We're Team Overclock: Chapter 1

A Paradox Pokemon Taking Position
By Iron Valiant-anon

It was a sunny afternoon in the forests that border Capim Town. Within their verdant, leafy cover is a tepid stream that runs lazily toward the open ocean that the town sits beside. Alongside its pebbled shores sat a relatively tall and limber creature. Their form reflected sunbeams off its glossy silver, composite metal carapace that shined and glimmered stark white at its brightest points as they shifted about to grab an Oran Berry from a traveling bag on their hip, looped over one of their shoulders by a buckled strap. Its body had secondary colors of green on their finned helmet-like head and the concave interior of their plated skirt, which lay splayed out behind them on the river shore on hinges attached to their round hips. A red scarf was tied around their neck, bearing a small metal badge reminiscent of a four-leaf clover. A luminescent, pink crystalline matter fills in some smaller accents on the twintails hanging from behind their head, the crest that emerged from the center of their chest, markings on the bottom of pillar-like legs, and the massive blades that are attached to their gauntlet-like forelimbs, which grip the blue fruit towards their face. Their eyes are like glassy black spheres that emanate pixels into pink irises, which peered from the food and into the slow river's distorted reflection of their form. 

The most outstanding thing about all these traits was that they all amalgamated into a robotic fusion of a Gallade and Gardevoir, made from indescribable technology that nobody in the Pokemon World could have made. They were a human reborn as the exotic and perhaps never before seen Fighting/Fairy-Type Pokemon known as an Iron Valiant, and his name is Error, a member of the Clover Guild of Capim Town.

This bionic facsimile of a renown and famous Psychic-Type species sat here in complete isolation, miles from the guild that had seemingly finally accepted him despite a rough introduction that started and ended in combat. They bit into the fruit despite their absence of a mouth upon their helmeted visage. A small sphere of matter vanished in a spark of energy from the Oran Berry as if it were perfectly scooped out by an invisible melon baller. There was audible chewing and swallowing that emitted from them with a grainy digitization. They sighed wearily.

Spinning into existence in a burst of pink electricity that complimented the glows on Error's body was the light bulb-shaped Electric/Ghost-Type Plasma Pokemon that was tethered to the Iron Valiant's body, simply known by his species moniker, Rotom. He joined his companion in the riverside picnic as he picked up a berry of his own, biting into it with a crackle of electricity that sounded like a bug zapper. They speak up. "Greetings, Master! You seem to be in deep thought and showing signs of stress! You have hardly spoken to me since we left Capim Town! Do you wish to talk about it now?"

Error sighs once more before speaking from his mind to the Rotom that was grafted to his very inner workings, as his actual voice was compromised due to the condition in which he arrived in the Pokemon World. "Please don't call me Master. The Cyndaquil back home ruined that word for me. I don't know how to feel about all of this, Rotom. Everyone at the Clover Guild says they mean well, but they're running me ragged with all of the training. It's like they're trying to break me down to build me back up into something they personally want. Ever since you revealed yourself to Lliam and KFC, there's been more people eager to speak to me, like I had a voice... But it doesn't feel like they're talking to me; it feels like they're talking through me to you, and I just happen to be there. Are they still afraid of me? Am I some broken toy for them to play around with?! ... Don't answer that last one." The Iron Valiant lets out an audible groan while rubbing at his armored forehead.

Rotom bites into the Oran Berry again with another shower of sparks, and he pats the mechanized Pokemon on the back with one of his tendrils of electricity. "Error, it is within my observation that they are simply concerned for your well-being. You were enough of a priority for Lliam to take all these extra precautions. I doubt they see you as some sort of novelty. They speak to me because I can respond more quickly to your wants and needs, and I do my best to keep it short. I don't ignore the discomfort you're in. They're legitimately trying to help you. No 'Mon is an island, as they say. You all need each other."

Error rolls his eyes and bites into the fruit several times aggressively before 'chewing' a 'mouthful' of food. There was still apparently some sort of cavity where the things he consumed went inside before they slid down his throat. He knew his body would reject trying to consume certain things, so he couldn't take a bite out of a fellow Pokemon or chew his way through a wall, for example. He wondered for a moment if this mechanism was also how his body breathed. As far as he understood from Rotom, he wasn't fully mechanical and had a variety of living systems meshed with advanced technology, including a living brain. It was a small comfort, despite still being a strange being in a stranger world. He tried not to think where these organs were sourced from, though, or if they were remnants of his own humanity. 

He shuddered for a moment before continuing the conversation with the electric ghost. "If that's fucking true, what's with all the weird training I'm being put through on top of it all? What about those new pills I'm taking on a regular basis, like some schizo patients? After I had my sessions with that Growlithe they call a counselor, the guild master apparently had a talk with the guild's alchemist. Sableye whipped those things for me. The only reason I'm willingly taking them is because I'm almost sure half the guild would start chanting 'MEDS. NOW.' if I stopped doing so and acting out again. There's also the possibility of withdrawal and I don't really feel like finding out... They make me feel weak and make the training more difficult for me too! I guess I have been a bit more... agreeable since I was taking them, thought. I still don't know, Rotom. I'm kind of terrified of what the future holds for me if I can't keep up with all the changes." He throws the remainder of the Oran Berry into the river in an act of absentminded frustration, upon which a migrating Barboach leaps up with a splash and grabs before vanishing beneath the surface of the water once more. The Iron Valiant packs up his things and stands up with Rotom floating alongside him like a strange party balloon as they begin to walk through the forest.

Rotom eats his entire berry and spins his body in place, glowing brightly with energy. He speaks in a positive tone. "Now, Error, if you were listening, you'd know the answers to everything you've just questioned. Your sessions with KFC are to build up your strength and tolerance for your own abilities! You were granted great power, and that requires great discipline and responsibility to handle it! The medicine you take is designed with a mix of seeds to help with your mood as well as suppress the worst of your psychic outbursts until you can handle them on your own. I believe the primary active ingredient is soothing seeds! They are not trying to hurt you, and I say this as someone who relies on your well-being as much as you do yourself."

Error hangs his head low, trying to shrug off the malaise and emotions as the two continue walking in between the thick trees and shrubs that lined the trail they took to the river. "Hard to listen when your mentor's idea of training involves carrying buckets of water and bags of sand on your shoulders over long distances and firing off my moves blindfolded at thrown targets! It's exhausting... Am I really that much of a waste of potential, Rotom?"

The electric phantom floats in front of Error's illuminated eyes with an angry frown. "You are not! You were not born an IV unit and are not held to the standards of one. It was clear as day that something was amiss when I first saw you after I woke up from my stasis, and none of it is your fault! And I say this as Rotom, not your R.O.T.O.M.! I must insist you stop acting like you're alone in this." 

The Iron Valiant stopped in his steps, blinking in shock at the Rotom's behavior. This was unlike the initial subservient assistant that was guiding him through his body's own machinations. *"Shit... I'm... I'm sorry, Rotom... Say, Rotom? You've been less of a yes-man than usual, and I mean that positively. Has something been changing with my body that's affecting you? What did you say my recovery is at right now?" 

Rotom's expression softens as he looks to be in deep thought. "Based on your current diagnostics, you're at 25% of the way through your system restoration. I cannot discern if this has restored any new functionality. Whether it's been somehow loosening my own nature from the rigors of being at the mercy of this machine as an interface is also unknown, but I feel I may also be just adapting in a way that makes you more comfortable. As much as I am a Pokemon, I feel I am still partially beholden to the protocols that operate this body we share. On the bright side, it appears your regular training and self-care have been allowing you to begin to recover biological tissues, such as the musculature system in your body, that may have been wasting away for some time before you woke up." He twirls with a flash of electricity. "If you continue on this path, I can see you getting answers to questions we both may have! We still do not know who made the IV unit, why you were incarnated in it, why I was inside it with you, or much of anything other than how to operate it, Error."

Error waves his hand dismissively at Rotom. "It's nice that you want to find that information for me, but I wouldn't be too hopeful. From what Pikachu told me back at the guild before one of our recharge naps, virtually no one knows exactly why they're here. There are a lot of old stories and folktales from years ago where humans who arrived here turned into Pokemon in times of crisis to be heroes, and the sheer volume of us having arrived in such a short time doesn't add up to any of them. Most of them gave up quite quickly on that fated hero shit and wanted to live their own lives... Wish I felt the same, but I'm some sort of Pokemon that looks like it was literally built for war!" He resumes walking down the trail, throwing his hands into the air in a gesture of defeat.

"Hm... Recharge naps, Error?" Rotom asked with a funny expression. Error shakes his head frantically, swatting at Rotom's ethereal form in futility before responding.

"It's nothing weird, I swear! I don't even know if we could do something like-... Nevermind that! I didn't Imply anything! Shut up! I swear I will tear off my head and you with it if you don't stop smiling! I'll kill us fucking both! ANYWAY! One day, while I was learning Pokemon trivia from her, I was learning how to better adapt to my new life situation and she was really eager to help since she had no idea what I was either. At one moment, she tried to climb up on my shoulder. She said it was something she saw in a cartoon... She ended up digging a paw into a muscle or something in my back, and I released these two cables from there! I have goddamn bionic jumper cables at the base of my spine, Rotom. We experimented with th- STOP LOOKING AT ME FUNNY WHEN I WORD IT LIKE THAT YOU ASS! Give me a break... You're getting this from the other guildies aren't you?! Is it that fucking Cyndaquil? Ergh... We were TESTING them and found out they can recharge all of my secondary batteries faster than just sleeping, including the Booster Energy cell! Now we make it a routine before my training days to help me prepare. She just has to attach them to her cheeks and they run a current right through me. They don't even use clamps or anything! They just kind of... cling to any surface like a suction cup. I bet I could run off a Thunder Stone with these if we could manage to find one."

Rotom nodded thoughtfully, trying to hold back a laugh when Error mentioned it was a 'routine'. "That's so nice to hear that you're finding friends who are so open to being intimate with you, Error!"

Error was about to reply with even more anger, as snark was coming off Rotom to the point it was like static, before an explosion shook the very forest around them. Smoke began to rise from above the treetops, off the beaten path of the forest trail leading back home. A series of smaller explosions rocked through. A flock of flying Pokemon of various species broke through the canopy, fleeing from something as a gout of flame tried to strike at them. The Iron Valiant narrowed his eyes and pushed his way through the shrubs and brush that crowded the trees. Error struck his fists together, and the two halves that made up his twinblade weapon merged at the center on a beam of solidified pink matter. He twirled the weapon to clear a path for himself.

Rotom merged back into Error's person in full, appearing as a form only visible within his own perspective. "Error, what are you doing? I estimate there's a 68% chance that you're heading into an encounter beyond your current capabilities! I insist you stop and alert the guild instead! Is this about Pikachu? Error, I am sorry. I didn't mean to hurt your feelings! You do not need to prove yourself right now! Please reconsider! You can't just go do this alone!"

"I'm not alone! I have you with me!" Error continued running through the woods, his eyes narrowing into determined slits as he continued to leap and bound over roots and fallen trees like he was born for it. Smoke and the haze of heat began to fill his vision as he erupted from the treeline into an open area ahead.

Rotom speaks up just as they're about to break through into the opening: "That's not what I meant! You can't be an explorer or rescue team with only yourself as the able bodied fighter!" Error was about to quip back before his eyes widen at what was before them once they emerged into a forest grove.

A large Pokemon that at first resembled a mechanical Volcarona held aloft on glowing orange wings was rampaging in the sky above the grove, spraying fountains of acid that it followed up with fire, causing a chemical reaction that caused chains of explosions in the air, sending globs of burning chemicals and sparks raining down, lighting the terrain on fire. A small group of Pokemon were cowering behind a large fallen tree that was set ablaze. The defending Pokemon looked to be a pair of Elgyems and a Beheeyem who was trying to protect them with a Light Screen from the oncoming assault of pyrotechnics. The Cerebral Pokemon looked to be fighting a losing battle against the creature as the smaller evolutions huddled behind the Beheeyem, trying to protect them.

Rotom spoke up once more. "Well, it's too late to turn back now... The usual package of programs, Error? You are aware this won't be the same as sparring with KFC."

Error, in a moment of sheer cowardice, tried to reject the idea that it was too late to turn back. He almost started sprinting back the way he came before explosions flanked both sides of him, sending several burning trees falling behind them, blocking the way out. He screamed out a distorted cry of anger and despair and started mentally spiraling. "ERROR!!!" "I FUCKED UP! I FUCKED UP!" He turns back around, gripping the twinblade with both arms, his distorted mind flooding his system with a cocktail of chemicals induced by panic and anxiety. His eyes dart around wildly.

Rotom started up the assisting programs without asking again. Error's vision was flooded with targeting systems, diagnostics of his own health, and his powers and abilities. "Error! Please calm down! Breathe! Please breathe!"

Error shivered in pure terror. He tried to steady himself and started simulating deep breaths as Rotom's pleading echoed in the background of his conscience. He had to do something. He had to try! Despite his lack of a visible mouth, nose, or any such other orifice, he felt himself consciously pull in and push out the ashen forest air from his lungs. It stung, but at the rate he drew it in and out, it was as tolerable as it was going to get. He closed his eyes and let the world become a void around him for the briefest of moments. There was nothing out there to fear, and for a short time, he truly believed it. Maybe those pills were actually doing more for him than he thought, or was it all him? He tried to keep embracing the calm he made for himself despite all the chaos around him.

The move Calm Mind activated in a flash of psychic energy that circled the crown of Error's head. He opened his eyes once more to view the world in a more critical light. His thoughts were abuzz with a billion possibilities for how to approach this situation before him. The metal Volcarona was circling the burning grove high in the air, laser-focused on the three Psychic-Types. There were several large trees that fell due to a combination of acid and fire damage. Two of the trees have fallen crisscrossed over one another, creating an impromptu ramp that could elevate him towards the rampaging Pokemon. He had to take immediate and swift action if he hoped to engage the aggressive Pokemon.

Error resonated within his own mind. "Rotom, I'm going to do something daring, and probably VERY stupid, and all I ask of you is to keep the opponent on target."

Rotom looked confused as the Iron Valiant finally spoke again. "I don't know if that means you're better now or have gotten worse... Please be careful! I don't know what would happen to either of us if... You know..."

Error interrupted him. "I'm not planning on it! Not now, at least... Keep up with me in there!" The artificial Pokemon breaks into a lightning-fast sprint. He points his twinblade skyward and begins firing a hailstorm of Psyshock bolts from the blades, one swing after another. The psychic bullets strike at the moth-like machine with physical force, causing it to stall and sputter in the air while leaving it visibly injured as its metal exterior is dented by the projectiles. The enemy looks toward the Fairy/Fighting-Type with eyes devoid of expression, letting out a distorted shriek that rings through the air. The robotic insect redirects all its firepower toward Error, giving the three Psychic-Types time to take cover.

"Error! It's using Acid Spray in conjunction with Fire Spin! It's going to keep bolstering its own power and become more dangerous the longer this battle continues! You're vulnerable to the poison the most!" Globs of purple acid strike along the ground before the robotic warrior. The spills of acid are doused with flames, exploding and splashing like napalm against his hide as he failed to evade one of the splashes of burning chemicals in time. He felt sickly as the corrosive, toxic fluids burned and seeped through his body, invading both his flesh and metal to his detriment. Rotom cried out in concern. "Error! Pecha Berry! You need to pull out a Pecha Berry!"

"FUCKING SHIT! FUUUUCKING SHIT!" Error narrowly slides in between several more burning chemical spills, being jettisoned along by waves of psychic force that accentuate his own mobility and special defenses. A flurry of razor-sharp wings sliced toward him like the many swings of a scalding butcher knife on the chopping block as the moth fired off a buffet of Flame Charges. Each one was aggressively repelled with a spinning swing of his own twinblade in a volatile clash of Pokemon-Type energies. "GET OFF MY SHIT AND LET ME CRUSH YOU!" A bolt of corrosive purple energy struck Error right in the back, burning and sizzling away at his armor in a billow of caustic smoke, eating away at and melting at what little precious living flesh lied beneath with the insufferable sensation of genuine pain. "ERRO-RROR-AARARAAAGGGGHHHHH!!!"

One of the young Elgyems peeked out to watch their savior suffer for them. They held up their little arms, tipped with light-emitting digits. Their fingers blinked in a wild sequence that was soon joined by their sibling and elder. They all united to afflict the flying machine with Confusion, causing it to flutter about in a disoriented manner as it screamed at imaginary foes and misfired its attacks all over the place.

The Iron Valiant stumbled to the ground as the initial wave of pain gave way to the constant burning sensation of raw wounds. If he could have seen the state of his own back at that moment in time, he'd likely give up from the despair right there. He pulled himself up with a suffering filled groan as he tightened the grip on his weapon. He fumbled in his bag for a pink berry and started frantically biting into it. The poison was purged but the wounds wouldn't fade as easily. "Rotom... I think I got hit REAL bad... And the diagnostics are not showing the results. How fucked am I right now?"

The Electric/Ghost-Type was silent for a moment. "I believe that the last attack was Venoshock; it accelerates the potency of any poisons already inside the target's body. ... Do you want a sincere answer about the state of your health, or do you want my best advice on what to do right now?"

Error speaks and screams within his mind to his companion as he breaks into a sprint again toward the leaning tree. "Just tell me what to do, Rotom, my friend. I AM CLEARLY IN OVER MY FUCKING HEAD HERE!" He leaps onto the trunk and begins to ascend as blindly slicing claws and poorly aimed incendiary chemicals chase him in his wake. The moth-like Pokemon was trying everything to attempt and destroy the Iron Valiant.

Rotom makes a play by play with little holographic figments in the corner of Error's vision. "Well, first of all, don't fall on your back; you have some very vital things exposed there that will take time to heal. The psychic Pokemon down there are giving you the opening you need. I suggest what you do within your limited time frame is activate Booster Energy at the apex of your climb, jump and grab onto the opponent's back using your accelerated momentum, drive your weapon into its neck upon making contact or as close to it as you can manage, and unleash Psyshock once more. That move has the best possible chance of destroying it from within if you can manage to even get the tip of your blade inside. You'll have to act right this second if you wish to stop this destruction!"

The Iron Valiant groans as his back aches again as he focuses on pushing the reflex in his body that allows whatever is inside to draw forth that wellspring of excess energy. He had practiced this reflex many times before, to varying degrees of success, while training at the Clover Guild proper. If it failed to activate at this moment, the leap he was going to take was going to have a really rough landing. "Here goes NOTHING AND EVERYTHING!" Error cries out in the confines of his mind as he leaps into the air off the end of the tree and launches forth on an explosive wave of crackling pink energy. He heard Rotom cry out, "WAIT!" But it was too late, whatever was wrong with this plan could not be stopped now. Everything was already in motion.

The knight-like Pokemon sails forth as time seems to slow down in respect to how quickly he has started to move. The artificial Volcarona seemed to be moving at a crawl in the air from his point of view as he lunged toward its body. It slowly turned to face him as he inched closer and closer. The opposing Pokemon charged up a new volley of attacks. Error outstretched one arm to grab above one of the red horn-like antennae that protruded from its head. Error caused it to lose its balance as the two tumbled through the air, spraying various fire and poison projectiles like a display of orange and purple fireworks as they exploded against Error's body, causing severe damage that made his vision distort and flicker. Rotom looked to be in pain himself as his holographic avatar flickered in and out of view. Reticles in the Iron Valiant's vision were aligned with the center of mass of the enemy. One swift strike was all he needed to deliver, and it'd pierce the entire creature like a demented seafood skewer. Muscles tensed as energy continued to crackle along the Gardevoir and Gallade hybrid facsimile's body. The twinblade was reared back like a spear, aiming to pierce its prey. All the energy that was suspended in the one arm holding the twinblade was unleashed in one powerful motion.

Error thrusts forward, colliding against the white metal thorax of the Volcarona in an explosion of psychic energy. A flurry of bolts of energy emitted rapidly from the sword and through the Pokemon's body, violently punching a hole out the opposite end in a shower of orange sparks, metal shrapnel, and unidentifiable viscera. Just as quickly as time had slowed down, normal momentum started to return to the world. The artificial psychic Pokemon held on for dear life as he rode the falling machine moth's body like the more unwieldly glider to the forest floor. The moth screamed in pain and rage as they both hurtled toward the earth, trading punches and blows with each other as the ground got closer and closer. Everything shuddered violently as the heavy metallic forms of the two Pokemon tumbled and tussled along the hard earth in one final bout of claws and blades. The robotic moth tried to rise up one more time before Error thrust out his sword yet again and impaled it through the same opening he had made inside its body a second time. He twisted viciously as he screamed in rage. The Volcarona screeched out one more time before it buffeted Error with Flame Charge, unleashing tackles of of fire from its wings that pummeled him several times in the head and torso, cracking his eyes and launched him backwards. His time in the air was cut short with a loud crash into a fallen tree trunk, sending a spray of crumbling bark and ashes into the air. Everything went black momentarily.

Error's vision cleared slightly to find himself laid on the ground, sprawled out like a ragdoll, and surrounded by the cindered remains of the forest grove. He felt tired, weak, and hurt. From his prone state, he tried to assess as much as he could without moving his injured form too much. Every little pull of a muscle or the grinding of a fractured servo sent pain and fear into his body. The entire world looked distorted as the outer lenses of his eyes were cracked, causing everything to become fractal and hard to see. From what he could tell, the fire looked like it had finally begun to die down as the trees and lush foliage not directly incinerated by the Volcarona's attacks did not prove to be dry enough to further spread the blaze. The damage that was done would likely recover in due time. Wounds and burns sustained by both parties that had ruptured during the battle left blood or blood-like fluids seeping and stained all over the grass and soil between them. From all the pain and his own disoriented vision, he couldn't tell whether the most vital fluids were spilled by him or his opponent's. He wasn't even sure if he killed them, despite the very mortal nature of the final blow he had dealt. He was almost certain they were made with the same kind of technology that he was, too. "Rotom, we did it, we took down that thing... How am I looking? Rotom? Rotom, are you there?" The mechanical warrior cried out again and again, weakly, in his mind. "Where are you?"

A series of vibrant lights flashed from the corner of his eyes. Arriving on the scene were dozens of the same Elgeyem and Beheeyem Psychic-Types that were originally in distress before he and Rotom arrived. They split off into various groups that began to attend to some unknown tasks all over the burned grove. They must have all arrived to investigate, but from where? One of them responded telepathically; it looks to be the Beheeyem that he protected; its body still bears small cuts and burns. They repeated a sentiment he thought mere moments ago. "We did it." Several of the strange Pokemon circled around Error and the Volcarona's forms, gently lifting them and any stray pieces with telekinesis. He felt his aching form drift into the air as his limbs hung limp. Two of the smaller Elgeyems, which he thinks he recognized as the ones he initially protected, carried his twinblade beneath him, and the battle damaged Beheeyem.

Exhaustion and delirium began to take over Error his shattered vision faded in and out. His systems failed to respond. He couldn't tell what was wrong. He couldn't access anything without Rotom. "Rotom, I can't do it alone... You're right... No 'Mon is an island... I overreacted... I'm sorry..."

Everything went dark as he found himself drawn in by the fatigue of battle and his injuries.