Kyrî
Tachyon Diver
- Joined
- Sep 10, 2023
- Messages
- 18
- Reaction score
- 20
- Pronouns
- They/Them
Warnings: moderately strong language. Not so great grammar.
That's was cheating! I've eaten bigger things than that pikachu, when did it learn such an unfair attack? The boy didn't even turn around. He ran out into the lightfollowed by his smug yellow rat and left me shocked and paralyzed on the ground. Our eyes didn't meet because he didn't even look at me, I was nothing but a little Zubat to him, a nuisance not worth his time nor attention. I never felt so humiliated in all my life.
With scorched wings I crawled out of the cave. It took me twenty minutes to reach the exit and the rest of the afternoon to climb the stairs to the Indigo Plateau. The sky was already black by the time I made it to the Pokémon League building, and a couple of minutes later, the doors opened and the kid came out.
Charizard, Pikachu and the other four prideful jerks. The kid himself was so radiant I could swear he was emitting a golden light though it could be that huge trophy he was hugging with both hands, almost as bright as his smile.
Tears stung my eyes, and I knew it wasn't because of internal burns or the universal unfairness of the kid getting covered in glory and me covered in mud when it should be the other way around. It was because I wanted to be there, I wanted to be one of his big six. That was my place, it had to be since that fateful day on Mt. Moon. I had followed him to the ends of the world, I knew him as well as any of them, why couldn't I be by his side? Why didn't he ever give me a chance to prove myself to him? One, just one and I would have been his best pokémon, the most loyal, the most reliable, the coolest of them all, his favorite one…
Two months later I met the kid again, by the time, the Cerulean Cave was my new home. The Lord of the Cave is the strongest pokémon you can imagine: the sheer pressure he emits by breathing can intimidate anyone but, at the same time, he is the best guy in the world. He never gets mad at anyone, he cares about everyone in the cave, and always has time to listen to what we want to say. All of us, even the Psyduck who just talk nonsense. Every once in a while some trainer would make their way into the cave and then The Lord would stop being the best guy in the world and kick them out in a a couple of minutes, then go back to his favorite rock on the bottom floor and everything would remain the same.
I should have guessed the kid would come someday, but I had tried not to think about him since my defeat in the Victory Road so he caught me off guard. Not that it matters, the battle ended as I told you at the beginning; with an explosion, rocks pouring over him and a flood washing him away. Just as I said... except for one detail: he wasn't dead. Not even seriously wounded.
He came back the next day, and the next, and the next, and the Lord of the Cave walked over him every time. The kid was too stupid to quit, but not enough to not learn from every beating, and when he understood that he would never win in a fair fight, he tried sending all his pokémon to attack at once, and although he managed to put some pressure, the Lord of the Cave stood his ground and defeated them all.
The kid was determined to catch the Lord. I had never seen him so focused on a pokémon until then, and I had mixed feelings about it. Part of me was envious of the Lord of the Cave for having his attention, and another part of me was grateful for humiliating the boy over and over again. Sometimes, before the kid arrived, I would whisper a suggestion in his ear and the Lord would nod, put it into practice and when the kid stumbled his way out of our home, all the pokémon in the cave would laugh together, even the Lord.
We thought the kid would give up sooner or later, fed up with humiliation, but he didn't. He kept coming every morning at the cave's entrance, make the whole way to the Lord's floor and challenge him again. The kid may be dumb, but even was learning and his pokémon were getting stronger. Bit by bit he was starting to hold his ground against the Lord. The games were over and gave way to battles, easy battles that the Lord won in moments, but battles after all, longer and harder than ever.
One night, after the kid left, I asked the Lord why he decided to lock himself in a dark cave instead of going out to see the outer world - with a human partner, maybe. He looked at me with that expression of his that resembled a smile.
"I've already been out in the world and met humans, and I don't want to deal with either again. Everywhere I go humans want my power, and to get it they do horrible things, and to keep them from doing so I have to hurt everyone around me, humans and pokémon, good and bad. Here in the Cerulean Cave I can live in peace. I can spend the time with all of you without harming anyone, and if any human comes here, I can chase them out with
no trouble."
I told him that not all humans were bad. That I had seen the world many times and not everything was dark and cruel as he believe, that only by chance he saw the worst part of it, but many humans were good people at heart, and the kid could be counted among them. The Lord laid a hand on my head and said:
"The world a Golbat knows and the world Mewtwo knows may exist in the same place, but are different just as we are. The world may allow your existence, but not mine, and so I must build my own world. That what this cave is, my home, where I live among those who accept me as one of their own." I told him it was a very boring life, confined for life in a cold, dark cave. "It may be, but I live the life that's possible for me, and it doesn't include leaving this place and give the world another chance."
He was right, but I was mad. We were different and so the world treated us differently: I could fly wherever I wanted and do whatever I wanted and no one would complain about it because no one gives a damn about a Golbat, but the Lord couldn't. He was sought by everyone, even the kid, determined to get him on his team even though he already had six great pokémon and many more. I wanted to be jealous of the Lord for having what I wanted most, but I knew it wasn't his fault. He wanted what I had too, my freedom and my insignificance. It would be so easy if we could switch places! If the kid wanted me as his partner, if the Lord could go out into the world without being afraid of leaving a mess with every step. No, none of that is possible. Things won't go your way just because you want them to, even a Golbat knows that.
And I know the Lord was wrong: our world is the same; one that never gives you what you want.
The Lord of the Cave would never hurt the kid, he was too kind for that and I knew it since the beginning. If the kid kept coming back every day, improving and gaining experience, sooner or later he would defeat the Lord and put an end to the life he wanted to protect. He is my friend as well as everyone here, and I must do my best to protect him.
That is why I wait every morning at the entrance of the Cerulean Cave for the kid to arrive so I can challenge him again, even going through a foul cloud of repellent to face him. I know I'm not even a warm-up for him, and that he's seen so many Golbat in his life that I must look like a different one to him every day. I know he has probably forgotten about that little zubat on Mt. Moon, but not me, because that insignificant moment is the reason I am here, and even if I am nothing to him, I will keep fighting to the end. I am the most persistent among 5000 Zubat, and the little brat will learn it the hard way. We've repeated the same fight for a month, I've lost every day and is always the Lord who has to throw him out of the cave, but I don't care. Maybe someday the kid will notice something strange and figure out that the Golbat at the entrance to the Cerulean Cave is always the same, if so, he will understand that is a very strong one, that there is an ideal partner within reach who wants to be with him, and he will take me with him and leave the Lord of the cave alone, everything will fall into its damn place for a single time.
I live with that hope.
_______________________________________
A Cave of Illusions
I thought he was dead.
Since I came to the Cerulean Cave I've never seen him lose a battle. He's the most powerful pokémon I've ever met and can't stand humans. The kid gave him some trouble with his pokémon and he just defended himself, but when the kid started healing the entire team, the Lord of the Cave decided to stop playing around and used his Psystrike against him. That's right, he willfully attacked a human with full force (a very small human to make matters worse) and even took down a portion of the cave. It's hard to say what killed the kid: the psychic attack, the rocks that fell on him or the flood that came after, but no one could survive all three together. "Farewell, kid" I thought to myself, "it was fun while it lasted."
I met the kid a year or so ago on Mt. Moon. I was still a Zubat, one among a thousand Zubats whirring like mad in the darkness of those tunnels, whiling away the hours tormenting anyone who ventured out there. The kid looked like another one of those easily frightened brats, but when I went towards him he threw a pokéball at me, and when I dodged it he sent his pokémon to fight me; a small Charmander, though I was even smaller at the time.
It was a great battle! With my Supersonic I confused his Charmander, the Rattata and that stupid Pidgey. He was furious, all three of his pokémon had beaten themselves to the ground and even though I had taken a couple of hits, I could still go on. When you're one of 5000 siblings you need something to stand out or everyone forget about you, and my only talent was being the most persistent in the family. The kid learned that the hard way; his Butterfree was the only pokémon left on his team and I could beat it in a fair fight. "What will you do, human, go back the way you came or keep fighting to the end?" As I entertained the idea, it suddenly occurred to me that he might want to catch me. I had proven my worth and would be a good addition to his team. I was getting tired of living in a cave and was at the perfect age to see the outer world. Then I made my decision: I would accept the kid's invitation, in exchange for some fresh air I was willing to lend him my help and get him out of My. Moon.
I didn't see the rock he threw at my head coming, but I heard his footsteps as he ran away from me. He tricked me and trampled on my dreams. The rock hit me right between the eyes and I can feel the pain when I think about it. But where it hurt me the most was on the inside. It had hurt my pride, and even if a Zubat doesn't have much of that to begin with, I couldn't forgive it.
Thanks to my siblings I learned that the kid had successfully made it out of the cave. Well, I could get out too. I would follow him to the end of the world and make him rue the day he humiliated me.
Luckily I didn't have to go to the end of the world. My chance came earlier, in the Rock Tunnel; such a dark cave where everyone is as blind as a Zubat, except the Zubats. The kid had covered himself with a horrifying scent that kept the other Zubats away, and his pokémon seemed stronger, but I was smarter than him and was willing to do anything to prove it.
The Rock Tunnel is a bit different from Mt. Moon; the Zubats are more aggressive, the corridors more intricate and there is not a single Clefairy in the whole place, but you can find a different pokémon called Mankey. Mankey is fluffy, but agile and very aggressive; they are not the best company one could wish for, but that day they were just what I needed.
Every Mankey lives for violence; they have never thought of any alternative because violence works well for them, contrary to thinking. That was the first thing I learned about them, and in time I also learned that they hate it when you bite them on the ankles, that they're almost blind in the dark caves, and that when they feel offended they take their anger out on the first thing they find.
I want you to think of dozens of irritated Mankey, after being bitten in feet and hands by an invisible enemy they couldn't find, ready to fall to blows against anything that catches their attention. I want you to imagine those dozens of Mankey, all crouched in total darkness. Think of a careless kid who unconsciously orders his pokémon to perform a Flash move that makes him the center of attention in an instant. Close your eyes and visualize the following scene in your head, and maybe you could understand the happiness I experienced for the next forty minutes.
No, I don't mean to imply that the kid died; that's not the kind of story I'm telling to you. He had to crawl out of the cave whispering an "Ouch" at every movement, and subsequently developed a Mankey trauma, but other than that, he came out fine. While I thoroughly enjoyed every bit of it, I was also relieved when I saw him arrive safely at the Pokémon Center after following him out of the cave. The kid left the place two days later, propped up on a pair of crutches, and I spent that time thinking about our feud: I enjoyed the little trap I prepared for him, but it wasn't enough to placate my anger. I wouldn't want him dead, but I wanted to punish him. Pay him back for the humiliation, and do it with my own fangs. I needed to make him bite the dust and let him know who I was and why I was doing it.
I don't want to bore you all with an exhaustive narration of the four months after Mankey Day, suffice it to say that the kid continued his journey through the region and I went wherever he went. I watched his pokémon fight, and I fought on my own as well. We were getting stronger, both of us, at the same time, but not together, all while I was studying the way his pokémon fought, their habits, and planning ways to defeat them. You can call me a stalker, I've already said we Zubats don't have much pride, but I almost forgot to say that by then I was no longer a Zubat; the arduous journey and the continuous fights made me evolve.
I almost blew my cover a couple of times in the Foam Islands, but thanks to my new form and size, the kid couldn't recognize me. I had studied the route and decided the perfect place for our fated duel: the Victory Road. That name had to be my sign, an omen that I was destined to win.
I waited at the end of the cave, after he had faced all the trainers, passed all the tests and used up all his repellent. When the kid and his pokémon were exhausted, when he let his guard down and thought himself safe, I would emerge from the shadows as the Hidden Final Boss, and then...
Then…
Since I came to the Cerulean Cave I've never seen him lose a battle. He's the most powerful pokémon I've ever met and can't stand humans. The kid gave him some trouble with his pokémon and he just defended himself, but when the kid started healing the entire team, the Lord of the Cave decided to stop playing around and used his Psystrike against him. That's right, he willfully attacked a human with full force (a very small human to make matters worse) and even took down a portion of the cave. It's hard to say what killed the kid: the psychic attack, the rocks that fell on him or the flood that came after, but no one could survive all three together. "Farewell, kid" I thought to myself, "it was fun while it lasted."
I met the kid a year or so ago on Mt. Moon. I was still a Zubat, one among a thousand Zubats whirring like mad in the darkness of those tunnels, whiling away the hours tormenting anyone who ventured out there. The kid looked like another one of those easily frightened brats, but when I went towards him he threw a pokéball at me, and when I dodged it he sent his pokémon to fight me; a small Charmander, though I was even smaller at the time.
It was a great battle! With my Supersonic I confused his Charmander, the Rattata and that stupid Pidgey. He was furious, all three of his pokémon had beaten themselves to the ground and even though I had taken a couple of hits, I could still go on. When you're one of 5000 siblings you need something to stand out or everyone forget about you, and my only talent was being the most persistent in the family. The kid learned that the hard way; his Butterfree was the only pokémon left on his team and I could beat it in a fair fight. "What will you do, human, go back the way you came or keep fighting to the end?" As I entertained the idea, it suddenly occurred to me that he might want to catch me. I had proven my worth and would be a good addition to his team. I was getting tired of living in a cave and was at the perfect age to see the outer world. Then I made my decision: I would accept the kid's invitation, in exchange for some fresh air I was willing to lend him my help and get him out of My. Moon.
I didn't see the rock he threw at my head coming, but I heard his footsteps as he ran away from me. He tricked me and trampled on my dreams. The rock hit me right between the eyes and I can feel the pain when I think about it. But where it hurt me the most was on the inside. It had hurt my pride, and even if a Zubat doesn't have much of that to begin with, I couldn't forgive it.
Thanks to my siblings I learned that the kid had successfully made it out of the cave. Well, I could get out too. I would follow him to the end of the world and make him rue the day he humiliated me.
Luckily I didn't have to go to the end of the world. My chance came earlier, in the Rock Tunnel; such a dark cave where everyone is as blind as a Zubat, except the Zubats. The kid had covered himself with a horrifying scent that kept the other Zubats away, and his pokémon seemed stronger, but I was smarter than him and was willing to do anything to prove it.
The Rock Tunnel is a bit different from Mt. Moon; the Zubats are more aggressive, the corridors more intricate and there is not a single Clefairy in the whole place, but you can find a different pokémon called Mankey. Mankey is fluffy, but agile and very aggressive; they are not the best company one could wish for, but that day they were just what I needed.
Every Mankey lives for violence; they have never thought of any alternative because violence works well for them, contrary to thinking. That was the first thing I learned about them, and in time I also learned that they hate it when you bite them on the ankles, that they're almost blind in the dark caves, and that when they feel offended they take their anger out on the first thing they find.
I want you to think of dozens of irritated Mankey, after being bitten in feet and hands by an invisible enemy they couldn't find, ready to fall to blows against anything that catches their attention. I want you to imagine those dozens of Mankey, all crouched in total darkness. Think of a careless kid who unconsciously orders his pokémon to perform a Flash move that makes him the center of attention in an instant. Close your eyes and visualize the following scene in your head, and maybe you could understand the happiness I experienced for the next forty minutes.
No, I don't mean to imply that the kid died; that's not the kind of story I'm telling to you. He had to crawl out of the cave whispering an "Ouch" at every movement, and subsequently developed a Mankey trauma, but other than that, he came out fine. While I thoroughly enjoyed every bit of it, I was also relieved when I saw him arrive safely at the Pokémon Center after following him out of the cave. The kid left the place two days later, propped up on a pair of crutches, and I spent that time thinking about our feud: I enjoyed the little trap I prepared for him, but it wasn't enough to placate my anger. I wouldn't want him dead, but I wanted to punish him. Pay him back for the humiliation, and do it with my own fangs. I needed to make him bite the dust and let him know who I was and why I was doing it.
I don't want to bore you all with an exhaustive narration of the four months after Mankey Day, suffice it to say that the kid continued his journey through the region and I went wherever he went. I watched his pokémon fight, and I fought on my own as well. We were getting stronger, both of us, at the same time, but not together, all while I was studying the way his pokémon fought, their habits, and planning ways to defeat them. You can call me a stalker, I've already said we Zubats don't have much pride, but I almost forgot to say that by then I was no longer a Zubat; the arduous journey and the continuous fights made me evolve.
I almost blew my cover a couple of times in the Foam Islands, but thanks to my new form and size, the kid couldn't recognize me. I had studied the route and decided the perfect place for our fated duel: the Victory Road. That name had to be my sign, an omen that I was destined to win.
I waited at the end of the cave, after he had faced all the trainers, passed all the tests and used up all his repellent. When the kid and his pokémon were exhausted, when he let his guard down and thought himself safe, I would emerge from the shadows as the Hidden Final Boss, and then...
Then…
"Pikachu, Thunder!"
That's was cheating! I've eaten bigger things than that pikachu, when did it learn such an unfair attack? The boy didn't even turn around. He ran out into the lightfollowed by his smug yellow rat and left me shocked and paralyzed on the ground. Our eyes didn't meet because he didn't even look at me, I was nothing but a little Zubat to him, a nuisance not worth his time nor attention. I never felt so humiliated in all my life.
With scorched wings I crawled out of the cave. It took me twenty minutes to reach the exit and the rest of the afternoon to climb the stairs to the Indigo Plateau. The sky was already black by the time I made it to the Pokémon League building, and a couple of minutes later, the doors opened and the kid came out.
Charizard, Pikachu and the other four prideful jerks. The kid himself was so radiant I could swear he was emitting a golden light though it could be that huge trophy he was hugging with both hands, almost as bright as his smile.
Tears stung my eyes, and I knew it wasn't because of internal burns or the universal unfairness of the kid getting covered in glory and me covered in mud when it should be the other way around. It was because I wanted to be there, I wanted to be one of his big six. That was my place, it had to be since that fateful day on Mt. Moon. I had followed him to the ends of the world, I knew him as well as any of them, why couldn't I be by his side? Why didn't he ever give me a chance to prove myself to him? One, just one and I would have been his best pokémon, the most loyal, the most reliable, the coolest of them all, his favorite one…
Two months later I met the kid again, by the time, the Cerulean Cave was my new home. The Lord of the Cave is the strongest pokémon you can imagine: the sheer pressure he emits by breathing can intimidate anyone but, at the same time, he is the best guy in the world. He never gets mad at anyone, he cares about everyone in the cave, and always has time to listen to what we want to say. All of us, even the Psyduck who just talk nonsense. Every once in a while some trainer would make their way into the cave and then The Lord would stop being the best guy in the world and kick them out in a a couple of minutes, then go back to his favorite rock on the bottom floor and everything would remain the same.
I should have guessed the kid would come someday, but I had tried not to think about him since my defeat in the Victory Road so he caught me off guard. Not that it matters, the battle ended as I told you at the beginning; with an explosion, rocks pouring over him and a flood washing him away. Just as I said... except for one detail: he wasn't dead. Not even seriously wounded.
He came back the next day, and the next, and the next, and the Lord of the Cave walked over him every time. The kid was too stupid to quit, but not enough to not learn from every beating, and when he understood that he would never win in a fair fight, he tried sending all his pokémon to attack at once, and although he managed to put some pressure, the Lord of the Cave stood his ground and defeated them all.
The kid was determined to catch the Lord. I had never seen him so focused on a pokémon until then, and I had mixed feelings about it. Part of me was envious of the Lord of the Cave for having his attention, and another part of me was grateful for humiliating the boy over and over again. Sometimes, before the kid arrived, I would whisper a suggestion in his ear and the Lord would nod, put it into practice and when the kid stumbled his way out of our home, all the pokémon in the cave would laugh together, even the Lord.
We thought the kid would give up sooner or later, fed up with humiliation, but he didn't. He kept coming every morning at the cave's entrance, make the whole way to the Lord's floor and challenge him again. The kid may be dumb, but even was learning and his pokémon were getting stronger. Bit by bit he was starting to hold his ground against the Lord. The games were over and gave way to battles, easy battles that the Lord won in moments, but battles after all, longer and harder than ever.
One night, after the kid left, I asked the Lord why he decided to lock himself in a dark cave instead of going out to see the outer world - with a human partner, maybe. He looked at me with that expression of his that resembled a smile.
"I've already been out in the world and met humans, and I don't want to deal with either again. Everywhere I go humans want my power, and to get it they do horrible things, and to keep them from doing so I have to hurt everyone around me, humans and pokémon, good and bad. Here in the Cerulean Cave I can live in peace. I can spend the time with all of you without harming anyone, and if any human comes here, I can chase them out with
no trouble."
I told him that not all humans were bad. That I had seen the world many times and not everything was dark and cruel as he believe, that only by chance he saw the worst part of it, but many humans were good people at heart, and the kid could be counted among them. The Lord laid a hand on my head and said:
"The world a Golbat knows and the world Mewtwo knows may exist in the same place, but are different just as we are. The world may allow your existence, but not mine, and so I must build my own world. That what this cave is, my home, where I live among those who accept me as one of their own." I told him it was a very boring life, confined for life in a cold, dark cave. "It may be, but I live the life that's possible for me, and it doesn't include leaving this place and give the world another chance."
He was right, but I was mad. We were different and so the world treated us differently: I could fly wherever I wanted and do whatever I wanted and no one would complain about it because no one gives a damn about a Golbat, but the Lord couldn't. He was sought by everyone, even the kid, determined to get him on his team even though he already had six great pokémon and many more. I wanted to be jealous of the Lord for having what I wanted most, but I knew it wasn't his fault. He wanted what I had too, my freedom and my insignificance. It would be so easy if we could switch places! If the kid wanted me as his partner, if the Lord could go out into the world without being afraid of leaving a mess with every step. No, none of that is possible. Things won't go your way just because you want them to, even a Golbat knows that.
And I know the Lord was wrong: our world is the same; one that never gives you what you want.
The Lord of the Cave would never hurt the kid, he was too kind for that and I knew it since the beginning. If the kid kept coming back every day, improving and gaining experience, sooner or later he would defeat the Lord and put an end to the life he wanted to protect. He is my friend as well as everyone here, and I must do my best to protect him.
That is why I wait every morning at the entrance of the Cerulean Cave for the kid to arrive so I can challenge him again, even going through a foul cloud of repellent to face him. I know I'm not even a warm-up for him, and that he's seen so many Golbat in his life that I must look like a different one to him every day. I know he has probably forgotten about that little zubat on Mt. Moon, but not me, because that insignificant moment is the reason I am here, and even if I am nothing to him, I will keep fighting to the end. I am the most persistent among 5000 Zubat, and the little brat will learn it the hard way. We've repeated the same fight for a month, I've lost every day and is always the Lord who has to throw him out of the cave, but I don't care. Maybe someday the kid will notice something strange and figure out that the Golbat at the entrance to the Cerulean Cave is always the same, if so, he will understand that is a very strong one, that there is an ideal partner within reach who wants to be with him, and he will take me with him and leave the Lord of the cave alone, everything will fall into its damn place for a single time.
I live with that hope.
