Knight

When Lola woke up, the first thing she felt was rage.

 

Why? Because she knew immediately something was wrong, and SOMEONE was to blame.

 

She wasn’t supposed to be sitting in a cold muddy ditch surrounded by white mountains. She wasn’t supposed to be freezing and alone. Her body wasn’t supposed to be feeling weird like this.

 

Then she started taking herself in, and her rage surged drastically.

 

Brown fluffy fur. A poofy pom-pom tail. A smaller, far curvier body than she was used to.

 

And oh god, were those things at the edge of her vision her EARS?

 

She clenched her fist, and yelled at the sky, “AUGH!!! CURSE YOU GODS!!! I DID NOT ASK TO BE ISEKAIIED INTO A CUTESY ANTHRO RABBIT!!!!”

 

Then she blinked, and realized she did not remember anything else.

 

“Oh, this is unfair!”, she cried, “Now I can’t even remember NOT being a cutesy rabbit! I hate this!!”

 

She buried in her face in her hands (paws?) and got a faceful of cotton cream fur, which formed a thick cuff around her wrists.

 

“Ugh! Bleh!”, Lola cried, spitting fluff, “Damn it!”

 

She sighed and sat there, her rage thinning out as she began to try and figure out what to do next.

 

As she sat there, she heard the sounds of hooves tapping against stone, and looking up she saw a strange armored horse appeared, blazing with flames. Upon its back, looking nervous, was some sort of blue dog. They were also in armor, and were holding a sword.

 

He smiled at her and offered a paw. “Need some help, damsel?”

 

The next thing he knew he was lying on the ground, the horse nickering and Lola glaring, fist clenched.

 

“I’m not a damsel!”, she snarled.

 

The dog yelped, “Sorry, sorry!”

 

He mumbled, “Man, I really am not doing well with the chivalry act…”

 

Lola huffed and stepped back. “In case you couldn’t tell, I am NOT in a good mood right now.”

 

“Uh, yeah, I can tell…”, mumbled the dog, pulling himself up.

 

Lola looked around. “So where the hell am I, anyways?”

 

“Uh…” The dog glanced around. “The White Mountains?”

 

Lola looked up at the mountains. They were very white.

 

“Yeah, I can tell.”, she grumbled, “White mountains. Very obvious.”

 

The dog sighed. “Who are you, anyways? Besides very rude?”

 

Lola glared at him. “You first.”

 

The dog puffed up his chest. “I am Sir Hiro of the Pearl Knights! I fight for honor, glory, and valor!”

 

He scratched behind his ears nervously. “Although this is only my first mission…”

 

Lola frowned. “Okay. I’m Lola. I appear to be an isekai protagonist, because I just woke up here with no memory and a different body.”

 

Hiro blinked.

 

“Uh, what?”, he asked.

 

Lola huffed and crossed her arms. “I said I appear to be an isekai protagonist, because I just woke up here with no memory and a different body. And I’m VERY angry about it.”

 

Hiro blinked again.

 

“Okay. That sounds, uh, crazy. But I’m not exactly tempted to argue with the angry Lopunny.”, he stated.

 

“Lopunny. That’s what I am?”, asked Lola.

 

“Uh, yeah?”, replied Hiro, “Why, what were you before? A human?”

 

“Yes.”, Lola answered.

 

Hiro blinked a third time.

 

“Oooo-kay.”, he replied, “Aren’t those supposed to be fairy tales?”

 

Lola rose an eyebrow. “Do I look like a fairy tale to you?”

 

“Uh, no. No you do not.”, Hiro replied quickly.

 

“That’s good.”, Lola replied, “Now, I need to know exactly where I’ve ended up.”

 

Hiro nervously thought for a moment. “Well, uh, this is the land of Archaia! A really ancient continent filled with magic and eighteen different kingdoms of Pokemon. We’re in the White Mountains, on the border between the White Kingdom and the Pearl Domain. This is not exactly a fun place to be…cold and full of hostiles.”

 

Lola looked around. “Not seeing any hostiles.”

 

Hiro sighed. “Well, obviously not. This road is frequently patrolled by guards from the Pearl Domain. You’d have to be pretty stupid to attack something here.”

 

He rubbed his muzzle where Lola had punched him. “Yeah…”

 

Lola glared at him. “Don’t make me punch you again.”

 

“Okay okay!”, Hiro yelped, “Anyways, I am a Pearl Knight – one of the special elite forces the current regent has been training up. We are skilled with blade and spell, and are very difficult to defeat!”

 

Lola rose an eyebrow. “I see.”

 

Hiro lowered his head. “Well, uh, I’m not particularly good yet…”

 

Lola almost felt bad. Almost.

 

“So, you great and noble Pearl Knight…”, she continued, “Where exactly can a lovely lady like me go to figure out what happened to her and how to get back to her original life?”

 

‘Whatever that was.’, she thought silently.

 

Hiro frowned. “Hmm…well, you could come with me to Palkaia. Biggest city nearby, and filled with knowledge. I’m sure we can find something for you there.”

 

He thought for a moment. “You seem really tough and scary. Maybe you could do well as a knight.”

 

Lola scoffed. “You’ve barely known me five minutes.”

 

Hiro shrugged. “Just saying.”

 

Lola thought for a moment.

 

“Suppose I did go with you.”, she frowned, “Who’s to say you won’t turn me over to the authorities for ‘assault of an officer’?”

 

Hiro looked pained. “Why do you think I’d do that? I’m not petty like Galvian.”

 

‘Galvian…’, Lola thought, ‘Sounds like this guy has a bully. Not that I’m surprised.’

 

“Okay fine.”, she said, “Next, how long is the trip to the city going to take? And won’t you be needed here?”

 

Hiro answered, “Palkaia’s only about a day’s travel away. Someone should come by soon to switch with me, too. My three days here are up, and I’ll be needed back in the city.”

 

Lola nodded. “Huh, alright then.”

 

She looked around, and frowned deeply. “Wait, where’s your horse?”

 

“Horse?”, asked Hiro, confused. Then he looked around.

 

He gasped sharply. “Fierra! Where did she go?!”

 

“You should probably go find her.”, Lola stated.

 

“Will you help me search please!?”, Hiro pleaded.

 

Lola blinked. “Uh, fine. I suppose you are planning on being my escort…”

 

Hiro beamed. “Thank you!”

 

Lola shrugged, looking around. She didn’t think it would be hard to find the horse, but as she looked around she realized it was going to be a lot harder than she thought. The road had left no tracks, and as she watched snow began to fall.

 

“That’s not good.”, she commented.

 

Hiro looked nervous. Then he leaned towards the ground and started sniffing.

 

“…what are you doing?”, Lola asked.

 

Hiro looked surprised. “Why, trying to find her scent trail, of course!? What did you think I was doing?”

 

“I…”, Lola’s mind blanked out. Stupid memory loss. “Doesn’t matter.”

 

Hiro went back to sniffing.

 

“I think she went that way.”, he said, pointing down the road as snowflakes fell around him, “Why would she run off now…? She doesn’t do that very often.”

 

Lola wanted to ask why Fierra even did that at all, but she kept quiet. The two took off down the road, trying to pick up the horse’s trail.

 

As she walked, she couldn’t help but realize how weird everything felt. This cutesy bunny body was messed up. Her ears should not be that long and floofy. Her feet should not be shaped like that. She should not look so sweet and small.

 

The snow seemed to intensify the farther they walked, and Hiro kept looking around nervously. “Something’s messed up here…”, he murmured, shivering.

 

Lola then spotted Fierra ahead. The horse was standing defiantly, facing off against something in the snow. Lola couldn’t make out what it was.

 

Then it moved, and Lola nearly jumped.

 

It was a giant white leopard, with spots made of ice and two giant fangs that appeared to be runed swords. It snarled and lunged at Fierra, slashing at her with claws of ice. They scraped against her armor, leaving large gouges in it. She whinnied in pain, swinging her fiery hooves at its head, but the leopard had already leaped back.

 

“Holy Palkia…”, whispered Hiro, “A Ruin? Out here!?”

 

“What the heck is a Ruin?”, asked Lola.

 

But Hiro was already dashing forward, drawing his sword and shouting defiantly. The leopard roared as the dog raced for it, and lashed forward on a stream of ice. Hiro yelped as he was swept up in it, and smashed into the side of the valley.

 

Then the leopard turned towards Lola, its breath frosting in the snowy air. Its soulless eyes sank deep into Lola’s, and she shivered.

 

It howled and charged for her, and she shouted defiantly. As it came for her, time seemed to slow down. She leaped to the side, swinging one of her new powerful legs and somehow managing to kick it in the head.

 

The two went flying in opposite directions, Lola crashing into the snow while the leopard skidded across the road. But it was back on its paws in a flash, and Lola was not nearly as fast. It pounced on her, burying her in thick freezing snow.

 

Lola squirmed and kicked and punched, trying to escape. Her fist connected with something metal, and she heard a snap. The leopard howled so loud Lola felt defended, and dark energy blasted into her, nearly tearing her apart. But she withstood it, and her hand gripped onto that strange metal object.

 

She burst free from the snow, lunging forward and stabbing forth with the metal object. It sank into the snowy body of the leopard, and it howled again. Lola winced, her vision filled with black. She stabbed again, and again, until finally she collapsed, the echoing dark cries of her foe assaulting her mind.

 

She proceeded to faint, buried in the snow…(-o-)

 

When she awoke, she was shivering, wrapped up in a pink blanket. She wanted to shriek with rage over such a girly color, but she was too cold to do so.

 

Blinking, she realized she was in a cave, warmed by the presence of a sleeping Fierra. Hiro stood near the entrance, giving her a concerned look. Another Pokemon stood by him – a giant brown-and-orange rock monster, dressed in similar armor and looking stoic and impressive.

 

“Thank goodness I got to you two before that thing finished you off.”, rumbled the rock monster.

 

Hiro explained, “This is my friend, Sir Rhydian. He is one of the highest-ranked Pearl Knights and vouched for my position in the order. He was coming to check on me and switch out when he saw the fight.”

 

Rhydian nodded. “After you passed out, Hiro managed to stab the feral. The thing was in a true frenzy at that point, and nearly tore the mountains down on top of you all. Luckily, I had just arrived, and managed to drive it away. Then I rescued you and got you here.”

 

“Th-thank you-ou…”, Lola stammered, her shivering messing with her words.

 

Rhydian nodded. “Hiro told me everything. You are in quite a predicament. However, your efforts here today were admirable. You not only held off a Ruin, you severely wounded it.”

 

Hiro nodded, and walked over. He placed something in Lola’s lap.

 

One of the runeblade fangs, snapped two-thirds of the way up and stained with black blood.

 

“You literally punched out one of its teeth and stabbed it repeatedly with it.”, Hiro said, his voice filled with both awe and horror.

 

Rhydian nodded. “A truly impressive feat. Not many would dare face a Ruin with their bare hands. Even fewer would be able to do that. That was very brave of you.”

 

“M-more like ve-very stupid of me-me.”, Lola muttered.

 

Rhydian shrugged. “Stupidity and bravery often go hand-in-hand. It does not change how impressive this was. When we return to Palkaia, I will hire a smith to forge that into a proper blade. Afterwards…I do not see what would stop you from becoming a knight.”

 

Lola thought it over, and shrugged.

 

“So-sounds fantas-tastic.”, she commented.

 

Hiro nodded reverently. “You definitely proved yourself worthy today.”

 

Rhydian’s face took on a more serious turn. “While we drove it away, the presence of a Ruin is very bad news. I will have to report this to the regent. Ruins are powerful, relentless, and cannot be killed by any known means. If there is one stalking the borders of our kingdom, we will have to deploy our finest warriors to drive it off.”

 

Lola opened her mouth to ask what exactly a Ruin was again, but Hiro swept in with an answer.

 

“There are four Ruins.”, he explained, “Ting-Lu, the Broken Vessel; Chien-Pao, the Frozen Swords; Chi-Yu, the Blazing Beads; and Wo-Chien, the Deathly Tablets. Supposedly they are remnants of four ancient fallen kingdoms, beings forged of their sins and sorrows. They are immortal and relentless, bringing ruin to every land they appear in. They seek only destruction and disaster, and every time they show up it foretells doom.”

 

Rhydian nodded. “Recently our spies have sent word that the other three are also active and moving again, all across the continent. It’s bad enough when only one is awake – all four suggests something very bad is coming indeed. And if the seven stars that fell last night are any indication, it’s coming soon.”

 

Lola shivered. “That sounds ominous.”

 

“It is.”, Rhydian agreed, “Which is why we need to get you two to the city as soon as possible. I don’t like these omens, and I would rest better knowing you two are safe there.”

 

Hiro looked anxious. “But Galvian is there.”

 

Rhydian sighed. “Galvian is the least of your worries. Besides, you have a very fierce companion with you now.”

 

Lola grinned viciously.

 

“I suppose you’re right.”, sighed Hiro.

 

Rhydian looked outside at the rapidly falling snow. “We should get moving. I do not like the thought of Chien-Pao coming back for vengeance.”

 

Hiro shuddered. “Yeah, you’re right.”

 

He climbed onto Fierra, who nickered snoozily and stood up. Hiro held out a paw to Lola, who tentatively took it. Her other paw curled tightly around the runed fang and the blanket as Hiro pulled her up, and Rhydian gave a relieved sigh.

 

“Let’s go.”, he said, and the group set off into the storm. (-o-)