I Will Cut My Own Path Forward

"I will cut my own path forward...!"

Independent, primarily SFW RP blog for Amethio of Pokémon Horizons, primarily as he appears in the Mega Voltage and Rising Again arcs, as penned by Saku. NPC muses are also present, namely Hamber, Zirc, and Onia!

At least 6 years of RP experience

Any NSFW will be tagged accordingly, if it occurs at all

Mutuals only; Selective

Open to OCs/Crossovers/Self-Inserts

Muse is 18 due to personal preference (and the vagueness of his own canon age)

Discord is available for mutuals on request

Activity may be sporadic depending on my current situation, so owed replies (if any) will be drafted

Rules page can be found here! Please like/reblog this post if you're interested in writing together! Sideblogs are @moonlit-dxwn and @wxllful-onyx!

...Who had left these here?

The window was open, too...Amethio supposed Hamber had been airing the room out. He was preparing to depart for Lumiose City as it was, but finding these Pecha Berries...Maybe he'd be able to learn to make a snack of sorts with them for his Pokémon, down the line. Or, another use might come up.

Pecha Berries were a natural Antidote for Poison, after all. Having a pound of cure never hurt.

Why was Zirc giving him a book, of all things? That didn't seem like the type of gift he'd normally buy, after all...

"Right, first things first...Master Amethio, Onia and I kinda did this in secret, but...We got you a book on Charcadet and its evolutions. We figured you might enjoy reading more about them."

"Right. We wanted to do something nice for you, considering what today is...You know, to thank you for everything, sir. So, please...We'd be really happy if you accepted this."

What today was? It was only the 14th of August, wasn't it?

...And then it sank in for Amethio, and he finally understood perfectly. That's right, today was his nineteenth birthday, wasn't it? ...He'd nearly forgotten it was coming up, he'd been so focused on his training and other stuff. And yet, Zirc and Onia had remembered...They'd even gotten him a gift that showed how much they cared, even if a book on Charcadet wasn't the most unique gift idea.

It was the thought behind it that touched Amethio's heart, after all.

"You guys...Thank you. I almost forgot what today was, with everything that's been going on this past year. Of course I'll accept this."

Amethio couldn't hide the smile on his face as he accepted the gift, before Hamber interrupted the three with a quiet cough. Hadn't they been outside long enough?

"...Happy birthday, Master Amethio. There is one more gift waiting for you, but we must head inside to present it to you. This way, if you would."

The four would head inside at that invitation, the doors shutting behind them as the Sirfetch'd moved back into their normal positions. The familiar sight of the foyer, for once, relaxed Amethio as they went up the stairs and moved in the direction of the room they always seemed to entertain guests in.

Only...Once they'd arrived, Hamber would turn around and reveal a Poké Ball in his right hand. One that he'd soon offer to Amethio quietly.

"Hamber? Why are you giving me a Poké Ball?"

Amethio's question would be met with an amused laugh from the butler, before he'd see the other shake his head fondly. He'd been expecting that question, but...It was hard to hide his mirth when Hamber finally chose to respond, his left eye peeking from between his bangs as he cleared his throat.

...To think that Amethio was nineteen years old, now...Hamber could still recall clearly the day he was born, how proud Maria had been to hold him in her arms. And now, not only was he breaking free of his grandfather's shadow more with every step forward he took, overcoming even the depths of grief and despair he'd once heard the young man had been mired in...He had inherited the dream Gibeon had shared with Zygarde, and was discovering himself bit by bit.

...But, Hamber was forgetting himself in how proud he was of Amethio. He still needed to present a certain surprise to the youth, after all.

"A-Ahem...Forgive me, Master Amethio. Within this Pokémon Ball is a rare, recently discovered Fire-type Pokémon named Pombon. His name is Pepper, but I'm afraid how I managed to obtain him is best left to the imagination for now...I feel that it will be a valuable companion to you, all the same. So please, take it with you on your travels. Now, once you both are acquainted, we'll be leaving for Lumiose City. I've decided to treat the four of us to dinner tonight at Restaurant Le Wow."

Amethio would nod and quietly accept Pombon while Hamber's dinner plans sank in, releasing it soon after...To Hamber's amusement, as the Puppy Pokémon barked and began to run in a circle as fast as it could. It certainly seemed friendly, almost innocent even, though that energy might make it hard to adapt to at first...

But, Amethio was confident he'd be fine, he mused as he knelt down and offered a gloved hand for Pepper to sniff.

"...You're full of energy, aren't you? It's nice to meet you, Pepper...My name is Amethio. It seems we'll be traveling together. I look forward to traveling with you."

Amethio's only response was a bark as Pepper dashed around again, before launching right at the Poké Ball he had come from and getting pulled back in. Amethio supposed that Pepper was fine with the arrangement, but...He honestly couldn't tell. It wasn't long after that the four were preparing to depart for Lumiose City once again, with Amethio leaving both Iron Valiant and Slither Wing in the care of the Pokémon staffing the estate and the human staff that remained.

If anything happened to them, he would know...But, those two deserved to be able to heal, and recalling a past conversation had led him to decide to finally act on it. But...

"Oi, lad. Got a sec? I think I might've misunderstood somefin. So, them Fightin' Pokemon, aye? You're supposed to train up ya Pokemon and all that? I got that down. But...I been boxin' off and on with my Machoke, aye? And now nothin' else wants to fight em. Tried doin' the gym thing, that just ended with her punchin' the other Pokemon clean through the ceilin!" "Point is...I think I might've sparred with her a lil too much...

Was...Was this woman serious?

Sure, she was much smaller than most people, but...Her size had nothing to do with what she'd just said. Why was she sparring with a Machoke to the point she was that horrifically powerful?! And, more importantly, why was this woman coming to him about it? Amethio certainly didn't have a resolution to that kind of predicament...

In fact, he was flabbergasted, to put it politely. How does that even happen? ...Actually, did he want to know? Probably not, honestly.

"...Miss...I don't know who you are, but you're not supposed to spar with your Pokémon like that. Training them comes from battling the Pokémon of other people, which also promotes cooperation between Trainer and Pokémon...Though, I regrettably know quite a few exceptions to the rule by now..."

"Ze."

Zygarde's answer is short in word as It looked to Alhazred with a friendly "expression", but It had an answer for the Mythical Pokémon. No, It still had Its Cells and Cores; they were simply with Amethio, within the Zygarde Cube. This was just Its preferred Forme, due to remaining as such for over one hundred years. Plus, there was no need to assume a greater Forme at the moment.

Arcadia City?

Amethio couldn't hide the expression of confusion on his face as he looked the other over. The voice...It was definitely Hisao's. But, there were no Pokémon with him, for one. And this city...It was entirely foreign to him. His team was still with him, thankfully, but...That was a small comfort, in a foreign location such as this.

And as he looked up...That was a familiar face, to be certain. Unfamiliar attire, but...That was Hisao, there was no mistake. The problem was, he clearly didn't recognize Amethio at all. And asking what his business was in this "Arcadia City", when he'd never heard of the place...

"None whatsoever, as it happens...I don't belong here."

"Oh? Welcome, trainer, to the great Pacifidlog Gym, home of the Lore Badge. I am not the Gym Leader, but I will be your—"

Mikoto flinched as she saw who was at the door.

"Oh, shit. It's you." This... was not how she was expecting to see Amethio again. "Eh-hem. Uh... wh—what are you doing here? Are you uh... looking for Zinnia or for dad?"

"You're...Actually, have we met somewhere before, miss? I'm here to visit Heidi and the others, alongside my two subordinates here...And I'm afraid I don't recall meeting you before."

Amethio would quietly look to Zirc and Onia after he'd spoken, trying to remember who this person was. But, unfortunately, neither of them had been around him if he'd ever met this person...So, the three simply exchanged confused glances, before shrugging. This was not a familiar face...Though, admittedly, Zirc and Onia had only ever heard of the people Amethio had come to visit.

"Oi yer not from Alrest... Are ya?" Sending Nia everyone's favorite cat lady for the meme.

"Alrest...? I've never heard of a Region by that name...But, to answer your question, no. I hail from the Paldea Region..."

...Actually, where was Amethio?

This place...None of it remotely looked like any location he'd been to in his past travels. He didn't recognize any Pokemon, either...And this woman had feline ears on her head, didn't she? That was definitely not normal, not unless she was wearing fake ears...And the last thing he remembered was laying down to rest for a bit after participating in the Z-A Royale.

Okay, so!

I might have been bitten by the idea bug earlier, while I was out with my family. So, bear with me, because I'm going to try to pen it down as best I can.

So, I was thinking about Amethio training in order to oppose Spinel even a little better, right? And the best way for him to do that, I feel, would be mastering Mega Evolution and learning to Mega Evolve his Steelix. The problem is, since Steelix was once a Rogue Mega Evolved Pokémon, it has a bit of unresolved trauma regarding unwillingly Mega Evolving and rampaging. And the way I see it, that trauma's going to stop Steelix from going through with the process until it can overcome it and finally achieve its fullest potential.

The problem comes in figuring out a good way to portray all of that...I'm not really sure what'd need to be done to make it happen, honestly, but this is an idea that I'd really like to put into action, one day, so Amethio can feel like he's made some progress towards getting stronger.

Well, this was an unexpected surprise. A welcomed one, certainly, but still unexpected.

To run into Liko now, of all times, brought Amethio's mood up. This was an auspicious occasion, though he had to wonder what she was doing here...Was it a coincidence that they'd met now, of all times? Or, did the Rising Volt Tacklers have business here?

Regardless, he supposed such discussions could wait a bit. This was a happy reunion between friends, after all. And even he knew how to observe proper decorum, sometimes.

"Wow, you must be petty if you're ruining someone's stream like that before gloating about it to someone who enjoys the content. How's it feel to have no life outside of being a petty piece of trash? Or, did your mommy and daddy not hug you enough when you were little?"

He could say something more scathing, but...Honestly, Zirc was pretty comfortable just spitting what he had at Spinel; he knew the guy outmatched him in terms of Pokémon battling. But, since he was just here to get coffee, only to have Spinel mock the loss of his favorite activity...