Altered Bonds Extras

  Omake 17 — Mind Blown

  (Best read after Chapter 17)

  (Canon? — No)

  “Lady Vulpix?”

  The strange, velvety voice made Eira the Vulpix hack out her half-formed Powder Snow in surprise, spinning around. She stood on the dusty dirt field at the center of Gabite’s plot of land, finding a figure waiting at the unpaved entrance to his home. The growing darkness of the evening shrouded her, but the rotund yellow body and duck bill, never mind her Pokemon language, gave away the Psyduck’s species.

  She had her arms clasped around her head, likely suffering from some minor migraine. It was a common occurrence for Psyduck that happened every once in a while, she’d been taught. “Nice place you have here,” she said, striding over and taking in the cottage grounds.” Looks cozy. Quiet too. As silent as death, a Dusknoir might say in jest. It is yours, yes?”

  Her mannerisms felt off to Eira, her gait too stiff and her face too rigid. The way she spoke didn’t sound right either, though Eira couldn’t put her vulpine paw on it. “Uh, no?” she said. “I’m sorry—”

  “So I see. Such a place of mystique and wonder you have here, with the songs and trills of adventure ringing in a picturesque harmony.” A strangled giggle left the Psyduck. “A perfect place for the start to a hero’s journey, for her to prepare before her war against fate itself unravels, and all the forces of evil in between. Perhaps you see the poetry?”

  Okay, yeah, there was the problem. The Psyduck was a little cuckoo in the head. Why was she talking like an insane grandma sage, and more importantly, why did her words seem to unnervingly hint at her actual situation? she wondered.

  Regardless, the Psyduck was weirding her out. Eira edged away, but she advanced, staying a short distance within range of her. “Now, a small request, if I may, oh lady of the cottage,” said the duck. Her arms clutched her forehead a little tighter, her face muscles tensing a little more. “I am on the road, you see, and night seems to approach. And as the old saying goes, one must never mine at night, lest the creepies come to bite.”

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  “Y-you’re going mining?” questioned Eira.

  “Mining? Yes, I was a miner once. But then they put me in a cave, a deep cave with rats, and—” Psyduck shook her head. “Well, that was a lifetime ago, when I worked with Steve the Garganacl. T'was a mad fellow, that one. You do not mind me staying, my fair lady, that I may find rest from my affairs and my nightmares? The road grows cold with a foul mood, and a sanctuary will do me some much good.”

  Maybe more than a little cuckoo. And weirdly lyrical too, her Psyduck-speech translating into what sounded like rhymes in human speech. How did that even work anyway? “Uh, I-I mean, I wish I could?” said Eira, backing up a little more. “But I’m, well, not the owner of this place, h-he’s not home right now. He should be coming back from Berrypark Town soon, though—”

  “Splendid to hear, milady. Your hospitality truly knows no bounds.” Psyduck began to walk past, heading toward the cottage. “You have a guest room, would you not? I wouldn’t wish to impose upon your own bedroom.”

  “Huh? W-wait, stop!” Eira hurried to block her, tails fanned out. “I didn’t say—”

  “Ah, of course, how rude of me! Who am I to take advantage of your generosity?” Psyduck spoke over her, letting out a little titter. Her hands gripped her skull, veins beginning to protrude from her forehead. “Allow me to offer you a gift, as thanks for your trouble.”

  The longer the conversation went, the more Eira grew nervous. Not only because the Psyduck kept ignoring whatever she said and the trouble she could cause in the cottage, but also with how viciously she was clutching her head. Not to mention that said head was literally beginning to glow, not too unlike her own Extrasensory attacks that formed during stress. Why couldn’t Gabite show up now? Could she get Lucario, Togetic, or Shaymin outside to help? “I-I don’t think I could accept a gift—”

  “Nonsense. Here, I have a special trick I’ve picked up from an Ultra Beast. Have you ever heard of a move called Mind Blown?”

  Eira blanched. Then readied a Disable, only to lock up in horror as Psyduck’s eyes glowed up faster than hers, Disabling her Disable. The crazy duck began to laugh as her head set itself alight with burning, sparking lights, and Eira ran for her life, stumbling—

  Gabite let out an involuntary gasp at his cottage, its walls charred. Grass blades on fire, and leaves of nearby trees burnt to a crisp. Patches of bark too. Lucario, Togetic, and Land Forme Shaymin were hurrying about, containing the flames with their moves.

  Dirt had been upturned at the epicenter, at the base of the hill leading up to the cottage. There a heavily burnt Psyduck was huddled into herself, quietly whimpering and babbling to herself. “What?” blurted Gabite, before biting his lip as he took notice of Eira.

  The disguised human was slumped upon the hillside, a leg dangling over and her fur scorched all over. Most of it was healed over, soaked in Life Dew that Lucario and Togetic must’ve applied to her. She’d gotten away up to the cottage — or perhaps the explosion had tossed her there.

  She coughed. Then cocked an eye at Gabite, putting on a dejected scowl. “I live in a world where crazy ducks know Ultra Beast moves,” she said.

  The Psyduck heard. “I-I can’t stop it!” she cried out, covering her face. “It happens every time! I don’t know what gets into me, it just does!”