The Desert Unfolds (Open)

[Garchomp]

Even before she opened her eyes, she knew everything was wrong.

The air was wrong, far too hot for anything except the depths of Coronet's caverns. Even then, the vents had held a different kind of heat, less harsh. It soaked into her bones, while this heat just pounded - still pleasant, but less so. And... why was there sand beneath her? It gave way as she moved and struggled to her feet. This was most definitely not the mountain that had served as her territory. Instead of rugged, snowcloaked peaks or the vast caves she called her home, there was a vast expanse of sand, crafted by wind into shifting dunes. Even if the mountain had been worn away, it would not have become a desert - and certainly not one like this. Casting around for some familiar landmarks, she saw none - and the memories of what had happened were fragmented. A... rockslide? She remembered falling and not being too worried - it would take a great avalanche indeed to crush her, especially with her ability to tunnel - and then suddenly... nothing.

There was no decent cover in sight - an enemy would see her instantly and she had no idea where she was or how she had gotten here. That was... bad, and she felt confusion and fear welling up, making her edgy. It was difficult to push that away, keep it locked until she encountered someone worthy of fighting. Then, at least, her fear would be of some use.

Until then - well, there was nothing to do except move. At least she was in her element, the heat giving her energy. The sand was no obstacle either, and if she had bothered, she could have made herself a storm for cover, at the cost of some visibility. For now, however, she just toiled ahead in a straight line, at least until the wind carried to her a faint sound of laughter. It was too quiet to tell if it was mocking, aimed at her or anything else - but it was a sound, and in a place eerily absent of all life, especially other Pokemon... well, it was a better goal than the horizon.

Setting out for the source of the sound instead, she let her anxiety fester, ignoring the feeling of being watched and vulnerable. There would be time for absolution soon enough.

[serac]

"Ah ha ha ha ha!" he laughed with a smile, floating backwards through the air without so much as a thought to once glance over his shoulder. Certainly not when he had such an interesting beast following him around!

Built like a brick country house, the creature appeared to be some evolutionary offshoot of a turtle! Or perhaps it was merely a breed of carnivorous Yoshi that had taken a detour down nature's garden path, ending up as something that would later be uncovered as fossil so that modern society could marvel at it's many rows of teeth! An any circumstance, it seemed entranced by his laughter! Maybe it was snack time?

Invisible and untraceable in almost every conceivable meaning of the term, Dimentio dangled his feet dangerously close to the cone-shaped nose of the creature whom he was stalking... or was it perhaps the other way around? How exhilarating it felt to be dancing briskly at the pointed end of a snout lined with such an assortment of fangs! And yet, how troublesome it would be if this ugly koopa were to smell his shoes, separated by the thin veil of dimensions though they were.

A minor change in orientation was in order. Flipping himself around, Dimentio waited until the creature had moved forwards enough that he would now be floating in the air behind it.

SHIMMER! ...is the sound he would have made next, as his body sandwiched itself into the dimension fully, like mustard filling! Grinning a delighted sort of grin, he quickly snapped his fingers - but only as a device to get the creature's attention! Looking at it without even a veil to mask it, he couldn't help but feel sorry for it on account of the terrible ugliness it possessed! Was that a starfish clinging to it's nose?

"And suddenly I appear from nowhere, like a startled moose in the rolling fog of midnight!" his eyes narrowing, Dimentio reached out with both arms and held them aloft, his fingers pointing themselves individually towards the nub-fisted finswiggler! Lacking any name for the creature, he simply decided to make do with his own for the moment. At least until he felt like bringing out a Catch Card! Before he did that, he wanted to find out of the creature would try to eat him or not first.

[Garchomp]

The laughter continued - faint and mocking and seeming to grow no louder or more immediate no matter how much she walked. It reminded her of a Ghost-type's tricks, except that surely it would have shown itself by now, at least to gloat. Just as that thought crossed her mind, there was a snap just behind her and she whirled around, settling into a low-slung stance with her fins raised. There was... something floating there, looking vaguely like a tiny masked and costumed human. It - or he, from the voice - proved to be the source of the laughter, and just like his laughter, he sounded mocking. The similarities to ghosts only grew with his actual appearance, and if he was floating, then he was either intangible or at least able to levitate...

But he was also her only source of answers about this place. She could understand him, so human speech would probably work.... Her unease was building, and if he decided not to tell her anything useful, she could also absolve herself in combat. Burn away the impurities that distracted her.

Yes. Battle would make everything so much simpler, but until then...

She growled, less of a threat and more to make sure she could speak properly. Even then, her speech would never be perfect, harsh and rumbling as it was. Still, it certainly enabled her to make herself understood when necessary.

"You. Where is this? Who are you? Did you bring me here?" Being so disoriented added to her suspicion - that and he seemed uncommonly cheerful and unintimidated, which stung her pride a little. Either he was powerful, or thought he was strong enough to best her, and the thought of either option made her want to bite him. That would come in time, though - if he didn't answer to her satisfaction.

[serac]

Where am I? Where is this? Why, this creature was really quite clueless! Lost in an unfamiliar land... bursting with so many unbridled questions! It could speak, which surprised him only slightly, considering what a brutish exterior it had. Perhaps this was the opportune moment to show charity to a poor victim of fate?

"Why get in such a fuss about such things? How adorable, though, that you think I might have had some part to play in your predicament! Ah ha ha ha ha! You've got me wrong entirely!"

Inching ever slightly closer towards the star-patterned snout pointed at him, Dimentio wagged a finger and simultaneously tapped one... two... three times! THREE attempted flicks on the scaly nose of the foreign, the bizarre, and the tasteless! Really! It was such an ugly creature! Maybe a prospect for marriage to a princess? Not quite. But it was almost hideous enough for that task! Oh, it wasn't THAT far off at all!

What it lacked in elegance, grace, good taste, aesthetic, colour coordination, dental care, contact lenses, or even speech quality, though... it probably made up for with something! He wasn't going to overlook this possible treasure just because of a few hundred meagre flaws! He had to give this relationship a chance!

"You're so helpless! Like a wilted flower... in everything but appearance! My name is Dimentio... for I am master of dimensions! My magic can take me anywhere I want - so why would I care about where we are?"

Grinning from one monochrome half of his masked face to the next, he twirled his body around in mid-air a single spin, simply to emphasise the truth behind his words! Turning his body to the side - it would appear as if he had disappeared from sight! Why? Because his body was now visible in two dimensions only!

WILD GARCHOMP APPEARED! YOU HACKED THE GAME, DIDN'T YOU?


And if the Garchomp could only see herself... she would realise that she too, was now... 2D!!!

[Garchomp]

Adorable? She was a dragon, one of the strongest in Sinnoh, to be sure - not counting the legendaries - and he did not have the intelligence to look impressed or intimidated. He did have enough wit to taunt her, and she held herself back as he tapped her snout, pushing away the surge of anger at so blatantly invading her space. Instincts and pride demanded she rip off his arm, but she hadn't come so far to act on impulse. He knew something at least. His grin was that of something waiting for prey to stumble near, and she had the feeling that he meant for her to be that prey.

Well, she would certainly surprise him. He was underestimating her, that was clear. And when he made a mistake... she would be ready.

He kept talking - if anything, the jester seemed to not be capable of shutting up - and she watched, trying to stay impassive and fight down the spike of irritation. If she could just reach forward - he was tantalizingly in her range - and grab and shake him a little... he would be more willing to answer her then. Maybe burn him a little as well.... No. Patience. She had gone with her trainer and learned patience and control, and she wouldn't tarnish herself by throwing away both of those traits now. But it was tempting, especially when he seemed to be doing his very best to make her want to rip his masked head off.

He introduced himself, finally, and she growled. "I am Garchomp." That it was the name of her species didn't matter - she was still telling the truth. "You know where this is, then?" Her words sank into a growl, this one a little louder - to let him know she was impatient. She didn't have time to watch a masked fool, soon to be prey, spin around uselessly. She was oblivious to the dimensional change, with only a niggling feeling that something was vaguely off - easily pinned on being in Dimentio's company. "I need to leave." And the sooner, by far the better - for both their sakes.

[serac]

Ignorant to his tampering, he could not help but hover in awe! Such focus! Such one-trapped-mindedness!
He was the centre of attention, and not the world around them, which was now in the process of shifting to accommodate the fact that seeing in 3D was now tragically impossible. Such sweet debauchery!

"Garchomp? Ah ha ha. A chomp without a chain? I find your name as equally inspired as my own!"

She wanted to leave! Something about that voice told him it was female, anyway! Assuming that he knew where he was any better than her though was pointless flattery, but appreciated all the same! Of course the name of this place meant nothing to him - and it meant nothing to her - so what was the point? All this mutant Chain Chomp wanted was to be out of the harsh sun so that her scales wouldn't start to peel!

"Mmm... I don't know where we are! But since you want to leave? Ah ha ha ha ha! I will abide by your poorly chosen words! Away we shall fly - like two swallows joined together in furious bickering!"

SNAP! ...went his fingers again! But this time, for real! There was a sound like tearing paper, because the desert around them was indeed being torn away by tiny, invisible toddler-sized hands! Like a painted canvas it was shredded away to reveal underneath a landscape of concentrated GREEN as far as the eye could see!

Where the desert had once surrounded them, the two dashing- no, the one dashing, one hideous, adventurers were now packed together inside a room no larger than a gymnasium! The whole room was GREEN as the colour could be, and there was an escalating sensation of claustrophobia! Besides that however, the sight of so much of one MELLOW colour was quite relaxing! Even if it really was quite hideous.

"Viola! We have escaped the cruel sands of misfortune together! Please! Dry your salty tears of gratitude! There is really no need to thank me! Ah ha ha ha! You wished to leave? Now here we are.

And there would be no getting out, either. OH! But best not get to that point yet!

[Garchomp]

'Poorly chosen' was her first clue, really, before the world shredded apart, as if it had all been a screen which when torn away revealed something much smaller and... green. She spun around, only then feeling just what had gone wrong - rather than turning properly, it was as if she had flipped to the other side instantly. Like half of her mass was gone, and she was as thin as paper.

And he had done this.

He was laughing now, laughing at her and her attempt to understand what had happened, and she would not abide that. All her anger and tension rose to the forefront as she stopped bothering to push it away. She was furious at being tricked, even more so at being laughed at for it and being stuck here to begin with. There seemed to be no way out, but that didn't matter. She would blast her way out if needed, or dig, or something. What did matter was getting rid of Dimentio.

"I must thank you," she said quietly, hearing her voice rasp and hiss with the burden of staying still for one moment longer. It was harder to summon sand where none existed, but she had done that a thousand times in gym battles and tournaments. Fine grains began to drift down as the air grew dry. "For giving me something to fight." Her rage pounded in her head and the storm grew in answer, a wind whipping up and driving the sand. She shrieked as it filled the room with sand, moving quickly enough to abrade anyone unlucky enough to be caught in it. Except for her, of course - her scales were more than tough enough, and the storm was her element. The jester was unfortunate enough to be stuck in a small room. There would be no escape from it, and also no escape from her.

The storm had been fuelled by her rage, and her anger was drained away, replaced by peace. There was no anxiety or fear or anything else to distract her - just her target and her. She longed for this, this clarity that she could never achieve otherwise. It made everything so simple; the rush of movement as she extended her fins and flew, her path cloaked by sand. Darting in, she attempted a swipe at him with a fin glowing with energy, the claw sharpened and lengthened by her natural power. He was so small - surely such an attack would slice him in half! Even with the strange, shifted momentum from her new two dimensional state, she was strong and fast. Her victory was assured.

[serac]

Goodness gracious! Where had all this sand come from so suddenly? Dimension D was not very large at all - and the immediate effect of what Garchomp was doing was to make it look like a whole new desert was trying to pack itself up into a very small space! The sudden abundance of sand did have the effect of making the room look less drab, but the downside was that it was so difficult to see through!

Clicking his fingers together, Dimentio felt himself begin to shimmer away, and then felt a fin sharper than a barber's razor slice through his intangible form. It was a close shave! Any closer, and he would have been paying Queen Jaydes another visit. And after all that mess he'd caused involving her daughter, to boot!

No, no no no, simply unacceptable! He would not be seeing the Underwhere any time yet!

Back in the desert from earlier now, Dimentio stroked his chin with one black velvet finger. The situation was thus: ~an irate relation of the Chain Chomps was now turning his private dimension into a sandbox~

"Oh my. What ferocity this one has! Such animal rage, like a spotted giraffe with painful stomach cramps!"

Keeping her there would really be beneficial only as a means of entertainment. He could warp people into Dimension D from time to time in order to feed her, and keep her like a pet! Oh, but that was so much hassle to deal with! Then he'd have to make up another dimension - and a name for that dimension - all just so that he would have a place to keep people prisoner from time to time without them being eaten!

Moving animals was always such a stressful experience! But he had to do it. As much as he might have wanted to... or not... he just couldn't keep her! The thought made him want to wipe away an imaginary tear.

The world around him shimmered away. A moment later, he was transported from the desert into... a much smaller desert, with GREEN wallpaper! Oh! There might even be an ambush prepared, just for him!

Not only that, but this sand was stinging him like a huddle of tiny, angry dust mites! Warping himself with just a thought - when Dimentio appeared once more, it was alongside a small troupe of identical look-alikes! The three of them twirling their fingers around in circles above their heads, they each created a sphere of purple rhombus shapes, which they hurled outwards in harmony with one another!

...none of them were really aiming, or anything. But since the room was relatively compact to begin with, a big thing like that Garchomp would have to move out of the way very quickly indeed to avoid being hit!

[Garchomp]

Even as she struck, she could feel him dissolving, like a mirage. Her momentum carried her through him completely, and when she spun around to look at him - gone. Completely vanished, leaving her to claw uselessly at the walls as the sand hissed continuously around her. Without him, she was trapped, and though the place was almost comfortable with the sand piling up around her - forming a replica of the desert they had just left - she had no intention of staying for long. The walls proved to be made of something that was impossible to break, and the floor when she bothered to dig through the sand was the exact same. No chance of simply tunnelling out. But he couldn't just... leave her here, could he? He would have to return at some point.... Unless he truly had only meant to trap her and let her starve. That was a troubling thought, or it would have been -

Except at that moment he returned, splitting himself into three. She considered the clones, but that was a tactic she was used to. It might not have been Double Team, but it surely amounted to the same thing. The strange things he threw were... unfamiliar, but she didn't plan on getting hit by any of them to find out what they did. Not that she planned to stay in sight long enough for him to aim at her. Ducking beneath one of the rhombus-shaped projectiles, she sank into the sand quickly, letting the sandstorm cover her as she dug down.

It took some time to tunnel to where she remembered him and his copies being - and if she caught a clone rather than the original, it likely wouldn't do her any good. But for the moment, she was safe, and then... whatever he did, the Garchomp only waited a moment longer before surging out of the sand, lashing out with her claws as she emerged. And even if she kept missing him... the sandstorm would wear him down, no matter how many clones he made.

[serac]

Three happy Dimentio's, there were! Three delightfully debonair- AHA! Two affable and charming performers remained! A suave double-act now that their triplet had been disabled, a whopping number [80] appearing above his smiling head as the sneak attack connected! The base damage of Garchomp's moves was in a whole other league... what sort of game might the creature have come from, to warrant such broken stats?

"Ah ha ha ha! Well now! Such violence! You are a most unsuitable entertainer for idle button-mashing children, I say! No matter what other people might think! A fight is what you wanted, hmmm?"

But this was so unfair! It was like battling to the end of a pit of 100 rooms and finding a monster - only this monster was actually out wandering openly! Lost in the desert, and now flooding his world with sand that he swore came from nowhere! It was a magical event! Like unwrapping a present only to find a box of empty chocolates and some shiny wrapper... this gluttonous creature was snacking on the chocolate of his privacy!

Splitting up, the two hovering harlequins separated from one another. One diving towards the Garchomp and multiplying further as it sped towards her, the new clones swarming close together in a sweeping, airborne, tide of purple and yellow - black and white! The living tide attempted to surround her, all the while diverting attention from the lone figure now taking his place over in the corner, like a rascally schoolboy!

Lifting his arms into the air, the faint outline of a box started to expand surrounding the ugly Chain Chomp, but not just her! The clones as well, for they were still multiplying! Keeping her surrounded and pinned in one area with the combined weight of their handsome bodies! He needed a very BIG box for this, which of course, meant that it was going to be QUITE a show! How much magic would be required only to weaken her? Ah! The winding road of trial and error was littered with oh-so-many perilous twists and potholes!

"Since you have scorned me harshly, like an angst-ridden youth in the throes of violent emotional distress, I shall have to bring your game to an immediate end! With MAGIC of course! Ciao, chomp-breath!"

The box was finished, and the four sides each formed a barrier that would be impervious to an escape from any direction. Such was the joy of a 2D playing field! With a flourish - the master of dimensions snapped his fingers together. And then! Oh, so many... so many EXPLOSIONS! All of them! Contained inside the box!

And they didn't stop. The clones were all eliminated after only a few seconds, but still, that wouldn't stop them. They just went- BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BOOM-BOOM-BOOM-BOOM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM~

But not Dimentio. He just went - "Ah ha ha ha ha!" - and left it at that! Good man, Dimentio!

[Garchomp]

One clone down - and the other two separated. She tried in vain to see what the one farther away was doing, but her vision was soon blocked by an unpleasant amount of clones, all splitting off and multiplying in a wave of gruesomely masked faces. She fired off a quick Dragon Pulse to keep them away from her, but it wasn't an attack - just surrounding her and hemming her in. She spun to charge at the ones keeping her from what was likely the original, but though she sliced through a few, she was not much closer to him when a shape... appeared around her. A box? It wasn't an attack she recognized, and though experience told her that it was probably wise to get out of it, she... couldn't.

The clones were everywhere and though she could blast through quite a few, they made moving at all quite difficult. It would take a lot of effort to sustain this, though, and she desperately didn't want to be kept in this box long enough to find out what it did. Tensing, she leaped into the air, flying upward and then lashing out, fins glowing with energy once more in a prolonged Dragon Claw. It was draining to hold it for more than a moment, but she had no other choice. At least the clones were easy to disperse, and she just needed to get outside the range of the box -

There! And just as she gained enough height to put herself out of its range, the box solidified, making her snarl in surprise. The clones within were all trapped - and as she faltered, landing heavily, the box -

BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BOOM-BOOM-BOOM-BOOM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM

It exploded, and kept on exploding - on and on. If she had been caught in that, she could have... died. That was unpleasant, and frightening. But he had needed time to do it, and she had escaped. Maybe, like other attacks of such strength, he would need time to recharge, or he would be slowed or weakened. It was enough of a hope that she braced herself and attacked with another Dragon Pulse. The sandstorm still raged, but sooner or later it would cease and she would have to call it again - but until then, she would use its shelter as best as she could. Hunching over, she burrowed down once more. If he couldn't see her, then he wouldn't be able to box her in, surely! And she could remain buried, at least long enough to recover from using so many of her attacks in such a short period of time. She probably wouldn't be able to do that again, but at least she had a better idea of what he was capable of.

[serac]

She dived, lacking in majesty but making up for it perhaps in her desperation! Was the big ferocious chomp so confident in choosing her fights for nothing? She was digging again, and the sand was getting in his eyes and under his clothes! Stinging like a fine mist of fiery spice flakes! It was hurting... and it wouldn't do.

"Enjoying yourself so far? Mhmmm. This is a treat for you, a home-cooked helping of my power! All for you, my dear gluttonous Chomp! For you are a glutton for punishment! It means you are greedy! Ah ha ha!"

Dimension D looked like the inside of a sand castle. A human would have been buried by now underneath the thick carpet of sand that had been building up, leaving Dimentio with such a lack of space to levitate that the golden bells of his hat were now lightly rapping against the ceiling. He could not see his guest, nor could he divide and conquer effectively with such a lack of space around him!

A lack of space? The perfect solution to his problem was space! Yes, just that! SPACE! Snapping his fingers, there was a sudden ripping of multi-dimensional stationary as a huge paper hole was torn through the walls of his dimension. And beyond the now open tear in the fabric of reality... was the vacuum of empty space itself!

VWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOSH!!!

There was so much sand around that it was actually possible to watch the air as it was suddenly sucked out through the tear! A steady stream of breathable air and tiny particles being drawn outwards through a breach between the layers of the inter-dimensional! Within less than a minute... there would be no sand, no air, and nowhere for Chompers to hide herself! Dimension D would be clean again, spick and span!

The tear in the wall was small, but easily large enough to drain the dimension of it's contents in a timely manner! Thinking about it though... fitting the freeloader through there might be a bit difficult.

He wished he could comment on the situation! Alas, his words would have been scattered and whipped!

[Garchomp]

He was ripping her sand away, siphoning it through a small hole, draining it from the room like water. Her surprise - how had he even managed that? - broke her concentration, not that she had managed to maintain her trance for long. He wouldn't let her get in close for her preferred style of combat, and that robbed her of most of her useful attacks. If only he would stay still so she could hit him...

But now, she could feel her time running out, the sand around her being tugged inexorably upwards and outwards towards that small hole. It was even smaller than her opponent, but that didn't change that it was removing every advantage she had. But - if it was smaller than him... then perhaps she could find a way to plug it without needing to endanger herself too much. Surfacing once more, she lunged at the jester, claws slashing but only intending to drive him back. What she really wanted was to get him close enough to then pin against the wall - but that would take more manoeuvring.

Of course, it was likely that he would just teleport around again, floating and mocking her, but she had to calm down. So when the time was right, she surged forward in flight, snapping and trying to just hold him long enough to push him into the hole he had made.

And even if she missed, or he disappeared, well, there was no way the hole would suck her out into the void beyond. She was much too large, and the problem would be eliminated no matter what... allowing her to call up another sandstorm, hopefully. It seemed fighting by attrition was the only way to win right now, at least he tired of gloating and attacking while hidden amongst his copies.