Pokemon Evolution: A fanfic for older Pokemon Fans

Chapter 36: Mothra

 Long before Ryanne ever found herself in Kalos, long before she found love in Alola, long before she ventured into the unknown worlds of Ultra Space, Ryanne went by Ryan. Just a fledgling trainer on a journey of his own. This is one of his stories...

Autumn, the season of change. It was this time of year that Alder liked to go for long strolls to explore the beautiful changes taking place across the Unova region. Making the final corner into Floccesy Town, the former Unovan champion looked forward to putting up his feet as he drew even closer to home.

"Gramps! Gramps!" shouted his grandson as he ran out to meet Alder.

"Benga, good to see you. Is something the matter?" Alder knew he should be more worried, but he was in such a good mood that he had trouble displaying it.

"Gramps, a Trainer ran into Pledge Grove chasing a Pokémon about an hour ago. When I tried to follow them, the Swords of Justice stopped me!"

"The Swords of Justice you say?" Alder asked, interest piqued. "If some of the Legendary Pokémon are involved, they must either be protecting the Trainer or the Pokémon. Did you see what type of Pokémon the Trainer was chasing?"

"A Volcarona, but it's colors looked off." Benga informed.

'Off?' Alder wondered, 'I wonder if he means... well, it is that time of year.'

Alder rustled his grandson's hair, heading into forest behind his family's house. "I'll take a look Benga, thanks for letting me know" he called back.

After a short cluster of trees, the forest opened up to a clearing encircled by trees whose leaves remained scarlet year round. Four of Unova's Legendary Pokémon were known to frequent the clearing to train and sharpen their blades. A few years back, the youngest of the quartet had pledged to join their cause, earning the clearing the nickname of 'Pledge Grove'. As Alder approached, he saw all four of the Fighting-type Pokémon watching a Trainer on the opposite side of the grove. Upon hearing him approach, Terrakion, the bulkiest of the quartet, turned to challenge him.

"Easy there big guy," Alder attempted to calm him, "you know me. It's your old friend Alder. You know I mean no harm to you. I'm here to check on the them, just as you." He gestured to the Trainer that had enter their sanctuary.

Cobalion, the leader of the quartet, nodded knowingly before gesturing with their horns to allow the humans to interact. The four Swords of Justice galloped into the deep forest, likely off to right some wrong that Alder would never hear of. He slowly approached the Trainer who lay of the forest floor beside the Volcarona in question, a Sceptile silently stood beside them, their head hung in reverence. Even from several meters away, Alder could make out the sound of crying from the Trainer.

"Excuse me, young man? Young lady? Sorry, it's hard to tell from here." The Trainer's Sceptile raised their head, upon getting closer, Alder could make out from the subtle shape of the eyes and seeds on their back that the Sceptile was female. "Hello 'Girl', is this your Trainer?"

"Tile," the reptilian Pokémon replied, nodding.

"Can I talk with them?" he asked gently. The Sceptile nodded again, nudging her head against her Trainer, still laying on the leaf-littered ground.

"Hmm? Sherwood, what's up?" a mildly masculine voice croaked. The Sceptile gestured with her head towards Alder, who had now sat down cross-legged near the Trainer.

The Trainer rolled over to face the former Champion, their auburn hair looked unkempt but was pulled back into a ponytail, not too different than Alder's or his grandson's. From just appearances, Alder saw their face was somewhat masculine, but it was hard to tell from the red eyes, inflamed nose, and running fluids.

"Hello," the older man said softly, "my name is Alder. May I ask yours?"

"I'm Ryan. This is Sherwood, and this is Mothra." Ryan dragged his hands across his face in vain effort to clear the fluid. "Why are you here?"

Alder laughed, "Well, you did run off into the woods behind my house... And my grandson said some of the Legendary Pokémon were watching you... And he said you were chasing a Volcarona, a personal favorite Pokémon of mine."

Ryan looked over the middle aged man. Alder wore his Pokéballs on a line, draped around his neck over a tan and peach poncho. His hair was spiked and fiery red, like the wings of Mothra, and the corners of his mouth and eyes had laugh lines. 'Maybe he's telling the truth.' Ryan thought. "My Volcarona is sick Mr. Alder. All the Pokémon Centers we've been to said they can't heal her. I think... I-I think she's dying."

Alder peered over Ryan to get a better look at the Volcarona laying on the ground. The giant lepidopteran's colors looked faded, her eyes were only slitted open, and she breathed slow, shallow breathes. "Unfortunately young man, you are right. She is dying. I wish I could help restore her, but no one can turn back the hands of time. Luckily for you, this is also something a know a little bit about. When I was a young man, I had a Volcarona too. I loved him more than anything. One day, they grew ill, and just like yours, nothing any doctor could do could cure him. When he died, it felt like a punch to the gut. But you know what?"

"What?" Ryan asked annoyed, it was clear this 'story' wasn't helping.

Alder rested a hand on Ryan's arm. At first Ryan pulled back a small bit before relaxing his body. Alder removed his hand, noting not to touch the Trainer's arm again. "I moved on. I was in pain, but I wouldn't let that pain define me. I made friends with another Larvesta, training him until he evolved into a Volcarona. I still miss my first Volcarona dearly, but I didn't let that take over my life. It's okay for you to mourn too, don't ever let anyone tell you otherwise."

Ryan sat up slowly before lunging out to embrace the man. The sudden hug surprised Alder, but he knew it was needed. "I hope the egg hatches soon." Ryan whispered, barely audible.

"Your Mothra spawned eggs? That's wonderful!" Alder congratulated. You can choose to raise as many of them as you'd like then. You could have a whole team of Volcaronas if you desired."

Ryan laughed softly at his jest. "There's only one egg left though. While we slept last night, almost all of her eggs hatched. I never even got to see the baby Larvestas before they all left. When I woke up, Mothra was holding the only remaining egg. What if this baby doesn't like me either?" Ryan asked worriedly. "What if they leave me too?"

"Let's hope they don't then." Alder attempted to reassure. "You can't force a Pokémon to like you, no matter how nicely you treat them. But if all the other Larvesta left, hopefully this one will stay."

Ryan still maintained the hug. Alder was starting to grow uncomfortable from the prolonged embrace and siting close-legged, but comforting the Trainer in this moment was more important. "Mr. Alder," Ryan prodded, "how much longer does Mothra have?"

Alder held the Trainer's head close to his chest, "she's already gone my friend. She passed with you right next to her. I'm sorry for your loss."

Ryan sniffed, wiping away tears once again. "It's okay. She's in a better place now." The young man released the hug, running a hand across the dull white 'fur' around Mothra's short torso. "Goodbye my friend."

Ryan turned back towards Alder. "Do you have any idea why she flew all the way to this clearing? We didn't come that far, but I had to follow Mothra all the way Floccesy Ranch."

"Sometimes, when Pokémon are dying, they just want to go somewhere quiet to be at peace. I suspect the ranch may have been a little too hectic for her. So, have you thought about what you'll name your new Larvesta? Between just Sherwood and Mothra, you seem to be fond of nicknaming your Pokémon."

Ryan extracted the egg from his bag, contemplating over the white shell with five short scarlet stripes. "Larvestas kind of look like candelabras... no, that sounds dumb. How about... Candlerack? Hmm, I don't necessarily like the spelling of that though."

"Why not change the second 'c' to a 'k', just to be unique?" Alder suggested.

Ryan held the egg close, "I like that. I hope you hatch soon Candlerakk, I can't wait to get to know you."