James' Nymphs

by AizakkuHorooee

Chapter 4 - First Look

After seeing Mat force Alo into the sealer, I take a few second to process exactly what happened before walking over and retrieving Alo. I look at the sealer for a few seconds, turning it left and right for a short time.

“Hmm. I thought you were new here.”

We are.

“Then how’d you know how students such as I caught anicom?”

I didn’t. All I knew was that we could be put in a sealer. I chucked it at Alo, expecting him to get in himself. I didn’t know that was actually a way to force someone in there. You really catch these anicom that way?

“Well, yeah.”

I would love to see that in action!

“I can’t really say for sure when that’ll come, but I know it will. In the meantime, I better get Arada and Alo out of here. Maybe they’ll enjoy that too.”

I take Arada’s sealer out of the toolbelt and press the button to both Arada and Alo’s sealers, prompting the two of them to appear.

AH! FINALLY! Arada! Are you okay?

Alo, what are you talking about? Of course I’m okay.

Wait. I don’t feel any different than I did in the sealer?

I chuckle at Alo and Arada as they, along with Mat, begin hiding in my backpack.

“I think that’s supposed to happen.”

***

Ah ha! Someone I can battle with!

“Huh?”

Just past Green City into Route Eight, I see a girl to my right spring from beside the train tracks, finishing up with a confident pose.

“I challenge you to a battle!” the girl declares.

I grab Indigo’s sealer and open it to reveal the skybound furlove from inside.

“You’re on! Indie! Show her what you got!”

You got it, Jim!

The girl proceeds to open her frontmost sealer to reveal an ora, a skilled one’s classic.

“Let’s do this, Aroc!”

“Indie! Use Stringway!”

Indigo soars up and shoots a tail-string. Unfortunately, the ora dodges.

“Aroc! You know what to do!”

“Claw! Claw!” I call out.

While Aroc attempts shapeshift, Indie swoops down and grabs him by the back of the neck, cancelling out the shapeshift.

My Chrysalis! the changelings quietly exclaim.

“Aroc!!!”

After about ten seconds, Aroc lands on the ground, groaning afterwards. The girl proceeds to take out the front sealer and open it, Aroc turning into pure energy and going inside, Indigo meanwhile landing beside me.

“You may’ve gotten a flawless one out of my ora, but I’ve got one more! Yutica, go!”

The girl pulls out another sealer, this one revealing a yunico, presumably named Yutica.

“Stringway! Aim for the horn!” I call.

As a second attempt, Indigo soars back into the air and fires another tail-string, this time aiming for the horn to disable any use of advantage against her, also taking into consideration that Yutica will try to dodge it. It proves halfway successful as Yutica tries to dodge by moving quicker than Indigo predicted.

Yutica looks to have lost balance as his tail gets pinned with Indigo’s tail-string.

“Yutica!! Ugh, my anicom aren’t working!”

The girl comes close to her anicom, likely to heal it.

Oh no you don’t!

“Yeah, you got him!”

Indigo swoops down and attempts to grab Yutica in the neck. However, when she gets close, the yunico freezes Indigo in place by levitation, just mere inches from the neck.

Uh oh.

“Hurl, Yutica! Hurl!”

With a passing grunt, Yutica proceeds to send Indigo flying for several yards and into the fields. Lucky for Indigo that she managed to quickly recover while still in the air, so the injuries are none for her, the girl meanwhile freeing her anicom’s tail.

“There! Now go get the mean old ravo!”

Hey little backride! Look to your right!

While the girl had assisted Yutica, Indigo used the time to soar remarkably high and get onto the other side of the route in stealth. While Yutica is getting up, he gets pinned again, this time by Indigo herself.

GOTCHA!!!

“Yutica!!”

“Wahoo! Way to go, Indie!”

Ugh... Yutica groans.

Ready when you are, Jim.

I grab Indigo’s sealer and open it, prompting her to get in. Afterwards, the girl puts her anicom in its sealer, and offers me a handshake. Afterwards, she gives me nearly one fifty.

“Well, I gotta say. You got me really good.”

“Thanks. I’m James.”

“Carly. I guess I’ll be on my way to Green City then.”

“Good luck out there.”

“You too.”

I wave goodbye to Carly as she walks past me. After she’s a good distance away from me, I tug at the straps to let the changelings know they’re in the clear and they can come out.

Whoa! James, you’re really good at this! Mat exclaims.

“What can I say? Indie is my starter. Of course she’s very experienced in this kind of stuff.”

Starter? I remember hearing that term when you were talking to your glossary back in the forest. I think that’s what that thing is called. Right?

“Uh huh. My glossary is what you’ve been hearing off and on. In fact. Now that everyone’s been in the sealer at least once...”

I pull up my glossary and point it at Mat.

Unnamed anicom... this anicom has nearly identical lifespans to humans. They can shapeshift, fly, and perform a variety of telekinetic abilities. This specific anicom is in her nymph stage. Type has been classified: morpher. Would you like to give this anicom a name?

I tap the top button, indicating a yes and prompting the glossary to beep.

“Changeling.”

Accounting for adaption of the naming scheme for all anicom, you have chosen “Tentera”. Is this okay?

Hmm... fitting.

Click.

Tentera’s information has been successfully gathered and completed. It will now be on slot sixty five.

“Alright. You guys are in a new entry for anicom.”

So will you have time to help us find Queen Areola?

“We’ll see about that, Mat. I was gonna talk to Megan when we arrived in Aquatown anyway, I’ll see what she thinks. In the meantime, I suggest getting in the sealers so that you guys don’t get noticed.”

Wait. Why? I don’t see any trouble nearby.

“We students take this kind of thing seriously. I think it’d be a good idea to try and look the part.”

Alright. I think we can do that. Alo? Arada?

The two sigh.

Fine.

I kneel down, reach in my toolbelt and set their sealers before them, each one of the tentara going in.

“Alright. Aquatown, here I come.”

And so, I stand back up and finally continue on my way to my next destination.