| Rio POV |
Apparently all of Hoenn became a no man's zone because of our little 'outbreak', Kanto fell too for some other reason, how hey kept all of this under wraps for months? Not sure
But I bet Mewtwo's workload was very intense, how else could they explain how an entire region went dark for such a long time?
Anyways, the rest of the team is sitting comfortably in their little flying coffin, while I follow along on top of Nue... accompanied by a special guest, flying alongside the jet, surrounded by several other trainers on their own preferred flying Pokémon.
"So why are you following us exactly?"
"What do you mean? As the academy's student council president its only right I come along for this mission!"
"I didn't mean that, Nemona... I meant why are you sitting here, with me, on Nue's back."
"You haven't agreed to fight me yet!"
Right... Jumping off into the ocean has never been more tempting. Preferably with an anchor tied to my tail.
Make no mistake, I too love a blood pumping battle, comes with being a Pokémon, but the way she looks at me...
Nemona:"Jiiiii"
Yeah, I'm afraid she might mean another kind of 'battle'.
"Nemona, I'm basically a ghost type. I can sense killing intent. And you're leaking... something."
She smiled. That terrifying, too-wide smile that said, 'I won't stop chasing you until we both collapse from exhaustion or explode from battle-lust.' Possibly both.
"Just a friendly rivalry!" she chirped.
Nue let out a low, warning rumble beneath us. Not at the incoming stormclouds ahead—those he could eat as an appetizer. No, this was his 'I don't like what's on my back' rumble.
"You're stressing the thunderbird," I muttered. "That's a first."
"Then tell him to go faster! We've got ruins to investigate and Rocket butts to kick!"
A sudden jolt nearly threw me off as Nue surged forward, slicing through the air like a bolt of lightning given wings. Nemona whooped. I screamed. Star probably facepalmed from inside the jet.
We passed by more than a few 'long gone' Pokemon that were quickly put to rest by either a healthy dose of cursed lightning or a mild spark of divine fire.
By the time we landed near the edge of what used to be Slateport, I'd developed a new fear of enthusiastic battle junkies with no sense of self-preservation. Or personal space.
Nemona hopped off, eyes sparkling like she'd just had a triple espresso shot. "Oooh! Smell that?"
"I smell salt, decay, and the faint scent of nuclear regret."
"Exactly! Prime adventure fuel!"
"Right... Well we should clear the area first, the others shouldn't have a problem reaching the airport further inland with their entourage, but its better to stay wary and regroup."
Aaand she's gone. Great. When did I become the babysitter? Usually its me that rushes headfirst into the pack of horrors.
"Nemona! Wait—!"
Nemona didn't wait. She was already halfway up a broken wall, poking her head into the ruins like a Litleo sniffing out a Growlithe's food stash.
She vanished with a cheerful, "Adventure hooooooo!"
Gods help whatever's in there.
Because we sure won't.
I stayed on Nue's back a moment longer, watching as Nemona disappeared into the wreckage of what used to be the outer edge of Slateport.
She was shouting something about "fair fights" and "cornering wild encounters like a true rival," which didn't inspire confidence.
I sighed, patting Nue on the side of his neck. "Stay alert. If she explodes, we leave her."
Nue made a deep, crackling chirp—possibly agreement. Possibly disappointment.
I hopped down, boots crunching against ash and rubble. The air was hot. Wrong. Like the ground itself still remembered what happened here and wasn't over it.
The rest of the team was still hours out, and I'd volunteered to scout ahead—mostly to stretch Nue's wings, but also because I didn't trust the silence here.
Nemona's voice echoed from inside a partially-collapsed building:"Don't run! I just want to spar!"
Then:"I SAID STOP FLAILING!"
Then a loud crash.
Then nothing.
"…Okay. Either she knocked herself out, or found a mini-boss."
I started jogging.
Of course I was going after her.
Because apparently I'm the sane one now.
And where the hell is my system quest? This feels exactly like the kind of suicidal mess it's supposed to warn me about.
(To be continued)
For real though, where is your system quest? You'd think something so important would warrant one.
MC: How would I know? Maybe the system was taking a tea break or something.
Plausible. But for now, go nuts, its basically your wet dream, all the stuff you can punch and a shit ton of unguarded vending machines.