You'd be forgiven for missing Blue Diamond, Nevada on your way to Las Vegas. It was an unassuming town of nearly 300 people, and Anthony could have sworn that the little city, despite its claimed history, had just sprouted out of the ground one day to welcome him.
The states had proven to be quite bare in the Pokemon department, and he had to explain to a few people that he had fought that rabbit or bird under the impression they were a Bunnelby or a Pidove. His "Pokemon Adventure" was proving fruitless, but as he hiked his way across the Silver State, he found the diamond in the rough that is Blue Diamond.
Hiker Anthony and his strange group of Pokemon were the talk of the town, and with the news a group of supercharged heroes and their assorted villains were heading to the nearby metropolis of Las Vegas, they were more than willing to make him feel at home and give him that shiny Sheriff badge. Anthony began to quickly learn the people's names, attending the elementary school's sports games and chatting up the townsfolk after Sunday services.
Hiker Anthony was content, and his Pokemon had nothing they needed to scare off bigger than a coyote... until that day. Blue Diamond residents began spotting the strange space ships flying overhead to Vegas, and cars with colorful character blazed through the town, barely stopping long enough to fill their vehicles and guts while paying in unrecognizable currency. Anthony soon found his time being spent away from the people he had gotten to know, keeping watch with his Pokemon late into the night to divert aggressive drivers to less populated roads.
He was getting good at posturing, and soon the town had little to fear of the outsiders. But while Anthony could protect the streets easily enough and the air was hardly an issue, no one in town expected the surprise visitor from beneath the ground.
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Hiding behind the "safety" of closed windows and cracked doors, the citizens of Blue Diamond stared at the strange creature that had emerged from the dirt. At first it was an unrecognizable mess, but when it quickly popped into a humanoid lizard form, the citizens knew better than to try and speak to this unwanted visitor. The lizard woman made no effort to engage the citizens either, instead looking the small town over before muttering to herself.
When Hiker Anthony arrived on the scene, he was unsure of what to make of it. He was used to strong-arming outsiders on the outskirts, but with all eyes on him now as he walks slowly towards the lizard, he finds a sense of stage fright sucking away his usual demeanor and replacing it with an all-business affect. Holding forward one of his Pokeballs, he calls out to the arrival.
"You are... trespassing on the city of Blue Diamond, and I... must ask you to leave before I am forced to escort you out myself!" He yells, nervousness carried on the words. The lizard women didn't seem to notice his unease though, as she stood up to full height and placed her hands on her hips.
"Excuse me?" she said, the phrase more out of legitimate misunderstanding than a confrontational retort. Anthony took a step back as if it had been though, the extended Pokeball visibly trembling in this atypical stand-off.
"I... I know you are on your way to Las Vegas," he assumed, "But you will not be... hassling this town on your way there!" he declares, the word "hassling" barely found in his vocabulary after an unusual period of silence.
"Las Vegas?" the lizard woman said. Anthony was beginning to wonder if this woman even understood English, but as the lizard woman began to slowly walk over to better carry on this conversation, he panicked. The Pokeball cracks open, a tall imposing figure filling the gap between the two.
The lizard tilted her head over and over as she looked over the Machoke, trying to understand it better.
"This is your last warning," Anthony called out, wishing his voice could have recovered some of its confidence.
"What are you even talking about?" The lizard women said as she began to march towards Anthony, "I'm just looking for my ma-" her sentence is cut to an abrupt stop as Machoke intercepts her, arms grabbing her small much smaller limbs and pushing her back.
Acting impulsively, the lizard woman responded with a angry and harsh swipe, the fingers forming into points that dug into the Machoke's chest. The Pokemon staggered back, surprised by the first time it had actually been injured while performing its protective role. However, it had definitely not gotten soft in its inactivity, and soon it was flailing its heavy arms at the lizard woman in a counterattack.
The lizard dodged the attacks with ease, but as Anthony popped into awareness of the situation, he began to command his Pokemon, "Machoke, Seismic Toss!"
Machoke ceased its disorderly assault and lunged towards the lizard, pulling her up in a tight grip and preparing to bring her back down into the very ground she emerged from. As Machoke performed the follow up though, the lizard managed to slip out of his grasp and wrap herself around the Fighting-type's neck, pulling back hard on its chin as if she was trying to yank its skull off.
"Machoke, Protect!" Anthony called out this time, and Machoke was suddenly shrouded in a barrier of energy, forcing the lizard woman off his back and into the dirt. She wasn't down for long though, and as the barrier around Machoke faded, the lizard woman swung her tail around, snatching Machoke by its legs and lifting it into the air.
"INCINERATE!" Anthony said in a panic, and the Pokemon was quick to react. Opening its mouth wide, the Fighting-Type spat a ball of fire right into the face of his opponent, causing her to release her opponent in surprise. Anthony had hoped the fireball would have ignited her hat or clothes, but the fireball seemed to do nothing more than surprise the intruder in its suddenness. Machoke fell to the ground, landing hard on one of its own arms as it did so. When it got back to its feet, it was not difficult for anyone to tell by the way it was held limply to the side that the arm was temporarily out of commission. Anthony had a few potions and Full Restores on hand on the off-chance his Pokemon received such injuries, but as the lizard woman prepared to reengage Machoke, he knew he could not get close enough to administer them.
"DYNAMIC PUNCH," Anthony yells to his Pokemon, Machoke nodding to his trainer before pulling back his good arm thrusting it towards the lizard's face, attack wreathed in flames. The intruder had no trouble ducking under the highly-telegraphed move, but as she went under the arm for a counterattack, another order was yelled out, "INTO SUBMISSION!"
Unsure of what such a vague move name could mean, she had no counter for the elbow drop that slammed her into the ground before Machoke tried to wrap itself around her to keep her down. The lizard found a way to worm out of the hold quite easily though, and quickly pulling herself to her feet, she raised one leg and stomped it down on the back of Machoke's head, the foot seeming to expand as it did so to make the attack all the more painful.
Anthony was grinding his teeth in anger at this point. Pokemon battles were one thing; You could always rely on your opponent following the basic rules of the back and forth, but this intruder would likely not stop until Machoke was a pulp in the desert sand. Instead of waiting to see if she would go so far, Anthony reluctantly raised his Pokeball and returned the Fighting-Type, the lizard stumbling forward as the Pokemon beneath her foot suddenly disappeared.
Believing the battle won, the lizard women pulled herself together and turned back to Anthony, whatever damage she had taken not showing on her form, only in her posture. "We done here?" She tried to say, but the noise is swallowed up by the sound of another Pokeball releasing its contents.
"Oh great, do I have to fight you too?" The lizard woman asked, drooping as she saw the new arrival. The Rock Pokemon did not provide a response, instead standing almost as still as, well, a rock, as it waited for orders. Anthony wanted to say something like "Leave now or else you'll have to fight him!" or "We don't have to do this!" but the pressure of the eyes of those who watched from behind store windows was too great. This was his time to prove himself to these people who accepted him and relied on him, and if he let the lizard leave after besting his Machoke, he knew the rumor mill would be unkind to him for weeks to come. So instead, when he spoke, he said "Stealth Rock, Graveler!"
Graveler groaned again, groaning was his thing, he was good at it. If there was a groaning competition, he could probably get second or third place. But right now, his groan was from exerting effort, the effort of making stones appear and surround the woman in front of him. The lizard balked at the stones, wondering how they could be stealthy if she could see them all around her, but as she tried to move away from the annoying levitating stones, she found herself slamming her face directly into one.
Rubbing her nose, she pulled a hand back and made it expand, the huge palm swinging around to try and bat the stones away, but they quickly returned to their position afterward, her spin not rapid enough to force the floating rocks apart. Growling angrily, the lizard could not hear the next order given or the groan from the Graveler So when a Mud Slap kicked up a spray of wet dirt into her face, the lizard was more than caught unaware.
The intruder made no effort to clean her face surprisingly, instead turning and rushing angrily at the Rock Pokemon and leaping towards it like a Velociraptor, Stealth Rocks buffeting her as she did so. Graveler was much to slow to dodge, but when the pounce landed and the claws dug in, they found little purchase. The lizard fell back off the stone, but retaliated quickly with slashes against its hard rock hide, doing nothing but leaving white marks across its surface. Graveler laughed, although it sounded more like a groan if you asked me, and soon the next order from Anthony was issued. Graveler curled up into a ball and rolled forward, the Rollout literally flattening the lizard woman.
Graveler went rolling down the street, giving itself a wide berth for the return roll, but Anthony was already cheering as he looked at the crushed lizard before him. He laughed a hearty Hiker's laugh as he advanced to look at the squashed intruder, people swinging their doors open and cheering, but everyone was suddenly silent as the squished lizard popped back together. Anthony staggered back in surprise, landing on his butt as he looked up at his opponent. For now, the intruder paid him no attention, instead focusing on Graveler, whose return roll was just about to reach her.
They had seen her hand and feet stretch to be more affective weapons, but no one expected the lizard's body to pull in on itself to make a large wall. If not for the color of it, it could have passed for an authentic piece of dry wall, but when Graveler slammed against the green wall, he found it bending inwards to absorb the momentum, and the Rock Pokemon managed to let out one last groan before the wall rebounded like rubber and launched the Graveler so far down the street that it left the little town of Blue Diamond.
The lizard returned to its humanoid form, batting the still present Stealth Rocks as it turned to its primary aggressor. She said something to Anthony, that was certain, but shock had filled Anthony's ears and he wouldn't have heard Jesus descending from heaven to a choir of angels if it happened right now. The Hiker fiddled with his pack, desperately trying to pull out the next Pokemon as the lizard woman stood close enough that he could smell her. The intruder extended an arm towards him, but before anything else could happen, a Pokeball was thrust forward, and the hand was filled with the heavy form of a peculiar land snake.
As the lizard struggled to move her body in any way possible, the only sound in the small town was the light fluttering of Dunsparce's wings, the Land Snake Pokemon just happy to be getting some use in battle after being caught in Dark Cave so many years ago. Anthony dared to stand up now, looking at the lizard woman before him and laughing nervously.
"Not so tough are ya now," he taunted, posturing for the people of the city. No one would talk about the struggle of the battle if the ending was dramatic enough, and Anthony knew to play up his superiority to ensure that his earlier failures in this battle would eventually be painted into the path to his success. The lizard continued to struggle against her failing body, seeming to almost melt as limbs drooped and unwound before Anthony. Not quite sure what was happening to his opponent, he made sure to gloat appropriately, maybe say something nice for the local papers to reprint.
"Now don't let me catch you or any of your kind in this town AGAAAAAAAAAYAAAAH!" Anthony's taunt turns to terror as the lizard finally regains control of her body, and in doing so she extends out like a sea urchin, multiple spikes extending in what was her desperate bid to escape the paralysis. Dunsparce is spared any pain from being blocked by its bulky master, but Hiker Anthony is impaled through the gut by one of the suddenly spawned spikes. The lizard is quick to retract the spike as she realizes what has happened, quickly becoming humanoid again as she stares at the injured Hiker. Anthony falls to the ground, clutching his stomach in agony as the lizard woman begins to panic.
"Shit. SHIT! Fuck, I didn't mean to... Aren't you as strong as... FUCK!" The lizard screamed, walking in place nervously as she tries to figure out what to do. She had expected the trainer of such powerful creatures to be equally strong, but as he continued to bleed out before her, she could do nothing but curse. As doors cracked open and worried citizens gasped in horror, the lizard woman say nothing left for her to do. Rather than causing more trouble than she already had, she plunged herself beneath the dirt and left in the same way she had arrived.
Dunsparce nuzzled in close to the dying Hiker, Anthony wrapping his arms around it for support as he tried to cling to consciousness. The world around him was turning black, swirling in his vision as he felt more empty and drained than ever before. He could barely see what was happening when another new arrival entered the city, seemingly stepping out of thin air before him. At first, he only saw hooves, but forcing his neck up as much as he could, he saw a strange figure sitting atop a donkey, his face hidden behind shadow.
Anthony tried to choke out a response, only coughing up enough blood for the spirit to distance himself a bit more from the dying Hiker to avoid being covered in it. Dunsparce inched forward protectively, its tail seeming to rattle aggressively, although it was silent in doing so.
"Now now, save your strength. I have no more ties to that unusual intruder than you do. I hardly ever interact with the ground, let alone those who spring up from it."
"I am here because I go where I am needed, and it seems you are in the need of quite a bit of assistance, are you not? No need to answer, I will do the talking here." Joyce Jr. continued, "Now, I must be forward about my intentions. I did not appear here like a guardian angel to save you in your hour of need. I am in need of an assistant, one who can move where I cannot, and that motive is what allowed me to sense your plight here. I am capable of taking your pain away and restoring you to your old self, but this power is conditional. No matter how much either of us wish for me to use it, my arms are bound by a certain rule in its application."
"Now, Death is swiftly on his way, and I can restore you to your former vigor quite easily, allowing you to continue on in this desert gem of a town of yours unimpeded, but you must pledge yourself to the cause I currently represent. Despite your misgivings about the Kobbers and their arrival, you must draw a line in the sand sooner or later, or else someone will drive theirs through you and this entire modest township. So, if you are to stand with the Kobbers, to pledge your allegiance to them, so to speak, I can painlessly stitch you up and return you to your regular day-to-day, but if I call upon you to aid me or the Kobbers, you must hold up your end of this bargain. I wish there was a simpler way to do this, and I hate to use your own life as a bargaining chip, but my arms are as close to being literally tied on this affair as they can be until you've sworn yourself to this cause! What do you say Anthony?"
Anthony, despite his condition, found his mind quite clear and the pain, at least for now, numbed as Joyce Jr. made his offer. If some random lizard woman could tear him and his Pokemon apart so easily, he knew he had little chance if the Kobbers or one of their enemies decided to descend upon the town. He did not mull it over long, weakly uttering acceptance of the terms.
"Excellent!" Joyce Jr. said, clasping his hands together. He did not even need to make a motion to begin the "operation", the wound in Anthony's torso disappearing as if had never even been there, not even a hint of a scar left behind. "For now I take my leave then, good sir, and I shall be in touch when your services are required. Good day to you sir, and may your future, and the future of us all, prove brighter under the watchful eyes of the Kobbers."
Joyce Jr. mounted Balaam once more, the ass stepping back through the air and leaving sight inexplicably. The world seemed to start up once more for Anthony, although it had never truly stopped. The Hiker reached down at his stomach, pulling up hands bloodied not from a wound but from the history of a wound that no longer showed. Standing up, he looked down at the large hole in his shirt that told of an entry but was not corroborated by his flesh. Seeing the evidence of successfully escaping death, he could not help but let out a hearty laugh.
"WA HA HA HA! I'm alive!" He cheers. Uncertainty about the future could wait. As the people of Blue Diamond gathered around, some hugging him, others merely voicing their relief, Anthony felt he had made the right decision. No matter what else might happen involving the Kobbers, that lizard woman, or the mysterious spirit who rode in on the back of an ass, he would always have this little town and its people to return home to.
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