Crunch.
I jumped back, swords at the ready. But the unassuming dead leaf on the ground failed to attack me. I exhaled. I'd only made it a couple paces from our impromptu camp, and I was already panicking at the first sound.
That was a good sign.
The invincible confidence I'd had earlier was completely gone. My senses weren't dialed to eleven. I tried to focus on all of my senses at once, like I'd been able to do earlier, but it just gave me a headache.
When I tried to listen to all the sounds around me while also watching for every little detail, a sharp pain started behind my eye.
Goddamn it.
I decided to continue forward, stomach grumbling. I remember how I used to always avoid shopping for groceries on an empty stomach.
I would always bring back way more food than I needed, and the bill would always be way more expensive than I should have allowed for.
For some reason, I had significant doubts that the former would be true. The latter on the other hand, could still happen in the form of incurred costs being mortal wounds.
Super fun.
I flinched as I heard something moving above me. I ducked and got as close to the tree trunk next to me as possible. Whatever was in the trees continued on, rustling branches farther away as it kept climbing.
On second thought, I'm heading back to camp. Not that I'm not going to hunt for food, but I'm kind of rushing this. I'd only ventured out a bit, and I was terrified. But also I could be doing this a little smarter. If my senses weren't up to par, that meant I couldn't just count on me and Oblivion to deal with anything we came across. I needed to leave as prepared as I could be.
A couple minutes later I was back at camp, rummaging through Tristan's pack.
Now that I didn't have the agony of something stabbing me in the back, or the pure hunger goggles filtering out anything that wasn't food or water, I'd properly check what my tools were.
I rummaged around, pushing the food bars and water to the side. There was the one remaining purple potion bottle. I felt the urge to bring it with me, just in case, but I held back. I saw two green bottles, a little smaller. I read the label, trying to make sense of the ingredients. It seemed to be a weird combination of poisonous weeds and fire roots. I turned it around to the front. A repel. Interesting. I put one in my pocket. That could be very useful.
I kept looking around, finding two purple pods. I got really close and sniffed. They were eliciting a very sweet smell that made me salivate. An incense. Admittedly this could potentially be a disaster. If I managed to fall somehow, shattering the casing, any predator nearby could hone in on the scent. But it also could be very useful in setting up a trap. I'd just try and do my best not to be clumsy. I put one in my other pocket.
After a couple minutes more of searching, I mentally tallied up all the tools I now knew I had. Fire starter, compass(I don't know how North worked in Starfall, but if it was consistent then I could use it), water filter, tarp, rope, and 3 Ultra Balls. I pocketed the compass.
I really wanted to steal one of the Ultra Balls. I'm sure Tristan wouldn't mind. But I held back. For now at least. Trying to train a feral pokemon was not another thing I needed to add to my laundry list of shitty things I needed to do to survive right now. But if he didn't wake up within the week, I'd consider them fair game. Actually, make that three days.
I mentally stopped myself as I noticed I was absent mindedly reaching for one of the shiny yellow and black contraptions again.
Okay. I now had a couple more tools for the wild. I nodded grimly to Hurricane, and set off again.
I slowly got my breath back in order as I crept through the dark woods.
Every shadow had promises of death. I kept seeing dark green razor leaves under every tree root, behind every bush. I flinched with every rustle of the trees, even if it was merely the wind.
I continued on.
I was going to do this. I couldn't afford not to. If I was scared, that just meant that I had to do it scared. I grit my teeth.
This wasn't even necessarily about getting food. Yes, in the short term finding food, whether in terms of fruit or unsuspecting prey, would be nice, but there were also so many unknowns right now. Like where were we? What wild pokemon were nearby? Were there any water sources?
Even if I didn't get any food, getting an initial lay of the land was very necessary. Especially given how even a tiny semblance of an idea of what was going to attack us and when would be huge.
The necessity somehow didn't make the dark forest any more inviting.
I touched the sashes of the dao blades. It was comforting. I traced my finger along the cold steel, trying to invoke a response. But the steel lay dormant. The swords were back to the husk they'd been before. Oblivion was an empty ghost, yet again.
I had no idea what I had to do to fix it.
I made small markings on the trees, trying to cut the wood as quietly as possible. I didn't really have bread crumbs to leave. I would have eaten them already if I had. And I'm pretty sure taking advice from any part of Hansel and Grettel was a bad idea.
I started hearing excited noises up ahead, so I started pacing myself slower.
I looked up into the trees, making sure I wasn't being watched. The old oak trees were drenched with life. Moss covered the sides. Which was confusing. I feel like moss needs sunlight to grow. And there was no sunlight in this part of the forest. Maybe it was a special kind of moss? Or maybe grass types had somehow introduced a new type of moss into the ecosystem, one that didn't rely on light rays for photosynthesis.
I peeked through the trees.
I saw two Ambipon slapping each other. There was also a duo of Aipom tossing fruit back and forth between each other, making my mouth water.
I began to close the distance when I noticed something. The Ambipom had hands on their tails. The Aipom were the same. But they didn't look like ordinary hands. They were covered in fur, for starters. They were also far bigger than their regular hands. But lastly, they were also covered in scars.
These Ambipom had seen battle. Lots of it. The Aipom looked young, but they were no different.
There was a weird premonition that came over me. If I tried to attack, I would die. If I tried to sneak in and steal some fruit, I would die.
This was a battle I could not win on my own. Not as I was now, anyway.
I gave one last longful look towards the pile of fruit those asshole Aipom were hoarding, and moved back through the forest, ready to set out in another direction.
I'd be back for those damn fruit. Just you wait.
That's when I heard the buzzing of a pack of something coming towards me. I quickly ducked behind the trunk of a tree, curling into a ball to make myself as small as possible.
From behind me came the fluttering of a half dozen purple moths. They were flying through the air in an erratic pattern, but they honed in on the same thing I did. Or at least I thought they did.
The Venemoth came from the side, spraying out waves of sleep powder. They then fluttered their wings, using Gust to carry the sleep powder through the area. The Aipom passed out instantly. The Ambipom put up a bit more of a fight, but also passed out within a couple seconds.
The Venemoth then went in to finish the job. I'd thought they would simply eat the fruit and move on, but they didn't stop there. After clearing through all the fruit, their hunger wasn't satiated. I had to turn my head away as they began feasting on the sleeping pokemon.
Shit.
They came from the direction I am currently hiding. They would totally see me on their way back. Why the fuck were goddamn Moths omnivores in this fucked up world? Were they omnivores where I was from? I never really kept track of what bugs ate.
I quickly stood up and scurried off to the side, making sure to stay outside their range of sight.
They soon began to move on, leaving nothing but bones.
I followed them. As much as it increased my risk now, if I could find where they came from, it would help me chart an area around the nest that I should avoid. Better a little risk now, than potentially significant risk later.
Plus, with the constant pulses of their wings, I was essentially always downwind. I don't think Venemoth hunted with scent anyway, but that's the sort of thing I'd have to start thinking about.
They eventually made their way to a nest, where there were dozens more Venemoth lurking about.
I backed off, made some markings on trees to make sure to stay the fuck away, and got as far back as I could.
I made it back to a tree where I'd made a marker earlier. I made a large marking, signaling danger, so I'd avoid going that direction. I also noted that the Venomoth were South of the where Hurricane and I had made camp. That was a huge bummer.
The plan was to hopefully chart my way back South, eventually finding the camp. I wasn't sure how far it was, but this was a potentially huge roadblock.
I then made another marking on the side of the tree, and set out in the direction the mark faced. Hopefully East will bear more fruit. And yes I mean that literally.
I can't climb these damn trees. And fruit doesn't grow on oak trees anyway. Hopefully I could find the trees the Aipom got those fruits from.
I continued moving on, trying to ignore the growing pain coming from my stomach. My muscles were tired. My back ached. I wouldn't be able to do any sudden movements, or else I'd risk tearing open the wound on my back. Not to mention the muscle fibers weren't healed yet, so I would have to be careful swinging Oblivion.
Fuck it.
I tore open the packaging of the one calorie bar I'd brought with me. It was supposed to be in case of an emergency, but I'm too damn hungry. I scanned the trees, just waiting for something to attack as I munched on the chocolatey bar.
This would serve as a good test anyway.
After finishing the bar, with only a few residual crumbs left in the wrapper, I set off from the straight line I'd been going in by a couple paces. I made a mark in a tree to signal where this little spot was.
I put the empty wrapper underneath a twig so it wouldn't get blown away by a stray breeze. The wind didn't really make it through the thick canopy, but there were miscellaneous breezes from things moving fast nearby.
When I returned to this spot, if the wrapper was still there, I could rest easy knowing that nothing could track me off of the residual crumbs.
If the wrapper had been torn apart by something looking for food, I'd have to be more careful with how I went about eating.
After making sure everything was in the right place, feeling a little more energetic and happy from the bar, I continued on.
I was careful to give Pokemon a wide berth anytime I noticed them. So far I still haven't seen anything that I would actually be able to take on.
There was a lone Shedinja I saw flitting through the trees, moving faster than my eyes could follow. There was a pack of Parasect, each maintaining a constant cloud of toxic fumes around them. I'd even seen a Boltund. That one I'd hid from, immediately. Electric resistance or no, I am not fucking with a quick ass electric dog that could probably rip my jugular out. I'd also hidden from a Liepard. The sleek feline had a menacing aura that reminded me too much of the Starfallen Ivysaur. Damn dark types.
They were terrifying.
I was careful with every single one of my steps. My instincts weren't like they'd been before. Everything had felt natural. I was the captain, carving the boat through a raging storm with perfect clarity. Now I was a lone sailor on a raft, just doing my best to hold on against the whipping wind.
I had to watch the ground with each step, watching for twigs and the like that could make sound as I kept moving.
As I kept moving, I started daydreaming as I got into a rhythm. I was still avoiding making any sound, but I was lost in my own head, thinking about the situation.
How the hell was this going to work? Long term at least. I only had one potion left. Gallade was still incapacitated. Tristan was too. I needed a way to rid their systems of the toxins and powders, but Tristan's pack didn't have any antidotes.
I knew if I was careful, Hurricane and my team could make it through this. Was my plan just to wait it out, hoping that Norton and his Alakazam could eventually find us? Did they even survive the Starfallen Ivysaurs? Dark types and psychics don't mix well.
I froze as I heard a thrum.
It was a sound I hadn't heard in forever. It was a sound I hadn't actually heard in this life. But I knew it meant danger.
The thrum of power. Of energy. Coursing through something. And I was near it.
That's when I realized what was all around me. Spider webs.
But not just any ordinary spider webs. I saw a small spark jump between two threads of the web next to me. These were charged with electricity.
Shit.
Galvantula. Probably. I don't think there are any other electric spiders. I slowly turned my head up, expecting the worst.
HOLy sHit.
Above me was a yellow and blue abomination, eyes shut as it slept on a web above me. Its mandibles were each the size of Maui's hook. Its teeth were bigger than my hands. Its abdomen was almost the size of a car.
Nope nope nope nope nope nope nope nope nope.
I slowly crept back the way I came, making sure to avoid moving anything in the slightest. What's worse, I saw that the webs continued on before me. This was a whole nest of them. I saw more Galvantula sleeping above, resting on their nests. Joltik lay on individual threads, absolutely miniscule compared to their evolved counterparts.
It was interesting that they had stray webbing this far from the core of their nest, almost like tripwires.
Fuck that.
The fact my idiot bumbling self hadn't woken them up was really lucky. I'd have to be more careful.
I went back the way I came, marking a tree nearby with a sign for danger.
I kept moving, adrenaline slowly receding as my heart got itself back in order. Luckily, I didn't run into any more nests of murderous bugs.
Just when I was ready to pack it up and call it quits, I saw light. I patted my sides, making sure I wasn't dead. No, that wasn't the light at the end of the tunnel. It was sunlight.
I headed towards it. I was hasty. My feet were hurried, excited to see the light of day. I couldn't stop myself. Leaves crunched as I moved at a brisk walk.
I stopped as I heard the creak of wood above me. The creak of wood struggling to hold the weight of something.
I slowly backed up to the trunk of the nearest tree, and spared a glance up. I was greeted by sharp iron spikes, hanging between the thick branches.
Ferrothorn. There were at least five of them, their side appendages lodged into the trunks of the nearest trees, skewered to hold them in place. They were hidden in the canopy, high enough in the air that I couldn't see them until I was actually under them. Their bottom spikes were a murky brown, compared to the shiny silvery exterior the rest of their body had.
Well that kind of showed their whole strategy. Also what the hell? I thought grass types weren't carnivorous. Didn't they get their energy from the sunlight? Shit. I guess that Tangrowth Tristan took down would use giga drain to get sustenance. Maybe these were the same way? I feel like they couldn't learn that move. Maybe this was just a defense mechanism?
They seemed to be asleep too. Wow, I was really getting lucky today. The Galvantula had been asleep, thank the gods. God? Was Arceus real? Would Palkia and Dialga also count? Whatever. Either way, I really needed to be more careful.
If the Ferrothorn had woken up, they could have simply dropped down and crushed me to death with ease. Or maybe they were awake, and simply used killing as a defense mechanism, and since I didn't attack them, they didn't deem me a threat? I guess if they didn't know giga drain, killing me needlessly would use up unnecessary energy, as they would have to climb back up afterward.
I looked towards the ground, noting that the ground only had small craters. There weren't massive holes poking through the ground everywhere I looked. Okay, so I guess their threshold for choosing to drop was actually pretty high then. If they dropped at everything that passed under, the ground would be more torn up. I suppose that the Ferrothorn moving to a new location after making a kill would also explain that, but I doubted they would move so often.
I realized I was still within the death zone, and quickly crept forward to amend that. There was a time and a place. I really shouldn't get caught analyzing when I'm still within the range of something that can easily kill me.
I continued on towards the light, moving past the Ferrothorn. The trees in this area were worn oak. Their leaves were a soft green.
As I got close, I nearly jumped with glee.
I saw three deer grazing in the clearing, bathing in the sunlight. Their antlers were curved and golden, almost looking like an eye. The Stantler hadn't noticed me. They continued munching on the vegetation, oblivious to my presence.
This was it. This was my chance. I had no idea how Stantler had survived this long in Starfall, but this was the first pokemon I'd encountered that I thought I had a decent chance against.
I slinked through the bushes, trying to get closer without alerting the caribou pokemon.
I eyed the sky above, enjoying the blue background with white fluffy clouds. It was beautiful. I saw some Braviary flying far away. Their navy feathers with red and yellow outlines were a hard contrast to the white clouds.
Good. No competition.
I held one blade with my right hand. I didn't trust myself to swing with my left. It might tear something in my back. Hell, even twisting too hard with my right could do the same thing. I'd have to be really careful. I couldn't overextend.
One of the Stantler had separated itself from the others, getting closer to the tree line. This was my chance.
I stalked forward, prowling through the bushes, staying as quiet as possible. Victory was in sight. I finally closed the distance, rushing forward as fast as I thought I safely could.
The Stantler turned to me, as if in disappointment, and promptly disappeared.
I slowly stumbled to a stop.
What?
The field around me was completely empty. And that wasn't all. The low wind that had been sweeping through the trees was gone. The ambient sounds of the forest were gone too. I couldn't hear the chirps of the birds anymore.
The two Braviary I could see in the sky earlier were gone too.
All of a sudden I was covered in a titanic shadow. A rocky behemoth rose in front of me, green stalactites littered across its body.
The Tyranitar had teeth razor sharp, and it's eyes had a murderous gleam to them.
Massive boulders raised up around it as it used ancient power. It then stomped forward, shooting the boulders down at me.
I scrambled backwards, barely avoiding getting crushed.
What the fuck was going on?
I sprinted back towards the tree line, trying to understand what was happening.
I stopped in my tracks.
Right.
Stantler can use illusions.
I reached for my belt and grabbed the singular pokeball.
In the sunlight, where Azula's tail flame won't attract unneeded attention?
Check.
No actual threat of a rocky pseudo legendary that would immediately slaughter us both?
I turned to face the Tyranitar. Another boulder covered in purple energies rocketed towards me.
My hair stood on end. Every instinct in my body screamed at me to move.
This isn't real. This isn't real. This isn't real.
I stared down the boulder, tensing my muscles in anticipation. Admittedly I had done some stupid things in my lifetime. If I was wrong, well this would probably number as the most idiotic.
I resisted the urge to move, well, any direction.
The boulder slammed into my chest, splintering into fragments as it sent me flying to the ground.
I coughed up a bit of blood from having bit my tongue as the fucking "illusion" actually hit me.
What the hell?
I tried to reach some sort of clarity through my anger as I quickly got to my feet as another boulder cratered the ground where I'd been a second ago.
Immediately I realized that if that had actually been a real boulder, I would simply be a red stain on the ground. Either that, or I had gained some serious resistance to blunt trauma.
Okay.
So the Tyranitar was still an illusion. But I had clearly been hit by something.
I dodged left to avoid another boulder. I started walking in a semicircle around the "Tyranitar".
I thought back to something I'd heard before. Zoroark are the only Pokémon that create physically real illusions.
That meant all other illusions were genuinely affecting my mind.
So Stantler was making me see a Tyranitar, but actually throwing out real attacks too.
Physical? Or special?
My chest was throbbing. But I feel like a hoof to the chest would have caved in my rib cage.
So the Stantler was probably sending out psychic attacks at the same time the "Tyranitar" was using "ancient power".
But why would it need to disguise the attacks? Why wouldn't it just make me see an empty field and attack without me noticing.
Holy shit.
Right.
Stantler was affecting my mind. I had to assume that if this was a defense mechanism, it would have simply turned my mind to mush if it could have.
So it can only affect my mind in small ways.
Like say, changing the appearance of its own weak psychic attacks into giant boulders from a titanic monster that is renown for its ferocity. That would likely be enough to scare off something like Luxray, which were probably one of its natural predators.
I grabbed the lone pokeball from my belt, smiling.
Stantler, you will be my dinner you magnificent fucking creature.
Azula immediately backed up in fear. She apparently could see the Tyranitar too.
Interesting. There was no delay on its illusions. Either that Stantler was really quick at adapting to new enemies, and was able to entrap their minds that quickly, or it was something else. Maybe it could put up a field of distortion, where anything in that field would have their minds affected to see its illusions? That made the most sense.
"Azula, master stranger protocols. Avoid attacks. Our target is the big lug in the middle. Aim for the legs."
This was a test of whether the Stantler actually was where the Tyranitar was.
If it wasn't limited with its illusions, it could be anywhere within the area, with the only constraint being that Azula and I had to be within its field of influence.
The Stantler definitely wasn't as tall as Tyranitar, so if Azula aimed for its legs she would probably hit something.
I backed off, spitting out a little more blood.
I hadn't bitten my tongue too much, but it still hurt like a bitch.
Plus, I could feel the wound in my back starting to open back up. Getting knocked on my ass had not been great.
Azula dodged left as a boulder sailed towards her. She tried jumping onto the next one, in order to launch off of it, but tripped as her feet failed to get purchase. The psychic move clearly wasn't the size of the boulder, only really filling a small part of the middle, and had simply knocked into Azula's legs.
The red lizard quickly bounced back up to her feet, shooting me a grin. There was a small bruise on her shins, but she didn't even seem to notice.
I laughed. She was experimenting. The boulder not being a boulder was enough proof of concept that she no longer had any fear of attacking what looked like a Tyranitar.
Azula then ducked under another ancient power boulder, closing the distance. She rolled right and jumped forward to avoid two more.
I turned as I heard something next to me. I panicked a bit, remembering I wasn't in the clear yet.
I readied myself, getting one hand on the hilt of a sword.
I stopped myself as I saw a small squirrel with bright eyes looking up at me.
The tiny Skwovet's eyes reflected the sun in an anime-like fashion.
It almost convinced me to not try to capture it for food purposes.
The Skwovet stared into my eyes, it's look of pure innocence trying to win me over.
The fight slowly left my limbs as I watched. Its eyes seemed to grow bigger. Its teeth were sticking out of its mouth in a very cute plush beanie baby kind of way.
Was it just me, or were its eyes getting bigger? In fact I could see the pink swirls of the sky up above reflected in its irises. They made me feel like I was surrounded by an ocean of cotton candy.
My danger reflex flared as I realized something was up, but it was too late. My eyelids drooped, my limbs collapsing. My eyes rolled to the back of my head.
Right. There had been three Stantler.
Whoops.
My knees buckled, and I spared a glance back to where Azula was slashing and shooting off stray flamethrowers at an enemy she couldn't quite see.
Sorry Azula.
I failed you.
The world collapsed into darkness as my body hit the ground.