Ch.11 - Precious Memories
Raichu for Hire
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Chapter 11
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Precious Memories
Just like before, Nica was experiencing her past in her dream through the eyes of a Pikachu, being her smaller self.
With Articuno safe and one of three Team Rocket elites in prison, her and her trainer’s attention focused on protecting the other two legendary birds. Unlike the last time, however, the enemy was aware of their intentions and prepared accordingly.
She soon discovered that the second hitman was known by the codename ‘Phantom', a name which was going to haunt her memories for days to come. An expert at using ghost type pokemon and master of illusions, a cunning and formidable foe.
The assassin with help from Team Rocket scientists apparently studied the powers of ghost pokemon, creating a device that allowed him to go through walls and turn invisible. His stealth combined with paralysis grenades that discharge electricity and paralyze his opponent proved to be a very dangerous combo.
In an attempt to save Moltres from this unpredictable criminal, Nica and her trainer were ambushed instead. Despite having a better team, Astra proved herself unable to improvise in the heat of the moment, allowing the weaker trainer to overpower her with an unpredictable strategy.
Gliscor being a main threat for the enemy ending up targeted and defeated first by the assassin's ambush.
With Nica being resistant to paralysis and electricity due to her being an electric pokemon, she was the last standing, outnumbered four to one. When everything seemed to be lost, Articuno itself flew into the battlefield, freeing the legendary ruler of fire from its shackles before rescuing Astra and her paralyzed team.
After sending a few ‘Thunderbolts’ towards the ground to slow down their pursuers, Nica ran towards Articuno’s neck and hugged it. <You have noooo idea how happy I’m to see you again. I thought we were goners!> Her trainer was perched on Articuno’s back while holding the badly-bruised Eevee in her embrace. The downside of freeing one team member being a lack of pokeball to carry him in.
<We’re allies, aren’t we?> Articuno asked, screeching from its lungs. <I thought you may need my help, so I remained nearby, watching.> With a strong flap of its majestic wings, Articuno increased its speed. <Moltres, Zapdos and I… we don’t get along… Whenever we meet, it doesn’t take long before our arguing turns into an all out battle, so I try to keep my distance from them. However, If protecting them is what you all wish, I’ll look past our differences and give my aid… This one time at least.>
Nica nodded and sighed in relief. The hitman targeting Zapdos was known by codename “Deathblow,” and his strength relied in brainwashing pokemon stolen from the strongest trainers to do his bidding. When saving the third legendary bird, they would most likely be outnumbered twenty to nine. Having Articuno on their side certainly improved their odds.
Thanks to information from the mole, they found out that Zapdos was caught already and relocated into Team Rocket research facility for a brainwashing procedure. The very facility that ‘Deathblow’ was fond of as he quite often used its services.
Astra and Nica knew that extremely well trained pokemon had enough power and skills to give the legendaries a hard time, so an army of them would be enough to defeat two legendary birds with ease. Direct confrontation was out of question. Yet, there was one hope. Articuno and Zapdos were quite quick fliers after all, and their attacks were especially effective against flying pokemon. As big as ‘Deathblow’s‘ arsenal was, there was a high chance that most of his pokemon were unable to fly and too big to fight from atop of a flying pokemon, and any pursuing air force would be easily shot down from the sky.
With Lt. Surge and his friends volunteering to create a diversion with a few explosions and a power shutdown of the enemy facility, Astra’s squad snuck in under Nica’s command, freeing the legendary pokemon from under ‘Deathblow’’s very nose among the created chaos. It didn’t come as a surprise how any pokemon capable of flight were sent to chase the escapees, only to be grounded by Articuno’s ‘Ice Beams’ and ‘Blizzard’ attacks.
Astra’s plan worked… too well for her own good.
With Moltres and Zapdos rescued and their new location unknown, it no doubt enraged the Boss. It was only a matter of time before she would become a target. One thing both Astra and Nica were certain of, they weren't ready for a main confrontation against ‘Deathblow’ just yet. Staying in Kanto was a suicude.
Nica, Eevee and their trainer were perched on Articuno’s back, retreating from the Kanto region with Sinnoh being their next destination.
Apparently, thanks to his connection to the police, the boss of Team Rocket discovered the mole in his organization and also freed his female hitman from prison, sending his three most elite subordinates after the trainer who dared to mess up his plans. In the best case scenario, they would steal all pokemon and lock the trainer up somewhere. In the worst case they would take away their lives.
Why retreat to Sinnoh? Nica soon found out the reasons:
Being far away from Kanto, Sinnoh was free of Team Rocket’s influence and its police free from their corruption. And according to rumors, an organization called Team Galactic was slowly growing in numbers and power in this region, and they would no doubt want to keep Team Rocket away from their territory.
<You should be safe here,> Articuno screeched calmly, lowering its long wing to the ground for its passengers to slide on. <Pikachu, please inform your trainer that I will remain nearby, out of sight, watching. Should you all require my aid, just climb onto the tallest mountain in the area and use flashy attack towards the sky and wait, I will arrive.>
<Translate your words into paper for my trainer to read? Will do! I have been doing it quite often anyway,> Nica said with a salute. She had to admit, Articuno was a really cool and dependable ally, though maybe a little bit too serious at times. It appears that being centuries or even millenia years old makes one forget how to chill. <Oh, and next time, call me Nica. That’s my name after all.> She received a silent nod in response.
Eevee pushed himself from Astra’s embrace and ran towards Articuno’s leg, nuzzling it. <You’re a good ally. Thank you, thank you for protecting my mom and my older sister!>
Nica blushed and hid it behind her paws. She couldn’t deny it anymore, her role as big sis was established by the Eevee himself, not something she could simply refuse when looking into those cute little eyes.
With the Hoenn League already over as they failed to participate due to their… detour in Kanto… what was left was to register for the Sinnoh League. Despite Gym Leaders in Sinnoh going all out, none proved a challenge for Astra’s team and she acquired all necessary badges in only a month, leaving her with nine months before the League would start.
Being too powerful for Gym Leaders, yet too weak to face the Elite Four or Team Rocket elites, Astra and her team needed to find a way to grow stronger while avoiding unnecessary attention.
Their search for such way led them to a secret village filled with monks who, for most of their lives, trained side by side with their pokemon. Was it to master their aura side by side with pokemon like Lucario, or was it to unleash psychic power and telekinesis with pokemon like Alakazam.
Trials of fire, ice, water and electricity awaited them before Astra and her team could prove themselves worthy of their teachings.
After a few weeks of continuous training, Astra showed no potential, nor did any of her pokemon except one. Her Pikachu.
When meditating and training under the monk’s guidance, Nica had no idea she would start sensing the aura of other creatures. The wisest monk, Sindel, came to a conclusion that by facing stronger opponents hundreds of times, almost never having a fair fight, Nica’s body started to improve in unique ways to compensate, and this hidden potential finally came to light during a deep meditation.
With each day of training, the aura of others became easier to sense and more clear. Whether her eyes were closed or she was turned away, she could still sense the presence of other living creatures, recognizing their sadness, happiness, anger, jealousy, compassion, admiration. A new experience which was both helpful and distracting at the same time.
It didn’t take long before she was approached by a Riolu, a pokemon whose master died during their training a few years ago. According to Sindel, this pokemon remained in the local shrine, waiting… What was he waiting for? No one knew, but now he willingly followed Nica, training with her, teaching how to use a powerful fighting move ‘Focus Blast’ while also guiding her in sensing the auras of pokemon and humans.
Even though a long-range and powerful fighting move like ‘Focus Blast’ improved Nica’s offensive arsenal, while her ability to sense aura and emotions of others helped her defensively, it wasn’t enough. Even a friendly battle with an Articuno from time to time didn’t do the trick.
Then they heard rumors about the Hoenn Battle Frontier. According to the rumors, there were specific facilities in Hoenn, each with an extremely powerful trainer. They weren’t as tough as Elite Four members, but certainly above Gym Leaders.
This was it, the challenge that Astra was looking for.
With Articuno kindly providing transportation to the Hoenn region, as well as transporting Astra and Nica from one facility to another, the team grew stronger and gained skills with each challenge.
With eight pokemon at her disposal while allowed to use only six, Astra swapped her team, allowing Eevee and Riolu to gain experience and prove themselves worthy of an evolution. The overprotective Eevee one night evolved into a brave Umbreon, a true nightmare for psychic pokemon, while his ‘Toxic’ and ‘Protect’ proved a dangerous combo against foes with durability and stamina. Now even more powerful than before, Nica needed to keep his aggressive personality in check, or else medical assistance for innocent bystanders would be required.
Riolu became a Lucario, a fighting and steel type with powerful offense and plenty of resistances. While still lacking combat experience when compared to the rest of the team, his role as Nica’s personal sensei and sparring partner remained unmatched.
As the adventure continued, Nica quickly became the only Pokemon who still hadn’t earned her final evolution, despite fighting the hardest.
The last battle facility to challenge was the Battle Pyramid, a place Nica was going to remember for the rest of her life.
Three mighty legendary pokemon were displayed in the field: A sturdy and powerful Regirock, indestructible Registeel, and shining Regice.
Nica looked up at her trainer before taking a step back, finding Astra’s grin to be very creepy.
“Nica… this is it… this is what I was searching and waiting for all this time,” Astra said before looking down at her with a wide smile. “An opportunity for you to fight against impossible odds, an opportunity for you to finally earn your evolution has come. I don’t care if it will take weeks or months, but once we’re done here, we’ll be ready to face every challenge the world can throw at us.”
Nica nodded before looking at the three massive giants. If each of them was as powerful as Articuno, facing them as a Pikachu was going to become the biggest challenge of her life.
Nica pushed herself to a sitting position and rubbed her sleepy eyes, and next examined her surroundings.
She was sitting on a bed with two pillows, big enough to accomodate two ponies. Unlike the simple bed in Twilight’s castle, this one seemed… more ornate… for lack of better words. Even now she still wondered what was the purpose of four curtains and small roof in the shape of a dome above her head. This bed was inside a room after all, so why anyone would ever want to turn it into a tent?
Two big windows and two smaller ones invited the sunlight into the room.
On her right she could see a green shelf with one tall mirror.
One quick glance at the floor allowed her to see her own reflection, while the floor itself was made of white and blue squares.
The most outstanding feature seemed to be crystals decorating the room in various spots, especially on the lower part of each window.
While Twilight’s castle and the castle in the crystal empire seemed similar when it came to construction materials and crystals as the main decoration theme, Cadence’s castle certainly stood out more in the case of elegance and creativity.
Nica stepped from her bed and approached the window, opening it with her tail. Upon looking down, it became clear that this castle was very very tall, like a gigantic tower. The distance between this window and the solid ground was reaching a hundred meters, give or take several.
With a small leap, she jumped from the window, stretching her left leg towards the ground as she prepared herself for the landing. As she had expected, her hind leg touched the crystal street softly, easily supporting her whole weight despite her long fall.
The ground type attacks are my only weakness, so it make sense why my trainer trained my jumping so often. Still, when comparing how high I could jump as a Pikachu in my dreams, and what I am capable of now… I think there was a lot more jump-related training involved, Nica thought before looking around as no pony seemed nearby. It seems I woke up very early today. There’s still some time before training of the guard.
Using all four paws, she ran across the shining street, bypassing homes made of crystals, and next going through the protective barrier. The pleasant temperature of the city instantly changed to a freezing one as her paws now sank into the deep snow. A strong blizzard waved her tail and ears while assaulting her face.
After reaching the closest hill not far from the barrier, she looked over the white landscape before raising her paws, holding them close to each other. She closed her eyes and concentrated. Her ears drooped. Her lips started to tremble. Using what she remembered from her dream, she focused energy into her paws, trying to gather enough for the ‘Focus Blast.’
After several seconds of intense concentration, she opened her eyes, only to find nothing between her paws. She lowered her head, dropped her forepaws and sighed as white vapour formed in front of her mouth. I can use ‘Thunderbolt,’ ‘Iron Tail’ and ‘Volt Tackle,’ but all other moves I used in my dreams seem out of my reach. She raised her head and rubbed her chin while ignoring the strong wind. “I can’t shake the feeling that this is not my entire arsenal. There must be more… but I can’t put my mind on it.”
“Excuse me little one!”
Nica placed a forepaw above her eyes protectively and looked up, noticing a flying creature heading in her direction.
“Are you lost, do you need help?” the creature asked in a female tone before landing in front of Nica with a solid splash of snow. “I have seen you standing on this hill half covered in snow, freezing in this strong blizzard, while the warmness of the city is only a hundred meters away. You poor, poor dear. I’m sure the kind Crystal Ponies will be more than happy to let you stay in their empire.”
Nica listened with full attention while examining this creature’s features. She had a yellow beak similar to many of flying pokemon she encountered, and was staring back at her with wide black-green eyes. It’s fur was… greenish… bluish… greyish… well, whatever color it was, it certainly became brighter on her fluffy neck. On left and right side Nica could see two large featherly wings, far bigger than wings of a pegasus, maybe even bigger than wings of an alicorn.
“You must be cold, sad and lonely. Nothing warms up and cures loneliness better than a warm hug,” the creature said before picking up Nica with her talons and pressing it against her fluffy chest, only to embrace her with both of her wings.
Nica felt her heart racing and her eyes became wide. The softness, the affection. She didn’t feel like this since her cuddling and hugging session with Fluttershy. The fluffy chest surpassing pony’s fur in its softness, while wings were warm and pleasant on touch. What caught her attention the most wasn’t the softness of this creature, but rather its aura. Excitement, compassion, pity, happiness and so much more. A rain of emotions descended upon her, surpassing even the compassion of Fluttershy and enthusiasm of Pinkie Pie combined. Whatever this creature was, Nica wouldn’t mind falling asleep in its pleasant embrace.
“Oh, I forgot to introduce myself. My name’s Gabriella the Griffon, but friends call me Gabby,” Gabby said as she released Nica and held her in front of her beak. “I’m just a little mailgriffon who likes helping a lot. I was making a delivery to the Crystal Empire and just happened to notice you with my sharp sight.”
“Ummm… my name’s Nica and I’m a Raichu.”
“I have no idea what a Raichu is, but it sounds neat, and Nica is such a nice name. Also, love your ears, they’re so funny, and your long tail is even funnier.” She poked her ears and tail with her talons, and next started holding Nica like she would hold a baby and gently scratched her belly. “You’re such an adorable white-orange cutiepie. I’m sure plenty of Crystal Ponies will love to give you a warm home and plenty of affection.”
Nica was lost for words, the excitement she sensed was overwhelming her on every level. Her eyes quickly focused on the saddlebag on the griffon’s side, recognizing the mark on it. She looked Gabby in the eyes and asked, “May I ask you a question?”
“Sure, shoot, I’ll do my best to answer, you cutie cutie cutie you,” she said before playfully scratching the wide belly again.
Resisting urge to giggle, Nica asked, “That mark on your saddlebag looks similar to the tattoo… I mean, cutie mark of Apple Bloom, Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle, do you know them?”
“Do I know them?!” Gabby shouted, pressing her beak against the tiny black nose of Nica. “They are the C.M.Cs, Cutie Mark Crusaders, and I’m part of the C.M.Cs as well. They helped me find my destiny and are the best, cutest, most helpful fillies I have ever seen!” She pushed Nica up in excitement.
Nica performed a backflip before landing in the snow.
“Sorry!”
“I’m fine. I fell from greater heights without a scratch,” Nica said with a smile, rubbing the back of her head. She approached and grabbed Gabby’s talon, shaking it. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Miss Gabby. A friend of the C.M.Cs is a friend of mine.” She yelped upon receiving a paw-shake of the highest calibre as her entire body was shaken instead. She was wrapped into another warm hug, this one having greater force behind it.
“I would love to be your friend. Oh, we’re going to become besties!”
With a bit of struggle, Nica pushed herself upward, freeing her head from the warm hug. With her head standing up from between two wings, she nuzzled Gabby’s neck.
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D’awwwwwwwwwwwwww
Also, first!
Yes, give Nica all the snuggles.
Why do I feel like this is not going to end well for Astra? Hopefully when she gets her chance she will completely destroy the boss of Team Rocket, unless you go with how it goes in the games.
That is something fromt the show I forgot, did she really earned a cutiemark or is it painted on?
I somehow really liked to see that character here.
8844898
Sadly, the way they showed Wonderbolts both in action and as characters painted them in a very poor light (makes one wonder what Dash saw in them in the first place). I mean... they aren't any military strike squad, but just athletes and performers, but still, a group made of the best fliers should be better than that. (If a farm pony, weather manager, fashion designer, party planner and animals caretaker managed to team up with princess' student to take down many evils and villains, I see no reason why a group of sport athletes can't be somewhat competent in helping those in danger.
(At least guards have excuse of doing nothing but standing still for years, the Wonderbolts train all the time, so they should be more competent than that).
8845179
It certainly is. Who knows how many ponies are afected by this head-ache and what it means. Only mob boss was somewhat close in figuring out what's going on.
8846621
Two downvotes for your comment? Odd. It seems they either did't like your (Also, first!), or they didn't find this chapter to be cute in any way and they disagreed with you on the (D'awwwwwwww) regard.
In any case, I know that the dream-chapters are looked down upon many readers since they go away from the MLP element of the story, but I find them needed to build up Nica's past and explain where her skills are comming from. It just happened that passage of time in the side-story is big, so there are more past dream scenes than usual.
8846649
Gabby and Nica, the ultimate snuggle-combo.
8846704
That's why she retreated away from Kanto and Johto. She's fine for now.
Astra isn't exacacly a character who can accomplish that. She's more of a trainer who want to defeat and arrest the most dangerous members of each criminal organization, leaving them with less competent troops. She hopes that organizations crumble or fail to win against other trainers if they lack competent elite (in a sense, criminal organizations in the anime lacking elites who can defeat a kid trainer like Ash was her doing. Being a stepping stone for others is the role Astra chose for herself).
8848052
She painted it at first to fool CMC to make them happier, but they found out that it was a lie. Gabby's cutie mark is basically a gift made by CMC that she wears on her side (kind of like an emblem or something).
One think both Astra and Nica were certain off, they weren’t ready for main confrontation against ‘Deathblow’ just yet
Their search for such way lead them to a secret village
Nica nodded before looking at the three massive giants. If each of them was as powerful as Articuno, facing them as a Pikachu was going to become the biggest challenge of her life.”
but rather it’s aura
do you know tham
1. Thing, Of, They weren't ready for a main confrontation.
2. Led.
3. Extra quotation mark.
4. Its.
5. Them.
I think I am sounds better given the context here, even if it's literally the same thing.