Itâs finally over⌠right?
Returning home is difficult, and Ridley is upset.
Characters: Ridley, Aster, Pearl
Warnings: Pokemon Legends Arceus intro-level spoilers, mental breakdowns
Wordcount: 1,222
Vibe: Ridley has a mental breakdown and does something stupid
AN:
i havent actually seen the footage for the intro ive only had it described but like. call me pokemon move future sight
anyways addtl context: like, directly post endgame. ridley gets jealous and their feelings overtake them, but with no way to properly expel the feelings they get overwhelming
idk thought id write an intro to the legends arc that i wont write for another 6 months probably. aka ridley has to defeat their inner demons in a fractured reality past while arceus eats popcorn bc they got their emotions back
its not 3am but im still not revising this
Edit:
The ending is retconned because at the time I hadn’t actually seen the intro. In-universe Laventon finds Ridley, not Adaman.
And with that, a conflict at the heart of the universe was resolved.
The words of forgiveness. The excited cheers. The reunion of the fated couple.
And so, Ridley made their silent exit. They didnât belong here.
The city was eerie, due in part to being partially razed, as well as completely evacuated. Ridley walked alone for a bit, until they found one of the many Pokemon Centers around Hau’oli City.
âThank fuck, they didnât shut off the routerâŚâ they mumbled, seeing as their phone now had reception again.
But the effects on communication speed from the fabric of the universe being torn apart were still strong. It took 2 minutes for Ridleyâs feed to attempt refreshing before it spat out an error.
They simply sighed.
Fatigue started to set in, and Ridley found themselves a room in the abandoned Pokecenter to take a nap.
Itâs funny, right?
How they get a happy ending and you donât?
After she ruined everything for you?
Right Ridley? Ridley?
âRidleyâŚ?â a womanâs voice called through the halls of the center.
Ridley woke up in a cold sweat, in combination from the words repeated in their dream, and from hearing a voice calling their name that was unfamiliar. The voiceâs accent was very Hoennese sounding.
Ridley only knew some of the language shared between Kanto, Johto, and sometimes Hoenn from Kibi – hoping, it was a safe bet for language choice, they called out;
âHe⌠llo?â they said, their voice cracking as they rarely ever spoke loudly, if at all.
Footsteps echoed through the hall, and a woman with reddish-brown hair and a yellow hair bow walked in. She was followed by a woman Ridley did recognize – that being the emissary of Cresselia, Aster Braginski.
Ridleyâs expression soured seeing her. While Aster never really had ill-will towards Ridley, she was still associated with a deep wound that never healed.
âWhat do you fucking want from me.â Ridley said rather quickly.
The woman with the bow mumbled something in Hoennese to Aster, and Aster nodded before speaking.
âYou werenât around for when Hoopa offered to take everyone back to their homes, Pearl over here noticed you were missing.â Aster said with a pause.
âShe was worried you might not have a way back, as Hoopa was the one that got you here in the first place.â
Ridley didnât say anything. Aster waited for a response, but when she was met with silence, she continued.
âI⌠think my shop here wasnât destroyed by Ramiel, at least. It has networked locations that can take you to most major cities.â
Ridley was still silent, but got up from the bed with a heavy sigh.
âOk.â they finally said, as Pearl nodded, said something in Hoennese, and poofed away in a puff of sparkles.
It wasnât a long walk, but still long enough to wind Ridley. Aster did attempt to make conversation, wondering how Ridley had been doing, but quickly took the hint that Ridley didnât want to talk.
âYes! Thank goodness!â Aster smiled, seeing as her corner shop hadnât been vaporized.
She opened the door for Ridley, and as they walked inside, the smell was nauseating.
Not the actual smell, but⌠the memories.
The reminder of sitting motionless for what felt like 10 minutes, but in reality wasâŚ
âRidley?â Aster asked, noticing Ridleyâs odd expression and stance.
Ridley didnât say anything. They needed to get out of here.
As Aster closed the door behind her, Ridley eyed a dial that was written in a language Ridley had never seen before. Aster noticed this, and spoke.
âOh, thatâs the dial that controls where the door will open to manually⌠you live in Unova now, right?â Aster asked in a kind voice, but Ridleyâs brain had become frenzied simply by being in this place after the grand battle they just experienced.
Itâs funny, right?
These people get to live and be happy now, without guilt crushing them. Without knowing you killed them. Itâs over now for them, but not for you.
Why canât you just turn it back? Canât you?
Youâre not scared, are you?
âBe QUIET.â Ridley shouted almost uncharacteristically, before fiddling with the dial, setting it to what looked the most like âNimbasaâ – though it was mostly random. Ridley decided itâd be a problem for later.
They shoved Aster aside and ran out the door.
The thought kept intruding, and Ridley kept running – almost aimlessly, as their glasses had become too fogged up with tears to properly see anything.
Just think of how much you could fix.
As Ridley ran, they started noticing it felt like they werenât actually going anywhere, like the groundâs texture was changing beneath their feet.
But they kept running, until they tripped and fell over a rock, landing face first in some grass.
Ridley didnât want to get up. They didnât want to do anything. But they knew they were probably in some kind of city park due to the grass, so Ridley figured theyâd just pause time until they could get themselves together.
But when they called to pause⌠the wind kept blowing. The birds kept chirping overhead.
The air smelled different too. This wasnât city air.
Begrudgingly, Ridley sat up from being face-down in the dirt. They were afraid to open their eyes, so they kept them closed while they rubbed the tears and dirt off their glasses with their shirt. They put their glasses back on, and nervously opened their eyes.
They were in an open field. There was no city to be seen, the only road that looked to only exist because of grass wear. In the distance, there was simply rolling fields and forests as long as the eye could see. And in the very distance, Mt. Coronet.
Ridley felt nauseous.
They scrambled to check their phone, which was set to the same time as when they were with Aster. Though, they did have a text they had missed – from Kibi.
>Hey, I know itâs only been a few hours, but please be safe out there. We all believe in you Ridley! Youâve got a big kiss waiting for you when you get back, you know :3
Ridley desperately tried to reply, but they repeatedly were notified of no service.
Did I go back too far?
I fucked it all up.
Iâm never going to see any of them ever again.
Ridley completely broke down, sobbing into their sweater. Even after it seemed that they over-expended their control of time, the passage of time seemed distorted nonetheless.
It felt like they were truly and utterly alone. At least⌠until some voices could be heard in the distance.
It⌠kind of sounded like Sinnohan? At least with a very, very heavy Kantonian accent, and odd pronunciation even for someone with an accent.
As the voices got closer, so did noises of pokemon – Ridley could hear hoofbeats, and trill of a leafeon as it came up to them and sniffed.
âItâs a person?â
âThey sure are dressed funny.â
âAre they even alive?â
Ridley lifted their face up from their arm to see a man with his hair in a loosely done high ponytail looking down at them.
âHow on earth did you get here? You look beat up. Come with me and my team – youâll be safe, I promise.â
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