Pokedex One-Shots (PG)

[Ysavvryl]

You can request them, but I'm limited on which Kalos 'mons I can actually cover at the moment. I've heard how this gen is really hard to hack into, so the data comes in slower. The flavor text I use won't be high priority, but I hope they get around to adding it as well. I can get Aurorus (with training) and Binacle (with hunting), but not Chepin (I picked Froakie). I'll go ahead and put that group together, and see where things are at when I get to it.

NaNoWriMo is coming up in a very short time, so probably another dry spell in updates again soon.

The complete-Unova list: Lillipup, Drilbur, Tympole, Venipede, Krokorok, Elgyem, Axew, Fraxure

In process: Meinfoo/Minccino/Simisage
On deck: Ferroseed/Crustle/Scraggy, Flabebe, Aurorus/Binacle/Chespin


Gurdurr


Not that long ago in a place not too far from here, there were two Pokemon brothers. They were twin Tumburrs, remarkably alike in every way. They liked the same foods, liked the same activities, and liked the same cliff to train near. When it came to contests of strength, they always ended in a draw or with the two brothers having so much fun that they forgot it was a contest. Their days were good and their talk filled with boasts of how strong they would eventually become.

The twins even got caught on the same day, but not by the same Trainer. Being on two different teams, they were forced to separate for the first time in their lives. Both were upset about this, but soon resolved that they'd find each other sometime in the future. And then, they would see how strong the other had grown.

This was the day that they met again as Gurdurrs.

-+-

The two Trainers met again in a trading club. “Hey, you're that kid who caught a Timburr at the same time as I did,” the girl said. She was a rather intimidating fashionista, with her heeled boots, bold make-up, and clothing all of which could have come straight from a fashion runway.

“Um, yeah,” the boy said, not sure if he should feel attracted or if he wanted to run from her. Since he was probably as old as she was, he was leaning towards leaving. He wore boots with week-old mud on them and clothes dusty from the trails.

The girl pulled a Pokeball from her team holder. “Do you still have him? I came here hoping to get him evolved; heard it could be done with a trading machine. Might as well kill two problems at once, huh?”

“I do have him; he's one of my best.” He took the Gurdurr's Pokeball in hand, hoping that it would work. “Although I wouldn't put it like that.”

She raised an eyebrow. “One of your best, huh? Must not have very many good Pokemon then. Oh, how about we battle them before trading? It'd be neat to see, since we got them from the same place and time.”

The boy nodded, so they moved the the battle circle. After registering to battle with just the two Gurdurr, they entered the circle and released their Pokemon. The boy's Gurdurr greeted the other happily. “Brother, good to see you again!”

“How do you know who I am, punk?” the girl's Gurdurr asked.

“Weren't you listening to them? We were captured together by these two Trainers, and here we are, together again!” He smiled. “It's great!”

“I don't listen if I’m not in battle,” he replied. “Not important.” Then he smirked. “But it is interesting to meet you again, brother. I want to see how strong you are. I am called Facekicker.”

He looked over his brother, but he seemed like a normal Gurdurr, bulky up top but not so much at the waist and below. “Really? That's... an odd name. My name's Bruno now.”

A whistle came from the computer referee, calling for the battle to begin. Bruno whirled the large steel beam over his head, while Facekicker grasped his beam with both hands and flexed his muscles. Once orders were given, Bruno went first, tossing his beam in an arc, rushing over to punch his brother in the shoulder, then catching his beam once the attack was complete. “Haha, my Trainer plays with me, so I picked up that trick quick,” he boasted.

“Ain't strong enough,” Facekicker said, taking his steel beam and bashing it full force into Bruno's head. “That's strength.”

“Ngh, well you're not taking me out yet,” Bruno said, gathering his wits to ignore the pain and prepare himself for a stronger hit.

“But I will; I have to.” Then Facekicker gave Bruno the same punch he had done first, only stronger. It was enough to cause a bruise to form, remarkable for the tough skin they had.

“Hey, I wasn't trying to hurt you, cause you're my brother,” he said, backing up and pulling his arms in defensively.

The boy took notice of that. “Do you think these two remember each other?” he asked.

“What does it matter?” the girl asked with a shrug. “A battle's a battle and we fight to win.”

Facekicker nodded. “Yeah, why haven't you realized that? Come on, if you're going to fight with me, fight properly.”

“I thought we were just going to show off and shove each other, like we used to,” Bruno said, feeling upset.

“It's battle!” Facekicker said, pointing at him before going to attack again. This time, he missed as Bruno stepped aside. “Don't get soft or your Trainer will get rid of you. Or worse: never call you out again.”

“He wouldn't do that to me.” He shoved at his brother, still not taking it seriously. Bruno would fight seriously when it was called for, but he could hurt others badly and his Trainer didn't like seeing Pokemon get injured. Because of that, he tried to hold back, using enough strength to win but not enough to cause lasting damage.

“Humans do that all the time,” Facekicker said. He'd seen a number of teammates come into their group but then leave when they didn't perform to their Trainer's satisfaction. She gave them a harsh, though not abusive, training regimen. He liked that and had grown accustomed to it. Could his twin brother really be so naïve about humans still? Facekicker geared up for another attack, but the fighting method he used did make moves harder to use as he went on. It was best to give a strong move right off to finish enemies quickly.

Bruno felt annoyed that he would lump his Trainer in with careless humans. “Not mine!” he said, now punching Facekicker in the head with his steel beam in hand.

With the hit jarring his thoughts, Facekicker winced as he began seeing double. “Wha, what are you doing?” He slammed his body into Bruno, hoping to knock him out.

It very nearly did; Bruno felt like dropping out of the battle to get some rest and healing. But that would mean letting down his Trainer. Even against his twin brother, Bruno did not want to disappoint the boy. He respected him too much for that. “If you want me to get serious, then I will, for the honor of my friend!” He struck Facekicker in the gut, the blow knocking him to the ground and out of the battle.

“What?” the girl asked, clenching her fist. “My super training regimen should have made my Gurdurr far stronger than yours.”

Ignoring her, the boy went to Bruno's side. “That was pretty rough,” he said, gingerly rubbing the Gurdurr's arm and trying to avoid the bruised areas. “But don't worry; we'll get you healed up and well again.”

“I know you won't let me down,” Bruno said. Still, he felt a pang of sorrow for his twin brother. A harsh training led to a harsh Pokemon. Hopefully, he was happy with it.

…

Gurdurr White entry: They strengthen their bodies by carrying steel beams. They show off their big muscles to their friends.

 

[Z-nogyroP]

Very interesting, and quite thought-provoking for such a short entry. I'm not a fan of Gurdurr as a Pokemon, but this story was extremely well-written.

Maybe just focus on POS for a while before NaNoWriMo starts? If that's okay.

Also, they have the X and Y entries for almost all Kalos Pokemon on Bulbapedia already, if you wanted them.

 

[Ysavvryl]

Okay, I got an entry written out during a NaNoWriMo write-in meeting, so here it is. It may be a little rougher than usual due to that, though.

In process: Ferroseed/Crustle/Scraggy
On deck: Flabebe, Aurorus/Binacle/Chespin


Minccino, Mienfoo, and Simisage


The office was busy with activity, as usual. Not just the humans, who were paid, but the Pokemon that they brought along with them were busy as well. This was a battle office, where pedestrian Trainers could stop in to challenge the workers. This lost some productivity, but it was good publicity and it allowed for first-hand testing of new devices and observation of trends in techniques.

However, this day was not a battling day. Other floors and offices were open for that. Instead, the eleventh floor group needed a closed work-focus day in order to met deadlines. While human workers were busy at computers and drafting tables, a Minccino busily swept the tile floors with her gray tail. She hummed happily, even though it was what she did most days. She didn't even need to do it, as the nightly cleaning crew kept things spot free. But the eleventh floor workers had grown used to the Minccino's habits, walking around her so she could sweep uninterrupted

Also in the office today were a Mienfoo and a Simisage. The Mienfoo was new to the office, having been brought in by an engineer after he caught her on a long weekend trip. For the first part of the day, she stood on a stool, observing all the going-ons to get used to the new environment. On the other hand, the Simisage was a familiar Pokemon there, even if in an unfamiliar form. The engineer who owned him had been trying to find an alternative method of evolution rather than simply using a Leaf Stone. The stone market was pricy and difficult to predict, save for insiders who knew that market inside and out. But there was proof that alternative methods were possible, in wild Pokemon that should require special evolution methods but showed up in the evolved forms naturally. The engineer had come in today with the Simisage rather than the Pansage it had been, but had yet to give an explanation. He was currently busy writing a paper, so his methods may have worked.

The Mienfoo's owner was busy at another project; he looked over a test piece he had just finished. It was an accessory that he had designed based off of natural items that provoked certain reactions in Pokemon. Checking it over and finding no obvious problems, he thought that it was too bad that this was a closed office day for their floor. A battle, particularly a Double or Triple match, would be ideal to test this. The next battle day, he'd have to see about borrowing a second Pokemon. Maybe the Minccino (if he could get her to stop sweeping for a short while). Maybe one of his wife's Pokemon, even the one that had helped him catch the Mienfoo in the first place. He usually didn't have time to raise more than a single Pokemon at once.

“Here you go,” the engineer said, giving the item to the Mienfoo. “We'll see how you are with it.”

“Miooo,” the Mienfoo said, quickly taking the item to look at it. It was shaped like a starfish on a chain bracelet, with sparkling gems set in it to reflect light in pleasing ways. She put it over her wrist, seeming pleased with it.

“Go on, take a look around now,” the engineer said, gesturing her to leave her perch. “You'll be fine here.”

The Mienfoo hopped down to the floor, looking closer at things and people. While she did, the Simisage spotted her from his perch atop a file cabinet. In particular, he saw the new sparkly accessory on her wrist. “Ooooo.” He liked it very much, even from a distance, but thought that it was better suited for himself. Swishing his green thorny tail, he climbed onto the partition walls and crept along them. The walls wobbled under his weight far more than they did when he had been a Pansage. But he was determined to stay up there, as he was used to.

The Mienfoo came up to the Minccino, querying her about something. But the Minccino didn't care, continuing to hum and sweep. After a bit, the Mienfoo shrugged and gave up on talking with her for now. Then the Simisage jumped down from the partition wall, calling a challenge as he did. The Mienfoo made a graceful curving series of steps to get out of the way and face him. Pleased by her trick, she smirked and whistled insultingly at him.

That enraged the Simisage. He gave a growl and shook a fist at her. While he would have liked to shout, he'd been in this office for many years and knew that he should only let out a moderate level of noise if the floor was on a closed work day. He tried to snatch the bracelet away from her, but the Mienfoo pulled her hand away in time. Not only that, but she stepped back as well before hopping aside and roiling into a series of punches with her other fist. The Simisage clawed and hissed and whipped his tail at her wildly. However, she kept moving and weaving, keeping out of the way and blending all of her moves in smooth succession, as if in a martial dance.

Finally, the Simisage jumped back, then rushed into a full body tackle at the Mienfoo. He was going to use all of his strength to beat her and get her shiny new accessory. Yet again, he missed her. But this time, she had positioned herself just right so that when she slipped aside, he crashed straight into a tall potted plant. The plant was knocked right over, spilling dirt and leaves all over the floor.

And before any of the humans could comment or outwardly react, the Minccino shrieked and rushed out of the cubicle that she had been sweeping. She looked over the floor, at the spread of the dirt, then looked at the Simisage, shaking his head and getting back to his feet right in front of the toppled plastic pot. When he turned to see where the Mienfoo had gotten to, he saw the Minccino with an unexpectedly fierce scowl on her face. She darted over, grabbed the Simisage, somehow lifted him off the floor, then slammed him back down as if she were a wrestler. Amid some chuckles at the scene, the Simisage bolted away as soon as he could. He wouldn't come out of hiding around the Minccino for a long time after that.

The Mienfoo gave a whistle of appreciation and bowed to the Minccino. The Minccino made a happy sound, then noticed the shiny starfish bracelet. She stared at it for a little bit, then smiled and gave a cheery sound before going to fetch the hand broom and dustbin. This was just a bit too messy for her tail alone.

Having observed the whole incident, the engineer who owned the Mienfoo made some notes on his tablet computer. 'Star Target – makes the wearer the center of attention of many Pokemon. Makes the wearer more likely to be targeted in a group battle; higher chance when attacker is wild or acting independently, moderate chance for trained and guided Pokemon as well. Not 100% effective at making the wearer the focus of attacks, though.'

…

Mienfoo White entry: They have mastered elegant combos. As they concentrate, their battle moves become swifter and more precise.

Minccino White entry: These Pokemon prefer a tidy habitat. They are always sweeping and dusting, using their tails as brooms.

Simisage White entry: It attacks enemies with strikes of its thorn-covered tail. This Pokemon is wild tempered.

 

[Ej190]

Loved the minccino's reaction to the mess. Great story!

 

[Ysavvryl]

It's been nearly a month, but this is still on the front page of the fanfic section? Guess it's been slow. Anyhow... hey, my post style buttons are back! I should update the index soon.

Well there's now access on two sites to the flavor text for Kalos, so it should be easier to write for those Pokemon. But I'd still like to finish off the Unova dex this month; need to get back into writing these then!

On topic of this story... I like using Scraggy in-game. It was nice because it could easily solo Plasma enemies. I've not used Crustle, but I have used Ferroseed recently in Y. Ferroseed is not easy to raise in Pokemon Amie... plus it tends to flip around when happy. I imagine it would cause lots of scratches doing that when its Trainer is petting it.

Unova Pokemon left to request: Drilbur, Tympole, Venipede, Krokorok, Elgyem, Axew, Fraxure

In process: Flabebe
On deck: Aurorus/Binacle/Chespin
Reserve: Lillipup (12/24)


Crustle, Ferroseed, and Scraggy


The humans were building again, a huge castle in the desert this time. Which meant a lot of work for the Crustles who were owned by them. Shortly after the sun rose, it began. A Crustle would pick up a massive stone block that other Pokemon had obsessively sanded down to a perfect square form (that obsession having been instilled in them by the humans). Then it would follow a line accompanied by a couple of human guards (with Pokemon to do the fighting work) all the way across the sandy city to the building site, carrying the stone block without dropping it. There, the blocks would be passed off to the Gurdurr and Conkeldurr that were in charge of stacking the blocks to the humans' precise demands. Then the Crustle would walk all the way back to the block crafting site two miles away to pick up another block to return with.

“The walk back is the worst of it,” one of the Crustle told a new Pokemon at the work site while he waited to be able to pick up a new block.

“Why is that?” the small metallic Pokemon asked. It called itself a Ferroseed and was covered in green spikes. “You don't have a huge block to carry.”

The Crustle rubbed one of his claws over his exposed back. “That's exactly why. I like hiding under the huge stones; anything that's out to get me would have a tough time moving my rock. Being like this, anything could attack me and I would be helpless. They make us walk all this way without any more protection than before and if we get stalled at all, I start to feel like a nervous wreck.”

“Still, that's a lot of work,” the Ferroseed said. “How long have you been doing this?”

“Um, I dunno.” He thought about it. “I don't mind carrying the stones, although it does get tiring to do the same thing day after day. The palace is only half done; a year, I think?”

“That's a lot of work. Do they feed you well?”

“It's a little dull, but we get fed every day.” He crept forward as the line moved, the Ferroseed hopping in the sand nearby. “What are you doing here? I haven't seen a Pokemon like you here before.”

The Ferroseed blinked, retracting his thorns a bit. “I don't know exactly. They pulled me out of my home cave and brought me here into this bright sunlight. Something about security?”

“Oh, then you're probably in one of the guard's fighting teams. You'll be fighting off some of the city Pokemon that try to interfere with the work line.”

“Good to know they're stepping up the security teams,” the Crustle in front of him said. “Those pests have been causing far too much trouble and delay. We got stopped for an hour yesterday when we were on our way back.”

“That was horrible,” he agreed.

The Ferroseed tilted itself. “Fighting off pests, huh? I guess I'm okay with that. What Pokemon exactly are causing the problems?”

“A pack of Scraggy,” he said. “They've been trouble all along, but lately they've been awful about headbutting stones off our backs and breaking them.”

“Huh. I dunno what that is, but if they let me shoot others, I’m fine with it.” The Ferroseed half-hopped and half-rolled at the Crustle's side until they got to the area where the blocks were being picked up.

The Crustle was going to pick up a block, but then the nearest human supervisor stepped in front of him. “This fellow has the Ferroseed? Get it to take the blocks over there today; those ones shouldn't have iron in them for that one to weaken the blocks with.”

“Bah, there goes my idea that this was an easy meal,” the Ferroseed said, extending its thorns in annoyance.

“They don't make it easy for any of us,” the Crustle said, walking over with the guard to pick up one of the special blocks.

For instance, once he had the block, the guard picked the Ferroseed up carefully with his thick leather gloves, then began to attach him to the block. “He-hey, you don't have to tie me down!” the Ferroseed complained fruitlessly. “I can attach myself to this rock.”

“You okay?” the Crustle asked, not able to see the Ferroseed well now with the block in way of his vision.

There was grumbling, but then the human snapped his whip on the ground, getting the Crustle to get back to his usual place in line. “I guess, but they tied me down,” the Ferroseed said. “I hate that. I wouldn't have a problem sticking to a moving block, but if they're going to keep me from rolling away in case I get in trouble? I don't like this anymore.”

“You should've rolled away earlier.”

The Ferroseed sighed. “Yeah. But they have fire, so that wouldn't be easy either.”

Compared to the stone block, the Ferroseed didn't weigh much. This made the walk to the building ground the same as usual. But on the second round, they got stopped halfway to the site by the troublesome Scraggy. There were five of them, clutching their skins in one hand while they shook the other as a fist. “Stop working, you fools!” one of them called out. “We'll break all your blocks if we have to to make you stop!”

“Yeah, you'd have to fight the humans first and that's not happening,” the Crustle said, lowering his stance so the block protected him better.

“Ferroseed, fire at them before they start headbutting blocks,” the human guard ordered.

“Why...? Aah, get that fire away from me!” The Ferroseed fired off dozens of his sharp green thorns into the Scraggy crowd, in order to get the guard to move the torch away. That must be it; the Crustle had wondered why that guard had a flaming torch during the day instead of night. Not that there was much he could do to help. The humans might decide to punish him as well.

The thorny barrage did make the Scraggy group scatter a little. A couple of them tripped over themselves and got hit. Another of them took a few steps closer and lowered his head. “Ha, you won't scare us into giving up! We're the thick-headed Scraggy! And we're going to support the war against humans when it comes here!”

“War against humans?” the Crustle asked to himself. That was the first warning he had of the chaos that was soon to come to this city, war that would end this drudgery. Yet it wasn't going to make his life any easier.

…

Crustle White entry: It possesses legs of enormous strength, enabling it to carry heavy slabs for many days, even when crossing arid land.

Scraggy B2/W2 entry: Proud of its sturdy skull, it suddenly headbutts everything, but its weight makes it unstable too.

Ferroseed Black entry: When threatened, it attacks by shooting a barrage of spikes, which gives it the chance to escape by rolling away.

 

[Z-nogyroP]

Very nice, very nice! Gives a nice insight into what it would really be like if Pokemon existed. Nice job!

Also, hooray, you're back! About time. To get the ball rolling with requests, let's go with Elgyem, Tympole, and Dragalge.

 

[Ivoright]

Aha! Good to see you back.
I am rather curious as to what time period this story takes place in.

(In regards to requests... Perhaps Krokorok/Drilbur?)

 

[Ysavvryl]

The previous story would be when they were building that castle out in Desert Resort. Ancient times.

I've got the index back up to date! And look at all those links. I had to shuffle things again because of character limits, so Sinnoh is now down with Unova and Kalos. In other news, I only heard back from two people about being on the updated PM list. So if you didn't get alerted to this, that's why.

Also, I know Flabebe don't come with a purple flower. That'd be nice, though.

In process: Aurorus/Binacle/Chespin
On deck: Elgyem/Tympole/Dragalge, Korokok/Drilbur
Reserve: Lillipup (12/24)


Flabebe


Drifting in the chilled air, the tiny voice of a tiny Pokemon sang. “It's a glorious sight, surfing on the wind tonight! 'cept it's not night when the sun's so bright, but no matter the light, I'm surfing, surfing, surfing on the wind tonight! Whee!” A violet dot of a saffron flower could be seen in the sky, whirling around among the snowflakes. “No matter the cold, no matter the weather, me and my flower are forever together, free to surf and play. Whee!”

Down below on the snowy path, there was a gasp, then jumping footsteps as another song filled the air. “Flabebe, Flabebe, pretty as can be; Flabebe, Flabebe, who will my love be?”

The Flabebe gripped the stamen of her saffron and made it slow in its whirling in order to tilt. There was a human girl own there, dressed in a most glorious pink, flowery, and frilly dress with a pretty hat to match. “Why do you girls always think that I know that?” she asked, then shifted her flower's drift so that it began descending. “I'm not a rose Flabebe, or even a lily. Still, it's so much fun when you sing to me! Flabebe, Flabebe!”

Before she got into the girl's reach, though, a gust of wind grasped her flower and flung it far down the road. The Flabebe laughed and laughed, making her flower twirl again. A good gust was too much fun to miss out on! As she was still descending, she crashed right into another human, a boy with orange hair. It dazed her for a moment.

“Hmm?” the boy looked around, eventually cupping a hand under her. “Oh, it's a Flabebe. Odd; I would think that this isn't the right season for you. There were so many of you in the spring, then I haven't seen any wild ones since.”

“What do you mean it's not the right season?” the Flabebe asked. “I'm never on time! I had to live as nothing but a mote for months and months until my perfect flower bloomed in autumn, so I'm going to savor every moment I have with my flower.”

Not understanding her, the boy took the computer device in his other hand and moved it oddly. “I should record you, though, what with the unusual flower and season. But that's more contradictory evidence about whether you're born with the flower as part of your body or if you choose the flower in the fields and can't use your powers until you do.”

She frowned, shaking her yellow-crowned head. “What, are you making fun of my flower? You better not be.”

The girl she had been blown away from then came running down the road towards them. The boy holding her tensed immediately, but it seemed more of a shy nervousness than fear based on his scent. Ignoring that, the girl breathlessly asked, “Hey, have you seen a Flabebe in the wind? Oh you do have it! It's even prettier than it was in the air!”

“Er, if you saw one just now, it was probably this one,” the boy said in quiet tones. “I'm trying to get a picture of it for the Pokedex, so, um...”

“Oh, okay, you take the picture and then I'll see if it wants to play with me,” the girl in the frilly dress said. But then she leaned forward and looked at his face. “Hey, aren't you one of those kids that's part of the Defenders of Kalos? The ones who beat up Team Flare?”

There were a few clicks form the device as the Flabebe watched the two talking. “Yeah, sort of,” the boy said. “If you really want to meet the ones who did that, you'd need to find Calem or Serena. I just helped. Um, I'm Trevor.”

The girl grinned. “That's so cool! I wish my friends would go do awesome things like that with me. But they just want to have tea parties and garden, not go on an adventure, even when I tell them that you're not going to find a handsome prince by just staying at home.”

“I... guess not,” Trevor said, puzzled and uncomfortable with the conversation. He held out the hand the Flabebe's flower was sitting in. “Okay, I've got her pictures.”

“Yay!” the girl said, jumping in place. “Come on, Flabebe, we'll go on an adventure so I can become a princess!”

Since she seemed done here, the Flabebe shook her saffron flower, then whirled up into the air. “I don't know about that,” she said. “I need to catch up on all that I missed out on while waiting for my flower to bloom.”

“Oh yeah, and what about my question?” the girl said, calming down and watching her eagerly.

“Huh?” The Flabebe tilted her head, then smiled. “You mean the song? I have no clue who your true love would be. But for the sake of giving an answer,” she pointed at Trevor.

“It's you?” the girl asked in wonder.

“What about me?” he asked warily.

“You're the prince I love!” the girl said, tackling him into a tight hug. Trevor's eyes went wide and he struggled unsuccessfully to get out of her grasp until she let him go; he immediately dropped to the ground, gasping for breath. “This is so amazing! I decided to go out looking for my prince this morning and I find him just a few minutes outside of town! Wow, this is going to be a wonderful winter! We can go out on an adventure until we can find the mysterious quest that gives us royalty status, and then we can live in a castle and make cookies to give to everyone, and...”

After a moment of staring at the girl, Trevor decided he wanted nothing to do with her. He grabbed his computer equipment then got up to run away. As she was lost in her own fantasy world, he got a fair distance away.

But not out of sight before she noticed he was gone. “Huh? Hey, come back here! This is our destiny! I'll prove my love to you!” She rushed off after him, quick enough that things could go either way.

The Flabebe burst into laughter, making her saffron flower twirl and spread its sweet scent.

…

Flabebe Y entry: When it finds a flower it likes, it dwells on that flower its whole life long. It floats in the wind's embrace with an untroubled heart.

 

[Ej190]

Wow that flabebe story is hilarious. Nothings more amusing than a delusional teen girl I guess . Are you accepting requests yet? If yes then talonflame+pancham. (Possibly with a mega in the background?)That bird rocks.

 

[Ditto*]

Finally caught up! I really love the diverse writing styles, and how each one is appealing to the audience. Could I please be on the PM list?

Also, could I request a Fraxure/Avalugg/Yveltal story, please?

 

[Ysavvryl]

Okay, so... been a long time! sorry, but I've been struggling with an illness that just won't go away, since January, bleh. At least I'm back in shape to be writing again, glad for that. Anyhow, I am almost certain that this isn't the Lillipup story I meant to write way back for Christmas, but it's still nice. Not certain if this will become regular or not; we'll just have to see how it goes.

Also, there will be a guest entry soon! JammyU, who has been a fan way since the first story, has written something for this again. Be looking forward to that!

to Ditto*, sure thing. Also, about the PM list... it's been more or less cleared due to the long hiatus. so if you expected to be PM'ed about this, sorry, but you'll have to ask to be on again.

In process: Aurorus/Binacle/Chespin
On deck: Elgyem/Tympole/Dragalge, Korokok/Drilbur, Fraxure/Avalugg/Yveltal


Lillipup


As it is time for my early afternoon water and stretch break, I, Official Lillipup Supreme Household Security Chief And Beloved Of Whole Family Pokemon Pet (also known as Mr. Wuffles), will give the morning overview and report to my underling security officers, Mr. Raggy PokeDoll and Mr. Jingles the Ball. Today went off to a good start as I was let outside promptly at dawn by family member known as Mom and the grass was nice and dewy. Examination through perky eyes, sharp ears, and radar fur showed that the yard had been been visited by some wild Pokemon during the night, but nothing destructive. I made certain to reassert my claim to this territory for the sake of protecting my humans.

Upon returning to the house after my morning walk and check, I set about to inspecting the house as usual. Mom was in a hurry to get to work and nearly left behind her lunch, but I was able to get her attention in time so she did not. Sniffing around the hall made me sneeze, so after this break, I will go point out the need for sweeping and mopping to Dad. As he is currently working on the computer, it may not be easy. I may need to roll around and get dust fluffs on me, no matter how unprofessional that will make me appear. That usually works.

In the middle of house inspection, there came time to send the children of the household to school. Child known as Sam has been leaving her toys on the floor lately, so I pushed a doll by her bed on the spot where she would put on her foot on it as a argument against why she clean her room. Yes, Mr. Jingles, it was a potential hazard, but I believe it was effective as she was upset to have hurt the doll's feelings by stepping on it and Dad told her she should pick up her toys so it will not happen again. Meanwhile, child known as Kevin nearly overslept, but I licked his face until he complied in getting out of bed. He complains that I have bad breath.

Thank you, Mr. Raggy PokeDoll, I am glad to hear that you think my breath smells fine.

The preparations for school are always hectic with four children around, even if only three attend. But with my excellent fur, I can see objects on top of tables even when underneath them, so I can easily keep track of school items and make sure none are left behind. Once the three had left for school, I attended to the rest of my house inspection. All I found was further evidence of need of dusting.

Then I went to my next duty, of watching after child named Peter with Dad. You should remember this part, Mr. Jingles, as you were part of the activity 'Fetch'. This went on without unusual incident.

At noon, I was allowed back outside for my noon investigations of the yard while Dad prepared lunch. It was during this investigation that I came across my arch-nemesis, the neighbor's Purrloin. This insidious, underhanded, and sneaky individual had climbed into a tree in my family's yard in order to scratch at the bark. That is unacceptable! I barked loudly and ran around the tree to worry her, but the enemy Pokemon just sat up there smugly. I believe she had some plan to swindle my family when she already has a family of her own who foolishly pander to her extravagant feline demands. Thus, I struck the tree with a mighty headbutt to knock her off her lofty perch and chased her out of the yard. Enemy plans foiled once again!

I did not return to the house until I was certain she would not be sneaking back into our yard, hence why I am late in coming back for my water break. I'm sorry about that, but it had to be done. Dad must have noticed my heroics in defending the yard as he offered me a tasty treat as a reward. While my main concern is my family's safety, I do appreciate the gesture of gratitude. As for my afternoon duties, convincing Dad to do some cleaning is high in priority. Which means I need to go pick up some dust fluffs, unfortunately. But perhaps he will brush me so that the fluffs don't cling all day.

Or... I'm picking up movement past the couch, in the hallway. Peter is walking around and leaving the sight of Dad; Dad must be engrossed in his work again. I suppose that means that I should go observe Peter and make sure he is safe first. Very well, I must leave you to your posts, Mr. PokeDoll and Mr. Jingles, and return to my proper duties. Mr. Wuffles out.

…

Lillipup White entry: The long hair around its face provides an amazing radar that lets it sense subtle changes in its environment.

 

[Inconspicuosaurus]

Thank you for that excellent introduction, Ysavvryl!

Before I start, I should say that your Lillipup story was awesome, and very funny. As soon as I have the time I'm definitely going to go back and read some more of the ones I've missed and give a proper review.

Now then, the subject of my guest entry arose from a misunderstanding, which was that if I picked Pokemon that Ysavvryl had not yet written for, then that would be useful because they wouldn't need to be done again. But apparently the goal is for her to write one for each Pokemon, regardless of whether guests have covered them. However, thinking as I did lead me to read up on some underloved Pokemon with some interesting and inspiring 'dex entries, so it all worked out okay in the end.



Venipede, Tympole, and Fletchinder


The bush was low and thick and grew right alongside the path. It was the Venipede’s favourite place to ambush unsuspecting trainers. The path was well-trodden, and had been since before the Pokémon could remember, but that didn’t mean these humans had some kind of right to just wander through his territory. He had claimed it, and he saw off any who challenged that fact. That was just how things were.

He looked up the path to his right. It was a clear view all along the river, until the path followed a meander out of sight. To the left was the same. All day it had been like this. Still air, no clouds but for the faintest wisp, no sound except for the bird Pokémon in the trees and the quiet rushing of the clear, shallow river on the other side of the path. He hated it. He could just about stomach these calm days as long as a trainer or two broke the monotony for him, but today it seemed everyone had chosen a different spot to enjoy the sunshine.

He slumped down so that his carapace rested on the ground under the dense leaves of his am-bush. He’d come up with that name. He almost chuckled at his own cleverness, but quickly caught himself. Venipede were mean, aggressive. Not funny. That’s just how things were. Just then, he heard a faint voice that seemed to come from everywhere at once. Still feeling embarrassed at his near-betrayal of his fearsome reputation, the Venipede was startled and practically leaped back on to his pointed legs, frantically searching around for the source of the noise.

“Venipede,” it came again.

This time he realised that the voice wasn’t coming from all around. In fact, he wasn’t hearing it at all; he was feeling it in the vibrations rising up through his legs. Once he noticed this fact, he realised what was going on. He poked his head out of his bush, and sure enough, there on the other side of the path he could just about see the head of a Tympole bobbing up and down, trying to see him from below the riverbank. The Water Pokémon noticed him and smiled.
“Hi,” she said, her cheeks vibrating.

While the Tympole’s mouth moved in response to its emotions, she did not need it to speak, preferring to use her specially adapted cheek-pouches. This however was very disconcerting to watch, and was just one of many things about the small Pokémon that annoyed Venipede. She always had that simpering look on her face, and the only time she approached trainers was to try and befriend them. It was just plain wrong.

“What?” asked Venipede, his eyes flicking left and right to check that no trainers were coming; if this watery wimp ruined his ambush, there would be Hell to pay.

“I just thought you should know, I’ve been picking up some weird vibrations from up-river, and I think it would be safer if you left the ambush and went back to your burrow for the rest of the day, just in case,” the Tympole vibrated.

Her eyes looked downwards and her tone grew softer and more hurried as she spoke, clearly sensing the aggravation in the Bug Pokémon’s voice and embarrassed by his demeanour.

“Huh, not likely,” snorted the Venipede, “Maybe I’ll even wander up river and find out what all the commotion is about. I’m dying for some action, and I’m certainly not going to find any back under my rock.”

“Oh… alright… I guess I’ll be going then,” tremored the Tympole shyly.

She looked up at the Venipede one last time, and then turned and swam away with a splash.

“Humph,” grumbled the Poison type to himself, “she thinks she knows everything. Well she’s certainly not going to ruin my fun.”
The Venipede reversed back into the cool darkness of his bush, settled down, and within moments promptly fell asleep.

…

Sometime later, Venipede suddenly awoke with a start. The sun was still shining, everything was still visibly calm, and he couldn’t figure out what had roused him. His antennae were flicking nervously, searching for the cause of his distress. And then he noticed it – the birds had all stopped singing.

“Well that’s all very well and cliché,” he thought to himself, “I bet they've just tired themselves out by being adorable all day.”

He was just about to return his attention to his post when suddenly a strange fizzling sound came from the long grass behind him. He turned around and wriggled out of his bush, into the patch of grass. His antennae began waving again, trying to discern the exact direction the sound was coming from.

Suddenly, a cream-coloured blur shot past him and squeezed through his bush, bursting out on to the path. The Venipede quickly scuttled after it, to find a Lillipup standing, fur bristled, facing back the way it had come. The bug opened his mouth to speak, but was cut off by the puppy Pokémon.

“Run!” it barked, “Fire! Fire is coming. Too strong, must run!”

And with that, it bounded off down the path.

It may have been dry out, but it certainly wasn’t forest fire season. And that meant the cause of all this fuss must be a Fire Pokémon. Well, that would certainly present a challenge, the Venipede mused, and perhaps not an insurmountable one. Lillipup were usually pretty good measures of an opponent’s strength, but he knew Rollout, a Rock-type move. He was confident he could take down any Fire-type Pokémon in these parts.

Just then, he caught the first scent of smoke on the air. And the sizzling noise was getting louder. He looked down the path, after the dog Pokémon, and then he turned to face the patch of long grass. Run, or fight? Venipede were aggressive, brutal. That’s how things were. Of course he would fight.

He stepped out into the midst of the long grass. His feelers could just about detect a wave of hot air coming from upstream, so he orientated himself to face it and stood his ground.

Suddenly, sooner than he expected, there came a rushing sound, and the clap of wing-beats overhead. Luckily, the milliseconds of prior warning his antennae gave him allowed him to instinctively throw up a Protect. And just in time. Bright orange Embers showered down around him, fizzling out on the blue-green shield, and igniting the dry grass instantly everywhere else.

The Venipede scuttled around to follow the path of his aggressor, and saw a black and orange shape wheeling in the sky at about the level of the lower tree branches. It was unknown to him, and it didn’t seem to have spotted him, but it was clear that it was coming back for a second assault.

This time, the Venipede was ready, and he had time to Protect himself in advance. The shield successfully blocked the second Ember, but it seemed as though he had now caught the Fire bird’s attention. It wheeled around almost immediately, and made to dive at the purple bug. But he was ready. He was not the kind of Pokémon to sit and be picked off by some vagrant bird. He was brutal, aggressive.

He positioned his tail horns under his abdomen, and as the bird dived at him, he launched himself up to meet it. His plan worked, after a fashion. His tails flicked out, scattering dirt and ash, and he rocketed up towards the Fire-type. He connected, but not before receiving a face-full of Ember at point-blank range. Despite the pain, he managed to latch on to the Pokémon’s shoulder, immediately clamping down and releasing his toxic venom. The bird squawked, and lost control of its flight, crashing haphazardly down into the Venipede’s circular patch of un-burnt ground.

The Poison-type rolled off of his opponent in the crash, and came to rest on his side, facing it through eyes slitted by pain. The Flying-type, however, did not seem to be fairing much better. It was lying on its back, its wings spread-eagle, with its legs sticking up in the air and its black beak half open. Its eyes were bright and open, but it seemed unable to move. They lay there, with the fire raging around them, and smoke steadily blackening out the blue sky.

“Ha!” coughed the bug Pokémon weakly, “I knew I could take you on,” He spat an orange feather out of his mouth, “Fire types aren’t so… aren’t so…” he coughed again, his eyes now stinging from the smoke as well as his burns. “Alright, I’ll admit it – that Ember hit me pretty hard…”

The bird’s beak moved slightly, as if it were trying to speak. After a few failed attempts, it wheezed, “Your poison isn’t half-bad either, grub.”

“That’s Venipede to you,” introduced the ‘grub’.

“Fletchinder,” replied the other Pokémon strenuously.

“I haven’t seen your kind around here before,” remarked Venipede.

The Fletchinder looked away, pained by something other than the poison in his veins.

“I had a trainer,” it said, “but I was released. So now I hunt. That’s the way it has to be.”

“Oh, well…” said the Venipede, “do you have to burn down half the countryside every time you hunt?”

“Huh!” harrumphed the bird, “usually burning grass is none of my concern, but thanks to you I’m getting to experience what it’s like to be my prey. I expect you think that’s some kind of poetic justice?”

“Oh… so fire can still hurt a Fire-type, huh?”

The flames raged around them, encroaching ever further, and, as if in answer, the Fletchinder winced as an ember landed on his immobile wing.

“Oh, hang on, I think I can help with that,” offered Venipede.

With a great deal of visible exertion, he summoned up a small blue sphere of swirling energy, which rapidly expanded to form a Protect big enough to encompass them both. It shielded them from the flames, and stopped them in their tracks for now, but they both knew that the faintly glowing bubble would not last forever. Inside, the sound of the fire was muffled, and the two Pokémon lay in silence.

“So you know,” said Venipede, breaking the awkward quiet, “if we’re going to die, you should probably apologise for trying to eat me. I hear Arceus appreciates that kind of thing.”

The Fletchinder looked as though the poison was taking its toll on him, but he harrumphed all the same.

“If you want someone to apologise, talk to my ex trainer. He released me into this environment. I’m just doing what comes naturally. I hunt. I eat bugs. That’s the way things are.”

“Huh, trainers,” the Venipede rolled his eyes, “Am I right? They’re no good for anything but beating on if you ask me. And they never show up when you want them too.”

Just then, a strange rushing sound overcame the crackling of the flames. And then the sound was on top of them, and water was rushing down the sides of the Protect bubble in streams. Both Pokémon stared, wide-eyed as the fires died down all around them. And once they were no longer in danger, Venipede lowered his shield and allowed the blissfully cool water to soothe his burns. The blue sky had vanished, replaced by low-lying dark grey clouds, which were raining down a torrential downpour around them.

“Aha!” a loud voice shouted from nearby, “Is this what you brought me out here for, little guy?”

Venipede twisted slightly, to see a male human – a trainer by the looks of him – coming towards them through the blackened and sodden grass. Behind him, a green frog-like Pokémon hopped, gleefully clapping its forepaws together. But at his feet, bouncing along with an intensely worried look on its face, was Tympole.

As soon as she saw her friend, her face lit up, and she bounced over to him as fast as she could.

“Venipede! Oh my goodness, I can’t believe we found you! Look, a trainer did come along today,” she smiled, “I battled him, and he caught me! But when I saw the fire over in your grass, I knew I had to convince him to come and see if you were okay.”

Venipede looked into his friend’s eyes, slowly comprehending everything she had said.

“Oh wow, a Venipede?” said the human, “And a… wow, is that a Fletchinder? All the way out here? Well this our lucky day. I get to catch two rare Pokémon, and you guys get to come back to the Pokémon Center with me.”

“Venipede, isn’t this great? My trainer is going to catch you too, and take you to be healed as well! He’s so nice, I promise you’ll like him.”

Venipede looked up at the human and glared. He tried to roll onto his legs so that he could defend himself. No human was going to take him alive! But then, he didn’t seem too bad, as human’s went. Tympole liked him, and he had apparently saved his life. But Fletchinder’s trainer had just abandoned him, what if that happened to him? But then, Fletchinder had tried to kill him, maybe his opinion wasn’t the best one to follow. He closed his eyes as a bright, red light enveloped him. Venipede were brutal, aggressive, independent. They attacked anyone! But… maybe things didn’t have to be that way.

***​

Venipede Black entry: Its bite injects a potent poison, enough to paralyze large bird Pokémon that try to prey on it.

Tympole Black2/White2 entry: By vibrating its cheeks, it emits sound waves imperceptible to humans and warns others of danger.

Fletchinder X entry: From its beak, it expels embers that set the tall grass on fire. Then it pounces on the bewildered prey that pop out of the grass.

(Cameo) Lillipup Black entry: It faces strong opponents with great courage. But, when at a disadvantage in a fight, this intelligent Pokémon flees.

***​

 

[ToeyJoey]

I did wonder if we'd ever see any more guest entries, I always liked JammyU's mystery one...

Glad to see you're writing again, hope you actually feel better.

 

[Ysavvryl]

Well I do feel better. Not well, but better than a couple months back. And, that might explain this entry, lol.

In process: Elgyem/Tympole/Dragalge
On deck: Korokok/Drilbur, Fraxure/Avalugg/Yveltal


Aurorus, Chespin, and Binacle


The bridge over to this side of the canyon had been a tight squeeze, but now they were on a nice wide path of dirt road that gave Aurorus plenty of room to walk on. In this chilly area outside of the ice cavern, the tall dinosaur Pokemon kept her neck fins folded up so that she kept more body heat to herself. On her back, her Trainer Shauna was bundled up in a cute pink coat, snow pants, fluffy hat, and boots to tolerate the weather. There was also a group of four Chespins riding along, even one on Arurorus' head, but as long as the sun shone they didn't seem bothered by the cold.

"This looks like a good place!" Shauna said, patting Aurorus' neck. "People will be coming and going from the cave to get Pokemon, so we might even get an audience. Come on, set up a booth so we can record images for the PR video."

"Auuurrrooo," Aurorus called, stopping so her passengers could slide or jump off. The crystals imbedded in her skin began to sparkle as she built energy for what had been requested.

Meanwhile, Shauna brought out her smart phone to access her computer storage account. But a look over the items inside revealed a problem. All the equipment she'd brought had been packed away in boxes, so the storage program had decided to label every single one of them 'Box' instead of anything helpful. She frowned, but since most of it would help, she began materializing all of the 'Box' items. She didn't want to get in Aurorus' way, so the boxes were called out in stacks, hopefully not too precarious.

The air began to crackle as the humidity in the area was forced into becoming a solid sheet of ice. Aurorus formed a six foot tall and nine feet wide ice wall, setting it firmly on the ground. Since a structure was needed, she created two narrower walls and set them on either side of the bigger wall. That allowed her to craft an icy ceiling to finish it off with.

"Great job, Aurorus!" Shauna said, taking a box and opening it to find a camera. "Now we just gotta figure out what's in each box..." There was a crash beside her as one of the Chespins had tried adjusting the other stack, only to get the upper boxes to fall on top of him. "Hey, are you all right?"

The Chespin popped up from underneath the boxes and grinned, giving her a thumbs up. He was just fine. However, the hard wooden shell on his head seemed to have put a crack in one of the boxes. That one had the spotlights and the portable generator. Fortunately, she knew there were replacement bulbs somewhere and the generator seemed fine. This was only a slight delay, so she kept opening boxes and directing the Chespins in how to set things up.

Once they set up the gong and the drums, though, the Chespins were soon distracted in hitting the instruments with their heads, leaving Shauna to finish setting up. She found the replacement bulbs and got the lights hooked up to the generator. Then she examined the ice structure that made up their backdrop. "That looks really nice, Aurorus," she said, smiling up at the tall Pokemon. "Hey, you know, the area around Snowbelle and here stays cold all year long. I bet you and I could build a whole house out of your ice! Oo, or even a castle! Wouldn't that be magnificent?"

"Rrruuurrooo," Aururos said, pleased with the idea. Then she nudged the roof of the structure. Of course, the flaw in that plan was that she worked best at making walls. Learning how to make a partial shelter like this had taken a lot of doing.

"Yeah, in order to pull it off, I'd have to learn how to carve up ice," Shauna said. "But it could still work! You'd make flat pieces of ice like big boards of wood, and then I'd cut them up and make them into furniture and whatever else we wanted. If I was real careful, then I might even be able to make a chandelier out of ice. We'd have to put it in a room with a really high ceiling so that you didn't bonk your head into it."

All of a sudden, there was a shout from far overhead. Something large and gray fell out of the sky and crashed into the ceiling of Aurorus' shelter, breaking it into thousands of ice shards. It also landed on top of a Chespin, but she merely paused in her drumming and looked at the newcomer with a curious tilt of her head. Meanwhile, the Binacle pair stuck to the large rock shook themselves to recover, one pressing down on the ground to flip onto their proper side.

"What, what was that about?" Shauna asked, puzzled more than mad about losing the structure. It could be rebuilt. However, the Aurorus whined sadly and hung her head.

One Binacle stretched its striped body out to pull their rock out of the rubble, while the other Binacle held itself high and said, "All right, cut the script right there. We're gonna have to scrap this story and start all over again."

"Wh-what?!" Shauna said. "Why? We were doing just fine until you showed up."

"Yeah, and you were the idiot who broke the frame by speaking," one of the Chespin retorted.

"No way, this story wasn't going right in any fashion," the Binacle said, with the other one snapping its head fingers now that they were in place. "It wasn't going anywhere at all! And what kind of scenario are you trying to accomplish anyhow?"

"I was gonna shoot some film for a PR video and have fun with my beautiful Aurorus and my gang of adorable Chespins," Shauna said, putting her hands on her hips. "And we could have done a perfectly fine story just doing that! It would've had music and everything!"

"How can you pull off music in text form?" the Binacle countered. "Not only that, but what kind of plot is that? It's nothing, it's horrible, and this story had better get erased right now."

"No, no way!" Shauna insisted, stamping her foot down and scattering snow in doing so. "Trevor got to do a story months ago and I want to do one too! But mine would be all about fun, not serious stuffy..." she waved a hand while thinking of a word, "stuff like plots and whatever."

"Besides, I think we've cleared the qualifications anyhow," one of the Chespin said. "She's not a strict author, you know. Now can we go back to playing? I was hopping to get a xylophone solo in at some point."

"This is ridiculous," both Binacle said, sighing and shaking one of their heads.

"My pretty little building is ruined," Aurorus said sadly, crying a bit.

Shauna crossed her arms over her chest. "You're the one who wrecked our story, Binacle, so you'd better fix it. What are you gonna do about that?"

"Well first we need an actual plot," one Binacle said. "And some sun-dried seaweed would be nice; I'm hungry."

"No, we need to clear up this wreckage first," a Chespin said, pulling out a very comical looking bomb with a sparkling fuse. "And explosions fix everything, so I hear."

"W-wait!" the Binacle pair said, while another Chespin hurried over to Shauna and jumped to cling onto her chest. The bomb exploded in a colorful cartoon fashion, not troubling the Chespin at all due to their natural wooden helmets, and not hurting Shauna because the Chespin protected her. Aurorus was fine too, since she was far too big to be affected. However, the Binacle found themselves near unconscious and covered in black soot. One coughed and then they both fell over.

Unfortunately, the explosion also wrecked Shauna's equipment. "O-kay then," Shauna said, dropping the Chespin in her arms. "Well that was weird. So, um," she looked around at them. "Anybody know the point of this story now?"

"Dunno," the Chespin by her said, while the others shrugged or scratched their heads.

"It made me sad," Aurorus said mournfully. "How can we build an ice castle if Binacles are gonna drop out of the sky and ruin everything?"

"Aw, I'm sorry, Aurorus," Shauna said, going over and hugging the huge Pokemon as best she could. Aurorus nudged her head with her snout. "We can still try, but like I said, I need ice-carving lessons and we need a better plan for it."

"Hey, how about we go over to Laverre and have a tea party instead?" one of the Chespin suggested. "Would that make a good PR video?"

"Oo, I think that would be really classy," Shauna said, getting excited. "Let's go do that!"

And they left to do so, but this story is already over. Good night, dear readers.

…

Aurorus Y entry: Using its diamond-shaped crystals, it can instantly create a wall of ice to block an opponent's attack.

Chespin Y entry: Such a thick shell of wood covers its head that even a direct hit from a truck wouldn't faze it.

Binacle Y entry: They stretch and then contract, yanking their rocks along with them in bold hops. They eat seaweed that washes up on the shoreline.

 

[Ysavvryl]

This one took too long to do, although there's been a lot of other circumstances that delayed its appearance. It was supposed to have Elgyem with it, but I kept having trouble getting that Pokémon in without one of the three seeming out of place. Once I dropped it to two, it went more smoothly

All well, at 650 now!

In process: Korokok/Drilbur
On deck: Fraxure/Avalugg/Yveltal, Elgyem


Dragalge and Tympole


“Did you ever wonder what else life could have given you?”

“Hmm?” The Tympole looked over at his partner, a rough and scarred Dragalge. The slippery dragon was coiled around the ship’s rails as usual.

“Like, what if we weren’t out here passing through the same old swamp day after day,” the Dragalge said, looking over the murky muck of vegetation they used the boat to get over safely.

The Tympole shook himself. “That wouldn’t be good. Trainer says there’s valuable things he harvests out here and that’s how he gets his money, to take care of himself and us.”

“Well that isn’t the only way to get money,” she said, sliding along the rail. “There must be other ways because if not, other people wouldn’t be able to pay him for this stuff.”

“And someone else would have to pay those people,” he considered. “But where would that money all come from in the first place?”

“I have no idea,” the Dragalge said. “I’m no human. Besides, I didn’t want to talk about money. I want to talk about life.”

This was odd, but hardly the first odd topic she brought up on quiet days like this. “You sure you want to talk about it? Life can be a sensitive thing.”

Her eyes narrowed and her seaweed fronds shook. “Don't be twisting my meanings, stupid! I mean about what our lives could have been like.”

“Hmm.” The Tympole closed his eyes, but he kept his ears open so he could keep doing his job. His nose was telling him that they could be getting in trouble shortly.

“Nothing says that if we were to repeat this life that it would go exactly the same way,”’ she said, missing the cue for a moment. “Change one little thing and it might be different. Like on the day we met. I hate acknowledging a loss, but if I had won that day, I would still be out in the swamp trying to attack this boat like all the other Dragalge do. And some other Dragalge would be here talking to you, maybe about life, maybe about something else. What do you think? What little thing would have sent you down a different life?”

He remained with his eyes closed. This wasn’t going to be pretty. But after having dealt with her for so long, he knew it was the best way to get her to realize things.

As he thought, she got mad at first. “What’re you ignoring me for? A nap? That’s so stupid, we have a job we need to do and while we can talk, we certainly can’t nap and ignore it entirely. You’re the one who taught me that, so you should know better.”

There was a worrying splash nearby, not loud but typical of a certain Pokemon. The Tympole used his cheeks to send out a piercing warning croak, including information on which direction the threat was coming from and how far away. Their Trainer, at the controls of the swamp boat, slowed the vessel’s speed and watched them for hints as to where the trouble was. Passing up her anger for a moment, the Dragalge brought her head up and looked in the direction he gave to spot another of her kind paying attention to them and preparing to attack. They could easily take down a far bigger and sturdier boat than this one, so the Dragalge with them spat a few poison balls in quick succession to deter the one in the swamp.

The disruption gave her the moment she needed to realize what happened. “Aw no, I called you stupid again, didn’t I? Tympole, I’m really sorry about that. You know how I am; that kind of thing just slips off my tongue when I’m not thinking about it. I wanted to talk about something serious this time, that’s all.” He opened his eyes in time to see her shake herself. “You and Trainer are so calm and civilized that I can’t quite get used to it even after all this time with you two.”

“I do know that you wouldn’t bring up stuff about life with anyone else,” the Tympole said.

“Yeah, because I know you aren’t going to snap at me for thinking of such weird stuff,” she said. “I sort of like you for that.”

“Only sort of?” he asked.

“Hey, don’t push it!” She looked off into the swamp rather than at him, usually a sign that she’d embarrassed herself. “But anyhow, even if our life went on so that we ended up with this human and each other, things could have been different. He could have used us in battles with other humans and Pokemon; we could’ve been evolved to more powerful forms already.”

“Well it would be nice if I did evolve,” he said. “Then I could know the swamp better and be a more accurate scout.”

The Dragalge sighed. “If you were evolved, we wouldn’t have to be making this swamp trek nearly every day. We could be earning a lot of money and respect as a battle team.”

The Tympole curled his tail’s edges some. “I dunno. I like this. We get to talk to each other a lot and Trainer makes us good meals, then we go back to a nice home every night and sleep out of the weather. If we were a battle team, we’d be in a lot of battles and be resting to heal a lot. We couldn’t talk much then. And Trainer would have to be traveling around so we couldn’t always come back home. And he couldn’t always make us good meals because he wouldn’t have his kitchen. Maybe if it was another life, I wouldn’t mind that, but as this is this life, I would mind it. I’m happy with how things are, being here with you and Trainer every day. Wouldn’t trade this life or you for anything.”

“St… Stop embarrassing me!” she said, tensing up and trying to stay a prideful wild Pokemon even though she’d been in a human’s possession for over a year now.

At least she hadn’t called him stupid. But he’d still like to know if she honestly like this life or not.

…

Dragalge X entry: Their poison is strong enough to eat through the hull of a tanker, and they spit it indiscriminately at anything that enters their territory.

Tympole Black entry: They warn others of danger by vibrating their cheeks to create a high-pitched sound.