Starlight: Redshift

by the-pieman

Chapter 70

After a bit of a trek and a climb, we get back to the Pokémon Center and Rarity rushes upstairs to get washed and redressed. I settle for just rubbing a smudge on my jacket, which just ends up smudging further. Meh, no big deal. I mean, at least it’s dirt and not scars or burns. I’d hate to see what prolonged physical exposure to those electrified crystals could do.

I pull out my éTech and send Dr. Franklin the images of the Unown writing, along with the short message of ‘Groudon and Kyogre?’. The message sent I head over to a table and wait for Rarity, Twilight cracking open another book to pass the time with.

Feeling boredom pull at my brain again, I wonder what’s taking so long. I decide to look up that strange Graveler, wanting to see if my hypothesis that it eating the crystals mutated it’s type was accurate. The first result isn’t on eating habits, but rather something called the Delta Gene. Loosely explained, it’s apparently a gene that, when ‘woken up’ inside a pokémon during its developmental phases before being born or hatched, it will... wait, Delta Gene? Like the Delta Species deal from the cards? Reading further I discover that I’m pretty much on the nose with that. The Delta Gene, when activated in the Pokémon’s DNA will change its typing, either in whole or in part.

It seems to have a specific type change based on which species has the Delta Gene. Like for example a Pikachu with the Delta Gene awoken would have, say, the Steel typing instead of Electric, and that Steel typing would be the same for any Pikachu with the awoken Delta Gene.

It goes on to explain different tricks scientists have used to successfully breed in and activate the Delta Gene in various species of Pokémon. It’s all really fascinating, but that species-wide rule would mean that the Graveler couldn’t be part Electric through the Delta Gene, as they don’t appear to have said gene at all. So I’m right, the typing change was achieved purely through eating enough of the stuff. The other fact was that the Graveler didn’t have any special markings. Delta Pokémon have a very specific ‘birth mark’ in the shape of what I can affirm is definitely the Delta symbol used in the card game. Man, this is pulling lore from every aspect of the fandom. Pretty glad I paid attention to most of it, otherwise I wouldn’t have a leg up on some of these things.

I wonder what the Delta Gene does when intermingling with any type changes of Mega Evolution, and decide to look that up. Hmm... only a few of the pokémon with Delta Gene potential have Mega Evolutions. I wonder if that’s connected at all?

The Delta-shifted Mega Evolutions all have a completely different type set from normal, more so even than the regular Delta Species, and there’s six or seven research articles pinned to the information. All of them talk about ‘molecular and souletic disruption’ and ‘extreme instability during form transition’ being the primary causes of Delta Species pokemon normally not getting any kind of Mega Evolution, though most of it is from before the mass-produced artificial Mega Stones were being sold.

Looks like further research is required. Either way, I close the various tabs I’d opened on Delta Genetics and move on to the actual Graveler. Using the location of the caves and the description of the Graveler, I actually find Chatters first, detailing a few other trainers having encountered similar phenomenon. Apparently we were one of the the first ones to ever manage to capture one from the caves, in the way of Twilight’s special Aron. There’s mentions of the local Ranger Corps making use of the local variants often, though, and there’s apparently plenty of people who live here and have them as Companion pokémon.

I go to- *ping!* Oh, cool, I got a message back from Franklin. I pull it up to see what his opinion is.

Reading it off, I feel my brows coming together. ‘There are many myths associated with this region; it has always been a conflux of numerous other regions. One of the myths associated with Otaria is one of a series of beings more powerful than any native to this world, but who lived here. This may tie into that mythology, though if it does, it’s a new piece of information.’ There’s more, but it’s mostly him talking about how he wished he could examine the tablet personally, but tablets like that always seem to vanish or break when dedicated researchers get near them.

‘Darn’ I text back. ‘Would love to see what else we could dig up on it. Would need actual digging though. Cave-in might’ve crushed it’

A moment later, the reply comes to me. ‘Even worse. Likely nothing remains. Thank you for the pictures, though. If I find anything else out, I’ll be sure to message you.’

I text back a smiley face and our conversation ends there. I am about to continue looking up more about the Delta Gene but Rarity comes down and is wearing, obviously, an entirely different outfit. She just can’t be content with wearing something she already wore, can she? “Next time, maybe use some of Sewaddle’s silk to just patch up a tear and move on. We can’t have you changing clothes in the middle of an adventure. Slows us down a lot”

“I’m sorry, Anthony, but I wish to showcase my outfits and make sure they’re comfortable. The easiest way to do so is to give them a try-on myself.” she says.

“Fine, but we should probably move on. I think once we take an actual tour of the caves, we should move on. This place is nice, but I’m looking forward to another badge.”

“Understood, Anthony. Oh, I’ve made some alterations to our desert gear, I’ve spent some time looking over some of the outfits used at present, and I rather like some of the alternate designs.” she says, “Anyways, we had settled on trying the deeper gorge tram later this evening; will we be heading off in the morning, then?” she asks.

I nod. “Probably, not a whole lot else to really stop us. So until the tour starts in...” I look at the time. “Three hours, what do we do for now? Going back to the caves early would be a bit redundant.”

“True... So what do you suggest?”

I shrug. “If they don’t have a Contest Hall or anything to spectate at, I say we just look for a few trainer battles.”

“Alright; we can see if they have any breeder’s meet-ups while we’re out, too.” she says.

I nod and tap Twilight. Once she looks up I inform her that we’re heading out. “If we can’t find anything else to do, we’ll try for a few trainer battles. Bellsprout and Chantlette are one level each away from evolving and I wanna see what I can do with their larger movepools.”

“Oh, that’s a great idea! Give me a moment and I’ll join you.” she says, moving to put her stuff away.

Once we’re all set, I get the map app up and see what’s around. After confirmation that there’s no Contest Hall around, and that there won’t be a breeder meet-up in this area for two more days, we all settle to getting some battles in. I’d like to test my current team against someone I’ve already fought but nobody in my phonebook who battles is local. It’d be a trek back towards Autumnwash before I could meet up with anyone again, assuming they stayed where they are.

A few minutes of eyeballing the map, we find the local ‘battle area’, though when we arrive, it’s little more than a thick wooden platform held up on several of the thicker strands. All in all, it’s more or less the manifested form of many of my fears. There is no way that’s in any way stable enough for a Snorlax to land on, or a Gyrados to use... any attacks on. Still, there’s stands near it for watching, and there’s already a pair of trainers battling.

Taking a breath and sighing, I head for the stands, resigning myself to waiting until the next area before evolving any team members. The current battle is a standard single match between a Marowak and a pokemon that looks a bit like a pale, black-and-white drider.

I decide to let my eTech give me a name and description, so I scan it and turn up the speaker while I watch the creature.

Horachnia, the Elder Widow pokemon
- These pokemon use their appearance -like that of a human woman- to lure human adults into their snares and traps. They also eat other pokemon, though their preferred prey is human adults.
- Due to a weird mental disconnect, Horachnia do not consider human children to be edible, perhaps mistaking them for young Spidead. As a result, they are protective and gentle around human children.
Bug type, Ghost type

Huh... disturbing. The name ‘Spidead’ leads to its previous stage, which looks like a little girl version of a black-and-white drider, and they apparently also eat adults, preferentially. Looking up, the trainer for this one still looks young.

Wonder if he’ll end up eaten when he grows up... That would suck as a birthday present.

The Horachnia is weaving webs of black-and-white silk all over the field, hemming in the Marowak, though the ground-type is making good progress. While not exceptionally effective, its move pool can include a move that is proving exceptionally useful here, as the Marowak uses another fire-charged fist to Fire Punch the webs away from itself, but it’s running out of room to move in. And given that the rest of its moves are largely ground, normal, or fighting type... well, it’s a bad matchup for the Marowak.

Hmmm... Chantlett might not be able to do much, but I think Litwick might stand a better chance with it’s smaller size and bigger flames than Fire Punch offers. But no way am I setting foot on that rickety little thing. Fuck that sideways with a cactus.

The Horachnia hems in the Marowak, before finishing with an X-shaped swipe of its claws, leaving lurid purple marks on the Ground-type’s body, the poison seeping in quickly and finishing the job.

Once the battle is over, the trainers shake hands before parting, the small child recalling his spider pokemon, then pulling another pokeball, throwing it, and charging for the edge of the platform. The pokemon forms as the kid leaps off, and is caught by his Pidgeot.

My heart, meanwhile, makes a break for orbit before I can calm down.

As I’m taking deep breaths to try bringing my heart rate down from a million or so, Twilight steps up onto the platform and is soon joined by another trainer and they set the rules of the battle, discuss monetary winnings and such before walking to opposite sides. Twilight sends out Pignite and the new guy sends out his own Pokémon, a Mienfoo. The little pokémon assumes a respectful stance and bows to Twilight’s Pignite, who mimics the bow.

The battle begins with a stand-off of sorts, both Pokémon circling the platform in defensive stances, before the Mienfoo sits down on the platform and closes its eyes. Twilight orders Pignite to use a Take Down, and Pignite obeys, leaping at the smaller pokémon, who stays very still, and starts to glow faintly. Pignite lands- and Mienfoo blurs out of the way, rolling to the side and delivering a leaping kick to Pignite’s middle, and following up with a barrage of open-palmed slaps.

Pignite, though off-balance, is hardly hurt and Twilight gives him the order of a Flame Charge which easily connects, the Mienfoo toppling from Pignite’s weight. Mienfoo is told to reply with a Force Palm, and Pignite’s response of an Arm Thrust ends with their hands barely missing each other as they cross paths. Twilight bites her lip and takes a moment to think about her situation, a risky move when against a faster opponent. But her eventual order of a Smog attack ends with Pignite belching out a cloud of gaseous smoke and the Mienfoo is thrown into a coughing fit, unable to physically repel the cloud. Without any delay, Pignite is given the order to use Flame Charge again and connects once more, but the force of the attack launches Mienfoo out of the Smog cloud. Mienfoo returns to it’s sitting position and glows a bluish color as opposed to the orangish one before. Twilight, having learned her lesson, orders Pignite to back off. With Mienfoo staying still and Pignite not moving at Twilight’s behest, they seemingly resume their standoff, neither of them very hurt. Suddenly the other trainer tells his Mienfoo to use Swift and the smaller pokemon sends several waves of stars at Pignite.

Twilight calls for a rollout and, while the stars connect and slow down Pignite’s rolling, it doesn’t stop his advance and he slams into Mienfoo... who glows another color, this time a definite red, and begins skillfully dodging each of Pignite’s oncoming attacks until Pignite slows down his spinning and stops.

The battle continues, Pignite’s overall size and strength matched by Mienfoo’s maneuverability, but eventually Twilight seems to get tired of the back and forth and orders a Take Down which has Pignite land on Mienfoo, just slightly too slow to keep it’s leg out of range. Once Pignite had landed on the smaller pokemon and had readjusted his position into that of a more traditional wrestling hold, Mienfoo was having a harder time moving with its body pinned. A bear hug from Pignite later and Mienfoo is crushed, for the most part, and taps the platform, signaling it’s giving up.

It wasn’t the flashiest of battles, but it was interesting to see a pair of Fighting Types from completely different fighting styles combat one another. Still, once the Mienfoo was held down, it’s motion-heavy moves couldn’t get it out of Pignite’s grasp. Twilight happily accepts a handshake and the money prize, returning Pignite and heading back to the stands. After several more less interesting matches, the three hours have passed and it’s time for the tour of the caves.

I give my two cents on Twi’s battle. “Nice use of Smog, but next time if it starts using Detect like it did against Rollout, a Mienfoo is likely to sit back and use status boosting moves. It’s good that you kept the attacks up, or it would have had the chance to boost its attacks to the point where it could have outmatched Pignite. If you simply started with Take Down as soon as Mienfoo was hit by Smog it would have been over much quicker and it wouldn’t have had the chance to use anything like Swift.” I think about it knowing and using Swift. “Actually, if you didn’t close the distance with rollout, it might have just spammed Swift until Pignite was out of the fight. He really needs more ranged moves.”

“I’ve looked over his move pool, and there’s not really any that he can use that will be all that useful; with how high his attack is, anything like Flamethrower would be largely wasted.” she says, “However, thank you for the analysis, it’ll help a lot next time I battle. I hadn’t realized Meinfoo are so... agile. It kinda reminds me of how Rainbow Dash fights when she’s doing martial arts.”

“Yeah, that’s Mienfoo’s deal, it’s heavily based on a lot of fast, quick movements, that’s why once it was held down it couldn’t do much. It wasn’t able to move around.”

“Makes sense. There’s a lot of things under the various types that count, like the very different styles of fighting in Mienfoo and Pignite, or the way that some pokemon are Electric type because they produce electricity, while others simply use it, channel it, or eat it.” she says, and I nod. The pokémon world is very diverse indeed.

Comments

[Booster Spice]

Delta Gene? thats new. Or at least long after I played with origional card games. Or personal variation?

Still impressive new collection, though Alolan ones will be rare and far between on touring trainers?

Am I supposed to be able to get a Sylveon within an hour and a route of picking up an Eevee Egg? Im sure it was one of the most difficult to get prior with the happiness thing.

At least there should be even more new and intresting pokemon down in teh depths. Magma and Hydrothermal, with Scald a favourite?

[A Tin Can]

When the story updates:
media0.giphy.com/media/itDBteCsTFSVO/200_s.gif

[Spirit of Harmony]

This story is my drug. It needs to update more often.

[ShadedTz]

7771189 Delta genes are currently in the game. Though they don't offer alt typing....

[the-pieman]

7776148 The "Delta Gene" is derived from the "Delta Species" cards in an older iteration of the pokemon TCG, and was used to give pokemon of one type, a type they normally wouldn't have. So Booster is actually correct here in that it's closer to the cards than the actual videogames.

[ShadedTz]

7776204 Ah, I remember reading some text in-game that had to do with some genes that weren't mega-evolution related....

[Quantum_Shift]

7776801 Yeah, there's no mention of Delta genes in the series beside the card games.

[ShadedTz]

7777881could have sworn there was...

[the-pieman]

7778010 Well if you can remember where you got the info from and linked your source I'd love to take a look at it, do a bit of studying and potentially find a place for it in the fic.

[ShadedTz]

7778027 I can't I just remember reading one of the NPC's chats in one of the cities in one of the games... *Le shrug* Can't wait for more!