I did not expect this chapter to take the turn it did, but things happen. The first, and likely only, large flashback to his previous life happens in the second half of this chapter. If you do not like gore, skip the spoiler part. You can get enough context of the ending from what is before it.
I will not do another gore scene because it wouldn't fit with the story I have planned. This chapter has the only one. The scene itself was necessary to have in this instance because it will set the tone for his initial interactions with humans and where he must work from if he wishes to change his interactions on other people. The gore itself it not truly necessary to further the story, but it drives home his mindset.
As I walked back to my pokemon with all our supplies, I finally used Idenify on my new latas.
Latias (♀) (R)
9’ 2” (2.8m) 264.6 lbs (120 kg)
Type: Poison/Normal/Ice
Royal Nature: Modest
Ability: Levitate
Level 3
HP - 280
ATK - 140
DEF - 182
SPATK - 221
SPDEF - 248
SPD - 218
Weak to: Fighting (I), Fire (I), Ground (I), Psychic (I), Rock (I), Steel (I)
Resistant to: Bug (I), Fairy (I), Grass (I), Ice (I), Poison (I)
Immune to: Ghost
Moves Learned: Charm (N), Smog (N)
Legendaries sure were in a league of their own. And that level. It seemed that battle, combined with any training or battles before I met them, had allowed a better starting point for my new companion.
“So, do you have a preference for your name?” I asked my question as soon as I returned to my pokemon. I sat down in the circle they had formed as I waited for her answer.
“Strong. Kind.” She gave a brief description of what she valued above all else.
Strength was a necessity. When she reached maturity, few would have the strength to withstand her presence if she failed to regulate it to a massive degree. She had explained that her mentor, the older latias that brought her, had such precise control over its presence that noone had felt the pressure until it released its control to scare away any wild pokemon that would have interfered with the battle.
Apparently I and any system given pokemon were immune to that pressure. Me by virtue of experiencing and adapting to the pressure of a higher order being and my pokemon because they were created to be so by a higher being.
Kindness was imperative. Pride was rooted in her bones as a legendary and it needed to be tempered, lest it grows into arrogance and all the problems it brings.
I was quite surprised how much information she could pack into two measly words. Then again, pokemon did it all the time. They just didn't have the luxury of using words humans would understand. As the words strong and kind echoed through my mind, I fell into a momentary daze and reached for a memory that seemed ablaze with joy despite the shadows of guilt, regret, and sadness that encroached on it.
My pokemon made a noise and I snapped out of it, focusing once more on what my new companion wanted in a name. I thought for a moment about what to say. For once, it wasn’t a one and done deal. I thought of names from my previous life that could be used to hold such a meaning. I was once more drawn to the glowing memory, reaching it without interruption. A soft smile formed on my face. One full of joy and sorrow, happiness and pain, fondness and regret.
“Storm. For the fury of a storm causes unmatched destruction. And the change it brings can pave the path for new life to replace the old.” I had one more reason, though I would not share it. The name Storm held a deeper meaning to me because of who it was attached to in my previous life.
My late wife. The only one who survived with me until the end. She was my Storm. Power incarnate packed into a five and a half foot frame of pure kindness. She never once raised a hand in offense. All that power was saved for protecting the innocent people of the world and her family.
It broke her when our enemies turned the public against us. I could not remember much of how it was done or even who did it. But they pinned their crimes on us and the world believed them. She was never the same after that, the life had left her eyes. It was almost a mercy when she died to an assassin mid battle.
I was too grief stricken to care, though. I tore through my many attackers to get to them, to the assassin. I took two fatal wounds, yet still gave chase as they tried to escape. I had nothing left to live for. Everyone I cared for was dead, with those that turned on me dead by my hands. My wife was the only reason I had left to live.
I chased the assassin for two days, forgoing everything to catch them. When I caught up, we fought to the death. I used all I had to kill them while they used all their training to survive. I only remember the outcome because my soul remained in that area until a subordinate of the Karmic Lord retrieved it.
Our bodies were there, in the barren wasteland caused by my reckless ability usage. The ground was cracked and scorched, any plants or wildlife long had long since fled or been turned to ash. The assassin’s throwing blades were broken scattered about the field as were my own.
In the center of a large crater, two bodies stood tall. The assassin’s dark garb was gone, burned and blasted off their body by the force of our confrontation. That same confrontation left marks on their skin. Burnt and peeling skin formed a patchwork pattern with parts torn off by pure force of impact. An arm's length away I stood, facing them.
My clothes and armor were mostly destroyed. What remained on my body only hung there by a few threads. My skin was a patchwork of punctures and cuts. What still remained was stained red with blood. A shortsword was buried in my gut and a pair of daggers were sheathed in the front of my chest, one in each lung.
My arms were outstretched, each holding something. My left was on the assassin’s shoulder, fingers punctured through the skin and directly gripping muscle and bone. My right was at chest level between us, the assassin’s now still heart clenched in its grasp.
I had avenged my wife’s death.
All it cost me was my life.
Idenify on my new latas.
Ĺatias.
Didn't the memories of his loved ones and stuff get sealed in chapter 1? So how did they unseal this many?
I haven't been capitalizing pokemon species names.
As for the memories, it was instinctual. His mind reacted to the intemse yearning caused by knowing the name and not remembering who was so important to him that he created a temporary breach in the seal. The seal wasn't made by the Soul Lord so it isn't perfect.
@Ubduh My first word of a comment is always capitalized. It is a typo for latias, you wrote latas.