Now it's a Flock

[revolutionhawk]

A - Scramble Egg

So lately the egg he had was getting more active lately. Not typical for what little he can sort of recall for non-Pokemon creatures, but this is just how it works he supposes.

It’s while he’s been more diligent about carrying it around that suddenly the egg starts glowing softly (man these things are weird) and out of it eggshell-free pops out a small bluebird with fluffy wings that chirps up at him.

"Swablu, the Cotton Bird Pokémon! Swablu loves cleanliness and is quick to wipe off any unclean surface with its cotton-like wings." His Rotomdex spouts off helpfully. Then after a beat adds... "Birds are really your thing aren’t they?"

"That’s a... simple way of putting it," Shay responds simply. "It was that easy for the old man to tell, hm?"

"But now I don't fit in... You should get one of those electric fans! That could be my new body for going into battles!"


B - Thousand Needles

With there being another flying-type Pokemon on his active roster now, Shay figures that except for whenever Rotom wants to battle, he might as well stick to the theme being presented to him. Shouldn't be too hard to find one of those little Pikipeks, perhaps even an Oricorio-

"Look! Over there!"

...

He wasn’t expecting a bird Pokemon with bright blue feathers waddling around with the dumbest look on its face, stuck between choking on a spiny grey rodent and being electrocuted by the very angry creature stuck in its beak because of the spines.

Shay is almost reluctant about the idea of actually training with it later, but with a timely Pokeball toss he easily catches the thing and just has to contend with the Togetdemaru (as he later finds out) that’s a lot more mad about how much of a bad day it’s been having versus being grateful toward the bystander that saved it.

...

Or if you don't catch Shay in the middle of this battle, he'll be at the Pokemon Center getting his brand new Cramorant a checkup.


Wildcard!
[Got something else in mind? Come at me!]

Comments

[withoutcontrolofmyself]

Ouch. That probably hurt. Wes is tempted to pick it up but he decides against it. He stares back at the teenager and gives a glance at the Pokeball.

"What even is that Pokemon you caught?"

[revolutionhawk]

"A flying-type at the very least," he answers as if that's all the other needs to know on the plans for his team composition.

He'll worry about what specifically he caught after a trip to the Pokemon Center. But Shay's not turning his back on Wes just yet. "Do you have a Pokemon that actually belongs to you this time?"

[withoutcontrolofmyself]

"Obviously." He's emotionally stunted. Not stupid, Shay.

Wes gives a small nod. He opens his pocket of his trenchcoat How is he wearing that in the heat and out pops a little head, chewing away on some grains.

"Moooorreeee!"

"This is Morpeko. He hatched a few days ago."

Yes. This is his.

[revolutionhawk]

Trenchcoat bros.

Shay shifts his gaze toward the little creature, noting easy to spot things like the fact it's clearly unperturbed about being with Wes. But he does find another question to ask.

"How are you able to take on a single Pokemon, let alone two of the big ones by yourself?"

[withoutcontrolofmyself]

The Morpeko nibbles at something in Wes' pocket as the man looks at Shay blankly.

"I was changed to fight. Team Cipher... Made me a weapon to Snag Pokemon. And I had to be able to deal with any person or Pokemon who tried to stop me."

Wes flexes the fingers his prosthetic hand, the one he had gotten from Tony and grits his teeth.

"If I was at home, they'd probably cut me up and try to make me stronger still. Since I lost..."

[revolutionhawk]

"Cut you open...?"

For once Shay seems taken aback. Probably because he hasn't seen evidence of Duel Academy stooping to even those sorts of experiments during the war. Brain-controlling parasites were hard enough to stomach.

[withoutcontrolofmyself]

"Cut off arm. Replaced it. Change some of my organs. Reinforced my bones so they don't break. Altered my mind. Made me more resistant to electrocution. And then tested me." The man grits his teeth, thinking about it. His anger bubbles just under the surface. He had been violated and mangled, his body barely feeling like his on. The thought of it made him mad.

In essence, that was a neat loop Cipher caught him in. Wes only felt strong negative emotions. Whenever he tried to think of happier times, or what he used to be, he got mad or he would despair, making him a stronger weapon in Hyper Mode. Trying to break the cycle only caused him pain which would make him lash out.

Morpeko seemed to notice and he whimpered. He bumped Wes gently with his forehead, trying to snap his daddy out of it.

[revolutionhawk]

As much as his instincts are rearing up to say otherwise, Shay silently and tentatively places his hand on Wes's shoulder. He doesn't have words in response to Wes's description of such a horrific past, but the teen is hoping for the gesture to ground him back to the present.

"Easy there."

Please don't rip his own arm off for this.

[withoutcontrolofmyself]

Wes looks up at Shay. Since Shay is so close, he can probably see that his eyes are different colours. It wasn't as if it was just the irises -one was gold and one was blue- but the whites looked slightly different.

Thanks to Morpeko nuzzling Wes, Wes' is sort of alert that he's being comforted which is why he doesn't flip Shay like he did Guzma's Scizor. The older man takes a long and deep breath before he relaxes.

"... Right. Not there. Not free but... not there."