From Trainer to Beast Tamer Pokémon Trainer! Reader x Twisted Wonderland

Chapter 61: The First Rescue

And so begins the rescue missions.
Chapter 61: Cursed Image and the Feral One

Idia and Ortho gave everyone a quick rundown of how this operation was going to be performed, as well as updating (Y/N) on her Pokemon's current condition. Malleus magic couldn't fool, and instead, some seemed to be dropping into the dreams of those they had a connection to, meaning they'd have to keep a look out for them. With all this in mind, Idia gave everyone outfit changing upgrade to their pens ((Y/N) got hers in her phone) to help them disguise themselves in the dream before sending them off.
Silver's Unique Magic was as rough a ride as ever, but Ortho made it bearable, especially since Idia managed to overwrite the glitch that was preventing (Y/N) from returning her Pokémon to her Pokeballs, meaning Ortho, Hydreigon, and Noivern could safely carry everyone between them. The first dream they landed in looked pretty normal, with Main Street looking completely unassuming, even having students take about class like the apocalypse wasn't occurring.
"Hey, g'morning. Did you do your homework? It's due today, you know."
"We've got PE for first period, right? I don't wanna see Vargas's sweaty face..."
"Okay, everything seems normal." (Y/N) said skeptically. "So, whose dream are we in?"
"This has to be the dream of one of these students." Sebek stated a bit unhelpfully as Grim turned to Ortho.
"C'mon, Ortho, spill the beans already. Whose dream is this?"
The robot boy rubbed his neck nervously. "Well..."
Suddenly, there was the loud thumping of footsteps as the world itself felt like it was shaking.
"Aw, crud! Why'd Ah hafta oversleep on mornin' practice day?! If Ah'm late, Leona'll be madder'n a wet hen!"
(Y/N) tilted her head. "Wait, I recognize that accent."
From up Main Street, a cartoonishly buff and tall Epel, and that meant an uncanny valley and the body clearly did not match the face, came racing past them.
"Ah gotta hustle!"
"EPEL!?" The boys all screamed as (Y/N) blinked and immediately brought out Swampert.
"Can we just fight Overblot Malleus? I feel like that's significantly less cursed than this."
"What is the meaning of this!?" Sebek shouted, unable to comprehend this madness. "What in the world are we seeing?!"
The Pokémon trainer set her hand on her starter. "Seriously, this is nightmare material."
"Pert..." Swampert grunted in agreement as Grim titled his head.
"Come to think of it, Epel's always talkin' about how he wants to be all big an' strong like Jack."
"I think I get it. He had no trouble imagining a muscular frame since he sees them among his fellow freshmen every day." Silver explained. "But he lacked the imagination to envision his own face with a proportionate level of musculature. That makes sense."
(Y/N) tilted her head, still slightly unconvinced. "I mean, still highly cursed, but okay, I think I get the logic."
"How does ANY of this make sense?!" Sebek demanded. "Does he not stop to question the oddity of his own appearance?!"
"From what I understand, people tend to be oddly accepting of bizarre phenomena inside of dreams." Ortho explained as his brother's tablet joined the conversation.
"Huh. Epel's got a pretty weak imagination. If we're lucky, we'll have an easy time waking him up."
Grim did a leap. "Huh? Is that Idia talkin' from the tablet?"
"Yup." Ortho confirmed. "He uses this for communication. How's the feed looking, Idia?"
"It's coming in at about 480p. I wanted to be the guy giving directions while watching the monitor like a super-hacker at some secret agency. But the on-screen video and resolution are so jank, it's more like I'm on a video call or I'm watching a vlog."
"Why would we have an easy time waking him up?" (Y/N) interrupted before he could on a tirade.
"It's pretty much what I said. Epel clearly looks out of place to all of you, right? Shoddy craftsmanship equals more exploitable vulnerabilities."
Silver nodded, seeming to get it. "Hm. So that's how it works. In that case, maybe a heavy shock to his system would help. Sebek got jolted awake by a strong punch."
Sebek huffed, pouting. "It's a bit heavy-handed, but I can't deny it worked for me."
Grim began booking it on all fours. "All right, let's catch up to him, quick! Epel!"
The towering boy turned to greet them. "Ah, Grim! (Y/N)! Good morning! And behind you, Ah see...Ortho and some Diasomnia fellas Ah don't hardly know."
"Oh, the accent is heavy with this one." (Y/N) noted, trying to translate on the fly.
Evidentially, Sebek was more visibly annoyed, which Epel called him out on. "Ah don' get why ya'll're glowerin'."
"Cease your incessant mumbling!"
Epel got angry. "Huh? Ah was just... Ain't you Sebek from Class D? What's yer problem? Y'wanna start somethin' with me, huh?"
Epel loomed over his fellow first-year, making Grim's fur stand on end. "Eep! Epel's even taller than Sebek now!"
"I think he might be even taller than Jack Howl." Ortho noted. "This must be the result of his wish to grow big and strong."
(Y/N) didn't miss a beat, standing on Swampert's back so she could grab Epel and Sebek by the ears simultaneously.
"KNOCK IT OFF!"
"Yes, ma'am!" They instinctively responded as she first glared at Sebek.
"You! Let's try being delicate first before we start swinging a sledgehammer!" She then turned on Epel. "And you! You may have a few feet on me, but that isn't gonna stop me from kicking your butt for being hot blooded and stupid!"
"Er, pardon, ma'am..."
"Hey, Epel!" Grim shouted, now emboldened after (Y/N)'s masterful taming. "You're one of the shortest guys in the freshman class. You're barely taller than me!"
"Huh? Didja say Ah'm one'a the shortest folks in the freshman class?" Epel cackled. "Ahaha, that's a good one. Ah've grown a whole bunch since Ah enrolled here. Now Ah'm the tallest freshman in school. Ah'm even taller than mah housewarden now."
Sebek rolled his eyes. "That's ludicrous. You were far smaller than this when you came to Lilia's farewell party. I remember what you said to Lilia...'You and I are basically the same size, but you've always done just as much as Malleus, no matter the occasion. I really admire that'. And he in turn told you, 'A mage is a mage no matter their physique'!"
(Y/N) stomped her foot on Sebek's as Epel placed a confused hand on his head.
"Lilia's...farewell party?"
Ortho cleared his throat, trying the delicate approach (Y/N) was trying to promote. "Epel Felmier. May I ask a few questions? I've been hoping to grow taller, myself. What diet and exercise regimen did you follow to achieve such a rapid growth spurt?"
"Umm, Ah had meat, milk, apples...an' veggies, Ah guess? Ah just ate a lot."
"Uh-huh. And when was it that your height exceeded that of Vil Schoenheit?"
Epel titled his head. "Lessee... When was it again? Uhh... When WAS it? Ah know Ah got taller'n Vil...Hrk! Mah head... It hurts!"
The familiar black puddles began oozing into the scene.
Silver pulled (Y/N) and Grim back as Swampert growled. "This black haze... It's darkness!"
"The Malleus clone GMs must be on their way to do course-corrections now that the user is deviating from the dream." Idia explained as faceless versions of Vil and Rook emerge from the darkness.
"Is that... Vil and Rook?!"
Ortho geared up to fight. "You call that darkness...But it seems to take whatever form makes it easier to keep a target immersed in their dream."
"Yeah. It plays very dirty... It did with me, too." Silver admitted. "If Absol and Sebek hadn't helped me..."
"I believe it was near the end of winter break when your height surpassed mine, Epel." Shadow Vil lied, making Epel shake his head.
"Vil! Was...that when it was? Ah could see it..."
"Epel. You left the dorm rather early today, so why are you standing around shooting the breeze?"
"Ah was on mah way to mornin' practice when Ah ran into (Y/N) and these other folks..."
"Conversing with friends is indeed a valuable thing, but are you not the Spelldrive Club's most promising rookie?" Shadow Rook prodded. "I hear as much all the time from Leona. Your muscles are so exquisitely sculpted, you can tackle just as well as your upperclassmen. You're a cornerstone of the team's offense. Why, I'm told you've been asked to seriously consider transferring to Savanaclaw!"
"Oh, really?" Shadow Vil postured.
Epel smiled nervously. "Eheheh... Ah admit it..."
"Hmph, I can't let my guard down for a second with you, can I? You are strong, fair, and strapping... A true embodiment of the Fairest Queen's spirit of tenacity if there ever was one. I would never allow Savanaclaw to have you."
"Golly... Strong, fair, AND strapping?" The farm boy blushed. "Yer bein' way too generous!"
Before Shadow Vil could continue to pull him in with false praises, a shriek came from nowhere as a red blur struck Shadow Vil's and knocked him away, making Epel step back.
"Vil!?"
Shadow Rook was also blasted away from Epel by a Dragon Pulse as Appletun toddled in with Applin on her back.
"Flapple! Appletun! Applin!" (Y/N) called, relieved to see them as they surrounded Epel while shrieking.
"What is tarnation!?" Epel shouted. "(Y/N), you gotta get 'em under control 'fore-!"
Flapple headbutted him.
"WAKE UP, YOU MORON!"
Everyone paused as Epel stared at the little dragon.
"D-did you just-?"
"Me talking is way more believable than whatever nonsense was coming out of that faker's mouth!" Flapple declared, getting in the boy's face. "As if Vil would ever give praise like that so loosely! Are you that desperate for an ego boost you'll let yourself be so easily deceived!?"
Appletun pawed at the boy's leg. "Epel, sweetie, you're smarter than this. Don't be fooled by empty flattery. Your friends need you to wake up."
"I didn't think this dream could get any more surreal." Grim stated as Epel just fell  on his butt, allowing Applin to jump into his hands.
"Come on, Epel! Don't you remember the VDC? You were gonna beat Neige with your charm, not strength! You wanted to prove the little guy could come out on top! Are you gonna take the easy way out!?"
"Rgh! What's happenin'? Ah was..." Epel swayed, Applin jumping out of his hand as he clutched his head. "The strength—charm—Ah have now... Aaagh!" The memories came back in a flash as Epel reverted back to normal. "How could I have forgotten? I was going to accept who I am now and get stronger. I'm small and cute, and don't look tough. But...The Fairest Queen's poison apple can take down anyone in one shot. I was going to accept the strength only I had, a strength like that poison apple...I swore it that day!"
(Y/N) ran to him, helping him to his feet. "Good to see you're awake, Epel."
"Good to see you too." He said as Flapple landed on his shoulder, scratching the dragon's chin. "Thanks for knocking some sense into me."
"Don't mention." The Pokémon responded.
"...nope, still weird."
"Oh dear, Epel..." Shadow Vil lamented as the Apple family bore their teeth. "You look so frail now."
Shadow Rook joined in. "Non! Your physique towered as high as the Seven Jeweled Hills themselves. Where has it gone?"
"You poor thing. Those dirty spuds have cursed you with a pitiful form. Come to me. I'll restore your brawny beauty."
"Yes, Vil, that's a marvelous idea! Come, Epel. Join us."
Epel placed Applin on his shoulder as (Y/N) and Swampert let him take the lead. "...The Rook and Vil I know would NEVER talk like that! I'd be lying if I said I didn't wish I could be big and brawny. But the strength I want... The brawn I want... The beauty I want...That's for ME to decide, and for ME to claim myself!"
"Epel!" The shadows insisted.
"Ah'm not gonna let you off easy for impersonatin' Vil an' Rook! Ah'm gonna give you a royal whoopin'! (Y/N), gonna need Flapple and Appletun for this!"
"They're all yours." She agreed as Swampert. "We'll back you up!"
"'Preciate it. Ya'll heard her! Let's show 'em what for you two!"
Everyone jumped in to help, and the shadows stood no chance as they were hopeless outnumbered. Epel was leading the charge and he was giving Flapple and Appletun orders like a seasoned trainer, having Flapple get up close and personal while Appletun provided defensive coverage and support like Leech Seed.
Shadow Vil tried to manipulate him. "Oh, Epel! Stop this at once! You'll mar my beautiful face...!"
"Zut alors! You must cease this unbecoming conduct, Epel. It is far from beautiful!"
"Beautiful?!" Epel may as well have been foaming at the mouth. "You dare say that, with his face and his voice? Ah ain't gonna let you say that again! Flapple, Appletun, with me! Your eyes will close, your breath will still...Crimson Slumber!" The trio combined their strength, blasting the shadows from existence. "And STAY down! Y'all can stay asleep for all eternity, y'idjits!"
"Dude..." Idia said through the tablet. "I never knew Epel was Like This...Not at all the vibes I picked up from him at the SDC..."
"Really?" Ortho asked. "He tends to act like that most of the time around the other freshmen."
"Yeah, this is pretty standard Epel when Vil isn't looking." (Y/N) confirmed as Swampert for good measure blasted any remaining goo with water.
Grim merely trotted up to Epel, tugging on his pants. "Hey, Epel! You finally awake?"
"Yeah, my head's clear now." The short male rubbed his head bashfully. "I must've looked like a real doof to you guys, huh?"
"Not at all." Silver assured. "Only those with powerful wills can overcome the darkness."
"Well, pays to have friends who'll knock some sense into you." He responded, making sure to give individual scritches to each of the Apple Pokémon.
Sebek crossed his arms. "Hmph. I regarded you as frail, but you fought decently enough. You're a freshman, yet you've already mastered your signature spell..."
"Eheheh. I can only hit around 70 or 80 percent accuracy with it, but I sure nailed it there!"
Sebek was taken aback. "What?! You can cast it that reliably?! Rrrgh..."
"...Sounds like you've got a bit of catching up to do, Sebek." Silver could help but comment.
"You needn't tell me!"
"So, we all got caught up in the magical disaster Malleus set off at Lilia's farewell party, right? What was up with the fake Vil and Rook? What's going on?!"
"We can fill you in." Ortho assured, pulling out a different tablet. "Would you mind watching a quick primer video?"
Epel watched, and to his credit, he seemed to take it in well enough.
"So we're in a dream Malleus created, and you're all building a team to fight him? This is all so sudden, it's like one big tall tale. Then again, I had three dragons mouthing off to me not 5 minutes ago, so I'll have to take your word for it."
"Hey, how come Poyo, Flapple, Appletun, and Applin can talk in the dream?" Grim asked. "Can Swampert and others do it too?"
"Poyo is unable to speak outside of Idia dream." Ortho explained. "And I imagine the other three will lose the ability to once we leave Epel's."
"It must be the bonds between them." (Y/N) realized, patting Swampert's head. "In the dream world, that connection makes communicating crystal clear."
"Makes about as much sense as anything else." Epel said as Ortho cleared his throat.
"Anyways, Epel, in preparation to battle Malleus Draconia, we'd like your help waking up the other students of Pomefiore. It seems easier for people, or Pokémon for that matter, to rouse targets when they share real-world memories with the person whose dream it is."
"Yup." Idia confirmed. "I wasn't sure about that before, since I only had my own experience to go on, but as far as I can tell from the way Grim, the Pokémon, and the others talked with Epel, wake-up cues in magically-constructed dreams don't seem too different from regular dreams."
"Wake-up cues...?" Epel repeated.
"You know how when you're dreaming you'll realize you're asleep if you encounter some glaring contradiction with reality? In your case, the other freshmen and Pokémon confronted you with what you're actually like in the real world. That made you cognizant of the inconsistencies."
"I get it... Though being all big and muscly didn't feel strange at all until you got here."
"Yeah, 'cuz the whole dream world was affirming it on every level. Up until Styx, Ortho, and Poyo intruded into my dream, I was just living my life in the dream world without even questioning it."
"Mm..." Sebek nodded. "Likewise in my case. It's nothing to be ashamed of."
"So I'm not the only one. That makes me feel a little better... Kinda." Epel then turned to Ortho. Okay, so how are we going to wake up the other Pomefiore students?"
"We'll have to jump to their dreams. But if you aren't inside your own dream, the darkness—that is, the GMs—will detect it, and the server admin Malleus will come running. But if we leave some dummy data behind, it should pull the wool over their eyes for at least a little while. I've sent the Styx engineers some data. They should be developing some dummy data for you right now...Ah, there it is! It just came in from HQ. Data download complete. I'll project a hologram."
Ortho projected the cursed buffed Epel, making (Y/N) shake her head.
"Well, that's gonna haunt me for the rest of my life."
"Eugh! I get what you mean." Epel said, cringing. "How in tarnation did Ah ever think Ah looked cool?!"
"That should do it. On to the next dream server! Oh, wait! Almost forgot the most important thing." Ortho handed Epel a holo of an envelope. "Here, your party invite."
"My...party invite?"
"It's basically a hotlink to the level where we'll have our final showdown with Malleus." Idia explained. "That one's solely for you, so don't lose it."
"Ah, got it! I'll hold onto it."
"And..." Epel handed him three pink Pokeball looking items. "These dream balls will keep Flapple, Appletun, and Applin close to you!"
Epel looked at (Y/N). "You okay with this?"
She nodded, her and Idia having worked out the details previously. "You'll need them just in case Malleus tries to put you back to sleep. Keep them safe."
He nodded and smiled, calling the three into the balls. "I will. Promise."
"Is everyone ready to go?" Silver asked as (Y/N) called back Swampert. "Come on, Epel. Take hold of me."
"Like this?" The boy asked as they all huddled together.
"Rgh, things are getting more and more crowded..." Sebek complained. "Will you be all right, Silver?"
"Yeah, I'm good. This spell doesn't take a lot of magic anyway. Everybody hold on tight so you don't fall off. Here goes...Those I've met and will someday...Meet in a dream!"