Child of Thorns - A Pokemon Sinnoh Reimagining

Percy couldn't believe what he was seeing.

He'd heard of this from Reiko, of course. But in the back of his mind, he'd always found the idea so odd, so fantastic. To tame a portion of Moltres' power… To become one with it…

And yet the proof now stood right in front of him.

Reiko was more fire than human. She was hard to look at, every inch of her body covered in bright red and yellow flames, molding around her like a second set of clothes. Her hair flowed freely behind her, more plasma than hair, really. The sheer heat emanating from her made his eyes water. Spouts of steam rose from her now closed wounds, blood evaporating into a dark red mist around her.

Others might have felt frightened at such a sight. But the only thing Percy could think of was just how beautiful she looked.

"Heads up."

The sound of her voice brought him back to reality. The ground shook as the Charizard took a step forward and threw her head as back as it would go, flames gathering in her maw.

"Shit. Priscilla, use Prot–!

"No," said Palmer, his voice booming in the same uncanny way Reiko's did. "We'll stop it."

The jet-like sound of the flamethrower being fired was heard before he could protest. A massive wall of flames rolled toward them, getting bigger and wider the more it advanced. When it was almost upon them, both Reiko and Palmer raised their hands toward it.

Then, Percy saw the wind. Not for the things that it affected but for itself; an endless array of glass-like multicolored threads moving in impossible to predict patterns all around them. And with a single gesture from Palmer, they all bent to his will.

A roaring gale formed behind them, crashing against the flames with a sharp, sizzling hiss. The humidity in the air boiled. Steam exploded in clouds all around the point of impact, both wind and flame slowly trying to advance against each other. However, Percy noticed that Palmer's arms were starting to shake with effort.

That's when Reiko stepped in. With a swipe of her finger against her arm, she scooped up the few drops of blood that hadn't been vaporized yet. Then, pressing them against the base of her blade, she painted a streak of blood all through its length.

Immediately, the sword burst into flames. Reiko took a quick step forward, raising it over her head as she took in a deep breath.

"HYAA!"

For a short instant, nothing happened, a sudden, unnatural silence overtaking the lake despite the roar of the flames.

Then, the wall of flames parted. It was quick and sudden, like blowing out a candle. From the middle it was split into two streams of flames which rose high up into the sky before dissipating, casting a powerful light down on the lake and making it look as though the sky itself were ablaze.

A short silence followed the death of those flames. Both Percy and the Charizard facing them looked upon Reiko with wide, disbelieving eyes. Something almost like worry crept up the beast's face.

"Percy," said Reiko, finally breaking the silence. "Plan."

He swallowed, then gave her a nervous nod.

"Everyone, split up!" he said, swiping at the air with his hand. "We'll attack it from as many angles as possible so it can't avoid us!"

"Right!" everyone replied in unison.

And from that moment on, it was chaos.

Palmer and Argenta were quick to jump atop Makura's back before it took off, while Reiko had a much bolder, probably stupider plan. She headed straight for Midir.

The crystallized ground exploded around her feet as she jumped forward, clearing half the distance between them in merely a moment. Midir reeled back in shock. Both by her sudden, inhuman speed and also because the Charizard had probably never met a human idiotic enough to run straight at her with a sword.

Midir threw herself up, wings batting furiously as even more flames licked at the inside of her maw. She shot a Flamethrower straight down, which swallowed Reiko whole. A wave of heated wind exploded outwards from that point, pushing everyone back a few feet. Triumph gleamed on the beast's eyes.

And then, Reiko jumped from within the rain of hellfire completely unscathed. Percy knew then that he would never, for as long as he lived, forget the look of sheer panic and shock on Midir's face.

Reiko stabbed Flicker into the beast's thigh. There was a moment of silence; a sharp intake of breath. Then a roar that shook the world itself, pain and rage and indignation joining together into a truly terrifying sound, yet one made less so by the sight of the young woman standing at the beast's feet, determination etched into every one of the flames coating her body.

Her retribution came quick, though. In a flash of anger, Midir brought one of her claws down on Reiko, an attack she wouldn't be able to evade as easily as she'd done before.

"Got you!" Palmer's voice was heard from above.

A loud, deep gong reverberated through the air, and Midir's claw bounced back. A psychic barrier had materialized between her and Reiko.

Percy couldn't see her face, but somehow he knew Reiko was smiling.

"About time you did something useful."

She bent her knees and jumped atop the grip of the blade still stabbed on the beast's thigh. From there, she jumped again, this time leaving behind an explosion of heat of flames as she propelled herself higher than any human should be able to with a single jump. She hovered for a moment, inches above Midir's face. Below, her blade disappeared and then reappeared in her hand with a flicker of light.

"RHYAAAAA!"

Midir took off with a sudden, powerful bat of her wings, but Reiko was quick and managed to grab onto one of her wings. They both rose high into the air together. Makura hovered over them, ready to intercept.

"Everyone!" screamed Percy, rallying up the Pokemon around him. "Send attacks their way, but only when it counts, to interrupt one of the Charizard's own!"

Despite only one of them being his Pokemon, all four nodded and got into position, energy of their respective elements swirling around them as they prepared to attack.

High above, a pained roar shook the air as Reiko sliced part of Midir's wing with her blade. The beast thrashed and spun in mid-air, throwing the girl off her violently.

"Here!" Palmer yelled.

A barrier materialized under Reiko's feet. She landed with her knees bent, then jumped up in a burst of explosive speed, flames spiraling behind her. Midir flew up, whipping down at the airborne Reiko with her massive tail. It came down like a pendulum blade, but before it could connect Makura slammed itself against the beast's side, stealing her breath and throwing her to the side.

Two gunshots boomed through the air. Midir thrashed and screeched and pushed herself away from the Salamence, batting her wings furiously to compensate for the slice in one of them. Argenta's bullets had done little more than irritate her, the dragon's skin too thick to be penetrated so easily.

Palmer raised both hands from atop his dragon, one glowing a bright pink, the other a dark shade of gold. A barrier materialized under Reiko, so that she could land safely. At the same time, a massive gale came down from high above, hitting Midir from behind, counteracting the power in her wings and preventing her from flying away from their reach.

"RRRRHHHAAAAAA!"

It clearly didn't make her happy, if that air-shaking roar was anything to go by. Percy squinted, noticing that she'd thrown her head back once more, a pale, reddish glow forming within her maw.

"Now!" he cried out, pointing up. "Aim to distract, not just wound!"

All four Pokemon let out a determined cry, and then the air boomed with the sound of their attacks. Denki's Thunderbolt was the first to hit, knocking Midir out of her attack. She looked down, furious. She dodged Gamatetsu's flurry of sharp leaves without effort, and would have done the same with the pillars of fire and water thrown her way, were it not because they clashed against each other before reaching her.

A ray of steam shot up toward Midir, hitting her straight in the face and momentarily blinding her.

"Makura; Outrage!"

Salamence let out a powerful roar, and an aura red as blood exuded from his body. The air around him felt like it compressed into himself. Then, he wasn't there anymore. His body became a blur as he flew high above Midir in an instant, then came down upon her like a hammer on a nail, the claws on his front legs digging into the Charizard's chest.

The sound that rang through the air then was inhuman, a screech so loud and deep Percy felt as though the world itself were crying out in agony. Both beasts flew erratically through the air, glued to each other. They bit and slashed and fired bursts of flames and draconic energy at each other with the speed and desperation only wounded and desperate Pokemon were capable of. Gunshots boomed through the air. Reiko had jumped high enough to hang on from Midir's back and, while hanging on for dear life, she slashed at her scales over and over, carving deeper into her with every second that passed.

Blood evaporated as soon as it was drawn due to the intense heat, and a dark, red mist began covering the sky, glowing like infernal clouds against the light of the moon and that of the beast and the girl's flames.

The deadly dance between the two dragons couldn't have lasted long. In fact, Percy hadn't breathed at all from its start through its end, and yet by the time Midir began glowing it felt as though several minutes had passed.

"Wha–?" Percy squinted at the sudden brightness. "Is that…?"

All of a sudden, Midir became a miniature sun. Every inch of her skin went from a dull orange to a dark, blood-like red, the air distorting around her in a strange haze. Makura cried out in pain. Palmer and Argenta followed, and the beast had no choice but to throw himself back, putting distance between them.

Realization dawned on Percy as soon as the wave of heat hit him. His skin burned. His eyes and mouth dried up instantly and for a moment he felt as though he would lose consciousness. Letting out a cry of pain, he took several steps back and covered himself with his arms, though it did little to help. A few yards from him, steam began to rise from the water of the lake. There was only one attack that could cause such a massive and dangerous spike in heat, Percy realized amidst that pain.

"It's Overheat! Get out of there!" he cried out, not knowing if they could hear him or not. "Reiko! You have to–!"

The night fell still. Air and heat were sucked back into Midir's body like a vacuum.

Then she exploded into light, and Percy saw nothing but white.

Palmer was dying. His reckless use of Mesprit's immense power was taking a toll on his already exhausted body, and every second was a struggle not to let his consciousness fade away. His vision was foggy. His muscles cried in agony.

And yet, when he saw the Charizard start readying an attack that would most certainly wipe them all out, he did not hesitate to smile and take a step forward.

"What are you doing?" Mesprit's voice boomed in his mind. "I've told you to stop! You're barely hanging on by a thread; if you continue using my powers…!"

Palmer took another step to the side, out of Makura's back and into the air itself. The shock and panic of everyone around him crashed into him like waves, but were soon replaced by something else. Wonder.

He did not fall. The air danced around him in ribbons of light, no longer holding him down, no longer chaining him to the ground. His eyes shone like beacons; a gold like that of the sun. All of the pain and exhaustion in his body vanished completely. Or perhaps they'd intensified to the point of numbness, but that did not matter.

Mesprit's voice resounded in his head, awed and wary in equal amounts. "P-Palmer?"

Palmer closed his eyes, and time slowed to a crawl. There, in that darkness, he heard and felt them again, for what he knew would be the last time. Their voices. Their sadness, bitterness and anger. The very heart of the people whose lives he'd taken. In the end, he hadn't been able to cross out a single one of their names from his list.

Except for…

He opened his eyes and looked up with a smile, setting his gaze on the girl hanging from one of the Charizard's arms. He had no idea how he could tell from so far below, but he could've sworn she looked back at him.

"I'll stop the explosion," he told her telepathically, using Mesprit's power. "Try to absorb as much of the heat as you can."

Reiko couldn't answer back, but he had no doubts that she'd heard him. For a short instant, their stares lingered, as though they were having a silent conversation. Palmer let out a low chuckle, then nodded.

"H-hey…" Mesprit sounded panicked, scared. "Stop… What are you…?"

"I will take responsibility for what I've done," said Palmer, his voice booming through the air. "If I cannot atone for my actions, then I will make sure no one has to suffer the same fate."

He raised his left hand toward the sky, grabbing hold of all the pain and sorrow he'd absorbed from those he'd killed. He remembered their faces, heard their last screams, smelled the scent of blood and death in the air. The wind swirled and roared around him.

He raised his right hand toward the sky, grabbing hold of that warm, calming light which had always been at his side. He remembered the moment in which Barry had opened his eyes for the first time, felt once more the touch of Sarah's lips against his own, heard the sound of their laughter in his ears. The wind coiled and whistled around him.

"WAIT! PALMER–!"

Mesprit's voice was cut off as the sky exploded with flame and light. Palmer responded in kind, closing his hands into fists, the wind itself rushing to his command.

The sound of the ensuing maelstrom was deafening, bursts of explosive, glowing wind rushing toward the wave of flames as though pulled by a black hole. A swirling mass of threads of light swallowed the explosion whole, forming a dome around it. It spun with the strength of a hurricane, its sheer centrifugal force redirecting the bursts of flame and preventing the heat from escaping outwards. Inside, her scream echoing where no one could hear it, Reiko did her best to absorb as much of it as possible, lowering Palmer's burden, even if only by a little bit.

Palmer smiled at the thought. She really was one of a kind. Maybe he hadn't been ahead of himself when he'd compared her to Sarah.

I'm sorry I'll never get to fulfill my promise, he thought. If you keep hating me after this… That's okay. You don't have to forgive me. This is a pretty shitty way to apologize, after all.

The clouds above parted by the sheer power in the air. The ball of wind and flames glowed like a second sun about to set, both its light and that of the moon reflected below on the surface of the lake.

And just like that, it stopped.

Flames stopped rushing out from Midir's body. Palmer's hands fell, and the wind stilled once more. The heat that remained dispersed into the air, distorting the beast's image, as well as that of the woman kneeling atop her back, the previous red of her flames now a blinding, scorching blue, the heat emanating from her so powerful that even the scales on the Charizard's back were starting to blacken.

An exhausted, almost invisible smile spread through Palmer's lips.

Not even a dragon can stand against the heat of a volcano, eh? he thought, feeling an odd burst of pride. At least... that's a pretty beautiful image to go out on.

Palmer closed his eyes with a satisfied smile, and the wind rushed down to hold him as he fell.

Reiko saw Palmer fall as though in slow motion. Makura dove down to grab him between his claws, and as he did, a small, almost imperceptible wisp of golden light left the man's chest, then vanished.

There was a short moment in which the wind ceased completely, frozen, mourning.

Then both girl and dragon opened their mouths, and screams of pure, hot rage boomed through the air. The flames covering Reiko exploded all around her. A star of' blue, furious flames burned atop the Charizard's back, who let out a sudden screech of pain and tried to spin in place to throw her off.

Reiko did not give her the chance. She threw her hand up toward the sky and all of the heat around her manifested upon her blade, turning it a stark, blinding white, the very air itself distorting around it. For a second, the powerful glow made it seem as though it were day.

"HYAAAAA!"

A sharp sound cut through the air. An arc of flames exploded on Midir's back with such force that she was violently thrown down, clouds of vaporized blood trailing above her as she fell. A cry of pain left her mouth, but it was drowned by Makura's roar. The Salamence flew up in a flash, crashing against the falling Charizard. His claws closed around her throat, and with a furious roar he dragged her down with him toward the ground at almost terminal velocity.

Unfortunately, Midir had not yet been defeated. And like wounded and panicked Pokemon often did, she grew more furious and erratic, thrashing in mid-air with enough strength to slip free of the Salamence's grip, though she left a small part of her neck behind, blood pouring out of her all over.

Throwing herself back, Midir kicked Makura in the stomach with all her strength, stopping his momentum and throwing him up into the air while she continued to fall. She tried to bat her wings to stop herself, mere seconds from hitting the ground, and Reiko couldn't do anything to stop her, barely hanging from one of her wing–

The sound of a gunshot echoed through the air, followed by three more in succession. Midir let out a sound almost like a gasp of pain. Several holes appeared on her wings, and as Reiko looked up, barely aware of what was happening as they fell, she saw a familiar figure falling toward them. Argenta.

"Take this, you heinous–!"

Midir raised her hand toward her, and just then she hit the ground. A loud, reverberating thump resounded all throughout the lake, clouds of dust and geysers of water rising high into the air, obscuring her body for a moment.

Reiko flew off by the force of the impact. She heard a crack as she landed on her arm, air being knocked out of her lungs, vision going momentarily black. She could feel the flames dissipating around her, cold overtaking her body once more.

Shit… Come on, no! She forced herself to stay conscious, and somehow managed to open her eyes. This isn't…

She couldn't finish the thought as she looked up toward the fallen beast. Her mouth gaped.

Midir had landed on the shore of the lake, not too far from Percy and their Pokemon. She lay on her back, weakened and bleeding. One of her arms were raised toward the sky.

Argenta was suspended in the air above that hand, a long, ivory claw impaled into her stomach. The woman's eyes were wide open in shock. Her hands still held on to the two pistols.

Time slowed to a crawl. For a moment, Reiko thought that this would be Argenta's end.

She really should've learned not to underestimate her.

Argenta breathed in one last time, forcing herself to move. Then, looking down at the beast with a wide, bloodied grin on her lips, she aimed her pistols and fired straight at her eyes.

Midir cried out in agony, eyes closing tight, blood pouring down from them. She batted at the air with her hand and Argenta was sent flying to the side, crashing against the ground like a ragdoll, a puddle of blood forming under her limp body. She did not move again.

"MMRHAAAAAA!"

Salamence fell on top of Midir, slamming his limbs against hers, crushing her bones and keeping her in place. The ruby in his eyes gleamed with pure, unadulterated rage.

"PERCY! NOW!" Reiko yelled out with what little energy she had left. "Gamatetsu; Frenzy Plant!"

The ground broke under both dragons, vines and roots as thick as trees curling all around Midir's body; thick, sharp thorns digging into her flesh. Makura jumped back just in time, getting out of the way.

"R-right!" nodded Percy, throwing his hand forward. "Pedri; Hydro Cannon! Priscilla; Blast Burn!"

"Denki; Thunderbolt!"

Their voices were drowned out by the roar of each attack. Water, fire and thunder curled around each other, joining together into a pillar of light larger than Midir herself, the sheer force around it making the ground crack and the waters part.

Just before the attack connected, before the light blinded Reiko, she allowed herself a small, satisfied smile.

Die already, you fucking asshole.

The pillar of light swallowed Midir whole. Her last gasp and scream were swallowed by the beam's roar, and as she was thrown back toward the lake, its surface shone a pure, brilliant white, like a second moon encrusted into the ground itself.

Then she fell, causing ripples in the reflection. Waves welcomed her body as she slowly sank to the bottom, the beam of light dissipating above her. Her bloodied eyes fell closed. Her charred body stopped moving, limbs going limp, the world disappearing around her.

The beast that could swallow the sun died drowning in moonlight.

Barry woke up with a start. He inhaled as though he'd been underwater for a long time, eyes shooting wide open, the world before him fractured and blurry. Cold and pain clawed into his body, numbing him. He felt as though he would lose consciousness again at any second.

He felt…

He felt empty. Like something was missing inside of him.

"W-wh…"

Slowly, painfully, he turned his head to the side, and saw a mess of colors and shapes that could only be the shore of Lake Valor. At the thought, a gasp left his mouth. Adrenaline rushed through his body, jolting his senses awake and forcing his sight to focus.

Shadi… Midir… Where were they? What had…?

However, as he thought that, he noticed something not too far in the distance. Two people leaning into each other, surrounded by Pedri and another couple of Pokemon he couldn't quite identify. And in front of them…

His blood ran cold. Two bodies lay immobile on the ground, as though they were asleep.

Barry opened his mouth, lips quivering, but his voice sounded barely above a whisper.

"D-dad…?"