| May POV |
Roxanne leans slightly toward me, her perfect posture just barely faltering. "Is your Riolu okay?" she whispers. "He looks… kind of evil right now."
I follow her gaze.
Rio is standing in the middle of the Pokémon Center lobby like he just walked out of a heavy metal album cover. His fur is ruffled with static, new black markings marring his previously yellow coat, and his eyes—now joined by two extra ones that manifested out of… somewhere—are glowing a suspicious red. There's actual black lightning curling around his paws. I don't even know where he got the smoke machine effect, but it's definitely there. Torchic—no, Combusken—is now standing behind a potted plant for safety.
Ralts is floating upside down in the corner, watching him like a fascinated ghost.
"…Define 'okay,'" I ask, cautiously sipping my hot chocolate.
"I mean, he's not attacking anyone, but he looks like he might monologue about the complex nature of pain and peace and then flatten the entire city," Roxanne says, clutching her teacup like it's her last defense.
"Honestly, that's just Tuesday with him."
"May, there's literal ghost energy coming off him."
"Yeah, he does that sometimes. Usually when he learns a new move. Or eats something weird."
"Did he eat something cursed?!"
I pause. I look at Rio.
He looks back at me.
Then he grins.
The kind of grin that should come with background violin screeching.
"...He might've."
Roxanne closes her book slowly and sets it on the table like she's making peace with her impending doom. "Right. Okay. So. Evil Riolu. Possibly possessed. No biggie."
Rio stretches his arms like he's warming up for a yoga session. Or an execution. Hard to tell.
"On a scale from one to 'we're all going to die,'" Roxanne asks, "how worried should I be?"
"...What's the number for 'mildly cursed but still huggable?'"
She blinks. "That's not a number."
"Well then I'm out of ideas."
Combusken lets out a nervous squawk and lobs a berry at Rio's head. He waves a paw—and it gets sliced apart midair without him even looking. Then he casually snatches a chunk of the airborne fruit salad and bites down like a shonen villain about to explain his tragic backstory.
Ralts actually claps with sparkling eyes.
...Simp.
Roxanne's voice comes out small. "May... I challenged him to a battle."
"Yup."
"Please make sure they use orchids at my funeral…"
"Will do."
| Rio POV |
The battlefield is quiet.
Too quiet.
Roxanne stands across from me on the Gym stage, clearly trying to look composed. Her hands are folded neatly in front of her, posture perfect… but I can see the way her eye twitches every time a spark of black lightning dances off my fur. Respectfully, she's about one bad violin screech away from fleeing the building.
I can't blame her.
I roll my shoulders, feeling power hum through my bones like a second heartbeat. My aura is still flaring—black and red, tinged with that deliciously cursed energy that now feels like second nature. The echoes of Sukuna's power curl around me like a cloak, and when I take a step forward, the ground cracks slightly beneath my paw.
Roxanne gulps. "I—uh. I'll be using my full team," she says, trying to regain some sense of control. "No holding back."
I grin.
She sends out her first Pokémon.
A Probopass.
Okay, bold of her to start with that—massive, tanky, great defenses. But she's underestimating just how done I am playing fair.
System-sama chimes in cheerfully, as if to remind me of my goal:
[Objective: Solo Roxanne's Ace Team]
[Optional Objective: Look cool while doing it]
Already on it.
I step forward—and then vanish.
No, really. One blink and I'm gone, reappearing just to the left of Probopass mid-strike, aura-coated fist wrapped in jagged cursed energy. "Black Flash" I whisper—not that anyone hears it over the boom of lightning that follows.
The impact slams into Probopass like a truck full of regret. It's launched backward into the Gym wall, embedding itself halfway in like a cork in a bottle.
Roxanne stares at the crater.
"...That's not regulation."
I give a humble shrug. "What can I say. Enlightenment comes at a cost."
She doesn't hear me. No one does. I'm still a Pokémon, after all. But I like to think the smirk I give her says it all.
Her next Pokémon is a Lunatone.
Bold again. Levitating rock, psychic typing. Usually annoying.
I crack my neck, raise one paw—
—and cleave.
The cursed slash flies through the air, a shimmering blade of black and crimson that cuts through Lunatone's psychic shield like paper. It falters midair, spins once, and craters into the floor.
Two down.
I haven't even broken a sweat.
I glance toward the bleachers. May finally got her hand on some coffee, and has already started going around the stands with... Is that merch? Can't believe my dear trainer is monetizing me already, sigh, guess this is the price of success. Combusken and Ralts are helping her out with the sales, each holding hats with Riolu ears and t-shirts with my face printed on.
I shake my head and refocus as Roxanne, now visibly panicking, sending out out her first ace.
A Gigalith.
Heavy. Tough. Weather setup. She's going for Sandstorm support.
The battlefield shimmers as the Sandstorm begins to rise. Visibility drops. Wind kicks up.
Hey! I want my own field conditions! No fair!
As the storm starts kicking up from Gilgath's ability, I raise one paw toward the sky. The cursed energy swirls around it like coiling flame. I don't say anything this time.
The gym dims. The wind dies. All sound seems to drain from the world around me as my energy expands.
Cursed energy spirals upward.
The wind dies. The air freezes.
Then—
[New Move Learned: Simple Domain]Type: ???Category: StatusEffect: Neutralizes all weather and terrain effectsFlavor Text: "You're in my domain now."Note: Origin Unknown. Move classified as [Extra-System].
Everything inside my aura ceases.
Sandstorm? Gone. Temperature? Controlled. Light? Dimmed.
I bend down to pick up a loose stone from the ground, pack it with cursed energy, and toss it lazily into the air above Gigalith.
Then I clap.
Space folds. The world blinks.
In an instant, I vanish from my spot—only to reappear in midair, right where the stone had been.
Gigalith doesn't even have time to turn its head.
Roxanne barely managing to open her mouth before I swing my leg down.
With momentum, gravity, and cursed rage all behind me, I drop like a divine missile, paw-first into the craggy brute's skull.
BOOM.
The floor fractures. Sandstorm? Gone. Gigalith? Concussed. Roxanne? Looks like she's reconsidering her life choices.
I land in a crouch, flick my ears, and look up slowly. Cursed energy crackles along my frame. The air is thick with tension and leftover debris.
"Next," I whisper, even though no one hears me in the middle of the falling rubble.
The smirk says it all.
Word count: 1168
Hey... don't you think that this is too easy?
MC: What do you mean? I'm obviously the strongest!
I don't know... Something seems fishy...
MC: You're just paranoid!