YES! *cough* I mean we are a Pikachu who can store electricity like a battery and we are presumably in the anime continuity where Jessie and James can build mechs and crazy contraptions willy nilly.
Explore yourself. Don't assume you know it all. Try new things, experiment with creative approaches to see what works.
You're the smartest! Her big sis is super clever! You'll solve every problem you run into!
Ideas. Secrets of how Humans do things with their boxes and tools!
Arc 1 Interlude (Ash): Come with me, the time is right
Professor Ash Ketchum theatrically groaned as he stretched his aching back, feigning distraction to buy himself time to think. The pair standing in the doorway of the little meeting room watched his awkward contortions, one with concern, the other with impatience.
Ash's visits to Viridian City were irregular and not all that common. He and Gary Oak had overcome the worst of their differences decades ago, and nowadays they were even able to be in the same room for upwards of an hour without starting an argument or a battle, but they were still fundamentally rivals. And that meant Ash could never show up in Gary's city without his old friend insisting on butting into his business and seeing what he was doing there, which would inevitably lead to bickering or arguments if not an outright match, and...
... well, in summary, Ash tended to keep mostly to Pallet Town and Gary to Viridian. That meant that when he did come to town, there were usually any number of opportunistic requests for his time; consultations, reviews, meetings and attempts to sell him things he didn't want or need. Fresh off a two-hour-long meeting with Gary about the League Championship roster and the growing issue of Alexander's pending retirement, he'd assumed that the call from the Pokécentre asking for his help in advising a prospective rookie on how to face "unique challenges" in her career had been talking about some kind of disability or handicap.
It wasn't.
He finished his extended performance of yawning, stretching and working the aches out of his joints and blew out a sigh, looking at the young girl hovering in front of the table without sitting down. She was small and slight for her age, and wore worn jeans, a yellow tunic-dress and a wide-brimmed hat that a messy fringe of blonde hair poked sideways out of to slant over her forehead. Her golden-brown eyes were slightly creased - probably either confused at his not-very-good acting or worried he was going to keel over in front of her - and she scuffed one over-large purple boot across the floor as she fidgeted, a little nervous at meeting the famous Pokemon Professor.
From the same level as her face, another set of dark eyes watched him with laser-like intensity.
Ash had never actually met the younger Dahlia girl before, but he'd been the one to help the elder get settled in her new career path six or seven years ago, and the two sisters resembled each other enough for him to make the connection. He hadn't expected the younger - Anna? Amy? - to ever express an interest in training Pokemon, though. And he especially hadn't expected her choice of companion.
"... so," he said, rapidly revising the speech he'd been planning to give. "I hear you want to be a trainer and needed some advice. How can I help you?"
"Oh, wow, you're Professor Ash! I thought it was just gonna be some guy," said the girl - Anya? His memory wasn't up to this; probably best just to ask her. He couldn't help but chuckle as she paused, ran back what she'd said in her head and then flushed. Ah, one of those types to blurt out whatever their first thought was, then. He could relate. He'd been that type, once.
"I mean, uh! Nice to meetcha! We were thinking of going off on a training journey? And, uh. You're meant to come here to get started, right? So here we are! Oh, uh, I'm Amber." Amber, that was it. He nodded, eyes straying to the other part of that 'we'. Amber gave him a sunny grin. "And you prob'ly already know her, but this is Trixie! She wants to come with!"
The creature on the little girl's shoulder flattened her ears and hissed at him, her tiny mouth opening to flash needle-sharp fangs. Her back arched, her tail rose, her front paws dug into the girl's dress and tiny arcs of electricity danced across her cheekpads.
Ash didn't take it personally. He knew Trickster well enough to know that she bore no particular hostility towards him. There was a thunderstorm's worth of crackling intensity locked up inside her tiny body, and she couldn't help but discharge it at whatever pursuit she threw herself at. Thanks to the callousness of a few greedy trappers, that focus had for the better part of the past year or so been wholly turned against humankind.
Until now, it seemed.
"I... see," he said. "Well, I've met Trickster before; the two of us go way back. Can I ask how you two met?"
"Haha," Amber laughed, and the arm that didn't have a Pikachu perched on its shoulder came up to scratch at the back of her head. "I guess we kinda ran into each other in the forest the other day? And we got to talking, and spent a bit together, and then she was like 'hey, I'm gonna go on a trip and you should come with me!' and I was like 'I dunno, I was thinking about that already but I gotta talk to my sis', and then she was like-"
"Pii, pika," Trickster interrupted, her tail lightly batting Amber across the back of the head.
"Yeah, basically that! So then I went and talked to my sis, and-"
"Pii," Trickster repeated, batting at Amber's head again impatiently. "Pii pii pikachu."
"Oh right, rambling." Amber grinned sheepishly. "Sorry. So basically we both got permission and here we are!"
That explained almost nothing. Unfortunately, Ash suspected trying to get anything more out of them was not going to meet with much success. "I see," he repeated. "So you want to, what? Register as a trainer-starter pair?"
"Pi pii, pika pika chu!" Lightning cracked, a yellow aura of electricity turning all of Trickster's fur to needlepoints as she bolted up to all fours and snapped at him, furious at the implication. Recognising that particular level of charge from long experience with her grandfather as the sign of an imminent electrocution, Ash hastily backpedalled.
"Alright, alright, not a starter, my apologies! Equal partners, then. Hmm." He stroked his chin, worry settling on his old bones. It wasn't her age - she was older than he'd been when he'd set off on his journey so long ago. Rather, it was that... well, his trip had been mostly conventional, even if he'd held to a different spirit of what training Pokemon meant than many others he'd met. A journey with the Devil of Viridian Forest, though, would be one with challenges. Challenges he wasn't sure Amber had really thought through.
"Do you understand what this will mean for your trip? Trickster has very firm, very fierce opinions. She's..." Ash ran a hand through his hair, glancing apologetically at the little yellow creature glaring at him from Amber's shoulder. "Correct me if I'm wrong, Trickster, but I think your friend needs to understand this. Amber, you've seen that some Pokemon mimic their trainers, haven't you? Some try to walk and carry tools like us, others copy our clothing and wear hats or belts or sunglasses. One or two smarter breeds have even learned to speak."
She nodded, following along. "Like that Meowth the old Mayor of Celadon had!"
"Yes, exactly. That kind of behaviour comes from looking up to humans; respecting us, wanting to be like us. Trickster will never do any of that. She is not a little human. She does not want to be a little human. I've known her very nearly since she was born, and I need you to understand: she is as self-aware as any other person and more intelligent than most, but she is a wild animal. I've never seen her walk on two legs for longer than she had to; she prefers that posture." He nodded at where Trickster was balanced on all fours, tail swishing from side to side as she watched him talk about her with narrowed eyes. "She uses tools, some of them dangerously creative, but her interest in human devices only extends as far as they're useful to her. She's never shown any willingness to live in a city or house - and I've offered, more than once. She doesn't want or need a trainer, or a human partner to help her fight. She's even more independent and feral than Pikachu was when we first became partners, and he's famous for never accepting a Pokeball. If you travel with Trickster on your journey, you won't just have to deal with her being out and about all the time; I doubt she'll tolerate you catching any other Pokemon."
"Chuu," Trickster contributed, nodding firmly and baring her teeth again. "Pipika chu." Sparks crackled at her cheekpads and arced along her tail for a moment, punctuated by a hair-thin snap of static jumping between the two sharp tips at the end.
"You won't be able to catch other Pokemon," Ash repeated, more firmly now. "If any join you willingly, you won't be able to ball them, which will restrict how you can travel and where you can go. She may come around to fighting as part of a team instead of alone, but it won't be for a while - which will make the gym circuit harder if you choose to take that route. And if I know her, she won't accept anything but equal partnership in planning your journey. You'll have to either negotiate or compromise with her whenever you disagree about where to go, what to eat, what to do, who to fight... you can't assume that your decisions will be final. Do you understand?"
Amber shrugged. "I guess? I mean, I just figured all that was obvious. The whole reason we even met was that she fried my Pokeb- uhhh." Panic flashed across her face. "I mean, um..."
Ash raised an eyebrow.
"Okay, she fried my Pokeball, but it was an accident! She really thought I was aiming it at her! And she was sorry afterwards, I think! So yeah, 'course I figured she wasn't gonna want to go in one. And, I dunno, I guess we'll just see what happens with any other Pokemon who wanna join us. As for deciding stuff together... yeah? That's just obvious. We both gotta vote, and if we don't agree we'll flip for it or something. Sound fair?"
She directed this last at Trixie, who was looking smug. Possibly at the proof that her choice in human was a good one. Possibly at the fact that she was going to get away with destroying a Pokeball after having promised not to on account of its owner forgiving her for it. Her ears twitched towards Amber in response to the question, and she nodded regally.
Ash sighed. "Alright. I still have concerns, but I can see I'm not going to talk either of you out of this. But I still don't think you two should just dive into a full long-term trip together after having known each other for less than a week, so let me suggest a trial run. The Indigo Tournament Finals are going to start soon. If you set off this week and make good time up onto the Plateau, you'll be able to watch the semi-finals, and maybe the finals themselves. That'll be a week, maybe a week and a half there and back of spending time with each other, hiking along a fairly safe route, getting to know each other's quirks and seeing what high-end Pokemon battles are like. You'll be able to meet some other trainers up there, too. Maybe have a few friendly matches outside of Viridian."
He folded his arms. "Go watch the semifinals. I'll give you a ticket to get in. Use it as a test run to see what travelling together is like. Come back in a week or two, tell me you're still committed to this, and I'll sign your documents and register you as..." He paused. "Well… I'll figure out some way to register the pair of you that Trickster won't object to. Agreed?"
Girl and mouse traded glances. Amber quirked her mouth up on one side and raised her eyebrows invitingly. "Whaddya think?" she asked.
Trickster flicked an ear and gave a deliberate yawn, flashing her needle fangs and little pink tongue again. Amber scrunched up her nose, the other side of her mouth curving up into a rueful grin, and cocked her head. "C'mon," she coaxed. "We'd get to see some cool fights, like he said! And I bet you'd be able to meet some other Electric types there and show off how cool you are~"
Trickster gave an exasperated chuff, turning her face away. But her ear perked up again, swivelling towards the girl.
"Not to mention," Amber finished with a sly grin; the expression of a girl playing a hidden ace, "that guy you were telling me about might be there. You know. The one who wanted you to let him train you up for the championships?"
The scarred little Pikachu froze for a second, and Ash remembered... what had his name been... Wenge, that had been it. The one who'd come all the way down to Pallet Town asking about a feral Pikachu in Viridian Forest. Ash hadn't answered his questions so much as he'd been unable to keep himself from visibly reacting to the man's guesses. Apparently he'd proven enough of an annoyance with that information for Trickster to hold a grudge.
Not that it was difficult to get this particular Pikachu to form a grudge.
Trickster's moment of utter stillness ended as quickly as it had come on; she shook herself and batted the back of Amber's head with her tail again, then leapt from her shoulder up to the inactive overhead projector, squeezing in between it and the ceiling to look down on the two of them. Her tail hung down in front of the lens, twitching from side to side, and after a moment's consideration she set about examining the wires with affected disinterest, pretending to ignore both humans below.
Amber grinned. "I guess that's a yes!" she chirped. Ash was impressed. Long experience with Pikachu let him read the initial opposition followed by grudging agreement and carefully concealed interest in the body language of his old friend's granddaughter, but for Amber to so clearly understand her was a promising sign.
"Oh," she added, snapping her fingers, "and actually, you might be able to help with something else, too. See, Trixie has this Pokédaaagh!"
An angry ball of sparking yellow fur dropped down from above and landed on her head. Trickster chittered furiously as she beat Amber around the ears - though Ash noticed that even in this state of agitation, her tail wasn't electrified, nor stiff or shiny as it would be if she were using a proper Tail Whip. Amber flailed, waving her arms around but likewise not making contact, and the two of them careened around for a moment, tottering and nearly overbalancing before running hip-first into the table and going down in a tangled heap with a crash.
... Ash wasn't going to ask. He had heard nothing, he knew nothing. Pokédex? Pokédoll? Pokédollar? What were they? As long as he had no proof that Trickster owned anything she would have had no way of obtaining besides theft, it wasn't his problem.
It was probably going to be his problem at some point, but that was something Future Ash could deal with. Future Ash had advantages like sleep, and coffee, and Gary Oak not hovering over his shoulder and trying to get involved in whatever trouble his partner's granddaughter was stirring up and making everyone else's problem.
"I don't think I quite caught that," he said genially to the dazed pair picking themselves up from the floor, "but I'll be happy to help with anything you two need after you get back from Indigo Plateau."
"Sounds... ugh... great," Amber groaned, readjusting her hat and dusting herself down. Trickster leapt back up to her shoulder, unapologetic for interrupting her mid-sentence but making a stellar effort at pretending she hadn't taken them both down to the floor in an undignified heap by doing so. Ash shook his head and suppressed a smile. They reminded him of another child-and-Pikachu pair who'd set off so very long ago.
"Now let me see about getting you those tickets," he smiled, "and you can both be off on your way."
End of Arc One - The Devil of Viridian Forest
Having defeated Rojo and Wenge, learned from Cerise and bonded with Pippi and Amber, you can enhance one Move you already know or learn one new move for a slot theme you already have.
[ ] Enhance
- [ ] Thunder Shock
Greater control over your lightning allows you to manipulate your Shock's form and direction, splitting a single Shock into two weaker bolts or channelling it through a conductive material to arc out from a point of your choosing.
- [ ] Quick Attack
Your flickers of lightning-charged movement now let you use even surfaces that can't support your weight as instantaneous stepping stones, such as fragile twigs or even liquids.
- [ ] Nasty Plot
You can now reliably employ other living creatures in your schemes, with successful use of tools and environmental advantages potentially letting you bypass type resistances to your moves - though not total immunity.
- [ ] Nuzzle
As well as learning to selectively charge individual parts of your body, you can now channel your auto-paralysing touch down conductive objects, and moderate your output enough to charge electrical devices without frying them.
[ ] Learn
- [ ] Electro Ball
This crackling sphere of ball lightning only contains as much power as a Thunder Shock, but hits harder the faster it's delivered.
- [ ] Double Team
Blinding speed leaves behind illusionary duplicates, disorienting the enemy and leaving them unsure of which image to attack.
- [ ] Thief
Deft paws and cunning malevolence allow not only the vicious exploitation of vulnerability, but the theft of property as it lands.
- [ ] Thunder Wave
An electromagnetic wave of arcing lightning washes over an area, locking up muscles and paralysing those caught in it.
It's a well-known mechanic from the games that Pokemon can only learn four Moves. However, in this quest, that's not strictly true. Rather, they have up to four Move Slots, each dedicated to a theme, and can learn more Moves within the theme of a given slot without forgetting existing ones. Trixie's slot themes are:
Parkour Combat: Fast-moving techniques for agile physical fighting.
Current Moves: Quick Attack (Basic)
Devil of Viridian: Dirty fighting, malicious schemes and clever tricks.
Current Moves: Nasty Plot (Basic)
Living Generator: Being a font of electrical energy with deep reserves.
Current Moves: Nuzzle (Basic)
Moves are then specific techniques within a given slot; special abilities or personalised tactics that you have developed. They have a three-tier ranking system:
Basic - The essential nature of the technique, the point at which it goes from something you were working on in training to something you feel comfortable employing in battle.
Adept - The evolved form of the basic technique, attained by refining and polishing your existing work to a higher standard. This allows for deviation from its standard form, as well as greater odds of success for chance-based effects.
Elite - The final, perfected form of your technique, the ideal towards which you have been striving up until this point. This allows for great latitude in shaping how they manifest, as well as on-the-fly adjustment of techniques mid-execution and even interference in similar Moves used by others.
You can now reliably employ other living creatures in your schemes, with successful use of tools and environmental advantages potentially letting you bypass type resistances to your moves - though not total immunity.
I love Nasty Plot and would love to see how Aleph writes it in actual prose~
Lord have mercy, I should have been more clear. Enhancing Nasty Plot to Adept level would accomplish neither of these things. Bypassing immunity is still beyond you, and Mallie is weak against your Type; she just has a special perk that lets her parry with water.
SV Questers have a pronounced tendency, when voting, to bandwagon for whatever they think is the "be clever" or "be smart" or "brainpower" options, without paying any attention to what those options actually do. So let me clear up what Nasty Plot is and is not good for here. Mechanically, it raises your Special Attack by two stages, which at a narrative level means that you can use your Electric-type attacks to much greater effect, doing more damage and being more successful. The limitation is that your version of Nasty Plot involves doing this through schemes - things like "baiting Rojo into wading into a pond and then electrocuting it", or "splattering someone with conductive gunk before Shocking them". If your Rube Goldberg trap doesn't work, you don't get the bonus.
Nasty Plot means you can reliably use other living creatures in your schemes, and means that when a scheme is successful, you can bypass a Type Resistance - Grass, Dragon and Electric all take less damage from Electric attacks. You cannot bypass Ground-type immunity at all.
Is this a good choice to vote for? I mean, yeah, it's certainly not awful. It's balanced with the others. If you expect to be battling a lot of Pokemon with high Special Defence, or picking battles with a tonne of Grass or Electric types (if you're picking a fight with a Dragon at level 12, something has already gone horribly wrong), or fighting alongside other Pokemon you can cooperate with in your schemes and make use of the abilities of, it's a really solid choice to take since it lets you leverage both sides of your combat abilities very effectively.
But, you know... you do have Quick Attack. Which is a Normal-type Physical Attack that Grass and Electric are not resistant to. So you could just use that if you're only going to fight the occasional Pokemon who's resistant to your lightning in 1v1 duels. And in order to get Nasty Plot, you're giving up things like "I can electrocute a metal railing and have the Shock conduct down it and arc out to hit you from behind", and "NINJA WATER RUNNING, BITCH" and "I can paralyse everything within a whole chunk of the battlefield in an Ao£ electromagnetic pulse-wave".
So take that into account before you just bandwagon behind the "THIS OPTION IS THE ONE THAT MAKES US SMART" vote.
