Dastardly Desires (Chapter 12) (Patreon)

I stare across the field towards my opponent, Drayton. Grandson of the dragon gym leader Drayden. 

I haven't fought him in quite a while... and the last time, Loki struggled with his Duraludon. 

I wonder what he was doing during winter break? 

I... might actually lose this one. 

I let out a long breath and call out Loki, the little black fox appearing with a dull flash. 

He looks around, eventually locking eyes with the man across from me, he drops into a combat ready stance, fur fluffing up slightly, his eyes narrowing. 

Oh, Loki remembers him. 

The white haired boy raises his hands, a pokeball grasped within each. "Duraludon. Druddigon." 

Druddigon? 

Ah... 

He got a new pokemon... 

That is relatively problematic... 

Druddigon are quite powerful. 

What do I remember of the species? 

Rough Skin... only use ranged attacks on it. 

The skin on its head is the thickest and among the toughest part of its body. 

It's less skin and more just a bunch of angular bone-like plates of armor. Like its horns flattened and became a helmet. 

This'll be tougher than normal. Duraludon is an utter tank, slow moving, taking dozens of takedowns before it inevitably goes down. the main way Loki won before was through blitzing the Axew, then focusing on the Duraludon. 

But... now?  

Druddigon isn't as much of a tank as the steel-dragon, but it is still quite durable and strong. Probably a bit faster than it as well, due to lacking possibly hundreds of pounds worth of metal armor. 

I watch the dragon type slam its arms into the ground with loud thuds, letting out a ferocious roar. 

The little fox looks over to me slowly, seemingly wondering something along the lines of 'is this guy fucking serious?'. 

"Begin!" 

Loki immidiately darts forwards. "Don't hit the new pokemon physically its scales will tear you to shreds! Only use swift to hit it." 

"Eevee?" The little fox shouts, glaring at the dragon type. 

He was about to cannonball into its chest with a takedown, but he hears my order and quickly darts between its legs. 

His eyes seem to lock onto the dragon's legs as he sprints past, looking over the skin with intrigue. 

His eyes widen and he quickly darts away, managing to just avoid Druddigon's tail soaked with a purple energy. 

The ground is lightly torn up, leaving a spray of purple in its wake. 

'is that-' 

Poison tail?!  

I thought it was dragon tail for a moment, but that is poison tail. 

Loki turns and promptly rams head first into the steel wall dragon type with a loud crack. 

He bounces off, rolling to his feet, letting out a menacing little giggle. 

"Veeveevee~" 

You know... this might be why Loki seems to terrify everyone. 

He's a monster. 

He darts forwards, leaping around the duraludon while peppering its sides with swifts, the large steel type lashing out with its large club-like arms cloaked in dragon type energy. 

"Behind." I call out. 

Loki ducks under the dragon claw from the Druddigon, using it as a steppingstone to leap past. 

As he lands, he bounds slightly further away, favoring one front paw over the other. 

"You cut yourself, didn't you." I observe. 

"EEVEE!" The little brat growls at me. 

He focuses back on the two dragon types, one paw held slightly aloft. 

He rolls to the side abruptly as the steel type opens its mouth.  

A high-powered flash cannon spews forth from Duraludon's maw, carving a large trench in the earth and washing over the psychic barrier conjured around the outside of the battlefield. 

He missed with that attack, but it had the added benefit of obscuring my vision from Loki. 

Not that I need to observe him twenty-four seven... in battle that is. He seems desperate to make it so this is the case in my room, though. 

As the smoke clears I can see the large red, tan, and blue dragon stagger back, having just taken numerous little stars to the chest, Loki then turns and slams his body into his other opponent. 

Then, as he rebounds he quickly does it again. Seemingly uncaring of the recoil and possible brain damage such an action would cause a typical pokemon. 

It's like a bird repeatedly hitting a glass window. 

You just can't look away... it's sort of funny in a way. 

The Duraludon plows through a hail of swift stars, rushing for the small fox, but Loki just barely manages to escape the club that smacks into the ground. 

He turns, rushing up the limb and bludgeoning himself up against the neck of the large angular steel type. 

He flips through the air and lands in a crouch, quickly avoiding a blast of purple dragon fire from the maw of the Druddigon. 

He isn't limping anymore as he leaps around the series of attack. 

Dragon claws, Clubbings, dragon rage, another poison tail. 

Loki's greatest advantage is his small frame which helps him avoid soaking up too much damage. But, at the end of the day he is still quite bulky- 

The Duraludon slams him out of the air, causing his body to rocket towards the Druddigon as I wince. 

The red and blue dragon type raises an arm large purple claws extending. 

"Roll. Takedown." I call out. 

Loki soars through the air, landing roughly on the ground and skipping off it. 

But, in that sole moment of contact with the ground he flipped around and leapt off it, increasing his speed and cloaking him in an aura of white energy. 

He narrowly avoids the lined up dragon claw, Druddigon folding around the attack with a small gurgle. 

It is... weird... seeing a big bad dragon type fold around a fluffy Eevee traveling at like mach seven. 

A lot of Loki's energy transfers into the dragon type sends it sprawling as he leaps off it, landing with a limp, ears flat. 

He sways briefly before shaking his head, narrowly avoiding an angled flash cannon that swoops upwards into the sky. 

"Druddigon is unable to battle." A referee calls out as the dragon type just lays there in the dirt, facing the sky, utterly unconscious. 

I can see a red beam shoot out as the barrier briefly parts around my opponent, Druddigon being sucked up into a red and white sphere in his hand. 

Loki breathes heavily for a moment then shakes his head. 

"Just go ahead." I sigh. "do the thing into takedown." 

He looks over, then bares his teeth, eyes turning purple. a large purple orb shoots towards him, the area he was just in is enveloped by a massive explosion. 

"..." 

As the smoke clears... He's gone. 

A tremendous weight slams into the stomach of the steel type, spittle leaves its lips as it is physically lifted from the ground. 

"Shadow ball." I call out. 

The black eevee does a backflip as the dragon lands on its feet a short distance away, appearing surprised and winded. 

As Loki faces the Duraludon, a large orb of ghost type energy is shot from his open mouth. 

The steel type is quick on the uptake, cloaking its arm in draconic energy and swinging it downwards like a bat. 

"Swift. Eye."' 

As the shadow ball is batted aside, a torrent of stars is sent flying as Loki spins in place. He follows it up with a second shadow ball for good measure. 

The swift stars pepper the face of the dragon, causing it to clutch its eyes shut and let out a low growl, it is unprepared for the second shadow ball that hammers into its chest, causing it to stumble backwards as the ghost type energy explodes across its body. 

"Takedown." 

Loki disappears into just a blur, body cloaked in a deep purplish energy, rushing forwards with quick attack. As he nears, the aura explodes, his body slamming against the dragon type with a shuddering boom. 

These attacks are causing considerable damage to the dragon type. 

His earlier attacks were normal typed... and Duraludon here resists that. Swift was originally nothing more than a distraction, and takedown probably hurt about as much as tackle. But if you take into account his special attack boost, those swift stars begin to hurt quite a bit... then don't even get me started on shadow ball. 

The biggest damage dealers would probably be takedown, which, in this case, seems to have been too much for the big guy. 

The dragon stumbles briefly, then falls prone. 

"Duraludon is unable to battle. Xander Welsh is the winner!" 

Loki turns and prances over to me, leaping up towards my face- 

I snag him out of the air before he can latch onto my face, holding him at arms length, with a half-lidded expression. "Brat." 

"Eevee!" He cheers as I place him on my shoulder. 

"Well, let's go get you a checkup." I begin as I turn and walk off the field. 

~~Linebreak~~

Nurse Joy's eyes slowly slide from a tv behind me to the black fox in front of her who looking up at her with a 'Colon three' face. 

On the Tv is an image of Eevee getting bashed across the face from the Duraludon's Breaking Swipe and being punted across the field. 

Nurse joy's eyes flick back up, then back down to the Eevee who was just used as a baseball for dragon type that can reach the strength of a pseudo legendary. 

"Uhhhh." She begins. 

"Eevoy!" Loki cheers. 

Nurse Joy's gaze strays to my face. 

"What is- uhm..." She begins quietly. 

"W-Well..." She stutters. "Your Eevee's paw pads are completely undamaged, and, well... the rest of his body isn't even bruised. His bones aren't cracked or broken he is... perfectly healthy." 

The woman looks like she is having a total existential crisis. 

"huh. Sweet. Okay then. Come on Loki." I begin as I turn, gesturing for him to follow after me. "Let's go onto archeology." 

"Eevee!" He chirps as he hops off the table and scurries along after me, leaving the woman to question her very existence. 

Such a good boy he is. Giving medical professionals general trauma by just existing. What a cute lil guy. 

My school rotom slides from my pocket. 

"Sir! You are getting a call from Champion Cynthia's number!" It informs. 

"Put it through, then." I lazily order. 

The rotom turns sideways, swapping into 'landscape mode'. Then his blue smiling face is replaced by a blonde woman. "Ah! Good, Xander. It is wonderful to see you again." 

"Sure." I shrug. "Hello, Cynthia. How are you?" 

"I am absolutely wonderful! The excavation of the Ruin Castle is almost complete! I've collected a lot of text for you to translate... are you available?" 

"Ah... for... maybe a couple of minutes? My Archeology elective starts in thirty minutes." I admit. 

"Eevee!" Loki slightly jumps into frame. 

"Oh! Right. My apologies. I had forgotten about your after-school activities. I'll send you a compilation and you can just reply at your convenience... you will be paid for your translations as well, don't worry." 

"Hm. Hm." I hum while nodding twice. "I should be able to do a little bit right now... oh, and before I forget. I actually found something that might vaguely interest you during winter break." 

"Oh?" 

"Have you heard of any pirates that tormented the Decolore Islands?" 

"Hm?" She hums. "I... am unsure. My main focus is on more ancient history... Why?" 

"I may have found his broken pirate ship and a couple pokemon statues on an island that could interest you." I smile. 

"Oh?" She gasps, little twinkles beginning to appear in her eyes. "Maybe I'll take you up on that offer." 

"Let's see what we've got here..." I mutter under my breath, pressing a few buttons on the Rotom's screen. 

"Eevee!" Loki cries causing me to crouch down and lift him up. 

"Loki says hello." I sigh as the little fox begins squirming in my grasp. 

I place him atop my shoulder as I lean forwards, beginning to read the text. 

"So. The first one you've sent seems to be... like... a review for a product?" 

"Labaris, your linen is unfit for the maw of Krookodile, nevertheless the bedding for my sandshrew." I note. "I sent my servant with pay, yet your quality is as empty as the desert sands. I have not accepted this cloth, yet you have been rude to my servant and have taken the money anyways. Fulfill my order correctly this time." 

Holy shit. I found the really bad copper complaint. 

"This is Hilarious! Do you know how angry you have to be to carve your review in stone?! Like, whoever wrote this was genuinely infuriated to the point where they took HOURS of their own time to carefully chisel out a complaint and give it to the guy who sold them subpar cloth!" I giggle to myself. 

"we found it in the ruins of a building which looked to show some signs of the area being some sort of tailor. There were metal pieces from what looked like spinning wheels." 

"Then that's even more funny, because that means the guy kept the complaint. Instead of breaking it or getting rid of it!" 

~~Linebreak~~

"Haaah. This was a good choice." I sigh as I stretch my arms above my head. 

With this final piece... my microscope should be completed. 

I have been working on it off and on for quite an extensive time. 

It is a lot more complex than my little scanner. 

But, finally, after around four more months, I have completed it! 

Plus, I bought a gestation tank from the shop, as getting the materials required for it would be a little difficult... and probably put me on a list or something. 

That was another six million down the drain. 

That one room has three more slots more machines could reasonably fit in as well. 

One will do for now. 

I am left with ten million. 

Ten million to dump into a gacha on DNAs. 

But. First. 

Practice. 

"What time is it?" I question idly. 

A large screen sits behind me, a big happy smile appears on it as two eyes look at me. "It is currently twelve thirteen AM... within Undella town, the current time should be around seven thirteen Pm." 

"Thank you, Jarvis... that means it's about time for me to hit the hay." I mutter. 

My home in the Decolore islands is a few time-zones away from Blueberry. 

Summer break is inching closer and closer. That is when I truly begin my dark work! 

My first legitimate research paper is almost done. A deep dive into pokemon coloration. Then. After that. I'll likely post about Spectreon... then, eventually, I might do something on the Fairy Type. 

I have done a lot of pondering for my eventual pokemon team... Loki... I'm going to assume has access to all pokemon types. So, I should just flat out ignore him as a wild card in my team composition. Well, he is a ghost type practically always, so maybe I shouldn't grab another ghost type... 

Jarvis isn't going to be a part of my 'team'. He is going to be supporting my home here entirely. That is his duty. A protector, power source, research assistant, and portable google. 

So, out of my six original members, he isn't even included. 

All I've got is Loki and Merlin. 

Plus, I've found out that Ace Trainers- people who have successfully defeated each gym and have successfully completed some form of test that involves 'impressing' a gym leader who is using their personal team- can have up to seven. 

The gym leaders themselves can have up to eight, Elite Four, ten, then the region champions can have up to a total of twelve- while visiting other regions. In their home region there's typically no limit- The thing is, you typically can only ever select six for a battle, but I could definitely see the intrigue of a seven vs seven ace trainer battle. So there might be cases where the 'six per battle' rule might be lifted. 

I currently have a water-psychic type and an Electric-Normal-Ghost type- in the form of Loki as a ghost attributed Jolteon. 

Just what should be member number three? Something that doesn't require that much effort. 

A bug type, perhaps? The issue is, their lifespan is relatively short compared to other pokemon. 

An Eevee is a life-long companion, typically living anywhere from fifty to eighty years. 

Loki, can also just decide to become a ghost when he is nearing the end of his lifespan.  

Merlin... is a little harder to estimate. Regular Ludicolo have roughly the same lifespan as Eevee, but Psychic type pokemon in general seem to have a higher average lifespan, most reaching one hundred years on average. 

Bug types have an average life span of around ten years... with some notable exceptions, mind you, like Volcarona who has a lifespan comparable to Ninetails, the Scyther line, which is around human-length, and Frosmoth, which is about half of Volcarona's. 

The issue with Frosmoth and Volcarona, though, is that they're really rare as far as bug-type pokemon go. I don't want to make my first attempt- something I might mess up- on something rare. 

So, something common, with a decent lifespan, which would be relatively easy to change... 

I cup my chin, thinking at the possibilities. 

Wait... 

Doesn't Magikarp's Pokedex entry state that in the distant past... it was stronger than it is today? 

Doesn't that imply a stronger Gyarados? 

"Huh... that might just work." I mutter under my breath. 

Magikarp are literally everywhere, and Magikarp actually live for quite a long time. Their short lives in the wild are typically because they are hunted by other pokemon. 

Even by their evolved forms. 

But. If a Magikarp evolves into a Gyarados, it could possibly live sixty to seventy years. 

The main issue I have to worry about is that Gyarados sit at nearly the top of the charts for pokemon that kill or maim their own trainers... 

Typically, the only pokemon that beats it would be... probably Hydreigon. But overall, it has far more deaths to its name than Hydreigon due to the ease of access. So, like, for Hydreigon it's ninty percent of like... a few thousand, while Gyarados is pulled from a much larger number. Possibly the hundreds of thousands, as Magikarp are common fish in all regions. 

I have Loki, though... Gyarados has a four-times weakness to electricity, and Loki has the overall spiritual power of a pokemon that had evolved a further time. 

I should be fine with a Gyarados. Loki could very easily keep it in check. 

Now... sleep time- 

"Sir." Jarvis begins suddenly, my gaze being drawn back to the Tv Behind me. 

"Hm?" I hum as it shifts from the rotom's classic face to a live feed. 

"There appears to be some irregular movement within the perimeter." He informs, causing the corners of my mouth to tug downwards. 

Why are there two boats docked in my fucking lagoon? 

They appear to be transferring cargo from one boat to the next. "Do we have audio?" 

"Yes."  

There's a quiet thud, the gentle crash of waves upon the shore, not much is happening. 

"Ah. Of course they wouldn't be prancing around singing about their plans. Why can't anything ever be that easy? It doesn't really matter, I suppose. As long as they get lost I don't really care-" 

"What the hell?!" Guuah! 

A man abruptly flips over the edge of one of the boats, splashing down into the water below. 

"Damn it! We've got a stowaway!" 

I watch a cloaked figure leap from one of the boats to the other, after that, they seem to jump into the water. 

"Wait- is that- Jarvis. Enhance." 

I can see a flicker of movement in the darkened water as the figure swims through the lagoon. 

There's a flash of tanned skin, black hair, a greyish tattered cloak and short shorts. 

The figure crawls from the water as pokemon appear across the deck of the ship, a man points out in the figure's general direction. "Somebody grab her! She'll go for a good price!" 

The cloaked girl grabs a pokeball on her waist as a feral grin appears on her face, her red eyes nearly glowing in the darkness.  "Oh? You're some of those shitty sex traffickers, hah? Now I won't even feel bad about this!" 

"Whoever grabs her can have her, I don't fucking care." The voice continues. 

A large blue figure appears next to her, it has a beaked mouth and blue skin, its main body is absolutely covered in cloud-like downy feathers. 

 "Altaria!" It cheers. 

"Altair! Dragon Pulse!" The girl orders. 

"Pangoro! Fling!" A large panda pokemon meanders atop the deck of one of the two boats, hefting a large iron sphere. 

The girl dives out of the way as the large cannonball slams into the beach, kicking up a plume of sand. 

The dark-fighting type raises its hand, lengthy claws of dark energy crashing against the beam of draconic power unleashed by the avian dragon type. 

The girl reaches to her belt and summons a second pokemon. 

"Shell-GON!" It growls. 

"Shelly! Dragon Rage!" The girl shouts as she points to one of the men reaching for his belt where three pokeballs sit. 

He is engulfed in an explosion, purple flames briefly crackling across the deck. 

"Huh... she just straight up killed him." I note. "Well. Not really my problem, she's probably got this covered-" 

"Wait..." I whisper. 

If... 

If Courtney hasn't joined Team Magma yet... and dragon girl here is showing up... 

I'm before the events of Omega Ruby and Alpha Saphire... 

That means I'm before the delta episode... 

That means I'm before the time that big ass meteor strikes the planet! 

FUCK! 

I turn, quickly making my way through my home. 

I need to save her, then. 

"Jarvis, search the internet for 'Grand Meteor Delta'." 

"Yes, sir." The very walls of my home seem to vibrate. 

"Do we have any explosives?" 

"You told me to not stock any explosive ordinance." The rotom frowns. 

"Do we have the supplies to make some form of improved explosive?" I question. 

"Yes. We have supplies to make an extremely basic explosive compound, yet it will take me some time to create it. May I know what parameters you desire this explosive to be within?" 

"Something big enough to blow a small hole in the bottom of a metal boat." 

"May I ask why?" The rotom questions. 

"What better way to hide evidence and bodies than putting it all on a boat you've cast off into the sea with a timed explosive at the bottom preparing to sink it into the briny depths?" 

"I see. Very well. I will begin to create a basic timed explosive." The rotom states. 

"Make two." I wave as I come to my living room. "Also, I'll likely need you to purge all data from the ships consoles... after taking a small look at it and creating a copy if needed, of course." 

"Very well. Estimated time of completion, one hour, two minutes and thirty seven seconds. Transferring to powered body." 

And with that, the television darkens. 

I step into the 'entrance room' of my little home as Rotom in his power armor body steps past, walking back towards my lab.  

Loki is paused by the door, just sat there, looking at me expectantly. 

Merlin is sat atop a coat rack, the prior having heard conflict, and the latter likely having sensed it. 

Jarvis' power armor body is simply stored in here when it's not in use. 

On the coat rack which Merlin is sitting on is something he made rather recently, a grey trench coat that appears relatively unassuming and ordinary. 

I snap my fingers, causing it to leap off the coat rack, fluttering towards me where it drapes around my shoulders like an admiral's cloak. 

The sleeves of the coat reach up and begin slowly trying to move a strand of hair out of my face. 

He finally finished it. My doctor strange cape. 

As for my progress in becoming doctor strange? 

Not even a spark... which is disheartening. 

"Well, Loki, Merlin." I begin as I look to the closed door. "Let's give our unwanted guests a warm welcome..." 

I look to Loki. "Oh. And by that I mean the people on the ship. Don't hurt the girl." 

"Vee vee~" he rolls his eyes as if to say 'Obviously'. 

"Let's do this!"