Yeah. There's an event download which gives you an Arceus. If you have that Arceus in your party you gain (temporary, teleportation-based) access to a new area that is ancient ruins. When you get there, you choose one of Dialga, Palkia, or Giratina, you see a weird sequence of still images that certainly at least implies the creation or involvement of a lot more than just one pokemon, and at the end there's a full-screen image of an egg, which cracks. Then it ends and you get whichever dragon you chose, at level 1, presumably having hatched.
(You can also do it with a captured Arceus instead of a direct-download one, but the item that let you into the area that lets you do that was never actually released. You can even do both, so you get two dragons!)
Wasn't there already an omake about this?
I can't tell whether all those images in the middle are actually in the game, or just added by the uploader as a joke.
It's been quite a while since I actually played that event in-game, so I can't 100% guarantee that the uploader didn't change the images, but as far as I can tell that's accurate. If it's not precisely those images, it's ones quite a lot like them, which would make it a pretty dull joke. Also, the timing is synced to the music, which is definitely the actual ingame music. So it's probably real.
HeartGold and SoulSilver have an event that shows how eggs are created. You see, Arceus starts over and re-creates the universe from scratch, except this time the egg exists.
Like I said; Arceus has no idea how eggs work, so if he wants to create one he has to reboot reality from scratch with the egg, because he literally does not know how to make an egg by itself, no-one does.
Eggs just happen, they are a complete mystery to everyone, even Arceus.
"I really don't get what you find so interesting about that thing."
I glance up from the Pokedex I'm currently holding to look over at its owner.
"Seriously, it's been helpful once or twice, but it's mostly just an overly-complicated piece of junk." Astra says.
I shrug.
Our quest to escape this forest has thus far proven fairly uneventful, so for lack of anything better to do, I've been checking out my new trainer's Pokedex. Astra seems to think the device is pretty useless on the whole, citing "map frustrations" in particular as a serious annoyance, but this thing actually has WAY more functions than I'd have expected, including a camera, a notepad, a phone, a music player, and more. There's no internet app, but besides that glaring absence, this thing is basically just a slightly more blocky smartphone. I really don't think Astra is giving it enough credit.
"That seems a bit harsh." I reply. "I think a lot of these options could be pretty convenient, honestly. Maybe you just lack the proper context to appreciate some of them."
Astra gives me a doubtful look. "If you say so..."
"Way!"
I look up to where Treecko is standing on a nearby tree branch. Despite having just recently recalled him, Astra ended up letting him back out after only a couple minutes or so of walking so he could make sure we hadn't accidentally wandered off course. When I pointed out we'd probably have to do that repeatedly (especially since I'm not marking any trees this time to track where we came from), Astra decided to just leave Treecko out and let him lead.
"Come." Treecko says, gesturing for us to continue following as he hops to the next tree. We do so, and I turn back to Astra as we walk.
"Hey, do you mind if I try scanning you with this thing with your disguise up?" I ask, holding out the Pokedex. "I'm kind of curious if it'll work or not."
Astra tilts her head slightly.
"I... guess I don't mind?" she says, taking a moment to reinstate the human illusion I first met her in. "I bet you it doesn't though."
"Well, let's see." I reply.
I wave the Pokedex at Astra, trying to get it to scan her as the Kirlia she actually is. However, no matter how hard I wave it around or concentrate the camera on her, the device fails to react, seemingly unable to recognize or detect her as a Pokemon. I can't help but laugh a little at the result.
"Heh, looks like you were right." I admit, handing the Pokedex back to Astra. "Seems your illusions work on this thing too."
Astra grins proudly, accepting the machine and stowing it away before dropping her disguise again. Not much point to leaving it up when we're the only ones around, I guess.
"So, besides illusions, what else can you do with psychic powers anyways?" I ask casually.
I'm mostly just trying to make conversation, since I'm pretty sure I can already guess the general gist of it, but I am genuinely a little interested. As someone who grew up in a village where literally everyone was psychically gifted, and such powers presumably saw commonplace use, Astra might actually have some unique uses for psychic powers that I wouldn't have thought or heard of before. Besides, it's in my best interest to know what my new trainer is capable of, assuming this partnership proves to be an enduring one.
Astra immediately perks up, apparently liking my choice of topic.
"Oh wow, let's see... well, there's telepathy, obviously." she starts, deliberately causing her mental voice to echo slightly in my head. "You already know what that is, of course."
I nod in acknowledgment, and Astra nods back.
"Then there's telekinesis." Astra says, demonstrating by floating a few small rocks off the ground and having them rotate around her hand before tossing them back into the brush. "It's most commonly used to just move or pick things up from a distance — which is really useful when your hands don't have fingers, by the way — but it also has a bunch of other uses, like catching and cutting up food, controlling flames, repelling attacks... all sorts of stuff."
Right...
"There's also creating psychic barriers," Astra continues, creating and quickly dispersing what looks like a tiny Reflect wall in the air in front of her, "as well as forming psychic energy into blasts for attacks. I've never been all that great at that one, honestly..."
She pauses, raising one hand to her mouth. "Although, come to think of it, I still haven't gotten to practice to see if I'm any better at it now that I've evolved. I really should try that once we get out of here."
I look away, my jealousy quietly beginning to rise with each additional ability Astra lists off. I already knew my situation wasn't exactly great, but that doesn't make this any easier to hear... why couldn't I have ended up here as a Ralts instead of a Mawile? Sure, I'd have more type weaknesses, and I'd be even shorter than I am now — or maybe not, since there's apparently a sub-species of "giant" Ralts I didn't know about — but just the fact that Psychic-type powers are so supremely flexible would have more than made up for either of those downsides. It's not like I had any real choice in the matter, but... ergh.
"Mawile? Are you okay?" Astra suddenly asks. "You seem a little down."
"Huh?" I say, slightly startled. "Oh, yeah, I..."
I sigh. "Just a little envious, I guess. I mentioned earlier that you have a lot more options than I do, but I guess it didn't fully hit me exactly how many things you can do that I just can't. You haven't even mentioned teleportation again yet; that alone would be beyond useful."
I shake my head. "Meanwhile, I'm over here with the abilities to make myself smell nice, provide a slightly refreshing breeze, and briefly turn myself into a Halloween jumpscare. It's... not the most impressive list, all told."
"I'm sorry." Astra apologizes.
"It's alright, it's hardly your fault." I say — then blink, as something occurs to me. "Hey, how'd you notice that so fast anyways? I wasn't even looking at you just now."
"Oh, well," Astra says, her mental voice slightly hesitant, "I could sort of just tell from how your emotions felt. I'm right next to you, and they were kind of-"
"Wait, how my emotions felt?" I interrupt, stopping and spinning around to face her. "You were reading my mind?!"
I said that as hyperbole earlier! I didn't seriously think she could actually do that!
Astra startles at my sudden accusation, very nearly tripping backwards over her own robe. A moment later, I realize Intimidate must have just re-activated, and quickly turn away again.
"Sorry, didn't mean to do that! I just- were you actually reading my thoughts?" I ask warily, still looking at Astra in my peripheral vision.
"I- no, of course not!" Astra exclaims, actually sounding slightly affronted. "Just your emotions. I pick up on some of those passively, and I noticed you were getting a little sadder as I talked, is all."
"So you haven't gone any deeper than that?" I ask.
"No." Astra confirms. "I mean, I could, maybe, but I've never tried it before, and would never do it to someone without their permission anyways. That would be incredibly rude. The practice is actually outright forbidden in my village."
"...it is?"
Astra nods. "It's considered a huge invasion of privacy to intentionally read someone else's mind. We all pick up on surface level thoughts and feelings just by being near someone, but even those we do our best to tune out. I only really noticed yours because we're so physically close to each other right now, and because you don't know how to shield your thoughts."
She pauses. "I could... try to teach you how to do that later, if it bothers you? I don't really know if it would work, but..."
Most of my remaining tension bleeds out of me upon hearing that. I do trust Astra, at least based on what I've seen of her thus far, so I guess I'll believe her when she says she's not going to secretly go rummaging through my brain. I mean, obviously she hasn't yet, since I imagine she'd have some pretty major questions otherwise, so I probably- no, I definitely overreacted.
"I... that'd be nice, yeah." I reply somewhat sheepishly, turning to face Astra properly again. "Sorry about that. Guess that was pretty rude of me."
Really, what do I even have to be concerned about her seeing? It's not like I'm hiding anything that bad — I do have two pretty big secrets, but I'm only really keeping them so Astra doesn't potentially have some sort of existential crisis upon learning her entire reality is nominally supposed to be fiction from my point of view, and because I don't really want to get into the specifics of "The Curious Case of the Human-Turned-Mawile" right now. Neither of them are really negative things, just... confusing things.
"No, it's okay." Astra reassures me as we resume walking. "I wouldn't want anyone reading my mind either, so I get why you were upset. I promise I won't ever even try that without your express permission."
"Thank you. " I say, still feeling rather awkward. "Erm... got any other psychic powers up your sleeve?"
Astra brightens again, then slumps just as quickly.
"Maybe I shouldn't say..."
I shake my head. "No, this is important stuff to know if we're going to be traveling together, and I really am interested. I won't get jealous again, promise."
Astra hesitates, then speaks again after thinking about it for a few seconds.
"Ah... well, there's sight sharing." she says slowly. "It lets me connect to someone else's vision, and either see what they see, or show them what I can see... want to see?"
I nod, and Astra stops walking, seeming to concentrate on me for a second. I look back up at her, just before my vision abruptly doubles, and I suddenly find myself both looking up at Astra, and also looking down at myself from Astra's point of view. Woah-!
A moment later, Astra's transmitted sight disappears, and my normal vision returns.
"Wow... that was cool." I say, shaking myself. "Disorienting, but cool."
Astra smiles.
"The last one I can think of off the top of my head is psychically scanning for nearby life signatures." she says. "I can do that one, but I guess I can't really show you... oh, but, I could probably point out any nearby Pokemon hidden in the treetops or the bushes! Just a second."
Astra closes her eyes and concentrates again- then almost immediately freezes in place, her eyes snapping back open as her gaze shifts to the trees on our left.
"There's something over there." she warns, her tone serious. "Something big."
Instantly on guard, I spin around to preemptively glare at the foliage. Narrowing my gaze, I peer past the greenery to see...
Nothing. Beyond the trees are just more trees, with nothing of any real note present.
"Huh. Are you sure?" I ask, turning back to Astra. "I don't see any-"
I stop, abruptly realizing that I appear to be talking to air. Astra has disappeared, the spot she was just standing in suddenly vacated. What the...?
I look up at the trees, searching for Treecko, but he's apparently gone too. Gaping in silent disbelief, I scan my immediate surroundings, trying to figure out where the two of them could have possibly vanished to, but find no trace of either of them — and on top of that, I seem to have lost track of which way we were all just heading.
I'm lost. Again.
Astra
Astra cautiously watched as the Pokemon she'd sensed slowly began to emerge from the nearby forest. It was quadrapedal, with four long, hooved legs, yet taller than she was — as tall as some of the adult humans she'd met before, in fact. The glowing black orbs set at the base of its oddly-shaped antlers appeared to be distorting the air around them, making it twist and ripple like a localized heat haze.
Astra wasn't sure exactly what the distortion signified, but she didn't particularly like the look of it. Still, besides making her slightly dizzy, it didn't seem to be doing anything... maybe this Pokemon's horns were just like that all the time?
Bringing her Pokedex back out, Astra quickly used it to scan the new arrival. An image of the Pokemon in question immediately appeared on the screen, along with a small text box.
Stantler, the Big Horn Pokemon. Stantler's magnificent antlers were once traded at high prices as works of art. As a result, this Pokémon was hunted close to extinction.
...wow, what helpful information. Useless piece of junk.
"Alright, HOW is that even possible?!"
Astra startled and looked to her side to see Mawile seemingly yelling at... nothing, an expression of great frustration now splashed across her face.
"Mawile? What's wrong?" Astra asked.
Mawile didn't respond, instead beginning to spin in a small circle, her head swiveling from side to side as if searching for something.
"Seriously, where the heck did she go?" the smaller Pokemon muttered. "We can't actually have gotten separated in just a few seconds..."
Astra was confused. Separated?
"You mean from me? I'm right here, Mawile." she tried again.
Once again, the words seemed to fail to reach their intended recipient, who continued to act as though she could neither see nor hear Astra at all. What was going on? It was like Mawile had been hypnotized or something...
Searching for the cause, Astra looked back at the Stantler. It didn't appear to be doing anything other than simply standing in place — although, now that Astra looked, it also seemed to be staring at Mawile, as though intensely concentrating on the smaller Pokemon. She didn't feel any psychic energy emitting from it, but maybe-
"Are... you doing that to her...?" Astra telepathically asked the Stantler, uncertain what exactly she expected it to do in response.
The Stantler's gaze shifted to her, though its head didn't move.
"Ugh, a psychic." it muttered. "No point in trying to trick you... yes, I am doing that."
Despite herself, Astra couldn't help but gasp — the Stantler had just spoken. There really were other talking Pokemon here!
At her side, Mawile continued to angrily mutter to herself under her breath, bringing Astra back down to earth.
"Well... stop it!" Astra requested. "She hasn't done anything to you, so cut it out!"
"No, I don't think I will."
Astra blinked.
"Um. Why?"
"Just because it hasn't done anything yet doesn't mean that it won't if given the chance." the Stantler stated as Mawile walked up to a nearby tree and smacked her horns against it, loudly calling Astra's name as she did so. "My herd has seen more than enough of how this creature eats by now, and we want it nowhere even remotely near us if we can help it."
Astra thought back to how she'd met Mawile earlier. Twin pinpricks of red glaring out at her from inside a bush, a giant black maw rising up to bite her in two...
Okay, she could kind of understand that.
"I get what you mean, but she's not going to eat you." Astra explained as Mawile sighed loudly and plopped down on the grass with her arms crossed. "She's been trying to leave this place for a while, actually."
The Stantler snorted. "Really? I suppose that explains why we've had to steer it back two or three times already."
Astra blinked again. So this was why Mawile hadn't been able to leave... but, wait, that didn't make sense.
"If you're worried about her being near your herd, why would you deliberately drive her back into the forest rather than out of it?" she asked.
"Well, this is also just kind of fun." the Stantler replied, a hint of mirth entering his formerly serious tone. "Not many humans come through this forest anymore, so we've got to get our kicks in where we can... and to be honest, the fact that this thing is so dangerous only makes confusing it out of its mind even more entertaining."
Astra narrowed her eyes and frowned.
"That's mean." she said.
"Yeah, but it's also a pretty good time." the Stantler replied with a smirk.
Astra glared at him. "Not from where I'm standing it's not. Let her go!"
The Stantler rolled his eyes. "Not happening. Now, kindly do what we've made this forest known for, and get lost."
"No way." Astra retorted, readying a pulse of psychic energy with her right hand. "I'm warning you — let her go now."
The Stantler eyed Astra's arm for a moment, then spoke.
"...well, in that case."
Mawile suddenly looked over at Astra and yelped, scrambling back to her feet and jumping back in apparent fear.
"What the hell are you?!"
Astra flinched away as Mawile's ability activated, the smaller Pokemon's suddenly horrifying gaze causing her concentration to waver, and the energy she'd readied to dissipate.
"M-mawile?!" she blanched.
Mawile growled, and Astra realized what was going on — she wasn't sure exactly how the Stantler was controlling what Mawile saw and heard, but now he was tricking Mawile into thinking she was something dangerous! If she couldn't snap the smaller Pokemon out of it, Mawile might actually attack her!
"Treecko!" she called out. "Attack that Stantler with-!"
"Treee..."
Astra spun towards Treecko's voice to see him sprawled out on a nearby branch, gazing deeply into the Stantler's horns, and by all appearances completely out of it. When had that happened?!
"Get away from me!" Mawile shouted, her maw opening wide to showcase teeth the size of Astra's palms.
Astra yelped and did exactly that, leaping backwards as she grabbed Treecko's Poke Ball and quickly returned him. Hopefully that would break the Stantler's control — in fact, if she could just return Mawile as well-!
Astra levitated Mawile's Poke Ball up to her hand, but as soon as she did so, Mawile spun in place, and a sudden gust of oddly pink wind tore the ball from the Kirlia's telekinetic grasp. She heard it land somewhere behind her, but couldn't turn around to levitate it back to herself without taking her eyes off of Mawile, who looked ready to lunge at any moment.
Astra mentally cursed at the Stantler standing off to the side of all this. Damn it, how was she being outmaneuvered by this jerk?! All she really needed to do was break his control of what Mawile was seeing-
Wait, idea!
Forcing herself to concentrate through Mawile's unnaturally fearsome glare, Astra hurriedly pushed psychic energy towards her companion. At the same moment, Mawile stepped forward, tensing herself as though to spring-
Then froze, as Astra's sight-sharing attempt connected.
For a moment, Astra could see herself through Mawile's eyes as some sort of looming, nightmarish monster, the image seemingly superimposed over her actual self. As soon as Astra sent her own sight over to Mawile however, the illusion fell apart, her energy seeming to clash with whatever it was the Stantler was doing and nigh-immediately dispelling it. Mawile stumbled out of her daze, shaking her head in confusion.
"W-what?" she mumbled, looking up at Astra. "Astra?"
"Are you okay?" Astra hurriedly asked.
"I..."
Mawile trailed off, her eyes widening as she noticed the Stantler standing in front of her. The Stantler took a few steps back, rearing up in apparent surprise.
"Don't look at his horns!" Astra warned. "He was using them to hypnotize you!"
Mawile jolted, then immediately averted her gaze from the deer-like Pokemon, her own horns curling around to cover her front like an oddly-shaped shield.
"Normal-type my ass..." Mawile grumbled. "Yeah, you're right, Stantler can cast illusions with their antlers. Make sure you don't look at them either!"
Astra was already taking care not to do that, but took Mawile's words into account all the same. The Stantler snorted again, repeatedly pawing at the ground with one hoof in apparent irritation.
"He was going to send you back the way you came." Astra quickly explained. "Apparently he's been doing that every time you try to leave."
"Wait, this jerk is why I keep getting nowhere every time I try to get out of this stupid forest?!" Mawile growled.
"I think so, yes." Astra continued, finally finding a moment to levitate Mawile's Poke Ball back over to herself. "He tried to make you attack me as well... and he almost succeeded."
"This isn't going as planned..." the Stantler muttered.
"Oh really? Gee, sorry." Mawile sarcastically replied. "In that case, here's my plan: both of us are leaving, right now, and you're going to let us. If that requires that we go through you rather than around, we will."
Astra couldn't say she was terribly fond of that idea, given just what she imagined Mawile might think of as "going through", but given that the Stantler had essentially just attacked her by way of hypnotized proxy, she nodded in agreement all the same.
The Stantler huffed. "Consider this my answer."
Foliage rustled, and more Stantler abruptly began to emerge from the nearby forest, each one quickly moving to the side of the original. Astra took a step backwards, as did Mawile, the pair suddenly finding themselves facing seven Stantler rather than just one, all of whom then turned to glare at them and spoke in unison.
"Run, fools."
Astra felt something intangible change, as though the air itself had just grown heavier. Then-
Fear
Fear
FEAR FEAR FEAR FEAR FEAR
Astra screamed. Mawile screamed.
Both of them turned and ran.
This now makes four full chapters of Backslash between both me and @Dermonster. He previously stated that we'd make a separate thread if we made it to five of them.
Astra couldn't say she was terribly fond of that idea, given just what she imagined Mawile might think of as "going through", but given that the Stantler had essentially just tried to kill her by way of hypnotized proxy, she nodded in agreement all the same.
Also, apparently, this Stantler has deliberately condemned to die every single one of Mawile's victims since the first time she tried to leaf the forest. Like, Mawile ate people to survive, in no small part because she was unable to escape to a location with non-intelligent food-sources. Stantler here essentially pushed an unknown number of people down Mawile's throat for convenience. I feel like being eaten alive in turn by the ravenous gullet he himself is directly responsible for keeping in the area constitutes a more than deserved comeuppance.
Like, Astra, yes the Stantler just tried to use Mawile as an unwilling murder weapon against you, which is both unambiguously reprehensible and a totally valid reason to hold a grudge. But Stantler has also succeeded in using Mawile as an unwilling murder weapon against others an unknown number of times, just in a more stochastic fashion.
Like, fuck this guy. He deserves to trip and fall into his own giant meatgrinder, like the cartoon-badguy he is.
"No." Astra confirms. "I mean, I could, maybe, but I've never tried it before, and would never do it to someone without their permission anyways. That would be incredibly rude — the practice is actually outright forbidden in my village."
"...it is?"
Astra nods. "It's considered a huge invasion of privacy to intentionally read someone else's mind. We all pick up on surface level thoughts and feelings just by being near someone, but even those we do our best to tune out. I only really noticed yours because we're so physically close to each other right now, and because you don't know how to shield your thoughts."
"Because this place is too crowded." the Stantler stated. "Too many small Pokemon that eat all the best food, and not enough others to thin their numbers. In that regard, at least, this creature is useful... besides, like I said, it's fun to screw with it."
One learns quickly what shennannigans are morally appropriate when messing with other peoples perceptions.
Making a dirt ball look like a berry? Hilarious, and retaliation is as short as being pelted with said dirt.
Deliberatly limiting someones movements for pest control and entertainment? Starving them into carnivorism just so they had an easier time of it? That's what we in the buisness call a 'Venison Dinner'.
Then froze, as Astra's sight-sharing attempt connected.
For a moment, Astra could see herself through Mawile's eyes as some sort of looming, nightmarish monster, the image seemingly superimposed over her actual self. As soon as Astra sent her own sight over to Mawile however, the illusion fell apart, her energy seeming to clash with whatever it was the Stantler was doing and nigh-immediately dispelling it. Mawile stumbled out of her daze, shaking her head in confusion.
Also, apparently, this Stantler has deliberately condemned to die every single one of Mawile's victims since the first time she tried to leaf the forest. Like, Mawile ate people to survive, in no small part because she was unable to escape to a location with non-intelligent food-sources. Stantler here essentially pushed an unknown number of people down Mawile's throat for convenience. I feel like being eaten alive in turn by the ravenous gullet he himself is directly responsible for keeping in the area constitutes a more than deserved comeuppance.
Like, Astra, yes the Stantler just tried to use Mawile as an unwilling murder weapon against you, which is both unambiguously reprehensible and a totally valid reason to hold a grudge. But Stantler has also succeeded in using Mawile as an unwilling murder weapon against others an unknown number of times, just in a more stochastic fashion.
Like, fuck this guy. He deserves to trip and fall into his own giant meatgrinder, like the cartoon-badguy he is.
Hmm... well, I should say now that this isn't necessarily totally canon to ABG proper. At least parts of it certainly are - the Stantler definitely have been screwing with Mawile!me, and at least in part because they just enjoy doing so - but the Stantler's line about them keeping me in place specifically to thin out the other Pokemon present was a change I made while writing. The reason I originally had in mind seemed too overly complex to bother getting into in this, but now I wonder if that was perhaps a bad idea, as this is essentially an "official" crossover, so I probably shouldn't stray too much from my actual intentions for the fic. I may or may not end up editing that section - will get back to you on that.
EDIT: Still couldn't work my original idea in, but the Stantler's stated reasoning has been edited to be more in line with their "canon characterization", and the more despicable motive thereby removed. Hopefully this is an improvement.
I'd make a joke about my writing making you go weak at the knees, but I get the feeling that would sound ridiculously pompous even if I tried to make the humor extra clear, so I'll just go ahead and refrain. ^^;
It helps that the pokedex is completely unable to send data to birch right now. Otherwise there may have been more hesitance.
I wasn't actually sure if Astra knows that the Pokedex sends the data back to Birch, since she's not totally clear on its functions, so I just wrote it like this and left it up to interpretation. Hope that works.
Basically canon to Hyphen! [Stamp of Approval]
When you, as a species, have the ability to invalidate the last sanctum of privacy, you learn to make rules about it.
I'm glad I asked you about the subject, because this scene almost certainly would not exist otherwise. Also, almost made a plot hole only four chapters in because I forgot Mawile!me literally brought up the mind reading thing earlier, but I think I managed to explain that fairly nicely.
It's been a hot minute since Astra could have a totally honest conversation with anyone. She's missed it more than she knew.
Again, a scene that would likely not exist if not for extensively consulting you on the matter of Astra's ability to do this. For once the usually unnecessary research turned out to actually be necessary!
Hmm... well, I should say now that this isn't necessarily totally canon to ABG proper. At least parts of it certainly are - the Stantler definitely have been screwing with Mawile!me, and at least in part because they just enjoy doing so - but the Stantler's line about them keeping me in place specifically to thin out the other Pokemon present was a change I made while writing. The reason I originally had in mind seemed too overly complex to bother getting into in this, but now I wonder if that was perhaps a bad idea, as this is essentially an "official" crossover, so I probably shouldn't stray too much from my actual intentions for the fic. I may or may not end up editing that section - will get back to you on that.
Oh, I fully understand that Backslach is a different canon than Backwards Grin! I get it; I'm a writer too, I understand that in order to make a fanfic good you've sometimes got to disregard strictest canon. Stantler here is getting written more villainously than is implied to be the case in "canon" Backwards Grin, simply as a consequence of the different plot.
Like, if you were writing a Harry Potter/Kane Chronicles crossover, maybe making it fit together into a story worth reading means that Madame Pomphrey is in league with Set now. I would understand that this doesn't mean you're saying that's the case in canon Harry Potter, even if you were the writer of canon Harry Potter.
So, like, I'm just trying to say that I think your writing is plenty clear as is, and that I don't think there's a need to go back to try and clarify it further.
We figured it'd be fun to steer the next one that comes through this place towards this thing's den, and see just loud they scream upon seeing its mouth. It's already practically been terrorizing the area we've confined it to, so we've got high hopes... besides, like I said, it's fun to screw with it in the meantime."
I do not think so. She has talked, and some people have yelled at her to leave, just no actual conversations. Nobody has listened to her and she hasn't had anything substantive enough for a sensical reply, but by this point in the source material she had hear people talking. It is mostly the instincts, somewhat the starvation, and a touch the sight of, for example, a pokemon's leg sticking out of a different pokemon's mouth. Because she definitely isn't the only one.
I also suspect that many people from the more specialised civilisations would feel guilty about eating cute little bidoof even if they were provably not subject to mental death when they died, and instead revived with the ill-feelings equivalent to a bad hair day. Or they might feel guilty for being the equivalent of a large predator with a high metabolism with no awareness of their ecological impact. I mean, people don't usually feel guilty about denuding a fishery, but they theoretically could if they felt like it...
I do not think so. She has talked, and some people have yelled at her to leave, just no actual conversations. Nobody has listened to her and she hasn't had anything substantive enough for a sensical reply, but by this point in the source material she had hear people talking. It is mostly the instincts, somewhat the starvation, and a touch the sight of, for example, a pokemon's leg sticking out of a different pokemon's mouth. Because she definitely isn't the only one.
I also suspect that many people from the more specialised civilisations would feel guilty about eating cute little bidoof even if they were provably not subject to mental death when they died, and instead revived with the ill-feelings equivalent to a bad hair day. Or they might feel guilty for being the equivalent of a large predator with a high metabolism with no awareness of their ecological impact. I mean, people don't usually feel guilty about denuding a fishery, but they theoretically could if they felt like it...
I made a one-shot, based on what reaction Flarina made for the Clefable!her.
I had it listed in my folder of one-shots as "Flairable-A Silent Haven"
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"Hurry, hurry!"
Wild the shinx ran beside a panting lillipup, urging her to continue on. They flinched as a terrifying roar came from behind.
They were just outside, hunting for food for the first time since they got kicked out of their pack. Though, their inexperience made two possible meals escape from them. In the end they resolved to just forage for berries for the night.
It was a good thing too, otherwise they wouldn't have any energy left to outrun the houndoom that suddenly decided to make them his next meal.
A fireball scorched the bark near them, terrifying them even further. It was a hopeless escape, and only the parting words of Wild's pack leader gave him the strength to move on.
"Child, make your way to the Silent Haven if you are ever in trouble. The great She-Who-Wanders protects it."
He didn't know where it was, only its general direction. He hoped they were nearing it; he didn't want to be the cause why him and his pup friend died such a pathetic death.
"Haah…haaah…how much longer Wild?!" Lillipup gasped, visibly flagging but still determined to survive.
"We're getting closer!" he lied. Wild must show confidence, and not let the hopelessness of the situation show.
They ran and ran, using their small sizes to elude the houndoom. Eventually, they hit a dead end in the form of an insurmountable cliff. Tears silently fell from the eyes of the lillipup.
Wild just laughed hysterically, eyes just like his name.
"W-We're going to die here, aren't we?" The shinx turned his head to his unfortunate companion, smiling so wide that it must've hurt.
"Y-Yeah. B-But," he turned to the trees and snarled, his back rearing up and electrical energy flying around.
"I won't go down without a fight!"
Lillipup looked at his childhood friend, shaking his head at how apt the name bestowed upon him was. He joined him and prepared himself for a fight, even as the tears run and the despair claws at his spirit.
"I-It was nice knowing you while it lasted, Wild." They looked at the unnaturally still and quiet trees, prepared to fight what would probable their last battle.
"Gyah!"
"What!?"
The houndoom burst from the side they were not looking at, his fangs enveloped with devilish flames.
They were too stunned to react, and could only close their eyes, wishing for a swift death.
However, when the darkness grows, the stars of the night shine the path.
The houndoom crashed into a flickering dome surrounding the two pups. The force of his leap transferred to the landing point, which was his snout. Blood spewed from his broken fangs as he laid on the ground.
"Are you two alright?" Their wide eyes traced the feminine voice, and followed it to what they would call 'Queen' for the rest of their lives.
Regality? Elegance? They barely describe the beauty of those born under Cresselia's light.
The newcomer was tall, taller than his own pack leader. Pink, flawless fur covered every inch of the pokemon. She had a curled tail, marred by a scar standing out prominently from her unblemished fur.
On her back was a pair of dark pink wings, each wing ending in three distinct points. Her frowning face topped off with a curly stripe. She was the very image of all that is fae, the guardians of nature.
Clefable, children of the moon.
The fae-like pokemon stepped out of the cliff side, the illusion breaking to reveal a cave with a giant entrance.
She smiled, amused at the awe and wonder in the eyes of the young pokemon. Ever since coming to this world and experiencing so much, seeing the awe of others was akin to the warm light of a candle.
A light that would've been snuffed out had she not intervened.
She glared at the houndoom struggling to stand. He spit out a globule of blood and snarled.
"Who the hell-YOU!" His intimidating persona vanished, replaced with a terrified expression. He began to back up, tail lowly wagging in discomfort.
He knew the tales of Silent Haven. A place where anyone who wishes to rest may do so, provided you keep the quiet. Otherwise, its patron would rouse along with her compatriots and kick the rabble-rouser out.
Houndoom made a mistake once, thinking that the pack of bidoofs residing within the barrier would be easy pickings. They raised a ruckus, and the guardian awoke.
He would've dead if wasn't near the barrier's edge anyway.
Now, he's looking at the pokemon that haunted his nightmares.
"P-Please, don't kill me!" His nerves broke, and he turned to ran. He just had to reach the woods, and he'll be able to get away!
He panted and wheezed, the terror filling his lungs. Adrenaline surged through his body and he sped like he never had before, intent on reaching cover.
'I'm free!' He thought as he leaped, intent on disappearing into the darkness.
*BOOM*
A sphere of blue light crashed into his body, its Fighting-type energy conflicting and overpowering his own Dark-type energy. The ball of aura began to grow larger as it siphoned more of his energy, consuming his body whole.
In the end, only the blood on the ground gave any indication that he was here.
Clefable frowned at the lupine at her side.
"Now, why did you go and do that, Elder? He was clearly running away." The lucario scoffed.
"Silence, he broke the rule of the Silent Haven. No noise, a sanctuary for all. For this place's reputation, it would be better to make an example." Silence sent him a flat look.
"Then why did you not leave any trace if you're 'making an example', as you call it? Also, I told you to call me Flairina, not that name."
"You're a pokemon, you know this. Names are granted by others, not yourself. It would be the height of arrogance to do so." Elder replied, choosing to ignore her first question.
Flairina sighed, not knowing how to deal with this cultural naming thing, and clearly not missing how the lucario avoided the real question. In any case, there were other concerns to tend to.
Namely, the two pups with blatant hero-worship in their eyes. She smiled gently, and spread her arms.
"Hello there. Would you like to come inside and rest?"
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So, what do you guys think?
I wrote an Arknights fanfic called Another Destiny. It's about Operators from different continuities suddenly arriving at the Ark of the canon timeline Rhodes Island. Read the canon people's reaction!
