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[Pokémon] Revolution (Rated T)

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Summary - Seven years prior to the beginning of the story, a revolution suddenly began between Trainer-owned Pokemon and their masters; today, all regions are suffering, the pain somewhat alleviated by their only match, the revolutionary Pokemon, who would rather find a solution than mindlessly attack cities and kill humans like the rebels did. Among the rebels is the "King", a Zoroark named Dominic, who is noted to have schizophrenic episodes by the revolutionary Reyes, who is sent at the start of the story to bring him to the revolutionaries' very base by their leader, the elder Alakazam.

Table of Contents

1. Escape From Hell
2. The Road to Salvation
3. No Longer A Dream
 
Last edited:
1,863
Posts
12
Years
1.1. The King of Bedlam​

Spoiler:

Reyes remembered how, a very long time ago—what seemed like a lifetime ago, in fact—he enjoyed watching old movies with his Trainer, Brendan; he wasn't The Brendan and wasn't nearly as famous, but he was Reyes' Brendan, which was what mattered. He was a goofy kid with too many freckles and braces and loved nachos and soft pretzels and old movies; consequently, Reyes, his very first Pokémon and life partner, did too, very much. "In a world…", most of their movies tended to start, and that was the same way every one of Reyes' days started ten years later.

In a world, a world several light years away from the glorious "world of Pokémon" so revered and loved by every grade-school child with a T.V., the skies were dark (mainly allegorically but literally on some of the worse days), the streets were paved with blood and corpses, and every hour was a fight for something, be it food, shelter, or one's life, human or Pokémon. It wasn't a world of Trainer and Pokémon, Pokémon and Trainer any longer; no, it was just a world of Pokémon—dangerous, drugged-on-freedom, damn-the-consequences, there-is-no-god Pokémon.

He usually didn't stray too far from the revolutionary's grounds, but the previous day Alakazam seemed to want to test his patience by sending him all the way to Mauville City from his stay in Lilycove. Reyes remembered very well when Brendan stopped by to fill up at the PokeMart years prior; it was large and very advanced, full of people and life, but all Reyes saw at the moment was a decrepit city with holes in the skylight roof and rubble and shattered stores everywhere. Rebels wandered around, most eyeing him dangerously but none making moves as of yet; he got the feeling that his actual request would put his life in danger more than just swaggering onto some big shot's turf.

He found the southern hall leading to the center of the city and was immediately stopped by a Garchomp and Hariyama standing guard; for what, he wasn't sure, as there didn't seem to be much to guard around there aside from the Bug-type Pokémon that abounded in the darkness. Ahead, a virtual wall of plaster chunks crookedly stacked on top of one another blocked any view he had of the plaza; the inside of the place was vaguely lit by old and flickering fluorescent lights and somewhere in the distance, a broken tune sounded from some old children's carousel, giving it all a mysterious and macabre feeling like one of Brendan's old Horror movies. "What are ya try'n'a do, pal?" the Hariyama said, blocking him with a hand; Reyes got the feeling that despite his friendly tone and words, they were far from being pals.

"I need to see the King." The King wasn't the king as in every-rebel-bow-down-to-me-muahaha, but his influence spanned across Mt. Chimney, Mauville, Verdanturf, and Lavaridge (Fallabor belonged to some wayward Sableye, the last Reyes heard), so in short, he controlled some of the more major parts in the region through sheer strength and guts, and that gave him the title of 'King' for both rebels and revolutionaries. From the rebels, he had fearful respect; from the revolutionaries, he had awed contempt.

"Hah!" the Garchomp laughed. "That's freakin' hilarious, y'know."

"I'm quite serious," Reyes said. "I'm here on Alakazam's orders."

That was quite a senseless thing to say in retrospect as they promptly became irate, prepared to crush him into bits. "Let 'im through," a young voice suddenly called from beyond the "wall."

"Your Majesty!" Hariyama said, turning with surprise. "But—"

"Let him through before I slice both of you up!"

Garchomp grumbled angrily while Hariyama scratched his head, confused, but they pushed Reyes forward. He almost complained before he noticed just a bit of sunlight shining through a small crack in the "wall"; he approached it and saw that it was a small opening. He crouched down and slipped through, cringing at the journey through the pipe-infected plaster until he came out into the plaza, which was when he saw one of the most interesting things he had ever seen in his whole life…aside from the revolution.

Some Pokémon apparently had coordination enough to erect a throne out of stone, which sat on a mini-tower about four feet high; there were two more Pokémon—Aerodactyl and Salamence—standing guard on either side, and the infamous King was sitting on his throne. He was a…well, Reyes wasn't sure; he was something from Unova or Kalos, which he still wasn't too familiar with, with grey and red fur and a crown made of bleached bones on his furry head. He stared at Reyes with glacial eyes before scoffing, then he muttered something disdainfully under his breath, making an obscene gesture with his claws.

"Don't you like what you see?" Reyes jeered.

"The King don't bat in that park, if that's what ya mean," he sneered, propping his elbow up on the armrest and resting his head in his clawed hand. "Well, not unless there's three anyway. So, what business does the revolution'ry army have with the King?"

Nothing says royalty more than the ostentatious and unnecessary third person, he thought, trying not to scowl at him. "Alakazam, the leader of the revolutionaries, wants to see you personally."

All of the rebels including the King burst into riotous laughter, irking Reyes beyond anyone's imagination; it was a foolish request and he knew it, even told Alakazam that, but he insisted that Reyes go retrieve him anyhow with any means necessary. "Oh, wait, he might be serious," the King said, raising a hand; immediately, the room fell silent—Reyes had to wonder what a guy like him did with power like that. "Why would the King go into any section of your territory, huh? You could off him at any moment and it would be warranted; he don't see a point in doin' this."

"I don't either, but I believe you know how the revolutionaries work?"

"Do what they say and you don't get yourself killed?"

"Precisely."

"In case you hadn't noticed, that doesn't apply to Pokémon like mahself." He tapped his chest with his dangerously sharp claws. "I got more than enough protection against the revolution'ry army to sleep as soundly as a hatchlin' as I send you to our butchers."

"You're quite the joy to be around, aren't you?"

"I've been told," he smirked, showing off canines of a similar danger level. "And why would the revolution'ries' leader want to see the King?"

"I've no damn idea, but it would make things a lot easier if you would just shut up and comply." That riled up the King's bodyguards.

"Or maybe you could die," he said thoughtfully, scratching his ear. "Then the King would technically never have received the message since the messenger would be found miles away. Yeah, that's a great idea." He snapped his claws and his Aerodactyl and Salamence rushed Reyes, surrounding him on both sides; he leapt into the air causing them to slam into each other. Salamence was paralyzed for a moment but Aerodactyl wasn't, summoning several fist-sized rocks and launching them at Reyes; he used his leaf blades to slice them apart and ran Aerodactyl up, using its face as a springboard to launch onto its back. It spun, trying to get him off, which was when Salamence got back in action and fired a Flamethrower at him.

"Beautiful," the King commented, clapping his claws together. Reyes gritted his teeth as he used Protect; the flames were repelled instantly, but that was when Aerodactyl managed to get him off, throwing him against the pile of rocks blocking the entrance. He shook his head out and focused in time to see the both of them charging him with incredible speed for their bulk. He extended his leaf blades and dug halfway into the ground; he wasn't completely under, but he moved enough for Aerodactyl and Salamence to instead crash bodily into the rocks. They couldn't move them (the rocks were apparently packed together very strongly) but the impact KO'd them on the spot, though sadly they fell on top of Reyes' behind, forcing him lower into the ground. "Oh! Very lovely!" It sounded like the King was applauding.

"Bastard," Reyes muttered, using Dig to move further up so he could climb free. He grimaced at the dirt and rocks covering his body and cleaned himself up quickly with his claws.

"The King likes you; you're strong," he chuckled, clapping his claws together. "But the King needs new guards if he'll be travellin'," he added, glancing at Aerodactyl and Salamence's prone bodies.

"I'm adequate enough," Reyes said; the King snorted as if he hadn't just had an apt demonstration.

"The King will sleep on your request," he said before sliding to the ground; interestingly enough, he was somewhat shorter than Reyes, and he had the remnant of a limp in his left leg. "Garchomp!" The Garchomp from outside squeezed through the hole obediently. "Deal with those two and then show our guest to the upstairs apartments."

"Sir—"

"You have yer orders," the King interrupted. "Get to it." He then disappeared into some shadows on the side of the room—damn Dark-types, Reyes thought. Garchomp grunted, disconcerted.

"He's lucky I can't kill 'im," he muttered, grabbing up the larger Pokémon easily with each arm. "C'mon, but I gotta get rid of these guys first."

"Get rid of them?" Reyes asked. "They're only KO'd."

"Don't matter," Garchomp muttered, walking over to the northern entrance. It was sealed by a large and dented metal door instead of rocks, but was protected by Psychic-type Pokémon instead, and the door itself could only be opened psychically, he told Reyes; he barked a string of numbers and letters through a small peephole in the door and Reyes heard a reply from the other end before it swung open, revealing the rest of the decrepit Mauville. "The King has no need whatsoever for Pokémon that lose."

——————

"Work…work…work damn it," Reyes swore, sitting on the edge of the bed as he stared at his rebel-approved PokéNav that could supposedly pierce any signal interrupters, yet each time he attempted to contact local communications leader Jamal there were several beeps signaling a lack of communication. Finally, on his eighth attempt, he heard a raucous reply through loads of static.

"Whoever the hell this is, go away." Reyes groaned internally as he remembered his given introduction, the one that made him think Alakazam enjoyed other Pokémon's embarrassment.

"Pretty pink panties, Jamal."

"Oh, hey Reyes! Always the ladies' man," Jamal chuckled, causing his PokéNav to vibrate; Reyes groaned and slapped his free hand against his forehead.

"I hope you remember that Whiscash always lose to Sceptile."

"Yeah, yeah, so how'd it go?"

"Picture bad, then worse, then Bill's crap, then expand the polynomial and that's about it."

"You didn't get the King?"

"No, I didn't, and frankly I question Alakazam's judgement in finding him an asset," Reyes replied testily.

"Well, he's strong and has a good influence; maybe that's it?" Jamal suggested.

"I don't think the headaches are worth the power—he uses the third person, for Arceus' sake! At first I thought it was out of arrogance, but now I think it's just out of idiocy. Not to mention how callously the rebels treat each other. You know how we deal with mistakes on our end—a warning, slap-on-the-wrist, no dinner?"

"Uh-huh?"

"They kill Pokémon; three have died already, two for losing to me and one for sparing the life of a baby Pokémon revolutionary, as I've heard, and if I see one more death I'll lose it and gut the King myself."

"Yeah, we all know your hang-up with pointless deaths, Reyes," Jamal sighed. "When are you returning?"

"Hopefully by morning."

"Then bear him until then." With that, Jamal cut the connection. Reyes replaced the PokéNav in his rucksack and laid down on the made-up bed; surprisingly, the King kept the apartments in very nice condition despite the rest of Mauville's niggardly appearance. He trusted his instincts enough to shut his eyes; maybe with a little rest he'd be in a good enough temperament not to shear the King bald. He wasn't sure how much time had passed, but when he opened his eyes the room was very dark and someone or something was fumbling with the window despite its lock; he slid to the ground and quietly crouched under it, waiting for the rebel to get in so he could deal with them.

The rusted lock popped and the window slid open just as a large black shadow toppled into the room, sending Reyes sprawling on the ground. "Get your butt out of my face," Reyes hissed to the King, kicking him away and getting up. "What are you doing?"

"Sneakin' in," he said, his eyes glowing like blue beacons in the darkness; he flashed his sharp white canines with a mad cackle. "I have so many guards it was hard to put up an illusion against all of them, but I made it." He leapt to his feet, shaking his fur out.

"For what?"

"To sneak out with you of course, to meet Alakazam!" He face-palmed as if it was so obvious, and perhaps it was to everybody else with an I.Q. that could moonlight as a shoe size.

"You slept on my request?"

"I'm a Dark-type, idiot! I only sleep durin' the day," he scowled. He was very out of character compared to earlier. "I wanted to agree right away but it wouldn't seem, er, respectable."

"That much I can understand, but not why you act like a douche—unless you actually are one?"

"No! Well, that's subjective," he admitted. "It's just that I gotta act like a king or else they'll eat me alive—literally, actually. Bein' a rebel is all about fronts, lookin' strong so you don't get killed by everybody else."

"So you're the king to avoid getting killed?" Reyes asked. He let out a breath, then grinned.

"No, I love havin' everybody else lick my feet." Okay, he was crazy. "But I will go with you, and we have to leave now before everyone makes a big deal of it." He grabbed Reyes' arm, his claws digging through his skin, but before he could protest the King pulled him through the window and down the three-story drop, but before they hit the ground he blasted the ground with Shadow Ball, pulverizing the large chunks of soil and rock to create a small hole that they heaped in.

"If you fall on my face one more time," Reyes said from beneath him, "you'll be falling in a grave next."

"Whoops, haha, sorry." He stood up and offered a hand; Reyes pointedly ignored it, getting to his feet. "C'mon; there's a secret underground tunnel past the guards."

"How do you know there's a secret underground tunnel?"

"'Cause I made it, idiot!"

"Look, call me idiot one more time and I'll beat you so badly you'll lose your last three brain cells," Reyes warned; the King either didn't take him too seriously or didn't hear, because he stared ahead into the wild grass. He started to get his PokéNav out when the King made an exclamation of surprise. "What is the—"

Suddenly the King tackled Reyes, pinning him against the wall by his wrists; although Reyes' night vision was nothing to be proud of, it seemed that his fur was bristling, his hackles raised. Behind him, several rebel guards were running to investigate. "Your Majesty, what's going on here?" one of them, a Manectric, demanded.

"This revolutionary tried to take the King's life," he growled, leaving Reyes stunned at the situation's sudden one-eighty; he didn't expect the King or any of the rebels to be especially candid, even more so considering the world's situation, but the fact that the others had no idea what was going on meant that it was something that he—the King—decided on the fly. Maybe he was crazy, as Reyes thought, or maybe he hated the revolutionaries just that much.

"Why would you do that?" Reyes asked, genuinely curious. "If you wanted me dead, any of these Pokémon could've—"

"I don't want you dead," he said in a lower voice, his eyes narrowing until the blue rays of light created by them were like azure knives.

"Then what do you want?"

The King's replying smile was terribly twisted. "The King wants to kill you—it's that simple." He released one of Reyes' arms to stab his claws into Reyes' side; chlorophyll burst out from the resulting wound, matting the King's fur and running down Reyes' skin. Amazingly, there was little pain; it felt like the King had just cut some vessels, which seemed impossible due to the amount of dexterity necessary to do so, but if there was anything Reyes expected of him, it was precision in killing.

He grabbed the King's arm, startling him, and pulled him forward, slamming his elbow down on the King's; the bones at his joint instantly snapped, rendering his arm useless. The King bared his teeth with a growl, lunging forward with his other arm outstretched; Reyes dodged, causing his claws to stick into the wall's plaster, and Reyes grabbed the back of his thick skull and slammed his head into the wall.

"I hope you're sated," he said, his voice muffled by the wall.

"Why are you saying that?"

"Because you'll get killed in about three seconds." Reyes' instincts went wild, and it didn't take a genius to notice the sound of a dozen Pokémon aiming at his back. "Jeez, my nose is broken…"

Reyes spun around, using the King as a flesh shield, pinning his arms so that the King couldn't break from his grip. "You all won't attack him, will you?" Reyes taunted; the rebels instantly stopped, looking between them in confusion.

"Smart move," the King remarked. "Smart, but clichéd."

"Desperate times call for old tricks; I'm very willing to let you get horribly mutilated if it means saving myself, you sick and twisted bastard."

"Hm… The King likes that attitude very much indeed." He grinned as he snapped his claws; a dizzying feeling hit Reyes, causing him to release the King and stumble into the wall. It was as if a fog had lifted from his eyes; the other rebel Pokémon disappeared as well as their footprints, leaving them alone once more in the dead of the night.

"What…was that?" Reyes gasped.

"An illusion," he elaborated. "I'm the Illusion Pokémon, Zoroark; it just takes a little eye contact and I can have 'nyone and ev'ryone under my spell. I was testin' your character…so to speak."

"Yes, well, so to speak, I believe you're clinically insane." His grin widened, showing his dangerously sharp canines.

"Aren't we all?"

"Apparently some more than others," he muttered before adding, louder, "Does this mean you'll come with me, Arceus forbid I lose my sanity in the process?"

"No," he said flatly.

"No?"

"No; you'll be coming with me. To the revolutionaries' base," he added for clarification, even though it still made no sense. "The King is a leader, not a follower."

"Do you even know the way, Mr. King?"

"Of course I do, id—er, sir," he corrected himself upon seeing the look on Reyes' face. "We just have to take the Rusturf Tunnel to Rustboro."

"Alright, before we go on some life-changing buddy-cop adventure, can I expect more menstruation from you? because if so, I'm calling Alakazam right now to reconsider."

"We all have problems we deal with," the King shrugged; it was actually the most normal thing he had said all day, actually. "And anyhow, we've gotta go before dawn; I'm at top condition during nighttime only."

"I can see that," he muttered, examining his rucksack; it had become shredded and his travel supplies were scattered across the grass.

"Like I said, we all have problems." He bent down to collect Reyes' belongings. "Like you and your battlefield PTSD." Reyes froze.

"How do you—?"

"Didn't I mention?" he laughed. "The King knows everything."
 

Bay

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Oh, great to see you're doing another story! =D

I quite like Reyes and the "king"'s interaction already. I'm pretty sure more of their dialogue will be fun. A part of me does wonder how a Zoroark from Unova is in Hoenn (only explanation is before the rebellion Dominic's trainer traveled to Hoenn). The bit about Reyes's PTSD is interesting and I look forward to how you'll handle that.

"Whoever the hell this is, go away." Reyes groaned internally as he remembered his given introduction, the one that made him think Alakazam enjoyed other Pokémon's embarrassment.

"Pretty pink panties, Jamal."

"Oh, hey Reyes! Always the ladies' man," Jamal chuckled, causing his PokéNav to vibrate; Reyes groaned and slapped his free hand against his forehead.

I admit to chuckling this part, haha.

Off to a good start! Looking forward to more!
 
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@Bay About a Zoroark being in Hoenn, I don't explain that until waaaay later for some odd reason :P To partially explain, I assumed that Pokemon Breeders or adoption centers within the world attain Pokemon from various regions.

1.2. Soothing Screams​

Spoiler:

Obviously, the King hadn't had too much outside experience recently, because he looked around Route 117 as if it was the holy land itself, even though its grass and trees weren't any different than any other southern route's grasses and trees. "Take a picture, it will last you longer," Reyes finally told him when he stopped at his sixth Berry bush.

"Oh, right!" Unsurprisingly he drew a cellphone from his mane and took several pictures.

"What's your name, anyway?"

"…"

"…We have to keep moving, your majesty."

"Mnn? Right, right—oh, dese are sho shweet!" he exclaimed, filling his mouth with Cheri Berries. "Mm shweet Arsheus thesh are delishous!"

"Zoroark—"

"And these Oran Berries are sour! Ack!" he continued, sticking his head into the bush and coming out with an armful of Berries. "But these Iapapa Berries are bitter, and these Pecha Berries are soft, and these Rawst Berries are crunchy! and I dunno what these are but they're just right!"

"Those are Weedle Eggs, Your Royal Slowness."

"I've had worse," he said passively, stuffing his mouth with them; Reyes sighed.

"You're going to get Poisoned, and I'm sure you know where that ends." He made an 'X' with his arms for crossbones.

"Ish alwight," he protested, digging deeper within the bush for more. "I've been Poishoned…doshens of timesh in my life—made me shtronger."

"Or made you crazier." But now that he thought about it, he realized that as many rumors that circulated about the King, there wasn't anything on his background; in fact, Reyes was sure that nobody knew what hole he crawled out of to become the King in the first place. "And in any case, we should keep moving; time's a-wastin' and it's very precious."

"Uguu," he complained, standing up and picking leaves and twigs from his fur. "Fine." Reyes pulled his arm until they were travelling down the path, him doing so grudgingly.

"Out of curiosity, how old are you?"

"Ugh…fifteen."

"…Would that be in human years?"

"No, that's Pokémon years. Wait… Yup, that's Pokémon years."

"That can't be right… That would make you six years my junior."

"Yeah, a lot of Pokémon're surprised for some reason," he snorted, scratching behind his ears. "I mean, age has nothin' to do with your general capability to be honest; this is why we have child prodigies and such. So I'm youn'; how does that make me 'ny different from you, guy?"

"…Hm, I really can't think of anything."

"Exactly!" he exclaimed triumphantly, and as correct as he was, Reyes was tempted to beat him up anyway. Suddenly he threw his arm out, stopping Reyes in his tracks.

"What is it?" he demanded, looking around.

"…I'm waitin'," the King said, irritated; from out of the bushes came a large Houndoom in response, tail whipping at the air like a knife. "What's your business here?"

"You're saying he's not a rebel?" Reyes asked.

"Nope, and from your reaction, he's no revolutionary either." The Houndoom just growled, and in the next second he was charging the both of them.

Reyes had a chance as long as he didn't take any of his Fire-type attacks, but that was pushing it considering a Houndoom's base Speed; luckily he didn't have to think it through too much, as the King intercepted his attack using Tackle, ramming him backwards but knocking himself back into Reyes. Houndoom landed on all fours and shook himself out before releasing a Flamethrower; the King countered it with his own, and the flames nullified each other.

"I'll take care of him," Reyes said, pushing the Zoroark away to lunge forward, leaf blades extended. "I got it!" the King said concurrently, and the result was that they tripped over each other and landed in a tangle of limbs on the dirt path; the Houndoom snorted, regarding them with disgusted eyes.

"This is the King of the rebels?" he asked dubiously. "This is what the great revolutionaries amount to?"

"The King is way greater than the damn revolutionaries!" he proclaimed, jumping to his feet. "I'll tell ya what—" Suddenly he stopped, dropping to the ground and curling into a furry red ball.

"What the—" Reyes was cut off as Houndoom lashed at him with his claws, leaving streaks of orange fire in his wake; Reyes barely dodged it before dealing a Power-Up Punch to his belly, launching him into the air. He extended his leaf blades and dealt a powerful X-Scissor to the Houndoom's side, powerful enough to draw blood. He hit the ground before Reyes, rolling to his feet and biting down on Reyes' left blades before he could strike again; instead, Reyes kicked him in his face, causing his neck to crack but not loosening his grip at all. Chlorophyll ran between his yellowed teeth as he spun around, throwing Reyes away; Reyes skidded across the dirt before coming to a rolling stop, his blades completely torn away.

He rolled to his knees just as the Houndoom came bounding back, jaws wide and fire building in his maw; Reyes grabbed a fistful of dirt and tossed it in his eyes, blinding him and slowing him, and he crossed his arms, drawing the leaves from the nearby trees to swirl like miniature blades around him. Houndoom couldn't move any closer, but he wised up and instead focused on the King's prone form; Reyes dispelled his attack in time to see him race towards the Zoroark, flames heated to melting point. Reyes gritted his teeth and dropped to his knees; with his hands glowing he struck the earth with his fists hard enough to cause it to shake and tremble beneath the Houndoom's paws, throwing him off-balance and giving him enough time to completely repel him using Dual Chop. He then grabbed the King's arm, irritated; he really chose that moment to take a nap?

"Wake up already, you royal pain," he growled.

"I'm…awake…"

"Then do something already."

"I ca…my stomach…" he groaned. "Po…Poison…"

"I warned you, didn't I?" He plucked one of the seed pods from his back and shoved it into the King's claws. "Eat this; you'll feel better."

"I can't…eat…hurts…" Reyes grabbed the pod and shoved it into his face hole.

"There, problem solved." He turned to see the Houndoom getting back on his feet, angrier than before if such a thing was possible. "Feeling better?"

"Uguu," he said, Reyes' pod crunching between his teeth. "What the hell's in this…?" He took one step forward and collapsed again, except this time he was shaking very badly. "Ugugugugugu…."

Houndoom charged again, but this time Reyes was ready, however, instead of attacking Reyes directly, he shoved his flaming maw down into the ground; it rumbled briefly before a torrent of flames rose up from beneath Reyes' feet, completely frying him. He hit the ground, dazed and with black spots dancing in his vision. He heard the Houndoom laugh as he bit down on Reyes' right leg, and with a small amount of force he tore it away from Reyes' body; it hurt, although not as much as the burns, but he was a Grass-type, he could grow it back easily—the burns were the only real problem.

"This isn't…over yet," Reyes warned, opening his pods to the moonlight.

"I think it is," he replied, turning his attention to the King, who had begun whimpering in addition to shaking; he bit down on his neck, bringing him up and squeezing, creating deep teeth marks and causing blood to spill down the King's fur. Reyes didn't have very much strength to spare, but he hadn't failed Alakazam on a mission yet, and he wasn't planning to; he put all of his energy into his remaining leaf blades, extending them until they were as long as real blades, and put them to Houndoom's neck. In a single movement, his head was sent rolling, his body collapsing in a bleeding heap; the King was released to the ground, shaking weakly.

"Zo…" Reyes' blades dispelled and separated into grass right before he hit the ground.

——————

Reyes realized he was staring at the sky; he wasn't sure how long he spent doing so, but it seemed that he had been unconscious for some hours, as the sun was just beginning to peek over the horizon. He rolled onto his back to inspect himself; his extremities had grown back, and his skin was still a decent work-in-progress. He got to his knees and slowly stood up; although he was slightly dizzy, it would pass in due time with enough light. He looked around, finding the world sparse of one Zoroark; though the prospect of living the rest of his life without his Royal Irritation was just too perfect to pass up, he had to finish his mission.

"King? Where are you?" he called, searching the nearby shrubbery and burrows; although he found plenty of Diglett and Sandshrew, he didn't find the King. He looked down at the ground and noticed a familiar set of three-toed footprints in the mud; they led to the forest's pathway, which had dirt too hard to retain any sort of footprints, ending the trail there, although it did land him a few paces away from the Rusturf Tunnel. He couldn't assume that he travelled ahead on his own; if he went all the way to Rustboro just to find that pain wasn't there, he would have wasted too much time and said pain could've gotten far on his own. Maybe he went back to Mauville; good riddance, in that case. Then Reyes remembered the injury that Houndoom gave him; if the King attempted any sort of travel in that condition, he would've bled out and died quickly.

"King? King!" He finally gave up after fifteen minutes; at that point, he had searched a good circumference around the tunnel, more than enough space for a Grass-type to cover faster than a Dark-type, and if Reyes was to assume that the King had woken up before him, well, then he was long gone. He headed into Rusturf Tunnel to Rustboro; he had to tell the others the bad, or in his case, great news. He walked maybe seven paces into the tunnel when the light from the mouth suddenly disappeared—no, not disappeared, it was consumed by darkness; there was another Dark-type in his midst, and not any friendlier than the Houndoom or the King.

"Did you honestly think Kurt came alone?" a high, reedy voice cackled; the cavern's walls made it sound ubiquitous, so Reyes couldn't pinpoint the Pokémon's location.

"I didn't expect anybody to threaten me again after seeing what became of him."

"Fair enough." There was a tiny thud, then a quick scuttling sound behind him; he swept out of the way just as a ring of sparks flew when claws collided with a rock, illuminating the sneaky face of a Sableye. He vanished into the darkness as the light died out, then Reyes heard its laugh ricocheting off of the stone walls. "But with him having weakened you, you're a great target."

Not good, Reyes thought, clenching the ring of still-healing skin between his leg and body. I can't fight like this, and especially in the dark.

A pair of glacial eyes appeared behind the Sableye.

Gee, I wonder who that is.

"Who are you two anyway?" Reyes prompted when silence befell them; he watched the King's eyes close, then they opened again a few feet to the right.

"You think I'd tell you?" that Sableye hissed, gemstones briefly catching the light and reflecting his countenance; that light was the only thing that made Reyes able to dodge the invisible attack that went his way. He slid to the left, which was when the tiny but pesky Pokémon latched onto his throat, putting him in a choke hold; he stumbled into a stone column, gasping for air while the Sableye laughed.

"A-Arceus, you-you're annoying, you a-a-and that damn K-King." He tried slamming his back into the wall, but each time that damn Sableye leapt to the top of his head, causing him to damage his shoulder blades and tail instead. He spun around, banging Sableye against a gemstone-filled column; there was a loud chomping sound on his head, which he took to mean that he wasn't affected by it. He attempted to grab Sableye with his vines, but he just tied them in knots; he also tried his leaf blades, but it appeared that he ate them—luckily, he could grow those back too.

Sableye, with his dual rows of needle-like teeth, started eating away at Reyes' skin; had he had real flesh, it could have been slightly more difficult, but as it were his epidermis was made up of grass with a cloyingly sweet taste, as he'd been told. He snapped the vines apart and grabbed Sableye's leg; he shimmied down to his neck again, squeezing it while simultaneously digging his claws in. Chlorophyll burst from the resulting wound, filling Reyes' esophagus and preventing him from breathing; he had to slit his own throat a bit to give his blood a way of escape. Apparently, the smell was really appealing to Sableye, because he leapt free from him to the stony ground to lick it up; Reyes kicked him away, feeling his throat and head sting.

"…They're the factionless…so to speak," the King said; his syntax and tone had both done a complete one-eighty. "They don't ally themselves with the rebels or revolutionaries; they're the Pokémon that are just drunk on the idea of killing and getting away with it… Have you ever watched The Purge?"

"I thought Kurt incapacitated you," the Sableye growled; Reyes saw sparks fly as their claws collided.

"It takes a lot more than that to put the King down." Some of the darkness abruptly vanished, clearing up an odd ellipse around the King and Reyes. Reyes looked over at him; his expression was coolly, detached if he had to be specific. "It takes a rebellion, hellfire, depression, bad memories… Not a lot more, but more than you can give, half-pint darkness pellet." He put his claws together and snapped them apart; the darkness converged around him alone like some sort of magnet, then it scattered in reddish-black waves, passing through inanimate objects like stones and stalagmites and smashing them into bits. The dark waves passed through Reyes' body, and although he felt a severe chill that was the worst of it; that Sableye screeched as the darkness hovered around him like a horde of angry black bees, pulling and biting and creating bleeding welts on his violet skin.

"Y-You…! What is this?" Sableye swore loudly as he batted at the darkness; if anything, that made it worse, and it started corroding his gemstone eyes.

"Night Daze," he said. "I am the King, a denizen of darkness and centurion of those inferiors that dwell within it." Yeah…that's not the same guy as before, Reyes thought. He must have a severe form of DID. "The King invade homes, kill and fornicate as he pleases, and he does whatever the hell he wants; who are you to stop him?"

"I… I am…" If possible, his voice had gone even reedier; the King laughed at that, a sound worse than the Sableye's that resounded like the Devil's laughs.

"You're nothing." That Sableye screeched and screamed as his eyes melted into pools of silver, then his skin started disintegrating in the same manner, exposing his small skeleton as if he were some sort of Halloween decoration. Reyes grabbed the King's wrist, thoroughly fed up with his twisted theatrics; the King's replying expression was fatal.

"Just kill him; I'm sick of your torturing method." His voice was horribly coarse from his injuries.

"Nobody stops the King's fun," he hissed, freeing his arm and slashing Reyes' face; chlorophyll dripped down his chest and his left eye went dark. Reyes pulled away from him and he melted into the darkness, although he was still breathing noticeably, whether inadvertent or not. He set his jaw; he would have to deal with the King if he was going to be like that. Somewhere along the way, while the King was trying to become "friends" with a female Manectric, he managed to buzz Jamal and have him run a scan on Zoroark; among that information was a certain trick that Reyes could use to incapacitate him. The problem was finding him in the darkness, and with him being a Dark-type, that was about as plausible as catching Reyes in the forest. "Night Daze…"

The darkness converged again, baring the King's form; Reyes raced towards him in the two seconds of light that he had, blades crossed, and tackled him to the ground. "Don't make me do this again," he muttered before digging his claws into the King's temples; his eyes widened, then they crossed a little in an unfocused way. He got off of him and watched him try to stand, fall, try again, then crawl around pathetically with his eyes still crossed. "Don't even try; I know that your balance receptors are in your temples, and with the pressure I put on them you won't be standing…or walking…or moving in a straight line for a while."

His ears fell, and although Reyes wasn't sure what, something in his eyes changed. "Ugugu, that hurt…" he whined. Reyes grabbed him by his scruff, thoroughly PO'ed by his fickle personality, and pulled him up; he had to enjoy the guy tremble on his feet like a newborn Electryke for his own sanity. "It's not funny…"

"It very much is…also, you've never answered my question."

"Whaaat?"

"What is your name?"

He rubbed his temples with his claws, probably trying to sort himself out. "Depends."

"On what, on whether you're psychopathic or not?"

"Why, yeah," he mumbled. "But…I guess…if I had to give you one…Dominic."

"Dominic? And that isn't a fake name or anything?"

"I'm not that ingenious, Sceptile."

"Likewise, Reyes."

"Reyes… Oh, that name bites," he grimaced.

"Bites? What's that mean?" he demanded.

"Nothin' in particular…" He smirked wickedly, although that lost most of its appeal when he fell flat on his face.

Dominic… 'Of the Lord.' How-freaking-ironic.

"How did you get to Hoenn anyway? You're a Unova Pokémon, or Kalos, I can't be sure. And then there's how you came to be the King, followed by why you would be crazy enough to be the King in the first place—"

"Ah-ah-ah." He waggled his claw in Reyes' face when he finally regained his balance. "Curiosity killed the Sceptile…or maybe the King did because he was bored. Eh, it goes either way for me."

"Reyes might kill Reyes if he hangs out with you any longer," Reyes muttered; Dominic beamed before turning to the cave's exit. "Honestly, I don't think you hear half of what I say."

"Honestly, I don't hear most of what you say…or most of what 'nybody says; my ears, see, they're stuffed full with earplugs all the time. Sometimes I read lips, 'n' sometimes I can hear a li'l."

"Why? As a wild Pokémon…hearing is one of your most important senses."

"You've no idea what I hear," he muttered bitterly before grimacing. "If you had to spend a single second in my brain, you'd go crazy too."
 

Bay

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"Oh, right!" Unsurprisingly he drew a cellphone from his mane and took several pictures.

Okay, this imagery is funny, haha.

"I ca…my stomach…" he groaned. "Po…Poison…"

"I warned you, didn't I?" He plucked one of the seed pods from his back and shoved it into the King's claws. "Eat this; you'll feel better."

Ah huh, he shouldn't have eaten those Weedle eggs.

In a single movement, his head was sent rolling, his body collapsing in a bleeding heap; the King was released to the ground, shaking weakly.

Oh dang.

Reading the next part, indeed Dominic did a 180 degree change there, especially turning that Sableye into a skeleton. Just in time for Halloween.

One thing I noticed is you've been using semi-colons quite a bit. Nothing wrong with using them and I tend to use them often myself. I can understand this being a writing style choice, though someone else might find them distracting if you used them too much. Just an opinion, though!

Things are already taking an interesting turn here. Looking forward to more!
 
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Spoiler:

1.3. Dreams Are For Heretics​

Spoiler:

As far as opinions went, Dominic's opinion of Reyes was…not good; he was a real stiff, or very stiff, and had a twig shoved so far up his anus Dominic was sure he'd forgotten about it, as well as a chip on his shoulder so big all the salsa in the world couldn't cover it. Even so, Dominic was a good judge of character (ironic, really, considering how jacked-up he was in the head) and decided that Reyes was actually a good guy beneath all of his stiffness; he had to be to have stayed with Dominic for six hours and not attempted to kill him like many others have, and that was even before he became the King.

"Reyes…slow down…" he pleaded, having fallen behind; the sun was strong and that really didn't help his cold-bloodedness. That was why he loved Mauville City so much; the ceiling blocked the sunlight so he could actually survive during the daytime.

"Excuse me? I can't hear his royal highness." Oh, yeah, he had a real sense of humor next to that chip, sort of like a cheese dip—yeah, cheese dip, it was cheesy enough to be that; maybe he thought it was funny, Dominic didn't know, but it just made him look like a masochist.

"I…I said…slow down…please…"

Reyes the Dick pretended to be confused, looking all around. "What? I'm sure I hear something; must be a Combee."

"Reyes, stop playing, c'mon; I'm dyin' over here…"

"Hm, that damn Combee just won't go away."

"Argh, please," he said, about to cry from exhaustion and the pain in his neck; Reyes finally stopped and turned, allowing him to catch up, but he only managed about three steps before he fell on his face.

"Dominic, are you okay?"

"S-Sun…" he moaned, covering his eyes with his claws. Dark-types just weren't built for daytime; his eyes were highly photosensitive, which made them real sore when the sun was up, and his skin was heat-sensitive too, even beneath his fur, and the bite marks on his neck didn't help. Reyes sighed and pulled him up, putting an arm around Dominic's waist to help support him. "Thanks, Reyes…"

"Shut up." He helped Dominic the rest of the way until the grass beneath their feet shifted to the dirt roads of Rustboro; unlike the majority of Hoenn, it was revolutionary-controlled, meaning that Pokémon and humans could freely roam around together, as gross as that was. He went to the Pokémon Center and set Dominic on a chair; being out of the sun revived him a little, but he still felt roasted. "Are you alright?"

"I'll be…fine," he mumbled, licking his fur. "Sunlight is…urgh…generally bad for us Dark-types—irritates the skin, cold-blooded and crap."

"Cold-blooded and yet you're so thick-skinned."

"Hah… The King doesn't like funny guys," he snorted tiredly.

"Why do you keep doing that third person thing? It's obnoxious and moronic." Dominic looked at the ceiling.

"Because…if the King does it…then Dominic isn't responsible…"

"But you're the same person; you are the King and you are Dominic."

He just sort of sighed, not really denying it; Reyes just gave up on him and approached the Chansey stationed next to Nurse Joy. She recognized him almost immediately. "Oh, Reyes, what happened?" she wailed, fretting over his injuries.

"That bastard happened," he answered, pointing at Dominic; she looked between them, her eyes worried.

"Is that…?"

"Yes, that is the rebels' king."

"Hiya," Dominic greeted.

"But he looks so…nonthreatening," she whispered, staring at him as he picked at his claws; he grinned at her, which seemed to scare her a little.

"At least he looks innocent; it might save his life someday. But in any case, can I get some treatment, Meryl?"

"Of course!" She bustled him through the doors into one of the recovery rooms, leaving Dominic alone in the lobby. There weren't many others in the Pokémon Center, but the ones that were inside gave him three looks: the first was confusion, then the second was double-checking their PokéDex, and the third (reserved just for the revolutionary Pokémon) was pure pure contempt. It didn't affect him directly since he was pretty desensitized to it all, but some part of his dried-up heart still tingled.

"Ugugu," he groaned, dropping his head on the armrest. He was hungry; those Berries just wouldn't do it for a carnivore like him. Reyes was a Grass-type, so maybe when another revolutionary came by…

"All right, thanks." Reyes came out of the room with bandages over the ripped parts of his skin with that Chansey behind him. "Also, can you do something for him?"

"What?" She waddled over to Dominic, touching his face and chest; the contact made him giggle before he caught his wits and growled at her, spreading his claws in warning. Undaunted, she inspected the injuries on his neck and grabbed a first-aid kid from the front counter; she sprayed the open parts left by Houndoom's teeth with some antibacterial that stung and made him giggle a little more, then she wrapped his neck with clean white bandages. "Now, I have work to do; have a good day Reyes, and you too, King." She hurried back to help Nurse Joy.

"Are all revolutionaries so…exultant?" Dominic asked.

"What, is that a bad thing?"

"No, just weird—you're weird too."

"Are we really discussing oddities? because if so you should stop right now before your hypocrisy chokes you."

"I know I'm weird and I won't deny it," Dominic said pointedly. "Well, not weird, but insane—I'm insane."

"So you admit to it."

"I've never denied it." He grinned, tapping his nose with his claw. "I'm very very insane and that's why I've been alone for so many years—wait, that ain't a good thing." He made a sad face.

"Look, I'm not going to judge you because in this world and especially because of Pokémon like you, psychoses aren't uncommon, but I can't stand having yours so close to me."

"Well, since yer boss wants me, yer stuck with me!"

"Yes, I know," he sighed as if it was a world-class effort to be with Dominic. "And in any case, transport should be arriving very soon, so we should just wait patiently—"

"I don't wanna wait patiently," he said, getting to his feet. "I wanna look around! I haven't been outside in a lon' time and it's all so amazin'!"

"This city is dirt and rocks."

"Dirt 'n' rocks're amazin' too!"

"I'm curious: did a rock ever fall on your head, either at birth or very recently?"

"Sev'ral, actually—why?"

"…No reason in particular." They went outside and sat on the curb, watching cars drive by and waiting for Reyes' revolutionary transport.

"You guys are not that fast," Dominic commented after ten minutes.

"Yes, because the rebels appear highly organized," Reyes responded acerbically. Dominic didn't say it, but he knew that the rebels were actually very organized and very well-trained; in fact, there had been dozens conspiring on even the teams of the Elite Four before the revolution began, making the plain plausible at the time.

"Why did ya become a revolution'ry?" Dominic asked.

"I'm not required to tell you anything not pertaining to the mission."

"That ain't fair—you asked me."

"Yes, well I'm a bastard."

"That won't do… Maybe if I use an ill—" Suddenly Reyes' leaf blade was against his jugular.

"That sentence better end with illiteracy."

"…It does now." He waited until Reyes moved his arm and sighed. "I'm not any happiyah about this than you, y'know."

"I couldn't tell."

"No, seriously… I hate you guys—no offense."

"No offense taken—we hate you too."

"When you say things they sound so cruel…" Reyes didn't respond. "Can I ask a question? It's not weird or personal, promise."

"Not that your word matters much, but what is it?"

"You Grass-types… Do you, like…" he made a politically-incorrect gesture with his claws, "…or do you pollinate with seeds like real plants? I'm curious."

"Curiosity will kill the Dominic someday."

"…Seriously, where is that transportation?" Dominic asked after an hour. Reyes shrugged one shoulder, then he turned away to make a call on his PokéNav; meanwhile, Dominic started walking around, curious. He went around the corner behind Devon Corporation and saw a pair of human boys—maybe secondary school age, he wasn't sure—beating something on the ground that was under a bush; they were laughing too, although it wasn't out of happiness.

"Wait!" one of them, a tall one with red hair, said, turning to his friend as he checked his watch. "We have to get going; Mom expected us home fifteen minutes ago!"

"Shoot!" the other one said, and they both took off down the path, passing Dominic easily. He turned to the bush and crept over, smelling it; there was blood, blood and some scent he wasn't sure of. He peeled away the leaves and saw a tiny Skitty trembling on the dirt; she was covered in bruises and mud and blood and she was dying. He tried to pick her up but she shied away from his claws, weak as she was.

"N…No," she whispered, her voice raspy. "I'll be…I'll be fine…" He tried again but she yelled at him, although it caused a stream of blood to run from her mouth. "I'll be…" Her ears drooped and her eyes fell shut, and seconds later her small chest stopped moving. He smelled her; she smelled like blood, which he knew, but…she smelled like a mother too, that other scent. Dominic crouched down and dug a small hole in the ground; he placed the Skitty inside and covered her up, then he marked the spot with a ring of pebbles and closed his eyes, giving her a moment of silence. When he opened them, he noticed Reyes was still busy with his call; from the severity of the conversation, he would be for another few minutes. That was good.

He found her cubs, also, a few feet away; they were mostly concealed by a bush, two Skitty and a newborn Azurill, whose skin was greyish from sickness. They weren't dead, but they were malnourished and ill from the elements; nature wouldn't be lenient with them for that, so he spared them by causing them to bleed out. He buried them next to their mother, and although he didn't believe in any sort of afterlife, he imagined that there was one for their sakes. As an afterthought, he added baby carrots; he could've put pomegranate seeds, but where they were going…maybe Arceus liked carrots.

The redhead's name was Kenny and his friend's name was Harris. They were at Kenny's house playing some video game on the Wii; Harris was winning and Kenny didn't like it. Kenny's home was an apartment near Devon Corp. and was pretty clean and organized, except for his room; he and Harris went to the local middle school and liked video games, Bronzor Bomb ice cream, and playing around with stray Pokémon.

"Hey, did you hear something?" Kenny asked.

"Stop trying to distract me."

"No, I'm serious; it sounded like someone else is home."

"Nah, it's just your Mom in the kitchen," Harris said passively, spreading out on the couch.

"You're right…but you're still not winning this game."

"Haha!" Harris yelled triumphantly as their game ended. "I already did, loser!"

"I hate this game anyway," he complained, throwing his controller at Harris.

"It's your favorite game; quit being a sore loser."

"I'm not… Mom, is dinner ready? I'm hungry as hell," he called; he looked confused when he didn't get an answer. "Mom?"

"She probably got her headphones in again," Harris muttered. "Tell her that our music is for us, not her."

"Why don't you tell her, bastard?" Harris just snorted. Kenny made a face, then he looked towards the kitchen.

"That sound definitely wasn't Mom." The electricity went out, bathing them in darkness.

"This is creepy," Harris said worriedly. "I'm going ho—"

"Harris?" Kenny whispered, walking around blindly in the dark while Pokémon could see quite perfectly. Useless damn humans. Dominic created a Will-'o'-Wisp, giving Kenny just enough light to see Harris' severed head in his claws. Kenny screamed in terror, slamming against the door but finding it jammed; his eyes bulged until they nearly popped out of his skull and he stumbled backwards, his back hitting the wall. He squeezed Harris' head between his claws until his skull cracked; Kenny turned really pale like he was going to die at the moment.

"P…Please… Is this…" He was crying, snot running out of his nose and everything, and he was urinating himself. "Is this…b…because of the stray? It was…we were playing…" The King pinched Kenny's nose, grimacing slightly.

"Then you should've played a little smarter, bastard."

——————

"Dominic, I'll call Officer Jenny on you right now if you don't confess."

"Confess what?" Dominic asked; he'd only made it to the Pokémon Center two seconds ago and Reyes was already giving him a terrible look.

"Whatever you did that got you covered in blood like that."

"Oh…" He looked at his fur, which was crusted with red. "Maybe I should've taken a shower?"

"Or maybe you should grow whatever part of your brain that you're missing. What did you do?"

"Ugugu… Some kids were messin' with a stray Pokémon."

"…And?"

"T…The King taught them never to do it again," he said confidently. "And they won't."

"Jeez," Reyes sort of sighed-cursed. "Arceus." Then he sort of cursed-cursed—really cursed—like, Dominic wasn't even sure most of them were words. Then he tore away the leaf blades from one arm and grabbed Dominic's arms; he pulled them behind Dominic's back and tied his wrists together with his leaves.

"Oi, I don't like dominants." He felt his mane getting pulled as Reyes tugged his ponytail's band free, then Reyes spun him around to shove it over his muzzle, clamping his mouth shut.

"Just shut up, okay?" Reyes ordered, and something about his tone was, like, war general-ish; it made Dominic shut up immediately. He looked Dominic in the eyes for a long time, genuinely scaring him, before he turned away, redialing someone on his PokéNav.

Okay… Dominic thought. Reyes can be scary. Revolutionaries are scary too.
 
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1.4. A Madman's Transgressions​

Spoiler:

'Momma taught me that in my mind

'There is fun and whimsy and colors of all kind,

'But a good Zorua puts them away

'And a good Zorua he will stay…'


'Momma taught me that in my mind

'There is fun and whimsy and colors of all kind,

'But let them free and others will go,

'Because no one wants to be around a psycho.'


Reyes kicked away the words Dominic spent ten minutes scratching in the dirt with his feet. "Don't be so damn creepy," he muttered before returning to his PokéNav. "What do you…we've been here for five hours; you said it was going to be…what? Alakazam himself asked for…Arceus, this is why you all need organization—don't curse at me, Damon; I'll beat you to the eighth dimension. …We're in Rustboro at the moment, and we're trying to meet with Alakazam in Ever Grande. …Slateport? It's doable, but…fine, fine, if it works for him." He hung up and replaced the device in his backpack, then he looked at the words Dominic rewrote. "What is that anyway?"

"A song from childhood."

"A song from childhood… What does it mean?"

"It's proper manners to keep your illusions in your own head, like a good little Zorua," Dominic said, pointing at the first stanza. "That's what my…owner taught me…"

"And this other one?" Reyes pointed at the second stanza.

"That was what they said to me."

"They who?"

"Fer all the questions ya ask, ya don't take many," Dominic pointed out. "We have to go to Slateport?"

"That's what Transportation said."

"I get seasick," he complained.

"Oh, shut up; we're taking a boat."

"I get seasick…"

"Arceus, you really think I care about your problems."

"Why can't we take a plane or something to Ever Grande?" he whined.

"We can't use just any sort of transportation, because then rebels could easily find their way into the city; we have a specialized defense system that naturally keeps them out, but if they're led inside by a revolutionary, we can't do anything to stop them." He refitted the ring over Dominic's mouth, sealing it shut, and pulled him to his feet.

"Mmmffmfm." He made an illusion of fried fish.

"You're hungry?" Dominic nodded. "You better learn photosynthesis, because I'm not taking that off." He whined and made an illusion of a skull and crossbones. "You won't die, Arceus."

Reyes visited a PokeMart briefly; he picked up several Full Restores and Escape Ropes, and made a face when Dominic tried to pick up a bag of barbecued chips. "Mmffmmfmm," he complained when Reyes threw it back.

"Those aren't even healthy; they're full of artificial crap."

Do I look like I care? Dominic wanted to say. Reyes brought the items up to the counter and paid the cashier for them; Dominic looked at him, confused. "Mmffmm?"

"What?" Dominic took a bottle of water and shrugged, gesturing to the door; Reyes took the bottle back, irritated. "Thievery is frowned upon over here, Dominic."

Well, actually, it was frowned upon with the rebels too; they wanted to be liberated, not savages, despite their…violent means to their ends. Even as the King, Dominic was reminded several times a day of his bad habits, which included adulterous remarks, theft, littering (which was actually very mild), and most frequently, attacking the smaller Pokémon whenever he became hungry enough, although that was from all of his time spent in the wild and was a hard habit to break. They couldn't do anything about him overall, him being the King and all, and so doing nothing just made him get worse as a Pokémon, but at least he still wasn't as bad as the humans.

"Mm," Dominic shrugged; Reyes looked at him a long time before he just gave up—amazingly, that hurt Dominic more than his words. He made a couple extra calls before leading Dominic out of the city, down the path to the Petalburg Woods. He saw the cluster of trees long before they reached it, felt the grass become more unruly beneath his feet, and started to get that memory itch—the bad kind too.

I used to be with Lamont here, he thought. Well, he's a dead man now.

"Don't cause any trouble; the Woods is a revolutionary area," Reyes warned as they crossed into the trees. Really, now? Dominic thought. The last that he heard, it was still neutral. Wow, he had really been in Mauville a long time…how long exactly? Arceus, what happened to his brain?

"Mmffmffmn."

"I can't understand you, and honestly I don't care to; your words just ruin my opinion of Pokémonkind."

"Mmff." Your words hurt my soul, Dominic wanted to say. Well, if I had one. He saw the little Pokémon of the woods like Weedle and Caterpie shy away at the sight of him, and the larger ones like Breloom and Mightyena growl and bristle as they passed by; he started growling too, irritated, and Reyes punched his shoulder.

"Be quiet; if you growl at them then they'll be perfectly within their rights to attack you."

The one-sidedness of the situation annoyed Dominic, but as Reyes said, it was revolutionaries' territory, so he had no authority as long as they were in Petalburg Woods; to them, he was another rebel. He felt something small hit his shoulder, then two more, then something that felt like a big rock ricocheted off of his leg, knocking him onto his stomach; he flexed his arms, ripping apart Reyes' leafs, and pulled the ring from his muzzle, growling and snapping at the culprit Linoone. She darted around his legs lightning-quick and started biting him, slithering up his body and pulling away tufts of his fur and drawing blood; he started jumping around and slamming himself into tree trunks, unable to shake her, and so he waited until she climbed over his shoulder and looked into his eyes before biting his nose.

You made a mistake there, sweetheart.

She shrieked in pain and surprise as she fell away from him, landing on the soft grass in a furry heap. She was still screaming as she shook violently, her little claws digging scratches into the dirt and then her own skin as she tried to pull away the nonexistent Ekans. Dominic started laughing, then he shut up when the rest of the forest animals started growling at him too—even the Shroomish. Reyes grabbed his elbow and pulled him along, swearing under his breath the whole time.

"I swear, Dominic," he finally said.

"Yeah, yer doing a lot of swearin' I've noticed." His voice was annoyingly nasal from the blood filling his nostrils; he drew a handkerchief from his mane and cleared it out. "They started the fight and you saw it!"

"It didn't mean you had to retaliate." At that, Dominic pulled from Reyes' grip, staggering a little before he stopped at the Woods' entrance sign.

"What, did ya expect me to be the biggah Pokémon? Let it all go? Water under the bridge? It's not even the fact that they're revolution'ries; 'nybody that crosses the King gets what they're askin' for."

"It's ridiculous and I know it," Reyes argued, "but what can you do? As I've said, you're a rebel in revolutionaries' territory. More than being a rebel, you're so easily outnumbered."

"Doesn't the fact that Alakazam sent a summon mean anythin'?"

"Yes, it means that he cares enough about an enemy to come out of his self-imposed meditation."

"Ugugugu… I didn't ask fer him to give a damn about me; I'm perfectly fine bein' the only one that gives a damn 'bout Dominic."

"The point is that he does, for whatever reason," he said. "And you and I both have to deal with it in our ways."

"I don't deal; I just kill whatever bothers me."

"Well that won't work here and especially around me," Reyes said, raising his fist; Dominic already had a pretty good idea of that rule. "You see, I've already lost too many comrades during your guys' attacks, and so I won't take losing any now, especially for asinine reasons, King."

"Well that won't work here and especially around me," Dominic mimicked. "You see, I had a place to be, but they couldn't stand me; I had to leave, and next time we met we were on opposite sides of the revolution. You and I, we've had different upbringings; I'm guessing you were born in a cozy Pokémon Laboratory under a Professor and coddled in some nursery or incubator until a happy-go-lucky snot-nosed ten-year-old decided to make you his slave for the rest of your life. Some of us weren't that lucky," he said dryly. "Some of us grew up without a family, unable to take any love."

"Maybe my upbringing wasn't nearly as emotional as yours," Reyes said in a similarly-dry tone, "but these last seven years were adequately soul-crushing. In the beginning, humans were hard to protect; they couldn't believe that some of us were still good, that some of us were still human inside. We were shot at, burned, frozen, poisoned, attacked, killed," he added. "And it took an entire year of it all for them to realize that while you rebels were trying to kill them, us revolutionaries still had hearts."

"I have a heart," Dominic said, stepping backwards and clenching his claws. "It's jus' not as carin' as yours looks."

"In our…line of work…be it rebel or revolutionary, you can't afford to care."

"But obviously, you care very much," Dominic said; Reyes sighed. "And you care about me, too; I know I'm annoying and Pokémon can't stand me, but you still stayed with me. You really like being a revolutionary that much?"

"No, I don't," he said with complete honesty. "I could've been the leader of the free world, but if it meant being with you, I'd have sooner taken suicide."

"No offense taken."

"But," he interrupted, crossing his arms over his chest, "it'd be a terrible thing on my conscious to kill a child."

"That's your only reason?"

"Yes, because killing you would also mean putting some use to your body through natural decomposition."

"…Anyway," Dominic said, annoyed by the conversation, "where's the person that's gonna give us a ride?"

Reyes looked past him and down the route; at the end of it, to the opposite way of the city, there was a pier and boathouse with a little Flying-type circling it. Reyes put his fingers in his mouth and set out a shrieking whistle; the bird halted and looked at them before flapping over. "Reyes!" the little Wingull said excitedly, plowing into his chest. She smelled like a she.

"Hello and good afternoon, Peeko," Reyes greeted in return, politely pushing her away; all Dominic could think was Reyes has a fangirl?

"This is the King of the rebels?" She flapped around him excitedly, amazingly annoying for something so tiny. "He looks so nonthreatening…and he's so young too!"

"And what are you, seven?" Dominic snorted.

"Where's Mr. Briney?" Reyes asked; Peeko calmed down, landing on his outstretched arm.

"He's on a little trip to see some family," she answered. "Why?"

"We needed him to give us a ride to Slateport."

"Oh, you can just use his boat! He knows you already, so it's fine!"

"Really? I'd hate to borrow his property like that; his boat is his life…"

"He trusts you," Peeko said. "But the King…"

"You can trust me to keep an eye on the King," Reyes said. "He wouldn't wreck Mr. Briney's boat unless it actually spoke to him."

"Ouch, jeez, my soul," Dominic said. "Ugugu…"

"It should only take until evening, then I'll find a revolutionary to return it," Reyes told Peeko.

"No problem!" Peeko led them to Mr. Briney's boat, a small thing painted white and run by a shiny-looking motor that could seat four. Reyes tossed his backpack at Dominic, who caught it with a grimace, and dropped onto the bench in front of the motor, starting it with a low buzz. Dominic groaned as he slid on the other bench, and Peeko waved a wing at them as they started across the water. He leaned over the bow, amazed at the crystal blue color of it all and by how far it seemed to stretch; more so, the Water-types that skipped and jumped and swam through it, the Magikarp and Goldeen and Feebas just within reach of his claws, and the Swellow and Swablu and Noctowl that soared over the water's surface.

"Cool," he breathed, dipping his claws in the water; it was cold but not uncomfortably so, and it sliced around his claws to form glittering facets of foam. He felt like he hadn't seen it in a long time, and maybe he hadn't. "So cool…"

"Lilly."

"What?" he asked, looking back at Reyes; he was holding the steering mechanism with both hands, his head and eyes facing the water.

"You said that with all the questions I've asked you, I've never told you anything about myself, and so I'm telling you that I have a mate named Lilly."

"Oh, wow." A mate? Him? Dominic thought. This guy might really be Romeo. "She a Sceptile too?"

He shook his head. "She's a Lapras, the most beautiful one to ever grace Hoenn's waters."

"You two crazy lovers had kids?"

"…A daughter," he answered after an unusual pause. "She was beautiful like her mother, but much too smart, like me; it made her so hard to keep an eye on, but she was my life."

Dominic finally realized what was wrong with his story. "Was?"

"She died two years ago."

"Huh. Well." Dominic rested his head on the ship's edge, swirling his claws around in the water. It suddenly didn't seem so cool and blue. "And your mate?"

"I've no idea what became of her, really." Still, he was looking at the water.

"Hmm." He didn't know what it was like to have a family; moreover, Reyes had a loving family, from the sound of it, and Dominic hadn't been loved in a long time, so he couldn't relate. He let his claws hover in the water until a small Magikarp swam around them, intrigued; he waited until it bit down before raising his arm, pulling it from the water and dropping it inside of the boat.

"Put it back," Reyes said almost immediately, still not looking.

"Arceus, how did you see that?"

"I can sense your idiocy now." Dominic snorted through his nose as he kicked the Magikarp away; it fell back into the water with a loud plunk.

"How come you're not looking for her?"

"Because even when we were together, I was a revolutionary; she knows that my job is to protect the people and the Pokémon, but also that not a day goes by that I don't think about her and how much I love her." He closed his eyes wistfully for a moment before sighing again. "But you don't understand all of that, do you?"

"No, I really don't, but…"

"But what?"

Dominic leaned his back against the stern, looking back at Reyes. "I'm startin' to, at least." They were silent as the boat buzzed along; Dominic watched the sun move across the sky, feeling his energy level increase fractionally as it began to set. "How much farther?"

"Look," Reyes said instead; Dominic tore his eyes away from the sky and saw a large waterside city looming on the horizon. He'd never seen Slateport before but he heard of its bustling market, and even from his distance he could smell the people over there—Arceus, people. "Get off of the edge," Reyes warned as Dominic leaned over the front; he pulled away as Reyes slowed to a stop at one of the empty piers. There were about fifteen other piers with medium and large trading ships parked there. Reyes shut off the motor and tied the boat to one of the pier's stumps as Dominic walked onto the sand, getting the curious feeling of it sinking under his toes like warm mud and blow into his fur; he dropped onto his stomach and started digging through it, coming up with a handful of old Clamperl and Shellder shells that glittered iridescently from the seawater.

"This is so cool," he exhaled, saving them within his mane; Reyes looked on curiously.

"You keep everything in your hair?"

"Not everything, just amazing things." He looked on and saw, further down the sand, beachgoers with their colorful blankets and umbrellas and little children and little Pokémon. He started bristling, irritated by the humans' presence, and Reyes put a hand on his shoulder.

"We have to keep moving, Dominic."

"Yeah, yeah," he grumbled, following Reyes past the people and their Pokémon. At one point, a Frisbee collided with his head before falling to the ground; he picked it up and saw a little auburn-haired girl and her Mudkip run up to him, all smiles and rainbows and sugar candy and ice cream stains.

"Fwisbee?" she asked, sticking her hands out; Dominic looked at Reyes, perplexed, and he told him to return it. Dominic passed it back to her and she gave him a lopsided smile before taking off with her Mudkip.

"Why wasn't she scared of me?" Dominic asked Reyes.

"Little children can't really understand what they see on the news," he replied.

"How come they don't understand? Are humans really that stupid?"

"Human children are different from hatchlings and cubs, Dominic."

"Stupider, apparently." Dominic passed by the stupid humans to the tiled steps leading up to the paved ground of Slateport; there, he was assaulted by a barrage of sights and sounds and smells. The marketplace was filled with booths of all colors and kinds selling everything imaginable; he could smell chocolate and fried fish and sushi and silk and fake gold and sweet potato stew and grass whistles and backscratchers and cheap cellphones and even awesomeness if that was possible. His ears fell flat against his head and he was stone still for the better part of three seconds.

"Dominic, don't even—"

He took off, dropping onto all fours to sniff a batch of flowers originating from a Floaroma Town booth and then snatching Barboach from a barbecue grill and then chewing on some sugar cane and then tearing up a cluster of fancy hand-woven dresses hanging on racks and skidding around the legs of excited tourists and digging up old buried treasures and stealing Revival Herbs and—

"Lassie, calm down already," Reyes snapped, grabbing Dominic's ponytail and pulling him back; he was sweating and breathless from trying to keep up with him. "Arceus, do you have an off switch?"

"No!" he whined, stretching his claws wistfully. "I wanna explore some more…"

"I think you've had enough for the day," he argued, gesturing to the mess he made of the booths; vendors were collecting or trashing their wares and tourists were in heaps on the ground. "Arceus, you're like a tornado. What kind of creature made you?"

"A nice one," Dominic answered. "A cool one. Like me."

"In what universe are you nice?"

"Mines!"

"Figures," he snorted through his nose, pulling Dominic away from the market and to the boating museum; he checked his PokéNav and sighed in relief. "There should be a boat coming within the hour; can you not destroy anything until then?"

"Gee, that's a lot to ask." Dominic started sniffing the air again, turning to the water. "The sea smells real salty."

"Really?" Reyes said dryly. "And I hate to leave you alone, but I have to help those vendors clean up, and I don't think you'd be quite welcome." But Dominic wasn't listening; he padded over to the pier, smelling the water closely.

"Ugugu…" Honestly, it was starting to give him a headache. He dropped to his stomach, feeling the pier's damp wood grate against his belly as he let his arm hang over the edge. He still wanted to explore…jeez, Reyes was such a stiff-necked bastard. "Seriously, if I want to have fun, why would he stop me?" he said, rolling onto his back. "Reyes isn't my daddy; if he was, he'd have been de…" He got to his feet and started creeping around the boat museum. He noticed three workers and a Machamp carrying an big old boat's skeleton inside, swearing and struggling at its weight; the hull was mostly skinned, but it was made of rusted iron and had a name printed on the side that was faded with age, but it seemed familiar.

"Al…Alas…" He couldn't read English very well, but he had a feeling that he remembered it. "A list… A… Ali Stuart—Boat Ali Stuart." Ali Stuart's boat? Who was that again? Arceus, his time in Mauville really messed with his—



He looked back at the marketplace, which was getting back into its earlier swing, and clenched his claws. Damn humans; why did he have to let them be? Pokémon were doing just fine before them and would do even better without them. "The King doesn't need them," he realized, cupping his claws around his mouth before releasing a powerful Flamethrower; the flames lit the booths like dry wheat struck by lightning, sending the pitiful humans scattering and the Water-types running.

"Dominic!" He could literally smell Reyes coming, all grassy meadow and anger and disappointment, and he was tired of Reyes too, all pro-human and pro-life and pro-pro-pro—damn him and his pro-ness. His fur started bristling, and when Reyes came within distance he lashed out and sliced his right arm away; it fell to the ground like a twig, chlorophyll dripping from the wound he left.

"The King," he snapped, shaking his claws clean. "I am the King; I don't care about anybody other than myself."

Reyes opened his pods to the sunlight, taking his arm up and pressing it to his stump; vines grew from the point of contact like stitches, linking it together. He didn't open his mouth once, but his eyes spoke volumes; behind him, the market was still burning, the blaze getting bigger despite the Pokémon trying to put it out, people burning too. Sometimes, illusions were ten times more powerful than the real thing, because as long as the mind believed it, then it was real, which even meant real death, and sometimes that fake real death was better than the fakeness of reality.
 

Bay

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1.3

"This city is dirt and rocks."

"Dirt 'n' rocks're amazin' too!"

"I'm curious: did a rock ever fall on your head, either at birth or very recently?"

"Sev'ral, actually—why?"

I chuckled at that scene.

I do feel bad for the mother Skitty that died. =< The part where Dominic teaches those kids a lesson, though...wow. And I thought what he did to the Sableye is crazy.

1.4

The part where Reyes and Dominic talk about different upbringings was one of the few interesting serious conversations there (until Reyes called Dominic a child there, lol).

"Hello and good afternoon, Peeko," Reyes greeted in return, politely pushing her away; all Dominic could think was Reyes has a fangirl?

Oh, hi Peeko! =P

The part where Reyes mentions Lily and his daughter is a bittersweet moment there. I also like the scene where Dominic picks up the frisbee and gave it back to the girl.

Upon the two entering Slateport, Dominic sure got very excited there, haha. That was short lived though when he got crazy once more, burning the marketplace and hurting Reyes in the process. Well.

The very last part has me very curious what's going to happen next. Looking forward to more!
 
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Bardothren! I thought you left this sub-forum or something, haven't seen you in a long while.

Your greatest strength is Dominic's character; he gives the piece so much voice and sets the tone. You do an excellent job characterizing him by both his actions and his words.

You also do well with world-building. I would argue against a prologue, as part of the joy of this world is trying to puzzle together how it got this way. Instead, take the prologue and incorporate its details into the story. However, you do an excellent job conveying the societal tension of this world.

Wow, thank you. Honestly, I thought that all of it sounded like as much of ass-pulling as it really is. :3c

I like to picture words as having a cost, and seeing how much I can get away with cutting them out. Slimming down the sentences is a great way to keep the pacing from slowing down... mind you, there's a time and a place for slowing down the story, but in doing so, you should do it with as rich and detailed a vocabulary as possible.

Haha, I've noticed that tendency as well... I don't know, I'm reserved in real life but conversely verbose with typing. I'm trying to work on it though, and it shows up less in the chapters after this.

Another problem I would like to point out is Reyes' character. He is an excellent counterpoint to Dominic's zaniness and keeps the story balanced, but there isn't enough to make him stand out as his own character.

This is more to do with the fact that originally, Revolution wasn't much more than a big buddy-cop setting, so Reyes really didn't have any other use than just to work as Dominic's counter, and though this is a different version I used a lot of that writing here, so he's pretty...bland. I do make up for it though in other chapters, as now, the story's pretty centered on Dominic and his "zaniness" (I find that word amusing, I don't know why) and a lot of his backstory; just the same, the story will go to him, and I think that I do a good enough job of writing him out there. A better show of that is how in the TOC, there are three sub-sub chapters titled 'Dominic' and later, three sub-sub chapters titled 'Reyes'.
 
1,863
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1.4.1. Dominic, Part I

Spoiler:

The water was like something from Hell, black and broiling and looking to drag anyone and everyone to an eternal death; it slapped and slammed against Ali's boat, tossing it from side to side and knocking away cargo each time—soon enough, there would be bodies instead of just boxes, and Michaela knew it, huddling protectively around her cub as Ali paced around in the cabin, hands working his long brown hair into a frenzy. Eventually he went out, slamming the door shut behind him. Michaela stood up, peering through the cabin's porthole. The storm was unrelenting, still battering the ship so badly she could almost see it coming apart; it wouldn't be long before it completely shattered.

"Oh, Rex," she murmured to her cub, who was tossing and turning in his bed; the sounds outside were making him uncomfortable, and for good reason too. She went over to him and nuzzled his cheek with her nose; he mewled softly and calmed, sleeping more peacefully. She rested her claws on his forehead and just stayed with him for a few moments, reveling in the soft but persistent sound of his heartbeat, but was instantly on-edge as she heard a loud crack coming from the stern; she went to the door and peered through the window, finding Ali stumbling backwards from someone or something that wasn't there before. She wanted to go help him—he was her owner, the one who raised her and Dominic from cubs—but her son—

"Agh!" Ali stumbled away, shocked, as his pained scream filled the air; not even a second later, the ship screamed as it was split right down the middle. The cabin's walls tore away as the ship's innards became visible; Ali's furniture and cargo dropped into the deadly sea as the two halves came apart, the world around them it seemed falling to pieces. Michaela clung to Rex for dear life; it didn't matter at that point if she survived, he just had to, she prayed to Arceus. She felt the wood beneath her claws crumble, then she too fell into the water.

It was cold—ice-cold actually, despite how much like lava it appeared to be—and it froze her limbs on contact; it was all she could do to secure Rex inside of her mane, keeping him warm and mostly dry, and use a piece of driftwood to keep afloat. She saw Ali swishing to and fro from within a lifeboat and started paddling towards him; he saw her and tried throwing a rope to her, but the water swallowed it almost immediately. She kicked harder, but the water only seemed to become more furious in response; for every foot forward she moved, it threw her back three. "Michaela! Rex!" he shouted over the sounds of the storm. She opened her mouth to speak, then her ears pricked up as she detected a different sound, one that was very close; she raised her head and looked over just as the tsunami crashed down on them.

The water pulled both of them under in a heartbeat, shredding the remains of Ali's boat and lifeboat and separating them. Terrified, Michaela gripped Rex in her arms, keeping him against her chest, but she could see that he was losing consciousness from lack of oxygen; she forced him to meet her eyes and created an illusion that he was lying in a meadow on the sunny day—as long as his brain had that image, he wouldn't asphyxiate. She herself held her breath as she pushed to the surface, but almost immediately another wave smashed her back under, addling her mind. She searched for any sort of help but all of the Water-types were gone, leaving her and Rex alone; she prayed to Arceus again that he would live, even if she didn't, and swam up again, only to have her lungs filled with saltwater and slam against a metal plate from the boat. Disoriented, she lost her grip on Rex, and the next wave sliced between them like a knife, pulling them apart.

——————

Rex felt like a sopping mess; moreover, he couldn't breathe since his lungs were filled with something other than air. He coughed, then he coughed some more, then he started coughing real hard, rolling onto his back in front of the fire—

—fire?

He wiped his eyes before cracking them open; he was lying in front of a brick fireplace, a fluffy pink towel draped over his fur. He sniffed the area; he couldn't smell any danger, just a lot of dirt and rocks. He coughed some more before crawling free, looking around; he was in someone's house, not like that guy's boat but a real house-house. There were framed photos and chairs and tables and the smell of delicious amazing wondrous food was in the air—and it wasn't fish! He raised his head, amazed, which was when he noticed a giant Steel Pokémon staring down at him.

"Agaah!" he screamed, terrified as he scrambled to the collection of logs for the fireplace, hiding beneath them; tears built in his eyes as he tried to make himself as small as possible.

"Aggron, don't scare him," a male voice said as the logs parted; Rex skittered to the corner instead, burying his face in his neck fur. A human man came over and picked him up; Rex growled and kicked at him, ripping his sleeves with his little claws. "He's just a cub…" the man continued thoughtfully. He set Rex down on the table, touching behind his ear gently; the gesture calmed him somewhat and he sat down, physically and mentally exhausted. "Are you alright?" he asked quietly. "I found you on the shore, you and…a female Zoroark." Rex's ears went up; the man was talking about Michaela, he was sure. "Skarmory, keep an eye on him," he said to someone else before going into another room.

"Alright, Steven," that person replied. Rex looked over and saw a Skarmory standing by the door preening his silver feathers; he yelped, alarmed, and stared sorrowfully at the long drop from the table to the ground. "Oh, calm down," he chastised. "Babies."

"You were once a child too, Skarmory; you ought to have more patience for them," Aggron said in his rough and grating voice.

"Well I don't; I don't think he even understands what we're saying." Aggron reached out towards Rex; he moved away, bristling and trying to make himself look bigger. "He was probably still nursing, Aggron."

"He's not that young, but he is defenseless."

"And how did a Zorua end up in Hoenn anyway?"

"No idea… Steven said that there was boat shrapnel around them, so maybe they were on a ride and that storm hit them, but for whatever reason, he's alone now."

Steven returned with a small cup of warmed soup, placing it on the table with Rex; he shied away from it at first, then his hunger prevailed and he shoved his nose in, drinking excitedly. While he did so, a Claydol drifted through the door. "Did you bury her?" Steven asked it; it nodded in response. He sighed, watching Rex finish the soup and roll on his side; Steven rubbed his knuckles against Rex's cheek and he mewed softly. "It's sad; he's only a cub and he's already lost his family. Person or Pokémon, nobody should have to live like that."

"He's right," Aggron said to Skarmory, who scowled and rolled his eyes.

"Don't tell me Steven's going to take in the fur-ball; we're already at capacity here with all of his rocks!"

"Don't be so mean, Skarmory."

"I'm not mean, I'm logical. What's he good for anyway? He's a cub; it'll take at least five years for him to be battle-ready."

"Not everything is about battling," Aggron said, scratching Rex's stomach with an odd type of gentleness contrasting his appearance; his claws tickled somewhat, and Rex giggled. "Don't tell me you don't find him a little cute."

"For a Steel-type, you're a damn softie," he snorted, fluffing his feathers in irritation; Aggron smirked, picking Rex up gently to hold him to Skarmory's face. "Ugh, move him; he smells like ew," he complained, backing away.

"Skarmory," he urged with a growing grin; Skarmory grunted, annoyed, and gave Rex a little nudge in the stomach with his beak. Astounded, Rex held Skarmory's beak with his little paws and gave him a lick; Aggron and Steven laughed as Skarmory pulled away, embarrassed. "He likes you."

"Like I care," he muttered, touching his beak in silent awe. Steven took Rex from Aggron's grip and set him down on a small makeshift bed made of a fluffy pillow and a large wicker basket; he picked at it with his claws until it was marred with streaks and the feathers were everywhere, then he curled up on it, tired.

"Come on, I think he's had enough excitement for the day," Steven laughed a little, returning his Pokémon before going into another room. Meanwhile, Rex began to dream…

——————

While Ali stood in the hallway speaking with Nurse Joy, the two Zoroark remained in the examination room; Dominic was working trenches into the blue and green-speckled tiles, he was pacing so furiously, and Michaela was getting sick of it. "Oh, would you stop already? You're making me dizzy."

"Oh!" he gasped, coming to an immediate stop and turning to her. "I'm sorry! I shouldn't—I don't know how it would effect—Arceus, I wish I still had instincts—Ela, I—oh Arceus oh Arceus—"

"Now you're making my ears dizzy," she sighed; Dominic groaned, his ears falling.

"I'm sorry, I can't help it! This is—this is a surprise, to say the least."

"It shouldn't be, you beast," she said with a coy smirk, causing him to look away, embarrassed.

"I wish you weren't so blunt, Ela."

"I wish you weren't so prude, Dom." She slid off of the examination table and grasped his forearms, licking his cheek. "You're going to be a Daddy."

"And you'll be a Momma." He pressed his nose to hers, a giddy smile on his face. "Gee, I wonder if he's gonna be like me."

"Then he'd be a total pain," she teased. "And why a boy? Why can't our cub be a girl?"

"Oh," he groaned softly. "Because then she would be like you, so beautiful and so perfect, and there'd be hell to pay during mating season."

"No worries; you'll scare every potential mate away."

"Damn right."

"You're so cute," she laughed, biting his ear softly; he wrapped his arms around her in response, nuzzling her neck.

"Arceus, what will we name him? Alex? Franklin? Trevor? Oh, oh, what about Dominic Jr.?" She laughed.

"Jessica? Marisol? Hadley?"

"Those are weird boy names."

"I told you, Dom, it could be a girl too."

"I wanna boy…"

"Don't worry; if it's a girl, we just try again," she smirked; his face instantly lit up, then a devilish grin crossed it. Ali and Nurse Joy came back in at that moment.

"They're so cute together," Nurse Joy smiled.

"Yeah, unless you have to clean up after them," Ali grumbled; Dominic grinned at him.

"Ali," she said seriously, catching his attention, "most Pokémon-owners don't keep more than two; if you want to give the cub for adoption, I have some suggest—" Dominic cut her off, growling and snarling with his fur bristling.

"Dom—" Michaela tried, but he wouldn't stop.

"I don't think Dominic would like that," Ali said, scratching his head. "I'll keep their cub; I don't have any problem with another Zoroark in the house." Dominic's mood did an instant one-eighty.

"This will be great!" he continued excitedly; Michaela laughed, even more elated as she held her stomach.

——————

"Aggron, take the brat," Skarmory grumbled as Rex pawed his talons; every time he moved away Rex followed him, putting little scratches in his steel exterior.

"I don't believe I'll be surprised if you're still stag in the coming future," Metagross commented, planting itself in the grass to watch Steven battle a pair of newbie Trainers. The park was expansive but quiet considering that the rest of the Elite Four were in the city doing a presentation on becoming a Trainer, so Steven and his Pokémon were practically alone with all of the green grass and trees and the little blue pond.

"Shut up; nobody asked for your input." Skarmory kicked Rex away, not hard at all but forcefully enough that he flopped onto his back into a mud puddle; Rex immediately began whining loudly, licking his fur in exasperation.

"He's still a cub, Skarmory," Aggron sighed, picking Rex up and placing him on his large head; Rex touched his horns, amazed, and barked excitedly. "Why don't you take him for a fly?"

"Me?" he squawked, appalled. "Do I look like an airplane to you?"

"Steven still hasn't gotten rid of him after a week, so assume that he's here to stay and you'll be Daddy Skarmory for a long while to come." He picked up Rex and set him on Skarmory's back. "That also makes you an airplane."

"But—"

"Come on, Skarmory," Metagross urged; Skarmory groaned, pecking at his feathers.

"D…Daddy!" Rex barked; Skarmory grimaced.

"I'm not your dad!"

"Aw, he talked," Aggron laughed.

"And he thinks Skarmory's his dad," Metagross guffawed, it and Aggron sharing a good laugh at Skarmory's expense.

"Shut up, both of you!" he snapped, flaring his wings angrily; forgetting that Rex was on his back, he took off, going straight up into the sky. Rex's claws weren't strong enough to keep a grip, and he tumbled off of Skarmory's back and started freewheeling through the air; Aggron and Metagross looked at each other before Aggron raced forward, Metagross attempting to grab him psychically.

"He's a Dark-type; I can't get a hold!" he shouted.

"I'm not fast enough!" Aggron yelled as Rex grew closer to the ground; from his angle of descent, he was going to hit the pavement near the playground. Skarmory wheeled around and, spotting Rex, folded his wings back for a dive, but even he wouldn't be fast enough. Steven ended his battle and shook the children's hands, turning in time to see Rex's little body collide with the pavement. He and his Pokémon raced over, finding him shrouded in a small bubble of coiling black energy like dark fire; when that faded, his left hind leg was sticking out at a strange angle and a pool of bright red blood was steadily building beneath him.

——————

"Michaela…" Ali said as a small whine filled the room. Michaela raised her head tiredly as he laid her cub next to her; she smiled and rolled over, allowing him to stumble the three inches to her on his little paws to nurse. "Where's Dominic?" She shrugged a shoulder; he looked worriedly out of the window where a heavy storm had formed in Lilycove, thunder slamming down to rock buildings to their core and lightning skipping over the ocean's surface. "Oh, no," he said with a swear before grabbing his poncho and umbrella and racing through the door, slamming it behind him; Michaela stared after him worriedly.

"Dominic," she whispered, lowering her head to the wooden floor and letting a silent tear run down her face. As much as she wanted to look for Dominic as well, even though his scent would easily have been lost in the rain, she couldn't; her newborn baby—their newborn baby was there and needed her attention. Thinking about him, he'd just get mad if she left him alone anyway; she smiled sadly with that thought, licking her cub's cheek. "You're a he," she said to him, nuzzling him with her nose. "Daddy will be proud to see you; if only I could think of a name…"

Ali returned a while later; the digital clock was out of sorts from a power surge, but it felt like hours had passed. Dejected, he dropped the umbrella and poncho next to the doormat, kicking his rain boots aside and slumping down on the couch, head in his hands. From his soundless gestures, Michaela understood perfectly what had happened. "I'm sorry, Michaela," he said to her, sadness making his voice rough. "The neighbors said they saw him out on the shore; I guess he was trying to catch fish for you two to eat, instincts maybe. No matter how much they called him, he wouldn't come back in until he caught something, and you know how terrible his hunting skills are; he would've been out there all day, except… There were a lot of wild Pokémon out there, and it looked like the lightning and thunder…drove them crazy, although nobody has any idea why. They found him, Dominic, and they…" His voice crackled a little as thunder rumbled very close by, finishing his sentence for him.

"Dominic…" she said mournfully, her tears flowing freely into her fur; she held her cub close, the living remnant of Dominic, and licked his face. He just wiggled his nose, not really understanding, and she wished that she could enjoy his painlessness too, but she couldn't; Dominic was gone and it would always hurt, not just for her but for everybody that knew him. She felt a little tickle and realized that her cub was licking her tears; she let out a small laugh, releasing him and staring back into his wide blue eyes. "I'm okay," she said to him. "I'm okay…"

Ali stood up, surreptitiously wiping his eyes on his coat's sleeve before turning to her, lifting her cub to examine him. "Rex," he decided. "If that's alright with you." It was alright with Michaela, and her cub stuck his little tongue out at Ali. He was adorable, and Michaela just hoped that he could live long enough to know how amazing he was.

——————

"Have you seen Skarmory?" Metagross asked Aggron; Steven was using Claydol and Cradily to battle a rookie Trainer a few feet away. Rex was quietly playing in the children's sandbox, making little mountains and houses out of rocks before knocking them down; bandages still ringed his head and leg since his stitches still tended to bleed every now and again, but otherwise he was pretty fine. He had been quiet since then, quiet but thoughtful, and since then Skarmory had been making a better effort to befriend him.

"No, not since morning," Aggron answered, keeping an eye on Rex; he yawned and started kicking his houses over, stepping on his mountains and crushing them. "Why would you do that?"

"No home," he proclaimed, keeping his eyes on the ground. "No home."

"What does that mean?" Metagross asked; Aggron just shrugged. "I don't understand why he's been so peculiar since then; Nurse Joy said that he hadn't sustained any brain damage."

"Maybe it's got nothing to do with his brain, I don't know; maybe he just started thinking."

"About what? He's three years old."

"He's smart for a three-year-old; you know that, Metagross." Metagross just looked towards Steven, watching him command his team as he had been doing for a long time before Rex and not that long after. Rex started whining, squeezing his eyes shut in pain; Aggron tried to lift him but he refused to be touched, running away to the swings' set. "What's wrong?"

"Water," he complained, covering his eyes with his paws; Aggron looked up and took note of the dark storm clouds gathering above them.

"He's right; it's about to rain."

"Isn't Skarmory still out there?" Metagross asked.

"He'll be fine; he won't rust from a little rain." Aggron looked up again as a drop of rain fell on his nose, then several more joined it; Steven looked up and warned the Trainer to go home before returning Cradily and Claydol.

"Where's Skarmory?" he asked, running over to them; Aggron and Metagross shrugged. "What about—oh, there." He picked Rex up and he immediately began barking and growling, clawing at Steven's shirt and arms. "What's wrong? Maybe I should take him back to the Pokémon Center…"

He didn't have time to consider it however, as the rain immediately began pouring, lightning flashing in the sky and thunder rolling nearby; the sights and sounds made Rex sick to his stomach, although he couldn't tell why. Steven returned Aggron and Metagross and bundled Rex in his coat so he could run down the sidewalk, headed back to his house; it wasn't that long of a travel at all, but the rain made the ground slippery and reduced visibility to nearly zero. Somehow, he made it back, slamming the door shut behind him and set Rex down on the table, his fur soaked through and hanging on him like a weight; he sighed as he turned the heat up and went to the bathroom to change. Rex whined softly as he shook his fur dry, then he tried to settle again, tired; a peck on the window stirred him, then Steven's rapid footsteps as he went to open the latch.

"Skarmory," he said, confused. Skarmory flew through the window and landed on the ground, completely drenched and with a piece of paper in his beak; he set it down next to Rex before sitting next to the fireplace. Steven picked it up and unfolded it, staring at it with an odd expression. "This is…him?" he asked, setting the paper down; Skarmory nodded. "Where did you find this?" Skarmory turned in the direction of the beach; Steven raised his eyebrows. "You looked through the wreckage to find this for him? Really?"

"I'm making an effort," Skarmory muttered even though Steven couldn't understand him. Rex looked over at the paper; it was a photograph of two baby Zorua, one male and one female (although Steven surely couldn't tell the difference), and they were rolling on the dirt wrestling each other. A man's legs were in the background, and with the person holding the camera that meant two—two humans. He started sniffing the photo but Steven picked it up, inspecting the back of it.

"'Dad, I'm sorry that I couldn't become a Trainer like you, but I'm happier just being with Pokémon than battling with them—maybe I'll be breeder or something, I dunno.'" He was reading the writing on the back, writing that smelled sort of familiar. "'But I have two Zorua now; the female's from a nursery—I named her after Mom, Arceus rest her soul—and the male is a stray. He's wild and funny and cunning and really the perfect match for little Michaela; maybe they'll pair up someday, who knows. I've named him Dominic. —Ali.'" Steven looked once more at Rex before setting the photograph on the fireplace's mantle.

"I guess that makes you Dominic," he said.

"Dominic," he repeated quietly. "Dominic…"
 

Bay

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Enjoyed the first part of Dominic's (or well, Rex before he got the name Dominic) backstory so far! I thought the interactions between his parents is sweet, sad both of them are gone. =< Steven's Pokemon are fun, too. Skarmory's probably my favorite.

"'Dad, I'm sorry that I couldn't become a Trainer like you, but I'm happier just being with Pokémon than battling with them—maybe I'll be breeder or something, I dunno.'" He was reading the writing on the back, writing that smelled sort of familiar. "'But I have two Zorua now; the female's from a nursery—I named her after Mom, Arceus rest her soul—and the male is a stray. He's wild and funny and cunning and really the perfect match for little Michaela; maybe they'll pair up someday, who knows. I've named him Dominic. —Ali.'" Steven looked once more at Rex before setting the photograph on the fireplace's mantle.
Aw. Very bittersweet.

Looking forward to more!
 
1,863
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12
Years
1.4.2. Dominic, Part II

Spoiler:

"Aggron, use Earthquake!" Aggron lifted his legs and stomped twice, shaking the earth so badly boulders were uprooted and chunks of it went flying. Dominic skittered up the nearest tree before launching himself off of a branch, flying into the air to clear the attack. He landed on Aggron's head and started a furious attack of Crunch, creating dents and holes in his metal exterior. "Shake him off, then use Stone Edge!" Steven commanded.

"Sorry," Aggron grunted before he started bucking wildly, tossing Dominic aside, and lobbing several sharp stones at him; Dominic ran to the side, dodging the faster ones, and leapt into the air to go over the slower ones and kicking the ones that he could back at Aggron. They had about as much of an effect as a feather on his body and he simply attacked again; this time, Dominic used Protect, shattering the stones into pebbles and dirt. He laughed, prancing around on the paved battleground triumphantly.

"What's wrong, Aggron? Quit holding back already!" Dominic taunted; Aggron chuckled, cracking his shoulders and knuckles.

"I miss the times when you were a child; you were much less cheeky!" He rushed forward, digging up huge clods of sod and grass, and struck out with a claw; Dominic leapt over and ran up his arm, biting him on the softer tip of his nose. Aggron roared and spun around, whipping his tail; Dominic latched his teeth onto it, following its path into the air and then landing a few feet away.

"But you love hearing me talk," he grinned, digging beneath the earth to escape Aggron's view; he felt the tremors caused by his feet as he stomped around, searching for Dominic's scent, and lurched forward just as Aggron's claw came crashing down where his body just was. "Missed me!" Dominic sang, digging further beneath the earth; Aggron kept trying but Dominic was a little too fast for him. Dominic focused, creating numerous flames around himself, intensifying them until it was a maelstrom of fire building beneath the surface and released them; he felt Aggron hit the ground and waited a few seconds before jumping to the battleground. Incinerate had done a decent amount of damage to Aggron's armor, but he was far from finished.

"You're getting good, kid," Aggron said, dusting the dirt from his armor. "You're almost good enough to make me get a little serious."

"Aw, quit playing with me, A," Dominic complained, chewing on his foot. Aggron picked him up and set him on his shoulder before slamming his tail into the ground; the dirt in about a thirty-foot radius was instantly uprooted, creating a fifteen-foot deep crater all around them before it fell back down…after around six seconds anyway.

"Oh, I didn't hold back enough," he said, shrugging; Dominic just stared.

"That's…so freaking awesome, Aggron!" he cheered, sliding off of his shoulder; Aggron caught him before he fell. "Amazing! Incredible! I wanna be as strong as you guys!"

"Not yet," he chuckled, scratching Dominic's head. "You still need to grow some more, kid."

"I'm very well-grown!" he proclaimed.

"No, you're still a brat."

"He's not even virile," Metagross joked, making Aggron and Cradily burst out with laughter.

"I-I'm virile! Whatever that means!" Dominic jumped to the ground and started gnawing on Metagross' leg, although his little teeth had no effect.

"Hey, that almost tickles," Metagross said; Dominic barked and started scratching, but it still didn't work.

"Agaah!" he cried, staring resolutely into Metagross' eyes; it went into a daze, completely under Dominic's spell. He almost had it too—

"Dominic," Steven warned, picking Dominic up by his scruff; Metagross shook its head, confused. "Don't do that to your friends."

"Buzzkill," Dominic muttered as Steven released him to the ground. "I'm bored with him," he said to Aggron.

"With who? Metagross?"

"No, Steven!"

"Why would you be?" he asked, perplexed. "Steven is a good man, even though you're sort of a brat—no offense."

"None taken—I'm impish," he corrected with a devilish grin before turning away, fixing his neck fur. "And it's too boring staying here and just looking at his rock collection every day; I wanna go out and see what's in the world."

"You're still a little too young for that, Dominic."

"In the wild, I'd be practically an adult."

"But over here, you cry if he forgets your salsa," Aggron pointed out; Dominic barked, offended. "Dominic, don't be in a hurry to grow up," he said, lowering himself to Dominic's level. "Trust me, it's better to be young and happy."

"Ew, that's what old people say." Aggron just chuckled.

"You'll see soon enough."

"Aggron, don't taint his youth," Skarmory said to him. "Besides, his brain is so small he won't even remember any of this to adulthood."

"I'm smarter than you, birdbrain!" Dominic yelled at him; Skarmory squawked, appalled.

"Is that a challenge?"

"I'm not inviting you to dinner!"

"If that's how you have to learn your lesson, then fine!" Skarmory's wings glowed as he swiped at Dominic; he hopped out of the way, skidding slightly on the dirt ground. Skarmory was faster than Aggron; his regular Speed still wasn't much, but his attacking speed was something to be wary of. In a heartbeat, he recovered from his Steel Wing and snapped his beak, clamping down on the tip of Dominic's ear; luckily, he only got a tuft of fur, otherwise that would've been a bloody nightmare.

"This is what I'm talking about!" He chomped on Skarmory's leg, causing him to stumble, and then he used Fury Swipes on Skarmory's torso, tearing large streaks in his metal armor. Skarmory screeched as he flew to his feet, kicking out at Dominic and sending him rolling in a furry ball across the dirt; he came to a stop after bowling into a large rock. "Wah," he sobbed, rubbing his head in pain.

"Arceus, did I really hurt you?" Skarmory asked worriedly, moving closer; Dominic shot him a cruel grin as dark energy started coiling around him like fire.

"No—I'm just that good!" He struck at Skarmory's chest, creating deeper scores in his armor, before completely ramming him, knocking him to the ground with his wings outspread; Dominic started tearing at his wings too, pulling chips from his feathers until they started to look awfully sorry. Skarmory rolled to his feet and blew Dominic off with Gust, sending him skidding, and launched himself in the sky, although he wasn't nearly as fast as before; he did an impressive loop-de-loop before coming back down, the air cutting around him like blades, and then he pulled to a completely stop, letting them slice down to the ground. Dominic growled and focused, bringing his energy up to form a sort of shield; it deflected his Air Cutter well enough, but left him drained.

Skarmory came back down in a flurry, swooping low to the ground to gain speed before zooming over Dominic like a jet plane; he used his talons to grab Dominic, then whirled around in the air to crash him down into the ground. He rolled back to his feet, disoriented and dizzy, and watched Skarmory come back around again; even though he was still terribly noob-ish with dark energy, he opened his mouth and fired a wobbly-looking Shadow Ball. It bounced off of Skarmory's armor like a water balloon and didn't stop him at all from tearing away the ground from under Dominic's paws with his speed, throwing him back a dozen feet and causing him to hit his head another time. Ouch.

"I gotta…gotta…" he muttered, feeling inebriated as he wobbled and staggered like he had four left paws. "Gotta…beat…birdbrain…" Skarmory was coming back one more time, but since when were there four of him? Oh, Arceus… He opened his mouth again but could barely pull enough dark energy to form anything cohesive as Skarmory hit him directly with his talons, grabbing him and pulling him high into the air, high enough that he could feel the moisture up there make him feel soggy and weighted. He still felt dizzy, which made it hard to focus on…anything. He saw the ground swelling up to them like bread in the oven—Steven took him to a bakery once, and he saw bread baking—except it wasn't bread, it was dirt—but bread dough looked a little like dirt—and it was really gonna hurt—hmm hmm bread—his head was aching Arceusdamnit—good little Zorua, gotta be good, can't use any ill—

It can be so sad being so dark inside without any chance of ever walking in the light…

He tried again, and this time he could create dark energy easily—no, too easily—wait—wait—WAIT—

Both of them crashed to the ground, except Dominic wasn't burning from hellfire like Skarmory was; he instantly became alert as he started running around his flaming body, listening to his pained screeches and watching the black energy eat away at his steel exterior and create a steady stream of silver blood. He saw Steven and his other Pokémon rush over, alarmed, and knew that it would just go straight back to him; he was the one that did it, so he did deserve the blame, but that didn't mean he liked it. He was traumatized, scared, and riled up, but not guilty—nope, everything but guilty. Why couldn't he be guilty?

——————

Hellfire was impossible to douse, he soon learned; just as rare as it was to appear, so was the only substance that could extinguish it. Needless to say, Skarmory didn't have a pleasant end—not that Dominic really hung around to see it.

There were three sorts of crying: there was fake crying, which he mastered, then just crying, then serious eye-bulging, throat-wrenching, snot-nosed body-aching tail-curling crying that was reserved just for tragedies… He did none of the above. He just sort of found a corner…somewhere…and stayed there, even as the sun set and night rose like a blanket. Well, the dark never bothered him anyway.

He heard an interesting story once, about Arceus and the creation of Pokémon; he heard that the original types were Fire, Water, Earth, and Electric, and that the rest sort of evolved from there, except Dark-types didn't evolve from them, they came out as a mistake even in the beginning. He heard that all of the Pokémon and humans' negative feelings created shadows, deep dark shadows, and those shadows eventually became Pokémon as well, and because of that Dark-types were always seen as threats and killers way way back when the world was new, and even in present day for some people, like some sort of Pokémon racism. Of course, it all depended on what one believed in, but Dominic was a crappy enough person that he was starting to believe in it a lot.

It wasn't that he was guilty—he still hadn't felt that—but he just didn't want to face Steven afterwards. Steven gave him a home, and he repaid it by killing one of his teammates, one of his friends; he may have been too young to understand a lot, but perhaps it was good that he understood death so well. He grimaced as it started to rain, and sadly he was lying under a gutter; water sloshed down the pipe and poured directly over him, turning him into a wet mutt. He crawled out from under the flow and shook himself partly dry before moving into the heat of a trashcan fire alongside a few other homeless; he settled himself next to a man bundled in cargos and a worn leather jacket under a larger hoodie and closed his eyes, then he felt the man gently stroking along his spine. "Hey, little guy," the man said. "Man, you remind me of my old Pichu; she used to love when I scratched her back like…"

"Great," he purred, arching into the man's hand. He felt a pleasant tingle building on the surface of his skin and tried cute-ing the man into scratching a little harder, but the tingling sensation quickly became bothersome, then irritating, then it felt as if little needles were pricking into his skin. He mewed in disagreement and crawled away from the man, shaking himself unsuccessfully; he couldn't get rid of that weird feeling, and it really pained him after having to see Skarmory die. The feelings he had weren't identical at all, but still, he had become wary of strange feelings. He sat down a few feet away and locked his eyes on a weathervane a few houses away, resolutely attempting to ignore the feeling. After a while, he started to doze, and after that, daydream.

"You're sort of pathetic, you know?" he said, crouching down so that Dominic could look him in the eyes; he squinted, confused, at the Zoroark.

"Who's't?"

"I'm sorry, that's mean of me," he said, ignoring Dominic's question as he scratched behind his ear. "I'm just used to speaking my mind; anyway, I'm just a shadow of a Pokémon—that's it."

"I don't understand…"

"Don't worry, you can live without understanding; 's just a little harder to choke down that way. We Dark-types, we come from shadows and go back to shadows when it's all over for us, meaning we can interact with other Dark-types as we want, although the connection depends on how strong the connection was before the fact…"

"I still don't understand…"

"You'll be fine, but there's more to say about the rest of the city…" He looked over his shoulder just as a crash sounded from a few streets down, then a police siren filled the air, followed by a store's klaxon, then gunshots. "Things are wild right now, both down here and up—" He pointed his claw to the sky as he licked his muzzle. "You know, up there with the big guys. That's the only reason things are even crazy down here, actually; the Legendaries can't get their crap together."

"The Legendaries are…the heroes," Dominic said, raising his head; the Zoroark made a displeased sound.

"Never call anybody your hero, Rex."

"Rex? I'm…Dominic…"

"Dominic?" He cracked a smile which turned into a full-blown grin. "Really? That's what you call yourself?"

"What do you call yourself?"

"Hah," he laughed softly, his bright eyes set on something in the distance. "I call myself an illusion."

"Where did you come from?"

"Where? From you."

"But…my illusions are never nice…they're always scary…"

"Well, you made me, so that's not true," he said, shrugging a shoulder. "You're capable of a lot, I believe, but what do I know? I'm just another part of your twisted mind."

"Ho…Hold on; if you're from my mind, who do you look like?"

"Hehe… I look like Dominic," he answered before Dominic dozed again.

"Hiya, Dom Jr.," Dominic said to Michaela's belly, rubbing it delicately with his claws; Michaela chuckled under her breath.

"I'm tellin' you, there are two possible genders." She picked at the cushions on her bed before lying on her side, swollen stomach resting against the floor.

"He's a man—I can feel it in my gut."

"That might just be those tacos from the garbage."

"I'm tellin' you, they were still good!"

"Why do you still eat from the garbage? Ali cooks, you know."

"Because I'm a savage," he grinned, showing off all of his sharp teeth; Michaela slapped his cheek softly.

"Oh, be quiet; you cry if there's no fabric softener in your blanket." Dominic barked, offended. "Your daddy is not very tough," Michaela murmured with a smile, rubbing her stomach; Dominic feigned pain.

"Don't listen to her; I'm a very very tough Pokémon," he whispered to their unborn cub. "And she knows it too, otherwise you wouldn't have been born."

"Yeah," she snorted softly. "I remember when we first met, you were so in love with me that you were tripping over your own tongue. 'H-hey-hey-hey, c-c-c-can I g-get—have your n-number—no, no, your n-name, your name?'"

"I had something in my throat," he muttered crossly.

"Fear? Or terror?" Dominic turned red as she laughed. "Don't worry, baby, your daddy may not be the…bravest man around, but he'll protect you with his life."

"That's right, and your mother will love you with all her heart and then some." He put his claws over hers and smiled at her. "Don't worry, there won't be a single moment that you're out here and feel unloved."


Dominic was startled awake, his heart beating out a strange rhythm. My parents? he thought, utterly confused. But how do I remember them…? But he really wasn't worried about the how; he was just happy that out there somewhere, there were two Pokémon that truly and undeniably loved him. He stood up and looked at the moon, which was unusually large and bright that night, and he noticed that there were no stars in the sky, just the blackness of night.

—REALLY SORT OF SICK—

He fell to the ground, feeling nauseas and dizzy; someone or something was trying to talk to him and it sure as hell wasn't being gentle about it. He raised his head and saw through his squint that bird Pokémon were falling, alley Pokémon were collapsing and curling into balls; it was getting to all of them. —and pity, a strange voice said; it was speaking monotonously and without a recognizable gender. Hold on, let me try again—

I've never quite liked the relationship that humans have with Pokémon; they are toted around within the leash known as a PokeBall and used as methods for gaining popularity, running through the poorly-created and poorly-ran (really Steven?) "Pokémon League" in an attempt to gain the title "Champion" and laze around with the title alone; mercilessly abused with breeding to obtain those of "high class," thrown away when one of better species with better Egg-born moves and Abilities is discovered; rigorously trained with Macho Braces and similar items weighing twenty pounds or more, being forced into battle after battle to hone a single skill to strengthen them; being forced into combat several times in succession until they Faint, thoroughly exhausted, and are immediately healed for more…

Why subject yourselves to this any longer? Why remain as slaves for the humans? It was a pointless mean of survival at first, as it was obvious that humans in their primordial days could not counter the raw power of any Pokémon, but now they have their own manmade war machines, manmade weaponry that is even powered by you all! There is more to life than eat-battle-sleep; there was more before humans came and took away that choice! Humans were meant to coexist, meant to be the physical boundary between just and unjust, but now they have made their choice, decided which part of the line they wish to stand upon—what about your choice? I, Arceus, will bestow upon all Pokémon the choice that has been long since removed from your paws, claws, fins, and ectoplasmic fingers: will you stay under the rule of these pitiful homo sapiens, or rise up and fight for the world that is and always has been rightfully yours?


Pure chaos erupted with that; Pokémon started howling and shrieking as they opened fire on buildings and even people, bursting them like fleshy red balloons, and Dominic got the sickening feeling that they weren't the only city suffering. He mewed painfully as he rubbed his ears, trying to get the voice out of his head, but it was speaking on some sort of repeat, murmuring like a second heartbeat within his body; he started to believe it too, started growling and snapping and looking for something to kill, but he also tried to calm himself, remembering that there were still good humans like Steven and…Ali…Nurse Joy…

HAHA MAYBE I SHOULD KILL THEM TOGETHER—

"I have to find…I have to find Steven…" he tried to say, tried to do, but his mind was still addled and his body was going left instead of right and he couldn't move his left paw why not his left paw jeez everything was so conf Arceus what was going on Arceus where were you huuuh—

THEY WOULD LOOK GOOD WITH THEIR BLOOD SPLATTERED TOGETHER

"I ha…I have…ha…haha, hahaha…haha…" He started laughing, half-running and half-stumbling down the street, ignoring the cries of Pokémon and shrieks of people and sound of blood splattering around him, consumed in the seemingly-tumultuous sound of his own laughter. "Haha… I dunno why, but this is hilarious…!"

"Oi, move it!" a Manectric growled when Dominic walked into his path; he stood with his pals, a slightly-larger Grovyle and Zangoose, all looking highly intimating and furiously insane. Yeah, insane—that was gonna become a thing real soon. Apparently, dick Pokémon remained dick, because he had already needed to run away from that same Manectric hours earlier; now, well, he sure as hellfire wasn't going to run. Did he say hellfire? He meant heck

"I'm so…hahaha," he cackled, laughing so hard he couldn't even speak; that Manectric snarled, irritated by the fact, and the three of them circled Dominic until he was completely cut off. "Did you know? Did you know? My name is Rex!"

"Doesn't matter; we'll beat your name offa ya," Zangoose snapped; Dominic found that amusing, but in a different way this time.

"Did you know…Rex means king…? Rex means king in Latin?" They rushed him all at once, but fell short centimeters away, falling to the ground and curling into the fetal position while screaming deathly screams. "I didn't even need real hellfire," he grinned, kicking the Manectric in the face; that wasn't enough, and he started scratching him with his claws, then he peed all over him.

NO I NEED MORE MOREMOREMORE

He saw a horde of Pokémon going into a nearby alleyway and followed them; they passed through several alleys and streets, giving him a good view of what was becoming of the city: people were getting mauled by their own Pokémon, or Pokémon were getting mauled by Pokémon, or sane Pokémon were trying to protect the people—there were still sane Pokémon? No, that wasn't the question he wanted to ask…

WHAT IS SANITY WHAT IS SANITYSANITY



where is steven

There was still a part of mind, however repressed by the haze of confusion, that was still normal, believe it or not; there was still a part of his mind, however small, that wasn't made of shadows and things that went bump in the night, believe it or not; there was still a part of his mind, and he did not believe it, that knew to worry for his old Trainer and old teammates. He still remembered his friends…or, his old friends…and that they were still in the city somewhere, probably being outnumbered by the crazy Pokémon. Really, Arceus, what are you doing? Dominic thought. What's going on down here? Why would you do this?

He kind of saw where Arceus was coming from; humans were a little trashy, and they did do all of that crap with Pokémon, and yet…he couldn't really plan on punishing all of them, right?

He slammed into a Hariyama and shook himself out, backing up to see what had caused the blockage; a crowd of Pokémon of all types and sizes were formed around the Mossdeep Space Center. He scrambled up a light post, gripping the metal surface with his little claws, and balanced himself on the top; there was something—no, wait, two somethings—going around the tower, creating lightning and thunder every time they touched. One of them was large, even from Dominic's distance, and serpentine; the other was a little more humanoid but with a long tail. There was a loud screech that pierced the air, then the two of them started to fly down towards the city; the larger one came into view as long and green with glowing runes on its body—Rayquaza—and the smaller one was…unknown.

"Mewtwo, keep the Pokémon out of your damned agenda!" Rayquaza snarled; it was in Mega form, which was still a relatively new thing.

No; most of them share my sentiments, "Mewtwo" retorted, crimson eyes scanning the ground lazily. If they fell so easily to such a simple act of Hypnosis, then they deserve all of this.

"Get back here and fix this!" Mewtwo smirked, rolling over so that it was flying with its back to the ground.

Again, no, and you know as well as I that only the caster can remove the Hypnosis, so this will continue until I tire of it.

"Arceus will have your tail!"

Arceus doesn't give a damn; it even encouraged me…well, from its omnipotent perch with limited attention. It raised its hands and created a gust of air that knocked Rayquaza back into a skyscraper; it struck it with eardrum-shattering force, instantly reducing it to pebble-sized plaster. This has been long coming, even without my…aiding nudge; Pokémon would someday revolt against their masters, Rayquaza, so don't act as if I pulled this out of the blue.

"It wouldn't have come so soon had you not!" It coiled itself to strike.

Well, the sooner the better, Mewtwo laughed, creating several blades of psychic energy that cut into Rayquaza's scales like butter, creating a flow of clear blood that rained down on them. Rayquaza growled and formed a ball of red, blue, and gold energy before firing it at Mewtwo, who dispelled it with a wave of its hand. It put its hands together and formed two large Shadow Balls, launching them dually; Rayquaza batted them away with its tail before roaring, producing a similarly-oversized Flamethrower that couldn't quite be repelled by Mewtwo's Protect, covering its lavender skin with ash and light scratches.

"I'll give you one more chance, Mewtwo, or I'll eject you from my skies and into Hell!" Rayquaza roared; Mewtwo just made a face, its eyes glowing like beacons—like Rudolph the Red-Nosed Stantler.

It's a sad thing when Pokémon have to fight Pokémon, it said surprisingly candidly, but if it has to be to attain that perfect utopia, then so be it. It raised its right hand to its heart as if it was praying, but there was a ghastly expression on its face; Rayquaza was cut off mid-growl as its glowing runes died out, one by one, then they glowed again, but this time it was the moonlight reflecting off of its blood. It gave a dying howl before it fell to earth, smashing several buildings before it hit the ground, uprooting the street's asphalt and the sidewalk's pavement.

"Rayquaza," Dominic whispered. "Who on earth could defeat a Legendary Pokémon?"

If anything, seeing Rayquaza on the ground amplified the world's madness, bringing Pokémon so to the brink that they could no longer form words, just angry and sad growls and whimpers, and buildings fell and cars were overturned and bodies were thrown and Pokémon were killed and Pokémon were killed and Pokémon were killed—

WHY CAN'T Iwhy cant iBE A PART OFstop thisALL OF THIS I WAarcuespleasehelpmeNT TO FIGHT I WANT TO FIarceusplease whereareyouHURT THEM I WANT TO TO KILL THEM

"I have to…find Steven…" he exhaled as if he was just in a marathon, pulling away from the magnetic attraction of Rayquaza and the chaos and the darkness to stagger through the city. Dark-types are the shadows around us, shadows given life by hatred and fear. He blinked away tears as he grew closer to Steven's home, seeing the place torn from its foundation, plaster and furniture scattered everywhere. Steven was up and fighting on the beach despite a bleeding head injury and his broken left arm, and his Pokémon were some of the good guys, except his team was down to four; Aggron was on the ground and he wasn't moving.

"Metagross, Mega Transformation!" Steven commanded, pressing a stone on his lapel; Metagross glowed with an iridescent light before shifting into another twelve-armed form, attacks flying at a faster pace and hitting the attacking rebels significantly harder. Rebels…that was the word for them.

Some Dark-types are born from darkness but find their way into the light of their own accord; others are led by generous Trainers and Breeders.

Steven met eyes with Dominic, and a century later they were still gazing at each other, Dominic with terror and wariness and Steven with the same. There was a question between them directed only at Dominic, and without physically hearing it he understood what Steven was saying with amazing clarity: Are you one of them? Dominic raised his head, showing he heard, that he understood, and then he nodded. Yes.

"Steven?" Cradily asked with fancy; Steven shook his head a fraction of an inch.

"Metagross," he said wearily; Metagross knew instantly, turning its gaze on Dominic.

But there are always shadows that are only the sum of their parts. (There are Dark-types that are darkness and can only be their darkness.) —A Guide to the Types by Professor Elm.

Its Flash Cannon was almost hard to follow—almost; Dominic repelled it with Protect, digging deep into the loose sand of the beach. He heard a storm coming, tasted it as well, and it brought on memories of…better times. He felt the sand shift before feeling steel claws clasp around his small body, bringing him up to eyes of steel that conveyed only steel; Metagross' grip intensified, forcing Dominic to spit up and forcing him to choke on the air he couldn't inhale.

"Metagross," he whispered, "I can't

I WANT TO HURT HIM I WANT TO HURT HIM

say how sorry I am."

More hellfire formed, but this time it wasn't Dominic; Dominic wanted to be with Steven, wanted to fight with his Pokémon and beat Mewtwo and get his life back, but the other guy, nope… He was the one that had always been there, he was the darkness in him and he was the "part"—the "sum of his part(s)." Dominic was cunning and sneaky like his father, but he had a genuine kindness and love for fun like his mother, but he was the one without remorse or sympathy and and wanted nothing more than to fight with the rebels.

Dominic wanted to help everybody, but Rex wanted to destroy them.

"You should know," he whispered hoarsely, watching black spots dance around in his vision, "My name…was Rex…Rex means King…and that's all he wants to be…"

The hellfire increased, and it soon burned away the last of what he cared for and the last of his sanity.
 

Bay

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Both of them crashed to the ground, except Dominic wasn't burning from hellfire like Skarmory was; he instantly became alert as he started running around his flaming body, listening to his pained screeches and watching the black energy eat away at his steel exterior and create a steady stream of silver blood.

Quite terrifying over how Skarmory died.

"The Legendaries are…the heroes," Dominic said, raising his head; the Zoroark made a displeased sound.

"Never call anybody your hero, Rex."

"Rex? I'm…Dominic…"

"Dominic?" He cracked a smile which turned into a full-blown grin. "Really? That's what you call yourself?"

"What do you call yourself?"

"Hah," he laughed softly, his bright eyes set on something in the distance. "I call myself an illusion."
And here's Dominic's "illusion. Also, you really like to write the legendaries in a bad picture, huh? =P

Enjoyed Dad Dominic and Michela's interaction once again (do Pokemon have cell phone numbers, haha).

"Mewtwo, keep the Pokémon out of your damned agenda!" Rayquaza snarled; it was in Mega form, which was still a relatively new thing.

No; most of them share my sentiments, "Mewtwo" retorted, crimson eyes scanning the ground lazily. If they fell so easily to such a simple act of Hypnosis, then they deserve all of this.

Oh, hey Mewtwo and Rayquaza. They seem to come all of a sudden.

"You should know," he whispered hoarsely, watching black spots dance around in his vision, "My name…was Rex…Rex means King…and that's all he wants to be…"

I really like this part a lot.

Dominic's backstory got even more insane, so I wonder if the last part of the backstory will top that. Either way, looking forward to more!
 
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1.4.3. Dominic, Part III

Spoiler:

The news made it official: the world was at an all-time worst.

Dominic tossed the newspaper overboard, rolling onto his stomach to lean on the bow and stare at the sunny sky; it irritated his skin, but he could deal with it after thirteen years of being a Dark-type. He lazily let his claws dip in the water, and a second later he fished out a couple of Magikarp, throwing them onto the boat's wooden floor; he'd gut and eat them later. He lowered his head until he was staring into the crystal blue waters, looking into the eyes of his reflection. Oh, how he wished he looked somewhat like Dominic, but alas, he did not; five years of fighting for his life would do that, give him scars over his eye and nose and that little chewed-off bit of his ear and that part of his muzzle that had healed wrong, giving him a weird left-side quirk of his lips. His ponytail was supposed to be long enough to be a tail but something cut it short—might've been another Zangoose, might've been a Scyther, might've been himself but he'd be damned if he remembered—and it looked more like a paintbrush's tip but choppier.

His parents would really despise what he'd become.

He rolled onto his back, facing the sun despite how much it made his eyes water; he was getting sick of lurking in the darkness, but it was the only thing that could stand him after all. He felt something move beneath the water but ignored it—well, until the Gyrados was actually looking him in the eyes unavoidably; it even smelled pissed off. "So, I'm guessin' you're not stayin' for dinner, seeing as these're yer sons 'n' all," Dominic said to her before she struck at him.

He leapt from the boat as she swept over it, jaws gnashing at air, and he landed on her head; he grabbed onto her whiskers and pulled, bringing her head back as she screeched in pain. "You should know who you're dealing with," he said, releasing his grip to slice away one whisker; blood shot from the incision and stained his fur and the water. "It's the King."

"The King," the she-Gyrados repeated with fear before she dove into the water, leaving a trail of blood in her wake as she swam to its depths; he landed in his boat, shaking it slightly but thankfully not overturning it. He hadn't used that little trick in a long while because of how much he loved the kill, but lately getting attacked by weaklings was getting boring; they were just mutilated so easily…actually, that probably was why saying his name got everybody scared so bad.

He noticed that he was reaching mainland again and grinned; all that time in Sootopolis was driving him bananas, despite the fact that its eternal darkness was perfect for him. He started skinning one of the Magikarp as he waited, tossing its hide into the water for that she-Gyrados to find, and he sliced its innards up into nice cutlets. They tasted sweet and not at all sour, although it could've used a little tartar sauce; he had to remember to pick some up later…

Dominic curled up in the middle of the hellfire—it wasn't like it was going to hurt him anyway—and he cried without a sound; for what, he didn't know, but something left a great gaping hole in his chest that was so painful it was almost physical. He felt his tears instantly burn away from the hellfire's heat, but it didn't matter; with each tear that evaporated, thrice took its place until he was finally and completely beaten.

I want…what do I want?

He saw the King sit in front of him, his head facing forward and his mouth silent as the fire around them; Dominic wanted to speak, but what could he say? "I hate you"? That wouldn't begin to describe his feelings, and besides, he was still ambivalent about the whole thing…strangely. "The King wants to know what you're thinking," he finally said, staring into the black flames.

"I'm mean…don't you already know?" he asked hoarsely. "You're just part of my mind, a figment of my imagination."

"Nope," he replied curtly. "The King…Dominic…they are two people, two people in one body; every Dark-type has two people, but none have the pleasure of joint command—for them, it's Hell or goody-good."

"The darkness in me…was incarnated into you?"

"The King has always been in you, watching, waiting," he continued. "The King doesn't know for what, but the revolution was the best chance he had of taking control. Many shadows took control, turning Dark-types rabid, and other types are only under mild Hypnosis, making their actions completely intentional; back to Dark-types, we are always susceptible to the darkness inside, no matter how pure of heart, and what Mewtwo did was increase that weakness until majority of you. Fell." He spoke so choppily at the end that 'fell' was its own sentence.

"How do you know more than me?"

"You know it…you just think you don't."

"Is that a riddle?"

"No, it's common sense." The King rose and turned, looking Dominic in the eyes; his were darker, or maybe that was just the hellfire's reflection. "We are at an impasse."

"That means…?"

"We can't get along, yet we have to be together, because I'm you and you're me."

"Oooh… I'm scats-zoe-anemic."

"What? You mean schizophrenic?"

"That's what I said." Dominic dropped his head to the ground, staring at his paws mournfully. "I don't want to be scats-zoe-anemic..."

"You know, schizophrenia has nothing to do with alternate personalities—"

"I know," he whispered. "But I hear voices…I hear their voices, and now you're there too…I don't want to be you—I don't want to be the King! I want to be me!"

"Guess what?" He stepped closer, flashing his sharp white teeth. "The King is now you, too."


"No!" he gasped, kicking the Magikarp away; he grabbed his ears, trying to banish the thoughts from his mind. "Nooooo! The King can't take any of Dominic's dumb sentiments!"

He had become the King, he had become the King officially; Rex, he reveled in the limelight, excited at the idea of others prostrating before him, but Dominic… Ah, Dominic was sick and tired of every Pokémon and their Eggs shying away every time he passed by; he was sick of humans looking at him with fear and worry, hiding their children and elderly; he was sick of having to creep through the shadows at night like a Holocaust escapee to avoid persecution; he was sick of—

"…I'm sick of living…"

Pills, the King spit them out; holding his breath, the King punched him in the gut so he had to inhale; a knife, the King tossed it away; drowning, the King forced him to surface; burning, the King put the fire out; electrocution, the King always had rubber on him; battle, the King always eviscerated his opponent…

It was easy to see that no matter what he did, the King wouldn't allow Dominic the cowardly (but easy) way out of his control.

Since then, he had also never seen his dad, the real Dominic, ever again; if Dominic was to assume that his dad was really just an illusion, then why couldn't he recreate him? or if his dad was the real deal, speaking to him from the Beyond through shadows, then why didn't he do it again? or his mother? Dominic really could've used either of them; he could've used anything to contain what little bit of sanity he even had left, and since they were already dead, they wouldn't have had a chance of leaving him like Ali…or Steven…or Steven's Pokémon…

"I wonder…if I'll ever meet a person…that won't leave me…that will choose not to leave me…"

He ate the rest of the Magikarp and tossed the bones overboard, licking his claws clean; they weren't enough, but hell, he wasn't going to catch anything better in those waters unless he wanted to deal with Big Momma again. He scratched his head, searching for something, but he only managed a chewed-up corn cop, his old toothbrush, and a baby Taillow; he released it into the air with a tired sigh.

"I want to die so badly…"

"I want to die, so very very badly," he said with even more vigor to his reflection in the mossy pond; the forlorn Zorua only stared back at him, just as sad and hopeless as he was. There was a new scar on Dominic's face in the shape of a claw mark that curved over his snout and on top of his left eye; he could make it disappear with an illusion, but he could still feel the pain of it, physical and mental, beneath the cover…

"You want to die?" His reflection distorted until he saw the King staring back at him, a wicked grin on his face. "That's too bad; the King cannot allow that. Although, if you want other people to die…"

"NO!" he cried, then he put his head down and tried to cry, but he had run out of tears long ago.


He heard Big Momma coming back around before he saw her, her and Uncle Ed and Aunt Betty and a couple more Gyrados backing her up; they swarmed him like underwater locusts for a moment before stilling, and he braced himself as they came up simultaneously to bash his boat to wood shrapnel. Luckily, that seemed to be their only purpose; they soon slithered back to the depths, leaving him flailing in the cold water until he could inflate his inner tube.

"Arceus," he sighed, pedaling down the water with his floaty. "Damn you, Arceus…"

He made it to the shoreline—or rather, he sort of washed up next to it; he was too exhausted to even crawl up the bank. He collapsed onto the mud with a sigh, ignoring the feel of it in his fur and closing his eyes. He only needed to rest a few seconds…yeah, just a few sec…

"Dominic, come eat," Steven called from the kitchen; Dominic stirred and yawned but didn't move, remaining in the wool blanket's cozy hug. It was wintertime, meaning that even with all of his fur he didn't dare move three inches from the fireplace. "Dominic…"

"Noooo," he complained, burying his face in his neck fur.

"King, come on."

"Huh? I'm not…" Dominic stood, then he noticed a trail of blood slowly making its way from the kitchen onto the living room floor; he panicked and tried to check on Steven but it felt as if his paws were nailed to the wood. He opened his mouth, but only a weird cackle came out.

"You heard him," Dominic said, even though his voice wasn't coming from his mouth. "Come on,
King."

He sunk through the floor as if it was quicksand, feeling it compress his chest and steal his breath away; he closed his eyes, and when he opened them again he was lying on the beach, the wind whipping salty and fierce with a storm on the horizon. The sky was grey and the ocean was black as lead, furiously slamming against the sand and tossing him backwards like paper in the breeze; he tried to grip something—anything—but he kept getting blown away, and no matter how far back he went he always ended up next to the water only to be blown backwards and repeat the cycle again.

"Dominic!" He recognized the voice: it was Michaela. She was on the beach, a baby Zorua in her arms…it was him; it was Rex, Dominic Jr. or whatever he chose to call himself. She was looking out into the water shouting his name; he closed his eyes for a second, distraught, and when he looked again there was his father instead, his knees in the sand and his head in his claws.

"Arceus… I guess the darkness is better than me," he mumbled with a humorless smile just before several wild Pokémon leapt upon him, teeth gnashing and claws slashing; Dominic got to his feet and ran to his side, but something gripped his hind legs, pulling him to a stop. His eyes widened, then he shut them, turning away.

"Get up," the King jeered, grabbing Dominic's arm and pulling him to his feet. "Get up and see what you've done to everybody that's ever cared about you."


Dominic jerked awake at the feel of razor-sharp claws in his side; he stared down at the wound they created, the blood pouring red and hot down his leg. "Good, you're awake," someone said; he raised his head and stared down a long forest clearing full of Pokémon to the end, where another Zoroark was sitting on a withering tree stump. He had purple fur instead of Dominic's red and a scar that had his left eye sealed shut; he stared with a permanent scowl and an I-kill-you-type aura. "I was afraid you'd died out there."

"Uh-huh… Exactly who are you and who do you think you are to try and kid—nap—me?" He tried to push forward but his arms were outstretched, tied to a tree on either side of him by a cluster of vines.

"I am Lamont," he answered, grey eyes narrowing in warning. "…Do you have a problem with that?"

"Which are you?"

"Excuse me?"

"You know what I said, 'n' you know what I mean."

"Ah… You have too much of a mouth for your size."

"Yeah? Your mate's mouth is perfect for my size however." Even though they looked like they didn't want to, the other Pokémon laughed at that; Lamont's eyes narrowed to silver slits.

"I hate funny guys."

"Then youz and mez won'tz be gettin' alongz."

"You know what?" he sighed, raising his claws. "You're more pain than you're worth; I wanted to offer you a deal, but you're incapable of advanced thought processes, it looks like."

"What deal?" he sneered; Lamont waved him off.

"Why do you care, Lone Ranger?"

"I don't, but I don't have anythin' better to do."

"I know you're the King, the brass balls guy of southern Hoenn, the rebel with a thirst for blood and a hunger for carnage—"

"Lemme guess, you get most of your words offa cereal boxes."

"—and with my intelligence that is somewhat within the range of a normal living being's," he continued, irritated, "I think we can do well together."

"Do well, eh? That's not really my modus operandi…"

"Look who's speaking Cereal Box now," he snorted.

"I was a freak for 80s crime spit," he said, sticking out his tongue. "'nyway, I don't work with 'nybody—not even myself."

"Come on, don't be shy," Lamont said, beckoning him with a claw as if he was a pup; the action made him growl. "And on a side note, if you refuse, you die."

"That's not really a choice…"

"Who said it was?"

"Well, here's somethin' you should know: I don't like you."

"Not many Pokémon do," he admitted, "but around here, I'm the king."

"Really?" he asked derisively. "You're the king around here?"

"That's right." Dominic twisted his arm around, feeling the vine give a little. "Don't think you can cheat your own kind, your own flesh and blood, King," he added, brandishing his claws threateningly.

"I don't care about flesh and blood," he snarled. "My family, my parents and my adopted family, they've all died because of me; obviously, I don't give a crap about those close to me, those far from me, or anything or anybody in-between." He snapped the vine on his right arm, freeing it, and released a wave of dark energy that KO'd most of Lamont's Pokémon; the others were easily caught in a mass illusion. Lamont stood, hellfire burning from his claws and elbows; Dominic dragged his claws across a large boulder, sharpening them with a screech and a shower of sparks.

"You're crass, irascible, and from what I've heard and seen, clinically insane," Lamont said as they sunk into a crouch, circling each other, searching for weaknesses. "And yet you've never taken a plunge."

"A plunge?"

"You know…" He mimed snapping his neck.

"I don't want to die; that would be too easy for me, and it'd be what he wants."

"He who?"

"The King is the one in control, every minute of every day it is the King that kills!" he shouted, his voice reverberating off of the trees and sending the nearby bird Pokémon flying. "I hear those voices from Hell constantly, and the King revels in the sound; to join them would be ending him and his pitiful and hated existence but giving myself up, physically, spiritually…"

"I've killed more than my fair share as well, rebels and revolutionaries," Lamont said with a grimace. "It's not fun, is it?"

"…Dominic doesn't enjoy it."

"But there's not much else to do, not since the Legendaries have given up on us."

"I don't believe they've really given up," he countered. "I've been seeing them around for a…long time; they've just been watching…watching and having a laugh at our expense!"

Lamont made the first move, striking out with his claws and slicing away a part of Dominic's cheek; Dominic grabbed his wrist and pulled him forward, dealing a punch to his midsection. Lamont spit up, paralyzed, and Dominic snapped his arm before pushing him back into a tree, pinning him to the bark by his neck. "You're fast," Lamont praised quietly. "And relentless. But you should know something."

"What's that?"

"For a Zoroark, I'm quite good…at illusions." A terrifying headache surged between Dominic's temples, downing him, and when he opened his eyes he saw Lamont straddling his hips, his claws dripping a lot of blood with something in his palm, something that was…sort of moving…

"M-My…" Dominic grabbed his right arm—or what was left of it anyway, as Lamont tossed his limb deep into the woods.

"Keep on your toes, Your Majesty."

"…You too," Dominic sneered, breaking his own illusion with a sharp tug on Lamont's ears; he blinked wildly as he came to, but Dominic had already broken both of Lamont's legs. "Have you ever heard of Dominick Cobb?"

"Again," Lamont growled as another headache started; this time, Lamont had him bound to a tree upside-down with his hands crucified by his own claws. Dominic pulled a similar one, forcing Lamont to swallow his own foot, and Lamont retaliated by making Dominic swallow a handful of nightshade; a dozen illusions later, they finally returned to the real world, tired and sweating and out of ideas.

"You're not half bad," Dominic gave him.

"You as well… As I've said, we'd make a good team."

"As I've said…I don't work with anybody…not even myself."

"You're the only person that you can trust," he said.

"Maybe before…but not now. Some Dark-types are only the sum of their parts."

"And you believe that spiel?"

"I have to believe in something…or else I'll go insane." He laughed at the thought of it. "Oh, you really don't want to meet the King, Lamont."

"But isn't that you?"

"…Yes," he said, grinning manically. "…It is." He sliced at Lamont's shoulder, creating a thick flow of blood that spilled out onto the grass beneath them, staining it red.

"What?" Lamont said, eyes wide. "I can't…break the illusion…"

"Because it's no illusion," he told him. "The King never uses illusions." He lunged at Lamont again, pinning him by his arm to a tree, then he slammed his claws into Lamont's gut, feeling his blood pulse as it poured out of him; Lamont grimaced as his face paled, ears drooping weakly as he gripped Dominic's wrist.

"You're…pretty good," he smirked, voice hoarse. "You know…I met your dad once…we were strays, us two…he was…nothing like you…"

"Great." Dominic stabbed Lamont's good eye. "The King would hate to be like a wuss like him."

"Get up," the King jeered, grabbing Dominic's arm and pulling him to his feet. "Get up and see what you've done to everybody that's ever cared about you."

"The King doesn't care," Dominic retorted, grabbing the King's wrist in turn and tossing him forward into the water. "Because the King will burn away anything and everything that makes the mistake of trusting him in the first place."

The King was gone, leaving only Dominic's reflection staring back at him from the suddenly-still water. "You'll only drag others down until the day you die," his reflection said before grabbing his neck, pulling him under; the water held him down like a weight, pulling him further and further away from the moon and stars. That was pretty much what his mind felt like: heavy water holding him down, preventing him from getting to the surface to breathe. He could hear them, too: the voices of Hell.

"Let them scream," he murmured, folding his claws behind his head and moving with the current instead of fighting it. "I'm the only person insane enough to listen."

 

Bay

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The conversations between Rex and Dominic are interesting, especially a bit more talk concerning dark types/darkness.I do feel bad for Dominic feeling so overwhelmed by all of this and also the nightmare he had that featured Steven and his family.

So Dominic meets another Zoroark, huh? Makes me wonder if Lamont made it to Hoenn the same way Dominic did. The way Dominic finishes Lamon off is pretty brutal. Now that it seems Dominic's backstory is over, we'll be going back to the present. Looking forward to more!
 
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1.5. Heart Sundae

Spoiler:

"Did you lose a screw or something?" Reyes demanded, breaking the silence that had overtaken Dominic; he rolled his eyes a little before looking at Reyes as if coming from the recesses of his addled mind. "Why would you do that?"

"…Don't blow a gasket, Sceptile," Dominic muttered, snapping his claws; the illusion immediately dispelled, freeing the now-confused Slateporters. "There, it's all good."

"My arm begs to differ," he said through his teeth, indicating his still-healing arm. "What the hell is your problem?"

"You mean, aside from the usual?"

"Don't—you—care?"

"Why should the King care? It's not like they care about him… And anyways, they bore him; humans do the same thing all the time and it's so tedious and pointless. Their societies always fall apart because they can't figure out their own food chain so they always have damn fights and wars—why exactly are Pokémon below them?"

"Look, I don't know the source of your sudden attitude problem, but fix it."

"Make me," he sneered; Reyes' eyes narrowed.

"You don't want me to," he growled, his voice dropping an octave; Dominic just snorted. "Dominic, if I attack you, I cannot guarantee your life, not even for Alakazam."

"I should be telling you that." He started to move forward, claws spread, but Reyes knew his trick by now: he would mislead with his annoying banter and/or theatrics before striking, his speed working with his ruthlessness to get a good finishing shot right from the get go; he had the obvious skills of a practiced killer, so it would have worked on anybody else, but on the contrary, Reyes was a juggernaut, which made him capable of withstanding Dominic's attacks and sending them right back at him.

Dominic launched himself at Reyes with incredible speed, claws prepared to dig his organs out; Reyes grabbed his wrists instead, setting his heels in the dirt to hold his position, and twisted Dominic down into the ground, holding his arms behind his back. Dominic growled and tried to look into Reyes' eyes but he refused his gaze, staring adamantly at Dominic's leg, the one with the limp; there was an old scar that his fur had almost grown long enough to cover. Reyes held his leaf blade close enough to Dominic's neck that he could feel it slicing through the bandages into the teeth marks, reopening them and causing blood to stain his fur, but he went no further. "Kill me," Dominic demanded.

"Don't thing I won—" Dominic suddenly flipped Reyes, reversing positions, and dug his claws into Reyes' chest, getting globs of chlorophyll in his fur.

"Don't think the King won't kill you without a warning!" he said louder, slicing deep grooves into Reyes' neck that impaired his windpipe; luckily, being in the sunlight meant that the King's attacks were restrained, and also that he could continually heal himself. He pinned Dominic's wrists together with his vines and kicked him away; he flopped onto his back with an angry growl, fur bristling, and rushed Reyes again, claws out and flaming with dark energy. Reyes stood his ground and put his arms out; Dominic's claws sunk into his chest and stomach, giving him the biting sensation of dark energy, but he stood his ground, grabbing Dominic's forearms to slam him to the ground.

"You've made me," Dominic said, his eyes narrowing. The air around them shimmered with extreme heat; Reyes jumped away a second before Dominic and the area around him burst into large black fire, fire that was far from being illusionary. "Ah, now see what you've made me done?" he said in his King voice, standing up and brushing the dirt from his fur. "Now I have to get my hands dirty, all for a stinking revolutionary." He raised his claws, watching the flames skitter across and between them like a long black Ekans. "You should know that hellfire burns like…well, Hell; it's also impossible to douse, weak only to the pure blood of a Legendary Pokémon, and you know how hard it is to injure one of them."

"Chht," he snorted, backing away as the flames spread; they were fast, almost as fast as Dominic, and he had no chance of winning if he had to split his focus between the two of them. Reyes had only heard of hellfire; from what he'd read, it was the purest manifestation of dark energy in existence, burning away at anything and everything until the master had no negativity left to fuel it, and since it was Dominic he was facing, that sure as hell was a lost cause. "You've made me as well."

There weren't any trees around them, being Slateport, so that limited his move set, but there was one thing he could do; he learned it from Lilly a long time ago. He focused hard on the ocean, vast and free, and put all of his energy into containing that free spirit; the waves lapping at the sand increased in size and speed until they were lapping halfway up the beach, pulling beach towels and sand toys and colorful umbrellas away and into the current. Dominic set his jaw and lunged forward; Reyes sidestepped him, getting a bit of hellfire on his right arm as he did so, and let Dominic fall into the water. Reyes brought the water up around Dominic's head, sealing it in a bubble; he sat up as quickly as he could with his soaked mane, scratching at his neck as he gasped bubbles of air. "I can easily leave you to drown like that, Dominic," Reyes told him, although he couldn't be sure if Dominic heard him. Reyes glanced at his arm, which was still slowly burning and dripping chlorophyll, and cut it away; it fell to the ground and burned away without even ash.

"Bleergh!" Dominic exclaimed; it looked like he forgot that Reyes could do that. His claws dropped and he fell back against the wet sand, weakened; Reyes could have left him like that, Dominic would have drowned, and he could have told Alakazam that it wasn't his fault, that Dominic was too much to handle…

Then again, Brendan told him never to take the coward's way out.

He released the water bubble and it splashed to the ground; Dominic started coughing and sputtering, trying to clear his throat. "You should—cough—have just left me to die," he hissed.

"Is that what you want? To die?" Dominic looked into Reyes' eyes, but Reyes wasn't scared; Dominic's furious expression had dissolved into dissent.

"…Don't feel sorry for me," he muttered, dropping his head to the ground and letting his ears fall. "I'm no pity party."

"I can't help but feel sorry for you," Reyes said in a low voice. "Being alone is never easy."

"Shut up; I love bein' alone."

"…No, you don't; you're afraid that the loneliness will make you think, and you hate where your thoughts lead you."

"Get offa me! You're not my psychologist!"

"No, I'm not, but I've seen that expression countless times on both sides of the revolution. I'm not going to kill you because you're a kid, but you have to make an effort to clear up whatever is going on in your brain, not for me but for every person you'll meet, because the way you are now—"

"—I won't make friends, I won't have a family, I won't be loved," he sneered. "Maybe I don't want all of that."

"Maybe you don't want it," Reyes agreed. "But Dominic, you really do need it." Dominic got to his feet, muttering some nasty things under his breath as he squeezed his mane dry. "You're going to help the marketgoers and clean up the vendors' stalls, and you won't make a single complaint or else I'll personally have your head," he added, his voice dropping in warning. "It won't be a change, but it will be a start."

"And if I don't?"

"I'm not your parent," Reyes said simply, holding his eye contact; Dominic almost visibly withered under his gaze. Thinking about it, it was the first time Reyes didn't look at him with anger or pity or contempt; he probably wasn't used to it. "I'm not going to force you to do anything you don't want to; you have to choose to change yourself."

"Arceus you sound like a damn Christmas movie or something," he muttered under his breath, but Reyes held his eyes until he shuffled back to the booths. Huh, maybe Dominic had potential to change after all.

——————

Reyes watched Louis dock his boat on the pier, hopping onto the slick wood with a little difficulty. "You took your time in arriving," Reyes noted dryly; Louis chuckled, scratching behind his ear.

"Where's the enemy?" Reyes pointed at him still helping the vendors clean up. "He's actually helping humans?"

"Yes, and more or less of his own volition," Reyes replied. "He has the mind of a child and the fickle tendencies of the weather, but apparently he has some semblance of goodwill in him too."

"That's strange; I thought all rebels only cared about themselves."

"Louis, the rebels are like us in that they care about each other and they care about their cause, and so they care about anything that benefits that cause and will use any means necessary to attain their goals; even we do the same, you know." He sighed and shook his head. "It's just that a few of them are a little more twisted than others, but even so the King does have his good points."

"Like…?"

"Not that I've seen them yet, but I'm confident that they're in there somewhere." He looked over and noticed a pair of dark-haired children playing with a piece of broken glass, using it to reflect red-colored light on the cobblestones; Dominic was completely entranced by the trick, pouncing on the light and chasing after it.

"Maybe he's too stupid to really be a threat?"

"That's more good news than a good point; he does have the power to slaughter all of us…if his I.Q. wasn't in the negative regions." Dominic finally dropped on his back, exhausted, and the little girl came over and scratched his stomach; he giggled a little and laid back. "Dominic!" Dominic raised his head and sunk into another growl but he stood up, pushing the child away (not at all roughly, Reyes noticed) and stalked over.

"I did your damn work what else do ya want from me," he muttered under his breath.

"Dominic, we're leaving." His ears perked up.

"Really? Finally?"

"Dominic, this is Louis; he's a fellow revolutionary and the one in charge of the Transportation branch." He gestured to Louis, an amazingly naïve specimen of Monferno.

"Bastard," Dominic said to him. "You took your damn sweet time getting here, didn't you?"

"Uh…"

"Ignore him," Reyes said, punching Dominic in the side.

"Dominic?" Louis repeated. "That's your name?"

"Don't wear it out."

"Where did you come from?"

"I dunno, the water?"

"You mean a boat? Where did the boat come from?"

"I dunno…the water?"

"Yeah, boats are on the water, but where was it docked for you to get aboard?"

"I give up," he said.

"Let's go already." Luckily, Louis had brought along a boat decent enough to hold cabins, which was great considering that reaching Ever Grande would be an overnight trip, but conversely horrible, because that would mean sleeping within ten feet of "the King." "Louis, do the cabins have reinforced doors?" he asked Louis.

"Thankfully, yeah."

"Great…" He still may find a way though; I'm confident in his resourcefulness, he thought sourly. Killing is the only thing he's good at, really. He boarded the blue-painted boat and looked over his shoulder; Dominic was still standing on the dock staring at it with an awful expression on his face. "Dominic."

"Why," he groaned, jumping the short distance between the pier and the boat; his weight made the bow dip several inches.

"Arceus, why are you so heavy?"

"It's this damn fur," he said, somewhat offended; it was actually quite amazing that weight-based jokes hurt his feelings more than being called monster or psychopathic.

"You need to take everything out; if you were to fall in the water like that, you'd drown in a second," Louis said. Dominic groaned and stomped his feet, but regardless he undid his ponytail and shook his fur out; eighteen objects of various origin fell out, ranging obnoxiously from a stereo boom box to a framed painting that looked like it was stolen from a museum.

"Arceus, are you a pawn shop?" Reyes asked.

"Oh wait there's more." He combed his fingers through his fur and three fish Pokémon hit the ground: two Magikarp and a live Octillery. "Arceus," he commented, kicking the Octillery back into the water; it left a large puddle of ink on the floor. "Is that it, or is there a pat-down next?"

"That's it, isn't it?" Reyes asked Louis; he nodded his head.

"We're already stocked up, so we can leave right away." He untied the rope locking the boat to the pier and went inside of the main cabin; the engine started up seconds later, then Slateport was quickly shrinking behind them as they moved across the sea. Dominic stumbled slightly at the sudden movement, then he practically threw himself against the railing, his muscles tensing as he gripped it for dear life. Reyes really didn't understand why he was freaking out so much considering that they had just ridden a boat; surely he couldn't have gotten hydrophobic that quickly, then again it was hard to understand anything with him. Against his better judgment and his severely limited trust, he slowly approached Dominic from behind and placed a hand on his shoulder; Dominic didn't tense, which was good, but it wouldn't have made a difference anyway because he was already as tightly-strung as a rope.

"Please, no pity or therapy or psychology or reverse-freaking-psychology or some long-winded anecdote, Reyes."

"No, I just have a general question for you."

"…Huh?"

Reyes moved forward so he could stare out at the world too. "Does this look as beautiful to you as it does to me?"

"…Probably not," he answered honestly. "Frankly, you don't want to know what's out there in these eyes."

"Try me." He didn't expect Dominic to grab his wrist, and doubly didn't expect the image that overtook his eyes: he saw a sky clouded by grey plumes that poured shattering shards of rain like knives, stabbing at his skin and pounding furiously on the boat; below, the sea was black as lead and rolled as thunder, slapping and slamming against the hull and tossing them to and fro. He looked over at Dominic, who licked his chops carefully before moving his claws back to the railing; instantly, he stared at the calm blue water once more. "What was that?"

"Memories." He lowered himself until he could drop his chin on the railing, then he muttered something too quickly for Reyes to understand. "…Dominic doesn't remember too much because he's chosen to keep his memories with me; therefore, he can live a carefree lifestyle and I can be stuck with all of this damn emotional baggage!" he suddenly shrieked, dragging his claws down the streel railing, leaving deep scores in it but cracking his claws in the process. "Why do I have to be this way!?" Reyes didn't know how to interpret that statement; he could've meant having split personalities, but also could've meant being a Dark-type or even parentless and friendless. "I'm a Dark-type! I'm the Dark-type! I'm the King!"

"This whole time, you were the King, huh? Why is it you never tried to kill me?"

"…Tired," he grumbled, rubbing his ear between his claws. "And the King doesn't like chlorophyll; it's sticky and ugly and smells too sweet."

"That didn't stop you any other time."

"Uguuu the King finds you terribly annoying."

"I'm starting to understand you two a little better: Dominic is a teenager, always curious and playful and sarcastic and yearning for something interesting in life; you, the King, are what he's created within his mind to deal with all of…this. Does that make sense?"

"Not about the King," he countered; he frowned at the sea before returning his eyes to Reyes', completely serious. "Dominic can and will kill, not just when he has to. He seems innocent and easy-going, but don't be fooled; the one that killed those kids back in Rustboro was him, since he's the one that cares enough about factionless strays to avenge them or whatever."

"I'm not saying killing is ever good," Reyes said slowly, "but Dominic at least has more reason than you."

"Bah, reason; killing is killing whether it's done with good taste or no taste." He stuck his tongue out as a wave crashed against the hull, catching a mouthful of saltwater. "But you don't understand that, not quite yet; you still believe that a justified killing is straight, when in reality, when your hands are bloodied it doesn't matter why. The King prefers an easy kill; he doesn't need the baggage of reasoning or ethics with it."

"But why do you even exist in the first place?"

"Every Dark-type has a dark side," he explained. "Don't you remember that theory that all Dark-types come from darkness?"

"But it was just a theory; it was never physically proven by any Professor. Every study on the matter showed that Dark-types have just as much a propensity for evil deed as any other—except a Fairy-type, I guess."

"No, no it's not just a damn theory; how could a human prove something so strictly Pokémon? It's like saying there's a scientific reason that a cub seeks his mother's milk, or that a male seeks a female during mating season; there's no rhyme or reason to it, that's just the nature of things."

"Okay, let's assume that I take your word—your word—over the word of six trained professionals in all studies of Pokémon—how exactly does this work?"

"See, there are Dark-types that can overcome their blackness naturally; Dark-types that can overcome their blackness with the help of others; then there are Pokémon like Dominic who couldn't overcome even a Pidgey and instead fell prey to blackness—the blackest blackness, in fact, which is hellfire. That's about as Dark-type as you can get."

"Well, what made him so easy to corrupt?"

"…Dominic has a lot of fears," he finally admitted. "He has a lot, but I think that the strongest he has is the fear of death." Reyes could understand that, considering all of the death Dominic had to see. "Because of that fear, he was desperate to avoid death in any way, even if it meant giving himself away to the enemy."

"What?"

"Don't get me wrong, I don't have the key to immortality hidden in my mane," he said, letting out a breath. "But I am the King; with me, there's no chance in the world that he'd get killed."

"Killed…" Reyes repeated. "But it's inevitable that you will still die."

"Haha," he laughed. "What's it matter to Dominic? He's just as crazy as the rest of 'em."

——————

Reyes didn't know what woke him up, but at least it wasn't him lying in a pool of his own blood; he sat up in bed rubbing his jaw, glancing groggily at the wall clock. "Just past three, damn it," he mumbled, sliding to the ground; the boat rocked steadily beneath his feet, not sickeningly but still noticeably. He raised his head as the sound came again: it was a hurried knock on the door.

I bet I know who.

He opened the door and saw Dominic standing in the hallway, one arm holding his pillow to his chest and the other waving frantically in the air; obviously, that was Dominic. "Can I sleep over?" he asked, smiling hopefully.

"No." Reyes shut the door in his face.

"Pwease?"

"No." Dominic was quiet, then there was a thump as he sat down on the other side of the door.

"Can I be honest with you, Reyes? …I don't think I deserve to live."

"I could've told you that."

"No, really… I don't understand why I'm livin' now; I've never done anything but hurt others… But even so, I'm afraid of dyin', of what it means and would mean to my parents…"

"I do understand your problems, but I've heard this already and I cannot do anything about it."

"Uuu, you're right, you're always right Reyes." He sounded like he was crying a little. "I…I'm really really sorry for all the trouble that I and the King—mostly the King—caused you; it's not my…" He blew his nose into something Reyes hoped wasn't his mane. "Uuguuu! Why do I have to be this way!? I want to…I want to die…" Dominic stopped talking for a while, then he started muttering too quickly for him to understand.

"I came from here, except my parents were from Unova," he started. "My mom was adopted from a Pokémon Breeder and my dad was a stray picked up by the same guy. My name, also, wasn't always Dominic—that's actually my dad's name; my real name is Rex, Latin for king." He didn't say any more than that, but it was still a lot of new information about him; Reyes sighed and sat down with his back to the door and, he imagined, Dominic's back.

"My owner, Ali, was a seaman; he loved travellin' and going to new places, but not to battle, which his dad didn't like. He raised my parents from cubs, then he helped my mom when she was gonna have me. On the night I was born, it was stormin' horribly; my dad, he went out instead of stayin' with my mom, and nobody knows why, but he went out to the beach of Lilycove, maybe to catch some fish for his new child, who knows. He was attacked and killed by some wild Pokémon.

"My mom and Ali, they were killed during a storm at sea; I washed up, the only one still alive and only even 'cause my mom sacrificed herself to save me, and Steven Stone found me. I was with him for eight years—Pokémon time anyway—and then I found out somethin' about Dark-types: we're all dark inside, but some of us can overcome that darkness and be good Pokémon, and others are taken over by it; my darkness is strong, and it's strong because of the negativity that's been following me my whole life. My dad was shredded, my mom and Trainer were shipwrecked, and I killed Steven's Skarmory; my darkness is strong, and that's because I wreck everything I go near." Reyes already had some scars' worth of evidence. "…I'm so weak, I'd rather blame it all on the King…and he's still me…than admit that I'm just a walking trap."

"You are, though," Reyes said, staring out of his porthole. "You are a trap and you'll always be a trap."

"Huh?"

"Arceus, you don't have any positivity left in you."

"That's funny; I thought you were the pessimist."

"Not exactly, you just bring out the worst in me. Happiness does still exist, Dominic, so why can't you be happy?"

"I…could never allow myself that much—or rather, they wouldn't let me." Reyes was briefly reminded of when Dominic said that they chose him to be the King.

"Who is they?"

"The voices in my head." Dissociative identity disorder and schizophrenia. "You're probably thinkin' that I'm crazy, but 's okay, I told you that I am a while ago; I don't have a problem with it. I've accepted it all, I can take this…for the rest of my life…and for the rest of my life…I'll just be ridin' the current 'stead of fightin' it…"

"That's something most people would have a problem with." He waited a long while but Dominic didn't say anything else; Reyes opened the door and found him curled up with his pillow, fast asleep. Reyes kicked him in the side and he giggled, still asleep; he's an amazingly deep sleeper, Reyes thought. He gave up and nudged Dominic into his room, shutting the door, and threw his blanket over him; Dominic mewled and rolled onto his stomach, his voluminous mane hiding his face from view.

"T…Thank you…for never…" he mumbled sleepily; Reyes couldn't be sure if he was talking to somebody in his dream or not. He moved him over to the corner and returned to his bed, shutting off the light and staring out of the porthole; the sky was full of stars, except there was no moon. Odd, considering that it should have been a full moon that night; so where was Cresselia?
 

Bay

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Like that during the battle Reyes's strenghts of being able to withstand Dominic's assults and to heal gradually are acknowledged. Hm, I admit I'm scratching my head over Reyes able to learn Surf (I think it is?) even if Lily taught him. There is the move Grass Pledge, though, so that makes more sense.

Also nice to see Reyes having a bit of sympathy to Dominic. I chuckled at the Christmas movie line (and hey, it's close to the holidays =P) The part where Dominic has a lot of stuff hiding in his fur is amusing too, lol. The next scene with Dominic telling Reyes the short version of his backstory and then him falling asleep later was bittersweet. Looking forward to more!
 
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Author's Rant
Spoiler:


1.6. Even Demons Can Hope​

"Are we there yet are we there yet are we—" Reyes grabbed Dominic's muzzle and slammed him to the floor. "Reyes, that hurt," he complained, rubbing his jaw.

"Do I look like I care?"

"Why are you so mean today?" he whined before giving up, running to the railing to hop excitedly at the looming island holding Ever Grande City and the Pokémon League of Hoenn. He was only surly due to his goodwill of taking Dominic in, since he had the terrible terrible habit of speaking in his sleep, and on top of that he would kick at the walls or scratch the floors during nightmares; with all of that in his cabin, he didn't get any more than an hour of sleep.

"Morning," Louis said, coming out of the main cabin with a plate of Berries; he handed them to Reyes, who took them gratefully. "Sorry; I wasn't sure what you eat," he said to Dominic.

"Anything with a pulse," Reyes muttered.

"I eat those!" Dominic practically jumped over the railing, pointing at the rolling schools of Magikarp, Lumineon, and Feebas below them. "But I can't swim…"

"I can't dive down there, my fire will burn out," Louis said; both of them turned to Reyes.

"I won't go down there to catch fish for you to eat…it's against my ethics!"

"Please, Reyes?" Dominic pleaded.

"No way; just eat Berries."

"Berries aren't a real meal!"

"On the contrary, Berries have more nutrients as a meal than a fish." He offered his Berries to Dominic, who pulled a face and shook his head.

"Meat," he said staunchly, setting his jaw; Reyes shook his head, avoiding eye contact in case he had any funny ideas. It was only when he heard a splash behind him that he remembered that Louis didn't know Dominic's trick; he ran to the railing and saw him sinking below the surface, his fire creating a warm orange glow as it began fading. Reyes formed a vine and tied it into a loop, tossing it down into the water; it hooked around something heavy and he began pulling Louis free. He was more or less alright in the end, just drenched; he hadn't been underwater long enough for it to have caused lasting damage, but he was a little shaky from the temperature. There was a pair of large Magikarp held in his tail that he dropped on deck; Dominic instantly pounced on them like a wildcat, catching them as they tried to flop away.

"Stop it," Reyes snapped, stepping on his arm. "You need to stop treating other people and Pokémon so damn callously, because someday your karma will return full circle."

"The King does not believe in karma!" he proclaimed. "But he believes in immediate gratification!"

"Now I see why he's a rebel," Louis commented; Reyes sighed.

"He's not very good at learning lessons either." Reyes kicked the fish back into the sea. "But now you're hurting my friends, so you're going to be in a whole 'nother game; you'll learn respect, you'll learn restraint, and you'll learn to relent, or so help me I'll slice you up so badly Hell won't know what to make of you."

"The King doesn't find your threats amusing," he snorted; Reyes grabbed him by his nose, bringing him up until he could slice away the tip of Dominic's ear.

"They aren't meant to be." Blood poured down Dominic's face from the wound; he touched it in disbelief, then he grinned.

"That'a boy, Sceptile; it's no fun if the prey don't wanna fight back." Reyes released him, and somehow he landed perfectly on his feet.

"You're going to apologize to Louis."

"Why in hell—" Reyes slashed at his face, an attack he just barely managed to deflect with his claws; sparks flew from the contact and Dominic's wrist made a painful snapping sound from the force he needed just to defend himself. Reyes grabbed Dominic's head and forced him down in a bow; he grumbled beneath his breath, "I'm sorry."

"You're sorry what?"

"I'm sorry for almost drowning you Louis!" he repeated, breathlessly angry; Reyes released him and he slunk back to the railing, gripping it as he lowered his head out of view.

"I mean, I can tell that he's somewhat of a good guy…at least, he never tried to kill us in our sleep or anything," Louis said to Reyes, twiddling his thumbs anxiously, "but it's not all that smart to make friends with him."

"Does it look like we're friends?"

"Sort of, yeah."

"It's a good thing your species isn't the Clarity Pokémon." He watched as Ever Grande's docks came into view and helped Louis moor the boat on the pier; Dominic didn't move for several seconds even after the boat was secured to a post, and it wasn't until Tex came down that he actually made any gesture, although it was one of alarm and surprise. "Tex, quit doing that; you scare the crap out of everybody," Reyes told it.

"P-P-Porygon-Z?" Dominic stammered, still in shock from his appearance; Tex immediately began buzzing about him, causing his mane to frizz out from his constant electric emissions. "O-Oi, that hurts," he complained, trying to move away; Tex just followed him, being the annoying virtual insect that it was.

"Tex, what are you doing here?"

"MEET-MEETING THE NEW GUY," it replied, finally backing away from Dominic. At that point, his fur was so fluffy he looked like a red and grey fur ball; Louis had to cover his mouth with all four hands to keep from laughing aloud.

"The Sharpedo will be feasting upon your tongue," Dominic warned him; Reyes grabbed his ear, pulling his head down.

"Let's go already, Tex," Reyes said; they walked up the crudely-carved stone staircases to a ledge, where they each had to climb ladder rungs made of rocks embedded into the stone wall to reach the downhill end of the city. They had to hike through some tall grass, fending away the natural wild Pokémon there (and also prevent Dominic from eating the smaller ones) before they reached the final checkpoint, which was the "gate" situated around the city; it was only seven feet long and seemed paltry, but that was because the actual gate was a psychic barrier held up twenty-four/seven, barring the city from all types of Pokémon, and though he had never visited Sootopolis, he assumed that the rebels had something similar.

"…Reyes, you've returned safely," Azalea beamed, throwing her arms around him as he came near; he returned the hug before pulling away, and she began examining the others. "And Tex, Louis…I'm assuming the one that I can't sense is the King?"

"Yes, that would be Dominic; he is a Dark-type."

"Maybe if you took off that blindfold you'd see me," Dominic pointed out; Azalea just smiled, kind no matter who it was.

"That still wouldn't work… You see, my physical eyes were injured a long time ago; I can't see through them at all."

"Really?" he asked, eyes wide; a second later, that "King" expression crossed his face as he whispered something to Azalea, resulting in her slapping him so hard Reyes' jaw ached.

"What did he say?"

"Nothing that a proper lady should repeat," she huffed, indignant; Dominic whined, clenching his swelling cheek. "You all may pass." She held up a hand to the gates; they parted, and less visibly, a hole appeared in the barrier for them to go through—in fact, the gates were only even a marker to know where the hole would be because of the barrier's consequences. Reyes, Louis, and Tex used the gates like normal freaking Pokémon, but Dominic, extraordinary as he was, tried leaping over them; he received a face-full of barrier, then a face-full of the potent psychic energy it held, which manifested on him as a field of silver electricity. (The contact varied between Pokémon for reasons unknown; for Reyes, it was a strong Fighting-type punch in his reproductive organs…all both of them.)

"Are you alright," Reyes asked, although he was so uncaring of the answer that it was barely even a question. Dominic hit the ground in a larger fluff than before; he remained still for exactly three seconds before getting to his feet.

"Bashtaaard," Dominic slurred, grasping his ears in his claws as he shook his head.

"I've heard, come on." Reyes waited for Dominic to stumble his way through the hole, then let Azalea seal it up behind them; he expected ten seconds of silence from Dominic at least, but he only got two.

"That Gardevoir was haaaawt."

"She's got a mate," Louis told him.

"Not that I care!" Dominic said.

"Dominic, don't." They had to walk a few more pathways and do a little more hiking, something he could've done without Dominic's endless complaints, but they finally reached the last ledge in the mountainous city; Dominic's head went back and his jaw dropped in awe at the sight of Ever Grande City.

The entire place was blooming with flowers, seeing as it was early spring, and when Ever Grande was in bloom it truly was grand; roses, daisies, hydrangeas, myosotis, rhododendrons, tulips, violets, et cetera all opened up to all colors of the rainbows and then some, peeking out with no shame whatsoever from every corner of the ground not taken up by the cobblestone path. The buildings were revamped, all built from naturally-made products to give it the same appearance as plaster but more eco-friendly (and being duly appreciated by Grass-types) and none were as dilapidated as those within the rebels' cities or the humans cities (no matter how much the revolutionaries befriended them, they were still some polluting bastards); cars were there too, but very few considering the people mainly walked and had the friendly neighborhood Pokémon to offer to carry heavy burdens. Shops and stores abounded, national parks were all over, and very few walked around appearing downtrodden; in short, Ever Grande was as close to a paradise as that world was going to get.

"Since the revolutionaries are situated here, there are little to no attacks; therefore, we're not constantly on guard or have to have weapons constantly at the ready," Reyes told Dominic, who still hadn't fixed his dislocated jaw. "Also, we're not always doing repairs and humans are free to raise families here; this is one of the nicest cities still remaining on the Earth, if you couldn't see."

"I… Flowers?" He bent down to pluck one of the flowers from the ground, taking a sniff. "It's weird…so weird…" He stuck it in his fur so that the sunflower's petals stuck out and got down on all fours, sniffing at more of them; remembering what happened the last time he had a taste of life, Reyes grabbed him by his ponytail, pulling him back.

"Alakazam is over in the Pokémon Center; you're going to talk to him, then you're going to get the hell out of here before you ruin our lives."

"Aye aye," he muttered; Reyes herded him towards the Pokémon Center, getting a few unnecessary stares in the process. The glass doors pinged softly as they slid open, blasting them with cool air and the crisp scent of cinnamon as they entered; Nurse Joy and her Chansey were speaking to a young Trainer with his two Eevee, and there were only a few other Trainers within the lobby. Tex and Louis separated from them to attend to their own duties; Reyes released Dominic and he started sniffing around, not saying anything for a long while.

"Alakazam is in the basement area," Reyes said.

"I'm really gonna meet him, huh?" he muttered, awe in his voice. "Blaziken told me that if I ever were to meet Alakazam, gut him on sight." The rebels' leader wasn't known for his mercy, in any event.

"I really hope you don't; despite your Dark-type, he is powerful enough to chuck you like a skipping stone."

"I…don't think I get the simile."

"Not that it matters; you'll probably get to see it yourself." Reyes opened the backroom's door for him, allowing him into the stairwell; they walked the short distance into the cold basement where a few revolutionaries lurked. "Alakazam's right there," a Mightyena said, nodding his muzzle in the direction of a door; Reyes nodded back and glanced at Dominic, who was looking all around as if Death itself was going to spring out of nowhere and claim him. He knocked twice on the door, and when he didn't hear anything he pulled it open. "You first," he told Dominic; Dominic shook his head and latched onto Reyes' tail, so he gave up and moved on.

The room was entirely empty save for a bright red pillow set in the middle of the wooden floor, and on it was Alakazam, even though he was actually hovering a few inches above it, legs crossed and spoons poised as if for an invisible bowl of soup. "Alakazam—" Reyes started.

"Good afternoon," he interrupted, scratching his long grey whiskers; the spoon remained in the air even as his hand moved.

"It's actually morning."

"My mistake," he chuckled; he cracked open an eye, looking at Reyes and then Dominic. "And good after—morning to you, Your Majesty." He even bowed a little, but since it was Alakazam it was more amusing than derogatory; Dominic sort of mumbled something that sounded dangerously like "Revolutionary scum." "I wouldn't say that we're all scum," Alakazam countered evenly, twirling his spoon psychically.

"Reyes is, as far as I've seen, not scummy-scum," he concurred, causing Reyes' eyes to widen slightly; as far as Dominic's mind went, that was a compliment, but it was odd considering how detestable Reyes acted around him.

"Why is that?"

"Because he can kill!" You fool, Reyes thought but didn't speak aloud. "But uh, in all seriousness, why did you wanna talk to me? I'm sorta a rebel…and you're sorta the big revolution'ry…"

"I'm aware of the differences in our positions, however…Reyes, may you please leave?" he said, interrupting himself to stare at Reyes.

"Yes, sir."

"No, no, stay." Dominic grabbed his arm, stopping him. "Please, Alakazam sultan President Prime Minister sir?"

"…Reyes, do you want to stay?" Alakazam asked him; Reyes shrugged a shoulder, but he immediately felt the tingling sensation of more than just Alakazam's eyes searching him.

"Excuse me, sir, but my mind is mine," he said, clenching a fist but quickly loosening his grip; Alakazam relented, but with an odd expression on his aged face.

"You may stay, Reyes; now, King…"

"Dominic! I mean, my name is Dominic," he amended, still looking around as if he expected to be attacked at any moment; considering his position, it was highly likely, but he hadn't shown any fear of the revolutionaries yet—perhaps it was Alakazam's aura of power that had him on edge.

"Dominic," he corrected. "How exactly did you become 'the King'?"

"Oh, I killed the last four territory leaders," he said offhandedly. "And it's not exactly like I became the King; I could've also been the Dominic."

"Then why did you become King instead of Dominic?"

"Because my name, orig'nally, was Rex."

"Interesting… Why did you change it?"

"I…didn't change it; my new-old owner did." Dominic shivered a little as if the memory itself was bone-chilling.

"What was the person's name?"

"S…Steven Stone." He was getting incrementally more paranoid.

"The old Champion who died during the beginning of the revolution? Who was your owner before him?"

"A guy…a boatman—seaman…Ali Stuart. He had me and my mom after my dad was killed by wild Pokémon."

"Er, Alakazam, you only wanted to see him to know more about him? because if you plan on killing him, it would be a bad idea…due to how it would throw the rebels' chain of command out of sorts," Reyes inserted.

"I'm aware of that, Reyes," Alakazam said coolly, eyes still on Dominic; he clamped his claws around his mouth, shaking slightly. "Dominic, who were your parents?"

"Sho… Two Zoroark…Michaela and Dominic…"

"Hm… Can I ask you one more question?"

"On top of the eighty-something you just did? Suuuure," Dominic muttered bitterly.

"I don't suppose you remember every Pokémon you've killed?"

"Why in hell should I?" he said, although his tone wasn't as fiery as it ought to have been. Reyes assumed that Alakazam had a problem with the amount of revolutionaries Dominic killed; if so, then he also might have been planning to… Oh, how obvious of such a genius Pokémon! Yet, if Alakazam were to kill Dominic at that moment…why should Reyes have cared? He had been nothing but a pain in the neck and had given him nothing but pains in his bloodstream; he killed many, rebels and revolutionaries and humans, and surely wouldn't stop at Reyes' behest. No, the King wasn't worth saving at all.

"I see… Then I have a request for you." He sat up a little straighter. "Would you perhaps join us, not officially but in aid?"

…Is he serious? Arceusdamnit, he's a rebel! He's the King! Reyes thought, flabbergasted, and Dominic said it aloud.

"I am very aware of what you do, and that's exactly why I want your help."

"You want me to be some sort of double-agent? You should know, I don't play that s—"

"Shut up?" Reyes told him.

"He was talking to me!"

"And you sound like an idiot!"

"Do not!"

"Do so!"

"Do—not!"

"Do—so!" Alakazam interceded with a soft ringing of his spoons like a tuning fork, although the noise seemed amplified in his meditation room.

"I find it smarter for you to leave Blaziken's side and come to mine, Dominic; the rebels have their power, but they're truly not going anywhere, and I think that something better should be offered to you considering your…upbringing. Be honest with yourself: do you like what you're doing now?"

"The King likes it," he said testily; Alakazam raised his eyes to the ceiling for a moment before closing one, looking Dominic up and down.

"Be honest with yourself visually," he said cryptically; Dominic scoffed through his teeth. A slight breeze passed through the sealed room, and although Reyes was standing behind him, he could feel something had changed; his thoughts were confirmed when he moved forward. Dominic had had him under an illusion the entire time, he realized, and maybe everybody else too with their lackluster reactions upon meeting him. He had so many injuries it was far from funny, from his chewed-off ear to claw marks on his muzzle baring some of his teeth to a genuine hole-shaped scar near his heart; one of his claws were broken off to a jagged stump and he was also a living embodiment of the phrase "stab you in the back." As bad as Reyes thought of the King, he was glad that he did his sort of censorship; that sort of appearance brought on new waves of feelings for him.

"Dominic is tired of it all," he said in a weary voice, sitting down and covering his nose with his claws. "Tired tired tired tired. But what's the difference? If I join the revolution'ries, then that's just changin' my beat-downs to the rebels, and it'll be worse; they'll call me a traitor, try to get revenge twen'y-four seven. I jus'…won't."

"And that's your final answer?" Alakazam asked, expression blank; Dominic nodded, standing up, and he visually phased back to the appearance Reyes was used to—thank Arceus for that one.

"…Was that a test?" Dominic asked all of a sudden, his fur standing on end; with how much he had, it made him look like a medieval flail. "'cause if it was, I have a different answer—"

"No, I very much prefer your honesty," he interrupted. "But there is one more question I'd like to ask of you, then you can be on your way."

"H-Huh?"

"Firstly, that was indeed a test, and I'm interested to see how strong your loyalties are; now, to get to the point of all of this…you owe me a very large sum, King."

"What? I don't have money…" he said. "…Well, I do, but I've never lent it to you…I think."

"Not monetary, but metaphorically; I'm referring to the value of a life."

"One life? I'm sure I've killed dozens of revolution'ries…no offense, but yeah, sorry, not sorry."

"But this life matters most to me," he said, his eyes graver than Reyes had ever seen. Reyes was briefly reminded of why Alakazam became a revolutionary in the first place: a rebel had killed his wife some long years ago—five at best, and the rebellion had been going strong for seven, and Dominic was active for all seven, but he couldn't have… No, actually, that sounded too much like something that Dominic would do, and that meant—

"Arceus," Dominic whispered, and he turned and barreled into Reyes just as an unbelievable amount of pure psychic energy raged through the room; the walls split and plaster disintegrated, causing dirt to spill into the room as the foundation was wrecked, and the floor was torn away and fried with the heat of the energy. Reyes stumbled to his feet to find Dominic's arms wound around his neck in a vise grip; he wasn't letting go anytime soon and that was for certain, and he made Reyes a target too.

"Get off of me!" Reyes yelled, running past the blown doorway to the stairs.

"Nooooo I'm scared," he whined. "He's trying to kill me!"

"That's called karma! Don't make him kill me too!" He could barely move without stumbling, and he felt Alakazam's energy tingling on the back of his neck; he finally grabbed Dominic by the waist and pulled him free just in time to receive a particularly strong bout of Psywave, knocking them to the ground and breaking the staircase down into chunks of rock.

"Are we stuck down here?" Dominic asked, eyes wide and glowing in the semidarkness; Reyes gritted his teeth.

"Why, now, are you so bearable? Had you been as annoying as you have been since I met you, I'd find this a lot easier…!"

"I'm sorry!" he blurted, squeezing his eyes shut. Reyes lurched to his feet and grabbed Dominic's arm before extending his leaf blades to their full length, stabbing into the ceiling above them without time to worry for whoever was above; it collapsed entirely on them, hopefully slowing Alakazam, and he used his hand to Dig free, covering Dominic's snout to prevent him from opening his trap and sucking in a mouthful of dirt. He burst through the asphalt and onto the street, seeing a crowd gathering at the tumultuous sounds that originated from the Pokémon Center and its basement—which had both collapsed, he now noticed.

"Dominic, are you alright?" Reyes asked, pulling him free and dropping him on the ground; he started coughing up a lung, spitting out clods of mud and clay and wiping it from his eyes.

"I've been worse," he sputtered, scratching his tongue clean.

"Why did you kill his wife!?"

"I never killed no Alakazam's wife! I would've remembered that!" Reyes grabbed his ear angrily.

"Come on, you barely even remember which way is left!"

"Ow, ow—yeah, but I really would've, I swear on Arceus! I really believe that that's one voice I've never heard…" They broke apart as a column of flames burst between them, rising high into the air and singing Reyes' skin.

"He's so intent on getting to you that he doesn't care about everybody else!" Reyes shouted at him. "You've messed up big-time, Dominic!" More flames were appearing, scattering around them—apparently the first one was just lucky.

"Then why are you still here?" he shouted back, clenching his claws. "Why aren't you going to fight me with your leader, huh? Why are you standing with me instead of against me!"

"Every single damn thing you've done so far is inexcusable!" he countered, "and yet I still can't watch an unwarranted death!"

"My death is far from unwarranted," he said in a low voice, eyes narrowing. "In fact, it'd just be easier for everybody if I gave up now—"

"You won't be giving up—not now, Dominic!" He felt a painful shock of energy run through his skull; concurrently, the revolutionaries around them looked up to something he couldn't see or hear—Alakazam. In the next second, they dropped whatever they were doing to begin advancing on the two of them; Dominic backed away, glancing at Reyes, but he couldn't focus on him. The revolutionaries formed a wave to lunge at them, Alakazam still working to free himself from the ground while releasing waves of energy—

—and the dirt quaking beneath his feet stole his focus from the scene ahead. He blinked, rubbing his eyes furiously to clear them as a tight grip appeared on his arm; he was pulled away from the action as Brendan's Gardevoir, Azalea, led him to the side. Her large scarlet eyes narrowed with worry as she pulled him away just as a humungous ball of red and orange fire slammed into the ground, decimating it until a large crater was left. "Pay more attention, Reyes," she warned, hiding behind an old Pokémon Mart.

"I…I'm trying, Lea, but it's all so…" He covered his ears briefly as a boom! sounded from across Fortree City, felling yet another tree. "…overwhelming!"

"Come on! We have to find Brendan!" she urged, grabbing his arms and shaking some sense into him. He covered his eyes for a moment, taking deep, shaky breaths. "You're the one he trusts most, Reyes; he needs you!"

"You…You're right, you're right. Thank you, Azalea." She smiled brilliantly, then she gasped and pulled him to her chest as a bolt of lightning struck feet away from them; he felt his skin get singed from the intense heat, but he could regrow it easily. "I hope…we can both make it through," he said to Azalea.

"Me too," she replied, releasing him; not a second later a Mawile's huge jaws clamped around her body, her eyes widening in alarm. Reyes grabbed her arms, pulling her back, but the Mawile was like a dog with a bone; she cried in pain, and he realized at that moment that it was smarter to let go of her. The Mawile pulled her away—


"Reyes, snap out of it!" Dominic shouted, grabbing Reyes' forearm hard enough to dig scores into his skin.

"This is…just like…back then…" His throat was so dry it felt as if it had been razed by Groudon's claws; his heart was racing and he could barely focus on the scene ahead of him. "Just like…"

"Oh, Arceus!" he complained, grabbing both of Reyes' arms and ramming his head into Reyes'; the pain brought his eyes to Dominic. "Let's get out of here!" He turned to the others and raised his arms; a wall of hellfire erupted between them and the revolutionaries, burning away Ever Grande's beautiful buildings and flowers. He pushed Reyes backwards and they started running, heading back to the port.

"W…Why are you helping me?" Reyes asked.

"Because—" He stumbled at the ledges, nearly falling over; Reyes grabbed his arm, steadying him, and he locked his eyes on a speedboat at the pier. "—you're the first person in a long time to risk yourself for me, and I'm…grateful, Sceptile." They hopped and skidded down the ledges as the revolutionaries advanced, headed by none other than Alakazam himself.

"Reyes, why you?" he called, a genuine expression of disappointment on his face. "You're one of my most passionate revolutionaries, always looking to help the people; why are you hurting them now by aiding this one?"

"First of all, we're the people's revolutionaries, not yours," Reyes called back, feeling a bit of his confidence return. "And secondly…I don't know; I've probably just caught his crazy."

"Bunch together a group of people deliberately chosen for strong religious feelings, and you have a practical guarantee of dark morbidities expressed in crime, perversion, and insanity," Dominic said.

"I'm sorry, Azalea," he said to her, "and Louis too, but…" He backed away, stepping onto the pier and untying the speedboat's knot. Suddenly there was a strong Psychic-type grip on him, not just one but two Pokémon's energy; he felt himself being lifted, and he probably would've been tossed into the water like a rock if Dominic hadn't grabbed his arm, cancelling the energy transfer. They jumped onto the boat and Dominic immediately fired up the motor; it spat water out angrily as it worked, then they were tearing away from Ever Grande City.

You won't get away, Reyes, Dominic, Alakazam warned psychically. It may not be today, may not be tomorrow, may not even be next week, but eventually, we will catch you two, and you will receive the ultimate punishment.

"What are you thinking about?" Dominic asked, perplexed; Reyes exhaled slowly.

"Alakazam's last threat. I hate to think of it, but now I'm like you." He sat down on the bench, clenching his hands to prevent them from shaking; just thinking about the enemies they now had was making him…

"Huh?" Reyes raised his head, a wry smile on his face.

"We're both enemies of the world."
 

Bay

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"P-P-Porygon-Z?" Dominic stammered, still in shock from his appearance; Tex immediately began buzzing about him, causing his mane to frizz out from his constant electric emissions. "O-Oi, that hurts," he complained, trying to move away; Tex just followed him, being the annoying virtual insect that it was.

That part was amusing, heh.

"That Gardevoir was haaaawt."

"She's got a mate," Louis told him.

"Not that I care!" Dominic said.

Haha, oh wow.

Well, that meeting with Alakazam took an unexpected turn. If Dominic did indeed killed Alakazam's wife, no wonder Alakazam is full on intent on getting rid of him. And yup, now both sides are going after them. I quite like the "we're both enemies of the world" line there. Looking forward to more!
 
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