haha pokemon hyperobsession go brr
So yeah, I'm participating now. There might be more episodes to this, but for now, this is the main entry. @ProdigyEd I hope you like this :)
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The soul awoke.
She was floating in a pitch-black void, her glow the only thing visible for miles and miles. She could think, she could speak, but there was nothing to think of and nobody to talk to.
"Hello?" she called anyway, hoping that someone would hear her. Her cry echoed, seemingly fruitless.
"Why, hello there."
Two dark blue eyes glowed from the darkness. The soul trembled as a large dragon appeared in front of her. It had purple scales with golden spots and pale yellow claws that glinted in the light she gave off, and its dark wings made powerful gusts when they flapped.
"You must be very confused." He pressed a hand to his chest. "My name is Eclipse. I am one of the former Epics of Sanctuary. And you are?"
The soul, tiny in comparison to Eclipse, shuddered. "M-My name is Kira."
"It's nice to meet you." He reached out and held the glowing orb in his hand. His welcoming smile faded into a stressed frown. "I'd love to get to know you more, but we're in a rather unfortunate situation. The world I used to walk is in danger, and you have been chosen to stop it. Now..."
Eclipse snapped his fingers, and four small critters materialized in front of her. "Choose a vessel, young one."
Kira looked through the selections. The first was a chubby bug, its body a pretty shade of lavender. Four tiny wings sprouted from its sides. The second was a scaly lizard that had large, yellow ears similar to dragon wings. The third, a bright yellow bird with a striking blue tail. But it was the fourth that caught Kira's eye.
At the end of the row was a tiny kitten, its fur a dusty brown. It had cartoonish proportions, with large ears and miniscule legs. Something about this silly-looking creature drew her in. "...I like this one."
"Ah, so you feel a connection to Peeko." The other three creatures vanished. "It's a Plant-element Pet. I'm sure you'll-"
Eclipse broke off suddenly, his body tensing. When he spoke again, there was a note of alarm in his voice. "I'm sorry, I can't keep you here. You must go now, Kira. Hopefully my descendant will be able to guide you. Be sure to..."
His voice grew quiet as the world faded into white. Kira flinched, shutting her invisible eyes...
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And blinked them open in another world.
She had somehow ended up on a small beach, staring up into the sky. She took a few moments to breathe, to try and remember what had just happened, but now it all seemed fuzzy. All she could remember were whispers of danger.
She tried to push herself upwards... only to realize she had no arms.
*Wait.* Her mind raced. *Oh no. Oh no no no...* She remembered 'choosing a vessel'... had she become that little brown cat?
Kira forced herself not to panic and struggled upright. Once she'd found a way to balance on her comically small paws, she stumbled forward to look at her reflection in the water. Two huge amber eyes, on a brown body with huge ears, stared back.
*So I am a... a Peeko. Was that what they were called?*
She sat down to think, when suddenly, three figures came crashing through the bushes. Two of them, an icy-silver imp creature with a large maw and a red lizard-fish with green neck frills, were carrying a large bag. The third shape, a green quadruped with pink cheeks, tumbled after them.
"Hey! Give me those back!" the green quadruped shouted. It glared angrily at the other two, though it was trembling with fear.
"Oh, come on! There's no way you need all this," sneered the lizard, sticking its long nose into the bag.
"Yeah," added its buddy, who waved its shiny tail. "We all know it's just you and your stupid fake sister, Lotus."
This made the third creature begin to tear up. "SHUT UP!"
It laughed a cruel, barking laugh. "Aw, whoops, I made him cry."
"What are you going to do, cry to your mommy and daddy?" The lizard grinned. "Oh, that's right - they're dead."
"GRAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!" The little green creature's eyes glowed green as vines burst out of the ground around his tormentors. However, neither of them looked hurt, the red lizard only receiving a scratch on his cheek.
"Look, he's fighting back. Let's teach him some respect, Whis."
"Sounds fun." Whis, the white imp thing, nodded to his buddy. The two began to close in on Lotus.
Kira couldn't watch this anymore. She got up and ran towards the two. "Leave... him... ALONE!" A powerful energy surged through her as she flew through the air towards the two cruel animals. She hit the lizard with a kick on the back, as strong as she could make it. It was knocked to the side, colliding with its buddy, and lay stunned in the sand as the dust cleared.
Whis was the first to get up. He looked at the lizard and immediately began shaking him awake. "Jal? Jal! Are you alright?" When his friend didn't respond, he picked him up and began to fly away. Before he left, however, he turned to death-glare Kira.
"YOU!" he spat furiously. "I don't know who you are, but you've got some nerve, attacking us out of nowhere! We'll get you for this!" And with that, he flew into the trees, his glimmering tail crystals disappearing in the shade.
Lotus watched them leave, and then turned to Kira. "Woah! That Scratch was incredible!" he exclaimed. "Thank you so much for sticking up for me. My name's Lotus, what's yours?" He tilted his head, adding, "...And, uh, what are you? I've never seen a Pet like you around here."
"My name's Kira. I'm a Peeko... I think. I can't seem to remember much."
"Oh." He seemed to deflate for a moment, then perked back up. "Well, if you don't mind, I have to carry this back to my home," he said, picking up the end of the bag and began to drag it away.
Kira hesitated and then stepped in. "Here, let me help you." She slipped under the bag and carried it on her head. It was surprisingly heavy, but she managed to keep her balance.
"Vanks," Lotus muttered, his voice muffled. Together, they carried the bag through the forest...
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And arrived in a quaint little town.
Kira's eyes widened as she walked in. She couldn't see a lot, but the legs of hundreds of different creatures passed by. She was so amazed by the variety that she didn't see Lotus stopping and walked right into him.
He stumbled forward, somehow keeping the bag in his mouth, and gently headbutted the door in front of him. "Aroura! I'm hoooome!"
The door creaked open. A small green creature peeked out and waved happily. It gestured him inside with its long, star-tipped tail.
Peeko followed Lotus into his home. The dome-shaped building was made of mossy cobblestone, save for a small hole that served as a window. There was little furniture - two chairs, a table, and a lamp in the corner were the room's only decorations. Lotus jumped up onto one of the chairs.
"Aroura, meet Kira. Kira, meet Aroura." He nodded to the two of them. "Kira's our guest, alright? Try to make her feel comfortable. Also, I brought fruits."
At the mention of food, Aroura's eyes lit up. She waved briefly at Kira and dove into the bag, emerging with an apple almost half her size, which she took a huge bite out of.
Kira peered in and dragged out a banana-esque fruit. She held it down with her foot and bit into the peel, ripping it off, and then chowed down on the squishy interior. "This is delicious!" she mumbled.
"I'm glad you like it!" said Lotus. "So, how long have you been here?"
"Not very long." She explained how she'd started out as a human, then had a strange dream and then just woke up as a Peeko. Her new companions nodded.
"That's... strange. Well, I'll try to help you understand things here more." He jumped down and pulled out a map, spreading it out on the ground with his paws. "This is the island of Sanctuary. We live over here in Starsky Town, by the cliffs," he said, pointing to a small section near the edge of the island. "There's a ton of other areas, and hundreds of pets. For instance, I'm a Sproot, and Aroura here is a Cometti. Some of us live in the wild as savages, others work for a peaceful community. And then there's Adventure Teams..." he finished, trailing off dreamily.
Kira's ears lowered in confusion. "Adventure Teams? What are those?"
"Only the coolest things EVER!" He jumped up and bounced around, excited. "They're squads of three pets who go out and do quests for other people, then get cool rewards. I've heard so many stories about their journeys across Sanctuary! I've always wanted to be in one, but even with my sister, I'd still need a third member..."
Kira jolted upright. "Well, now you have one, don't you?"
He stared for a moment, confused, until realization washed over him. "Y-You want to join us? Really?" When she nodded, he jumped up with joy. "Ahaha! Yes! Thankyousomuch! Let's GO!" He bolted out of the house, leaving Kira and Aroura to rush after him.
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Lotus led them to a tall, imposing building. He headbutted the door, stomping the ground with his front paws. "Hello? I'd like to speak to the Guild Leader."
It opened up, and he trotted inside, his sister sailing in behind him. Kira stepped in, following her friends to a tall desk. A crimson seahorse fairy stared down at them. "Hello there. Please state your business with Leader Coral."
"We'd like to form an Adventure Team!"
He seemed surprised, but nodded, using his prehensile tail to write something down. "Understood. Please go to the room behind me on your left."
"Thank you!" Lotus skipped along. The three went to a large office, where a pretty blue-and-pink pet faced them, its 'hair' flowing like water.
"Welcome, young ones," she said, clasping her pale hands together. Her voice was smooth and relaxing, like light rain late at night. "So, you're finally forming an Adventure Team. Good job, Lotus."
He blushed bashfully. "Th-Thank you, Leader Coral."
Coral reached under her desk and pulled out a box. She dug through it and found three small accessories, then moved around her desk and approached the small pets, adorning each of them with a small emerald-green accessory.
"Alright!" Lotus reached a paw under his new bandana to get a better look at it. Aroura remained silent, admiring the new bow around the end of her tail.
Kira looked up. A bandana made of shiny silk had been wrapped around her forehead. Above her left eye, a gold badge had been pinned to it. It looked amazing.
"Go fill out the form on my assistant's desk and return it tomorrow to become an official Team. Then you can start completing quests. Sound good?"
"Of course!" Lotus practically flew out of the room, snatching a form and setting it down on one of the tables in the lobby. He was trembling with excitement as he dipped his paw in a small bowl of ink and stamped it onto the sheet. His buddies followed suit, and then he flicked off the excess ink and sat back, thinking. "Alright... What should we call ourselves?"
They each pondered different names, before Aroura pushed herself up and pointed her tail at her brother.
Kira smiled. "Of course! We should call ourselves Team Lotus, 'cause of our awesome leader!"
Happy tears welled in his eyes. "Aww, thank you! You guys are the best friends I could ever have!" He wrote something else down with an ink-coated stick. "Team Lotus it is!"
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Aaaaaand that's where the story will end for now! I'm not sure if this is going to continue, and I'm pretty sure this is at least quadruple the word limit, but I don't really mind - I can just turn in a shorter episode if this one can't be used. If this is well-received, I'll probably write some more of these.
Feel free to ask any questions you want! Whether you need me to clear up part of the current plot, or you're confused as to what pet a certain character is, I'm happy to help - provided it won't spoil potential future episodes. Thank you for reading this all, and I wish you all a wonderful time!
Bonus: A drawing of the current Team Lotus!