I wrote two short fanfics for PMD ocs, one of which somehow ended up in a zine people paid for. Both are listed below.
Summary: Background checks are mandatory now.
“Let me see here.” Umbreon sifted through the pile of applications next to her, pulling out one covered with scribbles and a bite taken out of it. “Your name is….wait, you didn’t write your name.”
“Veeenooo!” it hissed. The creature splayed its tentacles over the table, and almost got its slime on it.
“Hey!” Spina snapped from his drink stand. “Please don’t drip slime on the tables.”
“Sorry!” Umbreon yelled, smacking the creature’s tentacles from the table. “So your name is Veeno….Right?”
“Veeeee….” it growled.
“Close enough.” she said, then nudged the Sceptile next to her. “Your turn.”
“Oh!” she exclaimed. “Let’s see,” she picked up a pile of papers on her lap and shuffled through them. “Do you have any past experiences working for rescue teams? I know exploration teams are more common on this continent, so if you’ve only been in one of those, that’s fine too.”
“Veeeeenooo!” it said, then jumped on Sceptile.
“Get off! This is not how you should behave if you ever want to be employed!” she screamed, running in circles around the cafe.
“Sceptile, stay still!” Umbreon snapped, chasing Sceptile around the cafe and out of the building.
“That was obviously an alien.” one of the other customers remarked.
Summary: I can't possibly think of a better way to spend our night than hunting aliens.
Written for the PMD zine @pkmguildzine on twitter, on sale until 7/10, 11:59 pm.
“Aliens in the Sinister Woods.” Eevee groaned, scratching the branches out of her fur with her hind leg. “Yeah, I totally believe that. Did you know that 29% percent of playground rumors are true? Just ask Mew.”
“C’mon, Eevee.” I said. The trees were as tall and ominous as they were years before, shrouding the sky in a thick layer of leaves. Any rescue team willing to venture this far needed to manage themselves well if they wanted to traverse its depths unscathed.
If they were rookies.
“I’m saying this is a waste of our time.” she said, whipping her tail back and forth in annoyance. “When we could be, I don’t know, trying to get that Shroomish to the fourteenth floor of Magma Cavern again.”
“We’re never going to be able to do that and you know it.” I said, shoving her into the forest. “Let’s go already! Unless you’re scaaaared ?”
“ I am not ! Just you watch, you leafy little fiend!”
“Treecko is fine too.” I said, and she pouted. We ventured further in, beating back the wild pokemon that tried to impede our progress.
It took a few hours to get past the mystery dungeon and find the clearing that explorers would stop at to rest for the night. It was unoccupied due to the alien sightings, a strange creature with limbs like ropes with electricity flowing out of its limbs. As a rescue team, it was our job to bring peace to the town by chasing this creature off before it could bring harm.
….More or less.
We chose this clearing as a good lookout point, creating a small camp in case it became an overnight stay. “I don't see anything.” Eevee grumbled, passing me the binoculars. “I'm gonna go out a bit.”
“That's a good idea. I'll stay here, just in case.”
She left, so it was up to me to keep watch here. In the Sinister Woods. With a potential alien. There was still a strong possibility that it was nothing more than a prank. There's always the chance that some powerful phenomenon turns out to be completely mundane with every crazy incident we get wrapped up in, but the probabilities hadn't worked out in our favor yet.
I heard a shuffling off to my left, and barely had the chance to turn around before a bolt of electricity hit the makeshift beds we built and set them on fire.
“Hey!” I yelled, but when I saw the creature, I froze. It had a head that looked like a blue chestnut, and wiggly limbs that jolted with electricity. Exactly as described.
Having finally glimpsed its power, I decided that the best course of action was to get the heck out of there.
“Eevee! Eevee !” I screamed, stumbling over the tree roots and thick growths of ivy. When my hysterics finally reached Eevee, she looked at me like she discovered how to fly.
“I didn't believe you on all that alien nonsense, but I think I finally get it.” she said, a dose of unrelenting joy in her voice.
“What?” I said, still recoiling from shock.
“Listen!” she proclaimed, sticking her head up in pride. “To the ancient call of the aliens .”
“....I'm sorry, what?” I said.
“Are you with me or not?” she snapped.
Maybe she hit her head on a rock. “Let's test your theory.” I said. With her stubbornness, it's better to let her ride through her mistakes than push against the tides.
“Okay, so--” Eevee began, scratching her ear again, “Ugh, there's so much dirt here--I was thinking, we think this alien is an electric type, right?”
Oh, I know. “So?”
“So, it's gonna have a static-y voice, right?”
“I've never met an electric type like that.”
“Then I'll make it slightly electric and mostly alien.”
“.....Where exactly did you learn an alien call from?”
“Spinda.” Oh, that makes sense. Not that I'm not bound to moments of silliness myself, or have any other options, but usually Eevee is more reasonable than this. Perhaps she was more interested in aliens than she let on. Or, no, she wants to beat me to it, or prove her bravery, or any number of reasons that involve stroking her ego.
Although she might be self absorbed, she still my partner. We wouldn’t have been a team for so long if, deep down, we didn’t care about each other.
She released a long, drawn out guttural cry that sounded like a cross between a Wailord and a Kricketune. It took everything I had to not burst out in laughter.
“Did it work!?” she shouted, whipping her head back and forth.
“I don't think you had much of a chance.” I said, trying to sound nice. She groaned.
“The woods suck.” she said. “There's never anything here.” It was then that I saw those black tendrils. Claws extended from them, and they wrapped around Eevee and snatched her away.
“AAHH!” she screamed, chomping on its arm. It didn't seem to be affected, crawling out of the shadows of the woods. I prepared myself for a long fight, readying my legs to jump at any moment….
When it brought Eevee to its head and began to cuddle her.
I couldn't help it. “Awwww,” I cooed, watching as she struggled to free herself. “That's so cute!” Maybe I hadn’t been giving her enough credit.
“Get this thing off me!”
“Oh, wait! Do humans speak primarily in calls? Is that how you knew how to talk with aliens?”
“ You're such an idiot !” she yelled. The creature finally put her down, giving her a little pat on the head before she escaped. She then hid behind me as the creature approached us.
“I don’t think it wants to fight.” I said, slowly walking towards it. I held out my hand, and it gently placed its gnarled claws on my palm.
“No, throw that thing onto the next continent and let it be their problem.” she snarled. “Hey, wait! Treecko, don’t touch it! What if it eats you?” She glared at the creature, but when it showed no signs of fighting back, her aggressive aura softened.
“See, it’s not so--” I managed to say, before it discharged another electric shock and fried me. White hot pain coursed through my nerves, almost as strong as getting shocked by Zapdos or Raikou. Eevee watched as it retreated back into the woods, and let out a deep sigh.
“Let’s try again tomorrow. Maybe bring a ‘we come in peace’ fruit basket or something. Worked last time.” she said. She then nuzzled my head for a few seconds in a show of comfort.
“You think that would work again?”
“Or we could beat it the old fashioned way.” she added, cracking her neck. I pulled myself back up, feeling my muscles resisting me.
“L-Let’s go with the fruit basket method.” I said. “I think a little shock is enough for me….”
“Hah, that’s weak. ”
“ Then, let’s see how you like it!” I yelled, grabbing her by the scruff and dragging her with me towards where the alien ran off to.
“Wait, no, I didn’t mean it like that! Treecko! Treecko !”