None of them get it. Not even his trainer, but he was probably the only person who could get it if he knew how to explain what he was feeling (which was hard, because even he didn't know what he was feeling, exactly. Okay, so maybe it was ironic, but that didn't make him less angry about the whole thing).

This feeling of something had always been with him, but the more time he spent as a trainer's Pokemon, the more palpable it felt, the more it felt like that he wasn't sure of the what or the why of he did things. Sure, he enjoyed being able to beat down other Pokemon and exploring the world, but there was always something not quite right. Something (or someone) watching them? Watching him? He thought the something asked him once if he wanted to go back to Beta Island. He said no, of course not, why would he?

Oh but child, dear child, that is not even the worst part.

It was not specifically Beta Island that the urge wanted him to go back to, it was not being tethered, a different state of alive, a different kind of prison. He couldn't get the gnawing of distrust out of his head, so the solution was to fixate on the only drive he knew.

He needed to get stronger. To evolve.

Kanya's fur bristled before he suddenly bolted to the left, away from his trainer and the stupid bigger monkey, and towards a sound he could be imagining. All other things faded away - the shouts, the steps, the wind, the grass. There was only a cry that could be prey, and in hindsight, that could've been his own.

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Pokemon development thread~

<Kanya!>

The forest looked largely the same, but did not stretch onto forever. Eventually, it was stopped by a cliff that seemed to stretch to who knows where (it was hard to tell because the trees mostly covered the view of the sky). He could not go to the end, however, because there was something there. Something that shifted and moved unnaturally even if it was just standing there, staring down the cat's bristled form. Kanya looked so tiny compared to that thing, but Gou could only assume that it was hostile - it seemed ready to pounce at any moment.

The Sprigatito let out a sharp yowl before his collar glowed and let loose a flurry of Magical Leaves. It collided with the thing's black skin, but the glowing leaves would get absorbed into its body rather than notably do any damage. <Eat this!> he yelled before this time using Seed Bomb, but the attack had the same effect (which looked like basically nothing).

It was then the strange thing's turn to move, and it looked like it raised a leg to inch closer. It had a pair of eyes that looked uncannily normal against the rest of its body, and they were looking directly at Kanya. Before it could raise something akin to an appendage onto the cat, Gou ran in, letting his fist glow into a move he never used before: Mach Punch. It worked as a makeshift parry; the minuscule shockwave of impact enough to deflect the creature's leg(?) hand(?) it was hard to say.

There was a low hum in the air, constant and drawling.

<Are you-->

<NO!> the cat was about to bite the Monferno's flaming tail (or at least the part that was covered in fur), but Gou was able to quickly move it out of the way. <This one's mine! You're not taking this from me!>

<Are you insane?! That's not even a Pokemon!>

Fortunately for them, it also seemed to be moving slowly, as if unsure of what to do next. It was constantly observing them though - its eyes did not waver. <We need to get out of here!>

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Pokemon development thread~

The glitchy Cottonee, now much smaller and more nimble, was now more erratic. It screeched without a mouth before zipping forward and then spinning wildly like a top. It aimed straight for Gou, who was arguably the most dangerous of the three, so the Monferno shouted for the other two to get out of the way before he attempted to catch the creature with his bare hands. It was nothing like a ball, but it was more solid than earlier - and there was some kind of force he couldn't understand that, in a span of a second, allowed to break free from his grasp and slam him on the chest. It sent him flying back, but the precious moments it was distracted were used for Kanya to make his move. If the thing they were fighting copied Cottonee, it might've copied the typing as well, which meant that it had one new move in its arsenal that could hit it for super effective damage.

<Hit me with that Helping Hand!>

The Cottonee let out a cry before its body glowed lightly - a light green aura that resembled a gust of wind then enveloped it before transferring to Kanya, which then covered him with a similar colored aura. Crouching down for a moment, the Sprigatito put energy and effort into his legs before running for a U-Turn right at their opponent. At first, the glitchy creature blinked in and out of vision, but when Kanya passed by its initial position, it quickly used its legs to change course land move to where he felt it would reappear, slamming it from behind. It only worked because he could still sense the presence of the monster; something perhaps as alien as the Beta Island he came from, but also something else entirely.

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Pokemon development thread~

The hit sent the glitch monster flying once again, but this time it slammed into a tree bark, exploding like fruit into a blob of black and white before falling onto the ground, now looking more like a thin layer of splatter and puddles than something threatening. It didn't take long as well for what looked like the ground to absorb it, and then it was like it never was there, save for all the damage it caused in the surrounding area.

Gou only realized what he had done the moment he got his two feet on the grass and that the threat was eliminated. <Oh, Kanya, I-I'm so sorry, I was-->

But the cat only shook his head, looking like he had expected the outcome and was therefore not surprised. <It's fine. What matters is that it's gone.>

The Monferno pursed his lips. <Still, I didn't mean--about what happened last time, when I...>

<Hey, c'mon, stop. I should be the one apologizing.> the cat's ears folded down a little; his mouth tugged to a frown. <I can't get stronger alone, and being pissy isn't going to help anyone.>

<...if you don't mind me asking, why do you want to get stronger so badly?> to Gou, it didn't feel like the cat wanted to evolve because of his trainer. Earlier, it was like he was seized with something, but it wasn't quite fear. Not entirely, anyway.

<I can't say for sure. I just...something's just not right. And I feel like we're going to keep finding and fighting things that aren't...well, whatever that was. I just don't want to...> it had little to nothing to do with being a liability. For all he cared, everyone else could just get eaten so long as he escaped (well, he thought that, but if push came to shove, he actually didn't know if he could leave everyone behind. He liked to think that he could). But right now, he was the most likely to get eaten instead.

<Well, we're part of the same team. I won't leave ya out there.>

<...heh.> the Monferno was too good to him. As he thought, he felt like if there was anyone that could understand him, it would be his trainer. Maybe. He decided not to make any promises.

When Arthur finally found his Pokemon, he was surprised to find the pair walking towards him, looking rather worse for wear but alright, thank God. And there was another Pokemon following them as well for some reason (one that he didn't recognize). They explained that it helped them fight off whatever they were fighting, and that they wanted to join the team, if that was cool with him. Well, how could Arthur refuse an offer like that? It was certainly a bonus that it seemed he finally find a potential scout Pokemon after all that trouble.

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Pokemon development thread~