Work Text:
The Sandgem Flats were as usual. Located south of Lake Verity and past the sleeping alpha Snorlax, it was home to most of the Luxray population in the Obsidian Fieldlands, and notably the only area where Lucas had seen groups of Abras and Kadabras roaming around.
His tasks for the day were rather simple: check on the alpha Alakazam that had replaced the one he caught a few weeks back, and ensure it wasn’t causing strife in the Kadabra population. Record the feeding patterns of the West Sea Shellos. Catch a damned Cherubi instead of another Wormadam…he’d work on that another day. Each task was ticked off one by one—even dealing with the outbreak of Mime Jr. was much faster than he expected. By the time he was finished with the survey work assigned to him, the afternoon sun was still high up, rays reflecting off the feathers of wandering Staraptor.
Resting up at the camp then heading straight back to Jubilife Village this early wouldn’t be an issue, but it wouldn’t be very fun either. As much as he enjoyed helping Professor Laventon compile data for the Pokedex, Commander Kamado would likely pile even more survey work onto his already large load since he was so efficient. To prevent that from happening, Lucas elected to spend just a biiiiit more time out for leisure, relaxing on top of his dear Torterra’s shell while he scribbled on his notebook, enjoying the shade of its tree. The unharvested berries dangling from its leaves attracted many bug and bird Pokemon, but their scuttling and chirping was simply background noise for the distracted Lucas and his relatively uncaring Torterra.
Lucas unconsciously bit his lower lip, eyebrows furrowed as he continued to work on a rough sketch of what was supposed to be an Abra. He wasn’t the most artistically gifted, but messing around with the notebook he was given was a fun way to pass the time. He knew better than to put it next to his survey notes, lest Akari make fun of his drawing skills again, so he had a whole new page out for scribbling and smudging the charcoal on paper, working on the sharp details of the Abra’s ears. Below him, his Torterra yawned, its shell shifting the slightest bit upwards as its mouth opened then promptly closed. Lucas smiled and patted its rocky back, lowering his notebook.
“Are you hungry, bud? I’ve got your favorite salt cakes if you want them.”
Torterra let out a grunt that he assumed was a yes. Lucas slid off the large Pokemon’s back to land on his feet, dusting the dirt off his pants before opening his satchel. He took out a rice cake covered in leaves, carefully unwrapping it with his fingers before tossing it in front of his Torterra, who leaned down and gobbled the food up immediately. In just a few big bites, the entire thing had disappeared, save from a few light pink grains still stuck to the leaves.
“Pretty tasty, huh? I’ve got more!”
Lucas shifted around for another salt cake, some berries accidentally falling out of his bag and onto the ground as he did so. The fragrance of the cakes seemed to appeal to more than just Torterra though, as a low growl caught Lucas’ attention and made him look up, eyes locking with those of an adolescent Luxio. It approached them with an intimidating aura, sniffing the air warily. Torterra was just as cautious, taking a ready stance while facing their unwanted visitor.
“Easy, boy.” Lucas soothed the tortoise, maintaining eye contact with the wild Luxio. The Shinx line was normally hostile to intruders on their territory, Lucas had noted from the times he had been electrocuted by them, but from the way this Luxio was sniffing around and hadn’t yet struck him with a Wild Charge, he was willing to bet this one had a more friendly nature. And if he was wrong, well, a little jolt wouldn’t knock him out. Probably.
“Hey there,” he called out softly, pulling out another rice cake from his bag, “are you hungry? I have plenty to go around.”
The Luxio growled again, yet didn’t attack, so Lucas tossed the rice cake towards it, where it landed safely on the ground with a thump. The Pokemon gave the food a few sniffs before eagerly tearing into it, the leaf wrapper ripped to shreds by its sharp fangs. Lucas felt the tension leave his body bit by bit, still keeping his eyes on it in case things went south. The meal seemed to be enough to gain its trust however, as after the food was eaten up, the Luxio let out a satisfied purr, its electrified mane noticeably flattening against its neck. Its eyes were no longer narrowed like a predator, its body language showing its ease. It continued to walk towards Lucas, feasting on the berries that had fallen earlier while he watched in wonder. Now that he felt safe, Lucas flipped open his notebook to start writing down his new discovery.
“Some outliers in behavior for frequently hostile Pokemon such as Luxio…”
Even after months of survey work and years of being a Pokemon trainer, he was still managing to discover new things in familiar species. After the Luxio had its fill of berries, Lucas watched it leap onto Torterra’s back and knead its paws on the grass. The larger Pokemon didn’t seem to mind now that it knew that the Luxio wasn’t a threat, allowing it to curl up into a sleeping position on top of its back.
“Haha, looks like our new friend likes you!”
The Luxio wasn’t the only one making use of the small habitat of Torterra’s back. It purred contentedly in the canopy’s shade while a Burmy hung from one of the tree branches, swaying slightly with each breeze. At the very top was a Starly that had just perched itself on the nearest branch, preening itself and likely unaware it was even atop another Pokemon. Torterra was acting just as oblivious, opening its mouth wide and letting out a long yawn.
“Hey now, are you trying to make me drowsy too?”
Lucas chuckled at his own joke, but it quickly turned into a yawn of its own, suddenly aware of how heavy his eyelids felt, each blink feeling slower than the last. Either status moves were starting to work on him, or perhaps the strain of surveying since early morning was finally getting to him.
“You know what, bud? You have the right idea. A nap sounds good right about now…”
Lucas tucked his notebook away, and leaned his head against Torterra’s shell, letting out a relaxed sigh. A sense of déjà vu washed over him at that moment, a scene much like this one pushed into the front of his mind. It brought him back—well, forward in time, to when he still donned modern clothes, a different Torterra’s pokeball in his palm, factory made rather than handcrafted with apricots. In his drowsy mind, Lucas found himself taking a break along an urbanized route to the city, crowded with trainers rather than herds of territorial Pokemon. Yet when he blinked again, all those images of Sinnoh disappeared—he was still in Hisui. The rocky mountains blended with the greenery of the landscape as his eyes finally shut before dozing off, dreaming of home.
BOOM!
Lucas woke up with a start, groaning as he sat upright and stretched his arms out. Behind him, Torterra stirred awake, its own slumber interrupted just as suddenly. He rubbed his neck, sore from his sleeping position, and blinked his eyes open before they widened in alarm at how drastically different the scenery now was. Everything had taken a violet hue, thunderclouds swirling above a tear in the sky, crackling angrily. It was like he had been whisked into a completely different dimension.
“What the…”
He pushed himself to his feet to examine the surroundings. Oddly enough, when he looked past the unfamiliar purple, he swore that he was still in the same area where he had fallen asleep. All the Pokemon that had gathered on Torterra’s back were gone—in fact, all the surrounding Pokemon aside from Torterra were missing as well. Logic said that they were simply scared off from the same loud sound that woke him up, but he had a feeling that the eerie environment had much more to do with leaving the place uncharacteristically empty. Though as he was about to learn, that wouldn’t be the case for long.
Lucas had only taken a few steps forward before more thunder boomed overhead, the air itself rumbling before bursts of light came from nowhere and a few Pokemon suddenly appeared before him. Where they were from, he had no idea, but it didn’t take a genius to know they were very agitated and scared at being thrust into this situation. A Luxray that had popped up inches away snarled at him, black mane crackling with electricity as it prepared to pounce.
“Oh, crap—”
His body reacted before his mind did, barely brushing against electric charged fur as the adrenaline pumped through his veins and forced him into motion, rolling out of the way. Getting attacked left and right during survey work certainly affected his response time, unfortunately, it didn’t extend to where he should dodge, and he ended up colliding headfirst into something hard, wincing as he rubbed the future bump on his head. When he opened his eyes, he was looking right at a very tall, and very angry Alpha Steelix. Its roar was deafening, making Lucas recoil, covering his ears with both hands as it prepared to swing its tail at him.
“Torterra, use Earthquake!”
He couldn’t even hear himself shout the command, only being reassured it was received when Torterra got up on its hind legs, bringing itself up as high as it could go before stomping its front legs against the ground, the earth rumbling violently as cracks shot out from the epicenter. Lucas lost his balance, landing on his butt as the tremors continued. The shaking completely overwhelmed the Luxray that had attacked him earlier, but more importantly it seemed to throw the alpha Steelix off too, its long, coiling body moving left and right to avoid being brought down to earth. Just dealing with the biggest Pokemon wasn’t going to be enough, though.
A floating Drifblim, obviously not affected by any tremors, inched closer, and a resistant Floatzel next to it quickly regained its balance, angrier than before. It stared Lucas down with narrowed eyes, split tails beginning to whirl rapidly before propelling forward with a lunge, Lucas right in its path. He barely had time to roll out of the way of the oncoming Aqua Jet, and his Torterra certainly didn’t have the ability to, the Floatzel crashing into it and pushing it backwards. Still, it stood firm, leaving marks of dragged dirt by its feet as it held its ground. The Floatzel wasn’t done however, baring its fangs as frosty ice began to form on its canines.
“Wood Hammer!” Lucas yelled out. Torterra let out a monstrous roar, swinging its body against the Floatzel like a mighty hammer. The Pokemon crashed into the nearby rocks, disappearing with the next flash of lightning. In its place however, spawned even more wild Pokemon, just as confused and angry as those before it.
“What’s going on?” Lucas muttered to himself, but finding answers wasn’t the priority right now. His Torterra was looking roughed up, and the alpha Steelix was recovering from the attack, red eyes staring down at them. Its jaw opened, and Lucas realized in terror from the way light was collecting into its mouth that it was charging up a powerful move.
“Use another Earthquake!” Lucas thrust his arm towards the Steelix, but before his Torterra could even lift its feet up, a burst of dark purple energy crashed into it, startling both of them. An attacking Drifblim had caught them off guard, and the mass gathering in the Steelix’s mouth only grew bigger as Torterra staggered.
“Dodge it!” Lucas cried out in alarm, but it was no use. Torterra was just too weakened to react in time. A Hyper Beam so bright that it hurt to even look at shot out from the Steelix’s mouth, sending the poor Torterra flying into the nearest rock, which shattered on impact. When the dust had settled, it lay collapsed on the ground, swirled eyes more than enough indication it couldn’t continue fighting.
With one opponent defeated, the wild alpha set its sights on Lucas while he quickly returned his fainted Torterra to its pokeball, microscopic in comparison to the shadow that engulfed his own. Lucas’ heart pounded, and he knew what he had to do.
Run!
His feet kicked into motion, ducking as another Shadow Ball went flying his way. The Pokemon were chasing after him from all sides, and it was only a matter of time before he was cornered. As much as he prided himself for his stamina, he wasn’t outrunning adult Luxrays. His mind raced for solutions out of his predicament. What did he know? The Pokemon disappeared after a while, at random intervals or when they were too weak to continue battling. So, what could he do? The only other Pokemon he had on him were weak, caught just today. He wasn’t desperate enough to let a poor Mime Jr. get curb stomped by an alpha Pokemon! His hands rummaged through his satchel, clamoring for a solution, before it felt something sticky. Hold on…
A lightbulb went off in his head as he practically tore open his satchel, carelessly tossing the berries and mushrooms he had gathered out of the way to get to his stash of sticky globs and pokeballs. He knew those secret (and expensive) packing techniques would save his life someday!
Lucas pulled out a handful of sticky globs in one hand, and a pokeball in the other. He made eye contact with the alpha Steelix, which let off a steam of exhale from its nose before roaring again, a challenge to any takers. He had dealt with bigger things, he could do this. With resolve, he let out a battle cry of his own as he dashed towards it, tools in hand.
“Welcome back, Lucas!” Akari called out when she spotted the boy walking through the gates of Jubilife. Well, limping would probably be the better term. He was hunched over, clothes scuffed with dirt and looking downcast as Akari approached him. She frowned when he didn’t respond, barely even acknowledging her presence with a nod.
“Are you alright? I hope you weren’t knocked out again.”
“I’m fine…I think.” Lucas sighed. “It’s a long story.”
“Then tell me about it! I really enjoy hearing about your progress.”
He put a hand over his face, furrowed brows visible from the gaps between his fingers. He breathed in for a few seconds longer than necessary before exhaling it all in a huff.
“Another one of those weird space-time distortions popped up in the fieldlands.”
“Again?” Akari shook her head. “Those things are showing up everywhere. Where was it?”
“The Sandgem Flats.”
“But isn’t that where—“ she gasped, “don’t tell me you went inside it?! I’m always too scared to even get near them!”
“Not by choice,” he grumbled, “it just showed up above me. Next thing I know, all these Pokemon are attacking me!”
“And then?” She leaned in closer. “What happened next?”
“I tried to fight them off, but my Pokemon just couldn’t take all the attacks. So…”
“So?”
“I caught them all.”
“…What?”
“I couldn’t outrun them, so I just started throwing all my sticky globs and pokeballs at them.”
He jerked a thumb at the pastures, where the townsfolk were letting several Pokemon out of their balls, including a rather large Steelix that was making everyone take steps back in fear.
“I didn’t actually catch all of them, but when they’re too busy trying to escape from a pokeball, it confuses them enough that they don’t really know what to do.” He explained while Akari listened with her mouth slightly agape.
“I kept running around, avoiding getting blasted, and eventually they all just…disappeared.” He snapped his fingers. “All gone, just like that. No more crack in the sky, no more Pokemon, no weird purple dome-thing. Everything was back to normal.”
“That’s insane! I wouldn’t believe that story one bit if it wasn't coming from you!” Akari put a finger to her chin in thought. “Well, I understand you’ve been through a lot today, but why do you look so upset? You’re alive, and came back in one piece! Isn’t surviving such an ordeal a cause to celebrate?”
“There’s more.” Lucas groaned. “When the distortion disappeared, I somehow ended up inside the alpha Alakazam’s territory. It…didn’t take kindly to my sudden appearance, and I was still panicking, so I just threw everything I had at it. And, well, I managed to catch it too. Which means those 2 weeks I spent making sure the Kadabras were adjusted to the new alpha went down the drain. Captain Cyllene is gonna kill me…”
He expected some words of sympathy, but instead he was met with Akari’s burst of laughter.
“Hey! What’s so funny?” Lucas pouted, crossing his arms.
“You’re the only survey corps member who’d think they’re in trouble for catching too many Pokemon.” She spoke in between giggles. “You really are a whole league above everyone else!”
Her laughter was contagious, and despite trying to keep an unamused look, Lucas found himself chuckling along with her, despite everything he had been through.
“Let’s get some potato mochi, you dummy. Then afterwards we’ll talk to Professor Laventon about what you saw. I just know he’ll be thrilled!”