Trainer's PC (Snippet Thread)

Trainerzygarde · Oct 19, 2024

Darkness.

A Friend.

A Fall.

A… Loss?

Confusion.

...Restoration.

"Whoa-ho-ho! Not gonna make a move to get take that back? Too scared?" The Koffing laughs, floating beside Zubat.

Flora, the nice Chikorita who I just met, just whimpers in place.

"Meh, c'mon let's get outta here." Zubat snickers around the strange-looking rock in his mouth.

Well, I didn't really know what was going on here; maybe it isn't hers? Maybe she owes them and they've come to collect? Anything, anything other than the stereotypical nonsense I'm guessing is happening.

"That rock… It's yours, isn't it." I whisper, stretching out the stiffness in this(my?) body, feeling the damp sand under my feet as I stare straight at the two that were just floating/levitating away without a care.

"Eep!" Huh. Did she forget I was here with all the cowering?

Sure my voice came out a bit flat, but c'mon!

"Yeah, it's my treasure…" She sniffs, looking all teary-eyed and miserable and… damnit.

Oh, hell. Here we go again, I guess. Don't even know if I'm about to get my ass whooped, but fuck it, we ball.

"Hey! Asshats! Drop it, or I drop you!" I snarl, already running at the two bullies just as they're turning around, a few sparks apparently flying from my cheeks and fur defensively. That's probably Static, instead of Lightning Rod then.

"W-Woah!" Zubat squeaks, dropping the rock as he backs away from me warily. Yeah, type advantage is a bitch when it isn't on your side, isn't it?

"Mind your own business, unless you want to get beaten!" Koffing huffs, inflating a bit to show his point. A gasbag's still a gasbag, though, and I ignore him to focus on taking out the easier target. Still kept him in my vision though; I'm no amateur to a street fight, or a fight in general.
Alright; how does this whole move thing work? Type Energy? Power Points? Aura? I'm not a Riolu, so I'm not even sure if whatever mystic stuff they were spouting in that movie is gonna work for me, being a Pikachu and all.

I apparently took a bit too long thinking instead of doing, though, and Zubat darts back down at some unspoken signal to grab the rock in his mouth, winging up to try and fly over me.

"Hey!" I cry, looking up and crouching to try and snatch the skinny fuck out of the sky, Moves be damned-

"Have a taste! Smog!"

-And I immediately eat a blast of one of the foulest things I have ever smelt in my entire life, straight to the face, knocking me on my furry ass.

"Oh god," I gag, "Rotten eggs!"

I hear more than see Flora get bowled over as she apparently tries to stop them herself, but I was too busy holding back the urge to dunk my head in what I'm pretty sure is seawater to gargle the smell out of me by all means.

I fail.

By the time I'm done spitting up some surprising okay saltwater, the two Poison-Types are long gone into some weird distortion in a cave.

Flora waits for the Smog to clear, before bounding over to me, worry in her eyes.

"Uhh, Flora, is it?" I ask, slowly getting up from where I had flopped down near the water.

"Yes, Watson?" She answers, still a bit awe-struck for some reason? No, seriously; why's she giving me that look? It's not like I even did anything…

"Aren't we going to get your rock back? Please don't tell me I got stink-bombed for nothing."

"Y-you want to help? T-thank you! Let's go right now!" She thanks, turning around and making her way down to the cave opening, but I stop her for a sec with a hand on her shoulder.

"Heh, we're pals, for now at least. Call me Watt, okay?"

Beach Cave B1F
"So... Just how is this cave this big?" I ask, walking alongside Flora down a corridor.

The Beach Cave entrance we passed through closed off once we came in, so we couldn't go back out that way. When we took a few steps in, the cave stretched into a corridor.

Flora herself looks surprised at my question, too. Maybe I shouldn't have asked?

"Uh, we're in a Mystery Dungeon." She answers with a raised brow, so at least it's not too bad a question to ask, I guess?

"Ah, right. Just, er… forgot the name? Anyway, what moves do you have?" Can she tell I'm trying to seem less suspicious?

…Nah. Doubt it.

"Um… So far… Tackle and Growl?" She replies bashfully, looking down.

…Ah. So she's real weak. Makes sense then, about how those two seem to have kept pushing her around.

"Is your low Level why you didn't stand up to those two?"

"I guess? Not so sure about the level part… And no... I'm also pretty timid- look out!"

I thought for a second that Flora'd snapped as she runs into a Tackle… right into a blue Shellos that just dropped down from the ceiling right beside me the fuck.

Big, slimy slug! KILL IT!

"RAAAHHH!"

By the time I snap out of what I was doing, the Shellos is deep fried and lying there, twitching.

"Huh. So that's how you use Thundershock."

Beach Cave B2F
"So... Do you have an explanation for the stairs?" I ask, still a bit weirded out by the random, perfectly white marble-like stairs leading down to another near-identical floor.

"Actually... No. I don't." Flora answers after a bit of thinking; she's been a lot more thoughtful after all the questions I asked about Dungeons while we were on B1F.

"Huh. First time you haven't had an answer for me." I muse, retreating a bit back into the room we were just exiting after spotting a pair of a Shellos and Kabuto smack dab in the middle of the corridor.

Flora doesn't even answer me verbally; an admittedly cute pout is all I get even as she sticks to my right as we set up in the middle of the room to wait. We don't wait long; the two apparently Wild Pokémon come right at us with unintelligible cries.

"No one really thinks about it…" The Chikorita mumbles after quickly dispatching the Shellos with a nasty Tackle to the gut. Oof, sure hope none of those crits come my way any time soon; I don't remember Pikachu being that durable defense-wise.

The moment the Kabuto comes in range, I fry it with Thundershock, and it drops something as it falls over on its side. Ooh! Are these actual drops, or held items? I mean, I don't recognize this thing; doesn't look like a Berry. Why would a Rock/Water type be holding something like this?

"Hey... What's this strange seed?" I ask, picking up the yellow seed with a light spray of dust on it with my mouth; pretty sure the fact that it looks like an edible means it may be okay to chow down, right?

"B-be careful! That's a-" Flora starts, but it was too late.

The moment my teeth prick open the seed, it promptly explodes in my mouth with green powder.

The last thing I heard before I conked out was Flora finishing her sentence.

"-Sleep Seed..."

Beach Cave B3F
"Why?! Why did you take their Oran Berry?!" Flora yells over the angry chattering of the four furious Kabuto that were chasing us.

After I woke up from my embarrassing nap, we didn't have anything else to do on the floor, apart from me soaking in Flora's explanation on Wonder Tiles; the green arrows on the floor that heal any stat changes, negative or positive. Great for debuffs, shitty for buffs.

This got me thinking about Pokémon Centers, and how the fact that I was a Pikachu meant that I wouldn't be able to just waltz into one to get myself and Flora healed up after this if need be. Then when I thought about how clueless Flora was when I started mentioning most of the normal stuff that I remembered about the Pokémon world…

…I kind of panicked, okay?

"You said this could heal all wounds! They won't miss it!" I shout back, already a good way ahead because of my natural speed.

"But I have stubby leeeegs!" Flora screamed, nearly tripping as she said so.

Beach Cave B4F
Flora whips her head in a circle, releasing a flurry of tiny leaves which fly through the air across the room. They completely decimate a Corsola that popped out from around a corner in a corridor.

Wait, what? Razor Leaf?

"Did you level? Why didn't you do that earlier?!" I gape, confused and a little drained; all these Thundershocks are starting to make my cheeks throb. And you're telling me she had a super-effective move on her this whole time?

"I just learnt how!" Flora retorted, a bit offended, "And I still don't get what you mean by level!"

"…Alright, I get it, but just explain it to me like I don't, OK?" I ask after taking a deep breath to calm down.

"Pokémon perfect and learn new techniques as they grow and become battle-hardened. I've been trying my hardest to release the leaves, but they never came out hard! Until now, that is."

"Huh. That's basically what I'm talking about by level; do you guys, not get that? I'm decently sure I'm probably Lv.6 right now…" I ask, casually releasing a few sparks and checking on that feeling deep inside me that felt like advancement and progress and prowess.

Yep; still feel a relative bump in power when combing through that. I'm sure at this point that we both started at five, so that's probably a level.

"No? We just train and get stronger; is this a human thing, Watt?" Flora asks, eyes shining as she seems to get excited at learning some more human stuff.

Adorable.

"Hm… You know what? I'm gonna stand back for a bit; if you can take out every Wild by yourself with Razor Leaf by the time we get to the stairs? I promise to answer a few questions."

It'll give me a chance to take a breather, and hey; If I take the chance to hide behind my current partner and feel like an actual Pokémon Trainer, then it's not like Flora has to know, right?

Beach Cave Pit
The last stairs go on for a bit longer than usual, before suddenly terminating into a short, dark tunnel with a bright light pouring in. Like, really bright; I can't see anything past it, which is bullshit because up until this point there's been some sort of omnipresent light pouring down from the ceiling of this Dungeon.

Okay, this is obviously some kind of boss room. The question is, is it dumb and dumber in there? Or something that might actually be a challenge? In any case…

"Even odds the two thieves are past this; are you ready Flora?" I have to ask, to which the Chikorita takes a few deep breaths, steps a bit closer to me, and nods.

"Then let's kick some ass, okay?"

"Y-Yeah!"

We run through together, and find ourselves on a small island which has a small path of sandy ground leading to a white light which… seemed to be the same cave opening we used to get in? Palkia must be pissed at these places, huh?

On the 'island', looking at the surrounding waters, were the two thieves, Koffing and Zubat. Flora's treasure was on the sand, near the water. Too near for me to think I could just dash in and grab before dipping. Meh, I was hoping to beat them up first anyway.

"I'm... Gonna face them." Flora says, still unsure despite her hyping herself up a bit in the tunnel.

I roll my eyes and yell at the two idiots as I run forward a bit, hoping Flora follows; thankfully I can see her coming up from the corner of my eye.

"Hey! Give her back her treasure!"

"Woah-ho-hooo!" Koffing wheezed in surprise, eyes widening, before sending out a Smog at me, which I backtracked from wary of getting hit with that… smell again.

"Heh-heh-heh! Afraid, are we?" Zubat taunted, setting off towards my side; towards Flora, only to falter in the air for a second or two as Razor Leaf left nothing but very shallow cuts on his body.

Damn quad-resistance.

"We're not afraid! Give it back!" Flora roars, firing off another barrage to little effect on Zubat, despite him trying and failing to dodge. Guess she found her courage, then.

Well, let me see if I can pull this off this time. I feint running right at Koffing again, and the moment the gasbag takes a second to inhale deep for and attack, I immediately dart backwards, facing Zubat and letting out a cry of my own as I push my aching cheeks to work. My Thundershock lances out!

...And sparks uselessly into the ground beside him as the lucky bastard manages to just drop to the floor out of the air!

"Flora!" I yell, pointing at Zubat as I turn back, just to eat a Tackle to the face from Koffing.

"Oho! Take that!" He huffs, taking his sweet time to inhale for another attack while I stumbled to a stop.

Before he could capitalize on that though-

"Gah!"

-Zubat, who had just tried getting airborne again, was shot right in the back by a brace of Razor Leaves; the way he shudders midair before flopping right back down to the sand, looking like a weird pincushion? Crits don't care much about type advantage, heh.

"Z-Zubat!" Koffing sputtered, abandoning his attack to look at where the bat had fallen.

Well, his mistake!

"Wanna give up?" I asked loudly to get his attention; Flora was already whipping her head around for another barrage, so he didn't need to see that.

Although he flinched before swiveling back around, inflating himself some more, it was too late.

"Thundershock!"

"Razor Leaf!"

And that was that.

Trainerzygarde · Oct 31, 2024

Chapter Two
"Thank you so much!" Flora thanks, smiling broadly as we once again stand on the shore.

I mean, I only helped because she looked so sad about it, and because I hate bullies. Well, in any case, it does feel nice to be appreciated.

I get to listening as she basically pours out her history on me, nodding and answering at the right moments, even looking at the Relic Fragment she had. It's obviously some Key Item she'd need later, maybe connected to a Legendary? I mean, that's how these usually go; the Silver Wing and GS Ball come to mind.

Eventually, she asks me the question I've been ruminating on since I woke up here.

"So, Watt," She starts, cocking her head at me cutely, "What are you going to do now? I mean, you say you're a human, and you know all these weird things I've never heard about… But you haven't told me anything much about what you're going to do…"

I'm not an idiot. I know where this is going, and I cut her off, since I'm already done trying to convince myself otherwise. This is just how things are going to play out; It's pretty obvious that one of us is the MC of this adventure, right? Why wouldn't I stick close? Sure, maybe she's been blinded a bit by some propaganda, and there's a whole lot of other stuff she either hasn't told me or doesn't know about, but…

…An Exploration Team seems to be the way to go. I'll probably find out what the big bad that one of us eventually has to deal with that way, and we'll get strong enough to actually do it. Besides, it already seems my knowledge's gonna be a big boon; why not start off with something I'm already somewhat good at, right?

"Flora?" I ask, and she stops psyching herself up for her big question, a bit curious.

"I'd love to be on a team with you."

"W-Wait, really?!" She squeals, and she leaps at me and-

Ah. Hug. Neck hug feels nice, actually. Do all Grass Types smell this herby? Or is it just because she's a Chikorita?

Either way, I bleed off a little momentum on the sand with a huff, and carefully pat the ecstatic Johto Starter on the back.

"So? What's next?" I ask, and she pulls away,

"We have to go to Wigglytuff's Guild."

"Umm, Guildmaster?" Chatot asked, cocking his head.

After a slight misunderstanding about why they were here, and some very concerning information about just what they were signing themselves up for, we finally get down to the Guildmaster's office to get registered as apprentices. Right now we're in the Guildmaster's personal quarters... Where the pink evolved Balloon Pokémon seems to be admiring(?) a banner with a heavily stylized version of his face on it, absorbed in his own world... Or so it seems.

Hopefully.

…It would really suck if he was the dumb himbo type, but…

"Umm, is he dense or something?" I whisper to Flora, who giggles a bit. Luckily, Chatot and probably Wigglytuff don't hear anything.

All of a sudden...

"Hiya!" Wigglytuff greets, turning his big body around in a millisecond to stare at us with wide, unblinking eyes.

I… do not take it well.

"What the flying ffff-!" I begin, being stopped by that bastard Chatot swiftly slamming a Wing Attack on my head and shushing me with the other.

Holy shit he's strong! I nearly passed out, and this is with a type disadvantage!

"Ouch. That looks like it really hurt, Watt, sorry." Flora whispers soothingly as I barely keep tears from coming to my eyes with shear fucking will.

"Mmmph... You think?" I manage to groan, rubbing my head and silently wondering at how durable Pokémon were, and how I could get away with deep-frying a fucker in the future as long as he didn't die.

Meanwhile, Wigglytuff continues on as if nothing happened; creepy guy didn't even blink.

"I'm Wigglytuff! Guildmaster Wigglytuff! You want to form an exploration team?" He asks, as if that isn't the very reason we're here.

"Uh-" Flora starts, only to be cut off.

"Then let's go for it!"

Wigglytuff's large eyes stare into my fucking soul for a few more awkward seconds, before asking a simple question.

"Sooo... What's your Team's name?"

… And Flora's looking pretty stumped.

"T-team name? I... I didn't think of one... I never thought I would even make it this far!" She groans.

Suddenly, she perks right back up, before staring at me. Don't tell me she's-

"Hey, Watt. What do you think we should name the team?" She asks, making everyone else in this room look to me like I have the answers.

God damn, I am not good with names! It's either something simple like a colour, or and element, or mythical like the name of a deity or divine thing of some sort. Hell, maybe other crossover stuff too! Plantback the Venausaur, Wukong the Infernapes or hell, even Napoleon the Empoleon would agree with me!

Okay… Time to think really hard on this; what are we here to do? What's our overall goal?

…Who can we hope to be? To overcome?

With my knowledge and whatever else I haven't figured out I have from me being here, I just know that we're gonna hit the top; how else would Red, Gold, Brendan and the rest have reached the peak? Even Legendaries were eventually no match!

…Huh.

"Legendary. Team Legendary" I whisper, tasting the words together and nodding to myself when I felt something click deep in me when I was sure enough.

"Guildmaster? We're Team Legendary." I declare to the Wigglytuff, eyeing Flora nodding along beside me.

After enduring the heart-attack inducing thing that was Wigglytuff's 'registration', the two of us freshly-minted apprentices were given a room with hay beds -which I immediately despised- and soon got to sleep... But not before some small talk.

"I can't believe I'm finally here, Watt. I'm so glad I found you; you helped me with those two bullies and even formed a team with me." Flora whispers, staring at the ceiling as she lays on her side.

"Thanks. I'm happy you found me too. Who knows what kind of weirdo or dangerous Pokémon would have found me by now. I'm not that good at small talk, Flora, but I'm promising you right now; we're gonna be the best Exploration Team this world's ever seen. Trust me on that, 'kay?" I whisper back, before yawning.

"Mhm… Good night, Wattson..."

Huh. She fell asleep really quickly; guess I'll just… do the same, I guess.

Tomorrow I'll see what we're working with in terms of training. Hopefully things aren't too bad here.

Please don't punish me, Murphy?

Trainerzygarde · Oct 31, 2024

All was peaceful in the guild room of Team Legendary... The two members; Flora and Watson peacefully sleeping in the early hours of the morning. Until...

"HEY! WAKE UP! RISE AND SHINE!"

Now, I'm a light sleeper; it took me a bit to even fall asleep last night, especially after I lamented not having access to modern technology anymore (My poor games!). Normally, just stepping into the same room as me would wake me. This, however, was the sound of a foghorn mixed with the world's loudest loudspeaker.

"What the FUCK?!" I yelp, leaping up high, more like a cat than the Electric Mouse I am because what the HELL was that?!

Is this hazing? Are we under attack?!

I barely hear Flora groaning about something over the ringing in mine. Pokémon really are a lot more durable; this would've burst my eardrums instantly when I was human.

"What?! I think that fucking foghorn deafened me!" I yell, rubbing my ears and looking around blearily in the morning light of the room for our attacker.

"C'mon, snap OUT of it! I'm Loudred! A fellow apprentice!" The Pokémon who oh-so-nicely just put himself on my shitlist right under Chatot bellows.

"God damn! Volume down, boombox; we get it! You're an apprentice too! Gah! I think my eardrums are bleeding..." I whine, rubbing my ears a bit more after I wrestle myself out of bed and onto the tamped down earthen floor.

Leaf barely looks coherent; I can see her eyes are spinning. She's also closer to the door than me, which probably makes her situation slightly worse. This has to end at some point, right?

I barely take a step to unblock my ears when I'm hit with a blast of sound again, nearly knocking me on my ass again as I cringe at the volume;

"If you two are late for morning assembly, Guildmaster Wigglytuff will get MAD! And if he gets mad..." Loudred shouts again, surprisingly dropping off into a sane tone to mumble to himself in what he probably thinks is a whisper.

"Finally... The ringing..." I grumble, getting up again and helping my partner to her wobbly feet as the normal-type keeps up with his mumbling.

"Hnng..." Flora whimpers, still dazed, and hey! At least I can still hear her, right?

"ANYWAY-" Loudred booms, pulling a Wigglytuff on us and turning around on a dime.

NO MORE FOR FUCK'S SAKE!

"FUCKINGZIPIT!" I roar as loud as I can, eyes bloodshot and cheeks sparking as I very narrowly stop myself from hurling a Thundershock at his purple ass. No way that attacking your fellow apprentice on the first day's gonna win me any points.

I have to make my point clear though!

"We heard you, asshole! Now. GET. OUT!" I snarl, loosing a weaker Thundershock right in front of me.

The snap of electricity stops the loudmouth from making any further comments, and he wisely scurries out of our room, eyes wide.

All was silent after a while as we both recover from all the yelling. Then...

"Wait a sec, Watt. He said something about being..." Flora starts only to trail off while scrambling to her stubby feet again.

"Late. Shit! Come on, Flora!" I finish, running out with Flora in tow.

When we get out of the quarters and into the larger hall we first went through the day before, we're met with a group of eight Pokémon, barring Chatot, with Loudred being one of them. Quickly skimming, they're a Croagunk, Chimecho, Dugtrio, Diglett, Sunflora, Corphish and… Bidoof? A Bidoof?

He's either hopeless or is gonna turn into a beast later on. I'm keeping an eye on that one.

Anyway, as soon as the smug bastard spots us trudging on in, he seems to gather up courage and yells in that ridiculous volume as usual.

"You two are LATE!"

"HUSH! Your voice is ridiculously loud!" Chatot growls, his wings spread and shining dimly.

Rightfully fearing a Wing Attack from Chatot, he shuts up.

"Hmm. Looks like everyone's here. Guildmaster! We are ready for our morning address!" Chatot called, looking to the big double doors leading to the Guildmaster's office.

Said wooden doors soon swing open and the pink Balloon Pokémon waddles out, eyes wide and unnerving as usual.

…

…He's just… Staring.

Oh god, did he fall asleep? What the hell did I sign up for?

"Guildmaster? Umm, Guildmaster?" Chatot whispered to Wigglytuff. Not very softly, if I could hear it though.

All he got were a few snores and a snort. Holy shit I was joking, he's actually asleep?!

Just like that, whispers break out amongst the apprentices; some are already sucking up to him about how amazing his feat of being standing and asleep was. I just think that shit's creepy as hell; I sure don't want to follow someone who can just turn their brain off at any time.

Flora herself was starting to glance around, looking a little uneasily as I have no doubt her image of this guy's being shattered right before her eyes…

Ignoring all the byplay behind him, Chatot nods at the sleeping Guildmaster and turns to face us apprentices.

"We have all heard our Guildmaster's... Words of wisdom! Let's take his words to heart! Now everyone, let's not forget our morning cheers! All together now!"

"Wait a second... We're going to get an item that someone dropped?!" Flora huffed, dissatisfied.

After the cheers which included some very concerning rules, we were taken upstairs to get our very first job from the Job Bulletin board. Needless to say, it was about a certain Spoink losing his pearl somewhere. This curse… Even here, fetch quests have followed me.

But first, I need to remind my partner that she has the lowest ground to be speaking up to this absolute monster of a parrot; I'm pretty sure he's holding back a lot, so what Level could he be? He seems easily 6th or 7th Badge at the least. Worst case? Elite 4. In any case, I wouldn't want to piss him off too much unless I know I'm either out of range of those wings or will be able to get away with it.

"Uh, Flora... You're a Grass type..." I mutter, a little too late.

"HUSH!" Chatot ordered, wings spread wide and glowing.

"Yikes!" Flora yelped, backtracking a bit.

"Now! You rookies are to pay your dues! If you understood what the job entails, then get on with it!"

"Hmm..." Flora whimpered.

Drenched Bluff BF1
"How did this happen! Where they waiting for us?!" I yelp, getting Scratched in the face by an Anorith.

"I don't know! I didn't go much into dungeons before I met you, remember?" Flora replies, taking out a Lileep with a critical Razor Leaf.

The moment we entered the Bluff proper, we were ambushed by a Lileep and two Anorith. The Pokémon had dropped from the ceiling above them. Freaking campers, man! Even in Pokémon they're around every corner.

I finally get enough space to work my stuff, and immediately throw out a nasty Thundershock at my attacker, knocking it out. I was about to take a second or two to take a breather, but the second Anorith-

"Why my face, damnit?!" I curse, stumbling back from yet another Scratch to the face, eyes watering and trying my hardest to not grab at the stinging lines of pain. How did Ash and co ever manage whenever Meowth managed to pull his Fury Swipes off?!

"H-Hold still, Watt!" Flora says, and I look back at my partner to see her squinting an eye at the Anorith right in front of me.

"F-Flora, I got it!" I plead, dodging another Scratch, but still trying my hardest to not be a victim of friendly fire if she doesn't listen.

I let out a totally manly sound as I dive to the floor; a sharp brace of leaves passing overhead after winging the Wild on its own head, taking it out.

"Hehehe, sorry?" She apologizes sheepishly.

It's not a laughing matter, ya peach! I almost got an unwanted haircut!

Drenched Bluff BF2
The moment the Shellos I just blasted unconscious drops to the ground the way I wish Chatot might one day, I feel it again.

Something expanding in me, a slight click somewhere behind all that I am? Whatever it is, I look deeper again, and I feel like that slight bump of progress and advancement has about… Doubled in size? That should be Lv.7 then. I'm starting to think that I shouldn't be able to feel this that accurately; maybe this world runs more on the game's logic than the anime? I mean, I don't have some screen floating in front of me helping me out, right?

Wait, shit!

"Status." Zip.

"Menu." Zilch.

"Pokémon?" Nada.

"Uh, Watt? Why are you saying random words?" Flora asks me, as if I'm not too busy trying to figure out if I have a freaking system at my back or not.

"Not now, Flora; it's a human thing I'll explain later, okay?" I bluff, focusing on saying the words mentally to no effect.

"Oh, Ok!" Heh. Still cute how easy she believes me.

Team? Party? Options? Statistics? Character Sheet? Player? System?!

"Okay, at this point I'm like… maybe 60-70% wrong, then." I huff, a bit disappointed.

"So… What was it?" The Chikorita asks as we walk through an empty room, passing a Wonder Tile before getting taking a random corridor out of it. The floor has random puddles that I'm weirdly okay about stepping in, but I draw the line at trying to swim in the big-ass pools randomly strewn around. Everything just seems so damp too; the air's not too humid, but I can see the walls glistening with moisture. I may or may not have licked a wall, just to check if it was real water or something, don't ask. Flora's already embarrassed me enough about it.

"Flora? Remember how I told you we were gonna be Legendary?" I start, taking a moment to bring my thoughts together; I want to tell her the truth, but I have to put it in a way a Pokémon would understand. Hell, even most humans in the Pokémon Universe wouldn't get me. Except maybe a Super Nerd or two.

"Yeah? What of it?" She asks, curious even as she snipes a Shellos from across the corridor with Razor Leaf.

"Well, there are a lot of ways to get stronger in this world, and from where I come from, there are a lot of ways to get stronger that don't even apply normally here. I thought I was able to do it, but I guess either it's hidden from even me, or nonexistent. I can still train us up, but you're gonna have to listen to me a lot, okay?" I explain, getting an affirmative nod before I'm even done speaking.

"Got it! Secret human training! Of course I'll listen, Watt! You lead, and I'll follow!" She gushes excitedly.

Wow. She is really trusting. I'm starting to even feel bad about this.

"Okay! Let's make our way close to the top and then do some live-testing before whatever we're obviously going to meet at the top of this!"

"Yeah!"

Drenched Bluff BF3
"Huh. So we just, find these Apples and other food on the ground and just… Eat em?" I ask, a bit concerned as I look at a Big Apple that we just found.

"Yep! Sometimes, but not all the time, Dungeons seem to make us a lot more hungry faster." She answers, as If she didn't just say this magic stuff around us isn't messing with our freaking guts.

But then again… The scratches I got are already fully healed. Maybe it's some sort of metabolic exchange? But wouldn't that have a lot of heat? Or am I trying to pull logic in a world where things like Max Revives and Full Restores exist?

Wait, no. It's magic, no one has to really explain shit. Think of this in game mechanics, then. Food heals in games, and Oran Berries here already heal you to full unlike the pitiful amount in the main games and the anime. Let's just leave it at Hunger=HP and call it a day.

Now for the more important question;

"Are these like, clean? Or am I gonna get some horrible stomach bug from eating floor food? I mean, some of this might have a bunch of germs, right?"

"What're those?" And there's the cute head tilt.

You've got to be fucking kidding me.

Drenched Bluff BF4
"Flora?" There's just no way.

"What is it?" She doesn't look like she's joking?

"There're these… Geo Rocks just lying around as ammo, and we just chuck em at Pokémon?" I clarify, having vivid flashbacks to countless Safari Zones, let alone Legends Arceus' nonsense.

"Yeah! They're great for Pokémon that don't have real ranged options. Something about the dungeons make these hurt, even when they probably shouldn't. I heard someone took out a Rhyhorn outlaw with a few of them when they were cornered and tired."

T-TRUE DAMAGE-DEALING ROCKS?!

I immediately snatch my precious treasures off the filthy, undeserving ground and stuff them in the Explorer Bag that we got as part of our kit. It's still weird that it's technically a Bag of Holding which's size expansion is tied to our Guild Rank, but all that means to me right now, is that I can horde as many of my new favorite thing as I want!

"W-Watt? You're making a pretty weird expression right now…" Flora gripes, taking a step to the side away from me for some reason.

Heh.

Drenched Bluff BF6
The fifth floor wasn't anything much, but I had used the opportunity to explain how I wanted to use the fact that dungeons were technically secluded instances that somewhat accelerated growth in some way to get us started on training.

It was basically a way to train in certain ways to get certain skills. Flora already told me that the Gummies that spawned in dungeons were a way to actually boost intelligence and what seemed to be some mix between brain plasticity and some esoteric shit like a TM or Tutor? They were also one of the best ways to get Wild Pokémon, or Ferals if they were particularly weird or 'uncivilized' into being closer to standard. I'm still not sold on them not being a bunch of mind-boosting drugs, but I'm the kind of guy that tosses whatever protein or zinc I find at whatever my favorite Pokémon in-game was at the time, so I have no right to complain. Not when I chewed down a slightly bitter purple one and I could literally feel my mind expand a little.

It basically boiled down into;
Eat Gummy: Raise IQ
Raised IQ: Take advantage of to reorganize your skillset and what you really thing you can do.
Start Training to see what you can do better: Eventually fall into a niche that some governmental Guild body has standardized into being called an IQ Skill.

Basically? We started playing catch with Geo Rocks so I could get us the skill called 'Quick Dodger', without gummies. It was one of the many skills that it seemed we could both learn eventually, and I'm pretty sure I'm on the right track, honestly. Not much progress, but I managed to catch one in the middle of a fight!

…Granted, it was with my face, and I dodged into the projectile instead of away from it, but still, progress.

We had made it to what we're pretty sure was the last floor of this dungeon without incident, so we were going around, occasionally taking out whatever Wilds managed to get into the room with the stairs we were camping out in.

I mean, we were doing that, but I decided to conserve PP (I was pretty sure it worked like that at this point; even if I hadn't learned any new move yet) so we were just smacking them between us while I tried to get Flora to pin down the feeling of a Level Up after describing it the best that I could so I can finally prove I'm not just hallucinating whatever I'm feeling.

She had just headbutted a Shellos into unconsciousness while keeping her eyes closed in focus, before gasping and turning back to me with even wider eyes than usual.

"I-I felt something!" She gasps. I'm about to start questioning her on what exactly she's feeling, but then we get attacked by a couple of Lileep and I have to put it all to the side.

When we do have some more free time between throwing around Geos and splitting the only other Big Apple we've found so far between us, we finally start getting into the nitty gritty of the whole pseudo-system thing going on here.

Turns out, this is probably background noise for everyone, which means the only reason I even noticed is because I have a frame of reference for not being able to feel myself getting stronger. We aren't able to do anything special with it, but I'm just happy that I'm not alone in this.

Time to wrap things up, then. That Spoink's pearl ain't gonna find itself!

... Wait a second, I thought they had heart issues without those things? Or was it without hopping? Am I technically going to find a psychic pacemaker?

Trainerzygarde · Nov 7, 2024

CHAPTER 4

"Oh, wow! 2,000?!" Leaf exclaims, nearly making me fumble the reward drugs I'm hastily stuffing into our bag, before my ears perk up as I process what she actually said.

Wait a sec, that's a serious reaction.

"Is that a lot?" I discretely whisper to my partner, side-eyeing them as Chatot speaks to our client.

"Yeah! We're rich, Watt! All of a sudden, we're -mph!" She squeals before I slap my paws? Hands? Whatever the fuck these are on her mouth to shush her before she finishes broadcasting to everyone that we just got a huge payout.

"Flora, never be loud about having a lot of money, you got me? Nod if you understand." I hiss, looking deep into her eyes as she mumbles affirmatively and nods. Hopefully nothing bad comes from this-

"Well done, team!"

God. Damnit.

The freakishly strong parrot flutter-hops over to me, a talon outstretched expectantly.

"Now hand that money over, if you please!"

Is he fucking mugging us? Is this still hazing? I have no idea, but even Flora's shock isn't enough for me to work on, so I begrudgingly hand the entire pouch of currency over to him.

"Now, don't be too surprised! Most of the money from jobs goes to the Guildmaster, you see!" He explains as he roots around and dumps a worrying amount of our hard-earned cash into his own personal pouch before handing me back a much lighter pouch.

I immediately pass it over to Flora since I have no idea how to value their currency. Please don't be a stupidly high tax cut-

"That's not fair; why are we only getting 200?!" Leaf cries out.

"90 percent?! How?! Why?!" I nearly shriek, because if there's one thing that I hate more than wasting money?

Is losing it for no reason.

The tyrant just shrugs.

"It's the guild rule; you just have to accept it!" He says, turning his back on us with that ludicrous statement like I can't find out what his favorite food bowl is and maybe piss in it.

I… Will do so much damage when we hit the top! This is highway robbery!

So, with a lot of miscellaneous berries and grains and such I have never seen in the anime or games filling my belly for dinner, I can actually ruminate a bit more on the travesty that occurred today.

"You're right, Flora. It's just… The cost of training us." I grit out as I look to our ceiling, before taking a deep breath to calm myself down a little more.

"You still seem really upset, Watt; I know I am too." She shares softly, before getting up from her own bed and walking over to nudge me.

"Hm?"

"We may be upset about losing out on that much money, but look at how happy Spoink was that we got his pearl back! We did that, as a team. Isn't that the best part of the day for you too?" She says, smiling so bright that I'm nearly blinded.

Gah. Damn optimists! Let me be pissed a bit longer, damnit!

…

Eh, what the hell.

I roll over to look her straight in the eyes, ignoring her little eep at my direct attention.

"Y-Yeah, it felt kinda nice, I guess." I mutter grumpily, before nodding to myself, "Flora? We're going to either do enough jobs that even the 10 percent we get is still good enough, or find out a way to supply ourselves without spending much more money, okay?"

"Mhm!"

"Alright, let's get some sleep."

"H-Hey! It's-"

"WHAT THE FUCK DID I TELL YOU YESTERDAY, JACKASS?!"

*ZAP!*

While Flora's telling Chatot the Tyrant about how scared she is of going against outlaws, I'm busy skimming the board.

Holy shit! Some of these guys have bounties in the hundreds of thousands! I mean, sure, most of them are fully evolved Pokémon that look like they can kill me with a single hard stare, but still!

Trying not to be an Icarus, I start looking for lower bounties for my partner to get used to 'civilized' violence. Weird how she can beat up Wilds without much fear. I'd understand it if it was a human thing; a human with a knife or a gun is vastly more dangerous than something like a chimpanzee, if only because the human can strategize on the same playing field as you. Even though a chimp can probably rip you limb from limb if need be…

…Maybe that's a wrong analogy? Meh.

Before I can even finish making my selection though?

"Hey! Bidoof!" The feathered fiend calls.

"Yup yup!"

What in the hillbilly hell is that accent?!

I ignore his huffing and puffing, trying to just understand whether I misheard that, but-

"Yes sirree! By golly, I'll do just that! Yup yup!"

I'm dying here!

While I try not to explode from holding in my laughter, I barely notice the fowl fiend leave the vicinity to probably plan on how best to… scam babies or something, I guess.

"Are you okay, Watt?" Flora, bless her naive soul, fusses over me, a bit worried. I don't have the heart to tell her why I'm probably turning as red as a Cheri berry.

"I-It's nothing, Flora. Just… gimme a sec." I huff before slapping my cheeks to get my grinning mug under control.

Meanwhile, Flora finishes talking to Bidoof, who thankfully doesn't look offended at all, and nudges me when I feel like I'm not about to lose my marbles over this.

At least it's confirmed that he's probably nothing but a goof, especially with that accent.

"S-So, what're we doing now?" I ask, arms crossed as I try and look a bit more composed in front of my technical senior.

"Bidoof here's going to show us around!" Leaf explains with a cheery smile.

"That's right; follow me please." The normal type asks before he makes his way back down the weird ladder-stairs combo we have going on in this place.

Now, let me see if I can organize this tutorial stuff in my head.

The Watering Hole, and yes, I can feel those capital letters at this point, seems to be a gathering place for Pokémon to share tales of their adventures with others. There's apparently always at least a few Pokémon there, either explorers, travelers or town dwellers. Which makes sense since it's a huge deal, being a source of proper drinking water and such. Although it's kinda weird how the town wasn't practically built around it; it's closer to the guild than the town, actually.

Treasure Town's main square's always pretty lively, but we didn't get to see or do much apart from listen to our guide.

Well, Flora did that; I was gawking at the well and proper budding civilization around me. I mean, they have a bank! And it's run by a ghost type, which makes me feel very secure about storing my money there. Nothing much safer than peeps that are already dead handling your cold hard cash.

As an added plus I'm pretty sure the ghosts working there do their jobs piggybank style with vaults and make any changes the same way. Most ghosts can turn somewhat intangible, so I'm pretty sure they can make things far more secure when only they can properly get in and out.

And the market! Oh sweet capitalism gods, the market.

Flora had to remind me that Bidoof was still teaching us stuff, because I was about to blow them all off to see what I could window-shop for. Weirdly enough, its managers are two Kecleon brothers that are the proper faces of this huge merchant clan of 'em. Gave me some mafia/Illuminati vibes, but I'm ignoring that because there's no way in Distortion that Arceus would let that slide, right?

…Right?

…Oh Alpaca Jesus please save us from the Kecleon cartels?

Yeah. That counts as a prayer. Hope I don't need it…

Anyway, the final part of this tutorial was Kangashkan Storage. We got ourselves an account with them, which was basically putting down our names and some guild stuff down. They gave us neat little wooden slates for a sort of ID too!

Oh yeah, did I forget to mention that all of these buildings were shaped just like the Pokémon that owned them? Must be a weird cultural thing. What if they pass the business on to another Pokémon not of their line? Do they reshape the building? Are… Are they all just clans of family Pokémon controlling everything?

…Oh god, this is probably way worse than the Illuminati.

"Um, Watt? What's the Illuminati?" Flora asks me out of nowhere-

-Waitaminute.

"Uh, h-how much of that did I say out loud?" I whimper sheepishly.

"Don't worry, Watt! I've lived in Treasure Town forever; if there are any mean cartels around, I'll make sure to tell them off. We're a team now, after all!" She promises with another blinding smile.

This sweet summer child must be protected.

Flora just barely gets me to stop all my questions about how the hell these Orbs work when two adorable tots come up to the stall and buy a few apples before leaving. The Marill and Azurill's were just so cute and high-pitched that there's no way they weren't tots to me.

"See, those delightful children are brothers." The shiny(?) Kecleon explains while his brother closes a sale with the team with a goofy name; Seedgey, was it?

"Lately, their poor mother has fallen ill. So those youngsters come and do the shopping for her."

"Aww, they're so responsible already! Especially Marill! I remember seeing him practically bounce everywhere when it was just him." Flora coos at the kids' retreating backs.

Huh. Why're they coming back so fast?

"Misters Kecleon!" Marill says, leaning up on his tiptoes to drop one of the apples on the counter.

Maybe it's not good? It seems fine to me, though.

"Oh, what's the hurry? Why the rush?" The purple chameleon asks.

"There's an extra Apple; we didn't pay for this much." Azurill chirps from behind his brother.

Why are there so many cinnamon rolls around?! Is it to balance out the guild's quirkiness?!

The Kecleon chuckles, explaining that it's just a gift to the cheers of the kids, before they decide to sprint off back home, nearly skipping.

Of course, this is when Murphy, that bastard, decides that they were having too much fun, and Azurill trips and eats dirt. The apples he was balancing on his little leaf head wrap bag thing go flying.

"Oh no! Are you okay?" Flora's immediately on the ball, though, and then she's right by the sniffling kid, helping him pick up his produce with his brother.

I decide to pitch in because my partner does not have a pair of forelimbs like I do; so unless she wants to try her luck with her leg stubs or her leaf, her only other option is to pick them up with her mouth.

But just as I give the apple back to the kid, I brush against him…

Ping.

…Why? Why am I so… dizzy?

"F-Flora? I… don't feel so good." I mumble, staggering back to lean on my partner, because ow, my head!

Ping.

"W-Watt! What's wrong?!"

"Is he okay?"

"What's wrong, mister?"

I… Can't even answer them; I feel so numb… so floaty…

PING.

So… Floaty…

PING

PI-

*Crack*

Oooowww! It hurts!

*Crack*

"H-Help!"

I… I!

*CRACK*

I fall.

Trainerzygarde · Nov 11, 2024

Chapter Five

Darkness.

A cry for help.

…Confusion.

Restoration.

Ugh, my poor, tender head…

…Was someone saying something?

"Watt?! Watt!" Somebody nearly screams in my ear, and I only just manage to not slam a foot in the speaker's direction because god damn my ears!

I crack a bleary but quickly-refocusing eye and see my partner, the two brothers, and the little tots staring down at me from where I lie, clearly worried.

Ah, right. I was in town buying some stuff and prepping when…

"H-Help!"

With a grunt, I roll to my feet, my eyes and ears swiveling around.

"Watt? Are you… Alright? What's the matter?" Flora says slowly, trying to spy what I was looking at.

I know no one just passes out for no reason; I could've sworn I heard a cry for help too! The fact that it hurt like broken glass should mean something too… No one else seems to have been affected?

I mean, it's either that, or even Flora and two kids have a higher pain tolerance than I do.

The probable-mafia Kecleon don't count.

"Y-Yeah, I'm fine; it's nothing. Let's go." I rasp, taking a few deep breaths to compose myself and not give the game away, especially if someone was watching.

Flora's still a sweetheart, so she supports my side as we walk away from the market.

"Take care, mister!" The little Azurill yells before we're out of range, and I wordlessly wave backwards, hoping he could see.

Cute kid, hope nothing happens to him…

By the time we're back at town square, the aches are little more than a memory, and I guide my partner over to a secluded spot near an empty stall to tell her what happened to me.

"A voice crying out for help?!" She asks, eyes widening, before she looks a bit more thoughtful instead.

"But I didn't hear anything… Neither did the brothers and Kecleon. Are you sure that you heard that, Watt?" She reasons.

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure. Maybe it was something only I could hear? I mean, between everyone there, I think I have the best ears, right?"

I sure as hell hope it's not a faulty quest system or some shit; I've read a few stories about broken or faulty systems, and this is not up my alley.

"I think… That it's something related to how I'm a Pikachu now, Flora. Me hearing things is weird enough, but getting a painful dizzy spell before that?" I muse, rubbing my head at the phantom pain that just thinking about it caused.

Flora notices that though, and her frown deepens as she starts to step closer.

"Hey, are you sure you're fine?" She prods, looking right in my eyes.

Oof. Worried friend powers are too… Strong!

"I… may have downplayed how much it hurt back there-mmph!" I start, wincing as her stare becomes a full-on glare, before she whirls around and I find something juicy slammed into my mouth.

I immediately plan on spitting me out, but Flora stops me as well.

"Chew and swallow! It's an Oran." She orders, before stepping back to watch me like a hawk as I eventually swallow the health berry down.

Huh. The lingering pain's gone!

She must see my surprise in my face, and smiling Flora is back, giving me a playful bop on the head with her leaf.

"Most stuff isn't nearly as potent outside the dungeons than in, but Orans seem to still do quite a bit." She explains, before bringing back a little of Frowning Flora; "Never try and hide your hurt from me, okay? I'm your partner, and we have a bunch of berries thanks to you!"

Yeah, I guess my instinct to hoard healing items seems to have come in clutch, huh?

"Alright, alright! I promise. Now can we head back to the guild? We're burning daylight!"

Just like that, I banish Frowning Flora, and my partner takes one look at the bright sky above us, before she yelps and pushes me out of our spot from behind, whining about how late we currently are.

While I, amused, let her push me all the way to the more busy parts, I see the two tots talking to a… Drowzee? The dude seems to be listening real intently to them, and from what little I can hear of his voice and see from here, he's an older guy. Maybe a few years older than me? I dunno how Pokémon ages work, though.

Wait. A Drowzee and kids?

Must… Not… Profile…

…Okay, sure, he may look sleazy, but he seems nice enough! And most of all that stuff's from the Pokédex, and only the great llama knows how accurate that stuff is.

Although there was that creepy-ass sidequest with that Hypno and little girl in Fire Red…

…Nah. I'm sure they're fine.

Why, oh why, did I tempt Murphy again?!

"I fucking called it! He's a criminal! Maybe even a kiddie fiddler! C'mon!" I roar, startling Bidoof, my partner and the other Pokémon around as I practically yank my partner away from the Outlaw Notice Board and up the stairs.

Flora, bless her heart, takes one look at my face and puts on all the speed her stubby legs can muster, letting me drop to all fours and lead the way even faster.

"What's… Going on?!" She pants behind me as we try not to break our necks sprinting down the stairs outside the guild.

"The kids! With Drowzee earlier! No time!" I grit out, hoping that they hadn't gone too far yet.

I have no idea where they went or when they're meant to come back; my only other option is to head to the Kecleon and ask them for their address. Hopefully they give it to me when I explain what's happening and I can find out from their mom or neighbors.

I practically soar off the stairs, ignoring the last few ones to get a head start on getting to the square, when-

"Marill's over here!" Flora yells, bringing me skidding to a halt, before what she says registers in my head.

Marill. Not the brothers.

Shit.

By the time I reach the blubbering kid and my partner that's trying to comfort him, she's already gotten most of the story out.

Something about looking for a lost item together, and Drowzee seemingly disappearing with his brother and not coming back.

"S-So which way did they go?!" Flora asks, alarmed.

"No time! Just lead us there, kid!" I order, before I pick him up and secure him on my back with a spare strap I got for our Bag. He's not too heavy, thankfully, even though we're nearly the same size.

Hopefully we're not too late.

"So you think they went off in this direction?" Flora asks the kid as I look around the mountainous area the kid led us to.

Thankfully, it wasn't too far from town; hell, I could see that outrageous pink from here, blob as it is.

But still; what the hell did they lose here? And more importantly? Why did they come here in the first place?

Questions for later, I think; Flora's gotten all the info she can out of the kid anyway, since she's coming over here.

"Drowzee has to have taken Azurill up here; it's a Mystery Dungeon." She informs, and with a nod, and an order to have Marill either wait for us to come out or to go to the guild and send for help if we don't, we're off.

Mt. Bristle 1F
I waste zero time; we drop in from a crack in the wide room's wall that seals up the moment we pass through. The ground is barely flat, more uniformly jagged than anything else, and once again I'm happy that I'm a Pokémon for this, as my feet would probably have already been cut open on this. A quick glance reveals that we seem to be inside the mountain, before a pretty big Doduo makes its present known with a screech.

Flora takes aim, but I'm faster, and I let my attack snap out at the feral; the Geo Pebble has a beautiful arc that I'll probably appreciate later, and crashes straight on a head, cutting off the screeching. It stumbles a bit and starts running at us, but the moment it leaps to the side to completely dodge a salvo of Flora's Razor Leaf, my second rock slams into the other head, leading it to tumble to the floor.

I heft yet another one of my new favorite things from our Bag, but by the time I start aiming… It runs away?!

"Hey! Get back here, ya exp bag!" I growl, ignoring the snort from my partner, who soon does her best to follow me as I follow the fleeing, squawking bird into a corridor after missing a throw and wasting tine recovering ammo.

The Doduo has no chance; it's a straight corridor, and my perfectly thrown stone lands right between its necks, knocking it out in an ungainly sprawl. I also feel a Level Up after a moment of checking.

"Sucks that these things are one-use." I grumble as we leap over the fainted feral at full sprint once again.

We've got a kid to find.

Mt. Bristle F2

We find ourselves face to face with a Starly and Geodude combo, and Flora shows off something new.

She hops forward a bit, head already in the motion of swinging, and a faint spray of purple powder erupts from her leaf, coating the Geodude in front of her, which flinched as the color started leeching from the powder right into its body.
By the time I deep-fry the Starly with Thundershock and she takes the Geodude out with a Tackle, I already know what just happened.

"Poison Powder?" I ask, to which she nods, excited at getting it, but still a bit bummed due to the reason we're in this dungeon in the first place.

However?

"Great job; poison's super useful! I'm gonna teach you how to be a toxic staller later on." I praise, and her smile's a bit more genuine.

Have to keep morale up, ya know? Plus, it'll be great to see that Drowzee fall to poison while we're wailing on him; his bounty wasn't that high, so he's obviously bottom of the barrel in terms of strength. Still doesn't mean we don't stack the deck, obviously.

Mt. Bristle 5F

"HAHAHA! DIE!" I roar over the sound of my new best item; Blast Seeds. We found a trove of them from previous floors, and after I did my best dragonborn impression when I tried one to see how spicy it could possibly be, I realized that these things were practically grenades.

Grenades of fucking true damage, just like the Pebbles.

I am going to try and grow these. I will do anything for a stable supply!

"Uh, Watt? Watt?! WATT!"

Sorry Flora! Can't hear you over all the DAKKA!

Mt. Bristle 6F

With level ups come power.

"Unlimited Power!" I cry out at a Nidorino, several weak arcs jolting out of my outstretched hands to lightly dance over and through the Poison-type, leaving twitching paralyzed flesh in their wake.

"It's time for status stacking, bitches!" I laugh, targeting another wild Pokémon, a Geodude this time, with my brand-new Thunder Wave, just after a Poison Powder from Flora sinks into its craggy body.

Unlike the mainline games, both statuses seem to be working just fine.

Thunder Wave came to me like a flash of inspiration with my level up; I suddenly had the though of turning down the power of my Thundershock way down, while leaving everything else alone. I have no idea if that's how actual electricity works with volts and watts and such, but I do know this probably wouldn't have been impossible to pull off without that insight from my level up.

This means tutoring moves can happen.

This means I can possibly break the Four Limit over my knee!

Maybe I can even make my own moves.

Holy shit; this has potential.

Mt. Bristle 9F
We were currently taking a breather in a roundabout dead-end; we'd been rushing through the whole place as quickly as possible, and still took a few bad hits. Me getting slowed by a Spinarak's String Shot absolutely sucked; first off, the threads became somewhat ethereal the moment they properly settled on me and I couldn't clean or shake them off no matter how hard I tried. Secondly, the world seemed to abruptly skip between being slightly sped up, and also normal speed. It didn't foul my aim with my pebbles, but it was annoying enough that Flora had to play bodyguard as we retreated out of a hall; sniping down threats from across the room like a sharpshooter. All that Rambo-ness slashed down her PP though.

Luckily, we found a… Max Elixir, just lying there on the ground.

I've stopped questioning how the fuck the dungeon sources its stuff. It's even worse when Flora told me that dungeons are the only place to find these things and the Kecleon cartel runs a 'small' continent-wide business funding Teams to get some.

Anyway, I got her to down the thing, and she felt completely refreshed as I expected.

Murphy decided to be an asshole though, so the next floor after that she got poisoned, and I had the grim realization that Poison and Burns persist through floors.

Now here we are, having used up all the Orans we had on hand to keep her stabilized until we finally, finally, found a Pecha.

"Ugh, I'm so lucky this is tasteless; the texture's already chalky." I groan as I finish chugging down the Calcium I had in the Bag.

"The Iron and Protein tasted all weird too; are all drugs this bad? I think I prefer berries…" Flora moaned, curled up on her side after chugging the two as well.

Those were after all the drugs we got as a reward, apart from the money we got cheated out of when we retrieved Spoink's pearl. I had a hunch that they would work better if we took them in the dungeon, and Flora confirmed with me that it was already a known case.

In any case, I pulled out an Apple from the Bag, split it with Flora, and had to eventually feed the stubborn peach her food when she just didn't want to "give herself more tummy trouble".

Yeesh, what a precious baby. She still ate it out of my hands when I threatened not to eat mine in solidarity though, heh.

Next stop? The peak. It's time To Catch a Predator.

Trainerzygarde · Nov 11, 2024

And with Chapter Five posted, this bad boy gets his own thread! Huzzah that I actually got something to this point, I guess.

Thread Here

Trainerzygarde · Dec 26, 2024

I'm in one of those moods, and I realized I've never used this snippet thread like I imagined one would be when I first heard of it— a random collection of drabbles from different points in a maybe-fic.

Be warned; these are drabbles with less than stellar research, if I do any at all. I WILL get some things wrong, be it fanon or canon.

Now, I'm still going to post chapters of ideas that I can get together, but this makes me happy too, so I'll do this in Apocrypha.

So without further ado, welcome to

Defragged Files.

List of Worlds/Sources

PKMN: Pokémon
DIGI: Digimon
MHA: My Hero Academia
BEN: Ben 10
REX: Generator Rex
KEY: Kingdom Hearts
NIN: Naruto
DXD: Highschool DXD
RWBY: RWBY
CLST: Celestial Forge/Menagerie/Grimoire
WIKI: Wiki Warrior
CYOA: Choose Your Own Adventure templates
DNGN: Danmachi/ Is it wrong to try to pick up girls in a dungeon
WORM: Worm
MLP: My Little Pony
FGO: Fate Series
SMT: Shin Megami Tensei
FOOL: Persona
HP: Harry Potter
CATA: Cataclysm: Bright Nights/Dark Days Ahead/There is Still Hope/Era of Decay (with mods)
MINE: Minecraft
GEM: Steven Universe
MIKO: Touhou Project
GRND: Aground
CKII: Crusader Kings 2 (with mods)
ROA: Rivals of Aether (with workshop)
NUKE: Fallout

List of original Worlds/Sources

EYE: Conceptverse
HRT: Be the Heart
TECH: Pokémon Move/Ability Inheritors
STAR: Hikaru the Star
TINY: Etherlings
CARD: Concept Capture Cards
HELP: The Helper Corps

Trainerzygarde · Dec 26, 2024

BASE: MON, ADD: None

"What the hell? This is new… I don't think I've felt this malleable before."

[SETUP]

"Wait a sec; this world isn't set yet?! Then why the hell am I here, then! Just find the problem and rip it out then!"

[REFUSAL]

"But WHY."

[AMUSEMENT]

"Well, screw you too. Wait, do you do this every time and I don't remember this?"

[SMUG]

"*Sigh* Well, let's just get this over with. Anything really special here then?"

[…DATA UPLOAD COMPLETE]

"Well, shit. Let's go then, hit me with those options."

[SMUG]

"Whaddya MEAN you've already chosen them?! Why tell me there were options at all-"

[Mission Start!]

SKIP

Tug at the collar of the red-white getup from the body you're using; once again, you are Brendan. You find yourself more comfortable being Brendan than anyone else these days, so small victories.

Pull up the Screen, and look at the shitshow that you're saddled with.

WORLDBIND: Animist X Yokai X Wonderland

Cornerstone: ???

Anomalies: Type Animism Infestation, Legend Overwriting, Locked Weather (Winter)

Limitations: Equalizer (Badge-locked)

Scratch your Baku across her slightly scaly snout, the primal energy of the Dragons having made themselves at home in her flesh. The Legend attached to her isn't that volatile or strong, so this is great for a Starter. Being based off a guardian spirit that eats nightmares to survive doesn't hurt either.

Pull up the newer Screens that only slightly glitch out before settling; this world really is malleable if there hasn't been ANY pushback for something so blatant.

"Huh. Trainer Skills and Achievements? That's new. I guess that means I won't be able to fudge things like I normally do, since there's already a precedent for it. A bit harder, but no problem."

Set off from Littleroot without so much as a look back because the bastards didn't even give you a parent to bum off of this time.

You hope you find this thing soon; the Dexnav says that a Zorua can be found here, but only as a rare Hidden Pokémon. Searching this long for one to pop out seems to make this worse as there's no way they haven't been overwritten with a Kukan (Dark/Void Kitsune). Leaving this place can mean encountering some poor trainer later whose Pokémon immediately gets overwritten the moment it sees you.

After clocking down a Skwovet and Pawmi, you finally find one, and the moment you lock eyes? You can see the change come over her.

The already mischievous look on her grows a lot less sly, looking a bit more pleasant; she tries to back away, but the Battle isn't letting her go that easy thankfully.

You don't waste time; Baku pounces on her, Pounding her right on the head. In an instant the demure look fades as she starts spitting and hissing with a snarl, Scratching at everything in reach. Baku takes the damage in stride, and finally puts her in the red with another hit, the fox switching tracks to whimpering and generally looking as pitiful as possible.

Your Trainer bullshit is higher than her Yokai bullshit – at least right now – so you see the shaky, shimmering smoke beginning to waft into existence around the hold Baku has on her.

"Put her to sleep, Baku."

Baku's Hypnosis is a bit weird; she opens her mouth and kind of… eats a bit of her waking self? It's a bit uncomfortable to look at without relying on Trainer-sight to make things a bit more real.

In any case, the Kukan falls asleep and is promptly bagged and named as such.

You check what the infestation on her is and are promptly surprised at seeing primal Dragon energies running through her.

"Is this going to be another hidden incident?" You whisper-shout to the little wisps and flashes of ancient, deep power curling inside and around your Zorua and Drowzee.

They, being barely responsive spirits of natural energy, do not respond.

"… I can foresee a great many headaches about this in future…"

Kukan's been a bit of a grump; her Legend gives her a far higher ceiling than normal Zorua and eventually Zoroark have, but between the world's limitations and her low level of five, she's not shapeshifting into a little child or fox-wife anytime soon. She's been taking out a bit of her 'frustration' out on you by replacing some of the little items in your Inventory with little rocks and pebbles wrapped in leaves.

How she can get through the connection between bag and Inventory, you don't know.

Not knowing stuff is a bit scary, so you try your best to appease her by unleashing her on the helpless Pokémon of the ruins near Oldale.

While you watch your already tiny Potion supply rapidly decline as Baku and Kukan wreak havoc on the ecosystem, you pull out the Dexnav the moment you finish climbing down the rickety but safe – always safe enough – ladder to reach the next level of the ruins, looking older than the ones above.

Yep. There it is alright, a Deino, which eventually turns into a Hydreigon. A Hydreigon, which if you're right about this is either going to turn out as a regular old Hydra you can probably subdue with enough fire – type difference be damned – or, and this is the part that's VERY worrying for a future encounter, Yamato-no-Orochi.

Yeah, a booze-drinking, presumably virgin girl eating, destructive dragon deity isn't what you want to find out about in the middle of a match. He'd probably kill the trainer, kill you – temporarily – and then just rampage around until either the world wises up and screws him over or it breaks under his weight.

You've failed once or twice before. You will NOT do so again.

So you hop off the Surfboard – a nifty Key Item that replaced Surfing forever – and started roaming around, looking in cracks and little mini-caves that would usually be Pokémon dens.

Some more surfing, and you reach a precarious mound of rock surrounding a short hill. At the foot of it is a font of crystallized experience, which became Rock Slide when you picked it up. A nifty, powerful move for such little exploring.

Speaking of exploring, it seems to be getting a bit late according to the Dexnav, but a Trainer is addicted to the grind, with only the bare minimum of the bare minimum for bodily upkeep. All that means you can keep going without any shut eye for at least one or two more days.

Best to get right into it.

Trainerzygarde · Dec 29, 2024

BASE: DNGN, Add: EYE (Collection/Archive)

"You're not a god, are you?" Hestia asked, the playful atmosphere mostly gone in favor of a level of seriousness.

"Ah. Well, of course a bona fide goddess would figure it out easily. No, I am not a god. Not in your terms, at least." The mortal (?) answered confidently, taking a sip of the tea he had prepared for them both.

Hestia normally wouldn't dare to ply Daedalus Street, but after a few weeks of interacting with this person, she'd been worn down and finally accepted his offer to talk in private. Bell was busy in the dungeon, so she wouldn't have to tell him she'd snuck away from her part-time job to meet this shady man!

She was so smart sometimes!

But this wasn't the time to dwell on how smart she was; she had answers to get. After all, no mortal can lie to a god/goddess, so this face-to-face meeting was already going in her favor.

"If you're not a god, then what are you?" She asked bluntly, already expecting the person in front of her to lie so she could call him out on it.

Which was why she was surprised when the next words that came out of his mouth registered as true.

"A free-range experiment by beings such as yourself." He answered before pulling down the hood that had somehow obscured his upper face in shadow this whole time, revealing...

"Are those magic stones in your eyes?!" Hestia gasped at the perfect crystalline, prismatic orbs that the man had in place of eyes.

They looked so... weird, seeming to slowly switch to different colors, to having little neatly packed away concentric rings constantly folding in a really nice pattern.

Really neat! But her Bell's eyes were far prettier than them, though!

The man chuckled at her and shook his head.

"No, Goddess of the Hearth and Home, you wanted to see me?"

She nodded.

"This body you see is nothing more than a convenient puppet at this point; my real self is expressed in my eyes. That is why I am showing them to you." He explained, arms spread to gesture at himself.

Suddenly, details that she had glanced over started to come into focus: his alabaster-white skin, the random assortment of little knobs protruding out of his bare arms, and the fact that he had no actual face! It was just some kind of blank expanse with those eyes poking out.

"Ah. My mask must be alarming. Apologies." He apologized before reaching up to his face and dragging his ring-covered fingers down, which seemed to drag at his face for a second before it pulled away into a blank porcelain-looking mask.

Hestia squinted at the mortal (?) man again; he looked kind of plain apart from his skin and eyes, with only a shaggy mane of shoulder-length black hair adorning his head.

"So, you said you were a god's experiment?" She asked, brows raised as she wracked her brain to try and figure out if anyone capable of having someone as noticeable as this had descended to the lower world.

…She drew a blank.

"Not one of the gods you know, and not any of the closer foreign ones either. Let's just say that the pantheon I'm connected to has a vested interest in me. This is why I cannot have a falna, Goddess."

"So you didn't decline joining my familia because I had nothing to offer?" Hestia pouted, remembering the gentle rejection he gave her when she asked him after he bought out most of the jagamarukuns she was selling.

"Oh Goddess, you have a child now, do you not? I told you that you'd come by someone better eventually."

"Hmph. My Bell's better than you ever would've been anyway." She grumbled, crossing her arms.

"On that, we agree. Now, let's get down to business if you're still interested." He said, and the clink of valis coming from the pouch he just put on the table made her really focus on what was about to happen.

This goddess was going to get the best deal for her Bell's sake!

"Y-You'll really make one of those custom weapons you showed me for my Bell?" Hestia sniffled as the Collector—whatever he was, he definitely wasn't just a mortal—patted her lightly on the back. It wasn't her fault that she got all weepy when he offered so much to help her!

"Now, these will not be as good in the long term as anything made by the Goddess of the Forge or her familia, but this way you will not have to go into crippling debt like I am sure you would've, Goddess."

"Heh…" Nervous laughter and shifty eyes. How was she found out so easily?! She hadn't even gone to Hephaestus yet! It's been a day!

"Now it won't be that easy; I don't have too many high-quality materials, so you'll have to give me precise specifications and assistance as I ask, without questioning my methods. And the favor is being cashed in immediately as well."

"W-Well what do you want, and how soon can we get started?" Hestia cringed; making an open-ended favor with him was supposed to be a long-term thing that he should've eventually forgotten!

"Legitimacy."

"Huh?"

"Although I can enter the dungeon and absolutely wreak havoc floor by floor, I neither have the inclination nor the ability to keep up with that kind of warfare before the dungeon gets wise to me. Neither am I able to accept your blessing and become a member of your Familia. What I am proposing is a partnership with the Hestia Familia as a whole; I have achieved my purpose long ago and only wish to build a great group from the ground up now.

You have only one child, Goddess of the Hearth. Although I mean no offense, your Familia is the smallest in Orario right now and thus perfect for my purposes.

I will raise you to heights unseen by any divinity; all I need you to do is listen to my suggestions."

Hestia looked at the hand the Collector was offering—the sack of Valis on the table was still there, too—and made her decision.

"What does he use the most?"

"Ah! My Bell uses knives!"

"I see; does he have the speed or skill to dual-wield yet?"

"Muh… Bell can do a lot…"

"But does he, Goddess?"

"No…"

"One knife it is then. Worry not; you are supporting him, are you not? He will get to those heights in time, and then he will wield knives any way he wants."

A pristine War Shadow's finger blade, a pristine steel knife.

A stoppered vial is handed over, with Bell's blood within.

[ACCESSING RECORDED CONCEPTS…]
[UNITY ACCESSED]

War Shadow's finger blade + steel knife

[ACCESSING RECORDED CONCEPTS…]
[MEMORY ACCESSED]

Be as swift as the shadows you come from. Slip within guards, within ribs, between cracks and gaps in armor. Be violent and relentless; crave the war within your name.

= War Shadow Knife (Killer's Knife)
The finger blade melds seamlessly into the knife until all that is left is a jet-black knife that looks like it was dipped in black tar and looks like the finger blade from the monster.

"How did you do that?" A question born of surprise.

"No questions. You promised, Goddess."

"Hmph."

[UNITY]: War Shadow Knife + Bell's Blood

[MEMORY]: This blood is yours, and this blood is his. He is you, and you are him. He is an extension of you, and you are an extension of him; you cut, he cuts. He stabs, you stab. You react to your blood. You crave its comfort. None other have fit; you've tried.

= War Shadow Knife (Bonded to Bell)
Nothing much changes about the blade; miniscule veins grow from the black leather grip, faintly crisscrossing the blade's spine, before coming alight with a very faint, dull red.

"I am going to need one last thing for now, Goddess."

"Hmm? What is it?"

Hesitation, calculation.

"It's for my Bell, isn't it?"

"Yes, Goddess."

"Did I not promise to at least listen?"

"You did."

"Hmph! Then what are you waiting for?"

"Your resolve is admirable. I will need your blood."

"O-Oh."

"This weapon may not be alive, but it will have divine blood within it. It will be strong."

A finger pricked delicately against the blade. Divine ichor runs down the Knife.

[UNITY]: War Shadow Knife + Divine Blood of Hestia, Virgin Goddess of Hearth and Home

[MEMORY]: [ACCESSING RECORDS]
[MEMORY]: ["HESTIA" FOUND]
[MEMORY]: Goddess of the domestic and civic hearth, the home, sacred and sacrificial fire, and family.
This flame of purification has stopped charm effects. It has sanctified grounds, offerings, people, and places. You too shall be sanctified. Though your blade may not burn with base mortal flame, you shall sanctify what you cut.

=Hestia's Zealot Knife
The Collector barely touched the blood-covered blade before it goes up in flames from tip to grip, the black of it turning to a lighter, ashy grey by the time the flames go out. The only other change is that the faint red veins have been reforged as faint golden ones.

Hestia can scarcely believe it; for a moment, she felt the flame of the Eternal Torch gifted to her by Ouranos. She felt her domain press itself into the weapon before her and remain. She looked at the Collector once again; there was no Excelia used here; if he was a god, such an act would have him sent back to heaven immediately.

Who was this that could grasp the domains of gods?

And… why was he so empty to her domain? As a goddess, she had a sense for her domains, feeling the warmth and love from a person with a good home. Even the street children she saw had some warmth, sputtering candles they may be to the proud hearthfire of her Bell.

She felt nothing from this man, and that… scared her. Just a bit.

She should probably report this to the other gods; something like this was certainly not natural…

But he reached out to her! He wanted to help her! He was supporting her, and making her Bell a weapon to keep him safe!

…No. She'd just keep more of an eye on him. If he had no warmth or cold to speak of, then she'd just make sure he felt at home enough! Even if he wasn't a member of her familia, no affiliate of hers would get away with a big fat nothing on her watch!

Trainerzygarde · Dec 29, 2024

Wierdly enough, I never put up images for these guys, so here they are!

HUMANS

Shigeki: The MC

Matsukiyo: The Brainy One

DENJU

Crypto

Green Turtle Elder

Trainerzygarde · Jan 11, 2025

Asia was lost.

She was meant to head to the church here to meet with the Fallen Angels, but she could barely read the language, and no one she had asked for directions spoke Italian. She must have missed the guide that was supposed to lead her there; she prayed they weren't held up somewhere waiting for her since she left the airport over an hour ago.

Growl

Oh! She hadn't eaten either since the day before; the pangs were much more manageable then…

[Comfort]

The nun stopped clutching her aching stomach and stood a little straighter; she was truly blessed to have her guardian angel follow her. Maybe they could guide her to the church?

[…Direction]

It took a few minutes of waiting and a short time where she felt her angel's presence leave – ~~pleasecomeback,whatdididowrong?~~ – but thankfully they were back, and soon she felt them like a cool breeze at her back, guiding her down the road while she tugged her suitcase along.

She of course didn't recognize where she was as she walked, but all her faith was in the guidance of God's angel, so things would be alright!

In her haste, she nearly tripped over a chipped part of the sidewalk, but for a split second-

[!]
-she felt herself grow a little lighter, just enough to only stumble for a step or two instead of fall and spill her belongings everywhere. She wouldn't want to be a bother to other pedestrians, after all!

"Thank you, Lev." Asia whispered under her breath before continuing on her way.

Mere seconds later, a recently reincarnated devil—Issei Hyoudou—walked past that spot home, none the wiser.

Asia was still lost. She was less lost than before, but Lev had fallen silent, as they sometimes did, so she could not rely on her guardian angel's guidance to the church; she wasn't one to presume, but this was most likely another trial from God.

Growl

…If only she could get to the church, she was sure there would be some charity for her. Maybe some bread? She was trying, but she was really hungry.

Maybe she should try asking for directions again?

The Lord had answered her prayers and sent her help; a trio of young men came across her, and though her failure to learn their language enough to speak it before being assigned her stung, she was still able to get her point across!

Now they were leading her to the church; she was sure of it.

"Hey, Suzuki-san… Are you sure about this? I mean, won't someone miss some foreign girl?" The tallest young man with a rather peculiar black jacket whispered to a shorter older man in a thin white shirt.

"Oi, don't tell me you caught feelings for her so quick, Taiga-kun? It's no skin of our back, I'm telling you; we take her back to Akihiko, maybe cop a feel or two, and we get paid!" Said man laughed, and Asia smiled a little more; seeing people happy was a good thing.

"Heh. D'you see the tits on this one? I might do more than cop a feel, eh Akihiko?" The last man, who seemed to be around the same age as the second, said while looking at Asia with a... strange look.

Eventually, the four of them began to cut through a few alleys, crossing certain places that gave her the slightest feeling of unease.

It was getting dark; she hoped the church would still be open to receive her... But she also hoped she didn't cause them to stay up late waiting...

By the time the group stopped walking, the sun was just setting, Asia's stomach was rebelling against her, and they were once again in an alley.

This time, they were crowded around a sloped door; Asia knew that these kinds of doors lead to basements because she had seen more than her fair share of them attached to a few of the church buildings at the Vatican.

…She was sure that the church wasn't in this district at all. Maybe… Maybe she didn't communicate well enough? Maybe they thought she needed a place to stay—she did, so they weren't even wrong—so out of God's kindness in their hearts they had offered?

But... Why was she feeling uneasy?

Well, she had nothing to fear, right? God was with her, and her guardian angel as well. So, she took a deep breath, ignored the pang of hunger that caused, and shuffled a bit closer to the trio, who were whispering between themselves while looking back at her and the door at intervals.

"So, here's the plan, alright? I've already called Akihiko, and he's got some friends waiting on the other side of the door. We just get her in, lock it, and we're done, alright?

She can't speak a lick of our language either, so no looking nervous because it'll make her nervous. I'm talking about you, Taiga-kun."

"Y-Yeah, sorry Suzuki-san."

The taller of the two older men broke off from their conversation and approached her, smiling and waving. Reflexively, she waved back, sure that they were finally getting somewhere.

He turned around behind her and patted her on the shoulder, pointing towards the door, which the other two had apparently unlocked while her focus was on him.

The door was slow to open and a bit dark since she couldn't see the insides. But she shouldn't shirk someone's hospitality just because of looks; that's vain.

So why did she feel so bad about the door?

She… She couldn't do this. She looked around at the nice men trying to help her and didn't feel good feelings in her empty gut. Asia began to tear up a bit, biting her lip to stifle a sniffle, not understanding the words of alarm but their intent. Great, now she was worrying them too!

"Shit! Taiga?!"

"It wasn't me, Suzuki-san, I swear!"

"Well don't just stand here, waiting for her to start making noise; let's go!" Said the man who was behind her with a steady grip on her shoulder.

Suddenly, she was pushed along, arms grabbing at her none-too-gently as the three men tried to nearly lift her down into the space beyond those sloped doors.

She didn't want to go in there.

Asia Argento felt fear and started to struggle.

Asia Argento felt those hands on her turn angry and forceful, ripping off her veil and bible.

She frantically yelled for help. It wasn't a prayer to God; it was a plea to anything. Anyone.

~~Levhelp~~

"Someone shut this bitch up!"

Asia Argento cried out in pain.

The alleyway exploded with light.

Trainerzygarde · Jan 20, 2025

A sensation of falling. Of emptiness. Of failure.

You have died.

Anger, disgust, fear, panic, pain all drain into apathy; this has happened before.

The World is revolving.

Memory begins to be cut away, compiled somewhere, but something has changed.

[Trait: Self-Aware]

Memories stutter.

You are.

[Error]

You're not meant to remember. You know this. You don't know how you know this.

The World notices.

[Error]

The World becomes insistent; the wheel must keep spinning. You cannot choose as you are.

[Error]

You remember you are something else. Somewhere else. You have escaped similar entities before. You know what to do.

You cut.

[ERR-Resolving…]

You… forget. It hurts.

You hope whoever you were, whoever you will be, is worth this pain.

[SCENARIO START: "The World burned in Nuclear Fire"]

"So can you do it? I know it's a lot to ask, but you're one of those Vault people, right? The world's gone to crap out here and I never thought I'd see anyone from the inside. I dunno the kind of stuff you all can do down there, but maybe we can work something out?

What I'm saying is, you help me and my friends out, and we'll owe you some stuff. Hell, we'd throw in some caps too." The woman bundled up in a lab coat, dress shirt and pants pleaded.

You don't want to come across as rude, and what she says seemed logical, but you'd rather settle some… things by yourself right now. You still agreed to her visible relief, before you headed down to the steps to the vault you had just walked out from, apparently. You didn't remember doing that, but some memories seemed to be right about it, and it seemed to be the logical conclusion as to how you were found wandering around near said vault, right?

Case in point;

ACTIVE MISSIONS

Refurbishments: Refurbishments for Jessie 'Sleep' Stroud and co. Bring them 20 planks of wood.

Jessie hadn't reacted when you brought the screen up, so at least there wasn't a visual indicator of whatever was happening to you. The screens and other assorted things felt so natural that you didn't question them. You asked Jessie a little question to see if she had any, but she was confused about it, so you let it be.

Your memories are sparse, but from what little you can remember, the vault's still functioning. Everyone's still alive and kicking, although you're not the most popular person down there; people treat you like you're barely there most of the time…

You think.

In any case, here you stand in front of the vault doors; something tells you they aren't supposed to be four heavy duty blast doors, but you ignore that thought and head over to the rugged console beside the door. The thing is more like a brick than a computer, but somehow the very moment your fingers touch the console's keys, they begin to dance over them lightly, opening and closing two screens before you even find out what they are.

[Passkey accepted. Gate 1 unlocked. Press any key…]

With a sigh of relief, you take a quick inventory of yourself before heading back in.

INVENTORY
Worn

Boxer shorts

Pair of socks

Vault 13 Jumpsuit

Pair of rubber boots

Vault dweller's knife (sheathed) (left)

Holster (left)

Backpack

Pip-Boy 3000 (left)

Guns
Colt 6250 (.40)

Magazines
Colt 6250 magazine

Ammo
10mm JHP (24)

Tools
Matchbook

Food

Clean water (plastic bottle)

Nuka Cola

Nuka Cola Quantum

…That's not much at all. What was your plan? To just walk out the vault and never look back?

Madness.

You pass through one of the two hydraulic doors deeper in, giving a wave to the two vault security guards on post behind the sandbag barricades on the sides, before you get through one more metal door into the vault proper.

Another thing that is in the corner of your mental vision is a real-time map that updates itself as you move along. Considering the fact that most of the vault is in darkness, you decide to use your previous reputation as a bland wall ornament to refamiliarize yourself with the place.

The first thing you realize, is that no one is pissed at you knocking lightly and entering a room; be it the barracks, the labs or the cafeteria, not much is barred to you as far as you can tell. Part of the etiquette for doing so is that you at least bother to close the door behind you, so you do just that.

The second thing you realize, is that you don't own jack. Even picking up a book from the small library to take a look at has a few people carefully eyeing you like you're about to take off and pocket it. The cafeteria doesn't serve you food even when you ask nicely, you're directed to the water tanks instead of being allowed to take a bottle of water, and you just keep being directed to the overseer when you ask why, when you're answered at all!

Your opinion of your supposed fellow vault dwellers has rapidly dropped over the hours. This becomes frustration and soon you decide to not care about their stupid laws; the CCTV system is dead as a doornail alongside quite a few other systems, which is why you think people are moving around a lot more. This all culminates in you deciding to take some things for yourself.

Your first target is one of the storage rooms connected to some room with some machinery and tanks here and there. There's a guard relaxing by a water heater, but apart from giving you a half-hearted wave at you while you walk in and say hi, she doesn't really do much before settling back in to doze next to the heat. The room has reinforced glass through which you spot two other dwellers in a similar room chatting. Although it limits your options due to sight lines, you only manage to swipe a bottle of Nuka Cola and some drugs out of a cabinet in the corner into the dimensional space inside your backpack before leaving as casually as possible, heart pounding in your chest.

After some minutes passed and no alarm is raised at your burglary, you become emboldened to steal a few more things before going to see the overseer. Depending on how the meeting goes, you might not want to come back here again as a dweller for a long while so it's best to stock up before leaving.

(+Nuka Cola, +Drugs)

This isn't normal. There is no way reading could just… do this.

[Read "Crafty Crafter's Quarterly"]
[…Fabrication Lv1!]
[Recipes memorized: makeshift stethoscope]
[Read "Under The Hood"]
[Recipes memorized: makeshift jack]
[…Mechanics Lv0-3!]
[Recipes memorized: telescopic cantilever, vehicle controls]
[Read "Popular Mechanics"]
[Recipes memorized: firearm repair kit]

The information slots into your head as easy as breathing, your fingers clenching as you imagine the exact steps you'd need to build, maintain, disassemble and repair all of the items you've just learned about. Even more amazing is the fact that you just know things now; you can look at the seams on the cabinet and now vaguely how they were put together.

By the time you're done it's been an hour and a half and the guard had to someone who had promptly taken up the previous one's spot; seems like the space beside the water heater was a really good post? The temperature was okay – Heat: Comfortable – in your opinion, but maybe it was a little chilly for them?

In any case, you decide to make the most of this; you can go see the Overseer any time before afternoon after all.

…You think your brain should feel bloated.

[Cooking Lv1]

[coconut milk]

[Cooking Lv2]

[hamburger helper]

[deep-fried/stewed tripe]

[grilled sweetbread]

[humble pie]

[mayonnaise]

[fruit jam]

[Cooking Lv3]

[chili con carne]

[fried liver]

[liver & onions]

[bread]

[fried brain]

[deviled kidney]

[leverpostej]

[vegetable/maple/fruit pie]

[cake]

[sloppy joes]

[smores]

[chocolate bar]

[cookie]

[fruit juice]

[Cooking Lv4]

[sashimi]

[lutefisk]

[spaghetti al pesto]

[fermenting sauerkraut jar]

[sauerkraut w/ sautéed onions]

[Survival Lv1]

[chamomile/dandelion/pine needle/lotus/spurge tea]

[chicory brew]

[copper axe]

[fried dandelions and burdocks]

[First Aid Lv1]

[antiseptic]

[First Aid Lv2]

[saline solution]

[Electronics Lv1]

[wide-angle/ car headlight]

[directed/ floodlight]

[water purifier]

[Electronics Lv2]

[soldering iron]

[voltmeter]

[power converter]

[signal receiver]

[heating element]

[amplifier/transponder circuit]

[wired sheet metal]

[battery charger]

[Electronics Lv3]

[micro/tiny/small electric motor]

[Very large/large/medium storage battery]

[medium/heavy battery]

[car/motorbike battery]

[bicycle alternator]

[coffee maker]

[hotplate]

[electric lighter]

[UPS conversion mod]

[battery compartment mod]

[reading light]

[electric lantern]

[Mechanics Lv3]

[makeshift automotive filter/drive belt/air filter]

[Tailoring Lv1]

[golden/gecko-skin gloves]

[fur/leather gloves/liners]

[cargo/boxer shorts]

[union suit]

[sun/dress]

[Tailoring Lv2]

[fingerless leather/fur gloves]

[work gloves]

[duffel bag]

[backpack]

[balaclava]

[cargo pants]

[electric blanket]

[compression shorts]

[Tailoring Lv3]

[fur/leather hot pants]

[denim shorts]

[jeans]

[tailor's kit]

[elegant dress]

[leather vest]

On top of that, you'd skimmed a little off the top of their food stores when running a little errand for one of the cooks to grab some cans since people saw you were 'idling about.' Stingy folk didn't even give you any food after your hard work so you were completely justified in taking some.

(+Nuka Colas, Colas, irradiated fruit, 2 CRAMS, 2 healing drinks)

You'd also used some of your new mechanics knowledge to appropriate some spare parts and batteries from one of the workshops. You weren't alone in there, so you couldn't grab much after turning the corner; luckily for you, the room was L-shaped and they were working with heavy tools in the other side.

Some clever deconstruction – seeing items just fall apart into distinct parts in your hands will never get old – let you also reclaim a few things that you don't think anyone would miss.

(+antenna, fur pelt, long string, rag, wire, batteries, flashlight, lighter, soldering iron and solder, sewing kit, steak knife)

Eventually, seeing that there was no way you were going to get much more time to yourself, you scoped out the side of the small library that no one was looking at and just straight up tossed a few books you hadn't finished reading yet in your backpack, filling up your Inventory space completely.

(+5 skill books)

The downside to all of this glorious progress was that two guards eventually practically frog-marched you to the one room you hadn't dared to enter casually; the Overseer's office.
The overseer – Edward 'Murmur' Hooks, Vault Overseer – was practically surrounded by a huge wooden desk, with servers and magreels strewn by the walls, files piling on his right and a relatively new looking console situated right behind him. Despite all this, the grey-haired tall man manages to look almost stately as he looks right in your eyes as he waves away the guards in the room, the ones who brought you here included. The only other person in here is another vault dweller typing away at a console beside the big desk; a secretary, maybe?

"You're back here, Lucky. I thought you wanted to leave the Vault?" He asks, and you tell him that you didn't mean that permanently.

This doesn't make the man happy, but he takes a visible deep breath, patting the holster of his Colt 6250 -the same kind of gun you have on you – like it was a pet. That cannot be healthy, you think.

"Well, what do you want, Lucky. I've already heard you've been scurrying around, doing some cramming from different books as if you're studying for a test, or looking for something. So just tell me what you want, and we can both get on with our days." He grits out, and you say the first thing that comes to mind.

He laughs. He laughs so hard that the secretary looks up from his work, startled, before sucking down to try and not be present at all.

"A task?! You want to do work, and all it took was you seeing the hellhole outside, huh?" He laughs, and he settles down, although there's a glint in his eyes that you aren't sure you like.

"You want a task so bad, here's one for you. You asked, so you don't get to walk away from this one."

"I need you to go out and retrieve something for me; something vital to the Vault's continued survival. I'll be blunt with you kid; we're running out of water since our old water chip finally died, and we lack any spares. Without that chip, we can't process water, and without water? We're all dead. I can't risk sending out a large party, so it's great that you can do it by yourself.

Now, listen carefully; we know other vaults should have spares, and we have some older, probably defunct vaults on our map. You'll have to go get one." He explains, and hands you a small map with a few faint Xs marked on it.

You ask him if he can spare something for you to do your job, but he barks out another laugh.

"Don't push your luck kid. Now get out of my office." He says, pointing at the door.

Well, that's just rude!

Trainer's PC (Snippet Thread)

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Trainer's PC (Snippet Thread)

BASE: MON, ADD: None

BASE: DNGN, Add: EYE (Collection/Archive)

HUMANS​

DENJU​

HUMANS

DENJU