Child of Thorns - A Pokemon Sinnoh Reimagining

My scars came to life. Burning chains of ruby shooting up toward the heavens, piercing even beyond, through a realm long forgotten.

They closed around their targets with ease, and I pulled. The world shook. The sky shattered into a million pieces, glowing slivers falling upon the earth like arrows, like little pieces of the sun. Dialga and Palkia were dragged toward me, their powers being absorbed as though I were a massive black hole.

Time roared. Space rent. The very fabric of reality screamed in agony.

With barely any effort, I became the god of a dying world.

Barry's consciousness came back to the front with a start, eyes shooting wide open, gasping for breath. A dizzying numbness covered him from head to toe.

"Kn-ghr…"

The cold of the ground under his cheek contrasted greatly with the noxious, pulsing heat in the air. He was… was he flat down on the floor? He blinked a few times, and his vision finally focused enough for him to see… well, nothing.

"W-wha…?"

Valor Lakefront –what little he could see of it, at least– was a smoking, ruined hell. The ground was shattered in a hundred different spots. Smoke rose from each of the miniature craters, curling in ribbons and joining together high above to form a thick, black cloud which hid everything around them from view. The air was distorted by a heat haze, waving and shifting as though he were in a bizarre dream.

What… what had happened? The last thing he remembered was… were… those arrows of light falling from the sky. And then…

"Well. That seemed to do the job."

The voice jolted him awake like an electric current. Panic and realization flooding him, Barry pushed himself with one hand and looked up at the sky just as a massive gust of wind fell upon them.

"Grhk!"

A single batting of Midir's wings was enough to dispel the smoke completely. The battlefield became visible once more. And what he saw made his blood run cold.

Everyone was down. Pokemon and people were scattered all over the lakefront, dirt and grime and blood staining their bodies. Even from where he was, not even able to rise to his knees, Barry couldn't help but yelp at the sight of Makura laying face-down on the ground, all strength gone from him. Palmer sat against his Pokemon's arm, holding a hand over his stomach, eyes closed, teeth grit in pain. Reiko knelt not far from there, an ugly gnash on her left bicep, her entire body shaking with the effort not to fall down. And over toward the shore…

A gasp left his lips. Percy seemed the least wounded out of all of them, covered only by dust and dirt, but that wasn't the problem. He knelt in front of a collapsed Argenta, both hands pressing over a dark red stain on her chest. It sounded as though he were screaming something.

A dark puddle was quickly forming under the woman's body.

N-no…

The sound of a furious gale resounded in the back of his mind, and his eyes flared a bright gold. His body moved on its own. Pressing a hand against the ground, he pushed himself to his knees with what little strength remained in him, every limb in his body shaking with effort.

"Barry, wait!" Mesprit's voice echoed in his mind. "Stay still, you…"

"SHADI!"

High above, despite being mostly dwarfed by the size of her massive Charizard, Barry saw Shadi smile down at him, a malicious glint in her eyes. Something burned in his stomach. Grunting, he pushed himself up to his feet and opened his mouth to say someth–

"Barry!"

That's when the burning tugged at him. Sharp, painful, yet strangely numbing. All the air in his lungs left in an instant. Unconsciously, he pressed a hand over his stomach.

Shadi shook her head. "I think I am the least of your worries at the moment, Barry."

Slowly, fearfully, Barry looked down at himself, feeling a sudden wetness in his hand.

O-oh…

Blood stuck to his fingers. A dark stain formed a circle on his shirt, over his stomach. A sudden, powerful nausea overtook him.

"I'll leave you all to lick your wounds and take care of yourselves," said Shadi from above. "Midir won't hurt you anymore, as long as you don't try to leave. Don't worry though; I'll dismiss her once I'm done over there. And with that said…"

"W-wait!" Barry yelled. "D–!"

But the pain tugged at him again. His legs lost strength and he fell to his knees once again, vision blurring. Blood fell in thick drops under him. Everything was a haze.

"Don't worry, I'll make sure to give my dear little sister your regards, Barry. Until next time."

"D-DON'T!"

But there was nothing he could do. Shadi's eyes flashed icy blue and she simply stepped back into the night, darkness swallowing her completely.

"N-no… Nis…"

That was as much as his body could take. Midir's silhouette was the last thing he saw as that scolding, painful haze overtook him, his consciousness drifting away as he fell.

Candice walked up the steps to the tower's top floor, and the Inyssa she found standing in the middle looked nothing like what Cresselia had described to her telepathically.

She still didn't look good, in any case.

"Inyssa?"

Inyssa wiped her eyelids with the sleeve of her coat, then turned to face her with folded arms. Dried tear trails ran down her cheeks. Her face was so unnaturally expressionless that it could have passed off as a mask. When she spoke, her voice sounded strained, yet forcefully calm.

"Hey. Where's Maylene?"

"Huh? Oh… She's outside, talking through the Poketch with a few members of her dojo," she explained. "At first she wanted to head back to Veilstone… because of what just happened. But we don't really have any flying Pokemon that could survive this blizzard." She let out a sigh. "So she'll be staying here, helping us, and leave the evacuation to those she can trust."

Inyssa nodded weakly. It looked like she'd barely heard what she'd said.

"Right."

Candice swallowed. "Inyssa… are you all right?"

"I've recovered my memories," she said. "And I've peered into the book. I think I have a plan to stop Shadi."

Candice frowned. "That's not what I asked."

"I'm fine," Inyssa insisted. "Had a good cry already. Can't hide that. But I reckon now's not the time for that sort of thing."

Part of her wanted to walk up to Inyssa and slap her upside the head, while the rest of her wanted simply to embrace the poor girl in a hug and let her cry as much as she clearly needed. Cresselia had told her part of what she'd seen. Still…

"You don't have to do this," she said. "You still have time to get out of this. Hide. Shadi only wins if she takes Uxie from you, right?"

Inyssa simply laughed.

"And have the town pay for it?" she asked. "I received the notification on my Poketch, you know. Snowpoint's one of the only towns not to be hit by either the lava slide or that rain of light arrows. I'd rather keep it that way. And besides…" She shoved her hands into her pockets unconsciously, a dark shadow forming over her face. "I'm done running from her. I'll stop her. I'm the only one who knows how."

They held gazes for a few long seconds, each one waiting for the other to back down. In the end, Candice did, with a sigh.

Every day that passed, it seemed, these damned kids were less and less intimidated by her.

I guess kids nowadays are made of stronger stuff, huh?

"Cresselia."

She looked past Inyssa, toward the wall her partner was chained to. The legend raised her head ever so slightly, her eyes glowing with a pale light.

"What do you think?" she asked. "Do I put all my chips into this bet?"

A light chuckle escaped from Cresselia.

"I never pegged you as a betting girl."

Candice shone her back a smile of her own. "You'd be surprised what teachers turn to in order to relieve their stress."

"I suppose…"

Slowly, Cresselia raised her head to look at Inyssa, studying her with her eyes. Despite not possessing a human face, Candice could perfectly imagine the expression on her partner's face, and had to suppress a bit of laughter at the mental image.

"She… was unstable before. And she is unstable now, though for different reasons," she finally said. "Can she do this? I have no idea. Is she in the right mental state to confront that heinous woman? No, but then again I doubt she ever will be. Regardless, if what that book said is true…"

She caught a glimpse of Inyssa rolling her eyes.

"Can we stop for lunch on the way for you to get to the fucking point?"

"… Yes. The answer is yes," she finished with a sigh. "It is perilous, somewhat idiotic and more than a little cruel, but I don't believe we have any other option at the moment."

Candice made a face as though she'd swallowed something foul, but found herself nodding in the end.

"The only light capable of burning away a moonless night…" She'd heard the details from Cresselia, and still… "I guess we have no choice."

She approached Inyssa with the delicacy of someone walking up to a frightened Pokemon, and raised her hand to place it on the girl's shoulders.

"I'm so sorry we have to ask this of y–"

Inyssa moved like lightning. She jumped back and yelped at the gesture, raising both hands to her chest. A look of panic and nausea rose up her face.

Both of them froze.

"I-Inyssa?"

"It's… fine. Don't touch me," she growled, and only a second after seemed to collect herself. "S-sorry. Just… Don't worry about it."

Candice exchanged a look with Cresselia, whom, if she had a human body, probably would have shrugged at that moment.

"Is there… I mean, can I do anything to help?" asked Candice. "I know you'll be taking the initiative, but…"

"I…" Inyssa took a deep breath, focusing herself. "Yeah. I'll be waiting for her at the roof of the tower."

"The… Are you sure? The blizzard outside will only get worse by the minute."

The girl flashed her a nervous smile. "That won't be a problem for long."

And what on earth is THAT supposed to mean?

"Have you already used your Audino today?"

Candice shook her head. "She can still fully heal one of your Pokemon, if you'd like."

"Great; I'll use any advantage I can get. Go fetch her," said Inyssa. "Then wait with Maylene at the base of the tower. We don't know how far Shadi would go to get you two out of the way."

She couldn't help but gulp. What had happened to the girl who'd, only an hour before, had adamantly refused the idea that her sister could do any wrong? What kind of memories had she recovered?

"…Right. I'll get going," she said. "Anything else?"

"…Yeah, actually." Inyssa looked away, her face scrunching up slightly. "Do you by any chance have a pair of… leather gloves? Thin ones. The kind that won't limit my finger dexterity."

Candice frowned at the odd request, though she nodded nonetheless.

"What do you want them for?"

Inyssa opened her mouth, then closed it again. Her lips were pursed so tight their color could have passed for marble.

"Ever since… what I just did, I…" She hid her face from view, turning away from Candice. "I can't… It feels like… I'm going to throw up, every time something touches my skin. I'd rather avoid that during the fight."

Candice had no words to that. How could she? Instead, she simply stared at Inyssa with what she hoped was an understanding look and not one of pity. She seemed the type to resent the latter.

"I'll get them right away," she said.

"…Yeah. Thanks."

Candice was halfway down the steps when she heard Cresselia speak in her mind again.

"It is… odd, to find you lacking the right words to say."

She made a face. "Yes, well. Inyssa is a special case, I guess."

"It's okay to feel pity for her, you know. She is an astonishingly unfortunate girl," said Cresselia. "No one's pride should be hurt by admitting the truth."

"And yet…"

"And yet."

Candice felt a pang of guilt tug at her stomach, and her pace became quicker.

"Heroes always rise from turbulent times'," she quoted under her breath, shaking her head. "I never liked that saying. I'm guessing this is why."

"Indeed. Times like these are like a raging thunderstorm, swallowing anyone unfortunate enough to get in its way," she said. "That poor girl didn't rise against the storm. She simply refused to let it break her."

And look at what that got her, Candice thought bitterly.

Palmer fell to his knees beside his son, pressing the piece of fabric on his hands against the bleeding wound on the right side of his stomach. It didn't stay still, however. His fingers were shaking too violently.

"O-oh, god… Please, please…"

Tears fell over his hands, diluting the blood slowly pouring from the boy's wound, forming thin, shiny trails over his dust-covered fingers. Barry's skin felt colder by the second. The boy's chest moved slowly with the rhythm of his breathing; his eyes wide open and glossy like glass beads. He'd entered a state of shock. If he… If someone didn't…

"Not him… P-please, god, not my boy…"

He had to move. Had to do something, but an illogical part of his mind told him that if he took his hands off his son, something would be severed irrecoverably. He knew these types of wounds. He'd seen them numerous times back during the war, and knew that even with immediate medical treatment, chances of survival were…

Were…

His mind couldn't even conjure the thought. The world had dimmed around him. He barely had any semblance of what was happening around him, of Reiko and Percy kneeling over a dying Argenta, of the littered bodies of unconscious Pokemon all around him, of the hellish draconic beast still flying above, ruby eyes set on them.

Had it not been for the voice that spoke to him a moment after, he probably would've knelt there, frozen, unable to do anything as his son died before him.

"Are you… Barry's father?"

Palmer looked up above Barry, and found himself face to face with a golden mirage of Mesprit, youngest of the Lake Guardians.

"Do not let go of him!" the legend's voice boomed in his mind. "I can only communicate with you because you're making contact with him."

At any other moment, Palmer might have reacted with shock or disbelief at the sight before him. But the fear and panic clogging up his chest drove those emotions out of his mind, and served to focus him.

"You've… bonded with my son," he said. It wasn't a question. "Tell me, what is… is he…?"

"One of those arrows of light pierced him. I was unable to warn him in time," said Mesprit, its tone bitter. "The wound is deep. Since he was hit in the stomach he will not die immediately… but that is as good as news get, I'm afraid."

A low, anguished sound left Palmer's throat. He looked down upon his son, noticing the way color was slowly being siphoned from his cheeks. He blinked, and for a moment he could have sworn he saw the flame of Barry's life flash before his eyes, getting smaller and smaller with every second that passed.

"There has to be something… Something I can do," he whispered, his voice an anguished plea. "Anything… Mesprit, please…"

The silence that followed was short, yet to Palmer it felt unbearable. Mesprit seemed to be deliberating.

"If my host dies… My spirit will automatically seek its body," it said, fearful. "I will go back to Team Galactic."

"T-then you have as much incentive to keep him alive as I do."

"…Incentive is not what I lack. Energy is." Mesprit's mirage hovered over Barry, looking down at him. There was guilt and panic in its golden eyes. "I am doing everything I can, but it is not enough."

"What do you mean? What are you doing?"

"Using his body's energy to accelerate its healing capabilities. A useless endeavor if said body doesn't have any energy left to spare."

"Use me, then!" Palmer spat out, heat rising to his face. "Come on, we don't have time!"

Mesprit's eyes looked up at him, and Palmer felt a powerful shiver run down his spine.

"… There is only one way for that to happen. I trust you know what I'm talking about."

His eyes went wide.

"You mean…"

"I can't think of a more dangerous action to take at the moment, but I also can't think of an alternative if we want to save him," said Mesprit. "If I jump to your body and we are not compatible… Well, to put it in your human terms, you won't be able to have your cake or eat it. You will be incapacitated, my spirit will be pulled back toward its body and Barry will die regardless."

"It doesn't matter! I have to do something; I'm sure the two of us are… Are…"

Just then, realization dawned on Palmer with the force of a mountain falling upon him.

The anguished voices crying out in his mind… Those sleepless nights in which he could have sworn he felt the wrath and fear and confusion of those who had died because of him... The freedom from said torture that traveling away from Twinleaf had earned him, every single time…

And the fact that it had all disappeared as soon as Barry had started his trainer journey. It all made sense now.

A smile formed on his lips. He met Mesprit's gaze with his own.

"Don't you worry," he said. "I'm sure the two of us are more compatible than you know."

"… If you say so." Mesprit let out a sigh, though he could hear a smile in its voice. "In all honesty… I simply do not want him to die. The boy has grown on me, I must say."

Palmer nodded, looking down at Barry with pride in his eyes. "Aye. That's my son, alright."

"And are you sure you want to do this? Even if we sync, even if you succeed in using your body's energy to heal him… The sheer strain could end up killing you."

Palmer frowned at Mesprit. His reply was quick and to the point.

"No father should ever have bury his own son."

"… I see. Very well, then. Prepare yourself."

Their bodies began to glow. The cold around them felt like it vanished, a warm, gentle gust of wind enveloping both father and son. Palmer closed his eyes and felt something stir in his chest. Something vast and impossible to contain. A storm bigger than the entire world.

"I'm sorry, kiddo…" He opened his golden eyes and smiled down at Barry. "Your old man's gonna have to steal your thunder this time. Hope you won't hold it against me."