Sableye's History

Twenty Days Ago

It was dawn, the first time she woke up. The fierce pink of the sky was framed perfectly by a tangle of leafy branches. Wind whispered through the trees and waves lapped at some nearby shore. That was her first memory here, the quiet peace of a sunset.

Peace that was shattered moments later by a pale blob lurching in front of her face. She shrieked and shoved it away with her claws - Wait, claws? Why did she have claws? - before struggling upright. She regretted it almost immediately. The setting sun was reflected by the nearby water and everything was so fucking bright. But brightest of all was the smile of the Silicobra coiled in front of her.

The rest of that day was a blur of headaches and confusion. Silicobra cheerfully answered all of her questions in a bubbly, excited tone that only made her migraine worse. Of course pokemon are real! Of course you're a Sableye! Of course I can talk! Of course I'm not going to leave you alone! I'm your partner after all!

It didn’t take her long to piece together where she was, even though it didn’t make any sense. How the fuck did this world even exist? Was there a way to get home? There fucking better be, someone had to feed her cats in the morning. And - oh, fuck, that meeting with her boss was later today. “Getting isekai’d” probably wasn’t a valid excuse to miss it.

Silicobra didn’t give her much time to dwell on her ruined life. “It’s okay, partner!” he hissed. “I’ll help you settle into your new life here.”

Sableye stared at him. It would probably be wise to stick together, but this guy’s blindingly cheery attitude was really starting to grate on her. “Listen,” she sighed, “I appreciate you wanting to help me, but I can take things from here. You can go.”

Silicobra’s expression went from stricken to confused before settling back into its usual grin. “No can do, best buddy. I’m your partner, and partners stick together!”

The annoyance sitting in Sableye’s gut started shifting into unease. “I’m not your partner,” she insisted. “I don’t even know you. I’m serious, leave me alone.”

“It’s alright, you don’t have to be shy.” Silicobra slithered closer to her. She took a step back. He cocked his head, looking slightly hurt. “What’s wrong? Humans always have a pokemon partner in the stories. I’ve spent my whole life wanting to meet one of you! Clearly this is fate!”

If this guy put out any more red flags he’d be visible from orbit. Sableye shifted out of her usual crouch, trying to look intimidating. “I don’t want a partner,” she growled. “I prefer being on my own. Go away.”

She’d hoped that would daunt him at least a little, but now he looked even more confident. “No one really wants to be alone,” he declared. “I bet you’re just shy or something. Well, don’t worry! I’ll prove how useful I can be! I’ll do absolutely anything for you, partner.”

Anything except leave you alone.

As the rest of the day passed, Sableye tried everything to get this freak to fuck off - telling him to leave, hiding from him, yelling at him, straight-up attacking him - but nothing worked. He was fully convinced that it was his job to change her mind with the power of friendship, and there was nothing she could do to stop him.

Eighteen Days Ago

Eventually Sableye gave up. Silicobra insisted that exploring together would be full of adventure and treasure and fun, and he clearly wasn't taking no for an answer, so she might as well give it a try. Trawling through dungeons had been kind of tedious in the games, but maybe it would be better in real life. And hey, if things went badly enough, it might even convince Silicobra to finally leave her alone.

That was the thought process that led her to where she was now: on the ground of a wet, dirty cave, in the worst pain of her life, with the only person she hated more than God himself trying to feed her the blandest oran berry in the universe. Eventually she snapped and bit at him, but he was faster than her even when she was healthy, so she only ended up with a mouthful of berry.

To be fair, it did take the edge off the pain. Still tasted like shit though. She shoved the snake pokemon away and staggered to her feet, doing her best to glare at him despite having rocks for eyes. “I told you this was a bad idea,” she hissed.

“Oh come on, you’re doing great!” Silicobra cheered. “This is the last floor, and the stairs are right over there. We’re almost done with our first adven- Hey, wait, where are you going?”

Sableye ignored him, staggering up the stairs and out of the dungeon before anything else could try to kill her. It wasn’t long before her “partner” followed suit, chattering all the while about how great they did, and how he couldn’t wait to go exploring with her again.

We blew through that first dungeon with ease! You just need to believe in yourself more!

Unfortunately for Silicobra, there would never be an “again.” Sableye absolutely refused to give dungeoneering another try, no matter how much he begged and whined. Like hell she was going to risk her life chasing his stupid fucking dream. Silicobra spent every waking hour trying to change her mind, and she did her best to ignore him. If he wanted to go dungeoneering again then he could do it on his own.

Twelve Days Ago

Instead of exploring dungeons, Sableye took to visiting various towns, trading whatever she and Silicobra could scavenge in the wild for gold and gems. The gems were eaten (and they tasted fantastic), while most of the gold went towards their other expenses. Sableye used what little was left over to buy various trinkets that reminded her of her past life, and before she even realized what she was doing, she'd gathered the beginnings of her alchemy kit.

It wasn’t like she’d done it on purpose. She was a chemist in her past life, and the various beakers and tools reminded her of her old passion. But the more she gathered, the more she realized she could actually do something with them. Silicobra could only look on in disappointment as his friend began to spend more of her time playing with chemicals, and less of it traveling with him.

The ingredients in this world weren't anything like what Sableye was used to, and even simple potions took a lot of trial and error at first, but her chemistry background gave her a solid foundation to build off of. Pretty soon she was moving on from basics to medicine to combat items like smoke bombs and, finally, to explosives. Silicobra made it clear that he thought she was wasting her time, but she had gotten very good at tuning him out.

Days and days passed, Sableye playing with her alchemy kit while Silicobra scrounged up food and supplies at her insistence. Things might have gone on like that forever, if not for the thefts. They started small; seeds and other ingredients disappeared from Sableye's bag, in such tiny quantities that at first she thought she just lost them. But the disappearances kept happening, and it wasn't long before she connected the dots.

Eight Days Ago

Silicobra was humming a tune under his breath, easily slithering between the crags and stalagmites of the cave they’d set up camp in, a small cloth pouch containing a few berries and seeds clutched in his mouth. He dropped it near Sableye’s things before finally spotting his partner leaning against the cave wall. It was hard to make her out in the dim light, but she seemed tense.

“Are you feeling alright?” he asked, moving closer.

Sableye’s blank gemstone eyes watched him coldly. She folded her arms over her chest. “I know you’ve been stealing from me.”

The snake pokemon froze. He stammered for a moment, trying to come up with some kind of excuse, but his mind had gone blank. “...Fine. Maybe I used some of our supplies. But they belong to both of us, so I don’t see why-”

“Seven oran berries,” Sableye interrupted. “Two reviver seeds. Three blast seeds. A red gummi. Four pecha berries. A goddamn X-eye seed.” She leaned closer to him, eyes flashing in the darkness. “We both know you didn’t use all those items on your own. So why did you take them?”

Silicobra’s heart sank. He considered trying to bluff his way out of this, but lying to his partner would only make things worse. “Alright, fine, I threw them away,” he confessed. “Please don’t be mad at me! I promise I did it for your own good."

Sableye stared at him incredulously. “My own good? What the fuck are you talking about?”

“You spend all your time playing with weird chemicals in this boring little cave. It’s not healthy!” Silicobra whined. “I thought maybe if you ran out of ingredients, I could convince you to try looking for more in a dungeon with me. And then maybe you’d see how much more fun exploring is than doing… whatever this is.” He waved his tail at the flasks and beakers scattered around Sableye’s makeshift lab.

She glanced at them, then back to him. She wasn’t saying anything. Was she mad at him? That was a dumb question, of course she was mad. Silicobra ducked his head in shame. “I’m really sorry,” he mumbled.

Seconds ticked by before he felt Sableye brush past him. She skulked over to her lab and started sorting the various bottles and ingredients, something she always did when stressed. She let the silence drag out for a while before finally breaking it. “You want my forgiveness?” she asked, glancing at him over her shoulder. “Then go back out there and get more ingredients. I know you can do better than that.” She jerked her head towards the half-empty sack, still laying on the ground where he had dropped it.

A bubbly feeling welled up in Silicobra’s chest. She wasn’t mad at him! Well, she was, but she said she’d forgive him! “You’ve got it, partner. I’ll bring back as much stuff as I can carry,” he promised. “And while I’m gone… maybe think about what I said? Please?”

“Oh, believe me, I’ll be thinking about it.” Sableye turned back to her work, apparently dismissing him. He let out a triumphant little cheer and set off to do as she said, head held high. Sableye waited until he was gone before beginning to gather her supplies. She’d thought about his words alright, and it didn’t take her long to come to a conclusion. Silicobra had crossed a line. He’d made it clear that she could no longer trust him.

It was time she got rid of him, once and for all.

Six Days Ago

Silicobra stared at the destruction around him in mute horror. Bits of shrapnel were still falling from the sky, smacking into the ground or crashing into nearby buildings. Members of the small village they’d been visiting were gathering around to gawk at him and his partner, their shocked and terrified expressions mirroring his own. Red and blue lights flashed in the distance as Magnezone’s squad approached their location.

It took him a moment to realize Sableye was saying something. He turned his head towards her, finally tearing his attention away from the chaos surrounding him. She clutched at him, looking terrified. “Silicobra, listen, you know I didn’t mean to do this, right?” she hissed. “I-I’m a good person, I wouldn’t- I would never… Please, you know it was an accident, right? Partner?”

That word was what finally snapped Silicobra out of his trance. The two of them had been living together for weeks, and she had never, ever referred to him as “partner” before. She must have truly been scared out of her mind. He slithered closer to her and gave her a reassuring bump on the shoulder with his head. “I know you didn’t mean to,” he said, offering her a weak smile. “I trust you more than anything, partner.”

“BOTH OF YOU, FREEZE.”

Magnezone had arrived. Sableye glanced at him fearfully, and Silicobra felt his chest swell with determination. He knew what he had to do. He bumped her arm with his head one more time. “Do you remember what I told you when we met?” he whispered. “I said I’d do anything for you. Now it’s time for me to keep that promise.”

Before Sableye had a chance to protest, Silicobra approached Magnezone. “I’m the one that did this,” he declared, loudly enough that even the gawkers watching them could hear. “I’m a traveling alchemist, and one of my potions backfired. I apologize for the destruction I’ve caused. If you want to arrest me, I won’t resist.”

Magnezone seemed to process that for a moment before turning towards Sableye. “AND YOUR FRIEND HERE?”

“She’s an explorer,” Silicobra said, drawing the officer’s attention back to himself. “We meet up every now and then so she can sell me potion ingredients. She tried to stop me from mixing them in town, but I didn’t listen.”

Magnezone was clearly doubtful, but Silicobra was able to answer his questions smoothly and sincerely, and Sableye played along well with his story. It didn’t take much to convince the officer that Silicobra was the culprit and Sableye was little more than a bystander. After interrogating the two of them, Magnezone took him into custody and told his partner that she was free to go.

The little snake pokemon slithered carefully around the debris, sticking close to Magnezone's side as he was led towards the town jail. He looked tiny and frail next to the hulking steel type, but he did his best to seem brave. As they passed through the worst of the destruction, Silicobra cast a final look at his partner, the person he cared about more than anyone else in the world.

A wide, toothy grin was plastered over Sableye's face. All traces of remorse and concern were gone. It took Silicobra’s shell-shocked brain a moment to rationalize what he was seeing. I get it. She must be hiding her concern to help me stay calm. He tried to do the same, and plastered on a shaky imitation of his usual smile. "It'll be okay," he called. "I promise I’ll be fine. You'll come bail me out, right?"

Sableye said nothing. Instead she lifted a hand in a mocking salute, rictus grin growing ever wider as Magnezone continued dragging him away. Why was she staring at him like that? Why wasn't she saying anything? Everything had gone wrong, so… why did she look so happy?

The two lost sight of each other as Silicobra was dragged through the crowd. Most of the bystanders were looking him, some with curiosity, others with rage or fear. Silicobra's heart felt like lead. He and his partner were supposed to be heroes, not criminals. Did he do something wrong? Did Sableye…?

No, he couldn't start doubting himself, or his partner. She would help him get out of jail, and then everything would go back to normal.

She is going to come back for me... right?

Three Days Ago

Sableye’s plan had gone off without a hitch, and she couldn’t be happier. Living on her own was harder than she’d expected now that there was no one to help her gather food and supplies, but she could finally do whatever she wanted without that fucking snake breathing down her neck. Sure, she’d probably have to get a job or something soon so she could afford to feed herself, but at least she got to relax in the meantime.

Unfortunately her vacation from social interaction didn’t last nearly long enough. As a Sableye her diet was unbelievably expensive, which meant that unless she started going into dungeons to find her own gems and ingredients, she was going to have to start using her glassware as an emergency food supply. That would eventually make brewing potions impossible, which meant losing even more of her income, which meant more starvation…

It wouldn’t end well for her, to say the least.

Faced with no better options, Sableye started searching for some kind of group that would pay her to do alchemy. She was still technically a beginner, but surely there was someone out there desperate enough to hire her. It took some time, but eventually she tracked down rumors of a new Guild that had just opened in a cozy little place called Capim Town. “New” meant “hiring.” Just the opportunity she’d been looking for.

Sableye wasted no time traveling to the Guild, where she personally introduced herself to the Guildmaster, a meowstic named Lliam. Kind of weird that his name was so human-sounding, but it was probably a coincidence. Sableye had just finished pitching her skills to him when the snickering of a couple nearby pokemon caught her attention. She was sure she misheard them at first, but then one of them repeated what they said.

It was a meme. A fucking meme from the human internet, something that the pokemon in this world shouldn’t even know existed. Sableye’s head whipped towards the two of them, and they broke off mid-laughter, finally noticing that they had an audience. Lliam swiftly stepped between them and Sableye, drawing her attention back to himself. “Sorry about them. Pokemon in our Guild have a weird sense of humor,” he chuckled.

Sableye ignored him, focusing on the pokemon that had quoted the meme, a linoone wearing some kind of mailman outfit. “Did you learn that from fucking 4chan?” she asked.

The others were silent for a moment before exploding into activity, crowding around Sableye and throwing all kinds of questions at her. Are you a human, too? How long have you been here? Why didn’t you say something? Do you know what baneposting is?

It took a while, but Sableye managed to explain her circumstances, carefully leaving out a few choice details. It’s not like it really mattered that she didn’t mention Silicobra; even if the guy got out of jail, he would never find her here. The snake pokemon slipped out of her mind entirely as she found herself actually enjoying her conversation with the other humans, and before she knew it, she’d been enlisted as the Guild Alchemist. They even offered to let her set up a little alchemy station inside their headquarters.

Things were finally starting to look up.

Elsewhere

As his days behind bars turned into weeks, Silicobra’s stubborn belief in his partner died a slow and miserable death. Sableye wasn’t coming back for him. She never even cared about him in the first place, did she? Hell, the explosion probably wasn’t even an accident. She dropped that potion on purpose because she knew he would take the fall for her, and he did, because he was a star-struck idiot. Now she was probably miles away, enjoying her new life without him, while he rotted away in jail for her crime.

He was so, so stupid. Humans were nothing like the stories said. Heroes that saved the world? Yeah, right. More like parasitic leeches, using the people around them and throwing them away when there was nothing left to take. Silicobra’s sorrow turned to anger, and then to hatred. He wasn’t going to forget this. When he got out, he would make sure that others knew the truth: that humans are heartless, soulless monsters. In the cold darkness of his cell, he made a new promise to the person he once thought was his partner.

She would pay for betraying him.