19: Thunderfall

Darius had to stop for a moment.

Ever since the beginning of his journey with the Torterra herd - two and a half months ago - they passed through various territories of various Pokemon. Their herd consisted now of 4 Torterras, 8 Grotles, 4 Turtwigs, 2 Swablus, 2 Zigzagoons, 1 Linoone, 9 Burmys (2 Plant Cloaks, 3 Trash Cloaks, 4 Sandy Cloaks), 1 Starly, 2 Staravias, 1 Nincada, 1 Budew, 1 Kecleon, 2 Ralts, 1 Kirlia, 1 Gardevoir, 1 Shelder (Shelly), 1 Leavanny (Arachne), 1 Phantump (Sarah), 1 Sableye (Jasper), and 1 Houndour/Growlithe hybrid (Cerberus).

With a total of 45 Pokemon of various levels, evolutionary stages, and ranks, of course, they also had a lot of differences. The four Torterras were mostly chill giants, with the denominated 'Big Boy', the herd bull, was the calmest one of them all. The guy had the patient of a saint! The two Swablus loved to sit on his head. Sometimes, they would fight on top of his head for the prize of sitting there, which was pretty annoying because they would use sound based moves a lot. But Big Boy? He didn't care. He just let them do whatever. Then we have the female Torterras who was also calm, but she was fiercely protective as well! On their journey to wherever they're going (Seriously, Darius just wanted to come with them because he'd thought it'd be cool - and it fucking is) they passed by this weird place that had a lot of oppressive Ghost type Energy, and everyone had varying reactions to it.

The young Pokemon huddled around Darius as if he was going to be their protector (which he was!) while the older ones formed this circle to protect the little ones. That was when they met this big guy, a large Trevenant! He was pretty chill, too, but when he saw little Sarah, he was all enraged that they had one of his kind - that was when the only female Torterra (Let's call her... Big Mom!) came to their rescue. You see, the old Trevenant was really old, but they were also the protector of the forest there and a little bit aggressive, which was why when it got too close, Big Mom lashed out. She used a move that Darius could only associate with Body Slam because that's exactly what she did. She fucking tackled the big tree guy so hard he was thrown away a few feet, which was ridiculous considering this old Trevenant was as big as those large red trees.

Regardless, they had to fight.

Cerberus was able to attack from afar with his newly learned Flamethrower, which was super effective due to their typing, but not very good due to their power differences. Then, the large Big Boy came to the herd's defense and used Headlong Rush with a charging fury, hitting the large Pokemon and pushing him away. They also had to deal with several little Phantumps that were also harassing them, as well as a few other Ghost type Pokemon that Darius didn't really like. Thankfully, the presence of Gardevoir there was life-saving! She was a Psychic and Fairy type Pokemon, and she easily Intimidated the other weaker Pokemon with her oppressive presence as well as her moves. She used mostly Confusion, Psychic, and Mystical Fire to attack from afar. She also focused on using Calm Mind to increase her energy potency with her now extra focused mind. Darius also aided them all by keeping the small ones safe, Jasper and Shelly helped him keep the little ones safe as well.

The battle was over rather quickly, seeing as Big Boy was able to defeat the leader Trevenant, making all the other Ghost type Pokemon cower and stay still as they left their territory. Darius was also able to at least take a few items from there, too! This rather dark stone that had both Dark and Ghost energy which he easily identified as a [Dusk Stone], a bunch of black flowers that he had a thought that maybe he could use for medicine, and this really weird pale white tree.

<~°•°~°•°~°•°~°•°~ >

Name: Ghost Tree - Spirit Key

Description: The tree that connects the physical world to the spiritual world. Due to its presence here, all Ghost, Dark, and Grass types can thrive.

Uses: Making Miraculous Medicine, Making Pokeballs, Pokemon Power Enchanter (Ghost and Grass types), etc.

Become a Pokemon Wilderness Specialist to learn more uses.]

<~°•°~°•°~°•°~°•°~ >

This tree... It was a really something else, seeing as it was a sacred thing for these Ghost type Pokemon, and Darius couldn't resist but take one of the leaves of the tree, that like the bark, was pale while. They soon left, and peace was upon them, well, for a while at least!

The bridge that reached Hoenn to Sinnoh got a little thinner, and the forest faded away into this beautiful and lush plain of tall grass. As they went further along the road, Darius could now finally see the ocean! The pale white clouds in the sky slowly turned grey as rain began to pour, and they kept moving. Darius softly hummed to himself as his Bug Energy turned into this soft silk that he used for weaving and creating this beautiful and soft pale white cloth that he was going to use for making more clothes for himself. His own clothes were starting to get really up there! They now were more comfortable and even better at keeping him warm, so as the rain fell on the roof, his home that moved kept him warm. Cerberus was lying down by his feet while Arachne kept chewing on this pale green berry as Darius felt so relaxed...

Of course, that was when a fucking explosive thunderous sound echoed out, making Cerberus wake up, sacred. "Ouch..." Darius felt his head ringing due to the explosive sound of the thunder. It must've been really close if his head was hurting because of the sound itself! He shaked his head and turned to look at the little window he had. He pushed his Grass Energy on the wall, and the window spread out open: He looked outside to see the dark grey clouds and the drops of water falling from the sky, and from afar, he saw another lightning bolt hit the ground. In his mind, he was counting Mississippi to know how close to him the source of this bolt was, and he was not surprised when he counted down to 7 Mississippi only. In the distance, enchanting his eyes with his energy to help his sight, Darius saw this bright yellow Pokemon.

It was a quadruped yellow tiger-like Pokemon with black stripes and a white underside. Darius' mind immediately knew which Pokemon this was, and he watched in surprise as it floated away in a cloud - Raikou, the Thunder Pokemon, one of the three Legendary Dogs along Suicune and Entei. Darius looked at the big guy only to see him get surrounded by this bright yellow light around his body, shaking in pain as blood began to pour out of his face. "Shit..." Darius whispered before looking everywhere around himself. He soon found exactly what he had been preparing. "Get up, we gotta help a big guy!" Darius turned to look at Leavanny, nodding as she began to pick up various of his pots full of dried berries, berries, herbs, and other materials he has been experimenting with. He walked out of the door, under the rain, saying: "Big Guy! We gotta help Raikou!" His voice was a little drowned by the winds, but thankfully, he had a technique for this! Sending his intent for Gardevoir, he sent a wave of energy with the 'Communication' intent. A few moments later, he felt the telepathic bond being established by the Psychi/Fairy Pokemon.

["Yes, Darius?"] She asked, her voice sounding worried. Immediately, Darius explained everything for her, and she immediately communicated to Big Boy what Darius asked of him. Soon, they were turning, walking towards the Legendary Pokemon that Darius could still see from afar if he focused, and he was on the ground, completely covered in mud and blood, which was worrying. It took them about 5 minutes to get to Raikou's location at full speed. At that time, Gardevoir also sent messages between Darius and the other Pokemon, telling them of the situation and what he'd like them to do.

As they got to the fallen Thunder Pokemon, Darius sighed. He got down from Big Boy's back, immediately being followed by Shelly, Gardevoir, Cerberus, Leavanny, and Kirlia. The reason all these Pokemon were following him was because with them there, he could move the big Raikou for an emergency treatment. He reached out and touched the big tiger-like Pokemon, feeling the electricity of his fur shock him momentarily before whispering: "Let's see what's wrong with you..."

The answer? Well...

Cracked rib cage, broken femur of the left back leg, twisted and turned tail, cracked energy core, brain damage, almost no energy left, and internal bleeding in various organs.

"What the fuck?" He turned to Gardevoir here, thankfully he could treat this big Pokemon. "Let's use Heal Pulse and bring him up, I'll dope this big guy so he doesn't wake up mid-way and tries to move." Darius took the strongest doping drug he could make with the materials he had and made Raikou consume it. After a few moments of Gardevoir softly using Heal Pulse to heal the internal organs, Darius turned to look at Leavanny: "Let's bring him up!" Darius lifted his hand and sent a wave of energy for the other Pokemon, and with their help, he'd be able to bring the big dog up.

"...how the fuck do I always end up healing and helping random Pokemon...?"

The answer was that he saw himself in them. When he needed help the most, no one helped him, so naturally, he is now there for those who need it.

You become the one you needed the most growing up.