Chapter 61.
New
HankPankylol
Getting sticky.
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Thank you for reading. Hopefully you enjoy. If you REALLY like it, I have a P-a-t-r-e-o-n, under the same name, where you can read 5 chapters ahead.
As overwhelmed as I was feeling, between the realisation of Vulpix's problem, my own breakdown as everything caught up to me, and Espeon's evolution, I didn't get much time to collect myself before we were surrounded.
The evolution of a teammate was a big deal. While it wasn't a hard rule – looking at you, Pikachu – evolving was generally something all Pokémon looked forward to. Like the instinct to mate, hunt, and survive, reaching their final stage was deeply embedded in their genes. Not only would it give strength, but some first stage evolutions couldn't mate at all.
So, with it being my third time, I kind of knew what to expect when reintroducing Espeon to the rest of the team, though it was a little awkward with the way she refused to let go of me, forcing me to carry her to each Pokémon myself, Vulpix squeezed between us.
I wasn't keen on letting the fox go anytime soon.
Sol could not believe his eyes, pressing in close to sniff, only to dart back when Espeon's eyes and the focusing crystal in her forehead glowed a hot pink warningly. Evolution seemingly hadn't changed her low opinion of the unserious Arcanine.
It did little to change Sol's awe. The idea of evolving and still being so small was mind-blowing to him.
Hercules likewise seemed a little confused about the lack of muscles and general fragility of the Psychic-Type, but was smart enough to know there was more to combat than hitting it hard.
He just didn't agree.
Speaking of combat, though, I was curious about what changes Espeon had gone through, which led me to whip out my PokéDex for the first time in a while, with mixed feelings.
But I wouldn't let that affect my team anymore.
"Espeon, the Sun Pokémon. Espeon is extremely loyal to any Trainer it considers to be worthy. It is said that this Pokémon developed its precognitive powers to protect its Trainer from harm. It uses the fine hair that covers its body to sense air currents and predict its enemy's actions."
"This Espeon has the ability: Magic Bounce, and knows the moves: Tackle, Growl, Tail Whip, Sand Attack, Quick Attack, Baby-Doll Eyes, Swift, Hyper Voice, Detect (egg move), Confusion."
There were different levels of comprehension; Sol clearly was not getting it, while Espeon herself preened from her description. Other than the Ability – which we'd explore – and the flavour text, the main difference was her getting Confusion. The only Psychic-Type move anyone else had was Sol's Agility, and that had been a nightmare to get working and still wasn't mastered, so I wasn't sure how to go about it, but-
Mid-thought, a slight crunch! from a dry leaf had Espeon's head darting to the side, eyes and focusing jewel shining the warm pink somewhere between her eye and fur colour. The Psychic energy built swiftly, seeming to reach a limit before being unleashed.
A shockwave blew through the plains, grass being flattened and bushes ripped from the ground under the pink wave of telekinesis. The air wavered and undulated in a weirdly non-uniform way, twisting and distorting space as it rippled over the landscape, dust and the top layer of soil blown back under the wide Confusion-
All except for a small patch where the debris seemed to hit something and fall to the ground, as if an invisible wall had stopped it. Despite the uncontrolled blast, the invisible spot remained unmoving, unaffected by the Psychic energy and began moving sideways through the shockwave. It had almost left the area affected, where we'd lose sight of it as it left the dust, when a black patch shot up in front of it, Honedge rising from the shadow to stop the interloper.
"STOP! Let it go!" I shouted, freezing the ghost and allowing the invisible Pokémon to run around it, any signs vanishing as it fled. "That's the one I told you about. As long as it doesn't turn hostile, it's earned some privacy. It probably saved Ee-Espeon and my lives against the bounty hunter."
There was a faint, foreign feeling of embarrassment that was quickly squashed as Espeon pressed her head back against me for some attention as we all wound down.
The options were narrowing for what our invisible friend could, and it was getting exciting. I'd read up on the possibilities on the PokéNet since noticing we were being followed. Being completely unaffected by the Confusion almost guaranteed Dark-Type, and while there were several that could learn illusions, few specialised in it enough to use them so well without training.
But that was for another time, when it either felt safer or I could find it without the whole team staring it down. Until then, things returned to welcoming the 'newest' teammate.
Honedge… I don't know what I expected, but the sword's single, blue eye briefly glancing at Espeon before hiding in my shadow again wasn't surprising. Espeon likewise didn't seem to care, crawling up to try and lie across my shoulders. Even though she wasn't that much bigger, it was still a little awkward and would need getting used to.
I'd take indifference. I'd feared worse given their respective Types.
Scanning Espeon reminded me that I never got around to doing the same with the Steel/Ghost-Type, prompting me to do so.
"Honedge, the Sword Pokémon. Apparently, this Pokémon is born when a departed spirit inhabits a sword. It attaches itself to people and drinks their life force. If anyone dares to grab its hilt, it wraps a blue cloth around that person's arm and drains that person's life energy completely."
"This Honedge has the ability: No Guard, and knows the moves: Tackle, Swords Dance, Shadow Sneak, Shadow Claw, Metal Claw, Slash."
The only unexpected thing was Swords Dance, but Honedge was literally a sword, so it made sense.
Beyond that, I was genuinely surprised that he'd managed to get Slash down in the month of training. Metal Claw seemed to come naturally, but Normal-Type energy was the furthest thing from Honedge's nature, and I'd figured that learning to channel it would take a long ass-time.
Probably had something to do with his dual Typing. Honedge had bonded with an object from the material world, existing in between the two realities.
Still strange, though, like a fish flying through the sky.
Or like me using Fighting-Type Aura, I suppose, after having dipped in the Distorted Realm for a second and or century.
Someone else whose reaction I'd been worried about, however, was Siren. The Feebas stayed uncharacteristically far back, allowing the others to greet Espeon first, rather than trying to lead by example as she usually would.
The Water-Type's blank look and listlessness were concerning. The talk we had towards the beginning of our stay had worked for a while, but I wasn't dumb enough to think it was gone, or even necessarily lessened. Put to the side, for the time being, but far from over.
And Sol had been with us – unofficially – since his birth. Espeon had joined us two months before and had already achieved Siren's obsession.
But the fish heard the PokéDex, heard 'Dexter' talk about Espeon evolving because of me, and deflated subtly, the blankness replaced with weariness and a sad sort of acceptance. She gurgled softly, getting a mewl in return, which was more feline than it had been as an Eevee.
We'd need to talk about it sooner rather than later, before it festered, but for the time, I settled for scooping her up before she could leave, looking like a weird hunchback as I tried to juggle three Pokémon.
All in all, everyone accepted the change in the end, keeping their less charitable thoughts to themselves, if nothing else.
Well, almost everyone.
"BAARRRRGGGGGGHHHHHH!"
"Betty-" I sighed, but couldn't get further before being cut off.
"BAAAAAAAAARGH!" Soil was blown back, the underlying rock chipping and breaking from the dragon fire that washed over it. The surviving material shuddered and quaked under the stomp, a boulder shaking and crumbling as her bony skull left indents.
"BETTY!" I tried to call over the racket to no avail. Reluctantly, I placed the Pokémon I was carrying on the ground to approach the tantrum-throwing Bagon – or attempted to, as the newly evolved Espeon refused to let go of me.
Resigning myself to the Psychic's presence, I moved closer, ignoring the few bits and pieces that unintentionally hit me. Espeon took offence, however, and sent out another uncontrolled Confusion that helped rip the previously nice area apart, leaving me way more covered in shit.
At least it got Betty's attention.
"EEEEEEEIIIIHHHHHHH!" Behemoth shrieked at us, pupils a thin line surrounded by bloodshot cornea. Drops of drool dripped from her fangs as she heaved for air, so lost in the sauce she barely remembered to breathe.
Espeon whined low in her throat at the aggressive sound directed at me, but eased under my soothing fingers.
"Betty, I get that you're upset, but we can't do this every time-"
"BAAEEEIIIIHHHH!" She didn't even look at me, furious gaze locked on Espeon, who looked back a little smugly under my scratching fingers.
"Betty, loo-"
"BEEEEII!" A Flamethrower reduced a shrub to ash.
"Bet-!"
"BAEEEEIHH!" A Dragon Breath ripped a rock apart and sent the pieces flying, several almost striking the watching Water-Types, to Poliwrath's grunting displeasure.
"Dammit, will you listen to me-!" Frustrated, I waded through the destruction and reached out my hand to grab her, uncaring for her mood.
In hindsight, that was a mistake.
There was no hesitation or recognition to be found in her, only rage and envy. When the tips of my fingers graced her skin, she whirled around, jaws wide open and fangs as long as my fingers snapping down towards my hand. I jerked back instinctively, feeling the razor-sharp edge grace me-
WROMPH!
A blast sent the Bagon flying back, the strongest Confusion Espeon had managed yet, destroying the landscape as surely as Betty herself had. The Dragon-Type tumbled backwards, screeching the whole time, brain bouncing around inside her skull from the random twists and turns of the Psychic technique. Using her weight and legs, she managed to stop herself, eyes swirling around in her head.
So she never saw the steaming Scald that could bore through rock before it hit her in the chest.
Or the massive yellow canine before it bowled her over and pinned her down.
"ARRC!"
Barking straight in her face, Sol's usual easy-going nature was nowhere to be seen, fangs bared with small bursts of flame between and a deep growl vibrating his chest while he held his best friend to the ground. Behind him, a murderous Siren floated closer as fast as she could, Honedge leaving Shadow Sneak and coming down in an overhead swing meant to part her head from her shoulders-
"ENOUGH, ALL OF YOU!"
My words and hand around Honedge's hilt made them hesitate, but Siren ignored my words and kept going. Reluctantly, I returned her to her PokéBall, clenching tightly around it as it shook and tried to burst open.
"Get off her!" Nobody moved anywhere near fast enough for my tastes. "GET OFF HER!"
That did it, Sol slowly stepping off the smaller Pokémon and Honedge letting me pull him back to my side, rather than hovering over Betty's neck.
The Bagon in question stood up hesitantly, blinking rapidly as the blood-haze left her. Her eyes were still a little unfocused from the Confusion, but I could see the realisation in them as they flew over the others before locking with my own.
Then she spun around on her heel and ran, sprinting away as fast as she could.
"Let her go," I sighed when everyone else jerked, unclenching my hands and letting the furiously gurgling and wheezing Siren back out. I wasn't sure where Betty was going, exactly, but it was the general direction of the training area, so I wasn't too worried about her legitimately running away.
I looked at the tiny, tiny dot of blood on my middle finger before beginning to calm down the others.
I should've seen Betty's freak-out coming, but I was caught up in my own rampant emotions, once more too far up my own ass to care for my team the way I should.
And yet, contrarily, the incident made me feel… not better, far from it, but gave me something concrete to focus on. A small voice in the back of my head said that it was another distraction, but I crushed it with the undeniable truth that Betty's evolution-envy needed addressing, fast.
I really thought training with Bruno would do the trick, yet even though her bone crest had extended so far she'd soon have trouble tilting her head backwards, she remained a Bagon – if a monstrous example of the species.
I was certain she had the strength, and she definitely had the desire.
All she needed was exactly that – a need.
The month of training had done a lot for the team and for my own personal fighting skills. Just having an instructor that could communicate with me was a wonder, as was not being blamed for only having two arms.
That being said, the actual moves themselves weren't all that different. It was clear where Bruno had picked up his own style, and I sometimes had to tell myself that he wasn't a Machoke in a human costume.
But for all that, we hadn't spent that much time on it. Most of it had been helping me get a handle on my Aura and not letting it affect me.
But the process felt good. And I did my best thinking when fighting.
Thud!
My bones screamed as I crossed my arms to catch a casual punch, holding my groan as I slid back a little. Bruno didn't follow up, allowing me to make the next move, something I did eagerly.
It was an hour or so after Espeon's evolution and Betty's tantrums. Heading back immediately, I wasted no time grabbing the already returned Bruno and throwing punches at him, explaining the events in between grunts and suppressed pain noises. Most of my team were semi-nearby, hurling themselves at Bruno's Pokémon to get their aggressions out, with Vulpix and Espeon watching me from the sidelines.
"Dragon-Types are considered some of the hardest, if not the hardest, Pokémon to train. Ghost and Dark-Types are up there as well, but Dragons have their reputation for a reason, and their Trainers with them. You've met Lance, and you're no exception yourself." The Elite Four's monotone voice explained.
"Don't compare me to that asshole!" I groaned, lifting my foot to allow a rare low sweep to swing under it while throwing a two-three combo, Bruno effortlessly deflecting them all.
"It's the truth. You share many similarities, though there are differences. Lance is quick to anger and holds a grudge for petty reasons, while your emotions are as fickle as the wind." Bruno's breathing might have gotten even slower than normal for all the strain he was experiencing, poking a nerve in my elbow when my form slipped and lightly tapping me in the stomach, nearly sending my lunch back up.
"That was almost poetic. You should write a book." I tried a high-kick I'd picked up from watching Blaziken, only for Bruno to lift my ankle higher and tip me backwards into the dirt.
"Do not deflect from your problems with snarkiness. It won't avail you."
I sighed from the ground, acknowledging the point. I already had an idea, I was just avoiding it.
"What do you think?" I asked, hoping for a different answer.
"Don't know." My hopes were dashed with heartless bluntness. "Don't have a Dragon-Type. But you can't let it linger. I know that much."
A large hand entered my view, and I took it, letting him pull me up so hard I left the ground.
Bruno let me stew in my thoughts as we moved on to the second part of training. Side-by-side, we lined up in front of a cliff face, spreading our legs shoulder-wide. Syncing my breathing with his, I felt for my Aura and directed it as best as I could up my chest, past my collarbone, down my arms, and into my hand. Bruno gave me the time I needed, despite his own ability to do a hundred times better in an instant.
Then, at some unconscious signal I must have given, our fists flew and smacked into the stone.
Thud!
THUD-BOOM!
I'd given up being jealous when Bruno's hand embedded up to his forearm, and my own didn't leave a noticeable mark. Comparing myself to the martial artist would've led me to hurl myself from the very cliff we were punching, and the fact that I wasn't bleeding from punching solid rock was a big deal anyway.
Besides, I thought as I retracted my fist and the smallest little stone-chip flaked off, we were getting there.
Eventually, we took a break to let my hands rest before I broke my wrist, sitting on a pair of rocks across from each other to drink some water.
"I will have to leave soon." Bruno didn't sugarcoat it, stating it as bluntly as he did anything else. "I won't push my responsibilities onto Koga and Will any longer."
I nodded, surprisingly sad. The last month had been good to the team, and I'd come to appreciate Bruno's simple, yet earnest nature. He was an honestly good person, and that counted for a lot.
But the last month of training had also been an escape, a place to hide and avoid my problems. As I promised Espeon, that was over.
"Before you go," I spoke slowly, rolling the bottle between my hands. I wasn't comfortable with the decision I'd come to, and everything in me screamed to stop. "I need your help with something."
But kindness could be as harmful as cruelty, and it clearly wasn't working.
We had to move forwards.
Behemoth sat on a cliff, head down and back bent as she brooded.
She wasn't sulking. She wasn't.
She was going to be the strongest Dragon, and the strongest didn't sulk.
She flinched instinctively at the thought, Mother's words making her think of the human.
Stupid Mother. Stupid flight. Behemoth was the strongest, biggest, and best. How dare they not recognise that? How dare they attack her? Clearly, it was the others' fault that she hadn't evolved yet, taking up all of Mother's time, time he could've spent on Behemoth.
Instead, she got left with the stupid, stupid, Rage-Punch-Teacher, who did nothing but beat Behemoth up!
It was their fault. No, in fact, it was Mother's fault. It was he who had filled Behemoth's head with thoughts of evolution and then failed to provide.
Except…
Except that wasn't true. The others were starting to evolve under Mother's teachings, even Small-Furry-Not-Prey. Bright-Punch was one thing, and she would even allow Fire-Flightmate because Behemoth was nice, but Small-Furry-Not-Prey had only just gotten there!
If they could do it, then it wasn't Mother's fault.
It was Behemoth's.
She growled, flicking a rock off the cliff and letting it fall as she remembered Mother's face when her fangs were about to tear into her front foot. Behemoth hadn't known he was there because why would she be? If he wasn't strong enough that it was safe, why would he come close?
She sighed, a rare sound for her, and tipped forwards. Her heavy head overbalanced her, and she slipped off her seat, plummeting down towards the ground.
Normally, the feeling of wind on her skin was her favourite sensation, but for some reason, it didn't give her the same high as usual.
BOOOOM!
She lay in the small crater of her own making, letting the dust slowly settle and reveal the sky to her. It was a pretty colour, the sunset painting it pink and orange, a few fluffy clouds drifting by. She wondered how it felt to soar amongst the hues, how the clouds would taste on her tongue and how high she would have to fly to catch the sun.
Normally, Mother was with her in those fantasies, but now Behemoth's back was empty, with no one to speak of her greatness, no one to witness her glory.
Until a shadow stepped in front of her, blocking her view of the sky.
Betty growled at the stupid, smug face of Rage-Punch-Teacher, not in the mood for her mentor's hands-on approach. For perhaps the first time in her life, she felt no desire to rip and tear and kill.
Instead, she just wanted to lie there-
Rage-Punch-Teacher apparently disagreed, grabbing her by the head with his strange, glove-like hand and throwing her through the air with an incoherent scream of anger. Betty matched the roar with her own fearsome one, truly pissed as she flew out of her hidden nook and skipped across the ground. Tumbling, she slowed with each bounce and finally came to a rest in the middle of the training field, the Punchy-Human who had been teaching the Flight for the last moon standing over her.
Despite her hate, Behemoth had to admit that Rage-Punch-Teacher had impeccable aim.
"We have grown short on time," Punchy-Human said. "As such, your Trainer has asked me to do him, and you, a favour." Punchy-Human pointed over to the side, and Betty jerked when she saw Mother watching with crossed forelegs, Small-Furry-Not-Prey and Cold-Not-Prey next to her.
"Today, you evolve."
Behemoth snorted, turning away from Punchy-Human. Did Punchy-Human think she hadn't been trying? If it were that easy, then-
BOOOOOOOOOOM!
Behemoth didn't know what happened. One second, she was about to walk away from Punchy-Human. The next, something hit her from above harder than nearly anything she had ever felt, and everything was suddenly dark.
It took her a second to understand, but understand she did. She was attacked.
Who had the audacity?
A hand wrapped around her leg and pulled her out of her hole, and she struggled to believe her eyes when she was dangled in front of Punchy-Human by the man's own hand.
"As I said; today, you evolve. It wasn't a suggestion."
Disbelief warred with rage, but the victor of that battle had been decided at Behemoth's birth.
Dragon fire flared to life in her chest, and she prepared to show the human his mistake when she was suddenly airborne again. The Dragon Breath burned the heavens uselessly, but on the upside, she wasn't flying long.
BOOOOOOM!
All the air left her lungs as a large fist punched her downwards, something in the side of her chest snapping with a wet crunch as she again found herself in a crater. Above her, Rage-Punch-Teacher smiled – snarled, really, but that was as close as the monkey got – and raised another boxing glove hand.
Shielding her head with her arms, Behemoth tried to summon the green shield thing that Mother called Protect. The hexagons flickered into life, transparent and ghostly, but existing.
Rage-Punch-Teacher's fist broke through it without delay and hammered into her torso. Spit, bile, and blood erupted from her mouth in a small geyser, painting the white-furred face in her fluids like warpaint as the monkey flung her through the air again. She hit a cliff hard, face-first, feeling a tooth snap before she fell to the ground. She wheezed for air, every breath bringing a sharp, stabbing sensation from her chest when her lungs expanded, while slowly getting up and facing the approaching Pokémon.
Despite herself, Behemoth smiled a bloody grin as the adrenaline flooded her body, the pain fueling her.
It had been too long since she had a real fight.
Her Dragon Breath washed over a massive slab of sediment as Rage-Punch-Teacher hollered and smashed the ground with both hands and raised the rock. Before it could fall to the ground, it shot towards Behemoth, tilting forwards and threatening to crush her.
Growling, she focused and pulled on the breaking energy, letting her front foot light up with the power. A large section of the rock broke apart under her awesome power, revealing Rage-Punch-Teacher right behind it.
Putting the horrible Pokémon's 'lessons' to use, her foot shone with a different energy. Purple leaked from her skin as she tried to pull her fire to her hand. Building as much power as she could, her flames ignited, and she punched at the same time as Rage-Punch-Teacher.
Their fists met, each powered by their respective energies. A small shockwave was a testament to the strength behind her attack, which was good, since her foe didn't seem to notice. Her wrist bent under the larger appendage, the bone straining and then breaking as it continued and smacked her in the face.
Everything went black for a second. When she came to, her jaw felt numb and crooked, and her face was pressed against the ground. Dazed, she struggled to get up, swaying before she found her balance. Noise drew her attention to Rage-Punch-Teacher approaching again. The ape held up a hand, showing a small scratch with a drop of blood leaking from it, the only evidence of their clash.
Behemoth shrieked distortedly, defiantly. Rage-Punch-Teacher grinned nastily.
Her gaze darted towards Mother. He was clearly stressed and tense, but he wasn't interfering the way he usually would.
No help would come. Behemoth was on her own.
She was feeling warm. Hot. Her inner fire was stoked and billowed with bloodlust, her blood like fire and her core like magma. Her heart was pounding, shooting crimson liquid from her wounds, but she didn't care. There was no one to save her, no one to pull her away, because it became too much.
Only her and the fight.
Kill or be killed. Eat or be eaten.
And she wasn't ready to be eaten.
Trickles of blood ran down my biceps, my nails digging into the skin and muscle beneath. Every fibre of my being screamed at me to do something, anything, when Betty was bashed into the ground again, left eye so swollen she couldn't open it, blood leaking from her mouth in a constant stream. I could tell that her right lung was likely collapsed, based on her breathing, and her right arm was definitely broken.
But I remained where I was. Even though it was killing me.
Betty was my baby. I'd raised her since hatching, and I hated seeing her in danger.
That had done her a disservice. She was made for combat, made to hurt and be hurt.
I'd meant well, but that didn't change the fact that Dragons weren't meant to be coddled.
BOOoooom!
A tremble under my feet as she was punched through another boulder, smashing it to pieces. If she showed the slightest sign, the tiniest bit of hesitation in rising – or Mew forbid, stayed down – I was ready to use the PokéBall I'd hidden against my chest. Fuck, I'd jump in there and fight Primeape myself if she needed me to.
But she didn't. Even as her bones snapped, her eyes lost focus, and her teeth were knocked from her broken jaw, she got back up.
Again. And again. And again.
I had to close my eyes, my teeth threatening to break under the strain of my jaw. The sounds still reached my ears. The thud! of flesh on flesh. The shrieks and groans of pain. The splat! of blood and stomach acid hitting the ground.
The sudden stop.
The light shining through the darkness.
I hardly believed it when I looked and saw Primeape jump back towards us and away from the brightly glowing shape across from it. A high-pitched whine rang in my ears as the molten starlight swelled and compressed, undulating and swirling. In the beginning, the shape of a Bagon was evident, but it soon vanished under the ballooning energy as it grew and grew and grew.
It took a long time, much longer than the others had. It was also much more forceful, a physical wind picking up from the radiating energy. Dust picked up and swirled around in an accidental sandstorm, hiding the evolution from our eyes. It felt like it went on forever.
But it did eventually end, the light dying within the dust cloud.
"SSHHEEEEOOOOOOOO!"
A deep, foghorn-esque sound echoed over the mountainous area, and I realised with a start that it was Betty's new voice, so very different from her old, shrill shrieks.
I hadn't even realised that I was moving before I was suddenly face-to-face with my second evolved Pokémon of the day, the dust settling around us.
Though there were some obvious differences from Espeon.
Towering over me at nine feet tall and the same wide, Shelgon was a sight to behold. Six white plates, each nearly as long as Sol's body – made from the same substance as the bone crest on Betty's head – wrapped around in a spherical shape, the three top plates each featuring a ridge running along their lengths. Protruding from between the bottom plates were four stubby, grey legs with short red stripes on the inner surfaces, each tipped with thick, yet blunt claws. I said stubby, but each of them was as long as my own legs and as thick as my torso. On either end of the steel-hard cocoon, a hexagonal section was missing, the back to allow her to do her business still.
And the front, facing me, had a pair of triangular, yellow eyes as big as my head, which were staring me straight in the soul, set in a grey face mostly hidden by the shell.
I didn't know what to say. In the previous evolutions, I'd appealed to previous affection.
But none of them had been Dragons.
Primeape saved me from having to come up with something. The Ape Pokémon hued and hollered as it leapt through the air, fist cocked back to continue the fight. A beam of red struck it mid-air, Bruno recalling it to its PokéBall, but it was enough to set Betty off, a roar tearing at the heavens.
"Enough, Betty!" If Team Rocket could bottle whatever I was smoking, they'd take over the world, I thought while raising my voice at the massive Shelgon.
But it was Betty. Fuck my fears, fuck the warnings. It was my baby.
The Shelgon turned back to stare at me, the glowing eyes narrowing. My heart pounded, and my brain screamed at me to run, but I didn't.
Instead, I took a step closer, even as a warning vibration rumbled through the Shelgon.
Seeing that she wasn't instantly attacking, I took another.
"SHEEEEE!"
My hair blew back from the force of the roar, ears ringing as something popped painfully in the left.
But I stood my ground, with narrowed eyes
"Enough. You did it. You did it!" I chuckled in disbelief, itching to reach out but knowing better than to do so before she'd accepted me. "You finally evolved!"
"SHEEOO!"
"Yeah, you're a big girl now!"
The words seemed to make her realise what had happened, and her eyes lowered to look at herself, or at least as best as she could. She struggled to see, turning around on the spot with deep grunts and huffs as she had her first experience with being stuck inside a 4000 pound bone-ball.
Then she kicked her legs out and dropped to the earth with a groan. A tremor that could rival a minor Earthquake rippled through the area, taking me off my feet and forcing me to steady myself against the white shell.
My eyes widened as we both froze. I hadn't meant to touch her.
Our eyes were locked again, and for a moment, I thought that was it. I'd pushed too far, too quickly, and I was about to be killed.
However, she huffed instead, and her eyes disappeared into the darkness within her shell, evidently closed.
I chuckled in disbelief as I ran my hand over the carapace, feeling the smooth texture beneath my fingers. I couldn't believe how big she was. I'd known she would grow, but it was absolutely ridiculous. Her eyes were in the middle of her body, and we were damn near eye-level!
A deep, earthshaking growl left the humongous Shelgon, accompanied by the sounds of footsteps behind me.
"Congratulations." There was no mistaking the owner of the blank voice, nor the sheer balls it took to approach a large van-sized Shelgon.
"Thanks!" I turned around with a wild grin, which fell when my eyes landed on the enormous backpack strapped to Bruno's back.
Oh.
"Oh. Uh," I stammered a bit, caught-off guard, "damn. When you said 'soon', you meant it."
"I did." He reached his hand out, which I wasted no time gripping and shaking. "I've mostly enjoyed the last month, but there is work to be done. I hope it proved worthwhile for you."
"Definitely!" Worthwhile was an understatement. The improvements we'd seen had been greater than anything since the early days, when we'd just left Viridian and the basics had come easily. "Not enough to take you up on your offer to join the League, but still, it's been great. Thank you, seriously. I…" I pushed through my discomfort. Bruno wasn't a sensitive guy, and we hadn't exactly been touchy-feely, but he deserved the words. "I was in a real bad place, and I guess I still am, but… it's been good having a distraction, even if I know that I need to stop hiding now and figure out how to move forward."
"That's all anyone can ever ask of you," he nodded. "That being said, I would be remiss if I didn't leave you with some advice."
"Lay it on me." I braced myself. When Bruno thought his words were worth sharing, it was ones he meant.
"You're a moody child, Peri. Rude, quick to anger, arrogant and yet brooding."
"Tell me how you really feel!" I snorted to hide that Bruno's words hit a sore spot, echoing many of my own thoughts as of late. I tried to pull my hand from his to no avail; his grip remained firm.
"But," he let the word linger until I looked at him again, "but, you're too harsh on yourself." I blinked at the sudden switch-up. "We all have flaws. You wear yours on your sleeve more than most, but you're young and have been through a lot. That is not permission or forgiveness, but neither is it condemnation." He put his other hand on my shoulder, a massive mitt wrapping around my shoulderblade and tricep. "The past is the past, the mistakes we've made set in stone. Never forget them, but don't let them dominate your future either."
I broke eye contact, unable to look at his earnest face. "... it's been a month already. Every day that passes makes it harder."
"Then don't let any more pass." With one last knee-bending shoulder pat, he let me go and let Gallade out of his PokéBall. The Fighting/Psychic-Type bowed deeply to his trainer, and graced me with a slight tilt as well. "I know I failed to convince you to join me in my mission, but I haven't given up yet. I have high hopes for you, Peri, and a fair amount of faith, even if you don't. I will see you at the Indigo Conference."
And with that, he was gone.
I was nonplussed at the abrupt departure, but it was extremely in character, and to be fair, I had things to do.
Turning back to Betty, I saw that while I was talking to Bruno, the others had emerged from where they were hiding nearby. Sol had come sniffing. The Arcanine was unusually cautious, slowly slinking closer. He was just about to touch Betty when she lurched forwards, making the Fire-Type jump back.
BOOM!
Betty thudded back to the ground, groaning in dismay that her new bulk ruined her prank.
"I warned you," I chuckled as the others took the joke as permission to slowly come over and have a look.
There was still tension in the air, nobody forgetting the incident earlier in the day, but they appeared willing to take the small jest as a gesture of good faith.
Except Siren, Espeon, and Vulpix, it seemed. The three of them kept their distance, though the Ice-Type was clearly being affected by the emotions in the air.
Taking the chance while everyone was distracted and I had the motivation, I moved a little away and pulled out my PokéDex with a heavy sigh.
I didn't know what I wanted to do with the Oaks or Green. Part of me was still so angry – particularly at the aforementioned grandfather and grandson – and couldn't just move past it, while another part was scared.
What if they didn't pick up? What if they did, but everyone was too mad, and it all just became worse?
But there was one person who definitely didn't deserve my anger, or having gone ignored for so long.
The PokéDex rang for a while as my heart thudded in my ears. I felt slightly sick, and my fingers spasmed with the desire to hang up, but I forced it down.
And then, it was too late, as the call was picked up and my breath was stolen.
"... hey, Peri."
"... hi, Misty. Sorry it took me so long to call."
Back-to-back evolutions, whoo!
I like trying to tailor each evolution to the Pokémon in question, beyond just how they evolve in game (like Espeon's friendship evolution happening outside of combat, Hercules when he needed strength). Betty's was always gonna be while bathed in blood and getting her shit pushed in.
Strap in for her being a Shelgon, though, cause that's gonna last for a minute.
Also, Honedge technically can't learn Metal Claw, only Metal Head, but call it an AU if you will. I'll mostly keep it to the official move lists, but sometimes, reason must prevail.
And the Rule of Cool. Can't forget that.
Thank you for reading. Hopefully you enjoyed. If you REALLY liked it, I have a P-a-t-r-e-o-n, under the same name, where you can read 5 chapters ahead.
As overwhelmed as I was feeling, between the realisation of Vulpix's problem, my own breakdown as everything caught up to me, and Espeon's evolution, I didn't get much time to collect myself before we were surrounded.
The evolution of a teammate was a big deal. While it wasn't a hard rule – looking at you, Pikachu – evolving was generally something all Pokémon looked forward to. Like the instinct to mate, hunt, and survive, reaching their final stage was deeply embedded in their genes. Not only would it give strength, but some first stage evolutions couldn't mate at all.
So, with it being my third time, I kind of knew what to expect when reintroducing Espeon to the rest of the team, though it was a little awkward with the way she refused to let go of me, forcing me to carry her to each Pokémon myself, Vulpix squeezed between us.
I wasn't keen on letting the fox go anytime soon.
Sol could not believe his eyes, pressing in close to sniff, only to dart back when Espeon's eyes and the focusing crystal in her forehead glowed a hot pink warningly. Evolution seemingly hadn't changed her low opinion of the unserious Arcanine.
It did little to change Sol's awe. The idea of evolving and still being so small was mind-blowing to him.
Hercules likewise seemed a little confused about the lack of muscles and general fragility of the Psychic-Type, but was smart enough to know there was more to combat than hitting it hard.
He just didn't agree.
Speaking of combat, though, I was curious about what changes Espeon had gone through, which led me to whip out my PokéDex for the first time in a while, with mixed feelings.
But I wouldn't let that affect my team anymore.
"Espeon, the Sun Pokémon. Espeon is extremely loyal to any Trainer it considers to be worthy. It is said that this Pokémon developed its precognitive powers to protect its Trainer from harm. It uses the fine hair that covers its body to sense air currents and predict its enemy's actions."
"This Espeon has the ability: Magic Bounce, and knows the moves: Tackle, Growl, Tail Whip, Sand Attack, Quick Attack, Baby-Doll Eyes, Swift, Hyper Voice, Detect (egg move), Confusion."
There were different levels of comprehension; Sol clearly was not getting it, while Espeon herself preened from her description. Other than the Ability – which we'd explore – and the flavour text, the main difference was her getting Confusion. The only Psychic-Type move anyone else had was Sol's Agility, and that had been a nightmare to get working and still wasn't mastered, so I wasn't sure how to go about it, but-
Mid-thought, a slight crunch! from a dry leaf had Espeon's head darting to the side, eyes and focusing jewel shining the warm pink somewhere between her eye and fur colour. The Psychic energy built swiftly, seeming to reach a limit before being unleashed.
A shockwave blew through the plains, grass being flattened and bushes ripped from the ground under the pink wave of telekinesis. The air wavered and undulated in a weirdly non-uniform way, twisting and distorting space as it rippled over the landscape, dust and the top layer of soil blown back under the wide Confusion-
All except for a small patch where the debris seemed to hit something and fall to the ground, as if an invisible wall had stopped it. Despite the uncontrolled blast, the invisible spot remained unmoving, unaffected by the Psychic energy and began moving sideways through the shockwave. It had almost left the area affected, where we'd lose sight of it as it left the dust, when a black patch shot up in front of it, Honedge rising from the shadow to stop the interloper.
"STOP! Let it go!" I shouted, freezing the ghost and allowing the invisible Pokémon to run around it, any signs vanishing as it fled. "That's the one I told you about. As long as it doesn't turn hostile, it's earned some privacy. It probably saved Ee-Espeon and my lives against the bounty hunter."
There was a faint, foreign feeling of embarrassment that was quickly squashed as Espeon pressed her head back against me for some attention as we all wound down.
The options were narrowing for what our invisible friend could, and it was getting exciting. I'd read up on the possibilities on the PokéNet since noticing we were being followed. Being completely unaffected by the Confusion almost guaranteed Dark-Type, and while there were several that could learn illusions, few specialised in it enough to use them so well without training.
But that was for another time, when it either felt safer or I could find it without the whole team staring it down. Until then, things returned to welcoming the 'newest' teammate.
Honedge… I don't know what I expected, but the sword's single, blue eye briefly glancing at Espeon before hiding in my shadow again wasn't surprising. Espeon likewise didn't seem to care, crawling up to try and lie across my shoulders. Even though she wasn't that much bigger, it was still a little awkward and would need getting used to.
I'd take indifference. I'd feared worse given their respective Types.
Scanning Espeon reminded me that I never got around to doing the same with the Steel/Ghost-Type, prompting me to do so.
"Honedge, the Sword Pokémon. Apparently, this Pokémon is born when a departed spirit inhabits a sword. It attaches itself to people and drinks their life force. If anyone dares to grab its hilt, it wraps a blue cloth around that person's arm and drains that person's life energy completely."
"This Honedge has the ability: No Guard, and knows the moves: Tackle, Swords Dance, Shadow Sneak, Shadow Claw, Metal Claw, Slash."
The only unexpected thing was Swords Dance, but Honedge was literally a sword, so it made sense.
Beyond that, I was genuinely surprised that he'd managed to get Slash down in the month of training. Metal Claw seemed to come naturally, but Normal-Type energy was the furthest thing from Honedge's nature, and I'd figured that learning to channel it would take a long ass-time.
Probably had something to do with his dual Typing. Honedge had bonded with an object from the material world, existing in between the two realities.
Still strange, though, like a fish flying through the sky.
Or like me using Fighting-Type Aura, I suppose, after having dipped in the Distorted Realm for a second and or century.
Someone else whose reaction I'd been worried about, however, was Siren. The Feebas stayed uncharacteristically far back, allowing the others to greet Espeon first, rather than trying to lead by example as she usually would.
The Water-Type's blank look and listlessness were concerning. The talk we had towards the beginning of our stay had worked for a while, but I wasn't dumb enough to think it was gone, or even necessarily lessened. Put to the side, for the time being, but far from over.
And Sol had been with us – unofficially – since his birth. Espeon had joined us two months before and had already achieved Siren's obsession.
But the fish heard the PokéDex, heard 'Dexter' talk about Espeon evolving because of me, and deflated subtly, the blankness replaced with weariness and a sad sort of acceptance. She gurgled softly, getting a mewl in return, which was more feline than it had been as an Eevee.
We'd need to talk about it sooner rather than later, before it festered, but for the time, I settled for scooping her up before she could leave, looking like a weird hunchback as I tried to juggle three Pokémon.
All in all, everyone accepted the change in the end, keeping their less charitable thoughts to themselves, if nothing else.
Well, almost everyone.
"BAARRRRGGGGGGHHHHHH!"
"Betty-" I sighed, but couldn't get further before being cut off.
"BAAAAAAAAARGH!" Soil was blown back, the underlying rock chipping and breaking from the dragon fire that washed over it. The surviving material shuddered and quaked under the stomp, a boulder shaking and crumbling as her bony skull left indents.
"BETTY!" I tried to call over the racket to no avail. Reluctantly, I placed the Pokémon I was carrying on the ground to approach the tantrum-throwing Bagon – or attempted to, as the newly evolved Espeon refused to let go of me.
Resigning myself to the Psychic's presence, I moved closer, ignoring the few bits and pieces that unintentionally hit me. Espeon took offence, however, and sent out another uncontrolled Confusion that helped rip the previously nice area apart, leaving me way more covered in shit.
At least it got Betty's attention.
"EEEEEEEIIIIHHHHHHH!" Behemoth shrieked at us, pupils a thin line surrounded by bloodshot cornea. Drops of drool dripped from her fangs as she heaved for air, so lost in the sauce she barely remembered to breathe.
Espeon whined low in her throat at the aggressive sound directed at me, but eased under my soothing fingers.
"Betty, I get that you're upset, but we can't do this every time-"
"BAAEEEIIIIHHHH!" She didn't even look at me, furious gaze locked on Espeon, who looked back a little smugly under my scratching fingers.
"Betty, loo-"
"BEEEEII!" A Flamethrower reduced a shrub to ash.
"Bet-!"
"BAEEEEIHH!" A Dragon Breath ripped a rock apart and sent the pieces flying, several almost striking the watching Water-Types, to Poliwrath's grunting displeasure.
"Dammit, will you listen to me-!" Frustrated, I waded through the destruction and reached out my hand to grab her, uncaring for her mood.
In hindsight, that was a mistake.
There was no hesitation or recognition to be found in her, only rage and envy. When the tips of my fingers graced her skin, she whirled around, jaws wide open and fangs as long as my fingers snapping down towards my hand. I jerked back instinctively, feeling the razor-sharp edge grace me-
WROMPH!
A blast sent the Bagon flying back, the strongest Confusion Espeon had managed yet, destroying the landscape as surely as Betty herself had. The Dragon-Type tumbled backwards, screeching the whole time, brain bouncing around inside her skull from the random twists and turns of the Psychic technique. Using her weight and legs, she managed to stop herself, eyes swirling around in her head.
So she never saw the steaming Scald that could bore through rock before it hit her in the chest.
Or the massive yellow canine before it bowled her over and pinned her down.
"ARRC!"
Barking straight in her face, Sol's usual easy-going nature was nowhere to be seen, fangs bared with small bursts of flame between and a deep growl vibrating his chest while he held his best friend to the ground. Behind him, a murderous Siren floated closer as fast as she could, Honedge leaving Shadow Sneak and coming down in an overhead swing meant to part her head from her shoulders-
"ENOUGH, ALL OF YOU!"
My words and hand around Honedge's hilt made them hesitate, but Siren ignored my words and kept going. Reluctantly, I returned her to her PokéBall, clenching tightly around it as it shook and tried to burst open.
"Get off her!" Nobody moved anywhere near fast enough for my tastes. "GET OFF HER!"
That did it, Sol slowly stepping off the smaller Pokémon and Honedge letting me pull him back to my side, rather than hovering over Betty's neck.
The Bagon in question stood up hesitantly, blinking rapidly as the blood-haze left her. Her eyes were still a little unfocused from the Confusion, but I could see the realisation in them as they flew over the others before locking with my own.
Then she spun around on her heel and ran, sprinting away as fast as she could.
"Let her go," I sighed when everyone else jerked, unclenching my hands and letting the furiously gurgling and wheezing Siren back out. I wasn't sure where Betty was going, exactly, but it was the general direction of the training area, so I wasn't too worried about her legitimately running away.
I looked at the tiny, tiny dot of blood on my middle finger before beginning to calm down the others.
I should've seen Betty's freak-out coming, but I was caught up in my own rampant emotions, once more too far up my own ass to care for my team the way I should.
And yet, contrarily, the incident made me feel… not better, far from it, but gave me something concrete to focus on. A small voice in the back of my head said that it was another distraction, but I crushed it with the undeniable truth that Betty's evolution-envy needed addressing, fast.
I really thought training with Bruno would do the trick, yet even though her bone crest had extended so far she'd soon have trouble tilting her head backwards, she remained a Bagon – if a monstrous example of the species.
I was certain she had the strength, and she definitely had the desire.
All she needed was exactly that – a need.
The month of training had done a lot for the team and for my own personal fighting skills. Just having an instructor that could communicate with me was a wonder, as was not being blamed for only having two arms.
That being said, the actual moves themselves weren't all that different. It was clear where Bruno had picked up his own style, and I sometimes had to tell myself that he wasn't a Machoke in a human costume.
But for all that, we hadn't spent that much time on it. Most of it had been helping me get a handle on my Aura and not letting it affect me.
But the process felt good. And I did my best thinking when fighting.
Thud!
My bones screamed as I crossed my arms to catch a casual punch, holding my groan as I slid back a little. Bruno didn't follow up, allowing me to make the next move, something I did eagerly.
It was an hour or so after Espeon's evolution and Betty's tantrums. Heading back immediately, I wasted no time grabbing the already returned Bruno and throwing punches at him, explaining the events in between grunts and suppressed pain noises. Most of my team were semi-nearby, hurling themselves at Bruno's Pokémon to get their aggressions out, with Vulpix and Espeon watching me from the sidelines.
"Dragon-Types are considered some of the hardest, if not the hardest, Pokémon to train. Ghost and Dark-Types are up there as well, but Dragons have their reputation for a reason, and their Trainers with them. You've met Lance, and you're no exception yourself." The Elite Four's monotone voice explained.
"Don't compare me to that asshole!" I groaned, lifting my foot to allow a rare low sweep to swing under it while throwing a two-three combo, Bruno effortlessly deflecting them all.
"It's the truth. You share many similarities, though there are differences. Lance is quick to anger and holds a grudge for petty reasons, while your emotions are as fickle as the wind." Bruno's breathing might have gotten even slower than normal for all the strain he was experiencing, poking a nerve in my elbow when my form slipped and lightly tapping me in the stomach, nearly sending my lunch back up.
"That was almost poetic. You should write a book." I tried a high-kick I'd picked up from watching Blaziken, only for Bruno to lift my ankle higher and tip me backwards into the dirt.
"Do not deflect from your problems with snarkiness. It won't avail you."
I sighed from the ground, acknowledging the point. I already had an idea, I was just avoiding it.
"What do you think?" I asked, hoping for a different answer.
"Don't know." My hopes were dashed with heartless bluntness. "Don't have a Dragon-Type. But you can't let it linger. I know that much."
A large hand entered my view, and I took it, letting him pull me up so hard I left the ground.
Bruno let me stew in my thoughts as we moved on to the second part of training. Side-by-side, we lined up in front of a cliff face, spreading our legs shoulder-wide. Syncing my breathing with his, I felt for my Aura and directed it as best as I could up my chest, past my collarbone, down my arms, and into my hand. Bruno gave me the time I needed, despite his own ability to do a hundred times better in an instant.
Then, at some unconscious signal I must have given, our fists flew and smacked into the stone.
Thud!
THUD-BOOM!
I'd given up being jealous when Bruno's hand embedded up to his forearm, and my own didn't leave a noticeable mark. Comparing myself to the martial artist would've led me to hurl myself from the very cliff we were punching, and the fact that I wasn't bleeding from punching solid rock was a big deal anyway.
Besides, I thought as I retracted my fist and the smallest little stone-chip flaked off, we were getting there.
Eventually, we took a break to let my hands rest before I broke my wrist, sitting on a pair of rocks across from each other to drink some water.
"I will have to leave soon." Bruno didn't sugarcoat it, stating it as bluntly as he did anything else. "I won't push my responsibilities onto Koga and Will any longer."
I nodded, surprisingly sad. The last month had been good to the team, and I'd come to appreciate Bruno's simple, yet earnest nature. He was an honestly good person, and that counted for a lot.
But the last month of training had also been an escape, a place to hide and avoid my problems. As I promised Espeon, that was over.
"Before you go," I spoke slowly, rolling the bottle between my hands. I wasn't comfortable with the decision I'd come to, and everything in me screamed to stop. "I need your help with something."
But kindness could be as harmful as cruelty, and it clearly wasn't working.
We had to move forwards.
Behemoth sat on a cliff, head down and back bent as she brooded.
She wasn't sulking. She wasn't.
She was going to be the strongest Dragon, and the strongest didn't sulk.
She flinched instinctively at the thought, Mother's words making her think of the human.
Stupid Mother. Stupid flight. Behemoth was the strongest, biggest, and best. How dare they not recognise that? How dare they attack her? Clearly, it was the others' fault that she hadn't evolved yet, taking up all of Mother's time, time he could've spent on Behemoth.
Instead, she got left with the stupid, stupid, Rage-Punch-Teacher, who did nothing but beat Behemoth up!
It was their fault. No, in fact, it was Mother's fault. It was he who had filled Behemoth's head with thoughts of evolution and then failed to provide.
Except…
Except that wasn't true. The others were starting to evolve under Mother's teachings, even Small-Furry-Not-Prey. Bright-Punch was one thing, and she would even allow Fire-Flightmate because Behemoth was nice, but Small-Furry-Not-Prey had only just gotten there!
If they could do it, then it wasn't Mother's fault.
It was Behemoth's.
She growled, flicking a rock off the cliff and letting it fall as she remembered Mother's face when her fangs were about to tear into her front foot. Behemoth hadn't known he was there because why would she be? If he wasn't strong enough that it was safe, why would he come close?
She sighed, a rare sound for her, and tipped forwards. Her heavy head overbalanced her, and she slipped off her seat, plummeting down towards the ground.
Normally, the feeling of wind on her skin was her favourite sensation, but for some reason, it didn't give her the same high as usual.
BOOOOM!
She lay in the small crater of her own making, letting the dust slowly settle and reveal the sky to her. It was a pretty colour, the sunset painting it pink and orange, a few fluffy clouds drifting by. She wondered how it felt to soar amongst the hues, how the clouds would taste on her tongue and how high she would have to fly to catch the sun.
Normally, Mother was with her in those fantasies, but now Behemoth's back was empty, with no one to speak of her greatness, no one to witness her glory.
Until a shadow stepped in front of her, blocking her view of the sky.
Betty growled at the stupid, smug face of Rage-Punch-Teacher, not in the mood for her mentor's hands-on approach. For perhaps the first time in her life, she felt no desire to rip and tear and kill.
Instead, she just wanted to lie there-
Rage-Punch-Teacher apparently disagreed, grabbing her by the head with his strange, glove-like hand and throwing her through the air with an incoherent scream of anger. Betty matched the roar with her own fearsome one, truly pissed as she flew out of her hidden nook and skipped across the ground. Tumbling, she slowed with each bounce and finally came to a rest in the middle of the training field, the Punchy-Human who had been teaching the Flight for the last moon standing over her.
Despite her hate, Behemoth had to admit that Rage-Punch-Teacher had impeccable aim.
"We have grown short on time," Punchy-Human said. "As such, your Trainer has asked me to do him, and you, a favour." Punchy-Human pointed over to the side, and Betty jerked when she saw Mother watching with crossed forelegs, Small-Furry-Not-Prey and Cold-Not-Prey next to her.
"Today, you evolve."
Behemoth snorted, turning away from Punchy-Human. Did Punchy-Human think she hadn't been trying? If it were that easy, then-
BOOOOOOOOOOM!
Behemoth didn't know what happened. One second, she was about to walk away from Punchy-Human. The next, something hit her from above harder than nearly anything she had ever felt, and everything was suddenly dark.
It took her a second to understand, but understand she did. She was attacked.
Who had the audacity?
A hand wrapped around her leg and pulled her out of her hole, and she struggled to believe her eyes when she was dangled in front of Punchy-Human by the man's own hand.
"As I said; today, you evolve. It wasn't a suggestion."
Disbelief warred with rage, but the victor of that battle had been decided at Behemoth's birth.
Dragon fire flared to life in her chest, and she prepared to show the human his mistake when she was suddenly airborne again. The Dragon Breath burned the heavens uselessly, but on the upside, she wasn't flying long.
BOOOOOOM!
All the air left her lungs as a large fist punched her downwards, something in the side of her chest snapping with a wet crunch as she again found herself in a crater. Above her, Rage-Punch-Teacher smiled – snarled, really, but that was as close as the monkey got – and raised another boxing glove hand.
Shielding her head with her arms, Behemoth tried to summon the green shield thing that Mother called Protect. The hexagons flickered into life, transparent and ghostly, but existing.
Rage-Punch-Teacher's fist broke through it without delay and hammered into her torso. Spit, bile, and blood erupted from her mouth in a small geyser, painting the white-furred face in her fluids like warpaint as the monkey flung her through the air again. She hit a cliff hard, face-first, feeling a tooth snap before she fell to the ground. She wheezed for air, every breath bringing a sharp, stabbing sensation from her chest when her lungs expanded, while slowly getting up and facing the approaching Pokémon.
Despite herself, Behemoth smiled a bloody grin as the adrenaline flooded her body, the pain fueling her.
It had been too long since she had a real fight.
Her Dragon Breath washed over a massive slab of sediment as Rage-Punch-Teacher hollered and smashed the ground with both hands and raised the rock. Before it could fall to the ground, it shot towards Behemoth, tilting forwards and threatening to crush her.
Growling, she focused and pulled on the breaking energy, letting her front foot light up with the power. A large section of the rock broke apart under her awesome power, revealing Rage-Punch-Teacher right behind it.
Putting the horrible Pokémon's 'lessons' to use, her foot shone with a different energy. Purple leaked from her skin as she tried to pull her fire to her hand. Building as much power as she could, her flames ignited, and she punched at the same time as Rage-Punch-Teacher.
Their fists met, each powered by their respective energies. A small shockwave was a testament to the strength behind her attack, which was good, since her foe didn't seem to notice. Her wrist bent under the larger appendage, the bone straining and then breaking as it continued and smacked her in the face.
Everything went black for a second. When she came to, her jaw felt numb and crooked, and her face was pressed against the ground. Dazed, she struggled to get up, swaying before she found her balance. Noise drew her attention to Rage-Punch-Teacher approaching again. The ape held up a hand, showing a small scratch with a drop of blood leaking from it, the only evidence of their clash.
Behemoth shrieked distortedly, defiantly. Rage-Punch-Teacher grinned nastily.
Her gaze darted towards Mother. He was clearly stressed and tense, but he wasn't interfering the way he usually would.
No help would come. Behemoth was on her own.
She was feeling warm. Hot. Her inner fire was stoked and billowed with bloodlust, her blood like fire and her core like magma. Her heart was pounding, shooting crimson liquid from her wounds, but she didn't care. There was no one to save her, no one to pull her away, because it became too much.
Only her and the fight.
Kill or be killed. Eat or be eaten.
And she wasn't ready to be eaten.
Trickles of blood ran down my biceps, my nails digging into the skin and muscle beneath. Every fibre of my being screamed at me to do something, anything, when Betty was bashed into the ground again, left eye so swollen she couldn't open it, blood leaking from her mouth in a constant stream. I could tell that her right lung was likely collapsed, based on her breathing, and her right arm was definitely broken.
But I remained where I was. Even though it was killing me.
Betty was my baby. I'd raised her since hatching, and I hated seeing her in danger.
That had done her a disservice. She was made for combat, made to hurt and be hurt.
I'd meant well, but that didn't change the fact that Dragons weren't meant to be coddled.
BOOoooom!
A tremble under my feet as she was punched through another boulder, smashing it to pieces. If she showed the slightest sign, the tiniest bit of hesitation in rising – or Mew forbid, stayed down – I was ready to use the PokéBall I'd hidden against my chest. Fuck, I'd jump in there and fight Primeape myself if she needed me to.
But she didn't. Even as her bones snapped, her eyes lost focus, and her teeth were knocked from her broken jaw, she got back up.
Again. And again. And again.
I had to close my eyes, my teeth threatening to break under the strain of my jaw. The sounds still reached my ears. The thud! of flesh on flesh. The shrieks and groans of pain. The splat! of blood and stomach acid hitting the ground.
The sudden stop.
The light shining through the darkness.
I hardly believed it when I looked and saw Primeape jump back towards us and away from the brightly glowing shape across from it. A high-pitched whine rang in my ears as the molten starlight swelled and compressed, undulating and swirling. In the beginning, the shape of a Bagon was evident, but it soon vanished under the ballooning energy as it grew and grew and grew.
It took a long time, much longer than the others had. It was also much more forceful, a physical wind picking up from the radiating energy. Dust picked up and swirled around in an accidental sandstorm, hiding the evolution from our eyes. It felt like it went on forever.
But it did eventually end, the light dying within the dust cloud.
"SSHHEEEEOOOOOOOO!"
A deep, foghorn-esque sound echoed over the mountainous area, and I realised with a start that it was Betty's new voice, so very different from her old, shrill shrieks.
I hadn't even realised that I was moving before I was suddenly face-to-face with my second evolved Pokémon of the day, the dust settling around us.
Though there were some obvious differences from Espeon.
Towering over me at nine feet tall and the same wide, Shelgon was a sight to behold. Six white plates, each nearly as long as Sol's body – made from the same substance as the bone crest on Betty's head – wrapped around in a spherical shape, the three top plates each featuring a ridge running along their lengths. Protruding from between the bottom plates were four stubby, grey legs with short red stripes on the inner surfaces, each tipped with thick, yet blunt claws. I said stubby, but each of them was as long as my own legs and as thick as my torso. On either end of the steel-hard cocoon, a hexagonal section was missing, the back to allow her to do her business still.
And the front, facing me, had a pair of triangular, yellow eyes as big as my head, which were staring me straight in the soul, set in a grey face mostly hidden by the shell.
I didn't know what to say. In the previous evolutions, I'd appealed to previous affection.
But none of them had been Dragons.
Primeape saved me from having to come up with something. The Ape Pokémon hued and hollered as it leapt through the air, fist cocked back to continue the fight. A beam of red struck it mid-air, Bruno recalling it to its PokéBall, but it was enough to set Betty off, a roar tearing at the heavens.
"Enough, Betty!" If Team Rocket could bottle whatever I was smoking, they'd take over the world, I thought while raising my voice at the massive Shelgon.
But it was Betty. Fuck my fears, fuck the warnings. It was my baby.
The Shelgon turned back to stare at me, the glowing eyes narrowing. My heart pounded, and my brain screamed at me to run, but I didn't.
Instead, I took a step closer, even as a warning vibration rumbled through the Shelgon.
Seeing that she wasn't instantly attacking, I took another.
"SHEEEEE!"
My hair blew back from the force of the roar, ears ringing as something popped painfully in the left.
But I stood my ground, with narrowed eyes
"Enough. You did it. You did it!" I chuckled in disbelief, itching to reach out but knowing better than to do so before she'd accepted me. "You finally evolved!"
"SHEEOO!"
"Yeah, you're a big girl now!"
The words seemed to make her realise what had happened, and her eyes lowered to look at herself, or at least as best as she could. She struggled to see, turning around on the spot with deep grunts and huffs as she had her first experience with being stuck inside a 4000 pound bone-ball.
Then she kicked her legs out and dropped to the earth with a groan. A tremor that could rival a minor Earthquake rippled through the area, taking me off my feet and forcing me to steady myself against the white shell.
My eyes widened as we both froze. I hadn't meant to touch her.
Our eyes were locked again, and for a moment, I thought that was it. I'd pushed too far, too quickly, and I was about to be killed.
However, she huffed instead, and her eyes disappeared into the darkness within her shell, evidently closed.
I chuckled in disbelief as I ran my hand over the carapace, feeling the smooth texture beneath my fingers. I couldn't believe how big she was. I'd known she would grow, but it was absolutely ridiculous. Her eyes were in the middle of her body, and we were damn near eye-level!
A deep, earthshaking growl left the humongous Shelgon, accompanied by the sounds of footsteps behind me.
"Congratulations." There was no mistaking the owner of the blank voice, nor the sheer balls it took to approach a large van-sized Shelgon.
"Thanks!" I turned around with a wild grin, which fell when my eyes landed on the enormous backpack strapped to Bruno's back.
Oh.
"Oh. Uh," I stammered a bit, caught-off guard, "damn. When you said 'soon', you meant it."
"I did." He reached his hand out, which I wasted no time gripping and shaking. "I've mostly enjoyed the last month, but there is work to be done. I hope it proved worthwhile for you."
"Definitely!" Worthwhile was an understatement. The improvements we'd seen had been greater than anything since the early days, when we'd just left Viridian and the basics had come easily. "Not enough to take you up on your offer to join the League, but still, it's been great. Thank you, seriously. I…" I pushed through my discomfort. Bruno wasn't a sensitive guy, and we hadn't exactly been touchy-feely, but he deserved the words. "I was in a real bad place, and I guess I still am, but… it's been good having a distraction, even if I know that I need to stop hiding now and figure out how to move forward."
"That's all anyone can ever ask of you," he nodded. "That being said, I would be remiss if I didn't leave you with some advice."
"Lay it on me." I braced myself. When Bruno thought his words were worth sharing, it was ones he meant.
"You're a moody child, Peri. Rude, quick to anger, arrogant and yet brooding."
"Tell me how you really feel!" I snorted to hide that Bruno's words hit a sore spot, echoing many of my own thoughts as of late. I tried to pull my hand from his to no avail; his grip remained firm.
"But," he let the word linger until I looked at him again, "but, you're too harsh on yourself." I blinked at the sudden switch-up. "We all have flaws. You wear yours on your sleeve more than most, but you're young and have been through a lot. That is not permission or forgiveness, but neither is it condemnation." He put his other hand on my shoulder, a massive mitt wrapping around my shoulderblade and tricep. "The past is the past, the mistakes we've made set in stone. Never forget them, but don't let them dominate your future either."
I broke eye contact, unable to look at his earnest face. "... it's been a month already. Every day that passes makes it harder."
"Then don't let any more pass." With one last knee-bending shoulder pat, he let me go and let Gallade out of his PokéBall. The Fighting/Psychic-Type bowed deeply to his trainer, and graced me with a slight tilt as well. "I know I failed to convince you to join me in my mission, but I haven't given up yet. I have high hopes for you, Peri, and a fair amount of faith, even if you don't. I will see you at the Indigo Conference."
And with that, he was gone.
I was nonplussed at the abrupt departure, but it was extremely in character, and to be fair, I had things to do.
Turning back to Betty, I saw that while I was talking to Bruno, the others had emerged from where they were hiding nearby. Sol had come sniffing. The Arcanine was unusually cautious, slowly slinking closer. He was just about to touch Betty when she lurched forwards, making the Fire-Type jump back.
BOOM!
Betty thudded back to the ground, groaning in dismay that her new bulk ruined her prank.
"I warned you," I chuckled as the others took the joke as permission to slowly come over and have a look.
There was still tension in the air, nobody forgetting the incident earlier in the day, but they appeared willing to take the small jest as a gesture of good faith.
Except Siren, Espeon, and Vulpix, it seemed. The three of them kept their distance, though the Ice-Type was clearly being affected by the emotions in the air.
Taking the chance while everyone was distracted and I had the motivation, I moved a little away and pulled out my PokéDex with a heavy sigh.
I didn't know what I wanted to do with the Oaks or Green. Part of me was still so angry – particularly at the aforementioned grandfather and grandson – and couldn't just move past it, while another part was scared.
What if they didn't pick up? What if they did, but everyone was too mad, and it all just became worse?
But there was one person who definitely didn't deserve my anger, or having gone ignored for so long.
The PokéDex rang for a while as my heart thudded in my ears. I felt slightly sick, and my fingers spasmed with the desire to hang up, but I forced it down.
And then, it was too late, as the call was picked up and my breath was stolen.
"... hey, Peri."
"... hi, Misty. Sorry it took me so long to call."
Back-to-back evolutions, whoo!
I like trying to tailor each evolution to the Pokémon in question, beyond just how they evolve in game (like Espeon's friendship evolution happening outside of combat, Hercules when he needed strength). Betty's was always gonna be while bathed in blood and getting her shit pushed in.
Strap in for her being a Shelgon, though, cause that's gonna last for a minute.
Also, Honedge technically can't learn Metal Claw, only Metal Head, but call it an AU if you will. I'll mostly keep it to the official move lists, but sometimes, reason must prevail.
And the Rule of Cool. Can't forget that.
Thank you for reading. Hopefully you enjoyed. If you REALLY liked it, I have a P-a-t-r-e-o-n, under the same name, where you can read 5 chapters ahead.