14 14: Intruders

Let's take a step back?

-Scene Cut-

Darius: *t-poses menacingly*

-Scene Cut-

Right after the Pokemon got out of their homes from the back of the Torterras, Darius began to give them food. They were all small and relatively weak Pokemon, he could tell by their lack of an oppressive aura like the leader Torterra had and like the Mega Gyarados that lived in the bottom of the lake had. He held the little Aipom on his arms as a Swablu sat on his head like a fluffy little cloud, the four little Turtwigs followed him anywhere he went like he was their caretaker, it certainly didn't help that he liked to hold them like they were small turtles. Unlike the size they had in the Pokedex, they were about 3 feet tall (0.9 meters) and weighed about 45 lbs (20 kg), which was a little on the heavier side. It was like carrying a small toddler in his hands while being followed around by others who also wanted to be carried by him. The shell on their back, unlike the Pokedex, said, wasn't only hardened soil, but also these small little hidden seeds that as they evolved would become the trees on their back.

Almost all Grass type Pokemon do photosynthesis. Those who don't do photosynthesis get their nutrients from other plants or Grass type Pokemon as well, like leeches or parasites. The Torterra herd lived in a curious symbiotic relationship with the Pokemon that lived on their back, which was adorable and also very interesting to catalog. The Pokemon that he identified were:

2 Swablus

3 Zigzagoons

9 Burmys (2 Plant Cloaks, 3 Trash Cloaks, 4 Sandy Cloaks)

1 Starly

2 Staravias

1 Nincada

1 Budew

1 Kecleon

1 Aipom

1 Bidoof

All these Pokemon were weak, standing between the 1st rank and 2nd rank, with the majority being 1st rank. They were also pretty young, signifying that maybe the Torterra herd was bigger, and these were the survivors of what happened to them. Darius did not ask too many questions because he didn't want to come off as intrusive, but he kept an eye out for these young Pokemon and helped them with whatever he could.

That was why he was the official babysitter, since the older and more powerful Pokemon were resting. The young teens, or the Grotles and Staravias, acted like they either didn't enjoy his company while secretly liking it, or they outright clung to him like the younger Pokemon. Darius got himself a small group of Pokemon he was actively teaching, which was appreciated by the older Pokemon it seemed because when he went to reapply the medicine on their body, the Torterras seemed more friendly to him than before. They were like massive forest bulls or cows, they really liked to be cleaned too because when Darius got a few stubborn weeds off of their joints, they appreciated it enough to give him a few of the berries they grew on their back.

Darius asked if one of them wanted him to plant a seed of the berry that he used to cure their poisoned condition, and all of the Torterras and even a few Grotles wanted him to do so. So, Darius wondered… Is it possible to plant anything on a Torterra's back? What if there was a Water/Ground variant Torterra that lived in the sea as an island? Did it also grow seaweed on its body? On its back, was there a beautiful coral? There are so many possibilities.

"Okay, okay…" Darius chuckled as he lowered down the Aipom he was holding and picked up a small Turtwig this time, the Aipom looked a little sad that his "carry time" had passed, as Darius liked to call it. One of the Swablus pecked the other one, waking it up and making him leave Darius' head as it was her turn to sleep there, much to Darius' amusement. "Do you little ones want to help me?" Cerberus, who always followed his Alpha, sat down and looked up at him with seriousness. Immediately, the little Aipom and three other Turtwigs imitated Cerberus, standing beside him with serious expressions on their little cute faces. "Good!" Darius grinned as he slowly sat down on the dirt, his really good and soft silk clothing getting a little dirty in the process. All the clothes Arachne made carried the white coloration, as it was made from her silk, which was really white and pure. "I want you little ones to have mock battles." Immediately, all the Pokemon there were looking at him, his words carried a heavy weight: "I know you little ones suffered an attack, and I know you're afraid, so I want you to slowly learn how to fight to defend yourself… I spoke to the older ones, they all seemed to agree that although you are young, you need to have experience even if it is a small friendly match."

Pokemon are sturdy. They have very good regeneration and recovery, which is why Darius was so sad and surprised that the Torterras (who have Ground typing) were heavily poisoned and needed weeks to recover fully.

"So, I have come up with a way for you all to train while you still reside here." Darius softly let the fourth Turtwig down while he kept talking, she soon joined her three brothers and together they turned to smile at him: "Cerberus here is my most hardworking Pokemon, he trains daily lifting weights and working on his bite strength, due to his strength he will be also competing with you all." Darius patted Cerberus' head while the good boy looked proudly at the others. He was being praised by his Alpha for doing a good job after all! He picked up the small Budew that approached him. Although he would have regretted it due to the pollen this Pokemon releases being poisonous, Darius was more than prepared to deal with poison! He was surprised by the sudden pollen that puffed out of the little girl, but he didn't mind it even though it made him sneeze a little.

[You have been Poisoned]

'Huh.' He raised his eyebrows a little at that. Okay? He doesn't feel that bad.

[You've unlocked your Poison Affinity!]

'Another one?' Damn! He has Dark, Bug, Grass, and Water affinities, and now he also has Poison? "Well…" A little taken aback by his sudden unlocking new affinity, Darius simply willed his control over poison to push out the poison that entered his body, and with another sneeze, he was fine: "The plan is pretty simple! I'm going to put you all in a rotation system, where you'll challenge a few other Pokemon you both have an advantage over due to your typing and one you have disadvantages over." He used the little Budew on his hands to explain: "For example, this little one here could go against Shelly or another water type, then next go against Starly or maybe even Cerberus later." This was to train the Pokemon to learn how to adapt because in the wild, many times the predator has a type advantage over their prey.

He still thought sometimes of the Butterfrees…

"So, any doubts?" He tickled the little Swablu on his head while waiting if anyone had any questions, but no one came forward: "Good!" He slowly stretched out his arms as he got up and sighed: "Let's start with-" He stopped suddenly and frowned, his eyes scanning the area. He felt like he was being observed, which is weird because normally Pokemon would feel different than now... He sent out this wave of energy from his body with the intent of 'Search', which any Pokemom would reply with a 'Here' intent, which was the most basic method of Pokemon communication that Darius had developed. Instead of answering, the wave of energy just brushed off against whoever was there, and there wasn't an answer that Darius could feel other than the intent of 'Hide'.

Immediately, he sent a small peng of energy through his bond with Arachne with the technique [Emotion/Intent Communication] while also releasing his intention of 'Help', 'Find', and 'Intruder'. It was answered immediately by the Pokemon because in a chittering creek, he felt many Pokemon moving as the many Bug types started to move and search for the intruders who had invaded their territory. Darius also kept an eye out, keeling the young ones close, ready to fucking punch anyone who gets close.

It took a while, but the Pokemon of this territory managed to find the intruders. Three people, all wearing these weird clothes that didn't look like any Pokemon Evil Team, but just normal clothes.

"So, who are you?" Darius looked forward at the intruders his little friends captured, his mind already coming up with several ways to find the truth from their mouth, with either interrogation, threats, to even torture. He would do anything, no matter how vile or how immoral, to protect those he loves. "You better start talking." He focused his eyes on them, his energy flaring as he channeled it. They were two guys and one girl. The girl had long blond hair, and the two guys seemed to be either brothers or related somehow because they looked too much alike.

"W-wait!" The girl said: "Please, this is a misunderstanding -"

"Then you better start talking because -" At that moment, a large serpentine head rose from the waters of the like. He could easily see the enormous Mega Gyarados looming over them: "- he is getting hungry." And to help his intimidation, Mega Gyarados just glared down as water dripped from his open maw, imitating drool.

"Fuck, Lavazza, this is the last time I fucking follow you out to do Pokemon Ranger missions!" One of the guys said, his voice raising as he clearly was almost pissing himself: "Oh come on, she says, it's going to be fine she says!" He started to sound more panicked as he kept talking, the lady - Lavazza was her name, apparently - looked really angry at that moment and Darius grumbled under his breath a little before he stomped his feet on the ground while using [Energy Technique - Energy Enchantment] to increase the strength of his muscles and bones as he kicked, making the ground around him to shake a little, much to his surprise: "Shut. Up."

"You want us talking, and then you want us to shut up? Make up your mind, man -" Darius just glared at the guy while channeling his [Dark] Energy through his eyes, immitating a move that would be considered either [Leer] or [Glare]. "Okay, shutting up now!"

"...Just fucking tell me why the fuck you're here."

"Well..."

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