Salad 2.9

Aaron FulanRusturf Mountains, Hoenn Region

I felt a little strange calling where we were the "Rusturf Mountains" seeing how we'd yet to actually climb more than half a dozen feet in elevation at most from Verdanturf. Still, we passed the ranger station and the signpost so it was what it was.

"Kirlia. Kir. Kirlia… Liiaaa."

Jeanne looked up at that, nudging her horns into Artoria's lower tummy. Despite the initial embarrassment from my teasing, the two had gotten used to traveling like a mounted knight, at least when they weren't doing individual training. "Maa? Reep. Mareep."

"Kirlia."

"Mareep."

"Kiii… Kirlia?"

"Maree… Mareep-ma. Mareep."

"Kir," Artoria said, letting out a snorting laugh that sounded a lot like the tinkling of chimes.

I smiled as I walked around a particularly gnarled root. It was good to see the two interact more. They were both adorable chuunis, but were otherwise diametrically opposed in personality. Artoria was quiet and quite reserved, save with myself. She was also disciplined and dedicated to the sword arts to the point of obsession. On the other hand, Jeanne was naturally bombastic, a never-ending fireworks display of enthusiasm. She was more curious and had an unexpected mischievous side.

Under normal circumstances, even had they been of the same species, I wouldn't have expected them to become friends. Seeing them joke like this made me wish I understood pokémon like Yellow or N. A few minutes later, I felt Artoria tug gently on our bond, dragging me into her consciousness. My body walked on in autopilot, long since used to sharing our senses.

'My lord, I spoke to Jeanne concerning a potential teammate from abroad,' she said.

'Oh? That's great. Thanks for doing that, Artoria.'

'Tis no problem. She says she does not want a goomy.'

'Did she say why?'

'They are not huggable.'

'Really? That's her reason?'

'She cares very much for her wool, my lord. A slimy creature would matt it down. She fears it will keep her from looking her best.'

'She won't always be a mareep.'

'Perhaps, but she is not a fan of the idea nonetheless.'

I chuckled. Leave it to Jeanne to decide on the viability of a teammate based on how huggable they were. Still, it was as good a reason as any. There were other tanks out there and a sligoo would have been difficult to train by all accounts. If even one of my pokémon didn't like the notion, I didn't see a reason to insist on one. 'I suppose that leaves us with a larvesta. I'll ask mom about it the next time I call her. Unless you had anything else to add?'

'I do not. But in the future, may we consider a physical combatant? I would not mind a sparring partner.'

'I'll put that on my list. I should let you know though. Volcarona may be some of the strongest ranged combatants around, but their pre-evolutions are actually physically inclined. They rely on moves like Flare Blitz instead of Flamethrower in battle. And, larvesta are slow growers despite being bug type; it takes a lot for one to evolve so we'll likely have a physical powerhouse on the team for a while.'

She brightened up considerably at that. 'In that case, I look forward to meeting one. I shall prove that my blade can cut any flame!'

I thought about it. I didn't know what the melting point of silver was exactly, but unless she greatly reinforced the spoon with psychic energy, she was likely in for a bad time. I told her so, and all that got me was an oath to train even harder until not even magma could melt her sword. She swore to cleave a volcano, molten core and all, with a swing of her blade.

'One day, Artoria. One day,' I promised her. Pokémon ran on shonen logic. Frankly, with the kind of training she did and the full, unrestrained conviction and dedication to her craft, I wasn't ready to discount the feat from the realm of possibility.

We soon found a clearing and settled down for our midday meal. I had hoped to find some berries to supplement my stores, but that turned out to be a miss. Everything I found was either underripe, overripe, or claimed by a wild pokémon. I rummaged through my hammerspace bag and pulled out a kettle to make rice. I'd picked up a taste for the stuff in my old life from the Japanese half of my family and with the space provided by this world's technology, there wasn't any reason to subsist entirely on trail mix and beef jerky.

I soon had a fire going and the rice set to boil with a touch of vinegar. Next to it, I pulled out two largeish fillets of magikarp and tossed it into a separate pan with salt, pepper, and spices that didn't exist back in my old world. I then started chopping some dried, sour plums to add to the dish. I was purposely making more than we could eat. Any leftovers could be mixed with sesame oil and soy sauce to make a rice ball for the road.

While the food was cooking, I unfolded a camping chair and pulled Artoria and Jeanne onto my lap before calling my mom. The PokéNav didn't even have the chance to ring once before the call went through. My mother's face popped up as a hologram, ever the picture of cold beauty.

"Aaron," she spoke, her voice clinical, "You've decided on a favor of choice."

"Hello to you too, mother," I said dryly. "Would common courtesy kill you?"

"It might."

"Heh. Humor. Not bad. Not good, but it's a start. Did you see that I'd call you?"

"I did."

"Then you know what I want?"

To my surprise, she shook her head. "No. Do not look so surprised, Aaron. The Sight does not make me omniscient. I merely seem that way to those who lack the gift."

"So you saw me calling you but not the details of what I'd ask? How does that make sense?"

"Tell me, Aaron. When you think of the Sight, what do you imagine?"

"How do I picture it? I guess a crystal ball. You know, peering into a pool to see visions of the future."

"That is how most people imagine it. In truth, it is more akin to standing on a hilltop and overlooking the branching paths available. The further away the future, the more susceptible it is to external influence just as your vision might be influenced by time of day or weather. In the same way, certain details can be more difficult to perceive, especially where direct interactions of multiple psychics or powerful entities are concerned."

"Huh… So a meeting, but not the details…"

"I suspect it is futile, but I will remind you that this should all be information you already possess. You should study more of the family library."

"I might, actually," I said. She blinked in surprise, which was about as emotive as she normally got. "I recently gained the ability to sense psychic aura around me and I want to know what the best way to progress would be."

Mom nodded, a ghost of a smile dancing on her lips. "Good. I am pleased to hear you are taking your training seriously. Artoria is a good influence on you."

"Kirlia… Kir. Li. Kirlia." My partner muttered.

"She says it is her duty as my loyal knight to push me to strive ever harder."

"Perfunctory greetings have taken up too much of my time. What did you wish of me in exchange for the mega stone?"

I rolled my eyes. This. Shit like this was exactly why everyone called her the ice queen. Yes, we had an ice type Elite. No, that didn't matter; mom was somehow worse than Glacia. At this point, I shrugged off her callousness as the stumbling gait of a social cripple. "A larvesta."

"That… is unexpected."

"Is that not possible?"

"A larvesta is extremely rare and valuable."

"Yeah. They're also phenomenally powerful and worth every investment, which is why I want one."

"Very well. I will speak with Caitlin."

I blinked. "Caitlin… Cattleya? The Unova Elite?"

"Indeed. I am very pleased with her progress. We are acquainted."

"How?"

"We met five years prior when I last competed in the Pokémon World Tournament. She was a powerful psychic even then, albeit one lacking emotional discipline. When she lost in the quarterfinals, her depression weighed down her yacht and almost sank it. I taught her for some time. She has visited before, though you likely do not remember."

"Huh… Small world."

"Power attracts power, Aaron. Experts often tend to cross paths."

"Yeah. Think she'll give me a larvesta? Can she give me a larvesta? Elite or not, they're rare as all hell."

"Perhaps. I will consider it her tuition fee. It will not be immediate, but I do not doubt her ability to procure one."

"That's great, mom. Thank you," I said sincerely.

"Do not thank me. It is a reward for services rendered," she said with a stoic nod. "Alfonse has predicted some conflict in Rusturf Tunnel in the next several days. You should ensure you are elsewhere."

"I… Huh?"

"Do keep up, Aaron. Alfonse would like to thank you for the alakazite and has been keeping tabs on your journey. He has discerned some conflict in the tunnel and is advising that you steer clear."

"I… Did you tell the rangers? And what conflict?"

"We do not know, but something will provoke the exploud. The rangers have been warned but with little else to go on, they can only remain cautious."

"Should I expect a general evacuation order?"

"No. It is unlikely they will issue one, if only because they do not know the precise cause of the turmoil. If they enforce an evacuation now, it may be that they are simply postponing the inevitable by pushing the cause away temporarily."

"Okay, tell Alfonse I said thanks. I'll stay away from the cave system."

"I shall." Her stoic façade cracked for a moment to offer me a fleeting smile that seemed almost hesitant. "Congratulations on your performance in the contest. It was adequate."

"Thanks mom," I said wryly, but the call had already cut out.

X

As promised, we kept well clear of Rusturf Tunnel for a few days. We were southwest of the entrance and just finishing up a lunchtime training session. Artoria was going through her kendo kata to cool down, Jeanne was working on condensing electricity into a ball outside of her body, and I was reading an article on the consolidation of psychic energy into physical constructs. It was written by a long-dead grandaunt who worked with Mr. Mime.

Typically, kirlia of Artoria's age would either focus on harnessing fairy type aura, refine their Hypnosis, or practice psychic projection by learning Psybeam. Artoria's straightforward personality was anathema to the mystery of the fae, she still disliked deceit or "underhanded" tactics like Hypnosis, and outright refused ranged attacks because of her knightly oath. Psychic constructs were a bit advanced, but I felt that given her nature, my partner would respond better to this type of lesson.

Refining Shadow Sneak into a ghost type sword was already driving her up the wall. Something more solid and familiar would do her good, I felt. I would hardly be the first in the family to jump around the traditionally established lesson plan; minds were complicated things.

I was brought out of my introspection when my PokéNav let out a series beeps that I came to recognize in trainer school: It was the alert for the ranger emergency broadcast.

'My lord?' Artoria stopped her kata mid-swing, sensing my unease.

Next to her, Jeanne bleated out a question at the kirlia. "Mareep?" Artoria had taken to acting the part of our translator as well as Jeanne's guide to all the minutiae of human society.

"Kirlia. Kirlia, kir."

I unlocked my fancy sci-fi phone so I could read the message. "Ranger emergency beacon… Mom was wrong; it's a general evacuation order… The Rusturf Mountains are being closed off… for… two weeks…"

Every word I read made my frown deepen. This wasn't normal. A disturbance among wild pokémon happened frequently as different leaders fought for food, mates, territory, or simply to prove they were the strongest. This was true even among the most docile of pokémon populations as younger generations challenged their elders. While route closures could result from a particularly violent clash, they seldom lasted two whole weeks.

'I take it this changes our plans?'

'No, no it doesn't,' I thought at her. 'We were always going to cut through the wilds to Oldale because the mega stone is most likely southward somewhere. It's just unusual, that's all.'

'I see. Then I see no reason to worry. Unless the alert tells us what the cause was?'

'You're right. If the rangers needed help, they would have issued a temporary draft instead. Let's finish up here and head further south. I don't want to stick around for trouble to find us.'

I finished the article I was reading and packed up in a hurry. Despite what I told Artoria, I couldn't help but be concerned. There was after all another reason why the rangers wouldn't issue a draft: the threat was too strong. I was a one badge trainer whose starter could maybe fight at the three badge level at a stretch. I sure as hell wasn't ready to handle rampaging exploud, or whatever else was brave enough to pick a fight with a herd of them.

The three of us made good time. Four hours later, as the sun began to dip, I decided to set up camp. Surely we were past the worst of it? Then, as if Arceus decided to say, "Fuck you in particular," the forest fell silent.

Artoria froze. I couldn't sense as far out as her, but I knew better than to mistrust a psychic. I quickly shoved all the essentials in my pack and got ready to abandon the tent. It was pricey, but sure as hell not worth our lives. "Artoria?"

'Something is in great pain, my lord,' she said with an audible shudder as she compartmentalized the distress she was vicariously feeling. I felt her try for a deeper scan and flinch back. 'It? She. She is desperate. There is a child. A cub.'

'Aggressive?'

'No. But big. She is fleeing.'

That was when the scent must have hit. The wind changed, bringing the scent south. Jeanne's nose was many times better than mine. I saw her wool light up, standing on end and sparking as her horns and tail shone like beacons. It was one part instinctive threat display and one part warning for the rest of the herd.

"Mareep."

"Kir?"

"Mar."

My partner turned to me. 'She smells blood. And a predator.'

"Let's go," I muttered. An injured mother of any species was bad news. "Quickly."

We were about to make ourselves scarce when the clearing was filled with the sound of heavy, labored breaths and the dragging of feet. We reacted immediately. Jeanne and Artoria stood in between me and the interloper, spoon and horns glowing with aura. I picked up a can of repel, for all the good it'd do against an angry mother.

The rustling grew louder and the bushes parted to reveal an ursaring. My heart sank along with our chances of survival. It practically crashed to zero when I spotted the teddiursa being dragged by the scruff of its neck. The reputation of a mother bear was as fearsome in this world as my old one. Somehow, I doubted waving my arms and looking large would cut it here.

Then the sheer number of wounds littering her body registered. Her fur was matted with blood. The normal dusky brown was covered with splotches of rust-red. The vibrant yellow ring on her abdomen was virtually invisible in the setting sun. Her left eye was a gory mess of jelly and blood, still dribbling pus on the ground. Her teeth, most of them were gone as though smashed out of her mouth by some great force. She had one forelimb that she used to drag her cub along, the other a stump of jagged bone. Rending scars covered her chest and stomach, deep enough that I could see hints of gray entrails threatening to spill.

A corona of emotion flowed around her like a dying flame, its sickly light alone enough to make me nauseous. This, this was a mother bear on her last breaths.

We froze. The ursaring too panicked to have noticed us and me and mine shocked to stillness by the visceral reality of the wilds. For a long second, the five of us locked eyes.

Then time resumed and desperate rage filled her as her lone eye took us in. Sparks of power danced along her mangled jaw like fireflies, their orange embers coalescing in a move I recognized all too well.

"Shit! EVADE!" I roared, ducking to the side.

We scattered just in time, only narrowly avoiding the Hyper Beam that lanced through six trees behind us. I heard the snap of tree trunks and the smell of burnt wood filled my nose. We had to run. I could withdraw Jeanne. Have Artoria teleport me out. Anything!

Before I could even begin to reach for my pokéball, Jeanne launched a Thunder Shock with all the fear and hatred born of generations of trauma. A lamb. A bear. The history needed no explanation. The arc of electricity struck the bear, too delirious to even attempt to dodge. Under normal circumstances, a Thunder Shock likely wouldn't have done anything to a mature ursaring, but the bear was nearly dead already.

She roared in pain, a broken, raspy sound that tore at her vocal cords.

It wasn't enough. I could see her fight through the pain, letting it focus her. Her lone eye zeroed in on Jeanne as another Hyper Beam formed. Then, a broken cough rattled the bear and it launched half-formed, but with plenty of power to obliterate a single mareep.

My eyes widened with fear as the beam careened towards her. Then, space distorted. Artoria was there, spoon raised and shimmering with psychic power.

"KIRLIAAA!" she let out a wordless shout. Hyper Beam met Mana Edge in a clash of wills. Even half-formed as it was, the Hyper Beam was enough to launch both of my pokémon like bottle rockets through the air. They landed painfully and I took the chance to return Jeanne.

'Artoria!' I thought urgently. 'Can you teleport us out?'

I received a grunt of assent in response. She was by my side in the next second, but the ursaring let out a frenzied roar and took in a labored breath as she prepared her next Hyper Beam.

I plunged inside Artoria's mind, giving her what power I could. I felt her aura envelop us both as she tried to balance caution with haste. We'd never tried this before. Teleporting with someone else was considerably more advanced than anything we'd attempted with the move and cautionary tales of what could go wrong littered my family library.

But we had to. We had no choice. We couldn't talk her down; she was too delirious to listen. Defeating her was a pipe dream even in her broken state.

Artoria wasn't fast enough.

A third Hyper Beam in as many minutes lanced out and I was forced to disrupt my kirlia's channeling, tackling us both to the side. We ducked behind a tree to break line of sight, but that wasn't enough. Our scent littered the clearing and we were now threats in the mother bear's addled mind.

A salvo of Swift stars screamed through the air and tore apart the tree we were using for cover. I picked up my partner and bodily threw us to the side, grunting painfully as I felt stones and twigs dig into my body.

'We must fight, my lord,' Artoria thought grimly. 'If we flee, she will simply strike us down while our bacs are turned.' She stood, her spoon as pristine as ever despite the recent abuse she put it through.

I nodded. I saw no other option either. I considered releasing Jeanne again, but she'd be more hindrance than help panicking as she was. Instead, I joined minds with my partner. 'Dodge where you can. Don't waste Protect. Close in on her blinded side with Double Team. Use Teleport to disengage.'

'I will make you proud.'

'You always do.'

With that, she was off. Her form split into six and the deadly waltz began. The ursaring tried launching another Hyper Beam, ineffectually cutting down two of the clones. She then started firing more Swifts to try and home in on the real one.

Artoria's spoon blazed with ghostly fire, the crackling effect proof of a hasty construct. She deftly deflected each incoming Swift, the paradoxical relationship between normal and ghost type auras canceling each other out as though neither existed at all.

Then, she was upon the ursaring mother. She dodged an enraged Slash, only to be forced into the ground by the next. I could feel her iron focus straining against the bear's monstrous strength as she held it off with Protect.

The mother bear's jaw opened wide, dark aura coalescing around the few teeth she had. Bite? Crunch? It didn't matter. The darkness seemed to eat away at the light of Artoria's spoon.

"Artoria!" I cried out, mental focus forgotten in my panic. Before I could order her to Teleport out, the ursaring let out a shuddering cough mixed with an agonized whine. The dark type aura dissipated slightly, but it held. She was about to strike when the cub that had seemed so dead to the world let out a keening cry as it interposed itself between her and my kirlia.

"Teddi? Ursa!' it cried. It stuck its own paws inside its mother's mouth, not knowing if she was too angry to notice. The dark type energy vanished like smoke in the breeze as the mother caught whiff of her cub and the position it'd put itself in.

"Uuu… Ursaring?" she rumbled as she withdrew. The corona of rage and pain around her slowly transitioned into confusion and worry. The two ursines began to rumble and growl at each other, lost to the world around them.

My little knight hopped back and lowered her weapon, though she didn't sheathe it entirely. A flash of light and she was by my side.

'Artoria?' I tried to make sense of the complex cocktail of emotions flooding the clearing. 'I don't speak pokémon.'

'The cub does not want to see his mother suffer any longer. A battle would aggravate her wounds. I… I do not wish to raise my blade here.'

I studied them. There was pain there, but also a tenderness that I'd never have expected from an apex predator. It was a stark reminder that these weren't the wild animals I knew. Pokémon, even wild, were capable of both logical and emotional intelligence that wouldn't fall behind humans. 'Nor should you,' I said finally. 'Let's try to leave while she's occupied.'

'Yes, my liege.'

We were about to make ourselves scarce when the cub stumbled his way towards us. He was clearly exhausted, dirt and dried foliage clinging to his fur with the help of the matted blood of his mother. He looked at Artoria, then at me. An aurora of emotions passed through his face, staining his aura in a kaleidoscope of colors. Worry. Fear. Hope.

"Teddiursa. Teddi! Teddiursa!"

Artoria froze. Her own storm of emotions shifted from resolve and resigned violence to something tamer and kinder. "Kirlia?"

"Teddi!"

"Kir…"

'Artoria?'

'My lord, how many potions do we have?' she asked. It wasn't hard to guess what that conversation had been about.

'I… Are you sure?'

'A knight helps those in need.'

'Even ones who tried to kill us?'

'I do not feel hostility.'

I wanted to protest. I had potions, probably enough to stabilize the mother bear. If I captured her, I could take her to a pokémon center, possibly fast enough to help her survive the damage. But… But this was like picking porcupine quills out of a starving lion's jaws.

And yet… And yet, as I looked between the two bears and my partner, I knew that I'd be reaching for the tweezers. I wanted to be a role model for Artoria, a worthy lord. I… I couldn't fault her kindness. In the end, the lion was intelligent. This wasn't my world.

"Please tell them that I'm going to have to catch them both," I said, resigned to risking my life. All trainers knew it going in, but I hadn't expected to make such an outrageous decision today. I dug around my pack for a super potion, one of three I bought just in case. Gingerly, not quite able to put aside the fear of a mother bear, I approached.

'Thank you, my lord,' Artoria said. Her gaze was warm and compassionate but I was happy to see that her grip on her spoon never slackened.

'Thank me again if she hasn't bitten off my face,' I grumbled. The ursaring slumped to the ground but let out a low growl as I drew near. It was the teddiursa that quieted his mother, but their eyes never strayed from the potion bottle in my hand.

"This is going to sting like a bitch. It won't heal you. I don't think anything less than a max potion and several surgeries will, but it should be enough to stabilize you," I spoke calmly, trying to remember every lesson I'd ever heard in passing about talking to frightened animals. "Do you understand?"

The ursaring let out a disdainful chuff but lowered her head. She then shoved her cub towards me. "Ursaring."

'She wants you to treat her cub.'

'I gathered.'

I decided not to argue and instead withdrew another bottle, lesser potion this time. With Jeanne's comb, I parted the matted fur and looked for any cuts that might get infected. Pokémon vitality or no, it was still a valid concern. The cub whined pitiably but submitted himself to my ministrations.

Then I turned to the mother. I… I wasn't sure where to start. Being a semi-pro athlete meant being able to treat basic injuries, provide first aid, ice a sprained ankle, that sort of thing, but nothing like this. This should have been the domain of trained surgeons, not a man who swung around sticks for a living. Still, I took comfort in Artoria's psychic presence and did my best to triage what I knew.

The ursaring's mangled eye would likely get infected if I left it alone, but if it hadn't killed her yet, it wasn't likely to. Likewise, her missing arm was bleeding, but it was the gashes across her abdomen that really worried me. Those things had to be deep enough to plunge a finger into.

I grit my teeth and did my best to spray her down. It only fully registered just how tough an ursaring was when I had to push a bit of her intestine back inside. Gagging, I finished up before handing her what sitrus berries I could from my stash.

"I'm going to have to catch you both."

"Ursa… ring…"

With a resigned nod, she closed her lone eye and allowed exhaustion to catch up to her. I palmed a pokéball and gently pressed it to her uninjured shoulder. The ball didn't even shake once, proof that she was too tired to even offer a token resistance.

I turned towards the teddiursa and held out another pokéball. "Come here, little one. When you wake up, we'll be in a pokémon center."

"Teddi?"

"Kirlia," Artoria crooned soothingly. Amusingly enough, she was shorter than the bear cub but was by far the more mature. She gently pushed him towards me.

"Teddiursa…" He reached out a paw expectantly and I tapped another pokéball against it. A flash of light later and it was done.

"Well, that was anticlimactic," I said with an explosive sigh. Then again, considering how that could have ended, I'd take anticlimactic.

'What could do that to an ursaring? The mother was a powerful fighter.'

'Not many. Even a shiftry's Leaf Blade would have trouble leaving that kind of damage. Whatever it was, she lost badly, badly enough to risk fleeing with her cub instead of hiding out somewhere in her territory like she normally might.'

'Then it is a good thing we withdrew south, my lord.'

'It is. I guess I owe Alfonse a thank you. Let's get going.'

'Yes, my lord.'

Author's Note

So yeah, a larvesta. It's one of my favorite pokémon so I'm sure some of you saw it coming. As for Caitlin, she became an Elite at the start of this year, about the same time as Aaron's journey began. She's narcoleptic, but in the manga, she's described as an immensely powerful psychic who loses control of her power because of her emotions.

If the dialogue between Aaron and Sharon seems stilted, that's intentional. I imagine her a bit like Sabrina, but without a support group.

So I've always found that pokémon has an interesting dichotomy between being happy-go-lucky and being dangerously grimdark. Pokémon have an incredible capacity for violence and it's a bit of a balancing act to display that while still making things seem less law of the jungle-y, if that makes any sense. This was my spin on it. The wilds aren't aways a good place to be, neither are the routes for that matter.