BUTTERY'S MYSTERY DUNGEON: The Ocean Rumbles [STORY]
I've been waiting for a good time to post this story, and really, there hasn't been one. I finished this up in early October, so I've been sitting on this story for a month. Alex and friends are really fun to write for, so I hope you all enjoy his Mystery Dungeon escapades.
--
The calmness of the evening along the shores of Silveredge Coastline were disrupted earlier in the afternoon, when giant, red beams shot from the ocean. Now, townsfolk were fathered in the main, sandstone limestone square, confused, frightened, bewildered by the state of affairs. In the giant, carved out cliffside near the beach, other Pokémon had brought themselves toward the entrance. Their voices melded together in bewildered worriment.
“What’s gonna happen to us?!” A worried Dratini squeaked out. “Oh, how awful! How horrible!”
“Is this a sign of the end?!” A worried Beautifly yelped, their nubby arms pressed to their cheeks.
“Please, won’t anyone in there investigate?!” A Cinccino cried toward the skies.
Many Pokémon had been disturbed when beams of Dynamax energy had propelled out of various places along their side of the continent, the origin of which was from Pricklepine Woods. Not a single soul had ever heard of Dynamax or Gigantamax before, many believed that an apocalyptic event was on its way. Many have not heard…except for the guildmaster himself. In his ginormous shadow, he rested his mind on the situation. While he snored, he debated what should be said and what shouldn’t. His dreams chugged along his train of thought, while two other Pokémon snuck along the edge of the wooden and granite walled halls.
The observers were around the same height, both had feathery left ears, though were vastly different in little and big ways. While they shared tail feathers and claws, with red eyes and yellow gem-like bumps on their bodies, one had a snow-like white fur where the other had a dark tealish tinge. One had purple markings along their face and body, especially on their claws, where the darker one had only white claws. The lighter one had a short purple feathered ear, the darker one had a long, red feathered ear. Both shared accessories, but while the lighter one had a pink and purple stripe pattern scarf, the darker one had a purple and blue striped pattern bandana. The darker one was a bit scrawny with bandages around his left arm, the lighter one had a bind on her chest and stomach, a plump set of legs, a squishy rear, contrasted by some slightly puffy cheeks with a cute pair of glasses.
“Here he is…” The darker one had a slightly deepend voice, which showed maturity, but not a full understanding of the world around him. “Sleepin’ on the job while everyone else is in a panic.”
A soft hum came from the lighter one, who adjusted her scarf slightly and tried to gently push the bigger figure into a more comfortable position, and winced when it turned out to be more of a rough shove. After she listened for his snores, the lighter one's taut shoulders relaxed. “Sorry about that, at least it's not gonna be you…” Her hushed tone turned a little louder when she got back to her partner. “So, what do you plan on doing with that information?” In a less hushed tone, the lighter one’s voice was feminine, but gruff in a way.
“I think it’s high time for some fun around here, don’t you?” The mischievous male pulled himself away from the doorframe. “We’re a team, aren’t we? I think that we’re the someones that should do something about those beams.”
Before he can dart off, his friend gripped him by the wrist. “And do what exactly?”
With a smug smirk, the other Pokémon flashed his teeth. “Ever heard of a rowboat? We’ll be fine, I promise ya.”
—
The ground boomed and quaked with each step taken by the ginormous, chunky giant of a Pikachu. Each movement made his flabby belly jostle about, his hips and arms followed suit. His footprints left etches in the grassy ground, while his gut tore through pinewood forests. This was Alex, and he had a wild day. Getting stuck as a ginormous, fatty beast of a Pikachu and stopping a rampaged kaiju Butterfree wasn’t on his agenda, neither was finding out his birth parents are still out there in the world, but it was certainly something that would change the course of his life…somewhat. Him and his best pal Eki still wanted to carry out their dream of becoming Rescue Teams, even if that meant derailing the new discoveries a bit. That was something that Eki, however, was a bit unhappy to hear.
“You’re positive?” The Cyndaquil wondered, while she laid on her friend’s shoulder. It felt good to be off her feet for prolonged periods of time at least.
With a sweet smile on his face, Alex nodded. “I’m not gonna let a little bit of gigantism get in the way of us becoming a rescue team.” He was confident and optimistic in his tone, with a glint of excitement in those eyes. “Besides, now that we’re both adults, there’s no excuse not to do this now!”
“Yeah, but…” Eki slowly stood up on her feet. “That whole bit about your parents didn’t bother you at all?”
“I know I’ll see them someday.” Alex wobbled along, “Either they come to me, or I come to them. Maybe both if you think about it hard enough.”
A sigh left Eki while Alex continued on. She smiled a bit, even in this strange time that he found himself in, he was still so gung-ho about being a part of a team. That optimism was always infectious, maybe it invigorated Eki to worry about things later. “Alright, alright.” She dropped it with a giggle. “Though that raises the question…what’s our team name gonna be?”
Somehow, that didn’t cross Alex’s mind at all. He stopped in his tracks, then raised his arms up. His left elbow rested on the backside of his paw, his left paw pressed into one of his doughy chins. “I’m…not sure…”
“Not sure?” Eki blinked. ‘Alex, I thought you had a whole list of team names!”
“I did!” He confirmed, “But, now the names won’t make any sense. Team Half-Pint doesn’t work when you have one half pint and a whole gallon right beside each other, Team Sparkin’ Flare sounds less neat when you got more spark than flare, Team Burnin’ Shock’s got the same problem…”
It was then Eki came to a realization. “All your team names are jokes about us being small or being Fire and Electric types, aren’t they.”
Alex paused, then gulped. “Well um, Team Tail n’ Nub isn’t…”
“Ten years of name hunting and we’ve ended up with nothing…” Eki groaned.
Nervously, Alex rubbed the back of his head and chuckled. “Maybe I should’ve reminded you that I’m bad with names…”
Their concentration was broke once both of them made it out of the pinewoods, the salty scent of the sea nearby fresh on their minds. Only, there was one thing amiss by the sounds of the ocean waves. Uncertainty, bewilderment, and above all else, concerned Pokémon. It wasn’t hard to see why, since there were beams of Dynamax energy that reached past the clouds in the sky.
“Those dens reach all the way out here?!” Exclaimed Alex, who readied a speedy stance.
“Sounds like people are in trouble…” Eki gripped on tighter, ready for her Pikafriend to speed on through. “Alex, let’s go!”
Ready to assist, Alex started to storm over as fast as he could…though, the two quickly realized that speed was no longer this Electric type’s forte. He was only fast because he covered triple the ground of his previous size at the very least, but if he was just a bit slimmer he could make a maddash over. Now, any attempt at running ended in slow stomps, silly arm waves, and embarrassing huffs and puffs.
“C’mon, Alex!” Eki nervously called out. “Shift gears and get running!”
“Not…exactly…a Kling…klang…hff…huff…”
Alex was once a speedy runt, he could have zipped through at amazing speeds while still being able to react to whatever was in front of him. Now, however, his old run speed might’ve been his new walking speed, but it wasn’t much better when he ran. At least when he was small he wasn’t easily winded…
When the two finally arrived, they were met with the oddest sight. A beautiful town by the ocean side, partially rested on a hill that inclined upward. Before them were sandstone and limestone roads that intertwined around homes and businesses of various kinds. The familiar Keckleon shaped tent marked a stop for a pair of Keckleon brothers, a small coffin shaped stand surrounded by golden surf boards along the edges, a small multi-door building with a CLOSED sign and tape barriers at the front, various other shops that have seemingly been recently evacuated. The populace, on the other hand, were practically gone.
Alex glanced over to Eki, who could only give a shrug to him. It was then that the giant rat made a troubling realization. “Eki, what if they think…I’m a monster?”
“Please,” Eki put her paw on Alex’s side, and looked up to him. “You’re way too soft and squishy to be a monster. There’s probably other monsters out in the sea. Besides, you can easily clear them! You’re electric, and they’re probably water!”
With a pinch of confidence, Alex nodded and side stepped the best he could around buildings. He had to hoist his gut up in order to avoid oodles of property damage, but those were the breaks. Eki trotted along beneath the shade her friend gave, before the two of them could see something off in the distance on the coast. Something headed toward one of those dens - a rowboat!
—
“C-C’mon…” Grunted the darker Sneasel, while he pulled along. “Fifi, come on!”
The paler Sneasel gave her partner a death glare, before she took a jab right at his shoulder. “Stop calling me that.”
“Ahhhck, hahhhhowwww…” The other Sneasel rubbed his shoulder, eyes squinted at the girl. “What’s WRONG with youuuu, owwwww…”
“Baby.” The girl shook her head, and continued to row until the two were at the base of the den. “This is it.”
“Gahhh, yeah, it looks like it’s it…” The boy agreed, while he still rubbed and nursed his arm bruise. “Seriously though, why did you hit my arm?”
The other Sneasel crossed her arms, her scarf pulled up over her mouth once again. “It’s easy to hit you when I know you're trying to be mean to me. I can tell by your smile.” She commented, then took a peak into the den.
There was a slight smirk on the darker one’s face. “Heh, o-okay, fine…you got me there.”
The darkness of the den was too deep for the Sneasels to see down, there were no discernible figures at all. The more timid one pulled her friend back onto the boat, before they began to hear cracks and rumbles beneath them. In the safety of their vessel, they watched on what went on beneath them. The two were thrown off when the ground broke beneath them, and waves thrashed their vessel higher up into the air. They screamed and splashed down, the waves had an aftershock from the intense blast from below.
The skies slowly began to turn a stormy red around the broken den, the thooms and booms of the skies above shook about the heavens above. Parting the sea was a strange, cubic fin, followed by steel cannons after steel cannons in a hexagonal pattern. The ocean rolled off the seeming vessel until the two could see its massive head; turtle like, with pointy ears, a mammalian/reptilian snout, and eyes that glowed blue and white. The creature stood over eighty feet in the air once he got on his hind legs, half of his body was submerged in water. The beast roared, while the darker Sneasel meeped.
“FELICITY ROW!!” He commanded, then got into place to row, himself.
Felicity didn’t even respond, she just began to row back to the mainland in a panic. Her friend looked back over to the stomping tyrant with incredible fear, especially as the creature began to swivel around to point its canons at the small vessel.
“ROW FASTER!!!” Whined the leader, who looked back to his friend and joined back in.
“I'd like to see you do better, friggin' bossy!” Sassed Felicity, while the beast continued to charge up.
Those cannons pointed at their vessel, the two could see all six of the large canons plume out an enormous, torrential blast of water. CRACK! Their boat practically exploded! The force of the waves threw the two of them up in the air, as both of them screamed loudly. The apex of their fling soon was met by their downfall closer to the water. Fifty, forty-five, forty, before… the two were snatched up in two, separate, soft paws.
“Leave it to us, guys!” Alex’s voice was chipper, confident, and strong. Maybe it was a heroic front he put on.
When the guy Sneasel looked up to Alex, he felt something awaken in his mind. Those big, squishy cheeks, that massive set of moobs, the smooth belly that parted the water, those ginormous arms… uh-oh, he realized just then he found his boy crush. It took being put on Alex’s shoulder for the Sneasel to snap out of it. “Wai wai whao! Y-You can’t take that thing on by yourself!”
“Then help us out!” Eki suggested, then landed right by Felicity. She looked up to the Sneasel with a big, infectious grin. “Together, we can take down anything!”
Felicity felt her face go red from the optimism Eki put on. She cleared her throat and turned back to the beast. “R…Right.”
THOOM! THOOM! The beast stomped toward Alex and readied their canons, which bubbled and frothed at the rims. The ginormous Pikachu used his body to his advantage, and shielded his friends from another harsh aquatic blast! The force of the water pushed him back somewhat, but the Pikachu began to wade through the tides in order to get closer to his enemy. Although, he quickly noticed something was wrong. His back, it tingled…the same way pain would course through a Pokémon after a burn or being poisoned. He was taking damage residually from the attack!
“Gh…Eki, Plan Roll!” Alex placed the darker Sneasel up on his shoulder, and held out his hand for Eki to hop into.
“Rollout time!” Eki ran up the other end of Alex’s arm, and began to roll back down it in a curled up formation. She zipped past Alex’s hand, and managed to land into his other palm. The other Sneasel held on tight, as Alex chucked Eki right into the beast’s head.
Clunk! Eki’s speed and force was nothing like the other time she charged up an all out attack, she hit the creature and landed right in the boat that the two Sneasels had occupied before. All the while, the beast she slammed into looked as though it had only taken a little bump, rather than a complete knockout like Butterfree before them.
“Uhhh, i-it didn’t work!” Eki yelped aloud, the monster’s eyes now fixated on her.
The two Sneasels looked to each other, and seemingly had a plan. With a gulp, the darker one looked up to Alex. “Throw us on there!”
“W…What?!” Alex was surprised by the demand, even as the creature began to charge up another attack.
“Trust us, we got a plan!” The Sneasel readied up, with a glint of determination in his eyes. Or, maybe it was stupidity.
Without much to go on, the Pikachu pulled them both into one paw, and threw them toward the beast. The propulsion of the wind was enough to have the two cut through, meanwhile, Alex could advance a bit more through the sea. The darker Sneasel gave an assured look to his partner.
“You go for a ‘Jab!” He requested, “I’ll go for a ‘Claw!”
Felicity’s eyes opened wide, before she nodded. This was a dumb play, but hopefully it’d get the beast’s eyes off of Eki. While the fire rodent curled up in a defensive position, assured she would be blasted to kingdom-come, before the two Pokémon they saved from a horrific splash rescued her back. A combo of Poison Jab and Metal Claw at the same time might not seem impressive, but it did throw off the balance of the monster’s aquatic blasts.
—
The city was in a wide scale panic by this point. Silveredge Coastline’s residents scrambled around and out of the streets, as residual ocean rain sprayed their beloved homes. The once asleep, overly enormous, previously deep in thought Snorlax was awoken by the rumbles over the coast. With confidence, he pushed up his glasses, pulled a band of his own on his wrists, then stomped out of the guild headquarters. He darted down to the looplet around his chunky wrist only to give himself a confident nod. He had to do this. He looked on at the rat and tortoise combat off in the distance, then blink a bit. There was something off to him about the Pikachu, namely, it seemed like he still had his sense of self. The tortoise on the other hand…
“So that’s where you’ve been this whole time…” The Guildmaster’s voice was deep and bassy, possibly to compliment his otherwise large and intensive body. He dug out a donut from between his rolls and scarfed it down to re-energize him, before he stomped toward the coast. “If I hurry now, I’ll make it just in time…!”
When the townsfolk saw the Guildmaster storm out with confidence, some began to calm down. Others pestered him and begged him for explanations, but there was no time for that now.
—
Now angered, the beast let loose a mighty roar, and threw its massive fist towards the two falling Sneasels. Both braced for impact, only to feel the soft plushness of Alex’s arms cradle them, then pull the two away. He once again took a nasty hit to his back, which made the rat wince in pain. Both looked up to him concerned, he definitely seemed like he was on his last legs already.
“D-Don’t worry…” Alex tried to break through the pain with a grin. “I’m…I’ll be fine.”
He hid the two on his shoulders again, and weakly grabbed at his tail. He charged up as much electricity he could muster, and tried to bring it down into the beast before him. Right before impact, the creature went into its shell to protect itself from a majority of the attack. That didn’t deter Alex, as he began to push his tail into the protective shell. The pain of exerting himself this far caused him to yell a battle cry into the air.
“A…Alex stop!!” Eki looked up to her friend, “If you don’t stop, you’re gonna lose! Everyone’s…everyone’s gonna…!”
“I…can’t!!!” Alex cried out, teeth gritted. “It’s because…of everyone on the shore!!!” He pushed his tail harder, his electricity growing stronger, arms more tired. “If I don’t do something, they’re all gonna be in danger!!!”
Eki tried to burn at the beast’s shell, but to no avail. “You can’t do anything if you’re knocked out!” Eki called. “We need to run! Regroup!”
Both the Sneasels looked to each other to see if either of them could think of any plans. There were none, it was just time to sit and hope Alex doesn’t exert himself. The two however were surprised to see something else cut through the chaos. When the Blastoise popped out of his shell to deal another knuckle blow to Alex, he was interrupted by light that assaulted him right in the face. Another attack, one that looked like a giant beam that shot above Alex’s right love handle, and under his chunky arm. The blow was enough to make Alex stumble back, confused as to what might’ve hit the beast. When he turned around, what he saw was…a sight, to say the least. Stood on his tiny feet in comparison to his enormous, blubberous body, a beast with blue fur around the rim, a great big pale belly, a ginormous scar across his right side of his gut to the middle, with flora and a great big tree that situated itself in between his navel comfortably. He pulled a berry from the massive tree, and chucked it toward Alex.
“Nourish up!” The monster, seemingly still sane, boomed out with great power. “Blastoise’s G-Max move does damage to you over time, even after he lands a hit on you.”
Without much question, Alex bit down into the juicy, plump Oran Berry he was tossed. He instantly started to feel better, not up to full, but definitely high enough to feel rejuvenated. His big steps stomped and splashed, while he scooted out of the way. “So who are you?” He pondered to the new face, while there was still time to make small talk.
“I’m-”
“GUILDMASTER GERALD?!” The two Sneasels on Alex’s shoulders called out in unison, shocked that their Guildmaster would join the fray in such a manner. How could it be any more obvious? His iconic scar, those glasses on his face, his…chub.
With a grin, Gerald got ready for another attack from the group’s foe. “Hey, sport.” He looked over to Alex with a grin. “I think you’re smart enough to know type match ups. Take advantage of Blastoise stumbling, and go for the knock-out move!”
“Yeah!” Alex agreed, then gripped onto his tail again. The supposed Blastoise had been dazed by the sudden dirty shot, which gave Alex this one last shot at victory. He charged his tail and went in for the attack, his battle roar echoed about the oceanside. “G-MAX…VOLT CRAAAAASH!!!”
His tail landed on the Blastoise’s head with a mighty BOOM! Crackles of electricity shot throughout Alex’s body and into his opponent’s, bright yellow flashes and jolts fried the Blastoise to his core. The beast let out a pained cry, arms spasmed and legs weakened. With the aid of Gerald, Alex was able to push down the monster of a Pokémon back into the sea, his splashes caused the boat Eki was on to splash and rock about. While the last of the residual ocean-rain stopped, the body of that monster shrunk back down to size. The red skies slowly faded away to reveal the onset of night, as stars sprinkled across the sky, and the moon had just barely begun to rise overhead. There was calm once again, as the beast had been defeated.
He wasn’t the only one that shrunk back down, however. With the threat now subsided, Gerald had compressed back to his original stature and girth, having been lucky enough to occupy the otherwise tiny rowboat. Although, poor Eki was squashed beneath a ton of ‘lax belly, something that made breathing a bit…difficult. Fortunately for her, Gerald fished her out from beneath her after some contortion. There was enough room for her on top of the Guildmaster’s belly, alongside the two Sneasels. He cleared his throat, then crossed his arms as he looked to the two trouble makers. The lighter one looked practically ready to drown in guilt- though her expression was flat and her muzzle was covered by her scarf, her wobbly eyes looked seconds away from crying.
“I should really applaud you two for your initiative,” He started, “really, I should. But how am I going to explain to Ms. Lapras that you stole one of her rowboats?”
“It was my idea…” The darker one quickly took the blame. “I thought that we could see what was going on, and maybe calm everyone down! Nobody was doing anything!”
“Yes, and for good reason.” Gerald defended his hesitance. “I was planning out how to explain to the wonderful Pokémon the complications of Dynamax and Gigantamax, something that hasn’t been a problem for years and years…until now, at least.” He shook his head and sighed. “Vale, Felicity, you two are in such-”
“Please don’t punish them, sir.” Called out Alex, while he stood over Gerald. “If they didn’t come over here and investigate, I couldn’t have helped and stopped this guy.” Alex held up the Blastoise, as a child would their little doll. Fingers beneath the arms, supported by his strength.
Gerald was deep in thought for a moment, before he glanced over to the two Sneasels. “Compromise.” Gerald began. “As punishment for stealing the rowboat, I have to demote your team from Silver to Bronze again…” Both Sneasels looked to each other, and sighed in unison. “...However.” Their eyes lit back up. “For helping defeat a crazed Gigantamax Pokémon, I am promoting Team Clawful from Bronze to Silver. Consider this punishment a simple restart of your progress.”
Both Vale and Felicity looked back to each other, Vale with a big grin on his face, Felicity with sparkles in her eyes. They stand in salute formation, eyes up to the sky. “We won’t fail you again, Guildmaster Gerald!” They promised, Vale’s voice overpowered Felicity’s.
“As for the Blastoise.” Gerald looked back up to Alex. “Be a big help and carry him to shore? I called my medical professionals to wait by the beach for any potential Pokémon that were downed in battle.”
“On it, sir.” Alex nodded, then scooped back up Eki with his tail.
Before the two could leave, that Snorlax’s voice cut through. “Oh, and by the way…” Alex turned back around. “I’ve never seen a Pokémon stuck in their Gigantamax form before, even after battle. Usually you only have so much time…how did this happen?”
“I fell and swallowed a rock.” Alex admitted plainfully. “You know. Normal day.”
That left Gerald to ponder some, while he grabbed some paddles and began to row back to shore. Vale and Felicity sat down on Gerald’s stomach and let him row the two along. All the while, Pokémon on the coast were celebrating the downing of a monstrous creature. There was cheering for the seemingly friendly Pikachu whom began to return to shore, the Guildmaster who rowed back with him, the safety the Coastline felt in general. Two Pokémon in particular stood along the shoreline, both impressed by the work put in.
“That Pikachu is a real hero…!” Cheered a round Togedemaru, as she pushed up her glasses. “He got the final blow on that thing before Gerald could!”
“He’s something else…!” Hopped a Dedenne beside her, his bag full of seeds jostled and jingled. “Strong, brave, powerful! Maybe it’s just me, but I’m swooning at the thought of seeing him more!”
The two were pulled away from their thoughts when a fluffy, bushy tail glid across their backsides. A Pachirisu popped in between the two, her paws on their backs. “I’m glad that there’re some like-minded Pokémon~” She cooed, “I wouldn’t mind having a small…task force, to help him out~!”
Both looked at the girl with confusion. “I’m sorry,” the Togedemaru pushed up her glasses. “Who are you?”
“The leader of a soon to be big, big team of super fans!” The Pachirisu’s eyes glinted. “All for that impressive Pikachu~”
—
The sun filled a pale blue room, the night had passed into morning for the injured Blastoise. He grumbled while he pulled himself up in his bed, only to wince some in pain. He felt his noggin, and all the bandages that were tied tightly to his head. Almost on cue, in waddled Gerald. His wobbly figure jostled about with each step, as he closed the door gently behind him.
“Ah, Guildmaster Rich.” Gerald grinned, then stomped along to the end of his bed. “We’re glad you’re finally up.”
“What exactly happened…” Rich’s voice was raspy and wispy, evident of someone with years upon years of experience and wisdom. “Last thing I remember I was riding along the shores, then…a whirlpool…”
Gerald clasped his paws together and sighed. “Well, I’m afraid what happened is bad news.” He began. “You were, well, trapped in a Dynamax Den for a whole month!”
That comment made Rich blink rapidly. “Dynamax Den? But, there haven’t been reports of a Dynamax Den in…well before our time!”
“Hence why I didn’t know how to go about telling the townsfolk what was going on.” Explained Gerald, who scratched his chin. “Imagine the guy you trust the most coming out of his home and telling you that the story books are true. Would you believe ‘im?”
The Blastoise gave it some thought, and gave his chin a stroke.”Well, I guess there’s a point to be had.” He hummed. “But if I don’t remember my time in the Den, then that means…”
“They have the same madness effects as Pokémon trapped in Mystery Dungeons!” Gerald quickly concluded. “Why didn’t I think of that?”
Guildmaster Rich chuckled slightly. “I believe you just did, I was going to say the state of being Dynamaxed brings on a feral state of mind.”
“Oh.” Gerald awkwardly rubbed the back of his head. “Ahem, uh, anyhow. I just wanted to check on you. I have to be in a meeting in-”
BONG, BONG, BONG, BONG!
A clock tower outside in the heart of the city rang off, which signified the turning of the hour. The sun up in the sky signified the middle of the day, and Gerald jumped right where he stood. He quickly began to panic.
“R-Right now actually! Sorry old bud, catch up with you some other time!”
With significant speed for his size, the Snorlax barreled out the door and drifted down the hall, his paws left skid marks where he scooched along. Rich stared out his door, then let out a gruff, irritated sigh. Still though, he was flattered that Gerald would at least take time out of his day to check on his condition. He glanced outside his window to see the mass gathering of Pokémon outside, all of which scattered around the main square. Those among the crowd were the townsfolk and some teams, some of which conversed about the possibilities of the gathering. One duo in particular, who were out on the grass given one of them having the stature of a great big building, Alex and Eki.
“I’m nervous…” Alex mumbled to himself. “Do you think Gerald’s gonna get mad at us for helping out?”
Eki snickered slightly. “If he wanted to he would’ve chewed us out yesterday.” She tried to cool Alex’s nerves. “I’m sure if we’re still accepted into the guild.”
“Yeah but…” Alex sighed, “it’ll only be one of us sleeping in there. Only one of us eating in there, making friends, learning about the continent…are you gonna be okay with that?”
That hadn’t crossed Eki’s mind. Being alone in what should have been a two-person room, alone at the table, alone in meetings… What hurt her more though was that Alex was the one who brought it up first. “Your size starting to weigh in on you?”
“Yeah.” Alex sighed. “It kind of has to when you spend a night sleeping outside in a hole you beat down with your tail, then trying to wash yourself off in ocean water.”
“Thaaaat explains the salty smells.” Eki shook her head, before she carefully scooched closer to his face. “Don’t worry about me Alex. We’re not THAT far apart. We’re still gonna be Team…Team…”
Both of them were thrown back into positive spirits when the realization that they still hadn’t thought up a team name crept back into their subconscious. Alex just grinned and chuckled. “We can come up with a team name later.” He assured her.
Finally arriving out of the front hall, Guildmaster Gerald stomped up to the front podium set up for him to stand at. He stopped to take a breath, then reeled his head back. Out from one of his chin folds, he yanked a set of cue cards he’d prepared the night before. With a slight cough, he began to read.
“Pokémon of Silveredge Coastline, yesterday was a chaotic and horrifying time for certain. With the recent incident having transpired, and no doubt in everyone’s minds, we are sincerely sorry for keeping you all uninformed of a tragic potentiality.”
“Guildmaster Gerald is so formal…” One Mr. Mime spoke, “This isn’t normal of him at all…”
“What does he mean by tragic potentiality?” A Floragato whispered to his nearby compatriot.
Gerald continued; “Yesterday began an event that was once prophesied in literary work that was, until this day, discredited as a fairy tale. Beams of light rose from various areas of our home, and while some may believe it was localized to the coast…I’m afraid if legends are correct, then there’s a possibility that these beams have spread all about the continent itself.”
A group of three Pokémon weaved through the crowd of chittery folk, one in a small coat and hat, one who used their psionic powers to hold up a microphone, and a big blue punching bag that carried a camera. Three Pokémon apart of the town’s local cinema, Director Meowth, Sound Master Chimeco, and Camera-Man Wobbuffet. Given how some Pokémon sneered when the three passed by, it was obvious they weren’t particularly liked.
“Nyah, here we are…” The Meowth grumbled, then thumped Wobbuffet’s side. “Ca’man, get da Guildmasta’s good side!”
“Woh-buh!” Wobbuffet aimed the camera up, right at Gerald’s face as he flipped notecards.
“I’ll bring the mic closer…” Chimeco quietly mentioned, while the microphone floated through the air.
On his next card, Gerald continued. “These beams hold dangerous Pokémon within them. Some are Pokémon that have gone missing, others are Pokémon who have strayed too far from Mystery Dungeons. In these times, we…” He noticed the microphone float closer to him, before he grumbled. He quickly snatched the mic, which jolted the Chimeco forward some. He’d humor them by speaking into it. “In times like these, we’re in need of all the help we can get. I’ve made sure to contact various Guildmasters and ex-Guildmasters about these issues, but I advise any and all of the following Pokémon to stay away from these beams, and the dens they shoot out from;”
He flipped to another card. “Venusaur, Charizard, Blastoise, Butterfree, Pikachu specifically, Meowth specifically, Gengar, Kingler, Lapras, Eevee, Snorlax…” He flipped the card over. “Garbodor, Rillaboom, Cinderace, Inteleon, Corviknight, Orbeetle, Drednaw, Coalassal…” Another card would be pulled, “Flapple and Appletun, Sandaconda, Toxtricity, Centiskorch, Hatterene, Grimmsnarl, Alcremie…” Another flip. “Copperajah, and Duraludon. The power within these dens is known as Dynamax Energy.”
The crowd once again began to buzz with gossip. “Isn’t that stuff the thing that made those Urshifu really tall in the stories…?” Whispered an Indeedee to another.
“All this is making my head hurt!” A Psyduck complained.
Meowth looked over to Chimeco, who had to adjust his placement in order to not get too flung forward. “Hey, make sua he doesn’ get too slobbry wit da mic!” Meowth demanded.
“I-I think that mic is his now…” Chimeco whimpered.
Gerald flipped to another card, squinted, then threw the rest away. “Everyone, I know this sounds insane.” He began, “Believe me, when I first saw it, I had to think about what needed to be told to you all. Dynamaxing and Gigantamaxing, they’re a real phenomenon. When you’re overflowing with Dynamax Energy, you turn feral…with the only outlier being those who have specific ways of countering that energy.” He held up his left paw, with his looplet tightly snug around it. “In this looplet, I have a crystal that can control the way Dynamax Energy flows through my body. It allows me to harness its power and let me retain my mind. This works with every Pokémon too, except the ones that contain the Gigantamax gene are extremely at risk for going feral.”
Sat upon nearby roofs, Vale and Felicity took laps of ice cream together while they watched Gerald address the public. “Guess that’s why GM Rich went mad.” Vale commented, then took a bite right out of his cone.
Felicity blinked some, then turned over to Vale. “That was Guildmaster Richard?” She was puzzled. “I thought that was just a Blastoise from the ocean…”
“We admitted GM Rich to the med-bay, remember?” Vale reminded Felicity, who only gave him a blank stare. He could only sigh. She was too cute to stay disappointed at, even if he didn’t want to admit it.
“We always thought that this was the one exception to the rule…” Gerald began, then pointed over to Alex. The Pikachu blinked with surprise. “Until this young man helped save our beloved village.”
Alex cleared his throat. “Hey, no need to thank me,” He began, “There was also-”
“There was also the help of his friend,” Gerald cut him off. “A Cyndaquil, his partner. Now, this is a bit impromptu, but I would like to induct Team Macro into the Silveredge Explorer’s Guild!”
One could hear the uproarious applause of the crowd, as some even began to chant Team Macro’s name over and over. Three Pokémon in particular, a Pachirisu, a Dedenne, and a Togedemaru held up a banner with Alex’s face on it. The giant Pikachu became flustered, then chuckled a bit. Eki was the first to speak back up. “Guess we don’t have to come up with a name, huh?” She teased him and herself.
“As we study more into the Dynamax Phenomenon,” Gerald began to finish off his speech, “we wish every Pokémon to stay safe, and remain vigilant. If you ever so much as suspect a dungeon has a Dynamax Den lurking inside, please come to me! But until then, enjoy the sandy beaches and the blue skies!”
Alex and Eki looked at each other with glistening eyes. Even if they weren’t going to be sleeping in the same room as one another, they’d finally done it. They achieved their goal of being an Exploration Team! It was enough excitement for them to forget the woes that they’d expressed earlier, and enough of a mood lightener for Alex to get hopeful for the future. Surely, good things were to come their way! They’ll find his parents some day, figure out the mystery behind Dynamax Energy, and rank up to Diamond, no no, Platinum ranking! The thoughts in his mind were ever-so cheerful and chipper, as were Eki’s no doubt. Team Macro, even if it only counted for Alex, seemed like a fitting name. They had big plans, and even bigger dreams along the way!
—
The strobe lights of the glowing digits on a giant, monstrous Beheeyem’s hand shot out wave after wave of psionic energy.Their usually black, beady eyes, were glossed over by tinges of red. They were stationary for the most part, aside from their mystical levitation off the ground, focused squarely on a group of three Pokémon. A bipedal, purple furred monkey in a black bandana ran along the craggy cave floor. The psionic waves were slow, but the Aipom knew that he’d be caught eventually. With a scooch across the ground, he glared up to the beast above. His paw swiped at a seemingly innocuous button on his bandana around his neck…that’s when the button began to glow.
As a wave of psychic power shot down at the monkey, a strange, rock like veil began to cover him. Its glow was enough to illuminate the cave just a bit more than the fog of Dynamax Energy could, and when the light was gone…a crown had formed at the top of the Aipom’s head. Its pattern was that of some sort of stain glass, with a devious grin on the front. The Aipom didn’t even brace for impact, the psionic wave the Beheeyem shot down simply phased right through. His opponent was too far gone to even notice. Now was his chance to strike!
While the Aipom leaped up to slash at the giant with Fury Swipes, down below, a Pawmo with a similar crown sunk her fangs into the creature’s leg repeatedly. Her Bite attack wittled it down slow and steady. All the while, a Purrloin simply waited on a rock and cointed coins. When the Beheeyem directed their attack to the feline, his coin cointing was put on hold for a rapid, devastating Sucker Punch to the gut. Beheeyem flashed with Dynamax Energy, as much of it released from his body. The Pokémon was flung from the den, which left the other three to collect their spoils. Their sheen soon faded along with their crowns, their buttons dim and without luster.
The Aipom casually strolled over to the treasure stash left behind, and begun to dug through it. “Quite a haul so far I gotta say~” He cackled, then scooped up candies from the ground. “Just look at these Experience Candies!”
“While I love to gloat about treasure, there’s still something specific we’re after.” The Purrloin reminded. “Or, does our great leader have his head in the clouds again?”
“Look guys, look!” The Pawmo pulled out a purple, stone-like object off the ground, with extrusions and red rings all about. “I think it’s one of those gobby stoppies.”
“Hey, ‘eyeyeyeyey!” The Aipom snatched the Pawmo’s find, and brought it closer to him. “See? It fell right into our hands. And here you thought taking on all the dens we found would be a WASTE of our time. Treasure, candies, AND one of our goals, what more could a guy ask for?”
The Purrloin leaned backward, then grinned some with his leader. “I guess you’ve got a point there.” He snarked. “I’m impressed. That’s one thing down, and one more’s left for us to grab.”
“Our boss is gonna be so happy~” The Aipom handed it over to the Purrloin, who shuffled it into his pocket. The three began to ascend back out the den. “Next up, Silveredge Coastline…”
--
The calmness of the evening along the shores of Silveredge Coastline were disrupted earlier in the afternoon, when giant, red beams shot from the ocean. Now, townsfolk were fathered in the main, sandstone limestone square, confused, frightened, bewildered by the state of affairs. In the giant, carved out cliffside near the beach, other Pokémon had brought themselves toward the entrance. Their voices melded together in bewildered worriment.
“What’s gonna happen to us?!” A worried Dratini squeaked out. “Oh, how awful! How horrible!”
“Is this a sign of the end?!” A worried Beautifly yelped, their nubby arms pressed to their cheeks.
“Please, won’t anyone in there investigate?!” A Cinccino cried toward the skies.
Many Pokémon had been disturbed when beams of Dynamax energy had propelled out of various places along their side of the continent, the origin of which was from Pricklepine Woods. Not a single soul had ever heard of Dynamax or Gigantamax before, many believed that an apocalyptic event was on its way. Many have not heard…except for the guildmaster himself. In his ginormous shadow, he rested his mind on the situation. While he snored, he debated what should be said and what shouldn’t. His dreams chugged along his train of thought, while two other Pokémon snuck along the edge of the wooden and granite walled halls.
The observers were around the same height, both had feathery left ears, though were vastly different in little and big ways. While they shared tail feathers and claws, with red eyes and yellow gem-like bumps on their bodies, one had a snow-like white fur where the other had a dark tealish tinge. One had purple markings along their face and body, especially on their claws, where the darker one had only white claws. The lighter one had a short purple feathered ear, the darker one had a long, red feathered ear. Both shared accessories, but while the lighter one had a pink and purple stripe pattern scarf, the darker one had a purple and blue striped pattern bandana. The darker one was a bit scrawny with bandages around his left arm, the lighter one had a bind on her chest and stomach, a plump set of legs, a squishy rear, contrasted by some slightly puffy cheeks with a cute pair of glasses.
“Here he is…” The darker one had a slightly deepend voice, which showed maturity, but not a full understanding of the world around him. “Sleepin’ on the job while everyone else is in a panic.”
A soft hum came from the lighter one, who adjusted her scarf slightly and tried to gently push the bigger figure into a more comfortable position, and winced when it turned out to be more of a rough shove. After she listened for his snores, the lighter one's taut shoulders relaxed. “Sorry about that, at least it's not gonna be you…” Her hushed tone turned a little louder when she got back to her partner. “So, what do you plan on doing with that information?” In a less hushed tone, the lighter one’s voice was feminine, but gruff in a way.
“I think it’s high time for some fun around here, don’t you?” The mischievous male pulled himself away from the doorframe. “We’re a team, aren’t we? I think that we’re the someones that should do something about those beams.”
Before he can dart off, his friend gripped him by the wrist. “And do what exactly?”
With a smug smirk, the other Pokémon flashed his teeth. “Ever heard of a rowboat? We’ll be fine, I promise ya.”
—
The ground boomed and quaked with each step taken by the ginormous, chunky giant of a Pikachu. Each movement made his flabby belly jostle about, his hips and arms followed suit. His footprints left etches in the grassy ground, while his gut tore through pinewood forests. This was Alex, and he had a wild day. Getting stuck as a ginormous, fatty beast of a Pikachu and stopping a rampaged kaiju Butterfree wasn’t on his agenda, neither was finding out his birth parents are still out there in the world, but it was certainly something that would change the course of his life…somewhat. Him and his best pal Eki still wanted to carry out their dream of becoming Rescue Teams, even if that meant derailing the new discoveries a bit. That was something that Eki, however, was a bit unhappy to hear.
“You’re positive?” The Cyndaquil wondered, while she laid on her friend’s shoulder. It felt good to be off her feet for prolonged periods of time at least.
With a sweet smile on his face, Alex nodded. “I’m not gonna let a little bit of gigantism get in the way of us becoming a rescue team.” He was confident and optimistic in his tone, with a glint of excitement in those eyes. “Besides, now that we’re both adults, there’s no excuse not to do this now!”
“Yeah, but…” Eki slowly stood up on her feet. “That whole bit about your parents didn’t bother you at all?”
“I know I’ll see them someday.” Alex wobbled along, “Either they come to me, or I come to them. Maybe both if you think about it hard enough.”
A sigh left Eki while Alex continued on. She smiled a bit, even in this strange time that he found himself in, he was still so gung-ho about being a part of a team. That optimism was always infectious, maybe it invigorated Eki to worry about things later. “Alright, alright.” She dropped it with a giggle. “Though that raises the question…what’s our team name gonna be?”
Somehow, that didn’t cross Alex’s mind at all. He stopped in his tracks, then raised his arms up. His left elbow rested on the backside of his paw, his left paw pressed into one of his doughy chins. “I’m…not sure…”
“Not sure?” Eki blinked. ‘Alex, I thought you had a whole list of team names!”
“I did!” He confirmed, “But, now the names won’t make any sense. Team Half-Pint doesn’t work when you have one half pint and a whole gallon right beside each other, Team Sparkin’ Flare sounds less neat when you got more spark than flare, Team Burnin’ Shock’s got the same problem…”
It was then Eki came to a realization. “All your team names are jokes about us being small or being Fire and Electric types, aren’t they.”
Alex paused, then gulped. “Well um, Team Tail n’ Nub isn’t…”
“Ten years of name hunting and we’ve ended up with nothing…” Eki groaned.
Nervously, Alex rubbed the back of his head and chuckled. “Maybe I should’ve reminded you that I’m bad with names…”
Their concentration was broke once both of them made it out of the pinewoods, the salty scent of the sea nearby fresh on their minds. Only, there was one thing amiss by the sounds of the ocean waves. Uncertainty, bewilderment, and above all else, concerned Pokémon. It wasn’t hard to see why, since there were beams of Dynamax energy that reached past the clouds in the sky.
“Those dens reach all the way out here?!” Exclaimed Alex, who readied a speedy stance.
“Sounds like people are in trouble…” Eki gripped on tighter, ready for her Pikafriend to speed on through. “Alex, let’s go!”
Ready to assist, Alex started to storm over as fast as he could…though, the two quickly realized that speed was no longer this Electric type’s forte. He was only fast because he covered triple the ground of his previous size at the very least, but if he was just a bit slimmer he could make a maddash over. Now, any attempt at running ended in slow stomps, silly arm waves, and embarrassing huffs and puffs.
“C’mon, Alex!” Eki nervously called out. “Shift gears and get running!”
“Not…exactly…a Kling…klang…hff…huff…”
Alex was once a speedy runt, he could have zipped through at amazing speeds while still being able to react to whatever was in front of him. Now, however, his old run speed might’ve been his new walking speed, but it wasn’t much better when he ran. At least when he was small he wasn’t easily winded…
When the two finally arrived, they were met with the oddest sight. A beautiful town by the ocean side, partially rested on a hill that inclined upward. Before them were sandstone and limestone roads that intertwined around homes and businesses of various kinds. The familiar Keckleon shaped tent marked a stop for a pair of Keckleon brothers, a small coffin shaped stand surrounded by golden surf boards along the edges, a small multi-door building with a CLOSED sign and tape barriers at the front, various other shops that have seemingly been recently evacuated. The populace, on the other hand, were practically gone.
Alex glanced over to Eki, who could only give a shrug to him. It was then that the giant rat made a troubling realization. “Eki, what if they think…I’m a monster?”
“Please,” Eki put her paw on Alex’s side, and looked up to him. “You’re way too soft and squishy to be a monster. There’s probably other monsters out in the sea. Besides, you can easily clear them! You’re electric, and they’re probably water!”
With a pinch of confidence, Alex nodded and side stepped the best he could around buildings. He had to hoist his gut up in order to avoid oodles of property damage, but those were the breaks. Eki trotted along beneath the shade her friend gave, before the two of them could see something off in the distance on the coast. Something headed toward one of those dens - a rowboat!
—
“C-C’mon…” Grunted the darker Sneasel, while he pulled along. “Fifi, come on!”
The paler Sneasel gave her partner a death glare, before she took a jab right at his shoulder. “Stop calling me that.”
“Ahhhck, hahhhhowwww…” The other Sneasel rubbed his shoulder, eyes squinted at the girl. “What’s WRONG with youuuu, owwwww…”
“Baby.” The girl shook her head, and continued to row until the two were at the base of the den. “This is it.”
“Gahhh, yeah, it looks like it’s it…” The boy agreed, while he still rubbed and nursed his arm bruise. “Seriously though, why did you hit my arm?”
The other Sneasel crossed her arms, her scarf pulled up over her mouth once again. “It’s easy to hit you when I know you're trying to be mean to me. I can tell by your smile.” She commented, then took a peak into the den.
There was a slight smirk on the darker one’s face. “Heh, o-okay, fine…you got me there.”
The darkness of the den was too deep for the Sneasels to see down, there were no discernible figures at all. The more timid one pulled her friend back onto the boat, before they began to hear cracks and rumbles beneath them. In the safety of their vessel, they watched on what went on beneath them. The two were thrown off when the ground broke beneath them, and waves thrashed their vessel higher up into the air. They screamed and splashed down, the waves had an aftershock from the intense blast from below.
The skies slowly began to turn a stormy red around the broken den, the thooms and booms of the skies above shook about the heavens above. Parting the sea was a strange, cubic fin, followed by steel cannons after steel cannons in a hexagonal pattern. The ocean rolled off the seeming vessel until the two could see its massive head; turtle like, with pointy ears, a mammalian/reptilian snout, and eyes that glowed blue and white. The creature stood over eighty feet in the air once he got on his hind legs, half of his body was submerged in water. The beast roared, while the darker Sneasel meeped.
“FELICITY ROW!!” He commanded, then got into place to row, himself.
Felicity didn’t even respond, she just began to row back to the mainland in a panic. Her friend looked back over to the stomping tyrant with incredible fear, especially as the creature began to swivel around to point its canons at the small vessel.
“ROW FASTER!!!” Whined the leader, who looked back to his friend and joined back in.
“I'd like to see you do better, friggin' bossy!” Sassed Felicity, while the beast continued to charge up.
Those cannons pointed at their vessel, the two could see all six of the large canons plume out an enormous, torrential blast of water. CRACK! Their boat practically exploded! The force of the waves threw the two of them up in the air, as both of them screamed loudly. The apex of their fling soon was met by their downfall closer to the water. Fifty, forty-five, forty, before… the two were snatched up in two, separate, soft paws.
“Leave it to us, guys!” Alex’s voice was chipper, confident, and strong. Maybe it was a heroic front he put on.
When the guy Sneasel looked up to Alex, he felt something awaken in his mind. Those big, squishy cheeks, that massive set of moobs, the smooth belly that parted the water, those ginormous arms… uh-oh, he realized just then he found his boy crush. It took being put on Alex’s shoulder for the Sneasel to snap out of it. “Wai wai whao! Y-You can’t take that thing on by yourself!”
“Then help us out!” Eki suggested, then landed right by Felicity. She looked up to the Sneasel with a big, infectious grin. “Together, we can take down anything!”
Felicity felt her face go red from the optimism Eki put on. She cleared her throat and turned back to the beast. “R…Right.”
THOOM! THOOM! The beast stomped toward Alex and readied their canons, which bubbled and frothed at the rims. The ginormous Pikachu used his body to his advantage, and shielded his friends from another harsh aquatic blast! The force of the water pushed him back somewhat, but the Pikachu began to wade through the tides in order to get closer to his enemy. Although, he quickly noticed something was wrong. His back, it tingled…the same way pain would course through a Pokémon after a burn or being poisoned. He was taking damage residually from the attack!
“Gh…Eki, Plan Roll!” Alex placed the darker Sneasel up on his shoulder, and held out his hand for Eki to hop into.
“Rollout time!” Eki ran up the other end of Alex’s arm, and began to roll back down it in a curled up formation. She zipped past Alex’s hand, and managed to land into his other palm. The other Sneasel held on tight, as Alex chucked Eki right into the beast’s head.
Clunk! Eki’s speed and force was nothing like the other time she charged up an all out attack, she hit the creature and landed right in the boat that the two Sneasels had occupied before. All the while, the beast she slammed into looked as though it had only taken a little bump, rather than a complete knockout like Butterfree before them.
“Uhhh, i-it didn’t work!” Eki yelped aloud, the monster’s eyes now fixated on her.
The two Sneasels looked to each other, and seemingly had a plan. With a gulp, the darker one looked up to Alex. “Throw us on there!”
“W…What?!” Alex was surprised by the demand, even as the creature began to charge up another attack.
“Trust us, we got a plan!” The Sneasel readied up, with a glint of determination in his eyes. Or, maybe it was stupidity.
Without much to go on, the Pikachu pulled them both into one paw, and threw them toward the beast. The propulsion of the wind was enough to have the two cut through, meanwhile, Alex could advance a bit more through the sea. The darker Sneasel gave an assured look to his partner.
“You go for a ‘Jab!” He requested, “I’ll go for a ‘Claw!”
Felicity’s eyes opened wide, before she nodded. This was a dumb play, but hopefully it’d get the beast’s eyes off of Eki. While the fire rodent curled up in a defensive position, assured she would be blasted to kingdom-come, before the two Pokémon they saved from a horrific splash rescued her back. A combo of Poison Jab and Metal Claw at the same time might not seem impressive, but it did throw off the balance of the monster’s aquatic blasts.
—
The city was in a wide scale panic by this point. Silveredge Coastline’s residents scrambled around and out of the streets, as residual ocean rain sprayed their beloved homes. The once asleep, overly enormous, previously deep in thought Snorlax was awoken by the rumbles over the coast. With confidence, he pushed up his glasses, pulled a band of his own on his wrists, then stomped out of the guild headquarters. He darted down to the looplet around his chunky wrist only to give himself a confident nod. He had to do this. He looked on at the rat and tortoise combat off in the distance, then blink a bit. There was something off to him about the Pikachu, namely, it seemed like he still had his sense of self. The tortoise on the other hand…
“So that’s where you’ve been this whole time…” The Guildmaster’s voice was deep and bassy, possibly to compliment his otherwise large and intensive body. He dug out a donut from between his rolls and scarfed it down to re-energize him, before he stomped toward the coast. “If I hurry now, I’ll make it just in time…!”
When the townsfolk saw the Guildmaster storm out with confidence, some began to calm down. Others pestered him and begged him for explanations, but there was no time for that now.
—
Now angered, the beast let loose a mighty roar, and threw its massive fist towards the two falling Sneasels. Both braced for impact, only to feel the soft plushness of Alex’s arms cradle them, then pull the two away. He once again took a nasty hit to his back, which made the rat wince in pain. Both looked up to him concerned, he definitely seemed like he was on his last legs already.
“D-Don’t worry…” Alex tried to break through the pain with a grin. “I’m…I’ll be fine.”
He hid the two on his shoulders again, and weakly grabbed at his tail. He charged up as much electricity he could muster, and tried to bring it down into the beast before him. Right before impact, the creature went into its shell to protect itself from a majority of the attack. That didn’t deter Alex, as he began to push his tail into the protective shell. The pain of exerting himself this far caused him to yell a battle cry into the air.
“A…Alex stop!!” Eki looked up to her friend, “If you don’t stop, you’re gonna lose! Everyone’s…everyone’s gonna…!”
“I…can’t!!!” Alex cried out, teeth gritted. “It’s because…of everyone on the shore!!!” He pushed his tail harder, his electricity growing stronger, arms more tired. “If I don’t do something, they’re all gonna be in danger!!!”
Eki tried to burn at the beast’s shell, but to no avail. “You can’t do anything if you’re knocked out!” Eki called. “We need to run! Regroup!”
Both the Sneasels looked to each other to see if either of them could think of any plans. There were none, it was just time to sit and hope Alex doesn’t exert himself. The two however were surprised to see something else cut through the chaos. When the Blastoise popped out of his shell to deal another knuckle blow to Alex, he was interrupted by light that assaulted him right in the face. Another attack, one that looked like a giant beam that shot above Alex’s right love handle, and under his chunky arm. The blow was enough to make Alex stumble back, confused as to what might’ve hit the beast. When he turned around, what he saw was…a sight, to say the least. Stood on his tiny feet in comparison to his enormous, blubberous body, a beast with blue fur around the rim, a great big pale belly, a ginormous scar across his right side of his gut to the middle, with flora and a great big tree that situated itself in between his navel comfortably. He pulled a berry from the massive tree, and chucked it toward Alex.
“Nourish up!” The monster, seemingly still sane, boomed out with great power. “Blastoise’s G-Max move does damage to you over time, even after he lands a hit on you.”
Without much question, Alex bit down into the juicy, plump Oran Berry he was tossed. He instantly started to feel better, not up to full, but definitely high enough to feel rejuvenated. His big steps stomped and splashed, while he scooted out of the way. “So who are you?” He pondered to the new face, while there was still time to make small talk.
“I’m-”
“GUILDMASTER GERALD?!” The two Sneasels on Alex’s shoulders called out in unison, shocked that their Guildmaster would join the fray in such a manner. How could it be any more obvious? His iconic scar, those glasses on his face, his…chub.
With a grin, Gerald got ready for another attack from the group’s foe. “Hey, sport.” He looked over to Alex with a grin. “I think you’re smart enough to know type match ups. Take advantage of Blastoise stumbling, and go for the knock-out move!”
“Yeah!” Alex agreed, then gripped onto his tail again. The supposed Blastoise had been dazed by the sudden dirty shot, which gave Alex this one last shot at victory. He charged his tail and went in for the attack, his battle roar echoed about the oceanside. “G-MAX…VOLT CRAAAAASH!!!”
His tail landed on the Blastoise’s head with a mighty BOOM! Crackles of electricity shot throughout Alex’s body and into his opponent’s, bright yellow flashes and jolts fried the Blastoise to his core. The beast let out a pained cry, arms spasmed and legs weakened. With the aid of Gerald, Alex was able to push down the monster of a Pokémon back into the sea, his splashes caused the boat Eki was on to splash and rock about. While the last of the residual ocean-rain stopped, the body of that monster shrunk back down to size. The red skies slowly faded away to reveal the onset of night, as stars sprinkled across the sky, and the moon had just barely begun to rise overhead. There was calm once again, as the beast had been defeated.
He wasn’t the only one that shrunk back down, however. With the threat now subsided, Gerald had compressed back to his original stature and girth, having been lucky enough to occupy the otherwise tiny rowboat. Although, poor Eki was squashed beneath a ton of ‘lax belly, something that made breathing a bit…difficult. Fortunately for her, Gerald fished her out from beneath her after some contortion. There was enough room for her on top of the Guildmaster’s belly, alongside the two Sneasels. He cleared his throat, then crossed his arms as he looked to the two trouble makers. The lighter one looked practically ready to drown in guilt- though her expression was flat and her muzzle was covered by her scarf, her wobbly eyes looked seconds away from crying.
“I should really applaud you two for your initiative,” He started, “really, I should. But how am I going to explain to Ms. Lapras that you stole one of her rowboats?”
“It was my idea…” The darker one quickly took the blame. “I thought that we could see what was going on, and maybe calm everyone down! Nobody was doing anything!”
“Yes, and for good reason.” Gerald defended his hesitance. “I was planning out how to explain to the wonderful Pokémon the complications of Dynamax and Gigantamax, something that hasn’t been a problem for years and years…until now, at least.” He shook his head and sighed. “Vale, Felicity, you two are in such-”
“Please don’t punish them, sir.” Called out Alex, while he stood over Gerald. “If they didn’t come over here and investigate, I couldn’t have helped and stopped this guy.” Alex held up the Blastoise, as a child would their little doll. Fingers beneath the arms, supported by his strength.
Gerald was deep in thought for a moment, before he glanced over to the two Sneasels. “Compromise.” Gerald began. “As punishment for stealing the rowboat, I have to demote your team from Silver to Bronze again…” Both Sneasels looked to each other, and sighed in unison. “...However.” Their eyes lit back up. “For helping defeat a crazed Gigantamax Pokémon, I am promoting Team Clawful from Bronze to Silver. Consider this punishment a simple restart of your progress.”
Both Vale and Felicity looked back to each other, Vale with a big grin on his face, Felicity with sparkles in her eyes. They stand in salute formation, eyes up to the sky. “We won’t fail you again, Guildmaster Gerald!” They promised, Vale’s voice overpowered Felicity’s.
“As for the Blastoise.” Gerald looked back up to Alex. “Be a big help and carry him to shore? I called my medical professionals to wait by the beach for any potential Pokémon that were downed in battle.”
“On it, sir.” Alex nodded, then scooped back up Eki with his tail.
Before the two could leave, that Snorlax’s voice cut through. “Oh, and by the way…” Alex turned back around. “I’ve never seen a Pokémon stuck in their Gigantamax form before, even after battle. Usually you only have so much time…how did this happen?”
“I fell and swallowed a rock.” Alex admitted plainfully. “You know. Normal day.”
That left Gerald to ponder some, while he grabbed some paddles and began to row back to shore. Vale and Felicity sat down on Gerald’s stomach and let him row the two along. All the while, Pokémon on the coast were celebrating the downing of a monstrous creature. There was cheering for the seemingly friendly Pikachu whom began to return to shore, the Guildmaster who rowed back with him, the safety the Coastline felt in general. Two Pokémon in particular stood along the shoreline, both impressed by the work put in.
“That Pikachu is a real hero…!” Cheered a round Togedemaru, as she pushed up her glasses. “He got the final blow on that thing before Gerald could!”
“He’s something else…!” Hopped a Dedenne beside her, his bag full of seeds jostled and jingled. “Strong, brave, powerful! Maybe it’s just me, but I’m swooning at the thought of seeing him more!”
The two were pulled away from their thoughts when a fluffy, bushy tail glid across their backsides. A Pachirisu popped in between the two, her paws on their backs. “I’m glad that there’re some like-minded Pokémon~” She cooed, “I wouldn’t mind having a small…task force, to help him out~!”
Both looked at the girl with confusion. “I’m sorry,” the Togedemaru pushed up her glasses. “Who are you?”
“The leader of a soon to be big, big team of super fans!” The Pachirisu’s eyes glinted. “All for that impressive Pikachu~”
—
The sun filled a pale blue room, the night had passed into morning for the injured Blastoise. He grumbled while he pulled himself up in his bed, only to wince some in pain. He felt his noggin, and all the bandages that were tied tightly to his head. Almost on cue, in waddled Gerald. His wobbly figure jostled about with each step, as he closed the door gently behind him.
“Ah, Guildmaster Rich.” Gerald grinned, then stomped along to the end of his bed. “We’re glad you’re finally up.”
“What exactly happened…” Rich’s voice was raspy and wispy, evident of someone with years upon years of experience and wisdom. “Last thing I remember I was riding along the shores, then…a whirlpool…”
Gerald clasped his paws together and sighed. “Well, I’m afraid what happened is bad news.” He began. “You were, well, trapped in a Dynamax Den for a whole month!”
That comment made Rich blink rapidly. “Dynamax Den? But, there haven’t been reports of a Dynamax Den in…well before our time!”
“Hence why I didn’t know how to go about telling the townsfolk what was going on.” Explained Gerald, who scratched his chin. “Imagine the guy you trust the most coming out of his home and telling you that the story books are true. Would you believe ‘im?”
The Blastoise gave it some thought, and gave his chin a stroke.”Well, I guess there’s a point to be had.” He hummed. “But if I don’t remember my time in the Den, then that means…”
“They have the same madness effects as Pokémon trapped in Mystery Dungeons!” Gerald quickly concluded. “Why didn’t I think of that?”
Guildmaster Rich chuckled slightly. “I believe you just did, I was going to say the state of being Dynamaxed brings on a feral state of mind.”
“Oh.” Gerald awkwardly rubbed the back of his head. “Ahem, uh, anyhow. I just wanted to check on you. I have to be in a meeting in-”
BONG, BONG, BONG, BONG!
A clock tower outside in the heart of the city rang off, which signified the turning of the hour. The sun up in the sky signified the middle of the day, and Gerald jumped right where he stood. He quickly began to panic.
“R-Right now actually! Sorry old bud, catch up with you some other time!”
With significant speed for his size, the Snorlax barreled out the door and drifted down the hall, his paws left skid marks where he scooched along. Rich stared out his door, then let out a gruff, irritated sigh. Still though, he was flattered that Gerald would at least take time out of his day to check on his condition. He glanced outside his window to see the mass gathering of Pokémon outside, all of which scattered around the main square. Those among the crowd were the townsfolk and some teams, some of which conversed about the possibilities of the gathering. One duo in particular, who were out on the grass given one of them having the stature of a great big building, Alex and Eki.
“I’m nervous…” Alex mumbled to himself. “Do you think Gerald’s gonna get mad at us for helping out?”
Eki snickered slightly. “If he wanted to he would’ve chewed us out yesterday.” She tried to cool Alex’s nerves. “I’m sure if we’re still accepted into the guild.”
“Yeah but…” Alex sighed, “it’ll only be one of us sleeping in there. Only one of us eating in there, making friends, learning about the continent…are you gonna be okay with that?”
That hadn’t crossed Eki’s mind. Being alone in what should have been a two-person room, alone at the table, alone in meetings… What hurt her more though was that Alex was the one who brought it up first. “Your size starting to weigh in on you?”
“Yeah.” Alex sighed. “It kind of has to when you spend a night sleeping outside in a hole you beat down with your tail, then trying to wash yourself off in ocean water.”
“Thaaaat explains the salty smells.” Eki shook her head, before she carefully scooched closer to his face. “Don’t worry about me Alex. We’re not THAT far apart. We’re still gonna be Team…Team…”
Both of them were thrown back into positive spirits when the realization that they still hadn’t thought up a team name crept back into their subconscious. Alex just grinned and chuckled. “We can come up with a team name later.” He assured her.
Finally arriving out of the front hall, Guildmaster Gerald stomped up to the front podium set up for him to stand at. He stopped to take a breath, then reeled his head back. Out from one of his chin folds, he yanked a set of cue cards he’d prepared the night before. With a slight cough, he began to read.
“Pokémon of Silveredge Coastline, yesterday was a chaotic and horrifying time for certain. With the recent incident having transpired, and no doubt in everyone’s minds, we are sincerely sorry for keeping you all uninformed of a tragic potentiality.”
“Guildmaster Gerald is so formal…” One Mr. Mime spoke, “This isn’t normal of him at all…”
“What does he mean by tragic potentiality?” A Floragato whispered to his nearby compatriot.
Gerald continued; “Yesterday began an event that was once prophesied in literary work that was, until this day, discredited as a fairy tale. Beams of light rose from various areas of our home, and while some may believe it was localized to the coast…I’m afraid if legends are correct, then there’s a possibility that these beams have spread all about the continent itself.”
A group of three Pokémon weaved through the crowd of chittery folk, one in a small coat and hat, one who used their psionic powers to hold up a microphone, and a big blue punching bag that carried a camera. Three Pokémon apart of the town’s local cinema, Director Meowth, Sound Master Chimeco, and Camera-Man Wobbuffet. Given how some Pokémon sneered when the three passed by, it was obvious they weren’t particularly liked.
“Nyah, here we are…” The Meowth grumbled, then thumped Wobbuffet’s side. “Ca’man, get da Guildmasta’s good side!”
“Woh-buh!” Wobbuffet aimed the camera up, right at Gerald’s face as he flipped notecards.
“I’ll bring the mic closer…” Chimeco quietly mentioned, while the microphone floated through the air.
On his next card, Gerald continued. “These beams hold dangerous Pokémon within them. Some are Pokémon that have gone missing, others are Pokémon who have strayed too far from Mystery Dungeons. In these times, we…” He noticed the microphone float closer to him, before he grumbled. He quickly snatched the mic, which jolted the Chimeco forward some. He’d humor them by speaking into it. “In times like these, we’re in need of all the help we can get. I’ve made sure to contact various Guildmasters and ex-Guildmasters about these issues, but I advise any and all of the following Pokémon to stay away from these beams, and the dens they shoot out from;”
He flipped to another card. “Venusaur, Charizard, Blastoise, Butterfree, Pikachu specifically, Meowth specifically, Gengar, Kingler, Lapras, Eevee, Snorlax…” He flipped the card over. “Garbodor, Rillaboom, Cinderace, Inteleon, Corviknight, Orbeetle, Drednaw, Coalassal…” Another card would be pulled, “Flapple and Appletun, Sandaconda, Toxtricity, Centiskorch, Hatterene, Grimmsnarl, Alcremie…” Another flip. “Copperajah, and Duraludon. The power within these dens is known as Dynamax Energy.”
The crowd once again began to buzz with gossip. “Isn’t that stuff the thing that made those Urshifu really tall in the stories…?” Whispered an Indeedee to another.
“All this is making my head hurt!” A Psyduck complained.
Meowth looked over to Chimeco, who had to adjust his placement in order to not get too flung forward. “Hey, make sua he doesn’ get too slobbry wit da mic!” Meowth demanded.
“I-I think that mic is his now…” Chimeco whimpered.
Gerald flipped to another card, squinted, then threw the rest away. “Everyone, I know this sounds insane.” He began, “Believe me, when I first saw it, I had to think about what needed to be told to you all. Dynamaxing and Gigantamaxing, they’re a real phenomenon. When you’re overflowing with Dynamax Energy, you turn feral…with the only outlier being those who have specific ways of countering that energy.” He held up his left paw, with his looplet tightly snug around it. “In this looplet, I have a crystal that can control the way Dynamax Energy flows through my body. It allows me to harness its power and let me retain my mind. This works with every Pokémon too, except the ones that contain the Gigantamax gene are extremely at risk for going feral.”
Sat upon nearby roofs, Vale and Felicity took laps of ice cream together while they watched Gerald address the public. “Guess that’s why GM Rich went mad.” Vale commented, then took a bite right out of his cone.
Felicity blinked some, then turned over to Vale. “That was Guildmaster Richard?” She was puzzled. “I thought that was just a Blastoise from the ocean…”
“We admitted GM Rich to the med-bay, remember?” Vale reminded Felicity, who only gave him a blank stare. He could only sigh. She was too cute to stay disappointed at, even if he didn’t want to admit it.
“We always thought that this was the one exception to the rule…” Gerald began, then pointed over to Alex. The Pikachu blinked with surprise. “Until this young man helped save our beloved village.”
Alex cleared his throat. “Hey, no need to thank me,” He began, “There was also-”
“There was also the help of his friend,” Gerald cut him off. “A Cyndaquil, his partner. Now, this is a bit impromptu, but I would like to induct Team Macro into the Silveredge Explorer’s Guild!”
One could hear the uproarious applause of the crowd, as some even began to chant Team Macro’s name over and over. Three Pokémon in particular, a Pachirisu, a Dedenne, and a Togedemaru held up a banner with Alex’s face on it. The giant Pikachu became flustered, then chuckled a bit. Eki was the first to speak back up. “Guess we don’t have to come up with a name, huh?” She teased him and herself.
“As we study more into the Dynamax Phenomenon,” Gerald began to finish off his speech, “we wish every Pokémon to stay safe, and remain vigilant. If you ever so much as suspect a dungeon has a Dynamax Den lurking inside, please come to me! But until then, enjoy the sandy beaches and the blue skies!”
Alex and Eki looked at each other with glistening eyes. Even if they weren’t going to be sleeping in the same room as one another, they’d finally done it. They achieved their goal of being an Exploration Team! It was enough excitement for them to forget the woes that they’d expressed earlier, and enough of a mood lightener for Alex to get hopeful for the future. Surely, good things were to come their way! They’ll find his parents some day, figure out the mystery behind Dynamax Energy, and rank up to Diamond, no no, Platinum ranking! The thoughts in his mind were ever-so cheerful and chipper, as were Eki’s no doubt. Team Macro, even if it only counted for Alex, seemed like a fitting name. They had big plans, and even bigger dreams along the way!
—
The strobe lights of the glowing digits on a giant, monstrous Beheeyem’s hand shot out wave after wave of psionic energy.Their usually black, beady eyes, were glossed over by tinges of red. They were stationary for the most part, aside from their mystical levitation off the ground, focused squarely on a group of three Pokémon. A bipedal, purple furred monkey in a black bandana ran along the craggy cave floor. The psionic waves were slow, but the Aipom knew that he’d be caught eventually. With a scooch across the ground, he glared up to the beast above. His paw swiped at a seemingly innocuous button on his bandana around his neck…that’s when the button began to glow.
As a wave of psychic power shot down at the monkey, a strange, rock like veil began to cover him. Its glow was enough to illuminate the cave just a bit more than the fog of Dynamax Energy could, and when the light was gone…a crown had formed at the top of the Aipom’s head. Its pattern was that of some sort of stain glass, with a devious grin on the front. The Aipom didn’t even brace for impact, the psionic wave the Beheeyem shot down simply phased right through. His opponent was too far gone to even notice. Now was his chance to strike!
While the Aipom leaped up to slash at the giant with Fury Swipes, down below, a Pawmo with a similar crown sunk her fangs into the creature’s leg repeatedly. Her Bite attack wittled it down slow and steady. All the while, a Purrloin simply waited on a rock and cointed coins. When the Beheeyem directed their attack to the feline, his coin cointing was put on hold for a rapid, devastating Sucker Punch to the gut. Beheeyem flashed with Dynamax Energy, as much of it released from his body. The Pokémon was flung from the den, which left the other three to collect their spoils. Their sheen soon faded along with their crowns, their buttons dim and without luster.
The Aipom casually strolled over to the treasure stash left behind, and begun to dug through it. “Quite a haul so far I gotta say~” He cackled, then scooped up candies from the ground. “Just look at these Experience Candies!”
“While I love to gloat about treasure, there’s still something specific we’re after.” The Purrloin reminded. “Or, does our great leader have his head in the clouds again?”
“Look guys, look!” The Pawmo pulled out a purple, stone-like object off the ground, with extrusions and red rings all about. “I think it’s one of those gobby stoppies.”
“Hey, ‘eyeyeyeyey!” The Aipom snatched the Pawmo’s find, and brought it closer to him. “See? It fell right into our hands. And here you thought taking on all the dens we found would be a WASTE of our time. Treasure, candies, AND one of our goals, what more could a guy ask for?”
The Purrloin leaned backward, then grinned some with his leader. “I guess you’ve got a point there.” He snarked. “I’m impressed. That’s one thing down, and one more’s left for us to grab.”
“Our boss is gonna be so happy~” The Aipom handed it over to the Purrloin, who shuffled it into his pocket. The three began to ascend back out the den. “Next up, Silveredge Coastline…”
Category Story / Fat Furs
Species Pokemon
Gender Any
Size 2000 x 1429px
The plot thickens
It’s really fun seeing another adventure with team macro again (also is that a team SIMP origin story I see? Well, at least Alex will find a way to get some good meals at his size....though he may just find himself growing bigger in the future XD)
I’m liking the really sweet moments of friendship and excitement between the main duo as they finally get to form their team and follow their dreams! I’m also really liking the underlying sense of worry and tension that acknowledges there may be some complications here and there on account of Alex’s new size, it’s nice that the story draws attention to the potential issues and changes this would cause but still has the friends try their best to make things work regardless
It’s really fun seeing another adventure with team macro again (also is that a team SIMP origin story I see? Well, at least Alex will find a way to get some good meals at his size....though he may just find himself growing bigger in the future XD)
I’m liking the really sweet moments of friendship and excitement between the main duo as they finally get to form their team and follow their dreams! I’m also really liking the underlying sense of worry and tension that acknowledges there may be some complications here and there on account of Alex’s new size, it’s nice that the story draws attention to the potential issues and changes this would cause but still has the friends try their best to make things work regardless
Mmmm~ I'll be curious to see the Gigantamaxed Snorlax's full body~ X//3
A fetish story that actually BALANCES the fetishes with geniune storytelling?
Comments