#coballion

With a hollow, panicked expression, Serix walked through the hills, mentally searching for any understandable reason for why Livideae had disappeared tonight. Hunger wasn’t helping his mind to work, and, lost and frustrated, he sought out bushes wherever he could, trying to scrounge up some berries from within them. Food was still sparse, but he did find a single Grepa berry, and proceeded to crush it whole in his mouth, greedily.

And once again, his thoughts strayed.

She didn’t get into a fight- If she did, she would have called for help.

She wouldn’t be out of the house that late at night.

She couldn’t have been in a rush if she had time to look through the food stores.

No- She must’ve gone to try and fight the Tar with the other people protecting the town. Though he knew it must’ve been hopeless, meaning Livideae was gone, he chose to believe it. That would be what she would do- Right? She would try to hold it off, fight back. She would protect them.

She loved them all.

Despite his mind settling on an explanation, Serix remained alone. The wind and the distant groan of the Tar were his only companions. He struggled his way up the hill, fighting the slope with his hunger-weakened legs. By the time he reached the crest, he was out of breath, but not just from exhaustion, as the view before him took the last of it away.

The Tar writhed before them, cascading over and through the hills like a swarm of snakes, washing between the crevices and over the tops of the hills. They turned to run, only to see more, and more, and more. The Tar was both retreating and surging around him, like the eye of a storm. In these hills, it seemed, parts of the Tar had lagged behind just enough to create an opening, and now they stood in the middle of it. Fear crept its way back into their chest, wrapping coils around their lungs…

And as it did, Serix spotted it- A figure darting desperately between the hills. Someone else was out here! A light, blue figure, bulky and huge. They called out-

“Hello?” Gravel shook his voice, and they coughed. “HELLO?!”

The figure stopped, and turned. Serix hadn’t truly realized how large the Pokemon was, until it was running towards them- Bright, blue fur, and sturdy, golden horns rushed towards them until he was at eye-level with the giant’s knee. The rush of wind that accompanied its approach sent Serix stumbling backwards, falling on their tail and staring up at a frightening silhouette, marked by two glimmering, golden eyes, slanted in restful judgement.

“Everyone should have evacuated by now- What in Arceus’ name are you still doing here?!” Its voice boomed. “You- Ghh, it is far too dangerous for you here, surrounded by the Tar. Stay close to me.”

Serix recognized this- Well, “Recognized” felt like the wrong word. They understood who this was the moment his presence exerted itself outwards. This was a god- Or close to one. The way the world felt different around it, how its very being had influence over everything- It had to be. The understanding of the god in question forced itself into his mind, the name “Coballion” worming its way into his understanding of who this was.

Serix scuttled along, having to run to keep pace with the walking Legend. They eventually opted to climb up its leg, taking partial cover behind the frills on its shoulders. They leaned over the sides, daring to peek as the large creature began to speed up, running towards where the Tar was. Serix’s pulse quickened, seeing danger coming so fast, but it wasn’t like he could do anything about it now.

“There.” The trot of hooves on the ground stopped, and Serix lurched forwards with inertia. The god was now looking down at something huge on the floor. Serix climbed down, stepping towards it. It was the corpse of a huge Steelix- Though it seemed almost hollow, as though it had been rotting for centuries, now.

“This is the best I can offer you.” The giant noted. “You can use the Steelix’s skull as a boat to ride over the Tar- It shouldn’t notice, given the skull is already dead. One of the shards broken off of the body should work for a paddle- Quickly, now!”

Serix, commanded by the urgency in Coballion’s voice, scuttled towards the body, picking up one of the thicker, light shards of steel and grabbing it in his mouth, before climbing up the side of the skull to get into the gap between its jaws, held courteously open by the god behind him. The skull itself would serve enough room for him, but-

“What about you?” The Salandit-Sandshrew hybrid asked, looking at Coballion. “The Tar-”

“A mere force of nature- I will be fine.” Coballion urged. “Brace yourself for when the Tar arrives.”

Serix had no other apprehensions about seeking shelter, curling up in the head of a dead Steelix. The inside was still slightly damp with some fluid they couldn’t identify, but Serix remained. The jaw shut, and Serix was left in the chilling darkness of steel.

They were used to this experience- Losing your sense of time. Sandshrew dug tunnels, and thus Serix often hid underground to avoid threats too big for them. It was normal- And yet, sitting in the skull, Serix felt it amplified a thousandfold. Seconds dragged on into eternity- They couldn’t tell if it had been minutes or hours or if an entire day had passed, or weeks. Again, as they sat there, the eyes of the Salandit they had tried to save felt like they were emerging from the nothingness, but Serix closed their eyes, trying to focus on anything else. The pain of hunger clung to them, and they took another bite of the Grepa berry, then swallowed the rest whole in desperation. The sweetness and sourness played like fireworks in their mouth, and the warmth they hadn’t noticed leaving returned to their body.

And again, eternal darkness returned.

Serix immediately lost balance as the makeshift-skull boat lurched. Even if it was slow, the movement, however slight, was jarring. Serix had been prepared for anything to happen, and the second something did happen, it was like many taut springs in their body snapped back into place, returning their consciousness to the present.

Fear became overwhelmed by a morbid Curiosity, and Serix scrambled up the wall of the skull, slipping once, before trying to pry open the jaw of the Steelix.

The light broke in, and Serix was blinded for a moment, until their eyes adjusted. It hadn’t been an hour or two since they crawled into the skull, but the Tar had moved much in that time. Now, it moved sluggishly below the skull’s form, carrying it along like ice cubes over water. Serix could paddle with the shard they grabbed before, if they had the forethought to grab it from the bottom of the skull before they came up to the edge.

Their gaze wandered to where the Tar was now moving, and what immediately caught Serix’s attention was the flashes of light from Coballion, who was still nearby. Instead of the gap in the Tar remaining the same size, it seemed to have begun filling itself in since he last looked out of the skull- What was once several exposed hilltops, now Coballion fought atop the last remaining peak of land- And it fought a losing battle, surrounded by the terrifying ocean.

Serix came to the heart-wrenching understanding that he was about to watch another Pokemon die. “NO!” The cry leapt from his mouth, and his leaning in the skull rocked it. He almost fell right into the ooze below- But he caught himself on the steel-toothed edge of the skull. Despite his small size, he looked up to see the shout had caught the attention of Coballion-

Arguably, it had caught too much attention.

The sea below him groaned and lurched. As though it was water itself trying to pretend, part of it surged upwards, creating the figure of a wave that stood in place, cutting off Serix’s view of Coballion. He watched in horror as it swayed over him, the consideration of the consequences to his outburst a thought that came all too soon…

He looked back to where he had spotted Coballion, and watched in shock as the legendary creature rushed around the pillar of Tar, quite literally walking on the surface of it with glowing hooves, to ram into the base of the wave. The Tar itself grunted in mild inconvenience, but the wave collapsed-

Directly onto Coballion. The glowing from its hooves flickered and faded, and Coballion began to sink.

“No-! No no no…” Serix pleaded to fate for this to be undone, like an ant begging the storm to stop. The fear of dying himself kept his legs disobediently rooted in place. “No!!”

He watched as Coballion’s gaze turned to him, and that moment transformed. Serix’s entire life stretched out before him.

He walked through memories in some sort of strange perusal of his own mind- From the moment he met Livideae to just hours before now, watching Ferix’s last moments, and fleeing in guilt. The pain of years of abuse weighed down on him from this perspective- The realization that Livideae wasn’t as perfect as he remembered her.

He was treated as special, but even he had moments where she would punish a less-than-good performance when he went out hunting. Everyone at home would eat less than Liv did- She argued it was because she was bigger, but Serix remembers how starved they all felt, even when there was surplus in food storage. They all accepted it as fact, every word she said, despite all the evidence to the contrary.

Even his feelings for her began to fade to confusion- Compared to the present moment, Serix felt more like he had been guided along a path than been of his own mind. Ecstasy and Misery always coincided with that of Livideae’s whims. In a bygone time, he would have assumed that they were just in-sync with their feelings, but now that he knew what his feelings were like without her around, it felt… different.

Who are you? For what do you strive?

The question egged his memories along, and Serix felt the nudge of another. Something beyond pushed him along the line of his memories, like a Pokemon on ice, sliding along the surface of his life. To the question itself, he felt lost- But from his mind crept an answer.

I am her special little lover.

No.

The answer was… wrong? He did not answer himself, it was just… Serix felt his head pull and lurch in its skull, the pain of intense thought writhing throughout it. He answered- Almost subconsciously, but the entity asking knew better. How was it, something knew him better than he did?

The memories rewound like they were being played a thousand times in reverse, pulling Serix along them. Then, again, they began. Meeting Livideae, Hunting, Sleeping, time with the other Salandit, the sensation of direction, the misery of Liv’s disappointment, turning away from the pain she caused others…

What?

Other memories faded, but now Serix had begun to learn how to focus on them. Serix thought of the many times Livideae turned away other Pokemon, the excuse she used that they were too “Ugly” to be her patron, the fact that Serix disagreed, but spoke nothing of it.

Those in need, turned away. Serix felt bad, but knew not what to do. He simply let it happen. Some would get angry, and thus Serix would be asked to help fend them off, or force them to leave the store. That was their home, and anyone unwelcome by Livideae was unwelcome to them all. Serix fought viciously, but then rumors began.

They moved between towns after that.

Serix felt his faith waver. His thoughts on Livideae sunk.

Enough of her. You. You.

He felt his mind lurch again, like another shove along the ice. Serix found himself in the kitchen. Garix would be left in the den without dinner tonight if he did nothing. The beating he had taken was bad, and Serix couldn’t stop thinking about it. Livideae wouldn’t have to know. She wouldn’t have to know.

He grabbed the berry from the fridge and stuffed it in his mouth, hiding it from view. A pecha berry would be best- If he had to hide it in his mouth, it’d get venom all over it. It would balance out.

Hm.

The presence behind Serix watched his memory alongside him.

Flash forward and he quietly snuck from his bed to Garix’s. Just earlier today, the salandit had tackled him to the ground and attacked him, but… They were all hungry. Garix must’ve been feeling it the most.

He took the Pecha berry from his mouth, and left it at the edge of Garix’s bed.

. . .

The memory was pushed aside as the visions before him grew more and more recent, until just a few hours ago.

Serix waited at the entrance of the house, and looked back. He should just run- But his family was still there. Livideae was gone- Someone needed to do something.

Someone had to do something.

He stayed with the pack of them all, calling out where to move, where to run. They moved together, running from the Tar. He realized just how much of the memory had been blurred- Serix, watching the memory now, got to see it all clearly. The chaos, the stampede of screaming Pokemon, the small Salandit all trying to escape unscathed.

Then, the moment he was tackled to the side. The realization of what had happened to Ferix, and the fear, struck at once. Serix felt his heart quicken. Knowing now how the memory ended, Serix tried to pry his eyes away, but it was everywhere he looked- Like his mind was what was showing him the vision, not the way his eyes looked.

He watched as he dragged Ferix along, until nothing of Ferix remained. Still, Serix tried to drag along the Pokemon, desperately, miserably hoping to change how things played out.

I am…

Those same eyes looked at him, bore into him as effectively as a sledgehammer. It wasn’t cold precision, but a blunt, hard rock to his skull, demolishing hope and leaving only a bloody smear behind, the feeling of being crushed.

… I’m the survivor.

The answer came out like it had been wrenched from his heart. His chest ached, his head was ringing, he could feel tears in his eyes.

… Then you must continue.

The voice seemed to have come to a conclusion.

I am afraid I must burden you with something.

The pressure in his head mounted, and the memories and his life faded- Instead, he was wrapped in an amber, golden light, that brought him back to the present moment.

I don’t have time to explain, but you will feel it. Listen to it closely.

Serix watched as the light faded from Coballion’s eyes, rolled back in their sockets, and the legend was swallowed whole by the Tar.