The second of the four Exquisite Corpses! This one had no theme, which means madness is unconstrained.
The order is evident from the spreadsheet, but nonetheless, I wager many don't remember, so I've put the names of the authors for each part in a spoiler tag. Then you can see who wrote each part, including who was responsible for darker moments!
Speaking of: this definitely got dark in particularly the third part. Note the horror themes around there. I gave a warning for the third part in the other EC too, how spooky...
“This is impossible.”
No, it wasn’t. It was merely a steep jump, which had to be approached from the right angle at the right velocity. There were furthermore no time limits in this game—the urgency inherent in the upcoming auto-scrollers notwithstanding—and death was absolutely a slap on the wrist. You could die and die and die, but the game wouldn’t actually end until you either beat it or turned off the console in frustration. And anyway, you couldn’t even die in this section unless you let yourself drown.
But here was a person who’d been trying and failing in the exact same ways for the past hour and a half. Knowing you had all the tries in the world was cold comfort when you wished it had taken maybe three tries at most.
Another attempt, another breach of the surface, spinning through the air—
—smacking nose-first into marble. Tzink!
“Ugh, I hate that noise…”
“Yeah, but the noise when you get hit is worse.”
The player shouted something that wasn’t quite a word. The controller flew the short distance its cord allowed, having been launched a millisecond prior by a completely involuntary wrist snap. It was an understandable reaction, given that the room had previously contained just a single person and now contained two. And one of them was some sort of brown-and-yellow flatfish, gazing up at the player with vacant-looking eyes.
“The frick are you?”
“Hey now,” the fish said, “we’re the only ones in here. You don’t have to say ‘frick’.”
“Get out, just get out!”
A pillow entered the picture, whipped off the nearby bed. There were at least four other objects that were as close or closer and would’ve made significantly better weapons, but when you’re already on edge from frustration and someone starts speaking to you out of nowhere while looking like the product of a union between a fish and a shoe, you don’t necessarily strategize as well as you might otherwise.
What’s more, this was a very small pillow, one of those little decorative sorts. No matter how many times it smacked the floor, it just couldn’t land a blow on the intruder, who kept flipping and flopping from one fin to another and thus presenting a much narrower target.
“Missed me!” the creature crowed after yet another dodge. That vacant stare was gone, replaced by what might’ve been the cheekiest smile imaginable. “You’re drowning, by the way.”
It will not end like this! I will not allow it! Brendan tried to convince himself but he could feel himself slipping away. He could see it swimming away. “You bastard, get back here. I swear you will never get away with this!”
This could be not be happening. He is trapped underwater in the Cave of Origin by himself and there is no way out. He has no idea how to get himself out of this mess. For once, he wished he did not act so reckless and jump in head first. Now he is in over his head and there is no one else around to save him. He is going to die down here all alone.
This is the end and there is nothing he hates more than to admit to admit failure. It is over, he could not do what he set out to do. And that kills him
He was supposed to save the world and he couldn’t. So many people are counting on him to make things right and save their lives and he could not. He failed. His heart broke when he thought of all the people who are counting on him. All the people he let down. His mother and his absolutely dick of a father. May. Professor Birch. Steven Stone. Archie and Maxie. Just the thought of the Team Aqua leader made his blood boil. If not for him, this never would have happened. Kyogre would never have been awoken and the world would not be in the imminent danger that it is in now.
A creature, who Brendan is pretty sure is a Pokemon, would never have ended up here, with the intention to kill him
Brendan has no idea exactly how to fix this. Everyone is going to die and it’s all his fault.
There was still so much more he wanted to do. He wanted to become champion by battling and defeating Steven. He wanted the chance to travel the world, go see other regions and meet so many different types of Pokemon he has never seen before. He wants to become the strongest trainer the world has ever seen.
Suddenly, Brendan balled his hand into a fist. “Not today, Arceus! Not today!” Images of all the people counting on him appeared in his head. “I will not let them down! I will not let her down!” He could see May’s smiling face and that is all the motivation he needs. “I will do this!”
He has to. He has no choice
“You sure are persistent.” The creature commented when it noticed that Brendan is right on it’s tail and it picked up a little bit of speed. “But it’s too late.”
That is where it is wrong. It is not too late. It is never too late. As long as someone is here, putting up a fight, things can always change.
“We’ll just have to see about that, won’t we?” Brendan pulled the Pokeball containing his trusty partner, his Swampert’s, and tossed it into the air, releasing Swampert into the water. “Quick, Swampert. After it!”
Swampert did exactly what its trainer commanded and started swimming after the creature. There is no chance of this thing escaping Swampert. Him maybe but his water lizard? Nope, that is just not possible.
Brendan too gave chase but he could feel his lungs burning from the lack of oxygen as he continued to swim. Almost there, just a little more. He tried to tell himself but it keeps getting harder and harder for him to hold his breath. You can do it!
Soon enough, he reached the surface. The creature is right in front of him, ready for battle. While he was underwater, he could not see it clearly but now that he is no longer underwater, he could see the creature is, in fact, a Pokemon but as for which one, he could not tell you. Brendan has never seen this Pokemon before in his life.
“Who are you?” He asked it. “What do you want?”
“What do you think I want?”
“How do expect me to know that?!” He shouted, glaring at it. “Tell me! Who are you and what do you want?!”
“You humans made me sick!” It shouted at him and for the first time since it appeared right in front of him, Brendan took the time out to look at it. It is bright green, has three heads, and is big. Actually, huge does not even begin it describe it. It is tremendous, needless to say. “You think you still have a chance? You don’t. I’ve been burned too many times by you humans. You walk all over us, thinking we are the dirt beneath your feet. You treat us like crap and force us to do your dirty work. Not anymore! I’ve had enough. We’ve all had enough. This stops now! Right now! Right here!”
At that very moment, Brendan could tell this thing, whatever it is, does not intend to kill just him. It wants to wipe out the entire human race.
A vile grin surprised Brendan as amorphous limbs possessively wrapped around his joints. Bones cracked when they tightened their grip, causing him to let out an anguished cry.
A guttural chuckle sounded, and what appeared to be red eyes flashed before him. “It's showtime.”
*~*~*
“Oh, Brendan,” his mother sighed out, scanning his room. She kept telling him to clean up before heading out, but the boy never could keep his mind focused on one thing. Cautiously tip-toeing through the maze of trinkets, Barbara tossed her long hair over her shoulder and started gathering up his discarded laundry, nose and brows wrinkled. “I'm going to have a serious talk with him when he gets back,” was her grumble.
She checked every nook and cranny for any stray socks before turning her attention to his closet. She strained to open it, pushing back tumbling objects with her shoulder. “That boy!” she scoffed, glaring down at the pile that was blocking the door. Clicking her tongue, she stepped back to let things fall where they may be. “I'm really going to give him a good paddling!”
Having already gotten what she needed, Barbara sauntered for the laundry room. She shooed the cat out of her way and began sorting the clothes. A low yowl sounded from the animal, and she rolled her eyes. Behind her, the cat raised its haunches and hissed at the lumbering shadow that exited from Brendan's room, but it was quickly silenced by a stomp from above. The woman's neck prickled and she looked over her shoulder just to let out a yell at the sight of the mass and the vague impression of a face peering down at her. She snatched the nearest object, a detergent, to chuck it at the blob, but it ensnared her in its grasp.
Unbeknownst to her, inside the mass was Brendan, who couldn't help but scream helplessly as his mother's arm was torn out of its socket.
Blood spurted as his mother screamed, pooling around her feet. Brendan struggled inside the mass, reaching for one of his Pokeballs.
"G-go Wailord!"
The Wailord burst from the Pokeball, freeing Brendan and sending him flying. The monstrous Cramorant the mass was attached to let out an unholy shriek and immediately turned on the Wailord. Brendan rushed to his mother, trying to stabilize the wound.
"Come on Mom, hang in there... Wailord, use Rollout!"
The Wailord rolled straight into the Cramorant, crushing it and causing it to dissolve into a fine, purple mist.
"Mom... Mom it's over... I'm gonna get you to a hospital...
-----
At the hospital, Brendan paced rapidly in the lobby. Eventually a doctor approached.
"Your mother... She's sustained a fair bit of blood loss and trauma, but she'll live."
Brendan sighed in relief. "Thank Rayquaza... This is finally coming to an end..."
Suddenly there was a rumble outside, and screaming.
"Oh no..."
Brendan rushed outside to see a giant mutant Drampa not dissimilar to the mutant Cramorant rampaging through the city, people running away from it in a panic.
"Not again," said Brendan.
He charged toward it and sent out a Swirlix.
"Dynamax!" Brendan yelled, activating a wristband that inflated the size of the Pokeball. The Swirlix in turn swelled massively in size until he was as large as the Drampa. The Drampa turned toward him and drooled.
<Cotton... Candy...>
"Hit him with all you've got!" said Brendan
The Swirlix hit the Drampa with... whatever the Fairy Max Move is, and the Drampa screeched in agony, hitting him back with a Flamethrower. The smell of scorched cotton candy lingered in the air. The Swirlix reeled, a manic look in his eyes.
<I don't feel so good...>
"Don't give up now!" said Brendan. "The city is at stake!"
The Swirlix steeled his resolve and rammed into the Drampa. Latent Infinity Energy swirled around them the whole fight, causing them to both grow larger and larger.
---------------
Thousands of years had passed. The Swirlix and Drampa had mutated into massive Fairy and Dragon titans, frozen in place for eternity.
It was on the side of the Fairy titan, overlooking the Dragon titan, that a boy and his Yanma's story began.
-----------------------------
“So, let's see what where we need to go, Yanma...” The boy opened his map, before moving his finger across the paper and on the various landmarks and geographical names. “If the Dragon titan's dwelling is around these parts, then the Bug titan should be...” He narrowed his eyes, looking intently at the various inky figures, before tapping on some sort of creature with enormous eyes, located to the north. “Here! Nearby the Deep Greens!”
Yanma buzzed noisily, flying some loops around its Trainer.
“Oh? Excited, aren't you?” said the boy, chuckling aloud. The Yanma did nothing more than buzz in response. "Yeah, I can't wait to reach Deep Greens!"
Having said so, he stored his map and looked over the Fairy titan, who was releasing some sort of guttural noises of triumph. The Dragon titan stood immobile, and it was uncertain whether it was intimidated by the dauntless pinkish beast, or it was merely resting. However, he wasn't really interested in knowing the answer.
“Um... maybe we should get going before they restart their confrontation. Wouldn't want to be in the way in case they became aggressive...”
And so, the two started traveling north, eager to finally get the chance to see the enormous bug-like being. After what seemed to be hours of travel, they reached a very big city. Filled with gray and computer screens, the city gave out really futuristic vibes.
“Whoa! It's like we have traveled to the future!” the boy exclaimed, looking around the technology-based metropolis. A giant beast towered on the city, which he believed was the Steel titan, and his Yanma let out a buzz of marvel.
“Well, according to the map, we need to traverse the city. After that, we should ask for a ride. If we are lucky, maybe we'll be able to catch a Mudsdale Taxi or something...”
Unbeknownst to both the boy and Yanma, a camera tracked down their movements, and the Steel titan started to stir…
Unbeknownst to both the boy and Yamna, a camera tracked their movements, and the steel titan started to stir... and started singing 'Never Gonna Give You Up', as it got up and started walking towards them. The boy started trying to walk away again and his Yamna floated right behind him. The titan continued to gain ground no matter how fast they moved.
'Slow down', the titan said as it stomped towards them. 'I mean you no harm. You both have won the National Pokémon Sweepstakes.' He moved up his gigantic arm to show that he was holding a large check.
Both Yamna and the boy stopped in their tracks, dumbfounded. They didn't know what to think. 'I don't remember signing up for any contest,' the boy thought to himself, 'This seems like some sort of trap.' Yamna buzzed worriedly and the boy sighed. 'Yam-nahha', said his Yamna, and the boy said, 'You're probably right, let's ask about this and see where it goes. Worst thing that could happen is that we'll end up surrounded.'
He looked up at the titan and cleared his throat. 'How can I trust that you are telling the truth about this contest?', he asked it.
The titan looked at him thoughtfully and said, 'There's no reason for me to like about this. Your parents signed you and your Yamna up for this contest.'
The boy and his Yamna just stood there in silence, weighing the titan's words very carefully. 'What should they do now? Take him at his word? Or is there more to this than it seems?', he thought to himself.
He looked around the room to see if there was anything that he and his Yamna could do in case things didn’t work out. Might as well stall for time, he thought, given that he was still thinking things through before talking things further with the titan.
He analyzed the environment around him and how to best use his Y.A.N.M.A. (Yokai-Augmented Nanobyte Mechanical Arm). Use a sonic blast, cause a cave-in around them? Go straight for the aggressive option and just blast the T.I.T.A.N. (Titanically-Inclined Titan Ad Nauseam)? Flash bang it and run away while it’s temporarily blinded? Nix the last one. The T.I.T.A.N. had sealed off all escape routes before ambushing him. Curiously, this particular creature seemed to favor the talking option, and didn’t seem to want to strike so long as he had kept them talking. However, he was running out of things to say.
“And thou art majestic in thou splendor, in both power and magnitude of enormity!” he continued to praise. Why had he insisted on speaking in an old-timey accent? It was the modern era! He had a freaking robotic arm attached to him, for Pete’s sake! He couldn’t keep up this charade forever. “The dubious fact that the townsfolk haven’t erected a statue in thou honor is truly a blight against thou name!”
“THE WALKLINGS WHO HAVE RESTED NEARBY, ARE THEY WARRIORS OF OLD?” rumbled the ancient being.
He had talked long enough with the giant to quickly decipher what he meant.
“The village near the forest? They’re mostly fishermen…”
Before he could finish his sentence, he realized his mistake.
“THE DAWN OF A NEW AGE HAS RISEN. A NEW GOD WILL OVERRIDE A HERETIC VOID, AND AN OCEAN OF BLOOD WILL RUN WITH ALL WHO RESIST THEIR NEW FATE.”
Yeah, he had just confirmed that there were no fighters nearby for which to resist the T.I.T.A.N.’s attack. So much for the peaceful approach. He raised his Y.A.N.M.A. and had it fire concussive blasts at the mad abomination.
“Sonic Boom!”
It wasn’t his fault.
“WWWAAAAAAUUUUUGHHHHH!!!” screamed the monster, causing the earth beneath them to tremble and split.
He hadn’t meant to wake the T.I.T.A.N.
“Quick Attack!” he commanded, causing the weapon to sprint him out of the way of a falling boulder.
He didn’t even know that it was here, slumbering, for thousands of years.
“Air Slash!” he yelled, continuing the offensive.
He wasn’t even supposed to be in this mountain.
“EEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!” screeched the T.I.T.A.N., its cry not even coming close to sounding of this world. It lashed out at him with everything that it had.
And now he had doomed hundreds to a lifetime of slavery and death.
No…nothing was for certain yet. He still had a chance.
A flashy, overly extravagant finisher. That’s what he needed to end this fight to the death with this abomination. But what should he do?
He reached into his bag, in hopes that one of the items he had obtained over the course of this adventure would allow him to finally take down the massive beast that had swallowed his house keys. It was then that he found the silver box he had received from a mysterious old woman after helping the population of a small village learn the importance of asking follow-up questions. The old woman had told him the box contained a great power which would help him when he needed it the most, before she then vanished into thin air. And if there was one thing everyone knew; it was that mysterious old ladies with the ability to teleport were generally trustworthy.
He quickly pulled out the box and opened it, just before the beast could charge at him. As the box opened, a bright light poured out of the box, momentarily blinding the beast and stopping it in its tracks. The light then shined down on the various weapons he had collected over the course of his adventure, which lay scattered around on the ground. The weapons began to float into the air as they gained a multicolored glow.
“All right… Time to get my keys back,” he said as he looked at the glowing weapons.
At his command, the weapons all attacked the monster at once, destroying it in an explosion of rainbow lights.
As the light cleared, he looked over to see a pile of random objects that the monster had apparently swallowed over the past few days. He searched through the items, before finally finding the key ring with his house keys.
“Finally,” he said, as he picked up his keys.
“Well done,” a familiar voice commented. It was the old woman, who had given him the box.
“Oh, it’s you again,” he said, smiling at the old lady. “Thank you for giving me that box. Thanks to its power, I finally got my keys back.”
“You’re welcome, dear,” the old lady replied, looking over the items on the ground. “I’m pleased to see that you were successful in your quest. However, there is one thing that still bothers me…”
“What is it?” he asked.
“Well, we don’t know who summoned that monster in the first place, or why,” the woman responded. “I’m going to have to look into that… Well, first I’ll have to return the rest of these items to their rightful owners.”
“Need any help with that?” he asked.
“Nah, it’s okay,” the old woman responded. “I can teleport, after all. It shouldn’t take long for me to return all these.”
“All right, if you say so,” he replied. “Good luck figuring out who was behind the whole monster thing!”
And so, the old woman teleported away with the other items, using her ability to teleport to quickly bring them back to their rightful owners.
Along the way, she ran into a young girl whose father’s voice had been cursed and replaced with piano noises. She decided to aid the young girl in finding a cure, sending her on a quest that would lead her to inadvertently helping the old woman discover the identity of the person who had summoned the monster.
But that’s a story for another time.
The order is evident from the spreadsheet, but nonetheless, I wager many don't remember, so I've put the names of the authors for each part in a spoiler tag. Then you can see who wrote each part, including who was responsible for darker moments!
Speaking of: this definitely got dark in particularly the third part. Note the horror themes around there. I gave a warning for the third part in the other EC too, how spooky...
The Serebii Exquisite Corpse
Free-form Fic
Free-form Fic
“This is impossible.”
No, it wasn’t. It was merely a steep jump, which had to be approached from the right angle at the right velocity. There were furthermore no time limits in this game—the urgency inherent in the upcoming auto-scrollers notwithstanding—and death was absolutely a slap on the wrist. You could die and die and die, but the game wouldn’t actually end until you either beat it or turned off the console in frustration. And anyway, you couldn’t even die in this section unless you let yourself drown.
But here was a person who’d been trying and failing in the exact same ways for the past hour and a half. Knowing you had all the tries in the world was cold comfort when you wished it had taken maybe three tries at most.
Another attempt, another breach of the surface, spinning through the air—
—smacking nose-first into marble. Tzink!
“Ugh, I hate that noise…”
“Yeah, but the noise when you get hit is worse.”
The player shouted something that wasn’t quite a word. The controller flew the short distance its cord allowed, having been launched a millisecond prior by a completely involuntary wrist snap. It was an understandable reaction, given that the room had previously contained just a single person and now contained two. And one of them was some sort of brown-and-yellow flatfish, gazing up at the player with vacant-looking eyes.
“The frick are you?”
“Hey now,” the fish said, “we’re the only ones in here. You don’t have to say ‘frick’.”
“Get out, just get out!”
A pillow entered the picture, whipped off the nearby bed. There were at least four other objects that were as close or closer and would’ve made significantly better weapons, but when you’re already on edge from frustration and someone starts speaking to you out of nowhere while looking like the product of a union between a fish and a shoe, you don’t necessarily strategize as well as you might otherwise.
What’s more, this was a very small pillow, one of those little decorative sorts. No matter how many times it smacked the floor, it just couldn’t land a blow on the intruder, who kept flipping and flopping from one fin to another and thus presenting a much narrower target.
“Missed me!” the creature crowed after yet another dodge. That vacant stare was gone, replaced by what might’ve been the cheekiest smile imaginable. “You’re drowning, by the way.”
Sike Saner
It will not end like this! I will not allow it! Brendan tried to convince himself but he could feel himself slipping away. He could see it swimming away. “You bastard, get back here. I swear you will never get away with this!”
This could be not be happening. He is trapped underwater in the Cave of Origin by himself and there is no way out. He has no idea how to get himself out of this mess. For once, he wished he did not act so reckless and jump in head first. Now he is in over his head and there is no one else around to save him. He is going to die down here all alone.
This is the end and there is nothing he hates more than to admit to admit failure. It is over, he could not do what he set out to do. And that kills him
He was supposed to save the world and he couldn’t. So many people are counting on him to make things right and save their lives and he could not. He failed. His heart broke when he thought of all the people who are counting on him. All the people he let down. His mother and his absolutely dick of a father. May. Professor Birch. Steven Stone. Archie and Maxie. Just the thought of the Team Aqua leader made his blood boil. If not for him, this never would have happened. Kyogre would never have been awoken and the world would not be in the imminent danger that it is in now.
A creature, who Brendan is pretty sure is a Pokemon, would never have ended up here, with the intention to kill him
Brendan has no idea exactly how to fix this. Everyone is going to die and it’s all his fault.
There was still so much more he wanted to do. He wanted to become champion by battling and defeating Steven. He wanted the chance to travel the world, go see other regions and meet so many different types of Pokemon he has never seen before. He wants to become the strongest trainer the world has ever seen.
Suddenly, Brendan balled his hand into a fist. “Not today, Arceus! Not today!” Images of all the people counting on him appeared in his head. “I will not let them down! I will not let her down!” He could see May’s smiling face and that is all the motivation he needs. “I will do this!”
He has to. He has no choice
“You sure are persistent.” The creature commented when it noticed that Brendan is right on it’s tail and it picked up a little bit of speed. “But it’s too late.”
That is where it is wrong. It is not too late. It is never too late. As long as someone is here, putting up a fight, things can always change.
“We’ll just have to see about that, won’t we?” Brendan pulled the Pokeball containing his trusty partner, his Swampert’s, and tossed it into the air, releasing Swampert into the water. “Quick, Swampert. After it!”
Swampert did exactly what its trainer commanded and started swimming after the creature. There is no chance of this thing escaping Swampert. Him maybe but his water lizard? Nope, that is just not possible.
Brendan too gave chase but he could feel his lungs burning from the lack of oxygen as he continued to swim. Almost there, just a little more. He tried to tell himself but it keeps getting harder and harder for him to hold his breath. You can do it!
Soon enough, he reached the surface. The creature is right in front of him, ready for battle. While he was underwater, he could not see it clearly but now that he is no longer underwater, he could see the creature is, in fact, a Pokemon but as for which one, he could not tell you. Brendan has never seen this Pokemon before in his life.
“Who are you?” He asked it. “What do you want?”
“What do you think I want?”
“How do expect me to know that?!” He shouted, glaring at it. “Tell me! Who are you and what do you want?!”
“You humans made me sick!” It shouted at him and for the first time since it appeared right in front of him, Brendan took the time out to look at it. It is bright green, has three heads, and is big. Actually, huge does not even begin it describe it. It is tremendous, needless to say. “You think you still have a chance? You don’t. I’ve been burned too many times by you humans. You walk all over us, thinking we are the dirt beneath your feet. You treat us like crap and force us to do your dirty work. Not anymore! I’ve had enough. We’ve all had enough. This stops now! Right now! Right here!”
At that very moment, Brendan could tell this thing, whatever it is, does not intend to kill just him. It wants to wipe out the entire human race.
xEryChan
A vile grin surprised Brendan as amorphous limbs possessively wrapped around his joints. Bones cracked when they tightened their grip, causing him to let out an anguished cry.
A guttural chuckle sounded, and what appeared to be red eyes flashed before him. “It's showtime.”
*~*~*
“Oh, Brendan,” his mother sighed out, scanning his room. She kept telling him to clean up before heading out, but the boy never could keep his mind focused on one thing. Cautiously tip-toeing through the maze of trinkets, Barbara tossed her long hair over her shoulder and started gathering up his discarded laundry, nose and brows wrinkled. “I'm going to have a serious talk with him when he gets back,” was her grumble.
She checked every nook and cranny for any stray socks before turning her attention to his closet. She strained to open it, pushing back tumbling objects with her shoulder. “That boy!” she scoffed, glaring down at the pile that was blocking the door. Clicking her tongue, she stepped back to let things fall where they may be. “I'm really going to give him a good paddling!”
Having already gotten what she needed, Barbara sauntered for the laundry room. She shooed the cat out of her way and began sorting the clothes. A low yowl sounded from the animal, and she rolled her eyes. Behind her, the cat raised its haunches and hissed at the lumbering shadow that exited from Brendan's room, but it was quickly silenced by a stomp from above. The woman's neck prickled and she looked over her shoulder just to let out a yell at the sight of the mass and the vague impression of a face peering down at her. She snatched the nearest object, a detergent, to chuck it at the blob, but it ensnared her in its grasp.
Unbeknownst to her, inside the mass was Brendan, who couldn't help but scream helplessly as his mother's arm was torn out of its socket.
Kutie Pie
Blood spurted as his mother screamed, pooling around her feet. Brendan struggled inside the mass, reaching for one of his Pokeballs.
"G-go Wailord!"
The Wailord burst from the Pokeball, freeing Brendan and sending him flying. The monstrous Cramorant the mass was attached to let out an unholy shriek and immediately turned on the Wailord. Brendan rushed to his mother, trying to stabilize the wound.
"Come on Mom, hang in there... Wailord, use Rollout!"
The Wailord rolled straight into the Cramorant, crushing it and causing it to dissolve into a fine, purple mist.
"Mom... Mom it's over... I'm gonna get you to a hospital...
-----
At the hospital, Brendan paced rapidly in the lobby. Eventually a doctor approached.
"Your mother... She's sustained a fair bit of blood loss and trauma, but she'll live."
Brendan sighed in relief. "Thank Rayquaza... This is finally coming to an end..."
Suddenly there was a rumble outside, and screaming.
"Oh no..."
Brendan rushed outside to see a giant mutant Drampa not dissimilar to the mutant Cramorant rampaging through the city, people running away from it in a panic.
"Not again," said Brendan.
He charged toward it and sent out a Swirlix.
"Dynamax!" Brendan yelled, activating a wristband that inflated the size of the Pokeball. The Swirlix in turn swelled massively in size until he was as large as the Drampa. The Drampa turned toward him and drooled.
<Cotton... Candy...>
"Hit him with all you've got!" said Brendan
The Swirlix hit the Drampa with... whatever the Fairy Max Move is, and the Drampa screeched in agony, hitting him back with a Flamethrower. The smell of scorched cotton candy lingered in the air. The Swirlix reeled, a manic look in his eyes.
<I don't feel so good...>
"Don't give up now!" said Brendan. "The city is at stake!"
The Swirlix steeled his resolve and rammed into the Drampa. Latent Infinity Energy swirled around them the whole fight, causing them to both grow larger and larger.
---------------
Thousands of years had passed. The Swirlix and Drampa had mutated into massive Fairy and Dragon titans, frozen in place for eternity.
It was on the side of the Fairy titan, overlooking the Dragon titan, that a boy and his Yanma's story began.
-----------------------------
Umbramatic
“So, let's see what where we need to go, Yanma...” The boy opened his map, before moving his finger across the paper and on the various landmarks and geographical names. “If the Dragon titan's dwelling is around these parts, then the Bug titan should be...” He narrowed his eyes, looking intently at the various inky figures, before tapping on some sort of creature with enormous eyes, located to the north. “Here! Nearby the Deep Greens!”
Yanma buzzed noisily, flying some loops around its Trainer.
“Oh? Excited, aren't you?” said the boy, chuckling aloud. The Yanma did nothing more than buzz in response. "Yeah, I can't wait to reach Deep Greens!"
Having said so, he stored his map and looked over the Fairy titan, who was releasing some sort of guttural noises of triumph. The Dragon titan stood immobile, and it was uncertain whether it was intimidated by the dauntless pinkish beast, or it was merely resting. However, he wasn't really interested in knowing the answer.
“Um... maybe we should get going before they restart their confrontation. Wouldn't want to be in the way in case they became aggressive...”
And so, the two started traveling north, eager to finally get the chance to see the enormous bug-like being. After what seemed to be hours of travel, they reached a very big city. Filled with gray and computer screens, the city gave out really futuristic vibes.
“Whoa! It's like we have traveled to the future!” the boy exclaimed, looking around the technology-based metropolis. A giant beast towered on the city, which he believed was the Steel titan, and his Yanma let out a buzz of marvel.
“Well, according to the map, we need to traverse the city. After that, we should ask for a ride. If we are lucky, maybe we'll be able to catch a Mudsdale Taxi or something...”
Unbeknownst to both the boy and Yanma, a camera tracked down their movements, and the Steel titan started to stir…
Cresselia92
Unbeknownst to both the boy and Yamna, a camera tracked their movements, and the steel titan started to stir... and started singing 'Never Gonna Give You Up', as it got up and started walking towards them. The boy started trying to walk away again and his Yamna floated right behind him. The titan continued to gain ground no matter how fast they moved.
'Slow down', the titan said as it stomped towards them. 'I mean you no harm. You both have won the National Pokémon Sweepstakes.' He moved up his gigantic arm to show that he was holding a large check.
Both Yamna and the boy stopped in their tracks, dumbfounded. They didn't know what to think. 'I don't remember signing up for any contest,' the boy thought to himself, 'This seems like some sort of trap.' Yamna buzzed worriedly and the boy sighed. 'Yam-nahha', said his Yamna, and the boy said, 'You're probably right, let's ask about this and see where it goes. Worst thing that could happen is that we'll end up surrounded.'
He looked up at the titan and cleared his throat. 'How can I trust that you are telling the truth about this contest?', he asked it.
The titan looked at him thoughtfully and said, 'There's no reason for me to like about this. Your parents signed you and your Yamna up for this contest.'
The boy and his Yamna just stood there in silence, weighing the titan's words very carefully. 'What should they do now? Take him at his word? Or is there more to this than it seems?', he thought to himself.
He looked around the room to see if there was anything that he and his Yamna could do in case things didn’t work out. Might as well stall for time, he thought, given that he was still thinking things through before talking things further with the titan.
WishIHadAManafi5
He analyzed the environment around him and how to best use his Y.A.N.M.A. (Yokai-Augmented Nanobyte Mechanical Arm). Use a sonic blast, cause a cave-in around them? Go straight for the aggressive option and just blast the T.I.T.A.N. (Titanically-Inclined Titan Ad Nauseam)? Flash bang it and run away while it’s temporarily blinded? Nix the last one. The T.I.T.A.N. had sealed off all escape routes before ambushing him. Curiously, this particular creature seemed to favor the talking option, and didn’t seem to want to strike so long as he had kept them talking. However, he was running out of things to say.
“And thou art majestic in thou splendor, in both power and magnitude of enormity!” he continued to praise. Why had he insisted on speaking in an old-timey accent? It was the modern era! He had a freaking robotic arm attached to him, for Pete’s sake! He couldn’t keep up this charade forever. “The dubious fact that the townsfolk haven’t erected a statue in thou honor is truly a blight against thou name!”
“THE WALKLINGS WHO HAVE RESTED NEARBY, ARE THEY WARRIORS OF OLD?” rumbled the ancient being.
He had talked long enough with the giant to quickly decipher what he meant.
“The village near the forest? They’re mostly fishermen…”
Before he could finish his sentence, he realized his mistake.
“THE DAWN OF A NEW AGE HAS RISEN. A NEW GOD WILL OVERRIDE A HERETIC VOID, AND AN OCEAN OF BLOOD WILL RUN WITH ALL WHO RESIST THEIR NEW FATE.”
Yeah, he had just confirmed that there were no fighters nearby for which to resist the T.I.T.A.N.’s attack. So much for the peaceful approach. He raised his Y.A.N.M.A. and had it fire concussive blasts at the mad abomination.
“Sonic Boom!”
It wasn’t his fault.
“WWWAAAAAAUUUUUGHHHHH!!!” screamed the monster, causing the earth beneath them to tremble and split.
He hadn’t meant to wake the T.I.T.A.N.
“Quick Attack!” he commanded, causing the weapon to sprint him out of the way of a falling boulder.
He didn’t even know that it was here, slumbering, for thousands of years.
“Air Slash!” he yelled, continuing the offensive.
He wasn’t even supposed to be in this mountain.
“EEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!” screeched the T.I.T.A.N., its cry not even coming close to sounding of this world. It lashed out at him with everything that it had.
And now he had doomed hundreds to a lifetime of slavery and death.
No…nothing was for certain yet. He still had a chance.
A flashy, overly extravagant finisher. That’s what he needed to end this fight to the death with this abomination. But what should he do?
The Teller
He reached into his bag, in hopes that one of the items he had obtained over the course of this adventure would allow him to finally take down the massive beast that had swallowed his house keys. It was then that he found the silver box he had received from a mysterious old woman after helping the population of a small village learn the importance of asking follow-up questions. The old woman had told him the box contained a great power which would help him when he needed it the most, before she then vanished into thin air. And if there was one thing everyone knew; it was that mysterious old ladies with the ability to teleport were generally trustworthy.
He quickly pulled out the box and opened it, just before the beast could charge at him. As the box opened, a bright light poured out of the box, momentarily blinding the beast and stopping it in its tracks. The light then shined down on the various weapons he had collected over the course of his adventure, which lay scattered around on the ground. The weapons began to float into the air as they gained a multicolored glow.
“All right… Time to get my keys back,” he said as he looked at the glowing weapons.
At his command, the weapons all attacked the monster at once, destroying it in an explosion of rainbow lights.
As the light cleared, he looked over to see a pile of random objects that the monster had apparently swallowed over the past few days. He searched through the items, before finally finding the key ring with his house keys.
“Finally,” he said, as he picked up his keys.
“Well done,” a familiar voice commented. It was the old woman, who had given him the box.
“Oh, it’s you again,” he said, smiling at the old lady. “Thank you for giving me that box. Thanks to its power, I finally got my keys back.”
“You’re welcome, dear,” the old lady replied, looking over the items on the ground. “I’m pleased to see that you were successful in your quest. However, there is one thing that still bothers me…”
“What is it?” he asked.
“Well, we don’t know who summoned that monster in the first place, or why,” the woman responded. “I’m going to have to look into that… Well, first I’ll have to return the rest of these items to their rightful owners.”
“Need any help with that?” he asked.
“Nah, it’s okay,” the old woman responded. “I can teleport, after all. It shouldn’t take long for me to return all these.”
“All right, if you say so,” he replied. “Good luck figuring out who was behind the whole monster thing!”
And so, the old woman teleported away with the other items, using her ability to teleport to quickly bring them back to their rightful owners.
Along the way, she ran into a young girl whose father’s voice had been cursed and replaced with piano noises. She decided to aid the young girl in finding a cure, sending her on a quest that would lead her to inadvertently helping the old woman discover the identity of the person who had summoned the monster.
But that’s a story for another time.
DarkerShining
