fanfiction Nightmares

[ArdillaVerde93]

The following story contains foul language, depictions of mental disorders, depictions of suicide, and rape. If you find any of these subjects disturbing, TURN AWAY NOW!!!!

What follows is a bit of a summary of several roleplays I've done privately with the wonderful @SMFoxy. The story is told by a Jirachi who mistakenly and tragically wasn't careful when granting wishes, and who now has a wish of her own. To make things right with her victims.

 

  This is the second time tonight. The second time I've woken up, screaming bloody murder and drenched in sweat. I can't sleep anymore. Not without the nightmares. They won't stop; every fucking night, they come back to haunt me, like ghosts! What did I do to deserve this? Sure, I haven't been perfect, but nobody has! Dammit, I was just doing my job! Arceus put me here to grant wishes, and that's what I did. Can I really be blamed for the times they went wrong? How could I have known their intentions? I'm a Legendary, sure, but there are still things I don't know. I assumed they could relate. I assumed everybody could! I... I just didn't realise the effect I could have on them. 7 acquaintences became victims. Victims of an old saying. "Be careful what you wish for." In one fell swoop, I ruined the lives of a trainer and 6 Pokémon. If I could take it all back, I would. I can. They just need to ask. But they won't. I've caused them too much pain for them to wanna seek my help. But I'd love a chance to apologise. Anything to stop these damned nightmares! They're in them. Always dying. Always dying! Fuck me; I'll never unsee those nightmares, if I live to be 100 years old!
 

  The storm that started everything. Was it supernatural? That, I can't answer. The weather is outside of my jurisdiction. But it came from nowhere, and battered Goldenrod City mercilessly. I saw 6 Pokémon huddled around their trainer, in a closet. They begged for safety. But not for themselves. They wanted their trainer to survive. They all survived; so did the house, by some miracle. But I watched them intently that night. They surrounded the boy with affection. He treated them well. Even after everything I've done to them, I'll stand by this until the day I die; he was never abusive to those Pokémon. Quite the opposite, in fact. Rarely does a Pokémon legitimately enjoy waiting on their "master." But all 6 of them did. 
 

  Their trainer fell asleep long before the storm subsided, but they still kept a close eye on him. It was honestly adorable. They each made a wish. And it was easy for me to grant them; the wishes were all the same. They whispered with each other how much they wanted to repay their master's love. It warmed my heart. I knew I had to help them, so I did. Finally, they settled on a wish. They wanted to be able to serve him properly. They eventually fell asleep, same as their trainer. It was... I think it was a half hour later. Not that it matters. I got started as soon as I was sure they were asleep. Fur and scales became hair and clothing. Their bodies, depending on species, either stretched or shrank. By the time the physical transformations had been completed, all 6 of the former Pokémon were mostly human. They still had their tails, and some other features. Their trainer could already understand them when they spoke their native tongues, but, since it'd be rather odd for them to walk around in public yipping and cooing like the creatures they were moments before, I altered their voices, as well, so they would speak English. This process, by the way, is not painless. None of them were; there's a reason why I waited until they were asleep. By the time I expected they would wake up, most or all of the pain would've gone away. But I wasn't finished yet. They wanted to serve; didn't they?
 

  They were all females. Their trainer isn't sexist. He just doesn't care for burly, musclebound brutes. His preference is for femininity, and it showed in his team. Not that he was ever sexually involved with them. He used to use them in battles, like the majority of trainers do. And, before you ask, no. I don't object to battles. There's a difference between contests of strength and skill, and brutal beatings. Yes, there are occasionally injuries from battles. But accidents can happen from the most innocuous of activities. Sweet, innocent Chansey Scouts trip and fall sometimes. It hurts, you cry, you get a bandage and/or a lollipop, and you go about your day. But I digress. 
 

  The trainer of the Pokémon I had just transformed held a spot in the Johto Hall Of Fame, which he earned when his team defeated the six battle-hardened, vicious Pokémon of the former champion, a trainer who thwarted terrorist attacks, traversed the entire Johto and Kanto regions, and tamed even the guardian of the sea and the sacred winged rainbow. But he didn't battle with them after his victory. Following that tremendous upset, he left competitive battling to focus on the medical field. A passion of his for a long time. In fact, even before the championships were a blip on the radar, he showed decent skills, being able to repair minor wounds, and cure minor ailments. To make extra money, he would moonlight at Pokémon Centres. By the time he was considering going to the Indigo Plateau, he barely needed Pokémon Centres for healing his beloved companions; he could fix everything from cuts and stings to broken bones. It seemed like just the natural progression of things; forgive me, but it brings to mind another old saying. "What're you going to do now?" "I'm going to Disney World!~" He used his fame from winning the championship to secure a job at the Pokémon Centre in his hometown. This boy became one of my victims. He has nothing now.
 

  The 6 Pokémon I transformed were a Bellossom, a Goodra, a Pachirisu, a Sylveon, a Vaporeon, and a Wigglytuff. To grant their wishes to be able to serve their master, I turned them into maids. I thought it would go over well with everyone. At least I was right in that respect. For a while, anyway. When they awoke the next morning, they all eagerly began their chores. Vaporeon had the poor luck to be the one to awaken the boy. They had been made to think their roles had always been theirs. I didn't think - damn; that's a theme - I would need to hypnotise him, too. He was furious. Not from being woken up by a beautiful anthropomorphic Vaporeon. But from being waited on.
 

  Trainers can sometimes forget that, were it not for the Pokémon they care for, they wouldn't be trainers. Nor can the Pokémon be champions without trainers to teach them the finer points of combat. Everyone has to work together. Of course, every partnership is different; in some cases, the trainer may have a disability, and their Pokémon have to work harder to come out on top. Or vice versa. I've seen deaf trainers win matches because their Pokémon could understand sign language. I've seen Pokémon with impaired vision use their other senses to outwit and topple opponents. But, at the core of everything, it boils down to teamwork. And these 6 girls were well-versed on the subject, before and after their transformations. As crazy as this is going to sound, after all of the praise I've just given their trainer, it's him that doesn't understand that. But the misunderstanding in this case is probably the opposite of what you might expect. See, he doesn't expect these Pokémon to do everything for him; he would prefer to be the one serving them.
 

  I should explain that I knew this boy before the storm. Well, saying that I knew him is a bit of an understatement. I would go so far as to say we were friends. I'm not going to reveal his name; I've revealed too much about him already. In fact, to be fair, he was submissive with me, too, so I suppose his behaviour towards his Pokémon shouldn't be so surprising to me. But he explained that it's because I'm a Legendary Pokémon. One of many that keep this world balanced. So maybe he has a point. But he spoiled those Pokémon rotten when he was still a trainer. Not that there's anything wrong with that. I guess, since I grant wishes, I do more or less the same thing anyway. He devoted his life to the care of Pokémon. Studying, healing, and training. But it all came crashing down around him when he tried to play Arceus.
 

  The trainer was born fully human; during a rescue mission, he accidentally bonded his soul to an artifact that fused his DNA with that of a female Cinccino. Still, he went on with his life, and even grew to love his new fluff. Until he was raped for it, that is. That was my first mistake; I should've stepped in. I offered him a wish to console him, but couldn't give him what he wished for. With all of his Pokémon being female, he wished to be feminised. Could I have done it? Without a shadow of a doubt. Child's play. But he held a very important job back then - he specialised in emergency medicine when he was a doctor - that would be put in jeopardy if he showed up in a dress and makeup. So I had to refuse. As horrible as this sounds, if he asked again, I'd grant his wish in a heartbeat, now that he's lost his job. Not granting his wish was my second mistake. And, unfortunately, soon after that, he managed to get in far over his head.
 

  His mission was noble; the species he had recently become a member of was, and unfortunately remains, severely endangered. The next time I offered him a wish, he made it right away. His wish was for a massive increase in their population. That was a good bit harder. I can warp bodies, minds, inanimate objects, and more. But creating life is something I'm not at all well-versed in. Mew and Shaymin handle that; in retrospect, I should've asked one of them. Preferably Mew; Shaymin didn't get along well with the boy. I knew I owed him, though, so I tried doing things myself. I won't go into specifics, but I messed up. Big time. Again, I should've asked Mew. My name was certainly mud with the boy and his former Pokémon after that, not that I blame them. But, with that, I struck out with the trainer. As ironic as this sounds, I wish the troubles had ended there. Of course, they didn't. The trainer was ruined, but the girls were in good health. Unfortunately, that was about to change. Starting with Vaporeon.
 

  Vaporeon, objectively, was hit the hardest. But they all suffered. Those poor girls lost their minds, and a good bit more. Even I couldn't have predicted the horrors that would befall them. In a way, it angers me; it really, truly does. So many evil people in this world, yet an innocent boy and 6 innocent Pokémon were harmed, just for making wishes! A wish to help a loved one, and a wish to save an endangered species. Not exactly scandalous. "But Jirachi! Just make everything better!" Believe me, I want to. But I can't do anything unless the request is worded as a wish. Arceus added that rule. And no, I can't just make the wish myself; it doesn't work. I've tried.
 

  As for what happened to the girls - the "horrors that befell them" - it seems each one bears a different curse. Bellossom constantly exudes a ludicrously strong floral scent. Pachirisu cries at the drop of a hat. Wigglytuff is a glutton. Vaporeon is the opposite; she starves herself. Sylveon is addicted to cosmetics. And Goodra is convinced she's the doting mother of her trainer. Huh? Bellossom's fate doesn't sound so bad? She's scrubbed herself raw trying to remove the stench. To no avail. Goodra doesn't sound like she got a bad deal, either. But you don't see her. She has absolutely gone insane. She fills her bedroom with what she insists are framed pictures of the trainer and her. They're all blank.
 

  The victim I see in my dreams changes often, but they die the same way each time! And the deaths, in stark contrast to the victims, aren't pretty. Wigglytuff collapses in agony, dead of a heart attack before reaching the Pokémon Centre. Bellossom is mauled by wild Pokémon. She cries out, but nobody is willing to bear her stench to rescue her. Sylveon is taken into an alleyway, raped, then beaten to death after being drugged while on a date. Vaporeon takes a final, shaking breath in her bed before her organs give out from starvation. Pachirisu, the poor dear, has an emotional breakdown and commits suicide by drinking various cleaning chemicals. And Goodra dies of shock upon finding her "child" hanging from a ceiling fan. 7 images, counting the trainer, that I don't think I'll ever get out of my head. For fuck's sake, every fucking dream is a snuff film! I can't take this much longer!
 

  I can't help them; I want to. I really, really want to! But I can't unless they make wishes, or someone makes wishes for them. Vaporeon was helped by a kind Delphox who wished her back to good health, but her mind is fried; I have absolutely no doubt that she's still gonna starve to death unless someone wishes her shattered psyche back together. I don't blame the Delphox, though. He and his daughter have hearts of gold, the both of them. I'll go to my grave insisting that he had Vaporeon's best interests at heart. As for his daughter, her wish broke my heart. Her mother died when she was too young to remember her. All she knew of her mother was stories, as though she was brought into this world by a fairytale princess. Of course, she wished for her mother back. And, of course, I granted her wish. Sort of. As it happens, her mother was a Cinccino. I can't resurrect the dead, but I can revive their souls. The poor trainer of the 6 ill-fated girls used to have a Cinccino, whom he had recently rediscovered was living comfortably in a nature preserve after being released. Sacrifices were made, and that Cinccino was given the memories of the young lady's mother. Both of them, and the Delphox, still live happy, healthy lives to this day; lucky them.
 

  But for the Delphox and his daughter, I probably would've eaten a shotgun shell quite some time ago. The blood of 7 innocent victims is on my hands, and I can't help them until they ask for it! The Delphox and the trainer are close friends. That's lovely; otherwise, I have a sneaking suspicion the trainer would've been found hanged with his own tail. Maybe that Delphox can turn things around. But, just in case, let me broadcast a plea to everyone reading this.
 

  If any of you see a male Cinccino anthro, or any of the 6 maids I mentioned, I beg you. Please, for the love of Arceus, tell them everything will be alright. And tell them I'm sorry, and that I'll do whatever I can to make everything up to them. Oh, and, if you see me, wish for something that benefits one of them. I promise, if you do, I'll give you a second wish. Whatever you want. That's a promise, literally in writing, from a Legendary. Just make the nightmares stop. If you don't feel sorry for me, which you probably shouldn't, at least do something for their sake. As badly as my nightmares have scarred my mind, at least they end when I wake up. I can't say the same for them.

[SMFoxy]

Holy shit.
This... I Struggle to find words to... to even articulate what I'm struggling to find words for.

It's very clear in the writing how pained and traumatised Jirachi is as a result of her actions, possibly even more so due to the fact that it's equally obvious that it was unintentional. She's trying to fix her mistakes despite everything, and it's blatant that she still cares despite falling out with the unnamed trainer in question.

The story is beautifully written as always, and perfectly treads the line (in my opinion at least) to balance going into enough detail to reveal the trauma, without lingering too long on it. I think, in fact, that the single paragraphs (one each) dedicated to everyone's troubles and how Jirachi views... her nightmares (vague to avoid spoilers)... almost makes it seem... harder. Like she fights not to focus on it in her waking hours too much because it constantly wakes her with nightmares.

It's a very subjective thing, how Jirachi sees the things that are happening/have happened, and even from the objective viewpoint of a reader, I can still understand how the events have subjectively impacted her. You completely nailed her mindset, and wrote it in such a way that even on the off chance you don't sympathise, you can at least understand how she feels (again, my opinion, your mileage may vary).

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this despite the dark subject matter (or perhaps because of it), and definitely look forward to more stories from you.

[PixelBoi]

My jaw dropped a bit. I think I can only agree with what Faxy said. Even with the dark subject matter it was a great experience to read. It was thrilling and I certainly wasn't expecting the things that happened, but I'm glad I took the time to read this. Thanks for posting it!

[ArdillaVerde93]

You don't know how much that means, hearing it from you, @SMFoxy. I'm so glad I've presented Jirachi in the correct light. Or lack thereof, as the case may be. She may be a jerk, but she isn't heartless, and she has remorse. But she's showing vulnerability, knowing that she's caused so much pain and suffering, it's too much for even her to fix by herself. She's admitting that Legendaries aren't flawless.

@PixelBoi, thank you so much for your praise. Honestly, I think I'll expand on this, going into depth with the victims. Maybe even stuff through their eyes.

[PixelBoi]

I'll definitely look forward to reading more in the future.

[ArdillaVerde93]

I can't believe it took me this long to come up with a Chipmunks reference, but Jirachi's plight brings to mind one of the songs from the cartoon. I believe the episode was called "No Chipmunk Is An Island."

"I need you to help meeeeee!

I can't do it alone.

I want you to save meeeeee!

I wanna go home!

(Yeah, yeah!)

It's my fault, I guess;

I'm in such a mess.

I got myself in,

but please! Please! Please!

Help me get out!"