FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

There was a crater right in the middle of the Paldea region.

It was unclear when or why the crater had formed - there were theories, of course, but not enough data to back any of them. A thick layer of mist covered the surface of the crater, making whatever lay underneath imperceptible from the outside. The only way to explore the region was climbing down its steep inner slopes carefully and accessing the intricate paths that led to a maze of corridors underneath the earth's crust.

The crater and the land underneath were known as Area Zero.

Many things were told about that place. Not all who were brave or reckless enough to walk in there without a good reason came back from their trip. Legends said some had stayed there in order to live a quiet life in solitude. Others believed they had gotten lost, their compasses reacting badly to the hefty quantity of mineral and ore that supposedly lay underneath.

Some people believed Area Zero was home to all kinds of monsters. Felix believed, however, that all Pokémon were partly monster after all - and thus there was no reason to be afraid of those silly superstitions.

As he walked down a narrow path that twisted and turned down the crater's inner wall, the swift-footed Sylveon thought that the chances he would encounter one of those monsters was probably rather high. There was no reason why all kinds of creatures wouldn't roam free in that area. All conditions for life were met in Area Zero. The air was breathable, there were plenty of berry trees and Felix kept on encountering waterfalls that were born at the far high edges of the crater and poured their waters down into the depths below. Whenever the Sylveon encountered one of those, he had to find his way around the stream, but it wasn't too difficult to find secondary turns and bends that helped him progress deeper into the abyss.

All in all, it looked like Area Zero had been explored before and paths were visible, meandering on the otherwise deep green grass. Why there were few people who had returned from the journey was something Felix couldn't understand - at least, until he encountered the first monster.

It happened when Felix was finding his way around a particularly annoying waterfall. He had gotten used to being alone and at first he thought the white-ish fuzz at the other side of the misty curtain of water belonged to an oversized dandelion. When he stepped next to it and the ball of fuzz moved, the Sylveon realized he had clearly made a mistake.

That wasn't a monster, though. That was most definitely a Pokémon. He had seen those features before, despite his inability to recognize them at first.

The creature opened its compound eyes and blinked a few times before looking into him. Felix froze and held his breath as the Pokemon rose, soon revealing that it was a few heads taller than the Sylveon. Muscles bulged underneath the white fuzz as a pair of orange wings spread at the back of the mysterious Pokémon - a scaly tail slithering underneath.

Whatever that Pokémon was, it had a striking resemblance to a Volcarona Felix had met once, while traveling around the Unova region. The problem was, moth-like Bug-type Pokémon weren't the most expressive guys around and their faces were difficult to read. Felix wasn't sure whether the mysterious Pokémon he'd just encountered intended to fight him or not, but he decided he wouldn't be caught off guard in case that creature had violent intentions.

"Hello?" he asked. "Can you understand me?"

The Pokémon showed no signs of having the slightest idea what the sounds Felix was making meant. However, its eyes narrowed down and looked at the Sylveon with a bit of aggression starting to burn.

It was time to act.

The language of sleep was pretty universal, Felix thought - perhaps he and the big moth-like creature couldn't communicate, but he was pretty sure a big Yawn would be as effective as always. He yawned vigorously in front of the Pokémon, who blinked and then decided it hadn't liked that.

Felix was lucky he had been expecting an attack. The white fuzz of the moth ignited like a torch and the creature charged against him, faster than the Sylveon had anticipated. He only managed to avoid the Flare Blitz by a tiny margin, and he had to run in order to avoid the creature's next fiery tackle, which came next.

It wasn't long before the effect of Felix's Yawn triggered and the creature stumbled helplessly, its eyes closing as drowsiness settled again. Then, its massive body began to tilt to one side and it fell down the edge of the cliff like a giant boulder. The creature landed on its back a few meters below, right on the next level of the crater. Felix was only partly relieved to see that the creature was still breathing.

What was that?

As far as he knew, no regional forms of Volcarona were known in Paldea. Perhaps an evolution, then? The size and sheer power of the moth-like creature suggested Fighting-type - but Felix wouldn't have betted on that. So what? A monster, like the legends said? A lookalike?

Well, this is not the creature I came looking for, he reminded himself. He patted the bag that hung at his side, as if he found its presence there reassuring. No need to think about it too hard, at least now. I'll go deeper into the crater and find my prize. Then, when we're out of this place, we can theorize all I want.

Sometimes, being such a practical individual came in handy. Felix expected that mentality to get him out of Area Zero in one piece.

He resumed his hike shortly afterwards, as soon as he made sure the sleeping creature would not be waking up in the near future. Just in case, he picked a path that meandered away from that place, so that he wouldn't be nearby whenever those compound eyes opened again.

Even though he didn't directly encounter any other creatures on his way down, Felix began to feel increasingly cautious - or paranoid - as he walked into the crater. Perhaps it was just the initial fright, or perhaps it was the feeling that he was being watched as he descended. He looked out for more white fuzzy bodies hiding behind the waterfalls he would often walk around, but he never encountered a similar creature.

Of course, Felix had no way of knowing the amount of different creatures that could be found down there. It was a times like those he wished someone would gather all data from creatures they'd encountered in some kind of book or digital device... but unfortunately, things worked differently in that world.

It wasn't long before the Sylveon took notice of two things.

First, that the feeling of being watched wasn't entirely being born of his paranoia, for whenever he took a brief glimpse over his shoulder he could swear there were eyes watching in the distance, observing from the upper levels of the crater. Second, that the eyes didn't belong to any other Pokémon he'd ever come across - the only thing he was entirely sure at that point was that whenever he spotted them in the distance, the number of eyeballs fixed on him were not two, but three. Not so many Pokémon had three eyes, and Felix was instantly reminded of Magnetons, but he decided not to think too much about it.

Focus on your prize, he kept telling himself, ignoring the constant shiver crawling up his spine as he went deeper into the crater. Whatever these creatures were, they seemed less aggressive than the Volcarona-like had been. They seemed to just climb from the cliff and watch. Perhaps they wouldn't give him any trouble. That was a reassuring perspective after his last squabble with the other creature.

As Felix went deeper, he began to notice the landscape was changing. The patches of green grass were becoming less common - instead, the terrain was becoming more inhospitable and rockier. The Sylveon encountered several clusters of crystals as he walked, shimmering with the light that filtered through the dense layer of mist above. They reminded him of something, although he couldn't put his finger in what, exactly.

However, no matter how pretty the landscape was becoming, Felix knew that the more he stayed there the bigger the chances were that he would never come out of Area Zero alive. He focused on taking the most efficient paths, scouting the area as he searched for the target of his little reconnaissance mission.

It wasn't long before the Sylveon's eyes spotted something interesting. A creature lying next to one of the last waterfalls in the crater, apparently asleep. It matched the description Felix had been given.

The Sylveon walked closer quietly, trying not to wake the creature up. If the information he had was correct, then the creature had unimaginable power - not that it mattered, Felix told himself, as long as he managed to use the device inside the bag hanging at his side. However, in order for the decide to work, Felix had to be cautious and position himself correctly. There would be time to be reckless afterwards.

As he searched for a better spot to use the device, Felix observed the creature. Its massive body was covered by tough, red scales. White, purple and blue hardened feathers sprang from the top of its head and the back of its hind legs. A long, powerful tail curled between its webbed feet and Felix made a quick mental note not to let it close to him in case they started a fight - the tail looked strong enough to shatter a boulder into small pieces. Perhaps the most noticeable element of the creature's physiognomy was a big, round protrusion that was born from its chest and somehow looked like a wheel.

Felix had been given a name - Koraidon. Whether the creature knew that was what it was called or not remained unclear. Having their own language, the Pokémon down there must've had different names to call each other, or at least that was what the Sylveon thought.

Carefully, he took the device out of the bag and turned it on. The contraption beeped in a low tone and Felix's ears perked up, worried that the sound might be enough to wake the Koraidon. Fortunately, the creature still looked sound asleep when he checked.

Felix adjusted some of the settings in the device. He had operated similar mind-control devices in the past, but he had never used it to capture such a big creature. His client wanted to take a good look at Koraidon - who had only been spotted once at the edge of the crater and, as such, had caused quite a commotion in the scientific community across the regions. Felix's client had decided to get it out of the crater and observe him in a controlled environment, try to establish communication, see if it was a Pokémon just like they were. Afterwards, Koraidon would be delivered back to Area Zero if it so wanted.

But first, in order to get the mysterious Pokémon out of the crater, Felix would have to disregard its say on the matter and capture him like an animal. The Sylveon tried not to think too hard about the ethical implications of his words. He just did what he was told.

Plus, it was fun to see other Pokémon acting like puppets once the device was installed in the back of their necks.

Making a final adjustment to his position, Felix finished fidgeting with the device and pushed a button at its back. A small chip was fired from the device and landed on the Koraidon's neck, who suddenly squirmed and opened its eyes, alert.

Okay, it shouldn't be long now, Felix thought, his hands tightening around the device as he watched the big creature rise from its slumber and turn to face him. It would take the chip a few seconds to properly latch, but until then, Koraidon had its own will to do whatever he pleased.

And right now, it seemed that what it wanted to do was beat whoever had disturbed its sleep to a pulp.

"Hey, big guy," Felix said, stepping back and fidgeting with the device nervously. It didn't seem to be working and the alternative was very likely to be painful. "Got out of bed on the wrong side?"

Koraidon growled, glaring at him. It was unclear whether he had understood Felix's words or not, but the Sylveon was willing to bet on the latter.

Just as it seemed Koraidon was about to jump on him, a click was heard right on its neck. The mysterious creature's body suddenly shivered and then went limp - its arms dangled at its sides for a second before coming to a stop as its head dropped to its chest. Its heavy, scaly eyelids dropped.

And then it remained in that position, standing, motionless.

Felix took a deep breath in and allowed himself to relax a bit. Apparently, he wouldn't be beaten to death that day. The device had worked just in time.

The Sylveon walked around Koraidon and tried to take its sheer size in. He'd been told the creature would be big, but now that it was standing right in front of him, he was really impressed. Now that he could take a closer look, its physiognomy reminded him of a different Pokémon he had met while travelling through Paldea - a Cyclizar. Would they be related, somehow?

Not that it mattered. It was time to have some fun.

"Let's see if you're so big on all fours," Felix said, a grin forming on his face as he pushed some buttons.

Koraidon immediately dropped to its knees and took a dog-like stance. With the big, wheel-shaped protrusion on its chest, it almost looked like come kind of vehicle, just like its Paldean counterpart. Felix wondered why that might be.

"Let's test if the chip's properly rooted," the Sylveon decided as he flicked a small switch. "Now, panting like a dog."

The creature's mouth opened and its tongue lolled out. Felix had to suppress a laugh.

"Good boy. Now, shake."

Koraidon tilted its head to one side, tongue still hanging out of its mouth, and then lifted one of its powerful front legs, offering one of its webbed foot to Felix. The Sylveon grabbed it and shook it comically before letting go of it. Koraidon whimpered, confused.

"Okay, let me think. Hm... Roll over."

Koraidon dropped on its belly and then rolled on the ground. The enthusiastic movement almost made it end under the waterfall and Felix was momentarily worried - not because of the chip itself, which was waterproof - but because he had been asked to deliver Koraidon in perfect shape. What if the big, lizard-like creature was a Fire-type? That water would have ruined Felix's delivery.

Fortunately for him, Koraidon didn't get wet and returned swiftly to stand right in front of him. Even on all fours, the creature was taller than Felix was. In fact, the Sylveon was thinking he might have even ridden him out of the crater, which would have made things easier, but probably less safe. Felix would prefer a bodyguard over a motorcycle any day.

"Run around like a good dog for a while. I need to send a message."

Koraidon did as he was told obediently. Felix took the time to take a small device out of his pocket and text a message:

Koraidon retrieved.

Will be heading back to base immediately.

_ _

After watching the creature run free for a while, Felix decided to start the journey back. His client would be delighted to see they had managed to catch such an impressive specimen - and even Felix was excited by what surprising discoveries they would come across now that the mysterious Pokémon had finally stopped being, well, a mystery.

The question of whether the inhabitants of Area Zero were regional forms, evolutions or just some other kind of close relatives to the known species remained. Felix wondered what his client would have to say about that once Koraidon was in their power.

One thing was certain - he wouldn't have to worry about fighting other creatures on his way back.

With Koraidon at his side, Felix felt like the king of the crater.