Pokémon: Sandstorm Sovereign

Chapter 76: Dream Invasion

Crimson City Pokémon Center.

Patient Room.

The morning sun streamed through the window, casting a warm glow on the bed where Bronzor was slowly waking up.

"Bronz..."

It quickly realized something was wrong. Wait a minute... wasn't I just fighting a sand mole? How did I end up...

With a simple thought, Bronzor's body naturally began to levitate. It saw Basalt slumped over the side of the bed, fast asleep, and Drilbur snoring like a Snorlax nearby. Its eyes widened.

Isn't that the wretched mole? And... that strange creature!

A wave of anger surged through Bronzor. If it hadn't been so badly injured and its psychic power so depleted, would it have been so thoroughly beaten by that pathetic sand mole? I, Bronzor, am a peerless warrior among my kind, my mind my spear and my body my shield!

Fine, it decided. I'll teach you a lesson today. I'll show you the meaning of... a real surprise!

Bronzor's psychic energy flared, and the window blinds began to rustle as if moved by an invisible wind.

Wait a second... My psychic energy... it's completely restored?

Bronzor froze. It remembered that before it passed out, its body and mind had been ravaged by spatial energy, its psychic power nearly annihilated. But now... while the gash on its back hadn't healed, the injury seemed to have been stabilized. And its psychic energy felt fully recovered.

No... not just recovered. It feels more... refined than before. Stronger.

Did my psychic power actually increase while I was unconscious?

Completely bewildered, Bronzor closed its eyes and focused inward. It discovered that it had now mastered the move "Calm Mind," a skill it had struggled to learn before. The increase in its psychic power had made it second nature. Calm Mind, the Psychic-type move that boosts Special Attack and Special Defense.

This was all real. It wasn't a dream.

"Bronz..."

After the initial shock and joy, Bronzor was stumped. Its small, round face was a mask of confusion.

"Bronz?" (`￣ェ￣;´) What happened? Could it be... that I was saved by this strange creature and that wretched sand mole? How am I supposed to get my revenge now? No, that can't be right... can it?

It glanced at Basalt, then at Drilbur. Seeing that both were sound asleep, it decided to investigate on its own without waking them.

"Bronz..."

Floating silently closer to Basalt, Bronzor focused its psychic energy, sending a gentle, non-aggressive probe into the sleeping boy's mind.

Dream Eater.

This was an advanced application of the move, allowing it to perceive a host's dreams without their cooperation. With further development and combined with Hypnosis, it could even be used to interrogate a mind and search for memories. It was a secret art of its species. While this Bronzor couldn't perform a full memory search, a simple dream invasion was well within its capabilities.

It had to know. Was it really saved by this strange creature? And if so... what was it supposed to do? The thought gave Bronzor a headache.

Vwoom.

Its psychic energy flowed into Basalt's mind. Instantly, Basalt's dream unfolded in its consciousness, as if it were a spectator right there in the scene.

In a massive, majestic stadium, Basalt, wearing a cap and a cape covered in sponsor logos, walked out of the tunnel to the thunderous applause of a roaring crowd. He waved to the adoring fans.

Following close behind him were six incredibly powerful Pokémon. There was a large mole with an iron head and claws, Bronzor's own evolved form Bronzong, a colossal rock beast covered in emerald armor, a ferocious shark with sharp teeth and claws, a tyrannosaur covered in dazzling golden scales, and a flying rock dragon.

All six Pokémon radiated an aura of terrifying, bottomless power, like invincible gods of war.

"Bronz..." Bronzor's eyes widened in disbelief. The presence of these six Pokémon felt even more terrifying than that of its own clan elders. Even as a mere observer in the dream, Bronzor felt its core tremble with fear. What kind of beings are these? Is this strange creature really that powerful?

Taking a deep mental breath, Bronzor calmed itself and continued watching.

Basalt strode arrogantly onto the battlefield and pointed at the opposing trainer, a middle-aged man whose face was unclear. "So you're the so-called Champion of this country?" he taunted. "Get over here and take your beating!"

The battle began, and a super-powered sandstorm immediately engulfed the arena. The sheer force of the battle was overwhelming. The opponent was strong, each of his Pokémon more powerful than Bronzor's clan elders, but under Basalt's command, not a single one could last more than three turns.

Two minutes later, the battle was over. Basalt had won six-to-zero, a perfect sweep. The opposing trainer bowed his head in complete submission and respect.

The scene shifted. Basalt was now being led to a throne by an old man whose face was also blurry. "Basalt," the old man said, tears streaming down his face, "with you in charge, I can finally rest easy."

The dream continued to shift. Basalt conquered numerous other nations and caught even more terrifying Pokémon: a giant beast covered in red, plate-like armor with molten seams; an elegant princess with a large gem embedded in her head; a tiger-like quadrupedal beast; a blue, four-legged dragon made of steel...

Each of these final Pokémon was so terrifying that just looking at them made Bronzor's core ache with fear, its very essence struggling to function. It had to sever the connection.

"Bronz..." Bronzor floated back, looking at Basalt with a strange expression. Your Pokémon's skill level isn't that different from mine... how could you ever dream of catching creatures like that? How many drinks did you have to get this delusional?

With a mental scoff, Bronzor shook itself and decided to invade Drilbur's dream next.

But the moment it entered Drilbur's dream, it almost lost its composure. In the dream, Drilbur was mercilessly beating it up. After defeating it, it stood triumphantly on Bronzor's body, a claw pressed to its throat, its face a mask of viciousness.

Just then, the dream version of Basalt appeared, pleading with Drilbur like a desperate maiden. "Drilbur, please, don't be so hard on Bronzor! I spent all my savings to save this Pokémon..."

"I promise, you'll always be the most important Pokémon in my heart! I only catch other Pokémon to win battles; I don't really like them..."

After much pleading, Drilbur reluctantly agreed. It stopped beating up the dream-Bronzor but declared haughtily, "Fine, I'll give my human some face and spare you this time. But let's get the rules straight. From now on, I'm the boss, and you're the subordinate. You do everything I say. If I tell you to go east, you don't go west. I get the good food first, you get the hard work. If you disobey, I'll discipline you and knock your teeth out..."

The dream-Bronzor tearfully nodded in agreement, like a junior wife meeting the head wife.

The dream-Basalt, acting like a henpecked husband, quickly added, "Whatever you say, Drilbur, anything you say."

With its position as head of the household established, the dream-Drilbur laughed with smug satisfaction.

"Drilburr~" ( ˘v˘ )

In the real world, the sleeping Drilbur scratched its face with a claw, an irrepressible grin spreading across its face.

Bronzor retreated from the dream, fuming. What does that wretched mole take me for? And that strange creature... they're two peas in a pod. Their skills are mediocre, but their dreams are Master-Class!

But then it remembered the words from the dream: "I spent all my savings to save this Pokémon."

Bronzor let out a mental sigh. The answer was obvious. It had been saved by Drilbur and Basalt. They were the ones who had treated its injuries. The thought put it in a difficult position. The grudge it held was small, but the debt of gratitude was immense. What should it do?

Its clan elders had always taught: A drop of kindness should be repaid with a gushing spring. And this... this was the debt of saving its life. It couldn't just run away. And even if it did, where would it go? This wasn't its home. Besides, its physical wound wasn't healed yet, and it remembered that this human, Basalt, had the mysterious metal it needed.

What should I do?

As Bronzor wrestled with its dilemma, Basalt began to stir. Seeing this, Bronzor quickly used its psychic power to pull the blanket back over itself, floated back into position, and pretended to still be asleep. If it couldn't figure out what to do, it would just stall for time.

Basalt, just waking up, was oblivious to Bronzor's inner turmoil. He patted his face to wake himself up and saw that Bronzor still hadn't woken. He sighed. "It's been five days. The doctor said it should have woken up by now."

He frowned, a worried thought crossing his mind. "Could it be... that this is actually a black market hospital?"

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