//------------------------------// // Chapter 4(redux) // Story: Poke Fans in Equestria // by Xinrick //------------------------------// I woke up this morning feeling like shit. The only reason I got up was because I knew if I didn't then Nyx would show up and drag me away for training. So, I was up, slowly walking towards the room Nyx was at. “This fucking sucks…” I grumbled. Eventually I made it to Nyx's room, sighing as I opened the door and saw the room was different now. The lab stuff and Garry were nowhere to be seen. Now all that was here was a lot of weapons and a large mat in the middle of it all. "You took your time." Nyx said, walking up next to me. “When you’re told you’re supposed to commit untold atrocities and commit every war crime imaginable just to gain enough strength to kill a damned insect…it tends to dampen your mood when you're not prepared for it, or not so used to it that it doesn’t matter.” I explained carefully. She shrugged. "Well, better you who will feel guilty than someone who will enjoy it." “I’d rather not become a monster…” I sighed out. “But…sadly I’m going to…so what’s on today’s agenda?’ "You got a fair handle on how to manifest your fire and moves. Now that you're back on Equestria, far away from it, we need to see the difference in strength and timing it takes you to pull it out." “Alright.” I nodded. “Time to see how’s work on ground level…” I muttered, clenching my right fist as I tried to use Fire Punch to see how fast it would come to me. I noticed the difference immediately. On the moon, feeling for that Heartbeat was easy, here, it was a bit harder. It was more faint, distant but there. I also noticed how smaller the fire on my attacks was compared to before, where it practically engulfed my body, here it only really covered the limb or area of effect. “Jeez, this is quite a leap downwards…” I muttered. "You'll probably find it easier at night, but still nothing like how it was on the moon itself." Nyx informed. "Most Moonfire users keep moon rocks on or with them to help enhance their fire in the daytime, when it's at its weakest. Lunar metals are also a big help." “Understandable.” I nodded. “That’s why my sword has moonstones in it thankfully.” "That's right. Metals and gems mined from moons will be your best and go to materials to help empower your fire in the day, and at night that's basically doubled or tripled if it's a full moon, blue moon, or blood moon." “Fantastic.” I nodded. “Now blue moons and blood moons…are they what I think they are or are they different?” "Well they affect Moon magic or in your case, Moonfire users differently. You'd just have to wait and see." “Alright.” I nodded. “So, I see a mat, and a whole lotta weapons…am I gonna learn how to use them all?” "That is why I brought them out. As a God of War, mastering weapons is part of the qualifications to get the title." “Alright.” I nodded. “Which weapon are we starting with first?” I inquired, looking over all the many, many weapons here. “Cause there are…a lot.” "We start with the first weapons any intelligent species picks up." Nyx informed, tossing me a fair sized rock and large hefty stick. “When in doubt, just grab a big enough rock or stick and just bludgeon the shit out of someone.” "Basically." Nyx said, lifting her own hefty stick and swinging. The impact knocked me onto my back as pain exploded across my torso and I curled up, trying to get up. "Now come on now, get up and get ready to fight." “Just…give me a minute…” I groaned, shakily trying to get up. “Fucking…ow…” Once I did get back to two feet, she swung again, this time across my back sending me slamming face first to the ground and groaning again. "Can't expect to fight back if you keep getting slammed down to the ground." “Sh-shut it…” I groaned, trying to get back up from the outlandish amount of pain I was in. “I’ve…never been in this much pain before…what the hell…” "And this is just sticks. Wait until I start using the rock, or swords." Oh fuck me… The next ten hours were a one sided beat down as I was more or less a punching bag. Nyx at least had the mercy to heal me when the pain was really bad, but that bliss was extremely temporary as shortly after, she'd inflict the pain again. When 'training' was finally done I was bruised, slightly bloody, and swollen for the, I'm assuming thirtieth time today. "Alright, see you tomorrow for more training." “Hate you…” I groaned. “Hate you so much…” I grumbled, thankfully still on my feet even if I’d rather not be. "I expected you to say that." She said, passing a hand over me as she healed me. The relief was bliss, my only sorrow was that it would only last til tomorrow. “I’m going to miss not being in outlandish pain…” I sighed out. “So, what else am I supposed to do today after me getting my ass handed to me?” "For now, nothing. Unless you'd like me to extend today's lesson." “Let’s not continue…even if I have to learn as much as I can…” I sighed out. “But I’d rather get onto other things…like either figuring out how to be a good dad when I’m about to do terrible things…or find at least fifty different people willing to comment every war crime this planet has to offer.” "Yeah, that won't happen until you aren't a spicy Marshmallow." Nyx stated. "As for fatherhood advice, well, ask around or something." “Well…the fluff potato would probably know a lot considering they gave me advice not too long ago.” I said honestly, not actually knowing what that chibi wolf’s name is, either real or their retired pseudonym. “Actually…what is their name?” "She goes by Princess these days." Nyx stated. “Adorable.” I chuckled. “But I should…get advice…” With that I left before Nyx decided to extend my 'training'. It took some searching but I eventually found Princess enjoying a balcony view of Canterlot, a table of snacks and drinks before her as she seemed to just be relaxing. "Hey." I said to Princess. "How are you doing today?" The chibi wolf raised a sign. "You look good for dealing with Nyx for ten hours." "Yeah, she healed me when I got too beat up. Not sure if ten hours of getting beat to hell can be considered training but, that's all she had me doing." I sighed out as I sat next to her. "I was hoping you'd maybe give me some advice?" "What up?" I thought about my issue, trying to put words together. "I just… You know I'm going to be working towards becoming a God of War, and then an Eldritch God. I'm going to be… doing a lot of terrible things. I just… don't know how I'll be a monster, and a father. How I'll be able to look Roxy, Gilda, my own kids in the eyes when…" "Do you love your family?" "Of course I do. Being with Roxy has been a dream come true, and Gilda is really cool and… I just don't know how I'll be able to keep them when I have to finally start… all this evil." "Do you trust them?" "Well, yeah. Why?" "That's the key here, and believe me, I've been where you are at multiple times." The sign read. "It's tough doing terrible things for the ones you love, but sometimes it's a necessity, and the one thing that'll keep you and everyone around you happy and okay, is love and trust." "So… when, I do these things… will they be able to keep me… me? I'm afraid that when I do start… if I grow numb to it, I might end up somehow enjoying it." "The fact that your asking me is already the first step in knowing your not going to grow numb to it. Trust me." Princess wrote. "Roxy is going to become an Elder God, she'll keep you in check just based on her role…but if you're well and truly concerned, talk to them both and see how much love and trust is between you three right now." The chibi added. "Will save you a lot of headache and heartache if you talk to your girlfriends…trust me, I almost lost myself a few times because I didn't talk to them…" "I guess I should. Thanks, this did help some." I said before getting up and went looking for Roxy and Gilda. Thankfully they were both in the room already. "How was training?" Roxy asked from her seat on the couch. "Rough…" I sighed. "So…I have some important questions to ask." "What's up?" Gilda asked as she sat up on the bed, two eggs roughly the size of both my hands together were in straps on her torso. "My…whole role with becoming a God of War…" I sighed out. "And…if I become a monster…"" "Oh… well…" Roxy said, Gilda getting up and sitting next to her. "Well, what do you want to talk about that but of… possibility?" "If…I grow numb to everything and…just enjoy slaughtering everything in my path…if I don't care about anything in my life besides feeling someone's final breath…if I attack you or our kids…" "You won't, Wolf." Roxy said, taking my hand. “How do you know?” I asked. “I’m going to be committing every war crime this world has to offer, slaughtering thousands or enslaving just as many…” "Because I know why you're doing it. I know you. You'll hate every second of it, their faces will burn into your memory, their voices will haunt you when you sleep, because you won't be able to lose your sense of guilt, but still, you did it to protect others. And I'll be there, next to you, holding onto you when you break." “But…what if I attack you? Or our kids?” I asked worriedly. “I…I don’t want to hurt any of you…” "Wolf, it took you four sex sessions just to get you to spank me. I don't think you're capable of hurting us." Roxy stated, making me blush. “Sh-shut it.” I started. “I’m trying to have a serious conversation about me turning into a bloodthirsty monster hell bent on killing everything.” "And I'll be there to Fuck the bloodthirsty monster back into my obedient Wolfy~" She cooed, giving me a kiss. "I have all the faith in the world in you, Wolf. You need to learn to have that same faith in yourself." “I…guess you're right…” I nodded softly. “It still sucks though…I’m just…scared I won’t be me any more, or something from where Nyx, Danny and Princess’s world might control me for some unknown reason.” "Awh, you're overthinking again. I know how to fix that~" The next morning I was feeling… better, honestly. A bit sore but better. Roxy really made me work last night… It was back to Nyx's training. Today she used the rock. Broken bones… a lot of them… not fun… She was healing me again, the grotesque sounds of my own bones snapping back Into place and healing was only second to the pain the healing caused. “Why must this be worse?” I groaned. "It will only get worse." Nyx informed as she finished healing me and pulled me up. "This is for your benefit, why all the complaining?" “It still hurts.” I started. “I can still complain about the pain…and me getting my ass handed to me so easily.” "That's the point." She informed. “Plus, there’s this whole bit where I’m supposed to be learning how to fight…and so far I’ve learned how to be a pretty good punching bag.” I said. “Good for endurance and toughness, not good for actually fighting back.” "This training is to build your endurance and pain resistance/threshold." Nyx said, putting the rock down but picking the stick up. "When I first hit you with this, you fell flat on your back, out of breath and bruised heavily." She whacked me across my torso again. I leaned over, coughing and trying not to accidentally vomit. "And now, you can at least keep on your feet. Training to become a god is not easy, especially a God of War. On top of knowing how to fight you have to know how to handle pain and agony and walk it off." "Yeah…" I nodded. "Doesn't mean I have to like it…" And so, we went back to me getting beaten and broken in many painful ways with a rock until another ten hours passed and I was healed one last, painful time before getting to go. I needed a break, to clear my head some. Maybe something to eat too. "Now…where am I to get some good food?" I wondered. "Cause…I also don't know where any restaurants are…" I made my way outside the castle and was looking down Restaurant Row. There were a lot of restaurants here, all looking rather fancy, but they didn't give off any pleasant smells of food or anything. So, I kept walking until I did, and found a fair sized place hidden in the end of an alleyway. “Oh shit is that Indian Food?” I wondered to myself, smelling the wonder’s of Curry. “God I haven’t had Curry in forever.” I muttered, walking swiftly towards the wonderful smelling place. Entering I was greeted by short, coffee table height large tables all surrounded by seats covered in blankets and pillows. "Oh, a customer!" Said an orange mare with a large poofy mane of marune. "Oh, you're one of those Pokemon's. We've gotten a few of you in before. Take a seat, I'll bring you a menu." “Thank you.” I nodded, taking a seat at the nearest table, already enjoying the authentic feel and comfy seat. I was given a menu and looked through it. It was all vegetarian, which made sense, ponies and all. But there was a large selection, most meat curries were replaced with bean or tofu options. “Jeez, there are a lot more curry’s than I remember…” I muttered. I eventually settled for a mild mango curry with rice and a side of refried beans. It was amazing. I ordered two meals to go for the girls and headed back, paying a little extra as a tip. Definitely coming back tomorrow. "I'm gonna need these more." Roxy said as she ate the curry. "Not bad, just wish it had real meat." Gilda added. “Yeah, it’s really good.” I nodded. “And also yes, I do kinda wish it had meat as well, but it was great either way.” "Maybe we can get a chef to make this with meat." Gilda suggested. “We might, would be great if we could.” I nodded. “Just don’t know if there’s any chef’s that can make authentic curry like that other than those two.” "Hm, well it's something to look into." "So, training today was the same?" Roxy asked. “Me learning how to deal with excruciating pain, yes.” I nodded. "That bad?" “Well…kinda…” I sighed out. “A whole lotta pain…but I’m getting better in the toughness department.’ "Well, that's good. So, it's the enduring harsh physical trauma type pain training?" Gilda asked. “Yeah.” I nodded. “And I just got done with getting bludgeoned by a rock, yesterday was a stick.” I explained. “Just…every weapon known to exist left…” "Ouch. I can relate, that's how Grulu trained me." Gilda stated. "Who's Grulu?" Roxy asked. "He was this old Griffon, not as old as Gruff but old enough. He traveled and such and would take orphans under his roof for as long as they endured his training stuff." “Now imagine having to do that for ten hours straight, every time you get too injured you get healed.” I brought up. "You got me beat by three hours, but I didn't get healed." Gilda stated with a smirk. "How old were you?" Roxy asked. "Four." “I forgot to add that I had to get beaten to the exact extreme again and again…now while I will personally say that’s not right for a four year old to get beat that hard constantly…” I frowned. “Okay seriously what the fuck? Four years old?” "It was that or a damp box on the streets. Least I got food and a warm bed." Gilda shrugged. “That’s…true…” I sighed out. "But right now, you have us.” "Yeah. Wonder how that old Griffon is doing?" Gilda said as she scratched under her beak. "Last time I saw him was five years ago when I moved out." “Well…considering what’s going on…” I sighed out. “Hopefully he won’t be in the crossfire…” "Yeah. He could make an amazing spit roast pork." After dinner and some shower fun we all went to sleep. The next morning I woke up… already in the training room? "You are a heavy sleeper." Nyx said, standing behind me. “Eh…” I yawned. “Sleep is wonderful.” "Yeah… just don't sleep in the nude next time." She said… shit I'm naked! “Why does having fur and feathers covering my entire body not feel like enough covering?” I asked worriedly, bringing my legs up and hiding my sensitive bits. "Please." She said, tossing the rock and the stick at me. "I've beaten you to high hell with those, now it's time you learn how to use them." “Uh…cool.” I said while taking the stick and rock carefully. "Now, can you tell me why intelligent Lifeforms in their early evolution first pick up these two simple weapons?" “Sticks and Rocks are a lot heavier and tougher than a fist, especially if you don’t know how to throw a punch.” I explained to the best of my ability. “Cause why throw a punch when you can just grab a rock and know it’ll do a lot of bad things to someone’s skull?” "Did you ever pay attention in a history class?" Nyx asked me. "They are defensive, offensive and attacking weapons. Used to protect their young, used to hunt, or used for self defense. When the base items couldn't cut it, they changed them, making clubs, spears, hammers, ECT." “Did I ever wonder why they never mentioned literally anything about weapons in history to that extent?” I countered. “But all of that is true.” "Well, time for you to learn from experience." Nyx said, snapping her fingers. Suddenly we went from the room to a huge jungle. “Yeah…I’m not gonna like this at all…” I muttered, taking both my stick and rock and preparing myself for what’s about to happen. "You will spend ten years here. Don't worry, you'll be back in Equestria ten hours later from when you left. Your goal here is simple. Survive, build your own weapons, and try not to get too friendly with the locals." Nyx said, vanishing before I could ask about those locals… “Well…” I started, before hearing a sudden rustling in the nearby foliage. “Shit.” What fucking kind of planet is this?!?! Wherever I was, it has dinosaurs, monsters, way more fast and mobile carnivorous plants, bugs from the size of nats to the size of Semi trucks, and monsters ranging from biblically accurate demons, possibly angels, and I don't even know what the rest of these things are! “Fuck…everything…” I panted heavily, having ran from a whole lotta bullshit and having managed to at least bludgeon one of these monster’s to death, currently standing over a goddamn Triceratops, even though it was also cooked extra crispy. I was really glad my moves still worked here, they were my biggest trick to keeping alive. I couldn't stay long, apparently the other creatures here really enjoyed cooked meat too. I took my dinner and rushed off to my little home. It was a cave, but it was dry, safe, and where I kept whatever I claimed as my stuff. Such as more sticks and rocks, and some bad attempts at making leather. God I wish I could make leather. I need pants. Tried using the big leaves around here but those dried out too fast. “This sucks…” I grumbled. “It hasn’t been too long, yet I’m struggling with literally god damn everything…” I sat on my makeshift bed and tried to get some sleep, quickly eating my meal and wishing this wasn't so difficult. A week down, nine years, eleven months and three weeks left… During my sleep something woke me up. I got up quick, grabbing one of my sharpened sticks, er, makeshift spear, and stood near the entrance. “Who’s there?” I growled, preparing to fight whatever monster decided to stalk my place. As I was peeking around the corner, I spotted from the nearby bushes poking out… a Flareon head? The Pokemon looking around it's new environment. “Uh…hi there?” I said to the sudden pokemon. "Fla?" They spoke. Oh, I guess they can't talk… I gently kneeled down. “I’m a friend.” I said softly, kind of surprised I couldn’t understand pokemon talk considering…well I am a pokemon myself. They sniffed my talons, then licked them… huh, guess they can smell my dinner… "Flareon!" They said cheerfully, suddenly getting taller and… yikes… So, these Pokemon are like me, anthropomorphic. And this Flareon is a girl… and… sweet Jesus she's quite healthy… I think… yeah, she put Roxy and Gilda's figures to shame… I didn't have much time to react before she tackled me and was almost pinning me just to keep licking my fingers. Oh my… she's quite soft… “Wow, you are…very friendly.” I chuckled, blushing brightly at how…plump she was. She ignored my comment, continuing to pick the cooked meat flavoring off my fingers. I gently pet the happy Flareon, wondering why in the world this is happening but still kinda happy about it. "Eev!" The Flareon and I looked up, seeing one, two, three Eevee heads popped out of the bush. They looked maybe three or four. Two boys and a girl given… no clothes. The Flareon rapidly got off me and went over to the three young Eevees. “So…you're a mother?” I asked softly. “Or an older sister?” Again, no response. But she was looking over the three like a mom would. It was then one of the Eevees stomach audibly growled, and they then began to whimper. Definitely a mom, and looking for food. I sighed out, knowing this will probably be a bad idea. “I’ve got food if you need help.” I said, not caring that I’m supposed to be some big bad War God, when people genuinely need help I’m going to help them damn it. “Get inside, I’ll get food ready.” The four seemed confused, but once I motioned to the cave and they checked it out, they all readily went inside. I looked around, finding a flying monster up in the sky right now. Well, looks like I'm hunting for four. “And it’s a good thing I’ve been getting better at spear throwing…” I muttered, grabbing one of my makeshift spears and raising with semi-practiced movements. “Alright you winged bastard….no sudden movements…” It took a month but I finally managed to clear out a fair sized area around the cave to start a farm. Flare and I, that's what I'm calling the female Flareon I'm now housing. Original, I know but at least she responds to it. A few days after she and her kids moved in, I found some wild Oran berries and after picking them clean, kept enough to try and start a farm, thank god for both YouTube and The Martian for basics on Botany. There was a pond not far from here and thankfully I managed to make a makeshift bucket to transport it. "Berry." Flare said, holding up a few of the Oran berries while I hand dug the holes. To my surprise, they can learn to talk, they're just some… well, primitive they haven't invented a language aside from their name one. So, they, surprisingly, picked up on the words I was using to call things quickly. “Yep, that’s a berry.” I nodded with a smile, glad to hear her say a new word. It was nice to have the company, even if us all being naked was awkward as hell, I was getting pretty used to it. Still can't make leather yet. After a few hours of work I had all the berries planted and watered. With that done it was time to go hunting again. I managed to make a makeshift knife by hitting rocks against one another until I got a shape and sharpness akin to a knife. It made things a lot easier when hunting, though I am going to try and see if I can get a good tooth or claw from one of these monsters and use that. “Maybe I should have taken one of those Triceratops horns…” I muttered, knowing those things were pretty sharp if it was able to keep up with some of these monsters. “Honestly, surprised dinosaurs are even keeping up with half of these monsters and literal angels and demons…I suppose that’s just ancient beasts for ya…” As I was exploring around I swore I was hearing something in the distance… … … "-olu!" A faint cry… a panicked one. “Shit…” I growled, grabbing my knife and spear and rushing off towards the panicked noises. I rushed through the foliage and came across it. A massive spider web filled with webbed prey. Panicking, wrapped in webbing was a small Riolu, while a massive spider monster was biting into a lifeless wrapped up Lucario. I immediately threw my spear straight into the spider’s body, leaping forward as I saw it connect and pierce through it’s body as I stabbed it with my stone knife and used Fire Punch to also pierce through it’s fragile exoskeleton and into the sickening center as I tried to catch the thing on fire. The arachnid began roasting from the inside immediately, it struggled as it tried to knock me off in vane as soon it was cooked alive and went limp on its own web, the fires soon catching the body and the web on fire as I jumped of, and began freeing the Riolu. Once the young Riolu was free, the young male immediately ran over to the still body of the Lucario, crying as it poked and tried to make them wake up or respond. I grabbed both the young Riolu and the possibly dead Lucario and ran away from the burning web. "Don't worry, we'll figure something out." I said, hoping to feel something from the Lucario as I managed to a least check for a pulse on the pokemon. Nothing. The Lucario was still warm, but there was no pulse. Two large puncture wounds along it's torso, and blood flowing out them rapidly. The little Riolu was still crying. "Not poison, Steel pokemon can't be poisoned…just…" I sighed out, getting to safety as I gently put the Lucario down and hugged the poor crying child, trying to soothe him the best I could. After a while I managed to bury the Lucario. They were female, so it was likely their mother. When that was done I took the little Riolu back home. Once there the three Eevees began trying to play with and cheer up the Riolu. I sighed, hating seeing that poor Riolu lose his mother in a brutal fashion…probably in front of him to…"God damn it…" I growled, my wrists bursting in flames from my rage at this cruel animalistic world…and my own inability to help more than give the mother an unmarked grave. "Fla?" Flare said, looking at me with a worried expression. I took a deep breath, letting the flames die out as I looked over at the Flareon. "I'm…I'm alright." I sighed. "Just…a lot on my mind…" "Lot on… mind?" She partly repeated. "Yeah…" I nodded solemnly. "Seeing death…isn't pleasant…and that poor boy had to see his mother killed in front of him…" "Death?" She questioned the word, clearly finding it quite upsetting to say. "Yeah…" I nodded. "It's very upsetting…but it's something that happens to everyone…and his mother was someone that died too soon…" I said, looking over to the little Riolu that was trying to feel reassured by the Eevee siblings. "Apple." Flare said as she pointed at the apple. “Correct.” I nodded with a smile, so happy to see Flare getting the hang of speech. She, the Eevee trio and Riolu, who I've been calling Lu, have also gotten their own small bit growing vocabulary libraries. They know important stuff like foods water, hungry, scared, and danger, and an assortment of other stuff. We also have some makeshift clothing! I finally found some plant fibers that doesn't dry out and crumble away so fast so at least I have a… kilt, is what I'll call it, and so does everyone else. Try as I might, Flare keeps taking the tops I make for her off. Or accidentally setting them on fire. One of the two. “I’m still thinking you're trying to tell me something…” I muttered, thinking she was trying to either tease or seduce me with those massive jugs of hers. Today marked two months and life was more of the same here. I kept a look out at all times for others, seeing as despite everything, Pokemon are bottom of the food chain in this world. And I think I know why… A while ago I was using Flamethrower to cook us dinner, and Flare was trying to imitate it. I don't think they know how to use moves at all. Flare can use fire, but she can't use it at will like I can. It's mostly on accident when she uses it. “I’m gonna have to teach them how to use their moves…or how to fight…” I muttered to myself carefully. I'm also going to have to patrol outside of this little safe area I've created. If Pokemon are the bottom of the food chain here and they are… all struggling, like Flare, the Eevee triplets, Lu, then odds are, there might not even be much of them left. With everything here set for a while I headed back out. Now that the monsters know I live here, few even come here anymore. They recognize another apex predator, and keep their distance. While I was traveling I spotted one of those biblically accurate angel looking things flying fast above the treetops. “Okay…time to see if one of these things are friendly…” I muttered while looking up. “Hey! Angel!” I called out, honestly hoping there was something here that wasn’t out for my blood or my people’s blood. It ignored me, flying around rapidly… is it… chasing something? One of it's many eyes shot off a beam of light, hitting something that then crashed into the nearby trees. I rushed over, finding the thing flying just above a wounded Gengar… a short stack female Gengar. They were maybe taller than the Eevees but clearly a short adult given their body. At least I hope they are an adult. “Alright, cause everything just has to be feral assholes to anything Pokemon related.” I growled, igniting my spear with non-weapon burning flames cause apparently I could do that, learned that a month ago on pure accident while fighting a pack of Velociraptors, and threw it hard into one of it’s wings. The thing bled, and rapidly turned and focused all it's hundreds of eyes on me. “That’s your only warning! Back off from this Gengar or you're gonna have to answer to me!” I shouted at the thing, already preparing to throw a Fire Blast towards the thing if it tried to attack. Its many eyes looked at me before they began to glow… big mistake. I shot off the Fire Blast, rushing in and spearing it's eyes one after another rapidly. Soon it began to slow until it finally collapsed to the ground. To my surprise it burned away to ashes, leaving just a single feather behind. A rather large one too. “Should have heeded my warning.” I said while taking the feather and rushing over to the injured Gengar. “You okay?” "Gengar?" She said questioningly, floating up and around me. Curious or surprised to see another pokemon, one of those two most likely. “Are you hurt?” I asked the ghost/poison shortstack carefully, looking over them as they floated around me. Wow they are… well built for being so short… Eventually she grabbed my head in her arms, and to my shock phased her head into mine. The hell! She immediately popped her head out, floating in like a daze for a bit. “Let’s not do that again please.” I said, rubbing my head as I got a bit of a headache from that. “Why did you do that?” "So we can talk." She replied. I stood there quite stunned as I looked at her. "What?" She asked, rubbing her own head. "Owe." “Well…that certainly helps...” I nodded. “But uh…I didn’t know you could do that.” "I wasn't planning on it…" She huffed. "Normally I do that and we share memories but your head is so full of stuff I got bombarded with it all. You are not like other Pokemon." “No, I am not.” I nodded. “I’m…a visitor as it were.” I said carefully. “Also now I know you are a fully grown adult…” I started. “So, want to head back to my place to stay safe from these things?” "Yes, those… what's that word you use… angels? Yeah, them, have been hunting Ghost and Dark types like me forever. Only reason we stay alive is by keeping invisible and possessing some of the animals, but they got smart to that…" “Ah yes, angel’s trying to purge the undead and ‘evil’...” I sighed out. “Is there anyone else around here? I’ve been looking for other…survivors at this point.” "I… remember some, days ago. Ah, I can't process all these words right now! What language is this?" “English.” I answered. “Now take your time, go through things one at a time.” I said carefully, having been an english teacher now for two month’s and now knowing how difficult learning this language was. "Agh… four… four days ago… I saw a group pa… pass through… a valley…" She managed. Then pointed. "That way." “Alright, now keep the words simple, yes or no.” I said. “Do you know where my cave is?” I inquired. "Uh… no. I think I only got Language… and whatever you were last thinking about…" She said, looking down at herself. "So, I'm a Short stack?" I face palmed. "What's that even mean?" “I’ll explain it to you later.” I said quickly. “But follow me, I know a safe place.” And so, she followed me back home, floating behind me. Well, might as well. Let's see… name, name… uhh… Enga. I'm unimaginative. “Naming is very difficult…” I grumbled to myself. “So Enga, have any questions for me?” "Hm? Are you talking to me?" She asked, floating in front of me now. "What's an Enga?" “It’s your name.” I said. “Since we might meet different Gengar’s, I thought of giving you a name.” "Oh… and, what's your name?" “My names Wolf.” I answered. “I got a…special name where I’m from.” "Hm. Okay then Wolf." Well, now I can ask her some questions about this place. “So, how long have you lived here?” I inquired. "In this area? Uhh… a year." “Right…” I muttered. “Is there anything special about this place?” "Umm… this area?" Right. She only knows language now, and odds are she still doesn't know a whole lot. Actually, if she can use that ability on Flare and the others, they might know all they need. Language wise anyway. “I mean…is there anything memorable around here, something you’d remember is important in some way shape or form?” "Uhh… um, a beach that way. A… big hole that way… Bloody Tree that way… and mountains that way." “Thank you.” I nodded. We made it back and after some introduction, Enga used that head phasing thing and did give Flare, the Eevee Triplets, and Lu, Language. "My head hurts…" Flare whimpered. "Tell me about it…" Enga said, rubbing her own head. “I’m sorry for making you do that so many times.” I said carefully. “But hey, now the language barrier is gone.” "Owchie…" Flare whimpered. I gently moved over and lightly pet Flare’s head softly. “I’m sorry, I know it hurts…but thing’s will get better, I promise.” "At least… at least I can talk now. I know words… ow… hurts to think…" “Don’t think too hard.” I said softly. “Just listen to my voice and feel the pets.” I said, having gotten a lot better at petting over these few months. Once Flare and everyone no longer had migraines from getting the English language dumped Into their head, we all sat down around the fire. Time to ask some questions. “So…how long have you all been here?” I asked. “Enga said she’s been here a year…but what about all of you?” "Um, my whole life. Theirs too." Flare said, holding her three kids close. "... Mom and I were supposed to pass through…" Lu said. “You were supposed to pass through?” I inquired to Lu. "We… used to be a… tribe? There was… a lot of us… but, our… our home was attacked. Mom and I ran… it was the Flesh Wearers…" Lu said, the term Flesh Wearers made the others quite uncomfortable. “Yeah I don’t like that at all.” I said swiftly. “I’m…sorry I couldn’t save your mother Lu…if I either knew sooner or was fast enough…” "It… was going to happen, sooner or later." Lu said. "Pokemon have always been hunted, slaughtered. Either by the Flesh Wearers or the monsters." "Kid's right." Enga said with a nod. "All we hope for Is that we can have an egg or two and hope our offspring live longer than us." Flare nodded, hugging her children. "Flesh Wearers got their father." As I heard all of this…yeah I was justifiably fucking furious. “Oh there is nothing in this world that can stop me from seeing them all murdered at this point.” "No one has ever killed a Flesh Wearer Wolf. They're… different." Enga said. “And so am I in many, many ways.” I stated simply. “And if I literally killed an Angel and obtained one of it’s feathers,” I brought up the feather in question. “Then I’m pretty sure I can at least do something against those bastards.” "But they use… um… word…. Weapons, yes, weapons, like yours but… better." That made me pause a bit. They're smart? Flesh Wearers… they make tools and leather… weapons. “Well then…” I started. “Gonna have to do some pillaging to get their shit…stalk them to see how thing’s work for them…” I started, already thinking about how I can use their shit to my advantage. "Don't….please?" Flare asked. “Why not?” I asked carefully. "You've never even seen them. You have no idea what they are capable of." Flare stated. "I've already watched one too many people die by them, please don't…" “And that’s one too many for me.” I stated. “I promise you all that I’m going to get strong enough and slaughter those bastards for their crimes.” Another month, another run through the jungle. Against Flare's wishes I went looking for those Flesh Wearers. Reluctantly, Enga told me that the Flesh Wearers live by that Bloody Tree she mentioned the day we met. It's a well known no-entry zone. As in nothing that goes in there comes back. “I’ll be the first to come back after I kill one of these assholes..” I growled, my flames burning hotter than ever since I decided to hunt these fuck’s during a Full Moon, and it only took me three month’s to figure out the basic lunar cycle. I reached the edges of their area and I could sense the difference in the air. An ever present sense of dread hung over me, and the scent of iron was thick in the air. “Huh…so that’s how existential dread feels like…” I muttered. As I walked around I noticed a lot of torn apart, decaying beasts all around. Some missing limbs, some only missing skin, all in various stages of decay. “Sweet christ…” I muttered, disgusted by all the decay and bloodshed that’s here. As I was walking through I eventually saw something. It was a Charzard, male walking around some of the corpses around here. “Yeah I don’t believe that for a second…” I muttered, believing this was a Flesh Wearer…literally wearing a corpse’s body like a second skin or something as I carefully and quietly followed it. I barely made a step, and immediately it turned to look at me, eyes red and crimson as blood and body scared heavily. Before I could speak it blasted a Flamethrower at me. I dodged rapidly but it had wings, and rapidly flew around, punching me Into the ground. Shit! “Fast, but not strong!” I shouted, getting back up and using a status move Bulk Up, feeling my body get a lot tougher and physically stronger without sacrificing speed, and then I used Flame Charge to try and shoulder tackle the thing. The impact hit but they tanked it, rapidly grabbing my leg and digging their claws deep into my skin, breaking it as my blood gushed out from the force of their grip. Shit! Shit! Shit! “Alright asshole…” I growled. “I don’t know what you are, but you’re still a flying type!” I shouted, using my increased speed from Flame Charge to use one of my newly learned moves, Thunder Punch which I obtained from literally punching a Electric Slug like an idiot, and slammed a flurry of lightning infused punches against the fire/flying type Flesh Wearer. Despite the damage it was clearly taking it didn't flinch, and kept crushing my leg til I can feel it's claws hit my bones. Why won't you die?! “Just die already!” I shouted, using it’s arm and the excruciating amount of pain I was in to use Reversal, wrapping one of my arms around the thing’s neck and using the improved strength that the move gave me from the damage I took, tried to sweep it’s leg to pile drive it’s head straight into the ground as hard as my body and attack would let me. The attack landed and I slammed it's head hard into the ground enough so it was buried Into the ground. Once it was I let go and backed away, having to deal up my wound with fire, cauterizing it to seal it… shit… Crack! I looked up, the Flesh Wearer popped it's broken neck out of the ground and grotesquely moved it til their face looked at it. It smiled, licking it's lips. The hell are these things?! “ZOMBIE!” I shouted in panic, before slamming my fist into the ground and using a full moon empowered Blast Burn as a blue tinged inferno enveloped the thing. Despite it also being fire type, My Moonfire still burned away it's flesh a good amount. All that was left of it was muscles and bones… and it was still crawling after me! Jesus Christ! “JUST DIE!” I said while Double Kicking the shit out of it’s head in some vain attempt to stop it from moving. Finally I smashed it's skull to pieces and kicked it's brains out into paste on the ground, and finally, it died. I was breathing heavily. I severely underestimated these things… and there's likely so, so many more of them… “Alright…so that’s problem A…” I muttered. “Problem B…I’m gonna have a limp for miles…” And so I began limping back home. Some miles Into my journey back something flew over me. I was on alert until they landed before me. It was a Dragonite, a male… a very… fit male… I now feel inadequate… “Little help?” I asked the dragon, not caring that I felt a inadequate compared to the cute ass dragon. “Please?” They flew behind me, grabbing me by my arms and lifting me up. Unfortunately I don't think he understands my directions as he took me into a large tree with a hole/nest in the massive trunk. He placed me down on a bed of leaves and I immediately noticed I was not alone. There was a lot more Pokemon around me. Some adults, some kids… and none of the kids had any adult pokemon of their species. “Ah…right…” I muttered. “Well…this got a lot more complicated…” I frowned, now fearing for my friend’s back at the cave and now not knowing if anyone here could even understand me. The Dragonite that brought me here then landed next to me… and began affectionately cuddling me… oh… well… now on top of complicated this got awkward, cause while they are cute I doubt what they're packing down there will fit… god Roxy has really rubbed off on me… “So uh…” I started. “Why?” I tried asking the Dragonite. They didn't reply, clearly not understanding me but holding me closer and tighter. Welp… I'm stuck… and I can only hope- "Mil." I looked up, almost doing a double tank- take! Standing next to me was a Miltank, offering me a teat… and not from her udders… wow and I thought Flare was… healthy… “Did I just magically appear in heaven?” I muttered in awe, blushing brightly before taking the teat she offered. It was weird to drink milk for a teat but… well, practice with Roxy made this a bit easier. I immediately began feeling better. I only stopped when I felt my leg no longer hurt. The scars from my rapid cauterizing was barely visible. I guess they've lasted this long thanks to the Miltank. Having a healer goes a long way. “This is fantastic…” I muttered with a happy smile. Now feeling much better I tried getting up, only the rather affectionate Dragonite was keeping me quite close… well, if I can get them all home maybe Enga can give him language first so I can maybe talk to this guy. Now, let's see about the adults, a Dragonite male, Miltank female, Houndoom female, Delcatty female, Sceptical male, Hariyama female, and an Aggron male. The kids are a Hoothoot boy, Teddiursa girl, and a Taillow boy. So ten in total here. “Either I get you all to my cave or vice versa…cause this tree is really good for an area…” I muttered, already trying to think of a good place for my growing compatriots. Hm, definitely seems that up here there's safety, and with Dragonite here and even Enga helping, hauling food and water shouldn't be too hard. We can probably even make a tree fort of sorts is we can carve or cut and make the modifications… but farming won't be easy and without a grass type will be difficult… maybe both. How far am I from the cave anyway? I walked over to the main entrance, moving with the giant Dragonite still clinging to me as I tried to see if I can find the campfire or something from here. Hmm, no, no, no, ah, there you are. Hm, not too far away actually. Maybe two miles, not a long walk and even shorter flight… and within the bounty the other predators stay away of because of… me… I turned back around, noticing they were all looking at me now… did they all come and hide up here because I made this area safer? I tried making some basic gestures to try and ask ‘are you here because of me?’, cause I know they wouldn’t understand what I was saying. I wasn't sure how much they understood but the three kids here ran up and hugged me like I was life or death… and for them… I am… If I didn't make this place safe… they all might not even be here. “Alright…” I said softly, gently patting all their heads. “I’ll help keep you safe…and I’ll help you all be strong like me.” It took some time but I managed to get Dragonite to fly me back to the cave, and once there told the others about the group and got Enga to pass on language to Dragonite… Gnite. "Ouch… my head… so many words and… words…" Gnite groaned. "I am not gonna do all ten at once." Enga stated. “And you really shouldn’t.” I answered. “So Gnite…take your time, it’s gonna be really weird for a bit.” "I… did not know Ghost types could do this." Gnite stated. "Well my mom was a Gengar but my pops was a Psychic Type. Don't remember which one but I think I can do that because my dad was Psychic." Enga replied. With a nod, Gnite looked back to me. "Well, now that we can talk, I can explain some things cause you clearly looked confused earlier." “Very confused.” I nodded. “Especially with how…cuddly you were.” "Oh, well… I'm into fire types… and… males, so…" He said, blushing. "I mean, not exclusively males, I just prefer them…" Oh, well… how flattering. “Well…I’m flattered.” I said, blushing a little at how this big adorable dragon was into me. “So…I presume you and the other’s were here because I kept this area safe?” "Most, yes. Some I've been living with for the last year. My tree is safe and Miltank is able to feed us if needed, but I fly around for food often. I saw the day you first appeared here and were hunting the beasts with those… tools, and those abilities. It was amazing. Over the last two months I found others and brought them to my tree. Normally when I find someone it's too late… but, you made this area safe. I wasn't sure how to approach you though. I didn't know if you were territorial, especially with your mates and kids." I blushed, and I am pretty sure I saw Enga and Flare blush too. “Uh…” I started. “Ahem, so uh…anyone wanting a safe haven is good with me…and uh…they’re not my mates…yet.” I pointed out carefully. "Oh… umm… room for one that can't breed but loves… cuddling?" They asked. And like that I might be bi… “Roxy’s gonna have a field day with all of this…” I muttered to myself. “Alright…welcome to the group and my ever expanding harem.” "What's a Harem?" They all asked. Another month passed since the others joined my little settlement. There's Noc the Hoothoot, Mil the Miltank, Cep the Sceptile, Ring the Teddiursa, Llow the Taillow, Riy the Hariyama, Catty the Delcatty, and Ron the Aggron. I know, all so original. We used Gnite's cave as a safer place to sleep and keep safe for the night and my cave became a form of storage for weapons, which I was teaching everyone to make, food, and whatever else was useful. We had to expand the farm but luckily it looked like that was an easy task. We were even starting to mark the area around here that was our territory. Our home. “This is going rather smoothly.” I said. “Our own home…” Our territory was set up with a makeshift fence, sticks and vines really. Our weapons were rocks, spears, and some makeshift hammers. Though I did have a fair collection of Dinosaur and other beasts teeth and claws to use for knives. The kids were all happy and everyone was, probably for the first time in their lives, hopeful. I was out and about with Enga heading towards that beach she mentioned. Aside from fish there might be a Water Type down there. “Water types, or a water stone for one of the eevee kids…” I hummed, thinking about what the Eevee Triplets would evolve into at their own decisions. We soon were on the beach and the sea air was rather pleasant… also there was a Wailord on the beach… well, partly on the beach. Seeing a five hundred foot tall anthropomorphic Wailord is… different. Actually really cool, and different. It's also a guy… and wow I thought Gnite was packing… They didn't appear to be beached, he just looked like he was sleeping. “Well then…” I muttered, before thinking for a moment as I gently walked over and bent down, and using my knees I tried to pick up the eight hundred pound whale, wondering if I was normally strong enough when I’ve been able to carry stuff well over a thousand pounds. I made little progress but the Wailord woke up, looking over at me as it sat up. "I got it…" Enga said as she flew up and did her head phasing trick. The Wailord shook his head and seemed to be thinking for a time before they spoke. "Well, this is… different. I can vocalize my thoughts with extreme clarity and precision." They said… using words I've rarely even heard the others use. Huh, maybe that giant brain in their head made it easier on them? “Sorry about that big guy.” I said sheepishly, pulling away from the massive pokemon. “Just wondered if rumors were true that Wailord’s were…extraordinary light weight despite your…massive size.” "That's fine. I suppose that would be a logical assumption to try and prove correct or not given my size." They stayed… I'll call him Ail. "Now, what brings a Fire Type and a Ghost Type like yourselves to my beach?" “I’m bringing as many people as I can to a safe zone for all Pokemon and any others that aren’t pure monster’s or complete jackasses.” I explained. “And so far…I also need to teach a whole lotta people how to fight.” "To fight, for hunting and self defense. That is an admiral goal. My size would make me a valuable asset in your quest. "Yep." I nodded. "And then get strong enough to kill all those damned Flesh Wearers…I killed one but…they are very creepy." "You actually killed one of those monsters?" "Was a pain in the ass, but yes." I nodded. "You just have to destroy their brain." "That is quite an impressive feat. Well, with all that data in mind, I suppose I would be foolish not to join your group." “That would help a lot.” I nodded. “But do you need to stay near water?” "Despite my aquatic nature I am a mammal and can live on land, but I will admit I am much slower on land than In the water." “Alright.” I nodded. “Besides, we’ll probably have to set up an outpost here for fishing and the like.” I shrugged. "Do you require fish at the moment? I can easily catch a school of them if you'd like." “We don’t need fish at the moment, but it would be best if we had something to fall back on if certain foods become scarce due to unknown factors.” I explained. "Very well." Getting Ail back home was easy. He was fairly slow on land, as he said, but nothing seriously slow. With Sil's help we were able to clear out more of the place and make a better barrier made from large trees and piled high dirt, giving us even better protection anything. Also despite his size, line a real whale he didn't need to eat that much. By the end of the month we had a fair barrier from the cave/farm to the tree and a trail leading to the beach. Now if only I could make us all better clothes… “No no no, get a random botany kick for some reason, not try and learn how to make clothes…” I grumbled to myself. Plants wise the farm is doing well. Luckily Oran Berry trees grow quick, odds are they'll be ready and bearing in another month or two. The apple trees are gonna take longer but they're making progress. Just wish there was more diversity. I haven't seen much other wild plants we can eat like grapes, potatoes, or carrots. Not even mushrooms. Which is weird. “Hey, so does anyone know where any other edible fruits are?” I inquired. "I know of some edible moss and seaweed." Ail said. "Um, I know some." Lu spoke as he walked up to me. "While traveling, mom and I would eat lots of plants. I remember what most of them looked and smelled like." “Perfect.” I nodded. “So we can start with foraging for new edible plants, then after a bit I can start training you all.” I nodded. “And hopefully we can find more people out there.” I picked up Lu, keeping him on my back and headed out. He would point out or tell me to stop when we came across one he recognized. To my joy, we even found potatoes. Some of these plants he mentioned were bitter and made you feel better when you were sick, so medicinal herbs were a must. It wasn't long til our makeshift basket was near full, and we were just looking for this one plant that, if Lu's description was right, we might be finding some tomatoes. “This is going fantastic.” I said happily. "That plant should be around here somewhere." Lu said as we walked along the various vine type plants around here. “Careful, there’s…a lot of vines here and I don’t like that.” I frowned. As we walked around I spotted them. Tomatoes! We quickly grabbed as many that we could fit in the basket and were about to leave. "Per!" I heard a yell from somewhere. “Shit…” I muttered, gently picking up Lu and rushing over towards where that yell was coming from. “Let’s hope they’re not injured…” To be continued...