A/N: I think I forgot to mention before, and I think it was stated in the synopsis, but a few things in this story will be from my own headcanon. For example, whether or not Ash is in the same timeline and/or world as Ash. I'll make any headcanons I have clear when they popup
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[Location: Aerie Tutorial Tower - Floor 10]
After being teleported onto the next floor, Colt immediately looked around with caution as he took in the new environment. Similar to the floors below, from what he could see, he was surrounded by a dense forest ecosystem.
However, there were clear differences between before and now. The forest from the floors below were all vibrant and lush, this forest was denser and similar to those haunted woods you'd find in horror movies.
On top of that, he couldn't possibly miss the fact that the entire ground was covered in a thick layer of snow. Those aside, he took notice of how he was teleported into a circular section void of the trees that surrounded him.
"Something feels very off..." Colt narrowed his eyes as he continued glancing around, Ralts doing the same before the latter suddenly perked up before turning swiftly into a particular direction. "Ralts? Did you find someth-!"
Colt didn't finish his sentence before his eyes widened considerably, and the reason for this? In front of them was a relatively large almost fire-like red spectre. With a maniacal grin and a pair of sharp sadistic eyes that looked at them with an almost mocking expression.
For someone who was an old fan of the Pokemon series, Colt was pretty confident of his knowledge on many things related. As far as he was aware, there wasn't any pokemon that resembled the one in front of him.
Recognition aside, Colt couldn't help but frown in doubt.
'Isn't this only floor 10? No way something like this should appear, whatever it is...' Colt felt a small sweat as he felt a deep chill run down his spine, Ralts was even worse as he could be seen shaking in place. "Wait a second..."
Narrowing his eyes, Colt observed closer to see that there seemed to be a much smaller silhouette within the flames. It was hard to make out, but he could faintly see the figure standing underneath the spectre.
"That's... I think I know what we're dealing with!"
Without hesitation, Colt tapped onto the Master's Pokedex as it scanned the entity ahead of them. Not long after, Colt received a detailed report of the opponent that they were facing. What he received confirmed his guess.
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[Zorua (Hisuian)]
- Level: 15/200 (Potential: ★★★★☆)
- Classification: Spiteful Fox Pokémon
- Type: Normal/Ghost (Tera: Ghost)
- Gender: Male
- Nature: Modest (+SpATK/-ATK)
- Phenotype: [Height: 0.7m] [Weight: 12.5kg] [Egg Group: Field]
- Moves: [Shadow Sneak] [Shadow Claw] [Bitter Malice] [Hone Claws] [Agility] [Nasty Plot]
- Ability: Illusion (This Pokemon can create illusions to deceive the perception of its opponents)
- Pokedex Entry: A once-departed soul, having returned to life in Hisui. It's power derives from resentment, which rises as energy atop of its head and takes on the forms of foes. In this way, Zorua vents lingering malice
Parameters:
- Health Points: 40 (C)
- Attack: 36 (B)
- Defense: 21 (C)
- Special Attack: 76 (A)
- Special Defense: 21 (C)
- Speed: 60 (A)
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'Shit...!'
Seeing the stats of the opponent, Colt couldn't help but panic a bit. He already knew that zorua and their Huisian counterpart had base stats far above Ralts, and top of the boost from the parameter grades, he was facing a terrifying opponent.
It didn't exactly help either that this zorua had one hell of a moveset to let it set up...
He had no idea how the tower functioned in absolute detail, but Colt did at least know that the opponents were randomized based on the brief description he received before this all started. In other words... his luck right now was horrendous.
'I'll just have to make do with what I can, and no doubt prevent it from setting up...' After realizing the spectre was an illusion, Colt felt much calmer in front of the wave of malice. "Ralts, prepare for battle! This opponent is much stronger than any we've faced thus far."
Hearing his trainer, Ralts nodded his head, though Colt could see that he was still shaking. Colt knew that since Ralts was particularly sensitive to emotions, being exposed to pure malice taken form was anything but easy.
"I'm asking you a lot, I know. However, as long we remain calm, we can do this." Colt sighed before saying this firmly. Perhaps since Ralts could sense Colt's stable mind, that was the reason the former could fight. "The spectre is an illusion, Ralts. Our main target is inside. Disarming Voice!"
Without hesitation, Ralts opened his mouth before releasing numerous pink sound waves that travelled through the air before colliding with the spectre. Although intimidating, as a rather weak illusion, it was quickly blasted away.
As for Zorua, Colt saw jumping back to avoid the range of the attack.
With the illusion gone, Zorua's true form was revealed to show the familiar light-grey, white, and red haired fox. It stared at them with its melancholic but cautious gaze, looking as if assessing their level of threat.
Although both zorua and their Hisuian counterparts possessed the power to create illusions, they were fundamentally different. The normal zorua line could perform illusionary transformations, while the Hisuian created illusions instead of transforming utilizing their pure resentment.
Both had the same ability of Illusion in the games, but in a real world setting, they were vastly different in terms of use.
Zorua quickly rushed at Ralts as his right paw was then covered by a claw made entirely of shadow. Colt watched as Ralts nervously watched Zorua approaching him, though Ralts was confused when he felt Colt's emotions shift after the latter suddenly frowned.
"Ralts, dodge with Teleport to get behind him!" Colt commanded as Ralts snapped out of his previous confusion before following the instruction. Since Ralts had teleported so suddenly, Zorua temporarily lost balance when his attack failed. "Psionic Siege!"
Ralts's body was covered in a layer of blue psychic energy, to which he then swung his small fist towards Zorua's back. Although managing to turn around halfway, Zorua couldn't react in time when Ralts's fist had struck him directly on the side.
Zorua gritted his teeth as he skidded across the floor, the attack didn't seem to do much damage as Zorua growled at Ralts. However, Zorua widened his eyes when what seemed to be an a faint but visible blue psychic force suddenly smashed against his body.
This sudden attack of psychic energy was like a concentrated blast of air only much stronger stronger, striking Zorua just like the punch from before. It didn't stop at one though, instead coming in waves as Zorua was hit five times in total by this force of psychic energy.
"Teleport in and use Hypnosis!"
Seeing Ralts suddenly teleport in front of him, and with former's hands releasing a hypnotic wave of psychic energy, Zorua didn't hesitate for a second before his body glowed blue. Zorua then rushed off to the side, leaving a small trail of afterimages.
"Agility..." Colt made a quick conclusion as Zorua soon disappeared into the dark shadows of the forest around them. Since his attack failed, Ralts looked around and observed for any signs within the darkness. "Ralts, teleport out of the way!"
Ralts didn't bother to look for the reason, only following Colt's command as he teleported a few meters away. From the darkness, a shadow trail had shot out and stopped where Ralts previously stood, a shadow claw had shot out from the ground before quickly retracting as the shadow trail retreated back into the forest.
'Zorua is using the forest's darkness as a cover, we'll need to force him out if we want any chance of victory.' Colt clicked his tongue as he stared vigilantly into the forest. 'The pokemon in this tower aren't average, that's for sure...'
He had noticed from previous battles with pokemon on the lower floors that they were unnaturally smart for wild pokemon, capable of strategy instead of simple brute force. Not that wild pokemon can't think of strategies, it's just that the pokemon here in the tower were on another level.
If not for Ralts being much stronger than the previous pokemon, their use of the environment and moves in complex operations would've been his and Ralts's downfall. As for Zorua right now, he was truly a threat.
'If I let him stay in the dark for too long, he very well could be setting up with his stat boosting moves. We need to force him out.' Colt took a breath before glancing at Ralts. "Ralts, Double Team!"
Hearing the instruction, Ralts's body seemed to shake before appearing around the battlefield, looking almost like teleportation. Before long, the entire battlefield was covered with afterimages of Ralts in different positions.
"I know you won't like it, Ralts. But try and feel Zorua's malice, and when you do, Teleport to catch him off guard and use Psionic Siege to force him out!"
Although Ralts did indeed not like the idea, he was smart enough to know that it was their only reliable and least dangerous way of pinpointing Zorua. Focusing and using his copies as a way to buy himself time, Ralts didn't take long before he could feel a concentrated source of negative emotion in the darkness.
Ralts then disappeared in a flash, and while Colt couldn't see what was happening, he could hear both Ralts and Zorua's voices somewhere in the forest. It didn't take long before Colt saw Zorua being blasted out of the forest and onto the snow.
Colt was relieved when Ralts teleported back to his side, although the latter was panting rather heavily. Seeing Zorua on the ground and struggling to get up, Colt's eyes flashed for a second before he reached into his pocket.
"...Let's give this a try."
With a powerful throw, Colt threw what could easily be identified as a pokeball towards where Zorua was. Hitting Zorua on the head, the pokeball bounced up before opening as Zorua was absorbed into the ball as a blue body of light.
Colt watched with bated breath as the ball fell to the ground, shaking once, then twice...
Before a third shake could happen, the ball burst open as Zorua reappeared, this time standing up on all fours again as it stared at him vigilantly while suppressing any pain it may be feeling due to Ralts's attacks.
"Not enough, huh?" Colt clicked his tongue in annoyance. That annoyance soon turned to panic as he saw Zorua's body suddenly release a black and purple almost smoke-like energy as Zorua's eyes flashed with a red colour. "Is that... Bitter Malice?! Ralts, Disarming Voice!"
Although Psionic Siege was certainly more powerful, Ralts couldn't initiate it as quickly as Disarming Voice. With Zorua's malice having already reached a rather critical level, he needed to intercept as quickly as possible.
Ralts once again released waves of pink soundwaves that clashed with Zorua's manifested malice, causing it to flicker as Zorua himself tried to keep himself grounded. However, due to prior injuries, Zorua was unable to resist for long as he was sent flying back into a tree as the malice he conjured dispersed.
"Come on, this time...!"
Colt gritted his teeth before throwing another pokeball towards Zorua who laid on the ground with half-open eyes. Like before, Zorua was absorbed into the pokeball before said ball fell onto the snow.
One shake...
Two shakes...
Three shakes...
"Thank god..." Colt sighed in relief as the pleasant sound of the ball clicking and the particles that signified a successful capture appeared as the ball stopped shaking and remained closed. "With one ball to spare."
Pokemon weren't the only things in this tower, Colt had found out that as long as he looked around enough, there were items that could be found hidden in certain areas on each floor. They didn't at all come in abundance, but he did manage to snag a few medicinal items and three pokeballs.
Colt was glad that the capture was successful, a Hisuian zorua was certainly something he wouldn't mind having on the team. Of course, he was naturally ready to just defeat Zorua in case capture was a failure.
"Are you okay, Ralts?"
Colt spoke as he knelt down beside Ralts who had collapsed onto the ground in exhaustion. Although having not suffered from physical wounds, the constant use of Teleport was exhausting for a first-stage pokemon like Ralts.
In response to his concern, Ralts gave a small but assuring smile along with a small cry.
"Good, then get some rest. You deserve it." Colt smile as Ralts nodded. Taking out Ralts's pokeball, Colt quickly returned Ralts before walking over to where the pokeball containing Zorua was. "So, I guess we have a new partner then."
Colt couldn't help but smile as he picked up the pokeball containing Zorua with his free hand, after all, this was his first capture. A Hisuian zorua at that, certainly not at all a trainer's typical first capture.
He knew that it'll probably take some work to get Zorua to open up to him, especially after their recent battle, but that was a problem he'll have to address in the future. For now though...
[Completed: Aerie Tutorial Tower]
[Quit tower? (Yes) (No)]
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[Mission Complete]
- Primary Objective: Clear the first 10 Floors of the Aerie Tower (Progress: 10/10)
- Mission Issued Supplies: [Master's Pokedex]
Reward(s):
- Rogue Tower System
- Master's Starter Pack (Contents depend on chosen starter)
(Collect Rewards? Yes/No)
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Looking at the notifications he had ignored up to now that had appeared soon after his successful capture, Colt didn't choose to immediately leave the tower, instead opting to collect his spoils of war.
He had no idea what would happen after leaving, so he at least wanted to obtain the system before anything else, and of course that starter pack. Without hesitation, Colt tapped his finger onto the 'Yes' option.
Colt jumped a bit when a loud dinging sound was heard right in his ear. "Freaking hell...!"
Looking in front of him, he saw a menu screen appear.
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[Rogue Tower System]
- Details
- Mission
- Inventory
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"Looks simple enough." Colt blinked as he looked at the rather simplistic menu screen. Whether or not the rather lacking number of options was a good or bad thing was yet to be seen. "Might as well go from the top..."
As soon as he tapped onto the option labeled 'Details', and he was soon present with a new screen next to the initial menu. However, despite the name of the menu screen, there was honestly a lack of details given.
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[Details]
- Store Level: 1 - [EXP: 0/100]
- Facilities: [Admin's Aerie Tower] [Aerie Tower] [Token Store]
- Token Store Products: [Potion] [Super Potion] [Hyper Potion] [Antidote] ... [+4]
- Members: [None]
- Branches: [None]
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"Store level?" Colt read in confusion. "Is this a business related system?"
While not exactly common, he did recall similar systems in novels and such he had read in the past. If this indeed was the case, then he wasn't going to complain. Reason being that he wasn't the most keen on wilderness travel, and also that a system was still a system, there had to be benefits.
In any case, there wasn't much else he could do here. At the very least, he could tell that the system had to have some direct relation to the tower he had been climbing. After all, the tower he had just climbed was called 'Aerie Tutorial Tower'.
Seeing nothing else could be done for the time being, Colt proceeded to explore the remaining menus. The Mission menu was entirely empty, he hadn't been issued another mission yet. As for the the Inventory...
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[Inventory]
- Master's Starter Pack (Ralts♂) - [Amount: 1] [Description: An exclusive starter pack containing countless items befitting a master trainer in the making. Contents depend on the starter chosen by the user]
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"Ah, so the starter pack was automatically placed into the inventory." Colt hummed in thought before touching his right ear. 'Hopefully it contains that pokedex, the one I was wearing disappeared after the mission completed.'
After extracting the starter pack from the Inventory, Colt watched as it materialized into his hands in the form of a black and gold heavy-duty case with the words 'Master Starter Pack (Ralts♂)' on the top in gold.
Resting it on his left arm, Colt then opened it up using his right.
After doing so, Colt was immediately bombarded by numerous notifications, and to his displeasure, accompanied each by a dinging sound. Fortunately, whatever items he got were automatically stored in the Inventory.
[Consumed: Master's Starter Pack (Ralts♂)]
[...]
[New Item: Master's Pokedex (x1)]
[New Item: Rotom Phone (x1)]
[New Item: Dawn Stone (x1)]
[New Item: Mega Ring (x1)]
[New Item: Galladite (x1)]
[New Item: Pokeball (x25)]
[...]
[+10]
"Is this system trying to give me a headache?" Colt frowned with clear displeasure as he rubbed his forehead. Looking at the notifications, Colt nodded in evident satisfaction. "I even got a Rotom Phone, and even a mega ring with a Galladite to boot? Feel free to give me a headache whenever you want."
Colt had no idea how difficult it would be to get his hands on any of those items, but he sure as hell was willing to bet that it wouldn't be easy. True, he may not be able to use it until Ralts evolves, but he at least he had the items on hand.
Those were the highlighted items, on top of them, he also received a number of pokeballs of various kinds and also many medicinal items as well. Overall, it certainly was one hell of a starter pack.
For now, Colt only took out the Master's Pokedex before attaching the ear-piece onto his right ear. He honestly felt a bit uncomfortable without it after it was taken away. "Alright, I guess the only thing left is to head off.
After closing the system menu, Colt turned his attention to the other screen where he tapped onto 'Yes' to leave the tutorial tower.
[Congratulation on completing the Aerie Tutorial Tower]
[Selecting Store Location]
[Please Standby]
[...]
[Location: Levincia City]