Snippet #2768482

Just above the clouds haunting over the Unova Region, two Dragonites flew onward towards the general direction of the Ruulan Grand Stadium. The mission on their minds, they flew straight and true. Even though the view beneath them was shaded by the coverage, they had a keen sense of direction having flown across the planet on several occasions. And they had a general wherewithal on the places below them. For all intents and purposes, they could do this flight blindfolded.

But they were only the drop-off team. Strapped to each Dragonite's back was a large riding saddle intended to carry one or two big Pokemon...or several smaller Pokemon. Indeed, they had chosen the latter and both were carrying around seven or eight Pokemon each. None weighed too much thankfully, since this was a stealth mission and they didn't want to cause a ruckus. In fact, all of them were actually quite lightweight. Including the insightful and casual Chimchar that seemed to be sitting at the front...and leading the pack.

"We're almost there?" Crimson asked, in the middle of a conversation with Unix.

"Yes," the Dragonite replied, "I'll need a moment below the clouds to get my bearing, but we should be there in ten minutes time."

"Sweet. Thanks for your help, by the way."

"Hey...this is our fight too."

With a curt nod, Crimson turned around, clapping his hands to gather the attention of everyone on board, "Alright, folks! Let's go over what's gonna happen when we get there."

The other Pokemon on his ship gathered around as Crimson started explaining, "So we have almost no intel on whether or not humans have taken shelter in the stadium. With that in mind, I'm certain no one's gonna be out and about searching to capture a few random Pokemon in a time like this, but we can never be too careful. Try not to draw attention to yourself. Keep a close watch on what they do. And probably most important, do not fight unless you absolutely have to. We're just trying to get as much information as we can and get out. That good?"

Several of the faces nodded. Crimson continued, "Alright. So I think some of us should head into the stadium...local faces, preferably. Any of you all from these parts?"

No hands raised immediately, but a Galvantula raised one of it's eight legs to grab his attention.

"I'm not from the Unova Region, but I know many of my kind is," she offered helpfully.

"Nice," Crimson gave her a thumbs up, "Anyone else?"

"I think Soldova in the other group is from here, but not this part of the region," a Salandit chimed in.

"That'll work then," Crimson gave off a warm aura, "You two can head in there."

"Starting our descent!" Unix called from beneath them, "Hang on!"

"Thanks for the heads up!" Crimson said as he turned back to the group, his stomach lurching at the drop in altitude, "So it'll be you two then heading that up and any others that have a good chance of blending in. I'll let you two pick, since you both know the region way better than I do. You'll be asking the locals inside. Try conversing with a few caught Pokemon. Maybe some of them actually fought her. Who knows? It's worth a shot."

He began to notice a purple drizzle falling around them as he continued, "As for everyone else, we'll be heading around the surrounding area. Try to look for wild Pokemon to talk to. Get a bead on the locals. See if anyone knows anything about the fight. Catch a name drop, a hint on the power she's packing...the usual. Anything you all can think of that might be useful, ask it. I trust that-"

Crimson stopped as he noticed all of his teammates wincing in pain at the same time. The Chimchar stared, confused.

"What's wrong?" he asked, "What's happening?"

"We don't know," the Salandit answered, shaking her head, "Everything is just...hurting..."

"Can't you feel it?" a Lopunny asked, trying to cover her own face with her ears.

"No, I..." Crimson glanced around, staring at the shade of clouds, "I don't feel anything..."

Instinctively, he reached out to touch the clouds swirling around them, trying to feel the same sensation that everyone else was feeling. But all he felt was the wind against his face that blew stronger and stronger the closer they dived to the surface. There was no pain. Whatever they were suffering from, Crimson wasn't a part of it.

But why? he thought, staring down at his body, Is it my unique abilities? My type-shifting?

No, that didn't make sense. Every type he shifted to, he adopted the same traits, both type strengths and type vulnerabilities. Right now, he was still a Fire-Type, so he should be feeling everything everyone else was feeling if that was the case.

My human side?

Perhaps. He didn't know if the humans reacted to the atmosphere the same way the Pokemon did. It was the theory that resonated prominently in his mind, but there was still another theory waiting to be thought out.

My...special...ability...?

Equally as possible. Of all the things, it was the most powerful tool he had...and the one he knew the least about. After all, he'd only ever achieved it twice, despite constant meditating and exercises trying to unlock it as of late. Maybe there was something there that was waiting to be uncovered.

But those were just theories and as each one popped into his head, he decided to shove it aside and think about it later. They had finally descended below the clouds and could see the purple hued greenery below. Not too far in the distance stood the massiveness of the Ruulan Grand Stadium, it's shadow contrasting the dark clouds around it.

There was the destination.

But another thought loomed in his head as he turned around to see the Pokemon on board with this mission. They weren't immune to this, he knew. And he wasn't sure how much they would be hurt by this while they were down there. For all he knew, it could kill them. And that was easily the last thing he wanted.

But you made a promise to yourself...

That was the opposing side, the one telling him to push through and take them along. If they all went, they would clear the area quick and be back into the skies before an hour even passed. They would grow and learn how this reacted to them and would gain even more intel this way. They would learn to solve the problem themselves. That was what he wanted most.

"Oh, so the situation has to be dire enough for you to step in and lend your hand?" Gova's words echoed in his head, haunting him.

He sighed as he clenched his fist. He hated doing this. It went against everything he was set out to do as of recently. But so was risking the lives of several Pokemon for the sake of it.

"Where do we want to land?" Unix asked him, cutting into his head. Her own voice was strained, having to muscle through the strange purple rain as well as carry a decent load on her back.

"When I jump, you fly above the clouds," Crimson told her as he started undoing his harness that kept him inside.

"What?!" Unix asked incredulously. "What are you doing?"

"Take everyone and head back to the guild," he continued, ignoring her question, "I'll catch up with Tag in Castelia."

Now the others in the back turned with confused and bewildered looks.

"What, are you doing this by yourself?!" a Croagunk looked shocked.

"No way! We came all this way!" a Flaffy protested.

"We can take this!" a Pikipek chirped bravely, "This pain isn't that bad!"

"I can't risk it," Crimson told all of them, "I'm the only one who doesn't seem to be hurt by this. I'll have the best chance out here. This isn't my first adventure after all."

"Do you want me to at least land?" Unix suggested.

"Nah. The moment I leave, you beeline up until you see the sky. Get them out of here."

"So you're gonna free fall?" the Galvantula mustered through her own pain, "Or can you actually fly?"

"Nope. Can't fly. But I've got this."

Crimson gave her a passing wink before letting go of the harness and diving off the back of Unix. The Pokemon riding with him gasped as he started falling, seemingly without fear or panic.

"Be careful!" Unix called out before she shot upwards, trying to break the cloud's surface. The other Dragonite followed suit.

And now it was Crimson, falling through the air towards the forest below. He started angling his trajectory so that he would land closer to the stadium. But as the fall continued and the ground came closer and closer, he started to wonder exactly how he was going to land softly...and also started to have flashbacks on the last time he was falling from such a height. But he wasn't resolute to having Tag, Pert, Meryl, and Sarik saving him with a leaf trampoline this time.

But he did have more in his arsenal.

With quick thinking, he reached into the depths of his mind and searched for the calm, pulsating form of energy resting back there...the one that seemed to meld his mind and enhance his brain power. As if by second nature, the energy propelled forward and began to encompass his body. To a bystander, it would look like the Chimchar was being enveloped in a white light...almost as if he was evolving.

But when the moment passed and the white light dissipated, a Monferno Crimson wasn't. Instead, his body was a light shade of lavender with a pure white belly. The iconic flaming tail was now gone and the purple, focused gaze of the Psychic powered Chimchar was all that remained of Crimson as he continued to free fall.

The ground was approaching much faster now and he knew immediately what had to be done. Concentrating hard, he let loose his telekinetic ability and used it upon himself. The feeling of downward force subsided rather quickly as his own mental energy took over and he began to alter his course and slow his speed. Within a few moments, he was hovering between the treetops and preparing himself to land on the ground below.

When Crimson's feet touched the soil, he immediately took to morphing back into his standard Chimchar-like self again. Hopefully, no one was around to witness the odd transformation, he thought as he scanned the area. Anyone over at the Grand Stadium wouldn't have made out the form of a Chimchar landing, but they might've noticed a twinkle in the corner of their eye as the type shift occurred.

And there would be no local interaction either. Crimson was actually surprised to see that nothing else was even in the vicinity of where he was. No birds chirping...no locals scuttling about. The entire forest seemed to be empty and devoid of life...apart from the trees rustling in the wind. He remembered what had happened when they were within the effects of the storm and knew that this had to be the same force at work.

But on the bright side, Crimson thought as he started jogging through the jungle, It would narrow his search field.

As far as he was from the Grand Stadium, it only took a ten minute trek through the woods to reach the stadium entrance. He wasn't inhibited by the bulkiness of his Power Bat this time (though he was far more comfortable in this situation with it) and as a result, he covered ground surprisingly quickly. Along the way, he continued to search for any sign of life that could approach him, but it was as uninhabited as the place he landed. He also kept his eyes peeled for any overhang or cave system he could explore where he suspected Pokemon would be hiding out. Still, nothing popped out to him. He was alone for now.

When he was at the treeline surrounding the huge stadium walls, he started walking around it, searching for anything that could be deemed as interesting. He figured he would have to avoid the humans, as Chimchars he knew weren't exactly native to this region. But on the other hand, he was weighing the possibility of going in and talking to a few of the human-bonded Pokemon. Chances were, the humans would assume he was owned by a trainer from..wherever his kind came from in Ruula. He kept out of sight of the humans for the most part, ducking and weaving around trees and generally scoping out the place. The only life he spotted were two trainers, one on the back of a Staraptor and joined by a Gardevoir and the other carrying an umbrella above her head with a big, unsettling grin on her face. Not the folk he wanted to get involved with...for obvious reasons.

He was too far away to hear the conversation, so he moved on, continuing his survey of the area and waiting for them to go away so he could find a way inside undetected. At the same time, he finally started to take notice of the large, black crystals that hung in the air, varying in size, but each carrying it's own dark aura. What were they? Amplifiers? Conjurers? Or just after effects of the storm? he continued to think of possible rationales as to why these crystals would exist. He decided that it might be worth studying later, but first he wanted to talk to as many domesticated Pokemon as he could and see what they knew.