Chapter Two:
Hiding In Humphrigg Hollow
Holland found himself walking along a never ending forest. Right after the battle with the bronze man, a woman in gold appeared. Holland contemplated on whether to attack or hide. Obviously he chose the latter.
He needed answers and a place to think.
Right now, this was a perfect place, and after hours of walking he was just about tempted to release his flyer. He decided against that as a sense of foreboding rattled through his bones. It's as if only danger awaited him if he took to the skies.
This feeling was the same gut feeling he experienced when battling. A sense of union with his pokemon, where their instincts became one. He promised to himself to always follow that feeling, and that feeling was the same thing that urged him to run from that woman.
It wasn't from fear, but rather a warning. A warning that things will be much better if he ran.
The forests around him were no longer the orange hues of Laverre. The trees were huge. Wide as a car and as tall as a two story building. The branches did not split to the sides, but rather it curved upwards into some weird looking cup.
The sky was beginning to light as the sun started to rise. The blanket of darkness was now washed by an orange hue and the slumbering forest began to wake. The trees swayed to life with the morning breeze passing through its branches.
Various animals began to rise from their sleep and make their way to the forest floor. Holland stopped his steps when a certain bug came crawling to the ground. His eyes focused on the olive green worm. Its head contained two black eyes, with two antennae protruding from its forehead.
It wasn't anything like the bug types he had seen. The closest thing he could think of was a Caterpie, but there was still a glaring difference. Since he was transported here, he desperately tried to call for his family but the Xtranciever couldn't pick up anything. His map also wasn't working.
Staring at the crawling worm, Holland took out his Pokedex and aimed it at the creature. The flat screen displayed a picture of the worm, scanning its body for information.
"What's taking so long…" Holland mumbled as the Pokedex was loading for more than five seconds. His fingers began to tap rapidly until the screen finally changed to a different color.
"No Data"
The Pokedex cheered. Holland on the other hand was feeling a lot less cheery by the minute. Where was he!? From the looks of it he was in a brand new region—and a strange one at that. Holland still remembered those humans.
They were attacking as if they were pokemon, well at least use the moves of a pokemon. Which served to only annoy him even more. Holland threw himself into a deep thought. Right now, he was in unknown territory with never before seen pokemon, and move wielding humans.
Deep in thought, a rustle in the bushes beyond Holland began to stir. The surrounding creatures heard the familiar sound and all at once they disappeared. Holland however was too busy thinking to notice the sudden silence of the forest. The animals hiding themselves away at the sound of rustling bushes.
It was only when a low growl that Holland was pulled back to reality. Scanning the area, he noticed the disturbing silence and how barren the entire place has become. Preparing himself for battle, he took his PokeBall and raised it into the air.
A flash of light shone brightly, and with it Runi appeared. The cell covered pokemon floated behind Holland, its arms rose and wrapped around Holland's frame. The sudden appearance of the creature elicited another growl from the hidden beast.
Runi's eyes glowed an ethereal blue before sending a wave of emotions to Holland. The boy hardened his face. Runi sensed the monster. It was standing right in front of him, hidden by the large bushes. From what Runi could see, the thing was huge, bigger than a fully grown Aggron.
The beast seemed to have felt Runi's psychic energy as it began to step forward. From the bushes a creature nearing three meters emerged. Walking on all fours, its skin was made of metal. Head and spine covered in sharp spikes. Its eyes shone a deep blue as it stared at Holland and Runi.
Without warning, the beast attacked.
It bashed through the forest and aimed its attack at the two. Unflinching, Holland stood still as one of Reuniclus arms raised forward. Without hesitation, a multi-colored beam shot through the trees. The sudden shift in pressure caused the trees in its path to swerve away, leaving cuts and thrown dirt. The beam sped through the forest, and the beast kept its ground, continuing on its path.
Big mistake.
The beam collided and the pressure sent the beast back by ten meters, burying it deep into the ground. The beast struggled to free itself. Holland only chuckled and waved his hand.
From the dirt, the beast rose with an unearthly glow and without warning, it was pushed. Through the trees it was bashed to a nearby rock, indenting its features into the stone. Seconds later, the beast was then thrown to the opposite direction, meeting the trunk of the large-cup like tree. Another blast boomed at the impact as the beast flew through the trunk.
Holland snapped his fingers and the beast stopped. The sudden halt caused the momentum to squish the beasts insides resulting in a crack in one of its spikes. Chuckling at that, the pokemon trainer raised his hand and the beast soared up high, leaving the thick canopy of trees.
Reaching its max height, Holland swung down his arms and the unearthly glow changed to a blazing hue as the beast pierced through the air. Seconds later, the impending collision broke through the forest. The trees nearby snapped off and a crater twice as large as a car was left in its wake.
The dust settled and the metal beast spasmed at the force pressed on it. The metal plating on its skin began to peel off in chunks. Walking forward, Holland kept his face stoned. This beast was no ordinary one. From Runi's scans, this one was alive. Alive in a sense that it was…
"Runi, Confusion…" Reuniclus' eyes glowed brightly and the spasming monster roared. "Hold it down!" Psychic pressure was pressed firmly, keeping the monster laid out bare on the ground.
"Runi! Invade its mind. Pull back its consciousness."
Waves of psychic energy dove deep into the metal beasts subconscious. Holland could feel its mins start to wake. Visions of people, waves of emotion, and trains of thought not his own seeped through his mind.
"Almost the-'' before he could finish, Runi alerted him. Moving quickly, Holland shifted his stance and crossed his arms. In the nick of time, a barrier formed around him just as an explosion occurred.
A massive dust cloud appeared, shielding everyone's view. Holland however could see the culprits. Through Runi's senses, he could see four humans standing a few meters away. Holland prepared himself to fight when a slight tug caused him to freeze.
Without waiting, one of his pokeballs flew towards the monster and stuck itself onto its belly. From the looks of it, the monster activated some sort of magnetic field. Snapping his fingers, Holland coated his pokeballs so they wouldn't fly away.
He was about to call for his Pokeball when various slashes of winds penetrated the dust cloud. Strengthening his barrier, Holland's hold on the monster faltered and it jumped. Without the pressure it made its way out and escaped into the forest.
A cold shiver invaded his chest as he watched one of his pokeballs disappear. The dread was soon filled with a spark as his eyes hardened at the meddlesome four.
Waves of psychic energy began to fluctuate and the earth started to rumble. Holland's eyes darkened. The air densed and breathing became a struggle. He could hear some of their lungs curl up. His eyes flared to life and a wave of psychic energy soon build up. It was about to release when a soothing aura invaded him. The trembling ceased and he reverted his emotions back.
One of the four collapsed and gasped for air. Holland kept his eyes unwavered and flicked his wrist.
"Runi, keep us hidden."
The clouds of dust thickened once more and psychic waves hugged Holland's form. His outfit floating weightlessly into the air. The tips of his foot bobbled slightly until it finally levitated off. Holland needed to find his pokemon.
Spreading his arms, the dust cloud spread and he flew towards the creature's direction. With the help of Runi, Holland sped right through the forest, breaking off anything in his path. However, fate always loved to make fun of him.
One of the four humans caught up to him. Like a fierce gale she twirled her silver Rapier and released slashes of wind. Waving his hand, the slashes dissipated instantly, stunned the girl faltered.
At this moment, she had no idea who she was fighting thanks to Runi's help. Now, all her hair stood straight and she quickly escaped. Unfortunately, an invisible force pushed her and she pummeled deep into the dirt.
"Serves you right for being so meddlesome…" Holland muttered quietly and left. Using Runi's energy he traveled as fast as a storm towards the monster's location.
As he got closer, he could sense hundreds of humans in one place. A town. The monster was hiding in a human town, of course.
On the other hand, the group of four dusted themselves off. They carefully checked their weapons and body, making sure nothing's wrong. The leader stepped forward and with a hopeful smile, he pointed towards a nearby town. The group readied themselves and went on.
Humphrigg Hollow was a quaint town, a town where almost nothing ever happened. Holland knew this was the perfect hiding place. The town was covered in walls that separate the inside from the out. It was made with steel, stone, and wood all laid out to form a thick barricade.
The town was named after its founder, Humphriggs. Word on the street or he should say "mind" is that they were commoners that aided some kind of war, thus given a town in their name.
Entering through the city was easy, a simple confusion did the trick. Whatever he was expecting for his first town was too exaggerated. The entirety of this place was screaming sad beige. The people? More so.
It took a couple of seconds before Holland finally reached some place called a guild? From what he got, if you were looking for a monster this is where you go.
The guild was decently different from the hues of brown. The wood that framed the building was a dark red maple. And above it, a crest was etched in solid gold. It was a ring with some kind of bird in it. The bird's eyes were a dazzling sapphire which seemed to hypnotize anyone who stared too long at it.
Walking forward, he went through and already he could feel something. Across the room, waves of psychic energy seemed to seep out of some woman. The woman in question was sitting and talking with two other people. Holland didn't expect to meet another psychic this soon.
Seems he'll have to get some information the hard way.
"Excuse me" Holland stepped towards what seemed to be the counter. "I have a question."
"Good morning what can I do for you…" The woman behind the desk smiled. She was in some sort of uniform. A pale blue for the blouse and a darker one for the vest and skirt.
"I was hoping if you knew of a creature that I am looking for" The receptionist's quirked at that, causing some of the people near the counter to come closer.
"What kind of monster are you hunting?" The receptionist's tone seemed to change causing him to quirk this time.
"A big one, with skin made of metal. Spikes on its head and spine? With glowing blue eyes …"
"You mean the Bladedsnatch?" One of the men beside me spoke when he heard my description.
"Bladedsnatch? What kind of name is that?" Holland's mouth bent, and he thought Flamigo was a weird one.
"You heard it right. That creature's been sighted multiple times now. No one managed to catch it. It kept on disappearing" The guy in old leather armor started to monologue about some ancient creature that protected the forest "There's a quest right now to capture it actually, posted by the mayor."
"Really?" The pokemon trainer wondered, when the receptionist broke through.
"I'm sorry but only members of the guild can take on quests in this town with exceptions of course. And if I did wanted to give it to you, I couldn't. All information the guild holds on the Bladedsnatch can only be given to those that partake the quest. And unfortunately, someone has already taken the quest.".
Holland was about to ask further when the door opened. The midday light seeped through, partially blocking the new people's faces. As one by one entered, their faces finally materialized. Holland wanted to sigh.
Four people stood at the doorway, their eyes landing on the group of people in the club.
"Good day everyone, I'm Cardinal and we are the expedition team sent by the Royal Academy Of Knights for the Bladedsnatch"
The room seemed to quiet down and all at once, Holland's sigh almost broke through his mind.
"This is going to be interesting…"