Pokemon Fan Fiction ❯ Rejected ❯ Unleash Thy Wildness ( Chapter 5 )

[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]

Chapter 5 is up!

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REJECTED
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CHAPTER 5: UNLEASH THY WILDNESS
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"AAAAAAARG!!!" screamed the Quagsire as he received a large Shadow Ball right in the stomach, sending him flying into right into the wall.

I used my psychic powers to contact Cherlie as the Quagsire was sent flying...

"Quickly! I won't hold them off forever! Did you reached the console yet?" I asked.

I heard a sound... like a saw slicing throught flesh... and I also felt a wave of pain coming from the Minun...

"OH GREAT... UGH! Passed throught the final fan! I'm there! I'm there!" she replied.

BAAAAAAAAAM!!!

A powerful punch to the jaw from a nearby Machoke caused my concentration to vanish thus breaking the telepathic link. I turned around and then, large, sharp claws came out of each of my fingers as I slashed the foe's face.

As three long, deep cuts appeared on the Defect's face, I noticed that his chest was covered with marks of my last attacks... didn't I knocked him out, a bit sooner?!?

SLAAAAAAASH!

AAAAARG! OH GREAT... I looked down at myself... oozing with poison was a sharp horn... it had passed right throught my chest. I grabbed it and then, I tried to use it to lift the enemy behind me... but... UGH! He's... he's heavy!

Despite the poison spreading in my veins and my many injuries, I still could use my psychic powers to increase my physical strenght... and then, I stepped backward, holding the enemy by his horn!

"Imp... impossible!" said a loud, deep voice behind me.

My psychic powers sensed the Quagsire rising and running toward me again... so, I spun around and let go of the horn!

The Nidoking was sent flying out of my chest and slammed right into the Quagsire! Then, both of them slammed into the wall yet again!

I looked down at my injury... green, purple sludge was visible all over the wound... that Nidoking sure didn't missed me!

BAM!

I'm beginning to tire... really... I do... not only physically but mentally as well. This is leading nowhere!

Sure, I knew it would be like this... but not in such a way!

Today... we have an endurance match. Basically, the humans throw other Defects at us and keep them coming until we drop. Pretty cruel and painful if you ask me...

... but still, it was the opportunity we had been looking for.

Right now, Cherlie was making her way throught the ventilations vents, toward the command room where the security system is located. There, she will shut down security and we'll be able to take our leave!... only problem was that since this is an endurance match, it means that I could not use my powers to stop the fans within the ventilation vents, forcing Cherlie to take advantage of the fact that whatever the injury, she won't die.

I can imagine it... crawling throught the vent, emptied of nearly all her blood and basically in pieces, a long trail of crimson liquid behind her... it saddens me... but it is the only choice. Besides, she knew that it would end up like this...

BAM!

Man! I don't even have the time to think between punches from that stupid Machoke!... and besides, what's his problem?!? I blasted him with a Shadow Ball, three Psychic attacks, a few Psybeams, with a few Shadow Rush attacks... and I'm not counting the Ember, Slash, and Scratch attacks! How can this guy be still standing?!?

As such, I winded up... and decided to end it now! I gathered all of my psychic power in my right hand and folded it into a fist!... and then, I screamed in rage as I punched with all of my strenght into the Machoke's face, executing a Dynamic Punch attack!

BLAAAAAM!!!

Right in the jaw! The Machoke flied backward, spinning around and...

CRAAAAAAAAAACK!!!

Landed on the side of his head, instantly shattering his neck! Oh great Ho-oh... Why do stuff like this always happen?

Huh?... HUH?!? WHAT THE...

"How... annoying! But I'm gonna be the Champ! I will be purified of my defect and will become the strongest trained Pokemon ever!" stated the Machoke, grabbing his head.

SCRAAAAACK!!!

The sound was so... disgusting. He twisted his neck and replaced his head in the right position... and then I realised that the Machoke was undead. I could see his dead body... his body whose heart did not beat. I seen him, walking toward me slowly and with confidence... while, myself, I begun to shake...

It didn't mattered how strong I was... for what can I do against a foe that neither fear the sleep of unconsciousness, neither the sleep of death? This Machoke... is invincible.

Suddenly, the alarm was activated and the doors all opened!

YES! Cherlie! You did it! While the other Defects looked around, panicked... I took the opportunity to run toward the exit while I used my powers to contact Cherlie.

"Cherlie! You did it!" I stated, using my telepathy.

"I... I know..." she replied. Her voice was weak and faint... and this filled my heart with worry.

"Are you... hurt?" I asked.

"I'm so sorry, Mewlt... I did my best but... my body was badly damaged by the fans. My body is breaking apart... Go! Go, Mewlt! Escape! I'll find a way to catch up!" she said.

I was now out of the arena and into the main hall. My heart raced... I had to get out of here before security was restored!... but on another hand, I cannot let Cherlie stay there, badly hurt!

"Where are you Cherlie? What's written on the door?" I asked.

"Security Control Room, A-44. Why?" she said.

"Nothing! I'm coming!" I said.

I broke the telepathic link and used my powers to fly throught the corridors. Throught years of being carried throught the mazes of this abyss, I could memorize what area of the Defect Center had the code "A" in it... and soon, I made it to the hall labelled "A".

There were no guards around... normal since they were busy inspecting the arena... but I knew it wouldn't be for long. I speeded around, scanning the numbers on each door...

A-40... A-41... A-42... A-43... HAHA! Security Control Room "A-44"! Cherlie is inside there!

I quickly charged a Psychic attack and blasted the door into bits... and then, I was greeted by a nightmarish vision.

From the ventilations vent, a large trail of blood was visible, leading to the computer... and the table and the computer seemed to be completely covered with red liquid. Cherlie was lying on the table, next to the keyboard, her right ear almost cut off and with so many cuts on her face and chest that her inner organs were sticking out and that her skeleton was visible. I could see the nerves... the veins... everything... it was so disgusting and horrifying...

"You... sh... should... not... have... came..." she whispered.

I didn't anwsered. I grabbed her and ran out of the room, carrying her in my arms...

"THERE HE IS! CATCH HIM!" screamed the leader of the squad of guards waiting for me outside.

They pointed strange metal objects toward me and then, black beams were shot from the objects. I attempted to deflect them with my psychic power... but I couldn't grasp the physical form of those beams and then, I realised the harsh truth. Those were dark-elemental beams!

ZAAAAAAAAAAAP!!!

I felt intense pain as the dark energy surged throught my body... and I felt the urge to drop Cherlie and just stand there, screaming in pain... but I gripped Cherlie harder and advanced toward the humans.

"Sir! It's not working!" said one of the guards.

"Increase the power!" ordered the leader.

The beams got stronger... and soon, I felt as if the beams had turned into a wall of energy, trying to push me backward... but I struggled against both the pain and the wall and walked foward, edging closer to the humans!

"Increase the power!" ordered the leader.

I felt that my right eye was beginning to twitch... and then, I realised my whole body was beginning to grow out of control! A single cut appeared on my chest and a thin crimson veil begun to form... and the wall of dark energy soon turned into an overwhelming force... but I kept on moving, never giving up.

"INCREASE THE POWER!" repeated the leader.

"Sir! We're at 500% already! It may kill it if we increase the power further!" protested a guard.

"The boss will have our head if we let the Half-Mew escape! More power! We need more power! INCREASE THE POWER!" said the leader.

Then, my whole vision grew dark as the dark energy grew to even more insane levels. I felt as if my skin was breaking apart... in fact, my whole body was beginning to break apart and I was now struggling against a real hurricane of darkness.

Cherlie stared at me... "Please... do not throw your life away for a failed attempt... we will try again another time..."

Try again... it has been two months that we have been "trying again"! All our escape attempts fails! They always, always fail! I can't take it anymore! I refuse to remain here! I just won't remain it... and that, even if I have to destroy this body!

Flashbacks of my entire life came back to me...

I seen the human scientists taking out samples out of me... I seen their grins... their sadistic grin as they ripped me apart with various tools and bombarded me with poison and pokeballs...

I seen the Defect Trainers, forcing us to battle to the death in order to strip us of our souls...

I saw the thousands of children, females, and other Defects being carried away, in white bags, their expressions of terror, despair, and helplessness forever on their faces...

I heard the screams, the cries, the songs of the survivors. I seen the tears of the loved ones as they rocket back and forth in their cages, banged their heads on the walls, and even, sometimes, tried to end their suffering...

I seen the heartless Pokemon trainers and their souless Pokemon. The empty eyes and hearts of those fighting tools and the total lack of a will of their own within the minds of the Pokemon trainers, who existed merely to please the ideals of the Pokemon League... the Pokemon trainers who are the slaves of their own destiny, forcing all others to follow them in their path of emptiness and death.

I seen Derlank and all my other roommates... I seen them die all over again. I seen the lack of meaning of their deaths... the lack of meaning of their suffering... the lack of meaning of their lives. I seen their dreams and hopes shatter, one by one...

I seen Cherlie... I seen her broken heart. I seen her pain as all those around her die, as the survivors label her as as a monster and throw her away...

... and then, I saw myself. My own heart broken by pain and despair. Unable to fufill any promise. Unable to reach for freedom. Teased by the greater forces with samples of the free life but never, ever able to reach it...

"Melt... MEWLT!" screamed the undead Minun.

I no longer heard her... all that I saw was pure darkness... and then, I felt an old feeling rising in my heart... hatred... pure hatred...

I no longer cared about Cherlie. I no longer cared about this place. My heart was pure hatred... pure darkness. I hated this place! I hated this world! I hated Cherlie, Derlank, and everyone! I hated myself! I hate everything! May everything fall into darkness!

ALL INTO DARKNESS!!!

Cherlie's mouth moved and I sensed a loud sound wave, as if she had screamed at me... but I never heard it.

In the darkness, I felt something within me awakening... I felt... the Darkness...

My eyes slowly begun to change color... slowly, they turned from purple to red and my fur turned changed too.

My color scheme had inverted, now. It was now purple with my belly and tail being pink... and the dark flames... oh do they burn brightly!

As those petty feelings called "compassion", "love", and "care" left my heart, I felt the urge to unleash all of my power all at once... all of my hidden, suppressed feelings which I had sealed away for so many long years... and altought a few, fleeting promises tried to calm my mind, my heart was already on fire... and I unleashed my full power.

I lashed foward, claws out and eyes all widened by the desire for blood and destruction.

I seen the first souls I would claim... humanoid souls holding objects that sent dark beams at me. I slashed into the air and the dark energy, as if alive, resonated with my soul...

"Destroy them. Consume the objects. Claim the souls." I tought... and the darkness obeyed my toughts.

The darkness gathered... and then, I felt as if my body was expending... and that, altought my body remained identical. The dark energy was now a part of mine... and it obeyed my very toughts.

The dark beams turned and headed back at the souls who fired them, turning into gigantic black snakes with demonic dragon heads and red flashing eyes... my eyes...

SCRAAAAAAAAACHLLL!!!

YES! OH DOES IT FEEL GOOD! The blood! The flesh! I am sooo... hungry... I felt as if I had longed for this all my life! My teeth passed throught the delicate human flesh and ripped it apart, sending blood splashing all over me and my hands. Oh! The beautiful flesh!

I pinned the human down and devoured him. I bit into the warm flesh and swallowed it... and then, I bit again... and swallowed yet more flesh... and soon, I reached the bones. I crunched the bones with my psychic powers and sent all his blood flowing into the air, raining down on my face like a beautiful crystal fountain. I opened my mouth and drank it all.

It felt so good... so... so...

Wait a minute! More souls! More flesh!

I turned and saw more humans. More flesh! More blood! I'm so hungry! So thirsty!

The black snakes surrounded the humans and choked them... and then, the humans screamed as the snakes began to devour them!... and each time they bit, I felt the taste of human flesh in my mouth... and the warm blood...

More! I need more!

I turned around... stupid walls! Stupid walls keeps me from escaping! Destroy! DESTROY IT ALL I MUST!

The snakes grew larger! The grew into gigantic demons, several times my size! They broke throught the ceiling and plunged everything into the darkness! I was in the center, my soul feeding on the destruction and death. Yes! YES! Destroy it all! DESTROY IT ALL!!!

Bricks fly about! Metal pipes fly about! The flesh fly about and end up in my mouth! Oh do I like it! It is so great, so grand! I feel as if I am about to explode with the pleasure of it all...

... but then, I begun to run out of dark energy... and I slowly landed, elsewhere.

The floor... it is soft... so soft... it is unlike anything I ever stood on... and I felt as if a ceiling was above me... a ceiling of a type which I had never seen before.

Then, I noticed I was carrying somebody in my arms... and had carried this person during all this time.

This person was hurt and was crying... and this put an end to my pleasure... my urges grew stronger! I MUST repair her body and make her happy! I must!

The demons are gone, now that the dark energy faded. Only a small snake remains... and thus, I forced the snake into the body of the female in my arms. Her body was instantly regenerated as the darkness was converted into positive energy. Then, I placed her in front of me. She stared at me...

Oh! The love... the overwhelming love that rise in my heart! My urges! I desire nothing more in this world than her...

I stepped foward, my entire body tickling with desire.

The urge... the urge!

I lashed on her. I pinned her down and kissed her right on the mouth. The fever grows! My entire body is burning! The instincts... the urges... they are mixing!

Never has kissing her being so... satisfying before... never, ever. An unknow pleasure tickles my heart as my own tongue waltz in her mouth, constantly touching her own, which was in my own mouth. I grabbed her head and closed my eyes... and altought the act of closing my eyes caused me to stop seeing the world... the female remained visible to me. In fact, she was even more clear than before. She appeared, glowing in a pure, delicate light...

I pulled back. I jumped away from her... she remained there, staring at me. Her mouth moved but no word came out. My eyes are still closed and yet, I see her... I see her so well...

I opened my eyes... and she got even brighter... but the world remained pure darkness.

She stood up and remained there, waiting... waiting for what? The urge tells me what it is!

I lashed toward her again!... but this time, unstead of pinning her down, I stop right in front of her and lift her using my psychic powers. I place my hands firmly on her sides.

Her eyes are filled with shock, surprise, fear... I hate such things! HATE IT! HATE IT! HATE IT! BEGONE!

I hugged her with all of my strenght and wished for the fear to disappear... and her body grew relaxed as my wish came true...

But while she relaxed, I only became more tense... and as I stopped hugging her, she looked down... and saw why. This caused her to giggle... her voice was so clear... it seemed all so unreal...

I leaned backward and stood on my knees. Then, I placed my hands on her hips. I now held her using both my hands and psychic powers. My eyes glow with in an intense red light... and I long to continue with what I am doing.

However, something has put a sudden stop to my urges... Altought I still feel the urge, I wait for something to happen... I wait for an anwser from this soul to a question I never asked her... and yet, she anwsered it, without saying a word. Her eyes stared into mine... she saw my burning desire... and then, a silent anwser was given...

Her hands reached down to an opening on the lower part of her body, which she widened. Was this another wound?... no, my instincts told me otherwise.

She smiled sweetly... and my soul considered this the signal. I forced her down with my hands and psychic powers and then...

!!! This... this feeling?!? I remember this feeling... but... but... It had never been so strong! Never, ever! And furthermore... I used to think that there had never been an organ there... and yet, I feel her touching the tip of a hidden organ, revealed by my instincts for who knows why.

I pushed her down further and the organ slided right into the opening and... !!! OH MY... WHEEZE!

The urge... THE URGE! MUST... GO... DEEPER! Her body doesn't cooperate! Her soul does... but the size doesn't! The opening only go so far and my organ is too large... I feel that if I go deeper, it will explode!... but I will not stop here! Oh no! I forced the lower part of my body to lean upward and used my psychic powers to increase the strenght of the thrust... and then, there was a sudden scream.... a scream that came both from me and her, at the same time. For a brief moment, a sharp pain... and then, the pain was overcame by the feeling.

She was now just as tense as I was... and altought her eyes were filled with tears, my instincts told me that she was begging for more... but for some reason, I waited for her to confirm my instincts...

... and then, she gripped me harder and I seen her nod... and thus, I moved her body with my hands... moving her up and down... and she placed her hands on my chest, helping me move her... and the friction grew... the feeling... grew...

OH... MY...

Hot... hot! I'm... I'M BURNING! The fee... fee... feeling is... at... it's... PEAK! ACK!!!

MEEEEEEEEEEEEW!!!

Puuurr... so wet... so hot... and yet... so tired...

She faded from my vision, joining the darkness and then... my senses faded away as just like my hatred had, my passion died down...

...

"Hehehehe... so... it happened..." mocked a feminine voice... a voice which I had never heard before.

A figure appeared in the darkness... it begun to walk toward me...

"The time has come! Your Destiny lies foward... and Destiny awaits no one!" she said.

Everything was bathed in pure light as she approached... and I awakened before I could see the figure's face.

As I looked around, my first reaction was to panic.

I am in a totally alien place. The looks, the smells, the textures... everything is unfamiliar to me...

Around me, thousands of strange cylindrical brown objects sticking toward the sky. Many small cylindrical objects were attached to the main objects and on these same secondary objects, thousands of strangely shaped sheets of green paper or something like that were all placed.

Those clusters of objects formed the "walls"... and the blue and white ceiling, the sky, was covered by the strange green sheets of paper, causing the place to be a bit dark... altought still well-lit at the same time.

The floor was so uneven... and soft. It seemed like billions of individual pieces of green sheet all grouped together to form a cozy carpet. The green of the sheets had been tainted by a myriad of colors however. In the center, the sheets were crunched all together, meaning that something... or someone... was standing on it. Furthermore, judging from the shape the crunched sheets form, that person, or persons, moved around. It was also mostly there that the color changed. Indeed, all kinds of liquids had dried off there. Most of it was crimson... blood. Some of it was transparent... don't know what it is but I seen stuff like this before. The white liquid however... I had never seen anything like it. It was mixed to the largest puddle of blood in the middle and seemed awfully thick... perhaps even thicker than the blood... which is strange since I used to think that blood is one of the thickest liquids around.

Well, no time for thinking over such an unimportant mystery.

Where am I? How did I got here? Why do I feel... different? I feel as if something had awakened within me...

I used my psychic powers to make a mirror appear. I have the same head, the same chest, the same hands, same legs as usual. My fur is still pink, my belly and tail still purple. My eyes have their usual purple color. However, a detail struck me as odd. My fur was a bit more reddish than it used to be... as if it had been covered with a red liquid and that the liquid dried off.

I touched my fur... it was indeed dirty. A red liquid had covered it and had dried, causing my pink fur to slightly change color.

I looked around... where is Cherlie? I'm obviously no longer in the Defect Center... man! I hope she's safe!... and out of that awful place!

But then, I noticed the blue and yellow fur in the grass, sleeping. I approached the furball...

Her, too, had her yellow fur tainted red a little bit. I also noticed that the lower part of her belly was slightly paler than the rest... as if white liquid had dried there. How very strange...

She lied there, on her back, smiling while she slept. To me, she looked like an angel... and I did not dare to wake her.

However, Minuns have very good hearing, you know... and as such, when I tried to walk away to explore this new, strange place, the female Minun slowly opened her eyes.

She stood up and her ears rose straight up in shock. Her eyes widened to titanic proportions.

"Mewlt... how in the name of Ho-oh did we made it here?!?" she asked.

I frowned as I turned to face her. And I who had hoped that she would have had the anwsers to that question...

"I'm sorry but if you would have awakened first, I would have asked you that." I replied.

Cherlie looked around... "Well, at least, we're in the forest..." she said.

"Forest? This is a forest?" I asked.

"Sure it is! Like... it's obvious!" she said.

I looked around... yes, it is true. That place truly is similar to the descriptions Derlank had gave me. So... those strange objects are trees, right? I had seen them when I escaped from the Pokemon Center... but I never espected them to be so large! This forest... was even more beautiful than I had imagined a forest would ever be...

Suddenly, Cherlie laughed... I turned to her, confused. "What's so funny?" I asked.

"Well... you're awfully dirty, you know!" she stated.

I grinned. Yes, I am not at my best, right now... "Well, you aren't too bad either with your red and white tainted fur look, miss Minun!"

Cherlie advanced toward the mirror I had created and stared at her reflection... and then, she begun to laugh even louder!

"HAHAHAHA! We sure are two dirty Defects, aren't we?" she said.

I couldn't help but roll my eyes and laugh a bit. Two dirty Defects stuck in the middle of a forest with one of them who didn't even knew he was in a forest to begin with... my! What a strange situation!

"Well... do you know where this is?" I asked.

"Well... wait a minute! I'll tell you!" said Cherlie.

She stood on her hindlegs and leaned foward a bit, closing her eyes... and then, she sniffed the air, gathering the smells in her nose and analysing them...

Then, after a while, she opened her eyes, took back her usual stance, and anwsered: "Well... I don't know how we made it here... but we're in Viridian Forest, to the north of Viridian City!" she stated.

Viridian City? According to Derlank's tales of his journeys as a trained Pokemon... Viridian City is north of Pallet Town. Viridian Forest is between Viridian City and Pewter City.

In short, we're pretty... nope... REALLY far from Pallet Town's Defect Center!

But then, I realised it.

I was far from the Defect Center, in the wildness... I was... I WAS! I WAS FREE!

Cherlie stared at me, her eyes raising in surprise as I jumped on her, grabbed her, and spun about, smiling.

Then, I hugged her a bit and placed it back on the ground, my smile widening further.

"Hmmm... what was that for?" she asked, confused.

"Cherlie! We are in a FOREST, FAR from Pallet Town! Do you know what this means?" I asked.

Cherlie stood there, confused for a few more seconds... and then, it hits her. Her eyes widened as she smiled and then, she begun to jump around. She was so happy... and so was I!

The nightmare was over. We are free... finally. No more suffering. No more Pokemon trainers or Defect Trainers. No more souless tools. No more torture. No more experiments. Only hapiness and dreams...

I can already imagine it... we will now travel the world! We will see every place! We will see and experience everything! I will fulfill my promise to Derlank as well... No longer are we to be afraid of humans!

Cherlie stopped jumping around after a while and stood there, grinning. "Well... what do we do now?" she asked.

"Well... Derlank told me of some very beautiful beaches to the south... and there's Mt.Moon too. We shouldn't forget about the mysterious ruins to the east, which should be worth exploring! There's also..." I couldn't finish however.

"I meant: what do we do, right... now?" she asked.

I was caught a bit offguard by her question... but quickly grew ahold of myself. "Well... maybe cleaning our fur would be a first step. You know, Cherlie... both you and Derlank used to talk about something called "taking a bath". I'm interested in what you both meant about that..."

"Well, that could be a good thing to do!... and for that, we'll need a body of water... like a river, for exemple! I'm sure there must be a river nearby!" she said.

Her ears begun to twitch as she scanned the surroundings... and then, various sounds which I can't hear but that she can reached her... and then, she pointed to the east. "There!" she said.

I followed her as she led the way... and as we walked, I looked around at this place.

Forests... are strange places. There's life absolutely everywhere. There's so many kinds of Pokemon running around... I can barely believe it. Most of them seem to be afraid however of us however... and those who are not just look at us from a distance... and then resume what they were doing.

Whatever! We'll speak with them once we're done with what we were doing!

After a short walk, the green ceiling grew thiner and the trees, in lesser numbers... and we made it to a clearing. Water flowed in a small trench in the ground... This must be what they call a river.

Cherlie approached the water and stared into it. "It's so clear... not polluted at all!" she stated.

She then jumped right into the water!

I approached the water... the river's current does not appear to be strong but it does seem to be a bit deep. However, I can clearly see that the bottom of the river is made of small, round pebbles and not with mud. Derlank used to say that mud is dangerous. You could get stuck and then drown... and according to Derlank, drowning is one of the worst ways of dying.

This made me shiver a bit... but maybe I shouldn't worry too much. The place seems definitely safe.

I stepped foward a bit and stood on the edge...

Then, Cherlie's head popped out of the water. She smiled at me. "Hey! The water's good! What are you waiting for? The kitty is afraid of water?"

"OF COURSE NOT!" I anwsered. "I'll show you!"

I held my breath and jumped right into the water! Upon hitting the surface, I felt as if I was passing throught some kind of membrane... and as I sunk into the water, I knew how it felt to be totally submerged.

To be submerged... is very different from being wet. It felt so... strange... so... unreal. My vision is all blurry underwater... all wavy and all...

I noticed that Cherlie is swimming. Maybe I should the same!... wait a minute! I do NOT know how to swim!

For a second I panicked... but then, I remembered that I was a powerful psychic Pokemon. Using my powers, I lifted my body out of the water.

I restarted breathin when my head passed throught the water's surface again.

"Hey! Why are you using your powers? All that you need is to swim!" she said.

I felt a bit embarassed... "Err... I don't know how to do that." I said.

Cherlie's eyes widened. "What? You jumped right into the water knowing well that you can't swim?"

My cheeks turned red. "Errr... yes..."

She begun to laugh at me. "Hey! Don't laugh!" I said quickly.

Cherlie grinned. "Well then... allow me to teach you..."

She approached me and grabbed my hands... "You'll teach me?" I asked.

"Sure! Now listen well..." she begun...

...

I dived under the surface again. The blurry and wavy effect underwater was no longer bothering me. I was a quick learner... and the fact that Cherlie allowed me to hypnotise her and see her toughts as she imagined me swimming helped, as well.

As such, I was no longer using my psychic powers to move throught the water. Altought I wasn't that good... I could still move around... and I will admit that I have taken a liking for swimming... despite the fact that the fact that I have to hold my breath is a problem... but well, it's very minor compared to all I have learnt today.

Oh! I have been so absorbed by my toughts that I forgot to return to the surface! Better listen to those lungs of mine!

My head passed throught the surface, becoming visible to Cherlie, who was sitting on the grass, next to the river. She giggled, seeing me. "You sure do have a lot of energy! Look! The sun is already setting and you're still swimming like that..." she said, pointing the sky.

I grasped the solid ground and lifted my large frame out of the water. I mostly used my physical strenght for the task, using my psychic powers only in the final seconds, to move by body next to Cherlie.

We were both clean, happy, and free... and now, I was witnessing yet another miracle of our beautiful, beautiful world...

The ceiling, the sky, was changing color... The sun had turned red and the sky was orange, almost pink... and it was the most beautiful event I had ever witnessed. A few tears mixed to the waterdrops stuck in my fur.

"Mewlt?" asked the one sitting next to me, wondering why I was crying...

"It's... beautiful..." I said.

Cherlie smiled. "Yes... I had not seen it in a year. It's... beautiful, indeed."

She edged a bit closer. Her smile changed... it changed from an amused one to a different one... "Mewlt..."

I stared into her eyes... her beautiful, beautiful eyes... but then, I noticed her right ear twitching, as if she had heard something.

"Cherlie?" I asked.

"What is it?" she asked, smiling.

"Did... you heard something?" I asked.

"No. Why?" she replied.

Then, my feelings told me to do something... "Mewlt? What are you doing?" she asked as I stood up.

I stared into the water... and dived right into the river! "MEWLT! What are you doing?!?" she asked, standing up.

The sounds barely reached me as water stopped the sound waves. The water was clear... but still, water is water and you can't see very well when in it. But still, I could see a black shadow struggling... a shadow away from me... a soul signature... a small, young one at that.

For some reason, the soul's struggle awoke a nameless fear in my heart... and I swam toward the soul as quickly as possible! In fact, I even used my psychic powers to increase my speed and in seconds, I made it to the shadow and became horrified!

A being similar to a Minun but smaller and black, unstead of blue or red, had it's tail stuck under two large rocks and was drowning! That small Pichu was drowning!

I seen tears in the Pokemon's eyes as it struggled in vain to break free and survive... and my heart ached. I would never forgive myself if I allowed such a young life to end like this.

I made it in front of the Pichu. The Pichu stopped struggling and stared at me. It's eyes were filled with terror... and I assumed it was becease of my size. It wouldn't be the first time, really... and anyway, saving this Pokemon was more important.

I grabbed the rocks that were crushing the Pichu's tail... and tried to force them apart! Unfortunately, the Pichu was not to blame for not being able to move those rocks! I'm sure a Machamp would have difficulty moving them! Man! They're not even budging! No choice!

I unleashed my psychic power on the rocks, shattering them. The Pichu swam a bit toward the surface... but then, it became all tense for a while and then, relaxed... as it's mouth opened and as it swallowed water! It landed back on the bed of the river, not moving... and I knew that I had only a few seconds left before the baby Pokemon died.

I grabbed the Pichu and held it in my arms. Then, I used my psychic powers to fly straight out of the water!

SPLAAAAASH!!!

Water was sent everywhere as I flied out of the water and landed on the grass. I placed the Pichu in front of me... His eyes were closed and it wasn't moving...

NO! You shall not die! I placed my hands on his mouth and opened it! Then, I concentrated and formed bubbles in his lungs around the water, before sending it flying out of his body and back into the river!

... but the Pichu didn't restarted breathing. It's heart must have stopped!... but I will not allow it to die! Oh no! I won't! I placed my right hand on his chest... and realised I knew no electricity-based move. I felt stupid... and useless. I could unleash stuff like Shadow Supernova and Dynamic Punch without a sweat... and then, I can't even use something like Thundershock?

No! I know a electrical attack!... but I'll have to be careful and put just the right amount of power in it... it would be risky... but then, the Pichu was doomed if I didn't tried so... well, why not try it?

I concentrated and allowed my Darkness to rise... and then, I slammed the tip of my tail into the ground, using my psychic power to increase the strenght at which I slammed it, burrying it in the ground. Then, I created a reflective barrier right above my head.

I closed my eyes and gritted my teeth, knowing how painful this would be... and then, I unleashed the power of the Shadow Bolt attack! I shot it upward, into the mirror, and it reflected right into me!

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAARG!!!" I screamed as my own destructive power struck me.

Humongous amounts of electricity and dark power was forced into my body, causing intense pain... I redirected all of the darkness and almost all of the electricity into the ground using my tail and using my right hand, I directed a surge of electricity into the body of the small Pichu.

Then, the attack ended. I pulled my tail out of the ground and the mirror, no longer supplied in psychic power by my brain, disappeared.

I opened my eyes and stared at the Pichu... please... make it live...

COUGH! COUGH!

It coughed... and then, gasped for air as it's heart was beating again!

I smiled. I had succeeded...

"ACK! HELP ME!" screamed the Pichu as it stood up and then ran away as quickly as possible.

It jumped backward and stumbled. Then, it stopped, staring at me... "Please! Don't eat me! I'm small and not tasty at all! I'm more bones than flesh!" it squeaked, totally terrorised.

I smiled. "I did not saved you just to eat you afterward..."

"Huh? You saved me?" it asked, confused.

"Remember that big shadow underwater? I helped you break free and got you out of the water." I explained.

The Pichu remained there... "But... you smell so funny... and you're so tall..."

"MEWLT!" screamed Cherlie as she made it.

She stopped just next to me, panting. "What... what happened?!? Why did you..."

Suddenly, she noticed the Pichu. "Huh? Who is that?" she asked.

"A child. I saved him when he was about to drown." I stated.

Cherlie smiled. "So... you like playing hero? Just warn me next time, before dashing to the aid of the innocent, like the knight in shining armor that you are." the way she said it... it was half a joke, half true... In fact, it was so weird. She mixed irony and sincerity so well that I couldn't tell if she was kidding me or if she was complimenting me in an excessive way.

The Pichu stared at Cherlie, confused... "You're a strange Pichu, you know!" it stated.

"I'm not a Pichu." said Cherlie. "I am a Minun. My specie looks like Pichues... but unlike Pichues, we remain in our original forms for our entire lives. You see, I am an adult!"

The Pichu blinked a few times... "Minun?... well, maybe you're saying the truth. I never saw a Pichu as big as you anyway. You're as tall as mother!"

Cherlie rolled her eyes. If only the Pichu knew! Cherlie is easily old enough to be the child's grand-mother!

"PICHU!!!" screamed a voice, from the bushes.

A Pikachu jumped out of the bushes and placed herself in front of the small child. She stared at us... and more specifically, at me, with a murderous look...

"Leave my child alone, trained Pokemon!" she said.

"We are not trained Pokemon, actually." I stated.

"Your smell... you do not smell like wild Pokemon!" she replied harshly.

"Well, maybe that's becease we cleaned ourselves in the river and then swam all day?" I said.

Obviously, this was not enough for the Pikachu...

Cherlie raised an eyebrow, annoyed. "Look! The cat Pokemon there just saved the life of your child! Can you be just a little bit thankful or at at least, not hate him? Geez!"

The Pikachu raised an eyebrow too. "Mommy. The cat Pokemon saved me when I got stuck in the river and was about to drown." stated the baby.

The Pikachu stared at the baby Pokemon... then at me... then at the baby Pokemon... then at me... then, it FINALLY decided itself.

"Alright... I guess you two aren't enemies... but I will not trust strangers until the leader seen them." stated the female Pikachu.

Cherlie turned to me. "Well... looks like what I had planned for tonight is going down the sink..." she said, sighing.

"And what had you planned?" I asked her.

"Oh... nothing really. I had just tought of spending the night, gazing at the stars or something... you know... actually enjoying our freedom unstead of running left and right?" explained the Minun.

Well, that was understandable. I do admit that we won't be able to look at the sky much with that case of that Pichu nearly dying and then that Pikachu and then... well, that kind of stuff. Maybe someday, I should just sit down with Cherlie and stare at the clouds for the whole day... nah! We would probably grow bored after five minutes or something like that!

"You're coming or what?" asked the Pikachu, noticing we were remaining there.

"We're coming! We're coming!" anwsered Cherlie for me.

We followed the yellow and black electrical mice throught the bushes... and after yet another uneventful trek throught another part of the forest, we made it to another clearing. This one was quite large, with a large pack of Pikachus standing there.

Every member of the pack stopped, staring at us as we entered the clearing...

"Zapple! Why did you brought those strangers here?" asked loudly the sole Raichu who was standing on the top of a tree stump, in the middle of the clearing.

"Leader... those strangers, they..." she couldn't finish her sentance.

"Anwser my question, Zapple! Why did you brought them here?" he asked, harshly this time.

"I wanted to know if they were worthy of trust..." she anwsered, lowering her head.

The Raichu stared deep into Cherlie's eyes, his black, cute and yet serious eyes scanning her... and I felt frustration growing into my heart as I knew that the sole factor that would determine if we remained or not was whenever that Raichu would like Cherlie's appearance... and judging as how he finally smiled, I guessed what was his decision.

Well, whatever. As long as they don't label us as enemies or something...

"Well, I guess I'll let them remain there for now... but this female there is a Minun... and Minun are native from Hoenn! This means that she is a stranger! Also... that cat Pokemon... that cat Pokemon..." the Raichu seemed a bit nervous... "Nevermind! That's all!"

With that said, the Pikachu pack resumed what they were doing.

The female Pikachu and her Pichu walked next to a bush, on the edge of the clearing, and sat there. I noticed that strangely enough, the Pikachu always held it's tail low and tried it's best always to look at the ground...

"Your name... is Zapple, right?" I asked.

The Pikachu anwsered. "Yes... Zapple. No need to call me that however. I'm just an Omega rank female. The name doesn't matter..."

I turned to Cherlie. She was frowning. Unlike me, she seemed to know what did the Pikachu meant by "Omega rank"...

"You're... an Omega?" asked the Minun.

"Yes..." stated Zapple, frowning.

"It is horrible... I'm so sorry..." she said.

COUGH!

That was me. The two turned to me, wondering why I had coughed.

"You know... I'm not an expert in the history of Pikachu, Plusle, and Minun societies! What do you mean by "Omega rank"? Why is it so bad and all?" I asked.

Cherlie cleared her throat and begun to explain: "OK, listen well. Most of the mammal Pokemon live in packs... and in packs, there are ranks. Each family is classified in five ranks: Prime, Alpha, Beta, Delta, Omega. A higher ranked member of the pack decide what are the tasks and responsabilities of lower ranked members. If two members of the same rank or of similar ranks just cannot belong, then the members duel and whoever wins either keep it's rank or steal the other's rank... and whoever loses sees it's rank drop. There are exeptions there. Only the Prime family may banish people... or more exactely, the leader. Also, there is only ONE Prime family. If a new Prime family arise, the new Prime family demonstrate it's newly acquired authority by killing ALL of the members of the former Prime family. Children, females... no exeption! The Omega rank is special. Everyone controls the Omega rank and they do not have the right to duel for rank ascension. Also, they're the only ones who can be killed by other members. In fact, if an Omega rank member disobey, death is often the punishment chosen and anyone can deliver it whenever they want. In short, when you're high in the ranks, you have the right of life and death over those below you... and when you're low, you are a slave."

She smiled after finishing... and then proceeded to catch her breath!

Myself, I stood there... not believing it. The way the packs worked... it's DISGUSTING! I didn't understood about the Prime family replacement ritual or about the Omega having no rights. The fact that the way to climb in ranks was throught duels also suggested that only strenght determined who the leader would be... In short, the pack system appeared as an abomination to me, explained like that.

The Pichu stared at me... "Oh! Don't worry! We won't remain in that rank forever! Isn't it, mommy?" it said, smiling.

Zapple sighed loudly... and I knew the anwser was negative.

"The leader didn't promised anything..." she anwsered.

"But mommy! Uncle Electy..." the Pichu could never finish it's sentance.

"Spark! We are Omega ranked! We have no right to call the leader by it's name! We are unworthy!" she remained the Pichu.

I had enough. I turned to the leader, who was busy giving orders. He was on the tree stump, making poses as he gave his orders... he disgusted me... he looked like a Pokemon trainer in a human body to me...

"Mewlt?" asked Cherlie, noticing I had turned away...

"I'm tired." I stated.

I sat down and then, I promptly fell asleep. I'm too tired to think tonight... too tired to argue with a enslaved wild Pokemon and a Raichu who confuse himself for a Pokemon Trainer.

...

As I fell asleep... I had a dream... a strange dream...

I dreamed that the day I escaped from the Defect Center, I went beserk and murdered all the Pokemon and humans I could find. I dreamt of Cherlie, resonating with me and influenced by my power and feelings to go beserk too and join me in my rampage... and then, I dreamt of us arriving in Viridian Forest after running out of dark energy and... huh? Oh? OH! THAT is an interesting...

Huh? The dream is already finished? Well... too bad...

I'm glad it's all a dream however. I'm not sure if I could be able to live with the knowledge that I murdered so many people... altought I still wonder...

Why was my fur and Cherlie's tainted red when we awoke, the morning after our escape? Why couldn't we remember anything of the actual escape?

Is it possible that this dream... no! We would never do such a thing...

=TO BE CONTINUED