ICG: Ch4 In Which
I crawl my way into a bush as soon I can move without feeling like my brain is going to explode. Once there I just sit and think. Thus far, moving has only brought trouble, and I've still got one hell of a migraine and a goose egg on my skull on top of that. So I sit, and think.
The possibility that this was just a bad dream has long since been eliminated. Which leaves me exactly where I was before I took a bite of dynamite. Very damn hungry.
Pokémon live here, that much is a given. So there must be something edible somewhere! But where?
Suddenly a bright red object rolls across the ground in front of my bush. A big, juicy looking apple. My stomach growls and my mouth waters at the mere sight of the familiar, and gloriously edible, fruit. I don't think twice about it, I simply dive out of the bush and tackle the apple. By the time I realize what I'm doing half the apple is already gone.
"Hey! That's mine!"
I whirl around, holding the apple tightly to my chest, snarling, "Fuck you!"
The Caterpie recoils, but doesn't run, "But... I got it out of the tree..."
I blink. An apple tree? "Where?"
"Back that way." the Caterpie says, jerking its head back towards the forest behind it.
"Show me, and you can have the apple back."
~0~
A short walk later we find ourselves staring up at an enormous apple tree full of bright red shiny apples. I swear I can hear tiny cherubs singing somewhere. It's just that glorious a sight.
But how do I get that fruity goodness in me?
I slowly circle the tree, searching for a way up. Nope. It's way too big to just shake the fruit out. How do you get things out of trees in the games? You can knock pokémon out of trees using headbutt, and that means you can probably knock fruit out too. But riolu don't learn that move. I turn to the Caterpie. "How did you get the apple out of the tree?"
He looks up from the apple core he is chewing on. "I walked up the tree and picked it."
Hmm, I guess he would be able to do that. Doesn't help me though. Maybe I could try headbutting the tree. I mean really, what is the worst that could happen? I pause to consider that question. The answer to that question so far has been 'really fucking bad things'. Okay, so maybe I won't try to headbutt the tree. I begin to pace, trying to burn off some of the tension I can feel building. I never had a real even temper and this whole situation is really starting to get on my nerves. I mean seriously! It is not my fault that my video game was actually affecting an alternate reality! Those fuckers on Mt. Coronet had no right to do this to me! Why if I could get me hands on those sons of-
Suddenly, I feel a tingling in my hand- er, paw. I glance down to see a dim glow coming from it and it quickly fades back to nothing. What the fuck was that? Suddenly, it just clicks, Force Palm! It's one of the first moves Riolu learn and that pokédex did say I was around level ten, Ratticate evolves at level twenty or something and I kicked its butt! Maybe I leveled up and learned a new move!
But how do I use it?
I try focusing on the move, but nothing happens.
Perhaps it isn't a matter of thinking about moves. Maybe it has to do with the utilizing the type of energy the move utilizes? That would be fighting type energy... how the fuck is that any different from normal type?
"Why does this have to be so fucking hard!" I snarl, slamming my paw into the tree trunk. I barely see a blue glow out of the corner of my eye before my paw connects with the tree trunk and unleashes a charged Force Palm!
The bark splinters around my hand and the entire tree shudders. I barely have time to realize what the hell just happened before it is practically raining apples. I laugh and happily begin devouring the closest apples as fast as I can.
I don't think I have ever tasted anything so wonderful.
I yelp as something heavy hits me on the head. I turn to see a large yellow shell. It's a Kakuna. I blink in surprise. "Where the fuck did you come from?"
The yellow pupa pokémon just glares at me.
"RUN!" I hear the Caterpie shriek followed by a loud buzzing noise.
Oh fuck me. I think as I look up to see several more Kakuna laying cockeyed in the lower branches as well as a swarm of Beedrill taking flight.
"Intruder!" "Kill the nest wrecker!" "Kill! Kill! Kill!"
I grab an apple and run. I take a moment to thank nobody in particular for my having the sense not to headbutt the tree. This is going to suck enough without being dizzy from hitting the tree with my head. However, all happy thoughts run away as a few Beedrill shoot ahead of me and pull an about face.
I foresee pain in my immediate future. I feel a warm wave pass over my leg. I don't pause to think, I just act, twisting around to do a bicycle style Blaze Kick that catches the lead Beedrill in the face. We both crash to the ground and tumble over each other as the other Beedrill veer off to avoid hitting their hivemate. I do my best to jump back up and stumble back into a sprint. I grin, that was surprisingly badass. I glance over my shoulder at the Beedrill swarm behind me.
I am so fucked. I think to myself when I see just how many of them there are. I turn my eyes back to the front as I enter a clearing and my heart just about stops. I am completely surrounded. I skid to a halt in the center and watch them.
I turn slowly, watching the as many of the Beedrill at once as I can. Every sense is attuned to my survival. I hear a shift in the pitch of the buzz behind me and I leap to the side as I twist around. I narrowly avoid being skewered by a pair of Beedrill stingers that glow with a sickly purple energy. Suddenly I feel something slam into my back and I am thrown forward onto the ground. I roll to the right as several Beedrill stingers pierce the ground where I had fallen.
I roll to my feet and twist between a Beedrill's stingers to deliver fierce headbutt to its face. I hear a crunch and feel something wet ooze over my head as the Beedrill's momentum carries us both backwards. I grab hold of the Beedrill's stinging arm and scissor my arms on it. I'm rewarded with a loud snap and the stinger breaks free in my paws.
Leaping to my feet I charge the Beedrill ahead of me, wielding the stinger like a two handed sword. I shriek at a burning pain in my shoulder and I am driven into the ground. I stumble back to my feet, my vision swimming.
A single Beedrill fills my vision and I cross my arms in front of myself as the Beedrill unleashes a Fury Attack. I grunt as the sharp stingers repeatedly stab into my arms and chest. I can feel an energy building in my core as the Beedrill's attack continues. The Beedrill pauses and I lunge forward, slamming both fists into its abdomen and unleashing the Counter attack.
The Beedrill is knocked backwards, but doesn't seem to be all that hurt by the attack. I yelp as I am thrown forcefully against a tree, then shriek as a Beedrill stinger stabs through my leg and pins it to the tree.
A second and then a third stinger pin my arms to the tree trunk. I can feel my hot blood leaking out around the stingers. I look at the massive swarm gathered in front of me and begin kicking the Beedrill pinning my right leg. This may be the end of the line, but these bastards have another thing coming if they think I'll just roll over and take it in the ass.
The two Beedrill pinning my arms begin jabbing me mercilessly in the ribs. I shriek as my fur begins to darken with blood. I writhe in place, trying in vain to avoid the brutal stabbing. My vision swims and everything blurs. Suddenly, the Beedrill pinning me burst, and coat me and the ground in their ichorous innards. I fall forwards limply into the slime.
I weakly prop myself up and stare at the yellow blurs as they dart about, seemingly exploding at random before the surviving members of the swarm turn tail and run. I fall back down into the slime with a splat. I can feel eyes on me, but I don't have the strength to look. Instead, I fall into sleep.