Sinnoh. Hearthome City. Afternoon.
Hearthome City. The fifth-largest city in the Pokemon World. Or in this case, just the World. This friendly city started as a place where people and Pokémon gathered, then grew into a centre of commerce. It is also known for being so warm and kind. Hearthome City was always a child-friendly city; where there are many families and young mothers living there, some of whom could be seen with prams. Most of the buildings use elevators instead of stairs so that small children and Pokémon can move through the houses. The citizens scrupulously keep their city clean. But now, that was no longer the case.
Now it appeared devoid of colour. Cold and seemingly desolate in terms of the energy that would usually come from it. There wasn't even a sound of any contests going on. And there definitely wouldn't be a Pokemon Battle over at the Gym, mainly due to Fantina's absence. Drayden, Olympia, Brawly, Roxanne, Roxie and Valerie approached Hearthome City, witnessing the dull atmosphere.
"Well...all we have to do is pass through and find out what's going on," Brawly said as they stood before the city. However, Valerie would spot something else that not everyone else could. Her body shuddered after witnessing what looked to be a form of energy that surrounded the city in a dome-like shape.
"What's wrong, Valerie?" Drayden would notice Valerie's shocked expression after what she witnessed. Just by looking at it, her emotions responded in the only way they knew how to something like this.
"Oh my..." Valerie shuddered. "I can see it. Whatever is around the city, it's full of dread."
"I can't see it. But I can feel it." Olympia had a sim "Similar reaction, feeling the dread coming from the city. "I'm afraid there might be magic involved in this."
"Magic? That explains a bit." Roxie added. "Well, if everything's dull in there, nothing a good jam can't fix!"
"Be cautious when passing through. Once we enter, we have no idea what could happen. Reports on Hearthome City have been scarce and rare after all." Olympia warned, sensing that entering the town would only lead to unpleasant outcomes. Of course, these outcomes could potentially be avoided depending on what they encounter.
They would advance, ready to enter the city at last. And just as Valerie feared, this would mean interacting with this magical dome. Brawly, Roxie, Roxanne, Drayden and even Olympia were not nervous when approaching the magical field but Valerie certainly had her fears. She was hoping that this would just be a quick visit and they would sort things out with Fantina as soon as possible.
The moment they passed through the magical field which was invisible to almost everyone, an eerie pulse would pass through them. The only ones to feel it were Olympia and Valerie but a slight breeze would affect the others.
And the moment they entered the once-vibrant city, they were met with absolute silence. There wasn't any sound coming from it when they were out of the city in the first place, but even when entering, it was dead silent. Not even the howling of the wind would be heard.
The dull colouring was now even more visible to the eyes once they were within the city. But adding to this silence was the sudden absence of anyone. There wasn't a single person of Pokemon to be found.
"Where is everybody?" Roxanne wondered as her voice managed to generate the first bit of sound here. The rest of her fellow Gym Leaders would bring some audio afterwards.
"How come all the colour's gone?" Roxie walked up to a bench which was now grey and dry. "Do ya think everyone left?"
"Left? Why would they leave the whole city?" Brawly asked, unsure of why anyone would suddenly depart from Hearthome, even with this low saturation.
"This must be why Fantina hasn't responded." It was clear to Drayden and everyone else. How could Fantina respond when Hearthome City turned out like this? When advancing through the town, the lack of people and Pokemon was only growing. None could be found within their homes or any buildings here. The Contest Hall was obviously unresponsive.
"There is no sound here. It's only our voices." Valerie observed the absence of sound. The lack of it was enough to intimidate her. "Olympia?"
"I can feel something..." Olympia replied before picking up on something. "It's from Amity Square."
"Amity Square? That place is always lively," said Brawly. Amity Square was the one place they haven't viewed yet. And potentially, due to what Olympia felt, they could find someone there. They were mainly hoping for Fantina or any clues about Fantina. They would all approach Amity Square, which was a park where Trainers and their Pokemon would grow closer.
However, despite this dead silence, there was something else that they had yet to see. Hidden in the darkness and blending in with the dull colours, roots and vines would peek out, not making any sounds whatsoever. This made them fully invisible with these various forms of protection as they would descend back into the darkness before Drayden or any of them could spot them.
Drayden would obviously have to make a full report on this when he gets back. Something like this couldn't be ignored. Even if they manage to solve this, finding out how and why this happened in the first place would be a top priority. Meanwhile, Roxie was growing tired of this silence. This was the most silence she has ever heard in her life and the fact that there was nothing to give this once-lively city some new life was irritating her. She would already feel the need to play a tune to break this awkward silence and breed some life into the city.
But before that could even happen, they arrived at Amity Square, shocked, stunned and appalled by what they were seeing. Each of them had different reactions but the visage was horrible in every way. They found people and Pokemon, but not in the way they hoped or even expected.
Amity Square was now populated by everyone in this city who were all stitched and glued together. However, they all looked soulless. Their eyes were hollow, their mouths were constantly open as they all had limp positions, appearing completely static while some of them received slightly purple skins. A place where people and Pokemon can be closer to each other and it was taken in the worst literal sense. They all formed to make a large ball of Pokemon, Humans and Ponies, which was downright terrifying to look at, considering none of them had any pupils. Even the Pokemon that didn't have pupils were not exempt from this creepy sight.
"W-What is this...?" Brawly backed away, falling on his back from disbelief. Valerie would get on her knees as her strength to read emotions had kicked in at the worst possible time. She could already feel one emotion coming from it and it was one of absolute pain.
"I can feel it...It's been like this for months." Valerie's heart would accelerate out of fear. "No one's been able to do anything because of this. Most of them don't even come from Hearthome. Some even come from Equestria..."
"Everyone else who came here must've suffered the same fate," Drayden added, clenching his fist. He would obviously feel for the people but also feel scorn towards whoever did this. If he would ever know or find out. He could even see a few Officer Jennys. Different Jennys from different towns were stuck, appearing soulless as each of them failed to save everyone, becoming victims to this haunting amalgamation. "Who did this?"
"Are they gonna be okay?" Roxie asked, nearly dropping her guitar out of shock before swiftly catching it.
"I'm not sure...Judging by how they appear, they seem to be soulless." Olympia observed the appalling scene. The way they appeared was already a clear sign of something missing within them. "And I'm afraid that is in the literal sense..."
"Are you saying that they have no souls anymore?!" Roxanne couldn't believe what she was hearing. This was bigger than she was expecting. No one expected this. All these innocent people, ponies and Pokemon were not only stuck like this, but they have most likely lost their souls. The looks on their faces spoke volumes. Some had yet to return even after the two worlds had come together as one. They have been here since the Pokemon Festival, unable to enjoy the rest of it and what this new world has to offer.
"Well...Even if they lost their souls, we still can't let them stay like this." Brawly gasped before approaching the massive ball of creatures. He would think about saving them all if he could, despite how attached they appeared. Brawly took the first form of action, grabbing onto a Staraptor and a Trainer.
He attempted to pull them both out, already needing to put his full strength into this. However, he wouldn't even budge them for a moment. "Come on...! Help me out here, Machamp!" Brawly would see that his own strength was failing to even pull two of them in. With one arm, he would send out his Machamp.
"Machamp!"
"Perhaps we can free them if we try and see what we can do." Drayden and the others would chime in. They still had to save these people to the best of their abilities. Even if they looked somewhat beyond saving. But none of them wanted to believe that they were beyond saving right now.
"Would you like to join them?" Suddenly and unexpectedly, a voice would thunder through the atmosphere and the air, speaking to the Gym Leaders. It made them all pause for a moment as this voice would leave a prominent echo. This was the voice of the Lich Queen Rosa Maledicta.
"Who's there?!" Roxanne cried out, searching for this voice. But with how potent it was, it was from every direction instead of just one.
"My Despair Plants have been waiting a few months for new prey. Thank you for showing up. Gym Leaders will be a fine addition to this."
"Are you the one who did this?!" Drayden questioned. "What have you done with these people, ponies and Pokemon?!"
"That's right. And I've been thinking of going for another city...but issues have prevented me from doing so in the meanwhile. But rest assured, you will all be consumed in the coming crusade. In the meanwhile, enjoy your time with my plants. Scorpio. Cordyceps. Cobra. Have fun."
Rosa would call out the names of these plants as that was when the hidden roots and vines would show themselves at last. But they certainly did not appear as just roots and vines. Olympia and Valerie would be the first ones to feel the approaching presence of these plants. Machamp was thankfully strong enough to free the people and Pokemon with his stellar strength, which was impossible to beat out most of the time.
Right as they were managing to pull away some of the people and Pokemon from their compromised positions, the plants revealed themselves in the form of creatures as a chilling roar would be unleashed from them. "Look!" Valerie cried out, alerting the rest of her fellow Gym Leaders.
These were the appearances of these plants. The Despair Plant Cordyceps had sharp eyes that correlated with its fangs. On the back of its stem, it had massive leaf wings that allowed it to fly. As for the Despair Plant Cobra, it was as to be expected. A cobra-like plant that had a girthy and sharp flytrap tail with it. This flytrap tail was even sentient, making it a double-sided creature. And finally, for Despair Plant Scorpio, its entire physique resembled a scorpion with the stinger being a large plant. But this tail came with multiple stingers instead of just one.
"Machamp! You should keep them all safe and get them out of here! I know those muscles will do the trick." Brawly ordered before holding out another Pokemon. He trusted Machamp's supreme strength to defend the innocents, even in their current states.
"Machamp!" And indeed, he was right to count on Machamp as the Superpower Pokemon would pick up the ball of innocents with only two of his arms instead of four. Even in this scenario, he couldn't help but show off.
"Thanks, buddy. And for you...You'll take over! Hariyama!" Brawly would then send out his next Pokemon which was his ace. Hariyama.
"Out, Druddigon!" Meanwhile, Drayden would send out his Druddigon as the other Gym Leaders would take action. The Despair Plants looked to be the main problem to overcome.
"Come out! Meowstic!" Olympia sent out both of her Meowstics as they worked at their best when in a duo after all.
"Let's do this! Scolipede!" For Roxie, it would be her Scolipede.
"Go, Probopass!" Roxanne went straight for her own ace, Probopass.
"Please help out, Mawile!" And finally, Valerie would choose Mawile.
"Hariyama!" Hariyama, Druddigon, the two Meowstics, Scolipede, Probopass and Mawile would all enter the scene. All were ready to weed out these terrifying plants that originate from the darkness. However, the Despair Plants would instantly display their viciousness against their new targets, starting with Scorpio. The stingers on Scorpio's tail would shoot out thick streams of poison, aiming to infect its targets as that was an easier way to subdue them.
"Meowstic! Psychic!"
"Meowstic!" Of course, neither of the Meowstic would allow that to happen. They would flip over Druddigon and the others with grace before then putting their minds together, forming an invisible Psychic force. The duo managed to restrain the poison streams that approached their allies, using Psychic's advantage over Poison flawlessly. Afterwards, they would disperse the streams, causing them to fly elsewhere.
"Great! Now, use Earthquake, Druddigon!"
"Go, Hariyama! Use Stone Edge!"
"Drudd!" Druddigon would attack next, stomping on the ground to generate a golden light. This light would form cracks in the ground which would aggressively approach the Despair Plants. Hariyama would join him by using Stone Edge, unleashing blue crystals from the ground by simply slamming his massive hands down.
Cordyceps would simply use its wings to evade the Earthquake but the crystals were certainly harder to avoid with how rapidly they would rise to great heights. Despair Plant Cobra would slither past the crystals with its snake-like physique while also shooting out a powder from its Flytrap Tail. This powder would rapidly spread across the air, causing combustion in the process.
"H-Hari!" Hariyama and Druddigon were struck by this explosive powder from the Cobra's Flytrap Tail, which had yet to sink its fangs into something. This combustion would form a smoke cloud that favoured the Despair Plants as it would mask their appearances. Cobra and Scorpio would advance while the smoke was still up. The Flytrap tail from Cobra would be sent out first, showing its sharp self. Scorpio would crawl up to use its stingers are a closer range.
"I see you! Helping Hand and Shadow Ball, Meowstic!" But Olympia could see them coming first with her perceptive senses. And so would Valerie.
"Mawile! Use Crunch!"
"Meow!" The Male Meowstic would clap his hands, sharing his power with the Female Meowstic. A golden aura appears around the Male Meowstic, as he transfered his aura to the Female Meowstic. With this boost, the Female Meowstic would jump over Scorpio's stinger as it nearly grazed after. After evading the multiple stingers in one-go, Meowstic would form a blob of shadows while in midair, slamming them down onto the Despair Plant from this position.
"Mawile!" Mawile would enter a vicious clash with Cobra. The two of them were facing away from each other while their other sentient body parts would due it out, attempting to gain the advantage. It was two massive mouths biting at each other with only them having the chance to pin and gnaw the other. However, with Cobra unleashing a loud hiss, it would make Mawile flinch from how vigorous and sharp it was, allowing for Cobra's Flytrap to gain the advantage. "M-Maw!"
Mawile's maw ended up losing the clash with Cobra's Flytrap gnawing on it and as an extension, keeping Mawile's entire body restrained. Now that Despair Plant Cobra had Mawile stuck, the main body would slither along, ready to lunge at its pretty.
"I don't think so! Megahorn, Scolipede!"
"Scolipede!" Scolipede would come to Mawile's aid, using its two massive horns. The horns were enveloped in a beautiful green light as the Megapede Pokemon would smash them right into Cobra's Flytrap Tail. However, Scolipede would then feel the sharpness of the Flytrap tail as it also had a strong defence. The horn failed to stab into the steel exterior, prompting Cobra's main body to tackle Scolipede while the Flytrap Tail would swing Mawile around. "S-Scol!"
"Oh, no! Mawile!" Valerie gasped as Mawile was dragged across the ground by the tail, taking continuous damage constantly.
"Probopass! Power Gen!"
"Proboooo!" Saving Mawile and Scolipede would be Probopass, who would unleash sparking rays that resembled gemstones. These rays would batter the Cobra and its Tail, freeing Mawile from all that dragging. And then there was Cordyceps, who would start dropping seeds from above, using the skies to its advantage. That prompted Drayden to handle this one.
"Pursue it, Druddigon! Use Dragon Claw!"
"Drudd!" Druddigon would take flight, approaching Despair Plant Cordyceps. He used his draconic claws to slash at the seeds that would drop from above, only to find out that they were also explosive, similar to the powder that Cobra unleashed. "D-Druddigon...!" Druddigon growled as he was enveloped by yet another explosion, but he didn't let these combustions slow him down.
He simply powered through the explosions, flying out of the smoke and slashing at Cordyceps, Cordyceps hissed after receiving a lethal slash from the Cave Pokemon. But even being hit would have an after-effect. Seeds would fly out of its body, summoning smaller Despair Plant Cordyceps. Druddigon looked around him as these smaller Despair Plants entered this world relatively quickly. But they would leave just as quickly as they would also combust, throwing more explosions at Druddigon.
"Meow?" Meanwhile, the Female Meowstic, who managed to slam Scorpio with Shadow Ball, would find herself receiving retaliation. While stepping on Scorpio to pin it down, the massive plant tail that kept its stingers would then expand like a balloon, pushing Meowstic off. After pushing Meowstic off, two stingers would separate from the tail, unleashed like rockets.
The Female Meowstic would be struck by these two stingers as two new ones would grow back out of Scorpio's Plant Tail as if nothing happened. Poison would instantly seep into the Female Meowstic's body because of this. After being struck by the stingers, the Female Meowstic would be caught by the Male Meowstic who was quick to notice another pair of stingers ready to be shot out.
"Use Protect, Meowstic!"
"Meow!" The Male Meowstic would hold the Female Meowstic close to her while using one hand to form a protective barrier. Right in the nick of time as the next two stingers were shot out. They would stab into Meowstic's Protect, nearly going through it, only for the Normal-Type move to successfully block them.
"Ice Punch, Hariyama!"
"Hariyama!" Hariyama would then move in, approaching Scorpio with a chilling aura around his arms. Right as Meowstic shielded himself and his teammate, he would smile, making way for Hariyama. Once Hariyama had a clear path, he would throw his massive hands at Scorpio.
Retaliating, Scorpio would thrust its stinger at Hariyama. Out of the stingers, poisonous streams were thrown out, forcing Hariyama to clash with those instead. The stinger was only a few feet away from Hariyama's hands while the poison streams met with the chilling aura of Hariyama's Ice Punch.
"Hari! Hari!" Hariyama would rapidly thrust his hands, attempting to push back the streams, only for the Despair Plant Cobra to up the volume of poisonous streams, making them thicker.
"Help him out, Scolipede! Rock Slide!"
"Use Flash Cannon, Probopass!"
"Scoli!" Thankfully, Scolipede and Probopass were there to assist. A barrage of rocks along with a silver beam of light energy would fly out, intercepting the rest of Scorpio's poison. Despair Plant Scorpio found itself being assaulted by these two attacks. This allowed Hariyama's Ice Punch to push through the rest of the streams as a triple attack had been unleashed on Scorpio.
The chilling blow from Hariyama and the hard, rugged impacts of Scolipede and Probopass were enough to send this demonic plant flying. And the same went for Cordyceps, who despite having assaulted Druddigon with constant explosions, would be sent downwards either way.
The two Despair Plants would roll and tumble from the damage they received, but not before leaving something behind. Both Meowstic and Hariyama had been poisoned thanks to Scorpio and Cobra. By now, Machamp was already gone, thankfully. If the people, ponies and Pokemon were still here, they would be caught up in the battle after all.
"That should do it." Brawly breathed in and out. "Are you alright, Hariyama?"
"Hari...Hariyama." Hariyama hung in there even if he was poisoned. The Female Meowstic also had some strength left as she was being supported by the Male Meowstic who kept her balance up.
"Is that it for them?" Roxanne wondered after witnessing Scorpio and Cordyceps take a tumble. Even Cobra had been forced back recently. The three Despair Plants would appear out of the dust and smoke as it hard to tell if they had taken any damage at all. But one thing was for sure, they were still active.
"Not bad." Speaking once more was Rosa Maledicta, who got their attention. "As expected from Gym Leaders. No one else here could put up that well of a fight against them. But your experience with battling many opponents has so many benefits, doesn't it?"
"Yeah. Might as well call it quits here. And tell us what you did with everyone else and why they look like that!" Brawly exclaimed.
"You took their souls, didn't you?" Olympia questioned. "Why? Who are you?"
"You're right about that. Their souls have left their bodies. You should've been there to see it. The way they thought the needed to lie down and rest and the next thing they know, they became soulless and make a wonderful art piece. My darlings made it themselves if you must know." Rosa cackled, revelling in the pain of these innocents.
"If they lost their souls...then we can get them back!" Valerie gasped, realizing that there was still hope to bring these innocents back.
"I was about to say that but...thank you, very much, Valerie," Olympia added. "Their souls can be retrieved. Not all is lost here."
"If you can make it out of this mess. Of course...I haven't sent all of my darlings. I only needed three for this town and they did an excellent job these past months. But their true potential should be shown to you. My babies...Time to Fuse!"
"Fuse?!" The Gym Leaders repeated. Right then and there, the further extent of these Despair Plants and their abilities had been revealed. They had one unique trait that would be shown off.
In their damaged states, two of them would be enveloped in a dark light. Scorpio and Cobra to be exact. Their bodies would then crash into each other at full force, causing a trembling presence to flow through the area, which kept the Gym Leaders alert, nearly knocking some of them off balance. Only Cordyceps was exempt from this, but it was still able to continue perfectly.
The two Despair Plants would fuse, forming an energy whirlwind once their bodies would alter to form something new. The Gym Leaders watched in awe as out of it came a new Despair Plant that would be introduced by Rosa Maledicta herself.
"Say hello to Despair Plant Chimera!" Emerging from the dark light was an even larger Despair Plant that was twice as large as most of these buildings.
Having the physique of a Weepingbell, this demonic plant had two large arms with mouths on them along with a multitude of sharp roots around it. The face of this plant had a flower mane with the centre being a black hole that possessed numerous fangs. These roots would latch onto the buildings to support the weight of this gigantic plant as it was drooling poison as its final effect. Cordyceps would hover over Chimera, ready to assist.
"By this point, it should be over for you. But I think you all should have a different fate compared to these no-bodies. I'll be seeing you soon. Farewell, Gym Leaders." Right then and there, Rosa Maledicta's voice would vanish. She left it all to her plants which were certainly capable of being as destructive as her. As they looked on in awe at this massive plant, they were ready for the worst.
And in a flash, this large plant would lean in at great speeds, using its massive mouth to try and consume the Gym Leaders and their Pokemon. Valerie looked up in awe as the next thing she saw was nothing but darkness.
As the journey continues.
Chapter 12 End.