Poke Fans in Equestria

by Xinrick

Chapter 5

I sighed as I marked the wall in the cave now. Nine years, three months to go until I get back to Equestria. Seven months… hard to believe it's been that long.

So far the newest additions to our growing tribe so far are a Serviper named Viper. Kinda weird seeing a Pokemon Naga honestly. Lunatone, Luna, and Solrock, Sol, were found together and are inseparable. Apparently they're siblings.

With Ail the Wailord's help we've managed a trench around our safety zone and are working on making a wall out of the large trees he can pull out of the ground.

“Alright, everything’s looking good so far.” I nodded

The food storerooms we're getting packed full. It's about autumn given the coolness in the air. Not sure what winter will be like here and frankly I'm glad I'm a fire type. Still, the others. We're farming, storing and I managed to find some rocksalts and we've been smoke drying meat for this. I'm actually glad dad made me learn that.

”This is gonna be a rough winter…” I muttered worriedly.

Food wise we’re doing okay. Still, best ask what it’s like here during winter from the others.

“Winter? You mean the cold months right?” Gnite replied to my question.

“Yes, the cold months.” I answered.

“Well, during those months those that can hibernate. Those that aren’t able too or need to look for food to get back to hibernation try and hunt. It’s a weird time of the year. Not many edible plants grow in the cold and only some Pokemon or beasts are active in those months. Hardest usually is water. Rivers and lakes usually freeze over.”

“Well, all I know is that I’m glad we’re stockpiling food.” I said honestly.

“Yeah. That aside, the only real danger during the winter are the Flesh Wearer hunts.”

“Of course they hunt in winter…” I grumbled. “Well, I learned you need to go after the head to kill the bastards, so there’s at least that.” I shrugged.

“Our tree nest will keep us safe.” Gnite said with a nod. “They usually only look for caves and such.”

“Well, it’s a good thing we moved.” I nodded.

“So, is there anything else you think we will need for winter?”

“Hmm…” I hummed, trying to think of anything that else we would need for our first winter.

Let’s see… a fireplace would be nice but that would be difficult to build in a tree… could use clay and mud bricks as a means to do this but still not easily done… Maybe insulation? Or some form of heat that can’t catch fire to the tree?

“Well…we could use some insulation, or something that can help keep all the heat inside our tree without it catching on fire.” I brought up, thinking about what could possibly work in this situation.

“Hm? If it’s heat you need, then why not find one of those special gemstones?”

“Special gemstones?” I inquired.

Gnite nodded. “Sometimes you can find these weird gemstones that glow different colors, and the colors do different things. Like the green ones can make wind, the blue ones make blue lightning, the red ones can make fire or heat, and the clear blue ones make water.”

“Do you know where some of these gemstones are?” I asked, massively intrigued by these mystical gems.

“I know they show up sometimes in big rocks, or in the walls of some caves. Just be careful if you do. The Flesh Wearers also actively seek them at all times. I heard from another Dragonite years ago that they slaughtered his entire flock just to get the one green gem they had on the side of their mountain.”

“That’s…rather concerning.” I said worriedly.

“I don’t know what they use them for, but they are even more violent than normal when after one of those gemstones.”

“Fair enough.” I nodded. “But we’re going to get to these gem’s first and figure out what the hell they want with them.”

“I’d uh, rather not…” Gnight said, taking a nervous step back and drinking a bit.

I sighed. While they are pokemon, they are not battle ready or even, well, ever ready for a fight. They have no moves, no controle, and the Pokemon species on this planet are at the bottom of the food chain. And, honestly, I think they might even be headed for extinction given the most Pokemon I ever find are rotting corpses and such. Everyone I manage to find alive I take into the tribe immediately.

“I still don’t know how you all can’t fight in someway shape or form…” I muttered. “I’m gonna have to fix that soon.”

“We’ve just always ran. Few that have tried to fight died doing so.”

“I’m gonna need to change that.” I said readily.

I decided to rush out and see if I can find any of these gemstones. Maybe there’s a cave or something? There has to be some telltale sign where they are aside the glowing.

“Alright…where are these weird gems?” I wondered.

I searched any rocky area, cave and even managed to break apart a few large boulders and nothing. By the time night began to come along all I did manage to find was some iron deposits. While not what I wanted, this was a boon. I might not know how to separate the iron from the other rock and impurities, but impure iron tools and such were better than nothing.

The next morning I was back to looking for those gems, gathering more of that iron, and maybe hunt something else to smoke-dry meat.

I managed to make a leather sack I have been using as a makeshift backpack. Don't ask me what part of the beast I took this leather from…

I was breaking apart rock after rock, reducing boulders to gravel and still no luck… damn it there has to be a means of knowing where they are? Maybe-

"Graaaaaaaaaaaa!" A chilling scream of something bloodthirsty filled the air. It was a good distance from here but I'm willing to bet it that's one of those Flesh Wearers.

"That thing better not be going after my tree…" I growled, rushing over to look around to see where it was.

I rushed over to the source of the noise, using the trees to keep out of sight. Eventually I found them. A group of six of them. Four seemed to be wearing the flesh of what once were Excadrills. The other two, I can only guess, were what they looked like not wearing flesh.

They looked like a fully 3D silhouette of a human, no clear features with an aura of darkness around them, glowing red eyes the only visible feature of them aside the hide armors they sported. They all had hide armor, crude tools and weapons made from bones and large branches working as makeshift clubs.

The four wearing the Excadrill flesh were using the claws to tear and dig through the rocks, ground and even trees… that's when I saw it. The Gemstones. They were green ones, various shades and tones of the color green and all glowed with some type of energy or magic.

One of the fleshless ones picked one of the gems, slamming their free hand on a tusk still on their armor. A silver and red mixture of what I think was it's blood sprayed about from the fresh wound, evaporating shortly after touching the air. It rapidly placed the still bleeding wounded hand onto the gemstone, it's wound healing up in a few short seconds. Once it did, it uncovered the gemstone, now pulsating a dark green with a similar aura of darkness and purple to it's own. It then repeated this process to the other gemstones.

"Well…that's uh…a tad horrifying…" I muttered. "So…they are mixing their blood with the gems? That's…really weird."

I could manage one, but six is too many… I stayed up in the tree. Once they gathered and infected all the gems they could find they rapidly left. Wow, the fleshless ones are fast.

Once they were all gone I climbed down and looked around the area, looking through the mess they made and hoping for some clue on how they find them or maybe a gem they missed. I dug around and thanked God for my luck. A single, small green gemstone glowing with a leaf green energy. Hm, wonder what this one does?

"Hmm…" I hummed, thinking a bit about what these gems could do. "Well, I at least found one…let's see if there's anything else…"

I looked around and didn't find much. Mostly just smaller rocks and tree roots. I put the gemstone away and climbed back up the trees and was off.

I sat in my little corner of the tree looking the gemstone over. Wonder what makes these things so valuable to them? I know Gnite said they can do stuff, but to what degree and extent? And what does this one do? Green… wind? Plants? Something I'm not thinking of?

"Something bothering you Wolf?" I looked up to see Flare there… and facepalmed with a blush when she was topless… again…

"Flare, how many times must I ask you to keep your top on?" I groaned lightly.

"They keep burning~" She said with an annoyed wine. "I still don't get why you're having the tribe wear these things. None of us have ever worn coverings before, don't really need to."

“It’s to hide your…very big tits." I brought up. “But to answer your question, I’m just wondering why those monster’s keep hunting for these Gems.”

"My tits?" She asked, looking down at them. "What's so unsettling about them?" She asked, grabbing them and making me blush harder. When she finished her unknowing self groping display she looked down at the gem. "Ooh! It's a plant gem!" She said happily… bounce…

I shook my head.

”Horny later…don’t want to bang her yet…” I thought to myself as I steeled my mental fortitude. “So a plant gem you say? What’s it do?”

"Oh well…" She suddenly looked rather sad. "Leafeon, my… old mate, used them to control his abilities. Like my random sparks of fire he used to accidentally throw leaves from his head or make a vine shoot out his arm. That kind of gem used to help him control it better."

I never heard Flare talk about her old mate… or ever even having one before… then again, her little Eevees were someone else's kids too at one point…

“I understand.” I nodded. “I’m sorry to hear about your loss Flare…”

"I… I've mostly accepted it. Just have a lot of memories. We each found the stones that evolved us and we're together for six seasons."

Six seasons? So… about a year and a half. I guess the little Eevees Aren't as old as I thought… Come to think of it, I have no idea how Pokemon, or at least her special variation of Pokemon, age.

“I understand.” I nodded. “But…well I’m here to help you through this.”

"Thank you Wolf. I guess to best make use of that gem you should give it to a grass type."

“That would be for the best.” I nodded, thinking about who I should give it to. “Thinking either Cep or…” I looked over to the Eevee kid’s playing like children do. “Maybe I should give it to one of them…see if they’ll evolve with it.”

Flare shook her head. "No, you need a leaf stone for that."

Huh, guess some things are cannon across the Pokemon multiverse no matter how the look of the pokemon.

“Yeah, that sounds about right.” I nodded.

"Do you need anything else Wolf?" She asked, leaning over and… Jesus Christ I swear they get bigger when she does that…

“Uh…” I tried to think of something that wasn’t massive fluff and titty in my face. “How…have you been doing since we moved to the tree?”

"It's been great! Ever since we moved up here I've felt much safer." She said, standing back up… Boing. Bounce. Jiggle…

It took a lot of will power to ignore that… and I was glad my leaf kilt was layered well… maybe I should use that iron to make her something she can't set fire to by accident. Iron bra won't be comfy but it will at least cover her.

“Alright…well, I also found iron so there’s at least that…” I muttered. “Just…need to learn how to blacksmith…”

"Blacksmith?"

“Need to learn how to shape metal.” I answered. “At least for better stuff than wood, leaves and leather…and get you something that you won’t burn off when covering your breasts.”

She looked back down at them, poking them as if self conscious at my constant need to cover them. "Well… I don't know much but I have heard stories about the Flesh Hunters…" She said, gaining my interest enough to look away from her… nervous poking…

“What are the stories?” I inquired. “And…again, I’m sorry if it makes you feel weird that I want you to cover them but…it’s weird to explain.”

"Hmm… well, back when I was still an Eevee, barely a season old my mom told me a story that her mom told her. That she was saved by a Flash Wearer, but they didn't wear flesh. Rather they wore things like what you're trying to make, and had items that made huge explosions and would shine like a Steel Types body. These non-flesh wearing ones attacked the Flesh Wearers with equal ferocity."

Friendly Flesh Wearers? That's news to me.

“Huh, that would help out a lot.” I nodded. “Know where they would be? Any kind of symbol to look out for?”

She shook her head. "Mom just said her mom was near the Flesh Wearers territory when it happened. No idea where exactly."

“Crap…” I muttered. “Well, that’s another scouting mission to do, hopefully I can set up some trade with them…”

The next morning I headed out to find that possible friendly group. The enemy of my enemy is my friend and if these guys hate the crazy flesh wearers as much as I do then if they exist a team up is the best option.

The smell of rotting corpses and blood in the air here is always sickening. It's like breathing in death itself. Then again, it kinda is…

In one of the trees I found something promising. It was a bit old but it was proof. A metal crossbow bolt. Well made too, tip is crazy sharp and there's no rust, just a hefty layer of grime and dirt.

“Well, I got step one done…” I muttered. “Just need to figure out two through ten…”

I tried finding where more of these things would be, eventually finding a trail of sorts as I started spotting more and more bolts, giant arrows, and even some swords here and there. This stuff was old but still in amazing condition. I followed it all to… oh no…

Before me stood the ruins of a metal and stone city built around the base of a once mighty tree, now split in three and collapsed.

The only sign these friendly ones were here are the torn leather cloaks on The ground.

“How in god’s name…” I muttered in absolute horror at the amount of destruction here.

The further I headed inwards of the ruined city the more the carnage was clear. Weapons and corpses of Flesh Wearers, the insane ones, were all over the place. This was an invasion… and they lost…

I saw guns, crossbows, giant bows too large to conceivably wield, swords and armor. Piles and piles of ores and ingots, all left behind. The Flesh Wearers didn't care for it… they just killed them to kill them…

“This…this can’t be everything…can it?” I muttered, trying to find any survivor’s that might have hid at this point, or find some weird saproling of the ruined tree to know there’s possibly a second chance for this area,

I ran, looking through buildings and houses finding only death, destruction and ruin. The more I searched the more I began to panic… they… this was a genocide… they… the Flesh Wearers… won't stop… until everything not them is dead and worn...

Eventually, I spotted something. At the base of the tree… a faint, barely noticeable trail of white smoke…

I bolted, running faster than I knew possible until I arrived at the source. There, sitting on a box next to a small fire where something in a pot boiled was one of the friendly ones. Dressed in the leather armor, hat and a cowl that covered all but their glowing white eyes.

It was missing an arm, it's left arm and had a large gun at its feet.

"Well, you aren't an ordinary Pokemon are ya?" It asked me. I was surprised it spoke, it's voice a distorted mix of voices speaking all at once but it's tone clearly sounded female.

“I am not…so hi there.” I said carefully.

"And it talks. Heh, either today is gonna get interesting or I finally lost my mind." She chuckled.

“I mean, both might also be the correct assessment.” I shrugged. “So…I saw everything and…what kind of raid did they do here?”

"Not a raid. A slaughter." She said with venom in her voice. "They circled the town, and showed off their fancy Pokemon bodies, all powered up from the Elemental Crystals they've been corrupting."

“So that’s why…” I frowned. “I just saw a small pack of them corrupting a few gems for their Excadrill’s…but they missed one that I took.” I brought up.

"Good for you." She said with a sigh. "You got a name or do you just go by Blaziken?"

“Names Wolf, what’s your name?” I asked politely to the lady.

"Sasha." She said with a nod. "So, any particular reason such an abnormal Pokemon like yourself wandered into the ruins of my town?"

“Abnormal isn’t even the half of my situation.” I rolled my eyes. “But…well, currently I’m here to have a ten year training montage due to the kid’s of the All Makers.” I explained. “And why I’m here specifically is because I was told there were…friendly version’s of your race and wanted…basically all the help I can get, either through trade or other such thing’s like murdering more of those flesh stealing assholes.”

"Ah, that makes sense. You're one of the All Makers little… wait, one of their kids? Huh… that's new." Sasha said, picking up a nearby stick and poking at the fire with it. "Then again whether they're a full blown all Maker or one of their children, you're their plaything and entertainment for now."

“And currently trying to train to stop this universe’s version of Gluttony.” I added. “But…mind if I ask if there’s…anyone else?”

"Nope." She shrugged. "And there won't ever be again. Fuckers destroyed our Elder Tree." She motioned a thumb to the giant destroyed tree behind her. "Without that, my breed of the Hunter Shadows ends with me."

Hunter… Shadow?

“I don’t think I’ve heard of those before, also…isn’t there a way to bring the tree back? Either through some seed’s it had or some weird magic ritual?’

"Nope." She shook her head. "Each intelligent species on this planet gets one Elder tree that can revive them from extinction so long as it remains alive. And only an All Maker, screw their indifferent asses, can revive or get us a new one."

“Well…maybe I can get you a new one?” I suggested.

"Kid, the All Makers can make you a God. And Elder God, a cosmic being of incredible power, but they won't be making you one of them. Now are you gonna stop talking out of your ass or are you gonna start talking about what you want from these ruins and most likely me?"

“I was going to say I can talk to my teacher about it but fine.” I rolled my eyes. “Besides, I’m doing this to become an Eldritch God of War…or at least, train myself enough to slaughter half a country worth of innocent’s but that’s neither here nor there.” I shrugged. “So what I need your help is to learn Blacksmithing and to help me kill those Shadow cunt’s before they do too much.”

"They already have kid. The proof is all around ya. It takes a lot to actually damage an Elder Tree, and those fucks had the ultimate weapon, well, weapons, to do the job."

“And what did they have to do this?” I inquired. “Cause I wouldn’t mind seeing them watch me burn their Elder Tree to the ground.”

"Almost all those fancy powerful Pokemon… think you called them Legendaries, as skin suits. And, because of how the binding to the body works, all their powers. Wasn't exactly fun when Pokemon God and friends reign down literal unholy divine bloodlust on your whole town."

Oh shit…

I took a deep breath. “So I’m going to need your help a lot more now.” I said nervously. “Cause fighting the Legendaries is gonna be…a massive nightmare.”

"Don't have to tell me twice." She said with a shrug. "I lived through it."

---

It was too dangerous to move the tribe here, so I began moving stuff from the ruins and Sasha to the tribe territory.

Needless to say her arrival led to the biggest panic and mass fainting of Pokemon I have ever seen. It took three days, head pats and swearing as the Tribe leader that she was harmless. It took a whole month to get the basic items Sasha needed to start helping us blacksmithing, but it would be worth it. Plus, the abundance of armor, weapons and such would give me perfect opportunity to train them all during the winter season.

By the time I had everything ready the first snowfall began. The temperature change was rather drastic, all the plants got this instantaneous layer of frost over them right before the freezing began. As a fire type the snow and cold didn't bother me much. I felt it but not as bad as I was expecting.

I also finally found something Flare can wear that won't catch fire… the downside…

"It's kinda tight…" She complained. The Iron armor was clearly meant for a female of smaller frame, given she wore this with all the straps on their loosest notches, her chest still squeezed and puffed up and overflowed a bit from the leather covered chest piece… and the skirt was, well, also tight. Needless to say Sasha had to make a not so small cut that exposed her entire right hip and partial butt cheek just to have her able to move.

"Sorry Flare, but it's better than nothing." I said, sad that she was feeling uncomfortable but it's also to protect her.

It also covered her. Admittably not that much but at least it is fireproof.

With that done I figured teaching her and a few others how to at least use a sword is better than nothing. I had them each find a suitable weapon then got started on practice swings. It was rather surreal seeing Pokemon, anthro or not, swinging swords.

"This is so weird…” I muttered to myself at seeing this. “Pokemon with swords…who would have thought? Also, how’s that gem working out for you Cep?”

"It's odd." He said, holding the gem in his hand. "I've always felt the plants and such near me, but with this it's like I can hear them."

“Interesting.” I hummed. “Does it help you with anything else?”

"I don't know." He frowned. "They're all speaking but not listening when I try and talk to them…"

“Hmm…” I hummed. “Gonna have to look into these stones more, cause they are super important

"No shit." Sasha called from her blacksmithing area nearby. "In the right hands they can do amazing things, hence why the Flesh Tree Hunters value them so much."

“And what kind of amazing thing’s can they do?” I asked. “Cause off the top of my head, I can think that absorbing one of the gem’s gives you elemental powers if that’s…at all possible.”

"Sorta." She informed. "While the Flesh Tree Hunters corrupt them with their blood in order to use, you can brew them into a type of potion that can give you that related ability, but if crafted into armor or weapons, so long as the one using the gem also has either magic or the effects of a potion in them then the results are really notable."

“Now that’s really cool.” I said honestly. “Adding yet another thing to the massive list of shit I need to do…”

"It's not that hard if you know how to hunt for them." Sasha said, peaking my interest.

“Oh?” I inquired. “And how would I hunt for them if I may ask?”

"Easy." She said, reaching into a coat pocket of hers and pulling out something the tossed to me. It looked like a compass, but opening it I saw it was bejeweled with very small but noticeable pieces of gemstones, and a single needle in the center sat unmoving. "That is a gem finder. Whenever one of the stones is near the needle will point to what type of gemstone it is based on where the sample one is around the compass, then when you are near enough or over it, the needle will spin clockwise. Get too far away and the needle spins counter clockwise."

“Now that’s cool.” I said with a smile. “Thank you Sasha, this will help immensely.”

"Just be careful with it. The only things they took from their raid/slaughter of my town were our elemental gem stockpiles and as many of those compasses as they could find. I've only got four left."

“I’ll make sure they don’t take it.” I nodded. “And hopefully they won’t be out too much during Winter…or they hopefully don’t have many ice types on hand…”

"They often hunt for… easy suits, in winter." Sasha said sadly.

"It's why those of us that hibernate try and make sure it's in a safe, closed off area." Flare added.

“Well, hopefully this is a good enough area that they won’t bother to look.” I said carefully.

"Your walls will draw some attention." Sasha stated. "But you might be able to use the winter snow to your advantage."

“Like using the snow as cover for certain things?” I inquired.

"For cover and camouflage. With the right gear and enough work, you can make it defendable and hidden."

“That would be amazing.” I nodded. “What do I need to do to start preparing for it?”

"An Ice Type and Ice Gem would be useful. But we can make use of your fire just as well as it gets colder."

“Alright.” I nodded. “The Ice Types should probably be appearing soon with the drop in temperature…hmm, but where would they normally hang out at?” I wondered, wondering what my first Ice Type meeting would be.

"I remember seeing an ice type back last winter, but it's far away." Flare said.

“How far?” I inquired.

"About… four days walk to the south."

That is pretty far. And in Winter is pretty bad. Unless… Gnight can fly that in no time. Dragonites are extremely fast fliers.

“Well…I can grab Gnight and help me get there and back. Dragonites are really fast while flying.” I said, remembering how they can fly three times faster than the speed of sound.

"Oh yeah. I forget how fast some flying types are."

“Yeah, some flying types are insanely fast.” I nodded in agreement.

Once their training was over with for the day I went and looked for Gnight. I found him napping inside the tree. “Hm?” He stirred as I nudged him awake.

“Yo, mind flying me somewhere?” I asked the tired dragon. “Sorry for waking you up, but it’s really important.”

“Hmm… Fly where?” He asked me, rubbing the tired out of his eyes. He was one of the ones who hibernates in winter. Made sense, he is a Dragon… lizard.

“Gonna need you to fly me south, cause it’s otherwise a four day trek down there cause we need some Ice Types to help protect our home.” I said readily.

“But it’s cold…” He muttered sleepily. I internally chuckled at that. It was kinda like Roxy in a way. When she was tired she refused to get up without incentive… hmm…

“Well…I’ll give you a kiss if you do it for me.” I said, shaking off the thought’s of that one dumb meme to get him up and ready to help me.

“Where are we going?” He asked, suddenly standing up right and wide awake… wow… was I ever like this with Roxy? … Yeah I was.

“We’re going south, it’s a four day walk for me from what Flare said, cause we need to get some ice types to help defend our home.” I explained again. “They should, hopefully, be popping up soon due to the weather changing.”

“Alright,” He said, turning around and opening his wings. “Climb on and hang on tight.” I did as told and- woah!

It was all a blur of wind, snow and white. After what was probably the longest few minutes of my life, Gnight landed us down in a somewhat open field. I got up and once I stopped spinning shook off the mask of snow that I acquired from what was falling in the air.

“Whoa kay…just…need to stop the world from being blurry…” I shook my head. “Talk about speed.”

“So… do I get that kiss now or when we get back? Also… what is a kiss?”

I decided to demonstrate as I leaned up…god this feels weird, and kissed the giant adorable dragonites cheek. “That’s a kiss.”

"Oh…" He said, blushing a bit. "That felt… nice."

"Yeah, it tends to feel nice." I smiled, blushing a bit as well. "Thanks for this."

"Anything for you. You are the tribe Alpha."

Huh. I know I'm the de facto leader, but alpha? Also, Tribe… I've heard him refer to his old group as a flock and I know Flare referred to her home as a little one as a pack… well, guess I should ask these questions less I do something to upset everyone. Even without language or tools these Pokemon had a culture and society system well before all this… carnage and shit.

"So…about me being the Alpha, what does that normally entail?" I inquired.

"Well, in any grouping of Pokemon, the Alpha is usually the strongest one of the group, best suited for leadership and protecting the group as a whole. The rest of us, male or female, are also all available for you to mate with regardless of if they have a pre-chosin mate, as is the rules for living in a group."

Wait… what?!

"Hold the fuck up…so I just…have a harem outright?" I blinked. "I…didn't think that…would happen so suddenly."

"Well, the strongest of us, especially with how low Pokemon are numbers wise, have always had the right to breed. That doesn't mean others don't have the right either, the pack, flock, tribe, whichever you belong to, if another agrees you can mate with them but as the alpha none of us can reject you should you choose to mate with one or all of us."

That's… actually kinda unsettling… I mean… they can't say no to me?

"That's…honestly a little unsettling." I said nervously. "Like…you can't say no…I don't want to force myself on you if you don't want to."

"I uh, would consider it an honor even if I can't breed…" He said, blushing as he rubbed the back of his head. "But those are the commonly understood terms of a tribe with an Alpha. Especially one as strong as yourself. Many of the females debate over who would be the first to carry your offspring."

Now I was blushing…

"Oh my God…" I muttered. "Honestly…spring time is when I'll figure that out."

"Why springtime?"

"Cause first, I have to defend a majority of you during winter." I brought up. "And…well, don't want to leave some of you out of all that fun." I said honestly, not believing I'm admitting this nonsense.

"Oh, I suppose that makes sense." Gnight said with a nod. From the wagging of his tail I think he's looking forward to spring…

Being this far from home, everything looked different. Different plants, different animals I could spot going around- is that a Yeti?!

The tall, white fur having, large footed humanoid looked over at me with indifference as it went back to eating a bush of berries before picking up the whole bush and walking off with it… just when I thought I was getting used to this crazy planet…

"Okay…" I muttered nervously. "Let's just…try to find some Ice types."

I began looking around. I was hoping to find them before dark. So far no luck, but I was finding some plants that seemed to thrive in the cold.

"Well, so far we've seen plenty of plants we can farm in winter." I pointed out.

“That will be good. This farm of yours is amazing. How did you think to care for plants and harvesting the fruits or cooking and smoking meats to make them last?”

"Dad wanted to teach me important things, and…boredom is a hell of a motivator to learn some random things." I shrugged.

“Okay?” They asked, confused but not asking further as we kept looking around and tried to find any pokemon or more plants.

I found various other plants and-

I smelled blood. Carefully I followed the scent of the iron liquid to… carnage.

Before me was a nest of what looked like it was once a den of Froslass. All torn apart and in the center of it all, Virizion. The Grass-Fighting legendary adorned in the nasty hide armor of the Flesh Tree Hunter Shadows, eyes the same glowing crimson red and was eating them, bones and all as sickening tears of flesh and crunching bones.

I used Swords Dance and Agility, increasing my strength and speed to an insane degree. "Gnight…I'm gonna be doing something incredibly stupid…" I whispered to him, before speeding off and using Aerial Ace, a simple but strong flying type move as I aimed it straight at the Grass Fighting types head knowing it would take four times as much damage.

I hit my mark immediately, the force of the slam broke the ice layers of the cave. Virizion looked over at me, the wound on their head not seeming to affect it as they stood up, gripping a torn off arm. They then bit into their own arm, putting their blood onto the limb as suddenly it began to bend and reshape into something akin to a sword of flesh and bone, and even gained a frost-like aura around it.

Well… that’s new…

"Uh…that's new…" I muttered, honestly surprised me hitting it that hard with a four times super effective move didn't do that much. "Well…shit…" I muttered, using Agility again to double my speed again.

I rapidly backed up but they closed the gap just as fast, a manic grin on their face as they raised their new sword. Suddenly it began to glow with a crimson color and gained the outlines of… Shit!

I managed to dodge the swing, the blade cutting through the ice and rock like paper. That was Sacred Sword… It can use Moves!

"Oh come the fuck on…" I groaned, cause of course it could use moves. I used Swords Dance, doubling my attack again and tried to smack it again with Aerial Ace since that's the best flying move I knew that's the most effective against it.

I rushed in, trying to land another hit only for them to rapidly block it. They wasted no time in then rapidly landing multiple punches to my chest, knocking the wind out of me and cracking ribs before they punched me hard enough to launch me out of the cave. Quick Guard and Close Combat. Shit, and damn it… I don’t know what the fuck those Hunter Shadows did to it when they took it’s body, but clearly a type or move advantage isn’t gonna be that much of an ace for me as I thought…

"This was an egregious mistake…" I muttered to myself, before using Flamethrower towards it's legs to try and weakn parts of it.

It’s legs were set ablaze but it kept walking towards me. It’s skin burned and cooked yet it walked numb to the pain and still wore that grin of almost psychotic glee. These things felt no pain, and were single minded in their slaughter.

"Come on, why can't weakening it ever make more of a difference?"

As it marched over to me through the flames I got an idea… I stood up, knowing this was gonna suck. I took a deep breath, my broken ribs all making sure to announce their dislike of it as I rapidly rushed into this thing, Brave Bird activating as I slammed into it with my full body weight. Once I managed that, I pried its sword from its arm and began stabbing into it.

By the time I was done, it was barely a torso and that head still gave me that toothy grin.

"Know this, if you can understand me…" I grabbed it's head and lifted it up. "I will find you, and your entire tribe, and I will make you all watch as I burn your tree to ashes." I growled, before stabbing it into it's skull and twisting it to make sure it stayed dead.

When I did that, the body let out a blast of some energy. Floating before me was… Virizion, looking more like the legendary I know just, well, Anthro. They gave me a smile and a nod before suddenly floating into me.

I felt a burning sensation on my right arm, looking I spotted… something new. It was a… mark of some kind. Like a circle of runes that looked a bit like the Unknown. I think this says Virizion's name? This is… weird…

"Okay…the fuck was that?" I blinked, super confused by this now…only to realize how outlandish the pain I was in was. “Okay…maybe using Brave Bird with broken ribs…wasn’t a good idea…” I wheezed.

Gnight finally came out of wherever he was hiding and gave me a pouch with some of Mil's milk. It helped, easing the pain a bit and reducing my damage but I was gonna need a lot more. He helped me up. "Will you be doing that again?"

"Fighting a Legendary? Maybe, fighting more Flesh Hunters? Yes." I admitted. "Though…hopefully with a lot less damage next time."

"I'm just glad you survived. Oh, and it looks like someone wants to thank you." I looked just behind Gnight and spotted them. A single Froslass… she was kinda like Enga, a short stack that was well stacked… she floated around me, likely in awe given I killed the thing that killed her… whole… pack…

I gently put a hand on her head softly. “I’m sorry I didn’t get here sooner.”

She nudged my hand a bit before looking back over at the cave sadly. She floated over and managed to, my utter shock, use an ice move, Frost Breath, and covered the cave entrance… how did she… I thought no Pokemon could use moves? Or at least, not intentionally?

“Uh…” I blinked. “I thought you all…couldn’t intentionally use your moves like I can.” I said in surprise.

"We can't…" Gnight commented.

I'd have to get Enga to get her the ability to talk once we got home… right after I chug a gallon of Mil's healing milk….

The fly home was quick and once I was healed entirely thanks to Mil I spoke with the now Language knowing Frostlass, Frost.

"Ouch…" She muttered as she rubbed her head. "You want to know how I use my powers?" She repeated.

“I would like to.” I nodded. “Also sorry about it hurting a lot.” I said nervously. “So, about how you’re able to use your powers when…in every other circumstance, you shouldn't?”

"What do you mean?" She asked.

“Well, you showed you can use your powers, like me…but I have an entire tribe that, for the most part, can’t.” I said, knowing Cep can probably use Grass moves because of the stone he’s holding and Flare is a tad special.

"I just always have been. Most of the ones in my… late pack could use one power at least. Though not easily. It takes a fair amount out of us and most can't use it more than once a day or two."

Hmm… well that's definitely interesting… I know Flare causes accidental fires, and Cep can kinda use some weak form of Vine Whip… Flare even mentioned her late mate was able to do the same. Ice… grass… fire… come to think of it, Enga is able to still turn invisible and phase through people and objects. That technically would be using Pokemon abilities… same with Gnight's speed and flying come to think of it.

There's definitely something more going on here…

“Hold on…” I said. “Okay…something is really weird here…” I frowned. “Can someone get Cep for me? I want to…test something.” I said, looking down at my arm and seeing Virizion’s symbol, knowing the Grass/Fighting Musketeer might be important to something in this situation now.

They got Cep and after a bit he did notice his Vine Whip was easier to use and much stronger than he was used to earlier… before I slayed Virizion…

My eyes widened in realization. “Do any of you know where any of the Legendaries live?” I asked quickly. “I know why none of you can use your abilities, and I know how to fix it.”

"Uh… no." Gnight said.

"None." Frost added.

Great… figures it wouldn't be easy…

“Crap…” I muttered. “Well, I have some good news at least.” I started. “There is at least a Dragon, Ice, and Fire legendary still alive that isn’t the host of a Flesh Hunter, which means that you can use your abilities, but I have a bad feeling that, with what Frost said, it’s diminishing due to something happening.” I explained, raising my arm up and showing the symbol. “As for me, when I…freed Virizion’s soul I suppose, she fuzed with me and…now I’m funneling the power of Grass and Fighting types, like Cep and Lu.” I explained. “Gonna need to bring in everyone else to see what other type moves work still…”

"I have no idea what any of that ment." Gnight said.

"Most of you lost your powers because the legendaries are dead or 'sealed' by the Flesh Hunters, so the remaining legendaries still alive are barely keeping your powers going, you following me so far?"

"... Sorta?" Frost said.

I sighed, trying to think of a way to explain it better. "If I kill more of the Legendary Flesh Hunters, certain types will be able to use your powers like I can, depending on the type I kill."

"So, on top of this combat training we can use powers like yours? But only after you kill some or certain legendaries?"

“Pretty much.” I shrugged. “Which is why I wanted to know who can still use their powers, cause that would give me a good guess on what legendaries are still alive.”

After having everyone try something I managed to find out that, as long as it was a grass, fire, ice, dragon, steel, Psychic, or fighting, then it was possible for them to use some weaker variation of a move of the same type. Mainly, I noticed that Psychic oddly seemed to be the strongest with what Enga is capable of and a few others discovering that Hypnosis works.

"Alright, so there's a Majority Psychic that are still alive, with at least one of the other types…" I said, thinking a bit. "So I'm gonna have to narrow it down cause…there's a lot of legendaries to sift through…"

---

I spent that night dreaming of an endless starry sky.

The stars were endless and honestly it was amazing to look at. Before me floated Virizion, pure and as she was before that thing took her body and powers… and nude…

"Uh…hi there…" I said, looking away from the naked lady that both jacked and stacked…seriously, why do all the women here have to be so sexy?

She walked over to me and around me. "Hmm, well, at least my power went to one deserving. Better than that demon." She said.

“Well…I do my best ma’am.” I said sheepishly.

"Well, you aren't exactly normal, nor do you belong to this reality either. Seems an All Maker sent you from someplace else. Seems we really are going extinct if this is the case…"

“Which is what I’m here to prevent.” I said readily. “Cause the Flesh Hunter’s need to be stopped…and maybe I can ask one of the All Makers, or at least their kids, to maybe give you all a second chance at life?” I brought up, not sure if that would even happen but I’d rather not have this entire world be nothing but a ruined world because many races were mindlessly slaughtered.

She shook her head. "None of the All Makers really do second chances. They might begin life on a planet but if it ends they can not undo it. But you can take whoever is left with you when they come back to reclaim you. And with luck kill my infected siblings before then."

“What Legendaries haven’t been infected?” I inquired. “Cause so far I can guess at least Kyurem due to Ice and Dragon being at least usable to my tribe at the moment.”

"She is one of them, yes. She, Celebi, Jirachie, Victini and Mew are the only ones to hide away rather than fight like the rest of us did. Thinking back, it seems they had the right idea, as they live while demons wear our flesh, abuse our power and corrupt the Energy."

“So I’m going to need to find those five fast…though that also explains why Psychics are a lot stronger…also for Steel I suppose.” I shrugged. “Gonna be a nightmare to find those five considering one can literally travel through time, one is the literal embodiment of Victory, one is forever asleep unless I find the right music and is a weird genie version of Kirby… Mew goes wherever they please…and Kyurem might be hiding in the Frozen North for all I know.”

"I know not where they are but I know where some of my infected kin are." She informed with a smirk.

“That would help out tremendously.” I said readily. “The more I kill, the better it is for everyone involved.”

---

In the middle of the badlands, existed a crack. This crack was small, barely a fly's wingspan yet through it a prison, and the prisoner eager to expand her opening.

Standing before the crack was another being, skin pale as death, hair wet and oily, and eyes as lifeless as a corpse. Pain looked the crack over with utter indifference. "Genuinely surprised you're even alive…" She muttered to the crack.

”My hunger is strong enough to keep me alive.” The prisoner answered. ”The fools fed my children, even if a much weaker strain, but it all comes back to me and gives me strength.”

"I imagine you're shriveled as all hell, given how much you used to eat before."

”My prison is sustaining me just enough to continue my pained existence, but it’s cracking, siphoning off more and more of it’s energy till I can feed my swarm once again and make the God’s fear they thought they could contain.” The embodiment of Gluttony in this world said, their words filled with anger at her captives, but an insatiable hunger to devour anything and everything in her path like the world’s worst plague of locusts.

"Right, cause that worked out last time…" Pain said sarcastically.

”It’s not my fault they cursed me for my very existence!” She shrieked. ”But they are weak, growing weaker by the day as they scramble for your ‘heroes’ to save them from me.”

"Not our heroes. Not this time. This one they picked themselves. Descendents of one of the gods you ate."

”Ah, yes, that stubborn wolf that still tries to cling to life…” The being hissed. ”So…if this isn’t apart of your game, then why are you here?”

"What? Can't I visit my estranged daughter from time to time?"

The prisoner was silent for a while. As an Eldritch God, an original, she was created by the All Makers personally… Pain, specifically. All who brought evil or took up the flag of darkness could trace that to Pain the All Maker. Either as their maker, or influencer.

”...It hurts…” The prisoner said weakly. ”My gifts, the powers you gave to me upon my creation…I cherish them dearly…but it hurts…” Pain could see the prison behind the crack shudder a bit. ”Every waking moment, to feeling my children die, to the starvation constantly plaguing me…I was born to be Gluttony, the Insatiable Hunger that devours all…but it hurts so much, my children…I can still hear their screams of pain, I can still feel their pain…what little creation you gave me, and what little heart I’ve grown from seeing the Parasprites of this planet gain through the eons…” They trailed off, as if realizing that Pain, their creator, probably doesn’t really care about the pain their creation is going through and just wanted results through the river’s of blood and wanton destruction that she was made to be. ”Why do I want to be more than this mother?”

"It is natural. While true, I built you to feel this hunger and the agony it brings, you still have potential for more. All Makers build your body, mind and powers and give you a reason for your existence, but you still own Free Will, and with it the potential for change, be it good or bad frankly we don't care which you go. You start off as what we make you to be, but when you die, will you be something else? Something better? Or the same? That choice is yours."

The prisoner was silent at that admission, thoughts rushing through her mind as she took in all that information. “I…can be better?” She asked, a feeling she thought long lost in her ceaseless hunger…hope was budding in her again.

"You can… but, you have a role to fulfill first. Hmm… how's about a little deal, daughter of mine?"

“Anything.” She said readily.

To be continued...