Pokévengers - New Update - Chapter the Fourth

[cashew]

Happy early birthday to tanithryudo! Look, look, I'm trying!

Poké-cast this chapter

Steve:
Shiny Braviary

Wanda:
Delphox

Natasha:
Shiny Aromatise

Clint:
Decidueye

Sam:
Staraptor

Tony:
Scizor

Bucky:
Lucario

Previously on Pokévengers...
Chapter the First
Chapter the Second
Chapter the Third

---

When morning came, instead of solutions, a new problem arose.

"Cap, we've got to talk about the prison system. Or rather, the lack thereof," Sam said.

Steve looked up from where he'd been pushing his beak through his feathers, a new behavior learned only after he discovered that water and feathers do not mix. Preening — there was no other word for it — was a biological necessity, as the feathers would start to get worn and ragged without appropriate care. And flight, what little of it Steve had attempted so far, became life threatening.

"What do you mean?" Steve asked.

"I mean that we can't keep the Hydra minion locked up indefinitely," Sam answered. "The Pokemon don't have a judicial system and—I don't care how stupid Psyduck is—we can't just keep it locked up forever."

"Have Natasha interrogated it yet?"

"The duck has nothing," Natasha answered for herself, joining them from whatever mysterious niche she'd been hiding in. "Don't think too hard about the ethics; as far as I can tell, this world runs on 'if I can beat it, then I can eat it.'"

Steve made a face at the thought of eating sapient animals while Sam squawked in indignation.

"No, no, not literally," Natasha added when it was clear the men were misunderstanding. "I meant that 'justice', or the concept of it, isn't something the Pokemon concern themselves with here. Defeat means friendship or at least minion-ship. Might makes right. You know, the usual patriarchal B.S."

"I feel like I've been insulted," Sam muttered as he recovered from the thought of cannibalism and threw one wing over his head while splaying the other over his breast.

"Consider yourself not excused," Natasha sniped at the melodramatics. She then turned her attention back to Steve and added, "Listen, we can release the Psyduck if you feel better about it, but something isn't right about how the Pokemon are acting."

"Besides being talking animals, you mean," Steve clarified.

"Yes, besides that. Have you considered how weird it is that the Pokemon inside the village never attacked us while the ones outside outside pounces if we so much as look at them? Or even when we're not looking at them?"

Steve was certainly considering it now.

The village seemed to have a veneer of civilization, consisting of a rudimentary commerce system, complete with currency and a bank. But given that the foods Pokemon eat consist solely of fruits that they could pick from the surrounding forests — even the carnivorous-looking Pokemon have been eating fruits — the entire ecology of this world did appear unnatural.

"So, what do you think that means?" Steve asked.

"I think it means this world isn't real at all. Maybe we're just all engaged in one giant collective hallucination," Natasha answered.

"Uh, I don't know about you, but I'm feeling pretty real," Sam objected and flapped his wings for emphasis. "I mean, things feel real and we can't actually be sharing a brain-web-thing Matrix style...can we?"

Sam paused and turned to ask Steve, "Wait, have you watched The Matrix yet?"

"I've watched it," Steve snapped, tired of people constantly assuming he hadn't followed up on culturally relevant media after nearly five years after defrosting, video games not withstanding.

"I'm just asking because you seem to not have any idea about the global multimedia franchise that defined a genera—"

"Pokemon is not a culturally significant piece of media," Natasha protested. "It's a capitalist venture project designed to suck money out of the middle class through exploitation of vulnerable personality traits and levering psychological addiction pathways for the benefit of the bourgeois. It's the new opiate that's poisoning the minds of a generation to keep them compliantly consuming and buy into the myth of working oneself out of poverty."

Sam stared open beaked at Natasha as she ranted. When she finished, he continued to remain wordless.

"What?"

"Nothing. I didn't expect a lecture on class warfare over Pokemon," Sam replied. Then, under his breath, he added, "Comrade."

"I'm Russian," Natasha said in lieu of a retort. "Also, Clint spends too much of his time playing that stupid game."

"Cap, aren't you gonna say something?" Sam implored as Natasha calmed. "Defend American capitalism and all that?"

"I was a socialist," Steve apologized.

When Sam's beak fell open again, Steve needled, "Didn't read up on your history? The American socialist movement died during the Red Scare under McCarthy. Back during the war, the Socialist Party of America was the hot ticket."

"Only in New York," Bucky pipped up from nowhere.

Sam, Natasha, and Steve turned to look at Bucky. He looked like he could use another year of sleep, with bags under his eyes and ears that drooped more than usual, for whatever passed as "usual" these days.

"Buck," Steve greeted.

Sam waved a wing and Natasha nodded in greeting.

"So, what's going on at the conference of the socialists of America?" Bucky asked as he mustered a lopsided smile.

"Nothing. Just rousing my fellow proletariat to fight against the capitalist bourgeois," Natasha replied in kind.

"Actually, we were discussing what to do with our prisoner," Sam corrected before they could lose sight of their problem. "We can't hold it indefinitely and the Psyduck is definitely not talking."

"Hydra agents never talk," Bucky agreed. "If we can't take it out, then we can try erasing its memory so it won't remember it was a Hydra agent — then it can't snitch us out to Hydra either."

"You can do that?" Steve asked. He hadn't considered such a thing was possible.

"No, but Wanda...well, she could do it when we were still human, so I thought maybe..." Bucky trailed off, uncertain.

"I thought you'd be more against this, given all the, y'know," Sam said as he made a gesture at his head.

"It's better than killing," Bucky replied. "Either way, it's a Pokemon, I don't think our human moral sensibilities apply here."

"It's a sapient creature," Steve objected.

"It's a fascist sapient creature," Bucky answered back.

Steve snapped his mouth shut. Then, seeing no good reason to defend fascists, even if it was a fanatical duck, he agreed.

Bucky took that as his cue to launch into an extended explanation which summed up to this: After badgering Clint incessantly about the Pokemon franchise, Bucky learned about the existence of a Pokemon called Slowbro that supposedly had psychic powers, one of which was Amnesia. However, said Pokemon has yet to appear in their vicinity, which isn't so much of a surprise given that Slowbro was a Water type Pokemon that usually occurred around wells and rivers, while the village was surrounded by forests.

"So, what you're saying is that we need to find ourselves a Slowbro," Steve concluded.

"And that means finding our way out of the surrounding woods," Bucky agreed. "I've asked around the village, but no one knows for sure where their water comes from. Some think it's fed by snow melt from the mountain, but it's too dangerous to travel that far."

"Not like we haven't traveled deep into the woods before," Steve pointed out. "Let Clint know we're heading into the mountains and see if he can rustle up the necessary supplies for a hike."

"Wait, hold up. If we leave, how are we going to find our way back," Natasha asked. "The caves are one thing, we could backtrack through them in a day. But the mountains are easily a week's travel away. We can't carry enough provisions with us for that kind of expedition."

"I managed to save Bucky from behind enemy lines with nothing more than a prop helmet and shield. I'm sure we'll think of something."

---

It turned out their "something" involved Clint scrounging up a knapsack, a pile of fresh berries, a couple of apples, and, inexplicably, a very well drawn if questionably accurate map.

"Aunt Khangaskan assured me that there is a Slowbro in the mountains at the source of a stream," Clint told them as he laid out their inventory. "It's an ancient village legend and they say that the villagers in the past used to make pilgrimages to the Slowbro Springs. But ever since the 'Fog' came, the path became so obscured that none of the Pokemon who tried to make the trip ever returned. Not to mention the rumor that extended exposure to the 'Fog' causes Pokemon to lose their minds."

"That sounds like an old wives' tale," Sam said.

"Hey, believe what you want, but the wild Pokemon outside all seem to be overtly hostile for no good reason."

"Maybe having to deal with your yapping is reason enough," Tony muttered, causing Clint to glare.

"And we can't all go out," Clint continued, not dignifying Tony's sarcasm with a reply. "Who knows when more of us will show up? If Tony's right about Rhodes and Vision getting sucked into the portal with us, then they could be showing up any day now. Someone has to stay behind and keep checking for stragglers."

"That reminds me: Clint, Nat, did you both show up in the caves?" Steve asked.

"Yeah," Natasha answered for them both.

"And Tony, Buck, you two also came to in the caves first before finding your way here, right?"

Tony and Bucky nodded in the affirmative.

"Then Sam..."

"I'm the only one who dropped on your head," Sam agreed.

"Whatever the forces that brought us here must have tried to deliver us to more or less the same place," Steve observed. "The caves had a direct portal to the village, almost as if—"

"—it was designed," Tony agreed. "It's like this entire world was designed to be explored. It's not a naturally occurring universe."

"And what could possibly have the power to design a world? That's not human or alien tech. That's—"

"Biblical," Sam finished for Steve. "You telling me this is God's prank?"

"No, not God, but something just as powerful. Maybe," Steve hedged. "There has to be a reason we're stripped of our memories and were placed in a world that's foreign enough to be fantastical but everyone somehow still speaks English."

"So, what do you think? AR? Virtual Reality? Mind-hack?" Tony asked, the words shooting out like bullets.

"I don't think it's technology," Steve answered as Tony paused for breath.

"Then what do you think it is? Magic? Magic doesn't exist," Tony retorted in the next breath.

"Then how do you explain what Wanda is able to do?" Steve questioned. "Or Thor. Or Loki. Advanced technology can't explain it."

"Just because I can't explain it yet doesn't mean it's magic!"

"Hey, guys, how about we leave the metaphysical debate for later and focus on finding the Slowbro?" Clint asked, pulling the arguing duo out of their bickering and back to their problem at hand.

"Yeah, we can figure out what this place is after we figure out how it works," Sam agreed. Then, before either Steve or Tony could get too distracted by their argument and clashing tempers again, he followed up with a question for Clint, "So anything else we need to know about this legendary Slowbro? Any gifts we should be bringing or sacrifices we have to make?"

"According to the legends the only thing we need to worry about is arriving at the right time. As it goes, 'Only at noon would the Slowbro come out to meet those who make the pilgrimage, and he would deliver on their demands.' Usually the wishes were for fair weather so the berries could be plentiful, but who knows what else the Pokemon can do."

Clint paused to shrug, which caused the feathers on his body rustled like autumn leaves.

"Well, no time like the present," Steve announced.

"I'm staying behind," Natasha decided before Steve could ask. "No offense, Steve, but this running around in nature isn't really my thing. And someone has to keep an eye out for Rhodes and Vision if they ever show up, which is pretty damn likely."

"And I will go with you," Wanda volunteered. "There is no lantern or torch in this world. My fire will provide the light necessary to for night travel, which you will need if we are to arrive on time."

"Are you sure, Wanda?" Steve asked, not wanting the kid to push herself.

Wanda's vulpine face was inscrutable, but she nodded all the same. Then, aloud, she confirmed, "Someone once said to me that with great power comes great responsibility."

"You didn't ask for any of this."

"None of us did, but you are still going," Wanda pointed out.

"That's different. I did it because someone has to take responsibility for taking the Psyduck prisoner."

"I helped you capture it, did I not?" Wanda pointed out. "Steve, I appreciate the concern, but I am not a kid anymore."

"Awesome, great, I'm going with you, too," Tony announced.

"No one asked—" Clint began, only to get cut off as Tony talked over him.

"If the kid is going, then I'm not staying behind. Besides, I'm pretty sure out of all of you, I'm the one who actually has any qualification to reverse engineer this reality we're in, if it's even engineered, like at all. And I'm not taking it as a given that this world is some kind of magic—"

"What are you going to do if it is magic?" Bucky suddenly asked. "How are you even going to know if something is or isn't magic anyway? If we can break out of the system, that's one thing, but from the inside, how can you know the difference?"

Tony stopped talking and gave Bucky a look.

Steve also gave a look to Bucky, but one that was more knowing than contemplative. He was suddenly reminded of how Bucky had gotten along with Tony's father during the war; something about being gear-heads and with no one else in the squad with the know how to talk to Bucky about his preferences for his guns had paved the way for Bucky and Howard becoming fast friends.

In another life, Bucky and Tony might have become friends, too.

Meanwhile, Tony was saying, "Do you even know what you're talking about, Tin Man? A reality matrix on that level—"

"You know, system theory wasn't invented by your generation. We went to college before heading to war."

"Oh yeah? And what did they teach back then? Calculus? Your generation didn't even understand relativity!"

"Stark, my generation built the bomb, OK? We're not complete idiots."

Bucky and Tony stared each other down, the sudden confrontation catching everyone off guard. Steve had forgotten how bullheaded Bucky could get when someone looked down on him, especially since he was the only kid in the family to attend college.

Bucky could have avoided the front lines, but he rushed through graduation and put his number in the lottery regardless. Steve had known that Bucky didn't want to go to war, but Bucky never shied away from doing the right thing.

"OK, so Bucky is coming with us," Wanda interjected, deciding for everyone. To Stark, she added, "You guys can talk it out on the road."

"Provided we don't kill each other first," Tony muttered.

"Nah, Bucky's got the type advantage," Clint chimed in.

"Nobody cares, Clint," Natasha shushed her partner quickly, then she turned to Sam. "I suppose you're also going on this trip, then?"

"You think Steve can keep those two from killing each other by himself?" Sam questioned back.

"Fair enough."

"All right, then let's head out at first light and get at least to the foot of the mountain by the next day," Steve declared with more optimism than he felt, wondering only to himself how they'd fair on this quest.

---

As it turned out, Steve needn't have worried about Tony and Bucky. Once they were on the road, things quieted quickly enough. Whether it was the oppressive atmosphere or the physical exertion, the journey was mostly silent. Steve and Sam soared overhead while Tony buzzed below them. On the ground, Bucky and Wanda loped along, not seeming to tire even when Steve and Sam had to take periodic breaks from all the flapping.

"How are you guys able to keep going?" Tony complained as he tried to cool himself off in a nearby stream by dunking his claws into the running water.

Beside him, Steve and Sam were panting for breath, as staying aloft was far more exhausting than the birds made it look back home.

"Dogs are endurance hunters," Bucky answered.

"Why thank you, Encyclopedia Barnes. That doesn't answer my question at all."

"Clint said Pokemon were designed to look like actual animals, right?" Bucky asked.

"And appliances," Tony added.

"Right, but mostly animals. So I assume Pokemon also have characteristics that resemble the animals they were based on. It's clear that Wanda's Pokemon body and mine were based on canids, and canids evolved for endurance runs," Bucky said.

"And that's why you two aren't tired out, but how does that explain those two?" Tony asked, pointing one pincered claw at Steve and Sam.

"Well, it doesn't," Bucky agreed, unflappable. "But birds use up a lot of energy for flying, so I imagine Steve and Sam feel what the birds feel. But as humans, they're not used to that level of exhaustion."

"I've seen raptors pant a lot of after a flight," Wanda joined in. "Our neighbor back in Sokovia was a falconer. Me and Pedro, we used play with his birds as kids and even after a light training flight, the bird's mouth was always open and panting."

"I didn't know you were so well versed in the ways of raptors," Tony sniped. "I'll keep that in mind the next time I'm in need of falcon trivia. Except, oh, that's right, we were living in New York, so I hadn't needed these kinds of wilderness survival tips!"

"Are you hungry?" Steve asked as Tony's complaints got shriller and less sensible with each progressive word.

"What? No! What are you talking about?! I'm not hangry, damn it," Tony protested.

In that moment, his stomach grumbled loud enough that the rest of the team could hear it and Tony huffed in annoyance.

Steve fished out an apple from the knapsack Clint packed and tossed it at Tony. Tony, whose head was turned, managed to snatch the apple from midair and bit into it like the fruit offended him.

"You know, it can't hurt to know a bit more about the Pokemon we've turned into," Sam mused as he stretched his head out to check out what other foods Clint packed for them.

"What do you mean, Sam?"

"Well, I mean that I've actually watched the cartoon with my nieces, and the Pokemon there acted really different. For one, they don't talk. For two, they're usually living with humans, not out here in the wild with nothing but forest surrounding them. I mean, I get that whatever this world is, it's not identical to the cartoon, but I didn't think the games were all the different, either."

"Meaning..." Steve prompted, not sure he followed Sam's line of thought.

"Meaning, maybe there are humans around here, after all." Sam finally got to the point. "The humans might be on the other side of this fog. If we can get through it somehow—"

"Should we even be trying?" Bucky suddenly asked. "Maybe the Pokemon are avoiding humans for a reason. Clint said that in the games, humans caught Pokemon and made them fight in arenas, so maybe this village is some kind of refuge to get away from that."

"Wait, hold up, are we seriously treating this thing as if it's a real world and not a virtual reality that we're trapped in?" Tony demanded, unhappy with the direction of their conversation.

"If we really are trapped in a world that's been designed, then what's the end game?" Bucky questioned back.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, who designs a world just to wander around aimlessly? If there's a design, then there's a purpose. And if there's a purpose..."

Bucky trailed off to look at Steve to see if he followed.

"If there's a purpose, then someone must have left us clues," Steve caught on. "Somehow we're being nudged toward a resolution."

"That's nuts! Why would anyone—"

"Tony, you said yourself that this world isn't natural, right? That it's not magic, but you can't explain the how," Steve continued over Tony's protest, rushing to get his idea out. "What if we assume you're right, that this world was designed. Then a world designed will have a win state, whatever that state may be.

"And if we can figure out the win state, then we might finally get out of this world."

---

They traveled non-stop for the rest of the afternoon and somehow made it to the foot of the mountains at dusk, the dim light barely enough to cast the imposing shadow of the mountain range.

"So this is Mount Steel," Bucky observed, looking toward the mountain's top.

"And supposedly there's a spring at the source of the river," Steve agreed as he looked up at the same dark silhouette.

"I say we rest tonight before trying to make it up the mountain. You know, to reduce the amount of time we're spending in the mountains at night," Tony suggested.

"And figure out how we can convince the Slowbro to erase a Psyduck's memory," Sam agreed.

They made short work of the camp site, most of the hard work resolved by Wanda when she easily lit the collection of twigs on fire, which kept their small camp lit and warm against the encroaching coldness of the night. The rising cliff face formed a natural barrier against the winds and a few more bundles of branches finished the crude lean-to that the five Avengers-cum-Pokemon managed to squeeze into just enough to shield themselves against the elements.

And it was a good thing most of them could fit, as soon after they settled in the lean-to, the clouds began to form and what little light from the stars disappeared into the inky black skies. The winds picked up and the first drops of rain began to fall. By silent consensus, Steve and Sam moved to the edges of the lean-to, as they were the least susceptible to the rain. Wanda moved into the center, as her fur ran the risk of becoming water logged.

As the rain pattered away at the branches, Steve wondered aloud, "Suppose we find this Slowbro, how is it going to help us erase the Psyduck's memories? We can't very well bring it with us to the village, can we?"

"Clint didn't have anything to say about that?"

"No, he just said the Slowbro might have a solution."

"Will it even be able to talk to us?" Tony asked.

"It talked to the villagers in the past, so maybe it'll talk to us, too,"

"Let's cross that bridge once we actually find the Slowbro," Sam reasoned. "At least that's a Pokemon that I know."

Steve looked questioningly at Sam, confused by what he could mean. Wanda and Bucky were also clearly confused by Sam's words as they simultaneously asked, "You only know some of the Pokemon?"

"Look, watching the show with my niece is as far as I go, OK?" Sam defended himself. "Anyway, at least I know some Pokemon, unlike the rest of you here. Point is, we're looking for a dopey looking pig with a clam on its tail."

"I'm beginning to question if the 'slow' part of Slowbro was meant as a reference to its intelligence and not speed," Tony deduced.

"It's both," Sam answered.

"Wonderful. We're hinging our hopes on a dumb pig."

"Can't be that bad," Bucky said. "The villagers used to go to it to fix their weather, right? Wouldn't that mean it has at least some powers? Otherwise, the tradition would never have kept going if the villagers didn't see an effect."

"I don't know, Barnes. How many times have prayer worked for you?" Tony asked. "Does that mean it works or is it just coincidence that you attributed to the power of prayer?"

"Praying isn't about asking God for favors."

"Then why do football teams do it before a game?"

"Because they're superstitious, not religious," Bucky replied, not missing a beat.

Tony remained quiet after that, whether because he had no comeback or because he was surprised by the answer, Steve couldn't tell from his expression, which had remained mostly immobile save for the occasional blink.

"Well, no point in worrying ourselves over it before we find the Slowbro! Let's get to sleep and cover as much ground as we can tomorrow."

---

The rain lasted through the night, but by morning, the sun was out again. Their campfire had gone out under the unrelenting drizzle, which saved them the effort of putting it out. Shaking off the damp, the party pushed forward, hoping to at least climb a quarter of the way to the top after the first day. However, they soon found themselves obstructed by the river, which flowed across the dirt path they were treading with nothing but sheer cliffs around them that were too high to climb, even for the likes of Steve and Sam.

"Now what? I can fly over the river, and so could probably Stark and Steve, but Wanda's no good with water and I don't think Bucky can swim either," Sam said.

"I learned how to swim back in '32."

"Yeah, as a human. You ain't swimming in that Pokemon body."

Bucky gave himself a quick look to see what Sam was going on about. "What do you mean? Dogs are great swimmers."

"So are moose, but we're not talking about animals, we're talking about Pokemon logic, man. And you, Barnes, are not going to swim," Sam replied.

Then he knocked against Bucky's shoulder with a talon, sending out a sharp clinking noise.

"See? You're part steel, and steel ain't floating."

"So, what do we do?"

As the party pondered, the rock in the middle of the river suddenly moved. Slowly but surely, it rose out of the water and revealed itself to be a turtle monster, with rocks for its plates and what looked like two canons mounted on its shoulders.

"That's a Blastoise!" Sam yelled, flying into the air as the Pokemon reared up and released a roar.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Bucky yelled back as he made an acrobatic leap and shoved Wanda behind him.

Meanwhile, Steve and Tony also took to the air, their wings flapping vigorously.

"It means my niece's favorite Kanto starter is here!"

"OK, now repeat that in human!" Bucky shouted at Sam.

"Look, I just know it's a Pokemon and it attacks with water," Sam hollered back.

At the same time, as though to demonstrate Sam's point, the Blastoise aimed and fired a torrent of water at Sam. Sam looped into the sky and just barely avoided getting blasted by the watery column.

From behind Bucky, Wanda suddenly leapt into the fray and blew a plume of fire at the Blastoise. The flames passed over the Pokemon and dissipated, leaving only a small soot mark against its rocky shell.

The attack wasn't very effective.

"Water puts out fires, dumbass!" Tony yelled at them. The insult was uncalled for, but exceptions were made under the extenuating circumstances.

"Well, it's not like we have a grass type," Sam yelled back at Tony as he dodged another shot.

Steve, meanwhile, decided he's had enough of running away and pulled his wings close. Then, aiming his head at the Blastoise, he dove head first at the creature, pulling out of the fall at the last second to slam his entire body weight against the Blastoise's head. The effort managed to take the Blastoise's attention off of Sam, but it didn't seem to do much damage otherwise.

The Blastoise pulled its head into its shell for a moment and a sparkling glow surrounded it, which then faded into the morning light as if it was never there. Steve made another diving run at the oversized turtle, and this time he merely bounced off of whatever force field that surrounded the creature.

"Tell me that isn't magic!" Sam yelled at Tony as they watched Steve bounce off an invisible barrier.

"There must be some kind of force field protecting it," Tony yelled back. "Like a light shield or something. Stop trying to fly at it like a mad bird and use your head!"

As the three airborne Pokemon flew in circles, Bucky jumped onto the creature's back and raised one paw into the air above him. With a look of intense concentration, Bucky brought his fist down in an armor piercing punch and the protective, invisible shield shattered into a thousand crystalline shards before vanishing again.

"Try hitting it again," Bucky demanded as he jumped out of the way.

Steve dove at the Blastoise again, this time smacking into the creature with a solid crunch. The noise of the impact reverberated in the air and the Blastoise gave a moan of pain. Everything seemed to pause for a moment, like someone had froze the action on playback, then the Blastoise tumbled into the water sideways and sent a tide of water splashing onto the riverbank, dousing Wanda and Bucky in the process.

Sam, Steve, and Tony landed beside the drenched duo and looked toward where the Blastoise had fallen. As they stared, the Blastoise groaned, the frequency low enough to shake their bones and it slowly righted itself once more.

"Really?" Sam asked, disbelieving, as the Blastoise stood up.

"Ready for a second round?" Tony asked, raising his pincers like he would his Iron Man gauntlet. Then, a gust of pressurized air rushed out of the pincer toward the Blastoise. The air stream hit the Blastoise with enough energy that it wobbled and fell to all fours.

"The hell was that?" Sam squawked.

"Dunno, but it's working," Bucky replied before ordering Tony, "Do it again, Stark."

"I would if I knew how it happened!" Tony protested as he waved his claw in the direction of the Blastoise and nothing came of it.

Steve ignored the chatter and flew up into the air, prepared to dive bomb the Blastoise again. However, it was at this moment that the Blastoise chose to speak up.

"You are very strong Pokemon," it said. "Very well, you have proven your determination. You may pass."

Steve, who had been in the middle of launching his attack, pulled back awkwardly and ended up diving face first into the ground. Struggling upright, he shook his feathers off and asked, "Wait, what? Was that a test?"

The Blastoise looked unimpressed and snorted.

"Of course it was a test. Only the strong may be allowed an attendance with the Water Mystic," it informed them. "Although you may have passed the trial here, there are yet more obstacles in your way."

"Clint never mentioned any trials," Wanda noted.

"Maybe it's been too long since the last time someone came to the mountains to get a wish granted," Bucky said.

"Well, whatever the reason, at least we passed the first trial, so we're on the right track," Steve noted. "Come on."

"OK, but how are we going to cross the river?" Bucky asked. "It's not like me and Wanda can swim now."

"Fear not. I shall carry you past the river," the Blastoise told them. Then, lowering itself until only the shell is out of the water, it offered, "Hop on."

The party didn't look a gift horse in the mouth and quickly hopped onto the offered back. It was only a moment and then they were past the width of the river, safe and sound and relatively dry, short of some wayward sprays from the waves.

"Good luck, adventurers," the Blastoise bade them farewell as they hopped off its back. "More arduous trials await you on your way. May you have the courage to over come them all."

"Yeah, courage isn't what's got me worried," Sam muttered.

Wanda bowed elegantly toward the Blastoise and Bucky waved his paw. Tony and Steve looked less than pleased with the whole ordeal and merely nodded in acknowledgment.

And then they were off, following the path up the mountain and hopefully to the source of the water where the magical spring and its guardian Slowbro lived.

Comments

[tanithryudo]

It doesn't feel like they're in a game quest.

Love the dialogue. Very snappy.

I'm surprised they didn't drag the prisoner with them on the trip though. Is the slowbrow able to erase memories from a distance or something?

[cashew]

Yay! You read it!

It doesn't feel like they're in a game quest.

Is that a good thing or a bad thing? (^_^;;;)

Love the dialogue. Very snappy.

Awesome. I had to delete, like, half of the dialogue I wrote when padding word count in NaNo. I noticed that some edit mistakes remained. I've fixed those now.

I'm surprised they didn't drag the prisoner with them

It'd be a logistical nightmare. They'd have to pack the prisoner's portion of the food, too, and someone has to be on night watch to make sure the prisoner doesn't escape or try to kill them in their sleep, even if it's a dumb Psyduck. I thought discussing the logistics of traveling with a prisoner would've bogged down the plot progression, so here I am, explaining it outside of the story.

I'm hoping to get two more chapters out before NaNo starts. 🤞

[tanithryudo]

Too early to tell though, if it's a matrix setting or not. So far they haven't come across any *real* challenge yet. And they haven't done much exploration for a myst style game.

[cashew]

I'm mean, to be completely fair, the Mystery Dungeon games are pretty...unchallenging. I mean, most Pokemon games aren't really designed with challenge in mind. (And no, that's not a confirmation of whether the world is a matrix setting or not.)