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

Chapter 62: The Heads of Pomefiore

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Chapter 62: Grandious

There was no way to describe the pathetic scene of the group dragging themselves out of Savanaclaw.
"...I spent that whole time blue-screening out of pure secondhand cringe." Idia lamented. "So that's what overly excited otaku look like from the outside... All the oofs..."
(Y/N) was equally in a daze, leaning on Swampert for support. "How is he somehow worse as a Savanaclaw student?"
"What WAS that?" Sebek demanded. "He kept talking for five hours straight with nary a pause longer than 10 seconds at a stretch."
Grim crossed his arms. "(Y/N)'s right though, even the real-world Rook ain't that bad."
"What I'm confused about is why Pomefiore's vice dorm leader is a Savanaclaw student." Silver said, not having the relationship with Rook as Epel or (Y/N). "Does Rook harbor some secret wish to transfer to Savanaclaw or something?"
"Actually, Rook used to be in Savanaclaw." Epel explained, making Sebek tilt his head.
"What? So he transferred?"
"Yeah. He hit it off with Vil after meeting him and transferred to Pomefiore."
Ortho pondered it. "In this dream, Vil Schoenheit doesn't turn down projects to focus on his studies. Instead, he continues to act in long-term productions like films and TV dramas. And he doesn't go to Night Raven College. So the Rook Hunt in this dream never became friends with Vil. Ergo, he never transferred dorms, and he's still in Savanaclaw in his junior year."
Epel fidgeted uncomfortably as Grim scratched his head. "Does that mean Rook never really wanted to be friends with Vil?"
"There is no world where that makes sense." (Y/N) shot down.
"Perhaps he wanted to see Vil remain active in show business more than he wanted to be friends." Sebek suggested.
"...IDK about that." Idia pipped up. ""Happiness," the way it's defined in the dreams Malleus makes, is kinda superficial in nature. It's low-res. No real in-depth understanding. Let's use an example—suppose Rook wanted both Neige and Vil to be happy. So how do you accomplish that? By making a world with none of the cattiness or jealousy or sabotage of standard showbiz. A kinder world where your two faves are always smiling... You get the idea."
"I think you've got the right idea, Idia." Epel said. "But I doubt that's the only reason Rook's having this dream."
"You mean the VDC." (Y/N) realized as her friend nodded in confirmation.
"The real-world Vil feels a strong sense of rivalry toward Neige. During the VDC, Vil was on constant edge, driven to be the best in the world. To beat Neige. Then...His drive was too powerful. That's why, on the day of the VDC, He did something he'd never normally do. Something that would have ruined everything he'd built up for himself. In the end, after a bumpy road, we managed to keep it from escalating far enough to make the news. But..."
"Oh, right..." Idia remembered. "Vil's records mentioned his overblot happened on the day of the SDC."
Ortho nodded. "That's true. If Vil Schoenheit didn't view Neige LeBlanche as a rival, maybe he never would've overblotted."
Epel looked down, his grip on Flapple tightening slightly. "...That day...Vil wasn't the only one who got hit hard. It must have been an awful, heartbreaking experience for Rook, too. I mean, he had more faith in Vil than anyone..."
"Oh yeah, when Rook tried to chug that cursed apple juice, he said it was 'cuz he wanted to believe in Vil." Grim recalled. "I just thought it was a weird thing he blurted out 'cuz he was all worked up."
"I'm sure Rook wanted to stop Vil so badly, he was ready to risk himself to do it. And if I were to guess, he was so devastated, he actually WANTED to be cursed to sleep forever."
"I understand the feeling of wanting to rewrite the past." (Y/N) said, her fist clenching tightly. "More than anyone really. But the simple fact is you can't, and running from it doesn't do you any good. Even your worst experiences are valuable memories. Heck, I'd argue they can be your best teachers."
"(Y/N)'s right." Silver agreed, petting Absol. "After you go through adversity, it can get better."
"See, THAT'S an in-depth understanding." Idia pointed out. "Whether it's dreams or media, it's just dull when everything goes in your favor. But seriously... I have to hand it to Rook. The strength of his imagination is incredible."
"Yeah. Rook Hunt's dream is elaborately constructed down to the minute details." His younger brother noted. "Everything from the release dates of magazines to the content of DVDs is entirely plausible."
"So true. Rook's enhancing Malleus's low-res vision to an absurd degree. He didn't bat an eye at anything Epel said. There was no sign of the darkness showing up, either. If this is about more than just him living his best otaku life, waking him up might end up being pretty tough."
(Y/N) sighed. "And pointing out inconsistencies is gonna be a lot tougher given how detailed everything is. So...what do we do?"
Epel was silent, making Ortho glance at him worriedly.
"...Epel, this is all a dream. Malleus unilaterally judged some sad events and adverse experiences to be "tragedies", so he locked away Rook's memory of them. It doesn't mean Rook actually wants to erase the days he spent with you guys and Vil."
"Mmhm. Ortho's right." Sebek said, recalling his own experiences. "And remember, the darkness can react to negative emotions from people other than the dreamer. So don't dwell on sorrowful thoughts, Epel."
"Myahaha!" Grim cackled. "Look at the guy who got dragged into the darkness wailin' and bawlin', tryin' to be a voice of authority now."
"Wh... HEY! Don't bring that up, Grim!"
As the two fought, (Y/N) faced Epel. "Epel, regardless of what we're seeing, knowing Rook, he wouldn't sacrifice the time he's spent with Vil so willingly. Somewhere, he knows something's wrong. You have to believe in that."
Flapple licked Epel's cheek, making him perk up. "Ortho... Sebek... (Y/N)...You're right. I have to wake Rook up!"
The robot boy chuckled. "Heheh. That's the spirit, Epel."
"But, once again we come back to how." (Y/N) pointed out.
"Hmm... That guy ain't gonna wake up from some minor shock or gentle nudge." Grim said. "And I haven't seen any Pokémon that might try to talk some sense into him."
"Oh, he's around." The Pokémon trainer assured. "He just knows he needs to find the right opening. Better to do it in one quick blow."
Ortho tilted his head. "Then you know which Pokémon is trying to help Rook?"
She smiled. "I think it's pretty obvious. However, we still need to give him that shot."
"Actually, um... I just got an idea." Epel declared. "Would you all hear me out?"