Written Story Galar Critique Lv.2 Mature An Evolution of Letters

[Faleep]

Please, for the love of god, read the tags. If you think my other zombie story, Don’t Evolve, is bad, it’s not as bad as this one. The gameplay for this got dark fast(er), and is thusly reflected in the story. For some of the more intense letters/chapters, I will post a short summary of what happened for those who don’t wish to read the gruesome stuff.

This is a Letter Styled Shield run, using the same ruleset as Dont Evolve. It’s a loosely connected side story; you do not need to read Don’t Evolve to read this, however it is recommended for full context on what the fuck is going on.

Summary;
Everything is calm and peaceful in Galar, and the dawn of a new season of gym challenges is here. But things are not peaceful in the world, as far across the ocean an apocalypse is happening. Will that same threat come to Galar? Will it threaten to disrupt the gym challenge? What are Rose and Leon’s plans to keep Galar safe? And how does the prophecy of Darkest Day weave into all of this?
Follow Zimbo and their friends through a series of letters written to Zimbo’s penpal, and pray to all the gods above that everyone lives to see tomorrow.

Spoiler: Rules

Rules;
Normal nuzlocke rules
Can not fully evolve anybody
Can not catch fully evolved Pokémon
Catching 2nd stage Pokémon;
* roll D20, follow Evolution rule
* If Captured Pokémon is infected, roll D6, lose a random party member to Infection
- Single stage Pokémon are carriers; Can not capture
* Can not catch
Shiny clause - the recessive gene that causes the alternative coloring makes them immune to the effects of the fungal spores.
- legendary clause (I can catch and use legendaries)
Every time a Pokémon evolves role a D20
* every type has a number
- grass 1
- fire 2
- water 3
- Electric 4
- psychic 5
- ice 6
- normal 7
- Dark 8
- flying 9
- fighting 10
- Poison 11
- ground 12
- rock 13
- bug 14
- Ghost 15
- steel 16
- dragon 17
- fairy 18
* 19 and 20 are automatic loss
* Another Loss is rolling the same number as the type
Area; normal routes, one Pokémon per route, includes both overworld and grass spawns.
Wild areas; 2 captures per zone, one overworld, one grass
Dupes clause - can not capture a Pokémon or evolutionary relative of a Pokémon previously caught (alive or dead.)

Spoiler: Letter 01

To my dearest friend

I hope this letter finds you well, the news has been sparse about what is happening in Unova. I have good news on my end though, Hop’s older brother Leon came by for a visit today! It’s still cool to know that I personally know Galar’s most famous and longest reigning champion. The coolest part of today was that Leon brought gifts! Me and Hop are 18 now, the same age as you and your friends. Which means we can partake in the gym challenge! Hop’s been chatting non-stop about it ever since his birthday two months ago. He’s so excited for this year’s challenge.

The gifts Leon brought turned out to be pokemon! Special ones too apparently. Hop went with a Grookey, they’re little grass monkey Pokémon that flourish in the cities here. Apparently a lot of the cities used to be forests that they lived in, but they’ve adjusted really well to the cities too. Hop’s partner is a cute little thing, and it got along great with his wooloo.

I got chosen by a rabbit Pokémon called Scorebunny. He’s got such an attitude it’s not even funny. According to Leon they used to be wild, but now not scorebunny are raised by humans, and are a sign of good fortune if one bonds with you. I don’t know what to make of this honestly, I just know I’m gonna get really annoyed if this rabbit keeps kicking my legs to try to make me move faster.

Leon kept the last Pokémon, though I don’t know if it’s cause of genuine interest or to keep the little lizard from crying. The little guy looked like he was seconds away from bursting Into bawling tears. He was kind of cute, I might have gone with him if this rabbit didn’t make the decision for me.

I named the little bunny Blaze. Though I frequently called him ‘little shit’ and ‘rascal’ and other various names. He was a nuisance all the way to the next city, where we got a pair of pokedexs and Leon’s endorsement for the challenge. Oh! We also got to meet Leon’s friend (I think she’s his girlfriend.), who introduced herself as Sonia. Apparently she traveled with Leon for a while, before losing to him. She’s now studying some academic research shit at some university that I honestly just tuned out cause it was too much conversation. Made a fool of myself though cause I missed the part of the conversation where she’s gonna travel with me and Hop and study us and some other shit for her senior thesis.

Hop seems excited about it, so I guess it’s not a completely bad thing. After picking up Sonia, we went to go meet the professor, which was actually pretty damn cool. This old lady is like the smartest person in Galar. If it wasn’t for her, half the famous places in Galar just wouldn’t exist. She’s the one who helped us find the dynamax spots eons ago, which led to the gyms being built, and then the cities rose up around the gyms. It’s kind of cool. This lady basically built Galar.

On the way back I picked up some more Pokémon, a Yamper I named Elesa, after that one gym leader over there where you’re at. The one you told me that your girl friend looks up to. Gah, can’t remember the name, think it starts with a B? Rip. Anyways, this little pup is absolutely adorable. I kind of wanted a Nickit, these little fox Pokémon, but a Yamper is cute too. And pretty strong! The girl was beating up everyone.

Near my house I found a rookiedee, which is gonna be great cause it means I can get a corviknight, which are these big badass ravens. They’re like, a tad bit over 2 meters tall. Oh, that’s like, 7 feet for you backwards Unovan’s. But! Corviknight is amazing, our flying taxis use them to ferry people around, and they’re insanely strong. And intelligent! I named my rookidee Queen cause that’s exactly what she’s gonna be. A badass, gym winning Queen.

Oh! It almost slipped my mind, between everything else that happened today. You know that creepy old forest I told you about in the past? The one with the gate and that everyone says dont go into? Yeah, me and Hop went in there. A brilliant idea, right? Heh, to be fair it was to find a lost wooloo. But it was so weird, there was so much fog! And it reeked like… mold. Like something was rotting and had been for ages. Then me and hop got lost in the fog but there was this weird ass wolf that came out of the fog. I… would it be weird to say i felt drawn to this wolf? Like. Hop was fucking terrified of it, but I just, it would lead us to safety and I don’t know how I knew that.

I was right, we got out of the forest. Leon gave us a damn earful. The scent of mold still haunts me though. I swear I can still faintly smell it. Even Mum made a comment about it today, after I got home I found her cleaning and airing the home. She asked me to stay home, to not go on the gym challenge. She’s worried that what’s happening in Unova is gonna come here. But you lot are across the pond, there’s no way whatever’s going on over there can come here. And even if it did, we’ll be fine, it can’t be something so bad that the Unbeatable Leon and Chairman Rose can’t bear and fix, right?

Whatever is going on over there… I hope you come through. I know Nuvema town is far away from everything else. You’ll be fine… right? I’m gonna wish you good health as I set out tomorrow, the open ceremony is in a week and me and Hop are gonna take the train to Motostoke and see the sights in the city before the ceremony. I’ll write to you then, tell you all about it.

Please stay safe
-Zimbo
-dated 14/9/20xx​

 

[Uberle]

Spoiler

The contrast of seeing this excited little letter for the start of a journey and the clips you've shown me about future events is striking
Now it's just waiting for the bio-hazard bomb to drop
This is a good set up
Neat introduction to Zimbo and the other characters
shame about what's about to happen to them though

 

[Faleep]

Spoiler

The contrast of seeing this excited little letter for the start of a journey and the clips you've shown me about future events is striking
Now it's just waiting for the bio-hazard bomb to drop
This is a good set up
Neat introduction to Zimbo and the other characters
shame about what's about to happen to them though

Spoiler: Text

thank you! This is exactly what I was going for :3 warm, fluffy, hopeful little letter and then.
The next one
:3

 

[Faleep]

I just now realized that even though I’ve been working in this fic, I’ve been failing to post anything, so....

Oops. It’s been far to long. Let’s revive this thread xD

Anyways! This chapter is definitely one of the ones that all my CW and Mature tag is for. Please be careful!

Spoiler: The Wild Area

My dearest friend, what the fuck

Okay okay, I know I said I'd write at motostoke, and I am most definitely not at motostoke yet, but I just had one hell of a motherfucking day and I have to tell someone otherwise I'd swear I'd be going insane.

I know I'm not insane cause Hop saw everything too, but honestly I still can't believe my eyes. I don't think I'm gonna be getting any good sleep for a while. Not after today. Is this what you're having to deal with now? If it is, I pray you have friends to watch your back.

Today started out normal. Me and Hop went down to Wedgehurst to pick up Sonia and catch the train to Motostoke. It was great! Hop and Sonia spent most of the time chatting while I kept Blaze from trying to eat Sonia's clothes. And then, in the middle of the wild area, the train just.

It just stopped. We were near the station for the wild area, but nobody ever really uses that station unless they're active hikers or some other weirdos. The wild area is crazy huge and teeming with Pokémon, it's at least a four day trek from the station to Motostoke. And that's if you don't get lost.

Looking back now, I'm really glad for the station, but at the same time I think I'm gonna avoid going into one for a while. It's uh, much too cramped. And enclosed.

In fact I think I'm just going to completely avoid trains if I can. Hop agrees with me on that one. I'd rather not be stuck on one with a fucking zombie again if I can help it. Apparently some old dude in our cart took a nap and then just up and died in his sleep. Nobody noticed for a bit. Like, an hour or so. Then a train attendant was coming around and handing everyone snacks and making sure none of us needed to get off at the wild station. Apparently the old man needed to get off cause the attendant started to try to wake him. When he didn't wake up, they checked his pulse and couldn't find it.

They ran off and came back a bit later with a whole slew of people, and that's when the old man woke up. Though… that's not quite the right word. He didn't so much as 'wake up' as he 'rose up'. That man was still very, very dead, and apparently whatever made his body rise up was also very very hungry.

I am absolutely terrified by what I saw, but I do feel sorry for that poor attendant. The living corpse literally ripped into their neck with the ease of a hot knife through butter. Blood sprayed everywhere, and even over the screams of the other passengers, and Hop, I could hear the dying wheeze of the attendant.

Chaos descended after that. Everyone on the cart immediately jammed the doorways with their bodies, as the corpse just had a field day with them. One of the other attendants tried to take the corpse out with a baton, but all that did was get them killed. I grabbed Blaze and held him close to me, so he wouldn't get eaten too.

It was right about this time that Hop smashed open a window for us. I think he did it with his bare hands, I vaguely recall him having glass in them when he grabbed my arm and pulled me out the window. We tumbled out the side of the train, before taking off towards the station.

Things were better there… for a bit. Me and hop were the last ones in, meaning we had been on the fringes of the crowd that was packed into the tiny and halfway dilapidated structure. Hop decided he didn't want to be inside at that particular moment, so he had hauled himself up into a tree. I had sat at the base of it, and busied myself entertaining Blaze so he didn't wander off.

It was about that time that I realized Sonia wasn't with us. I asked Hop about her, and he had shrugged, and mentioned something about how Leon paid for her ticket. That Leon got her a special seat, and that this was her stop anyways. He had seen her take a team she had borrowed from Leon and set off into the forest, along a barely maintained trail.

I recall I didn't get much time to really think about Sonia after that. For Death was trying real hard to claim as many lives as possible today, including ours. Our saving grace was that we were sitting far enough away from the old, uncared for train station. I don't know what exactly triggered the next sequence of events, but my main guess was the building was far too old, rotten, and dilapidated to hold the number of people it had inside of it. There had been an ominous creaking noise coming from the building, then a very loud cracking sound.

There was a single piercing scream that filled the clearing as the walls gave out and the roof just fell in a matter of seconds. A large cloud of dust rose up from the rubble, obscuring most of my vision, but I could hear the shouting, the screaming, the fear the pain the agony the death. I could hear children crying, could hear adults yelling, could hear the shifting of sticks and stones as friends and family desperately tried to save one another, as strangers tried to free themselves. I could hear the underlying death, the ones crushed under the stones, the ones implied by beams and bleeding out onto the dust covered floor. I could hear the ones suffocating, coughing in dust as they struggled to pull in a full breath of air.

When I finally was able to look up, I remember I saw Hop laying on the ground nearby. He had fallen out of the tree, and had been curled up on the ground, hands covering his nose much the same way mine were covering my ears. I asked him later why, and he had merely replied that he could smell it all. Everything I heard, he could smell.

We had decided after that, when we were able to stand, to get the fuck out of there. Yeah it meant heading off into the wild area, but it was easier to face wild Pokémon than it was to face the potential zombies rising from the ruins of the train station.

Things had gone better after that, until late evening. It's still early in the year, and we're high enough in the mountains that there's a few ice types still lingering around. I had made friends with a Swinub and a vanillish. I wish I could send you a picture of the vanillish, to show you that they live here too!

Me and Hop had taken advantage of our little detour to do some training on the higher slopes before we came down to where we're at now.

Did you know that Vanillish can explode? Yeah, they can. I didn't know that. Not until I thought my new swinub could take one down, and then it just. Exploded. Boom. Tiny pieces of ice cream and swinub everywhere. I don't remember what happened next, just that Hop was shaking my shoulders a while later. Apparently Blaze and my other Pokémon had gone and gotten him.

After that we decided to descend to the lower plains, heading toward Motostoke. It took most of the day just to get out of the mountainous region and down to the eastern shores of lake Axewell. It's a beautiful lake, full of thriving Pokémon and an island in the center! It was truly a beautiful place to set up camp.

I had left Hop to tend to that, he was always the better cook. I had taken Blaze, Vanilla the Vanillish, and a couple others out into the grass to train. It was a disaster right off the bat. There was an Oddish, a real big one. A great, strong looking Pokémon, and one I just knew I had to have. It was standing all alone, none of the other Pokémon dared to come near it.

That should have been my first warning. Looking back now, I greatly regret not heeding it. Or the second warning, with how the grass near the oddish was dying due to the strength of its acid. I didn't even heed the third warning, of its extremely strong, sharp, warding scent. I was too caught up in my need for that wild Pokémon.

To start with the good news, I caught the Oddish! And that's all the good news. Catching that single Pokémon was not worth all the pain and suffering. Several of my team were badly hurt by the acid it spewed at us.

At one point Blaze jumped in to save Queen from an acid attack. Lemme just ask, have you ever wanted to know what a dissolving rabbit looks like? Sounds like? I certainly didn’t.

It's fucking awful. I was stuck, frozen in time, unable to do anything except stare at the now lifeless body of my starter.

The next thing I recall was acid splashing near my feet, startling me out of my stupor. The oddish had been close to me, way too close. I panicked, the memory of what happened to my starter just mere moments prior fueling my fear. I flailed, grabbing the nearest thing to my hands, which just happened to be an empty pokeball.

I did not realize until afterwards what I had done. The empty ball bounced off the oddish, absorbing it into the capsule. I took two steps backwards, intending to flee, when the oddish broke out of the ball. I decided then that I didn't want to lose another Pokémon, so I just kept lobbing pokeballs at it to try to slow it down.

I was extremely surprised when a pokeball shook three times and clicked shut. I actually didn't even notice at first. It had been Hop who noticed, after I went and fetched him from camp to help me bury Blaze. He saw the pokeball and pointed it out to me.

I… wasn't entirely happy. But I guess I did set out what I intended to do, and I didn't have a grass type, so… At least I waited until we were back at camp to release the Oddish from the ball. It was immediately obvious he didn't fit in with my team.

It's that resentment that makes me not all that upset at what happened not even an hour ago, at the time I am writing this. At least, not upset about what happened to the oddish. No, the part I'm upset about is perhaps the most disturbing thing of the night. The thing that has sent me and Hop up into a nearby tree to sleep, or at least make a pitiful attempt to.

I should once again reaffirm that my starter, Blaze the scorebunny, was definitely, without a doubt, 100% dead. I saw the corpse, Hop saw the corpse, we buried him. So why, for the love of Arceus, did he wander back into camp?! Well, wander is the wrong word. Dragged himself back into camp would be more accurate. His glassy, lifeless eyes reflected the light back at us when Hop shone a light to see what was making our Pokémon so afraid.

I will give the Oddish credit, he didn't scream or make any noise. I believe he was sleeping before the attack. He had been on the fringes of camp, not comfortable with my team to be any closer. That would be the logical reason as to why he had been the one targeted, but a large part of me believes Blaze came back for revenge.

Plant eating revenge, cause Blaze was eating the oddish alive. Did you know that oddish bleed green? It makes a lot of sense but at the same time, it was not information I ever wanted to know. Both me and Hop had been frozen, watching Blaze's corpse devour the oddish.

It was at this point I was very thankful for Hop. He recovered faster than I did, and was able to deal with the situation. Still, I don't think I'll be able to get the sights out of my memory anytime soon.

Things passed by in a blur after that, as Hop and my own team gently kept me busy with packing up camp and moving everything Into the nearby trees. Hop went off to do something, I suspect that he burned the remains of the two Pokémon, as he came back Into the clearing covered in soot and ashes. He gave me a hug, and together we hauled ourselves Into the tree we're now in.

I don't think I'm going to be getting any sleep tonight. Or any other night, probably not until we reach the city. It's still a two day hike away, around the outskirts of lake Axewell. I pray that it will be uneventful, I'm not sure I could handle another day like today.

I hope things are much better for you. The news, last I saw, was as vague as ever. I pray that you haven't had to deal with anything like what I've dealt with today. I'll write again (hopefully) when I reach Motostoke.

Best wishes
-Zimbo
-dated 15/9/20xx​

 

[Faleep]

Holy fuck! An update so soon after another! It’s a miracle!
No CW for this letter! It’s almost all fluff.

Spoiler: Motostoke!

My dearest friend

Hoooooooooooooly fuuuuuuuuuck yesterday was so fucking cool! Like, shit! I got to be on the pitch with the gym leaders!!! And the other challengers. But I was in front!!!!!! We were in some sort of pyramid formation, and I was in front!!! Everyone saw me first!!! Behind me there was Hop, directly at my back, and two others who are kind of cool. There's a girl named Marnie, she's really sweet and has this awesome Morepeko that kicks ass for food. Marnie has this cute style, I especially like her fucking hiking boots. I gotta get me a pair of those. She was behind me to the left of Hop. On Hop's right there was this guy named Bede and he's…. okay. He's interesting. There's something about him that seems… almost magical. I don't think he liked me very much, he was extremely defensive when I attempted to talk to him.

The Bede fellow responded better to Hop, but Hop just has this charm about him that makes everyone smile. Oh! We also had this big ass party of sorts with all the competitors after the opening ceremony. Which was so cool! I felt so underdressed compared to, like, Marnie and Bede and some of the other rich people there. Marnie rocked this epic pitch black dress with sequins that made it look like she was wearing stars! God, I wanted to reach out and hold hands and just.

Fuck I might be gay for her.

At least I know I'm not the only one, if the way Hop couldn't take his eyes off Bede was any indication. Bede was wearing a well fitted tux, and he looked majestic. He blended in with the other rich challengers perfectly, a symbol of power, of fame, of fortune. The gold watch on his wrist accented the tux wonderfully, and just enhanced how powerful he looked.

He looked absolutely miserable. His body was stiffer than a tree, his eyes were watching every motion in the ballroom. He kept his hands in his pockets as his shoulders waged war between wanting to curl in and hold themselves straight, and he had kept his back towards a wall for most of the night. At one point his eyes had connected with mine from across the room, and for a moment we shared a mutual uncomfortableness and desire to be anywhere but here.

The moment was broken when I performed a very 'country bumpkin' move and literally shoved Hop towards Bede. Hop stumbled for a moment, drawing Bede's attention, before he shot me a dismayed look. I just gave him a jester grin back, and went to kick his ass with my fancy borrowed flats. Hop scurried away from the ass kicking, sliding up to Bede's side and immediately started up some small talk that made both of them relax.

I spent the rest of last night keeping an eye on them, but also getting a good look at my competitors. Most of them look like they had never stepped onto a dirt road in their life. They looked clean, posh and polished. The lowest ranking people there, aside from me and Hop, was Marnie and some kid with a farmer's tan that was flirting with some rich girls. I think he was endorsed by Milo, but I didn't stick around to find out. The look he gave me made my skin crawl.

I wouldn't mind if that one got eaten by zombies, to be honest. That's probably a little cruel to think, isn't it? Then again, I also felt the urge to put my fist Into his face, which would definitely get me disqualified from the gym challenge. That feeling was common throughout last night, most those rich assholes couldn't believe some 'dumb country peasant' got endorsed by the champion himself.

The worst but also kinda best part of the night was when someone started making comments about my 'body shape' cause I definitely look like one gender, even though I am very vocal about not having one. It was even announced to the world yesterday, when I stood on the pitch and my name and endorsement was called out. The commentator used my proper pronouns. I have no shame and no desire to hide who I am. Before I could even get pissed about the comments though, Marnie appeared out of nowhere and clocked the jackass in the jaw! Then she grabbed my hand - causing millions of little butterflies to erupt within me - and dragged me out a set of doors.

The garden had been beautiful, especially under the moonlight. The darkness had made me uneasy, but being in Marnie's presence chased the wariness away a tad. Even in a dress she wore black combat boots she looked like she could take names, kick ass, and chew bubblegum. She was absolutely beautiful and I have never felt so alive, so awed, and so damn tongue tied in my life. I couldn't even say one damn word without fucking it up at least three times! God I was an absolute mess.
-
I don't recall much of what the garden looked like really, as embarrassing as it is to admit it. But you better not tell anyone! And you're not allowed to tease me about this! I spent most of the night a flustered mess cause Marnie was walking so close to me our shoulders brushed. She complimented my outfit!!! And called me brave! God I couldn't even respond to it, I was such a mess. We didn't talk all that much thank god. We mostly just spent the night in silence.

I do remember at the end of the party, she asked me if I saw anything weird during my trip to Motostoke. I asked her what she meant, and she, well.

I'm thankful for how blunt she is. She straight up asked me if I saw any zombies. She tried to cover it up when I didn't respond right away with a shrug and the words; "zombies are just a silly scary story, right?"

I couldn't leave it at that. So I confessed what me and Hop had been through. I remember how her brows furrowed and her lips curled downwards. It was a look I didn't want to see on her face, but there it was. She confessed her worries of the challenge to me, and told me that her big brother begged her not to go. She told me that she left anyway, that she wanted to prove herself. Then she encountered a group of Pokémon that were covered in a fungus. A group of normally peaceful Pokémon that attacked her without hesitation, attempted to kill her.

I think we bonded over that shared moment. We spent the rest of the night talking, and she even walked with me and Hop back to our hotel room! Somehow Hop managed to get Bede to tag along, though he mostly let us do the talking. It was a fun night!

The best chance I get to write to you will probably be after Wedgehurst, the first gym! I'm so excited for it, I'll let you know how I did!

Best wishes
-Zimbo
-dated 19/9/20xx​

 

[Faleep]

Hello there! A special update today cause this chapter goes along with a special art piece that’s in the Nuzlocke Zine! (Which i highly recommend you go look at)

Anyways! This chapter has a Content Warning for minor character death and zombies! It’s...mild gore? Not even really described in detail, mostly metaphors. Still if you’d rather skip it, the bit starts at “I can still remember the fear in his eyes” and ends at “pandemonium broke out after that.”

Safe reading everyone!

Spoiler: Tuffeild!

Hey penpal…

So, Tuffield. The town where I was supposed to have my first gym battle. Where I was supposed to erupt into the scene and be cool and badass and make a name for myself.

Well, I at least made a name for myself. Everything else went horribly wrong though. Okay, not everything, but most of it. The gym challenge was easy, just herding Wooloos, which I aced. Used to chase the fluffy critters all over the place back home, and so it was easy enough for me to maneuver them around the obstacles to the end of the course.

Once I passed the challenge I was eligible for the actual fight, which had taken place a few days after the challenge. I got to stay in another hotel with the other challengers, at least the ones who passed the challenge, which was cool! It wasn't the best that the creepy farmer dude from the ceremony was in the room across from me, and kept on trying to get me to hang out with him, but thankfully Marnie saved the day again! She said that we already had plans before dragging me out of the hotel.

Even with all the shit that happened afterwards, I still greatly enjoy the memories of us hanging out. Her hand in mine as we walked through fields of flowers. The soft melody she hummed as we walked still echoes in my ears, helping me relax and unwind after everything. We talked about the roads leading to Turffield, the encounters we had and just the general fun that was the road trip. I told her about the new catches I had gotten, a Mudsbray, Timburr and a Wooloo, while she told me about traveling with Bede.

We both think that Bede is weird, but not in a bad way. Just… it's hard to explain over paper. It's like a mild form of the Uncanny Valley effect, he doesn't feel quite human, but yet I feel some strange sort of connection with him that helps to ease my wariness towards him. He might have an ice cold personality, but there's something about him that I trust. Marnie feels the same way too, so I know it's not just me going crazy.

I hope they're both doing okay. I kinda got out of Turffield real quick, only managing to grab Hop and the few Pokémon I had left as I bailed.

I should probably elaborate on what went down, shouldn't I?

It started with the fact that I went last for battles. The order the challengers get to face the leader is put together by a combination of how fast they get to the gym, how well they do on the challenge, and their overall popularity rating. Apparently, even though I wasn't the first to arrive at Turffield, my score in the Gym Challenge and my place at number one in the popularity charts made it so I was the last challenger to battle the leader, Milo.

I was supposed to be the main event, the one everybody was hyped up to see. The battle of all battles, for that day at least. I was excited to be in that position, to be the battle of the day. To be the one fight that everyone tuned into, the one fight that got the crowd going.

The beginning of the fight went well! Me and Queen, my Rookidee I caught a while back, kicked ass! We took down Milo's Gossifleur without any problem, and the crowd went nuts, chanting and cheering.

It was almost too much for my ears. There was a slight pause between the Gossifleur going down and Milo sending out his next Pokémon, so I flagged down one of the attendants and asked for some earplugs or something. Anything to help dim the noise of the crowd.

They gave me a set of headphones. I don't think they intended to give me a pair that were hooked up to their communication lines, but I'm not complaining. The headphones helped cut down the noise of the crowd and well,

I'm half convinced that the only reason I was prepared for what happened next was cause I had that inside access. Was cause I heard Milo's fear filled words. I don't think I've ever heard a leader sound so scared, and I've been watching the livestreams for years.

The fight resumed like normal. Like any other Prime Time battle. Milo sent out his ace, his beautiful and dangerous Eldegoss. But something was off about Milo's partner. Even I could see it, all the way across the pitch. Its beautiful cotton puff looked damp, like it was covered in mildew. Instead of dancing and getting pumped, the Pokémon just stood there.

Ominously.

But what really caught my attention was how it sounded. Even with the headphones in, all my focus honed onto that Pokémon. I could hear its rasping wheeze, like it was struggling to inhale. Like it was painful to exhale. You know that noise you make when you're sick and your nose is stuffed but your throat is also sore and you're just in misery while trying to find some way to comfortably breathe?

It was like that, but worse. So much worse.

I barely heard Milo's concerned voice coming over the communication lines, telling the referees that something wasn't right and he wanted a quick break to check on the condition of his Pokémon. Dread pooled in my stomach, sending ice through my veins as I heard the referees say, without even taking a moment to look and see the situation, that everything looked alright and to proceed as normal.

I should have ran there. I should have forfeited. I should have done so many things that could have ended the match, even if it meant getting kicked out of the tournament. Even if it meant calling Leon and apologizing for being a coward and backing out in the middle of the fight.

I wish I had done something different. People would still be alive if I did. My Pokémon would still be alive if I did. Hell, Milo would still be a gym leader if I backed out. But instead I was frozen in… I wouldn't call it fear. It probably was fear but it didn't feel like fear, it felt like… a mix of anger and anxiety and dread and helplessness and too many other emotions. I couldn't believe the Refs didn't look at the situation. I couldn't comprehend the sight of the normally playful and pristine Eldegoss looking so ragged and sickly. I couldn't process the sounds of sickness and misery and death that the Pokémon was making.

I couldn't, and still can't, understand why Milo didn't do more to protest.

He knew something was wrong. I knew something was wrong. And yet… and yet he went ahead anyway. He dynamaxed his Eldegoss, sending the sickened monster into the air behind him.

That's when the end began.

You know what's worse than normal zombies? A huge, 20 meter tall zombie.

I had to crane my head to the sky just to look at the Dynamaxed Pokémon. It was so damn big. The crowd was going nuts in excitement, screaming and hollering loud enough I could hear them through my headphones.

Despite all the noise, I was still able to clearly hear Milo's fear filled words. Words I can still hear clearly, even though it's been a few days;

"My Pokeball is Cracked."

I don't know if it's a thing you deal with in Unova, but out here it's unfortunately a little common. It usually only happens to younger trainers who are pushing themselves and their Pokémon in preparation for the League Challenge, but occasionally someone in the Challenge will push their Pokémon too far. A broken pokeball is a sign of broken trust, a sign that the Pokémon is rebelling or returning to its wild nature. That the Pokémon inside is too strong for the ball to keep contained.

Cracked balls have never happened to a gym leader. Especially not cracks so bad that they cause the ball to shatter a few moments later.

I'm still struggling to process everything that happened. Writing this letter to you has helped, but it still hurts. The loss still burns, the fear still stings, and the tears… they still come.

Milo's ball shattered. Mere moments after he announced that his Eldegoss's ball was cracked, it shattered into a million beautiful, terrifying pieces of light before fading away into nothing.

I can still remember the fear in his eyes. I can still hear his scream as his partner, his faithful companion, picked him up with a vine…

And then ate him.

Like how one would eat a bit of candy, or some little shrimp. Just popped him right into its mouth.

Pandemonium broke out after that. The gym employees were shouting orders across the communication lines, while the crowds were screaming in fear and pain. The Eldegoss was going to town akin to how one would go to town on a buffet table. People were little bits of appetizer and it was just happily munching away.

My next actions were… probably a little selfish, looking back. All I wanted was for the noise to stop. Everything hurt, I couldn't think, I could barely breathe, and darkness was threatening to take my vision away. Everything around me was just so loud. The only thought I remember having was just making the noise stop.

I regret my actions, but only in the sense that there were probably better things I could have done. I have since learned that what I did still saved so many people, but… at what cost?

I remember that I Dynamaxed Queen, drawing the Zombie's attention off the crowds of innocents. They clashed above my head as I finally got a little bit of relief, the noise had finally dimmed a bit as people pushed and shoved one another through the damaged exits. The noises quieted enough that I had been able to get my body moving.

I fled, leaving my pokemon behind to fight without me. I ran like a coward, not even bothering to look back. Not even bothering to issue any last orders, not even a whisper of a prayer. I just turned tail and abandoned one of my first catches to her miserable, awful fate.

The fight between the two giant Pokémon had breached the gym walls at some point, spilling into the town and causing even more panic. I remember grabbing Hop and dragging him off, away from the gym, away from the city. At some point we were joined by Marnie and Bede. Nobody asked questions, they had all been watching the stream before it was cut. They knew we all needed to get out of the town immediately.

I don't even know how Queen died. I remember hearing her cry of pain, I remember closing my eyes as I pushed towards the edge of town. I remember refusing to look back, refusing to slow down. Refusing to acknowledge my own cowardice.

I remember hearing Hop's shouting and Marnie's hiss of empathy. I remember Bede's soft swearing as intense fear and dread washed over me. The Eldegoss had turned its attention back onto us.

I didn't know what Pokémon I threw out until afterwards. I heard the bleating cry of a wooloo, and assumed that it was one of the many that roamed the town. It wasn't until we were all recovering in a daycare a few miles away that I realized the Wooloo I had caught a on the way to Tuffeild was missing.

That's where I'm still at, as of this letter. Listening to Chairman Rose tell absolute bullshit lies about what happened in Tuffield. That Milo was feeding his Pokémon goddamned steroids and that was what caused his Eldegoss to go "feral" when Dynamaxed. It's all fucking lies; I know what I saw. I know what I heard. That Eldegoss was a fucking zombie, and there's more zombies out there now. Everything is not okay over here.

I hope things are better for you. I pray to Arceus that things are better for you. That you're not having to deal with this shit, that the Unovan league has their shit together and is actually helping their people.

Somehow, I doubt it, but I know you're strong! I know you'll be able to survive whatever is thrown your way!

Anyways, I got to go. My Yamper Elesa hasn't been feeling well since we lost Queen. I'm afraid I'm gonna lose her too, she and Queen were close. I'll let you know what happens the next time I get a chance to write a letter. Hopefully it'll be soon.

Hopefully I'll have good news.

Best wishes
-Zimbo
-dated 23/9/20xx​

 

[Leon Yorunaki]

Spoiler: Oh. My. Freaking. Godness!

For how long it took me to start reading your runs, I binged through this a bit too fast (yeah, through the AO3 mirror, but I prefer leaving comments here because it's easier to track. Not sure if it is the default but I can leave comments there too if you prefer)

And what a ride it was. Okay, I had fair warning of how things would go downhill, but the tone change between chapter 1 and 2 caught me offguard. I never thought I'd see the day one would lose a fire starter to an oddish of all things. I wonder what happened in-game, if it was a bad evolution roll or actually losing to a wild, but damn, talk about a well written death. I would be scared to death and back if I saw that one... okay, might not be the best choice of words in context, but you get the gist.
And then we have a breather in chapter 3, a well deserved one. I'm actually sorry since I was trying to pin Zimbo in a gender until I realize they have none. But the relationship with Marnie warmed my heart a bit... and it only lasted up to Turffield.

(btw, I see a few typos between the letters, like scorebunny, rookiedee and Tu(r)ffield. I'm not sure if they're intentional (as a Zimbo thing) or not, but I'm pointing those out regardless)

And... that battle against Milo's Eldegoss... Okay, I should have expected that one because of the Zine and that killer artwork, but it was not what I expected at all -- way more brutal, in fact. Personally, the line I liked the most was Hell, Milo would still be a gym leader if I backed out.Like, what a cool euphemism for what was bound to happen, since it being a letter it means Zimbo knew the outcome as they wrote it, but decided not to tell beforehand to keep up with the surprise.

I only have to hope now as their journey continues (but at this point and with the things they saw, I can't help but wonder how and why?)

 

[CyanideCrystal]

I didn't know what this was gonna be before we started our read-through on the Collab Server... It left me scarred D: I'm mostly really squeamish about apocalypse scenarios but I'm glad I got to experience this. The gym battle chapter was really intense! Really had me on the edge of my seat :D Keep it up!

(Although I don't think I'll be reading the Ao3 version... This one might be enough for me xD)