats to the blue shade that you seem to have. It's not a distinct form or species, just a colour difference. It evolves once into Lycanroc, a species that has either two or three forms, disputably, and the evolution is determined by their primary time of activity. There's a midday form, looking like about what you'd a assume a species looking like yours would evolve into, a midnight form that is slower, bulkier, and is an limited biped in spite of still using all fours most of the time. The disputed third is colloquially referred to as a dusk form, which requires both a genetic disposition and a fine balance of active time to reach. It resembles the midday form more closely than midnight, but has traits from both. It's been said it might be a hybridization between the two forms, but it also has some traits like a unique colouration that suggests it may also be distinct, and simply very rare. The species is very fasy and not particularly durable, and so the midday or dusk forms are generally considered better suited to formal battling in order to fully specialize in that role, rather than the midnight one struggling to excel in either. However the limited bipedalism of the midnight form will have its own appeals to you, of course. No matter how you slice it, they're the single most popular species for people on Alola's island challenge to use by a large margin, given their speed, power, and availability very early on, during the first island that the challenge begins on... Which is why I've so much experience against them, I ended up battling a lot of island challengers back home. Good species to end up as if we end up having to fight things."

 

[Sinderella]

"Yes, I pity her soul too. I take it that, based on the fact you never met my partner, that she passes away," he said, his voice briefly wavering from the collected tone for two words at that moment, "sometime between the time in my world and your own. I suppose I've no right to be surprised, given that everything you've identified was hardly unlikely to be comorbid with health complications. It is strange, though, that your close friend never deigned to tell you about that, given it would be rather important and he certainly had one. I suppose he must not have thought it was something he should trust you with, which I suppose I can't fault him for, given it seems he was right not to. Perhaps my otherworldly counterparts do have sense after all, and you just haven't the social skills to notice that your feelings are not reciprocated. That is good for me, though. I'm glad you don't know anything too sensitive about me."

She wanted to respond, she really did, but she realized she had no way to at first. Not because she felt bad; more because everything out of this Gladion’s mouth, meant to be biting and insulting, just confused her. She knew more about her friend Gladion than she even wanted to know, what the hell was he on about social skills and “being trusted with sensitive information”? And a dead partner? What on earth? Was he in his partner’s body? How was she even supposed to unpack that?

Luckily, the pure confusion was enough to knock her down a notch, and she just shook her head in slight disbelief.

“Oh, I understand what’s happening here. You’re too narrow-minded to come to terms with the fact that there’s versions of you that are capable of not being a snot-nosed dick. Honestly, fair play. Can’t blame you. Live on, strange Gladion, live on. But since we want to make death threats, please know the offer is absolutely mutual.” She raised a thumb for good measure, leaving him to go off about the existence of rockruff.

“How far away is this train station? I need a shaded bench to sit on fast.”

 

[Inkedust]

Bellatrix was about to respond to Odette again, but immediately changed her mind the moment the mawile's attention turned to Gladion. This was going to be a long designated period of hero time in Forlas. She should've told the locals that they were a travelling circus seeing that if was far demonstrably true than the reality.

Dave glanced back at Jaak. "Do any of these fairy stories about humans saving the world have any specifics, by any chance? Any historical humans we should know about?"

"Well there's Jesse Stranger," Jaak began, happy to be avoiding what was going on back there. "He's been around for a good while - even longer than I've been around, I think. He's a pretty big deal in some parts. I haven't met him, but a friend of a relative's friend says that they saw him him blow a wagon thirty feet in the air and hardly break a goddamn sweat. Now I think that -" He was about to ramble on but stopped when the mawile broke Jaak out of his trance.

“How far away is this train station? I need a shaded bench to sit on fast.”

"Not that much longer. See? You can now see the tracks." He pointed to something gleaming in the desert sun that ran well beyond the horizon. "I'll take you onto the train as soon as we get there to avoid any disparaging looks from the locals," he added with a chuckle. "One of those carriages should have some brand new clothes to be sold out west in them too. Feel free to take some as you like. Don't wanna waltz into Frontier Town naked after all," he chuckled.

It seemed that if anyone wanted to ask Jaak any more questions, now would be the time to do it.

 

[JFought]

"Of course! See, it's said that humans carry with them immense power - far beyond the capabilities of a normal pokémon - that they can share with their trusted partner. Because of that power, they're summoned to stop a massive threat. You know, classic hero stuff. Dunno what the world needs saving from now though, except maybe some local attitude problems," he added more wearily.

That's just a buncha shit! Isidora wasn't a human, so what did that mean for her?!

“I wasn’t brought here with a partner,” he said ponderingly, half to himself. “What does that mean, then?”

That's what I'm afraid of, is what she almost said. The prospect of having to partner up with one of them was so far from what she thought she had signed up for. The voice hadn't mentioned any of it.

Though no, she knew she shouldn't take the legend at face value like that. The voice would have mentioned it if it were important, and if there were other humans sent here before them, just to exist here for thirty years and accomplish seemingly little, then they couldn't all be connected by a story like that. It was more likely that the story was amalgamation of actual true stories that blended together and were exaggerated over time. Not all of them had a pokémon partner, and not all of them saved the world, just some of them, and with varying definitions of 'world.' And given the voice had mentioned they were all being granted 'more powerful bodies than normal,' the 'partner' might've just been a local, and the human aspect was just a classic case of humans making themselves the center of the universe.

It all made her feel a little better, but it didn't change her situation. She supposed she was just gonna have to suck it up and stick it out.

“Well, surprise, I’m also a human back home. And it’s just a lot like being a Pokémon seems to be here, except with more bipedality and less elemental powers. Don’t know if we’ve got any way of proving it besides our word, though.”

Isidora reflexively glanced back at him. Of course he is! In hindsight it was obvious, but he did at least raise a good question about historical humans. Though this 'Jesse' sounds more contemporary than historical. But I guess he'd have a better idea of what's-

"̸Y̷o̴u̵'̷r̷e̶ ̵a̵ ̶b̴i̸t̵ ̶o̸f̶ ̸a̸ ̵s̷p̵i̵t̴f̴u̵c̶k̴,̸ ̶a̷r̶e̴n̷'̵t̵ ̴y̵o̵u̵?̷ ̶M̴a̸k̶e̴s̴ ̷s̴e̵n̶s̸e̷ ̸c̶o̵n̶s̶i̶d̴e̶r̶i̶n̴g̵ ̸y̴o̵u̸'̶r̷e̷ ̶i̴n̶ ̵a̵ ̵b̴o̴d̶y̵ ̵t̵h̷a̴t̷ ̵l̵o̵o̴k̵s̸ ̷l̶i̸k̸e̷ ̴i̸t̷ ̵c̴l̶i̷m̷b̷e̶d̵ ̴o̷u̶t̴ ̵o̵f̴ ̴t̵h̵e̶ ̴'̸b̴l̴i̵n̷d̵ ̶m̶e̶t̷h̵ ̴u̸s̵e̵r̵s̴ ̷p̷u̴t̶ ̷t̴o̵g̶e̴t̷h̷e̷r̵ ̵c̵h̵i̶l̴d̷r̸e̴n̶'̶s̴ ̶t̶o̷y̴s̵'̸ ̶c̴o̷n̵v̴e̶n̸t̵i̶o̴n̶.̶ ̴I̸ ̷p̶i̷t̷y̶ ̷t̵h̶e̶ ̴p̶o̸o̶r̵ ̸s̴o̸u̸l̸ ̶w̵h̴o̷ ̴e̴n̷d̷e̷d̷ ̴u̵p̵ ̵w̴i̸t̸h̶ ̸t̸h̷a̶t̷ ̴g̷y̷a̴r̴a̸d̶o̴s̵ ̴r̷e̵j̸e̴c̷t̷-̴a̴s̵s̴ ̶t̶a̶i̵l̸ ̵i̴n̵ ̷t̷h̶e̴i̵r̶ ̴g̸r̸o̵i̴n̷,̵ ̸'̵c̸a̵u̶s̵e̶ ̸g̸o̸o̸d̴ ̶f̸u̴c̴k̸i̷n̵g̴ ̴l̷o̷r̸d̸,̸ ̷I̴'̵d̵ ̷w̸a̵n̴n̶a̸ ̸s̸c̷r̶e̵a̴m̴ ̸i̵n̶ ̴p̸a̸i̷n̸ ̵t̸o̴o̷ ̸i̵f̶ ̶I̷ ̷h̵a̷d̶ ̷t̷h̶a̶t̷ ̵s̸h̵i̸t̴ ̵i̶n̶ ̵m̷y̸ ̸p̵e̸r̴s̴o̵n̴a̴l̸ ̷s̷p̶a̸c̶e̷.̸ ̵A̸n̸d̵ ̴w̵h̶a̸t̷ ̸t̵h̵e̵ ̴f̸u̷c̶k̵ ̴i̸s̵ ̵t̸h̸a̴t̸ ̵o̶n̶ ̷y̶o̵u̴r̵ ̷h̸e̵a̴d̸,̴ ̸a̷n̶ ̶a̴x̶e̷?̷ ̸A̶ ̵d̸i̷v̷e̵r̸ ̷h̸e̸l̴m̶e̸t̶?̶ ̷Y̸o̵u̷ ̷a̸n̶ ̴a̶x̶e̴ ̵m̴u̸r̶d̵e̵r̶e̷r̴ ̴g̴o̶i̷n̴g̷ ̵f̴o̷r̴ ̶a̷ ̴f̷u̴c̷k̷i̵n̶g̸ ̸S̷u̶n̸d̸a̴y̴ ̵s̵c̸u̴b̶a̵ ̶d̶i̸v̵e̵ ̴a̷f̷t̷e̴r̴ ̶y̸o̶u̵ ̵f̵i̸n̶i̸s̶h̵ ̸c̷h̴o̵p̷p̴i̴n̷g̶ ̶t̸h̶e̶ ̴h̷e̶a̵d̵s̶ ̶o̷f̶f̶ ̵s̸o̸m̴e̵ ̷o̵r̶p̴h̵a̴n̴s̵?̷ ̴T̸h̸o̶u̸g̴h̵ ̸i̵t̶'̵s̵ ̷w̷i̷l̵d̵ ̶t̵o̶ ̶t̵h̴i̷n̷k̶ ̵y̴o̸u̸'̵d̵ ̶h̸a̴v̶e̴ ̷t̴h̶a̶t̸ ̸k̷i̷n̵d̵ ̶o̷f̷ ̷c̶o̵n̴v̷i̵c̶t̵i̵o̷n̷ ̷s̵i̸n̶c̵e̴ ̵y̷o̵u̷'̴r̶e̵ ̴a̵c̴t̴i̵n̶g̸ ̷l̸i̷k̸e̷ ̶s̸u̴c̸h̵ ̵a̴ ̶p̶u̴s̴s̸y̶ ̴a̷s̷s̷ ̵b̸i̶t̶c̵h̷ ̸r̸i̵g̴h̵t̵ ̸n̷o̷w̸.̴ ̴B̷u̵t̶,̸ ̶i̷t̵ ̴m̴a̸k̶e̷s̵ ̸s̶e̵n̸s̸e̷-̸-̴f̴a̴t̶t̴e̶s̸t̴ ̷i̷n̷ ̸t̴h̶e̴ ̵g̶r̴o̵u̶p̴,̶ ̸f̸a̷t̴t̷e̶s̶t̴ ̶b̵i̸t̷c̷h̴.̸ ̵I̵t̷'̴s̴ ̸s̸c̷i̴e̸n̴c̸e̸.̴ ̴M̵a̸y̶b̸e̶ ̶y̴o̶u̴'̶d̵ ̴l̶o̷s̵e̵ ̸s̷o̶m̸e̵ ̷w̴e̶i̵g̵h̶t̵ ̸i̵f̶ ̶y̸o̵u̸ ̶t̴o̶o̸k̶ ̵t̶h̸a̶t̵ ̵f̸u̷c̵k̸i̵n̸g̸ ̷s̵c̸r̷a̴p̷ ̵m̸e̸t̸a̶l̸ ̶h̴e̵l̷m̷e̸t̶ ̵o̶f̸f̸ ̷y̷o̴u̴r̸ ̴b̴i̷g̵ ̵a̴s̷s̶ ̵h̴e̵a̶d̴;̵ ̷t̴h̶a̴t̸ ̵m̸e̴t̸a̴l̶ ̴w̵o̶u̵l̸d̴ ̷f̴a̸r̴e̴ ̶b̸e̷t̷t̷e̸r̶ ̶b̵e̴i̸n̷g̵ ̶r̴e̴m̶a̷d̸e̷ ̷i̷n̴t̸o̴ ̸a̸ ̶t̸e̵s̶t̸i̸c̴u̸l̵a̴r̷ ̴p̵i̷e̶r̴c̵i̶n̴g̸ ̸o̵r̸ ̴a̷ ̶h̶i̶p̵ ̶r̷e̸p̸l̸a̶c̶e̴m̵e̵n̵t̷ ̴f̵o̸r̷ ̷a̸ ̸f̴u̸c̴k̷i̸n̶g̸ ̸8̴0̸-̸y̷e̵a̴r̸-̴o̷l̵d̸;̶ ̵a̸t̵ ̴l̴e̶a̴s̶t̸ ̵i̸t̶'̶d̸ ̴b̷e̶ ̷s̸e̶r̴v̸i̵n̵g̷ ̷a̸s̵ ̴s̸o̴m̸e̷t̵h̶i̴n̶g̴ ̸u̷s̸e̶f̵u̴l̴ ̸i̵n̷ ̴e̴i̴t̶h̷e̷r̷ ̷o̵f̴ ̵t̵h̷o̴s̴e̸ ̸c̸a̴s̶e̸s̶.̵ ̶D̶o̶ ̸y̵o̵u̷r̸s̸e̸l̸f̶ ̵a̴ ̷f̵a̵v̸o̷r̸ ̴a̶n̶d̵ ̶k̸e̸e̶p̵ ̷t̴h̴a̵t̴ ̶p̶a̷n̵s̸y̸ ̸f̴u̷c̸k̵i̷n̴g̸ ̴t̷o̸n̷g̵u̵e̶ ̶i̷n̴s̴i̸d̷e̸ ̵y̵o̴u̷r̷ ̴p̵a̵n̵s̶y̷ ̸f̸u̶c̷k̴i̸n̸g̷ ̴m̷o̴u̶t̵h̵,̶ ̷o̴r̷ ̶I̵'̶l̴l̵ ̴s̴h̷o̷v̵e̷ ̷i̴t̷ ̶u̶p̵ ̸t̵h̸e̸ ̶b̸a̶c̸k̵ ̷e̷n̵d̴ ̵o̴f̷ ̶a̷n̸ ̴u̴n̵w̴i̷l̴l̸i̶n̸g̸ ̶s̶l̶u̷g̶m̶a̵.̵"̷ ̴

"Since you meant to insult me, I'm going to overlook this. However, should you ever tire of this place, please repeat that to me and I will be your ferryman back home, if you don't mind taking the hard route."

“Oh, I understand what’s happening here. You’re too narrow-minded to come to terms with the fact that there’s versions of you that are capable of not being a snot-nosed dick. Honestly, fair play. Can’t blame you. Live on, strange Gladion, live on.”

All of Isidora's thoughts and optimism died, and her ears flattened. This group was starting to push it. Okay, great, death threats. That's what we needed right now. Thank you, human number four. She was already close to blowing up and those two still managed to find a way to dance on the edge.

She flexed her claws. "If you know where Jesse is, that'd be great." Then sighed and placed her paw on her forehead. The headache was back. "I want some water when we get there, Jaak."

 

[Butterfree]

Ooookay, the children were bickering. Dave sighed, pulling away from them and towards Jaak instead.

"Well there's Jesse Stranger," Jaak began, happy to be avoiding what was going on back there. "He's been around for a good while - even longer than I've been around, I think. He's a pretty big deal in some parts. I haven't met him, but a friend of a relative's friend says that they saw him him blow a wagon thirty feet in the air and hardly break a goddamn sweat. Now I think that -" He was about to ramble on but stopped when the mawile broke Jaak out of his trance.

Huh. Previously Jaak had been talking like most people didn't believe humans existed, but now he was making it sound like this Jesse Stranger (something about that name grated weirdly on his nerves) was a well-known contemporary figure. Come to think of it, the cloud had mentioned a human who'd been there for thirty years (thirty fucking years, now there was a thought to unpack) - was that him? Maybe people just didn't believe he was human?

Though how human would you even be after thirty years as a Pokémon? If the guy was still here after all this time, was he stuck or just gone native?

"So this guy was a hero? What'd he do to save the world?"

"Not that much longer. See? You can now see the tracks." He pointed to something gleaming in the desert sun that ran well beyond the horizon. "I'll take you onto the train as soon as we get there to avoid any disparaging looks from the locals," he added with a chuckle. "One of those carriages should have some brand new clothes to be sold out west in them too. Feel free to take some as you like. Don't wanna waltz into Frontier Town naked after all," he chuckled.

Dave squinted at him, tilting his head. "...What?" Come to think of it, the three construction workers had all been wearing some kind of arbitrary goofy-looking article of clothing. But... "Your clothes don't even fucking cover anything. What are they even for?"

 

[HelloYellow17]

"You're a Rockruff," Dave said, raising his eyebrow. "Rock-type, right at home in a desert. None of those where you live?"

Wes didn’t love the look Dave gave him, as if he were some kind of idiot. He did appreciate the answer, though, deadpan as it was. A rock-type canine, then. Rock…ruff. Oh, come on, who was in charge of naming these Pokémon species? That was the best they could come up with? Really?

“Funny you should ask, because I am from the desert,” Wes replied, matching Dave’s dry tone. “Not one that has any Pokémon in it, though. I’m sure you can guess which one I’m referring to with that information.”

"̸Y̷o̴u̵'̷r̷e̶ ̵a̵ ̶b̴i̸t̵ ̶o̸f̶ ̸a̸ ̵s̷p̵i̵t̴f̴u̵c̶k̴,̸ ̶a̷r̶e̴n̷'̵t̵ ̴y̵o̵u̵?̷ ̶M̴a̸k̶e̴s̴ ̷s̴e̵n̶s̸e̷ ̸c̶o̵n̶s̶i̶d̴e̶r̶i̶n̴g̵ ̸y̴o̵u̸'̶r̷e̷ ̶i̴n̶ ̵a̵ ̵b̴o̴d̶y̵ ̵t̵h̷a̴t̷ ̵l̵o̵o̴k̵s̸ ̷l̶i̸k̸e̷ ̴i̸t̷ ̵c̴l̶i̷m̷b̷e̶d̵ ̴o̷u̶t̴ ̵o̵f̴ ̴t̵h̵e̶ ̴'̸b̴l̴i̵n̷d̵ ̶m̶e̶t̷h̵ ̴u̸s̵e̵r̵s̴ ̷p̷u̴t̶ ̷t̴o̵g̶e̴t̷h̷e̷r̵ ̵c̵h̵i̶l̴d̷r̸e̴n̶'̶s̴ ̶t̶o̷y̴s̵'̸ ̶c̴o̷n̵v̴e̶n̸t̵i̶o̴n̶.̶ ̴

Sweet baby Arceus. This chick had a serious attitude problem, one that made Wes’s earlier snippy behavior feel downright angelic by comparison. She wasn’t even remotely a threat, seeing how she was quite literally all bark and no bite, but something about that creepy voice emanating from her second mouth set him on edge regardless. Wes decided he would stay far away from her for the foreseeable future—and oh, great, now she and Gladion were exchanging death threats. Lovely. Perfectly sane and reasonable behavior. Definitely.

Dave is correct in saying that you are a Rockruff. The have some populations in a couple other regions, but their largest population is actually on Melemele Island in Alola, in a place called Ten Carat Hill— Craggy, not far off of qualifying as mountainous, and experiences notable tropical heat, but isn't really a desert. A pure rock type. Normally a grey colour, but there's been documentation in rare instances of ones developing deeper in the caves who end up consuming far larger than normal amounts of lapis silicates, discolouring their coats to the blue shade that you seem to have. It's not a distinct form or species, just a colour difference. It evolves once into Lycanroc, a species that has either two or three forms, disputably, and the evolution is determined by their primary time of activity. There's a midday form, looking like about what you'd a assume a species looking like yours would evolve into, a midnight form that is slower, bulkier, and is an limited biped in spite of still using all fours most of the time. The disputed third is colloquially referred to as a dusk form, which requires both a genetic disposition and a fine balance of active time to reach. It resembles the midday form more closely than midnight, but has traits from both. It's been said it might be a hybridization between the two forms, but it also has some traits like a unique colouration that suggests it may also be distinct, and simply very rare. The species is very fasy and not particularly durable, and so the midday or dusk forms are generally considered better suited to formal battling in order to fully specialize in that role, rather than the midnight one struggling to excel in either. However the limited bipedalism of the midnight form will have its own appeals to you, of course. No matter how you slice it, they're the single most popular species for people on Alola's island challenge to use by a large margin, given their speed, power, and availability very early on, during the first island that the challenge begins on... Which is why I've so much experience against them, I ended up battling a lot of island challengers back home. Good species to end up as if we end up having to fight things."

Wes blinked up at Gladion, utterly speechless for a moment. The switch from homicidal threats to sapient Pokedex was a jarring one, to say the least. But, well…his uncertainty about Gladion aside, he did appreciate the friendly tone and helpful information that he so readily volunteered. Even if most of it flew right over his head.

“I…see. Thank you for that. So I’ll have a choice of three forms, huh? Kind of like an Eevee.” He felt strangely gleeful at that last thought. Gladion’s praise of Wes’s potential evolved forms made him feel almost…excited. Somehow. It was at least nice to know he wouldn’t be useless.

Then he paused and frowned, remembering another pebble of information from Gladion’s textbook ramble. “I—hang on. Did you say my kind literally eat rocks?”

 

[Shiny Phantump]

“I…see. Thank you for that. So I’ll have a choice of three forms, huh? Kind of like an Eevee.” He felt strangely gleeful at that last thought. Gladion’s praise of Wes’s potential evolved forms made him feel almost…excited. Somehow. It was at least nice to know he wouldn’t be useless.

Then he paused and frowned, remembering another pebble of information from Gladion’s textbook ramble. “I—hang on. Did you say my kind literally eat rocks?”

Gladion laughed. “I mean, yeah, if the only evolutions for Eevee were Espeon, Umbreon, and maybe something in-between them. And.. there are rocks involved in your diet, but not in an ‘Onix crunching down on a whole-ass geode’ sort of way, think more of a ‘salt lick but hardcore’ kind of way. Please do not try to swallow an entire rock, it will not work.”

 

[HelloYellow17]

Gladion laughed. “I mean, yeah, if the only evolutions for Eevee were Espeon, Umbreon, and maybe something in-between them. And.. there are rocks involved in your diet, but not in an ‘Onix crunching down on a whole-ass geode’ sort of way, think more of a ‘salt lick but hardcore’ kind of way. Please do not try to swallow an entire rock, it will not work.”

Wes lit up at the mention of Umbreon and Espeon before he could stop himself. “Now that you say it, that’s a perfect comparison. The night and day thing and all that. Gods, could you imagine if a hybrid from of Espeon and Umbreon existed? That would be incredible. Imagine the abilities it could have!”

He didn’t realize it (and good thing, too, because he might have died of embarrassment if he had), but his tail was now wagging.

He then laughed at Gladion’s salt-rock comment, and he only inwardly cringed a little at the way it came out in the form of a yip. “Well, that’s a relief. I don’t care if this body was hard-wired for it or not, I’m really not keen on eating rocks the whole time I’m here.”

He shot his helpful companion a hesitant look. “Though, I do have to ask…what are you? Ah, species, I mean. Sorry if that’s a…touchy subject.”

 

[Sinderella]

"Not that much longer. See? You can now see the tracks." He pointed to something gleaming in the desert sun that ran well beyond the horizon. "I'll take you onto the train as soon as we get there to avoid any disparaging looks from the locals," he added with a chuckle. "One of those carriages should have some brand new clothes to be sold out west in them too. Feel free to take some as you like. Don't wanna waltz into Frontier Town naked after all," he chuckled.

She squinted through her glasses. Truthfully, the glint meshed well with the ball of bullshit heat overhead, so she lowered the lenses, hoping her farsightedness would finally have some use. There wasn’t much of a difference, but she opted to humor him and just nodded. “Sure, there it is.”

At the mention of clothes, she gave her new body another once over. The more Jaak mentioned that they happened to be “naked,” the more self-conscious she started to become. She didn’t feel naked but clearly things worked differently around here. And she supposed clothes would bring about a sense of normalcy. And give her something to cover her fucked up arm. A Nike tracksuit would feel really nice right about now.

Or…wait. No. Tracksuit in the heat would spell more sweat, and more sweat meant even more of a reason to shower. And lodging still felt entirely out of reach. Besides, she had an inkling of a feeling nobody here (aside from the self-proclaimed former humans, maybe) would even know what a tracksuit was.

She tongued the inside of her cheek, wondering it she should even ask what came to mind next. Don’t be a girl. Don’t be a girl. Don’t be a fucking—

“Do you know if there happens to be any dresses on that cargo car?” she queried hopefully.

 

[Inkedust]

She flexed her claws. "If you know where Jesse is, that'd be great." Then sighed and placed her paw on her forehead. The headache was back. "I want some water when we get there, Jaak."

"I don't actually know..." Jaak admitted mareepishly, scratching the back of his head. "And he hasn't been around Frontier Town for a good while based on the rumours."

"So this guy was a hero? What'd he do to save the world?"

[...] "Your clothes don't even fucking cover anything. What are they even for?"

"The specifics are a bit lost but apparently he stopped a mass infestation of Mystery Dungeons - places where common sense has its head on backwards. Dunno what exactly was causing them or how it was stopped but the less Dungeons the better, you know? Nasty pieces of work those are, especially those haunted ones."

"If they're anything like the Dungeons I'm familiar with, then I would prefer to avoid them," Bellatrix quipped.

Jaak nodded. "As for the clothes, it makes distinguishing us thinking folk with the wild mons out there real easy since you can't really tell at a glance. So it's better to assume that anything without clothes is a wild. It's also, you know, more civilised. I'm sure you humans can understand what I'm getting at here."

“Do you know if there happens to be any dresses on that cargo car?” she queried hopefully.

Speaking of clothes...

"Some of the finest!" Jaak answered. "A lot of bipeds love more elaborate clothes like that, so there's quite a market for it. Normally it would cost ya but let's just pretend some flew out of the train on the way if anyone questions," he added with a wink.

 

[Shiny Phantump]

Wes lit up at the mention of Umbreon and Espeon before he could stop himself. “Now that you say it, that’s a perfect comparison. The night and day thing and all that. Gods, could you imagine if a hybrid from of Espeon and Umbreon existed? That would be incredible. Imagine the abilities it could have!”

Gladion wished he could smile, but beneath a helmet and beak there was no chance of that. “That would be quite interesting. A psychic/dark type who’s reasonable to try to train, and whose evolution condition isn’t impossible to figure out would probably change up a lot of our understanding of things. It would certainly be a great species.”

And now I have a hunch I understand another facet of someone who doesn’t know what a Rockruff is became one. “I take it you’re a fan of the two?”

Talking casually like this was pleasant. He was enjoying it, but unfortunately the mood was about to be very much killed.

He shot his helpful companion a hesitant look. “Though, I do have to ask…what are you? Ah, species, I mean. Sorry if that’s a…touchy subject.”

Gladion lowered his voice enough that Zaak up ahead and hopefully Odette as a Mawile wouldn’t hear, but Wes would probably be able to. And the three other species there with great hearing, maybe, but there wouldn’t be much he could do about it if that was the case.

“So. Some things are off limits there... A lot of things actually. But I’m willing to say that this is the species of my partner back home. She was engineered deliberately as a means of protection against… some form of beast things we don’t know much about, meant to be flexible enough to adapt to the kind of unpredictable situations in facing an unknown enemy. But then m— the project lead died unexpectedly while it was nearing completion, and the transition to a new lead went horribly. The whole project had to be written off. Life support technology had to be fixed to their heads to keep them going, and the helmet was welded on to keep it secure. They were going to get rid of all three of them, but... I guess I projected something of my own problems onto them. I stole the last one and ran from home. Named Hazel. Obviously not the most normal partner, but she’s also the best one I could’ve asked for. I don't know what I'd have done without her. She's just endlessly sweet, tenacious, pretty snuggly which is a bit unsafe but very cute, and she just has this love of simply being alive in spite of everything. Keeps me going sometimes, if she can be happy with her lot, I kinda can't complain. Plus she kinda literally needs me, of course, someone's gotta take care of her given she's not suitable for release into the wild, nor would a shelter or anything take her. We're inseparable"

He took a deep breath to ready himself. He knew, rationally, that this was already more than was reasonable in response to the question he'd been given but there was no explaining why he was a Null now without explaining Hazel and now that he'd done that he felt he needed to finish airing the thought that'd been haunting him, which was dumb but he couldn't stop, it felt like the thought was clawing its way out of him by force.

Some bitterness crept back into his voice, and with it a small amount of volume did too. "...And then, unless I am cosmically lucky about what one of the 'small differences' between the 'near-copies' of worlds that Cloud mentioned is... Well, when it comes to the worlds the parallel-Gladion who Odette knows come from and the one I come from, something happens between my world's date and hers where she's met parallel-Gladion where people who are ostensibly 'close friends' of said Gladion are totally unaware— in spite of how central she is to the trajectory of our lives— that she ever even existed and thinks the suggestion that the species would be better off scrapped to be fitted into hip replacements is a non-thermonuclear insult..."

Another deep breath, slower this time... "I'd like to go back to pretending that never fucking happened so I don't have to think about what it means in a moment, but, umm, also... I guess I should say that's not normal for me. 'Cause, you know, kinda fought you some too on impact and you should know that's not how I'm going to look at you. So. I guess that happened or whatever, and now I've had enough of that 'emotional honesty' thing I've heard about for this lifetime. That was too much, I didn't think I was going to say all that. Sorry. Let's just go play fucking dressup or whatever."

(He instantly regretted phrasing it that way because now he felt averse to actually doing it.)

 

[HelloYellow17]

“That would be quite interesting. A psychic/dark type who’s reasonable to try to train, and whose evolution condition isn’t impossible to figure out would probably change up a lot of our understanding of things. It would certainly be a great species.”

And now I have a hunch I understand another facet of someone who doesn’t know what a Rockruff is became one. “I take it you’re a fan of the two?”

Wes chuckled, unable to hide his grin. “You could say that. I’ve got a pair of them back…” he trailed off, trying to find a suitable word because “home” was definitely not the right one, “back where I’m from. Brothers, raised em from Eevee since they were babies. And gods, do they keep my hands full, but I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

His chest aches a little, almost strongly enough to rival the pain in his leg that he’d been more or less successfully ignoring. It had only been a few hours, and yet he felt so…incomplete without them beside him.

“So. Some things are off limits there... A lot of things actually. But I’m willing to say that this is the species of my partner back home. She was engineered deliberately as a means of protection against… some form of beast things we don’t know much about, meant to be flexible enough to adapt to the kind of unpredictable situations in facing an unknown enemy. But then m— the project lead died unexpectedly while it was nearing completion, and the transition to a new lead went horribly. The whole project had to be written off. Life support technology had to be fixed to their heads to keep them going, and the helmet was welded on to keep it secure. They were going to get rid of all three of them, but... I guess I projected something of my own problems onto them. I stole the last one and ran from home. Named Hazel. Obviously not the most normal partner, but she’s also the best one I could’ve asked for. I don't know what I'd have done without her. She's just endlessly sweet, tenacious, pretty snuggly which is a bit unsafe but very cute, and she just has this love of simply being alive in spite of everything. Keeps me going sometimes, if she can be happy with her lot, I kinda can't complain. Plus she kinda literally needs me, of course, someone's gotta take care of her given she's not suitable for release into the wild, nor would a shelter or anything take her. We're inseparable"

…Well. That was a touchy subject. At first, all Wes was able to manage was a quiet, “Oh, shit.”

Something tightened in his gut as he listened to Gladion speak. It was an odd mixture of emotion; sympathy, horror, sadness, fury, and above all…a sickening familiarity to the whole thing.

“So she was an experiment,” he said, careful to keep his voice low. “And you took her…and ran.”

Gods, did that strike way too close to home for Wes’s comfort.

“I…think I understand at least a little bit how you feel. Neo and Novo weren’t experiments, but…they…were about to become one.” He felt sick just speaking about it, as if the words were bile in his mouth. “I…cut ties and ran, too. Or maybe it’s more accurate to say I burned a few bridges.” He almost smirked at that, then realized it was probably best to not look like some kind of homicidal maniac. He coughed lightly. “Anyway, I uh…can relate a little, I guess.”

"...And then, unless I am cosmically lucky about what one of the 'small differences' between the 'near-copies' of worlds that Cloud mentioned is... Well, when it comes to the worlds the parallel-Gladion who Odette knows come from and the one I come from, something happens between my world's date and hers where she's met parallel-Gladion where people who are ostensibly 'close friends' of said Gladion are totally unaware— in spite of how central she is to the trajectory of our lives— that she ever even existed and thinks the suggestion that the species would be better off scrapped to be fitted into hip replacements is a non-thermonuclear insult..."

Ah. That explained his intense reaction earlier. Wes listened thoughtfully for a moment.

“You know…I don’t mean to discount what you’re feeling, but have you thought that maybe the Gladion she knows is from a different point in time? Maybe one that hasn’t met Hazel yet? Or maybe he does have a version of Hazel with him, but he’s found a safe place for her, or he’s still keeping her a sec—ah, dammit—” he cursed as he stumbled over a stray rock in the sand and hissed as his leg flared up in pain. He straightened and pushed forward, determined to ignore the increasing ache. “S-sorry. Anyway, what I mean to say is, there’s a million different reasons for why she might not know about her world’s version of Hazel, y’know? And they might not be the worst case scenario you’re thinking of.” He sure hoped so, anyway. For both Gladion and Hazel’s sakes.

(Somewhere in the back of his mind, a voice was asking him why he was so calmly having a discussion about multiverses and alternate dimensions as if they could actually be real, but he dismissed it. It was far from the weirdest thing about today, anyhow.)

So. I guess that happened or whatever, and now I've had enough of that 'emotional honesty' thing I've heard about for this lifetime. That was too much, I didn't think I was going to say all that. Sorry. Let's just go play fucking dressup or whatever."

Wes had to bark out a laugh at that. “You know, normally this kind of thing isn’t my speed, either. But for once, I didn’t mind it.” He shot Gladion a slightly abashed look. “And I guess I should, uh…apologize for earlier. It’s not like it was your fault for our cushy landing back there.” He then smirked a little at the dress-up comment. “Right, dress-up. Because that’s my favorite thing and definitely preferable to friendly conversation. Can’t wait.”

 

[Butterfree]

"The specifics are a bit lost but apparently he stopped a mass infestation of Mystery Dungeons - places where common sense has its head on backwards. Dunno what exactly was causing them or how it was stopped but the less Dungeons the better, you know? Nasty pieces of work those are, especially those haunted ones."

"If they're anything like the Dungeons I'm familiar with, then I would prefer to avoid them," Bellatrix quipped.

Jaak nodded. "As for the clothes, it makes distinguishing us thinking folk with the wild mons out there real easy since you can't really tell at a glance. So it's better to assume that anything without clothes is a wild. It's also, you know, more civilised. I'm sure you humans can understand what I'm getting at here."

Dave sighed in exasperation. It was bad enough to look like a fucking dog without looking like a dog owned by the kind of person who liked to dress up their dog in a little outfit. But he supposed if that was how people in this place distinguished sapient Pokémon from others (okay, so they did have nonsapient Pokémon) skipping it would be deeply counterproductive.

“Well, back in the human world” - or at least his human world, though now he was imagining other worlds where humans considered civilization to involve walking around stark naked but with a bandana, and wished to unimagine it - “usually the ‘civilized’ bit involves covering your genitals, not just throwing on one arbitrary item somewhere, but sure.”

As for Jesse Stranger’s feat of heroism, it was all very vague. Couldn’t help but scoff at the bit about mystery dungeons being where common sense had its head on backwards, as if everything else here somehow obeyed the laws of common sense. “So since it seems like he’s an extant figure and this all happened in the past few decades, what’s up with people not believing in humans? Do they just figure he’s a strong Pokémon and the human bit is bullshit?”

He vaguely caught snippets of the others’ quiet conversation about experiments, his ears perking (literally, God). He’d have to hear what was up with that later.