22nd Move: Monarch Flutterby

22nd Move: Monarch Flutterby

Slowpoke Well, Johto.

Naoko’s prediction proved prophetic. 

Our crew, including April and Kurt, retread the spiral path down towards the well’s entrance. 

Following Naoko’s Espeon’s hypnotic twin-tailed sway, I remained unworried about any stragglers launching an ambush. Even if any abandoned grunts were conscious, there was miniscule doubt that the psychic-type monster would send them all to bed with nary a twitch of her tufty whiskers. The Espeon wasn’t even doing anything worth attention, yet I could sense the powerful aura wafting off the veteran battler in waves.

Misty and Brock’s adamant plea to accompany Naoko for her safety earlier in the day seemed so laughably foolish now. 

I secretly shifted my pupils to sleuth her in my periphery, only to discover she was already staring at me unabashedly, with that same suspicious smirk she’d been shooting at me since I made the mistake of displaying my move tutor prowess.

Talk about a Scary Face. A shiver rippled through me. She tittered and playfully hit my shoulder. I think I may very well have done Jessie and James the greatest favour of their lives by falsely facilitating their exodus.

Thankfully, three protagonists entered visible range. “Hey everyone, over here! The coast is clear!” Brock could monopolise Naoko’s attention all he wanted.

“Are you guys all right?” I cupped my hands and shouted across the shortening distance.

Misty provided a concise report in response. “We’re unscathed, which is less than I can say for the tenants and squatters down the well. Rockets are down for the count, but the Slowpoke are in worse shape. A lot of them are missing tails.”

“All my potions and healing items are pretty much exhausted. I’ve stanched what injuries I could, but it’s not a long-term fix.” Brock supplied his dwindling medicine stock.

Ash and Pikachu, in tandem, wiped their brows with their forearms. “Still, the Pokemon seem in high spirits—that or they’re oblivious. Gotta say, though, this is the smoothest fight I’ve ever had versus pesky Rockets. Usually it ends in some sorta gigantic explosion or chase.”

“Pikapi!” Pikachu vehemently agreed.

They had me to thank for that, but before we could devolve into banter, Misty stayed on task. “All hands on deck, people! Kurt’s hurt, as well. So, it’s best if Ash and I stay here with him. The rest of you rush to Azalea, congregate every burly guy in town, and bank a U-Turn back here ASAP. We’re gonna need all the muscles available for the Slowpoke ambulatory service!”

“Ahem!” Brock coughed to tell her she was forgetting something.

Misty rolled her eyes, displeased with the suggestion. “... And the Rockets, too. I guess.”

“An admirable quality, to show grace to a fallen enemy even in the face of a greater crisis. However, I suggest a more expedient solution to our current predicament. Espeon?” No words passed between Naoko and her Pokemon, just an imperceptible pulse of power. Might have been my imagination, but I swear I heard the word ‘fetch’ tickle my ears when Espeon’s gem gleamed. 

The Eeveelution dove into the well mouth, and not five minutes later hopped out with a floating parade behind her. 

“Sssslooooowwwww…” an entire herd of oddly cheery Slowpoke twirled and tumbled in aura-manufactured zero gravity. Some were whole, while most had their own severed tails literally slapping their snouts. Despite the dismemberment, the Pokemon were more intent on savouring the novel weightless sensation, like they were each on a personal rollercoaster. 

Well, at least they were enjoying themselves. Always had to admire the resilience of Pokemon.

Bringing up the rear were the Rocket cast offs; all of whom were unceremoniously dropped to the ground as soon as they safely cleared the well’s stone lip. Espeon had skill enough to fan out the, by my count, six culprits. Seven if you count Mr. Pantsless.

“Grass Knot.” Naoko commanded, and Espeon had half-a-dozen dozing gangsters expertly trussed up by psychically enhanced weeds. “My partner shall encumber herself with the population of wounded Pokemon. I beseech you to share in her burden by entrusting our criminal element to the strapping young men present.” Sounded like a request, but it wasn’t.

Give us a chance to opt out, will you? It’s been a long day.

Although, to be fair, some of us would’ve Buizelled out of it, anyway. “Oof! Ow! My scapula!” Case in point, Kurt.

“But grampa, you made me massage your lower back…”

“Oh… my lumbar? My lumbar!”

“Yeah, yeah, you old faker. Ash, Brock, and I will do the heavy lifting.” I’d officially hit my quota of False Surrender for the year. To save what remained of my sanity, I cradled two bodies under each of my aura amplified arms, and directed the two other boys in the group to follow suit. “Misty, would you mind lending a hand with the last bloke up top?” 

“Yes, as a matter of fact, I would!” She sniffed in distaste. “But I won’t leave you in the lurch. Come on out Poliwhirl.”

Crew complete; we headed back to Azalea after, frankly, a back-breaking day.

–

Azalea Town, Johto.

“Oh, my sweet baby Suicine! I’m gonna have to get HQ on the phone to teleport over a relief team. Chansey, I need a Heal Pulse, stat! Where did I put those blasted suture kits?” The local nurse Joy sprang into immediate action the second we entered through the Pokemon centre doors.

The attendant Chansey leapt acrobatically over the reception desk, directed Espeon to gently offload the Slowpoke with stern stabs of her stubby arms, and fired off a sustained series of her healing moves to preserve their condition.

Nurse Joy bustled out from the deeper section of the centre with an apron-load of requisitioned medkits. “Unless any of you have medical training, I’m going to need you to give us some space.”

“A—are the Slowpokes gonna be ok?” April shyly asked—an image which was at complete odds with Gigaton Hammer effortlessly clutched in her grip.

“Don’t worry, dear. My support team is on their way; rest assured. They’ll be right as rain by the morning. Now, shoo! Leave the ruffians who caused this outside. I’ve notified officer Jenny, she’ll be racing over to book them any minute.”

“C’mon, girly. Let’s leave the nurse to her work. We can visit tomorrow, if you like.” Kurt guided her out, and we all shuffled behind them.

“Maybe we can throw them a party so they feel better.” She suggested.

“Whatever you want, April—hell, might as well let the townsfolk organise it. We saved their butts, too. I think we’ve done more than our part. But right now? I wanna head home and crash face first on my Shaymin pillow.”

“A splendid idea!” Naoko clapped. “Nothing bolsters morale post tragedy more than revelry. It is a common practice employed at Ecruteak, as well. Many of Johto’s historic festivals often follow this pattern. Perhaps Kurt can, in the meantime, as they say, ‘get the ball rolling’ on that front. It shall allow our hardworking youth the shut-eye they so richly deserve.”

“Fine. Reckon ‘sbout time I pull my weight, anyhow. And speaking of Ecruteak, I suppose you’re who the dance hall sent over? Kinda late, aren’t you? That GS ball’s grown mold while waiting on you.”

“Oh, dear, of course! In all the mishigas, I almost forgot my original mission!” 

Every jumbled word after that was in one ear and out the other. I was barely awake as we reached the door to Kurt’s home. Any remaining energy I had was spent shucking off my shoes in the foyer and trudging upstairs to my room.

I didn’t care how bland it would be, they’d have to settle for a pokemart breakfast.

It was pure darkness before I’d fully flopped onto my mattress.

–

Kurt’s Workshop, Johto.

I slept way past noon. Not that Baloo, who’d released himself in the middle of the night and curled up next to me, was complaining.

There was more than a decent chance that we could’ve hibernated for a full week, but a sudden overpowering deluge of bursting aura stirred me awake.

I raced out to confront the cause. Hoping, in my urgency, that I’d absorbed some semblance of Accelerock from our training sessions. Unfortunately, my clumsy trip down the stairs had more in common with Rollout.

“Speed is a poor substitute for stability, young Uki.” Naoko, who was upside-down in my topsy-turvy vision, met me where I painfully splayed out at the bottom rung. “You only just awoke, yet almost dispatched yourself into dreams again.” That was a bit of a mean joke.

“Get up on the wrong side of the bed, as well?” I certainly wasn’t on the right side, given my state.

“Ah, apologies! My manners seem to elude me currently. Seeing as how it is my sole reason for venturing to Azalea, I may have grown… flustered at my persistent inability to penetrate this stubbornly sealed GS ball. Going so far as to infuse as much aura as I am capable of into it to force it open—yet, to no avail.” That explained my good morning alarm.

She reached a dainty hand to me to help me stand. I was inclined to brush it away and dust myself off alone, because my intuition marked her as trouble. Similar to how I had when she’d first stumbled into the clearing.

By this point, though, I had completely given up on the idea of avoiding fate. The terror wasn’t worth it; life is simpler going with the flow.

So, I accepted her gesture, allowed her to haul me up, and ceased procrastinating on the GS ball mystery’s solution. “If you’re all out of ideas, I may have a theory on how to get it open.”

She arched her perfectly manicured eyebrow. “My, my, I must admit I am unaccustomed to others seeing things I cannot. Am I to bear witness to more unconventional creativity?”

“Yeah, I’m just full of it. Where’s everyone, by the way? I’ll need them for what I have in mind.”

–

Azalea Town Centre, Johto.

April had evidently had her wish fulfilled, because Naoko and I were assailed by the inescapable scent of smoke. Barely crossing the threshold to the house and we could smell the resident kiln pumping out charcoal briquettes to feed the festive populace. Humans and Pokemon alike.

The local yokels had broken out the dishware for a full-on barbecue party. The strums of live string music were practically silent compared to the sizzling coals and shouting folks.

“News of our victory over the Rockets, and the subsequent reconstitution of the Slowpoke spread quickly.” Naoko explained. “Celebrations naturally commenced.”

“And no one’s partying harder than the participating heroes.” I pointed towards a picnic table smack-dab in the middle of everything. Interspaced between polished plates and a stitch-tailed Slowpoke, Kurt stood akimbo on the table surface, double-fisting two ice cold mugs of beer straight down his gullet while our gang chanted. “Chug! Chug! Chug!”

“That must be the seat of honour.”

“Dishonour, more like. Oi! Have some shame!” One foot went on the bench, my next step was on the table, and I clambered next to Kurt. Snatching one of his cups, I sculled my boozy breakfast to blaring bravos. I belched. “Whose bright idea was it to get started without me?”

“Uki! You’re up!” Ash yanked me down into the space beside him. “Here, you gotta try these! They’ve grilled Magikarp skewers, and even butter-poached Shellder—it’s super yum.”

“Regional delicacy.” Brock mumbled through his own stuffed cheeks. “Also staples in the Slowpoke line’s typical diet—this whole shebang is partly for their benefit.”

“By the way, Uki. The Slowpoke have contributed in their own way, too. We’ve all received ours. It’s just you who’s owed his reward.” Misty prodded the Pokemon pretending to be a table centre-piece.

It blinked, recognised me as one of the herd’s saviours, and yawned a pleased greeting. “Brooooo….” I’d wager it was unintentional, but what I assumed was my prize fell out of its mouth.

I caught the sharp object and ran my thumb across its crude mineral exterior. “Huh, cool. A King’s Rock.”

“I’m gonna use mine to evolve Poliwhirl when he’s ready!” Misty proudly announced.

“Smart.” I idly complimented. My brain was adding more parameters to my training regime. “I can think of a few uses myself.”

“Perhaps, Uki, it would be best if we address your initial hypothesis before delving into further experimentation.” Naoko nudged me back to reality.

“Oh, right! C’mon guys, tag along if you wanna see the conclusion of your GS ball adventure.”

“No luck?” Kurt questioned Naoko, who shook her head in denial. “Alright, might as well take a crapshot and see if there’s even an end to this thing, then.”

–

Ilex Forest, Johto.

“We should’ve stayed back. You promised we wouldn’t have to return her ever again!” Misty predictably lost all courage once we were again under the bug-infested canopy.

“Relax,” I swerved off the beaten path, and hiked up the more overgrown passage towards the Ilex shrine. “We’re not going that deep inside. Our destination is much closer.”

Swiping a few stray branches obscuring the threshold, we finally bumbled into the moss-covered clearing created for the shrine. GS ball in hand, all eyes were on me as I approached the dilapidated mini-temple. The tiny door creaked from decades of disuse when I opened it, and placed the ball inside the stale interior. 

I waved them all to huddle around me. “Now, we just need to make an offering.”

“But we left all the food back at the party…”

“Not that kind of offering, Ash. It’s aura—as is always the case.” I turned to Kurt. “It’s similar to how we make apriballs. Whenever we pour our energy while crafting them, our intent unconsciously leaks out, thus imbuing the balls with different effects. Amongst us, who hasn’t been actively agonizing over busting this thing open? Our purpose is primed; all that’s left is to feed it our aura, and see what happens.”

Brock and Misty scratched their heads, unsure. Ash and April took it at face value. While Naoko and Kurt frowned in consideration.

Despite the skepticism, though, they shrugged it off and heeded my instruction. Naoko, Kurt, April, and I had practised aura control—the other three, not so much. I held Brock and Misty’s wrists, while Pikachu cradled in Ash’s embrace used his crackling cheeks as their collective antenna.

The world held its breath. Time itself seemed entranced by the visible haze of aura being channeled into the ball that had persisted in its steadfast slumber.

It moved.