Thank you for reading. Hopefully you enjoy. If you REALLY like it, I have a P-a-t-r-e-o-n, under the same name, where you can read 3 chapters ahead.
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Siren's tail fin beat furiously side-to-side, eyes narrowed in concentration as she rounded another corner, the water churning in her wake and washing over the tiled floors. Her weak muscles strained at the continued effort, yet she persevered.
She had to.
The years since getting to the Safe Place and leaving the sands and blood behind had been… kind to Siren. She knew that. Brother said so often, and even if she knew he was just being kind, her mentor had said the same thing.
Said that Siren was growing stronger than most of her kin.
Yet… stronger than weak wasn't good enough. She had not been the only one to learn at the mental feet of Spiral-Mind, and she had seen her peers… be better than her. Learn faster. Understand better.
However… she had also seen them be comfortable.
She had seen them be content.
Not her. She may still be too weak to protect Brother. She may still be ugly. She may still be stupid.
But she would not stop. Where they had their power and bodies, she would keep up, and maybe even beat them, with will. When they rested, she would continue. When they said 'enough', she would think 'warm-up'. Squeezing her eyes shut, Siren forced herself to keep going, one more lap, and then one more-
-only for a hand to scoop her by the underbelly and yank her out.
"Take a breather, Princess. No need to overwork yourself."
Gurgling up at Brother in between pants, she ignored the slight whiny edge to her best attempts at communication. She was still good to go! So what if her whole body trembled? That was the weakness he needed her to overcome!
"Don't give me that. Pushing too hard is just as bad as not trying hard enough. Take 10, then we'll do some Water Ember exercises. See if we can't lure Dewgong into helping again."
Disappointed and not sure she agreed, Siren nevertheless plopped down in the lap of her equally wet Trainer. She sighed in reluctant pleasure as his fingers brushed across her scales, her heart calming at his presence.
"You too, bro. Come on, don't make me a hypocrite."
Siren glanced over with half-lidded eyes as the newest addition to their family grabbed onto the ledge with his large hands and pulled himself up. She wasn't pleased with Brother leaving her behind and picking up a new member without her opinion, but she supposed Brother would always do as he wanted. It would be up to Siren to clean up as always.
It was the least she could do.
Yet… there were worse additions to the team.
The Lightning-Child, named Hercules by Brother, was breathing as hard as Siren herself was, matted fur dripping with water. He whirred up at Brother with disappointment, making Siren look at him sternly. He had a good attitude, but he needed to learn discipline. She would not tolerate disobedience.
Still, it was… good to have someone to push herself with. Someone who understood, like she did, that if they wanted to keep up, they had to work 10 times harder than the others. Lightning-Child, like Siren herself, was weak by nature. It was good that he understood that they had a long road ahead of them, if they wanted to keep up with the blessed members of their family.
"BAAAEEEEEEE!"
Speaking of the blessed. Siren glanced over at the loud screech, seeing the other female on the team.
The trio sitting on the edge of the large swimming pool in the backrooms of Cerulean Gym watched as a large purple clam-esque Pokémon, with a large red tongue flopping out and round eyes peering out from the shadow of its shell, jumped in front of its ally valiantly. However, they had underestimated the Bagon, as so many did. The giant reptile called Behemoth latched her jaws around the armored Water-Type, enormous fangs sinking into the steel-hard shell, and jumped back with her catch. Shaking her head furiously while growling, the Dragon-Type waited until Shellder's temporary teammate came to assist before launching Shellder straight into the newcomer's stomach. The large, blue, bipedal, amphibious Pokémon folded over with a groan, wide mouth opening as its round head leaned downwards. Said mouth slammed shut as Behemoth hit it with a strong Headbutt, sending the Water/Ground-Type falling backwards.
"You know, she's doing pretty well. She hasn't tried to kill any of them yet." Even as Brother said that, the large jaws clamped down on the Quagsire's tail and whipped it up and over, slamming it into the floor again and again. It was only when the Shellder fought her off with a multi-colored beam of cold energy that Behemoth finally let go of her prey with a pained shriek, charging at the Shell Pokémon with a short, glowing arm held high.
"Betty, here. Come take a breather." The Dragon-Type glared over at Brother as the battle halted, her opponents appearing glad for the breather. Neither of them was hurt, both… too strong, strong enough to handle the feral beast. Siren did not appreciate the look and started gathering the cold energy Brother had taught her in her stomach, ready to discipline as was so often her role.
Yet, before anything could come of it, Behemoth stomped over and sat down beside them, leaning into Brother's other hand as it massaged the base of the Titan's neck. The two Pokémon's eyes met, Siren refusing to give even as she saw the hunger lurking in the dark depths.
Siren's feelings about Behemoth, or Betty as Brother insisted on calling the monster, were conflicted. On one hand, Behemoth was already strong, despite supposedly growing slowly like Siren, and would only get stronger. That was good. The stronger their family, the better they could keep Brother safe. Beyond that, Behemoth's love for Brother was evident. That was, if anything, even better. Strong was good.
Loyal was best.
Still… it was not all good. Siren could handle the Bagon always being one move away from trying to eat her, especially when that hunger decreased day by day, battle by battle. Behemoth respected strength and little else, but much like Brother, Behemoth seemed to be seeing beyond the Feebas' weakness and seeing her determination.
However, the aggression was a problem. The fury and violence that always bubbled under the surface. Many thought the Dragon-Type stupid, but Siren knew better. She had seen the cruel and brutal intelligence that the Bagon concealed, had seen her utilize Brother's love for her to get out of trouble. If directed at their enemies, it was a great help to Brother… but when it wasn't, it threatened him in turn.
Siren would not allow that. She would kill Behemoth before her teeth reached him.
So, for now, Siren watched. She would remain cautious as Brother slowly ground away at Behemoth's single-mindedness, as she slowly calmed down under his direction. She did not know how it would turn out. Siren was too stupid to think that far, but for the time, she knew that Betty, if not Behemoth, could be their greatest ally.
Also, she tried hard. Not as hard as Lightning-Child, but hard. That was good.
It was also more than she could say about the last member of her new family.
A yelp echoed off the walls, paws and nails scratching frantically at the smooth flooring for purchase. There wasn't a need to look, but Siren did so anyway.
If nothing else, watching Old-Water-Master at work was an experience.
The liquid turned and foamed out from one of the smaller artificial lakes, the warehouse-size training area more than large enough to support multiple pools. With barely any effort, balls of water lifted from the straining surface, perfectly smooth and unwavering. One by one, the balls launched forward through the air, staggered to allow their prey a chance, though another grunt let them know that it wasn't enough.
Lazy, or Sol by Brother, scrambled to get out of the way of the projectiles, fur almost as wet as Lightning-Child's, leaving a trail of droplets hanging in the air as the Growlithe frantically did his best to avoid them. The yellow canine was panting and shaking, eyes wide and awake in a way that Siren had struggled to induce in herself.
She let out a little gurgle of contentment. Lazy was… lazy. It was good to see him pushed to his limits. And it made sense that it took someone mighty to do it.
Hanging halfway out of the pool, with a snowy white head, torso, and front flippers lying on the tiles, Old-Water-Master watched the large Growlithe dance around, its half-lidded, black eyes and a big smile. The enormous Dewgong, big enough to dwarf even the naturally privileged Lazy, didn't as much as twitch as Lazy, foolishly seeing a chance to end his torment, waited for the last of the barrage to end before sprinting forward. A faint glow, similar to Lightning-Child's fast move yet more shiny and controlled, briefly flickered to life around his body before dimming and returning, Lazy's speed increasing slightly. More water balls tried to intercept, yet one thing Siren had to give Lazy was that once he got started, he was hard to stop.
The overgrown Pokémon lowered his head and tanked the attacks, whimpering a little with each blow, but coming out the other side still moving. Seeing his target, Lazy jumped into the air, the unstable fast-glow disappearing and being replaced by orange flames leaking from the yellow pelt, the Alpha spinning in the air as he came down with a Flame Wheel-
-only for two tentacles of water, each as thick as a tree, to leap out of the pool and catch Lazy mid-air, flames sizzling and dying on contact. Lazy had a moment to whine in dismay before the tendrils yanked backwards and dragged him down with them. Resurfacing for a second, Lazy flailed around desperately before being yanked back down. Once, twice, three times, the process was repeated before the Fire-Type was flung back onto land. His whole body was shaking, and Siren imagined Brother felt bad about the way Lazy rolled around trying to get away from Old-Water-Master, yet she was happy to see that he didn't interrupt.
Lazy needed to be harder on himself. The battle in the large, hollow rock had shown Siren that her weakness… was still very much real. Lazy, on the other hand, seemed to justify it by being outnumbered.
Stupid Lazy. They were always outnumbered.
No, she decided as she wriggled out of her Trainer's arms and back into the water, there was no time to rest. She didn't know if Old-Water-Master was actually one of the Masters Brother talked about, but the Dewgong was so far above Siren that there was no time for rest. The water control the Water/Ice-Type was capable of was very much out of her reach, but that was why she practiced. She ignored Brother's hypocritical complaints, Lightning-Child jumping in along with her, and the resulting fight above as Behemoth tried to follow them down.
There was training to be done.
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"Tentacool, use Acid and then move to the left and prepare a Bubble when it dodges and!-"
"Herc, Shock Punch, quick escape. Siren, Ice Beam left!"
"What, no! Psyduck, get out of the way! Dodge!"
"Ripple, you idiot, that's my side! Tentacool, avoid the Ice Beam by going upwards and to the left and then-"
"Polly, watch out!"
I shook my head as the large, yellow duck-esque Pokémon stumbled to the side, arms swinging like pendulums as it tried to keep its balance. It failed, tripping on the edge of the shallow pool and falling into the water. Unfortunately, it fell in the exact spot that its teammate was moving towards. The Pokémon, with a light blue, clear body and two large, transparent, red, crystalline eye-esque growths on each side of its body and an extra small one in the middle, resembled a jellyfish. Near the base of its body was a pointed, beak-like projection and two eyes with small pupils. There were also two grayish tentacles extending from beneath its round lower body, which had a cape-like formation on the back.
The Tentacool was struggling with the constant barrage of orders, taking several seconds to register them. To its credit, it seemed to remember them all in sequence. But it was just too slow, as evidenced by the Psyduck coming crashing down on its squishy body, stalling the two of them still long enough for Siren's Ice Beam to hit them both. The water muffled the sound of impact, and some of the energy got used to carve a frozen path through the liquid that swiftly collapsed under the pressure, but it mattered little.
Not when Hercules jumped from the edge, fist cocked back and ready to punch. It struck Psyduck in the middle of the back, sparks of, admittedly, somewhat weak electricity leaping from his hand. The blow sent both Pokémon splashing back into the pool, to the vocal dismay of their Trainers.
"Psyduck, nooooo!"
"You fucking idiot, look what you did! I could easily have dodged that!"
"Polly, I'm sorry…"
"MORON!"
I raised an eyebrow as their unconscious Pokémon floated to the surface, face down. It wasn't really a problem as both were Water-Types, but I expected better from Gym Trainers.
Although that might be my own fault, I should've learned to lower those expectations for Cerulean.
That wasn't very fair, and yet it was.
It was the third day in Cerulean, and I'd been mostly enjoying it so far. The training was going well. Being the Water-Type Gym of Kanto, Cerulean was obviously specialized in that type of training. As such, Siren was definitely the one benefiting the most. Nothing truly spectacular, but even as I watched, Hercules returned to my side, somewhat patiently waiting for the next opponent. At the same time, Siren immediately swam to the side and got back to practicing Water Ember. The theory wasn't that difficult, but we had trouble actually implementing it. The abundance of Water-Types around had helped massively, Dewgong especially. Siren's cheeks ballooned out. She held it for a moment, focusing on the shape, before spitting it out with a pop!
A chunky spray shot forward over the water, falling with a quiet, repeated pitter-patter! like rain falling. But hidden in the mess, I saw four rough, ball-shaped globes briefly take form before dissolving.
Progress. Slow progress, yet undeniably progress. I didn't know who the enormous Dewgong belonged to, but its hydrokinesis was monstrous.
Beyond Siren, though, we'd mostly just been working on coordination and general physical training. Betty had a great time throwing herself against the stronger Pokémon of the Waterflower Clan that hung around both inside the Gym and outside, though we still stayed clear of people. Even the sisters hadn't seen the Titan Bagon, though that was mostly because I hadn't seen them myself since I was allowed to stay.
Her Brick Break and Dragon Breath were both coming along well. They weren't flawless by any means, but they worked every time, which was a reasonable minimum. Before long, I'd start her on Dragon Claw, and then she and Siren could try and figure out Dragon Pulse together. Rock Tomb had been put on hold until we spent some more time outside. Hell, maybe we'd wait until we met up with Brock again. I wanted it to be ready before she evolved, but we should have time.
I was proud of my little baby. Seven times out of ten, she no longer tried to kill her opponent. While they were fighting, at least. There were still some issues after she won and her prey was downed. But we were getting there.
I'd give it a month before I trusted her in an official battle. Probably hold off a little longer than that, for security reasons, but it was good shit.
Hercules was doing great as well. I hadn't taught him any actual moves as of yet, but I'd shown him the little Shock Punch trick. It was him punching something and using Thunder Shock at the same time, but it gave him a little more 'oomph' while he trained physically and provided him with some additional practice with Electric-type moves. With further study, my initial thoughts proved to be correct. Herc's electricity was notably weaker than it should be. Hell, a Chinchou was hanging around one of the deeper ponds out back, and the deep-sea Pokémon had output nearly twice the amount Hercules had.
And the Water/Electric-Type was apparently only a year old and around a second Badge level.
Even that was mostly because its typing was unusual.
So yeah, loads to work on there. But in return, the little guy was some sort of physical genius, in my completely unbiased opinion. He soaked up fighting techniques, even if they weren't actual moves, and his blows seemed to get stronger by the day. Not to mention his Quick Attack. Hercules was the first Pokémon capable of the move I'd had since Ra, and as much as I held my Vulpix's memory in high regard, Herc had a talent for Quick Attack Ra had lacked. There was still some trouble with narrow turns, and it was too slow to activate for my tastes, but there was definitely some potential there.
It wouldn't be long before he was ready for something like Focus Punch, I absently noted as the Electric-Type snuck away to do some training on his own, while the two Trainers were still lost in their argument.
Or maybe Brick Break first. It wasn't one of his egg moves; however, it was a more convenient attack to pull off. Lower power as well in the games, but it was hard to gauge how that translated.
Sol was currently outside, hiding from me and sulking. It wasn't like I wanted him to fight nothing but Water-Types, but it was good for him. Not only would it toughen him up, but it also helped with Agility. Not just his movement, but the actual move Agility. He could pull off Flame Wheel pretty consistently, though accuracy was a little more dicey, and I wanted him to have as many moves as possible, as quickly as possible. I doubted it worked like that anymore, but in the games, Arcanine couldn't learn a lot of moves that Growlithe could. Something happened after evolution that seemingly froze the move pool.
It would likely be a bit before I got him a Fire Stone, especially if I wanted enough money for a good one, yet it couldn't hurt to start as quickly as possible. He also needed a little more motivation, something the local Water-Types were more than happy to provide.
Hopefully, he was practicing Morning Sun as I told him. He probably was. The lazy fuck loved lying around in the sun.
So yeah, on the individual side, Cerulean had been good for us. But as a team, it could've been better.
Mostly, it came down to the fact that most people didn't train in directing multiple Pokémon at the same time. Double battles weren't popular in Kanto, and even though Gym Trainers were expected to be able to engage in a real fight, I was in an awkward spot.
The weaker Trainers, like Polly, who was currently tearing Ripple apart, hadn't really started that part of their training. It typically began around the fourth or fifth Badge level. But those trainers were just too strong. Not as strong as I perhaps expected, which said good things about my future Badges, but definitely strong enough that they could beat any of mine one-on-one.
So yeah, not the best in that regard, but at least I confirmed that I didn't suck at it.
But most of all, Cerulean had given me time to think. To plan.
Because what was the fucking plan?
I sighed as I left my Pokémon to their training. I'd check on them a little later to stop them from overworking themselves. Sitting down on the edge, I let my bare feet dangle in the water, ugly-ass bright pink bathing trunks screaming their existence to the heavens. I also ignored the huff from behind me as something came plodding up and demonstratively lay down.
Since getting to Pallet, I'd had two goals.
Goal 1: Get all eight Badges. Make it to the Conference, and win that bitch. Made sense. It was basically the standard dream of most people and the point of the games. Be the strongest and win. Beyond that, it had also been Shannon's goal. No amount of therapy would ever convince me that the gang's death hadn't been my fault; it was only right that I did what I could to fulfill their dreams. The path there was pretty straightforward as well. Train, grow, eventually evolve my team, and beat the Gyms.
Goal 2: Destroy Team Rocket and beat the fucking shit out of Proton. Maybe murder him, we'd see how much restraint I had.
That was… a little harder.
I knew some info. Giovanni was the hidden boss. There may or may not be a secret base under Celadon. And at some point, probably around the time Ash was in Saffron, the Rockets might attack Silph Co. headquarters.
That… was it. It wasn't nothing, and I could do a lot with it, but it wasn't enough.
I leaned back to look at the ceiling and sighed again, once again ignoring the even louder huff and shuffling.
If I got strong enough, I might be able to just fucking charge Viridian Gym and hopefully find something incriminating before the League got there and arrested me, but I'd like that to be a last resort. Partly because it didn't address the main issue that I'd spent over three years trying to find a solution for.
Mewtwo.
The genetically altered clone of Mew, Team Rocket's very own vat-grown Legendary. A Pokémon so strong that it could not only fight Mew and more or less draw with the tiny pink cat-thing, but it could also create storms powerful enough to threaten the entire planet.
And it was currently serving loyally at Giovanni's side.
Now, there was every chance that the murderous clone wasn't as strong as it was alluded to being in the movie. In fact, it was probably likely. The only one that said the storms would've destroyed the entire planet was Mewtwo himself, and that guy was gagging on his own metaphorical cock with how much he sucked himself off. The only thing greater than his power was his god-complex.
On the other hand… the only Legendary I'd met was Giratina, and that shadowy fuck had certainly felt like a God, capital G and everything. And even from a distance, Ho-Oh had altered the weather in a multiple city-wide radius by flapping its fucking wings.
Yet, even if Mewtwo was 20 times weaker than that, there was still fucking nothing I could do about it. Add in Giovanni supposedly being the strongest Gym Leader, like one fucking step under Elite Four level, plus all the Executives…
I was so outgunned that it wasn't funny.
So far, I'd just been going 'fuck it, we ball' and getting my hits in where I could, like Mt. Moon, but that shit had bitten me in the ass. As much as I hated to think it, and I really fucking did…
The safest, most sure-fire, and reliable way to take down Team Rocket…
Was to stand back and do fucking nothing. Let canon play out. Let Giovanni's ego get the better of him. Let him try to fuck around with Mewtwo and find out. Let him and his whole base get blown to shit.
I wasn't necessary. If anything, my involvement only increased the chances of some Butterfree flapping its dumb wings and changing things.
But that… that bothered me. It bothered me a fucking lot. It made my skin itch and my very fucking soul howl, every fiber of my being rebelling at the thought. And what about Proton? The other high-ranking members? In the games, they just sat around jerking each other off for four years, only to reappear in Johto, back on their bullshit. How many people got hurt in those years? How many Pokémon, kids, were killed for their incessant need to rule the world?
Should I stand around, dick in hand, when I knew what was coming? Was it better to be proactive or reactionary in this case? What was I-
-a big, furry shape bumped into my back with another, even louder huff, knocking me from my spiraling thoughts. Turning to look, I cracked a smile despite my bad mood.
Suppose he could have a break. A small one, anyway.
"Either you're mad at me and ignoring me, or you want attention. You can't have it both ways, buddy." Sol exhaled sharply again and didn't even deign to look at me, like I wouldn't notice that he'd shuffled three feet closer to me during my internal monologue. Reaching for his ears, he allowed it for a moment before remembering he was supposed to be mad at me and moving just out of range.
"Come on, boy," I crawled a little closer so he couldn't escape and started giving him some love, "you know it's good for you. You're a slacker by nature, and I need you to lock in. Facing opponents you can't just steamroll with your size is healthy."
It was funny to see a creature trying so desperately to seem angry, while one leg was furiously kicking at the air. As I pushed him over onto his side and moved down to his belly, his tongue dangled from his mouth as he panted. He was a little grumpy from having spent the last three days fighting Water-Types non-stop. Whenever something else came along, I made sure the others fought it. With any luck, it would temper Sol's ego a bit. Didn't seem to have worked quite yet, but that simply meant we hadn't gone hard enough.
Still, it was essential to give him some affection as well. It also served to keep me distracted from thoughts that were really not going anywhere.
Fuck it. I'd pick it back up when we got closer to Celadon. Thankfully, I got another distraction as the doors leading into the main Gym opened, and I got my first glimpse of the Sensational Sisters since my stay began, as they came through the entrance while engaged in a mumbled three-way discussion that appeared quite heated.
"Yo!" I interrupted whatever they were talking about. I didn't care any more than they'd apparently cared about me in the last couple of days. I'd have been sleeping by the pool if one of the Gym Trainers hadn't taken pity on me and shown me to an empty room. "Here for our battle?"
Daisy groaned loudly at my words, tossing her head back. "Oh my Lugia, are you still here?"
"Don't you have better things to do than hang out in here all day?" Lily was next, looking at the various weights and equipment I'd littered their training area with.
"Also, stop stealing our Trainers! We've been looking for them all day! Polly, Ripple, we need you in the main hall. We're about to start rehearsal, give us a minute." Violet, in contrast to what I'd gotten used to from the sister's during our last encounter, appeared quite serious, barely sparing me, or the two Trainers who were suddenly hurrying out of the room, much more than a single glance before turning back to her siblings.
But I was a dick, so I didn't let it go.
"Hey, someone has to let your Trainers do some, you know, training and battling, like, you know, Trainers do. Oh, no, wait, you guys wouldn't know about that."
Growling, Daisy spun back towards me. I perked up and started rising, a giant grin beginning to form on my face when she reached up to her neck and yanked a Pokéball I hadn't noticed off a necklace. "Okay, that's it! You wanna fucking fight, go right ahead! Have fun."
"Whoa, Daisy!"
"Sis, don't-"
Whatever Lily and Violet had to say came too late, the Pokéball soaring through the air. Despite shying away from battling, I had to admire Daisy's aim as her ball landed in the middle of the large pool in front of me, cracking open on contact with a red flash that quickly spread.
By that time, I had stood myself and recalled Sol, ready to respond with either Siren or Herc, depending on what it was. Maybe it was like a super-strong Blastoise or something, or perhaps that's where the big Dewgong had gone. There were a lot of Water-Typ-
-"GYRRRRROOOOOOAAAAARRRRR!"
-The ship shook in response. A deep, low rumble reverberated through the boat, like a hundred tigers growling at the same time. The glass shuddered, and the wood groaned as my heart seized in my chest, and I forgot how to breathe. Ra froze completely, like he was paralyzed-
The ruby energy dispersed, not like it usually would by returning to the ball, but in a burst of fragments as it was shattered. Blue scales, each as large as my torso, rose out of the water like a mountain, dominating my entire vision, thick white scars marring nearly every one, countless marks earned from its prey. In the middle, a stripe of slightly smaller yellow scales, divided the blue like a river through an ocean, matched by a row of equally yellow spots running down either side, where the medals of combat didn't ruin them. Whole waterfalls poured out of the crevices, tens of thousands of gallons displaced by the armored hide that put tanks to shame.
An immense draconic head loomed over me, small red eyes containing a frenzied violence not even Betty could match as it looked around for something, anything, to destroy. A massive three-pointed, dark blue crest emerged from its head like a crown it had earned through blood and whole battlefields' worth of bodies, chips, and cracks lining the symbol of unbridled conquest. The maw was gaping and cavernous, a pit of endless hunger that had devoured hundreds, if not thousands, through the beast's long life, with torn yellow lips and three and a half human-sized fangs poking out. Long white whiskers hung from either side of the monster's face, wavering in the hurricanes that were born with every breath, beneath a pair of torn white fins that matched the four dorsal fins running down the length of the titanic serpent, one shorn so close it might as well be gone.
The water writhed and roared at its sheer presence, the leviathan's mere existence doing more than most Water-Types could dream of. The liquid undulated back and forth like it couldn't decide whether to flee from the terrifying nightmare of madness and death or obey its master's dreadfully powerful command.
-"GYRRROOOOAAAARRRR!"
The over 45-foot long, who knew how many tons, Gyarados threw its head back and bellowed its savage wrath to the world once more, creaking and cracking coming from the large glass skylight as the volume threatened to break it and send it crashing down on our heads. The floor shook, and tiles peeled from the walls, breaking on impact and launching shards that flew like deadly shrapnel, yet were so very insignificant next to a being about whom mythology was written and children warned for generations.
A colossal, eye-burning, bright ball of swirling gold and white formed in the ancient sea-snake's mouth within an instant, steam immediately filling the room as the water boiled, the hall illuminated like a second sun had been born-
-I grabbed Ra and pulled him close as a bright light shone on the water outside, like a second sun had been born right over our heads.
"HOLD O-"
The world vanished in light. Everything shook like an earthquake, sending us crashing to the ground as our side of the ship suddenly tilted inwards. A tree-trunk thick beam of blindingly bright, gold-ish white scythed through the middle of the vessel, instantly vaporizing the wall, door, wood, metal, anything in its path turned to ash by its mere proximity-
-the click! of a Pokéball was unnaturally loud as the truly monstrous Gyarados was abruptly sucked back in, the Hyper Beam gone along with it.
Silence ruled Cerulean Gym.
A hand touched my arm, and I jerked away, only now realising that I was pressed up against the far wall fifty feet from where I remembered being last. My whole body was shaking, sweat running in thick streams, yet all I felt was cold, my heart thundering in my ears so loud I couldn't hear what Lily was saying, despite being right in front of me.
W… wh-what was that?
What the fuck!?
"I-I'm fine…" I had enough of my wits to realise that her face was one of concern before I shoved her away and used the wall to push myself back up. I swayed on my feet, head fuzzy like I had a concussion, yet I flinched away from the hands coming to support me.
I… I didn't want to be touched.
I ignored them all, heading straight for the door leading to the outside part of the training area. My steps became faster, from walking to power walking, then to jogging, and finally to running. I barely registered the doors banging open as I sprinted through them, nor as they slammed shut behind me.
I needed air. I needed to be alone.
I-I needed… I didn't know what I needed.
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AN: Ah, the trauma. Been a while since Peri got reminded that he's an edgelord. The post-Orre debacle was for more than just shock; it's an important part of Peri's growth thats gonna hang around for a while.
Slow chapter, but I'm okay with it. Not my favourite, but not my worst either.
Thank you for reading. Hopefully you enjoyed. If you REALLY liked it, I have a P-a-t-r-e-o-n, under the same name, where you can read 3 chapters ahead.