New Friends and Terrifying Foes
"And you're sure this crystal is still active?" I asked as we stood outside the entrance to a cave. It looked as though this cave used to be part of a lake or a stream but had long since dried up. The hole descended into a dark tunnel which I could faintly see an orange light shining below.
"Yes, Derek." replied Alexis as me and Aroma gathered around the rim of the hole, "You should know however, that evolution is permanent. I can't imagine why you'd want to back out, but if you wish to do so, now is your only chance." she explained as me and Aroma looked at each other and nodded as we began to descend into the hole.
Climbing down it was relatively simple for me, but it was difficult for Aroma due to the fact that her species was designed to walk on all fours, so it was complicated to grab onto anything while climbing down and I had to carry her on my shoulders most of the way.
As we continued to climb down, the orange glow got brighter until we were finally at the bottom where we were greeted by the image of a brilliant orange crystal. It shined so brightly, we may as well have been on the surface rather than about 10 feet under ground.
"You who seek evolution... step forward now and present yourselves..." said the crystal in a telepathic voice causing both me and Aroma to jump in surprise.
Meanwhile with Brimstone!
"Do you think we lost them?" Asked Brimstone as she and her new friend Lopunny were dashing through the forest. It was difficult for Aroma due to having such stubby legs compared to the elegant form of Lopunny, but they were still making good progress.
"I don't know, they're pretty well trained, I think we-" Lopunny started before there was a powerful explosion of dust and debris that erupted in front of them, causing them to fall backwards and halt their retreat. Sticking out of a crater in the ground was the upper torso of Swamp who had a look of serious determination on his face.
"Ninja Art... Dig!" he called before diving back into the crater and causing the ground to rumble as a snake stream of rubble was trailed across it, signifying where the Marshstomp was tunneling. Brimstone and Lopunny just barely had enough time to climb back to their feet when Swamp burst from the ground again in a shower of debris and proceeded to land punches to both of them, knocking them to the ground again.
"Damn it... he's a water and ground combo. Both are good against fire types..." Groaned Brimstone as she struggled to get to her feet again. She saw the trail of rubble coming directly at her this time and just when it was about to reach her, the ground exploded, but this time not from Swamp.
"Mega Kick!" shouted Lopunny as she dove for the head of the tunnel trail, canceling it out from hitting Brimstone and causing Swamp to fly to the surface to avoid the attack. While he was still in mid flight, he clasped his hands together in the position of a makeshift Hadoken stance.
"Ninja Art... Water Pulse!" He shouted as the thrust his hands forward and unleashed a pulsating sphere of water straight for their position. Lopunny was bracing for the attack when suddenly, brimstone interjected by spewing a cloud of smoke from her mouth, having used a Smoke Screen attack and allowing both her and Lopunny to dodge the attack. The sphere of water collided with the ground hard enough to cause a small crater as it popped into a splash of water much like a water balloon as Swamp landed back on the ground gracefully.
"It's no use. He's too strong and none of my attacks are going to be very good against him." panted Brimstone as they continued running through the smokescreen, covered from view. "Who would have thought a Marshtomp would make such a skilled ninja?" she asked before she heard a sound like a rushing jet coming from behind.
"Fire Kick!" shouted Phoenix's voice as he went blazing through the smoke with such velocity that he actually caused it to disperse, his talons set aflame as he prepared to land an explosive kick. "First I'll burn you to ashes and then I'll crush them to powder!" he shouted as his feet collided with Lopunny, sending off a flaming explosion from the impact.
And now back to our heroes.... With Derek's point of view
"Wow, this is weird!" shouted Aroma as her body was glowing brightly and increasing in size. My body was having a similar experience, although not as big a difference in size. Regardless, I felt new untapped levels of power coursing through my body. My small it effective jaws felt powerful enough to crush metal and I felt my small, red spikes grow out into a Mohawk. My claws became sharper and my body broader to allow for more muscle. Finally the glow stopped and I found myself with the body of a Croconaw now instead of a Totodile! I also noticed my scales on my stomach had taken the color pattern of some awkward caveman style singlet.
Aroma was finishing up her changes to as her leaf grew quite large and the tiny flower nubs around her neck grew out into what I could only think of describing as "blunts" that pot heads might try to smoke her neck also elongated granting her the appearance of a brontosaurus but otherwise she looked somewhat the same, now having evolved into a Bayleaf. She was nearly 5 times her original size now while I had only grown maybe a few inches taller, so she was quite large compared to me.
"Think we can take them down now?" She asked me. I shrugged my shoulders in response. While I did admit that our powers were substantially stronger than before, it was a very foolish mistake to go rushing in without even trying to focus them first.
We proceeded to climb out of the hole, now with much grater difficulty than before due to our larger bodies, and finally managed to reach surface again. When we did so, Typhoon handed us a strange pink box with a strap which I slung over my shoulder.
"Those are some items we've prepared for you, that box is old. Alexis and I used it back when we were a team. We have no use for it anymore now that we're retired." he said. Aurora came bounding up between us panting heavily. We hadn't brought her along with us, so she had just come running all the way here from home.
"Wait!" she panted. "Please... let me... join your team?" she pleaded, startling both me and Aroma who looked at each other and then at the young Evee's parents. They had a slight look of surprise on their face which quickly faded away into a mixture of bemusement and pride.
"Mom and dad have such great stories about the past." said Aurora who had now regained her breath, "I want to see the world like they did. I want to become a famous explorer too!" she cried, bowing before me and Aroma as if begging a lord to grant her a favor.
"If that's the way you feel..." said Alexis with a slight grin as she looked towards me, "It's alright with us if Derek and Aroma agree to it." she said causing her daughter to squeak in joy. Aroma and I looked to each other as if trying to discus the matter mentally.
"It's true that our team could use some more members." I said as Aroma nodded, we both turned to Aurora and simultaneously declared "We accept!" and were promptly tackled by the young Evee who was attempting to give us hugs as a token of thanks.
"We have just one condition however..." said Typhoon, causing me, Aroma, and Aurora to look towards him in confusion. "You must promise to bring Aurora back here in the event that you happen to defeat Lust. We have something for her that she is not yet ready to accept." he explained. Aurora looked even more confused as to what he could have possibly had, but Alexis seemed to hide a knowing smile as if her husband was hiding some grand inside joke from us. Once again we accepted the conditions and began to race off back to the meadow where we had last been ambushed when Brimstone was captured. According to Aurora, we had only been out for a few hours, so the scent might have still been fresh if we hurried.
Back with Brimstone and Lopunny....
"I... I can't move anymore..." moaned Lopunny as she lay in a heap on the ground, bruises covering her fur. Brimstone was in equally bad shape but still just barely managing to stand in a brave attempt to save her new friend from the assault of the two pokemon. Mandragora still wasn't anywhere to be found at the moment.
Both Phoenix and Swamp stood side by side, just staring down the helpless Cyndaquil and preparing to make their mark. Finally, Phoenix began to charge forward with his clawed arms held up and ready to strike.
"Cross Chop!" he crowed and slashed his arms downwards in an X motion, slamming straight into Brimstone who was sent hurdling into the air. It was with this attack that she felt the last ounces of her strength leave her limbs and that would have been enough to defeat her... until suddenly....
"Ninja Art, Water Pulse!" shouted Swamp he fired off another sphere of pulsating water which impacted with her in mid air, striking her with all the force of a fire hose and sending her crashing to the ground with a scream of agony for being hit by excessive damage even after she was defeated.
Brimstone hit the ground, hard. A cloud of dust kicked up around her as she bounced and lay unmoving, but thankfully still alive. Phoenix approached the terrified Lopunny now and stood over her with his right leg raised over head. The malice and rage was practically radiating off his body.
"Fire..." he muttered as his talon was engulfed in flames and Lopunny waited for the ending blow to come. "Kick!" he roared and began to bring his explosive kick right down on Lopunny's face!
"Yes, Derek." replied Alexis as me and Aroma gathered around the rim of the hole, "You should know however, that evolution is permanent. I can't imagine why you'd want to back out, but if you wish to do so, now is your only chance." she explained as me and Aroma looked at each other and nodded as we began to descend into the hole.
Climbing down it was relatively simple for me, but it was difficult for Aroma due to the fact that her species was designed to walk on all fours, so it was complicated to grab onto anything while climbing down and I had to carry her on my shoulders most of the way.
As we continued to climb down, the orange glow got brighter until we were finally at the bottom where we were greeted by the image of a brilliant orange crystal. It shined so brightly, we may as well have been on the surface rather than about 10 feet under ground.
"You who seek evolution... step forward now and present yourselves..." said the crystal in a telepathic voice causing both me and Aroma to jump in surprise.
Meanwhile with Brimstone!
"Do you think we lost them?" Asked Brimstone as she and her new friend Lopunny were dashing through the forest. It was difficult for Aroma due to having such stubby legs compared to the elegant form of Lopunny, but they were still making good progress.
"I don't know, they're pretty well trained, I think we-" Lopunny started before there was a powerful explosion of dust and debris that erupted in front of them, causing them to fall backwards and halt their retreat. Sticking out of a crater in the ground was the upper torso of Swamp who had a look of serious determination on his face.
"Ninja Art... Dig!" he called before diving back into the crater and causing the ground to rumble as a snake stream of rubble was trailed across it, signifying where the Marshstomp was tunneling. Brimstone and Lopunny just barely had enough time to climb back to their feet when Swamp burst from the ground again in a shower of debris and proceeded to land punches to both of them, knocking them to the ground again.
"Damn it... he's a water and ground combo. Both are good against fire types..." Groaned Brimstone as she struggled to get to her feet again. She saw the trail of rubble coming directly at her this time and just when it was about to reach her, the ground exploded, but this time not from Swamp.
"Mega Kick!" shouted Lopunny as she dove for the head of the tunnel trail, canceling it out from hitting Brimstone and causing Swamp to fly to the surface to avoid the attack. While he was still in mid flight, he clasped his hands together in the position of a makeshift Hadoken stance.
"Ninja Art... Water Pulse!" He shouted as the thrust his hands forward and unleashed a pulsating sphere of water straight for their position. Lopunny was bracing for the attack when suddenly, brimstone interjected by spewing a cloud of smoke from her mouth, having used a Smoke Screen attack and allowing both her and Lopunny to dodge the attack. The sphere of water collided with the ground hard enough to cause a small crater as it popped into a splash of water much like a water balloon as Swamp landed back on the ground gracefully.
"It's no use. He's too strong and none of my attacks are going to be very good against him." panted Brimstone as they continued running through the smokescreen, covered from view. "Who would have thought a Marshtomp would make such a skilled ninja?" she asked before she heard a sound like a rushing jet coming from behind.
"Fire Kick!" shouted Phoenix's voice as he went blazing through the smoke with such velocity that he actually caused it to disperse, his talons set aflame as he prepared to land an explosive kick. "First I'll burn you to ashes and then I'll crush them to powder!" he shouted as his feet collided with Lopunny, sending off a flaming explosion from the impact.
And now back to our heroes.... With Derek's point of view
"Wow, this is weird!" shouted Aroma as her body was glowing brightly and increasing in size. My body was having a similar experience, although not as big a difference in size. Regardless, I felt new untapped levels of power coursing through my body. My small it effective jaws felt powerful enough to crush metal and I felt my small, red spikes grow out into a Mohawk. My claws became sharper and my body broader to allow for more muscle. Finally the glow stopped and I found myself with the body of a Croconaw now instead of a Totodile! I also noticed my scales on my stomach had taken the color pattern of some awkward caveman style singlet.
Aroma was finishing up her changes to as her leaf grew quite large and the tiny flower nubs around her neck grew out into what I could only think of describing as "blunts" that pot heads might try to smoke her neck also elongated granting her the appearance of a brontosaurus but otherwise she looked somewhat the same, now having evolved into a Bayleaf. She was nearly 5 times her original size now while I had only grown maybe a few inches taller, so she was quite large compared to me.
"Think we can take them down now?" She asked me. I shrugged my shoulders in response. While I did admit that our powers were substantially stronger than before, it was a very foolish mistake to go rushing in without even trying to focus them first.
We proceeded to climb out of the hole, now with much grater difficulty than before due to our larger bodies, and finally managed to reach surface again. When we did so, Typhoon handed us a strange pink box with a strap which I slung over my shoulder.
"Those are some items we've prepared for you, that box is old. Alexis and I used it back when we were a team. We have no use for it anymore now that we're retired." he said. Aurora came bounding up between us panting heavily. We hadn't brought her along with us, so she had just come running all the way here from home.
"Wait!" she panted. "Please... let me... join your team?" she pleaded, startling both me and Aroma who looked at each other and then at the young Evee's parents. They had a slight look of surprise on their face which quickly faded away into a mixture of bemusement and pride.
"Mom and dad have such great stories about the past." said Aurora who had now regained her breath, "I want to see the world like they did. I want to become a famous explorer too!" she cried, bowing before me and Aroma as if begging a lord to grant her a favor.
"If that's the way you feel..." said Alexis with a slight grin as she looked towards me, "It's alright with us if Derek and Aroma agree to it." she said causing her daughter to squeak in joy. Aroma and I looked to each other as if trying to discus the matter mentally.
"It's true that our team could use some more members." I said as Aroma nodded, we both turned to Aurora and simultaneously declared "We accept!" and were promptly tackled by the young Evee who was attempting to give us hugs as a token of thanks.
"We have just one condition however..." said Typhoon, causing me, Aroma, and Aurora to look towards him in confusion. "You must promise to bring Aurora back here in the event that you happen to defeat Lust. We have something for her that she is not yet ready to accept." he explained. Aurora looked even more confused as to what he could have possibly had, but Alexis seemed to hide a knowing smile as if her husband was hiding some grand inside joke from us. Once again we accepted the conditions and began to race off back to the meadow where we had last been ambushed when Brimstone was captured. According to Aurora, we had only been out for a few hours, so the scent might have still been fresh if we hurried.
Back with Brimstone and Lopunny....
"I... I can't move anymore..." moaned Lopunny as she lay in a heap on the ground, bruises covering her fur. Brimstone was in equally bad shape but still just barely managing to stand in a brave attempt to save her new friend from the assault of the two pokemon. Mandragora still wasn't anywhere to be found at the moment.
Both Phoenix and Swamp stood side by side, just staring down the helpless Cyndaquil and preparing to make their mark. Finally, Phoenix began to charge forward with his clawed arms held up and ready to strike.
"Cross Chop!" he crowed and slashed his arms downwards in an X motion, slamming straight into Brimstone who was sent hurdling into the air. It was with this attack that she felt the last ounces of her strength leave her limbs and that would have been enough to defeat her... until suddenly....
"Ninja Art, Water Pulse!" shouted Swamp he fired off another sphere of pulsating water which impacted with her in mid air, striking her with all the force of a fire hose and sending her crashing to the ground with a scream of agony for being hit by excessive damage even after she was defeated.
Brimstone hit the ground, hard. A cloud of dust kicked up around her as she bounced and lay unmoving, but thankfully still alive. Phoenix approached the terrified Lopunny now and stood over her with his right leg raised over head. The malice and rage was practically radiating off his body.
"Fire..." he muttered as his talon was engulfed in flames and Lopunny waited for the ending blow to come. "Kick!" he roared and began to bring his explosive kick right down on Lopunny's face!