“You three! I have been awaiting your arrival, and it is exceptionally rude to keep a king waiting.” The pink rhino-rabbit hybrid proclaimed, his voice an earthly rumble of a baritone, layered with confidence and surety. The glint in his loam brown eyes spoke of clarity and vision for a future he could clearly see. “But, as I was forewarned by your messenger, I shall permit this offense to slide. Now, as is custom, which of you shall bear witness to my prowess?”
Chad, Gaston, and Ginette shared a look; none seeming sure how to respond. Chad extended a closed fist, to which Ginette responded with her own. The two shook their fists up and down together once, twice, and on the third time shifted their hands into a pair of split Vs with two fingers. Quietly, they reformed the two fists and repeated the motions, this time both forming a flat with their hands on the third shake. “This is ridiculous, I’ll do us the honors.” Gaston grumbled, moving forward to meet the challenger.
Nidorino shifted his stance slightly, lowering his head almost in respect. “I had not been informed that à vous fête were escorting a fellow member of royalty. My apologies for such a rude introduction. I have been crowned as Alexandre; ruler of this area and future King of Kalos.” Nidorino said with a quadrupedal bow.
“Oh, an upstart who seeks to topple my throne? Very well; let us settle the manner as the gentlemen we are.” Gaston responded with a sneer, as the two squared off in the middle of the dirt road. With no referee, the two stood silently waiting, as Gaston’s body lightly shimmered with brown energy that matched his own hide. Likewise, Alexandre’s eyes were firmly glowing with white rings as his gaze bore into the dinosaur.
For the opening salvo, Gaston swung to his left, turning his body perpendicular to his foe before slamming his right foot against the earth. A line of rocks emerged in a straight shot at Alexandre, but at a speed the pink challenger was easily able to sidestep and dive into the earth. Undeterred, Gaston summoned a pillar of stone to raise him up and create his own high ground.
There was a tense moment as the dinosaur surveilled the field from his perch, waiting for the rabbit to reemerge. Then a lurch, as the pillar shifted, falling as the earth supporting it began to give way. Chad rode the falling rock downward, eyeing the rocks from his first attack as a new platform to leap to. Waiting until the opportune moment, Gaston leapt for his new vantage point— only to whip around in mid-air and create a shield of white energy right before a glob of glowing purple goo would smack into him.
Alexandre, his head exposed above the dirt near the base of the pillar, laughed. “My, it seems I may have underestimated vous. A bloodline royal who can handle unconventional tactics is a rarity, indeed.” He lauded, as he slightly shifted around the fallen pillar. “But beware, the high ground is only an advantage if you can use it.”
With the taunt made, the pink rabbit disappeared back beneath the dirt. Gaston, having landed on his new perch, took the momentary lull to coat himself in purple energy and do a little dance. “Do not misguide yourself of the notion I am unfamiliar with fighting amidst the muck; neither of us rose to power via inheritance.” Gaston rebuked with disdain, as several smaller rocks broke off from a nearby spire to float around him.
One of the rocks began to sizzle and hiss as it intercepted another gooey projectile. To which Gaston responded by flinging it at the origin of the projectile, slamming the recently disturbed dirt with a ‘poomf’. In an odd game of whack-a-mole, the two traded jabs with Alexandre popping up to fire off a poisonous projectile, only to duck back down before Gaston could retaliate with a rock.
The sporadic assault halted, as Gaston wearily eyed the grounds for the next attack. His eyes went wide when the rocks shook and shattered beneath him. Down at the base, Alexandre grinned as he darted away, having landed a solid kick where the rock was heavily fractured and collapsing. “Then I suggest vous prepare yourself to get a little dirty!”
Left with nowhere else to go, Gaston rode the collapsing rocks to the ground, rolling off the momentum. Alexandre faced him head-on, the two of them each preparing their next attack— to be interrupted by a loud clap from Chad. “Alright, I think that’s enough for now. You both put up a good show, but anything further and we’ll need to head back to town.”
Both combatants relaxed, crossing the distance to share their equivalent of a handshake. With some coordination, they were able to clean up the mess, returning the dirt road to be at least functionally similar to how it had been before the battle began.
Chad and Ginette walked over, introducing themselves as well. “So, will you be joining us?” Chad inquired, eyeing the formidable Nidorino. “Because I have a feeling you’d be a great addition to our team.”
Alexandre nodded, prompting Chad to pull an empty pokeball from his bag, expand it, and offer it to his new teammate. With a gentle tap, the pink rabbit disappeared inside the sphere, which gave a pleasant ‘ping’ sound. Immediately after, Chad released his new teammate, shrinking and affixing the fourth ball to the magnetic belt around his waist.
As the four sat around the crackling fire, enjoying their dinner (some type of meat mixed with grilled veggies and a helping of rice), conversation flowed. “And that’s when I told her, ‘If you go keep that up, my Water Gun won’t be the only thing splashing you in the face’!” The group shared a hearty laugh at the end of the story.
“My, quite the salacious seductress, aren’t you?” Alexandre remarked with a face covered in food scraps, using his shoulder to nudge at Chad on his left to encourage a laugh. “And, how did things go?”
Ginette’s smile faded slowly, gradually shifting to a pained reminiscence. “She said it was only going to be a coup d'un soir; something I wish I knew she felt before I allowed myself to– to feel like maybe…” The camp fell to silence, with only the whistle of the wind and the crackle of splitting firewood to fill the void.
Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.
“That’s just an excuse for something you shouldn’t have even been contr?ler in the first place!” Ginette shouted into the night sky. “This isn’t about you, or her; this is me, once again feeling like I was finally safe and accepted, like I finally found someone who saw moi.” Gaston slid over to sit next to her, as a comfort. “How am I supposed to face her? Just avaler mes sentiments and treat it like nothing happened?”
There was a pause, before Alexandre spoke up. “What if you tried to bring her with us?” The other three eyed him in disbelief. “With two royals, surely no knight could decline such a prestigious offer?”
“She’s a gym pokemon.” Chad responded with a grimace, to which Alexandre motioned for him to elaborate. “It would be unheard of; you’d need to incept the idea in both her and Korrina’s heads before we even get there. Plus, we’re already facing a tough battle, wouldn’t such a stake raise the difficulty or expectations?”
No use being coy, Narrator.
Straight from a western film, a gust flew across the camp, dragging a collection of leaves with it. “How– why– when did you set this all up?” Ginette asked as she balked at the admittance.
“You had planned for Lucario to join us from the start,” Chad voiced, as the pieces seemingly clicked into place on his face. “She’s the fifth team member, right?”
Gaston took the opening to voice his concerns. “That implies we shall be breaking some Plausibility. What violations will we be incurring?”
You will have one team member who is not from this region.
“Author-sama, the others couldn’t hear that.” Chad sighed, opting to repeat the information for the rest of the audience. “If Lucario is number five, that means the final member will be this wildcard. But that’s neither here nor there; right now we should focus on the Reflection Cave.”
Chad unfolded the cave map, spreading it out while dangling his tail as an overhead lantern. Tracing the path with a single claw, he whispered directions from the cave entrance to the supposed location. “Noted; that’ll be incredibly helpful for going against the Lumiose Gym.” Chad stuffed away the map, eyeing Alexandre. “You’ve got a tough decision ahead; you can hold off on evolving and practice your poison moves more, or evolve as soon as we secure the stone. The latter would give you more time to practice in your new body, which I imagine you’ll need.”
The pink rabbit tilted his head to the side. “What do you mean?”
“Nidoking? Your next form? It’s bipedal?” Silence, visible confusion. “Right; rare stone, rare evolution. Your final form walks on two legs, and gains the ground type. You’ll get access to a ton of new moves, but you’ll need to re-learn how to walk.”
“For tonight, I believe a better use of our time would be to plan a path through the cave. Such a decision should be given the proper time to weigh both options.” Gaston commented, changing the subject.
Ginette, visibly conflicted and potentially agitated, stood and strode towards the tent. “You boys can fight over being cold tonight; I’ll see you in the morning.” With a tap of her ball, still attached to the belt, she vanished in a red light.
Gaston locked eyes with Alexandre, before asking him “Do you want to sleep outside or in the ball?” The boys were still cleaning up the mess, as the rhino swept dirt over the fire.
“As the newest member of this entourage, I shall request that vous make the decision, Emperor.” He responded, as Chad finished storing the remaining cooking tools from dinner. Gaston took a small bow, before tapping his own pokeball to vanish for the night. “It must be quite comfy in there.”
“It varies; I’ve heard the fancy ones are much more comfortable, but it’ll be a while before we can afford one.” Chad responded, holding open the tent flap for Alexandre to squeeze in. Sealing the canvas structure with a long zip of the entry zipper, the two laid down atop the unrolled sleeping pad, the sides stretching and expanding outwards as the tent was clearly undersized for the two of them.
“Quite crowded in here already; will even a single one of us fit inside after evolving?” Alexandre asked with a smirk as Chad unfolded the cold weather blanket.
“I dunno, maybe Ginette and Lucario. But you and I sure won’t.” Chad responded, eyeing the spines along the rabbit’s back and body. “I don’t think you’ll be able to use the blanket.”
The pink rhino chortled, smiling at the orange lizard. “That may be; my spines are great for defense, not so much for soft objects.” Chad, setting the blanket to the side, shuffled over to be closer. Reaching to envelop Alexandre in a hug, the quadruped nervously shifted away. “Hey, don’t take this the wrong way, but I’m not that kind of King.”
Chad, exhausted, simply patted the spot his teammate had moved away from. “I understand, but it’s going to be cold tonight, especially without the blanket. You need a source of warmth, and I’m touch-starved. It isn’t ideal, but we just need to get through tonight. If it makes you more comfortable, I can have my back to you the whole night.”
Alexandre looked away in shame before returning to his spot, relaxing as his side pressed into the warm back of the fire type. Chad curled up in a fetal position, keeping his fiery tail tip away from anything flammable. Alexandre opened his mouth to say something, before a flash of guilt crossed his eyes, changing his mind and lying down flat to try and sleep.
“No, climbing is for the weak.” Gaston announced, slamming a foot on the ground. With a rumble, a pillar began to rise beneath them, steadily elevating the group towards the top of the climb.
<...Fine, I suppose that’s one way to tackle the problem. Gaston’s elevator brought the group up to the peak, where Chad had to restrain Alexandre from rushing the shining white crystal. With minor convincing, Ginette placed the Moon Stone in the team’s backpack, and the group rode the stone pillar back down.>
Chad, Gaston, and Alexandre were spread around their chosen spot in the lounge area, each focused on their own task or thoughts. Alexandre seems to be coming to, his eyes no longer spinning nor head wobbling. “Woah, that… was quite unlike anything I’ve felt before. Do you do that often?” The pink bunny inquired, his voice edging with excitement and anticipation.
“Yes,” Chad responded with a deadpan stare, before shuddering and falling backwards onto the bean-bag chair with his tail dangling off the side. “The time skips are handy, but damn do they feel weird. Like watching a movie of your life, except at the end instead of a credits roll you feel every ache and injury from the whole thing.”
“Agreed, though the benefits slightly win over the drawbacks. To clarify a point of confusion: I was unaware we could interrupt the process?” Gaston spoke his opinion, ending on a question which had not yet been brought up.
“Yea, that’s the first I’ve seen that too. Last time, the Narrator interrupted it to have me tackle something.” Chad followed up, sitting upright after remembering the occasion with the janitor’s closet. “Actually, that didn’t make sense; why did an entity capable of controlling everything and everyone need me to help–”
Because I thought it would be funny.
It was harmless enough, I just wanted to shoe-in a reference for the readers.
…Zero.
“Do you two mind? I think we have more important things to think about than whether some anonymous entities understood a joke.” Chad grunted, trying to enjoy the last bit of comfort before they called it a night.
Bite, Stomp, Rock Tomb, Dragon Dance, Hone Claws, Rock Smash, Bulk Up, Detect, Protect, Dragon Tail, Ancient Power, Stone Edge, Rock Slide
Peck, Focus Energy, Double Kick, Poison Sting, Horn Attack, Dig, Venoshock, Sludge Bomb, Poison Jab