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waywardstation · 2 years

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“...I should really stop stalling,” she said. “We need to figure out the memory situation.”

Irida grimaced, but did not argue. They really did have to. If there was nothing else to be relieved of in this situation, at lease they had time to pause and plan this go around.

Turning to the front window, Akari frowned. “I don’t know if Mr. Ingo ever mentioned this to you—maybe you already know part of it. When we were going through Wayward Cave the first time, he talked a bit about what little remembered. When I brought out Firecracker to help see because the lights were out, he said he once knew a Pokémon with mastery over flames…”

“You believe that means his memory of that Pokémon is in this car, then?” It made a certain sort of sense to Irida.

“I do.” Akari’s frown deepened. Her gaze flickered to the blueish torches. “I brought Firecracker out in the Cave, to help light the torches again, and when he saw Firecracker Mr. Ingo said that he had the closest flame color to the Pokémon he remembered that he’d ever seen, and even then it wasn’t the exact same purple.

“Plus,“ she added, “we’ve only seen one memory screen, so maybe it’s nothing, but the fact that this one is cracked makes me think something’s going on with the memory inside.”

“I see.” Irida frowned. It seemed that there would be no avoiding it. “Then we simply must see what memory lies in this car, no matter our reservations.”

“Glad we’re on the same page.”

“However, our reservations are well-reasoned: how should we manage the Conductor?”

Akari sighed and uncrossed her arms, send her hands on her hips. “That’s a difficult question. Irida, do you remember what the Conductor’s pokemon looked like? Can you describe it to me?”

Irida opened her mouth to begin, but closed it again with a furrowed brow. There was its large, gaping mouth, its thin body—but that was it. That was all Irida could recall. The color, the shape, the form its attack was taking, all of it was unidentifiable.

“Exactly.” Akari looked at each of the Pokémon in the car. “You three are our best hope for dealing with his Pokémon, but we don’t even know what it is or what typing it has. It’s gonna be strong, too. Mr. Ingo is super good at battling, so the Conductor probably has access to that knowledge.”

She clapped her hands together. “That doesn’t mean we know nothing, though. I remember feeling my hair raise up when the attack started, so it’s got an electric attack. It could be an electric type, or it could just have that move, but it’s something.”

The Dewott at her legs huffed.

“Yeah, that means you can’t fight it. I had other plans for you anyway, so that’s not too bad.”

Irida bit her lip, frustrated. She wished she could argue against trying to fight the Conductor, but there seemed no other option. They needed to examine what might be a distorted memory in order to understand their next actions, and doing so required holding the Conductor off from throwing them out. But, to send a Noble to fight against the strange Pokemon, even with other Pokemon aiding her…it sat wrong, to ask for such assistance yet have no actions to return for it. To be a Noble was to be a protector, but Irida could not help but feel uneasy nonetheless.

A thought struck her. It was ridiculous, and reckless, but— it could work. In most circumstances, she would never act so brashly, but in this realm, distanced from reality and full of new possibilities and consequences, perhaps a more daring method was needed.

“Battling Pokemon rely on the person’s commands during a fight, yes?” she said, slowly. “What if the Conductor was too… indisposed to issue orders?”

“Indisposed, huh? What, are you thinking of putting him in a chokehold or something?” Akari said, quirking a brow.

Irida said nothing.

“Oh sweet Spirits, you’re gonna put him in a chokehold.”

“I don’t want to choke him,” she defended; the man really did remind her of Ingo too much for her to do that. “I’d be clapping a hand over his mouth at most. It’s just that keeping him quiet might make this more manageable.”

“Oh, it definitely would. Feel free to try it, I won’t stop you.” Akari said, giggling. She looked at the window again. “So, that’s our plan, then? I see what’s going on with the memory while you guys hold the Conductor back?”

“It’s not much of a plan, said like that…” Irida muttered.

All Akari could give to that was a shrug. “We barely have any information. That’s all the planning we can do until we have more.”

With no counterargument to present, Irida instead swept her gaze through the car. Where had the Conductor begun to approach from? Almost the middle of the thin room, far in the back; standing in a corner would have to do for a hiding spot. She would need the element of surprise and the hope that keeping the Conductor between her and his Pokémon would leave it hesitating.

“I’ll stand to the back and wait for an opportune moment, while you three,” Irida indicated Akari, Firecracker, and Lady Sneasler, “initiate the memory and thus the battle?”

“Sounds good to me,” Akari affirmed with a shrug. “Well— I want to plan out the moves Firecracker’s going to use first.”

Firecracker sat up attentively at that, looking to Akari with keen eyes. Almost immediately, Akari drew the Dewott and Typhlosion to her and began instructing them both. Irida, has no real advice to give; Palkia surrounding knew Akari was leaps and bounds past her in battling together with Pokémon. Instead, she pressed closer to Lady Sneasler for a moment.

“I know you cannot be truly hurt, not in a way that matters here, but please do exercise cation, my lady,” she muttered. “Neither us nor Warden Ingo would enjoy putting you in a position of sacrifice.”

Lady Sneasler regarded her with sharp eyes, and after a moment of consideration, snorted. Still, she nodded in some form of acceptance of Irida’s plea, and Irida knew to take what she could get.

With that matter settled for the time, Irida turned to the back corners of the car. They were dark and craggy, which was unnerving in the dim light but certainly useful when she wanted to hide within one of them. Most days, Irida found herself wishing she was taller—she sometimes suspected her assertions of will and leadership would fair better if she could just tower properly instead of scowling upwards like a child— but her slight frame worked in this situation.

She turned around so that she faced the rest of the car and crouched. With her eyes fixed approximately where she remembered the Conductor being—yes, this should do well. Attacking with the enemy distracted would ensure her ease of restraining him, and if he possessed the same strength as Warden Ingo when he first arrived, the Conductor would be no trouble to hold down at all.

She stood up as Akari finished her instructions. No time like the present, Irida supposed.

A few more words exchanged between the two humans in the car, and positions to enact the plan were taken up. Irida crouched once more, watching as Akari, backed by Firecracker and Lady Sneasler, approached the memory-window.

The window flickered with purple light. Irida jolted slightly as the form of the Conductor strode forward towards the cluster, simply appearing in the car as though he had always been there, coat flaring.

“You know the rules,” was his only clipped warning.

Then, his monstrous Pokémon flashed into being and the fight was on. The lithe Pokémon rose up just as before, the Conductor raising a pointing arm in tandem—

Irida struck. Springing up, she hurled herself forward and collided with the man, leaving him sputtering around his command. Before either him or his Pokémon could react, she slammed a hand over his mouth and an arm around his chest, twisting her body so they both hit the ground, with the Conductor taking the brunt of the impact.

Above them, the Pokémon shrieked with rage, and then with alarm as Akari’s shouted command of “Flame Wheel!” had a blast of fire connecting with its back as Lady Sneasler followed the move with a poisoned strike to the tender skin. While the Pokémon jerked between paying attention to its trainer and the foes attacking it, Firecracker struck again with another Flame Wheel.

The Conductor thrashed in her hold, attempting to bite her hand, but Irida held firm with little effort. He was as weak as she suspected, much to her advantage. All she needed to keep hold of him was Akari driving the Conductor’s Pokémon away from freeing him, which Akari was managing quite handily.

Irida immediately regretted that confidence—just as she thought it, the purple-blue lighting of the room roared to a blinding crescendo, heat swiftly following after—she couldn’t help the gasp that left her at the shock of such burning air. She wrenched her head up to see Akari reeling her body back from the other end of the car, and watched with horror as a spindly, many-limbed something burst out of the memory-window. It was oil-black and twitching, flinging itself forward into the middle of the car as the Conductor struggled in her arms with renewed vigor.

Her shock was almost tremendous enough to let him succeed. Gritting her teeth, Irida redoubled her efforts to still him and prayed to Sinnoh, to Arceus, to whatever it desired to be called to give Akari knowledge and speed enough to deal with the unwanted complication.

Already she could hear Akari’s voice shouting above everything, delivering whipcrack-fast commands. More flames spewed from Firecracker’s mouth towards the snake-like Pokémon as Akari’s Dewott lept into the fray to spit a vicious funnel of water at the black monster, while it produced bluish flames of its own to add to the rising temperatures.

Everything was pandemonium.

Irida could barely pay attention to anything, her head growing more fevered and dizzied by the second. All she could do was narrow her perception to the man in her grasp, retaliating to his attempt to strike her head with a knee driven into his back. Fire and water and lightning raged around them, joined by Akari’s shrill, furious voice and the howls and snarling of the Pokémon. The car rocked and swayed from side to side, but still clung to the rails. The Conductor was yelling, scrabbling at her hand, but it was too muffled to discern.

A flash of surveyor blue rushed past her limited view, and Irida desperately tracked it, horror filling her as Akari flung herself bodily at the monstrous form, catching on the bulbous middle of it. The monster let out a haunting cry, burning red eyes flashing as its flames grew, but nothing deterred Akari as she tore at its inky skin—

But it wasn’t skin, Irida realized as Akari’s hands came away with globs of black something clinging to them. It was a substance, a coating, swallowing whatever laid beneath nearly whole.

One of the monster’s thrashing limbs finally struck true, and it wrenched Akari off itself and threw her to the ground, lurching down to follow her and strike once more. As Akari gasped at the impact and heaved, her Dewott rushed in, dousing as many burning limbs as he could to distract it, Firecracker and Lady Sneasler still tangling with the Conductor’s Pokémon.

Enraged on Akari’s behalf, however, the duo grew even more unrelenting in their attacks, hurling fire and poison at the Pokémon for every lonely attack it managed, until it was struggling under their punishing attentions. The Lady cut, Firecracker lunged to bite; it was a perfect barrage of a dance, as though they had run it a thousand times.

Finally, Lady Sneasler struck it across its gaping face, and it slammed to the ground with finality.

The pair whirled to face Akari and the monster, surging forward as the monster continued to bear down on the girl. It swung one of its doused limbs to hit Akari; Akari, pinned, could seemingly do nothing but fling her arms over her head—

—”FIRECRACKER, NOW,” Akari roared, hurling the monster off of her. “BURN IT OUT!”

Firecracker let out an earsplitting cry, flames whirling and reaching the ceiling as he reared up. Before the monster could scramble away, a holy reckoning of fire poured out of the Typhlosion’s mouth, coating it in violet flame. A horrific scream filled the whole car. Irida’s head felt like it was cracking open at the volume as the Conductor convulsed in her hold, shouting something—

And then, with a final shriek, the monster was silenced. There was only quiet. Light filled the car properly once more. The Conductor tore himself from Irida’s stunned hold, gasping, “Chandelure?”

Floating where the mass of oily limbs once hunched was a Pokémon with brilliant blue flames and a glassy exterior.

—-

In a small tent, Warden Ingo suddenly doubled over, clutching at his head with a pained groan. Knowledge-bearing Uxie clung on to him, their unseen eyes darting frantically underneath ever-shut eyelids. Shuddering, Ingo clenched his jaw and tried to sit up again as his head pounded like it had been cracked in half by a hammer. Lady Snealser leapt up, but was not the first to reach him.

Rei rushed to his side. “Sir! Sir, are you alright?”

“I remember,” he rasped. “I remember. Its name is Chandelure!”

---------

Huzzah! The second half! With a round of Pokémon battle in this Pokémon fanfic, who could have ever imagined? I had a lot of fun describing the fight as complete chaos through Irida's eyes--I decided to discard the turn-based combat for a free-for-all and having the one person not in the fight just dealing with it happening, haha.

I hope I sold the action well enough--combat scenes aren't really my forte! If I didn't, it's just because Irida didn't have a good view, naturally.

And, of course, a little bit of Ingo in this fic about Ingo. Wild.

--cw

(Part of a collection of writings CW had been making about the Train of Thought AU. First part of this segment can be read here, and all the previous segments can be read here on AO3!)

CW WOW!! This was just as fun to read as the first part!!! So many good parts!!

Irida wanting to put the Conductor in a chokehold, The description of Eelektross, Pre-restored Chandelure’s appearance, Ingo regaining his memory of Chandelure…it’s all SO GOOD! You did great with the action scenes, don’t worry! Absolutely loved reading this!!

Again I am very sorry for how late I got to this, but I really enjoyed reading this and had so much fun visualizing everything in my head; bravo!!!

Lovely writing as always, I hope other people enjoy reading this as much as I have! Your writing skills really are fantastic and I very much enjoy this narrative you’ve made!!

#train of thought au #train of thought au writing #SUCH A GOOD STORY #GREAT JOB CW!!

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