Chapter 29 – Mount Moon (Part 4)
Chapter 29 – Mount Moon (Part 4)
‘Oh, oh, oh! That was tasty! It needs to be colder though! Can we, like, add tribute in the form of frozen ‘Crunchies’ if the people want to study my minions?!’
Several people seemed to be stuck in states of permanent disbelief, even as 2B solemnly and seriously wrote that down.
“I think that could be arranged. One of the nearby cities makes the best Crunchies. Payment of a few hundred a month would be entirely reasonable for you allowing an expedition to study the various pokémon here. I will happily fund the first batch myself, in exchange for you allowing me to study the Ice-type variants that have developed in your Sanctuary.”
‘Awesome! You’re totally the best weirdo I’ve ever met! Hey, do you know if there are, like, other tasty things out there? I’m so bored of berries!’
2B nodded, not seeming at all bothered by the overwhelmingly powerful Legendary, who’d scared half the pokémon into their pokéballs when it arrived at the camp. Instead, she…brought a poképuff out of her custom Storage Bracer and offered it to Articuno.
“Here. This is a Frosted PokéPuff. They aren’t as common in Kanto, but I discovered Vulpix likes this, so I keep some in stock.”
Vulpix was, in fact, sitting at attention and staring avariciously at the poképuff. She seemed to be seriously considering trying to steal if before Articuno could get it…at least until 2B produced another one to distract her with. The Legendary ignored the interplay, taking the Puff offered carefully out of 2B’s hand and devouring it in one bite.
‘Hmmm, it’s okay, but I think I like the way the Crunchies crunch better! Like, it reminds me of cracking open a good Kabuto! Like, I totally haven’t had any of them in way too long, not enough of them survived! If I’d eaten them, it wouldn’t have been good!’
Several people twitched. The birdbrained Articuno was such an airhead that, when it said things like that which showed high intelligence, it seemed to break something in the poor science types. It’s just that, the rest of the time, it sounded like a Pikachu Valley girl. Crop tops, grass skirts, recreational herbs, and way too many uses of the word ‘like.’ Already, the historian that had tried to talk to it about the island that it had once ruled had been reduced to seeking a Chansey for headache relief.
Oddly, 2B was one of the only ones that didn’t seem put off by the way it spoke. When asked, she’d said that it wasn’t nearly as bad as someone named ‘Operator 6O.’ Which, frankly, had generated so many additional questions that everyone had dropped it. One overly powerful, complex, mystery was enough at a time, for most of them.
“Do you like having your feathers groomed? Daisy is better than I am, but I can get out my kit. Proper care can make them softer and increase shine.”
Articuno was immediately interested.
‘You know how to make my feathers even softer?! I take good care of them but, like, it’s super hard to get the right diet for them here! None of the Cheri Berry plants survived! They were, like, the absolute bestest for keeping my feathers soft! Mixed Hopo and Kee Berries rubbed on my feathers does, like, okay, but Cheri Berries were much better. Like, please tell me Cheri Berries survived?!’
2B nodded…and produced a trio of Cheri Berries for the Legendary, who actually verbalized her name in delight as she quickly snatched them. It only ate one…and flew off immediately with the other two. That was the fourth time so far it had flown off in mid-negotiation, and someone nearby sighed.
“This might be the most reasonable negotiation I’ve ever heard of with a Legendary, but damned if I’m not afraid she might get distracted and turn Fuschia into a frozen wasteland on accident or something. Letting her out of here might be a terrible idea.”
There were nods all around at that, even as most of them tried really hard to convince themselves that it would be someone else’s problem if she did…
… … …
“So the blue Krabby and Kingler really are Ice-typed. This data is going to make the Professor and Daisy quite pleased.”
Zoey smiled indulgently, having discovered that 2B in ‘science mode’ was absolutely adorable. Something the various pokémon of the Sanctuary seemed to agree with her about, as they’d practically lined up for her to study them. All while shying away, or else demanding bribes from, the other experts that had been steadily trickling in.
It wasn’t exactly a shock that they’d gotten stuck in Mt. Moon for an entire week. It was a little bit annoying, given that normally the trip through the mountain only took a single day. Mt. Moon, which apparently used to be an island according to Articuno, was very bit as large as Mt. Silver. The parts that made up the Route between Pewter and Cerulean, however, were really just a single shallow connection that skimmed one side of the mountain. The ancient people and pokemon that had made the connecting tunnels hadn’t been interested in the mountain itself, but in managing to connect the two cities for trade.
That said, it was understandable that they’d gotten stuck here, once the Rangers arrived…and even more so once League Officials started popping up. While Articuno was fully capable of using psychic-abilities to make itself understood, that didn’t change the fact that 2B had successfully negotiated with it first. When dealing with Legendries, changing Rapidash midstream and risking your relationship with them by shuffling who dealt with them was considered idiotic. At least when the starting relationship had been a mostly positive and successful one.
Which meant that the League had effectively ‘pulled rank’ to keep 2B on hand for the initial negotiations. Thankfully, that was done now, with the various parties mostly satisfied. They would be allowed to leave as of tomorrow, with Daisy Oak set to arrive to replace 2B. The League had even found a way to tie up the issues with ExoDrill by using the company to handle excavation of a tunnel into Mt. Moon, exclusively for Articuno’s use. That excavation would use the hardware they’d been forced to switch away from for their other site west of Pewter, with the original site now using more pokémon and less heavy machinery. Which is apparently what had disrupted the Steelix and Onix that had invaded Viridian Forest.
Of course, the last week had been far from wasted. Even ignoring 2B getting a chance to study a number of variant types of pokémon, as well as the original forms of some pokémon (the Tyrantum had feathers! Which explained why Kenji had only been ‘mostly’ sure of what he’d seen…), they’d been able to train a fair bit for the Cerulean Gym. Chinchou and Vulpix had likely learned the most from the local pokémon, who had different ways of using type energy, due to having evolved mostly in isolation. But Teddiursa and Ponyta had benefit as well.
There were plenty of water types around the lake to practice against, after all. At least once they got Articuno to understand that they weren’t trying to hurt the local pokémon, and would only fight those who were interested in testing themselves. More than that, Zoey absolutely couldn’t protest her own gains here as, after several days of hanging around her, the female Absol that had taken them to Articuno had joined her team.
Unlike the rest of the currently protected pokémon of the Sanctuary, the Absol clan lived as much in the rest of Mt. Moon as in the Sanctuary. Meaning the League hadn’t raised a fuss when the Absol make it clear it wanted to go with them. Apparently, it had always wanted to see what was ‘beyond the mountain,’ and had taken a liking to Zoey over even 2B. Her girlfriend had noted it, including how easily she understood Absol, and wondered if Zoey wasn’t naturally Ice-inclined with her aura.
Something which, after a bit of testing that had resulted in one or two more embarrassing (for Zoey) moments with Aura Linking, had proven to be the case. At least, so far as 2B could tell. They didn’t have a lot of ability to test, given the limited pokémon types they had on hand. Zoey herself expected she might actually be more in tune with Water. She’d always had an easier time working with Water-type pokémon and moves than virtually anything else. Ice, she felt, was simply closely enough related to work with.
“So, am I going to get to meet Daisy in person before we leave?”
Instead of getting an answer from 2B, as Zoey had expected, a voice answered from behind them.
“I should hope so! I’m right behind you, after all!”
Zoey jerked off the tree she was leaning on, heart leaping in her throat, and flailed for balance. A deceptively soft but strong hand caught her shoulder and steadier her. A moment later, she found herself looking into the smiling face of Daisy Oak.
“Oh, hey Daisy. Did you…um…just arrive?”
Smooth Zoey, smooth. Obviously, Daisy agreed with her own sarcastic self-assessment, though she was polite enough to only giggle for a moment before ignoring it.
“Nearly. I did get stuck talking with the League and Expedition representatives for a good half an hour when I first arrived. Once I managed to get rid of them, I found my way straight here. Both because I wanted to see you two, and because I’m supposed to be taking over with Articuno. I’m told 2B has struck up the best relationship with her?”
2B, who had calmy disengaged from the Ice-typed Kingler she’d been studying, giving it a berry in thanks…surprised Zoey by outright picking Daisy up in a hug. The air oofed out of Daisy’s lungs, but she giggled again when 2B set her down and she recovered.
“I’m happy to see you too, 2B! But it’s only been a month! Not even quite that, actually.”
Cocking her head, 2B considered for a moment.
“You are correct. Somehow, that doesn’t feel quite right. Perhaps this place has odd effects on time?”
Daisy laughed, causing Zoey to blink…and look closer at 2B. When she did, she realized that 2B was grinning just slightly. A bemused smile made its way onto her own face as she realized once again that 2B did have a thread of mischief in her, even if it was often a bit hard to spot. She was going to have to keep remembering that for the future if she didn’t want to end up on the wrong end of it.
“I want to hear all about your adventure so far, dear! But first, you should probably tell me about this Articuno. Several people have insisted that she’d a bit of an easily-distracted airhead. Is that…actually true?”
Groaning at the reminder, feeling tired just from remembering dealing with the Legendary, Zoey settled in to listen to the two chat. Seeing 2B talking so easily with anyone was unusual, and she intended to take notes! Communication was important! If 2B was bad at it, Zoey would just have to be extra good to make sure things worked out! 2B was just the right mix of adorable, innocent, and sexy! Zoey wasn’t giving that up easily…
… … …
“So, are you disappointed that you couldn’t bring any of the pokémon from the Sanctuary along? I know quite a few of them wanted to come with you.”
It had been pretty funny to watch, actually. The League officials had needed to deal with an irate group of pokémon that had gotten used to 2B, and who wanted to tag along to see the outside world. It wasn’t every pokémon she’d met in the Sanctuary or anything so extreme. Yet there had been a solid dozen that had been trying to tag along. Only to run smack into the League’s draconian rules about disruption of newly discovered biomes without ‘due and proper study.’
From the way the League officials had been sent into a tizzy, Zoey was pretty sure that this was the first time that the law had been challenged on the pokémon’s side, rather than by a human. 2B hadn’t helped the League reps by arranging to get the pokémon a lawyer, even if it had caused them to settled down and accept that they needed to wait. Now, the Sanctuary was going to have official legal representation provided by the Saffron Gym. Who apparently had a Bar-approved Alakazam who represented pokémon in legal disputes as a side business.
No, Zoey hadn’t known that was a thing.
Apparently, the League Officials had, as they’d developed a palpable aura of pure dread at hearing 2B had retained ‘Saffron Psycorp Legal, LTD.’ Personally, if not for already being a bit behind where they wanted to be on the Gym circuit, Zoey would have been interested in staying behind just to see how that panned out. Maybe Daisy would keep them updated? She had seemed to take a slightly unholy amount of glee in seeing 2B ‘solve problems’ in ways that were perfectly logical but generated pure chaos in their wake.
Yeah, Daisy would probably share updates.
“No. While many of the pokémon present would be interesting, I only have two proper slots left on my team, and most of them were Ice-typed. With Vulpix, adding them to my core team would have been overspecialization.”
Zoey hummed at that, nodding at the logic, though she pointed out the obvious flaw in it a moment later.
“Sure, but tournaments and the like demand roster depth. Almost everyone that makes it to the final 16 of Division 1, which I suspect you are aiming for, has at least a few additional pokémon they can swap out. If nothing else, tournament injuries are often serious enough to need more than just a pass through a healing machine.”
2B nodded back instantly.
“Yes. But adding too many team members too quickly is just as bad. I believe I am ready to add another, but not a dozen. I would have felt bad taking just one. If Mister Alakazam is able to help them, I encouraged Daisy to present the Oak Ranch as a good place for them to learn about the outside world.”
Ah. That was clever. It would still allow the pokémon to travel outside the Sanctuary, and the League was more likely to accept it as a compromise. Meanwhile, it was likely that at least some of the pokémon would become content just with that one new experience. With time to explore a new place and separation from 2B’s aura, fewer of them would be intent on following her specifically.
“Hmm, if one of them could have come with you, which one do think would have fit your current team best? The Tyrunt maybe?”
It was idle chatter, of course. But they were working their way out of Mt. Moon, finally. It was something to discuss at least, as they walked the relatively safe path of the proper Route. It would take a few hours still at this point, then another hour to get out of the foothills and into the city itself. Might as well kill some time with speculation.
“The Psyduck.”
Zoey blinked. That was…a strange answer. The vast majority of people tended to avoid that species. Sure, once they evolved, they could be powerhouses. They were also well known to be a pain to get to that phase, though. Sometimes literally, if they lashed out with the psychic buildup that caused their headaches. At the end of the day, they were generally considered pure Water pokémon too, despite their high psychic potential.
“Really? There were quite a few rarer options in the group. Many of them with powerful potential.”
2B nodded at that. It wasn’t exactly an amazing observation. Aside from the Tyrunt, there had been everything from a Carbink to a Shelgon.
“Yes, but most were Ice or water typed in some way. The Shelgon was an exception, but it was too powerful already, the League would never allowed it in Division 1. The Carbink was interesting, but didn’t seem to have much of a battler’s nature. The Psyduck was getting a better handle on Psychic-typed energy with my help, and I think could have helped the rest of the team learn to handle it better.”
Ah. Come to think of it, most of 2B’s current team either already knew some Psychic based tricks, or were capable of learning them. Wanting to get a better handle on that made a sort of sense. It did seem a bit off as a reason to Zoey, though.
“Plus, I could help it the most. The massages I came up with for it were easing the headaches.”
There it was.
Zoey shook her head. The more she saw 2B interacting with pokémon, the more she was sure the girl’s supposed dream was…off kilter. While Rangers did make nice with wild pokémon if they could, their primary job was to protect humans and human civilization from them. 2B wouldn’t quite fit, with how she instinctively treated pokémon as on the same level of importance as humans.
Not that she was quite sure what the other girl should be. A Professor wouldn’t be impossible, but didn’t quite seem to fit. A breeder…no she couldn’t see that one at all, unless it was by accident. She had to stifle a giggle as an image of 2B setting up a pokémon dating service in order to help pokémon find life partners popped into her head. She could absolutely see the other girl doing it. Probably with a completely straight face and list of reasons it would be a good idea.
Well, whatever it was that 2B was supposed to do, she was sure they would figure it out sooner or later. That’s what Journeys were all about, after all. Though, the longer she was around 2B, the stronger a certain thought became. That whatever 2B ended up becoming, the world might never be quite the same after it…
... ... ... ... ... ... ... ....
A/N 1: Part of me honestly wanted to explore that type-variants they found more completely. However, that would have likely inclined me to take one with them, and my patrons had already voted on both of their next pokemon :-p. That said, I set things up in such a way that 2B will have access to some of them later, if a future vote sees people want me to explore that idea a bit more.
A/N 2: I couldn't resist the idea of an Alakazam having set up a Legal Practice. It's highly probable that Mr. Alakazam of Safforn Psycorp Legal may make recurring appearances for the chaos value ;-).