Welcome to yet another chapter my darlings
Enjoy yourself
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The dream started peacefully and Alex was back in Kollam.The morning sun can be seen through the curtains of his bedroom, casting warm, dusty beams of light onto his bookshelf.
He could hear the familiar sounds of the street outside,the distant honk of an auto rickshaw, the calling of a vegetable vendor.
He was sitting at the dining table.
His mother was in the kitchen, her back to him, the smell of steaming Puttu and Kadala curry filling the air.
"Here you go, mone," she said, turning around to place a plate in front of him.
Alex smiled, picking up a piece of the steamed rice cake.
"Thanks, ma."
He took a bite expecting taste of kadala curry but it crumbled , not the soft crumble of rice, but a wet, sickening snap like a bone.
Alex froze. The taste in his mouth wasn't coconut and curry as It was warm, metallic copper.
He looked down at his plate, it wasn't food.
It was a human finger, pale and severed, resting in a pool of dark blood.
"Eat up," his mother said. Her voice was distorted, metallic and when Alex looked up, her face was gone and in its place was the smooth, synthetic skin of the mask he was wearing and as he slowly looked to his side of the chair, Sitting in the chair next to him was the recruit....the boy with the acne scars.
He had a gaping hole in his chest and he was smiling, blood bubbling between his teeth.
"You took my ball," the dead boy whispered. "Give it back, give my ball back !, give my ball back!!!"
The boy reached out, his cold, dead fingers wrapping around Alex's throat. "Give it back!"
GASPPP
Alex shot up, his head slamming into the low ceiling of the hollow log.
Thud
"Oww..."
He collapsed back onto the rotting wood, clutching his forehead as his heart was hammering a frantic rhythm against his bruised ribs.
He was drenched in cold sweat, shivering violently despite the humidity of the jungle morning, he squeezed his eyes shut, forcing his breathing to slow down.
Inhale for four, Hold for four, Exhale for four, that what he had learned in yoga sections during Modi's yoga day charades.
"It was a dream," he whispered, his voice trembling, "Just a dream, it's just a dream " but his face felt heavier than before.
it felt like it was fused to his skin, a soft snort came from near his feet, Alex opened his eyes and he could see that Nidoran was awake.
It was sitting near the entrance of the log, ears twitching and it looked at him with an expression that seemed to say, 'You're noisy.'
"Morning," Alex croaked.He tried to sit up, and his body screamed pain while his ribs were having a solid wall of ache andswolling.
His left wrist was swollen to the size of a mango, pulsing with a dull throb and his uniform was stiff with dried mud and the brown, flaky remnants of... yesterday.
"Okay. Status check," Alex mumbled, trying to distract himself from the pain.
[ Identity: Ares ]
[ Status: Malnourished / Injured (Rib Fracture - Minor) ]
[ Points: 100 ]
He checked his pockets, inside the half-eaten ration bar he had stolen from the dead boy was there while it was squashed, it was still edible and can be consumed. After that dream he didn't want that , but beggars can't be choosers, he broke it in half. "Here," he said, tossing a piece to the Nidoran.
The purple rabbit didn't hesitate as It snatched the food and devoured it, It didn't wag its tail neither did it cuddle.It ate because it needed it.
Alex ate his half slowly and It tasted like wood and vitamins. "We have a problem buddy ," Alex said, swallowing the dry lump.
"I checked the watch and there are no markets out here.The Black Markets you see in the novels? They're in the cities....Saffron, Celadon. Here, we only have the Rocket Exchange."
He tapped the screen of his bulky watch.
[ Exchange System: Online ]
[ Current Location: Sector 4 (Wilds) ]
[ Nearest Outpost: 12km North ]
"We can trade pokemon parts for points at the Outpost," Alex explained, though he knew the Nidoran only understood the tone, not the words.
"Rattata tails, Pidgey feathers, Oddish leaves, That's our currency." He looked at the small Pokémon. "But to get parts, we have to kill things and right now, you're injured and I'm crippled."
The Nidoran stood up, It shook its fur, sending droplets of water flying, It looked at the entrance of the log, then back at Alex... It growled low in its throat
Let's go, Alex grabbed his knife.
"Right. No time for pity parties."
He crawled out of the log, wincing as the bright morning sunlight pierced the canopy. The jungle was steaming. Mist rose from the ground, turning the forest into a sauna.
They moved slowly and Alex led the way, knife in hand, checking every bush. Nidoran followed a few paces behind, limping slightly on its left leg, but its red eyes were scanning the undergrowth with predatory focus.They needed an easy target something as a warm-up for their battles and ten minutes later, they found it.
A Rattata
It was gnawing on a root near the base of a large fern.It was purple, twitchy, and about the size of a grinder, they looked more likable than earths rats.
[ Pokémon: Rattata ]
[ Level: 3 ]
[ Aptitude: Black (Common) ]
[ Status: Unaware ]
"Level 3," Alex whispered. "Perfect." He crouched down, signaling the Nidoran and he pointed at the rat.
"Go," he whispered. "Peck."The Nidoran didn't need to be told twice, It launched itself forward but here, the reality of the Hustle ability made itself known.
In Alex's mind, and in the games, an attack was a simple animation but in reality, Hustle meant the Pokémon was overflowing with too much energy, It was jittery and Over-eager. Nidoran didn't just run; it exploded forward with too much force ,it tried to slam its horn into the Rattata, but its momentum was wild.The Rattata heard the twig snap and It twitched.
Whoosh...
Nidoran missed and It sailed past the Rattata, its horn carving a gouge into the mud. It tumbled, rolling awkwardly because of its bad leg.
"Shoot," Alex hissed but the Rattata shrieked, It didn't run as It saw a clumsy opponent. It lunged, its oversized incisors glowing white, Hyper Fang.... is it , thats a annoying move ?No, just bite..
Chomp
It sank its teeth into the Nidoran's shoulder.
"Nidoran!" Alex shouted and the purple rabbit squealed in pain, it thrashed, trying to shake the rat off and the extra muscle mass from being a runt helped here as It was stronger. It threw the Rattata off, slamming it into a tree trunk.
The Rattata was dazed, but shaking it off.
The Nidoran scrambled up, eyes burning with rage, It prepared to charge again and Its muscles bunched and was going to do the exact same thing...blind fury.
"Stop!" Alex barked, the command was sharp as it cut through the Nidoran's red haze.The Pokémon froze, trembling with the urge to attack.
"You're missing because you're rushing," Alex said, his mind racing. "Hustle makes you strong, but it makes you blind so don't chase it."
The Rattata recovered. It hissed, realizing this opponent was dangerous.It prepared to jump."Wait," Alex said, holding up a hand.
"Let it come to you."The Nidoran hesitated as it wanted to charge.Every instinct screamed charge , but the human was standing still.The Rattata leaped in a very straight line, an easy trajectory.
"Now!" Alex yelled."Left and Peck!"
The Nidoran dodged, not gracefully, but effectively.
It threw its weight to the side. Rattata sailed through the empty air where the Nidoran had been, as the rat landed, exposed and off-balance, the Nidoran struck and this time, it didn't rush, it was point-blank range.
THWACK
The horn, glowing with Poison energy, drove into the Rattata's side and the force itself was sickening, Hustle was activated.
The Rattata didn't even have time to squeak as the impact cracked its ribs audibly.
It was thrown three meters away, hitting the ground with a wet thud and it didn't move.
[ Enemy Defeated]
[ XP Gained ]
The Nidoran stood there, panting heavily. Purple venom dripped from its horn.
It looked at the dead rat, then at Alex.
Alex let out a breath, leaning against a tree. His heart was racing again.
"See?" Alex said, his voice shaky but proud. "Power is nothing without control, buddy , You have too much power so You have to aim first". Nidoran limped over to the Rattata and it poked the corpse with its nose, it was Dead.
It looked back at Alex and gave a short, sharp nod , well the trust Level had been increased and it was nice be that way.
Alex walked over and he knelt down beside the kill, he had to do the dirty work now.
"Sorry, little rat, you will be remembered" Alex muttered, he took out his knife.
In the games, you just walked over loot. Here, you had to harvest it. He cut off the long, curled tail of the Rattata, It was a very gruesome work.
The skin was tough, the cartilage was thick and he tried not to look at the dead eyes, he had dissected cockroaches and frogs and large rat wasn't a big thing anyway.
He bagged the tail in a large leaf and shoved it into his pocket.
"One tail," Alex said, wiping his bloody hands on the grass. "Maybe worth... 5 points? 10 points?". He looked at his Nidoran and was still keeping his mind clear
"We need about twenty of these if we want to buy a Potion for your leg."
The Nidoran looked at the dense jungle,then at its own injured leg and it seemed to understand the math so it turned and looked for the next target. "Slow down," Alex said.
"We rest for five minutes and then we hunt."
He sat down in the dirt, ignoring the wet dampness seeping into his pants, he was watching Nidoran cleaning its horn.This was his life now and It wasn't glamorous as being a government employee or a doctor and It certainly wasn't a montage set to rock music. It was blood, sweat, and calculating the value of a rat's tail while trying not to throw up your breakfast.
"Welcome to the pokemon world ," Alex whispered.
Authors Note:-
Well that's chapter 7.
Hope you all enjoyed it .
You guys can give me suggestions of pokemons he could capture.
I will take a look at all those .
Support with power stones and collections
Reviews are welcome.🥺