| Rio POV |
Beautiful day outside, volcanic ash is blocking out the sun, mutated flowers want to bite our faces off, and the land and ocean couple are arguing like children about some dumb shit like Groudon snoring too loud.
Which he totally was. I could not sleep the entire night. Mostly because Star and Blaziken had me in a two-way chokehold, but that ground rumbling noise should be considered an inhumane pre-Geneva Convention level of torture.
I wriggle out from between the two of them with the grace of a half-cooked pancake, roll off the makeshift bedding, and land on my face. Dignity? Never heard of her.
[+ Status effect removed: Overheated]
[+ Status effect gained: Permanently Annoyed]
Since when did you get this option? Did I miss an update? Sigh, I can never understand these new technologies.
Star hums behind me. "You know you could've just teleported out of the pile."
"Then you both would've dragged me back. In your sleep."
"...No comment," Blaziken mutters, face buried in a pillow she definitely stole from Roxanne's emergency supply crate.
Right. So.
Groudon's back to sleep. Kyogre is still hovering somewhere offshore, probably sulking about not getting enough screentime. The X-energy walker problem is kind of under control. And our base is only mostly on fire.
Time to relax?
Pff. Nah.
A ping echoes in my vision.
Quest Updated:Missing Lead
Objective:
Find Brendan and the source of the Xenolites.
Retrieve your very own personal Xenolite
Optional:
Investigate residual Xenolites in critical regions to prevent large-scale mutation events.
Progress: 0 / ???
Another ping.
Reward Available:[Monster-verse Brawl]
▸ Claim now?
Claim?CLAIM.
I tap it before the system can second-guess itself.
[+6000 EXP (+1500 BONUS EXP)]
[+2 rare items]
[New Title: "Godzilla Hunter"]
[Level Up! Lv. 30 ➔ Lv. 32]
[New moves unlocked: Swift, Quick Guard]
[Name:] Rio
[Race:] Lucario(+)
[Nature:] Adamant
[Level:] 32
[Abilities:]
Prince of Curses (boost to cursed technique DMG and speed of learning)
Inner Focus (prevents flinching)
Prankster (priority to status moves)
Anticipation (senses foe's move)
[Move Set:] Hidden
[Stats:]
HP: 79
Attack: 297
Defense: 69
Sp. Atk: 58
Sp. Def: 62
Speed: 145
New Quest Chain Unlocked:Lucario of Two Worlds
Two worlds?
Oh no.
Before I can even open the ability screen, a new notification slides in like a smug Rotom.
WARNING: Your anchor point is unstable."Stability may be affected by dimensional interference."[Begin syncing?]
Is this all because I punched a tree twice with one action? I knew I should have rejected these powers.
Now look at where I am, all that is coming back to bite me on the tail. How will I deal with this?
... Eh, same as always. That's Future Me's problem.
I stand, stretch, and dust off the volcanic ash now permanently infused into my fur. Gonna need a dry cleaner with divine clearance after this arc.
"Alright," I announce. "Time to go rock collecting."
Blaziken rolls her eyes. "You're calling them rocks now?"
"I'm trying to downplay the existential horror, thank you."
Star floats closer. "Want a ride?"
"Nope. I'm walking, or flying. Just me, the ruins, and some ominous glowy things waiting to corrupt my DNA. Classic bonding experience."
They don't argue. Which is suspicious.
"Don't forget the melted goo monsters. Good luck"
May, could you act like you care for once in your life? I mean seriously, she's not even worried that her ace is going out alone into the wasteland.
"We're more worried that you might punch a trench all across Hoenn."
Your opinion is appreciated Star. but let me monologue in peace.
I hop onto the crumbling ledge outside the half-buried lab and breathe in the crisp, toxic air of post-Groudon Hoenn. Smells like burnt ozone, ambition, and mildly overcooked Magikarp.
Footsteps echo behind me. I don't turn. Not because I'm cool and mysterious or anything—my neck's just still stiff from sleeping between two murder-chickens.
"You're really going solo?" Nemona asks. Somewhere between genuinely curious and mildly disappointed that she can't film my descent into madness for content.
"Gotta make sure the world doesn't explode again. And hey, if I find anything that screams 'eldritch power,' I promise to scream louder."
"Don't touch anything glowing without gloves," she says.
"Too late."
Nemona sighs. Star shakes her head. And May just gives me a thumbs up like she wants plausible deniability later.
I lift off, wind rushing around me as my aura limbs flare to life. Time to play who buried the god rock with a landmass that's tried to kill me six times this week.
| ??? POV |
Who could have predicted that this new energy would have such… disastrous consequences?
Sometimes I wonder what the boys in white are doing in those labs to create such monsters.
…Then I remember we hired them.
Is our work really that important to warrant all these deaths?
Yes. Yes, it is.
"I did what you asked. Now it's your turn."
Ah, right. I had company.
I turn slowly from the shattered window overlooking what's left of Petalburg City. Half the skyline is melted. The other half is moving in ways it shouldn't. Beautiful, really.
I straighten my uniform, brush a fleck of blood off the collar, and meet the glare of one of the most dangerous men in the region.
"Sir Norman. Please don't look at me like that. You have to understand—what you did is for the betterment of our world."
I spread my hands with rehearsed ease. I've said this lie so many times it's started to sound like truth. How scary.
"Where is my son."
The bluntness. No threats, no drama. Just pure, focused wrath.
"Little Brendan is fine. For now."
That's the trick, you see. Give them hope. Just enough to keep them obedient. Just enough to keep them from doing something reckless… yet.
"You said if I let you test it on Route 102, you'd pull him out before it spread. You promised me—"
"Ah-ah," I cut in gently. "I said I would if circumstances allowed. They didn't."
I step closer, hands still open, like I'm offering him a deal and not his son's life.
"We needed live field data, Norman. Real interactions. Real stressors. Brendan's team had the best survival odds of any candidate. You raised him well."
His fists clench. Aura crackles around his fingers—barely visible, but there.
"You're using him as bait."
"No," I say softly. "We're using him as a hero."
I let that hang. Plant the seed.
"It's what he would have wanted, isn't it? You thought him to chase strength. We helped him achieve it no mater the cost."
He says nothing.
"We both know what comes next. The Xenolites are awakening. The world needs figures to rally around. Stories. Icons. Survivors."
I turn my back to him again and press a button on the desk. The wall slides open, revealing a live feed of Sootopolis… and something stirring beneath the sea.
"You did well, Norman. Now it's up to your son to make you proud."
He doesn't answer. But I hear the door hiss open behind me.
And just before he leaves, I let myself smirk.
That will keep him on our leash. For now.
"Now... Where did those idiots go? They should have come back three hours ago."
Well, if they got themselves killed, that's three less headaches I have to deal with.
(To be continued)
MC: Man, can we skip to the part where I punch something?
Is violence the only thing in that peanut sized brain of yours?
MC: I wouldn't mind some smoked Slowbro tails either.
...