//------------------------------// // Chapter 63 // Story: Starlight: Redshift // by the-pieman //------------------------------// Walking through the burned town, I wonder how long it’s been here. Probably long enough that whatever was left behind is given up as lost... which means it’s free for the taking. We might even find some items. But the first thing on my agenda is to check out the bell tower as it’s probably got some clue as to what happened. The girls don’t need much convincing to come along so finally all three of us agree on what to do. It’s refreshing not having to argue. Maybe we should stay here for a bit longer. We all reach the bottom of the bell tower itself, and see that it’s really big. Fifteen stories or so, and almost thirty feet to a side. It’s dark, and there’s obvious fire damage along its facade, but no actual damage to the structure itself. The door hangs half on its hinges on one side, the other side of the double door completely flat and laying facing into the tower. The center of the door is splintered and broken, and beyond it, I can see a mosaic on the floor. Huh, this reminds me of the Burned Tower. Maybe if we go in we’ll find a legendary Pokémon! I clear away some of the debris to get a better look at the mosaic. Maybe it’s a hint as to what’s in here. On the floor, there’s pictures depicting humans and pokémon bringing offerings towards a tower with a bell at the top. The mosaic spirals outwards to flow up the stairs, and following it reveals more of the story. The people brought gifts of worked goods, and pokémon brought gifts of food. And they did for a very long time, with something living in the tower itself. Something that gave books... no knowledge from the tower to the people and pokémon. Whatever lived in the tower was there because it had made the tower, or was the tower, it’s hard to tell, and it gave its knowledge freely. But then, a human, or maybe a small group of humans, began to use the knowledge they’d gotten for something... awful. They began to try making better pokémon, not by careful breeding or love and guidance towards a new ideal, but rather by tapping into darker powers, and forcing changes on the pokémon instead. And so the master of the tower gave forth a new secret to man and pokémon, but it was a trap. The secret broke the bond that made humanity and pokémon one and the same, severing their languages for a time, and forcing them into conflict. As well, the master of the tower left, leaving them with no guidance or knowledge to aid them. In its leaving, a terrible fire was unleashed, but not one with flames, but rather a burning within that ate away the insides, and devoured the mind. Now, the Yellow Tower is abandoned, and this tale will be told to all who venture close.” I blink as I realize I’m standing at the top of a tall tower, with no idea how I got here, Twilight and Rarity looking just as baffled. I feel like I’ve just given a speech and- wait, how do I know all that stuff about the tower? Unless... the presence in the tower isn’t gone and it’s here somewhere. That would explain my recent fixation on checking it out, as well as why I can’t remember even entering the village. All I remember is the seeing the town, seeing the tower... and now I’m at the top of the tower. Weird. “So we should find whatever force is still here and try and figure this out. Or leave, but seeing as how it wants us here and we don’t have much choice in the matter...” Twilight looks confused, eyes wandering in random directions. “Uurgh, my stomach is roiling...” she informs me, shortly before puking all over the mosaic. And my shoes. Rarity is rubbing her head, looking like she just had a massive headache. Come to think of it, I’ve got a bit of a headache, too. Looking up, I can see most of a massive cast-iron bell, a full quarter of it missing and laying on the floor... nearly ten feet away. What broke this place? And why did it bring us here? Can we leave? “And if the headache would go away, that would be great. Just tell us what you want.” The vague headache remains, and Twilight wipes her mouth, eyes settling into more normal orbits. “Let’s, ugh, just try to leave. If it doesn’t work... well, we’ll figure out something then.” she says, wincing at the pain and nausea. “Fine.” I concede. “But if it doesn’t like us trying to leave it’s not my fault.” With that I head for the stairs, pausing at the top of them in case whatever wants to stop me gets the chance to do so, while Twilight just trods down the steps, Rarity close behind her. We reach the ground, in passing seeing the mosaic. It’s weird, but it doesn’t seem to be more than really simplistic pictograms now, with none of the meaning I got out of it walking up here. Weird. We walk out of the tower, and the headaches and nausea vanish instantly. Seems it only wanted to give us the story... and when we turn around, we can’t find the tower. We’d literally just stepped outside the tower! Well... that was quite the interesting adventure. Nevertheless I check the internet for anything about a bell tower in Midia forest. Maybe there’s an SCP file or something. But I seem to be beyond the range of the nearest wifi tower as I get no signal. The local functions work so there’s no anti-electronics field or whatever but I can’t contact anything outside the forest. “Okay this just went from weird to weirder, let’s get out of here and head for Crevasse.” The ponies nod fervently, and as we leave the burnt village, our pokémon come back to us; I hadn’t even noticed they’d left. Even weirder, because I’d never forget Litwick or Ghowl, much less leave them behind. The owl, perched on my shoulder, gives me a nuzzle as Litwick hugs my shoulder, flame lighting up as she settles in. “Yeah, good to see you too.” I pat the both of them and continue on, the girls having their own reunions. The episode of strangeness over though, it’s back to the forest. We have Ghowl reorient us to face North-Northwest and we keep going. Hopefully this is the last time we see that tower. Shaking it off, we tromp through the forest, until we get to another clearing. This one seems pretty normal, just a decent-sized glade with a ten-foot-diameter stump in the middle. Totally normal. On the stump, which is only about three feet tall, is a wide ring of mushrooms, and in the middle of them is a few Clefairy and a Clefable, along with some Cleffa, all asleep in the most adorable pile of sleeping pink fairyness I’ve ever seen. Rarity looks at the Clefairy and gives a d’aww face and asks if we can catch one. “Up to you, you’re the one who wants one.” “Hmmmm... well they are absolutely delightful but...” She bites her lower lip. “Well, just asking isn’t out of the question, right?” I give a simple ‘go ahead’ gesture and Rarity carefully walks up to the mound of pink pillow-like pokémon and gives one a gentle nudge. The Clefairy rolls over and yawns, one of the most adorable things I’ve ever seen, and blinks up at her. Before she can ask a question, the Clefairy smiles and reaches out to boop her on the tip of her nose, giggling. Rarity chuckles as well, after her eyes uncross, and the other Clefairy in the pile begin to wake up at the noise. Knowing exactly what a grumpy-from-just-waking-up Clefairy is capable of, I take a step back. Maybe two just to be sure. However, they seem to find Rarity just as delightful as she finds them, and they all toddle over to investigate, seeming cheerful as they snuggle her, getting snuggles in return. That is so adorable! So cute... I kind of want one now too. I walk over to the Clefable, now roused by the rest of its family. “So can she keep one of your friends or...?” The Clefable gives a shrug and a look of ‘don’t ask me!’ as Rarity goes down under a giggling mound of Clefairy and Cleffa, whom I’m guessing are using Tickle by the sounds of her laughter. Twilight seems very entertained by this, and has a more sedate Cleffa between her forelegs as she sits down and watches. “Alright, I guess we’ll take one... I guess Rarity gets to pick.” I cough and repeat myself so I get Rarity’s attention. She is, however, rolled over on her back, the Clefairy obviously too entertained with their ‘capture’ and the Cleffa are giggling as they roll her back and forth between two lines of them. What is it with Rarity and being good with itty-bitty adorable things? “Welp, guess Rarity isn’t going anywhere anytime soon.” “Nope.” Twilight giggles as she gives the Cleffa she has a little squish, noting exactly how squishy and soft they are. “So, what are these?” “You have a Cleffa, the bigger ones are Clefairy, and the tall one on the stump is Clefable.” “Clefairy... I’ve heard that name before. Didn’t you bring them up when you and Mr. Devon were discussing Void types?” I nod. “Yeah, it’s been confirmed that the Clefairy line are, at minimum, extraterrestrial pokémon, but not exactly deep space like most void types. As such, these guys are classified as Fairy Type. Originally they were pure Normal type but they were quickly relabeled once the Fairy type was officially discovered.” “Huh, so do taxonomic changes like that happen often?” “Whenever we learn something new about a pokémon it’s all updated. That’s why the library doesn’t carry many books on individual pokémon species. They can’t rewrite a book the way you can edit a webpage, so it’s all gone digital now. Hence the éTech and the Pokedex app.” “Well, that does make sense.” Twilight says, the Cleffa snuggling down and closing its eyes, evidently content to nap again against Twilight’s chest fluff. Lucky bastard... Twilight that is. Either way, I figure this is a relatively safe place in the forest if all these pokémon are content to just nap here, all their younglings out in the open and free to roam. It could be stupidity, but they can’t all be stupid, right? Of course, it could also be the fact there’s, like, twenty of them here, and they’re all probably in possession of Metronome, which would deter even the steeliest of challengers if every single one of them got ready to use it. Actually, now that I think about it, no wonder it’s so peaceful here. I sit down and relax while watching the pokémon play with Rarity. “So Twilight, you think she’s decided which one she’s keeping?” “No, I think she’s simply enjoying their enthusiasm.” Twilight observes with a faint smile, Rarity now having begun to snuggle back in earnest, holding three or four of the pokémon to her chest and nuzzling them. Almost as if copying the white pony, Twilight nuzzles the top of the Cleffa’s head, making the little pink pokémon smile and trill happily. “Are you gonna keep one?” “Mmm... maybe.” she says, pulling out her éTech and having it check the Cleffa’s data. After reviewing it, she smiles again. “Well, they certainly seem interesting. I think I might, but I don’t want to just send this little guy back to the Box. It just seems... unfair.” she says, giving a little pout. “Well, the boxes are there to keep pokémon safe and comfortable without forcing us to break the six pokémon limit. I make sure all my pokémon get a turn outside the box, and once I have twelve pokémon in all, I’ll just switch out teams every now and again. As long as you don’t just leave them there it’s perfectly fine. As a breeder without her own ranch or similar place to raise pokémon, she’ll need to make use of those boxes until she has outdoor room for all the pokémon she’s going to end up with.” Twilight nods, then sighs, resting her chin on the Cleffa’s head. The ponies seem content, when the sound of ruffling plastic catches my attention. I turn, and see that there’s a Bulbasaur and the Clefairy, with a deck of playing cards out, and when I look over the Clefairy offers me the deck. “Sure, I’ll play. You know Texas Hold ’em?” So it turns out that pokémon have fucking incredible poker faces. I think I lost around 500 to those two, and I was too frustrated to even try catching the Bulbasaur. “What do they even do with money anyway?” I ask aloud, sighing. Still, it’s not a huge dent in my wallet so it’s no big deal really, but it’s more the principle that has me down. Oh well, I lost fair and square. It’s only a few more minutes but soon Rarity needs a rest from all the playing. “At least you aren’t unathletic. A lot of fancy people I know wouldn’t even attempt to exercise.” “Sweat and dirt may never be in fashion darling, but a well-toned and exercised physique is required for one trying to make an impressive image.” “True. So have you decided which one to keep?” “Ooh, right...” she says, looking around. “Would any of you darlings like to come with me~?” she asks, adding a bit of a note to the end of her word. The Clefairy all think about, and most shrug, but one toddles over and smiles, hugging her around the muzzle. Judging by the little brown ‘heart’ shape under one eye, I think it’s the one that she first poked. “Interesting birthmark on that one.” I say. “But it’s not varicolored. Not sure how popular it’s eggs will be but it’ll make a good companion.” I say, giving my analysis. “Oh speaking of breeding I’d like you to take a closer look at Carvanha some time. This guy I met says she’s actually got some decent stats and that her eggs would be worth a lot.” Rarity agrees and, once the Clefairy is in a pokéball and sent to Rarity’s box, a few congratulations are passed around before we head off into the forest once again. A bit further ahead, and yet the forest is still pitch black and looks the same as everywhere else. Trees and undergrowth all over. I start to think we’re lost but since we never took a turn anywhere, we should still be headed East which is the way we need to go. It’s just taking days. Very. Long. Days. I’m just glad the flashlight app isn’t terribly draining for the éTech’s battery. Speaking of, I haven’t charged mine since I got it and I don’t even know how to charge it... That’d be good to ask when I get back to civilization. The next thing we come to is a Nidorino and a family of young Nidoran, the Nidorino is probably the dad. Well, all of us have had enough experience with grumpy Nidorino to know not to mess with it so we move on, doing our best to avoid eye-contact with the dad. We manage to get by with a simple grunt from the Nidorino before he goes back to his kids. The kids don’t seem to understand what a trainer is or... much of anything. They’re about as big as my forearm and that’s it, so they’re really teeny. And they’re just playing or wrestling or whatever that is, and as cute as they are they aren’t worth risking a tangle with daddy so we just keep walking, nothing to really do about the situation with the watchful father eying us peevishly. After that, we come across a small clearing, barely ten feet across, with a bunch of Bellsprout just sitting there, rooted, their mouths open to the sky. Likely, they’re catching bugs like that. Well, I’m a big fan of Bellsprout and while my last attempt to catch one ended badly, I’m willing to try again. I nudge Ghowl off my shoulder, and she glides over to the nearest Bellsprout. She just nudges it and the Bellsprout seems to snap out of its trance. The Bellsprout looks over at the Ghowl, then at me, gesturing to itself with a leaf, like ‘who, me?’ while looking me in the eye. “Yeah you. Wanna pass this up? I’m sure one of your pals will be up for a fight.” I say, holding out an empty pokéball to signal my intent. The Bellsprout wiggles to uproot itself, and the entire field of Bellsprout all look down from the sky to stare at us as the one I’d targeted squares its little... shoulders? Leaves? It’s the same motion, but it’s literally a slender stalk and a giant head, no shoulders or anything. Anyways... “Start with Hone Claws, let’s get some prep work out of the way.” I order, and Ghowl  flutters into the air, rubbing her talons on a piece of wood, leaving them polished and gleaming. “Aerial Ace!” The Bellsprout lashes out with a Vine Whip... at a nearby tree, grabbing it and dragging itself out of the way of the Aerial Ace, though the follow-up swipe still catches it. Impressive attempt, but it couldn’t work against a no-miss move like that. Still, that’s some quick thinking, I think I got the cream of this crop of Bellsprout for sure. I can tell just by looking at it this will make one hell of a catch. Not that there’s any doubt with a pokémon like Bellsprout.  I guess I’ll have to stick to no-miss moves though. “Alright, Shadow Sneak!” As the attack comes in, the Bellsprout lashes with vines at Ghowl, smacking her into a tree, interrupting the attack rather than dodging it. It didn’t do much damage, but that also wasn’t needed in this case. Clever, clever pokémon indeed, makes me want this particular Bellsprout all the more. Looks like I’ll need to fight it Grass/Poison to Grass/Poison. I recall Ghowl and send out Gloom. A quick look at this particular Bellsprout’s level, a very nice nineteen, I decide that Gloom at level twenty-seven should do fairly well defense-wise. “Alright Gloom, give it a Mega Drain!” I’ve tested it’s physical defense, let’s see it take a special attack... even if it’ll only do 1/4th normal damage. The Bellsprout gives a bubbling growl of defiance and begins to spray a thick, yellow-green fluid at Gloom, which sizzles and spits as it eats into the ground. Acid at level 19? What the heck? I call for a time out. No naturally born Bellsprout could do things like that, it has to be specially bred. “Hold up... You aren’t already owned are you?” The Bellsprout gives me a sad look, lowering its leaves and bell, shaking its head. Not owned, but those are clearly bred-in moves... oooh, I think I know what’s going on here. “You got abandoned... why? You look spectacular to me...” Admittedly the fact that it’s a Bellsprout puts stars in my eyes but come on! The Bellsprout gives a leafy shrug, then gives itself what would be in a more humanoid pokémon a chest thump, but I have no idea what it’s supposed to signify. Time for more digging. Wow, it even has Petal Dance! Must have been a good breeder... Waitaminute. Oh, it’s got a Hardy Nature. That is indeed a caveat against Bellsprout as a species but, “To get rid of a pokémon just because it’s nature isn’t desireable?” I ask aloud. “I’ve done my share of digital EV and IV training but that’s just heartless.” The girls look at me oddly. “Wait. This pokémon was released simply because of... what?” Rarity asks. “It’s nature is ‘Hardy.’ That’s not favorable for the Bellsprout line at all. And apparently the guy who bred this thing wanted a perfect Bellsprout and... released this one because it wasn’t perfect.” Rarity gasps, looking utterly disgusted and shocked at the idea. That, at least, is a good sign for a Breeder. She looks down, “Oh, you poor dear.” she says, reaching down and scooping up the pokémon for a hug. I give the little guy a pat on his twig-like back with my finger. “Some trainers just... well they want to be the best so badly that if their pokémon aren’t up to snuff they ditch them. It’s not illegal but... a real dick move either way.” Rarity nods, and the Bellsprout hugs her back. “Well I don’t care. You showed some serious skill back there. That trick with the tree? Genius for a pokemon all on it’s own.” I admit. “I’m surprised your trainer didn’t want you. Well you can come with us if you like. I know skill when I see it, and I’d say you’re overflowing with potential.” The Bellsprout nods emphatically, and all the other Bellsprout begin to clap their leaves and make encouraging noises. It seems they’ve all been hoping for this guy to get a good trainer. “Well, once we get out of this forest I’ll take you out and see what you can really do. I don’t judge by numbers, I judge by spirit. How about we finish this battle up and you can show me what you’re made of?” The Bellsprout nods, and Rarity puts the little guy back down, backing away. The Bellsprout gives me its best angry eyes (still adorable) and braces itself. I nod to Gloom who steps forward again and gets into its own battle stance. With both pokemon giving their own planty war-faces it’s enough to make Rarity give out a sigh with how adorable they are. She gets a meaningful look of ‘We are not cute, we’re warriors!’ from both Gloom and the Bellsprout and she backs away further chuckling. I give the Bellsprout my best war face and for some reason this puts Twilight into a laughing fit, barely trying to cover her laughter. “Anyways!” I say. “Let’s get this restarted. Gloom, Stun Spore!” Sure a cheap move on such an agile pokemon but given it’s smarts, paralysis seems my best bet at victory. The Bellsprout nods and simply hops back, lashing out with vines to grab a branch above and pull itself up out of range of the attack. A moment later, a hail of acorn-like projectiles comes streaming down from the canopy, pelting Gloom painfully. Not doing enough damage to do more than sting, but still... Bullet Seed too? Damn, the old trainer may have been a dick but must be one hell of a breeder. I’ll have to find this person and high five them before kicking their ass... With renewed desire to have this Bellsprout and no other, I order Gloom to use Acid. It’ll be not very effective but better than a Grass move. The blast of fluid melts away the foliage to reveal... nothing? I’m confused, and for a moment am afraid it ran off from nerves or something, until it comes swinging on a secured vine, moving way faster than I’ve ever seen a pokemon who isn’t meant for speed moving, passing by and smacking Gloom in the face before pulling a Spider-Man and just zipping back into the canopy. Gloom cries out, and I see that she’s rubbing at her eyes, which are now puffy and inflamed a bit. A bit of purpley powder is around her face, and I realize that Bellsprout just delivered a Poison Powder at about thirty miles an hour right to Gloom’s eyes. If she wasn’t a poison type, she’d probably have been blinded, but I think Bellsprout was counting on that. Well, Gloom is crying now, no way to see the way she is so I recall her. Next option I can think of is Litwick so I toss her out. When the little candle appears, she looks around, not seeing her foe immediately, costing her a chance to fight back against the Bellsprout’s next move. The wily plant pokémon attacks from ambush again, this time with a spray of purplish acid that coats Litwick, snuffing her flame and drastically reducing her power output as a result. The little candle begins to panic, trying to light herself again. I take a lighter from my bag which I got along with the waterproof matches and have a bit of trouble getting Litwick to hold still long enough to light her. She finally gets her yellowish flame back and her blue eyes look very thankful as she turns back, now knowing that there is a foe somewhere around. And I need to figure out how to trap it somehow. Fire Spin would keep Bellsprout contained, but how do I slow him down long enough to hit him with it? I’m not gonna let this guy stump me, no way! Litwick puts up her little hands, balled into an approximation of fists, as the light seems to brighten, spears of sunlight striking down through the canopy. The thin shafts of blinding light give me an idea of what’s coming next, but I have no idea where the clever little pokémon is at this point. Sure enough, a four-inch-wide beam of concentrated sunlight spears through the canopy at an odd angle, moving like a death laser towards Litwick, who panics again and gets out of the way in time for it to miss. And now, she’s looking more determined than ever. Looking up, I can see the Bellsprout huffing and panting on a branch, light already collecting on the back of its head. Before the next Solar Beam can be ready, I order a Flame Burst and Litwick aims the explosive ball of fire straight for where the Bellsprout is resting. Even if it gets away in time it’ll clear up more of the canopy and remove part of its vantage point. The coils of flame scorch the wood, and the Bellsprout cries out in surprise, the light scattering from it as it jolts, the same thing as happened to throw off Ghowl earlier. Alright, now to turn this to my advantage! “Smog! If it can’t see it can’t run!” I call out and Litwick agrees, sending a plume of dark gaseous smoke towards Bellsprout. Thankfully it’s partial Grass Type makes it vulnerable to Poison attacks. The toxic gas blasts forth to cover the Bellsprout, resulting in coughing and the pokémon coughing hard enough to knock itself off its perch. The little plant falls to the ground, literally bouncing back to its root-feet when it lands, though it pauses to give another squeaky cough. Seems that Smog really got to it. I decide now is the time... and a great pokémon like this deserves a Great Ball. I toss the red, blue and white sphere at the Bellsprout hitting it squarely in the chest and it’s absorbed into the ball. Now for the most important part of the capture... the wait. Even through all the damage it has taken and the Great Ball’s effect, the Bellsprout isn’t giving in. Despite it wanting a better trainer, it shakes the ball violently from inside, making the ball actually hop into the air once or twice from the force... And just before I think it’s over there’s one last shake, like the Bellsprout nodding from inside, and it dings before digistructing to my PC. Holy shit... I have a Bellsprout. And a damn good one at that. I pump my fist in the air and all the other Bellsprout are cheering, and dancing. The girls look mighty happy as well. And the overall good mood sends me into overdrive and I just begin jumping up and down like an excited child. Dreams do come true!