//------------------------------// // Chapter 17 // Story: Starlight: Redshift // by the-pieman //------------------------------// After more of the compound had been fixed at least a little, we, as a group, had gone around and looked for more survivors and holdouts. We recovered two more Breeders, and found that they’d taken a batch of smaller eggs with them, inside a bunker meant to survive Rampardos attacks and worse. After patching up our injuries and helping them get something of a place to sleep set up that wasn’t covered in glass, blood, or tons of rumpled paperwork, we sat down. My blood was racing before, but I’m feeling much calmer now, and Twilight is looking better. The Tyrunt was fed by the research couple, and is now asleep in its new pokéball. Twilight is also looking better, having had time to make sure she didn’t have a concussion. Apparently, a unicorn’s horn holds a small part of their brain, but damaging it can still be fatal, despite that it’s only used to work with magic. Once we are all set, we decide to get Rarity her Breeder’s License. Xavius has left and I figure following after him is not that important. He seems able to take care of himself. “So Twilight.” I turn to the unicorn. “How about a battle while Rarity’s doing her thing?” “I- yeah, that’d be nice. Two versus two? I know you don’t have any more pokémon than that.” “Alright, one on one for now. We can have a double battle later. Maybe a Triple once I’ve got a bigger team.” I take out Geodude’s ball and toss it into the air. “Go ahead, make your first pick.” I grin, knowing that all her Pokémon are weak to Rock, and only Spheal would stand a chance against Geodude anyway. Reading the situation perfectly, her first pokémon is, in fact, Spheal, who barks happily. Twilight shouts her first order when I yell for us to go. “Powder Snow!” and an icy patch begins forming and spreading at my Geodude. “Geodude, get back and use Rock Polish!” the stoney pokémon launches himself backwards and swipes his face a few times to smooth himself off. “Alright, Spheal, try a Water Gun!” she shouts, and the resulting jet of water passes through the still-cold air, picking up ice crystals along the way. Geodude doesn’t dodge all of it, and looks pained from the freezing-cold water. “Power through the pain! A few passes from Rollout and we’ve won already!” “Dodge the Rollout, it can’t build up momentum if it doesn’t hit!” twilight shouts, and her Spheal manages to roll out of the way with all the grace of a sand-filled beach ball. But, it successfully dodged, so it counts. “Magnitude, knock it off-balance!” The ground shakes and ripples, and Spheal is bounced into the air, flailing its little flippers in distress. Twilight looks surprised, and even I forgot how bouncey Spheal can get at times. I wait a few moments and then make my order. “Rollout! Full speed ahead!” If my timing is right, he should hit Spheal right as it lands... With a comical boink, the Spheal pokémon is shot back into the air, making pained noises. Twilight looks worried, but Spheal rolls back to its... belly, and looks expectantly at Twilight for instructions. Geodude is getting ready to ram him again, when Twilight shouts to Spheal, “Encore!” and Spheal starts clapping wildly, though there’s a faint rhythm in there, and Geodude suddenly stops steering, going straight ahead... at full speed. Before I can retract my order, Geodude plows bodily into a concrete pylon, demolishing the remainder of the support and knocking Geodude out. I recall my Pokémon and chuckle. “Very good with strategies. A far cry from your first battle. But tell me, Sparkle... what moves do your Pokémon know that can hit something underwater without getting too close?” I grin and toss Carvanha out into a nearby pool of water. “Ice won’t do much to a Water type, and Water the same, so ranged moves are out. What’s your big plan now?” Twilight thinks for a second, Spheal idly curling into a ball and uncurling a moment later, like a fuzzy plush toy. Then, her eyes light up, and she gives her order. “I may not be able to strike the pokémon below the water, but I can freeze the top layer! Spheal, Powder Snow on the pond, freeze the surface solid!” The chill wind begins to freeze the water, a solid layer building up. “Carvanha, Aqua Jet, then lead into a Bite!” The fish gleefully follows the orders, leaping out with jaws wide... right into Spheal’s main gust of icy air. Ice may not do a lot of damage to Water Types, but Carvanha probably has a bad case of brain freeze as it clamps down on Spheal, making the rolly pokémon squeak, flail, and bounce around. “Alright Carvanha, get back in the water.” I pause, waiting for Twilight to make her next selection, a plan forming in my head. “Alright, Spheal, come on back. Go, Spearow! Start with a peck attack!” She simultaneously recalls her wounded pokémon and throws out her next, Carvanha barely having time to react to my order before Twilight’s Spearow is dive-bombing the ferocious fish. “So Twilight, any idea what my next trick is?” I ask innocently. “No, so I’ll just have to disrupt it. Move into a Fury Attack!” the flopping fish finally reaches the water, a painful series of welts along its side, and Spearow’s beak a shiny gold from Carvanha’s Rough Skin. “But Twilight, you can’t disrupt my next move, that would be illegal!” I toss out Geodude, obviously still unconscious. “I forfeit my next move...” I pull a little yellow diamond-shaped object. “To use an item.” I spend my last Revive to bring Geodude back to groggy wakefulness, and return him to his ball. “Your move, Twily.” “Well, fine, if you’re going to use items... Spearow, go high, then Fury attack again!” I wait patiently for the bird pokémon to get within decent range, and then make my command. “Carvanha, Bite!” The fish leaps out of the water, jaws wide as Spearow backpedals, before simply disappearing in a flash down Carvanha’s throat. After that... well, things stopped being about the battle, and more about trying to give the heimlich to Carvanha and make it cough up Twilight’s Spearow. “Carvanha, spit it out, now! If you’re hungry we can get you something to eat later, I’m not about to lose a battle and have my license revoked!” Carvanha makes a choking noise, eyes bugging out a little, and Twilight and I exchange a glance. Oh, joy, Spearows need to come with ‘choking hazard’ warnings now. As we two trainers run over, Carvanha flops on the dirt, looking both enraged and confused. I don’t think she’s used to not being able to fight back against everything. “So I guess Spearow’s out of it, but only due to extraneous circumstances. Do you wanna say I won now or should I let you use a different Pokémon?” Her only pokémon is Tepig and I have a Water and a Rock type. Either way, win is in the bag. “Yeah, let’s call this one. Now can we save my pokémon?” “Sure. Carvanha, spit the bird out now and I won’t have to do something you’ll regret.” The fish flops, eyes bugging even further out, a look of grim determination in her eyes. I hear a strangled-sounding squawk from inside Carvanha, and can barely see Spearow’s beak peeking from the back of Carvanha’s throat. resisting the urge to face-palm, I get the distinct feeling those two are going to try to kill each other every chance they get. “Twilight... just use your fancy magic and pull the thing out. I don’t think Carvanha are made for not swallowing anything in their mouth... especially since they can chew through and digest steel...” Twilight looks upset, and immediately begins tugging at Spearow, which only drags Carvanha around. I sigh, and grab the fish’s tail, the rough texture of her skin letting me get a perfect grip. Between the two of us, Twilight and I are able to extricate Spearow, who has a murderous gleam in its eye as it glares at Carvanha, who is giving an equally malicious look right back. “Alright, so I guess I have to make it clear that when I say ‘Bite’ I mean for you to clamp down on them with your teeth, not put them in your mouth and eat them.” I then recall Carvanha. “So, you lost. Pay up.” “Oh, alright... wait, we never settled on an amount beforehoof. Er, hand. Either way, we both forgot to decide how much. And I don’t think either of us have money, either.” She pauses for a moment. “Wow, I just used the word ‘either’ three times in two sentences.” “Can it, nerd, you can owe me later. How about two-hundred, that seem fair?” “Er, I suppose. I’m not entirely sure about the local exchange rate, but I trust you.” “Well, two-hundred is how much it costs for a Pokéball. A basic potion costs three-hundred. That should give a rough estimate for now.” Twilight agrees to the sum, figuring it was worth a short, distraction match. We both sit down and try to figure out what else to do before Rarity is done. Around fifteen minutes later, Rarity comes out, beaming. “they said I was a natural! And now, I’m a certified Junior-Grade Breeder! Eeeee!” She hugs Twilight, the softest thing available, and spins around several times, leaving Twi’s rear legs swinging outwards as her face and legs are mushed together on Rarity’s chest. “Congrats. So Twi and I just had a battle. You wanna give it a shot?” “Oh, no, I’m rather fatigued from today. I must admit, I really don’t like the sight of blood, and today was... rather visceral.” “I was actually gonna give Carvanha a rest, let Geodude have another round. It’d only be bad bruising, but if you still wanna chicken out that’s fine. As for the blood and such, yeah, that happens when people get hurt. We tend to bleed.” “But never so... much.” she shudders, and turns a little green. I guess it’s a big deal for her. “Still, I think I’ll decline, for tonight. Maybe tomorrow? The Breeders here have said we can stay the night; there’s a bedroom that was meant for visiting professors and the like.” “Alright, sounds good. And just for future reference, if you plan on living in a world where there’s always going to be something trying to kill something else, blood is just something you’ll have to get used to. Speaking of carnivores, I don’t think Tyrunt will be satisfied with just eating gems and hay like Spike. He’s gonna need more... protein.” Twilight nods. “Well, as long as he isn’t hunting down something in a way that’s cruel, I’ll just have to live with it. If Fluttershy can care for an entire pack of wolves throughout the winter, then I can live with my new... son.” As if on cue, Twirunt’s pokéball shakes, rattles, then opens, the miniature tyrannosaur appearing and looking around. Almost immediately, it nudges Twilight, and gives her a meaningful look. “Oh, also, some species of carnivorous Pokémon need to be taught how to hunt by their parents. And I don’t think that you can just walk into a grocery store and buy a package of bacon while going through the desert or something.” The Tyrunt nuzzles ‘momma’, and looks content. “Awwww, that’s adorable! Have fun taking care of a pokémon who is known for wild, destructive, dangerous rampages when it’s upset.” Twilight gives a serious look at Twirunt, who gives her the most innocent, ‘butter-wouldn’t-melt-in-mouth’ look possible. I thought only little, adorable things like the CMC could do that one... “For clarification...” I pull out my éTech and aim it at the ‘little’ Rock Type, the electronic voice springing to life. -Tyrunt, the Royal Heir Pokémon. Tyrunt's jaws are so big and powerful, it can crunch up a car. If it doesn't like something, it responds with a wild tantrum.- “Yeup. That.” Twirunt begins to give a raspy, throaty purr, a bit like a car engine dying of thirst. Totally not convinced, little one. Twilight, however, just seems to revel in being snuggled, and hugs her pokémon right back. After we get to the large complex and are directed to our room, it doesn’t take long for me to realize how tired I am. Today was kind of long. Guess tomorrow we try to find a gym... Back to town!