Pokemon Freelancer

[Orderneri]

30: Gigantism​

The next morning, before disappearing into the wilderness, Joe checked the news. As he'd drifted off to sleep last night, he thought that he was another day closer to Raikou's reappearance. He wanted to make sure he hadn't missed the Beast. Thankfully, there was no news about Raikou.

With that confirmed, Joe set off North. He entered Viridian Forest after a few hours of walking through the rest of the city. The first day was uneventful, but at some point during the second day his gut feeling kicked in. He tried to figure out what was bugging him as he walked. Absol sensed something and growled. A second later, an explosion rang out through the forest. It came from Joe's left. West.

Flocks of birds burst out of tree canopies as they fled the area. That's what had activated Joe's instincts. He'd heard nothing until just now. The animals that usually lived here had either fled or were cowering in little nooks under trees, waiting for the problem to end.

Absol had sensed the conflict right as it started, distress reaching her and telling her there was trouble. She ran towards the problem, her Trainer keeping up as he hopped over logs. They went over a small hill, Joe's hands scrapping grass as he climbed. On the way down he almost tripped over a thick root, barely saving himself by grabbing a tree.

Joe and Absol reached a large clearing, with Joe immediately surveying the area and being in awe at the size of this lad. Rotom scanned a giant bird that stood over thirty feet tall, its head peeking above trees. Its lower half was a dull grey while its upper half, including its wings, was a bright orange. The tips of its wings were black, as were its tail feathers. Talonflame.

"A Talonflame with gigantism." Rotom claimed in its robotic voice, slightly altered now that it had a better speaker.

More importantly than the giant bird, there was a fight. Talonflame's flock of various bird species fought a group of Pokemon under the command of Trainers. The people looked rough. Leather jackets, like a biker gang. Some had long hair, others were bald. Joe's arrival caused heads to turn. He took one look at the Trainers and deemed them enemies. Thugs. Probably Hunters. The wild Pokemon were just defending themselves.

"Absol, you deal with that one." Joe pointed to a Pokemon that looked particularly tough. It had a blue body, white hands like gloves, and a white belly with a black spiral on it. Poliwrath.

Joe would take on a threat more fitting of his current power level. He reached back for a ball and tossed out Cyndaquil to face off against a pink gremlin with a two-handed metal mace. Tinkatuff. A species that was female only.

Cyndaquil sent a barrage of Ember at his opponent. Some fireballs were batted away, but a couple landed, causing Tinkatuff to wince and step back. Cyndaquil charged in, aiming to shoulder-barge Tinkatuff, but his body met the mace instead. He backed off but Tinkatuff followed, swinging her weapon at Cyndaquil. It was lit up a brilliant black, showing it was using Dark-type energy. Cyndaquil ducked and dived out of the way, but one swipe came from below and caught his chin, snapping his head back.

As Cyndaquil fought, a little bird flew around the sky, looking for a way to join one of the half a dozen battles currently taking place. It had been taken in by Talonflame recently and was the youngest and weakest of the flock. The rest of the group consisted of Pokemon like Altaria, Xatu, and Unfezant. Despite the power difference making it feel like it couldn't do much, the small bird still wanted to do something. It wanted to help anyone.

Cyndaquil stumbled back and Tinkatuff jumped at the fire hedgehog with the intention of bringing her hammer down on him. The little bird took this chance to dive in feet first, its talons engulfed in brown energy. It kicked into Tinkatuff with enough force to make her drop to her knees, but she recovered fast and took a wild swing at the bird. When she realised it was the child of her mortal enemy Corviknight, she smiled. She found it instinctively satisfying to swat down a Rookidee. A small, rotund bird with a blue back, black face, and yellow belly.

Tinkatuff never got the chance to hit Rookidee. Cyndaquil's fireballs lit her up and blasted her back before her mace could connect. Rookidee flew around Cyndaquil and charged. Joe decided to match the bird, making Cyndaquil rush forward with Tackle.

Tinkatuff swung her mace, which Cyndaquil met head on. This allowed Rookidee to use Peck, jamming its beak into Tinkatuff's face. Tinkatuff was knocked off balance. The bird darted back as Cyndaquil adjusted with a spin. He landed Tackle on Tinkatuff herself, causing her to fall. She rolled until she stood up straight.

Her spare hand glowed the colour of dirt and she clenched her fist like she was gripping something. She raised her hand like she was uppercutting an opponent. A rock from the ground rushed into the sky. Rock Throw. It would've hit Rookidee if Cyndaquil hadn't used Ember as quickly as he did. The impact of the two moves negated each other, the rock falling now that it wasn't controlled by energy. This left Cyndaquil wide open. Tinkatuff rushed in with Brutal Swing, but Rookidee flew in. The bird rammed into the mace with Peck with enough force to nearly knock the weapon out of Tinkatuff's hands. All Tinkatuff could do was watch as Cyndaquil opened his mouth and unleashed fire. She was thrown back and didn't get back up.

Cyndaquil let out a little roar as Rookidee came to hover next to the hedgehog, cawing to mimic its newfound friend.

Joe looked around and saw how all fights were basically over, seeing Poliwrath get thrown into a tree and the flock staring down the thugs as they returned their fallen Pokemon. The surrounding area was demolished, trees cut down and the ground carved up. Joe was surprised he'd been able to stay focused on his own fight with so much happening around him.

The gang looked angrily at Joe. If they wanted to personally fight then Joe would humour them, but Absol growling and Talonflame letting out a deep rumble of a caw dissuaded further conflict.

"Damn it!" One cursed as the group fled North into the forest. With their Pokemon defeated, they were useless. Humans stood no chance against hardened wild Pokemon. Retreat was the only option.

These thugs had the backing of Rocket Syndicate, yet they still failed. A massive Alpha Talonflame was worth a hefty sum, and its children might be worth something. Maybe one of the eggs housed an Alpha. If not then the sheer volume of the species would get them some money. Squad one failed, so they needed to call in squad two. Time for another round. They would take what they could get.

With the gang gone, Joe let out a sigh. Joe knelt by his Pokemon and looked at Rookidee. "Thanks for the help."

The bird flapped its wings harder, happily darting up and down, almost like it was hopping in the air. It flew close to Joe. The man automatically put his arm out like a perch for the bird to sit upon. It landed. Joe stroked its belly with the side of his finger.

The ground shook, which startled Rookidee and caused it to fly off. Joe wasn't bothered because he saw it coming. The giant Talonflame headed his way.

Joe knew of Alpha Pokemon. Formerly Gigantism Pokemon. It was changed because most Alphas were typically two or three times larger than the average of their species. Hardly gigantic. But this Talonflame lived up to the old name. Joe had caught it on his phone's screen earlier, but the Talonflame species was four feet tall. This Alpha had to be at least thirty feet tall, making it nine or ten times larger than normal.

They got their new name of Alpha because they tended to be extra aggressive and wielded stronger power, leading to them being the leaders of their packs.

Absol growled and barked as Talonflame stood before her Trainer. It looked down at Absol in a way that inspired fear. It was a casual look, like Absol was nothing to worry about. That was probably true, but Absol remained on edge and ready to attack just in case. Her power to sense problems didn't give her specifics. She didn't know the source of the distress. Talonflame could end up being a big bully.

Talonflame leaned down. It jerked its head around like birds do, eye darting all over to get a clear image of the man before it. On this scale, looking at an eye as big as his head, Joe could hear and feel the wind created by the heavy movements. Talonflame couldn't move as fast as a regular bird's twitchy actions, making it look like it was moving in slow motion.

"I come in peace. I heard the fight and wanted to help. Since you're okay now, I'm not needed, so I'll leave. Okay?"

Talonflame, having gotten a good look at Joe, stood up straight and gestured deeper into the forest with a wing. Talonflame hadn't just been standing there as an intimidating presence. It was guarding something. Something Joe should see. It walked the way it'd pointed, looking over its shoulder to make sure Joe followed.

As they walked, Rookidee landed atop Joe's head. It seemed to have taken a liking to the human. Talonflame knew why. Ever since it took Rookidee in, it saw how the little bird wanted to be a hero. Live up to its future title of knight. Joe running in and fighting evil like a knight in shining armour was exactly what Rookidee wanted to be. Maybe it was for the best. Rookidee had little to do here in the forest. If it went with a true knight and learned from him then Rookidee could become the hero it wanted to be.

Besides, it looked like Rookidee had found a friend it worked well with. An instant connection with Cyndaquil allowed them to cover each other easily. Such a friendship should be nurtured. If Rookidee wanted to go with Joe, then Talonflame would encourage it.

They entered a narrow clearing that dipped into a crater. In the middle of the crater, surrounded by logs instead of sticks, was a nest. Massive white eggs with red specks as tall as Joe were bundled together. They were clearly Talonflame's children. A lass, not a lad.

Joe was in awe and automatically approached. He raised his hand to touch an egg. Talonflame cawed, which made Joe freeze. He looked up at the giant bird. After a moment, the mother nodded. She just wanted Joe to know she was putting a lot of faith in him and that she was there if he tried anything.

Joe placed a palm on one of the three giant eggs and felt a lot of heat. The egg seemed to respond, as Joe felt like something lightly tapped on the other side. This was what it was going to be like when he started a family. He could imagine it. Placing a hand atop his partner's belly and feeling a kick in response.

Rotom scanned the egg and saw many healthy life signatures. It created a reconstruction of what it could see. Rotom showed Joe an image in which the egg was outlined but otherwise transparent. Inside were one hundred life forms. A bundle of little baby Fletchling. They wriggled around as their minds were coming into existence, but a membrane separated the siblings. Stopped them from bumping into each other and causing damage when they were so weak.

Joe smiled warmly. He looked up at Talonflame. "Thanks for trusting me and showing me this. I'll be sure to keep it a secret."

Talonflame's feathers ruffled as she shook lightly, then leaned down and grabbed the back of Joe's jacket with her beak. She lifted him up, ignoring Absol's incessant barking. Her head rose above the trees and she looked West, to the mountains, showing Joe what she wanted.

She put Joe down and saw a dumb grin on his face. She realised the human was enjoying himself. Perhaps a bit too much. Did he feel no fear? But she supposed it wasn't every day a human had an encounter like this. Some humans were just weird and saw it as a thrill, not a threat.

Joe looked up. He thought he had an idea of what Talonflame wanted, but just to make sure he watched as the mother tapped her eggs with her beak and then pointed West. "You want to move them, right?" Joe asked.

Talonflame nodded. Her flock had scouted a ravine within the mountains. It was deep. Annoying to get in and out of. It was also far from human civilisation. Hatching her eggs there was the best option. And fleeing West had the added benefit of being too much nature for thugs to scour. It'd look like she fled into the mountain range, at which point she could be anywhere.

Joe put a hand on his chin. "Why haven't you moved them already? You can't do it?"

Talonflame shook her head. Her eggs were too large for her flock to carry, and their shape as eggs was annoying for a bird to hold. Very few species of bird Pokemon moved their eggs after laying them. Bipedal Pokemon like Kangaskhan or Chansey could walk around just fine with their eggs. Birds really got the short end of the stick.

Joe had shown a willingness to help, so Talonflame was asking him to complete another task. Joe had already considered how to handle it. A little bit of human ingenuity. He brought out Metapod and crouched by her. "Do you think your threads are strong enough to carry the weight of those eggs?"

Metapod looked the eggs up and down, rocking as she did so. She hopped to turn to Joe, a stern expression coming through from her eyes as they narrowed. She nodded, a deeper rocking than normal.

"Great. Okay, Talonflame bring your flock here. We'll use String Shot to carry them." Joe said. He saw the giant bird tilt its head in confusion, so he got Metapod to use herself as an example. She dangled from the branch of a tree using her thread. "See, just like that."

Talonflame lit up and cawed a couple of times to bring her flock into the crater clearing. She communicated the plan and Metapod got to work connecting eggs to birds. They couldn't tie them all to Talonflame. Not enough stable surface area. Tying all three eggs to her talons would cause the eggs to smash into each other.

As Metapod connected everything, Joe had a question for Rotom. Absol was bigger than average, but he'd kind of forgotten about Alpha Pokemon until now. "Hey Rotom, is Absol an Alpha?"

Rotom already had Absol's data, but it scanned her again to confirm its numbers. "No. Absol is an inch too short to be considered an Alpha of her species."

Joe held back a laugh and looked at Absol. "Aw, that's a shame. You're small."

Absol had stood up for Joe against Talonflame, and this was how he responded. She growled and jabbed him with her claws. He laughed in response, which annoyed her. That was until he ruffled the fur on her head.

"You're fine just the way you are."

She huffed, her annoyance dissipating.

Metapod was done. She'd connected one egg to Talonflame. One to the Pidgeotto quadruplets and Altaria. The last went to the remainder of the bigger birds, like Xatu and Unfezant.

"Good job." Joe said, returning Metapod. "Well then, I suppose you need an escort." He spoke up to Talonflame.

Talonflame bent down and bit Joe's jacket with her beak again. She tossed him onto her back and stretched her wings. As he expected. Joe leaned over and used a Pokeball to return Absol. His duty wasn't over yet. Now he had the role of bodyguard.

The flock set off, flying through the skies, headed West. They went slow and steady so the threads weren't stressed. They were at a decent height so the natural wind whipped Joe's jacket around. Joe stood on Talonflame's back and looked around, keeping an eye out for trouble behind them. He didn't expect anything, but he had to do his part. And he was glad he did. He squinted at something coming in from the North-East. A group of three birds. When they got close enough, Joe could see people on their backs.

Joe reached up and scratched Rookidee. "You ready to fight?" He shouted over the rushing wind. Rookidee flew into the air, hovering by Joe's side.

Joe's thought was to shoot his foes down, which immediately made him think of Fomantis. One of her moves literally had 'bullet' in the name. So he brought her out. She hadn't expected this environment so she was unsteady at first, but she soon found her footing. She stood in line with one of Joe's thick legs, using it to cover her from the wind.

Under orders from her Trainer, Fomantis fired Bullet Seed at the lead enemy, but she missed. She fired again in frustration, and missed again. Joe expected it, there was enough space between himself and his enemies, and they were all in the air. They had perfect mobility, able to go in any direction. But Fomantis went from annoyed to upset, her depression flaring. She hated being so useless.

Joe immediately thought of a solution and brought Ralts out. "If it looks like Fomantis will miss, use Confusion to redirect her attacks."

Ralts nodded and floated by Joe's side. Fomantis fought her poor mental state to attack, not expecting or caring about the outcome. She just automatically followed orders. Her target moved. As expected, her attack was going to miss.

Ralts did as she was told and used her psychic powers on the four seed bullets, redirecting them into the belly of a bird, a big black and red Braviary, as it flew up. Smoke came from the foe as its defence energy negated Fomantis' attack.

Fomantis perked up, pointing at the enemy her attack had hit while looking back at Joe and Ralts.

Joe smiled and knelt. He noticed something was wrong with Fomantis since taking her in, but he didn't know what. He was starting to suspect low self-esteem or something of the kind. Because of that, he wanted to encourage her. He pat Fomantis' head. Maybe he'd ask Ralts about it later since she could sense and understand emotion. He wanted specifics so he could figure out exactly how to help Fomantis. "That's right. Good job. Let's keep it up."

Fomantis nodded and faced her opponents as they got a bit closer. She used Bullet Seed again and landed another hit thanks to Ralts. In response, Braviary prepared its own attack. The thugs didn't want to fight back just in case the eggs dropped. They had no way of catching them. That would be a lot of wasted money. But they couldn't just take hits constantly. Braviary briefly stopped, its wings glowing grey from Air Slash, and swiped its limbs in the direction of Talonflame's back. Arcs of energy sailed through the air. Fomantis shot one down but couldn't strike the other in time. Flying-type moves had a tendency to be fast.

Rookidee wanted something to do, and it had the perfect opportunity. Knowing its power wasn't enough but still wanting to be of use, it flew in from the side and took the attack head on. Rookidee used itself to protect another, like a true hero. As it sailed through the air, it saw that Fomantis was fine. It smiled and began to fall, then it fainted. Like the big cat taking Nidoran out in one hit, the difference in power between Braviary and Rookidee was too big. Rookidee's defence had been drained entirely and it was knocked out as a result.

As per usual, Joe acted before he thought. He worried that if Rookidee couldn't recover then it would get hurt as it hit the ground, or perhaps worse. So he jumped and cupped Rookidee in his hand. He was in the air. Falling. Again. He understood that Pokemon evolved to better match their environment, so when was he going to become Flying-type and grow some wings?

A second later he had a plan. "Metapod!" He shouted.

She came out between Joe and Talonflame, taking in the situation. She could use String Shot to tie herself and her stupid Trainer to Talonflame. But instead she fell with Joe. Joe was understandably confused, unsure why Metapod wasn't performing the obvious action.

Metapod expelled so much energy that Joe felt goosebumps. He looked up from his head-first descent and saw Metapod glowing white. Her cocoon cracked and broke as wings burst out. The rest of the shell broke away and crumbled into nothing as the white light calmed, revealing Metapod had evolved into a Butterfree.

#0012 Butterfree



Gender: Female

Height: 3' 07" (Average)

Weight: 32.7kg (Above Average)



Moves: Tackle / String Shot / Bug Bomb / Harden / Gust /

Ability: Shield Dust

Releases a pale green dust when struck by certain moves.​

"Time and place, Rotom!"

With an instinctual knowledge of how to use her wings, Butterfree rushed to Joe's back and grabbed his jacket. She pulled while putting as much force into her wings as possible. Energy rushed through her wings as they glowed grey. Their descent slowed. The wind under Butterfree ramped up in strength as she used Gust. She squeaked loudly, the strain of lifting Joe pushing her to her limit and beyond. Joe's feet were close to brushing leaves but they stopped.

One of the flock acted. Talonflame called to Altaria, who cut itself from the egg, leaving it to the Pidgeotto quadruplets. They struggled and strained, causing Talonflame to adjust. The mother dipped down and grabbed the flailing thread that was once attached to Altaria with her beak.

Altaria flew under Joe. Butterfree, unable to hold the weight any longer, dropped her Trainer. Joe twisted and landed on his feet. Altaria darted forward. Butterfree flew in close to Joe as her Trainer nestled Rookidee into Altaria's fluffy fur.

Because Joe had been right under Butterfree, who had rashly manipulated the air, his jacket was in tatters. He grabbed what remained of a sleeve and pulled, tearing his jacket off entirely. Too easy. Clearly it had been holding on by a thread.

He tossed the jacket. Pat Butterfree's head. "I owe you."

He most certainly did. Butterfree heaved a sigh. This was the second time she'd saved Joe from a fall. Hopefully there wasn't a third. But she had a strange feeling it would happen again. Joe was hopeless. He needed all the help he could get. Now that she had fully evolved, Butterfree intended to enjoy her life to the fullest, but she also couldn't bring herself to leave Joe. If they had more days like the beach in Amethyst, resting and having fun, then sticking with Joe wasn't so bad.

Altaria increased its altitude, rising higher than the enemy group. One of the thugs noticed a shadow and looked up. The next thing he knew he was struck by a heavy weight.

Joe had jumped off Altaria. He tackled the enemy from above, causing the Togekiss his foe rode upon to flounder and fall a little. The big white Pokemon flailed and regained its balance. It looked over its shoulder to see that Joe had knocked its Trainer out with a punch to the face.

"Butterfree, secure this one." Joe said as he stood up. Togekiss was quite big. He just about had enough room.

The bug did so, using String Shot to tie the Trainer to Togekiss' back. She stuck by Joe's side as he hopped onto Altaria.

The thug on the Braviary called out to his allies, which Joe couldn't hear because of the distance and wind. He just saw a jaw moving. Even so, the man seemed to think he should be heard. Annoyed, he looked to his side as Joe hopped onto Altaria.

Braviary swung around and opened its beak, unleashing a Hyper Beam at Joe. Altaria needed to pick up speed. It wasn't going to dodge in time. Butterfree moved at the beam as her stubby fist shone green. She punched Hyper Beam with Bug Bomb, causing an explosion that engulfed herself. Her attack split the beam in two around Altaria.

Joe had expected Bug Bomb to be something like Absol's Flame Charge. Almost like a Bug-type version of a move called Brave Bird that Jasmine's Skarmory used on occasion. Joe had not expected it to be a punch.

"We have our next opponent." Joe pat his mount's neck.

Altaria cawed, a gentle, calming voice. Joe had issued orders to a Pokemon that wasn't his, but it listened. He appreciated that. Altaria circled around one half of the beam as it faded. Altaria charged at Braviary. Braviary was winding up Air Slash again, its wings glowing as they reached back. Altaria buzzed with electricity and clouds formed above Braviary. Altaria spun dodged arcs of energy as Thunder rained down and struck the foe, Joe holding on tight.

Of course a Pokemon that looked to have the body of a cloud could summon electricity.

The leader plummeted towards the trees. The third and final enemy, sitting atop a near Alpha-sized Bombirdier, watched his boss go down. He glanced at Joe and decided the fight was over, gesturing for Togekiss to follow as they dove after their boss.

Joe watched the thugs grab Braviary as they hit the trees. The trees probably would've broken the fall enough to not cause serious injury, but the underlings had helped further. Joe figured the boss might strike a thick branch or two. Maybe get bruised or cut. But beyond that, the thugs should be okay.

Joe's assumption was roughly correct. The thugs fell into vines, causing minor annoyance but ultimately saving them. As they broke free, they were reasonable and realised they weren't going to win this fight. They were in a weaker state while their foe was fine. It would simply result in another loss for the thugs. So, very reluctantly, they retreated, leaving a great payday behind.

Altaria took Joe to Talonflame and the young man hopped onto her back, Rookidee cradled in an arm. "Thanks a bunch." He saluted.

Altaria cawed in acknowledgment and twisted, letting the wind take it to its original position. Altaria grabbed the thread from Talonflame, releasing the mother from the extra burden. Rookidee woke up and saw Joe's salute. Is that something heroes did? It'd keep that in mind.

Joe sighed, glad to be back on relatively safe ground. Ralts sat on his shoulder and hugged his head. Fomantis looked upset, feeling she'd failed once again. Joe would sort that out later. For now he returned Fomantis to her ball and watched the forest. Joe had to stay vigilant.