Abnormal Incarnate

I just realised I need to play all the pokemon games to do what I really want to do... SIGH, I'm off to watch another 16 hour long lore video i guess.

| Norman POV |

The Riolu stood hunched, panting. Bloodied, bruised, trembling—but still upright.

Not many Pokémon could drop both Linoone and Vigoroth in one fight. Fewer still could do it at that size, at that level, without so much as a command shouted from their Trainer. And this one...

This one thinks.

Its stance adapts with each movement. Its eyes stay locked, unblinking. Calculated.

It's young—but it's dangerous.

I fold my arms, letting the silence stretch.

That wasn't luck.

That was discipline.

Prankster, maybe. Inner Focus, more likely. It's reading me, even now. Those red eyes haven't left my hands since I reached for the Poké Ball.

"You're strong. Very strong," I say, letting truth edge my voice. "But let's see how long that lasts."

I unclip the second-to-last Poké Ball from my belt.

The final test.

Slaking.

Not the lazy brute people often mistook it for. No—Slaking was power made flesh, potential barely contained by biology. A nuclear warhead sealed in fur.

And this Riolu... was about to stand at ground zero.

| Rio POV |

He's smiling.

Why is he smiling.

Stop smiling, you walrus-looking destroyer of dreams.

No one sane smiles while sending out a Slaking. That's like smiling while lighting a stick of dynamite in your own house.

The Poké Ball hits the floor like a warning shot.

The air gets heavy. The kind of heavy that makes you realize, oh, this isn't just a fight. This is the boss battle.

Light flashes.

And then it's there.

A mountain in monkey form. Slaking lumbers forward, scratching its stomach like it just woke up from a nap and remembered taxes are due.

Its eyes are half-lidded.

Its grin is… vacant.

But my bones? Yeah, they're filing complaints with every nerve I've got. Anticipation flares like someone dropped a toaster in my aura pool.

This is it.

Final stage.

Do not pass GO. Do not collect EXP. Do not live if you mess this up.

"Ready, Rio?" May calls from behind, her voice steady.

No. Not even close.

But I nod.

Because if this is how I die, I'm dying with sass.

I brush some dirt off my shoulder, slowly take a battle stance, and mutter, "Okay, ground rules. No biting, no tickling, and if you break my ribs, you owe me a full spa treatment."

"Slacking, use Yawn"

Slaking blinks once...

Then goes back to sleep. Uh... Isn't he supposed to... I don't know, yawn? 

"At this point," Norman says, sighing like this isn't the first time his own ace has betrayed him for a nap. "That was the expected outcome. Well done, Riolu and May." Torchic chirps in annoyance "... And Torchic. You have earned my badge."

"Wait, we did?"

I blink. "That's it? We win?"

I turn to May, half-expecting her to be just as confused.

Instead, she's holding up a banner.

A banner with my face on it. Full heroic pose. Aura flaring. Captioned: "RIOLU SWEEPS AGAIN."

She's also swapped her red bandana for a yellow one—with my name stitched across the front in bold black thread.

I stare at her.

She stares back, beaming like a proud mom at a school recital.

Before I can speak, Norman tilts his head and says in his usual deadpan drawl:

"…Did you make that yourself? I didn't know you had an interest in sewing, May. I would've brought you a better birthday present."

Slaking snores in the background like a round of applause.

I bury my face in my paws. "I'm surrounded by lunatics."

[Expert battle won]

+175 EXP

[Quest Complete: Stay Alive]

+50 EXP

[New Achievement: Conquered Normality]

+250 EXP

+1 Random item

+1 Normal type badge

[Level up: 7 → 10]

[New moves: Work up, Agility]

[Name:] Rio

[Race:] Riolu

[Nature:] Adamant

[Abilities:]

Inner Focus (prevents flinching)

Prankster (priority to status moves)

Anticipation (senses foe's move)

[Level:] 10

[Move Set:] Hidden

[Stats:]

HP: 52

Attack: 87

Defense: 55

Sp. Atk: 44

Sp. Def: 49

Speed: 96

[Items:] Wishful Baton

(New) Normal badge: Boosts all normal type moves and reduces all normal type damage significantly

I blink at the bright blue overlay in my vision, then wince as a muscle cramps somewhere deep in my everything.

"Well, that was a much-needed boost," I mutter, dragging myself off the battlefield like a damp sock.

"…But leveling up still doesn't fix my battered walking corpse status."

My joints creak. My fur feels like it got steamrolled by a Rapidash stampede.And my dignity? Probably still under Slaking's left buttcheek.

Whom, by the way, I should totally thank for his unexpected mercy. Real MVP.

This is fine.Everything is fine.

[Location: Petalburg Pokémon Center – Recovery Spa Room]

Steam curls lazily in the air.

A faint trickle of water echoes from a fountain shaped like a Blissey. The lights are low. The towels are warm. The lavender scent is assaulting my sinuses with aggressive healing energy.

This must be what heaven feels like—if heaven also came with a an annoying chicken stripe, cucumber slices and joint pain.

I'm submerged chest-deep in a hot spring bath, paws draped on the edge, eyes half-lidded like a war veteran who just barely made it back from the front lines. Torchic floats beside me on a ridiculous inflatable Wingull, looking more smug than soot.

"I can't believe we got our first badge on a technical win," she huffs, puffing out her cheeks like a steamed dumpling.

"You think I wanted to fight the final boss while running on, like, three brain cells and a dream?" I groan, adjusting the towel precariously balanced on my head. "I was five seconds from evolving into a ghost type."

Torchic kicks a little water at me. I don't even flinch. I'm too tired to even blink.

May lounges nearby in a reclining chair with a face mask and her freshly-stitched Rio™ headband proudly on display.

"Honestly? You were incredible," she says through the green gunk on her face. "I was this close to crying. You've really grown, you know?"

I glance at her, then glance at the spa sign that says No Crying in the Hot Springs.

"I've grown, alright," I mutter. "Grown trauma. Grown a limp. Grown respect for gravity."

Torchic splashes again. "Chii-"

translation: Cry baby. Or something along that line of thought

"You literally passed out from exhaustion last fight. Don't even start."

I close my eyes and sigh, letting the heat soak into my aching muscles and overworked bones.

Yeah. This is nice.

Still hurts to breathe, but at least now it's in a zen way.

| Norman POV, Somewhere in the Normal Type Gym |

The gym is quiet now. Empty battlefield. Dimmed lights. The echo of footsteps still lingers, but the weight of the day has settled.

I stand by the window, watching the moon hang low behind the trees. Peaceful. Deceptively so.

"...It's started, hasn't it?" I ask without turning around.

The holo-screen flickers to life on the wall behind me, casting a pale blue glow across the floor. Professor Birch's face appears—older, more tired than the last time we spoke. He's not smiling.

"It's not just Kanto anymore and Johto," Birch says, voice low. "Team Rainbow Rocket's spread roots again. And now we're hearing rumors—strange weather patterns in Hoenn's south, seismic spikes near Mt. Chimney. It's like Magma's stirring too."

I exhale through my nose. "So they're moving in tandem."

"Or testing the waters. Either way… we've seen what happens when the regions ignore the signs."

"What about Aqua?"

"No movement as of yet."

I cross my arms.

There's a long silence.

Birch finally adds, "The League wants to believe it's coincidence. That it's just a few bad actors."

"They're wrong," I say flatly. "This isn't some rogue gang, and Lance should have figured that out already... This is organized. Coordinated. And if they're working together…"

"Then Hoenn's not ready, neither is everyone else." Birch finishes.

I nod once. "What about your daughter? Are you sure this is a good time for her to start her journey?"

Birch glances down at something off-screen, then back up.

"She'll be fine, you tested her yourself, that Riolu… he's not from around here, is he?"

I raise an eyebrow.

"No," I say slowly. "He's… different."

"Keep an eye on him, Norman. I've seen 'different' before. Sometimes it saves the world."

He pauses.

"Sometimes it breaks it."

The screen goes black.

I stare at the empty screen for a moment longer, then glance out the window again—just in time to see a flash of blue light arc across the sky and vanish behind the mountains.

My fingers tighten around the windowsill.

Word count: 1430

Oh Wow, I did not expect that to go multiversal already, neither did you huh? Anyways, who do you think will the the new team member? A machoke? Maybe a Jinx? How about a Trubbish?

MC:"Please don't..."

It's not up to you to choose, unless I get some more power stones :)