Wilson

  Death was odd. The pain of dying, of being stabbed over and over was the worst part of the whole experience. But after, Wilson felt at peace. His consciousness drifting, fading, and as his eyes shut the blackness faded to show glimpses of his past.

  His childhood, in the farmlands outside of Dendemille, where he worked alongside his siblings to keep the homestead functional. Getting deep into the dirt to plant crops, and reveling in the scents of the outdoors. The smell of tilled soil. The taste of a fresh spring breeze as planting season began. His favorite time of year, as he would sew the seeds for new growth.

  His youth, meeting his Bayleef in the forest while he was chasing down one of their wayward Wooloo. Bonding with her, and learning her name. Juliet, he thought as the happy memories of bringing her home and his family learning of his good fortune filling him with ecstatic joy.

  His young adulthood, when he joined the Trainer's Guild - right as the old Guild Leader retired and Mary took over. Younger than him, and he looked down on her - but she quickly put him in his place. He respected her, and she was more than a fair leader. Wise beyond her years. If only she were older, or I were younger, he thought.

  Then, his vision flashed to the graveyard. Fighting against Ghost Types with his Bayleef, and acquiring his Apricorn. Traveling to the small cove on the east side of town, down the cliffs, and finding his next Bound Pokémon. The feeling of pride that swelled through him.

  And then, love. The woman that he fell for. The Flying Trainer that was cool, calm, but distant. Someone of suitable age. And Trainers often married; but she only slept with him for a week before deciding he was not the right person. His thoughts turned to hatred of her spurning his advances. It's not like there was anyone else she could be with.

  Finally, the Dark Trainer. The one who was stabbing him and bleeding his life force. Who was something more than just a Trainer, as Wilson now realized as his memories faded and he saw, through blackened eyelids, the specter of death. A massive, winged Pokemon who was deep black and crimson.

  Then, as it opened its maw...nothing. Utter nothingness. Wilson floated for what seemed like an eternity until he stood in a queue. Endless, and yet constantly moving. He found himself brought before a massive gateway, and next to it was a creature out of nightmare. A huge, cream-colored trunk and neck, ringed with golden segments like a regal cloak. Black wings flecked with red spikes.

  As he approached the gate, it spoke. "Wilson Ralska. Trainer. You have died. As with all Trainers, you have a choice. You may pass the gates of judgement and go to what lies beyond. Or, you may be reborn as a Pokemon back in the world. Make your choice."

  Immediately, Wilson's mind flashed back to Zarius' evil grin. The mocking cackle. Corina's glee at his death. The anger, the hatred, it gnawed at him. "What happens if I choose to go back?"

  "You enter the cycle permanently. Die as a Pokémon, and be reborn elsewhere." The figure gestured to the gateway, "But you will forever lock yourself out from the beyond."

  Wilson looked through the gate, "And what lies beyond?"

  "That is not for me to say."

  "How many Trainers choose to come back as a Pokémon? And how much of me will be left?"

  "Most Trainers," the figure replied as it stood, firm, a sentinel guarding over the passage to the unknown. "You will retain flashes and glimpses of your past life. The stronger the will, the more that remains."

  Wilson thought. For a long time. An endless time. "I want to go back," he finally stated. "I'll spend every one of my lifetimes trying to kill that fucker."

  The figure chuckled, "You seek to fight the nascent god of death? Well, that is interesting. Return, Wilson Ralska, to the world you left." The figure flicked their wing, and Wilson felt himself flung across space. Back from the gate, careening through blackness and light all intertwined into an endless expanse of awe, majesty, and terror. Sights that no mortal should comprehend as his sanity frayed from the beauty and horror.

  And then, he awoke. Sucking in deep breaths. He rolled slightly, feeling his new body. Trapped in a soft, white embrace. He poked his head forward, using his beak to break out of the confines. The green, wide world awaited as he found himself emerging from an egg in a forest. Glancing down, he saw the short, stubby legs tipped with yellow. He could feel something on his head, as he shook it back and forth. The rustling of wind through his ears, the scent of the loam below.

  He felt right.

  I wonder what Pokémon I came back as? he thought. But almost immediately, that thought was taken over by another thought. A flash of his death. The spectral figure with wings. The memory of the black-clothed madman wielding the crimson-eyed blade.

  I need to get stronger. Evolve. Find him. Kill him. End the threat. He tramped out of the nest and began his venture into the deep forest.

  

  Mary

  Mary finished helping the two children bind to the Shinx pups. Two orphans, whose parents had died in the past season from disease. The children immediately began to play with their new Pokemon, and Mary smiled as she ushered them to their quarters underneath the Guild Hall. "Now remember, they need to eat every hour. And while you might want to use your new Moves immediately, hold off until tomorrow."

  The two children nodded and muttered, "Thank you," before going into their new rooms.

  Mary returned upstairs and sighed as she looked at the one guard who had volunteered to become a Trainer with the last pup. The man was looking at her quizzically, "What happened to the other Trainers?"

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  "Wilson died," Mary replied bluntly. "He challenged the new Dark Trainer in a fight to the death, and lost. The Dark Trainer left along with Corina, our Flying Trainer."

  The guard clicked his tongue, "Something felt off about him."

  "More than you know," Mary calmly replied. "Now, I know you have guard quarters, but you are more than welcome to stay here."

  The man chuckled, "I think I'm going to take this little guy out tonight. I'm on the walls, anyways, in a few hours - might as well let him stretch his legs a bit." The man also held his hand up as electricity crackled between his fingertips, "I gotta admit, I was a bit afraid at first...but this is amazing!"

  Mary smiled softly, "It is. Goodnight, then." The guard left, and she descended to her chamber. Grabbing her Apricorn, she pulled Haunter out. "Gary, are you okay?"

  Her Pokemon cackled, "Fine," it replied despite its dire wounds. "I could use a potion."

  Mary uncorked one and fed it to him as his wounds mended. "That was a tough fight. Good job."

  "Going up against a Dark Type was a losing battle. But I gave it my best!"

  Mary touched his head and scratched him, despite him normally being able to phase through objects and people, she could touch him. "Yeah, you did great. If I had something other than a Ghost Type Bound, I wouldn't have sent you out there, but your sister-"

  "It's okay," Gary replied as he sighed with relief. "We have new Trainers as well. Exciting. Mind if I scare the kids?"

  Mary chuckled, "When they are a bit older. Not tonight. Not just after binding their Pokémon."

  "Fair enough. Mind putting me back in the Apricorn?"

  Mary tapped him with the object and he was sucked into it in a shimmer of grey-white smoke. She sighed and laid down on her bed. Closing her eyes, she replayed the fight between Zarius and Wilson. It was a fairly even fight, but Zarius was able to heal from the shadows themselves. Maybe during the day, the Grass Type Trainer would have stood a better chance. But during the night? Zarius had the advantage.

  And that damage reversal Move. Absolutely brutal, she thought as she settled into her bedding. Very interesting though. I wonder what path Wilson chose? Did he choose to go through the gates? Or did he take the path of rebirth? She sighed, I know which one I would choose.

  As she tried to fall asleep, the sight of Zarius once more filled her vision. But not the man himself. No. The thing inside him. The Aura that she could see, feel, almost taste, even given its potency. The dark entity that brought Death. I hope he never comes here again.

  

  Bradley

  "It was horrible," Bradley muttered as he sat, chest deep, in the river the next morning.

  Suddsy was in the slightly deeper water in front of him, and her head craned down as he clung to her. "It was a horrific sight."

  "I can't do stuff like that," Bradley replied as he teared up, seeing Wilson's stabbed body again. The horrific slaughter replaying over and over in his mind for the past ten hours. He had not slept. Not eaten. Just numbly sat in the waters and replayed the events. His friend, someone he viewed as a mentor - killed by someone who Bradley was starting to like. Until he saw the spectre during their practice. That shape...something about it stirred a primal fear, and Bradley broke down crying again.

  "Shush, little one," Suddsy replied. "It is okay." Her calm voice was like the gentle rolling of waves on a sandy beach that brought an endless calm and soothed the soul. "You do not have to be one of those Trainers who fights all the time."

  Bradley shook his head, "I...I need to get stronger."

  Suddsy looked him in the eyes, pulling away slightly to do so. "You will not go after this Dark Trainer, understood?"

  "Why?" Bradley replied with fear. "I...I should avenge Wilson, shouldn't I?"

  Suddsy's expression darkened, "He is the host of a legendary. A god. Which one, I do not know. But I have seen the Aura of a legendary once before. When your family disturbed Lugia, and the god of storms sank your vessel. The day I saved you."

  It makes sense, Bradley thought as he felt numb. He was a cultist from the mountains. They did...something to call a god...and he's just the vessel. The revelation that a god had sunk his family's ship was also astounding, but overshadowed by the fear he felt. He would process the fact that a god was responsible for his family's death later.

  For now, he clung to Suddsy, "Don't leave me."

  "I won't, little one. But we will not leave this town to pursue that fell entity. I will refuse to ferry you."

  Bradley clung to her like he did when she saved him from the riotous ocean waves, the storm-tossed sea. He clung to her like the life raft she was. His only Bound Companion. His rock in the ocean. "I promise...we'll stay here...Dendemille needs Trainers...I'm not leaving."

  

  Corina

  "If we stick to the road, then we won't encounter many wild Pokémon," Corina stated as they walked north. "But that also means less Experience."

  Zarius was quiet, but sounded enthused. "We will go where we please. How far is it to this next city?"

  "Some ways," Corina replied. "I also know of something along the way that may be of interest, Lord Zarius. A place called a Mystery Dungeon."

  Zarius looked back at her, and the glint of red eyes, flecked by the purple ghostflame, sent shivers down her body. Her spine tingling as her nether regions ached for the god given human form before her. Who had chosen her as his Herald. "What makes it a Mystery?" he asked.

  Corina kept her desires calmed by grabbing him by the arm and walking next to him. "Well, I heard that you entered the Dungeon, and the layout is shifting and changing. It summons Pokémon, other challenges like puzzles and traps, and has rewards inside. You can do it again, and again, and again, getting a different Dungeon each time."

  Zarius nodded and looked ahead on the road. "It sounds like a good detour. I do not know much about trap or puzzle solving...but fighting sounds...delightful." He licked his slightly sharp teeth which sent another wave of longing down Corina's spine.

  She pulled on his arm, tugging him to the side of the road toward a creek. Lucien padded after them, and sniffed near her before looking at Zarius. "Umby. Umbreon. Umbry."

  Zarius looked down at Lucien, "Go ahead."

  The Pokémon darted down the creek and vanished around a bend.

  Zarius glanced at the quizzical-looking Corina, "He is going to find a place for us to rest up. I am used to traveling at night, but you must be tired."

  The care that he showed for her well being caused a wave of warmth to rush over Corina as her face went flush. No one had shown her such deference since she became a Trainer. She was used as a tool, seen as an implement to solve problems, and in her brief fling with Wilson, just as the only option available to him. But here, Lord Zarius, he genuinely cared for her. Enough to reveal his secret. Enough to proclaim her as his Herald. She was overwhelmed with longing, with desire, and threw herself at him.

  The two tumbled to the grassy bank and ripped each others clothes off, their gear tumbling to the side as they wrestled for control of one another. A primal, gutteral, animalistic exchange as The Urge rose.

  But not an Urge to fight. To conquer, yes, but not to seek the death of the other. It was about dominance - and she knew it was a losing battle. But still, The Urge drove her on, and as she mounted him and felt the incredible pleasure race up her body, she knew she was beaten. He leaned up and bit down on her shoulder, and she gasped in ecstasy as the shadows billowed around them, soothing and licking her in a tantilating and tender way.

  "I serve you, my lord," she gasped out.

  He pulled back and kissed her deeply, his tongue dancing along hers as she tasted her own blood. It was ecstasy. Divine. She could see the spectral wings of the god within him surrounding them, intertwining with her wings and sending shocks and jolts of pleasure along her with every movement the god she now worshipped made.

  "Good," he growled.