[PKMN FULL] [T] Delirium [IC]

After waking up, as Julia prepared herself to the second day of travel she allowed her Pok?mon to interact and get to know each other a bit. Pearl was very friendly to the twins, but Sage did not stray far from Summer and seemed wary of the other two Pok?mon, especially of Einstein, who would occasionally spout water, causing a tizzy. Another trainer occupied one of the other top bunk beds, Julia was nervous that they would wake him up, but he seemed to sleep like a rock.

Julia headed into the forest, leaving all of the Pok?mon out of their respective balls. The trees clumped together and provided plenty of cover from the sun. Sage and Summer stuck together, trotting a ways ahead of Julia. Sage nuzzled his sister and Julia grinned brightly. Pearl?s new form thudded along next to her, on its hind legs, only two feet shorter than Julia. Julia was slightly uncomfortable with the added bulk, but she could not help but marvel at the wonders of evolution. Einstein casually floated behind her, staring blankly at her legs.

The path opened up, and suddenly they were on a large cliff. Julia did not realize they had traveled so far uphill, but the group stood along a ledge that was no more than a foot long. Beneath them, the forest stretched out for miles like a sea of trees. Julia?s eyes widened and she immediately returned Pearl. A giant metal creature would not be the best for structural integrity. Sage quaked behind Summer, who did not look particularly pleased either. After marveling at the height for an instant, Julia returned them as well. She looked back at Einstein, ?Guess it?s you and me then, huh??

Einstein did not react.

Julia sighed and pulled out her journal, sketching the surrounding area as best as she could. The river extended out beneath her, and she could see the delta out in the distance, feeding into the sea. It was very far away, but it glimmered softly like a curtain of diamonds. The sky was pure blue, dotted with fluffy, pure white clouds that danced through the air. The wind must have been blowing relatively quickly because the clouds rapidly swirled about themselves, folding into each other and breaking apart. After staring at this display for too long, Julia?s eyes began dry and tear up.

She sighed and pressed onward.

A couple hundred feet later, half of the path fell away, and all that was left was a thin ledge that would force Julia to press herself against the side of the cliff. Julia glanced downward, but only a hundred foot drop greeted her. The woman pursed her lips and looked along the ledge, noting all possible hand and foot holds. She quickly brushed off both of her feet and started the trip.

Julia began to inch carefully along the sharp drop, plastered onto the cliff side like a bug on a windshield. She grabbing onto hanging vines and placed her feet with precision. Her beige boots dug into the earth, which crumbled a little, precariously, beneath her feet. Einstein floated behind her, unphased, but similarly sticking close to the soil wall next to the duo.

After a few minutes of maneuvering, it became abundantly clear that the path was no longer viable. Julia could barely fit the length of her foot along the ledge. After glancing around her surrounding for a few moments, Julia noticed that directly above her a more promising plateau awaited. From what little she could see, it looked to be a curved top of the mountain she was on, or at least of a miniature peak. It was relatively flat and would give her a good vantage point for her surroundings.

With a bit of effort Julia pulled herself up, kicking her feet wildly to get some needed leverage against the sheer cliff side. With a grunt she hoisted herself up, straining against the rough dirt. She pulled herself over the edge of the cliff and onto the plateau. Before allowing herself to get too comfortable, she reached down to grab Einstein, who flung himself upwards into her arms. He thudded against her clavicle harshly, but Julia managed to get a grip on him anyways.

Julia laid back into the ground, letting a sigh escape from her lungs like air out of a torn balloon. Her brown hair pooled around her head like a halo of auburn. Thus far, the hike had proved to be significantly more strenuous than she had expected, after the cities were closed off Julia lost a lot of her endurance.

Julia?s thoughts were interrupted by a shrill little voice calling out, ?Gem! Gembur!? In surprise, Julia glanced to the right, noticing a pair of stout, brown Pok?mon. Each Pok?mon had large ears that extended the length of their bodies with red insides that swiveled back and forth. They had large, pink eyes with little pointed noises and a singular gem inset in each of their foreheads. One Gembur had an emerald forehead-gem and the other had a garnet. The two gems glinted in the sun as Julia glanced in between the two Pok?mon. After a moment, the emerald Gembur hissed and lunged toward Julia.

With no hesitation a stream of water erupted from Einstein, rocketing into the Gembur and tossing it to the side. The Rock Digger Pok?mon rolled onto its hind legs, and launched itself at the Minu, slamming its head into Einstein, sending him rolling. The garnet Gembur decided to join the fray and leapt forward, digging its claws into the ground and tossing sand all over the poor water type.

Julia clambered onto her knees and yelled helplessly at her Pok?mon, ?Water Gun Einstein!!? Einstein floated up again and let loose a stream of water at his new assailant, who jumped out of the way. The emerald Gembur launched toward Einstein with Headbutt again, but he quickly used Protect, stopping the Pok?mon in its tracks.

At point blank range, Einstein rotated and covered the Pok?mon in water, causing it to fall to the ground and roll backward. The garnet Gembur knocked into Einstein with another Headbutt, pushing the Minnow Pok?mon scarily close to the edge. Julia let out a guttural cry. With a renewed effort, the two aggressing Pok?mon lunged forward simultaneously, smashing into the shape of Einstein.

Einstein slid back, a temporary layer of Protect shielding him.

He then began to glow.

Julia couldn?t help but grin.

After the bright light subsided, a new species of Pok?mon curled in front of her. Einstein?s blank stare was replaced with cruel and calculating, sharp, pure-white eyes, dented into a crudely hooked, beige body that looked like it was designed to slice. The pink and tan fan extended around the hook creating a frill and a large tail that stroked powerfully through the air. On either side of its body were two miniature wings made of the same substance. Einstein?s head was adorned in a strip of silver covered in some very sharp spikes that Julia did not feel comfortable putting her hands near. His body had three cyan rings encircling it, covered in spikes like a choke collar.

Einstein screeched like grating metal and tossed himself into the two Gembur, knocking them back into the plateau. Julia cheered and Einstein released a cannon of water at the emerald Gembur, knocking it out cold with his new strength. The garnet Gembur tried one last Headbutt, but Einstein?s new steel typing kept him safe. Julia grinned.

With one final Water Gun, both Gembur were unconscious on the rock. Julia finally exhaled a sigh of relief and rose to her feet, surveying Einstein?s new shape. Einstein lacked the empty stare that normally accompanied interaction with him. His eyes remained sharp, as if he was still in a battle. ?Thanks for the help Einstein, but I think you?re done for today,? Julia smiled at him. He did not acknowledge her as he vanished into the Pok?ball.

Julia glanced around her surroundings, noting that the sun was beginning to set, but also that she could discern the imprint of Celeste City in the distance, the peaks of skyscrapers yearning over the layer of trees that separated herself from civilization again. Julia decided she was going to cherish the next few hours she had in the wilderness.

The plateau extended in front of her for a few hundred feet, but was only an eroded top of a smaller mountain, next to a higher one on the range. The foliage was mostly brown briar, nothing suitable to eat if need be. But, a little ways off, in the direction of Celeste City, a path was carved through the mountainside, something that looked as if it used to be used by people before the Hysteria hit. Julia decided she was going to take that path and grinned, curious to see what effects nature running rampant on the path would do to it.​

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Julia slowly trod along the path in front of her. The ground beneath her feet was covered in sparse grass and stones, an occasional small bush in the middle of the path. Despite what Julia was expecting, nature had not really overtaken this path in two years, she guessed it was still a walkway for wildlife, maybe the Protectors scouted along it. Who could say?

Julia had let Sage and Summer out of their Pokéballs, they trotted to and fro, hanging a little ways behind her. There was plenty of room for Pearl here, but Julia figured she should get to know her new pair of twins better instead. Summer was constantly on the lookout, ears poking straight upwards, head on a swivel. She hardly interacted with Julia at all. Sage, on the other hand, was much more affectionate. He trotted up to Julia and nudged his head into her left leg, sniffing her. Julia lazily floated her hand down to scratch the underside of his neck. He leaned into her touch and whinnied softly. Julia grinned.

The light had faded significantly and Julia cursed herself for leaving her flashlight on the ground somewhere by the cabin. The night didn't scare her, but being able to see was still pretty important.

A shriek echoed through the quiet air, the call of some bird. Julia glanced about, but she could not make anything out in the low light. Summer ran ahead of Julia and stopped, leaning forward and looking out over the drop down to where the forest lay. The Fawbi's tapetum lucidium glinted cyan blue, making her eyes appear like miniature homing beacons, searching for a target. "Summer, relax. It's nothing," Julia walked forward and nudged the fawn Pokémon. The Pokémon did not relax at her touch, but moved forward, leading the group now.

Celeste City could be no more than thirty minutes away from the group at this point, and Julia was keen on getting there before the light totally died. Maybe this trip would have been better suited to take three days instead of two, but she lacked a map to plot a course with, and, although there were supposedly more cabins in the woods, Julia had no idea where they were. The Lead Protector of Celeste City could probably help with that for her future travels.

Sage yipped and bounced over to a small tree poking out of the mountainside on the left side of the trail. The tree was about two feet tall and hung over the path like a draped curtain. The bough of the tree strained upwards, but supple, round fruit held it down, anchoring it in space. Sage craned his neck upward and grasped a fruit in his jaws, pulling down. With a snap the fruit popped off of the branch and the tree was momentarily pulled deeper into its lunge, before being released and rising a bit higher than it had before. In the dim light the leaves fluttered softly, lime green. Julia leaned in and squinted at the fruit, the light blue color gave them away as oran berries.

Julia plucked one off of its limb daintily and bit into it. The fruit melted in her mouth, juices spilling over her lips and down her chin. She moaned affirmatively and slowly chewed, mumbling, "This is why wild fruit is the best..." Summer trotted over and joined Sage, who grasped at another berry and walked over to the ledge. Julia pocketed another oran berry for later, when suddenly Sage yelped.

Julia spun around to find a Pokémon latched onto Sage's head, claws digging into the place in between his ears. The Pokémon pecked at his nose, trying to dislodge the fruit from his mouth. Sage bucked helplessly in hopes of shaking off his assailant. Summer dashed up to Sage and tried to knock the bird off with her head, but failed.

Thinking quickly, Julia reached back and grabbed an oran berry from the tree, and in one swift motion, tossed it at the Pokémon. The berry missed horribly, but it got the bird's attention, causing it to fly away. The berry sailed directly into a tree on the other side of the trail and splatted into a million, inedible pieces. Julia quickly fumbled with her pocket and tore out her Pokédex. She booted it up, the light was disconcerting and obscured her surroundings from her vision.

Sage dashed behind the tree and used Camouflage, his fur mimicking the rocky surface of the mountain. Summer braced her back legs against the ground, ready to fight. The Pokédex spoke, "Entering low light mode. Identifications are subject to fault. Buraco. The Dark Bird Pokémon."

"Buraco, huh…" Julia murmured. She could not remember much about Buraco, they were fairly common and she did not study them in depth.

"Buraco is one of the only Pokemon in Veriti known to have a large, stiff sail on its head and down its back. With powerful cries and screeches, Buraco warns away enemies," The Buraco answered the Pokédex with a shriek, matching the one Julia heard earlier. The noise sounded a bit like a metal sheet was being scraped with the long side of a knife. Julia could not make out where the Pokémon was after her Pokédex messed with her vision, but from the image displayed in front of her, Julia could see that the Pokémon had a mostly black, streamlined body with a few white streaks and a yellow nose. It had a red sail and matching red beak and feet. Those would have to be what Julia looked out for.

The Buraco was not going to wait for the Pokédex to finish its monologue, after giving its warning shriek, it launched back toward the tree. Summer would not have it. She wasted no time and caught the Buraco in its side with a tackle. The Pokédex finished out with, "It sits on rocky ledges and awaits evolution so it can continue to spread discord through ear-splitting noises."

Julia slammed the Pokédex shut and tried to catch a glimpse of the Buraco, but her vision was maladjusted and she could only see Summer. Summer reared onto her hind legs and pummeled the dark bird Pokémon twice, doing not very effective damage, but still catching it off guard. Julia made a mental note that Summer knew double kick. The Buraco disappeared back into the dark, even Summer with her enhanced night vision could not see it.

Summer suddenly stumbled toward Julia, hit by something, but kicked backwards, connecting with the attacking Pokémon. Julia shook her head, and carefully walked to the oran tree, grasping at another berry aimlessly. She popped it off and tossed it on the ground in front of her. Seeing movement from Summer, Julia lifted her hand up, stopping the fawn Pokémon.

The Buraco glided to the fruit, Julia getting a good look at it for the first time. Her eyes slowly began to adjust and she saw the Pokémon pecking at the fruit, tearing it to shreds. The juice pooled over the soil, seeping into it to stain it a navy blue color the next morning. Summer inched closer to the bird and Julia slowly pulled out her notebook, beginning to make a quick sketch in the low light. Sage peeked out from behind the tree, his camouflage fading.

Summer decided to interrupt the momentary peace and rushed forward, slamming into the Buraco, who let out a surprised shriek at painfully close range. Julia's eardrums rang. Sage skittered back. The motion drew the bird's attention. Julia clenched her jaw in anger and gesticulated wildly at Summer with pointed fingers, "What did you do that for? It clearly wasn't going to hurt us!! There's no point in picking a fight where there isn't one! You need to relax!!" Her voice rose to a feverish pitch, "You are endangering your brother with that kind of behavior!!" Summer cowered backwards, ears firmly pressed to the sides of her head.

In her frenzy, Julia failed to notice that the Buraco had refocused its efforts on Sage, the weakest of the three. The flying Pokémon dive-bombed the fawn with numerous pecks. Sage made no attempts to defend himself, simply running in ineffectual circles.

Once Sage called out for help Summer leapt into action, ignoring Julia. She tried to tackle the Buraco as it dived, but it quickly changed course and dodged the attack. "Sage it's going for you, you have to attack it!!" Julia called out.

The male Fawbi was helpless, not even trying to attack its aggressor as it came down from the sky. Julia saw a flash of red and Sage was on the ground, cowering. Summer kicked above her brother, making contact. The Buraco shrieked again and Julia slammed her hands over her ears. In a final effort, Summer leapt over Sage and threw her body into the dark bird Pokémon.

Julia looked around aimlessly, she could not see the results, but she assumed the bird would stop bothering them now. With a huff, Julia glanced in between the two trembling forms in front of her, Sage shaking on the ground and Summer standing triumphantly, shivering as adrenaline coursed through her veins.

Summer snorted and turned around, continuing down the path.

"Oh no you don't," Julia called out, voice quivering. Summer stopped. "You don't get to walk on the trail after the shit you just pulled."

Julia raised Summer's Pokéball in the air and pushed the button. A flash of red light enveloped the fawn Pokémon, and then she was gone. Julia sighed. She knelt next to Sage, brushing her hand along the quaking Pokémon's flank, her hair falling gracefully over her shoulders, tickling the ground. "Alright. In you go too," The brunette returned Sage as well.

And she was alone.

Julia thought about having Pearl accompany her for the rest of her trek, but decided against it. Silence would be best for a while.

The path began to get lighter as Julia neared Celeste City, excess light pollution from the metropolis strained the sky a vague orange color. As she walked, Julia tried to finish out the image of the Buraco from memory, but gave up, instead opting to sketch the skyline of Celeste City.

The spires of civilization extended high into the air, dull gray with blinking lights. Even though it was nighttime, life did not stop in Celeste City, a fact Julia knew all too well from all-nighters she had pulled as a university student. The skyscrapers were altogether too high, eclipsing the hills that Julia had just finished climbing. Streams of smog emanated from buildings, reaching for the clouds and melding with them into impure fluffy spheres.

A few minutes later Julia was getting very close, the scale of the whole thing was imposing; it extended beyond where her eyes could see. After rounding a final bend, the entrance gate was in full view. A massive slab of metal served as the portcullis for a gargantuan entrance to the town, peaked with twin guard towers that shone rotating searchlights, scanning over the forest like a malevolent gaze. On either side a high wall extended, it would be completely impossible to scale. From beneath the gate a slow roll of fog or smoke eked out.

A searchlight found its way onto Julia, blinding her. She covered her face with her hands, using her notebook as a shield. A piercing feedback buzz echoed through the forest for a moment, before getting replaced with a deep voice grumbling, "Please come to the gate receptacle and place in your identification for processing."

Julia walked forward aimlessly, squinting at the ground to try and not stray off of the path. She made it up to the gate, the fog pooled around her feet. It smelled like sulfur.

The voice boomed again through the loudspeaker, "It's to your right, at the edge of the gate." Julia looked down the length of the portcullis, but the spot the man was referring to was obscured by darkness. As she headed to the right, the lights followed her, revealing a slot for her identification to be slotted into. After a moment, the girl slotted her Immune Card in and waited.

The card popped back out and the two searchlights left her suddenly. There was pure darkness. The sound of creaking filled the area and the wall shook angrily in front of Julia. She quickly removed her ID and ducked under the lifting gate. It slammed shut behind her. Across the hallway Julia was in she could make out a sliver of light shining through a door.

After a moment the door opened and Julia could see again; Celeste City was revealed up close. The smell was noxious, one thing that Julia certainly did not miss from her stay there at the college. Julia made a beeline for the nearest Pokémon Center, she remembered the one near the gate just as well as the one inside the college.

After healing her Pokémon, Julia booked a room in a hotel near the college. From the bus station there Julia could get to any part of the city. She sat in her bed and finished her nighttime ritual by writing in her notebook. Julia rested the water stained notebook on her chest and drifted off to sleep.​

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