TEEN: Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Hands of Creation

[canisaries]

Another blast of concentrated light carved a line out of the ground, leaving molten marble in its place. These beams are coming from every direction! Surely he can’t Teleport and use Hyper Beam at the same time!”

Missing quote in here.

But I’ve seen this strategy before….

Four periods instead of three.

The entrance was a crumbling stone palace

Anam panted, tiny arms on the ground.

Sentence, possibly paragraph, cut off.

403 - Forbidden! Access to the back rooms is not allowed!

you better drop that attitude, pardner *cracks knuckles* or that's gonna turn into a 503

wait none of them have knuckles tho

who bushed and giggled.

*Blushed, unless Anam "spread out into a thick clump". Which... is possible, to be fair.

Anam counted on his gooey fingers.

three thousand nine hundred and seventy-six, three thousand nine hundred and seventy-seven, three thousand nine hundred and seventy-eight,

Nev-Nev

pffft

“Jus’ feels like…” Gahi said. “I’unno. Fighting with’m feels… right, y’know? Th’ four o’ us as a team. Yeah….”

Gahi, here's ten bucks. Go buy yourself some vowels.

The three scrambled to separate spots Mispy sat down with her rear down, but her front legs propping the rest of her up, and closed her eyes.

Missing period? Also, how Mispy sits is pretty much how I'd imagine a quadruped would sit by default, not sure if the description is needed.

The Trapinch rested his head on the ground, splayed his stubs for legs outward, and remained still.

s p l o o t

Dunno if it's just an after effect of reading the Special Episode or the large amount of dialogue, but this chapter felt pretty short. It's not a bad thing, just felt somewhat odd. Hm.

Anyway, evolutions! I suppose it won't be that big a change for Demitri and Mispy as their body stays roughly the same they just get bigger, but I'm expecting Gahi to get some rather new experiences with those wings, a head that isn't literally bigger than the rest of his body and a dragon type for some reason

Spoiler: And let's not forget...

HMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM

 

[diamondpearl876]

Okay, finally reviewing, lol. The style I'm trying to implement these days in reviews is chapter by chapter, but general fic comments/tangents inevitably slip in there, since I type everything up from notes after I'm done reading. Let me know if you have any questions or want elaboration, etc! :3

PROLOGUE

Well, talk about a hook, huh? And it's not even just the action, though that does greatly set the tone for all the mysteries to come in future chapters. It's the little details that bring your world to life right off the bat (one of my favorites being the Rawst Leaf bed for fire-types) and the exceptional use of body language from pokémon species. Even though it's a PMD setting and everyone's just as sentient as humans, I'm still reminded what kind of creatures these really are all the time, and it's never jarring.

I also like the involvement of Owen's parents throughout the fic. Too often, characters in fanfiction just meet new people, but there's not a lot of reflection on old friends or family unless they're going to be established, recurring characters. Them keeping so many secrets from Owen is... very parent-like, but these kinds of secrets are on a larger scale and clearly have an earth shattering effect on Owen's worldview. My only complaint is that they feel shoved to the background very, very quickly after chapter 1. Like, it makes sense for Owen not to return home because it's too late and dangerous one night, but there's been other opportunities for them to have an impact where they don't. For example, Owen's simply moved on to training in chapter 11. The only impact Alex, his magmortar father, has made since chapter 1 is having revealed he's been kept alive by Amia and is a spirit. They don't talk about it. His presence is mentioned once, maybe twice? Amia tries to console Owen and explain the guardian orb stuff a little, but otherwise, Owen's learning about it all through Rhys and Zena. I hardly consider her a mother figure after chapter 1.

I do like the idea of adopted 'mon, though. I'm sure the story of how he ended up with Amia and Alex is intertwined with his confusing past, and i'll be interested in learning more about it. Plus, there's some recurring gags in there that remind Owen (and me as the reader) of hs old life, like the dance he had to perform (which he didn't really have to perform, omg poor Owen lol) to get to his home and how the location of his home was supposed to be a secret. Another thing I like is the balance between Owen's old life and his new one as a guardian spirit. You spend just enough time in the first few chapters offering details to Owen's life, offering hints as to how his life just... doesn't feel right, and diving into turning his life upside down, and I can appreciate how these details are flawlessly weaved into the narrative at some point almost every chapter.

Right... in the prologue section, I covered parts of the entire fic. This is what I mean. xD Let's move on now, heh.

CHAPTER 1

I noticed a habit of Owen's already, namely that he shrugs off things that feel off, presumably partly because he doesn't want to appear crazy and partly because he wants to live a normal sort of life (an idea that contrasts nicely when he gets to live anything but a normal life). He at least notices these things, though. Coupled with that and his tendency to be able to read others' body language is a nice touch, though I also notice that sometimes he's just blissfully unaware of social cues, or guesses them entirely wrongly (like when he has no idea why Zena's staring at him lol) - also a nice touch for character depth and roundness, in my opinion.

I like the explanation here for why the protagonist doesn't evolve in PMD games. I do have to wonder how old Owen truly is, though, or at least, how old he thinks he is. I get the feeling he's already extremely old; perhaps he was immortal before he even became a spirit guardian. At the very least, his memories keep getting tampered with over and over (is that u nevren). Anyway, he outright claims to be an adult, but he still acquiesces like a child to trying to meet his parents' curfew demands? He also has a very childish air about him, with how enthusiastic and naive he can get sometimes over the littlest things.

Owen sat down to enjoy his meal. He grabbed a stick nearby and stuck it through the core of the apple. He wrapped his tail around and kept it in front of him, roasting the apple above the flame.

Oh man, this is too adorable an image. OWENNN <3

CHAPTER 2

“So, he pays back his debts, and gets a job in the process? I wish it was that easy for me,” Owen mumbled. “My dad wants me to be a berry farmer because my sharp senses would let me tell when they’re ripe or not.”

All the while, Owen's real fate is 100x more crazy than just being a berry farmer! I'm sure Owen would be content with being a berry farmer now. ;P

The fight with Aerodactyl gives a good sense of what Owen's limits are at this point in his life, and there's some neat concepts like being ejected from a mystery dungeon if your "HP" gets too low. There's a huge flaw in that concept, one that's even explored in-fic, and that's, well, that being ejected doesn't ensure safety beyond the ejection. It doesn't call for help back to the Hearts? To the Elites? Nothing else? Like the fic has said, a wild 'mon could come by and finish Owen or whoever off before he wakes up or before he gets proper help. Maybe I missed something, but it doesn't seem as fleshed out as it could - and should - be.

Team Alloy is interesting. A little, quiet chikorita with a killer glare is fun, and Gahi's accept and quips are a treat to read. Demitri's far less nuanced, and most of the time, I forget he's even there, really. I think there's some hints that he and Mispy are an item? I'm not sure if that's intentional, though. Anyway, they complement Owen very well, and I hope to see them get to be a proper team despite Rhys and co. being dead set against it.

CHAPTER 3

For just a second, it was as if the very wind had stopped between them. For that iota of an instant in time, nothing else mattered but him, the Lucario, and the empty space between them. The rustling, tall grass quieted. The sun set, and twilight ruled the world, save the flame that lit Owen’s back.

I'd argue you handle Owen's reactions and emotions to everything that's happened so far flawlessly, except for this one bit. It strikes me as way too melodramatic. Nothing of this level happens with anyone else that strikes him as "familiar," nor does anything remotely similar happen when he finds out the truth of things.

Owen closed his eyes. There was no use focusing on the negative. Every night ended like this, wondering if he’d done something, or everything, of that day before. At some point, it got tiring. He just wanted this perceived monotony to end. But hey, he didn’t have another mental crisis, panicking because he couldn’t remember how old he was. Oh, no. The thoughts were coming back.

He refocused on the positive. “Oh, wow,” he said. “I met two Elites in one day! That’s so… cool!”

I suppose that, however old Owen really is, his positivity and enthusiasm is a coping mechanism for the stress and confusion around him. I think you portray that kind of anxiety really well, and it's nice to see a character that's actively trying to help actively help themselves stay sane and look ahead to the goals/path in front of them.

“His sacrifice saved the lives of countless others. For that, we are eternally grateful, and we wish upon him eternal peace in the welcoming arms of Arceus.”

“By His blessing,” Anam said, raising his arms slowly.

“By His blessing,” some of the audience echoed; Owen followed, slightly out of sync.

I'm unsure of what to make of the town being, for the most part, religious. After learning they're all spirits, it puts a new, odd spin on things. I like it.

Owen was third in line. They were using some sort of specialized scanner in conjunction with the use of a technique to determine everybody’s aptitude for combat—some sort of invention by Nevren again, taking into account energy output, aural readings, and user fatigue. Owen had read all about it—Nevren’s Ultimate Performance Analyzer!

I love the scenes about the Heart entrance exam. :3 I quoted this particular part because I'm taking a class about psychological testing & assessment right now, which includes aptitude tests, and I found it amusing comparing this to a real life rendition... albeit this rendition has some fantasy elements added in, of course. In general, I like Nevren's little inventions being sprinkled throughout the story. Anyway, the entrance exam definitely feels like an official thing that's taken seriously and builds some rapport between the Heart Association and the readers.

Except that rapport kind of dies when Owen turns into the guardian spirit, something I'm torn on. I think that, if you'd added any more exposition chapters, I'd be thinking it was time to move on from the very, very obvious hints that Owen's life is Very Strange (TM). But this entire entrance exam chapter feels like filler once Owen's acceptance into the Hearts stops mattering almost immediately. He's waited a long time for this, but he doesn't mourn not getting to participate normally that much... I don't know if I'm making sense about this, but yeah. I'll also note it's been a couple weeks now since I read, so I may have forgotten something.

CHAPTER 4

“I wanted to congratulate you on breaking the Charmander record, though I should probably mark it down as an outlier in the logs. After all, you’re a late-evolver, as you call it, hm?”

Lol, I get record holding doesn't quite matter as much when everyone's dead. This is a really cool idea, though. Like, what could the record be for hottest Flamethrower attack, or hottest Charmander tail flame? Hmm.

One of Mispy’s vines greedily wrapped around the remains, pulling it toward her plate.

Have I mentioned yet I love Mispy? Because I do. I imagine she's very fun to write.

All the times before, he had been rejected. He wasn’t sure why. He did well in the analyzer and screener portions. But there were just so many other candidates that were better, he figured. But despite the pit in his stomach from the past days, he had a good feeling about today. This was going to be better. It had to be. Right?

Hmm, I'm sure this has to do a lot with Owen's life being controlled by his missing memories and those around him who know about said missing memories. Basically, Anam and co. probably just disqualified him for the sake of it.

The black mountain’s rocks were worn down from constant erosion. There were very few loose ones; only the biggest, densest boulders could withstand the constant force. Owen felt like one of the small rocks. He had to lean his body forward just to advance, and a single misstep—he’d tumble backwards and off the mountain for sure. His flame, half its usual size, cried for shelter.

I marked here in my notes that your description can get repetitive at times. Here in particular because Owen already internally panics about falling off the mountain not long before this, but there's quite a few places scattered throughout the prose that could be cut down. Also, occasionally you use both showing and telling in your descriptions, when you only need the showing part. Doing both just adds unnecessary words and slows down the scene.

“Ah. Well. What better way to freshen the mind than to meditate?” he asked.

And it's here I now realize that Nevren is very terrible at expressing reactions at what Owen says about feeling crazy. xD He almost appears too calm, but this does seem to be his constant state... so maybe it makes more sense to say I'm surprised Owen wasn't suspicious of Nevren's calmness.

“Actually, Rhys and I reserve those sightings for ourselves, as we’re specifically trained with ‘abnormal Pokémon relocation,’ so to speak.”

Oh my god, Nevren, stop. Now that I know a lot more context, this sounds way more ominous than it did before. XD

CHAPTER 5

“You guys like to battle a bunch, too, huh?” Owen said. Such an attitude was incredibly rare among bystander and civilian Pokémon. There was no need to fight, usually. Some Pokémon go their entire lives not evolving simply because their auras never became efficient enough to trigger it. That was just another layer of kinship he felt with these three. Fellow battle-hearts!

I'd argue that if this is so rare, then the Hearts probably aren't very strategically located in terms of recruitment opportunities. Anyway, equating evolution to level of aura mixed with age is an interesting one. What about wild 'mon? They probably fight to survive, but does the process work the same for them? And if it does... doesn't that mean that civilized 'mon would be kind of screwed if wild 'mon ever came to attack?

“Ha, it’s like we get the same lectures!” Owen said. “I wonder if my parents and Rhys went to the same classes.”

Something like that. They're in cahoots about every secret ever surrounding your life, Owen. No big deal.

“I think they’re busy at home,” Owen said. “My parents have been really hesitant about going out lately. I’m not really sure why. I hope they aren’t afraid of the light or something.”

I like the idea of his parents not being there, and the reasoning eventually revealed for it, though I think I'd have liked to see more of a reaction from Owen about it. It fits in with my overall "Owen's parents are present but not really present in how they interact with him in the story" complaint I mentioned earlier.

What was he doing, taking so long to just enter, if he was already breezing past the easiest Dungeons? Owen refused to accept anything but the idea that it was a mistake—an oversight. “Hmph, well, I’ll show them…” he mumbled.

And underneath Owen's childish and enthusiastic demeanor is a competitive 'mon and a 'mon who's determined in any goals he's set. I like that bit of depth added to his character; it's very believable and well written throughout the events of the story that are here so far.

Owen’s heart skipped a beat, and his flame flashed white for an instant. He was about to be given his Badge by Anam himself.

Ohh, I like this. Now I want fanart of all the kinds of flame colors a Charmander can have...

“Oh! Oh, wow!” Owen nodded. “That’s kinda… really convenient, but I guess I’ll take it!” He fiddled with his claws. At this point, he was sick of inquiring.

Anddd related to the determination I just mentioned, he's not reckless. He's observant and knows when to scale back a bit, and while he doesn't give up on things, per se, he doesn't have that cliched shounen anime feel about him where he just runs into the thick of things blindly, the prospect of danger be damned.

CHAPTER 6

"Ugh, what a weird dream,” Owen mumbled. He rubbed his eyes; he still ached. He must have jumped improperly to avoid that Psychic attack and bruised himself. Wait. If he ached, then that wasn’t a dream, was it? “Not crazy. Not crazy. Not crazy,” Owen chanted in a whisper.

Poor Owen, always on guard and paranoid. D: He could've just slept funny, here.

Anyway, there's been a lot of insinuation that Owen shouldn't interact with Team Alloy. I find it interesting that it's really only that Mispy/Demitri/Gahi should be away from Owen, and not necessarily each other. I wonder if interacting with Owen puts them in extreme danger somehow, given his guardian spirit status? Or maybe they lead him down a bad path he shouldn't (which I'd be surprised, but it's possible, I suppose)? I'm looking forward to seeing how their friendship evolves (is that a pun?) from here. I do like, too, that you make a continued effort to keep them separate from what's in the fic so far. It's obviously not Rhys and co.'s priority - gather the remaining guardian spirits is - but they do make it clear that it's important.

“Anam,” James said, “is he not always like this, when he has that tone?”

Anam gulped, but then shook his head. “This time… he feels different.” The feeler-horns behind his head twitched. “He’s telling the truth… b-but what’s that mean? I dunno… I dunno….”

There's some damn good tension, here. You know it's serious when happy-go-lucky Anam is shaking in his boots, heh.

The Charmander almost didn’t want to look back. He could feel it. A presence—a powerful, incredible, radiant presence. Perhaps it was the cult’s leader, ready to cook him up. Charmander stew! With only the finest herbs and berries. It cooked itself.

Having Owen touching the real orb coinciding with Rhys fighting Espurr over a fake orb was a nice touch for tension, too. Quoting this part because the Charmander stew bit made me laugh. xD

CHAPTER 7

Hmm, so Star is behind... a lot of things. I'm not really sure what I make of her super bouncy dialogue, but that goes for any legendary pokémon portrayed in any fic, so I'll chalk it up to a personal dislike. Still, I wanted to comment on how her speaking so informally and silly-like seems to be a cover for her devious acts to me? Like, it could give characters a "how could a 'mon like that act so selfishly," as is the case of Zena. I do like that dynamic. I anticipate seeing a lot of growing tension between her and the others as either more of her selfish actions are revealed or until she screws someone over, hard.

The above may or may not play into how... demanding Owen is of Mew, lol. He shows very little "proper" respect, but I guess he's not religious, and there's a lot overwhelming him at once. I was just surprised he kept blatantly saying "tell me what's going on" so adamantly, I guess. xD

But, eventually, he did find his way. He made the final turn and saw a long, dark hallway.

I think there was a missed opportuntiy around this transition. I expected introspective monologue from Owen, which he does a lot, and there's certainly a lot to reflect on here.

“Will you make that a Divine Promise?” Klent asked.

Star bit her lower lip.

Yeah, Star doesn't strike me as the type to be able to consistently keep promises, no matter how small.

At the tip of his tail was not a flame, but a flower: a small, white daffodil.

I saw canis's fanart because I read the fic, and it was wonderful. xD And so is this chapter ending. Poor Owen. Switching between grass- and fire-typing sounds really useful... and, really, it has a lot of body horror implications, which is pretty evident with how uncomfortable Owen is until he reverts back to normal. Random thought, but I'm really surprised this isn't a concept utilized in more fics... Hmm... or maybe I just don't see them.

CHAPTER 8

Instead, he felt that same, horrible vine prodding at the back of his throat. He gulped to keep it down. It writhed in his gut like a giant parasite.

Ohh, I like this detail a lot. Well written and deliciously vivid.

“Of—of course it is! I happen to shed quite a bit during the summer,” Rhys said. “I wasn’t going to put it all to waste! I made it into a cloak. I wove it with some Wurmple silk for a foundation, let it dry, and—”

I find it amusing that an animalistic trait like this is viewed as super weird by another 'mon. xD But hey, it's a good use of resources. And wouldn't Charmander also shed as a reptile?

He even spotted on an upper shelf a thick book titled The Unabridged Encyclopedia of Pokémon Abilities and Techniques, Seventh Edition.

Huh... even in the human world, I'm sure they'd have something like this, right? Another original idea in your fic I'm surprised isn't taken advantage of more. I like it.

James sighed. “It is true,” he said. “Guardians do not die of age. Unless they give up their power, or are slain, they live forever.

Why do I get the distinct feeling that Owen's gonna be tempted to just... give up his powers? And I wonder if Team Alloy is going to be, like, Owen's spirits that are attached to him, like Alex is to Amia?

By the way... I'd really be careful about having so many similar character names. Amia, Alex, and Anam all start with A and have four letters, so it breaks the flow when I'm reading because often I read a different name than what's actually there. ADAM is slightly different with all caps, but same deal.

It was all fake. Fabrications. His mother. His father. His entire hometown. It was all one great illusion. His whole past was built on an elaborate lie.

Yikes, and I don't even think this is all of it. I wonder what Owen's true breaking point will be and how he'll react...

Owen felt someone knocking at his mental door. What an odd feeling—a thought that wasn’t his, calling for him to listen.

Love this. It has such a surreal, relatable feel to it.

And suddenly, being attuned to others' body language doesn't feel like a skill anymore... What he was really in tune with were spirits. Creepy.

CHAPTER 9

How old were they? Why did they decide to adopt him? Why did they decide to adopt anyone? What if everybody in Amia’s Orb were all past kids? Was there a secret graveyard of Amia’s countless dead children?

It's heartbreaking to think they just adopted him because of his guardian spirit potential, or something related to it. I mean, I think they love him genuinely and care about him, but yeah. I don't blame Owen for being spooked and so untrusting about all this.

“And—and turns out, my Mom is the same way. She’s the Fire Guardian… and I dunno what that’s gonna mean, either.

Maybe she and Owen should switch guardian types so Owen doesn't have to be a grass-type.

Anyway, it's curious that Anam doesn't have to live as isolated as everyone else. I wonder why that is? I don't think there's been a lot of info on him, though. It could be the Heart Society's HQ is his isolated place, and that he rarely goes elsewhere, lol.

“Rhys is one of the Hunters."

Oh, dear. I didn't see that coming. There must be more nuances to Hunters, since even after his Divine Promise to Zena, he doesn't seem to lose his lifespan or regenerative powers or anything, even though guardian spirits won't live forever all of a sudden if they give up their powers.

CHAPTER 10

You portray Owen's confusion well about the Rhys revelation. Without all the gaps in his past and all the guardian spirit secrets, I'm sure he'd be more adamant about Rhys being innocent, but... even Owen's optimism can't deny that Rhys's actions have been rather suspect for a while.

“Can you stand, Owen?” Rhys asked again. Despite his neutral tone, Owen sensed that he was mocking him.

“Nrgh.” Owen’s tail twitched. “I don’t feel like it.” He exhaled a defeated plume of smoke. It tasted like roasted seeds.

Yup, and now his reactions to Rhys are way different. Well done. Also, lol, roasted seeds. Maybe he'll get used to being a grass-type, eventually...

“Oran Berries have been greatly enhanced since your time, Zena,” Rhys said. “They have been blessed by Association Head Goodra Anam, who doubles as a sort of… priest, if you will.

Ohh, it'll be fun to see Zena compare old technology and stuff she knows to all the changes that have happened during her isolation. I hope she learns to grow comfortable out of isolation and learns to trust others again, even Rhys... His Divine Promise was a good start.

Ever since Amby's comment about having Anam all figured out, I do wonder if there's more to him. :V Priest?! Does that have some meaning?! idk.

Anyway, Zena/Owen shipping hints abound??? Maybe??? I'm probably looking too much into it. It's undeniable, though, that Zena takes an instant liking to Owen, and feels comfortable around him. And that's amazing, given her wariness around others and for having been locked up for so long. Something about Owen just... clicks for her, I think. He listened to her, and he's sympathetic to her, and he wants to help as best he can. That would do it. I love their dynamic. :3

CHAPTER 11

Demitri, Mispy, and Gahi were all huddled near Owen, all on the same makeshift nest. They were jealously eying his new, Charmeleon form. Owen, noticing this, gave a teasing little smirk—he won that little game and, surely, he’ll hit his final form first, too.

Finally, he gets to be happy about evolving! Hehe. He deserves it. <3 Demitri/Mispy/Gahi shouldn't be jealous of the guardian spirit stuff, though, lmao. It's hard to say what they think since they don't react much at all in between Owen touching the orb and the fight against the Shiftry.

I like the Arceus + Star + Orb history story you've got going on here. A god feeling overpowered and burdened is a believable enough concept forme, and it makes the legendaries feel like they're on a level of normal 'mon. Owen being shocked about giving up power isn't surprising, but I have a feeling he'll relate Very Soon (TM).

I'm wondering, though, why he gave the power to Star? What's up with the other legendaries, if there are any?

Also, yikes, Zena has every reason and then some to be angry at Star. Her only friend, and that friend's a fraud in every sense of the word. And Star has no defense. At least she has enough tact to walk away and not make the situation worse with excuses and justification and other such nonsense that implicitly invalidate Zena's emotions.

Owen was positive he’d heard the lake snore. Or perhaps that was a dream.

I guess Owen can't escape the reality versus dream confusion that easily, eh?

“Oh, that could work,” Owen said. Though he longed for a normal day, he supposed such a privilege would need defer to his new duties, forced as they were. “What kind of training?”

I don't know, I think one day to reflect and think about everything that's happened isn't too much to ask for. They wouldn't want him to get overwhelmed again and freak out like before, right? And with how badly Owen did freak out, it's not really that believable he'd dive right into training with no qualms about it. I'm sure you just want to move the story along here, but... I'd still suggest adding a small break, somehow.

Owen asked them what it was like putting up with the act. It turned out that many of them just wanted to live again, even if it was an act, and they thanked Owen for giving them that opportunity.

This bit is a strange mixture of creepy and sad and cute. Hum.

“Believe me, I wish that was true,” Owen grumbled. “Dragons are awesome. We even look like one, if you compare us!

Clearly, Owen should've been the Dragon guardian. :V

SPECIAL EPISODE 1


...This is a special episode indeed. It raises a lot more questions that I need to know the answers to, damnit! Owen's interactions with the Salazzle are a treat to read. He just met her here, but his determination to help and her trying to move the mission along without anyone getting hurt is a good dynamic. The bits of explanation about poison-types surviving without being suffocated in a fire are a nice touch, too.

And so, Owen's met other Charmander before. At some point. Wild, feral ones, apparently, which sounds like an... odd experience for him, understandably so. Deca seems to be the first non-feral Charmander he meets, but Deca also seems to be Owen himself? Or at least, very, very closely related to Owen. Deca's anxiety is portrayed well and is appropriately sensitive. You can tell Owen's unnerved by it, a little, but he wants Deca to feel okay, so he manages. And the scene at the end with Deca crying... that hit hard. I hope we get to see the lil guy again, ahh.

The way the 'mons worked together with barriers to put out of the fire was a super creative one. I loved it! Rhys fudging it up and almost killing Owen was really tense, and you can tell just how bad the guy feels about it. Seems he has a lot of regrets in life in general. :V And Owen, of course, forgives him and understands. Such a sweetie.

CHAPTER 12

“I’m quite certain!” James replied. He vanished in a fine, black mist, dodging a second Hyper Beam.

You can't trick me! >:O Or maybe you can, because my memory sucks. But I don't think Owen's used any of this stuff in the present day, has he? More and more questions keep popping up, lmao. But you balance it well enough with some answers being given and with the plot moving along at a solid pace.

“Anam is… typically focused on other aspects of his Mysticism,” James said, summoned again by Anam. “He largely focuses on self-preservation and high defenses rather than… offensive prowess.”

Zena stared at Anam with a flash of a memory in her eyes. “That reminds me of an old friend,” she remarked. “Anam, do you happen to know an Emily?”

Sounds just like Anam. He'd rather be friendly whenever possible. This part also makes me wonder if all guardian spirits have their memories screwed up somehow, and I don't mean in a "so much time has passed and I'm old so I can't remember" kind of way.

Lots of other good stuff in this chapter, particularly the introduction of ADAM and the Shiftry. They're both quirky, but not overly so in terms of dialogue and such. Can't wait to see Owen's reactions to his friends evolving! It's kinda cheesy, but also sweet, that all 3 of them evolved at the same time, heh. But they really were in danger, given how Rhys's hands were tied, so it makes sense. Also, if the Shiftry becomes a recurring character, I bet he's gonna wanna destroy everyone and everything because no way is anyone gonna adhere to being quiet and still till the end of time, lmao.

And with that, I'm caught up. Not for long, I'm sure, but I'll try to stay updated as best I can.

 

[namohysip]

Holy MEW that's a big review! Thanks for the chapter-by-chapter catch-up! I think this review is longer than some of my chapters, actually. Goodness. I'll reply to the highlights here, though as a reminder to others who read that -- I'm probably going to add a quip just to make it explicit, but Kilo Village is not dead. Only Hot Spot Cave is filled with spirits. Kilo Village is genuinely living.

Now then!

wait none of them have knuckles tho

I was about to say that Anam had knuckles, but then realized he's semisolid, so I don't think he can crack them anyway...

Dunno if it's just an after effect of reading the Special Episode or the large amount of dialogue, but this chapter felt pretty short. It's not a bad thing, just felt somewhat odd.

It's probably an aftereffect. This chapter is about as long as my average chapters. Special Episode 1 just happens to be 9k words, unlike my average 5k.

but I'm expecting Gahi to get some rather new experiences with those wings

Just wait... one chapter, for your answer. As in, a little while after I post this review response.

Okay, finally reviewing, lol.

IT'S SO BIG

Well, talk about a hook, huh?

Yep, four or so revisions of work went into crafting this prologue to be as hook-filled as possible without going too overboard. In general, that's the craft of the first few chapters to help pull the reader along to the Orb scene, when I can safely roll with that premise.

Even though it's a PMD setting and everyone's just as sentient as humans, I'm still reminded what kind of creatures these really are all the time, and it's never jarring.

I'm glad! That's definitely something that I wanted to go with. They're not human in the literal sense, but they're still human, y'know?

My only complaint is that they feel shoved to the background very, very quickly after chapter 1. Like, it makes sense for Owen not to return home because it's too late and dangerous one night, but there's been other opportunities for them to have an impact where they don't. For example, Owen's simply moved on to training in chapter 11. The only impact Alex, his magmortar father, has made since chapter 1 is having revealed he's been kept alive by Amia and is a spirit.

Hmm, this is a good point. They become more prominent later on, but Alex in particular, much like Demitri, is difficult for me to give more prominence, at least early on. Mild-mannered characters are difficult to make stand out compared to the strong personalities that surround them. In particular is what you mentioned in chapter 11. Maybe I can add in a bit of a cooldown scene there, just a tiny bit, between him and Alex. Because to be honest, I don't think I've had a proper father-son dialogue between them. (Mostly because he kinda has to be around Amia in order to exist in any corporeal way.)

His presence is mentioned once, maybe twice? Amia tries to console Owen and explain the guardian orb stuff a little, but otherwise, Owen's learning about it all through Rhys and Zena. I hardly consider her a mother figure after chapter 1.

See above.

Coupled with that and his tendency to be able to read others' body language is a nice touch, though I also notice that sometimes he's just blissfully unaware of social cues, or guesses them entirely wrongly

This is something I've been very careful about with Owen. He's not a mind reader. He's not psychic. He's perceptive on a strictly physical level. He knows that muscles are tense, and things to do with body language, but what they imply is strictly guesswork. He knows someone is tense, but not why. That's why Zena, a serpent, is so enigmatic to him: He doesn't know how their body language converts to emotions.

Anyway, he outright claims to be an adult, but he still acquiesces like a child to trying to meet his parents' curfew demands? He also has a very childish air about him, with how enthusiastic and naive he can get sometimes over the littlest things.

This is another thing that I've struggled with. Charmander Owen as a bit of an inferiority complex, and that comes off as immaturity, for sure. As a Charmeleon, he's been tossed into a fairly stressful set of circumstances, so that tips him over his breaking point to, once again, seem a bit childish. For how old Owen claims to be, he doesn't act his age. This is intentional, though unfortunately, I see how that can be annoying for some. I just hope he has enough depth and uniqueness to make up for it as he matures. Because that will happen.

here's a huge flaw in that concept, one that's even explored in-fic, and that's, well, that being ejected doesn't ensure safety beyond the ejection. It doesn't call for help back to the Hearts? To the Elites? Nothing else? Like the fic has said, a wild 'mon could come by and finish Owen or whoever off before he wakes up or before he gets proper help. Maybe I missed something, but it doesn't seem as fleshed out as it could - and should - be.

Nope! Dungeons are more dangerous here than in the canon settings. It's strongly implied in canon that losing in a Dungeon kicks you out, no harm no foul, but as payment you lose most of your stuff. In this setting, Dungeons kick you out, but you're still injured, which makes you easy prey. It's a bit of an info-dump on the nuances of Badges, but I guess early on is the best time to do that. To clarify: Badges can send out distress/location signals, but they aren't useful if you get beaten to a pulp. They also have emergency warp functionality if it has the energy, but in Owen's case, Aerodactyl took away his Badge. It wouldn't warp him out because he didn't have it on him. It's also a Provisionary Badge, which is not as functional as a true Badge that he gets later.

Demitri's far less nuanced, and most of the time, I forget he's even there, really.

Demitri, like Alex, is hard to make stand out. He's the most mild of the four. But any time I can, I try to make his unique traits stand out some.

I'd argue you handle Owen's reactions and emotions to everything that's happened so far flawlessly, except for this one bit. It strikes me as way too melodramatic. Nothing of this level happens with anyone else that strikes him as "familiar," nor does anything remotely similar happen when he finds out the truth of things.

Hmm, it does seem like a bit of a sudden shift. I could've probably transitioned into it more with extra introspection. The main reason why Owen feels this way about Rhys is because not only is he familiar, but it seems like Rhys refuses to acknowledge it, unlike Gahi and co., who at least agree with Owen, or seem oblivious. Rhys is the one who seems familiar, and denies it knowingly.

But this entire entrance exam chapter feels like filler once Owen's acceptance into the Hearts stops mattering almost immediately. He's waited a long time for this, but he doesn't mourn not getting to participate normally that much... I don't know if I'm making sense about this, but yeah.

I know what you mean. These early chapters were mostly to establish Owen and his capabilities, but unfortunately the whole Heart business falls by the wayside for quite a while due to the Guardian stuff. I could probably add in sometime during chapter 6~10 some remark about how he didn't expect his Heart career to go this way, or something.

Have I mentioned yet I love Mispy? Because I do. I imagine she's very fun to write.

Very.

I marked here in my notes that your description can get repetitive at times. Here in particular because Owen already internally panics about falling off the mountain not long before this, but there's quite a few places scattered throughout the prose that could be cut down.

Ahh, description. My struggle. I'll look into this if I ever get back to editing these early chapters. I have a big to-do list of later edits to do to the master files if I ever feel the need.

He almost appears too calm, but this does seem to be his constant state... so maybe it makes more sense to say I'm surprised Owen wasn't suspicious of Nevren's calmness.

Owen isn't suspicious because Nevren's known for being, uh, that. I can probably drop a line to indicate as much.

What about wild 'mon? They probably fight to survive, but does the process work the same for them? And if it does... doesn't that mean that civilized 'mon would be kind of screwed if wild 'mon ever came to attack?

Yes, and yes. Pokemon of Kilo are very nonviolent, and oftentimes only train to the point where they're fully evolved, and no further. However, I should note that while the Thousand are the cream of the crop, they aren't the only cream. After all, Anam rejected Owen many times before. There are lots of powerful Pokemon that weren't Heart material who could theoretically still handle themselves in the wild. But as is with a human society, you don't go out into the dangerous woods too often solely to fight bears.

I like the idea of his parents not being there, and the reasoning eventually revealed for it, though I think I'd have liked to see more of a reaction from Owen about it.

Mmm, yeah. He could at least be a little bothered they didn't see his ceremony, even if he, like the momma's boy he is, understands why.

I'm not really sure what I make of her super bouncy dialogue, but that goes for any legendary pokémon portrayed in any fic, so I'll chalk it up to a personal dislike.

A matter of taste. Sorry that you didn't care much for Star's intro, but hey, at least you feel validated now that you know she makes horrible mistakes to back it up!

The above may or may not play into how... demanding Owen is of Mew, lol. He shows very little "proper" respect, but I guess he's not religious, and there's a lot overwhelming him at once. I was just surprised he kept blatantly saying "tell me what's going on" so adamantly, I guess.

That's pretty much it. Owen is about 75% done at this point in the story, and seeing as Mew is acting casual, that sorta impresses upon him, and he returns the favor.

I think there was a missed opportuntiy around this transition. I expected introspective monologue from Owen, which he does a lot, and there's certainly a lot to reflect on here.

You're the second person (also from a long review, no less!) to tell me that this scene feels like more could have been done. When I eventually get back to patching older chapters, I'm 100% reworking this entire Mystic Dungeon. It won't affect the story, but it will give some action and time for Owen to reflect.

By the way... I'd really be careful about having so many similar character names. Amia, Alex, and Anam all start with A and have four letters, so it breaks the flow when I'm reading because often I read a different name than what's actually there. ADAM is slightly different with all caps, but same deal.

Oof, good point. I introduce a lot of A characters early on. I don't think I introduce any more, though, thankfully.

There must be more nuances to Hunters, since even after his Divine Promise to Zena, he doesn't seem to lose his lifespan or regenerative powers or anything

Hmm, I think I may have not depicted something well enough. Rhys didn't lose his power here. He only made a Promise that, if broken, he would lose his power. Hence that whole "I can't attack him" deal against the Rock Guardian.

I don't know, I think one day to reflect and think about everything that's happened isn't too much to ask for. They wouldn't want him to get overwhelmed again and freak out like before, right? And with how badly Owen did freak out, it's not really that believable he'd dive right into training with no qualms about it. I'm sure you just want to move the story along here, but... I'd still suggest adding a small break, somehow.

That's a good point, and this is where I might add in some of that father-son talk I mentioned earlier with Alex.

And the scene at the end with Deca crying... that hit hard.

I'm very glad that I was able to get this effect, because that was by far the biggest challenge of this chapter. Getting a character we know next to nothing about, and then have him cry for a reason we don't actually know, and still have the reader feel for him. I literally had to make the reader feel empathy for someone without any context.

You can't trick me! >:O Or maybe you can, because my memory sucks. But I don't think Owen's used any of this stuff in the present day, has he?

Fire Trap in chapter 1 and 2, and then later a Vine Trap to block Rhys and co. from catching him when he runs off to Zena.

Hoo! That was a LOT. Took me nearly half an hour to reply to it all, but it's all very valuable! I'll definitely be logging a bunch of these down on my to-eventually-do list. Good luck on keeping up~

 

[namohysip]

Chapter 13 – A Place to Call Home​

Traversing Fae, Fae Forest was a calming experience, for the most part. The wild Pokémon were no match for Amia’s flames, and Owen managed to take on a few as well. He used the aggressors as practice for his vines. He had learned a new technique this way, though he couldn’t find a practical use for it yet, as it took too long. Owen was now able to turn his arm into a large vine. And that was all. He figured he’d build upon it later.

While the wilds themselves were not a problem, their pranks were. Everything within the Dungeon was a sea of bizarre, Pecha-pink leaves and beige wood. It smelled like candy. Wild cries of many Fairy and Bug Pokémon faintly sounded in all directions like ethereal, haunting cackles.

The seeds that appeared in this Dungeon were also something that some of the more intelligent wild Pokémon took advantage of. Near the middle of their exploration, a Whimsicott tossed with precise aim a strange seed that exploded right in front of Owen’s face. The strange mist that followed made the Charmeleon’s reptilian pupils dilate into saucers, and he had to be carried by Amia and Alex for two whole segments while he babbled about the leaves teasing him. This slowly transitioned into him laughing about how everybody looked like giant, rainbow Goodra, and how he could taste the light with his ears.

When Owen came back to his senses, he had no memory of the past two sections. Amia and Alex spared him the details, and instead told him that it was a Sleep Seed, rather than some sort of potent X-Eye Seed.

Thankfully, aside from a few thrown seeds, the Dungeon itself wasn’t any problem for them. The forest’s twisted dimensions melted away with the passage of the seventh segment. They emerged in a field that was—in stark contrast of the pink foliage that surrounded it—one of normal, green blades of grass that went up to Amia’s knees. But the tall grass hid subtle details beneath it. There were large, multicolored mushrooms dotting the pasture, and the rocks were colored like rainbows.

This place was unexplored and untouched by most Pokémon affiliated with Kilo Village. Few wild Pokémon made this place their home, since it did not possess a Dungeon’s eternal, maze-like qualities to keep such Pokémon trapped inside its own warped ecosystem. This made the garden’s foliage move only to the wind.

“I feel like I shouldn’t be here,” Owen mumbled, looking around. “Don’t you kinda get that feeling…? Like… like this just isn’t a place where Pokémon like us should be walking?”

“I see your point,” Alex mumbled, rubbing his cannons together anxiously.

“Hmm, let’s just keep going,” Amia said, “and see where it takes us! It can’t be that bad, can it?”

“M-maybe,” Owen replied. “Mom? How come… you never told me about all this? Just, you know, about being a Guardian, or that awesome Fire power!”

“W-well, it’s simply because, that is, er, Owen…” She sighed. “We just wanted you to live a normal life. We’d tell you eventually, but… don’t you think you deserved to just live like a normal Pokémon, at least for a little while?”

“I guess,” Owen said. “It’s just, it’s hard because I still know they’re dead.”

“Oh, but they’re hardly dead, dear.”

There was no winning with that argument. He conceded, “I’m glad I at least had a sense of a community… Can they hear me now?”

“They can, dear,” Amia said. “And they’re so proud of you for taking this so well.”

“…What I did counted as taking it well?” he asked, thinking about how he’d toppled Nevren over and had to get one of the Waypoints freed up thanks to his Vine Trap.

“Well, compared to how it could have gone,” Amia said.

They walked some more. He saw a blue mushroom along the immediate path. Bored of the foliage, he kicked at it carelessly.

“Ooo!”

Owen stopped walking. That voice did not sound like anybody he knew. In fact, it didn’t even sound like a voice. More like a cry, or some sort of primal, sing-song grunt. Amia and Alex, too, stopped, and they all looked down.

The blue mushroom’s top grew a mouth. And for a few silent seconds, they stared at each other, two, beady-black eyes just above the carved mouth.

It then screeched at him. Owen jumped and held his arms up, as if to apologize. The mushroom grew to twice, then thrice its size—almost to Owen’s knees, now—and then exploded with a loud POP! It spattered fungal bits harmlessly in all directions. A bit got in Owen’s mouth; it tasted like old cheese. He spat, rubbing his tongue with his claws desperately.

“I don’t think I like this place,” Owen finally said, looking back. Alex was hiding his gargantuan, flaming body behind Amia, who only looked mildly startled. They continued onward.

Owen thought about what was said previously—about only being able to summon solid copies if enough energy was put into them, some sort of divine energy from the Orbs, or spiritual energy. He hadn’t tried that technique yet. His mother, however, could.

“Mom?”

“Yes, dear?”

“How come you were able to make the whole village solid if it takes so much energy to do it?”

“Oh, Owen, they aren’t very strong,” Amia said. “We used to live in a very hidden-away, very peaceful village. The Pokémon there didn’t fight—and so, their spirits were hardly trained to the same degree that you are in combat. The weaker a Pokémon is, the easier it is to make them solid. That’s probably why even Anam, as strong as he is, couldn’t fully materialize Star.”

“Oh.” He paused, making connections. “Does that mean Dad is weak, too?”

“W-well, I…! I mean…!” Alex protested. “I’m fairly strong! I’m the strongest of the village—er, before Amia.”

“So, if I fought you, I’d lose? Or win?” Owen asked.

“You… would have a challenge,” Alex said. “A-again, I’m strong, for my village.”

“For your village of non-fighters,” Owen clarified. “Is that why I never got to spar with you?”

Alex rumbled nervously.

Owen sighed. “Maybe you should have mentioned that when we were making teams.”

Just then, something shuffled in the grass ahead of them. Little flowers rose up from the grass—at first, Owen though they were pretty, but upon closer inspection, the petals were wilted and sticky. They’d been on the grass for a while.

Someone giggled—it was a high-pitched noise and came from three directions at once.

A chill ran up the Charmeleon’s spine.

“Huhuhu…”

“N-n-nggh, th-that just gives me a bad feeling,” Owen said.

“Hmm, perhaps that’s the Guardian,” Amia said. “I’m certainly… sensing a different presence here.”

“A Mystic aura, for sure,” Alex said, nodding to Owen. “That’s what we call that special atmosphere given off by people like us—Mystic auras.”

“It’s what Star called it, at least,” Amia said. “I think she just liked how it sounded.”

“Oooh, and who are you?” The voice giggled again. Childish. Feminine. Jittery. “I can’t believe it. People are here to see me! That’s so cool! It’s been so long since I had new toys to play with.”

“Toys?” Owen repeated. He saw something yellow with pink wings fly past him.

“We aren’t here to play,” Alex said. “We are here to bring you with us. To bring you someplace with other Guardians. Did Star warn you about this?”

“I stopped talking to Star a long time ago. She’s no fun!”

“Can you at least show yourself?” Owen squeaked. “Where are you?”

“Where am I? I’m right here! And here, and here, and now I’m here, and now here!”

Owen heard voices from all over—she was moving so quickly, the wind picking up with each new voice. Was this her—or was it spirits acting like her, or some kind of Double Team? Owen carefully tapped his foot on the ground, preparing a Fire Trap, just in case—Wait. No. Slowly, his foot turned green and leafy. He tapped his foot again. Vine Trap. That won’t burn the fields. Then, he returned to his red, scaly self.

“What’re you doing?” Owen called out. “I don’t want to fight! I—can’t you just come with us?”

“This is my home!” the Fairy Guardian replied. Every sentence came from a new location. “If you want me to come with you, then you’re just going to have to find me!”

Suddenly, the world around them flooded with a strange, pink, glittery fog. Owen reflexively held his breath and shut his eyes, trying to fan the fog away. It felt thick and it made his tail crackle.

“Owen!” Amia yelled.

“Mom?” Owen opened his eyes—but she was gone. So was Alex—in fact… everybody was gone and, once again, he found that he was alone in a strange world. Blades of grass were as tall as trees; the little bits of dirt on the ground were like boulders. One of the mushrooms—a yellow one, this time—grew two slits for eyes and another slit for a mouth and jeered at him. It was ten times Owen’s height.

“…I shrank,” Owen said. He looked around, as if verifying. “Oh, good. Can’t have a normal day anymore, can I?”

Laughter filled the air.

Amia screamed. She was far away, from Owen’s perspective. “Mom!”

He ran, but then realized that the yellow mushroom was gone. Spinning around, he sensed something—it was right behind him. It opened its mouth, revealing countless tiny teeth, and dragged its body forward with an unknown force.

Owen ran as fast as he could, looking back to see the mushroom hot on his tail. Not wanting to get anywhere near, he heaved a plume of fire its way. It shrieked and flailed its huge tiny body, disintegrating into a pile of ash at a rate that startled Owen. A little, blue ember rose from the ashes and lunged toward him. Owen ducked, then spun to watch where it was going.

Owen’s mouth hung agape. “Oh, come on!”

Right in front of him was the largest Joltik he’d ever seen. Its tiny, blue claws were as tall as Owen.

“Huhuhu…” The Joltik—Star had called her Willow, didn’t she?—beamed. “You look squishy.”

Owen blasted Willow with another plume of fire. Immediately after, he turned and fled, using the distorted light and smoky aftereffect as a distraction. A grain of dirt tripped him and twisted so he’d land on his back—wincing when he crunched on his tail instead.

A huge, blue claw crashed down on him. He had no way to escape it. Out of reflex, he crossed his arms in an X-shape and squeezed his eyes shut.

Immense pressure pushed on his back. He sank deeper into the dirt. Yet, no claw pierced through his body. Instead, a shield of radiant, golden light surrounded Owen in a protective, albeit fleeting, barrier.

“Ehh?” Joltik said. She poked at Owen’s Protect barrier. “No fair! Stop hiding!”

It wasn’t as if Owen had a choice. The light was already fading, and it would be too much of a strain to use the barrier twice in a row. How useless—he couldn’t do anything while Protecting himself. All he could do was stall for time, and now he was—by his perspective—trapped many feet underground.

Hey, everyone! We have the first Guardian! He’s okay! He’ll come with us, and he’s super cool! …Guys? Hello?

That voice—Anam? They found their Guardian. But why did they hear him? The communicator! Was it still normally sized? Owen just realized that he didn’t have his bag with him, but he could still feel the subtle presence of the Eviolite nearby. He must be close. If they could just get to the Badge, perhaps they could escape and get backup.

Owen, a voice rang in his mind. Focus on the dirt!

That voice sounded familiar. The Jumpluff who had guarded the Grass Orb previously. Klent?

Listen to me! Focus on the dirt! Become Grass! Sink into it!

Uhh—

“Owen!” someone else called. It was Amia, but from where he was, he couldn’t tell what direction it came from. Was it behind? Or in front?

Willow stomped again, but this time it actually hit. Owen wheezed—thankfully, he was so small that the claws lost their piercing capabilities. He couldn’t focus on the transformation. But he had another idea. Heat welled up in his chest again,and he scorched the Joltik’s claw.

“YOW!”

That was his chance. When she jerked away, Owen scrambled out of the hole of dirt, getting to the top just in time to spin around and cross his arms. The resulting force sent Owen flying back unharmed, and he used that to his advantage, taking the momentum to run away as fast as he—

Willow sprouted pink wings and rammed straight into Owen. Her wings then evaporated, and she resumed the chase, stomping on the ground just behind Owen any time she could.

“Please! Stop stomping on us!” Owen yelled.

“No!” the gigantic creature said. “This is too fun! Just wait until I nibble on you!”

“We just want to—” Owen narrowly dodged one of the claws of the giant Joltik. “PLEASE! Just turn us back to normal! We’re here to help!”

He didn’t know where his parents were, but he knew he heard Amia calling somewhere ahead.

Anam’s voice had to have come from somewhere nearby. Owen hoped that would be enough to guide the others back to the same place, too. Learning from his old mistake, he avoided bits of dirt and walked around the blades of grass. Weeds were like trees, pebbles like mountains. Surely this wouldn’t last forever, right?

The Joltik giggled and continued to pursue Owen. He’d lost his way. In this part of the world, the sun was setting, and the oversized garden looked more and more like shifting monsters of the night. Willow was probably only chasing him because of the flame on his—wait! Maybe if he focused enough…!

Owen shut his eyes. He tried to meditate—hard as it was, while running—and felt his body change and cool. The flame went out, and that same daffodil sprouted. He didn’t like it, but it was necessary. Red scales became leafy green, and all of his Fire attributes vanished—along with the light.

“H-hey! No fair! I just wanna play!” she said. “Where’d you go?!”

Willow must not be good at seeing auras. If he could just keep that up…

Hey, guys! We did fine! Our Guardian is just fine!

“YOW!” Owen yelped, holding the sides of his head. “Demitri! Why so loud?!”

He turned to his right and saw a Badge almost as big as a house. His heart skipped a beat. He was there! He made it!

Now what?!

“Mom? Dad?!”

“Right here, dear!” Amia called, rushing over.

“I found you!” Willow said.

Amia fired a jet of flames at her, but despite the Type advantage, she brushed it off with a laugh. The flames evaporated too quickly when fired from a distance.

“Is that all you have?” she teased. “You’re a hundred times weaker like that! You can’t do anything to me! Now c’mere…”

“Oh, dear,” Amia said. “Owen, d-do you happen to have an idea…?”

Alex blasted Willow with a wave of fire next, sending two jets from his cannons, but it had a similar effect. Owen gulped and looked down. What did he do before? He’d stomped on the ground, preparing a Vine Trap. He did! And if the Badge was here, that meant it was probably right where they were standing. Maybe, with a little bit of good timing— “Mom, Dad, stay behind me, okay?”

“Owen?” Amia said, but listened.

“Are you gonna be my toy first?” Willow cooed.

Owen wordlessly stomped. This triggered the ground to lurch upward; Willow screeched and struggled, but it was too late. The dying sunlight instantly became blotted out by the rising vines. They entangled the Joltik’s body, twisting around her many limbs, immobilizing her. She screamed and flailed, but nothing came of it; the vines were still normal-sized, and she was too tiny to break free.

“N-no! L-let me go!” Willow screamed. “That’s not fair!”

“You shrank us!” Owen said. “Who are you to talk about fair?!”

“Let me go!”

“Turn us back to normal!” Owen said.

“LET ME GO!”

“TURN US—”

“Owen, dear,” Amia held his shoulder. “May I?”

“Y-yeah, okay,” Owen said, shrinking behind her.

Amia stepped forward. The Joltik was still struggling, but the Gardevoir waved to get her attention. “Um… Willow, dear,” she said, looking up. The Joltik’s right front leg weakly twitched against the vines. “We wanted to bring you home with us,” she said. “I’m Amia, the Fire Guardian, and this is my son, Owen, Grass Guardian. Alex, his father, is a spirit of mine. Star sent us here to see you. Your name is Willow, right? Hunters are trying to pick us off one by one, since they might know how to track us down. Sensing us, somehow, you know, dear? So, it’s better if we stay together!”

“…Will you squish me?” Willow asked.

“You have my word that I won’t,” Amia said. “I’ll even make a Divine Promise out of it.”

“What’s that?”

“Um… Gardevoir’s Honor?”

The Joltik stared. “Y’mean it?”

“I do. Please, Willow. There are so many friendly Pokémon waiting to meet you!”

Owen couldn’t believe that simply making what was effectively a little good word was enough to subdue Willow. Then again, she seemed… simple.

“Mnnn… okay,” she said. “Hang on.”

She focused, and a white light surrounded the three of them. In another instant, they were back to their normal size, and Owen was staring at a three-foot-tall wad of vines. He was standing in the middle of it, trapped. Amia and Alex were behind him, out of the plant life.

“Uh—I’m stuck,” Owen said.

“H-help!” a tiny voice cried. She was near Owen’s foot, still caught in his trap. She was tiny, even for a Joltik—no wonder they didn’t notice her before. She could stand on the top of his horn!

“C’mon, Willow,” Owen said, bending down to carefully unravel her from the trap. “Let’s show you Kilo Village.”

Willow sniffled and zapped Owen’s hand.

“O-ow!”

Willow hopped off and stood on top of the vines. “That’s for burning my claw! I can walk on my own!”

“O-okay, okay.” Owen sighed. Her body was barely a handful, but her attitude…

With everything in order, Alex helped pull Owen out of his own trap. The family and Willow warped back to Hot Spot Cave to rendezvous with the others.

<><><>​

They had to act swiftly once they warped back to Kilo Village. ADAM and Willow, thankfully, looked normal, and the Rock Guardian passed as a sculpture. They had all finished their missions fairly close to one another, and were quick to go from the Central Waypoint to Waypoint Road. There wasn’t one for Hot Spot, but the nearest one was only a short walk away from the hidden village.

Once everybody was gathered, they made their way along the prairie roads together, with three new Guardians accompanying them.

One of the first things Owen did when he saw the Rock group was congratulate the rest of Team Alloy on their evolutions. Demitri rubbed his tusk modestly, while Gahi flitted his wings with pride. Mispy just glared at Owen challengingly, and Owen returned it with his own provoking smile. They still had one stage left to fully evolve.

“The location you describe does not sound normal,” ADAM said. He twitched a few times. “The structure is not to code.”

“It’s a cave, dear,” Amia said.

“Does it have little nooks and crannies to explore?” Willow asked.

“Certainly, dear,” Amia said.

“Is it of stone?” the Rock Guardian asked.

“Yes! Oh… Mister Shiftry, what would you like us to call you?”

“You may call me Valle,” the Shiftry said. “I wish not to move for much longer. I must be one with the cave so I can familiarize myself with its form. If it is not to my satisfaction, perhaps I shall return.”

“Well, if it’s not, why don’t we help you later, huh?” Amia asked. “But the cave definitely stays still!”

Valle’s stone face cracked into the tiniest of smiles.

“…How are you moving?” Demitri asked.

This entire time, Valle was standing like a statue, yet his entire form was dragging across the ground, creating an uninterrupted line in the dirt. James took the liberty of dusting that dirt path away in case some unsuspecting traveler tried to follow it toward the boulder.

“I move with Mystic power,” Valle replied.

“He’s just using some energy to push him forward invisibly,” Amia explained. “The same energy I use if I need to fly!”

Owen’s eyes almost popped out of his skull. “You can FLY?!”

Amia jumped in the air and floated there. “Yep! It’s actually pretty easy once you get the hang of it!”

“Mm.” Zena nodded, floating a few feet in the air next. Anam stepped on an invisible staircase until he hopped down, jiggling his entire body. Willow skittered through the air. ADAM—he always floated, and had little to demonstrate.

“No fair,” Mispy growled.

“Heheh.” Gahi hovered a bit higher, then jerked high into the air to avoid a swat from one of Mispy’s vines.

“I’m glad I don’t have to deal with that,” Demitri admitted, shuddering while riding atop Mispy’s back. “I’m worried about when I become a Haxorus, even. They seem really tall…”

Mispy wrapped a vine around Demitri, the tip nudging his cheek below the tusk. “You’ll be fine.”

Owen’s tail drooped with his shoulders. “That’s crazy. How come you guys never flew before?”

“Well, did we ever need to? That hidden garden was inside a Dungeon. You can’t fly into it without getting caught in the distortion.”

“Yeah, but, it seems really cool to do. How long until I learn?”

“Well, why don’t we teach you?” Amia asked. “That’ll be part of our training! To learn how to ignore gravity, and move with your own willpower!” She giggled.

Owen snorted, but agreed.

The mushrooms didn’t glow until Amia returned to the cave. The Gardevoir sighed happily. “Home, sweet home. I haven’t left this cave for that long in a while!”

“I was starting to feel homesick,” Alex said. “How about you, Owen?”

“Yeah,” Owen admitted. “I mean… I guess the Thousand Hearts is nice, and so was Rhys’ old place, but I kinda like it here the most.”

Mispy prodded at one of the mushrooms. To each touch, it glowed a bit brighter.

“I like the mushrooms,” Willow said, landing on a particularly large one. “What makes it glow?”

“Oh, just a bit of Mystic energy,” Amia said. “I thought the cave was a bit bare without them, so I wanted to give a little lighting! If I didn’t, the only glow we’d get was from the lava rivers deeper inside.”

“Lava rivers?” Valle repeated. “Stone in movement. I do not know if I am comfortable with being near such rivers.”

“Everything’s about not moving with you, isn’t it?” Owen said.

“Movement is not necessary.”

“Yeah, speak fer yerself,” Gahi said, rapidly beating his wings without any effort.

Owen smiled at Gahi. He still couldn’t believe that all three of them had evolved! Still, he beat them to it, and he wasn’t going to let that tiny victory go. He’d certainly be the first one to fully evolve, too. He probably already had the power for it. He just needed a spark to trigger it.

Hopefully Mispy wouldn’t kill him in his sleep when he won.

“And here,” Amia said, “is the main square!”

Owen had seen it many times before, but after the adventures of the day, it was such a relief to see the town as he remembered it—particularly after running for his life from a twisted, giant Joltik.

“Mine!” the Joltik in question said, hopping into a nook that likely once belonged to a tiny spirit.

“I shall check out this file for editing,” ADAM stated, floating into the one next door.

“This is adequate,” Valle said, standing in the middle of town.

“Are… are you sure?” Amia asked.

“Yes.”

They all stared. Given that Valle didn’t move much, it should probably be fine. He was just going to be like a statue, then. Literally. A centerpiece of Hot Spot.

“Well, let’s go to our home, next,” Rhys said. “Anam, James, that reminds me. Now that our numbers are growing, will you be taking up residence here as well?”

“No, I’m going to stay in the Heart,” Anam said. “I should be okay with all the other Hearts that live there, right?”

“Anam, as much as that is appealing,” James said, “I have given it some thought, and I do not think that is a good idea. We can’t endanger Kilo Village any longer—we should stay here, with the others.”

“B-but…”

James tapped his left foot, staring at the Goodra sternly. “Anam, do you want the mortals to be killed because of your carelessness?”

“N-no! I… I don’t!”

“Then we will live here. Is that understood?”

Anam sniffed, but nodded. “What will I tell the others…?”

“They won’t miss you if you’re there during the day,” James said. “It’s only at night, when most Pokémon have their guard down, that we must be careful.”

“You guys still sleep?” Willow asked, peeking out her tiny window. “That’s so boring! Can’t you just play at night?”

“I can’t believe you guys skip sleeping,” Demitri said. “Sleeping is great! And so is eating!”

Mispy nodded vigorously at ‘eating.’

“We certainly can do those things,” Zena said. “There’s simply no need to.”

“Can I still eat and sleep?” Owen asked. “Once I start getting more Mystical, can I still do that stuff? I want to feel normal a little while longer. I dunno. I’m still feeling kinda hungry.”

“You’re still new,” Zena said. “You need time to strengthen your Mystic power. Then you will make those mortal needs… optional.” She gave Owen a small smile, if only to encourage him. Their training together showed how much Owen was dwarfed by all the other Mystics, but he was quick to catch up. That was the natural response, according to Star, for a weaker Mystic among titans of the same nature.

Owen shifted where he stood. “Yeah…” He rubbed at his left arm, wondering if getting strong so fast was a good idea.

Amia gently pat Owen’s back. “Why don’t I make you some dinner? How about for you all, too?” she asked, looking at Rhys and his students.

“Rhys, d’you need to eat?” Demitri said.

“Yeah, now that I think about it…” Gahi landed on Demitri’s head; the powerful Fraxure didn’t seem bothered by the added weight. “You eat, but y’don’t eat all that much. And yer Mystic, too. An old Mystic.”

Rhys nodded. “I eat a small amount, if only to… appear normal,” he said. “But I suppose with this all in the open, I can drop the façade and focus on my training.”

“How come yer so good at cooking, then?” Gahi said.

The Lucario shrugged. “If eating is not a necessity,” he said, “then when I do eat, I’d like to make it worthwhile.”

<><><>​

Worthwhile indeed. Once everybody was settled into their new homes, and Amia filled the vacancies with her old spirits, she called for a small get-together in the town square, gathered around Valle. Before Owen and the others who had to sleep got tired, she wanted to sit around to get to know everyone. Rhys, with the assistance of Mispy and Demitri, hauled out a large pot of stew for everyone—Mystic or not—to enjoy. Around the time that the food was fresh and ready, Nevren conveniently arrived to get his bowl, and then ate quietly from the sidelines. It seemed that even the Alakazam could not resist Rhys’ cooking.

Rhys and Amia helped to pass around stone bowls for everyone to eat another hearty stew—Rhys’ celebratory specialty. Large helpings were given to those who actually had to eat—Owen and Demitri were given bowls, while Gahi was given a flatter plate to accommodate for his bug-like head type. They gave a large bowl to Mispy, knowing that her appetite was beyond comparison, and made sure to set aside enough for when she’d inevitably ask for seconds, and then thirds.

Anam got himself a small bowl to at least appreciate the taste, and shared some of it with James. Amia elected for a similarly tiny bowl and ate with Rhys and Alex. She fed Alex by hand, if only so the Magmortar didn’t have to struggle with his cannon-arms. Owen elected to sit between Alex and Zena during the meal so he could avoid the passive-aggressive nudges that Mispy gave him, perhaps as spite for evolving first. No, definitely because of that. From what Owen knew, Mispy’s species evolved fairly early to its final stage. She was the greatest contender to beat him in this silly race. Which he would definitely win.

They weren’t really sure what to do about Valle. Amia offered a bowl to the Shiftry statue, going so far as to place the bowl in front of Valle’s face to let him smell it. The bowl trembled in Amia’s hands—with a squeak of surprise, the stone bowl went straight toward Valle, vanishing into his face. The stew, too, was gone.

“Thank you for the offering,” Valle said.

Owen didn’t even know where to begin with that display. Did he just absorb the stew? Did he have a mouth, or was it just there, now? Did he taste? Did he even have a sense of smell? How does he see? Did he feel? This simple gesture made Owen’s mind swirl with questions long enough that even his keen awareness was dulled. He didn’t realize Mispy stealing from his bowl from afar using her vines. He resumed eating without realizing that half his food had been transferred into her bowl.

ADAM said that he required no food. Despite this, when presented with some, he leaned his beak into the bowl and, as far as Owen could tell, sucked the stew out of the bowl. But that gave Owen another thought, and he stared at ADAM for a bit longer. He didn’t have a neck. Porygon-Z had a head, and then a body, but no neck to attach them. How did he—?

“Optimal,” he stated.

Owen decided not to ask. That was enough questions for the day. Instead, he watched Amia hand Willow the smallest bowl they had, which ended up being three times her size. She countered by blasting it with a swirl of pink mist, shrinking it down until she could grasp it with her tiny claws. She then zapped the ground, forming a tiny, red mushroom that looked up curiously. She then grabbed this mushroom and tore it apart—it screamed a little, yet it laughed at the same time—and dropped its remains into the bowl. Owen noticed an ember returning to the Joltik’s tiny body. That mushroom was one of her spirits. Like death was a game to them.

At least I’m not the only crazy one, Owen thought worriedly. Does being a Guardian make you go nuts?

I think it’s just the isolation, Star said.

Owen’s tail flashed with alarm, earning a concerned glance from Mispy. He shook his head dismissively and stared at his bowl. Can you not do that?!

Whoops! My bad. Sorry, I’m just watching. You mind if I sit in your head for a while?

Ugh. Owen resumed eating. Why don’t you just come out?

I don’t wanna upset Zena. I’m gonna lay low for a while. Besides, I need to start looking for the next Guardians for you guys to get.

“Owen, are you okay?” Alex asked, looking down.

“Huh? Oh—yeah! I’m just fine,” Owen said. “Sorry. I got kinda distracted.”

“This must be a lot for you to take in,” Alex said, gently patting Owen on the back. “I’m really sorry for all this.”

“It’s okay,” Owen said. “I mean, it’s still crazy, and I didn’t expect my time as a Heart would be like this, but, you know, it’s not… bad. I mean, look at everyone here, right?” He looked up at his father. “Lots of new friends, and Team Alloy is all here, and everything. So it’s not a total loss.” He looked at the flames on Alex’s shoulders. “I do kinda wish it was normal, but, I think that’s just a little panic, you know? Or… something.”

Alex smiled sadly. “I understand,” he said. “Believe me, I didn’t expect to live with Amia in quite this way, either. But I choose to stay here for her, and for you.”

Owen blushed and resumed eating.

Amia eventually tried to break the ice by having everyone introduce themselves. Anam was happy to oblige, talking about the Hearts and how James was such a great help managing everything. He then pointed to Nevren, who looked almost startled at being acknowledged. Owen was surprised, too. He’d almost forgotten the Alakazam was there. Anam declared Nevren to be the most helpful at managing the other Hearts. “He’s my favorite tactician!” Anam said, which earned an unpleasant cough from James and Rhys. Anam tittered nervously.

“Hm, but now that I have the attention of everyone,” Nevren said, looking up, “I feel I should point something out. With the Hunters seemingly increasing their movements, and with so many Guardians here, it may be wise to stay together. That includes you, Anam. James was right. You may have been strong enough to survive out in the open without the Hunters approaching you directly, but now, that may no longer be the case. You should live here, in Hot Spot, with the others. I’m sure Amia can build you a hot spring just as they built a lake for Zena.”

“Mnn… but I get to be in Kilo during the day, right?” he clarified.

“Of course,” Nevren said. “That way, you can just be here at night, when you feel the need to rest. I know how much you enjoy naps, even though you don’t need them.”

Anam’s cheeks blushed purple.

“I didn’t expect this place to become so… full, so quickly,” Zena admitted, looking around with an air of nervousness. “I—I haven’t talked to so many new people in… in ages, really. Lifetimes. But—I’m quite happy here, now.” She glanced at Owen, but then flinched when their eyes met. She turned her attention back to the others.

Zena, Owen thought to himself, frowning. I guess me being the Grass Guardian scares her a little. Her muscles are so tense every time she talks to me. Isn’t that how serpents react when they feel threatened? Owen hesitated, thinking for a bit longer. That wasn’t it. If anything, she was closer to him than she was to anyone else here!

She probably just likes you, Owen, Star said.

Likes… me?

Well, duh. Pretty obvious after you met her and you guys talked for a while.

“We’ll help you take it slow, dear,” Amia said to Zena. “Is there somebody in particular that you enjoy talking to?”

Zena gulped. She stared at the ground and nodded. Owen smiled slightly, feeling slightly reassured. That had to have been him. Maybe she was just intimidated now that his training was showing results. He wasn’t scary! After all, she was still many times his size. Along with that, he wasn’t going to deny that—aside from when the air was squeezed out of him—it felt good to be wrapped up in her embrace.

That was a weird thought, Owen said. Wonder where that came from. He glanced nervously at Zena. He shouldn’t be getting feelings like that so suddenly. They only knew each other for a little while, relatively speaking. Zena just needed a friend. Lost in thought, Owen started fiddling with his claws.

“Well, talk to them, then!” Amia said. “It’s great to have a close friend.”

Zena nodded silently

Owen found himself nodding, too. “Hey, you know, Zena,” Owen said, quickly trying to think of something that she might enjoy, “if you want, you can train with me!”

“Train?” Zena perked up. “Like, meditate together?”

“No, we can spar!” Owen said.

“Oh.” Zena shrank slightly. “You certainly like to fight, don’t you?”

“Just a little,” Owen said, shrinking in return. Wrong move. “I mean, I trained all the time to become a Heart, so I guess maybe that’s where I get it from? Fighting’s in my blood. But, uh—let’s do something else!”

“Yeah,” Demitri nodded. “I think Rhys raised us that way, too, huh? As long as we meditated, we got to fight as much as we wanted! Just like eating vegetables. But for your head? Kinda cool, having him as a dad and a teacher at the same time.”

“I think we can say that,” Gahi said. “Yeah, I remember training with you guys fer as long as I can remember. You guys could never get me, though, ‘cause I was always flying way outta yer range! Hah!”

Demitri, Mispy, and Owen all laughed, but Owen caught on that the others were laughing a bit less, or differently. The jovial atmosphere bled away. Willow was laughing obliviously; Valle and ADAM didn’t seem like the sort to ever laugh; Rhys and Amia chuckled with strained force; Anam tittered nervously; Zena didn’t make a sound and looked at the Charmeleon with concern. Owen tilted his head back at Zena, wondering what was wrong.

This made Owen think back—did they say something wrong? Something in that last sentence felt wrong. Did Gahi make an insensitive joke? Perhaps they just didn’t understand the joys of fighting, getting the blood pumping. They were a lot more peaceful, after all. The thrill of the chase, especially when Gahi flew around and they had to catch him on foot. Owen was never able to catch Gahi when he—

No. Wait.

Flying?

“Gahi, didn’t you just evolve?”

“Eh?” Gahi said. “Well, yeah, but…” He twitched his head in thought. “Yeah… but… I always… flew off ter…”

Gahi fell into silence, his big eyes staring at nothing. Demitri and Mispy glanced at each other uneasily. Owen looked at Amia and Alex. They both averted their eyes. He then stared at Anam, who jumped and gained an interest in the ground. Then, Owen’s eyes went to James, but he was already analyzing a mushroom on the ceiling.

A slow silence filled the air. Nobody knew what to say next—and all Owen wanted was for someone to say something. Anything! But, nobody did. Even the new Guardians, who knew nothing about their situation, sensed that something was deeply wrong.

Owen mumbled, “Flying…”

 

[canisaries]

I’m glad I at least had a sense of a community….

Four periods instead of three.

“Ooo!”

Owen stopped walking. That voice did not sound like anybody he knew. In fact, it didn’t even sound like a voice. More like a cry, or some sort of primal, sing-song grunt. Amia and Alex, too, stopped, and they all looked down.

The blue mushroom’s top grew a mouth. It then screeched at him. Owen jumped and held his arms up, as if to apologize. The mushroom grew to twice its size—almost to Owen’s knees, now—and then exploded with a loud POP! It spattered fungal bits harmlessly in all directions. A bit got in Owen’s mouth; it tasted like old cheese. He spat, rubbing his tongue with his claws desperately.

are we sure that "Sleep Seed" actually wore off

Owen, a voice rang in his mind. Focus on the dirt!

That voice sounded familiar. Klent?

Listen to me! Focus on the dirt! Become Grass! Sink into it!

Hmm, now I did manage to remember who Klent was, but I don't think he was mentioned once for several chapters nor did he have that great a role in the story to begin with, so it might be useful to put a subtle reminder of who he was again to jog readers' memory.

Owen’s eyes almost popped out of his skull. “Y-you can FLY?!”

Amia jumped in the air and floated there. “Yep! It’s actually pretty easy once you get the hang of it!”

are we SURE that "Sleep Seed" actually wore off

Owen saw it many times before,

Had seen it, perhaps?

“Well, let’s go to our home, next” Rhys said.

Missing comma?

“B-but…” Anam hesitated.

I can vividly picture the sad puppy eyes Anam is making.

Around the time that the food was fresh and ready, Nevren conveniently, arrived to get his bowl,

Think there's an extra comma here.

ADAM said that he required no food. Despite this, when presented with some, he leaned his beak into the bowl and, as far as Owen could tell, sucked the stew out of the bowl. But that gave Owen another thought, and he stared at ADAM for a bit longer. He didn’t have a neck. Porygon-Z had a head, and then a body, but no neck to attach them. How did he—?

Ha, nice nod to the Drinking Bird origin.

“B-but… but won’t the others miss me?” Anam asked, nibbling on his fingers nervously.

“It will only be for the night,” Nevren said. “During the day, perhaps you can still be in Kilo Village. It’s only risky at night, when your guard may be lower. I know how much you enjoy naps, even though you don’t need them.”

Anam’s cheeks blushed purple.

This exchange was kind of already had before in the chapter? Around where I had the puppy-eyes comment.

He wasn’t going to deny that—aside from when the air was squeezed out of him—it felt good to be wrapped up in her coils.

That was a weird thought, Owen said. Wonder where that came from.

O W O
W
O

“Just a little,” Owen said, shrinking. “I mean, I trained all the time to become a Heart, so I guess maybe that’s where I get it from? Fighting’s in my blood.”

Amia and Alex laughed nervously.

hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

You guys always couldn’t get me,

Reads a bit awkwardly to me, maybe "you guys could never get me"?

No. Wait.

Flying?

ooohh the dream is collapsinggg

The entire Fairy Guardian segment at the start really read like a fever dream, and I wouldn't have it any other way. Willow shrinking others to sadistically play with them is creepy as hell even after it's shown how small and scared she actually is.

Finally, we're teased some explanations on the "late evolver" phenomenon, and possibly on why the four kids-but-not-kids are considered so special to begin with. Shows how we're still far from having all the answers. Can't wait to see where that goes!

 

[namohysip]

Hmm, now I did manage to remember who Klent was

Ah, yeah, I'll amend that real quick as a reminder. Cursed dead old Guardian, being obscure and the like...

The entire Fairy Guardian segment at the start really read like a fever dream, and I wouldn't have it any other way

I had a lot of fun with that segment. A shame Willow's more or less a minor character, but when she has her limelight, I try to have fun with it.

Finally, we're teased some explanations on the "late evolver" phenomenon, and possibly on why the four kids-but-not-kids are considered so special to begin with.

Soon, my friend, soon~ The answers will trickle in.

 

[namohysip]

Chapter 14 – Too Late​

Owen had barely slept last night—nobody had answered his questions when he asked. They had said, what are you talking about? Maybe it was a lapse in memory. Sometimes evolution can change the mind slightly. Gahi is just confused. He’ll sort it out. Don’t worry, Owen. You evolved, too. Maybe you need to settle a bit?

But Owen knew that hadn’t been some trick of the mind. It felt too… real to be a trick. But then—how could he know? If his mind thought it was real, but it wasn’t… he wouldn’t know. But then, why did he have that thought? Gahi did fly before. He was fast…

Days passed while Star went searching for more information about the Guardians. That left them with time to decompress. Willow had made herself a little mushroom village in her abode, where she happily conversed with her screaming, playful spirits. ADAM had spent his time obsessively polishing every corner of his abode until it was a smooth cube inside. Afterward, he had dedicated his time to “defragmenting,” whatever that meant. Valle… did his thing in the town square.

The new normal was settling in. Every day, Anam would leave with Nevren to manage the Association. Rhys would leave with his students to take a mission or two after their usual meditation.

“I’m not crazy. Not crazy. Not…” Owen shook his head. “I know it happened. I—I can’t just make that up, can I?”

“I’m sure you can’t, Owen,” Zena said. “But you have to admit, it’s a little strange, don’t you think?”

She was coiled up in the corner of her room, staring at a set of little marbles on the ground. Rhys had a bag of them in his room, and Owen knew the rules to a game they could play. He flicked one of two large marbles into the pile, knocking two out with precision. Zena, opposite to Owen, clumsily rolled her marble along her pink ribbon. It fell a few times, but a gentle, Mystic force kept it from hitting the ground.

“Mom’s not telling me a thing. I tried pressing Dad, but he got so flustered that he exploded and hid in Mom’s Fire Realm or whatever.” He snorted and eyed the marble floating above Zena’s ribbon-eyebrow. “Is that thing you’re doing the same force you use to fly?”

“Hm? Oh, yes. It is.” Zena fired the marble into the circle, freeing four from the perimeter in one shot.

“Good one,” Owen said. The four marbles floated to Zena’s side. “But, yeah. That’s pretty cool. Maybe if I…” Owen focused on his marble. It wobbled in his claws, floating above his hand. It fell right after. “That’s weird.”

“It is,” Zena said. “I think it’s the same force that keeps some Pokémon afloat. Mm, Castform, Claydol, off the top of my head…”

“Levitation powers?” Owen hummed in thought. “Yeah, I didn’t think about it that way.”

“Hmph. Star said it was ignoring gravity, but that doesn’t explain it all. We also choose which direction we want to float.”

“Ignoring gravity,” Owen repeated. He stared at the remaining marbles in the circle. There were just ten. But he saw a good angle, and he rolled the orb in. With one flick, the marble bounced against six of the smaller ones, pushing them all out.

“How did you do that?” Zena said.

“Do what?” Owen asked, picking up the six that fell out of the ring. “It’s just a bunch of spheres. It’s easy to predict which way they’ll all go.”

“Yes, but,” she said, staring curiously “you predicted all of that?”

“Well, the last one was a little luck,” Owen admitted. “Your turn.”

Zena counted her marbles, then Owen’s. “I can’t win.”

“Huh?” Owen looked at his marbles, then at Zena’s. “Oh. You’re right. Even if you got ‘em all, I’d be two ahead…” He rubbed the back of his head, gripping his horn. “H-ha, sorry. Maybe I should’ve gone easier.”

Zena flushed. “You were going easy?”

“No!” Owen said quickly. “I was just—I mean—”

“Don’t go easy,” Zena growled.

“Okay.” Owen lowered his head. “Well—why don’t you pick the next game?”

“Hmm…” Zena scanned the marbles. Owen helped to gather them into the small sack Rhys kept them in. She then eyed Owen. “I think I’m going to meditate. Would you care to join me?”

“Oh, sure. Um, can I meditate while reading something?”

Zena blinked. “I do not believe that is how meditation works.”

“Well, I haven’t been able to read for a while.” Owen bumped the claws from each hand together. “I feel like my mind’s getting rusty.”

“Well, what do you read?” Zena asked.

“Books,” Owen said. “I usually like nonfiction. Or comics. Actually, I think I kinda like to read books in general…”

“Books,” Zena repeated. “You’ve said that word before. But I’m not sure what they are.”

“Uhh—remember those weird, rectangle things in Anam’s office?”

“You mean the one that was encrusted with his… mucus?”

“Please don’t call it that.” Owen winced, nodding. “Those, yeah. Well, you can actually open them on one side. It’s filled with really, really thin sheets, called paper. And the paper has words on them. You can spend days reading one book, depending on how thick it is, and how small the letters are.”

“Goodness, that sounds like incredibly detailed craft. It must be expensive.”

“Not really.” Owen replied. “We’ve got these things that can print them really easily. Nevren invented them with the help of some of the other Pokémon. You can make a bunch of copies of the same book really quickly—you could send it all across Kilo!”

“Kilo,” Zena repeated, nodding. “The world, right?”

“Yeah. Wait, back then, you didn’t even have a name for the world?”

“No, we did,” Zena said. “But I don’t think it was Kilo. In fact, I don’t think Kilo Mountain was called that, either.”

“Oh. What was it called before?”

Zena paused, looking down. “I can’t remember. Perhaps I haven’t used it in so long, I forgot. Q… Qu… Hm. I’m not sure.” She sighed. “It’s not important. Names change all the time.”

Owen nodded. “Well, how about we get something to read, huh?”

He headed back to his home and slipped to his room, and then into a little alcove in the back where he kept his books. He had to buy special editions of them, printed on Rawst paper. “If we ever get you any books, Zena, I think we’ll need to find some books made of Passho paper.”

“Passho paper? Is that not a berry?”

“Yeah. It protects against water damage, so you can even read it underwater!”

“I’ve never heard of making something waterproof before,” Zena said. “Let me guess. This is another one of those Dungeon items, or perhaps one of those odd blessings by Anam?”

“Yeah. Blessed berries and seeds and scarves really enhance their power. I heard that one blessed Chesto Berry can let you pull an all nighter easily!” Owen pulled out a book that was bigger than his head. “Here! Let’s read this one together.”

Zena blinked, rising a few inches higher from her leisurely coil. “I’m reading with you?”

“I mean, this might be interesting to read, don’t you think?” He showed her the cover: Scarves and Seeds: Basic and Obscure Dungeon Equipment, Third Edition.

Zena looked tired just hearing the title.

“Here, let’s go to the Scarves section, huh?” Owen said enthusiastically, walking to his bed. His flame was bright, lighting up Zena’s eyes. She followed. He opened the book to the middle and started pointing and reading out a few of the standard Scarves, all of their effects, where they were found, and even their rarity when found in the wild.

Somehow, Zena became interested, coiling near Owen to read with him. The pages turned slower and slower; by the time they were reading about Pecha Scarves, Owen had paused for so long that Zena spent a good amount of time simply re-reading.

“Owen?” Zena asked, nudging his shoulder with one of her brows.

“Zena, am I crazy?”

Zena was quiet for a few seconds too long. “I certainly don’t think so,” she said. “Owen, it was just a lapse in memory, was it not? Gahi just evolved. It’s simply not possible for him to have flown around before, and the evolution has everyone slightly confused.”

“It feels so real, though,” Owen said. “I… I don’t get it. I know he—”

“Owen,” Zena said softly, “don’t get so worked up over it. Okay?”

The Charmeleon hesitated, but then turned the page. “Okay,” he relented. “Thanks. I guess I’m just getting worked up over nothing. Lapse of memory from evolving. That makes sense. I guess the brain changes a little when you evolve, so maybe that’s why.”

Zena nodded. And so, they resumed their reading.

“So, I’m not crazy?”

“No, Owen. You’re just fine.”

<><><>​

“This one here is the Spire of Trials,” Star said. “Fighting Guardian Manny lives here—he’s pretty cool. We go way back. I’d go there, definitely.” She pointed at the map they had brought in to Hot Spot’s main square. The Spire of Trials was that odd, narrow triangle on the map to the east, just below Nightshade Forest. “Hmm, I guess the Sunshine Highlands is also a good one, that’s the Flying Guardian, Cara.” She pointed to the far west, where white hills dominated the landscape. “Uhh… Oh! And why don’t we also try Forrest, the Ground Guardian in the Endless Expanse?” She headed southwest, to an odd, gray-colored portion of the map that looked like a place the artist forgot to finish.

The group agreed and started shuffling around to divide up their numbers. With three new Guardians, they could have a full team for everyone and then some. After the fiasco that was Alex’s fighting abilities, he quietly retired to be replaced by someone else.

“I shall not go,” said Valle.

“Let me guess,” Star said, crossing her arms. “This place is your new mountain, and you’re gonna keep watch of any abnormal movements here instead? One with the stone?”

“Yes.”

Star sighed, rubbing her paws between her eyes. “Okay, okay. So, who else is going, then? We’ve got Anam, James, Zena and… ADAM, yeah, that’s pretty balanced… that seems like a pretty solid group, right?”

Zena glanced at Owen again, but didn’t protest.

“And then there’s Rhys, and his three students… Okay, group two.”

“Wait, hang on,” Owen immediately protested. “Why can’t the whole Team Alloy go together this time, huh? We’re all evolved! That’s gotta be strong enough, right?”

“Owen, that’s not even close to strong enough on your own.” Star motioned to Rhys, who was avoiding their eyes.

“I understand your desire to work as your proper Heart quartet,” Rhys said. “However, I can’t in good conscience send you four out alone. I must accompany them.”

“But… but I’m never allowed to just go on a mission with them.” Owen’s tail dimmed. “Why not? Is it really that unsafe for me to just go out for a little while?”

Rhys nodded firmly. “The Hunters could take you at a single unlucky moment. We can’t afford for a Guardian to be alone without any elites keeping them safe.”

Owen wanted to protest. But he didn’t find an opening; compared to the Elite Hearts, he was just backup.

“Sorry, Owen. When you’re ready, but not now.” Star then turned to look at the rest of the group. “Who’s left? Willow, Owen, and Amia—oh, hey, Alex, you can come with us again! …Owen?”

“H-huh?” Owen straightened his spine.

“Owen, are you… okay?”

“Y-yeah,” Owen replied weakly.

The group shuffled uncomfortably. Demitri, Mispy, and Gahi were a bit unfocused, too. It had been quite a few days since their odd lapse of memory, but it obviously lingered in all of Team Alloy’s heads. Everyone knew it, but most didn’t want to acknowledge it.

“Hey… don’t sweat it, alright?” Star said softly. “It’ll be okay. How about we just get to fighting, huh? Fighting is always fun! Right?”

This lifted their spirits slightly. “Y-yeah, I guess so.” Demitri smiled. “Yeah… um—which one do you think would be the best fight? Of those three?”

“Well, Forrest will probably give you a lot of obstacles to go through. And I’m pretty sure Manny will be the same. Cara’s more of a run-and-hide ‘mon, so… maybe Anam should do that one, since he’s the most outwardly friendly of us, y’know? And isn’t on fire.” She nodded at Amia.

“Oh, okay,” Anam said. “So, we’ll handle Cara. What about Forrest?”

“Ground, right?” Gahi said. “I can avoid all those attacks now that I’m flying. Levitate’s a pretty nifty move fer all those techniques. I say we do that one.”

“But Rhys is weak to Ground,” Demitri said. The Fraxure worriedly glanced at his teacher.

“I will survive,” the Lucario said.

“Guess that leaves us with Manny,” Amia sighed. “I’m not much of a fighter, but… I will try.”

“Excuse me?” Owen mumbled, recalling the time she melted the ground for Zena’s new lake.

“And I will, too!” Willow said, hopping onto Owen’s head. “You! Carry me when we go. Understood? You are my servant for the day.”

“E-excuse me?” Owen said again.

“Now, Willow, at least ask permission,” Amia said.

Willow growled. “You don’t mind if you are my riding-Pokémon, do you, Charmeleon?”

“I—I guess I will,” Owen said, looking away.

“Cool.” Star clapped her paws in a soundless plap. “Then let’s split up. If you guys run into any trouble, use those communicators like before. It might be useful!”

“Of course,” Amia said, looking around. “Owen! Let’s go. Willow, won’t you lead Owen with us to Kilo Village?”

“Of course! Servant, you will move!”

“Okay…”

Amia giggled. “Oh, be a good sport, Owen. I’m sure Willow is just playing.”

“I sure hope so.” Owen looked up in an attempt to see the Joltik. He felt her balanced on the top of his horn.

“See you guys!” Demitri waved a tiny arm at the other teams.

“Be careful!” Anam called back. They all vanished, set to rescue the three Guardians.

<><><>​

The rocks of Sunshine Highlands glimmered like cut diamonds. There was no escape from the sunlight here, and the further along the highlands they went, the rockier it became. Everything was either white or prismatic; turning to the left risked seeing a rapid rainbow of colors, and turning to the right risked a whiteness that would rival the sun.

“I hope she’s okay,” Anam said, looking around through squinted eyes. “Cara, right? The Flying Guardian…”

“I guess that means she’s got quite the… hrm.” James said. “Well, perhaps her tendencies will be to flee rather than to battle.”

“Yeah,” Anam said. “But I’ll take the lead, if that’s how it’s gonna be.” He squinted, holding his slimy arm over his eyes. “It’s so bright!”

“Indeed,” James replied. “Part of the hazard here is how the rocks reflect the sunlight. We should have come here later in the day.”

Eventually, Anam had to cover his eyes completely. “I can’t see…”

“It’s… quite difficult, yes,” Zena admitted. She’d been slithering blind for quite a while, and had a splotch of slime on her neck and face from bumping into Anam so much. James kept his head down, using his natural hood to protect against most of the sunlight.

“We must advance,” ADAM said. “My light sensors have been shut down due to overload. However, my other senses indicate that there is a Mystic aura further ahead, and is currently hiding. Would you like to continue? Options: Yes, cancel.”

“Yes,” Anam said. “I guess… I guess we should keep going. How much longer?”

“We are approximately 98% to the hiding spot.”

“Oh, that’s close!” Anam said. “So, we should be finished soon?”

“We are approximately 98% to the hiding spot.”

“Um… yeah, so…”

“S-stop right there!” a shaky voice called out.

Anam stopped and tried to look ahead. He saw a flash of something flying toward them. Zena narrowly dodged the blast, but the strong gusts of wind left small cuts on her back. “Ah—ngh—that’s not very friendly.”

Anam squinted and saw a bird flying high in the—no, that wasn’t a bird. It had wings, yes, but… it also had arms. And—something about the wings didn’t quite fit, either. What was wrong with…

Anam saw flashes of brown when the light didn’t fight against him, and he realized that this fuzzy Pokémon was a Lopunny, its ears transformed into sky-blue, feathery wings. She flew through the air with an agility that Anam could only dream of. She was also extraordinarily large—perhaps twice the size of a normal Lopunny.

“There! That’s definitely the Flying Guardian!” Anam pointed.

“Wh-what do you want with me?!” Cara yelled back. “I don’t want to fight! Please, leave me alone!”

“We aren’t here to fight!”

“How can I know that?! You already came here once before! You—your kind—!”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about!” Anam said.

“Cara! Whoever came here before, we aren’t them!” James outstretched his wings. “This is our first time here! Look!” He vanished into the ground in a black fog, and then reappeared. “Anam is the Ghost Guardian, and I am his spirit, yes? Did Star not tell you about us?”

Cara stopped her flying, but it was still too hard to see. “Wh-what do you mean?” She stopped flying away, and instead looked down at them. The way the sun was positioned, she was directly in front of it. “The Ghost Guardian, yes, I… I think Star mentioned you before. Yes. O-oh, I’m sorry. Hold on.”

The lights of the crystalline field dimmed enough for them to see. They still sparkled white, but it wasn’t blinding. Was she somehow controlling the intensity of the light?

Zena sighed. “Thank goodness.”

“Yeah! I could barely open my eyes!” Anam said. “That’s not fair, you know, fighting your opponents when they can’t even see!”

“My visual sensors were completely shut down,” ADAM said.

Cara beat her wings-ears a few more times. “I’m—I’m so sorry,” she said, slowly descending. “I didn’t mean—”

Anam suddenly went blind to a white flash of light. An instant later, the boom of thunder deafened him, leaving nothing but a loud ringing in his ears. Zena and the others shut their eyes again. ADAM blared an alert signal, but nobody heard it. The ringing faded. Anam tried to open his eyes, but everything hurt when he did, and he shut it again. Something heavy thumped dully a few feet ahead of him. He smelled something burning.

Anam felt James grab his arm and tug him back; he fell down and heard another thunderous explosion. If he wasn’t so slimy, his body might have caught on fire. Anam knew not to open his eyes for a while, but when he finally did, through his blurry vision, he saw something black a few paces ahead. There was something glowing in this blackness. A pale, whitish light. It reminded him of the clouds that the bird Pokémon flew above.

Heavy paws walked toward the black thing and the glowing orb. A tiny, gray creature floated toward it next, wrapping it in some sort of cloth. The light vanished. A forceful, invisible blast blew the blackness away like dust. And finally, Anam’s vision—as well as the others’—returned. Standing before them was Espurr Rim—and some… other creature.

Long, black fur along its head, chest, and rear; short, blue fur everywhere else. Bits of yellow in the ears and behind its forelegs, and a four-pointed star at the end of its black tail. But there was something different, too, from how Anam was familiar with the Luxray species. It was bulkier, with intense, sharp eyes and a slightly more elongated muzzle. Its fur stood even more on-end than usual, constantly sparkling with electricity, more like a Jolteon’s fur style. Every so often, they saw black flashes—some kind of dark light, if he had to describe it—accompany this electricity. Its tail was long, and whip-like, like a Raichu.

Anam couldn’t move. He just realized what had happened. That Luxray was the one who attacked—and the Flying Guardian, Cara, was—

Rim vanished with the strange Luxray, taking the Flying Orb with her.

<><><>​

The Endless Expanse was named as such because, upon entering the field, it was hard to determine where the horizon was. It was a great flatland that had a perpetual, thin layer of water over a field of salt. The water perfectly reflected the sky, blending into the horizon an eternity ahead of them. Every step that Rhys, Demitri, Mispy, and Gahi took into this flatland sent small ripples ahead of them, disturbing the salt on the ground.

Gahi’s wings beat rapidly, making the most, but smallest, ripples. Demitri walked beside Mispy, and their steps, with Rhys’, made the most impact. There was no Dungeon here. Instead, the challenge of finding the Ground Guardian came from actually locating him in the completely uniform mirror. It was too large for Mispy to detect a Mystic aura for the whole area, and the same went for Rhys.

Gahi flew ahead multiple times to get a better visual of the fields for any abnormalities. Each time, he returned with no news, and they advanced forward to continue their scan. Around noon, Mispy started to complain about food, and Rhys sighed and dug through his bag for their rations. Rhys winced when he realized that he also had brought some of the food he planned to use for later.

“GROSS!” Demitri shouted. “What is that?!”

“It’s—it’s leftovers,” Rhys said, holding out what appeared to be a purple lump of… something. “I wasn’t going to throw it away. That would be wasteful.”

“I think it’s moving!” Demitri said.

Mispy glared as if the purple food had insulted her.

“I didn’t intend for it to be for you,” Rhys said, holding the grimy-looking food in his paws. “This will be my meal, then. It’s not as bad as you make it out to be. You may have these instead,” he said, offering Mispy two large apples. Demitri and Gahi took one each, but they stared at Rhys. “What?”

“You’re gonna eat that?” Demitri said.

“Of course,” Rhys said. He then opened his mouth and—to their horror—he downed the purple lump in one gulp. They watched the lump descend into his chest. He cleared his throat. “It’s not very difficult if you know the proper way to eat it.”

“I thought you didn’t need to eat,” Demitri said.

“If I’m performing some strenuous effort, I do,” Rhys said, looking ahead. “These past few days have been taxing, particularly after you decided to take on that high-ranking mission into the Southern Abyssal Forest.”

“Bah, scariest thing about that place is the rumors, nothing else,” Gahi said. “Okay, I’m gonna fly ahead and scan fer more weirdness, see if we can spot the Guardian, eh?” He flew ahead, having finished his apple.

Mispy finished her two by the time Demitri had finished half of his. She wrapped a few vines around his body and pulled him onto her back, where she happily carried him across the salt flats.

Gahi flew back prematurely, and his zigzag in the air suggested he actually found something.

“Let’s hurry,” Rhys said.

Gahi descended to their level. Once they all caught up, Rhys stopped, eyes wide.

There were claw marks in the ground that Gahi flew above. The ground was filled with huge fissures from some Pokémon’s attack. There was also a pit left behind in the ground where the Guardian of the Ground Orb likely once was. Some of the pits were still filling, slowly, with water, suggesting that the clash was recent. But for a battle with a Guardian, the struggle didn’t seem to be very intense, all things considered. Even their clash with Valle, while underwhelming on a relative scale, left quite a bit of damage.

“What is all this…” Demitri said, looking at the ground. The Fraxure couldn’t help but admire his reflection, picking at a smudge on his left tusk.

“Good thing I can fly,” Gahi muttered, looking at his reflection.

“I don’t… sense anything,” Mispy said. The Bayleef had her eyes closed, worriedly scanning for any sort of Mystic aura. If the clash was here, surely the Ground Guardian would be here, too.

“But it looks like something just got here. There,” Demitri said, pointing at a particularly huge gash in the ground where water was still pouring inside. It was deep, but the bottom was clearly visible and the water level was slowly rising.

They saw something lying in the flat ahead. “What’s that?” Mispy said.

“Let’s look,” Rhys said, running forward. Gahi was the only one able to keep up.

It seemed to be a small tree lying on the ground, cut near the base of the trunk. “What’s a tree doing here?” Gahi asked. “There ain’t a tree er a plant here fer… I mean, where’d it even come from?”

“This is a Torterra’s tree,” Rhys said gravely. “It grows on their back, Gahi. But for it to be severed like this…”

The water was covering most of it, but he saw heavy footsteps and multiple, converging imprints of other, attacking Pokémon. Rhys walked along and followed the path. He saw a particularly large pit in the ground—and at the bottom, he saw the victim. “Ngh.” Rhys squeezed his paws, forming little flashes of cyan aura. “We’re too late.”

Gahi, Demitri, and Mispy followed Rhys. “What d’you mean?” Demitri asked.

The current of the water and swirling salt obscured the corpse at the bottom of the pit. Demitri flinched once he realized what he was looking at, covering his mouth in shock. Gahi’s wings fluttered slower, looking for something to do with his legs. Anything but stare at something so morbid. Mispy frowned, pensive, wondering if he died quickly, or if…

Rhys fired a few weak Aura Spheres at the ground; salt and sand burst and shifted into the flooded pit, burying the bottom completely. Rhys closed his eyes and lowered his head for a few seconds, waiting for the body to be buried completely.

Then, he said, “It seems that the Hunters have arrived here shortly before we did. Unfortunately, they extracted the Ground Orb.”

“Forrest…” Mispy couldn’t tear her eyes away from the pit. On her back, Demitri trembled, suppressing a few sniffles.

“We… we could’ve saved him,” Demitri said. “If we just got to him a day earlier…”

“A day earlier,” Rhys repeated. “I have my doubts. The Hunters… Could they have been tracking our movements? After we rescued the first three, could they be trying to predict our trajectories, just based on which Waypoints we take?”

But Demitri, Mispy, and Gahi were too dejected—and perhaps, too inexperienced—to strategize in the middle of Forrest’s unmarked grave. Without really suggesting it outright, they all stood there in a respectful silence until the pit completely filled with salt and water.

“I’m sorry for your suffering,” Rhys said to the ground, head bowed in respect. Then, after another handful of silent breaths, he addressed Team Alloy. “There’s nothing we can do here. Let’s return home and report to the others.”

“Should we use our Communicator?” Demitri asked.

“No,” Rhys said. “We shouldn’t lower anybody’s morale. We’re already going as fast as we can; they won’t be able to go any faster than they already are.”

“Okay,” Demitri said. “If that’s the case, let’s just… I mean, yeah. Let’s go back.”

They didn’t want to admit it, but Demitri, Mispy, and Gahi were all still itching for a battle. But in the solemn atmosphere of this lifeless salt flat, there was nothing to fight anyway.

Rhys dug through his bag, searching for their Badge. He dug a bit more. And then more.

“Rhys?” Gahi said.

Rhys looked up. “Where are our Badges?”

<><><>​

“Oooh… this place is a bit creepy,” Amia said, hugging herself. There was very little light in this mountain’s cave; only by her flames and Owen’s tail could they see the path. The spire itself wasn’t much to look at from outside. It merely appeared to be a giant spike in the ground, perfectly conical with an entrance on the southern side. Internally, it was a great, winding spiral of polished rock.

“I certainly didn’t expect the Spire of Trials to be some sort of literal, ascending spiral inside,” Alex said. “Just where are we going?”

“From the outside it looked pretty big. Just a giant spike sticking out of the ground. So maybe we’re heading near the top?” Owen said.

“That’s likely it,” Alex agreed.

“Well, I don’t like it!” Willow said, stomping on Owen’s head with her tiny feet. “Owen! You’re going to turn around immediately!”

“I—I can’t just turn around! We’re already inside!”

“Then make it prettier! I need fresh air for my fur! And good smells, too! And light! Make it brighter!”

“Mom, help!”

“Willow, dear, why don’t I help make it brighter with my fire?” Amia offered. “I usually do blue light, but would you prefer something like green, or red?”

“Ooo! Make it green!” Willow said, hopping on Owen. “Green reminds me of the fields!”

“Green it is.” Amia smiled and created a small fire bubble in front of them to light the way. This, it seemed, pleased Willow enough to keep her from complaining the rest of the way.

They walked quickly, but slow enough that they didn’t trip on anything. By the time they were a quarter of the way up the spire—going in a sort of inward spiral—they suddenly turned to the right and saw a large chamber. Echoes of explosions and shouts and roars radiated from the opposite side. Owen had to concentrate to get a better sense for what the sounds were—it was… something else. Who was that? Those roars didn’t sound normal. They were intense. Too intense for a normal Pokémon.

The chamber was at least a hundred of Owen’s Charmeleon paces across. The walls looked like they had been buffered a thousand times over many centuries to get that perfect smoothness, and the same could be said for the floor. But there were imperfections. Cracks and faults, like battling had taken place there before. Still, the arena was empty. They could easily advance. The team of four stepped into the chamber and made it a quarter of the way across.

“Ha HAAA!”

After being so quiet to hear the others, the shout made Owen double over in panic, clutching his chest. Alex made the exact same gesture as Owen. Was it possible to die of shock? Perhaps not as a Mystic.

A spirit rose from the rocks in the center of the arena-like chamber. The Feraligatr pumped his fists in the air. His scaly arms were thicker than Owen’s body, and the same could be said for the bulk of just about every other part of him.

“I am the First Guardian Spirit, Feraligatr Azu!” he shouted. “I am one of three that you must defeat in order to see the Fighting Guardian, the greatest and strongest fighter of the Dungeon!”

His voice boomed through the air—Owen wasn’t sure if he wanted to hear him for much longer.

“You, a team of four!” said the Fighting Guardian Spirit. “What a perfect number! There are three of us in all, three Guardian Spirits! As the first… you are to give to me your weakest fighter, and we shall battle! If you lose… then that will be it! And you must turn away!”

“W-weakest?” Alex said.

“Wait,” Owen said, tilting his head, “doesn’t that mean you’re the weakest of the three Fighting Spirits?”

“I—eh—” For a fraction of a second, his enthusiasm wavered. “No! I am the most powerful spirit that Manny can summon solid. I am at the perfect strength level.”

Owen crossed his arms, frowning. “So there are even stronger spirits inside Manny? You’re even weaker than what you said the first time.”

With even more confidence and volume than before, Azu grinned and bellowed, “I am the third in line of the strongest spirits Guardian Manny can summon! I am truly formidable! And so—you shall NOT get to the higher levels without beating me!”

“B-but I’m not that good of a f-fighter, you see…” Alex admitted. “I—I wouldn’t want to…”

“We don’t want to fight Manny. We want to talk to him!” Amia said. “And… what’s that fighting I hear from the rooms above us? It’s coming from ahead.”

“Manny is dealing with a number of guests at the moment. To be another, you must get past me!”

“So, they all got past you, too?” Owen asked. “How many times did you already get beaten?”

“My little Charmeleon!” Azu thumped his tail on the ground with a laugh. A few rocks flew in the air, and a few cracks formed on the ground with each scaly thud. “You say such INCREDIBLE things!”

“I—I think what Owen means,” Amia said, “is… if we don’t want to fight Manny, that means we’ll only be doing three battles. So why don’t we start with the second weakest in our group? And then the second strongest, and then the strongest.”

“Ha! Then very well. Which of you is the second weakest?”

“I think that’s Willow,” Owen said without thinking.

Willow exploded with electricity atop his head, screeching and biting his horn. She tore off a few scales in the process.

“Y-yow! Ow! No, NO, bad Joltik—” Owen tried to grab her, but she was too fast. She hopped off of him and landed on the ground, skittering around the rocks.

“You’re the weakest! You, you!” Willow screeched and hissed like a feral Glameow. “You have a clever mind but in raw power, you’re NOTHING to me!”

“But Willow, you’re smaller than my feet!”

Willow sent another volley of thunderbolts at Owen. The Charmeleon hopped in some sort of frantic dance, going from foot to foot on the cold, polished floor. Amia, sighing, rummaged through their bag for an Oran Berry. Willow prepared a great, shining ball of lunar energy above her head—but Owen quickly said, “O-okay, okay! I’ll—I’ll fight first! I’ll fight!”

The Fairy Guardian let the charging Moonblast dissipate. “That’s better.”

Owen sighed. “Why aren’t you bigger, anyway?” he asked. “Can’t you evolve?”

“I look cuter as a Joltik,” Willow said, raising her tiny body upward. “And going forward and backward in evolution is easy for a Mystic. It’s not in one direction with a little divine power!”

“O-oh, okay.”

“Stall no longer, challengers!” the Feraligatr said, thumping his tail one last time. “Approach me, witty Charmeleon! I shall show you the superior power of muscle!”

“Good luck, Owen.” Amia smiled apologetically, giving him an Oran Berry to fight in top form.

“O-okay,” he said. “I… I’ll do my best!”

With a puffed-out chest and a blazing, red tail, the Charmeleon was ready. But then, during the walk toward the Fighting-Type Feraligatr, feeling the sheer power that radiated from him—despite his bluster, and despite the silly disposition of this spirit… he knew. He knew when he was standing face-to-belly with the behemoth of a spirit. Seeing every detail of his disturbingly chiseled body, his toughened scales, and his impeccable jawline…

Owen didn’t stand a chance.

 

[canisaries]

ADAM spent his time obsessively polishing every corner of his abode until it was a smooth cube inside.

literally me

He flicked one of two large marbles into the pile, knocking two out with a careful claw flick.

This sentence sounds like it says the same thing twice?

“I’ve never heard of paper being able to do that,” Zena said.

Well... Owen did just tell you what paper even was a while ago, and you never said that you already knew...

He felt her balanced on the top of her horn.

His horn, right?

Owen sighed. “Why aren’t you bigger, anyway?” she asked. “Can’t you evolve?”

“I look cuter as a Joltik,” Willow said, raising her tiny body upward. “And going forward and backward in evolution is easy for a Mystic. It’s not in one direction with a little divine power!”

#KeepJoltikCute

Also, have a tiny feeling that little fact is gonna be relevant soon...

Seeing every detail of his disturbingly chiseled body, his toughened scales, and his impeccable jawline…

wtf Owen!! that's cheating on Zena

I like how Amia knows how to work with a childlike mind like Willow's. Mom experience goes a long way.

The Guardian-seeking scenes of this chapter started off pretty similarly, which made me fear it would get repetitive, but the Hunters showing up turned that on its head nicely. It's exciting to finally see them in action, too, and hopefully with that weirdo Luxray the gang can get a bit closer to solving the mystery of the mutants.

 

[Ambyssin]

Chapter 13

Let me start off by saying that Mystic power is absolutely crazy. This isn't necessarily a complaint, mind you, as I, too, am guilty of having a (forbidden) power that seems to have a laundry list of available abilities to supply its user. I'm only bringing it up because of the sheer volume of the cast that has access to these kinds of powers. Like, this is the sort of collection of folks you'd expect to see by the end of a fic... not starting out. It makes me both interested and nervous to see where your fic is going to go. Interested in how crazy things could potentially get... but also nervous because all of those abilities could be very difficult to keep track of and if your action setpieces aren't prepared to use the crazy things you've brought up, then it kind of defeats the purpose of having them. I'll judge for myself when I get there, of course, and I have faith. Just figured I'd throw that out there because if I had to point to a potential audience-alienating premise, the Mystic power might be it. It's pretty much the crazy aura powers anime fic authors are fond of giving Ash, just called something different. and it really doesn't help with my dbz comparisons, buster

We've been pretty much surrounded by it nonstop since the start of the fic. So, I guess I'm just wondering what a basic life looks like in your world. Since, well, not a single character of any importance at this point isn't Mystic or spirit. And before you say Team Alloy, no, they obviously can't be normal. Gahi's slip at the end of the chapter clearly shows they were probably raised with Owen... as Hunters. Who knows, maybe the four are technically siblings of a sort who were just adopted by the Hunters and took up their cause because they didn't know any better? Odds are that probably makes them hundreds of years old (certainly Owen), but I'm not too sure.

Wow, it barely feels like I've said much about the meat of the chapter: Willow's battle. I think it was a cool little concept shrinking everyone down and having them deal with a speedy Joltik when the tables have been turned. It was fun. Even if it did feel like Alex and Amia jobbed pretty hard that fight. (Which kind of goes back to the Mystic power stuff I was talking about, but I've rambled enough on that.) And, of course, Owen and Zena are the snuggliest lizard couple. Go them.

I don't have much about the whole Hot Spot Cave reunion beside the lovey-dovey couple-to-be... because it was a bit chaotic. Credit where credit's do, you balance the large number of characters there and makes sure everyone at least does something. But, well, the fact is that it is a large cast of characters and it clearly feels like some of them get depth in that scene (Owen, Zena), while others act out their established personalities (Anam, James, Nevren, all the new guardians). I assume something's going to happen to break up this group eventually and narrow the focus. I'd think it would kind of have to? ^^;

This slowly transitioned into him laughing about how everybody looked like giant, rainbow Goodra, and how he could taste the light with his ears.

Y'know, I find it funny how readily we make jokes about the confusion status ailment to this effect when, in reality, these are easily signs that a person with a serious neurologic or psychiatric condition could present with. Oh, wait, that's depressing, better think of something light-hearted to say. Uh... Owen sees in Pride-O-Vision?

“W-well, it’s simply because, that is, er, Owen…” She sighed. “We just wanted you to live a normal life. We’d tell you eventually, but… don’t you think you deserved to just live like a normal Pokémon, at least for a little while?”

Wow, way to stick your foot in your mouth. You should've just told him you didn't want him to get flame envy. Y'know, like a certain other kind of envy, but for fire lizards who wish they were dragons.

“Oh, but they’re hardly dead, dear,” Amia said.

I think by this point we kind of get that the spirits are alive... in a manner of speaking. Need I pull up that meme from the Princess Bride again because I must've quoted it in my head, like, thirty times so far this fic. XD

“I’m glad I at least had a sense of a community… Can they hear me now?”

"No, Owen, I'm afraid they signed up for AT&T. I told them that unlimited data plan was a sham and converage would be spotty. If only they'd listen to me and switch to Virizion Wireless." #NotAnAd

Alex was hiding his gargantuan, flaming body behind Amia, who only looked mildly startled.

"Like, zoinks, Ames!"

“W-well, I…! I mean…!” Alex protested. “I’m fairly strong! I’m the strongest of the village—er, before Amia.”

It's okay, Alex. This means you don't have to be the jobber of this fic. :V

“Heeheeheeheehee…”

... that's one "hee" more than me calling plagiarism.

It’s been so long since I had new toys to play with.

I need an adult

“No!” said a gigantic creature said. “This is too fun! Just wait until I nibble on you!”

I feel like this is supposed to be an Undertale reference, but I'm not at that part yet.

Owen’s eyes almost popped out of his skull. “Y-you can FLY?!”

Okay, maybe no flame envy... but wing envy for sure! Don't worry, Owen, it's what's on the inside that counts.

The Lucario shrugged. “If eating is not a necessity,” he said, “then when I do eat, I’d like to make it worthwhile.”

Also, his hoarding tendencies probably include a few cookbooks.

She was the greatest contender to beat him in this silly race. Which he would definitely win.

With this fic's track record, I honestly wouldn't be surprised if it ends up being a four-way tie. And... if that happens... I might have to infect a Trapinch in retribution.

I wonder why she keeps doing that, Owen thought to himself, frowning. I guess me being the Grass Guardian scares her a little. That’s why her muscles seem so tense.

Oh my god Owen you are so dense it's actually frustrating. I'm just going to handwave it say all the mind-fuckery he was victim to gave him a very minor case of serious brain damage."

That was a weird thought, Owen said. Wonder where that came from.

And Owen actually tries to call himself an adult. Ha!

“Just a little,” Owen said, shrinking. “I mean, I trained all the time to become a Heart, so I guess maybe that’s where I get it from? Fighting’s in my blood.”

Amia and Alex laughed nervously.

Totally not foreshadowing his Hunter upbringings in any way, shape, or form.

“I think we can say that,” Gahi said. “Yeah, I remember training with you guys fer as long as I can remember. You guys could never get me, though, ‘cause I was always flying way outta yer range! Hah!”

Chapter 14

Everything changed when the Hunters attacked.

... g'night, everybody! *fanfare*

Okay, okay, I guess I should say something. Yes, the Hunters are there... but, well, it's so brief that there's really no impression to be made at this point other than for an "Oh crap!" moment. Which is fine by me, since the rest of the chapter plays out like an abridged version of the last time they went hunting for guardians. There's more fluff with Owen and Zena, which was still squee-tastically cute even if it didn't exactly go anywhere. It's good that they seem to balance each other out in some way. Owen helps Zena's loneliness and nervousness and Zena seems to keep Owen grounded... to the degree that a formerly-isolated Milotic can help a sheltered guy who's had his worldview totally shattered, anyway. Other than that, I really don't have much to say. Will we actually see the Hunters engage with our heroes or was this just a massive tease? Find out... next Hands of Creation Kai.

ADAM spent his time obsessively polishing every corner of his abode until it was a smooth cube inside.

Wait a second... Porygon-Z can't learn Rock Polish! Hacker! Consider yourself exposed!

“Ignoring gravity,” Owen repeated.

If you think about it, it's really just Arceus using that particular move on the planet.

“Do what?” Owen asked, picking up the six that fell out of the ring. “It’s just a bunch of spheres. It’s easy to predict which way they’ll all go.”

I bet Owen would be kickass at Geometry Wars.

“Books,” Owen said. “I usually like nonfiction.”

Now I'm sad, because if I said this to a girl, that'd instantly end the date, but Owen says it and Zena's on him like peanut butter is to jelly.

I heard that one blessed Aspear Berry can let you pull an all nighter easily!”

This PMD world has its own Ritalin equivalent... I'm done. XD

“Here, let’s go to the Scarves section, huh?” Owen said enthusiastically, walking to his bed.

I think Owen wins the contest for nerdiest Char-line protag in any pokémon fic ever. Good grief. and he still gets the girl 0/10 no realism in this thing whatsoever

“Zena, am I crazy?”

He's asking the serpent-lady who's spent centuries in isolation? Good idea! Also, Owen, if you have to ask, you already know the answer.

“Hey… don’t sweat it, alright?” Star said softly. “It’ll be okay. How about we just get to fighting, huh? Fighting is always fun! Right?”

That's totally something you want one of the gods of your world to say! in before she's really the big bad and they're playing into her stubby hands

“It’s—it’s leftovers,” Rhys said, holding out what appeared to be a purple lump of… something. “I wasn’t going to throw it away. That would be wasteful.”

If Rhys is a competitive battler, then he's a terrible one. Leftovers on a Lucario? Hogwash!

“I certainly didn’t expect the Spire of Trials to be some sort of ascending spiral inside,”

“And going forward and backward in evolution is easy for a Mystic. It’s not in one direction with a little divine power!”

Ding, ding, ding! We have our answer why Owen and Team Alloy are what they are. In hindsight, I shouldn't be surprised the answer was Mystic power. It's... pretty much the answer to everything in this fic. XD

 

[namohysip]

Well... Owen did just tell you what paper even was a while ago, and you never said that you already knew...

Hmm, that does seem like an odd phrase. I'll edit it to Zena remarking that she hasn't heard of turning something waterproof instead.

His horn, right?

Congratulations! I think this is the first (or the first in a while, at least) instance of me calling Owen a girl! Because I do that way too often, and I don't know why. Slowly, I shall remove all those typos...

I like how Amia knows how to work with a childlike mind like Willow's. Mom experience goes a long way.

I actually didn't have that in mind when writing this, but you're right, it really does fit! I just saw it as how their personalities would interact.

The Guardian-seeking scenes of this chapter started off pretty similarly, which made me fear it would get repetitive, but the Hunters showing up turned that on its head nicely.

Yeah, no way I'd be able to get away with two sessions of those. I definitely had to flip the script here no matter what, but it works out plot-wise! Heh. Guess we'll see what happens next.

Let me start off by saying that Mystic power is absolutely crazy. This isn't necessarily a complaint, mind you, as I, too, am guilty of having a (forbidden) power that seems to have a laundry list of available abilities to supply its user. I'm only bringing it up because of the sheer volume of the cast that has access to these kinds of powers. Like, this is the sort of collection of folks you'd expect to see by the end of a fic... not starting out. It makes me both interested and nervous to see where your fic is going to go. Interested in how crazy things could potentially get... but also nervous because all of those abilities could be very difficult to keep track of and if your action setpieces aren't prepared to use the crazy things you've brought up, then it kind of defeats the purpose of having them.

Couldn't really find a specific thing to quote from this piece, because it's all very relevant to my top concern with this fic! I introduce the crazy right off the bat! And it's the central gimmick, which I have been slowly building and explaining despite all the crazy still happening in the background regardless.

Just figured I'd throw that out there because if I had to point to a potential audience-alienating premise, the Mystic power might be it.

Yes, like mentioned above, this is the main concern. Buuut it's also something I definitely can't change without tradeoff! If I introduce the gimmick too late, it's a slow start. So all things considered, I'm happy with having it show up when it did -- that is, at around chapter 5. All I can do is balance it well enough and execute it well.

It's pretty much the crazy aura powers anime fic authors are fond of giving Ash, just called something different. and it really doesn't help with my dbz comparisons, buster

I was not aware that this was a thing, having read no Ashfics. I'm gonna conveniently ignore the DBZ comment, because at this point where's no fighting it.

So, I guess I'm just wondering what a basic life looks like in your world.

Baaah I really do want to depict that a little more. We only really get flashes of that in the very first few chapters. Who knows, I might slip in a few scenes during these edits just for the sake of that... If I can find the opportunity. Starting next chapter, things get pretty dicey.

I think it was a cool little concept shrinking everyone down and having them deal with a speedy Joltik when the tables have been turned. It was fun. Even if it did feel like Alex and Amia jobbed pretty hard that fight.

Oof, was hoping it didn't come off like that. Amia's technically supposed to be strong enough to handle Willow, if she was fighting at a level of strength beyond "set lasers to stun" levels. Might go back to mention that. Alex jobs, though. He's weak af.

Credit where credit's do, you balance the large number of characters there and makes sure everyone at least does something. But, well, the fact is that it is a large cast of characters and it clearly feels like some of them get depth in that scene (Owen, Zena), while others act out their established personalities (Anam, James, Nevren, all the new guardians).

This will be a trend, just due to the nature of a large cast. The limelight will shift from group to group, and those who are getting development will get the most of it, and those who are doing their thing, I'll take advantage of the reader's notions of them as "invisible words." I can only hope this cast-balancing works out~.

Y'know, I find it funny how readily we make jokes about the confusion status ailment

Hmm, I'm convinced that I didn't depict it clear enough, then. That wasn't Confusion (that was depicted back in the fight against Aerodactyl) but was actually the effects of a Fairy-enhanced X-Eye. But that's wordy, and I don't really know how to depict it properly. I'll look into it.

Now I'm sad, because if I said this to a girl, that'd instantly end the date, but Owen says it and Zena's on him like peanut butter is to jelly.

In all fairness, Zena's probably desperate enough to give the nerdy nutcase a chance. "M-maybe they're all like this? Owen's nice enough. I shouldn't take my chances. I'm an old lady, who else would want to date me? ...Owen knows we're dating, right?"

I shouldn't be surprised the answer was Mystic power. It's... pretty much the answer to everything in this fic. XD

You joke, but that's another challenge that I'm going to have to tackle hard as the fic progresses. A fellow writer discussed with me and others about the "hardness" of magic. And Mystic powers are very soft magic. So I need to make what few rules they do have very clear as the fic continues on, including its limitations, drawbacks, and quirks. Sigh. Skillcrafting is hard.

Still, I'm glad you enjoyed yourself! And I figure it's not spoiling too much by saying that the Hunter tease was not just a tease. I hope the payoff is worth it in the next chapter...~

 

[namohysip]

Chapter 15 – Reset​

“Where in the world is…?” Rhys felt around for his Badge, but it was missing.

“Rhys? What’s taking so long?” Demitri asked. He stopped walking; his natural density made his feet sink slightly into the salt, which floated like clouds in the crystal-clear water. Distracted, he wiggled his claws, letting some of that salt dance around his toes.

“I am certain I brought my Badge with us,” Rhys said, opening his bag further. “I always keep it right in the inner front pouch, the sole item. I felt for it on the way out! In fact, it flashed upon us leaving the Dungeon and entering the main salt flats.”

Mispy tilted her head, staring at her reflection in the water. Not a bad look. It was a bit distorted from the ripples that Demitri made, and the ones from Gahi’s wingbeats. She brought a vine out and grabbed Gahi, holding him steady; that made it easier to see herself. She couldn’t wait for the time when her little buds would bloom into huge petals. Meganium were so pretty. She had seen one walking through town—she couldn’t believe what the amazing flower her species was able to grow!

Gahi protested being ‘monhandled, but eventually relented and looked at his reflection, too. He started by inspecting his wings. As a Flygon, they were going to get a lot bigger. Demitri was rubbing his tusks, wondering what it would be like once they became full-fledged axes like his evolution’s.

“Rhys, you sure you didn’t drop it in the flats?” Demitri finally said, looking up. “The warp pad isn’t too far off. Let’s just walk back. We’ll get home by sundown.”

“Nrgh. But I know I had it… but yes. Let’s go. We need not waste extra time searching in this expanse. We can have Nevren track its location later.”

“Right. Okay,” Demitri said. He looked around. “Wow. It’s really nice, though, isn’t it? It’s so… big!”

Indeed, now that they weren’t in such a rush, they had the opportunity to actually take in their scenery—now that they were turned away from the carnage, it was a reflective surface on all sides. Curiously, Demitri lightly—from his perspective—slammed his fist in the salt, creating a huge ripple in the water. The quake of his punch made Rhys and Mispy stumble. The water’s ripple went out, and out, and out; it brushed against Rhys’ feet, making little disturbances in the waves, and then continued outward. Everyone, even Rhys, took a moment to admire the sight.

“It is,” Rhys said. “But… it is a bit unnerving. A salt flat of this size.”

“Aw, it’s pretty!” Demitri said. “I mean, you can see your reflection perfectly in thi—Rhys?”

The Lucario had abruptly turned around. His paws erupted with aura embers, and he was ready to lash out at any threat. “I believe I found my Badge.”

There was a strange creature flying a stone’s throw away from them. A Ninjask at the base, in addition to its pointy, serrated-looking legs, it had an additional set of limbs that resembled a Scyther’s scythes.

“I don’t think Ninjask’re supposed ter be here,” Gahi said. “Heh… weird. Wait. Ain’t their legs s’posed ter look a little different? And only have two of ‘em?”

“Weird, hm,” Rhys said. “That’s one way to express it, I suppose” Rhys briefly scanned the Pokémon’s aura. He couldn’t quite place it at first, but then— “Demitri. Mispy. Gahi. Stay behind me.”

“Wha—”

The Ninjask vanished from view—and reappeared right in front of Rhys an instant later. It moved incredibly quickly—even faster than a normal Ninjask. It shoved its right, serrated limb right into the Lucario’s gut. Rhys grunted, eyes bulging. He jumped away and clutched at the wound, forced to a knee in the water. Crimson splotches faded into the salt. The trio stood in stunned silence—it all happened too fast.

Gahi reacted first. “Mispy!”

“Right,” Mispy said. She retreated to heal Rhys’ wounds. The strange Ninjask rushed forward. Gahi spotted this and countered with a deft shift in the air, ramming into the Ninjask to intercept the blow. Gahi heard a grinding noise that vibrated against his exoskeleton, followed by a shallow, sharp pain where he made contact.

“YOW!” Gahi shouted, flying away to get some distance.

“Gahi?!” Demitri didn’t know which way to run.

Some of Gahi’s tiny scales were torn away—the Ninjask had an extremely jagged exoskeleton of some kind.

“Rough Skin?” Demitri said.

Rhys grunted, his wound healed. “Be careful!” he wheezed. “That isn’t a normal Pokémon! It’s—a mutant, but…”

The Ninjask rammed at Demitri, attempting the same attack that it had done to Rhys—but his scales were too tough, and it only resulted in a minor wound. He countered with a powerful chop to the creature’s side, using both his arms and his hefty tusks to deliver the blows. Demitri felt his scales get caught on the Ninjask’s outer shell. He hissed and clutched his hand. It tingled—in fact, it felt like it was starting to spread.

Demitri recognized this feeling. “I—I think it poisoned me!” he shouted, stumbling back.

“Poison Point?” Mispy squeaked.

“Nah, that’s definitely Rough Skin!” Gahi shouted back. He then retched into the water, finally feeling the effects of the poison.

Mispy ran toward Demitri, readying another Heal Pulse to help him—if only to heal the damage, if she couldn’t get to the poison. But when she tried… something blocked it. The pulse was emitted, but then it faded away, like a dying candle to the wind.

Rhys closed his eyes and immediately spotted the source. “Rim!”

The Espurr was glowing with a dark light. Its aura radiated from her center, filling the atmosphere with a weak, ominous tinge—Heal Block. Mispy’s powers were useless.

The Ninjask zipped toward Demitri again, slashing at his back. The arms tore through his scales with ease, ripping a few right out. He shouted in pain and spun around, but was too slow. It was already chasing down Gahi, who flew higher in the air. The Ninjask was faster and slashed at his tail.

“Nrgh—!” Gahi spun back and puffed out a plume of foul, blue breath at him. It grazed the Ninjask enough for it to back off and fly down again, freeing Gahi from the pursuit.

“Rrrgh!” Gahi tried to ram into Rim, but he hit her barrier instead. The pulsing sphere around the Espurr rejected his advance. The impact alone made a loud, ethereal clang, bending one of his wings oddly. The Vibrava was then blasted back at the same speed he’d approached with. He slid across the ground and tumbled into a pile of wet salt.

His wings twitched; Gahi tried to free himself from the pile. In the meantime, Mispy charged her Solar Beam; Demitri ran toward Rim next, slamming his fist against her barrier. “Bet you can’t handle—Brick Break!” Demitri announced, slamming his claws down hard. The light flashed—flickered—faded… and then returned. “N-no fair!”

Rim’s eyes glowed a bright purple. A force that seemed to bend the light itself blasted Demitri backward. The Fraxure slammed Gahi back into the pile he’d just escaped from.

“N-now!” Mispy shouted, firing a concentrated blast of solar energy from around her neck, concentrated forward. Rim turned her head, staring at the light. The beam bent around her barrier—flashing, flickering—but it didn’t fade. When the Solar Beam finally subsided, it left behind a V-shaped carving in the salt behind Rim. Water slowly filled the gashes, but the Espurr herself was completely unharmed. Not even wet. Her wide, yet neutral eyes stared emptily forward, through Mispy.

“B-but…!” That attack always worked!

“Leave us, Rim!” Rhys said, though he was currently dueling with the Ninjask, careful to only use indirect attacks against it. In this case, his only effective move was a ball of white, hard light—a Flash Cannon. “You already have the Orb!”

Rim stared at Rhys and blinked once, slowly. Then, she turned her head toward Mispy. The Bayleef flinched. That one moment of hesitation earned Mispy a Psychic blast; she screamed and skidded across the salt, bouncing over the salt flat like a rock over a river. She hit Demitri and Gahi, who had both clambered out of the pile seconds before. They all grunted, buried once again. The Espurr, floating over the water, went higher, staring at the pile. Her eyes glowed. Psychic energy twisted the salt around them; all three roared in pain. It was like they were being crushed in the palms of a giant.

“Rim!” Rhys shouted.

The Ninjask doubled back and flew toward Rim, flying behind her obediently.

Rhys fired a Flash Cannon directly at her; she turned her head and deflected it with a glance. That was when Rhys realized that, in his current state, he wouldn’t be able to overpower her. He considered going all-out, unleashing his aura in full. But that would only give him a few moments, at the very most, to defeat Rim. It wouldn’t work, and he’d only strain his aura to the point of passing out. And then what? He was already injured. His guard had been down. Careless, careless!

The Lucario grunted. “Y-you’re becoming quite powerful,” he muttered. “How many Orbs have you claimed, Rim…? How many have you relinquished to Eon?” Rhys hoped that his words would distract her long enough for the trio to recover.

It didn’t. Rim stared at the pile of salt and blasted again with Psychic. They screamed. Mispy panted. Demitri tried to help them out. Another Psychic—salt flew in the air, mixing with water. Rhys brought up an aura barrier to block some of the water from splashing against him. “Rim—STOP!” he roared, using a vertical Extreme Speed to leap high in the air. Rim blocked him with her barrier; he landed in the salt, feet stuck too deep. “Ngh—” He fired at Rim from below with everything he had. Aura Sphere—Flash Cannon—his two ranged attacks, but neither had any effect. The barrier was just too much.

“Rim—you can’t keep doing this! If you do, they’ll—”

Rim blasted them one last time—and then… they stopped screaming. Instead, they all roared—in unison, in anger, in frustration, in madness. The salt blasted away with a great wind; the water rippled, splashed, and rose in tiny droplets. Rhys freed himself from the salt—but then, abruptly, felt a sharp pain in his back. “Ng—!” He lost all feeling in his legs. He fell forward, wheezing. The water around him reddened rapidly.

The Ninjask flew toward the trio next, but was blown away by the force. Rhys stared in pain. A blinding, white light emanated from all three of them.

The light of evolution—and then… a flash of black.

<><><>​

Owen left an Owen-shaped hole in the wall. He coughed and collapsed on the ground, barely able to stand. This, for quite a while, was his fight with Azu. It was a bit too dark to see the ground. Thankfully, the Feraligatr spirit had a slight glow to him that added to Owen’s fading fire. If this was how strong a summoned spirit was, just how strong was Manny? He was glad that he didn’t have his bag with him. While he couldn’t use Nevren’s Eviolite to his advantage, it also didn’t get in the way while he fought. Instead, he had set it aside near Amia and the others, so the only thing that would break in the fight would be his bones.

“HAHAH!” Azu boasted. “And before you blame the Type Advantage, little Fire, I’m pure Fighting in this spiritual form! These muscles don’t lie!” He flexed, striking a pose that emphasized his right side. A few loose pebbles blew away from the resultant shockwave of his pose.

“Ngh… that… that hurt!” Owen said, struggling to remain stable. Azu’s posing was both annoying and distracting. He leaned back and held the rocky wall behind him, glancing at the imprint he left on the wall. The rocks must have been a bit soft. Surely, he would’ve died from something like that normally… or he wasn’t giving his durability enough credit.

“No pain, no gain!” the Feraligatr said. “Such a wonderful motto! I have no idea where Guardian Manny learned it, let alone Master Yen, but he is surely one of the greatest fighters alive!” He pointed a claw at Owen. “You can’t hope to face him with your puny strength! I can feel it!”

“Gooo Owen!” Willow said, crackling near Alex’s feet. It made the Magmortar flinch. He quietly inched away while the Joltik leaped high in the air, flashing yellow and white light.

“Y-you can do it, Owen!” Amia shouted from the entrance to the arena. “But—don’t push yourself!”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Owen said. He saw a fist flying toward him—he ducked and rolled. He felt the shockwave of the fist to the wall; a hole was left where Owen’s head’s imprint was. “Are you crazy?! That would’ve hit me right in the—I could die!”

“What’s death to someone who died?” the Feraligatr laughed. “That’s meaningless to me! Perhaps if I kill you, I’ll see you again in the Fighting Orb!”

“S-sorry, but I have some things I gotta do here, first!” Owen said.

“Hah, and don’t we all?” He swept his tail, knocking Owen off of his feet. This was immediately followed by an uppercut. The combination of downward gravity and an upward fist knocked all of the wind from the Charmeleon; he coughed and flew through the air. His back hit the ceiling—and then he crashed down onto the ground. Owen could barely breathe, let alone stand.

“Hm, so that is the extent of what you’re capable of,” Azu said, stomping toward him. With a light push with his foot, he rolled Owen onto his back. The Charmeleon’s tail was barely alight.

“Owen!” Amia cried.

“Don’t you dare hurt him more!” Willow crackled enough to illuminate the whole cave.

“I won’t,” Azu replied, crossing his muscular arms. “He’s done, anyway.” He faced Amia and the others. He boomed triumphantly, “As per the rules, you can’t advance. Come back when you’re stronger!”

“B-but we have an important mission to take care of!” Amia said. She held her arms out, pleading. “We—we need Manny to come with us, so he can be safer!”

“Why would he be safer with people who can’t even defeat me?” he asked. “Your first fighter surrendered before he even entered the ring. And your next fighter…” He looked back at Owen, who was back on his belly, holding himself up a few inches from the ground. “Well, he’s out of his league, too. I wouldn’t exactly call that reliable. You two don’t have very strong fighting auras, either. You’re nothing to Manny.” There was a wave of seriousness over his voice. But it washed away just as quickly. Seconds later, he had a toothy grin. “So begone, and challenge me again when you become stronger! Ha!”

The Charmeleon stirred. “N-no,” he said. “I’m… I’m not done!” He hacked and wheezed, and then stumbled to his feet. His legs shook like autumn leaves.

“Oh?” Azu asked. “Hah. Your body is not ready, but your aura is strong! But you cannot win, Grass Guardian. Leave and return later.”

“I won’t!” He rushed forward and tripped on his broken leg, yelping.

“Hmph,” Azu said. “You fight like a spirit.” He picked him up by the horn. Owen’s body dangled limply.

“Ngh… and what’s that supposed to mean?” Owen’s arms twitched—he was trying to punch, but his body simply wouldn’t listen.

“Spirits don’t have bodies to worry about. They fight with disregard for their wellbeing.” He let go, dropping Owen on the ground, where he managed to stay standing.

“Guess I like a good fight,” Owen growled, wobbling. He spat an Ember right at the Feraligatr; he blocked it effortlessly with a flick of the wrist. He countered with a powerful blast of his focused, fighting spirit, aimed squarely at Owen’s chest. The losing challenger roared and skidded back, holding the sphere in place. But it wasn’t stable—the launched Focus Blast exploded in Owen’s hands, propelling him into the wall again. Like a ragdoll, Owen hit the ground, eyes blazing.

Amia cried, “Owen! Stop! Please!”

“I can do this!” Owen roared back. He was missing a tooth, wobbling back to his feet. Adrenaline pumped through him. He didn’t feel any of the pain anymore. He knew this feeling. So familiar—so exhilarating. He was fighting to the death. He knew this. He’d die if he lost. And he’d never flee. This target would fall—or he would. Why did these thoughts fill him so naturally? It was logical to surrender. Tactically, he was being allowed to leave to return later, to win. But he couldn’t flee. He just couldn’t. He had to fight. He had to win. He had to kill.

Owen’s vision was reddening. He growled. Molten embers dripped from his mouth, melting the rocks below.

Amia covered her mouth. “No…”

“You still challenge me?!” Azu said.

Owen ran toward him and launched a concentrated jet of fire, turning the whole arena red for half a second. The flames enveloped the Feraligatr, but he punched through it and hit Owen in the stomach. Owen growled and opened his mouth, chomping down on the arm, breaking through the scales.

“Grah—persistent Pokémon, I’ll give you—THAT!” With his other arm, he punched Owen away. Yet he didn’t let go. His jaw clenched even harder, and he took the arm with him. It dissolved into a flurry of blue aura flames; Feraligatr’s shoulder looked like it was on fire from the missing limb.

He stared at his erupting shoulder. “Heh… well. Guess y’got me there,” Azu said, shrugging with his remaining arm.

Owen growled and shambled toward him again. His arms dangled wildly below, but his legs, despite being broken, carried Owen step after clumsy step.

“Not gonna fool me again!” Azu said, spinning around. His tail slashed at Owen, knocking him over. Owen got up and rushed again. The tail swatted him away. Owen got up and rushed again. And again. And again—he just kept coming. He didn’t stop—his stamina was endless. He’d fight himself to the ground. There was no pain. No fatigue. He didn’t even hear Amia crying for him to stop anymore. His vision was completely red. Running on instinct. There was something ahead of him, Azu, and that was all he knew. The target. It had to fall.

A final punch from the Feraligatr did him in, and knocked him down completely. Owen’s body, regardless of what he couldn’t feel, was broken.

“Ngh,” Feraligatr said. “I didn’t mean to be so harsh… but he wouldn’t stop!” he tried to explain to Amia, who was watching Owen intently. “What?” he asked. “Hope you brought Reviver Seeds! He’ll need ‘em!”

Azu scratched the back of his head, laughing, trying to lighten the mood. His laughing was deterred somewhat by the look in Amia’s eyes. There were tears, and behind those tears, wide eyes of fear. But it wasn’t toward Azu.

The cave glowed again. This time, the glow was white. Azu turned around. “Eh?”

The cave was filled with the light of evolution. Owen’s body grew. Wings sprouted—his tail lengthened, his flame an inferno. A horrible roar filled the cave walls.

A black flash corrupted the light.

<><><>​

“Owowow… Owen! What’s wrong with you!”

“S-sorry!” Owen rushed toward Demitri, helping him up.

“Hahahahah!” Gahi teased. “Ol’ Scalebag really had it coming to him, eh, Owen?”

“Gahi…” Mispy growled.

“Aw, c’mon, Mispy,” Gahi said. “Just playing.”

“Are you okay?” Owen asked.

“Y-yeah, I’m fine,” Demitri said, nodding. “I hope I didn’t break one of my tusks…”

“I’ve got it,” Mispy said, washing him in healing light.

“Aw, thanks, Mispy.” Demitri said, perking up. “Hey! Why don’t we fight again?”

Someone chuckled from the sidelines. “Still looking to fight, are we?” Rhys asked. “Your endless energy is encouraging. If only I could say the same for myself.”

“Ohoho!” A Torkoal beside Rhys chuckled. “At least you can fight, Rhys. I just don’t see myself doing those things.”

“Aw, Elder, I bet you’d be super strong if you fought!” Owen laughed.

“Ah, but I don’t know any offensive techniques, Owen! Such a shame, really.” Elder didn’t appear very regretful of this.

The quartet laughed and Rhys chuckled.

“Say, how about this,” Gahi said. “Demitri and Mispy can fight as one team, and you and me can fight fer the other.”

“It’ll be air against ground?” Owen asked.

“Yeah!” Gahi said, outstretching his wings.

Owen smirked and mimicked Gahi. They both took to the skies.

The memory was wiped away.

<><><>​

The dim glow of nighttime mushrooms colored the rocky walls of the cave in a soft cyan. Mixing with this light were flickering embers of orange and yellow. Owen was lying in the middle of these flames, enjoying the warmth; they licked at his scales and washed over his back. The flame at the end of his tail got hotter, brimming with energy. He rolled over to sear his belly next.

“No resting on the fire, Owen.”

“Wh—huh? I wasn’t!” He rolled away and quickly hid beneath his bed of leaves. Some of them turned black from the fire, but they didn’t burn. He rubbed the back of his head, feeling pain all over. He grumbled and rubbed the orange scales on his arms.

Rhys peered into the room. “You’re very lucky we were able to fashion your bed with Rawst leaves, or you’d burn through them every night,” Rhys said. He chuckled, but then walked over, patting him on the head. “How are you feeling, Owen? Today was a rough day, wasn’t it?”

“Today?” Owen asked.

Memories flashed before him. The Feraligatr. The fighting. That feeling… the sense of dying, yet the thrill. Like he was filling a void in his heart—fulfilling some grand purpose. But what happened after?

“W-wait!” Owen sprang to his feet. “I—I was fighting!”

“You were,” Rhys said. “And you lost.”

Owen’s tail drooped to the ground. “Th-that can’t be…. I… I had him on the ropes! I even tore his little spirit-arm off! I remember!”

“It wasn’t enough.” Rhys shook his head. “Don’t worry, Owen. Your mother told me everything—you fought very well.”

“Mom,” Owen said. He sighed, crossing his arms. “You mean… I wasn’t good enough to win, even though I tried my hardest?”

Rhys hesitated.

Owen sighed and stood up. Every part of his body felt bruised, but he paced anyway to clear his head. His bed felt a lot larger today, and he felt smaller than ever. He remembered staring up at the Feraligatr—he was barely up to his thighs, wasn’t he? “I just… I bet I could’ve done it if… if I just… maybe if I moved to the left instead of the right, or…” He stopped. His fists shook with frustration, and he stomped on the ground. “I just wish I could finally evolve or something! I’ve been a Charmander forever!”

Rhys gulped, but then said, “W-well, regardless, Owen… we need to do some planning. You aren’t the only one to fail their mission today.”

“What do you mean?” Owen asked.

“We all did,” someone said from the room’s entrance.

“Gahi!”

The Trapinch wobbled his way inside, clicking irritably. A Chikorita and Axew followed behind, clearly just as crestfallen, even though Gahi didn’t want to show it.

Demitri spoke next. “Anam’s team… their Guardian was killed right in front of them—and Rim got the Orb, too! And our team… Rim was there! She already beat that Guardian, and then she beat us up! Really badly! But then I guess after we passed out, Rhys fought her off.”

“Hmph,” Mispy said. “If we were… just… evolved…”

The quartet sighed in unison.

“We’re just late-evolvers,” Owen said. “We’ll—we’ll evolve eventually! I’m sure of it!”

Rhys turned around. “We’re going to be discussing what happened now. Future plans. Star will be there, too. Would you like to come with us?”

“Y-yeah,” Owen said. “W-wait! Zena! Is Zena okay?”

“Zena is just fine. Everybody is okay, aside from the Guardians we tried to rescue,” Rhys said. “Come.”

The Lucario led them to Hot Spot Square. The Charmander, Chikorita, Axew, and Trapinch followed him out.

 

[canisaries]

She once saw one walking through town—she couldn’t believe what an amazing flower they had around their neck!

Should probably be in pluperfect (had seen) given the tense of the story.

Gahi protested being ‘monhandled

HAH

then retched into the water, finally feeling the effects of the poison.

ah gross man we were walkin in that

Rim stared at Rhys and blinked once, slowly.

well you know... slow blinks are a sign of affection in cats... uwu

He flexed, striking a pose that emphasized his right side.

ゴゴゴゴゴゴゴゴ

“Owowow…

i don't even have to make the joke, do i

“Ohoho…” A Torkoal beside Rhys chuckled.

Yeah, at this point the quartet being Hunters or extremely Hunter-related in another way is pretty much all but confirmed. If it ends up NOT being the case, though, that'll be the red herring of the century.

And we receive confirmation that the quartet has indeed evolved before, possibly multiple times! Really makes one wonder what the significance of that is. Maybe the Hunter instinct becomes stronger the further the mon is evolved? Man, I would not want to get in Meowstic!Rim's face if that's the case.

That Rawst-leaf bed scene repeat was spooky as hell. For a sec I got worried there that it was all reset, but that would've conflicted with the whole Guardian mechanic, unless the others really would've been ready to Vulcan nerve pinch Owen every time he sprouted a leaf by accident.

 

[Ambyssin]

So, for the first time in our main, numbered chapters, we have ourselves an extended action sequence. And I liked it. Generally, I don't tend to have all that much in the way of comments when it comes to action scenes unless something really gives me pause. But I thought it flowed just fine for what it was... a hopeless situation. Like, there was a lot of maneuvering on the part of Team Alloy but it all amounted to absolutely nothing. Decent in establishing how formidable Rim is, I suppose. Though, it does kind of feel like, for all the talk Rhys has given about Mystic Power, he really didn't put any of that to use. I suppose the one thing personally for me is that, you made sure to give Owen a momentary hope spot in what was overall a completely hopeless situation, but it feels like Team Alloy didn't get that same treatment.

Clever of you to end both scenes with a deux ex notchina, for lack of a better phrase. I was prepared to roll my eyes at the fact that Team Alloy's second straight conflict had ended with triple evolutions, but you managed to pivot and turn that on its head. And then, of course, Owen's situation is shadier since it includes the flashback to (what I assume is) his days training as a Hunter. At first the wake up part was very creepy and I did a double take when you mentioned the Charmander, but once Zena and the groups' missions were brought up it made sense. I'm guessing Rhys and Amia, possibly with help from Nevren and Anam, are the ones responsible for this reset using their Mystic power.

With that said, I think the actual opening of Owen's awakening has some of its impact lost by the fact that you explicitly refer to him as "the Charmander." Like... that sucks the horror and freakyness right out of the situation and just makes me go "oh ok they got mystic'd again lol." I think you'd be far better served showing us the reversion through Owen seeing his devolved form, like the shorter tail, lighter color, lack of a horn. And then, along with that, maybe include a brief moment where Owen seems to think this doesn't make any sense at all before the Mystic Power takes full hold and he reverts back to his "If only I wasn't a late-evolver" shtick. What I also find weird is that the degree of memory erasing that accompanies the rest is much more... limited that what Owen previously went through. Does this mean this stuff is controllable? I would assume so and it'll probably get explained but for now it's pretty much another instance of Mystic power growing/shrinking as the plot needs it to. XP

I also don't have much to say about Rim other than good job with the whole "creepy, silent Espurr meme embodiment" thing. I assume we'll see her personality eventually... but for now she's just... well... see the snark below and you'll know. ;P

It shoved its right, serrated limb right into the Lucario’s gut.

Stabbed in the gut counter: 2

The Ninjask zipped toward Demitri again, slashing at his back. The arms tore through his scales with ease, ripping a few right out.

bruh, that's metal as fuck

In this case, his only effective move was a ball of white, hard light—a Flash Cannon.

pfbt, what a pleb. using an outdated version of flash cannon.

The barrier was just too much.

oh my god we've gone from discount goku to discount majinn buu to discount jiren i'm fucking done.

He flexed, striking a pose that emphasized his right side.

Damn, if Super Macho Mon is giving Owen this much trouble, he won't last ten seconds against Mr. Sandmon in the title bout.

Owen growled and shambled toward him again. His arms dangled wildly below, but his legs, despite being broken, carried Owen step after clumsy step.

did owen really just go ultra instinct on us?Oh no, Owen's a zaaaaaaaaaambie.

 

[diamondpearl876]

And by "keep up with the fic," I meant I'd be back three chapters later, apparently. :V

CHAPTER 13

Owen was now able to turn his arm into a large vine. And that was all. He figured he’d build upon it later.

That's all?! Please, Owen, that's better than having your whole body turned into basically one giant leaf and being stuck like that until a timer runs out. :V

This slowly transitioned into him laughing about how everybody looked like giant, rainbow Goodra, and how he could taste the light with his ears.

When Owen came back to his senses, he had no memory of the past two sections. Amia and Alex spared him the details, and instead told him that it was a Sleep Seed.

I can't tell what'd be more embarrassing to him, this or the dance...

“They can, dear,” Amia said. “And they’re so proud of you for taking this so well.”

“…What I did counted as taking it well?” he asked, thinking about how he’d toppled Nevren over and had to get one of the Waypoints freed up thanks to his Vine Trap.

“Well, compared to how it could have gone,” Amia said.

Lol... being not too motherly, here. She surprises me in the next two chapters, though, by being extremely sympathetic and thoughtful toward others. She pretty much does it for everyone except Owen most of the time. Odd.

“Oh, Owen, they aren’t very strong,” Amia said. “We used to live in a very hidden-away, very peaceful village. The Pokémon there didn’t fight—and so, their spirits were hardly trained to the same degree that you are in combat. The weaker a Pokémon is, the easier it is to make them solid. That’s probably why even Anam, as strong as he is, couldn’t fully materialize Star.”

I like this concept. Poor Alex is probably the most solid looking, alive spirit Owen's ever scene... because he's weak. And I like that bit of characterization you've been giving him in these few chapters, especially with him giving up on a battle before it even begins.

“…I shrank,” Owen said. He looked around, as if verifying what he’d just said. “Oh, good. Can’t have a normal day anymore, can I?”

Well, this implies he ever had normal days to begin with, ever. xD Oh, Owen, if only you knew the full story... If only I as the reader knew the full story...

“H-hey! No fair! I just wanna play!” she said. “Where’d you go?!”

Good. Willow must not be good at seeing auras. If he could just keep that up…

Willow's such a little shit, lol, I love her. It seems a lot of the characters just have a... thing for Owen and treating him differently than others, eh?

“You have my word that I won’t,” Amia said. “I’ll even make a Divine Promise out of it.”

“What’s that?”

“Um… Gardevoir’s Honor?”

Oh man, she's too innocent and cute. I'm curious as to why she doesn't know what a Divine Promise is, though, as a guardian?

“You may call me Valle,” the Shiftry said. “I wish not to move for much longer. I must be one with the cave so I can familiarize myself with its form. If it is not to my satisfaction, perhaps I shall return.”

Welp, I predict Valle will be either the most useless guardian on the team, or he'll be the first one who bolts when things go to shit. His schtick is hilarious, though, and it's nice that you include him in scenes featuring all or most of the characters (and Nevren, too, who's also kind of lurking in the background). Really, it's grown to be quite a large cast, but you handle giving them all enough a decent amount of screentime nicely, and, even better, most of the time I could tell who's talking without a dialogue tag attached because of how distinct their voices are.

“Can I still eat and sleep?” Owen asked. “Once I start getting more Mystical, can I still do that stuff? I want to feel normal a little while longer. I dunno. I’m still feeling kinda hungry.”

Man, I'd be heartbroken for this poor kid if he lost his sense of taste or be unable to eat food just because of guardianship. At least he can enjoy some normal things. The scenes with everyone eating together, guardians or not, is sweet. It's all still something they can use to connect and enjoy together.

“Eh?” Gahi said. “Well, yeah, but…” he trailed off. “Yeah… but… I always… flew off ter… avoid…”

Ugh, I wish they'd just tell Team Alloy what's up already. It can't be any worse than all the changes that have come around so far, can it? And what's the point of hiding it? (I'm sure I'll understand when it's actually revealed, lol - I just feel bad for these guys.) Not knowing is clearly stressing everyone out, at any rate.

CHAPTER 14

Ohh, I like the worldbuilding here with books! Being able to read underwater sounds like a useful skill... well, at least for pokémon. And with Rawst paper, now Owen can't accidentally set a whole book on fire. Probably.

I really wonder if Zena knows what's up along with everyone else. I don't think she'd be able to keep a secret that huge from Owen, personally... and I'm not sure why or how she'd know, so my guess is no. Owen trailing off and just... asking if he was crazy really hit hard, by the way, especially with him just trying to enjoy himself with a friend right beforehand. D: Nicely done.

“But it looks like something just got here. There,” Demitri said, pointing at a particularly huge gash in the ground where water was still pouring inside. It was deep, but the bottom was clearly visible and the water level was slowly rising.

This paragraph was kinda clunky, and trying to figure out why reminded me that I meant to mention passive voice in my first review. Anyway... how I usually notice passive tense is, searching for "is" and "was" in my chapter, and then, seeing if either an adjective or a verb is attached to it. If it's a verb, you've gone into passive voice territory. "It was red" or whatever adjective doesn't constitute passive voice.

CHAPTER 15

I stand by the above on passive voice, but this chapter in particular was really, really solid in terms of description and tightened prose. It had me hooked to see their collecting the guardians plan kinda... backfire, massively. I didn't expect a guardian to straight up die, or for Owen to aim to kill. And the end with them all unevolving... yikes, we're getting closer to that epiphany, eh? My guess is that it has something to do with Owen losing control of his ability to reason and going into "everything must be destroyed" mode during the Feraligatr fight. Amia certainly seemed to recognize Owen's eyes glowing red, and his evolution, meant somethnig terrible was about to happen, so... Perhaps evolving prevents them from becoming heartless killing machines. Or something. I'm not that great at speculating, lol, but I'm here for the ride.

Also, when they both evolved, I asked myself, "Well, how are they going to know who evolved first?" And now it doesn't matter, nooooo

Gahi protested being ‘monhandled, but eventually relented and looked at his reflection, too. He started by inspecting his wings. As a Flygon, they were going to get a lot bigger. Demitri was rubbing his tusks, wondering what it would be like once they became full-fledged axes like his evolution’s.

Lol, I like how they just admire their evolved appearances while Rhys is having an internal panic attack nearby about the missing badge. too bad those evolutions didn't last long, huh

“Don’t you dare hurt him more!” Willow said, crackling enough to illuminate the whole cave.

Aww, so Willow does care about him in a "you're not just my slave" sort of way. :V

 

[namohysip]

Ahh, I'm so glad you're keeping up as well~ Thanks dp, happy you're enjoying the ride.

Oh man, she's too innocent and cute. I'm curious as to why she doesn't know what a Divine Promise is, though, as a guardian?

I actually didn't intend for this to be a big question, so I left it more or less implied that Willow is that sort of student who doesn't pay attention in class during lecture. For all we know, Willow was told was a Promise was in the past, but it either went in one ear and out the other, or she forgot or didn't care enough to remember.

Really, it's grown to be quite a large cast, but you handle giving them all enough a decent amount of screentime nicely, and, even better, most of the time I could tell who's talking without a dialogue tag attached because of how distinct their voices are.

Thank you! I'm really proud of my dialogue, even if it, like all aspects of my writing, can use improvement here and there. But I take pride in how distinct the characters "sound."

This paragraph was kinda clunky, and trying to figure out why reminded me that I meant to mention passive voice in my first review.

Ahh, yeah. That's one thing I need to work on. I know the pattern, but I subconsciously still use it. Recently, I've been trying to make it a habit to stop doing said passive voice. Hopefully that will slowly translate to less instances, even without a passive voice detector. I'll brush up on these next time I head back to do some of those edits.

Anyway! The next chapter is incoming. Just have to make some finishing touches (and do double-check on passive voice).

 

[namohysip]

Chapter 16 – Known Secrets​

“Looks like that’s everyone,” Star said, flicking her tail.

A few of Amia’s spirits swept away little pebbles that littered the ground of Hot Spot—much to Valle’s irritation—while Amia herself channeled extra Mystic energy into the mushrooms to brighten the brown rocks. The cyan glow they gave off a light that mixed with the jagged edges of the houses, casting shadows on the wall. Owen sighed at the sight; what nostalgia to have a get-together like this. It’s too bad it had to be over such depressing talk.

“What’s the damage?” Gahi asked, clicking his jaws uncertainly.

Star sighed, sitting down in mid-air. Her tail curled around her legs. “I want you guys to be very, very calm, okay?” she said. “No sudden movements. Be nice and delicate. Talk quietly. Got it?”

“Eh?” Gahi said.

“Just… just promise me, okay?”

Gahi hesitated, clicking his jaws. He glanced at a few of the others—Willow, in particular, who irritably crackled.

“Well, why should I be quiet?!” she said.

“Willow,” Star said slowly. “Please.”

“W-well, I… I’ll…!” Willow looked at the others, and then at Star again. “Okay…” The crackling slowed down, and the Joltik stood still.

Star nodded. She closed her eyes. “Anam, if you can…?”

“Oh, right!” Anam held his arms forward and focused; a little aura flare formed between his hands, and he sent out another spirit. It formed into a winged Lopunny—a solid spirit. She wasn’t very strong, unlike Star, who was still very much see-through. Much easier to summon. But James and the others in Anam’s squad recognized her immediately.

“Cara?” Zena asked.

“Shh,” Star said softly.

Zena flinched, but nodded. Cara was a trembling wreck—shaking, looking to her left and right, and all around her. “Wh-where am I? What is this?”

“Hey… Cara,” Star said softly. The Mew floated closer, but she stopped when Cara shrank away. “Hey, it’s okay, it’s okay. It’s just me. Star. You know me, right? When you were afraid and confused, I popped right in and brought you someplace safe. Remember that?”

“I was… I was floating. My body, I… I couldn’t feel my body…”

“It’s okay, it’s okay.”

“There were lights everywhere, like I was… I was flowing, I—I didn’t know where to go, what to—”

“Shh, shh…” Star advanced, placing a paw in Cara’s. “You’re in a place called Hot Spot Cave. It’s underground, and away from any dangerous Pokémon. You can let your guard down.”

“I—I can? Truly?” Cara looked like she was ready to collapse in front of everyone.

“Look around,” Star said, waving her arm to the small crowd. “Not a harmful soul here, don’t you think?”

Cara scanned the cave square. The four unevolved Pokémon. The lovely Goodra that summoned her. Star, the constant presence that she could speak with, should she ever feel afraid. The others seemed fine, too. “Oh, what an adorable Joltik,” Cara said quietly.

“Adorable?” Willow asked.

“Yes, you’re quite lovely,” Cara nodded.

Willow glowed. “W-well, I guess I might be a little cute…!”

Cara scanned again. “That one, the statue. Quite unnerving, that. Who is…?”

“I am Valle. I am one with the mountain.”

“He’s a little weird in the head, but he means well, I think,” Star said. “Actually—hey, Valle, is there anything dangerous in the caves right now? Like, uh, Pokémon that would be trying to hunt us down?”

“No.”

“There!” Star said. “See? Valle’s our little security system. He’s like an army of guards! That’s pretty cool, right?”

“Yes. That is quite… cool, yes.” She flapped her ear-wings a bit. “A tad warm here.”

“Yeah, Fire Guardian’s home, so, y’know.” Star srugged. “But it’s a bit cooler in some of the houses—anyway, Cara… you know you died, right?”

“Y-yes… I believe that is it. I was summoned. A spirit. Oh… A spirit…” she sighed, shaking and shivering. But she seemed calm. Perhaps she was in shock.

Owen watched sympathetically. “Hey, I’m sorry that happened. Um, so… that means Rim got to her before we could, huh? How come she still looks like she has the Orb?”

“It’s the form she’s most familiar with,” Star explained. “Kinda like Valle, she prefers a body different from the one she was born with. And for what happened… that’s what I wanted to outline to you guys. And I want Cara to tell me everything she remembers about this, first. Cara? What do you remember?”

Cara grabbed one of her ear-wings and preened the feathers with her paws. “I—I’ve always been a small bit jumpy. Perhaps it is in my nature. But I’m afraid I can’t give much more information than what I’ve told Star, even now. I had been fleeing from strange, mutant Pokémon like them for quite some time. I think the brightness of my abode made it hard for them to strike me, but once I lowered my guard…”

Anam gasped. “Th-then… then when we made Cara feel safe, they just…!”

“How did we not sense them?” Zena asked. “We should have sensed their auras!”

“Rim may have been hiding from afar, waiting for the light to lower to find her,” Rhys said.

Star nodded. “There wasn’t much we could’ve done with what we knew. I’m sorry that it happened, Cara.” She then addressed the others. “Right now, we’ve got seven Orbs on our side. You, your mom, Zena, Willow, Anam, Valle, and ADAM. And Rim stole the Psychic Orb a while ago. Well, she just got two more. Cara, the Flying Guardian, and Forrest, the Ground Guardian. I wanted Forrest to come along, too, but he said that he’s fine. I think he was ready to give up anyway.”

“Wait,” Owen said. “So… not Manny? What happened to him?”

“Guess Rim wasn’t strong enough to handle him yet,” Star said. “Actually, Rim also attacked other areas today, too, but I dunno if Guardians are there or not. It might’ve been a guess, because I just don’t know where all the Guardians are anymore. They either don’t talk to me, or won’t tell me where they are.”

“Won’t tell you?”

“They kinda… don’t trust me,” Star said, biting her lower lip. “Because, you know…”

“Because you recruited the Hunters,” Zena said. She had cooled down from that revelation, but perhaps too much—the Milotic’s voice was icy.

Owen looked uneasily at Zena. Everything felt hazy when he thought about her or any of the others. He must have been hurt pretty badly in that fight against Azu, because he could only vaguely remember details about all of them. They were in a strange state in his mind, both familiar and unfamiliar. He knew them, but for how long? Owen felt another crisis of panic wash over him. Not crazy. Not crazy. Not crazy. Just play along.

“Yeah… but, anyway,” Star said, “Cara and Forrest were the last two weak Guardians, I think. At least, of the ones I know. From here on out, the Guardians are gonna be strong, and they might even be paranoid and hostile if we approach.” Star sighed. “Some of them… don’t trust my word anymore, like I said.” She glanced at Zena. “So, I think… we might need to do this a little forcefully and try to calm them down, or convince them some other way. But either way—we’ll have to… you know.”

“Beat them up to befriend them?” Demitri asked.

“Now yer talking.” Gahi clicked happily.

Cara stiffened with fright. This was enough to quiet Gahi down; he stepped away, mumbling to himself, and hid behind Zena to avoid frightening Cara.

“I would like to go, now,” she said quietly to Star.

“Okay. Thanks anyway, Cara. Forget about all this and enjoy your afterlife.”

Relief washed over Cara and the Lopunny vanished, and Demitri and Gahi both shrank guiltily.

“You don’t have to fight them… not always,” Star said to them. “But, hey, they might put up a fight. So just keep that sorta thing in mind, y’know?”

“Aw, heh, sounds fine to me.” Demitri tittered.

Owen crossed his arms and spoke up. “So, wait, are we just going to send a single team, then?”

“A team of our absolute strongest, maybe,” Star said. “But nothing more than that. If we had two squads head in, that might help us with extra power if we have some big problem… like a run-in with Rim, for example, or…”

“Or those weird Pokémon that follow her,” Anam said.

“But having two teams will make it difficult to coordinate,” Zena pointed out. “We aren’t very good at using our communicators in the heat of battle. Nevren wanted them to be useful, I’m sure, but we found little use for it in our last battles.”

“Wait, hold on,” Owen said. “Weird Pokémon? You mean mutants, or something else? What’d you guys run into?” If they were more of those odd Pokémon, what did they have to do with the Guardians? And, more importantly, why did the others react strangely when he mentioned them?

The group shifted uncomfortably again. Owen sensed it. “Guys, what’s all this about? And—and what happened when I passed out, anyway?! I know I lost, but…”

“We ran into some strange Pokémon while on this outing,” Star said. “Basically, Rim was being followed by one or more… mutated Pokémon. Like, something was just different about them in some way—a Ninjask with Scyther arms, or a Luxray crazy bulked out, with a Raichu’s tail. It was insane! And—they all had this different aura about them, too, is that right?”

“Much like the mutants we typically see around Kilo from time to time,” Rhys said. “Only now they’re fighting alongside the Hunters.”

“The Luxray’s aura felt weird,” Anam nodded.

“Weird?” Mispy asked, wiggling the leaf on her head. “Our auras are weird.”

“Well, yeah, but that’s probably because we’re late evolvers,” Demitri said. “Right?”

“Yes, that’s likely it,” Rhys said.

“See? Even Rhys says so,” Demitri said.

Owen spotted Willow nearby, shivering. “Hey, Willow, are you okay?” he asked the Joltik. “You’re, uh, shaking.”

“Huh?” Willow squeaked. “Yes! I’m fine. I’m just… cold in the mornings!”

“Oh,” Owen said, stepping closer. “Well, I’m a Fire-Type. Want to rest on my head?” he asked, giggling. “I mean, you liked it bef—”

Willow skittered away, hiding behind Anam. Little particles of pink fairy dust scattered around her feet with every step, like she was ready to shrink him down if he got any closer.

Owen blinked. “Uh… okay.” That was not the reaction he was expecting.

A memory flashed in Owen’s eyes. He was rushing toward Azu, the Feraligatr from before. Willow was screaming, and Amia was calling Owen’s name. Azu’s eyes, for just a second, looked… afraid.

Owen held his breath.

James was murmuring to the Joltik, almost like a lecture. Whatever he was saying, Willow wasn’t having any of it, and she hid right behind Anam’s gooey ankles.

“Yeah, weird auras,” Star said. “To be honest, we’ve seen that stuff before, and I’ve seen similar auras running through the aura sea before.” She avoided looking at anybody else. “Basically, these Pokémon, the mutants… I’ve only seen them recently out and about like that, but the reason those auras look strange? Ugh, how do I explain this? Oh, okay. So… You know how, like, berries kinda look like each other if they come from the same plant, or something? Like, Oran berries come from Oran Berry plants… I mean, unless it’s a huge berry tree, then it’s all sorts, but… Ugh, that example sucks…”

“…Genetics, you mean?” Rhys asked. He quickly amended, “Nevren spoke of that before.”

“Yeah! Nevren would know how to describe this, uh, but…” Star spun around. “Okay. Zena… you used to be mortal, right?”

“Yes,” Zena said.

“So, you had parents.”

Zena nodded. “Yes. Their spirits are often ferried to my realm from time to time, in fact. It’s been so long since they’ve last visited, though…”

“Yeah. So, your aura, see, it kinda has traces of both their auras, since you came from them. That make sense?”

“Yes… ancestry, of a sort?”

“Yeah,” Star said. “Really, really good aura readers can trace an ancestry back a few generations, kinda like matching and linking auras to where they came from, and where those auras came from, and so on, okay? Well… the Pokémon we encountered back there? That Luxray and that Ninjask? They… didn’t have that.”

“…They didn’t have… auras?” Owen asked.

“No, no, they had auras,” Star said. “They didn’t have ancestry. No aura traces of parents, or grandparents, or any of that. No history.”

“Wait, what does that mean?” Amia said.

“Rhys has a similar aura,” Star said. “His aura is a little weird because he doesn’t have grandparents—All he has is a single parent, me. Since I created their auras. Same for Nev, and all the Hunters. All that weirdness you sense from them? Sure, some of it is a bit of divine power, but it’s also their weird aura trace.”

“You… created their auras?” Owen said.

Rhys looked off.

“Yeah,” Star said. “I mean, what, you think I’m just gonna pick random folks off the road to get involved in this Orb business?”

Owen rubbed his eyes irritably.

“In other words, since they came right from you,” Amia said, “their auras go just to you, and not some family tree. I get that! But… then, those strange auras from Luxray and Ninjask?” Amia glanced at Owen and the other late-evolvers.

“They don’t have an ancestry at all,” Star said. “They were… created some other way. Without… parents. I at least gave Rhys and the others a little trace from me, just for, you know, symbolism and stuff.”

“No… parents?” Owen asked. “They were created? But—you created Rhys, right? So, what’s the difference?”

“They must’ve been created some other way,” Star said. “Maybe… artificially.”

A confused silence filled the air. Then, murmurs. Anam spoke up. “Artificial? …Like Adam? His aura’s weird, too, now that I’m looking at it…”

“ADAM,” the Porygon-Z specified.

“Uhh… maybe?” Star said evasively. “He’s a weird case, but—Look, not important. But that’s why their auras are strange. No ancestry. They were made some other way—and it seems like they were modified, too, from how their species should be. That’s why they’re called mutants in the first place, y’know? They had some weird abilities. Even other sightings are kinda like that.”

“Pokémon with weird abilities?” Owen asked. He wondered. Should he say this? Yes. He should. Because he wasn’t going to let this go when it already felt so close. It felt like someone tried to tie his memories up and seal them away. But now they were coming back. “You know, no matter how much I try to teach others, I don’t think anybody knows how to do my Fire Trap, but… maybe that’s just because I’m resourceful?”

This time, Owen watched for everyone’s reactions closely. He wasn’t speculating for no reason. The others knew something. And he saw just what he expected. Uncomfortable shuffling where they stood or sat. Some of them didn’t make eye contact. Rhys, in particular, looked like he’d seen death in the face. He looked at Zena next, and the way her serpentine body reacted. He was starting to become more familiar with in terms of body language, if only slightly. He couldn’t identify the emotion she was experiencing based on her muscle movements, but he did know one thing: she had trouble looking at him. For some reason, this one hurt the most.

“…Guys,” Owen said, “what… aren’t you telling me?” He turned his head, looking at them all. “What… am I?”

Owen wobbled where he stood. He felt faint. He saw Rhys’ paw glowing with a strange light.

<><><>​

“Ugh, my back,” Owen muttered, rolling over in bed. “Wh—huh?” he looked up, springing to his feet. “Wait—how long was I…?” He remembered he was planning things out with Star and the others. They were going to try to form a strong team of fighters. Would Owen—no… no, he wouldn’t count. He’s just a Charmander, after all. Just a Charmander…

“Ugh, stop dwelling,” Owen muttered. “I should just ask them about it.”

Owen, seeing the glow of the mushrooms in his room, determined that it was late in the afternoon. Ugh, my whole sleep schedule is done for. He looked outside and saw that everybody was still planning, far ahead in Hot Spot Square. “Oh—good! I didn’t miss too much?” he called.

“Oh, hey, Owen! You kinda passed out while you were talking,” Star said. “Feeling better? Listen, you shouldn’t push yourself. If you’re too tired, just sit back and rest.”

“I must’ve been really tired from that fight.” Owen laughed. “Okay! So, um, who’s going to be going and stuff?”

“We ain’t,” Gahi muttered, looking down. “We passed out just like you.”

“Yeah. We just aren’t strong enough, I guess,” Demitri said. “The stress of all that fighting with Rim really got to us. I feel like I was hit by a Golem’s… everything.”

Mispy sighed.

“But don’t worry!” Star said, “You guys can meditate and spar with Rhys and stuff instead, okay? How’s that sound?” The Mew waved her arms encouragingly. “Right now, those ‘clean aura’ Pokémon aren’t doing anything—they must be regrouping, so we should take that time to do the same thing here, y’know? And to be honest, I think it’d be a good idea if we narrowed our numbers down to maybe… a single strong team to handle just one Guardian at a time. So, if you want my opinion on that… Then we should also go back to the Spire of Trials and try for Manny a second time—but with a stronger team. And we need some of us to also rally up some help in Kilo Village for scouting, since… uh… since I have no idea where the other Guardians could be.”

“Hmm,” Amia said. “Well, I wouldn’t consider myself strong, so why don’t I help with rallying?”

“Wait,” Owen said. “Can we do the Trial place again?”

“Huh?”

“I lost against the Feraligatr the last time. Feraligatr Azu. And I want a rematch! I’ll do better this time!”

“Owen,” Amia said.

“Please?” Owen pleaded.

Star sighed. “No,” she said. “You need to train, Owen. I’m sorry.”

“B-but…”

“Um, should I stay back, too?” Anam said. The Goodra poked his fingers together; they fused, and then split apart each time. “I know I’m strong, but… you need me to rally up the Hearts, right?”

“I can do that in your place,” James said.

“But what if I’m defeated? You’ll fizzle up, and the whole town will see it!”

“Hrm…” James ruffled his feathers. “I’d rather not imagine a scenario where you die, Anam. Also, I imagine it would be difficult to maintain my form so far away, even for you.”

“Anam, compared to Manny, I don’t think you’ll be defeated like that,” Star said. “But it would be a tough win…”

“Would I be… strong enough?” Zena said.

“Perhaps not,” James said, “but we work as a team together quite well.”

“Yeah, Zena, you seem like you’d be an elegant fighter, if you ask me,” Owen said. “It goes well with how James fights, and maybe it’ll keep Anam calm? And Mom fights like that, too.”

“Elegant?” Zena blushed.

Star giggled. “Okay, let’s form up the team of elites. Rhys, you might not be the strongest Hunter, but you’re the strongest we have. So, I want you to go and fight Manny himself, okay?”

“Rhys is stronger than me?” Anam said.

“Ehh, I dunno. You guys would have to spar it out,” Star said, “but—trust me, Manny will want to fight Rhys. Now, for the other three fighters. Amia, don’t be modest—you’re pretty tough. So, you’re going, too. Okay?”

“Oh, okay,” Amia replied. “Am—am I, really?”

“Yes. You should be able to handle his second-in-command. So as for his third- and fourth-in-command…”

“So, I really can’t go back and fight Azu?” Owen spoke up again.

“Owen, you—you can’t,” Star said. “Train here. Okay?”

Owen crossed his arms, rolling a ball of an ember in his mouth to silence himself. He didn’t bring it up again.

“Next up, uh… Rhys, Amia…” Star mumbled under her breath. “…Anam, are you sure you can’t substitute somebody else to rally the team, like James?”

“I guess I could…” Anam said. “Nevren might be able to help, right?” He nibbled on his slimy fingers, thinking. “I just hope we aren’t bothering him.”

“It’s his duty,” James said firmly. “He should be able to do it easily. We will simply speak with him before we go.”

“Okay, and James, you’re pretty tough all on your own, so you’re member number four!” Star said. “Everyone else should focus on training. I’ll have someone other than Anam summon me so I can probably do some coaching.”

Owen listened, but then decided to concentrate on his memories again. He felt it. They were sealed away. It felt like a plug stuck right in his skull, like he couldn’t breathe through his mental nose. What if he thought back harder? Owen earned a massive headache when he tried, but he pushed through anyway, just for something—anything—to satisfy his curiosity.

More memories. He saw Rhys approach him while at the meeting—right before he had passed out. He was telling him something—to go rest, that he was tired. And then, his paw had glowed… and Demitri, Mispy, and Gahi all passed out. And then Owen did right after. And… and that fight. Feraligatr Azu. He wasn’t a Charmander, was he? No. He was too tall.

He wasn’t at thigh-height. He was at belly-height.

I was a Charmeleon.

“Owen?” Rhys asked.

He’d do it again. Rhys would try to make him sleep and forget. “Huh?” Owen asked. “Oh, sorry. I was thinking about a new strategy for that Feraligatr. I think I know how to beat him!” Putting his knowledge of his own body language to use, he tensed his arms, as if readying a punch. His eyes glowed with a competitive fire. “Or, maybe I can beat him. Maybe. I need to think more. Maybe after I do some training, I can have a rematch when he comes here with Manny!”

Rhys sighed. “Of course.”

As long as he played dumb, he could keep his memories. But why were they gone? What else did he forget? Think, Owen, think… What did they want to hide? And how is he back to being a Charmander?

Zena’s reaction in particular bothered him. She was with Anam and the others for Cara’s failed rescue. None of Team Alloy was with them, so they must have told her what happened. So, what did they tell her? What did he—and the rest of Team Alloy—do?

What did they become?

 

[canisaries]

At last I arrive!

They were standing in the middle of the Hot Spot square.

Sometimes the "square" is capitalized, and sometimes the "the" is missing when this location is mentioned, at least in the last few chapters, I believe. I can kinda get "Hot Spot Square" and "the Hot Spot square" both being used, but "the Hot Spot Square", which it was at the end of the previous chapter, steps on both options' toes.

“Oh, right,” Anam said. He held his arms forward and focused; a little aura flare formed between his hands, and he sent out another spirit. It formed into a winged Lopunny—a solid spirit. She wasn’t very strong, unlike Star, who was still very much see-through. Much easier to summon. But James and the others in Anam’s squad recognized her immediately.

Oh, Guardians can summon spirits of any type and not just their Orb's type? I'm actually not too sure why I got that impression in the first place, but I felt surprised nonetheless.

“Yeah…. But, anyway,” Star said, “the two weak Guardians that were left—Cara and Forrest—means that from here on out, the Guardians we’re gonna face are gonna be strong, and they might even be paranoid and hostile if we approach.”

By removing the addition between dashes, we get "the two weak Guardians that were left means that from here on out", which doesn't really make sense as a sentence, so a word or two may be missing here.

Also, four periods after "yeah" instead of three.

She evaded looking at anybody else.

Hmm, I don't know for sure about this at all, but "evaded" doesn't really sound right in this context. I'd use "avoided" to be sure.

A flash of a memory flashed in Owen’s eyes.

Kinda redundant phrasing.

“Rhys has a similar aura,” Star said, “aura is a little weird because he doesn’t have grandparents—All he has is a single parent, me.

Is a word missing from that second sentence?

Anam spoke up. “Artificial? …Like Adam? His aura’s weird, too, now that I’m looking at it…”

“ADAM,” the Porygon-Z specified.

*visible confusion*

Flashes before his eyes.

Might lack a word, might not, pointing it out just in case.

Anyway, Owen seems to be remembering things faster and faster now. Gonna be fun to see him trying to act ignorant about it.

 

[namohysip]

Thanks, Canis~ Grabbed ya elsewhere, but now, let's get to another dramatic chapter. This is gonna get rough.

Chapter 17 – Holes in the Mind​

Anam, Rhys, James, and Amia all left for Manny’s Spire of Trials. In the meantime, Nevren paid a visit after he was summoned, and left to rally up Kilo Village. That left everybody else to go through some training with Star, who was summoned this time by Zena. Compared to Anam’s strength, Star was barely solid, and for the most part, could only be heard. There were a few instances where Pokémon accidentally passed right through the Mew phantasm because they didn’t see her. And, generally, it was hard to tell the pink cloud of Mew-shaped smoke from everything else.

Owen was sitting at the town square, just below a small bulletin board that went largely unused. He stared at it nostalgically; he knew every corner of that board, the way it was carved from stone and then melted at the edges to look shiny. There was a small bowl of grayish-yellow adhesive to the side of the board that was used to stick papers on; when it was no longer needed, it could just be peeled off. Owen remembered how he once put a notice here. ‘Looking for a new rock, at least two feet in height, polished! Will pay 3000 Poké!’ was what he had posted.

It ended up being a very good rock.

He had bought it with his allowance that he’d saved up from Amia and Alex, after spending most of it on treats and fighting materials. But now, what could he post there? Especially now that he knew all of the other Pokémon that had lived there in town were dead and hiding out in Amia’s Fire Orb to leave room for the newcomers. Owen felt a pang in his chest. How could his parents do that to him? All of the friends he had were spirits. They weren’t even around anymore—they had to make room for all the Guardians and their spirits. What was the point of all that, anyway?

Spirits… It had been a while since Owen thought about the ones he had. Were they watching the whole time? “Wait…” Owen said. He looked around. It seemed that mostly everybody was training in their own corners of Hot Spot Square, focusing on what they felt was most necessary. Zena was nearest to Owen, despite this. Star was also nearby. “Um—Star?”

“Yo.” The Mew in question was watching everybody and their training, giving pointers when necessary. Zena, in particular, was still gathering her energy after expending so much into summoning Star.

“How do I summon spirits?”

“Oh, you wanna learn that? Yeah, I guess you should, especially since everybody else knows how to do it. It actually isn’t that hard, either. Zena, didn’t you accidentally spit someone out when you used Water Gun once?”

“Y-you promised you wouldn’t speak of that!” Zena squeaked.

“O-oh, sorry,” Star said. “But hey, wasn’t a Divine Promise, heh… S-sorry. Really.”

Zena, flushing red, slithered away to compose herself.

“A-anyway, it feels a lot like using an Attack, okay? But instead, it feels like you’re focusing… inward, and then bringing something out… That make sense?”

“I think I understand,” Owen said, closing his eyes. “Inward… inward… Wait—who do I summon?”

“Uhh,” Star said. “Why don’t you try talking to them? It’s kinda like talking to yourself in your head. You’ll get a response. Hey, you might even feel them reaching out. That’ll make it easier to summon them.”

Owen nodded. “Okay, let me try.” He closed his eyes and tried to ignore everything that his five senses were giving him. It was easier than usual; this part of town was quieter, and the heat was nothing to his natural body.

Um… hello? Is anybody there? Owen said. It’s me, um, Owen.

A few voices replied to him—various forms of hello. Owen knew that if they’d done this to him earlier, he would’ve thought he was going crazy.

H-hi! I—I didn’t think that’d… work! Um—have you guys always been there?

Various answers that confirmed.

W-wow, okay… I didn’t expect that, he said. Are you enjoying watching all this? I hope you guys aren’t too bored there.

Various responses, though they seemed mostly positive.

Owen blushed slightly. A-anyway, I wanted to summon one of you guys for practice! Is that okay? Who can I summon and stuff? I just really want to learn this new technique. Everyone else knows it, and I gotta catch up!

Well… I suppose I can, said a voice. Owen got the impression that it was Klent, the Jumpluff—the previous Guardian.

Klent! Right? I’m glad to hear you again! Um… sorry I didn’t talk to you guys until now. It’s kinda been a really rough few days, and then I got distracted…

It’s okay, Owen, Klent replied.

Owen felt something inside his chest. No—not quite. But it felt like it was coming from there. Was that Klent trying to summon himself? But he wasn’t quite there. Owen had to help. “Okay,” Owen said. It felt like meditating. He went deep into himself, into his spirit… and found Klent’s presence. Then, with another thought, he pushed him out. More and more… it felt like something rising out of his body. A gentle warmth, even for his Fiery type. Owen briefly wondered if going Grass would’ve made it easier or harder to summon someone.

A blue ember flew out of Owen’s chest, landing a few feet ahead of him. There, the blue ember shaped itself into four little spheres—Owen recognized this as the base of a Jumpluff’s shape. It then solidified enough to be visible, like Klent was made out of lightly colored glass that was also on fire. “A-are… are you okay?” Owen asked.

“I believe so,” Klent replied, looking at his pom-poms. “Hmm. I feel very… ghostly.”

“Sorry. I guess I’m not strong enough yet.”

“Yeah,” Star said, “your Mysticism is actually a lot higher than when you started off, more than I expected, actually, but you don’t know how to use it yet, is the problem,” Star said. “That’s what I’d call a measure of how adept you are at using your divine power. Mysticism. And since you’re still working on it, don’t worry! You’ll improve fast.”

“Mysticisismum… Mystici…” Owen shook his head. “I’m stronger than expected?”

“Mhm,” Star nodded. “See, being exposed to powerful Mystics… kinda also raises the power faster. Like a feedback loop. So, the training you guys do with each other is gonna benefit you the most, Owen, since you’re the furthest behind. Oh, and not to mention you nearly died during that fight with Azu, that boosts your Mystic power, too!”

“I—I have to nearly die to get stronger?! What kind of system is that?!”

“Just a side-effect,” Star shrugged. “It’s not ideal… but hey, you also nearly drowned with Zena, remember? So that’s another boost! Stress on the aura trying to cling to the body is a real workout for the spirit, you know. Usually doesn’t mean anything, but for a Mystic, you can use that to get more in touch with your spiritual side. Literally.”

Owen crossed his arms and pouted. She had a point, but he didn’t want to admit it. This reckless lifestyle that once endangered him was actually paying off. At least he was more strategic in battle. “What else raises Mysticis—mys—is there a better name for it?”

“Divinity?”

“Mysticism it is,” Owen grumbled.

Star giggled. “What else raises it? Lots of spiritual and aural stuff that Rhys does,” she said. “Meditation, mental training, grueling endurance, powerful emotions, near-death experiences… the works. Stuff that the body normally wouldn’t want.”

“So… not fighting?”

“That’s for your normal fighting abilities; that tunes your aura with your body,” Star said. “Mysticism tunes your aura to the power that your body draws from, directly. The connection from your aura to your spirit. Subtle difference.”

“I don’t get it.”

“You will. Just practice more.”

“Ngh…”

They repeated this process a few times. Star left to train the others while Owen practiced under Klent’s instructions. Klent vanished as an ember and reentered Owen’s body.

Zena was eventually unable to maintain Star’s form, and the pink smoke faded in the air. Willow summoned her next, practicing with ADAM and Valle. The Joltik practiced summoning her twisted spirits, all of them preferring to become giant mushrooms of some kind, screaming and laughing at anybody who approached, occasionally exploding. ADAM, meanwhile, focused on summoning the few spirits he had within his Normal Orb. They behaved oddly like ADAM, moving stiffly and erratically, though given how transparent they were, it was clear that this was not a technique that the Porygon-Z was used to.

Valle practiced my meditating. That is, he stood still in the middle of Hot Spot and observed the cave’s walls.

“Is that even a valid way to train?”

“Well, it’s meditating,” Star said. Her smoky form made what Owen could only guess was a shrug. “And I guess since he’s expanding his aura a ton to feel the whole cave, that’s pretty good training. And—”

Willow and a few of her mushrooms screamed at one another. Willow tackled a blue one, which puffed up and exploded, making all of the others scream and hop along the ground, tackling one another.

“Oh, come on,” Star sighed. “I gotta go break them up.” She flew away, leaving Owen and Zena alone.

The Charmander stared uneasily at the exploding mushrooms. “How long have we known her, again?” he said.

“Not very long,” Zena replied. “…Do you… not remember?”

Owen looked at Zena. “I mean,” he said, “I know that we met her recently, but I kinda—I don’t know. To be honest,” he laughed nervously, “I think this Mystic stuff is making my memories a little foggy. Is that normal?”

“I’m sure it’s just shock,” Zena said, strained. “Owen, do you—do you really not remember anything? How much do you remember?”

“I remember I was fighting Azu,” Owen said. “And I remember… I think I remember fighting Willow. And training. I think I remember that. Oh, and I remember fighting that Aerodactyl. I wonder how he’s doing.”

Zena fidgeted with her ribbons. “What about me?” she asked.

“Huh?”

“Me. Do you remember anything about me?”

Owen paused. “…Oh! I remember we fought Rhys. Yeah. That was pretty scary, actually. I hope when I get stronger, I can rematch him.” He nodded. “He beat me in one hit.”

“You only remember your fights?” Zena asked.

Owen scratched the back of his head in thought. “Yeah, I think so. But that’s the most important part, in a way, since I can learn from all those fights. Muscle memory! That’s a really important type of memory.”

Zena stared in silence. Her tail coiled around itself in a tight circle.

“Did… did we hang out more often than what I’m remembering?” he asked.

“No, we didn’t,” Zena said curtly. “Your memory is just fine. Like I said, Owen. You’re still in some kind of shock from the fight. Your Mystic power will help you recover in time.”

“Hmm,” Owen said. “I don’t know, Zena.” He eyed her carefully. “Can you at least fill me in on some of the details I’m missing? Maybe it’ll help jog my memory!”

“No. You’re just fine,” Zena said.

She seemed tense, but Owen’s perception was dull. He had the vaguest idea that his senses used to be a lot sharper for these sorts of things. But now? It all felt muddled.

And he knew he used to be a Charmeleon. Zena should have known, too. Why was she hiding it from him? It was like everybody was playing along to keep the secret from him. He could tell that much. Zena knew, too. He saw it in her eyes. But—was it for something important…? Or was it just another lie, like Hot Spot’s villagers?

No. He wasn’t going to live through something like that again. Zena felt too important for him to leave those memories locked away. He didn’t know why. It was just a feeling. Feelings. He could remember those. If only he could also remember the details. He also had a feeling who it was that was behind keeping everyone quiet.

“Zena,” Owen said. “Do you trust Star?”

“Star?” Zena said. “Of course not.”

Owen wasn’t expecting such a forward answer. “O-oh. You don’t?”

“No. I’m only following this group because you—” Zena stopped herself. “…Because… it’s better than being alone. There are others that I can talk to here and I feel safer. I can tell that it’s the same for most of the other Guardians, too. It isn’t that we trust Star. It’s that she’s offering a better alternative than… being alone. And, I suppose in Valle’s case, he’s satisfied with his new cave.” The Milotic rolled her eyes at the thought of the strange statue. “But don’t you remember why I don’t trust… well, no… why I simply can’t forgive her so easily? I’d think at least that would be something you’d remember,” she hissed.

“A-about that,” Owen said, shrinking back. “O-oh, wait. I think I do, I—”

Owen sat in the middle of Anam’s office. Zena was trembling around him, burying her face in her coils. Her body constricted around Owen, her scales grinding against the rocky wall behind her. The Charmeleon desperately held Zena steady, trying to keep her together.

Owen clutched at his head. “OHH, that one hurt,” he grunted. His tiny body would’ve been split in two if she squeezed any harder! But that memory… that confirmed it. Charmeleon. He looked up at the Milotic in his memory.

Zena gasped, slithering backward. “Owen?” She bit at her lower lip uncertainly.

“Y-yeah, I’m fine. I’m fine. I think—I think I should stop thinking for a little bit.” Owen looked up, seeing the Milotic back away like she’d done something she shouldn’t have. Eyes of regret. She was keeping it a secret. Everyone was. It was Hot Spot all over again. “Zena? Listen—tell me again, just—why, with Star and—”

“I need to go,” Zena said abruptly, turning around.

“Uh—Zena!” Owen said. “Wait! I—”

“Practice your summoning,” the Milotic said. “I need to meditate.”

“But…” Owen frowned. “But I just… want to remember…”

Owen… Klent said from within his spirit. Let’s just practice for now. Let her unwind. She’s obviously tense.

Okay, so that wasn’t just me? Owen said. I know I upset her with what I said, but—I just don’t remember, Klent! I—

She understands. She just needs time. Please, let’s keep practicing.

Owen sighed. Fine.

Owen summoned him again, over and over, improving his technique until—finally—the Jumpluff appeared, but instead of being opaque like before, he was solid. The Jumpluff was indistinguishable from others, just like the other spirits that Owen knew all his life. This thought sent another pang through him—of what, he still couldn’t identify. Anger, betrayal, sadness… confusion. He was pretty sure it was confusion. He couldn’t see himself holding a terrible grudge against his own parents, after all. They meant well.

I better not be developing a complex, Owen thought bitterly. But then he addressed Klent with a smile and a presenting motion with his arms.

“Oh, you did it,” Klent said, inspecting his pom-poms with a neutral expression. “Very good.”

“You don’t seem too happy about that,” Owen said, crossing his arms. “I mean, c’mon, aren’t you glad to be alive again? I mean… basically-alive? …Solid?”

“…I suppose I am,” Klent said. “I just didn’t think it would be under these circumstances.”

“Oh—circumstances?” Owen asked. “What do you mean, circumstances?” Owen glanced at Klent and, for half of a second, they locked eyes. Owen saw… something, there, in those eyes. What was it? It put a horrible pit in his stomach, something eating at him from the inside. He gulped. “Klent?”

Klent shook his head. “Sorry. I suppose I’m still bitter about dying, is all.”

Owen nodded. “Yeah, I guess that’s pretty… yeah,” he said, stepping forward. But that look Klent gave him. It was similar to what he saw before when he first entered the Grass Orb. That hesitation to meet him. Why did they all hesitate? Were they shy, or…? And the way Klent looked at him, too.

“…Owen?” Klent asked. His eyes softened. “Are you okay?”

“I—yeah, I’m okay,” Owen said. “Klent… can I ask you something?”

“As… as one of your spirits, I suppose I’ll have to at least listen to your question,” he said.

Owen glanced back. Star was still busy. He looked back at Klent. If there was one person he could put his trust in right now, it’d be the very spirits that were a part of his being. They wouldn’t lie to him. “How come I’m a Charmander again?”

“Pick a different question,” Klent said lowly.

“S-so I really was a Charmeleon,” Owen said softly.

Klent looked at Star. “Owen, stay here, I need to—”

“Please, don’t tell her,” Owen said. “I don’t want to forget. I… it’s messing with my head. I feel like I’m losing my mind—why? What’s happening? Why does it feel like there are huge holes where my past should be? I—I don’t even know how old I am, Klent. Please… What’s… why am… why is everything like this?”

The Jumpluff hesitated again. He looked cornered and eyed Star. He wouldn’t be able to get there in time even if he tried. His eyes were frantic and said it all: Owen wasn’t supposed to be behaving this way, and it was a surprise. Why was he regaining his memories so quickly?

“Why did Star trust me to have this Orb?” Owen asked. “What’s so special about me? How come I’m so strong for a Charmander, a—a late-evolver, too. Like the others. Why… why can I do Fire Trap? Only I know it. Only me.” Owen’s mind was racing. Connecting. He was always good at this—when he was focused on something, he could make connections quickly and easily. He did it in battle all the time, finding just the right tactic to beat an opponent many times stronger than he was. But tactics alone wouldn’t make him that special. James was the same way—tactical—perhaps even better. So why him?

Owen thought again. What other people had strange, special talents? Stronger than usual? Late-evolving? Gahi. A Trapinch that was incredibly fast. He gave off the signs of a Pokémon with Speed Boost, on top of already incredible speed, even for his slowest, larva-like form. Mispy. Her aura reading, for one, not to mention her incredible healing talent. Demitri. He was slow, but nothing held back his attacks. He could take more hits than all of them combined. Owen had a vague memory of him smashing through even his Protect shields of light during a distant sparring match.

Those strange Pokémon. The Ninjask that Star talked about. The Luxray, too. They were strange, just like he was. A Pokémon with no ancestry. A Pokémon that was created by some other way. Who were his parents? The ones he was born from. Amia and Alex never knew. And Rhys—why did he know so much about—

The bed. The Rawst bed. Not only did he have one in his home in Hot Spot Cave, but there was also one in Rhys’ old home. Who would ever need a Rawst bed in that cave? Rhys didn’t take guests. Sure, he tended to gather useless trinkets. But a Rawst bed?

“Klent…” Owen finally said again. The Jumpluff was taking slow steps away, trying to get to Star. “Please, wait! Klent! I… I need to know!” he said.

Klent ran as fast as his light body would allow. Little puffs of dandelion seeds flew from his pom-poms in his frantic dash. Owen didn’t yet know how to forcibly recall a spirit. He had to chase after him.

“Klent, PLEASE!” Owen yelled. “What—what am I?!”

Star turned around, ears twitching at the question. She saw Klent running toward him with primal fear in his glassy eyes, and then Owen right behind him. She flicked her hand and created a barrier to stop Owen from advancing; he slammed his fist helplessly against it. Star floated toward him.

“Whoa, whoa, h-hang on, Owen!” Star said. “Just—just breathe, okay? Just breathe…! This’ll only take a second…!”

“NO! DON’T TAKE THEM AWAY!” Owen screamed, clutching his head. Star’s paw glowed, but when he said that, the light flickered. “P-please,” Owen said again, staring at the Mew with wide eyes. “I… I don’t want to forget! I know someone’s messing with my head—taking away my memories…! There’s… they’re missing… I’m missing so much of my past! I—I can see the holes, they’re—they’re all covered up and scooped out of my head…!” Tears bubbled at the sides of his eyes, tracing the ridges of his scales.

“O-okay, Owen, just—just calm down! Look, l-look, no light! It’s gone, no light…!” Star waved her paws in the air; indeed, the light was gone.

Hyperventilating, Owen sat down. He was dizzy. He wanted to throw up.

He sat in the middle of some forest, reading a book with Amia and Alex nearby. They had gone out more often back then. How far back? He was a Charmeleon.

He was playing marbles with a few of the other villagers. He was a Charmander. His tiny hands made it easy to make precise shots. He won every time.

The chest pain returned. Something ran right through his back—a blade from the end of a tail, plunged into him. His mother cried his name.

He was flying—the memory abruptly cut off.

“O-oh… oh, Arceus… h-how old am I…?” Owen said. His head was pounding. He wasn’t sure if it was his breathing or his tears that made his vision so blurry.

“Owen, shh, shh… just… just breathe, okay? Stay with me.” Star said. “Your aura is out of control—just breathe… Owen? Close your eyes… just focus on my voice, okay? Owen, can you hear me? Owen?”

It wasn’t working. Owen’s entire body was shaking; he couldn’t see anymore. It was all dark. It felt like his tail’s flame was covering his whole back.

He heard roaring. It was his voice. He remembered roaring. Such a horrible noise. The roars in his mind translated into desperate whimpers for the others to hear.

“Owen,” Zena said, right beside him. Owen didn’t even realize she had been there. “Breathe.”

Owen choked on his breath, clutching at his chest. It felt like his ribs were splitting apart.

“You’ve got this, Owen,” Star said. “In and out. Breathe easy. Theeere you go…”

Breathe, breathe… Meditate. Rhys always asked that. Rhys—!

He sat next to Gahi. He sank halfway into the sand pit, muttering something. Owen laughed and said, “Just do it, we can fight later!” And then he closed his eyes.

They sat at the table. Rhys gave Owen a little smile. He had his favorite dish today. Gahi groaned, wanting something meatier.

Owen had Rhys’ neck in his giant claws—the memory abruptly stopped.

“Owen, stay with me, c’mon,” Star said softly. By now, everybody was staring at them. Owen didn’t know; his eyes were shut tight.

“Owen, I’m going to put a small block on your memory, okay? I won’t erase anything. I’m just going to stop them from coming for a little while.”

Owen didn’t say anything. He was burning.

He walked through Kilo Village with a spring in his step. As a Charmeleon, he’d surely be accepted into the Association!

There was a frightened little Spinarak with a few injured legs. He offered an Oran Berry. The wild thing ate it, spat a String Shot in his face, and fled. Owen shouted something about being ungrateful.

Owen felt the warm embrace of a fellow Charmander. They were both crying silently. He didn’t want to let go.

“Owen? Owen, are you okay?” Star said.

It felt like there was still a lot more missing. He didn’t know how much was gone—but a lot still was. But the flood was frozen in place. Ready to topple over him at any second, yet frozen for now. Owen breathed slowly.

“Star…” he finally said. Feeling slightly more secure with what he had, and what he didn’t yet have to deal with, he asked, “What’s wrong with me…?”

The Mew nodded and pat his shoulder. She floated to his height—a little, pink puff that tried her best to comfort him with words. “A lot, Owen, a lot,” she said, “but you’re going to be okay, alright? You have me. You have everyone else. We’re here for you, alright?”

Demitri, Mispy, and Gahi were all staring, confused. “What’s going on?” Demitri asked. “What’s Owen talking about? Is he…? Is that Orb driving him crazy?”

“C-can it do that…?” Mispy asked. She was hiding her leaf behind her head; it was getting a total sensory overload at the pulsing flare Owen’s aura gave off. His panic made it an inferno; her ability to sense auras was shot like she was hit by three Flash attacks all at once. What was happening to his head?

“Oy, Owen,” Gahi said.

Owen gulped and opened his eyes. “G-Gahi…?”

“Y’alright?” he asked.

“I…” Owen stopped. He felt… grounded, hearing Gahi speak to him. “I’m okay… I think I’m okay.”

He looked at Zena next, and the pain in his chest slowly subsided.

Star sighed, feeling Owen’s aura calm down. It was still flaming—but it was at least no longer like staring at the sun.

“Owen?” Zena spoke up. She was among the many training Guardians that had paused to see if Owen was okay.

“H-hi, Zena,” Owen said. He realized that everybody was staring at him; he lowered his head in shame. “I—I’m sorry. I… I’m making a huge scene over nothing…”

“It’s not nothing,” Zena said. The Milotic could relate. No breakdown was over nothing. There was always a reason—and it felt like this was over something much deeper than a bit of stress. “Star, why don’t we make lunch for him?”

“I—I want to make lunch for Owen, too!” Willow said.

“There is a fresh collection of underground berries,” Valle said, “located in hallway E after a left, right, left, and left turn. They will serve Owen well.”

“Okay. We’ll all take a break for lunch,” Star said.

“Guardians do not require food,” ADAM said.

“Then—train if you like, but take a break if you want,” Star said. “Owen, want to head to, uh, Rhys’ place? We’ll whip up something nice.”


Owen’s mind was still racing, but perhaps now it was at a jog rather than a sprint. He was making connections about his blurry past and what he already knew. With Star putting a block on the remaining memories that were hidden away, he could work with that manageable portion without being overwhelmed by the rest.

He was definitely a Charmeleon during his fight with Azu. But then, something happened. He remembered… an intense heat. And a pressure in his chest. The heat he felt before when he had evolved the first time. And he felt that heat many, many times before. He became a Charmeleon countless times—he evolved, over and over, and then forgot, becoming a Charmander again. It was always Rhys—or… or Amia. They were the ones who somehow brought him back to normal.

Normal. Normal from what?

Owen thought about his strange dreams. He thought they were just fantasies about being a Charizard, but… no. There was no way they were fantasies. That happened. He was a Charizard before. And Gahi was a Flygon—and Demitri, a Haxorus, and Mispy, a Meganium. They all were, before. But something happened… what happened? He can’t remember. That was still locked away. Those times with Team Alloy, fully evolved, felt like incredibly early memories. How far back did it go? How long ago was that? How many evolution cycles…?

“Owen!” Gahi shouted.

“Wh—buh—huh?” Owen said, jolting awake.

“Arceus in the Sky, ‘mon, we’ve been calling yeh ten times!” Gahi said.

“You look lost in thought again,” Demitri said. “Are—are you sure you’re okay?”

“I’m… I don’t think I’m okay,” Owen said. “My head’s spinning with all these memories… and you were all in them, too,” he said. “Gahi, do you ever remember—”

“Ah, ah, ah! Owen! Not yet,” Star said.

“H-huh…?”

“Not yet. Please,” Star said carefully.

Owen gulped but nodded. “O-okay…” he said. She had a point. There was no telling what would happen if Gahi had the same sort of panic that he did.

Owen realized, like a punch in the gut, that the reason everyone was keeping him ignorant was because Star, or perhaps Rhys or Amia, had told them what would happen if he got his memories back. And then, against their wishes, he pried too far, and the memories came spilling back. And now, everything hurt.

Owen stared at his claws while they waited for lunch. He focused, turning his scales green, and then orange, and then green again. He was getting better at that.

The previous Grass Guardian, Klent… Owen sighed. What was that look he gave him? It wasn’t the first time. Still, there was something bothering him. He looked to the right, where Klent was sitting at the table, though he requested Star not make anything for him—he didn’t need to eat, after all. He didn’t want to take up resources if he didn’t have to.

“Klent?” Owen said. His heart skipped a beat.

“Yes, Owen?” Klent said. He was speaking respectfully, but Owen could still sense a bit of coldness in his voice. Owen was starting to wonder why, connecting more and more of his fragmented memories together. He couldn’t complete the full picture. He was filling in the blanks with speculation. The more he inferred and guessed, the smaller the gaps felt.

Owen couldn’t remember anything beyond evolving into a Charizard. He didn’t even know if that’s what actually happened. What if he became… something else? The strange auras… The lack of ancestry. A clean history. No history. His strange dreams. His instinct for battle—his abnormal need to fight.

That look. Klent’s eyes. Those eyes.

“Klent,” Owen finally said. “…How did you die?”

Star fumbled by the stove, dropping the berries in too fast. The hot water splashed through her smoky body. The Mew cursed under her breath, turning back.

Klent looked away. He looked at Star, instead. The Mew shook her see-through head frantically, but Klent shook his head back. It was too late. Owen’s memories couldn’t be sealed away anymore. He was a Guardian—that trick wasn’t going to work as easily, or perhaps at all. He was going to find out eventually. Just as the memories of Rhys and the other Hunters couldn’t be sealed—a Guardian was just as immune to that kind of influence.

The Jumpluff nodded at the Charmander. “I’m sorry, Owen,” Klent said. “But… I think I know what you’re thinking. And… you’re right.”

The world stood still.

Owen didn’t want to ask. But his mouth moved on its own. “M-meaning…?”

Demitri, Mispy, and Gahi all exchanged dumbfounded looks. What was going on? Where was Owen getting all these crazy ideas from? And, more importantly—why was everybody else playing along?! They always felt like everyone else knew something they didn’t. They were quite eager to have Owen tell them the answer.

Klent sighed as if bracing for it as well. “I’m sorry, but… it’s true. You’re right.”

“Th-that the way you died… I…?”

“You killed me,” the former Guardian said, “and my daughter.”

 

[canisaries]

Spirits… It had been a while since Owen thought about the ones he had. Were they watching the whole time? “Wait…” Owen said. “Um—Star?”

“Yo.” The Mew in question was waiting for everybody to gather together. Zena, in particular, was still gathering her energy after expending so much into summoning Star.

I don't know if it's because I missed or forgot something, but I was kind of confused on who was where physically for a good while at the start of this scene. I believe now that they were all in the square, but as no one but Mew (who can speak to every Mystic mon, anyway) directly spoke to or reacted to Owen until he was done summoning his spirit, they seemed like they were in different locations.

“Mhm,” Star nodded. “See, being exposed to powerful Mystics… kinda also raises the power faster. Like a feedback loop. So, the training you guys do with each other is gonna benefit you the most, Owen, since you’re the furthest behind. Oh, and not to mention you nearly died during that fight with Azu, that boosts your Mystic power, too!”

neat, a spiritual exp. share

He sank halfway into the sand put, muttering something.

Pit, did you mean?

“I—I want to make lunch for Owen, too!” Willow said.

Aww, does someone have a crush? Well, we all know the horse kicks out of love. Ah wait no that proverb doesn't exist in English.

“Yes, Owen?” Klent said. He was speaking respectfully, but Owen could still sense a bit of coldness in his voice.

Ohhhh my goodness did he

“You killed me,” the former Guardian said, “and my daughter.”

duuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuude

 

[namohysip]

Thanks for the feedback, Canis!

I don't know if it's because I missed or forgot something, but I was kind of confused on who was where physically for a good while at the start of this scene.

This is a good point. I've gone back to revise it a little to make it more clear where everybody was, since yeah, at the start, it was pretty nebulous where everyone was until Owen made a scene and everyone gathered up.

Well, we all know the horse kicks out of love.

I'm glad I asked you about this on discord. What an interesting saying.Just in case others aren't sure, it's basically saying that a girl who is mean to you might actually like you in a playground setting. While I doubt the validity, we in the States have a similar idea,though not a saying attached to it (as far as I know.) It's a little concerning.

duuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuude

Yeah, that just about summarizes my intended reaction to this chapter. Congratulations, Owen! You killed a whole family!