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choshifics · 1 year ago

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Another First Kiss Chapter 3

Echoes

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“As she runs out of things to say And grabs my coat to walk away”

“Five,” Max gasped, shoving the bar up off her chest and smacking it into the rack. “Done.” Goon had told her she had an affinity for weightlifting, so she’d put that to the test the past month. The World of Pokémon had no shortage of wonders; already, she’d manage to bring her bench up to eighty pounds—four times her own body weight (because, apparently, she was about twice as heavy as the average pikachu).

The only part that impressed anyone was that she did this at all. Other people at the gym respected her dedication, but the only one amazed she could do that was her. She was lucky that she’d gotten more comfortable on all fours, too, since being the smallest one in that gym had led to more than a few close calls.

It might have equipment to accommodate those of her size, but the people were a different story.

A towel flopped over her face. She snatched it down to see an eager Ithos looking down at her. “Ready to spar?” he asked.

“Wha-Ithos,” Max said. She shook her head while ruffling the towel through her fur. A fresh towel helped a bunch; she’d already sweat well through her first. “I’m exhausted from this!” The moment the words left her lips, she realized why he had a devious grin spreading his lips.

“You gotta learn to fight tired!” Ithos recited with vengeful venom. “Ferals aren’t going to wait for you to catch your breath.” He looked so proud of himself, too, as if he’d been waiting years for this moment. She just wished he could appreciate the irony of turning the tables after she’d made him spar after drilling Overheat for an entire day—that was her paying him back for sparring after drilling Thunder for an entire day.

“All right, fine,” Max said. She started to second guess his motive bringing her a fresh towel, but dried herself off some more, anyway.

“Great!” Ithos cheered, then ran through to the arenas on the other side. That devious glint in his eyes echoed to the other hundreds of times she’d seen it, even before crash-landing out of time. She collected her towels while trying not to force a headache on herself trying to remember.

Ithos would have to practice his patience, because she took her time heading over. Some odd cramps this morning made her hesitant to go running about. Memories had started coming back to her, but they were always vague. She could barely ever tell when they came from even moments later. So many strangely familiar interactions kept happening, even without her influence.

Events and moments that were barely different, or even sometimes seemed reversed, constantly meshed in her head. Several times, at this point, she’d brought up something he’d told her that he knew he’d never said in his life. The times she was completely wrong were easier to deal with. Any time she knew something she wasn’t supposed to, she had to weasel her way out of it.

Ithos knew she was hiding something, and every time she worried more what might happen if he figured it out. The consequences of time aside, she felt sick the more she thought about it. Getting Cori and Neb to like her had already felt like a trick. She always felt one mistake away from them seeing the truth—hell, that happened right before she showed up here.

She’d known him from day one and used that knowledge to befriend him. He’d called her a great friend; would he hate her if he knew how manipulative this all really was? Could he have ever really been her friend again?

“Max?” Ithos asked, lightly tapping her shoulder. Max flinched away, but his touch stopped her from jumping. “You all right? You had that look again.”

“Sorry, I’m fine,” Max said. She pretended to dry her face off again to rub out a smile—accidentally using the wet towel. Instead of as smile, she came out of it with her face twisted into disgust before tossing it aside and using the dry towel. Based on his chuckles, though, she’d done what she wanted anyway.

“All right,” Ithos said. With a firm squeeze to her shoulder, he let her know he was only pretending to believe her. He cared about her too much. “Ready to spar?” Luckily, he was too excited to help himself.

“No, but wasn’t that the point?” Max asked as she took her face out of the towel. She gave him a cocky smirk, and even beneath the one he returned, she could see concern lurking. “Still won’t be enough to win, though.” She tossed the towel to its brother and started over to the nearest arena with him. “Not unless you’re hiding another trick.”

Ithos answered with a silent gleam in his eyes that told Max more than he knew. He did, in fact, have another trick, and he was burning with excitement about it. The look made Max a bit nervous as they took their positions, but not much.

Considering how ruthless he’d been in spars, she was a little bit less conflicted using her ill gotten knowledge to kick his ass. Two yards away, they nodded their heads three times in unison, and the spar was on.

Ithos started with a billowing cloud of smoke between them while Max swung her tail around to guard like always. His tailflame gave his general location away, but it made him a bit harder to hit. He’d done this before, so Max wasn’t worried about it. She followed the wisp behind the smoke with her eyes while carefully circling around the cloud.

The flame started growing erratic in its movements. It didn’t go in any one direction without flinging back and forth, feinting, then switching in unmotivated directions. Ithos knew she was watching it.

It swung to the right and a billowing flame shot low and to the left; he’d dropped to the ground to trick her. Max flinched back while she tried to bat the blast away with an iron tail. Since it was so low, she had to move more than usual. Even largely blocked, though, it was a solid hit.

He was, however, on the ground.

Max split the difference and lobbed a bolt right between the two flames before he could get up. It flashed through the fading smokescreen and revealed an Ithos shaped shadow rather close to where she heard a yelp. She fanned some air into the smoke before letting her tail relax back to fur. The extra wind did just enough to split the cloud in two and thinned enough that she could make out Ithos on the right.

Max shot another charge to him before he could start blocking her vision again, making the charmander-shaped light bulb seize in place. She’d gotten two hits in, but both were at range. If she wanted to do damage, she’d need to get up close.

Ithos gave her the perfect opportunity to do just that. As the last of the smoke dissipated, he sputtered out a weak wave of embers right between them. Max caught a glimpse of his eyes before the ember obscured the sight: scared. She dropped down to dash around the attack and pulled in a charge while running right for him.

With every leap, she shot the electricity into a flow around her and completely saturated herself in the charge. Ithos barely registered her in the corner of his vision before she flung herself at him with lightning all over her and—hot, scalding—he was hot!

Ignoring the shocks, Ithos turned to snatch her before she could get away and burst into an inferno so hot Max was sure her eyes had melted before she could close them. Well into the attack, he released his grip and let her fly away. She couldn’t bother trying to land on any particular side, and it wouldn’t have mattered, anyway. Everywhere hurt. Skidding across the ground felt, again, familiar.

Still, even with all of her fur burning against her skin, she couldn’t help a little smile hearing that roaring cheer from him. She could remember cheering about the same the first time she got a leg up on him. It wasn’t a strong enough smile to endure trying to get up.

“Kachu ka, Pika,” Max groaned as she pushed herself up to sit. Even putting her paws on the ground hurt. He didn’t knock her out, but she wished he had. He better have an oran ready for her.

Surprisingly, she still didn’t hear him coming over to help her up. Instead, she heard him eagerly bragging to someone with just as much if not more to say. She didn’t recognize the new voice or the cyndaquil it came from when she got a good look. Ithos seemed happy to see them, though.

She forced herself up with her own strength and headed over with a limp. Cyndaquil hushed Ithos and nodded her way when she started to get close. Ithos gave her a confused glance and shrugged as he acquiesced.

“Hey, great job!” Max said with as much cheer as she could manage. Ithos beamed a weak smile in answer. He was exhausted, too, but she could barely stand. She was already even shorter than both of them, so she accepted her fate and sat down. “Whatcha talking about?”

“Guy stuff,” Cyndaquil said. Max almost forgot that excluded her (and realizing it did gave her an odd bit of excitement). Ithos elbowed him for her, though.

“C’mon,” Ithos chuckled. He followed her lead and sat down, too, with a shake of his head. “Max, this is Ashton.”

“What?!” Max spouted before she could stop herself. It wasn’t even the same name, but it clicked in her head. She suddenly remembered her own first time getting a leg up on Ithos. That had been when she met Oshton.

“It’s Ash,” Ash grumbled. That didn’t sound like Oshton at all. “If you keep calling me that, you’ll learn to live life without a tail.” Max tried to check how genuine that threat was, but his eyes didn’t exactly give much away. Ithos looked all right, though, so she didn’t worry about interceding.

“Congrats on the win, young man!” a familiar voice said. Max froze in place—it couldn’t, not yet! But Grovyle dropped right next to her to spritz her with a spray bottle before she could deny it. “That looked serious, though, so I’ll just need to check up on her.” She held her paw up to block the spray, objections stuck in her throat, when he grabbed her by the nape just like a month ago.

“I-Ithos!” Max whimpered. She wished she could’ve screamed, gotten him to help her, but she couldn’t muster the energy. She couldn’t even say goodbye. This was it. Grovyle burst through a door and plopped her down on a table before spritzing the rest of the bottle all over her. “G-Grovyle, please! I-I ca—not yet, please!!”

“Oh, would you stop it?” Grovyle grumbled. He tried to shake another spray from the bottle, but it was spent. “I’m not taking you yet.” Max flopped down in relief. “Probably.” The lingering threat made her worry just enough to get back up.

“Then why are you here?” Max asked. She looked across herself to all the spots he’d spritzed and watched the scorch marks disappear. Burnt fur shed with fresh fur growing right underneath.

“Hello, nice seeing you again, too!” Grovyle said. He shook his head and tossed the bottle Max almost recognized into his bag. “Whatever happened to pleasantries? To being friendly?” He looked some amount of judgmentally down at Max, who just glared up at him with her arms crossed.

“You grabbed me by the scruff of my neck and yanked me into a room without even saying hi,” Max said. “What part of that was friendly?”

Grovyle raised a finger before slowly lowering it, mumbling, “Touche.” A thought seemed to strike him, and he reached into his bag before turning to face the door. Max winced away from an earache of a sound that went on until the tumblers let out a thick clunk. “There, locked. Don’t want any disturbances.” Max raised a brow and tried to get a look at what he’d used, but he hid it in his bag before she could.

“Hello,” Grovyle said, this time without the sarcasm. “You’ve got a lot of explaining to do, little missy.” He crossed his arms to lean against the door, and Max started getting flashbacks to last time.

“Grovyle,” Max sighed, rubbing her face. “I already told you. I don’t know!”

“No tremors,” Grovyle spat. “Not a one.” He narrowed his eyes and stared down at her. Even placing her on a counter, he towered well over her. “I’ve had tremors happen, albeit benign, from one word, one step, one stone that shouldn’t be there. Then, I let you have your fun for a week, and nothing. Not a one. Not even the champagne you drank caused so much as a wrinkle in time!”

“What?” Max asked. She immediately thought back to that first mission. How had getting rid of Nuzleaf not caused any changes? She wouldn’t admit to trying that, though, so she focused on another angle. “A week?” Grovyle eyed her, waiting for her point. “Grovyle, it’s been a month.”

“That’s even worse!” Grovyle said. “How—tell me, how—that after a month, you haven’t caused anything to change?” He kept a close eye on her reaction to every word, getting more frustrated with every second he didn’t get one. “You are someone who isn’t supposed to be here. Worse, you’re someone who isn’t supposed to be here taking the place of someone who is. Do you know how disastrous that should be?”

“I mean,” Max mumbled, shrugging. “Time usually has a way of self-correcting, right? It’s not exactly fate, but aren’t there fixe-”

“I knew it!” Grovyle shouted with a snap of a vine. He towered over her with his arms crossed in his assumed victory. “You know more than you’re letting on.” Again, he watched her carefully with his smirk as strong as it could be, and again, she gave him vanishingly little until eventually, she started to chuckle.

“Guessing,” Max said. “I’m just guessing based off shows and stuff.” Grovyle’s victorious grin turned to a sneer, so Max crossed her arms in a victory of her own. He kept looking at her every movement, every micro-expression until finally seeming to step just a bit away from anger.

“Max, look,” Grovyle said. “I know you miss him, but this isn’t right.” All of a sudden, he seemed even more urgent, yet still looked like he was holding himself back. Max’s tail flicked behind her at the shift. She wasn’t sure what to make of it. “This isn’t your Ithos.” Max started to grit her teeth, tail flicking much more as her frustration built. “I know it’s hard to let go, but trust me.”

The shift finally showed its purpose as his voice began to crack. His fate defying certainty in himself suddenly faltered as, for just a moment, his heart broke again. “You can’t go back. You can’t get that time back.” Max felt her frustration fade in the face of his despair. “He’s not your Ithos. It’s not right.”

“Why not?!” Max suddenly barked, surprising even herself as she leapt to her hindpaws. He’d smacked into a fresh nerve. “It’s—a lot’s different, but it’s still him!” She stared up, pleading. “I have—it’s him! He sounds the same, looks the same, he’s too similar to be different!” She had trouble staying together as she went on, and Grovyle gained a layer of empathy to his despair. “He’s Ithos. I know it.”

She’d started crying without noticing. Now that she did, though, she couldn’t stay up. She fell back, cradling her left arm in its twin. Grovyle stared at her with a storm of conflict. Max could almost hear the yelling of an internal debate as he jerked his head to the side to rub at the back of his neck. He pulled both paws to the back of his neck and rubbed them to the front.

“All right, fine,” Grovyle whispered. “Yes, it’s Ithos. It’s the Ithos you know.” Max rubbed the tears away to stare at him in frustration. That much was painfully obvious. “He likely never told you because he never knew, either.” His paw came to rub at his head as he tried to decide how much more to say, clearly already unhappy with how much he already had.

“He wiped his own memory after this,” he said; Max froze. She knew clearly, painfully clearly, how severe a step that is. “Because this is when Ithos fails.”

“What?” Max asked. After the first week, she’d stopped doubting this was well further in the past than her first time. “He can’t, though.” She shook her head, trying to imagine how Dark Matter could succeed, yet still leave a world behind. “How?”

When she looked up, though, she could tell that was all Grovyle would tell her. Some understanding started to grow in his eyes, too, that she couldn’t quite place. Then, it hit her, too. “He wiped….” She stared blank off to the distance. All the time she thought she’d gotten back would all be thrown away. She clenched her paws in building rage. How could he just throw it all away?

Grovyle tried to put a paw on her shoulder, but she smacked it off. “You need to let go,” he said. “You need to go back to where you belong.”

“Why?” Max said with spite. “If he’ll just forget it all, what’s the difference?”

“Time, Max!” Grovyle said. Whatever empathy he had for her position had started running thin. “I can’t let you stay here! Time can’t just correct itself for every little thing.” Something clicked in Max’s head.

“Correct what?” Max asked. She looked up at him to see a similar thought in his eyes. “If there aren’t any tremors, ripples, whatever.” She raised her brow at him. “Why are you here? What’s there to fix?” As she thought about it, she started hatching a plan. If Ithos wipes his memory to try again….

“Nothing,” Grovyle mumbled. He brought a claw to his chin as he thought again. “Not just a week, but a month, and nothing.” That new look he’d started giving her came back with a vengeance. He stared at her while looking right through her. Whatever he was thinking had nothing and everything to do with her. “It’s not impossible.”

“What?” Max asked, tired of being stared at. It seemed to snap Grovyle out of his thoughts, only for him to stare at her again. At least this time, he looked at her like she was a living creature.

“How has your relationship with Ithos been?” Grovyle asked. It seemed innocent enough, but the look he gave her didn’t. “What do you think of him?” Max started to glare a bit as the direction made a bit more sense. “As a friend, or were you maybe hoping for something m-”

Thanks to the added height of the counter top, Max could easily hop up and slap him across the face. After the initial shock, Grovyle simply nodded. “I suppose I deserved that.”

“Yes,” Max growled. “You did.” Even still, she didn’t like the smirk he started to have. It still wasn’t enough to dull the sting in the back of her mind, though. With every day, she felt the memories she’d thrown away torment her. She’d lost everything, friends, years, even simple facts about herself, in the worst desperation of her life. She couldn’t imagine Ithos ever doing the same.

She couldn’t let him.

“I can’t,” Max mumbled.

“Max,” Grovyle whispered. Again, he had that empathy in his voice. He almost seemed to have finally stopped thinking of her as his enemy. “You can’t change this.”

“You can’t stop me,” Max growled back. She pushed up to her hindpaws and pulled her tail forward. Locking the door wouldn’t stop her.

Grovyle didn’t move beyond shaking his head with a sad smile. “You misunderstand me,” he said. The certainty in his voice had returned, the cut of grief replacing the slice of anger. “You can’t change this.” Again, just by looking, Max could tell he wouldn’t tell her more. He relaxed as he looked at her even though she hadn’t stood down quite yet.

He watched her with growing amusement. Max brought her tail back behind her, feeling a bit ridiculous, but that didn’t stop his stare. She started to consider smacking him out of it before he chuckled, shaking his head. “I suppose I was wrong about you,” he said.

Max didn’t bother asking for clarification. He’d keep talking without her.

“I might not need to stop you at all,” he said. Max’s ears popped up in excitement before she could stop them, making Grovyle’s smile wider. As he chuckled again, Max felt a flutter of hope building.

“Does that mean you’ll leave me alone?” Max asked.

“Oh, definitely not,” Grovyle said. He shook his head, but his grin stayed exactly the same. “No, if you’d been a threat, it’d be open and shut. I’d get you back where you belong, and everything would be back as it should.” The glee in his eyes made Max feel like a mix of trapped prey and a lab rat. “Now, though, I’m interested.” His grin grew as he spoke. “Disastrous for you, if you wanted rid of me.” He let out a laugh.

Max didn’t care about the megalomaniacal laugh as her excitement built. She barely felt safe entertaining the thought. “I don’t have to go?” she asked. Grovyle looked at her again, getting another chuckle from her wet, desperate eyes.

“If I’m right,” Grovyle said, drawing out every word to torment her with the answer’s length. “Then, well, I suppose you might be able to-”

“Thank you!” Max squealed as she threw herself at him. She squeezed her arms around his neck. Her arms were already sore from the exercise, but that didn’t stop her. They squeezed as tight as they could while Grovyle let out his laughter. Some part of her didn’t appreciate the jostling, though.

“Kaaa chuuuu,” she groaned. She turned to hop off him, but the sudden cramp in her stomach liked that idea even less. As she pulled one arm to massage the ache away, Grovyle took ginger hold of her and put her back on the counter.

“Easy does it, little lady,” Grovyle said. “Something wrong?” He knelt to get a closer look on where she was holding, but Max quickly covered herself with her tail, sparks bouncing off her cheeks. He gave her a curious glance before rolling his eyes with another chuckle. “Weren’t you the one who called me a doctor?”

“Not the same,” Max grumbled. Whatever she had in her gut started to soften its approach until suddenly taking hold of her insides and twisting it with spite. She let out a yelp and fell back, both arms holding her belly now. It seemed to calm ever so slightly, but she didn’t let herself relax yet.

“Eat something bad?” Grovyle suggested. His paw went to his bag and started digging through, but he kept his attention on her. “I’m no doctor, but I can help in a pinch.” He pulled out an oran to prove his point.

“Thanks,” Max said. She risked reaching one paw out and started nibbling on it. “I guess I ate something, I don’t know.” The cramps threatened a return as she swallowed before ultimately standing down. She let out a breath of relief. “Just been having cramps today.”

“Does it feel like food poisoning?” Grovyle asked. As he watched her, though, Max got the feeling he already had a different hypothesis brewing.

Max barely gave it a thought before shaking her head. She’d had simple stomach aches before. This wasn’t anything similar. A lighter wave came through and had her wincing as she grumbled, “It feels like a part of my gut I’ve never felt before.”

“Oh, you are an interesting one,” Grovyle chuckled. A perfect world would’ve dropped a meteor on him for doing such when she was in the exact opposite of a joking mood, so Max reasoned she didn’t live in one. After his fun, though, he started digging through his bag with a knowing nod. “You said it’s been a month?” Max nodded.

“Yes, I have an idea,” he said as his paw scrounged through his bag. He needed to dig deep for it. It almost seemed deeper than the bag was. “Just a little monthly thing, but don’t worry too much.” Max really didn’t like that knowing grin growing, but she hated the ‘monthly’ mention more. “Believe it or not, it’s a common condition among humans that come here, well,” he glanced at her tail, “half of them.”

“Half?” Max grumbled. Her eyes narrowed as she looked to the side. “Right, of course.” The new body. It must have been an exact half, then. She didn’t have whatever this was before. “I luck out the first time, then I’m stuck in the other….” a gleam started to join Grovyle’s knowing grin as a look of horror grew in her eyes.

“Half,” she said. He’d glanced at her tail. “Oh, come on!” A new cramp came to accentuate her suffering. She shoved the rest of the oran berry in her mouth with one eye stuck shut in a wince.

“Yes, the first one’s always the worst,” Grovyle said. Max tried to look up with curiosity, but she couldn’t unscrew her face enough. “Well, so I’ve heard.” He flashed his teeth in a smile and made her want to strangle him. His eyes flashed as he finally grabbed whatever he’d been searching for and yanked it out.

“I’ve also heard humans are always thrilled to hear bleeding won’t be an issue,” he explained as he gave her an opaque bottle. True to the rumors, Max let out a deep sigh of relief.

Max took the bottle and said, “Thanks.” She spun it around to read the label, raising a brow. “Ibuprofen?”

“A girl’s best friend,” Grovyle explained. Max hurriedly fiddled with the cap before dumping one pill out and tossing it back. “You learn a lot in my line of work.” He watched her look up with a silent question and seemed eager to answer it. “Time Thief.” Because, of course, Max could never meet someone normal. She held the bottle back out to him, but he refused it. “Consider it an apology.”

Max gladly pulled it back. She didn’t have anywhere to put it, though, so she set it down next to her. “Apology?” she hummed. A smirk started to spread her lips. “That mean you’re sorry?”

Grovyle furrowed his brow and stared her down with a lighthearted glare. “Don’t you push it, missy,” he said. Max put her paws up in surrender with a little chuckle. The way he consistently referred to her, though, didn’t escape her notice. Either that’s just how he spoke, or he had a goal in mind. Of course, it’s not like he had any way of knowing.

“Hope this doesn’t sour your second go ‘round, too much,” Grovyle said. Max flinched. He did, in fact, have any way of knowing. She needed to get better at hiding that—though it’s not like she’d had ideal circumstances to hide it. The only two people who knew were the only two people who knew she had a new body.

“I think I’ll manage,” Max said, bringing her tail around. Even after all this time, it still made her grin to look at. Another, fading cramp came to challenge her claim, and she was glad she’d had the oran.

“See?” Grovyle said. He took a deep breath in to stretch and stared down at her as if he’d made some point. “Isn’t this so much nicer?” He crossed his arms, pointing his nose up to look down at her. “Better than being at my throat, don’t you think?”

“Don’t you push it,” Max said, crossing her arms again. “Who locked who in a cage?”

“Wasn’t locked,” Grovyle said. That hardly mattered in principle, but it was a pointless avenue. Aside from clearly not seeing an issue with it, he’d started looking at her in naked intrigue again.

It left Max time with her own thoughts. She didn’t really want the time, but they came on their own schedule. Every moment she’d spent with Ithos so far might disappear forever. She knew, better than anyone, what giving up your memories was. Even though Neb and Cori had saved her, she’d died. She’d gotten what she wanted out of it and then had to live through the consequences. She shook her head.

Ithos could never do that. She’d never let him.

“Hey, hey,” Grovyle whined. “What happened? We were getting somewhere!” Max flinched out of her thoughts. “What’s so wrong, all the sudden?” Open tenderness resounded below the veneer of snark.

Already, Max could feel herself closing up. She’d had to hide most of her worries all month. Ithos was the sweetest guy she’d ever known, but it’s not like she could really tell him all her worries. She wanted to let the impulse run its course, anyway. Even if Grovyle was a bit nicer all of a sudden, he wasn’t exactly a close friend.

But who else did she have?

It took some time to force herself, but she eventually managed to sigh out, “Ithos.” Ever since Goon reminded her of his name, saying it had a certain pain. Having him with her again, she hadn’t felt it again until now. “How can he just forget this?”

Grovyle didn’t move, but she felt him struggle to stay together. That vein of shared suffering she’d hit earlier seeped up to the surface again. Rather than say anything, he brought a paw to her shoulder and waited. A hurricane of thoughts tormented Max. She’d need to get that out before even thinking about an answer.

“What’s the point?” she asked. “Why am I here—why bother with a second chance if he’s just throwing it away?!” Rage started to build with helplessness before her own regret awoke to cut them down. This was just what she’d done to him.

“I can’t tell you,” Grovyle said. “The meaning is yours to find.” Already, she regretted talking to him. This worthless, non-answer therapy wouldn’t mend anything. “But I’ll tell you this. The time we spend with others is ours as much as it is theirs.” For an instant, he lost the reins on his composure, and then it came back. “To love is as good for you as it is for him.”

Max looked into his eyes and saw loss. She saw herself. It was as if Grovyle was seeing his own world die before his very eyes again. For a brief second, she felt like someone else understood. She felt the broken heart that could only come from losing love.

“Thanks,” she said. She brought her paw up to wipe her tears away so she could look away. Evidently, he’d had more than a worthless non-answer. Loving Ithos had already made her feel whole in a way she’d long since given up on. It finally started to make sense when she thought about his wording for a second. “Love?” She kept a close eye on his face, watching for any movement, any micro-expression.

He knew what was supposed to happen.

“Well, many kinds of it,” Grovyle answered. He had incredible control of himself, staying almost unreadable. When he turned away, though, for just an instant, she saw his frustration. He got up to pick at the leaves on his wrist. “Friends, family, couples, throuples, plenty.”

“Right,” Max said. Her grin started to grow when she saw another brief slip of panic. Maybe she hadn’t ruined her chances with Ithos, after all.

The same piercing buzzing from earlier tore her out of her thoughts. She flopped her ears to her head and slapped her paws on top. Under the squealing that stabbed into her eardrums, though, she could almost recognize the buzz, and the lock’s tumblers falling into place made her a bit more certain.

“About time I headed out,” Grovyle said. He put his paw on the knob and looked expectantly at her. “Come, if you like. Can’t save the world cooped up in here, can you?”

“Oh, can’t I?” Max said. She tried desperately not to think much on what he said. Saving the world was stressful enough the first time. She didn’t need to think about doing it again. Luckily, he simply shrugged and tugged the door open. She started hopping behind when a vine flicked out beside her and yanked the bottle she’d forgotten to her paw.

“Right, thanks,” she said. Grovyle was gone by the time she’d looked up. She scurried out through the door before it closed and couldn’t see a trace of him. Even running further into the main area, she didn’t see so much as a leaf.

“Looking for something?” a different voice drawled from behind her. She jumped around to see Ash leaning against a wall. Ash quickly threw up an open paw. “Don’t you worry. I’ve got exactly what you’re looking for.” He put his paw down and started to saunter over while Max tilted her head in confusion. Did Ash know Grovyle? Once he was just a bit uncomfortably close, he gestured to himself.

“Here it is,” he said. His permanent squint made it difficult to read his expression, but he almost seemed to be smirking. Max waited for him to finish his thought, but he didn’t go on.

“Here what is?” Max asked. She’d known this guy for less than a few minutes. He wasn’t exactly predictable to her yet. As he looked her up and down, though, she started to get a bit of an idea. As is typical of this kind of interaction, it only got worse once he continued talking.

“The perfect guy for a cute little thing like you,” Ash said with all the extra savoir-faire of bread just moldy enough to gain sentience. Despite that, he seemed entirely confident in his delivery.

Max hadn’t really gone through this kind of thing before. Like the ailment her ibuprofen intended to alleviate, it was a new experience for her. She didn’t know exactly what to do. A few educated guesses came to mind. For one, she obviously knew it’d be rude to laugh, so she made sure to try and hide the chuckles with a paw. Ideally, she’d deliver a gentle and polite, ‘No thanks.’

Instead, a piercing squeak of a laugh forced its way out before she could stop it. She tried to pull it back when another cramp echoed out from under the medicine, bringing a paw to her belly. “Sorry!” she forced out, desperately trying to reign herself in.

“Well,” Ash said, matter of factly. “Worth a try.” Max desperately hoped he was all right behind his perpetual squint. “Thinking I’ll die, now.”

“Hey, wait, sorry,” Max said. She forced herself to sober up and play nice. “Look, I just didn’t expect it. You’re, y’know.” She got a sudden insight into how Ithos felt the day of their first mission while she tried to think of a compliment for someone she’d exchanged scant few sentences with. Her cheeks sparked at the mere thought of it, and she shook herself out of it. Better to start fresh.

“Thanks for the flattery,” she said. “That was really sweet of you. I’m really sorry for laughing.” She dared to step a bit closer and pat his shoulder. “Putting yourself out there takes guts.” As she pulled back, she saw him relaxing a bit. “I’m sure you’re great, but I just don’t know you.”

“Gotcha,” Ash said with a nod. Even if it was a bit less, Max could feel the unease dripping off him. “Good thing we’ll know each other a lot better soon.” Before that could even start to make sense, a shout yanked them both out of conversation.

“Max!” Ithos screamed from half-way across the gym. He barreled over with utter disregard for the several pokémon that had to jerk out of his way to avoid collision until he skid to a stop less than a foot away. “Sorry! Are you all right?!” He grabbed hold of her shoulders and started to look her over. A yelp squeaked out of Max when he did, sparks spewing down her cheeks, but she didn’t move to stop him.

“Ohhhh,” Ash said. He looked between Ithos and her reaction to him with a knowing nod. “Got it.” Whatever he got seemed to soothe the blow a bit. He gave her a knowing smirk.

“Oh no, was it that bad?” Ithos asked. Max had to shake herself out of watching Ash to find Ithos had zeroed in on the ibuprofen. “Did I—are you gonna be all right? Here, you need to rest.” He started trying to sit her down and Max had to push him back.

“No, no, it’s all right,” Max chuckled, taking a few steps back. “This wasn’t you, don’t worry.” She showed it to him for a second before letting her arm relax. “Just some hu-,” Ash was right there, “—little cramping.”

“Oh, thank Mew,” Ithos sighed. He rolled his shoulders to let the relief through and soothe the sore muscles. Now that his panic had subsided, he still looked pretty exhausted from his attack. He pulled his left arm up with his right, trying to twist the scales enough that he could see his elbow. “I think I overdid it today.”

“Let me see,” Max said. Without giving him a chance to answer, she set the bottle down to look his arm over. All along the length, patches of his scales looked worn and raw. “What did you do?” She rubbed a nubbin across one, and he yanked his arm back with a hiss.

“Ash’s idea,” Ithos said with a nod to the cyndaquil. He took another quick look, then let his arm fall to the side. Max looked over and waited for Ash to explain himself. Despite how minor the scrapes were, she felt some anger building. It didn’t help that she could still feel her insides trying to wring themselves out.

“Evasion training,” Ash rushed to say. He threw up his paws in surrender at Max’s unintended glare. “You know, just, dodging attacks.” He gingerly lowered his paws while keeping careful watch on Max. It was a perfectly sensible idea. She didn’t have any reason to be mad, but that tickle of frustration wouldn’t leave the back of her mind. “I don’t think he knows how to roll yet, though.”

Ithos looked away, bringing a paw to another raw patch of scales on his arm. Both of them had an eye on Max, though. She was struggling to relax her expression.

“Sorry,” Max said. A paw went to hold her gut while she shook her head. “I don’t know what’s up with me.” Although another quick cramp gave her an idea. She gave Ash an apologetic smile dulled by the sudden wince. “I’m not really good at first impressions.”

“No kidding,” Ithos said with a smirk. Max was already eager to lightly strangle him for whatever snark he had planned. Luckily for both of them, he didn’t go on to say more. Instead, he turned to Ash with an excited bounce. “Did you tell her about it?” That little hop managed to soften Max’s wince into a smile as the cramp subsided.

“About what?” Max asked. Ithos’ eyes shot over to her, eager and wide. Just like she’d hoped, he couldn’t wait to tell her.

“The Expedition Society!” Ithos cheered. Max felt her smile falter, but Ithos was too excited to notice. “It’s a new group that’s setting up in the Water Continent! He thinks he can get us in!” He turned to Ash for confirmation, and Ash nodded.

“Yeah,” Ash said. “I’ve got some friends and favors to ask, but I couldn’t find anyone willing to move.” It matched Max’s memory better for them to join, but the idea still felt weird. This also seemed strangely exclusive, though she couldn’t remember if the Expedition Society she remembered had been like that, too. “The places they’ve got for members are way nicer, though.”

Ithos grabbed her paws with a few bounces of excitement. Max meeped at the sudden touch, a few sparks bouncing down her cheeks while she looked at her paws in his. “Isn’t that great?!” Ithos asked. Now that he was looking right at her, though, he could see the conflict in her eyes. “What’s wrong?”

“S-sorry,” Max said, shaking her head. They’d been in the Expedition Society to fight Dark Matter. This was the way it was supposed to be, but part of her couldn’t get over what Grovyle said. Would this help, or just ensure he’s the Ithos that fails?

“I think it’s me,” Ash said. He turned to the side to scratch at the back of his head. “Didn’t exactly paint myself as a great new teammate while you were gone.” To this point, Max hadn’t even realized he was joining.

“What?” Ithos asked. He glanced over before suddenly letting one of Max’s paws go to turn to him. “Dude, really?” His paw came up to slap his face; Max kept her eyes on the paw still holding hers. “Come on, man, I told you not to try that.” It was so warm.

“Well, why not?” Ash asked. He crossed his arms defensively. “You said you weren’t interested.” The warmth in Ithos’ paw suddenly burned.

“Wh-what?!” Ithos stuttered, looking between both of them. “I-”

“Let’s do it,” Max said. She yanked her paw out of Ithos’ while a few sparks bounced down her cheeks. After the initial surprise, Ithos crumpled a little while pulling his paw closer. He seemed oddly dejected for someone not interested, but Max didn’t let herself linger on hope. “Look, I was just worried about typing,” she explained with a forced smile.

Ash let out an audible breath of relief, and the sparkle returned to Ithos’ eyes. It made it a lot easier to smile for Max. The joy it always gave him made her love telling Ithos yes. “We’re still gonna be Team Plasma, though, right?”

“Yes!” Ithos cheered as he yanked Max up into a hug. The cramps strongly disagreed with the ensuing bounces, but she was too happy feeling his arms around her. Ithos was the only person she didn’t mind picking her up. After a few bounces, though, she couldn’t keep her groans suppressed. Ithos rushed to put her down, smile still wide. “Right, sorry.”

“It’s all right,” Max forced through grit teeth. She located the ibuprofen bottle and tossed another pill back, praying it would help again. Until then, she let herself sit down. “So, where do we sign?”

“Well, we’re not in yet,” Ash said. His paws rubbed over each other, a few little spurts of flame flaring up on his back. He looked hesitant to share the last part. He’d seemed excited and open about all the details earlier. This nervousness brought back the worry Max felt earlier. “There’s still auditions and initiation.”

“What’s wrong with that?” Ithos asked. He rested his paws on his hips with brazen confidence. “That’ll be a cinch for us!”

Max wasn’t so sure, but she smiled when he looked at her anyway. She shared a glance with Ash after. Someone worried about something with a very innocuous sounding name never ended well. The dread on Ash’s face gave Max a growing weight in her stomach that complimented the cramps something fierce.

#Pikachu #charmander #hitokage #cyndaquil #pokemon mystery dungeon fanfic #pokemon super mystery dungeon #fanfiction #pokemon mystery dungeon #pmd fanfic #electric type #trans character #canon trans charcter #trans story #grovyle #mystery dungeon #time travel

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bethanythebogwitch · 1 year ago

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Let’s turn up the heat because I’m going over the real-life inspirations for all the fire-type starter Pokémon. Here are the links for when I covered the inspirations for all grass starters, all fish, and all non-fish aquatic Pokémon.

Gen I gives us quite possibly the most iconic starter line: the Charmander line. Interviews with the design team have revealed that Charizard was the first of the line to be designed and the other two were designed by working backwards from it. Both Charmander’s English and Japanese name (Hitokage) reference the mythical salamander of European folklore. Salamanders have been associated with fire in multiple cultural folklores throughout Europe, often to the point where their depictions have nothing to do with the actual amphibians. Interestingly, the oldest accounts that associate salamanders with fire comes from Pliny the Elder, who repeated an account their bodies were so cold they could extinguish fires. Somewhere along the line of legends being passed down, salamanders got flipped from repelling fire to living in it, possibly as a result of getting conflated with other mythical reptilians like dragons or basilisks. In the renaissance, the alchemist Paracelsus described salamanders as fire elementals, along with a group of other elemental beings (gnomes for earth, sylphs of air, and undines of water).

(image: an artistic depiction of a fiery salamander. Art by Michael Maier)

In addition to salamanders, Charmander and Charmeleon are given the upright poses and dragging tails of outdated reconstructions of theropod dinosaurs. Charizard is a classic depiction of a western dragon: a winged reptile that breathes fire. Western dragons are based heavily on lizards, with some of the earliest depictions being a dead ringer for monitor lizards. Charizard is said to love fighting, which is reminiscent of how western dragons have been depicted as dangerous, destructive, and even demonic monsters. It is only relatively recently that western dragons have been depicted as anything but evil. Charizard doesn’t have the dragon type (unless it mega evolves to X form), but that’s more because back in gen I, dragon was intended to be the special type exclusive to the late-game powerhouses that are the Dratini line. Charizards mega evolutions and gigantamax form don’t really add much to the origin, they’re just exaggerations of Charizard.

(image: art of a western dragon by Friedrich Justin Bertuch)

Cyndaquil is based on an echidna, an Australian monotreme (egg-laying mammal) that has a long snout and quills like a porcupine.

(image: a long-beaked echidna. I don't know why, but its snout makes me very uncomfortable)

Despite being an echidna, its species name is the Fire Mouse Pokémon. This is actually a hint to an additional inspiration for its origin. The Japanese word that got translated to “Fire Mouse” is “Hinezumi”. This is the Japanese name for a monster originating in Chinese legend called the “huǒshǔ”. It’s a flaming mouse that lives in volcanoes. The flaming mammal and volcano association continues through the line. Also, when I googled “hinezumi” the first thing that popped up was the Monster Girl Encyclopedia. If you know, you know (don’t google it). Quilava and Typhlosion completely drop the echidna inspiration, which is a bit disappointing to me. That’s why I made regional variants of them for my Australia/New Zealand fakemon region where they stay as echidnas. While being based on badgers, they retain the quills that are found in many animals, most famously porcupines and hedgehogs. Hisuian Typhlosion is based on Kamuy-huci, the Ainu goddess of the hearth. The Ainu are the indigenous people of Hokkaido, the island that inspired Sinnoh and Hisui. There are multiple Ainu references in Hisui’s design, plot, and regional variants. In the Ainu religion, the hearth was the connection between Earth and the world of spirits and was therefore never allowed to go out. It could also be used to communicate with the kamuy (gods and spirits) and was the passage through which the souls of the dead would leave the world and eventually return for reincarnation. This is why Hisuian Typhlosion is part ghost-type. The fire around H Typhlosion’s neck looks like magatama beads, which are used in the spiritual practices of multiple belief systems. These flames can release 108 ghost lights. 108 is an important number in Buddhism and is the number of beads in a Japamala, another type of beaded necklace used for spiritual practices in (among other religions) certain types of Buddhism.

(image: a japamala with wood beads)

The Torchic line is, I suspect, the place where the trend of basing fire starters on Chinese zodiac animals started. Typhlosion really doesn’t fit the zodiac, though some people say it’s supposed to be the mouse. The line is based on chickens. More specifically, they are based on the basan, a legendary fire-breathing chicken.

(image: art of a basan by Takehara Shunsen)

Torchic is a chick, a hatchling chicken. It being bright orange comes from a tradition of dying chicks bright colors to be sold at festivals. Male Torchics have a tiny black spot on their rear ends that females don’t. This is probably based on vent sexing, a technique for determining the sex of chocks, a notoriously difficult task. It is done by examining the cloaca, looking for a bump that usually only males have. Combusken and Blaziken are based on cockfighting, a form of animal abuse where people force chickens to fight and bet on the winners. The official art for Blaziken’s normal and mega evolved forms have it in poses used in the martial art of Muay Thai. Blaziken is usually depicted as fighting primarily with kicks and Muay Thai emphasizes kicking. Blaziken being an humanoid with a bird head may also reference the bird-headed Egyptian gods Horus and Ra, or off of the karura, a diving being that looks like a human with a bird’s head in Japanese mythology.

(image: a statue of a karura)

The Chimchar line are based on the monkey from the zodiac. Chimchar’s species name is the Chimp Pokémon, and it does bare some resemblance to a young chimpanzee. When Chimchar’s flame goes out, you can see prominent red marking on its butt. Several monkey species have marking on their hindquarters, but the most famous by far is the baboon. Chimchar’s lack of a tail identifies it as an ape, but its evolved from gain tails, making them monkeys. A lot of people think that apes are separate from monkeys, but really apes are a subset of old-world monkeys. Apes are monkeys, you are an ape, therefore you are a monkey and that’s nothing to be ashamed of. Monferno and Infernape both have prominent facial markings heavily reminiscent of those of mandrills.

(image: a male mandrill's face)

Monferno having blue facial marking and orange fur also makes it look like a golden snub-nosed monkey.

(Image: a golden snub-nosed monkey's face)

These are native to China and the line does have some heavy Chinese influence. The martial art that Monferno and Infernape use is most likely Monkey Kung Fu or Hóu Quán, which was inspired by the movements of monkeys. Infernape is based on the character of Son Goku, the Japanese name for the character Sun Wukong from the Chinese epic novel Journey to the West. Sun Wukong is the king of all monkeys, a martial artist, and has several magic powers.

(image: Japanse art of Son Goku/Sun Wukong. Art by Shunman Kubo)

Sun Wukong may be based on the older Hindu god Hanuman, a monkey-like god associated with strength and heroism who was also a member of the varana, a species of monkey people.

(image: a sculpture of Hanuman)

The Tepig line are based on the boar of the zodiac. Ken Sugimori said that the Unova starters were based on different cultures to reflect Unova being a very diverse place. The Tepig line were given Chinese design elements whole the Snivy line were “western” and the Oshawott line were Japanese. Tepig having a dark marking on its head and rear but being light everywhere else comes from the markings of the British Saddleback pig breed.

(image: a British saddleback pig)

The fire and pig combination references how pigs are bad at regulating their body head and need to use external sources like mud to cool off. Pignite takes on more boar traits with its exposed tusks. The markings on its body look like it is dressed in a wrestling singlet, which fits as both Pignite and Emboar are based on wrestlers. The yellow markings on Pignite and Emboar resemble patters found in ancient Chinese cauldrons called dings.

(image: a ding)

Ken Sugimori also stated Emboar was inspired by the character Zhang Fei in the Chinese novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms. In the story, Zhang Fei is betrayed and decapitated by his own men. This could be the purpose of the fire scarf Emboar has, to separate its head from its body. Pignte and Emboar also draw from another Chinese story, the afore-mentioned Journey to the West, specifically the character of Zhu Baije. Zhu Baije is a pig man who joins the titular journey. He is also jealous of Sun Wukong, which kind of fits with how Emboar is a much worse Pokémon than Infernape.

(image: an artists depiction of Zhu Baije. Unknown artist)

The Fennekin like take the place of the fox in the zodiac. Design-wise, their large ears mark them as being based on fennec foxes. They are also based off of the kitsune, magical foxes in Japanese mythology. Among the many powers attributed to kitsune were the ability to breathe fire and perform magic. Kitsune could also take on the form of human women, which is referenced in Fennekin’s evolutions becoming humanoid and having feminine designs.

(image: art of a Kitsune scaring two people by Utagawa Kuniyoshi)

Human could also learn magic form foxes, becoming fox witches or kitsune-mochi/kitsune-tsukai. Braixen and Delphox take quite a bit of their design from these fox witches, they also draw from the classic wester witch, using magic wands and Braixen having a tail that looks like the head of a flying broomstick. The association of witches with fire might be a reference to witch burnings. Delphox is also based on a prophet or seer, with its ability to see the future. Delphox’s English name directly references the ancient Greek oracle at Delphi. The final forms of the Kalos starters are based on the fantasy character archetypes of the fighter, the mage, and the thief. Delphox is very much the mage.

Litten is a black cat with tabby cat features. Tabby cats are defined by the stripes on their faces and legs. The orange and black stripes also identify it as the tiger from the zodiac. Its eyes plus forehead stripes are a dead ringer for the alchemical symbol for brimstone, another name for sulfur. Sulfur is a highly flammable element, fitting the fire type. This is one of several references to alchemy found in gen VII.

(image: the alchemical symbol for brimstone. two horizontal lines crossed by a vertical line that leads down into an infinity symbol)

Torracat doesn’t change much from Litten, just adding more stripes and a fireball that looks like a bell on a cat’s collar. It does change when it evolves to Incineroar, and not for the better. Incineroar is my least favorite final stage starter and easily in my top 10 most hated Pokémon. I could go on for a while about how much I hate it, but this isn’t the post for that. It’s still a tiger, but now it has been combined with a professional wrestler. You can tell they really wanted to do another fire/fighting type but knew there would be backlash. The belt of fire is based on a championship belt and its dark type comes from being a heel. In wrestling language, a heel is a villainous character, someone the audience is supposed to boo (a face is a heroic character). This fits with Incineroar being describes as a violent and egotistical Pokémon. However, Incineroar does have a soft side. This fits with how wrestlers are performers playing characters. A performer playing a heel character may cheat, lie, steal, and generally be an asshole while in character, but when not in character they probably won’t be nearly as unpleasant a person.

Scorbunny is the rabbit of the zodiac. More specifically, it is a white rabbit and like with real rabbits, its feet are considered good luck charms. The yellow patch on its face comes from a Japanese character design trope where a bandage over the nose is supposed to indicate that the character is tough and rambunctious. Maylene from the Sinnoh games shares this design element. Its fire typing could come from the Jataka tales, a collection of Buddhist stories from India. In tale 316, a rabbit is placed in a fire as a burnt offering, but it is unharmed by the flame. Another connection could come from the fact that rabbits have unusually high body temperatures for mammals. If Scorbunny is cheerful child, Raboot is a moody teenager. It’s fur and the stripe on its head look like a tracksuit and headband, giving it a connection to athletics. This continues with Cinderace, who is now an association football (or soccer to Americans) player. Football is a huge deal in England, the basis for Galar. Its fur looks like athlete’s attire and it uses a flaming berry like a football. This is another one where you can tell they wanted to make another fire/fighting type.

The Fuecoco line ditched the zodiac theme to become a crocodile. Its upright posture makes it look like a chibified theropod dinosaur and its silhouette looks like a chili pepper. The white face of both Fuecoco and Crocalor resembles a calavera, skull imagery used in the Mexican Day of the Dead. This is a Mexican holiday which is a celebration of dead loved ones that is typically very spirited and cheerful as opposed to glum and mournful. Folklore says the ghost will return to the world of the living on the Day of the Dead. While Paldea is based on Spain and Portugal, several of the new Pokémon have designs based on elements from central and south America, possibly because of both countries’ history of colonialism in those areas. Crocalor adds several references to mariachi players. The flaming nest and egg on its head is a sombrero while the markings on its abdomen look like a traje cordobés, a type of vest often used in mariachi.

(image: a mariachi band wearing wests and sombreros)

The hat combined with the calavera face makes it look like La Calavera Catrina, a skeleton wearing a wide-brimmed hat that is used as a common symbol in the Day of the Dead.

(image: art of La Calavera Catriana by José Guadalupe Posado)

It could also be a bouquet of Tagetes erects, the Mexican marigold, a flow also used for the Day of the Dead. Skeledirge continues the mariachi and Day of the Dead theme by becoming an undead singing crocodile. Real crocodiles will vocalize during mating and nesting season. There are several stories of ghostly or monstrous crocodiles in Spanish folklore, such as the Cocollona and the Drac de Na Coca, the latter of which is displayed as a taxidermied specimen in a museum in the city of Palma de Mallorca. There is also the Coco or Cuca, a boogieman-like that originated in Spain and Portugal and spread to the Americas that is often depicted as a monstrous crocodile. All three of the Paldea starters are based on entertainers and Skeledirge is based on a singer. Given its typing and English name, it probably single funeral dirges. The fiery bird on its nose could come from the gharial, another type of crocodilian. Male gharials have large bumps on the tips of their snouts in the same spot the bird sits.

(image: a male gharial)

Another, possibly more likely source is the Egyptian plover, a bird that will land on top of Nile crocodiles and eat parasites off of their skin. Skeledirge could also be based off of alebrijes, very colorful statues of mythical creatures in Mexican folk art. This is making me think about how cool a Mexico-based region could be.

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