Delta Dawn, Part 2
Part 1: https://rentry.org/cg-deltadawn
The sound of my head meeting the dirt made Stormy jump. He spun around and hopped over to me, asking, “Oh! Are you alright?”
I lay there for a moment, full of frustration. “Yeah, I’m just not used to walking like this,” I grumbled as I picked myself up off the ground. “Humans are bipedal, you know.”
“Ooh, like me? Awesome! We have so much in common!”
“I mean... I guess. I remember someone once described humans as ‘featherless bipeds’ as a joke.”
Stormy giggled. “So a human looks like a bird that’s been plucked? That’s funny.”
“No, humans look more like... Machoke, I guess. But our skin isn’t gray, and we have hair on our heads.”
“Oh, interesting. I’ve never gotten a solid answer about what a human looks like, so it’s cool to finally get the details from a real one. I wonder what it’s like to have no feathers. That’s not an invitation to pluck me, by the way.”
“I wasn’t planning on it,” I said. I wobbled from side to side and moved my feet around, testing my balance. “Can you keep watch? I need to learn how this body works.”
“No problem!” the bird said. For all his speed and enthusiasm, at least Stormy could slow down when he needed to. He patiently waited, standing guard and keeping an eye open for ferals. Sometimes he flew up and perched in the trees, but he never went too far away from me.
With my new partner watching over me, I tried figuring out how to walk properly. This body was built for moving on four legs, so the gait felt strangely natural despite being alien to me. It was a bizarre sensation; it seemed both right and wrong, and overall, I didn’t like it. Another issue was the weight of the shell on my back. My short and stout legs let me carry it without much trouble, and it offset the weight of my massive head, but I felt its uncomfortable bulk pressing down on me at all times. It prevented me from moving with anything close to haste or agility, and I had to plod along and plant my feet with each step. I found myself wishing I’d transformed into a different, lighter Pokemon. I would even accept being smaller than this, if it meant being more graceful.
And while I was at it, I wished I’d kept my humanoid form. Relearning how to walk on four legs was a hassle, and losing my hands was a major downgrade as well. The failed handshake was the least of my worries. How was I going to pick up and handle anything from now on? How could I write? Would I need to use my mouth for everything? Would I need to eat straight from a bowl like an animal?
The thought of living the rest of my life without hands started putting a dark cloud over me. I tried pushing it away, but it still bummed me out no matter how much I fought against it. I mulled this over as I took some slow laps around the patch of dry dirt. Stormy flapped his wings and cheered for me, happy that I managed to figure out how to control this body. He didn’t seem to notice I was feeling blue. His infectious glee brightened my mood a little bit, though.
“You’re doing great!” he said. “You’re a natural! But if you’re feeling confident about walking now, we should probably get a move on. Stay too long in a dungeon, and bad stuff can happen.”
I nodded and trudged after him. He led the way, hopping and hovering through the swampy mangrove dungeon. He was way more mobile than me, and he had to constantly stop and wait for me to catch up. If he was upset by that, he didn’t show it.
Stormy talked a mile a minute as we traveled. He told me this dungeon was rather easy to get through, and it was a popular spot for training. It was called Mangal Delta, and was close to a port town. He expected us to spend no more than an hour here, followed by an hour’s walk along the coast to get back to town. As we explored, he taught me about the kinds of items that could be found in dungeons like this one, along with the basic mechanics of how dungeons worked—their shifts, stairs, feral Pokemon, and so on.
As he talked, I took in our surroundings. Water and mud were abundant, but elevated patches of dry land formed pathways and platforms among the grasses, reeds, and towering trees. That was good, because I was already going slow enough, and I’d probably just give up entirely if I had to slog through mud. The mists never cleared, and the air remained humid, although I didn’t mind it very much. Maybe this new body enjoyed the moisture.
We met plenty of other Pokemon, but they were all aggressive and acted like animals. These were the ferals Stormy had warned me about. He suggested I stay back and watch him fight them off, and I agreed that was a pretty good idea. I was still having trouble with simply moving around, so battling monsters would be unreasonably difficult. Besides, there would always be more time to practice, and watching Stormy could be a good learning experience for now. So I sat at the edge of each battlefield as my new partner fought the ferals. The blue of his eyes and the yellow marks on his wings glowed brightly as he fluttered and spun through the air, firing off bolts of lightning and blades of wind from his wings. Wooper, Poliwhirl, Sandile—nothing stood much of a chance against him, and they all faded into smoke as they died. Stormy clearly had plenty of experience with battling. I took another moment to feel lucky that he was friendly, because I definitely didn’t want to be on the receiving end of his attacks.
I watched as he danced in midair, evading attacks and swooping around with ease. It was impressive, but the more I watched, the more I felt envy rising up. I raised a blunt and heavy foot and stomped the ground. Once again, I wished I was lighter, but not just that—I wished I could fly. It looked like so much fun.
After each fight, Stormy led me onward, and I forced myself to follow him. The optimism I’d felt before was beginning to fade away, replaced by a slowly growing bitterness about this new body. I’d only been a Turtwig for such a short time, but it was already a disappointment.
While I was bogged down by these thoughts, we were ambushed by a Clauncher. It peeked out from among a bed of lily pads on the water and fired off a sphere of blue energy from its oversized claw. It aimed right at me, and thanks to my distraction and my newfound sluggishness, I had no choice but to take the hit. The sphere struck my head and burned intensely, but the sharpest pain lasted only for a couple seconds. Stormy leaped into action, and he lifted a wing that crackled with electricity. He hurled a small lightning bolt at our foe and vaporized it right away.
Stormy checked on me before the feral even finished turning into smoke. He had a brief look of concern, but it faded into a sigh of relief. “Got a little burn mark on your forehead,” he said, “but it seems like you’re alright.”
“I’m fine,” I said.
“That’s good,” said Stormy. “Looked like an Aura Sphere. Those can be surprisingly strong when a Clauncher uses them.”
“Aura, huh?”
“Yep! Aura is pretty cool. You can use it as an attack, but it also lets you sense emotions, and see with your eyes closed, and all kinds of cool stuff! Too bad Turtwig and Wattrel can’t use Aura.”
“Yeah, too bad,” I grumbled. One more thing to add to my wishlist of traits I was denied.
Stormy paused and looked me over. “Hey, what’s wrong?” he asked. “You seemed pretty confident at first, but now you’re kinda down.”
I sat down heavily. “I’m just... starting to realize that being a Turtwig is kind of terrible. Maybe it’s too early to judge, but I already hate this body. I’m so slow and lumbering, I’m stuck on all fours, I lost my hands...”
Stormy sighed. “Oh. Yeah, I can imagine it’s hard to deal with a brand new body out of the blue. But you’re gonna get used to it over time. Things can only get better for you! You just gotta look on the bright side.”
“It’s not that easy,” I said, hanging my oversized head. “I just wish I didn’t turn into a Turtwig, of all Pokemon.”
“Hey, chin up,” said Stormy. “Every Pokemon has their strengths. I’ve got my electrical powers, and I get stronger when the winds blow—and I can fly! And as for you, being a Grass-type means you can get free energy from the sun, and you can heal up easily as long as you get enough light and water. Plus, Turtwig is super durable. I bet that Aura Sphere would’ve done a number on me, even though I resist it, but you took it like a champ!”
“I guess those are good points, but—”
“But nothing. If you’re gonna be stuck as a Turtwig, there’s no use complaining about it, right? Complaining won’t do you any good, so you might as well enjoy the upsides and avoid getting upset over stuff you can’t change.”
He looked at me with a smile. I held his gaze as I thought about his words. “Huh. I never expected you to be philosophical like that,” I said at last.
“Hey, I can be smart sometimes,” Stormy said, putting on a proud pose with his chest puffed out. Then he slumped and said, “Uh, I did sound smart, right? I hope that was solid advice. I was just kinda saying whatever came to mind first.”
“Actually, it was good advice,” I said as I stood up again. “I mean, it’s not easy to ignore the downsides and be positive. But you’re right. It’s the best thing to do. I transformed once, but I bet it won’t happen again anytime soon—and if that’s the case, I might as well accept this new body, even if it’s not the one I would’ve chosen.”
Stormy hopped in circles around me, cheerfully chirping. “Great! Glad you’re feeling better, partner. And if there’s anything I can do to help you out, lemme know. Anyway, like I said, I’m sure all that discomfort you feel about your body is gonna go away over time. Just hang in there!”
The bird continued onward once more. With my smile and optimism restored, I followed behind him, moving a bit faster than usual. But only a bit, because I still had the top speed of a literal tortoise.
Stormy hummed thoughtfully as we continued on, and he eventually glanced back at me. “Hey, come to think of it, what would you have chosen?” he asked. “Y’know, if you had the option to pick what Pokemon to be.”
“Good question,” I said. “Well, I’d definitely like to be lighter and more agile. I also really wish I still had my humanoid shape and hands. And flight and Aura powers would be a great bonus, too.”
“Long list,” Stormy said. He considered the criteria in silence for a bit. “Actually, when I think about it, I might know one Pokemon that fits the bill. Hehe. Bird pun.”
I rolled my eyes. “What Pokemon are you thinking of?” I asked.
Stormy turned around, spread his wings, and announced, “Ribombee!”
The word hit me like a bunch of bricks, and I instantly cringed. “Ribombee? A bug? Ew, no way. That’d be even worse than being a Turtwig. I hate bugs. They’re horrible.”
Actually, wait. Maybe it’s not a good idea to say that out loud, considering who’s listening to my story right now.
“You got that right,” replies the notch-eared Sneasel.
“You got that right,” replies my partner, Nira, as she shoots a glare at the Turtwig sitting across from her. The tortoise sheepishly averts her eyes, staring down at the floor of the guildhall lounge. Her leaves droop a little. My antennae do the same.
She glances up moments later. She looks past Nira and focuses on me, the tiny Ribombee perched atop the head of the Sneasel. “Sorry, Booker,” Turtwig says. “No offense.”
“I-it’s okay,” I tell her, trying to quickly quell the embarrassment I sense in her. “We all have our preferences. And besides, y-you’re not the first person I’ve met who dislikes bugs.”
Turtwig glances around the lounge, checking to see that no other guild members are nearby. In a quieter voice, she says, “Thanks. See, ever since I was a kid, I’ve always been scared of insects. But I’ll admit, you look a lot less... buggy than other bugs. You’re more like a fairy. So I don’t feel the same way about you. But I’d still hate being a Ribombee.”
A chuckle comes from Stormy, who sits beside Turtwig on the large couch. “There’s another upside to being a Turtwig, huh? You get to be a turtle instead of a bug.”
“Tortoise,” I correct him.
“Huh?”
“Um... Turtwig is a tortoise, n-not a turtle.”
Nira calls me a nerd, as expected, while Stormy waves a wing dismissively and says, “Eh, same thing. Anyway, how about we keep telling the story? Maybe we can get to the part where we make it to town. Shouldn’t take too long to get to that part, and it’ll be a good stopping point.”
“I agree,” says Turtwig. “We’ve been hanging out in the guildhall for a while, and we should probably stop chatting and get back to exploring Capim. But I want to thank you both, Booker and Nira, for listening to me. I bet most people around here wouldn’t care about the story of yet another random human turning into a Pokemon...”
“You’d be surprised,” I tell her with a smile.
Turtwig mirrors my smile and resumes her tale. I settle in on Nira’s head once more, listening to the story while also thinking back to what led up to this meeting of ours.
This Turtwig and Wattrel duo arrived at Capim Town yesterday, having traveled all the way from Salzland. They wasted no time in visiting the Clover Guild and introducing themselves. Stormy was bursting with excitement—literally sending off sparks as his enthusiasm overflowed—and he stayed at the guildhall late into the night to ask us humans all about our world. Turtwig, despite being far more reserved than her partner, was clearly pleased to finally meet fellow humans who were in the same situation as her, and she spoke at length with us as well.
This morning, they came back to the guildhall. They weren’t planning to join the guild at this time, but it was still in the cards. For now, they were just trying to learn more about us and get to know the group better. Nira and I chatted with them for a while, and I answered a bevy of questions from Stormy. In return, Turtwig and Stormy offered to tell us about how they met, so we went to the lounge to hear their tale.
And so I find myself here, listening to the Turtwig and the Wattrel recount the events that brought them together, by fate or by chance. But even as they explain their journey through Mangal Delta and their walk to Salzland, I recall the advice Stormy gave Turtwig.
I felt the exact same way as her once. After being drawn into the Pokemon world and transforming into a tiny Ribombee, a sense of unease and discomfort had quickly begun to gnaw at me. This minuscule insect body was strange and alien. It gave me instincts I didn’t want, and it gave me fears I didn’t expect. I often felt useless and weak, and tasks that were mundane for a human were now a challenge, if not utterly impossible. Over the last three years, there were countless times when I wished I wasn’t a Ribombee.
But my body is one thing I can never change. And just like Stormy suggested, it’s foolish to waste time worrying over such things. So I trained and meditated to grow accustomed to my new form, and I learned to work around my limitations. Not only that, I also realized and acknowledged the various benefits I had gained through my transformation. In doing so, I finally became comfortable as a Ribombee, and I grew to enjoy my new life in this new world. So many of my guildmates have similar stories, and I’m sure Turtwig can achieve the same success... eventually. In truth, it might not be a fast process. It was a difficult path for me, and in Turtwig’s case, she is a tortoise, after all. But as they say, slow and steady wins the race.
Author’s Note
Please read this only after finishing the story: https://rentry.org/rssopt5b