The Emeralds Guardian

A Pokemon fanfic


Emma Roldin swung her sword with all her might.  She was engaged in one of the most important Pokemon battles of her life; so important, in fact, that when her last Pokemon fainted, she didn't flee back to a Pokemon center, but took up her blade to finish the fight herself.  

Her opponent, a grizzly Ursaring, was very surprised that a human was attacking him directly, giving the woman a chance to strike two quick blows, leaving deep gashes in the bear's right arm.  

The Pokemon's trainer, an imposing man dressed in blue, was equally surprised, but regained his composure much quicker.  "Ursaring!  Don't waste time!  Slash her!"

Emma swung her sword again, slashing the Ursaring's left paw as it dove for her.  She looked at the man in disgust.  She and Sir Conrad had been racing to the treasure of the desert, the Emerald of Life, though for very different reasons.  Living her whole life in these desert regions, she knew that the gem's mystic properties sustained the oasis it was buried under, keeping the unnaturally pure water flowing constantly to the plants and Pokemon above.

Sir Conrad, however, didn't believe the legends.  He sought the gem for nothing more than easy money.  The bear swiped at her head again.  Emma ducked and slashed it again.  She was not going to let it be easy for him.

The two of them had finally met outside the cave that led under the oasis.  She had tried to reason with him at first, but when that failed, she let loose her Pokemon.  Unfortunately, he was a far better battler then her, when it came to Pokemon.  When it came to swords, however, she was certain she had him beat.

The Ursaring stumbled towards her weakly, desperate to land a blow.  She ran behind it, stabbing it the leg.  The bear, unable to take it anymore, collapsed, as its owner called it back into its Pokeball.  

"I win, Sir Conrad."  Emma said, panting.  "Leave this place at once."

Sir Conrad smiled.  "Oh, dear, naïve, Emma.  Have you forgotten how to count?  While your participation in this battle was a surprise to me, you have still only beaten five of my Pokemon.  I may still call one more…"  He grinned.  "And I choose you, Electivire!"

He opened his final Pokeball, releasing a tall, hair beast of a Pokemon.  The yellow ape clenched its fists, electricity crackling around them.

Emma growled.  "Fine, I'll take this one down just like I did the Ursaring."  

She swung her sword.  "Electivire!  Catch it and don't let go!"  Sir Conrad ordered.  The beast complied, tightly grabbing the blade of Emma's sword in one hand, ignoring the pain.  Emma, still holding her sword's hilt, looked on in shock.  Sir Conrad grinned wickedly.  "Now…  Thundershock…"

Pain shot through Emma's body as electricity coursed through the sword and into her.  She dropped to the ground.  It hurt to move, even to breathe.  The Electivire stood over her, grinning, as it dropped her sword.  

"Don't worry Miss Roldin."  Sir Conrad said.  "Unlike you, I have no interest in being charged with assault when justified self-defense will do, so after I collect my prize, I will take you to a hospital, where you can lick your wounds before being imprisoned."

"You're nothing but a rotten thief."  Emma spat.

"Ah, my dear girl."  Sir Conrad chuckled.  "Do you have any documentation proving that this gem belongs to anyone?  Of course not.  Thus, it's 'finders keepers,' my friend."  He laughed as he headed into the cave.  He turned around for a moment. "Electivire, make sure she stays down."  He ordered, before disappearing into the darkness of the cave.

Emma was furious.  She knew she had to do something, or many of the Pokemon in this area would die.  But when even the slightest movement hurt, and a brutal Electivire was watching her every move, what could she do?  She felt helpless.

A whisper came through the wind to her.  "Would you be willing to give up all you have to save this oasis?"
Under normal circumstances, Emma might have questioned this, but she was in too much pain to think straight. "Yes, I would.  This Oasis was where I spent so much of my childhood."  She barely whispered.  "I'd do anything to save it."

"Very well."  As the voice vanished, the wind became harsher, sand whipping violently around Emma and the Electivire.  The beat winced, unable to grasp how to handle this apparent attack from all sides.  In spite of this, Emma slowly began to feel revived, the pain leaving her body, replaced by a sense of power.  

The sand began to scratch off her skin, but she didn't bleed.  For under her skin, a new skin had grown in, covered in beautiful green scales.  She could feel her spine getting longer, her neck becoming long and flexible, and a tail growing from the base of her spine, long and thick, rings of darker green scales wrapping around it, and extending from its tip were three diamond shaped fans.
Her torso began to shift, becoming wider at the bottom, narrowing further up.  Similarly, her legs grew thick with muscle, and her arms become short and thin.  Two of her fingers and toes on each hand and foot shrunk away as the rest grew claws.

Her jaws grew into a short snout, her teeth sharpening into small fangs.  Her hair grew longer, turning green and hardening into two horns.  Large, translucent red goggles grew around her eyes.  Finally, two large, flat, diamond-shaped wings grew from her back, each green with a red outline.  

Emma realized her human life was over, but that no longer mattered to her.  She was the guardian of the oasis now, and that was all that mattered.  She rose up to her new height of six feet, flapping her wings experimentally, before easily lifting off the ground with a melodious buzz.  As her "song" played, the sandstorm died down, revealing her new form to the battered and confused Electivire.

Emma stood still, deciding to let the ape make the first move.  After it regained its bearings, it changed up electricity in its fist, before striking the dragon in front of it.  

Nothing happened, aside from a hint of a grin appearing on Emma's face.

The Electivire, showing even more confusion, hit her again, and again, each blow widening Emma's smile more.

Panicking, the Ape released a blast of Thunder from its wiry tails.  Emma responded to this with a high pitched laugh.

The Electivire turned and ran, but before it could make it two meters, the ground shook, rose, and buckled underneath it, throwing it this way and that before the beast finally fainted.  Emma wasted no more time, and quickly flew through the entrance to the cave of the Emerald of Life, navigating its twisting stone passages before arriving at the jewel's alter, where Sir Conrad stood, ready to take the gem.

Hearing Emma's buzzing, he turned around just in time to see an enraged Flygon lift him off the ground.

"Don't worry Sir Conrad."  The guardian assured him, in a voice not unlike Emma's.  "The desert doesn't believe in committing assault when justified self-defense will do."