Porcelain World (R, Being Given a Fresh Start...)

[DelusionsOfEuphoria]

Harsh sands ripped at her skin, being thrown at her from sharp gusts that felt like thousands of saw blades, ripping through the air. Her raven colored locks whipped behind her in the wind, each strand seeming to want to go in it's own direction, as though the girl's head were about to explode, and each of them wanted off as fast as they could.

Her arms foled over her chest, trying to keep herself shielded from the harsh desert winds as best she could. She couldn't hep but flinch every time another grain of sand flew onto the plastic exterior of her go-goggles. It just reminded her too much of being traped in some cage as wild animals clawed at it. Why had she even come out to this awful place anway? Oh yeah, that's right. She was deathly afraid of the fiery path. Yet somehow, this horrible sand storm was a better option? All of this just to get to Fallarbor...

Another rip began to form itself within her ill-fitted khakis. he had bought these just to spare her good clothing the desert trip, and evidently, buying them in an unfashionable size was cheaper. he harsh winds whipped the excess around.

This was insane. She was going to die out here. And for what? A way to reach Fallarbor that didn't involve running away frightened from all those Koffing and Grimer? She'd kill to have to face one right now if she could just be delivered sanctuary.

A dry cough escaped her mouth. Her right hand flew out of it's bracing position to clutch her throat. She could immediately feel the stinging bite of the sands against her breast as the arm was gone, and she utterd a shocked cry, immediately bringing her arms back to their bracing.

She began to feel something tugging at her pant leg. Oh please, merciful god, don't let that be some pokémon. Her Goldeen, and Kirlia had already both been wrought unconcious by the desert's denizens. Without them, whatever lived here could easily make a meal of her.

She looked down nervously, and her worst fears came true. She saw, a small, green, ball-like form. Atop it's head rested a small, yellow flower. Small, almost invisble spines lined it's body, much larger ones seeming to produce spikes. It's lips seemed to be connected by odd, organic bonds, and it's yellow eyes seemed to be sunken within it's skull. Perhaps that was to protect against the perpetual sandstoms.

The creature's arm raised into the air, and mad a waving motion, as it jauntily walked off, occasionally stopping to allow her to catch up to him. Slowly, but surely, he brought the strange human across a vast length of the desert, until they found something that made the female's eyes twinkle with delight, the kind of delight you'd get when a friend, whom you'd taken for dead, came knocking at the door.

An oasis. Sunken ito a deep valley, the watering hole was beneath the harsh desert winds. She immediately rushed over to it, almost tripping as she did so. Shemade her way over in but a few seconds, ad bent down to the edge. Her hands reached down into the water, and he brought the life-saving liquid to her lips, and drank heartily. The Cacnea made it's way over to her, in a somewhat wobbly walk. It seemed to waddle whenever it moved. He watched the human eagerly.

She was glad. She looked own a her own reflection, and let out a mild gasp. My god, she looked horrible. Maybe it was to be expected whe braving a sandstorm, but it didn't matter. She continued to drink to her heart's content, her body feeling rather refreshed. All the troubles of the world began to slide away.

She looked down at the Cacnea, and with amazing speed ripped an empty pokéball off of her belt, ad chucked it forcefully at the Cacnea. She stepped back a bit, and got ready to run if it failed. But she had caught it by surprise. The small cactus pokémon had never even seen a human in his life, so this was all very strange to him. That, coupled with his surprise, and he was an easy catch. She reached down, clipping the ball to her belt wth a smirk. Now she had something to fight her way through the desert with!

With a renewed confidence, she stepped out of the valley, and braved the sandstorm once more. She marched right into it, not a care in the world. She was on top of the word now! The sands being thrown at her bit at her skin, but she didn't care! She marched through the remaining stretch of desert with relative ease.

After little more than a few hours, she could see the end of the desert. She could see the sands fading, and giving way to the grass, in thinning amounts, as though it were slowly fighting a losing battle, and lost.

She broke out into a run. She began to make a beeline for the finish line, like some athlete getting his second wind with the end in sight. But she fell forward, and a sharp pain course through her foot. She found that her foot was trapped in something, and gave her leg a sharp tug, to free it, but it was useless.

She looked, and saw that her foot was stuck in the mouth of a Trapinch. Evidently she must've stepped in one of their little inverted ant-hills, and it got her foot. She'd be alarmed, but now she could fend it off! She unclipped her new catch's ball, and with a smug look, threw it against the ground, and in an almost blinding flash of light, the Cactus was there.

He let out a jolly cry, and looked at his trainer's foot. Before she even gave any commands, he began to fire all sorts of pins at the attacker. Small jets of blood flew into the sky, as the Trapinch reared back it's head in pain, releasing the trainer's foot. She drew back her leg, recalling the new catch into it's ball.

Her ankle felt a bit weak, but it was no matter. She managed to limp her way out of the desert. Once she was finally out of the god forsaken place, she immediately threw herself to the grass, and began to kiss the jagged plan blades. It was a miracle she had gotten out of here. But, she thought in her mind, I guess it's just because i'm really strong! Nothing can defeat me! With these cocky thoughts swimming in her head, she marched away, ignoring the odd stares kids were giving her.

[Crystalmaster Mike]

Hmm, this seems totally different than... But wait. A Cacnea?! OOOOH! Yeah, yeah, now I get it. Okay. Well, I said it before what I thought of this fic, that it will both intreage and *disgust* me, and I don't think I'll change opinions. Please continue.

[KitsuneNinja]

x__o; You sure do love your cactus...

WHY!?!? AAARGH! Because of your first fic, I'm afraid of Cacturne! XD And Cacnea are even more scary! GRRGLGLGGRR...

... I still need to draw Toxin 'n' Sever. .__.; Meep.

Oh well. I'll take my PRECIOUSSSSS time.

[Mr Mayor]

Great! You use lots of detail, which is good. I can almost picture everything you are writing perfectly. Marvelous job! Can't wait for the next Chapter!

[DelusionsOfEuphoria]

Chapter 2:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Chow time!" That female cried out, her words absolutely dripping with sugarcoated sweetness. A cheery look was emblazoned upon that rounded face of hers.

A pleasent wind swept it's way through the grass, rippling it's way across the stream wherein the goldeen merilly swam. One could almost smell all the pollen swimming through the air, and in some cases, feel it. Such was the girl's case. A violent sneeze escaped her nose as a reaction to this. A sniff, and she cleared her head, kneeling to the ground.

Her hand swept it's way down her dress, smoothing out the wrinkles that had lain upon it. The dress was a sleek, ebony color, with images of rose petals all over it. How she loved this dress. She wore it quite often.

Her pack swung about her shoulder, until it was facing frontwards. The pack's deep blue color began to lighten to an almost baby blue within the brightening sunlight, as though some inner light were being awakened. Her delicate hands unclasped the pack, and she drew out from within, three dishes. Each one was a dark, pink plastic, with high edges, and big walls of plastic running down their middles.

She also drew out two packages. One was a powder blue color, and bore a picture of a Magikarp upon it. She poured some of it's contents into one of the dishes, and then, pulling out a bottle of water, squirted a decent amount into the other half of it, and laid it just by the water's edge, for her Goldeen to eat.

Next came a purple package, with the same dimensions, and words, as the blue package. Only this one, bore a sleepy looking Abra upon it. She opened this up, and repeated the above pattern, seeming to have gotten some rythm down to this. A glance was given to the new Cacnea, which looked up at her with a gleeful smile upon it's face.

Quickly, she took the third plate, and crawling closer to the water's edge, swept the dish through the swimming water, completely filling it up, and placed it down in front of the Cacnea. A look of dissapointment washed over the cactus pokémon's face, which became even more profound, as he saw the Kirlia, and Goldeen happily munching away.

He let out a sadden cry, seeing that he wasn't getting any food. He gave a hopeful look to his trainer, but she wasn't paying attention. She was too busy petting her Goldeen. With dejection painted upon his face, he placed his arms within the dish. Tiny, to the point of being invisible, finger-like extension reached out into the water's and drank to their heart's content.

An unsatiated grumble came from his stomach. It called out to him, crying desperately for help, like some mouse caught in between several cats. Tears welled up in his eyes, at his trainer's neglect, and swam down into the grooves upon his orbous form, rolling down to the ground. He slowly began to approach the girl's pack, wiping away the tears. Maybe their'd be some food left for him?

"Hey...Hey!" The girl shouted, running over suddenly and ripping the pack away from the Cacnea. "My name is Erin, and don't you forget it! I'm your trainer, and you do as I say? You understand that?" Erin stated scoldingly, sliding the pack back onto her back.

He looked dejectedly down at the ground. He hadn't meant to make her angry! What had he done? He'd made his loving trainer angry! She knew what was best, and obviously, him getting no food, was the best. Well, it wasn't obvious to him. He uttered another sadden cry, just as that beam of crimson light swept him from the ground, and into that pokéball.

* * *

Night swept across the vast expanse of sky, chasing off the sun and it's giving light, and dotting the sky with millions of twinkling points. They reminded the little Cacnea of the eyes of that Trapinch he saved his trainer from. He looked on dreamily, as he could hear the rythmatic breathing of the slumbering others.

He looked at his sleeping trainer. She looked almost angelic, sleeping there, as the moon's light sweapt over her body. He also looked to...the unattended pack! He let out a gleeful cry, but swiftly shut himself up, 'lest he should wake the others.

He waddle over to the pack, and undid the strap. A supple click was let out, which he tried his best to supress. His eyes quickly darted over to his trainer again, making sure he hadn't woken her up. Oh, he probably shouldn't be doing this. After all, his trainer knew best! But he was hungry...Oh so hungry! The hunger ripped through him once more, and his mind was set. He hauled himself up to the pack, attempting to turn it over, so he could attain those coveted foods. Upon doing so, a sharp cough behind him made him turn. He stared up with alarm at his trainer.

"What did I tell you? Now, you've not only woken me up, but you knocked my pack over! Now who's going to clean up this mess? I guess I have to, don't I? To think I named you Sever, after my father's Scyther...You realize what an honour that is? I'll teach you not to get into my stuff, you ugly damn cactus! " Erin harshly stated.

She picked up from the ground, a large, fallen branch. Knobbly twigs came off it's sides, giving it a somewhat unsettling appearance. Both the trainer's hands grasped the stick, and a powerful swing was made. The stick seemed to slice through the air in a big arc, an accompanying 'Woosh', made, as though it were the air crying out in pain.

Sever was sent flying back with a hurt cry, as the stick slammed into his side. A large, black bruise was left behind by the cruel stick. Tears welled up in his eyes once more. Both from the pain of the stick, and from his own disobedience. Why did he have to go against his trainer like that? He got up from his back, bracing himself. His bracing wasn't in vain, as another sharp slice rendered the air, and a sharp pain exploded in his side, knocking him down once more.

Erin let out an exasperated cry, throwing the stick aside. She crawled back into her warm, navy blue sleeping bag, and shut her eyes to go back to sleep, something, which for the Goldeen and Kirlia, anyway, wasn't disturbed. However, her sleep was interrupted, by Sever's crying.

"Shut the f*** up! I'm trying to sleep! Don't make me do it again!"" Erin screamed irritatedly. The Kirlia began to stir, but amazingly, remained asleep. Her, and the Goldeen, must have been really heavy sleepers.

Sever waddled away from them, sitting alone upon some rock. Pain seethed through his sides. His body was washed over with shame, and sadness. Look at what he'd made Erin do! She probably wasn't usually like that! She probably usually was a nice, sweet lady! Look at what he'd done! He'd made her look like a monster! Why did he have to go against her will? Another rumbling of hunger ripped through his body, but he ignored it, letting the tears roll down his body, and onto the grassy earth below.

[Crystalmaster Mike]

Wow, that really deepens the story behind both Sever and his trainer! Yeah, now I can understand it!

[KitsuneNinja]

Great! x__o; Now you're making me like the Cacnea... Poor lil' guy... ;-; HE JUST WANTED TO MAKE HER HAPPY!! *SOB* Now I can understand the poor ugly cactus's angst and his incredibly-intense hatred for humankind!

... And I still can't find a Feebas in my Sapphire version... I KNOW HOW TO GET IT, I JUST CAN'T GET IT. x__O!!!

... Drew Sever and Toxin. I'll post it in the Fan Art section! Comment on it, j00.

[DelusionsOfEuphoria]

Sorry, this ones a bit short.

Chapter 3:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Hey...girlie...wanna fight?" The rude words came out amongst a sharp, gravely voice, which seemed as deep as the ocean's itself.

The man looked like he'd been worn over the years, rough about the edges, if you will. A seemingly impenetrable layer of stubble lay upon his face, as though it were taunting any razor to even dare challenge it. He wore an old, faded, now grey t-shirt. The outline of some ancient logo could be barely seen, evidently had been torn off. About his legs he wore a pair of tatter jeans, several tears displaying themselves at the bottom.

"Of course. And don't you dare call me girlie again. Sever, now's your chance to attone for last night." Erin half-muttered. With a un-spirited air about her, she unclipped the pokéball from her belt, and tossed it against the ground.

And out from within, came that Cacnea. Large, ugly scabs had twisted themselves into his sides, where the stick had slammed into him the night's before, a black and blue crag upon his orbous green form.

"Spikes." The man muttered, also tossing a ball upon the ground.

Within a flash of light, what now came out was an odd creature, with a pointed nose. Atop the creature's back was a heavy layer of spikes, rising into the air, and jutting out from his fingertips, dangerous looking claws. The beast uttered a low growl, looking at the Cactus, and then arched it's back, bending himself about some invisible ball, uttering another, louder growl, seeming to offer an open challenge.

"Spikes, let's get the ball rolling with a Sandstorm!" The man commanded the spiny beast before him.

The sandslash nodded at it's trainer, and then stood to it's full height. It's eyes seemed to twinkle, as it looked to the sky, his arms outstretched at his side. After a moment of this, a razor sharp wind sliced through the silence. It brought with it, others like it, and these winds bore with them, jagged grains of the earth, which danced dangerously through the air, like tiny bits of broken glass.

Sever stood amongst the storm undaunted. In fact, a look of determination was on his face now. His lips opened into a smile as, to him anyway, the refreshing sands swam about his form. He walked slowly towards his opponent, seeming to cut through the winds like a knife through butter.

"Giga Drain." Another command was uttered from Erin. Her hair was once more robbed by the sands, thrown back into the wind, whipping out in individual directions.

The Cacnea gave a straight-forward leap through the sandstorm, his arms folded into his sides, giving off the impression that he were some odd sort of raptor, diving in upon it's prey. Then his arms swung forward, his spines slamming right into the fellow desert being's unprotected sides.

Small jets of blood flew into the air as the sandslash whipped back in pain, the life's liquid carelessly tossed into the wind. However, bleeding soon began to stop. A look of refreshment came upon Sever's face. Food. Or something close to it. Yes. A satisfied hiss began to let out from him as, his body began to take in the other's blood. A pained cry was sent into the heavens by the Sandslash, as it frantically tried to throw off the Cactus. No good. It had rooted itself well. But after a few moments, blissful to the Cacnea, he had let himself detach.

"Spikes, Fury Swipes."

The Sandslash had no problem obliging with that. Ribbons of blood flowed down his sides from the previous attack, freely flowing, due to anti-clotting agents secreted by the Cactus's needles, much like a mosquito, or even a vampire bat. The sand mouse viciously began to slash at the Cacnea, a look of unbridled anger emblazoned upon it's face, death written in his eyes. But he found himself, slashing at nothing?

Yes, the Cacnea was gone. It seemed as though it had vanished right into thin air, but how? Then, it had become clear to the trainer. Of course, it's a cactus. The sandstorm was helping it! It was no problem for it to dodge that last attack. He was going to have to employ a similiar strategy.

"Quickly, Faint Attack!"

Sever began to pump his feet against the ground, the sandstorm only serving to propel him. He seemed to be heading at his opponent at dangerous speed, though in actuality, that was a mere illusion. He finally reach him, and at the last second leapt into the air. A still image was left behind, a wispy shadow of the Cacnea, left to distract the sandslash. And it had worked. The sand mouse looked oddly at it, grinding his claws together. But then, he was sent flying, his underbelly skidding hard against the ground, sand painfully digging into his wounds. Tears seemed to be welling up in his eyes.

"Spikes! Get up! Uh..uh...Sand tomb!"

Before a comamnd was even issued by his trainer, Sever began to approach his currently down opponent. A strange look, one which he had never before in his life used now portrayed upon his face. He watched as the Sandslash wriggled a bit, as it got up, wincing at the painful sand in it's wounds.

However, more pain exploded within the Sand Mouse's sides. A pained cry was uttered once more, as the Cacnea's spines dug deep into his body. He feebly attempted to slash at his opponent, but he was slowly losing strength. More blood began to flood itself right into Sever's body, satiating his hunger from the night before quite well.

"Spikes! Spikes! Return..." The rugged man let out a dejected sigh, turning his eyes from the sight of the Cactus trying to drain his prized pokémon free. A beam of red light shot from a ball, and swallowed the sand mouse into it's depths.

"Here...it's half of my money. Just...just take it!" The man stated, tossing his money out into the now settling dust.

Something within him seemed to be awakening. A ribbon of blood dribbled down the side of his mouth, evidently some misguided excess. His forked tongue quickly shout and lapped it up, looking about. Hey, he...he won! He'd made Erin happy! He watched as his trainer happily scrambled for the thrown money, and leapt triumphantly into the air.

"How's your new diet working out, eh, Sever?"

[Crystalmaster Mike]

I don't think Erin comprehends what will be the results of this 'new diet'... It seems a strange inner conflict Sever is going through, what with on one side his instincts and on the other his loyalty...

[Craig]

Hehe, Sever is awesome..kind of a sad story..but man, Erin is such a !@#$% !!! No wonder he uhh....does something later.

[mr_pikachu]

This story is definitely something I haven't seen before! Nice work! Erin sure seems like all she cares about is winning, huh? I wonder if another side of her will be revealed later? Cacnea... come to the dark side... hehehe! I wonder if the vampirical way Cacnea must now sustain itself will come back to haunt the poor thing? Only one thing I can suggest, and it's not even a fic suggestion: You might want to take the time to reply to those people who are giving you feedback. It is generally a good way to keep your readers interested during the waiting period between updates, plus we all like to talk to good writers, don't we? One final note; R may be a bit high rating for this fic, unless something big happens later. Anyway, keep this up, it's going very well!

[KitsuneNinja]

Must... kill... Erin... and her blasted... rose petal... dress... *Foam*

I ate your fish.

[DelusionsOfEuphoria]

mr_pikachu: Yup. This story will earn it's rating soon enough. This fic was posted before. Then, a few chaps into it, I scrapped it and restarted it, to make it a whole lot better. The readers of the rough version can attest to it's rating. But since you're a new reader, don't ask them to spoil it for you, you sneaky little man!

Chapter 4:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The soles of Erin's shoes brushed against the tall grasses. As she did, tall spires of ash blew high into the air as a result. She emitted a cough at this, forgetting just how the way to Fallarbor was.

"Well...what do we have here? A newbie...welcome to Route 113. You're going to remember this place all too well in a minute!" A booming voice stated, just behind Erin, and great, big, hand resting upon her shoulder.

"You want a battle? All right then."

Without a word, a crimson and cream orb was tossed to the ground, causing the ball to unhinge itself at the middle. And out from within came a great beast, apparantly, rather glad to be out. It's gargantuan form was covered in brown skin, with leaves of a beautiful emerald. Draping from it's lengthy neck, was wht appeare t be a bunch of bananas. On it's back were spread, for gigantic leaves, which looked as though they could bring their bearer high into the sky at any moment.

"Sever..." Erin stated as she lazily dropped the pokéball upon th ground, letting out her faithful Cacnea.

"Sandstorm!" Erin shouted immediatly as Sever was released.

Sever stepped back a bit, keeping his eyes bent upon the Tropius, watching it's bananas swing about in the wind, ash slowly covering his body. He let out his arms out straight to his sides, stirring up some of the ash covered grass as he did so. Needles twitched a bit, his eyes beginning to shut, summoning up some strength, it seemed. And then, the winds lifted themelves into a great, torrential fury. They bore with them, not only thousands of grains of harsh, stinging sand, but also the warm, and even blazing hot fresh ash, straight from the top of Mt. Chimney.

The other let out a cough, as the sand ripped at his black t-shirt, evidently supporting some sort of metal band. His tropius began to let out a cry as the malicious sands bit at his skin, slowly wearing him down.

"Fly...Fly!" The man hurriedly shouted, making sure his words pierced the winds. He choked back some sand as he opened his mouth.

With a nod, the plant monster began to furiously propel it's great, broad leaves against the ground, and slowly, but surely, the gargantuan dinosaur was sent flying into the sky, soon becoming little more than some dot, before he was gone entirely.

"Spikes" Erin stated calmly.

Sever began to look around, trying to see where his opponent had flown itself off to. With a shrug, he hurriedly began to eject spikes from his body, the jagged points spinning through the air before coming to a stop, hidden amongst the grass. In fact, he himself was hard to see amongst the grass, save for the flower which crowned his head. Soon, the area was completely surrounded in spikes, almost impossible to tell where they were.

A sound then pierced the sky. A searing whistle, getting so much closer, signalling the return of the Tropius. Looking to the Sky, Sever leapt off to the side a bit, careful not to step on his own spikes. His opponent had arrived, and just before the impact, a swift leap sent him back to where he was, the force of the sandstorm helping him to accomplish this feat.

Another great roar pierced the air, with a rather obvious amount of pain underlying this. Slowly, the flying plant beast rose itself up, looking down at his opponent with anger. Several spikes could be seen, shoved into it's front-side, dug deep within his flesh. Small ribbons of blood trickled down from these. A look of unleashed fury was upon the fellow grass-types face. It was trying it's best to ignore the pain of the spikes left un-tended within his body, and the sands digging themselves around the spikes, and within his wounds, as though searching for something treasure. A wince came upon the beast's face, and it continued to advance.

"Sludge Bomb!"

A small sac deep within Sever's body began to wiggle, ejecting from within all that it had held. Burning, acidic toxins, mixed closely with bile, began to purge itself from his body. It had come spewing forth from within the orbous cactus' body, and it began to fill his mouth. His eyes shut, ignoring the immense distaste of his own poisons. The poisons then rushed forward, marching right out of his mouth, pushing against the bonds that had kept his lips together. The poisons sailed through the air, the rolling motion forming them into a gigantic ball of pure sludge.

The flying beast had it's eyes closed at the time, still trying to fend off the pain of sand digging into his wounds. But it had opened his eyes just in time to see the attack. The venoms slammed right into his face, and pain absolutely exploded within him. The powerful force of the attack sent his lengthy, serpentine neck back quite fast, and one could almost hear a crack produced.

"Aerius! No!" The other trainer shouted in worry, watching with horror as his plant beast dropped to the ground, making no movements what-so-ever. A crimson beam shot out, recalling the Tropius back to it's home, revealing the gigantic patch of grass where ashes no longer sat, scattered by the falling of the dinosaur. He dropped another such ball to the ground, this one half navy, covered in some odd netting.

The ball unhinged, and this time, revealed a beast a bit smaller than the gargantuan being from before. But it was still much bigger than Sever was. It's body was covered in a thick, heavy carapace, crimson in color. At the creature's side sat two, gigantic pincers, which looked as though they could snap any un-suspecting thing in half. Atop it's head rested a broken star, evidently broken off in battle. The sandstorm slowly began to weaken, but it was still going strong.

"Hydrus...Swords Dance..."

The giant lobster gave a nod, squnting his eyes to keep them safe from the sandstorm's awful bite. The Crawdaunt's pincers raised high into the air, and with a click, went down in a circle, perfectly synchronized. With that, he then bounded from one set of legs to the other, the ground shaking a bit beneath his weight slamming against the earth. As he bounded about, he slowly moved in a circle, clicking his pincers furiously, working himself into a frenzy.

The sandstorm gave it's last act of defiance to the world, and had then settled itself, the raging winds fading into a cooling, gentle breeze, and then, nothing. Nothing. No sands were left. It was though some deathly spirit had washed over the spirit and killed the wind's will. Silence was the only noise that remained here. That is, until a pained gurgle shattered it. One of the many spikes that had been layed jabbed itself deep into the Crawdaunt's hind foot, blood dripping into the ash covered grass, which was finally beginning to settle.

"Leech seed the overgrown lobster!"

Sever leapt back, careful not to step in his own spikes and share the fate of his opponent. His arm stretched itself towards the other, keeping perfectly pointed at the Crayfish. The spikes which had made up his fingers sucked themselves into his body, leaving several round holes there, infinitely black within. Then, much rounder, brown objects showed themselves, and launched themselves through the air. They landed upon the Crawdaunt's carapace, and rolled down the Crimson armour, until they found joints, cracks, and various other places where they could dig into. Roots sprung painfully into his body, digging right into his flesh, absorbing much needed nutrients from deep within the opponent's body. Another gurgle sprang forward as the seeds slowly drained him.

"Hydrus, Guillotine!"

The opposing Lobster slowly marched through the grasses, every step he took shaking the leaves, and sending more ash high into the cloud-covered sky. Every step he took, there was left behind, a bloody footprint, hardly visible amongst the tall grasses, but nonetheless they were there. Every step brought another wince of pain to his face. He then reared back his larger right pincer, over the shattered star that crowned his head, and brought it down, the pincers opened about Sever. A quick snap sent the claws together, And a low jump sent Sever just above the attack, sitting atop his opponent's pincer.

"Toxic!"

Sever was sent upwards by a mindless flipping of his opponent's claw. He landed lightly down in the ashen grass. However, he was now in a small clearing. His opponent's attempt to chomp him in half had cleared a nice patch of grass. Sever's inner venom sac wiggled a bit, purging itself of the remaining acids that rested within. They were sent in a massive spray in his mouth, individual jets coming from each opening, absolutely lathering the Crawdaunt in the venom. Most of it easily slided off his Carapace, but the rest slid right into the joints and cracks of his armour, just as the leech seeds had, inflicting his body with poison. Sever felt a bit more refreshed, some strange force suddenly giving him more health.

"Hydrus...Brick Break."

Angrily the Crawdaunt charged forward, pain coursing through him as so many forces acted upon him, depleting his health. He looked down to Sever, and slammed his left claw right into his side, sending him flying to the side a bit. Sharp pain exploded right within Sever's side. He had been stricken right in the bruises his trainer had given. His eyes widened. Painful memories began to course through his body, memories of the night his trainer had attacked him. Tears coursed down his body, just as a spin swerved the Crayfish pokémon about, slamming his left claw into Sever's side once more, stopping his flight to the side, but sending him to the opposite side, once more, gigantic pain seething through his body as the claw slammed his bruise. But it wasn't over yet. One more strike from the Crawdaunt's massive right claw swung down upon the top of his head, spiking him down into the grass. Woozily, Sever stepped to the side, falling upon his side, breathing heavily. A bit more health coursed into his body, and he felt energized, ready to fight back, like a runner gaining his second wind.

"Giga Drain!"

Almost immediately after Erin had stated these words, he sent himself at the massive Crayfish, a look of determination emblazoned upon his face, the bonds of his lips straining as his mouth curved into a smile. His arms wrapped about the Crawdaunt's right arm, swinging a bit as his momentum brought him right around. It was hard holding on, but he slowly made his way up to the joint that kept the creature's right arm to his body. He held on with but one arm now, jamming his pins deep into him. The pins opened themselves up, and like the beaks of thousands of mosquitoes, sought out veins, and began to rob the opponent of the fluid that kept him alive. More life coursed through Sever now, slowly recooperating from the powerful attack, added on top of the extra bit of life that the seeds of his body sent to him.

"Taunt!"

At this command the Crawdaunt had pointed the tip of his dominant right pincer at Sever, and then, raised it back up to his face, snapping the claws together and producing a loud clicking noise. His eyes began to roll, and an amused gurgle was let out from his mouth, sounding almost like some sort of...laughing? Anger coursed through Sever. Adding insult to injury? Grrr! He'd show this stupid Crawdaunt! He'd show everyone! Let's see if the opponent is still laughing when he's unconcious! Without any command from his trainer, he leapt up again, and brought himself up to the top of the Crawdaunt's head, Where one of three prongs was exposed due to the shattered star that was meant to guard these. He swung his claws futily at the Cacnea, as his opponent's arms constricted about the prong and then...Snapped it right from his head!

A gurgled, filled to brimming with sheer pain rang through the sky, as the Crawdaunt ran about the area, leaving behind his bloody footprints, snapping his claws at the Cacnea, stepping on even more spikes without his knowing. Blood began to spew from the broken off tip, and Sever bent to this, draining the liquids right into his mouth, nourishing his body once more. More life was drained from the Crawdaunt due to the seeds, and into Sever's body. The pain had become too much. The Crawdaunt's eyes went black. He went from side to side, losing his balance, until a defeated gurgle was let out, and he dropped to the ground.

Sever leapt from the back of his defeated foe, growling triumphantly into the sky, blood dribbling out from each and every opening upon his mouth, blood splattered also across the spines upon his arm. A malicious grin came onto his face, looking at his defeated foe, whom was still bleeding heavily. Suddenly, a blinding light swallowed him into it's depths. It beckoned to him, and he answered it's call.

A pained hiss rendered the air, as his bones began to extend, as though they were reaching for something. His legs grew, and he rose high into the sky, almost as tall now as the trainer that stood awestruck before him. Spines rose also, going from almost invisible pricks, into massive thorns which emblazoned his entire form. The crown atop his head sprouted, and became a large, pyramid like shape, which capped his head. And then, the comforting light had left him, panting and kneeling on the ground at the pain of the sudden evolution. The brim of the new "cap" cast his face deep into shadows, throwing onto him a more sinister look. The Crawdaunt's blood remained upon his body, refusing to be sent away by the light.

"Sever...you've...you've evolved!" Erin shouted happily. She took out that crimson and cream orb, recalling Sever back into it's depths, into his home, with but a beam of red light. A similiar beam also absorbed the bleeding Crawdaunt.

"My god...Hydrus...Here's...here's your money! Just take it!" The other trainer shouted, throwing his entire wallet upon the ground, not even bothering to divide it, as was the agreement. Erin scooped up the wallet from the ash and blood covered clipped grass, placing the wallet into her pack with a smirk.

[KitsuneNinja]

It's Sever!!! Bree-waaaahhhh!

:: Does a lil' jig. ::

Once again, you have amazed me with these battle scenes... It's, like, "WHOA! Pokémon can bleed!" ... Y'know what I mean. x__o;

[Red Angel]

Time to step out of the shadows and admit that this is a pretty good fanfic. The realism is something, too. Good job.. I'm looking forward to the next chapter,

[classy_cat18]

Wow, that was just....wow. Can't find anything bad to say about this, but neither can I find the words to describe this awesome fic. As for Sever's b*tchy trainer, she's gonna get it...

[mr_pikachu]

That trainer stepped so confidently into battle with his Pokemon... and got destroyed by only one of his opponent's Pokes singlehandedly! Interesting match, Grass/Flying Tropius against Grass Cacnea! It's funny how Grass triumphed over a part-Flying type, but it proves that type doesn't decided everything! But, man, what was that guy thinking sending out Crawdaunt against a Grass type? (Unless, of course, I'm forgetting some advantage Dark has over Grass...) Once Sever evolved, that "overgrown lobster" was finished. Nice chapter, although I do hope there's more to this fic than just battles, even though you do them so well!

[Crystalmaster Mike]

My, my... Isn't that realisticly described! Wow, goody! And ah... We've gots ourselves a vampiristic Cacturne here, people! One with a grudge against a certain trainer o' his... Uuuuuh...

[Ultra_Poke2000]

this is a pretty good fic, what with all the gore and other such things. but was the battle what gave it the R rating? or is that part yet to come? cant wait!

[DelusionsOfEuphoria]

Chapter 5:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The sun had retreated it's way into the horizon, allowing the crests of distant hills to consume it, bring to some place of comfort, like it were returning home from a long vacation. Clouds began to gather in long, wispy strips, strewn across the swiftly reddening sky.

After a few moments, the sky had gone a darkening gray, the sun now hiding behind the horizon. Erin looked behind her, to the city of Fallarbor, which she was in the process of leaving. She come all this way to see her cousin, and yet, she wasn't even there. It seemed, she had moved. She sighed, as her eyes began to absorb all the rich, red rocks, and sparce vegetation about this area, all the mountainous crags.

Here was as good of a place as any. She knelt down, swinging her blue pack around to her front. She began to undo a large, black strap that kept a flap at the top close. Reaching in, she pulled out a large, rolled up padded object, and grabbing one end, snapped it, and un-rolled it across the terrain.

She reached to her belt, expanding the size of each ball, and tossing them against the ground, letting her pokémon out. She felt more comfortable with them sleeping around her, because she knew they would protect her. However, watching her Goldeen flop helplessly against the ground, she recalled it, leaving out just her Kirlia, and Sever.

Sever stood there, un-moving, like some sort of green sentinel. His eyes were thrown into an ominous shadow at the darkening of the sky. He made no motion, save for his rythmatic breathing, And an occasional movement of his eyes. The tiny irises fixed themselves upon the other, the Kirlia, expanding in the twilight, the infinite black branching out to try and absorb all the light it could. The psychic type gave a shudder at this, and laid down to go to sleep, trying to ignore the now-evolved team mate. He continued to stand there, light breezes swimming about his spined form, watching the other two, seeming to wait...

After an hour, it seemed that whatever he was waiting for had come. The two had been consumed by the bonds of sleep, and after watching a few minutes to make sure, he began to stray from the camp site. He walked, and walked, until the crimson rocks began to diminish, until he could no longer see the camp site. He found himself standing before a great, wooden bridge, and without another moment's though, he stepped out onto the planks.

He had now found himself in a place where great grey rocks rose from within a sea of grass, which was in many varying lengths. He stepped out onto the grass, and stood silently, waiting, watching. He put his arms out to his sides, stretching them, attemping to give himself the appearance of some sort of odd tree. Breezes began to blow against the grass, but he stood, unwavering, unaffected by the winds.

Then, an odd cry had pierced the cold silence. Two, great shapes flying across the light of the moon made themselves evident, and swiftly, the silhouettes flew to the earth, their ebony feathers almost seamlessly blending in with the darkness. Swiftly, the two birds had descended upon Sever, and they perched themselves upon his outstretched arms. Sever had never seen creatures such as these, though little to his knowledge, that was to good reason, these birds weren't native to anywhere within Hoenn.

Waiting a couple more minutes, Sever kept his eyes intent upon the birds, watching them preen their ebony fathers with their great yellow beaks, the odd, two-pointed crests of their heads waving about. After a moment, he no longer saw it fit to wait. and with a fast spin, had getten the Murkrows off of him, and he viciously swung his arms at the two, a crazed looke in his eyes, but he kept missing. It wasn't doing any good, and he noticed that the shrill calls of the two crows was scaring off potential prey, so outstretched his arms once more, standing silently, ignoring the two birds.

The two birds, as well, seemed undaunted by the fact that their perch had attempted to attack them, and continued to dart their heads around, watching for something. Waiting, it seemed. But for what, was unknown.

However, what Sever had been awaiting soon came. A small, blue pokémon, orbous in shape, dragging another orb across the ground slowly came out of the water, the liquids rushing swiftly off it's smooth blue and white fur. It slowly walked up to Sever, and began to walk away, doing it's best not to look at the frightening Murkrows.

Sever snapped into action. He leapt from the ground, making a quiet slipping noise against the wet grass, and ran swiftly at the water mouse pokémon. The Murkrows had made their shrill cry as they were suddenly thrown from their perch. This brought the Marill's attention back to them, but just as he had turned, he was sent sprawling to the ground as Sever had leapt at him and dragged him down.

Sever position himself above the water mouse, watching it's horrified screams for help, the motion of it's body as it struggeled to escape the Cacturne. He brought back his arm, and slammed it into the Marill's stomach, embedding his thorns deep into his body. Just as he had done this, he swiftly drug back his arm, leaving a giant gash in the water mouse. The two Murkrows sat upon the ground watching this, listening with some delight as the Marill's shrill, ghostly scream was made at the assault.

Fear was written into it's eyes. The Marill began to furiously spray water at it's assailant trying to defend itself, but it was doing very little good. Another shrill scream pierced the night, as those fearsome spikes embedded themselves into the water mouse body once more, and dragged themselves through his flesh. It had begun to grow black for the water mouse, and it's eyes began to shut, as it gave one last, faint, defiant cry into the night.

Blood began to pool upon the grass, the moonlight reflected within the creeping crimson puddle. Sever let out a victorious hiss into the night sky, and bending down to his kill, began to tear at it's flesh, stripping it right from the body, until eventually, all that was left was bones, organs strewn across the ground, and some skin and flesh here and there. The two Murkrows flew across the ground, making their way to the remains, as Sever rose from the ground, his forked tongue darting from his mouth and lapping up the blood that was covering his face.

A shrill hiss pierced the sounds of the two Murkrows viciously picking through the remains to find tasty morsels. Slowly, Sever approached the source, paying no heed to the messy sounds that played out behind him, and staring into the grass, he found two glass yeyes staring back at him, the moon's light showing itself in them, long ebony slits dividing the deep, dark eyes. Another hiss came from just beneath these eyes, understandable words found within this, at least, to the three that were there within the bloody clearing.

"Sssssuch a lust for blood you seem to have gotten...and now you come to the place of my living..." Were the words that were said, as the serpentine creature came out from the grasses, the red edge of it's sword-like tail reflecting the moonlight. "And tell me...where isssss your trainer? The one that seemed so eager to obey?"

"She is asleep, giving me the opportunity to sneak off and hunt..." Sever stated in response, keeping his ominous yellow eyes upon the snake.

"Sssssneak off and hunt? Doessssss sssssshe not feed you? Would that explain your trying to eat the Crawdaunt?" The seviper stated, moving about Sever in a big circle.

"Yes...And how do you know about the fight?" Sever asked, starting to grow rather annoyed.

"I wasssss there..." The seviper stated, his eyes shifting over to the two Murkrows.

"And why were you so far from your home? I'm beginning to grow rather suspicious of you...And what is your name anyway?" Sever stated, stretching out his arms, allowing the Murkrows to perch upon him once more, finding some strange comfort in it.

"You sssssssee this wound upon my face? I chassssssed a Zangoose all the way up there, and he gave me thisssss. And you may call me Toxin." Toxin stated, his forked tongue darting out to taste the air. His head nodding to show off a rather prominent scar across his left eye. "But what makes me curioussssss are thosssssse two birds of yoursssssss...I have neither ssssseen nor head of creaturesssss such as thessssse...."

"As well you shouldn't. We aren't native to these parts. Kanto wasn't...to our liking." The male of the two stated.

"Kanto?" Sever stated, looking over to the male murkrow.

"It is a land far from here..." The female of the two murkrows stated, looking to the sky. A silence then settled over the four. Their eyes began to dart all about, to and fro, as though trying to find something, anything to occupy their eyes with, but finding nothing.

"I think that perhaps I should head back..." Sever stated, folding his arms back to his sides, causing the two Murkrows to fly off his arms, and back to the ground.

"To your trainer? You should kill them, and free yourself. Yes." The male Murkrow stated, keeping his eyes focused upon Toxin, whom responded by tasting the air with his tongue.

"Fate is right. Be done with her. You shouldn't have to sneak off just to get sustenance..." The female Murkrow stated, then giving a shrill, meaningless caw into the night sky.

"No, Destiny, he shouldn't." Fate stated, looking up to Sever, a strange look in his eyes.

Sever stood there for a couple minutes, watching the three, another silence settling over them. After a few moments, his head began to shake, and he spun around, and bolted away from the area, leaving Fate, Destiny, and Toxin behind. This was all too much for him...

[Red Angel]

looks like Sever's trainer is going to have... porblems... very soon. Nice. Keep going!

[Crystalmaster Mike]

Ah, so thisssss isssss Toksssssin! Nissssse!

And I think we're nearing that one part...

[Ultra_Poke2000]

ah, gore, and more gore to come, it seems. this is a pretty good fic that you're writing. cant wait for the next update!

[KitsuneNinja]

YESSSS! It's Toxin! He has made his appearance!!! ::Huggles her Toxin.:: *Whimper* I'm... so... proud of my lil' snake-i-poo... And my black crow of death who was so randomly named Destiny one day!

.__. How near are we to... THAT PART, YES? Where we see that stupid rose petal dress all... VWOOSH.

[DelusionsOfEuphoria]

The morning's sun crept up over the horizon, peeking from over the hilltops, taking another daily stroll out from it's home. It's gentle morning rays beamed down upon the red earth, the morning dew that had settled upon the few plants there twinkling within the light.

Morning found Sever, kneeling at the water's edge, furiously bathing himself, and feeding himself the water. Gasped growls emitted from his mouth as he viciously lathered himself in the water, trying his best to remove the night's blood.

Erin rolled over, stirring. A yawn came from her mouth, and she awoke, dragging herself out of the sleeping bag, beaming at her sleeping Kirlia, and watching curiously as Sever bathed. She dropped her Goldeen's pokéball, and released the orange and cream fish, letting it flop down to the water, where it sat contentedly within the cool luquid, basking in the morning sun's reflection. The fish pokémon swam up to Sever, eyes brimming with curiousity at the way he was bathing himself.

"Are you...okay?" He had asked him.

"Away..." Sever growled in response.

At this, Sever rose from the ground, shaking some stray water from his head, twitching his arms a bit, making sure to check himself, so that Erin would see none of his hunt's blood.

"Time for breakfast, guys..." Erin muttered, still half asleep.

Her hand waving errantly at frazzled, disheveled look her hair was currently in. She reached over, undoing that pack, and pulling out those two, oh so familiar bags. Anger began to course through Sever as he heard the bags dumping some of their contents onto two trays, but not 3, and looked disgustedly at the Goldeen who swawm eagerly to the shore, as Erin came and place the dish at the water's edge.

After having done this, Erin crawled right back into her sleeping bag, letting unconciousness once again regain her tired form. She never did do mornings. She only cared to get up to feed her Pokémon. Kirlia, heavy sleeper it was, continued to remain asleep, it's unconcious form ignoring the plate of food she had been served.

Sever let out another frustrate growl, and turned from the campsite. He ran, far, far from the other 3, his legs swiftly carrying him over the length of bridge, trying to ignore the neglect he was once more given. He found himself surrounded by the dew-covered grasses, no longer on the bridge. He turned, and looked back, shielding his eyes from the morning sun, giving a momentary glance to a small house, and then, back to the taller grasses.

"Back, I ssssssee..." A familiar hiss roused the quiet.

"Toxin..." Sever hissed back.

"We didn't get to finissssh our little converssssation lasssst night, did we? No..." Toxin hissed, slithering quietly out from the tall brush. "Did you come to get the breakfassssst that your trainer wouldn't ssssserve you?"

"I...I...no. I...I don't know." Sever stammered, sitting down upon the grass.

"Methinkssss you sssshould take the carrion fowl'ssss advice....hmmm? Toxin stated assuringly, slithering closer.

"I can't...I won't!" Sever shouted in response.

"Hah...what isss it...Do you sssshow your trainer too much love? Such a dessspicable being doesn't deserve it." Toxin hissed, in a calm manner, but yet, something was beneath that calm attitude.

"I...I don't know...I...urgh...." Sever muttered, shaking his head a bit.

"Well, perhapssss you sssshould run back to your...'trainer', before you disssapoint her. And that'sss ssssomething you don't want...oh no!" Sever hissed mockingly.

"SHUT UP!" Sever shouted at Toxin, before he had turned, and bolted.

"Poor fool..." Toxin muttered to himself, shaking his head.

* * *

"Blegh...can't get back to sleep..Ah well. Guess i'll have to just get up..." Erin muttered to herself, wiggling her way out of her sleeping bag.

Slowly, she rose, her feet pressing against the dusty red earth. A breeze blew itself through her bed afflicted strands of hair. She wasn't in the mood to bother with it today, so she removed a scrunchy from her pocket, and puller hair up, so it would just be out of the way. Out of sight, out of mind. She ran over behind some bushes, taking her pack with her, and looked around. Seeing nobody, she swiftly began to change, out of her Rose Petal dress, and into a simple white t-shirt and a lengthy skirt.

She walked out from behind the bushes, stuffing her dress swiftly into her pack, looking around to make sure everything was okay. Kirlia, as per usual, was still asleep, and Goldeen has happily playing around in the water. All was well, except for one thing. She began to look arond furiously, looking for Sever.

"Sever? Sever! You get out here right now!" Erin shouted, growing agitated.

Just then, she heard some footsteps, swiftly approaching, pounding against the wooden planks of that nearby bridge. She turned, her plain white tennis shoes digging into the crimson dust, looking to see who that was. It was just as she thought. It was Sever.

"What the hell do you think you are doing?! You stay with me, damnit! I won't have you running away when i'm not looking!" Erin shouted.

Crimson began to wash into Erin's face, as she began to shake a bit, throwing her pack to the ground in her rage. Goldeen swiftly dove under-water, seeing something in some pond-weed that was shiny, his curiousity gaining the best of him.

"I'll teach you! I'll f***ing teach you allright!" Erin shouted, her voice raising in intensity.

She brought back her arm, her elbow bending, the knuckle on her middle-finger just slightly raised. With that, she brought it at Sever's face with absolutely blinding speed, sending him sprawling to the ground, clutching his face. Memories began to flash through his mind of the first time Erin had something like this. But this time, no tears came.

"You're lucky i'm tired, or you'd get worse. And don't cry, like you did before, or you will get worse!" Erin yelled.

She lifted her pack up, and brought the straps onto her shoulders. She let out a sigh, forgetting her sleeping bag. She set the backpack off her shoulders again , and rolling up the sleeping bag, stuffed it back into the sack, making sure also to grab the trays, placing them in her pack.

Kirlia slowly began to free herself from her state of willing unconciousness. The first thing she saw, was Sever, standing angrily by the water, sharp breaths drawing in and out of his mouth, a gigantic black bruise welling up on his face, accompanying the ones upon his sides. His body shook with every breath he took, a crazed look welling up into his eyes. His arms twitched. He seemd to be trying his best to hold himself back for something.

She swiftly turned away from the frightening sight, and began to eat her food quickly, so her trainer could take the tray. And it didn't take long, this stuff could be eaten very fast.

"Alright. It's time to go. Kirlia, Goldeen, return. Sever, you're staying with me. You step out of line like that again...and you'll see what happens!" Erin stated in a threatening manner. Two pokéballs clutched in one hand shot from within, crimson beams, which absorbed the two others.

The two stepped out onto the bridge, an air of intense friction making itself evident between them. Neither said a thing, and neither looked at one another. Sever was still seething with rage, which he was doing his best to contain. His head was swimming. Swimming with the words of Fate and Toxin. Swimming with the words that Erin had shouted. He shook his head, trying to throw the thoughts out, but they wouldn't stop plagueing him.

As they stepped out onto the grass, beneath the approaching noon-sun, Sever looked about, whilst walking along-side his trainer. He saw those same, glassy eyes that he knew too well. A chuckled hiss emitted from within the grass, at the sight of the two together. Even more rage began to boil within Sever.

His mouth began to taste of copper. Large amounts of it. And his mouth was filled some sort of sticky fluid. Violent pain washed through him, and thick ribbons of blood stream down from his mouth, and down his face. Reality snapped back into him.

Evidently, the suppresant was his tongue, and he was too awash in emotions to even feel the pain. His arm came up, wiping the blood away, ignoring the horrible pain that his tongue was experiencing. It became too much. The taste of his own blood, much as it was something he was used to, was something he couldn't bear. He stopped, and bending his head, dribbled the crimson liquid all over the grass blades, until his mouth was mostly empty.

"Hey...Lady...how's about a battle?" A small child's voice rang out, piercing once more Sever's angry, clouded mind.

"Okay. Sever." Erin nodded at Sever, a stern look on her face.

Sever came to stand in front of Erin, though reluctantly, his eyes seemed to dilate as his body moved rythmaticaly, his supressed rage barely containing itself.

"Gusty! Go!" The child shouted, adjusting his red ball-cap.

The ball released a small bird, which chirped determinedly at Sever, and then, noticing the Cacturne's currently rather intimidating appearance, begin to back down a little.

"Sever. Faint attack." Erin stated, not even looking at Sever.

Sever looked at the cowering bird before him, and back to his trainer. His thoughts continued to tear right through his body, throwing him one way, and throwing him the other, trying desperatly to do something. He continued to stand there, his breath growing sharper with every intake that his body made.

"Did you not hear me? Faint Attack, damnit!" Erin stated, her voice raising in frustration.

Sever's head began to shake back and forth. He turned to look at Erin, a look of determination replacing the caged rage that was settled there before. His head continued to shake back and forth at Erin's command, drawing closer to her.

"No..." Sever stated defiantly, anger in his voice. Yet, oddly enough, he heard himself, speaking plain english?

Total shock came over Erin. Her eyes widened. Had she just heard, what she thought she heard? Her jaw dropped a little, and she looked at Sever, completely amazed at this. But that wonder then faded, and her voice went back to the harsh tone from before, but yet, a bit hoarse from the yelling she had done before.

"No?! Grrr...WHAT DID I TELL YOU!?" Erin shouted.

She drew back her fist once more, and brought it at Sever as before, with extreme force, intended to do even more damage than his last punishment had done. The child's eyes, and the taillow's, widened with shock. They had heard stories, but had never seen abusive trainers.

But the punishment never came. No. Sever's arm came up, the end of it stopping Erin's fist, the green skin denting inward a bit at the sudden force, but Sever was undaunted. Another look of bewilderment came onto her face, amazed at Sever's audacity.

But Erin didn't have the time to rear back for another punch, just as she attemped to do so, Sever made his move. He released Erin's fist, and spun away from her. However, he spun right on back, his arm reared back, and with a powerful slam, launched his arm right into her stomach, the needles embedding themselves deep within her stomach.

The child recalled his Taillow not sure what to do, and, on an impulse, took off running. Maybe he'd find help. Who knew? All he knew was that he'd picked the wrong person to battle, and he wanted out of there! His legs carried him swiftly across the grass, and soon, he was gone.

Erin gasped with pain, choked noises emitting from her scratched throat, as the ribbons of blood dragged down her skirt, and to the ground. Swiftly, Sever's arm drug away, leaving a deep gash within Erin's stomach. She dropped to the ground, clutching her wound, tears streaming down her eyes.

It was all exploding right in her face. Everything she had done was catching up to her. Memories of the innocent, happy Cacnea that Sever was back in the desert started to come through her mind, and she looked up at the horrible monster that he was now.

More pain exploded within Erin, as those fearsome spikes slammed into her slender form, piercing right through the fabrics of her white shirt, and staining it with her own blood, which crawled slowly across the threads. Another swift drag, and another major gash exposed Erin's inner flesh.

More tears began to stream down her face, as the taste of copper began to fill within her mouth. She could feel her arms violently being ripped away from her body, and yet more pain exploding in her. She could hear her own heartbeat ringing in her head, slowly going down with the last strike. Her eyes began to blacken, and she could hear a sharp hissing approaching.

"I'm sorry...Sever..."Erin managed to choke out.

And then, death had swallowed her. Her body went limp, and slowly began to lose it's warmth. Sever's body continued to seeth with that rage, that re-kindled rage. His body jerked sharply as he looked at his trainer, seeing very clearly her flesh. Hunger ripped through him, and all self-control escaped him.

With an animalistic fury, he leapt upon his ex-trainer's body, and voraciously began to tear at her flesh, in a disgusting display, relishing completely the taste of her death. Jets of blood from sever veins began to spray him, but he minded not. He continued to tear into his body, not even hearing the delighted hiss to his side.

"And sssso...it happened...." With those words, two caws pierced the sky, and feathers could be heard beating against the sky.

[KitsuneNinja]

Such a cute sardonic serpent... EE-HEE! ::Huggles a Seviper plushie.:: ^___^

... Pah. You should've had her Rose Petal dress get torn... BLEH. At least she dies... YESSS. AHAHHAHAHAA!!!

[classy_cat18]

Hail the Stephen King of Pokemon! Encore, encore!

[Red Angel]

Your fanfic is SUCH a bloody mess... literally

Keep going, this could get interesting...

[mr_pikachu]

How... violent! But aside from the occasional misspell, it was quite good!

So what will Sever do now? And will Kirlia and Goldeen ever get out of their Pokeballs? Or will they be locked in there for eternity? And no, I don't care one bit about Erin. I just hope Sever's "new diet" doesn't come back to haunt him now! We've had were-Pokemon, now... Vampire Pokemon!!! HAHAHAHAHA!!!

[KitsuneNinja]

Hm... Actually I believe Cacturne's diet consists of flesh and blood. x__o;;;

If you look in the Sapphire data of Cacturne, it says, "If a traveler is going through a desert in the thick of night, CACTURNE will follow in a ragtag group. The POKéMON are biding their time, waiting for the traveler to tire and become incapable of moving."

... o__o; Now.. uh... doesn't that sound like Cacturne would happen to be a.. uh... *Ahem* Carnivorous Pokémon? I don't know any other reason... Why would someone stalk a lone traveler with a group... and wait until the traveler is immobile.. THAT is the chance to STRIKE! *Hiss*

INDEEDILY-DO!

[Crystalmaster Mike]

Ah... so it beginssss a bit different than the rough copy, huh? Never mind, this is better. We understanded Sever's actions now, and now REALLY wanted to see Erin DIE. Mwahahahah! Um-yeah, so... will the rest of the story have some similarity to where the rough seemed to go to?

[DelusionsOfEuphoria]

Originally posted by Crystalmaster Mike
Ah... so it beginssss a bit different than the rough copy, huh? Never mind, this is better. We understanded Sever's actions now, and now REALLY wanted to see Erin DIE. Mwahahahah! Um-yeah, so... will the rest of the story have some similarity to where the rough seemed to go to?

Mostly, yes. There'll be some surprises thrown in, some things cut out, but otherwise, it'll mostly follow where the rough copy was going.

[DelusionsOfEuphoria]

"My god..." A man stated in a mixture of disgust and horror.

The sun shone brightly off the top of the man's hairless head, which stuck out amongst a sea of blue and red, and plenty of buttons. His uniform, no less. A look of worry was emblazoned upon his face, his large, stubby hands wiping at his face, as though trying to wash away all the discomfort. He could never get used to this job.

Before the man lay the body of Erin, unrecognizable save for the head. A disgusting mess of flesh and organs lay strewn across the grass beneath her cold, empty head, which sat just above the horror, like some ghostly overtone to some already horrible thing. A cringe came over the man, and he swiftly turned away.

"What do you think, Rav?" The man asked a nearby woman.

She stood against the sunlight, eclipsing him from it's rays. She turned from her conversation with another man, her read hair swaying a bit as she did so. The man had to supress a little grin. Rav wasn't beautiful, not at all. Nor was she at all ugly. She was mostly average. But the man couldn't help but feel an attraction to her, somehow. But he shook his head a bit. Now wasn't the time to think these things, and turning back to the mess before him gave him a harsh snap back into reality, and that disgusted look of horror came onto his face.

"Well. Obviously a mutilation of some kind. I recognize that face from somewhere...I think this might be Erin Salaen. My gut tells me this wasn't just any old hungry pokémon. Something tells me that who, or what, attacked her, well, she provoked it somehow. She wasn't all that nice. At least...not to most people. But this is all wild speculation...Anyway. The nature of this suggests to me that whatever did this probably wasn't human. What do you make of it, Cory?" She stated, kneeling down a bit, and then looking back up to the bald man.

"Have to say I agree...I've been studying the body, and it seems most of what is here is just blood, bones, organs, and some other gore. Also, a couple patches of grass over, some guys found some bones, blood, and organs, basically everything inedible, left there. They were reconstructed a bit, and we found out that it was a Marill. While I agree with you that it wasn't a man that did this...I don't think this was anything more than this girl being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Some hungry pokémon killed that Marill, found it wasn't enough, went a little farther, found this girl, and made a meal out of her. Now if you'll excuse me, this is starting to get to me a bit, i'm going to go talk with some of the other men. Take over for me here, will ya?" Cory stated, leaving Rav at the body, or rather, what was left of it.

Three objects caught Rav's eyes then, three orbs, crimson and white, luminous within the noon-time sun. She darted a look over to the side a bit upon this discovery. She saw a few other police officers discussing matters, showing each other evidence, and even taking coffee breaks. The three orbs were all attached to a belt, which lay amongst the girl's clothing, which lay against the ground, soaking in it's wearer's blood.

"Hey guys...come here. I think I found something that might help us determine what caused this..." Rav stated, voice raised a bit, but not shouting. Three men, one of them Cory, rushed over to her.

"I found some pokéballs laying in the girl's clothes. Is it okay if I take them over behind that rock, and have Rainne talk to them? We might be able to get some crucial information out of them. Keep ready though, in case I end up face to face with a pissed off Tyranitar or something." Rav stated.

The three gave her a nod of approval, and with that, she covered her hands in two latex gloves, stretching the tight, rubbery material over her hands, making sure that her hands would make no contact with the body. Assured that this would not happen. She reached over, unclipping each of the minitaurized balls from the crimson soaked belt.

With that, she popped up from the ground, leaving the body behind, and went behind one of the many tall rocks that populated this little area, and threw all three balls against the ground. All three of them opened with that flash of light that indicated they were all populated, yet only two of them had anything come out. However, she thought nothing of it.

She saw now that the two pokémon before her were a goldeen, and a kirlia. Her eyes teared up a little, but she held them back without touching her eyes. She had a certain emotional attachment to Ralts, Kirlias, and Gardevoirs, due to her childhood, but she wasn't going to let that get in the way of her investigation, despite the hard part of telling these two that their beloved trainer is dead. She nonchalantly threw an all white ball against the ground, a Gardevoir emerging gracefully from within, it's blue hair shimmering brilliantly in the sun.

"Rainne. These two's trainer was mutilated. First...can you do me the favour of breaking it to these two? I just can't find the words...and you are so much better at these things." Rav stated calmly.

"Allright. You two, what are your names?" Rainne projected into the two's minds, kneeling down to them, a caring, concerned look upon his face.

"Our trainer...never named us...Who are you? And who is that behind you?" the Kirlia stated, not bothering to use telepathy like her evolution had.

"I am known as Rainne. And that behind me is Raviel, my trainer. Well, now that we know each other...i'm afraid I have some bad news to say to you both" Rainne stated in the usual pokémon language, rather than telepathy.

"Your trainer...has passed on from here. I am sorry. Please let me know...if there is anything I may do to ease your suffering..." Rainne continued, the utmost sincerity on his face.

"Erin...is...dead? But...how...why?" Goldeen stated, flopping anxiously against the grass.

"I'm afraid, that your trainer may have been attacked by another pokémon. I don't mean to rush you two...but is there anything you might know?" Rainne stated, bowing his head a bit.

"Well...erh..Erin...she had gotten this new pokémon. A cacnea. And she didn't exactly treat it too well. Often times, when I was asleep, or goldeen here was off playing, she would punish it, rather harshly. Myself, I have never seen this happen, but goldeen never lied to me before..." Kirlia stated, anxiously rubbing her arms together, her chest rising rythmatically with sharp, deep breaths.

"Is this true?" Rainne questioned, turning to the goldeen.

"Well, like Kirlia, I also never saw it happen. But...I could hear it...Maybe it was just my mind. It probably was. Yes...of course it was! Shame on me...making my Erin seem like a horrible person! Oh god...is she really dead?!" Goldeen stated, flopping around on the grass, with quick, hyper-induced movements, his tone becoming more cracked, and saddened.

"I am afraid she is, goldeen. Well...i'll have to keep what you said in consideration. Not trying to make your trainer seem bad, but it's worth keeping on hand...If you'll excuse me, I must converse with Raviel for a moment." Rainne stated, patting the two really quickly, to reassure them, before getting up.

He almost seemed to float across the grass, an unseen wind ruffling the beautiful tail that rested about his waist, wrapping around all his legs. He made his way over to Raviel, who perked up at his arrival, awakened from brewing within her own thoughts.

"Okay. They both attest to this girl, Erin, having a third pokémon, a Cacnea. The goldeen claims that on occasion, he may have heard what was possibly Erin abusing it somehow, but then he flew into a nervous rage and started flopping all over, yelling at himself. I wouldn't rule out the possibility, but the kirlia claims to have been asleep everytime it happened, and the goldeen, well, I already accounted for that." Rainne stated, in the language of humans. There wasn't too many pokémon that could exhibit this, but he was one of them, as well, apparantly, was Sever, but noone knew that but Erin, did they?

"Alright. I'll tell some of the others to ask around about any Cacneas running around. I have a feeling that some detail was left out. It doesn't seem like this is something a cacnea could accomplish, is it? It may have evolved...ask them if it did." Raviel asked Rainne, whom turned with a nod, facing the other two once more.

"One more question. At this time, would that cacnea you mentioned, still be a cacnea?" Rainne asked the two.

"No...no. He's a cacturne now...And a rather frightening one at that. Those eyes...I wouldn't doubt he did this to Erin! I wouldn't doubt it! Oooh...i'll find him and finish him off myself!" The kirlia stated determinedly.

A shudder overcame the kirlia then. Her mind began to search back into it's depths, back to that day, just outside the town of Fallarbor, when Sever was just standing there, near the water. Staring. A stare so cold, so lifeless, it chilled her very soul, even now, it seemed some of herself was missing. She crawled up against the rock, clutching her slender legs to her chest, tears starting to roll down her pale white cheeks, both at the memory of Sever, and of Erin.

[KitsuneNinja]

You and your Gardevoirs. ^___^;

ME AND MY UMBREONS! *Huggle* ;__;

Well, well... Now what's Sever gonna do, eh? He is now a wanted Pokémon, ne?

[Crystalmaster Mike]

Yep, Sever is wanted, but... He ain't some crazy criminal loonatic, he's only crazy. Well, I feel sorry for both him and Erin's other Pokémon, though for Erin... Let's just say you can't feel sorry for a messy pile of guts.
*Interesting thing I noticed*: So you made Rainne male, huh? Interessssting.

[mr_pikachu]

Poor Sever! He's been described as a brutal, bloody murderer! And the kid Erin was battling knows about the talking to humans thing, too!

I guess Goldeen thinks it was having Delusions, but not ones of Euphoria! *gets weird stares from everyone* *points to fic writer's username* Okay, bad joke, I know, but I have a poor sense of humor. Or at least everyone who knows me thinks I do.

That guy thinking about his attraction for Raz was just... weird... but I do love the description of Erin! I probably would've had a buzzard dump on her face, but that's just me!

Will Kirlia and Sever fight to the death? I feel so sorry for Erin's pokes, being in denial and all. But how could they NOT know she was evil? That almost makes them evil in itself!

And, do tell, where is Sever? Is he off "Severing" someone's head? (Yeah, yeah, another bad joke. Shaddup.)

Well, anyway, I await your next chapter! I am going through "Severe" nervousness in anticipation! I've been awake and waiting so long I'm having Delusions!

[KitsuneNinja]

.__.; I think... you have... a funny... sense of humor... YESSS...

:: Dies. ::

Rainne... :teals his name.::

[DelusionsOfEuphoria]

"What are we going to do with those two, Raviel? We can't just leave them here...I suppose we could give them up for adoption or something, but the trainers who pick them up, will they be notified they're picking up traumatized pokémon?" Rainne stated, a concerned look coming upon his face.

"I...I don't know. Stay with them. Try and comfort them...you're good at these things. We'll figure something out. Just help them through this...alright?" Raviel stated, placing her hand upon Rainne's shoulder.

With a nod, the male gardevoir turned upon his heel, his blue hair shimmering beneath the sun's rays, his elegant, skirt-like tail billowing in the wind. Raviel watched for a moment, as Rainne knelt down, talking to them, and after a few minutes, she came back to the body.

Her fingers ran up into her red hair, pushing the strands away from her face, and as a fidgeting distraction. She had grown accustomed to being around the dead, it didn't bother her as much now. But this was the first time she'd worked on a supposed murder of this magnitude.

Maybe she was in over her head. Maybe she shouldn't have offered to work on this case. Both hands ran up into her hair now, trying to distract herself, as she knelt down, sitting upon the heels of her feet, perusing the day's events in her mind, trying to get the smell of death out of her nose.

"Hey, Rav, we found tracks. Looks like we were right. These aren't human footprints." Cory's familiar voice stated, piercing Raviel's thoughts.

Finally. Something else to focus on, something to get her mind away from that which lay in front of her. With that, she lightly sprung up, and followed Cory over to a small crowd. She looked into a patch of mud, and saw an assorted mish-mash of footprints. There were curved lines, what appeared to be bird talons, and round-bottom circle, with tiny little indents of many small roots.

"Ok. The curved line...well that looks to me like something that maybe some kind of snake, a seviper would make. These round depressions, looks like it may be that of a dusclops, or a cacturne perhaps. As for these bird foot impressions...I don't know. Swellows and Taillow tallons don't look like that. I'll have to check it out when I get back to the station..." A man stated to the crowd.

The man was dressed in similiar garbs to Cory's and Raviel's, alond with the majority of the gathered crowd. The top of his head was bald, but long, greying hair streamed down from around the top. The man's face was harsh looking, and he had a rather gangly frame. This man was Horace, and he was one of, if not the oldest men there.

"Alright. We'll make a plaster mold of it and inspect it further at the lab..." Horace stated.

After he had said this, he moved silently out of the way, allowing a couple other officers with a small bag of plaster, a box, and a few tools to come to the footprints. They knelt down, and immediatley got to work on the footprints.

"Rav, Cory told me you asked the girl's pokémon some questions? What did you find out?" Horace asked, his voice sounding a bit strained.

"Well, you can probably rule out the dusclops idea for the round prints. There was a third, empty ball, but it still emitted the light that noted it was bound to something, but nothing came out. I found out that what was in it, was a Cacturne..." Rav stated, in a half-mutter.

"A cacturne? Hmmm. Let us not jump to conclusions, however. For all we know, these other footprints are the result of a scuffle between the Cacturne trying to defend the girl from attackers. After he failed, maybe he ran off, or got dragged off. A footprint and a couple traumatized pokémon doesn't make our whole case. We need to find more..." Horace stated, giving a slight nod once he was done.

* * *

"I'll kill him! I'll kill him! I'll rip every last thorn off his body and make him eat them! he'll pay for what he did to my Erin!" Kirlia angrily ranted.

"Now...we still don't know if this 'Sever' did all this. Shhh...try not to lay your blame so quickly. Everything will be allright..." Rainne stated in a soothing manner. With that, he learned towards the Kirlia, and wrapped his arms about her, trying to comfort her with an embrace.

"Alright?! ALRIGHT?! Didn't you see her? DIDN'T YOU!? She's dead! She's not coming back!" Kirlia screeched suddenly, shoving Rainne off of her.

"Ooooh....why couldn't I have been there? Why? I could've helped her...I could've saved her. I'm so un-grateful for everything that Erin has done for me! I must spare the world my disgustingness!" Goldeen wailed.

And with that, the goldfish pokémon flopped it's way across the grass, and then stopped. It faced the gigantic rock that obstructed their view from their trainer's remains, and he threw himself at the rock. His horn slammed into the rock sideways, and snapped from the force. A horrid wail of pain was let out at this, and he attempted to try again, but was stopped when Rainne picked him up, and held him away from the rock.

"Let...me...go! You don't understand! Let go of me!" Goldeen shouted, trying to squirm his way out of Rainne's grip.

* * *

"Henry, prepare the bodybag, it's time we took the body to the morgue. We can't just leave it out here." Horace commanded to another officer. "Rav...I assume you don't want to stay out her to continue investigation?"

"No...this place...it's just giving me such an awful feeling...like part of my soul is gone. Maybe it's just the body. In my years working with you all, I haven't seen one murder this vicious, and especially not one of someone I knew! At least, one I assume I know. Hard to tell..." Raviel stated, in that same quiet tone.

"Don't worry about it. You probably won't see too many like this. At least, I hope not." Horace stated, trying to reassure her, but not doing too well.

* * *

"Sssso how are you enjoying your new freedom, Sssssever?" Toxin stated idly.

"Wonderful. It felt so good...just letting out all my rage explode on her like that. Human are scum. And without you three, I may not have been shown that light." Sever stated with some happiness in his voice, which had been absent since he had been captured. "In fact...I feel an obligation. An obligation to liberate all others of our ilk, and express our dominance over the humans."

"You'd be surprised to find how many find happiness in slavery..." Destiny cawed from her perch atop Sever's left arm.

"Many would easily out-match us, especially if they thought that their master was at risk..." A similiar caw came from Sever's right arm, belonging to Fate.

"I never said it would be easy..." Sever half-muttered.

[KitsuneNinja]

Must... destroy... oblivious Kirlia and... Goldeen... MUST... KILL... RAARRRRRRGHGHLRRLR...

Ahh, so Destiny and Fate are going to be key characters in this fic? ^__^; Or... no?

... ::Has her dog piss on Erin's corpse.. or what remained of it.:: Haw-haw.

[Crystalmaster Mike]

Pore Sever... Thinks what he does is right... Of course, the same could be said about the goldeen... He tried to kill himself, didn't he? Poor thing...

Once again, well depicted actions! Yes, and if there's one thing I like about this fic is that human and pokémon TALK!! Although an image is equal to a 1000 words, one word can also be of great help to understand the emotions of the characters.