Child of Thorns - A Pokemon Sinnoh Reimagining

For the first time in his life, running face-first into a wall hadn't been Barry's fault. The boy saw his friend walk into the dark room with utmost confidence, and he would've followed after her if a noise behind him hadn't distract him. He was about to lay a foot inside when he felt the air vibrating behind him, and a strange gust of wind hit him on the back of the head. He turned around, annoyed, but didn't find anything outside the ordinary. The place looked just as wrecked, and the smell of dust still filled the air. He shrugged, instantly losing interest, and went towards the door once more. Except this time he ran directly into cold stone with his face.

He recoiled, grunting in pain. The door leading to the kitchen had been replaced by a black, cold wall.

"...Huh? Where's the door?"

He searched all around but there was no entrance to where Niss had gone; the path had been completely cut off. Barry's feet started moving in place, and he heard wind inside his head.

"I knew it, this place is haunted!" he screamed with a mix of pride and horror. "Wait, shoot! Niss is still there! Hey Niss! Niss are you okay!?"

He drove his body against the wall with all his strength, but all he managed to do was hurt his shoulder. He kept kicking and pushing the wall for almost a minute, desperately trying to get a response from Niss, but no sound came from the other side. He backed up, sweat running down his face and his heart beating fast.

"This isn't funny..." he whispered to himself. "What do I do? Should I use my Pokemon? But then the whole place is gonna collapse! But I have to find Niss! But also I have to..."

His ramblings were interrupted by something above him. A speck of light appeared for a moment on the upper floor, close to the staircase, which made the boy look in that direction. It disappeared as soon as he raised his head, but that only gave him another idea.

"That's it! I can go up there and then break the floor to go to that room!" He proudly announced to no one. "That won't make the place come down on us... probably."

Without even considering another possibility he ran towards the staircase, wind on his feet. He started going up the marble steps, although he almost fell when part of the sidewalk collapsed when he tried to grab it.

"Right... everything's decomposed," he told himself, voice barely a whisper. "Let's try not to die while we do this."

Only slightly more carefully he walked up the steps until he found himself on the second floor, the visible part almost empty except for another big entrance identical to the one below. He kicked the wooden door without much difficulty and went in, appearing in a narrow hallway that opened up to another wide room with several doors on the other side. He considered his options for about half a second, and then immediately ran towards the closer one and attempted to kick it open.

"Listen up I have a belt full of Pokeballs and a missing friend and I'm not afraid to... ah, frick!" Contrary to what he expected, the door held strong and didn't collapse from the kick. The wood was darker and sturdier than the other ones, and it was reinforced with metal. "Agh... never mind."

He simply tried to open it, and to his surprise it worked. He swallowed, grateful that his friend wasn't there to see him humiliated. With a push from his shoulder he managed to open it fully, he walked in with grim determination, ready for a fight.

But he stopped on his tracks the moment he saw what was inside. The door opened to a small bedroom, its walls almost entirely covered in moss. The only things inside were a worn out, half broken bed and a small desk at its side. On top of it there was a mirror as big as a child.

But there was also a person there. Sitting on a wooden chair in front of the desk was what appeared to be a small kid, long brown hair running down her back. She wore a blue, flower-patterned dress which seemed to be shifting with the nonexistent wind. He looked up, trying to make up her appearance but just where her face should've been reflected, the mirror was severely cracked. He stood on the edge of the room, unsure of what to do, until he heard her speak.

"Big sis, is that you?" The kid talked with a high pitched, emotionless voice. "No... you're not her. Who are you?"

The voice chilled his nerves, making him take a step back. All of his senses were warning him, telling him to close the door and run away, but he couldn't. He had to find a way to get into the room Niss had disappeared in.

"I'm... Barry. I don't know who your big sister is." He talked slowly for once, carefully choosing his words. "I'm looking for my friend, Niss. Do you know where she is?"

The kid grabbed a brush from the vanity and started running it through her hair, which moved like silk, like water. Barry felt a knot on his throat when he noticed her hands were as pale as paper, with a sickly blue hue all around them.

"She's not like you or Big Sis," the kid said matter of factly. "She has neither Light nor Shadow to protect her. The blue-eyed one will get her, and then she'll be lost."

He grabbed one of his Pokeballs from his belt and pointed it at the child. "Okay, stop talking in riddles. I don't know who big sister is, but if Niss is in trouble then you have to tell me how I can find her!"

"You do know her, dummy." For the first time he could feel a speck of emotion in her voice. "Only two people ever found this place, and you know both of them."

Barry took a step back, brow furrowing in confusion. He remembered the whole reason they were there, he remembered the girl with the pink hair and the Tropius, and the way her warm smile had convinced them to come to the abandoned chateau.

"Son of a..." he whispered. "She sent us here! She told us this place was safe!"

"It is safe," the girl said. "For you, and her, and for Big Sister. But not for your friend." She was quiet for a couple seconds, and just when Barry was about to yell something she spoke again. "If you're friends with Big Sister then I'll help you."

"Awesome! How about you help me right now?" He asked, voice full of impatience. "I'm kind of in a rush here."

"Then come forward."

He did as he was told and walked towards the center of the room, the atmosphere around him growing heavier with each step. Once he was behind her the kid raised one of her pale, corpse-like arms and he saw something resting on her palm. A dark, uniform rectangle stone which was about the size of his hand. He grabbed it quickly, feeling a deathly cold when his fingers brushed against hers. The stone felt heavier than it looked, and even in the darkness of the room he could almost make out some kind of inscription on it.

"Take that Specter Plate and keep it safe." Her voice was breaking up, literally, as if she were about to disappear. "Find your friend and get out fast, I won't be able to keep the house up for much longer."

"Wh..." he was about to ask something, but he suddenly felt the floor shake beneath his feet.

"And don't look down."

The ground split open and Barry fell to the room below, his last sight before that being of the kid's body dissolving into smoke.

It was a good thing the table was there, Inyssa thought, otherwise Barry might have broken his spine. He dropped from the ceiling like a cannon ball, and a rather loud one at that. A cloud of dust was raised from the spot he fell into, shards of ceramic and pieces of wood around him.

"Barry!"

Her voice came out almost like a sob. Without wasting a second she saved her father's lighter in her pocket and ran toward him, desperation clear in her voice. She knelt in front of him, placing a hand behind his back as she helped him to his feet

"Ugh..." He grunted. "I think I died."

"Oh no the fuck you didn't." She chastised him, unable to contain her smile. "You're not gonna leave me alone here, you jerk."

Carefully, she put her arm around him and helped him to his feet, his clothes covered in dirt and his body shaking from the impact. She could see he had something in his left hand, but she couldn't quite make out what it was. The boy's eyes lacked his usual shine, and Inyssa feared that he had seen something bad while they were separated.

"There's something here, messing with us." She warned him. "I think it's a Pokemon. I can't find my Pokeballs."

Barry froze at her comment, slowly turning his head to look at everything around the room, though Inyssa could still only see nothing but shadows.

"Niss, the windows are right there." He pointed at his left. She had no idea in relation to what, she had forgotten where anything was. "And the door is open now. Are you okay?"

"What? You don't see it?" Her voice became higher pitched, and she felt her lips tremble. "Then it must be messing with my head. If you can see the exit then let's get out of here!"

She grabbed Barry's hand without waiting for a response, and the moment their fingers touched the entire place shook. Inyssa felt a slight dizziness as the room they were in changed to its previous iteration. In the blink of an eye all the shadows and black walls disappeared, and she could see clearly the exit and the windows at the other side of the room. She froze for a second, and then the pain came. It jerked her entire body like a bolt of lightning and she was forced to let go of her friend's hand. Before she knew it the shadows came back once more, swallowing everything around them and filling the air with that noxious stench.

"Niss!" Barry rushed to her side, wanting to grab her for support but too scared that he would hurt her. "What's wrong!?"

The girl stopped for a second as her sight became more and more cloudy.

"I think I have an idea," she whispered, breathing heavily. "Barry, grab my hand and don't let go, even if it hurts me."

"Wh... what are you talking about?" Barry's eyes were open wide and his voice was shaking.

She looked him in the eyes, and for a second she thought she saw a golden, familiar light on them. "Just... trust me!"

He did as he was told, and once again the moment his hand touched hers the pain came back, stronger than ever. She forced herself to bear it, and witnessed as the room changed back and forth between its normal and corrupted form, until the first one became clearer and clearer and the fog in her eyes began to dissipate. She wasn't sure if it was just a hallucination, but she noticed a dark, reddish cloud of smoke coming out of her body and rising towards the ceiling.

"Ah! W-what the heck is that!?" Barry's scream pierced her ears, taking her out of that haze.

When he finally let go of her hand she was relieved to see that the room remained in its natural state. She put a hand on her belt, and almost let out a sob of joy when she touched the cold metal of her Pokeballs.

Right above them a Pokemon materialized from nothingness, dust and air turning into a red, jolting ball of smoke. For a second she thought he might have been a Gastly, but that wasn't it. The color was wrong and the form wasn't exactly round, since he had two energy spikes coming from above and below his body. The unknown ghost Pokemon opened his blue eyes and Inyssa could smell the ozone in the air, bursts of electricity arching off its body in all directions.

"That's the thing that's been causing all this." She told Barry weakly, still relying on him for support.

Barry immediately grabbed one of his Pokeballs, ready for battle. "What is it? I've never seen one of these before,"

"Me neither. But it doesn't matter." She did the same, eyebrows perked up. "We'll find out after I capture him. I'm not letting him go after what he did to me."

The air crackled with electricity. The ghost Pokemon vibrated quickly, his eyes darting between the two kids in front of him. Then suddenly something like a voice came out of his mouth, and though she knew it was just the sounds of sparks there seemed to be a sort of rhythm about them, like the Pokemon was trying to communicate using only electricity.

"...nother...ixie...ibling...hought...only one..." She had no idea how she could understand that grating sound. "...sprit... will pay... protec... her... any cos..."

His body shrouded itself with power, the dark clouds around him transforming into electricity as he prepared an attack. Both Barry and Inyssa threw their Pokeballs at the same time. From hers emerged the familiar form of Enma, who appeared in front of the strange Pokemon with one hand on the floor, ready to fight. At his right another flash of light materialized into an orange, otter-like Pokemon, with what appeared to be yellow floaters around its neck. The Buizel stood still, arms crossed and eyes set on his opponent.

The air around the ghost Pokemon exploded in sparks as a deep, shaky roar came from his mouth. Almost too fast to react, his body let out a wave of electricity which raced towards them.

"Razen, Protect!" Barry reacted, pulling Inyssa and himself behind the Buizel, who put both hands forward and created a green energy shield around them.

The electricity bolts hit Enma directly, not doing nearly enough damage to take him down, and it simply bounced from the barrier that Razen had created. It kept going until it hit the wall behind them, making the ceiling shake violently as debris started falling around them.

"Oh yeah, forgot to mention," Barry whispered, eyes opened wide. "The house might collapse any second now. The ghost girl told me."

"What!?" She turned towards him, mouth agape. "Ghost g... you know what, I don't want to know. Enma, Ember!"

Her starter took a deep breath and spit three torrents of flame in quick succession, all converging at the ghost Pokemon's current location. But he was too quick, and without any trouble managed to slip between them, appearing directly in front of Enma and shocking him once more, this time throwing him to the ground. Furious, he pushed himself up and jumped upwards toward his opponent, eyes glowing red.

"What are you doing?" Inyssa protested. "You can't punch him, you idiot! He's a ghost!"

But Enma simply smiled, and while in mid air he let out a mighty roar as he covered his entire body in a small coat of fire. He curled into himself like a ball, and using the boost from his flames he propelled himself towards the ghost Pokemon, turned into a fierce igneous wheel. Unlike his embers, this attack was too fast for his opponent to avoid, and before he had time to counter attack he was hit with the full force of the impact, dissipating part of his body and sending him flying toward the wall.

"Whoa..." Barry gasped behind her, an incredulous look on his face. "That was really cool."

"I forgot about Flame Wheel," she admitted.

Enma landed on one knee, hand against the ground and a victorious smile on his face. As for the ghost Pokemon, it was clear the attack had done too much damage to him, and now he was struggling to maintain enough energy to keep himself afloat, much less use any attack. Not missing a beat Inyssa looked for one of the Pokeballs that she'd bought on Floaroma. She could hear the sound of the ceiling slowly falling apart, and she knew that they didn't have enough time. But just when she was about to throw it the Pokemon flew upwards, heading toward the hole that Barry had opened up in an attempt to escape.

Barry sent his palm forward. "Oh no you don't! Razen, Pursuit!"

The Buizel moved like lightning; in an instant he appeared in front of the ghost Pokemon and, with a tail infused with dark energy, hit him square in the face. The clash was enough to render him unconscious, leaving him floating in the middle of the room. Inyssa smiled, and while making a mental note to thank Barry later she threw the Pokeball at the ghost, managing a perfect hit which trapped him inside. The ball fell into the ground with a slight clank, and the light at the center blinked three times before it went silent.

"Yeah!" She pumped her fist upwards, a tired smile on her face. "Take that you short-circuited Gastly piece of shit!"

"Hey Niss, we should probably... WHOA!" Barry put a hand on her shoulder, but a piece of ceiling almost fell on top of his head. "Yeah, that!"

She nodded, and raced towards her new catch, avoiding debris as it fell around her. Once she secured the Pokeball into her belt she turned around towards Enma.

"We'll have to bust through the wall," she told him. "The hidden exit must be at the other side of this room."

"Did you inhale too much dust or something? That'll only make the place fall down even faster!" Barry protested, putting both hands on top of his head.

"We're almost there! Come on, I'm not walking all the way back to Floaroma." She set her eyes on the wall with all the paintings. "Enma, Flame Wheel!"

"I hate following your plans." Barry sighed, turning to his Buizel. "Razen, Aqua Jet!"

Both Pokemon surrounded themselves in their own elements, and with a quick jump they propelled themselves towards the wall. The impact shook the entire Chateau, fire and water exploding into a cloud of steam and dust that covered the room and made it impossible to see anything for a couple seconds. When it finally settled a ray of light entered through the hole made from both attacks, although they could see the walls beginning to crack around it, threatening to bury them alive.

Without a word they both returned their Pokemon to their respective balls and started running towards the exit, holding each other's hand while the house collapsed. Almost blinded, they managed to make it out through the previously made hole just as it broke and came down, sealing the exit. Both kids fell to the ground, legs shaking, and with the strength they had left they looked at the abandoned Chateau as it fell apart into debris and dust, burying everything inside it to oblivion.

They waited until the sounds of the collapse finished, and once the remains of the house were still and dead and clouds of dust surrounded the part of the forest they were in she finally stood up, not without difficulty. Silence surrounded them for almost a minute while they thought what to say, until Inyssa finally broke the ice.

"Remind me to punch Metchi in the face next time we see her." She spoke with difficulty, her throat hurting. "Safe passage my ass."

"Remind me to punch you when my body stops shaking." Barry shook his head. "That was the stupidest plan you could've come up with. And you're supposed to be the smart one."

She gave him a pat on the back and sat next to him, breathing deeply as she tried to recover her energy. She could feel her friend's heartbeat next to her.

"You keep saying that, and I don't think it's true. Besides, we made it through, the hidden path should be around here." She smiled. "And I have a new, weird Pokemon. Everything went as planned."

"And now I know that ghosts exist," Barry whispered, eyes almost closed. "That's gonna help me tonight when I try to sleep."

They both started laughing, their bodies and minds exhausted and their hearts beating fast still. The path to Eterna City now lay ahead of them, and it was sweeter than ever thanks to what they had to go through to get there.

"Well..." Inyssa took a deep breath, and looked at Barry in the eyes, smiling, "you can't tell me I don't take you on cool adventures."