//------------------------------// // Chapter 10 // Story: New Faces, New Friends // by ZephyrStrife //------------------------------// Mick wasn't able to keep himself from smiling, despite needing to keep a neutral face for his training the elation welling up in his chest at the thought of going to see Arceus... The creator... The GOD OF ALL POKEMON... Just thinking about it sent a shot of adrenaline through his mind. It was like feeling dizzy and incredibly happy at the same time. "Huh... This must be what being drunk sorta feels like..." He mused as he focused on the sack of sand in front of him. His objective was simple; Break the sack with a scratch attack. Due to being a young Cyndaquil, by the standard that Emma had told him about, his claws weren't naturally sharp enough to pierce even human skin without the help of a move. "Focus, Mick... Think about the energy... feel the energy in your core..." He continued to recite the mantra over and over, willing himself to focus less on the sights and sounds of the world and focus more on the world itself. To quantify his surprise and awe with physical descriptions would have felt like an insult to the world itself. There was so much energy when he finally reached out that it felt as if someone had landed a focus punch right to his stomach. He withdrew into his mind again and opened his eyes, just to proceed right into collapsing and panting for breath. Worried that something had happened to her (former) trainer, Emma rushed over to the little fire type's side. "...Mick?" She asks cautiously as she gently places a paw on his back. When she got no response aside from his heavy panting she decided to prod again. "Mick... Please say something..." He rolls onto his back, "Emma... What's it feel like to have pokenip?" He asks in such a serious tone that her first reaction was to blush a deep crimson. When she started to stutter he clapped his paws in front of her to get her attention. "Seriously... I know that dad gave you some before... What was it like?" The Quilava took a deep breath, trying to calm down a little. "Really? Am I really about to explain a hallucinogenic plant to a Cyndaquil?" Cursing her luck she took another deep breath, readying herself to explain. "Well... primarily it causes minor to major euphoria, depending on how much you consume... After that the effects vary, although many pokemon report having a sharpened sense of touch, which is why many prefer to roll around in flowers or grasses. Although some do prefer to curl up with their trainer... Enjoying their touch as they try to get as close as possible..." Emma's face heated up again as she began to realize she was describing her personal feelings instead of the scientific explanation that Mick may have wanted. Her paws quickly cover her mouth as she tries to look anywhere but at the Cyndaquil in front of her. Fortunately Mick doesn't seem to notice the reaction, or possibly attributes it to being one of those uncomfortable things he is dedicated to making feel less taboo to talk about. Either way he seems to nod. "Yeah... That's pretty similar to how I feel... aside from the heightened sense of touch..." He slowly picks himself up from the dirt. "A little dizzy though... How much different is Equus compared to Earth?" He asks as he looks back at Emma. Fortunately the new topic helped to reduce the blush on her cheeks. "For starters, the ambient energy in the world here is a lot more plentiful. It makes the whole world seem like it is probably either larger than earth... Or has a greater connection to the primal forces of creation." "You mean like a bigger connection to Groudon and Kyogre?" Emma rolled her eyes. "Not just a couple of legendaries... All of them. When you reach into the planet's ambient energy you get to feel just a small concentration of the combined might of EVERY legendary. Earth had a weaker connection to the legendaries since they were locked away in ancient prisons, thus there was a lot less natural energy which limited the strength of pokemon to what the pokedexes could calculate." She smiled as she began to hug him again, ignorant of his struggles to escape her vice-like grip. "Curse my penchant for training my pokemon to make them strong!" Mick loathed in his mind. "On this world, pokemon should be at least twice as strong as they used to be... if not with the ability to gain close to limitless potential..." She sighed as she sat down, petting Mick on the head as she looked at the roof of the city. That last part had made Mick stop squirming as he thought about it. "...Limitless potential, you say? Hmm... That is an interesting prospect." He couldn't help but let a mischievous grin curl up on his face as he continued to think about his possible challenges. "Lugia, Ho-oh, Entei... Maybe even Darkrai! I could test my strength against the legendaries themselves!" Each new challenger in his mind only served to make him feel even more giddy with the prospect of training. Standing tall despite his short stature in the middle of a stadium was Mick, a single spotlight shone down to cast him and his defeated opponent in the light as he claimed yet one more victory toward achieving his goals. Darkrai slowly turned his head up to look at his opponent, his eyes widening when he realized that Mick was offering a paw to help him up. "Why do you offer your help?" the question seemed a little harsher than was probably intended, but the diminutive fire type didn't flinch. "Because, I want to get stronger, and I can only get stronger if I have strong rivals to fight. I can't get stronger if I'm the strongest, then it'll be boring because I'll have no one left to give me a challenge. And besides, friendly rivals are the best kinds of rivals." Mick says with a broad grin. The nightmare pokemon gingerly took his paw, being helped up with ease by the incredibly strong fire type. "I hope that you're a lot stronger by the next time we fight!" Mick gave him a reassuring pat on the arm. "Maybe we can even hang out sometime, My dad was always talking about how much his old academy practically worshiped you." Despite being a little confused about the academy Mick's father went to, Darkrai gave a small nod. "Alright... I believe it would be nice to have one that I could call friend." "Awesome! See ya later then!" Mick cheers before running out of the spotlight to the next challenge. The scene changed around him, putting him on a lone mountain peak, the plateau was just big enough to count as a pokemon battle arena, his eyes and ears scanned the entire area, just waiting for a surprise attack. When none came he slowly began to relax, just before a flash of bright light lit up the peak, making it look like a heavenly observatory instead of a desolate arena. Then a voice spoke to him, making him turn his head and gaze in awe at the very majestic form of Lord Arceus. "Mick... You have achieved much to be able to defeat my children in single combat, even going so far as to show humility and kindness in victory... For that I can grant only one reward for a pokemon who seeks to better themselves as you do." The deity-like pokemon closed his eyes for a moment before he started to glow again, turning from a white light into a fiery, passionate red. Within seconds Mick was engulfed in the same red, passionate, burning glow. A loud shout began to resonate from the Cyndaquil as his form seemed to change, He began to grow taller, nearly... or possibly quite literally, quadruple his size as flames seemed to flow from his shoulders like scarves in the wind, his body becoming sleek and muscular like a Typhlosion. When the light faded Mick's eyes seemed to have a much sharper quality to them, angular and predatory, yet a gentle sapphire blue to balance them out. The flames around his neck burned with the righteous passion for battle that he had become so accustomed to. "For your dedication and strength I grant you a Mega Form!" Arceus says with a smile in his voice. The world seems to pop from a calm, mystical peak to something similar to a congratulation-party room. The room was filled with various pokemon and diamond dogs, and everyone had bright, adorable anime-style eyes as they congratulated him on obtaining a permanent mega form. Emma practically leapt into his arms and began to nuzzle him, purring like a happy skitty. Everywhere he looked were praises and congratulations... but... Even with the achievement he had gained... He felt hollow. What was the point of having so much strength if there was no one to compete against? When you're the strongest, you're guaranteed victory... Without the chance of losing... What was the point? He turned back to Arceus, a confused look seemed to subtly change the god's neutral features. "Take it back... please..." "What do you mean, Mick? Wasn't it what you wanted? To become the strongest?" Arceus replies. The fire pokemon shakes his head. "Stronger... not strongest. When you're the strongest, it doesn't matter how many challenges you face... When you have no room to improve... then there is no point in having the strength." He gives the ancient legendary a firm look. "Please... Take it back, I want to keep training to become strong, with others that are stronger than me instead of becoming the strongest." "...Mick..." "Not now Emma, I am speaking with Arceus." "Mick." "Emma... I'm talking to the god of the pokemon, I need a moment." "Mick!" Emma was gently shaking the Cyndaquil that had fallen asleep in her arms. "...Mick..." He began to grumble in response as he buried his face deeper in her fur, mumbling something ending in Arceus. She giggled a little at his stubbornness. "Mick." She prods again. This time he grumbles a little louder while trying to make himself more comfortable. "Oh this is going to be too easy..." Her mouth curls into a sinister, Cheshire grin as she gets really close and takes a small breath. "MICK!" She shouts, getting a nearly instant reaction as he leapt several feet in the air before landing on his rump with a barely contained yelp. With watery eyes he starts to look around for the one who dared interrupt such a meaningful dream, all of his anger... however minor... Seemed to disappear as he caught sight of the beautiful Quilava. Her coat seemed to shimmer in the golden light of the city as she gave the most beautiful chuckle he had ever heard, to him it was like the lullaby of a Jigglypuff without the drowsy aftereffect. He hadn't even noticed that his entire body seemed to have frozen in place until she clapped a few times in front of him, causing him to go from perfectly balanced on one foot to face-first in the dirt. "Come on sleeping Snorlax, we still have training to do." She chuckles with her amazingly beautiful voice again. "... Maybe I should stop thinking of her as a sister..." Mick quietly debates as he picks himself up from the dirt. "It may not be fair to her if I keep thinking like that... After all... there are no more humans... and she is absolutely beautiful." He tenses up a little as he makes a realization. "Maybe it's the fact that I'm a pokemon now... but... I think I'm in love..." The sheer shock was almost enough to get the nopetrain started again, but he quickly began to take the fuel away. "Mom and Dad had the occasional interspecies relationship... If they didn't find anything wrong with having a pokemon partner... then... would it really be that bad... if I did?" He decided to file that question in the [think about it later] folder and get back to focusing on his training.