Writing Contest #1 - Submissions Thread

[Akai Shi-Koret]

This is the submission's thread for the Writing Contest #1. All of your stories should be posted here,in the standard Gaia font and size. Make sure the formatting is as stated in the main contest thread.

People who have submitted:
1. VincentValentine Limitbrk
2. Belzayne
3. gabriel sama
4. Kat the Strange
5. Kenocka
6.
7.  

[VVLB]

Fluffy is very cute
And he is also strong
He is quite smart to boot
Plus his tail is cute and long.

That Growlithe is my Fluffy
And he loves me a lot
He is quite a playful puppy
And his love cannot be bought.

We we walk through a town
People stop and stare
Nobody can watch with a frown
When his tail wags through the air.

Fluffy is adorable
Even with a frown
It can be quite horrible
When lots of people gather around.

We prefer being left alone
To surrounded in a crowd
Sometimes he will even moan
When surrounded by people that are loud.

When we go walking in the forest
He protects me from other Pokemon
His fire attacks are first class
They burn from night until the dawn.

The forest can be scary
But with Fluffy it is not
It's much more fun then the ferry
It's more fun by a lot.

There was one time when we were separated
In a forest that was really big
I just sat and waited
And waved around a twig.

Fluffy came by in a few minutes
With someone that was a stranger
I don't think Fluffy's brain has limits
Cause the person was a Ranger.

After we got out of there
The ranger called my dad
The ranger wanted me out of his hair
I think I made him mad.

My dad was there soon after
To take me and Fluffy home
On the way there was much laughter
He said without Fluffy I shouldn't roam.

Written by Alex Sanders.
Transcribed by Nurse Joy.  

[Belzayne]

Quote:

The first thing to do when you wake up: Go for a fly. That was the instinct Latias had when she woke up. It didn’t even matter that her brother was being a sleepy head. Latias just wanted to have something good to feel this morning! She stretched a bit before she took off into the sky, feeling the breeze go right by her ears. The wind always felt so good to her! She took some time to glide around in the air before she heard a call below her. It seemed that Latios was finally awake!

Gliding down, she went over to nuzzle her brother’s face. She couldn’t help it since he was her only relative there. He looked at her with an irritated look since this was a normal pattern for the two. She would wake up, go off into the air to feel the breeze, and then she would go down to Latios once he called out to her. He knew that she always followed this pattern anyways since he was awake during that time. He just never wanted to get up and stop her.

Finally he decided enough was enough. He rose up and started to move towards the sky. He needed to use his muscles for once since he had been lying down for so long. Plus it helped that flying could relax the mind. Latias was right behind him, and he could feel it. “Be careful sister.” He called out to her with his mind. “You know what happens if the humans catch us.” She whined a little before he glanced back at her. She was so careless at times, but he still loved her. “They won’t hesitate to use us for their purposes. We also have the Soul Dew to protect.” He reminded her.

She sighed, looking back on up at him. She knew how to keep herself safe with an illusion, but her brother didn’t trust it. However she knew that she could prove him wrong! She would do it tonight as well after he fell asleep! She kept on thinking about her plan that Latios paused in midair, causing her to crash into him. “Ow!” She called out, looking at him. He shook his head, looking back at her.

“Something is on your mind. Let it out Latias.” He said. She was never this quiet on a flight so that was how he knew something was up.

She sighed as she looked at him. “You wouldn’t like it at all.” She said, pouting some more. “You are never happy with whatever I think about.”

He looked on down at her, floating to her side. “You already know why I do this. I’m protecting you from a horrible fate. Now let me know what is on your mind.” He said calmly. She relaxed a little before sighing. “Okay…” She conceded.

“I was thinking about taking off to see some more sights. We don’t ever get to do much, and we have worked on our illusions! Stop being such a meanie head!” She called out at him before shooting off. She was getting tired of this pattern. They would have this fight over and over, but he never seemed to let her do this thing. Well this time she wouldn’t let him stop her!

When she had finally slowed down, she noticed that she was surrounded by some trees. They were the perfect cover to try out her illusion powers! She closed her eyes, concentrating on human form. She just had to get out of this pattern. When she opened her eyes a few minutes later she found herself surprised at how things had turned out. She could feel that she was different overall, but yet she felt the same on the inside. That part didn’t matter at all. She was a different person now for the time being so it was time to explore!

Looking around the forest, she saw many other Pokemon that were cute and adorable that she stopped by them. She held her hand out towards the many forest Pokemon who came close to her, and stroked their soft fur. They all seemed so nice, but she found that she couldn’t look into their minds at all. She figured it was a side effect of her transformation.

A shiver ran down her spine as she heard some voices in the forest. There were other humans in the area?! What would they do if they found her? Looking around, she moved over towards a tree and hid behind it, hoping that they wouldn’t find her. The other humans just kept on moving through the forest as if they owned the place, looking around with Mightyena’s with them. “You all know what to look for. Find us some rare Pokemon!” They called out, letting them go. She froze where she was, unable to take her eyes off of the Mightyena’s shooting off towards the forest Pokemon. There was nothing she could do against them since she wasn’t in her normal form. She felt as if things would soon end for her.

A roar above the trees told her that she wasn’t alone anymore. Dragonbreath shot down, striking each Mightyena one by one before she could feel a psychic pulse in the area. She knew there was only one strong enough around here to do that and it was her brother! He had come to save her! She was so focused on her thoughts that she hadn’t realized that one of the Mightyena’s had noticed her. It lunged straight at her and bit into her leg, causing her to yelp in pain. The hunters noticed her and scrambled to gather her up. “We may not have gotten anything rare, but this girl will be our prize for now!” They called out. Little did they realize that they had more of a prize than they had bought for.

Looking down to where he had last sensed his sister, Latios was infuriated. If she had listened to him, there would have been no trouble. Instead she chose to go off of her own whims and disobeyed him. He was protecting her for these very reasons! Once he had gotten to the area she was last at, he only saw more humans in the area. Believing they had somehow taken her, he let off his rage at their Pokemon. He wanted to shred them to pieces, but they had only gotten away with some girl. He looked down at her before it had clicked: That girl was Latias. He wasn’t sure how she had transformed herself, but he had to go protect her.

 

[gabriel sama]

It was raining.

A lone man staggered through Route 119, steam coming off of his face and torso from the cool downpour. Normally, this would have been refreshing, but in his condition it was like being prodded with hundreds of tiny needles repeatedly. Fortunately, the heavy rain muffled his groans of pain, but also made it harder for him to pick up the sounds of his pursuers: other Pokémon Rangers.

Mud and water splashed about with each step he took as he ran as fast as his condition and the weather allowed. His body could only take so much torture from the rain, so he eventually started to slow down before coming to a halt. He pressed his hand against a tree for support while his other hand covered the left side of his face, where the steam was still coming from. If one were to stand before him now, they could see why the rain resulted in steam: very fresh burns, probably from a Fire-type Pokémon. His Ranger clothes were also in tatters, with much of the upper cloak charred by the fire that had burned his chest and abdomen; tree branches and snags were responsible for some of the tears in his outfit, but the rest were from Pokémon.

He took this momentary reprieve to catch his breath. The man rested his back gingerly against the tree trunk as he leaned his head back. His occupation as a Ranger-in-Training at Fortree’s Ranger Academy required him to be in top physical condition, but with these burns and other damage he took earlier, his endurance had significantly plummeted. He couldn’t afford to sit down as that was bad for the body after performing a strenuous physical activity. Besides, if he sat down, he probably wouldn’t be able to get back up and thus leave him to be a sitting Psyduck for his pursuers to find and arrest.

“… That b***h… If I ever… see her again… I’m going to kill her…” the man gasped angrily. “I’ll… make her suffer… much more than… what she… made me suffer… through….”

“Did you hear something?” a voice called out nearby, muffled by the rain.

s**t… they’re close. With a faint grunt, he forced himself off the tree, stumbling a little in the process. He needed to move, now, or else they would find him, and if they found him, things would not end well for him.

With some effort, he continued to move south, using the long grass to keep himself hidden even if they caused his fresh burns to sting when they brushed against it. If he could make it across the first bridge to the Weather Institute, he could hide out there until the search parties gave up. Best of all, they had medicine there. Because he was a wanted criminal now, for a crime he had not willingly committed, he would probably have to pilfer for essential things, like a first aid kit and some painkillers. It was only a matter of time before his body would eventually go into shock.

His foot slid against a particularly slick spot of the muddy ground and he lost his balance, falling forward. He hit the ground hard, unable to catch himself. “Nggh...” he grunted. He carefully rolled off his chest, struggling not to cry out in pain from the clammy earth touching his wounds. Slowly, the dark-haired man managed to get back onto his feet, covered in mud. This was definitely not safe for his health. What if his wounds got infected? At this rate he was going to be dead before he got to the Weather Institute.

The mud did have some use, though, as a sort of camouflage. Linoone were prevalent in this area, and the mud was about as dark as the Pokémon’s fur. It would be a rather shitty attempt at hiding normally, but he was starting to get desperate and the rain would only hide his tracks for so long. The rain did blur images, so maybe he could pull it off. He wasn’t too keen in testing it out, but he could live with the humiliation if it came down to that.

“There’s something over there! Manectric, go check it out!” someone shouted. A beam of light cut through the darkness, close to where he stood.

… The camouflage plan would have probably worked against a human, but definitely not against a Pokémon like a Manectric. Those wolves had too good of a sense of smell. He needed to keep moving, preferably faster. Or get out of this general spot in the route. The man hurried towards the trees near the river, hoping that would buy some time. Maybe the rain would hinder the electric Pokémon long enough for him to get away.

Ducking behind the foliage, he took this moment to try to catch his breath after the earlier fall. He also needed to try to keep an eye out for that Manectric, and possibly any other Pokémon that went with it. Peering out from behind his cover, he could make out silhouettes of several Pokémon converging on where he had fallen earlier, with what appeared to be their heads down near the ground. Were they trying to find his scent?

Something rustled right above him, causing the man to glance up and freeze. Sonofa… the plants he had ducked behind were actually part of a Tropius, or rather, the backside of the Fruit Pokémon! It seemed like there were a small group of them around him, eating the fruit off of the trees above them. If they didn’t leave the area, he could probably continue to use them as cover to sneak off to the Weather Institute. He needed those Pokémon out by where he had fallen earlier to go away first, as they were closer to the bridge than he was. If he could just get rid of them before their Trainers showed up…

Unfortunately, things did not go the way the man wanted. The Manectric let out a fierce howl in anger for losing track of their prey, startling the Fruit Pokémon. In their panic, they bumped the man out from behind the trees into the open before taking off and flying away. The Manectric and --was that a Herdier? --turned to look at the fleeing Pokémon before noticing the man slowly getting back up to his feet. The Manectric let out another howl and the Herdier started barking loudly. s**t, that got their attention.

Several beams of light now rested on him, causing the man to turn his head and raise an arm to shield his eyes from his crouched position. This… can’t possibly end well…

“It’s Cyphers!”

“Manectric, don’t let him get away! Use your Bite attack!”

“Herdier, assist Manectric with Helping Hand!”

He had lost his bearings earlier with the fall, but with the lights he could see that the river was just a ways behind him. The man scrambled to get back up before racing towards it. The plunge into the cold water would probably put him into shock, especially with his burns, but between that and getting bitten in a bad place by a powered-up Manectric before getting arrested amongst other things, the former seemed like the lesser of the two evils. If he died from it, at least he would have died a free man and not a prisoner.

Despite his efforts, he could not reach the water before the wolf was upon him. It lashed out, sinking its fangs into the man’s leg. “Argh!” he cried out.

The force of the Pokémon’s attack knocked both man and wolf into the river below. He took the opportunity to kick the wolf off of him, causing the Pokémon to yowl in pain. He underestimated how deep the water was, and once he got the Manectric off of him, flailed a bit to try to keep his head above the water. The wolf apparently didn’t like the cold water, so it tried to doggy-paddle back towards land. Of course, the man didn’t like how cold the water was either (probably because of the rain), but he sure as hell wasn’t going to let the Manectric get away and reunite with his Trainer. No. Those bastards did not know what it was like to be robbed of everything like he was, and if he could cripple their searching ability by getting rid of the beast, then if he somehow managed to survive this ordeal he could probably have an easier time escaping.

“Get… back here… you damn… mutt…” the man growled, flailing towards the Pokémon.

This time, it was the human that lunged at the Pokémon. He wrapped both arms around the Pokémon’s neck and pulled back, effectively dragging the dog back into deeper water. The two wrestled as fiercely as they could, with the man desperately trying to hold onto the wolf and hopefully make it suffocate while the Electric-type tried to free itself from the chokehold. A badly wounded human didn’t stand much of a chance against a fully-evolved Pokémon, and once the Electric-type broke the hold, it swiped at the man. The claws struck against his cheek on the side that had gotten burned, causing a wave of fresh pain and a yell in response before the two of them were swept away by the current. By the time the Rangers had reached where the two had fallen, they were already too far downstream to be seen even with the flashlight.

The current had grown stronger now, which was definitely a bad sign. If the man remembered what he saw on the map of the route, a waterfall was coming up. Even in perfect condition he probably wasn’t able to swim out of the current, so there was no way he could escape in his current condition. He had at least managed to drag the Manectric into the current with him. The man learned his lesson the first time and chose not to try to strangle the wolf, as that would waste what little energy he had left. The wolf was tiring out too, probably from flailing about in the water too much to keep its head
above the water.

He laid back as the two continued to drift towards the falls before he closed his eyes. The pain had stopped earlier, so either his body had gotten numb from becoming too cold or he was already dead and he just wasn’t aware of it. And if he wasn’t dead by now, well, the falls would probably take care of that. It was kind of hilarious. He was so worried about how he was going to die earlier, and now here he was, about to die in a fashion he never considered. Drowning was still a possibility, though.

The wolf had made several attempts to try to fight against the current, but all attempts had ended in failure. One attempt even pushed the wolf further downstream, past the man. Stupid dog… the man couldn’t help but chuckle.

He could see the edge of the falls now, once they got past these rocks. He didn’t even bother trying to grab onto them to try to escape falling to his death. Not only did he not have the strength for it, but with the river constantly running against it and the constant rainfall this route had, the rocks were worn too smoothly to grab onto. Swimming against the current could extend his life by a few seconds, but it wouldn’t change his fate. The Manectric thought it had a chance to grab onto the rocks, and desperately attempted to sink its claws into the stone. Its efforts ended in failure, and only then did the wolf finally submit to its fate as it drifted past the final rock.

The Pokémon was the first to fall, any death yowling it may have done muffled by both the roar of the falls and by the rain. It was his turn now. The man closed his eyes as he sped closer toward the edge. This was the end of the line for him. It was a good run. His name would probably be tarnished by whatever evidence the Rangers were able to scrounge up, and he would be hated even after death. But that didn’t matter to him. Not when he had already lost everything tonight.

And now, he would lose one more thing, the only thing he had left to lose…

His own life.

To be continued...

((Total word count excluding the 'to be continued' is 2086. I may pick up the next part for the next contest, but we'll see how interested people are in learning Desiderio's backstory. A lot is left unanswered for a reason.))  

[Katagonia]

A Girl with a Vision

A little girl, bright-eyed with a mass of tangled orange hair, stood in the doorway of the house, curiosity written all over her face. Her hands were fisted in her pale blue dress as she assessed the boy in front of her, who had his head tipped away from hers, examining her in turn. The girl felt a hand on her back, which she unsuccessfully attempted to shy away from, and then she was being ushered out of the house, her mother saying brightly, “Come on! The school isn’t too far.” The red-headed girl still eyed the boy suspiciously, but followed after her mother when she began to make her way down the road. The boy had a green bicycle, which confused her. Could he not just walk, like everyone else? The thought flew out of her head, though, when a new one entered. Why did mother want to take her to school with the boy now? How weird. The girl didn’t say anything, though, and simply focused on the feeling of the ground beneath her shoes as they moved. The boy was a little ways ahead, simply because he was on a bicycle, which still confused her. It wasn’t long before they reached the school, and the girl’s mother pulled her aside after sending the boy in.

The girl tilted her head at her mother. In response, she murmured, “His father passed away recently, and he used to take him to school. I thought it might be nice if we took him, alright? Try to be nice, no more biting the other students.” The girl puffed her chest out, but remained silent. “Good girl. Have fun.” The woman didn’t address in full what she was actually concerned about – she’d heard multiple complaints from the school and other parents about her daughter about her behaviour at school. The way she bit the other students, the way she pulled their hair, the way she was ultimately ignored by them and the way that she would simply glower at them from across the room. This worried the woman, but she never mentioned it. Instead, she walked back home in the sweltering heat, head slightly hung. She’d contemplated calling a doctor in. After all, this was a psychological problem, wasn’t it? She didn’t know. She supposed she never would, what with her daughter refusing to speak with or to her. The woman sighed as she turned the knob of her house door, already knowing that she was going to leave it just one more day, just one more day to see if she changed.

At the school, the girl sat alone, staring blankly down at her paper. Her head shot up, hair flying, when she saw a shadow looming over her. It was the boy. He reached out to touch her shoulder, but she shrank back, eyes shooting a warning glance. The boy recoiled, looking both confused and hurt. He spoke tentatively. “Can I sit here?” He pointed to the empty seat next to her. The girl didn’t reply, turning her back to him again as she resumed her staring at the paper. “Hey, I didn’t have to come over here, you know,” he instantly snapped. “The others were right. You’re so weird.” The girl had been reaching for a pencil, or a crayon, she didn’t really know or care, but her hand jerked away when she heard him use that word. ‘Weird’. Yes, perhaps that was the best word to describe her. The boy stormed away, leaving her to sit there in her thoughts.

At lunch, the boy approached her again. She lifted her head, meeting his eyes properly for the first time. They were . . . a startling blue. How interesting. She could tell from his posture, though, and the way that he kept glancing over his shoulder at his friends, that he had been dared to come and see her. Awkwardly, he put his hands in his pockets. After a moment, he stuck his right hand out at her, offering it for her to shake. She stared at it, before looking back at him, expressionless. He frowned, dropping his hand and sitting down without asking, which made her squirm uncomfortably, and that caused him to have a victorious smirk on his face. “So why don’t you like people touching you, huh?” She blinked at him slowly, mulling the question over in her mind, but didn’t reply. There was no answer, really. She just didn’t like physical contact, she never had. She didn’t like it when her family touched her, and made an actual effort to keep her distance from them, from skin-on-skin contact. “Come on, what are you scared of?” She stiffened, glowering at him. It was one thing to say that she didn’t like touching people, because that was true. It was another thing entirely to suggest that it was out of fear.

She swallowed back insults, eyes flashing dangerously. ‘Breathe,’ she reminded herself, fists clenching in her lap. ‘He will go away.’ Forcing herself to believe this, she stared down at her lap, working on releasing her grip on nothing. It surprised her when she felt something touch her bare shoulder, eyes darting up to stare at him. What was he doing? She didn’t get another thought through her head before she felt a tingling spread through her body, starting at where he had touched – was still touching – her shoulder. Suddenly, she was falling, tumbling through darkness and there was no end. But then, there was an end, and it was in front of her. She jerked to a stop, opened her eyes. What she saw, though, she did not understand. She was sure she had seen the man before, she was sure she had seen the woman before, but she wasn’t sure she had seen the location before. It was a small living room, and the man was asking her a question. Before she could manage a reply, she was ripped away from it, and into another scenario, where she saw her own mother arguing with the woman. She wanted to call out, confused, but another tearing sensation moved through her, and she was standing at the bottom of a set of stairs, staring at a body. This one lasted longer, long enough for her to realise that the body belonged to the man, and that he was bent at an odd angle. Slowly, she looked up, and saw the woman standing at the top of the stairs, a hand over her mouth and tears sparkling at the corners of her eyes. A baseball bat rested in her hands, a little bit of red liquid on it. She felt uneasy now. She tried to turn, to run, to go home, but she now couldn’t move. Her hands and body moved of their own accord, falling to the man, and then the world melted away and she was standing on the grass, an iron grip on her neck. She didn’t need to turn to know that it was the woman. She couldn’t turn away as she saw a black container lowered into a hole in the ground, couldn’t wipe at the tears that were spilling down her cheeks, couldn’t fight the rising sob in her chest.

Her body was shaking, though, and it felt disturbingly real. The iron grip seemed to fade, and she blinked a few times, dazed. She flinched away from the bright light that was shining into her eyes. It took a moment, and it happened slowly, but then she heard an alarmed cry, and someone in tears, and then all the noises rushed at her at once. She shook her head, trying to focus. Someone was holding her shoulders, talking to her, and she recognised the once crying as her mother. She concentrated on the doctor, who looked somewhat relieved. “Are you alright? Can you hear me?” The girl just nodded, struggling to organise her thoughts. It took a few minutes, but then the doctor backed off and her mother gripped her, despite her flinching away automatically – but it was alright, someone had put a blanket around her.

“Sweetie? Honey, what happened?” ‘I could ask you the same thing,’ she didn’t reply. “You were . . . you weren’t moving. No one knows what happened! The boy, Nathaniel, the one that we took to school, called the teacher when you wouldn’t respond, and she called an ambulance.” Her mother dissolved into a fresh round of tears. “You weren’t moving for an hour! We thought you were –” she broke off, trying to get a hold of herself. “But you’re alright now, you’re alright.” She held her close, uncomfortably so, but the seven-year-old didn’t squirm. “Okay. Okay.” Her mother finally settled herself, but her hands were still shaking faintly. “Here, drink this.” Obediently, she took the plastic cup of water that she was offered, careful not to touch her mother’s hand. She downed the drink in one go, handing the empty cup back to her mother.

After a few minutes of silence, she finally spoke up. “Mum?” she asked tentatively. Her throat hurt when she spoke, but she ignored it. Her mother jumped in surprise when she heard her daughter’s voice, looking at her anxiously.

“Yes, dear?”

“Mum . . .” She trailed off, unsure of where to start. No, she couldn’t really tell her, could she? She wasn’t stupid – normal people didn’t have episodes like she did. At least, she was pretty sure they didn’t, because she hadn’t heard anything about something like what her mother had described to her happening. She forced herself to get it out, though. “Do you ever see things? Like things that other people might have seen?”

Her mother tried to hide an alarmed look. She cleared her throat, panicked thoughts racing through her brain. “You mean like looking at things from the perspective of someone else?” she asked delicately. Oh, she should have gotten that psychologist in months before.

The girl shrugged self-consciously, unsure of what that meant. “I don’t know.” Her brow creased, much like her father’s did when he was trying to think, and she attempted to come up with the appropriate words to describe her experience. “It was . . . Nathaniel. I was Nathaniel. Mum, is that wrong?” She squinted up at the woman, already knowing the answer.

“Uh. Honey, I don’t . . . what do you mean you were Nathaniel?” Her mother looked uncomfortable. If she was imagining being someone else, well . . . did she have a concussion? Clearly, she was ill in the head.

“I don’t know. I just . . . I don’t know, mum. I’m confused.” She rubbed her temples, automatically moving her hand away when her mother tried to grab her wrist. She tried to analyse what had happened, but all that she could remember was the boy touching her, and her shock, and then the images. It was all so confusing. “Can we just go home? Didn’t the doctor say that I’m fine now?” Her mother watched her anxiously for a moment, before nodding. The girl couldn’t actually recall whether or not the man had cleared her, but it didn’t matter – she didn’t want to stay at the Centre. The woman reached out for her daughter’s hand, but she pulled back again, frowning at her. In an icy tone, which surprised her mother, she said, “If I want to touch you, I will.”

She then stalked out of the room, her mother reluctantly following. She put a hand to her forehead, trying to pull her thoughts together. Something was very wrong with her daughter. For an hour, no less, she had been in a catatonic state, and then had simply pulled out of it, and spoke of being Nathaniel? She would get help for her daughter, she promised herself. She would get help, so that she wouldn’t experience this horrific scene in a hospital again.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The girl sat curled up in a ball on the couch, trembling slightly. She now refused to be within a foot-radius of anyone, and would promptly freak out if anyone attempted to breach that. Naturally, a specialist was quickly called in. She didn’t know his name, and she didn’t think she needed to. All she needed to know was that she sounded insane, and she knew what happened to insane people – they got locked up and never saw the light of day again, and so she lied. She lied about what happened, said nothing was wrong, said she had a little blackout and there was nothing wrong with her. Her mother hovered on the edges of her vision, her face a picture of worry, but the little girl ignored her as she spun her lies. “I don’t remember anything. He touched my shoulder and I blacked out, and then I woke up at the hospital again.” She shrugged, sitting in back into the sofa. “It may just be a phase.” She struggled with that last word for a moment, but got it out.

The specialist – or psychologist, she didn’t really know – leaned forwards, lacing calloused fingers together. “How did you feel? When you woke up?” he asked as he adjusted his glasses slightly, shuffling his papers accidently as he did so.

The girl stared at him, unwavering. “I felt confused. I didn’t know where I was, and I didn’t know what was happening. How would you feel?” she asked in an accusatory tone. The man didn’t reply for a long time, and didn’t write anything down either, which made her a bit edgy.

“You have no recollection of anything that happened while you were in your stupor?” His eyes burned into hers, which made her shift uncomfortably now. She didn’t know what ‘stupor’ meant, but she assumed that he was referring to when she was seeing whatever it was that she was seeing.

“None,” she lied, amber eyes on his. The man hesitated, before nodding and writing something down. She didn’t know why, but that made her feel relieved. “Can you leave now?” she asked bluntly, not caring if she sounded rude. He glanced up at her again, an amused expression crossing his face.

“Would you like me to go?” This was a test, she knew it. If she said yes, he’d stay, and assume that she wanted help, that she was lying. Then again, if she said no, he’d go and could also assume that she was lying and didn’t want a reminder of it. She resisted the urge to hiss in irritation, but fidgeted for a moment, before saying in a flat tone,

“Yes. I want you to go.” There would be no good done if he stayed. He shrugged then, gathering his things and standing.

“Very well, Ms. Parks. I look forward to my next visit.” He then left the house, and she exhaled, sitting back against the couch again. Next visit? It was terrible with him there once, and now he was coming back? How simply awful.

“That was rude,” a quiet voice said. The girl startled, eyes quickly landing on her mother. Ah, she’d forgotten about her. She shook her head at her mother, not wanting to speak, but needing to.

“I’m going to go to Nana’s.” Surprise flickered through the woman’s face, but she nodded, albeit reluctantly. “Alright. Did you want me to walk you over?” Personally, she was pleased. Her daughter had never liked to spend much time with her grandmother, and it was good that she wanted to start now. Her mother could probably knock some sense into the girl. After all, she had just completely lied to the psychologist, and had shown no visible guilt from that act. She wasn’t going to contradict her daughter in front of him, either – it would be best if she came to whatever realisation was necessary on her own.

The girl gave her mother a scornful glance, snapping, “It’s on the other side of the street, mum. I’m not a retard.” She promptly stormed out of the house, the woman wincing when the door slammed shut.

She gripped the little symbol of Arceus that hung around her neck, murmuring, “Mother, if you cannot help her, no one can help her.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The girl sat and watched as her grandmother sat opposite her, a cup of steaming tea in her hands. “Are you sure you don’t want any, ma petite chérie?” The girl just shook her head, and continued to watch as she sipped from it, before placing it down on the coaster on the table. “Now, what did you want to talk about? Isn’t that why you came here, mon chou?” The girl blinked. She was pretty sure that she just got called a cabbage. How odd. She opened her mouth to speak, but hesitated. “I heard about what happened. Is that what you wanted to talk about?” she prompted.

The child nodded, straightening up. “Nana, I saw something. When I was . . . you know.” The woman leaned forwards, wrinkled hands clasped much like the specialist and peering over her little glasses at her.

“Oh? What was this that you saw?”

“The boy,” she mumbled, looking down. “His parents. I don’t know . . .”

The old woman smiled, and nearly yelled, “Speak up a bit, dearie, I’m a bit deaf!”

“Nana, I saw these things. I saw his parents and his house and . . . Nana, is there something wrong with me?” She found it easier to talk to the old woman – it sounded cruel, sure, but she’d be dead soon so she’d take whatever she said to her to the grave.

They sat in silence for a few minutes, while the grandmother contemplated the situation. “Did I ever tell you about my grandmother, mon lapin?” she asked finally, already pulling at the few memories she had of the woman. The girl shook her head, feeling resigned. Great, a history lesson. “My grandmother, your great-great-grandmother, was called Regina.” She paused, letting that sink in, making sure the girl understood. The child’s eyes slowly lifted to meet amber ones, so much like her own. “She was told at a young age that she was possessed, that some evil spirit had taken root in her soul, but this was not true. No, it wasn’t. You see, ma petite chérie, there are some people in the world who are a little bit more special than everyone else. They’re called psychics.”

“Like the Pokémon type?” she asked warily. This was not what she had expected. Sure, she’d heard vague mentions of Regina before, but nothing like this.

“Yes, like that, except they don’t use their powers for fighting, like Pokémon. Now, there are many different types of psychics – some can see the future, some can read minds, some can move objects at will and some can even change reality, although that’s very rare and special. Regina had several of these abilities, and even a few more. A lot of people feared her, and rightly so,” she laughed. “She was not to be messed with, my grandmother. If you trace back our family history, you can see several different psychics woven through it. It skipped my mother’s generation, my generation and your mother’s generation, but it seems to have come out in yours.” She tilted her head, examining the girl curiously. She wasn’t about to give her an in-depth genetics lesson, but she did know that both the parents had to be carriers, so that meant that the child’s father was as much to blame for this as her mother. “If you saw his parents, it must be the past you saw, because the poor kid’s father is dead. Your gift is wonderful, ma fifille, but I fear that it could be hazardous. You were unresponsive for an hour, simply because that boy touched you.”

The old woman sighed, rubbing her forehead, trying to think of possible options. It would do her no good in life to be unable to deal with physical contact, surely there was something that she would be able to do. No doubt the time that she was in her stupor would reduce over time, but that would require her to go under more, and no one knew what untold horrors she might witness while that was happening. As it was, she may well have been a witness to the boy’s father’s death, and that could end up scarring her. It was possible that it was a one-off and that she wouldn’t turn catatonic next time, but there was no way of knowing. She’d see what she could get it town for her. She now realised that the girl had been silent for the rest of the explanation.

“Are you alright?” she asked gently, having to restrain herself from patting her cheek – that would hardly help her situation.

“Yes, Nana. It’s just a lot to take in,” she said quietly, mind whirring. She was a psychic? She still didn’t fully understand the term. What, her amazing power in life was that she could shut off her consciousness? How was that fair? The weird thing was, when she thought back to what she had seen, the images were unnaturally clear – even her own memories in life didn’t have that full clarity, which was confusing.

“I know, dearest, I know. I’m going to go upstairs and see what I can do about getting something to make it so that this doesn’t happen when you don’t want it to, okay?” She heaved upwards, the now-cold cup of tea having been ignored throughout the whole conversation, and left to go upstairs, the little girl wondering why the hell she would want it to happen. Minutes later, the old woman came back down, a red pendant resting in her palm. She held it out to the girl, who fastened it around her neck. “That will stop the images from coming for now, but it won’t last long if people keep touching you. I’ll look for something more permanent,” she offered, and the girl nodded. “Alright.” She smiled at her, saying in her cheerful voice, “Well, congratulations. You’re a psychic, Ms. Regina Arielle Parks.”

((Cheesy title is cheesy. Long entry is long.))  

[Kenocka]

Author's Note: This should be read in the style of a journal - hence the meandering words and topics. Depending on my mood I may or may not continue this.

WARNING: EXTREMELY CHEESY ENDING AHOY!

Supreme Differences

I do not seek to be a human being but I cannot lie that I seek their respect as a fellow sentient creature – as an alien with their intelligence hidden among them. In the midst of Pokémon I am uncomfortable and my cousins find me awkwardly human in my thoughts and actions. I seek out books and documents on scientific theory. I mark notes in the margins of brilliant thesis papers with whatever questions or corrections (if I can find any that need to be made) that come to my mind.

Wild Pokémon do not seek out information of the wide world unless it directly affects them. Wild Pokémon don't ask questions regarding how the universe works; they just accept that the world spins and has spun and will continue to spin. Wild Pokémon have never built marvels of science the likes of which humanity's most brilliant would be envious. Wild Pokémon do not see and comprehend on the same level as I have since my first waking moments of consciousness. Barely sentient animals don't grow bitter at the treatment of their fellows and try to wage war on an entire planet in a misguided and arrogant attempt at playing the part of an unasked for Messiah.

I have been called a human in Pokémon's skin by more than one of my kinsmen.

There is no one at fault for these all-too-correct observations. I know that I will never be as my brethren are and will be for their entire lives. Stalking through the world in shadows and questioning everything is not something my people are wont to do. I seek stimulation that they don't consider worth the time and efforts it would take out of their daily attempts to survive. Unlike them I have more power than I know what to do with and can wile away my time staring into the distance wondering why and how things are and continue to be.

What would be thought of me if others knew that I was playing the part of a human? Would they think my mental illusion some kind of wish fulfillment in my desire to find companions that understand me on more than a level of basic mortal needs? As some desperate attempt to find a niche in which I am contented as a living thing?

If anyone other than my companions does discover me playing at being human then I cannot fault them for thinking those exact thoughts. It's in the nature of all animals to seek out others of their own kind if only to feel a sense of belonging. As humans are the only souls that (on this plane) can be measured as my equals in the mentality I have is anything else to be expected of me? Could they find offense in one intelligent individual seeking the familiarity of others? Had I never been brought up to believe that I was as good or better than other Pokémon and indeed humanity – had I been brought up as a "normal" Pokémon, as nothing more than an overpowered specimen of the Abra line, would I be any different than I am now? Or would I still come to be after a longer period of time?

I think in any event my obviously different psyche would have led me to many of the same conclusions that I have come to make already but perhaps with less violence and death. Maybe I wouldn't have had to be half of what killed a young boy in order to come to the culmination of thoughts that lead me to knowing what I do now. That was one of many turning points in my life and one that changed me for the betterment of myself and most definitely for the safety of the planet and those that choose to be around me. Were it not for that boy's sacrifice my opinions on humanity would not have changed without extreme force.

If I hadn't learned acceptance (and forgiveness) then I think the years I spent being chased by another human child through two countries would have been rather different. My fairly relaxed and playful demeanor with her would not have been a factor in her efforts to see me. I would have instead been irritable and the girl's sightings of me would not have been allowed and our often good-humored banter would not have happened. I like to believe that if it weren't for that young woman my years after leaving Mount Quena would have been nothing but an opaque and listless time of drifting. She brought a sense of vivid and unexpected lightheartedness with her whenever we spoke and it forcefully drew me out of my morbid contemplations of self and the world.

In that light I am also saddened with the way I parted with my "Chaser" as well. It came to light that she wasn't following me all over creation just simply because she wanted to see a rare and powerful Pokémon. She became so fixated with either capturing me on film or in a Pokéball for the sake of a crush on a boy which I later found out was one of my opponents while I was under Giovanni's sway. After investigating his feelings towards her and finding out that her crush was one-sided and leading to what I considered to be an obsession I made the decision to cut ties with the girl. That is what ultimately lead me to end our – friendship? acquaintanceship? – always short times together. I believe the words I hammered into her broke the girl's desire to look for me and continue on with her senseless delusion that presenting me before that boy would somehow have whatever she wanted suddenly come together.

It physically pained me and has continued to haunt me that I called her pathetic to make her separate herself from me.

Destroying that relationship, whatever it might have been considered, lead me to another country and almost immediately into trouble. It was on the outskirts of a city near the mountains and sea that I ran into this mess. A local trainer that I later learned was also the most powerful gym leader in the region had only recently evolved his Zweilous into a Hydreigon and the beast saw fit to disobey his master because of this new power. The man had taken the devil dragon out of the city to enforce who leader of the pack was. I happened to be in the area and the demon saw me and its prey-drive activated after sensing that I was psychic. The Hydreigon was half of my type weakness and had the added power of dragons and the ferocity of a feral, rabid animal behind its attacks and after leaving Mount Quena and those magical waters my power had decreased tremendously. The fight was a one-sided beating with me as the receiver. If the devil dragon's trainer hadn't reacted quickly enough by having another of his team interfere I'm certain it would have eaten me as I was insensate and incapable of defending myself.

Shockingly enough he didn't use this chance to capture me, he brought me into his home and did what he could to heal me with the help of a friend. I've no idea of how he got me to his home without stuffing me in a Pokéball. Something I must have said while semi-conscious must have prevented him from doing so. I don't remember what words were voiced and have never asked; in the future I may. That he took the time to ferry me to his residence still leaves me with a feeling of worried relief that I cannot fully explain. I am grateful but still uneasy as to the reasoning behind this decision no matter what I may or may not have said before fading out and waking up on his living room floor. My natural suspicion of humans will likely never fully abate and that this human, a man with access to powerful Pokémon, would pass on acquiring another if only for the sake of submitting information on me to the Pokédex Initiative still sets me on edge. Again I do not know the reasons behind the way I feel. I am only sure that despite any mean actions or insults I directed at him while I was infirm the man never stopped doing his level best to make sure that I returned to a state as close to I was before the attack. His guilt would allow for nothing less.

The human must have gathered that I disliked and distrusted him from all the glaring, hissing, and growling (sometimes the latter two were quite literal) I emitted whenever he entered the room. He kept himself away from me whenever it was abundantly clear that I wanted nothing of his presence in the room. This made maneuvering through his home difficult and I begrudgingly had to accept that my host did not have an especially large abode so coming into contact with one another on a daily basis wasn't avoidable unless he moved me into another room. As he seemed afraid of what his female friend would do to him if he attempted to move me - along with the very real possibility that I would object to this violently - he was forced to tiptoe around me until any cross actions of mine were nothing more than old practices.

Gradually, under the watchful eyes of his Dragonair, he began reclaiming his living space despite my disgruntled attempts to dissuade him. In spite of my snarling I'd become nothing more than a lowly irritant not worth paying attention to unless a body part came within my reach. The man was convinced that if a foot strayed close to me it would be maimed in some way. I wouldn't have harmed the man out of a keen sense of self-preservation and a distinct desire to continue healing at the source of my attacker's expense. The Dragonair was pretty but shrewd enough to let me know that if I hurt her master she wouldn't be any less viscous than the Hydreigon and that also served as a convincing deterrent. At some time in the weeks I spent lying on hastily made pallets (the first hadn't done anything to stop blood from seeping through to the carpet when I'd first arrived and the gym leader did feel that he needed to change the bedding every week or so anyway) I had to recognize that I was no longer feared despite there being ample reason to be afraid of me. It was evident that I wasn't going to do anything other than grumble halfheartedly whenever he entered the room.

This forced coexistence bred a familiarity of routine and habit. He would enter the room, sometimes with his Dragonair, sometimes without. I would grouse in one way or another and be ignored. His fearlessness towards me led to boredom and eventual snarking on my part. His responses led to more substantial conversations and yet more grudging respect.

I feel some self-contempt when I say that I milked his sense of responsibility to me. There was a point in which I honestly could have left the man's home and been fine but it had been too long since I'd enjoyed the comforts of speaking with someone that wasn't concerned about whether or not the neighbors had found their winter food-stash or if that missing patch of fur was a sign of age or alopecia. It was a combination of being bored and testing to see when the man would decide to kick me out because he'd had enough of me taking up his minimal floor space and my own curiosity. Loneliness might have been an agent in what made my stay last four weeks longer than was necessary. As it happened my host didn't seem to think my stay all that odd and even expressed a wistfulness at my leaving when it was mentioned. I've no idea why as our conversations (some of them contained censored versions of events in my life) did nothing more than pass the time. Out of courtesy I didn't try to read his mind to figure out the thoughts behind his feelings, in place of this I speculated to myself and broached the topic.

His answer brought about further interest and after his herbalist friend deemed me capable of living without human assistance I took the chance to stretch my legs and roam alone a few weeks more and stew on his response. The man had answered me honestly - I could sense that without invading his mind - he enjoyed my company on an intellectual level. I was an interesting person to talk to and when I left he hoped I'd check in if only to assuage the guilt he still felt over the devil dragon's attack - just so he would know there was no lasting damage. It was less than anyone had ever asked of me and I felt an uncanny sense of foreboding - but not of the unwanted kind! - from his words even as I agreed to their terms.

It was perhaps another three weeks before I showed up at his gym after hours, tired of exploring the city, and curious as to whether or not he actually still meant what he'd said before I'd left. He was shocked to find me in the hidden office he kept in the place as he hadn't expected me to actually do as he'd asked. Questions as to why I'd bothered to appear before him again masquerading as polite conversation finally floundered down to the reason for my return. I had nowhere else to go and nothing to do with my time. That he wasn't a disagreeable personality was another factor.

That failed attempt at saving face earned a nonchalant response that consisted of his consent to my staying with him (temporarily I said) and telling me to work with his devil dragon because his house couldn't possibly stand up to the thing trying to eat me every day.

In all honesty my stay with the man was only supposed to last as long as the weather was cold. Then the plan was to move on to continue my wanderings as was natural to me. I didn't expect to be allowed to stay in the second room of his tiny home and if he'd told me the sofa or floor was where I was supposed to rest that wouldn't have jolted me as much as the room did. Outside of my mind I made no signals of how unusual I found this arrangement but I somehow feel as though he knew that I hadn't been imagining getting a space to use however I saw fit.

A temporary stay was a few weeks longer than I planned and thinking that I ought to stop imposing I wandered away without a word to the gym leader until I'd reached the end of his city. It wasn't as if during the time I'd been a guest in his home we hadn't gotten along but I hadn't felt any especial closeness with the man either. I owed him no explanations for leaving so abruptly and the situation was from the beginning a stopgap only. The astounded response to my curt departure caught me off guard. I'd expected him to be happy knowing that his home was his own again, not feel the disappointment he didn't even yet recognize was welling within him. Awkwardly I agreed to at least keep him posted that I was alive still before finally getting back out into the wilderness I'd been craving for so long.

That is how I came to spend the majority of my time. I would leave with or without word of why and come back whenever I pleased. For the most part the man didn't seem to mind my transient ambling in and out of his home. He did sometimes ask that I leave for a few hours and I appreciated his kindness enough to do as he asked (and realizing why he allowed me in his house stirred emotions within me to such an extent that I had to leave just to deal with them). It was a fair trade that I found no resentment in helping with whatever tasks needed doing in his gym on occasion if he and his Pokémon were the building's only occupants. A few times there were tense moments between the Hydreigon and I but the gym leader hadn't earned his title for no reason and quickly put an end to anything before it could result in another attack.

Somewhere along the line, be it from his complete acceptance of my urge to leave whenever I pleased or helping me to perfect the illusion I now use to convince humans that they're looking at another human or showing me his city as he would any newcomer to the region, I found myself actually considering him a friend. I was stunned at this unspoken admission to myself but put it from my mind. It wasn't as if he hadn't been trying to befriend me since I'd first awakened under his roof. Had we not become friends - had I not started making smart-aleck commentary - then I would have spent a year traipsing through the country alone.

Were it not for this man's willingness, eagerness, to treat me humanely and as an equal to him then I would have instead spent a year traipsing about the country without the knowledge I now hold. I can admit to myself that I am not so dour as I was previously. I would not have been quite so quick to jump to a young female trainer's defense had I not met him - difficult though the circumstances were. I would not have so easily made friends with the same girl were it not for that year.

I still distrust humans too much, am still too fervent in my beliefs that most of humanity isn't worth the air they breathe. But because of one human's supreme differences and efforts I can see more clearly that some of them most certainly are.  

[Night The Zombie Fanatic]

The Power of the Big 3

The bright sun shined brightly in the sky over head, sending a stream of light to bath the plants of the area. Here was a place where flowers grew plentifully & wild Pokémon frolicked around without a care in the world. This was all thanks to “the guardians.” They were a duo of a pink cat-like creature & a black and white humanoid. These two were unique in the fact that they were one of a kind, none like them existing anywhere in the surrounding area. Likewise, both of them were worshipped as gods & they happily protected the area as the guardians. It was thanks to their great deeds that a statue was made in their likenesses. These two were…a Mew and a Meloetta.
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“So bored!” Larry whined as he was walking through the forest. The sun was beating down on him more than before and it was really ruining his mood. He pulled the black hat that sat on his head down more so that it was now covering his eyebrows & the top of his ears. The light brown skinned preteen hated the sun more than anything, so it was no surprise that he had a double covering of a hat and a black hoodie. “How much longer until sundown?” Larry asked, looking down to a green reptilian creature that walked beside him. The Pokémon, which was a Snivy, didn’t answer, not paying attention to her trainer. Instead, she was too busy soaking up the sun’s rays like a flower in spring. “Aaugh!” Larry whined again. “Man I hate this stupid sun!” Raising his fist, he’d shake it at the light as if to say “I’ll get you next time!” Here was a boy who called the night his home and the cave his bed. Likewise, it was weird that he’d have a Pokémon who loves the sun with him rather than a nocturnal partner.

“Where are we anyway?” Larry asked as he looked over his map. They were supposed to be in some area near Johto, but Larry had gotten them lost when he decided to take a detour through a haunted forest that wasn’t on the map. Now, thanks to a series of unfortunate events, they were in some uncharted territory where apparently the sun came down on you like a high powered solar beam. “It seemed like a good idea at the time,” Larry thought as he remembered the strange incidents.
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It was sometime in the evening when Larry began to board a cruise ship going to Johto. He’d found the flyer while he was in a nearby city & decided to come on it since he needed some r & r. Sunny, the Snivy with him, agreed to the cruise so Larry had to go on it or he’d have to face her wrath. “Just try not to kill me o.k.?” Larry had asked before they left. Now that they were both safely on board, Larry was waving happily to the people below as the ship was leaving for Johto. “Bye!” he called. “Bye Bye! Bye! See you next month! Sorry that you can’t come! Ha ha…sucks for you!” At that point, Sunny was getting annoyed with Larry. Leaping into the air, she’d actually knock Larry over the edge so he was sent diving into the water below. The ship’s crew had to scramble about to save the boy & haul him back up onto the ship. By this time, it was already dark.

This wasn’t the only time Larry fell overboard. Sunny had gotten angry many more times and always pushed Larry over the edge to shut him up. After a while, the trainer had decided to spend his little vacation in his cabin. However, he did still come out every night to enjoy himself. That was the only time when he had the place all to himself. It was a nice enjoyable ride for the both of them now. However, it wouldn’t stay like this for long.

After a while, Larry began to notice a silhouetted area in the distance. Upon asking around, everyone said that the place was some area in Johto, though it wasn’t on the map. “It’s not even our destination so ignore it,” a crew member had said. “We’ll just be passing it anyway.” However, Larry couldn’t simply ignore it.

There was something about the area that piqued his interest. He wanted to explore it so he could dive into its mystery. However, the ship wouldn’t stop for him. To get to the area, which was an island, he’d have to actually jump off the ship. To do this required planning, intelligence, and supplies. All Larry had was a map he’d been given & a piece of string. It would have to do.

He of course had to wait until they actually got near the island to get off. It was night when they finally did, so Larry was prepared. Seeing the island up close for the first time, Larry finally realized why he was so interested in it. The ghostly fog…the dark red eyes staring at you…the dead trees…this place was haunted. There was nothing Larry loved more than haunted area. If it was haunted, there were ghosts. He loved ghosts.

Without a moment of hesitation, Larry would jump off of the ship with a sleeping Sunny in his arms. He’d deal with her later. They’d land with a thud on the ground, a pile of leaves cushioning their fall. “Yay us,” Larry said, racing into the forest. “C’mon gho-.” He cut off as the sun began to rise in the distance, shining some light on Larry’s hat hair. When he saw it, Larry put down Sunny & put on his hat and hood combo. When he did that, the Snivy would suddenly wake up with a yawn.

“Uh oh,” Larry thought, taking a few steps away from her. It wasn’t long before Sunny realized they weren’t on the ship and turned an angry eye to Larry. When she did, she saw that the trainer had taken off in a run to try to escape her. With a growl, she sped after him, her vines stretching out to try to grab the trainer. However, Larry was using the trees like walls to block the vines so he wouldn’t get caught.

As the chase continued, Larry & Sunny found themselves getting more and more lost. Eventually, Larry was to tired and decided to stop to rest. As this happened, Sunny would leap from behind and slam right into Larry’s back, sending them both flying. However, unknown to both of them, they were actually standing on a cliff. When they fell, they really took a dive. The impact of the fall was enough to knock both of them unconscious.

When they came to, they were laying in a sunbathed area in the middle of a forest. The strangest thing was, this place didn’t have the haunted appeal the forest above the cliff did. It actually seemed…peaceful. Standing up, the two had nothing to do but keep walking and hope they’d find something, or someone, useful.
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“What if we spend the rest of our lives on this island,” Larry said, looking up at the sky. “I’m not cut out for forest life. You’ve got it made…needing only sunlight and all. I on the other hand need meet to survive. If we are here forever…I may have to eat you to survive.” Now that drew Sunny’s attention.

Larry simply smiled at the Snivy, patting her on the head. “I was only kidding,” he said cheerfully. “I wouldn’t eat my best friend. If it comes down to it, I’ll eat plants for the rest of my life before dying in—” He cut off when he saw a bright light of some kind ahead. It made him a bit fearful as he looked at it. Was he…dead? That couldn’t be the case because Sunny saw the light two. So then what was going? To find out, Larry began to walk towards the light.

However, Sunny would all of a sudden tackle Larry over to the side.
As they both went flying, a stream of light would suddenly shoot behind them and create a whole in the cliff behind them. “What the?” Larry said as he got up from the attack. “Solar Beam!?” As they looked, they saw the bright light was gone now. In its place was a large green & brown Pokémon which resembled a dinosaur. Taking out his Pokédex, a small pocket sized device, Larry scanned over the creature to find out what it was.

“Tropius,” the mechanical voice began, “the Fruit Pokémon. Tropius can fly through the air by flapping the leaves on its back. It grows stronger in bright sunlight.” That explained why that beam blew a hole bigger than Larry & Sunny combined, but it didn’t explain why the Pokémon suddenly attacked. However, as they looked closer, they realized why. On the Tropius’s back was a slender female trainer with long black hair and light brown eyes. “W-who are you?” she asked as if she’d never seen a human before. “You’re not part of the village.”

Larry looked at the girl and her Pokémon quizzically before answering. “Larry Nightingale,” he responded. “What’s up with you shooting us with your Solar Beam?!” The female scratched her head in embarrassment, this whole incident clearly being an accident. “Sorry,” she apologized. “I didn’t know anyone was back here…especially not visitors.” Larry smiled at the apology and stood up, approaching the Tropius. “Is this your Pokémon?” Larry asked, stopping under Tropius and looking up at it. The female nodded, smiling proudly.

“This here is my best friend Tropo,” she said patting the Tropius on the head. “Say what brings you here anyway, stranger? If anything, we never get anyone here on account of the spooky forest above. Wait…you’re not with them are you?” As she said that, Tropo would look at Larry with an angry stare, ready to jump at Larry if he answered incorrectly.

“N-no,” he said shuddering fearfully. “Who’s them? I’m just a trainer who was on a cruise ship.” The girl looked at Larry skeptically, making Larry even more nervous. “How do I know you’re not lying?” she asked, jumping off Tropo. “For all we know, you could be a spy for Dim Sun. Where’s the proof that you’re not—” She cut off when she noticed something floating beside Larry. He himself didn’t notice it until she stopped talking. Looking to right, he would find himself looking into a pair of light blue eyes.

“Holy crap!” Larry shouted, falling backwards. The creature giggled when it saw this and flew closer to the trainer, looking at him curiously. “M-mew,” the girl said, getting down on her knees and bowing to the creature. It didn’t respond, still looking down at Larry. “Mew?” Larry said in confusion. Sitting up, he’d exchange glances with Sunny, who was just as surprised as Larry.

Taking out his Pokédex, Larry began to scan the Mew. “Mew,” the mechanical voice said, “the New Species Pokémon. Mew is said to possess the genetic composition of all Pokémon. It is capable of making itself invisible at will, so it entirely avoids notice even if it approaches people. Mew is a very curious and intelligent Pokémon that will only appear to someone with a pure heart.” Larry looked at the Mew with wonder now. This was an extremely rare Pokémon he was looking at. It was a legendary Pokémon who only a few had seen. Why was it appearing to Larry? “P-pure of heart,” Larry repeated. “Me?” Mew smiled at Larry, flying down and grabbing Larry’s hand to help the trainer up.

“Mew!” it giggled, flying happily around Larry. “Mew! Meeeeew!” By the way it was acting, it seemed as if Mew had been expecting Larry. However, it was just happy to see another fun person. As he watched the Mew, Larry remembered the girl who was still kneeling to the Mew. “Is that proof enough for ya’?” he asked with a smile. “I don’t know who this Dim Sun is, but I’m surely not part of them. I’m just a passing trainer who jumped off his cruise ship because I wanted to go looking for ghosts. Then I ended up falling off that cliff and here I am now.”

The girl didn’t rise, so Mew flew over to her and began to speak playfully. Larry didn’t know what it said, but whatever it was got the female standing back up with a smile. “I believe you Larry,” she said in a sweeter voice. “So if you aren’t with Dim Sun, then you’ll probably be welcome in the village…especially if one of the guardian’s has taken such a liking to you.”

Larry nodded before following the female as she led Larry into a large clearing that actually contained no trees whatsoever. It was just flowers as far as the eye could see. However, some of the flowers were scorched or burned. Not only that, the houses seemed broken and damaged as well. It was as if the place had just been through a war of some kind.

The first thing that really drew Larry’s attention was a large statue that stood in the middle of the clearing. It portrayed two small humanoids staring at each other as they stood apart & Mew hovering in the air in the middle of them. “That’s you,” Larry said, pointing to the Mew statue. Mew giggled at this, flying over so it was sitting on Larry’s head. “I like this guy,” Larry said with a smile. “By the way…what’s your name anyway?” The girl didn’t answer right away, since she was grabbing two bananas from Tropo’s neck. She tossed one of them to Larry and the other one to Mew. They smiled at the food and ate it hungrily.

“I’m Jenny,” she said as she got another banana. “Nice to meet you Larry. Does your Snivy want a banana too?” Sunny shook her head, still enjoying the sun’s rays. “Sunny doesn’t really like fruit,” Larry said between bites, “unless you count berries. Besides that, the only other thing she’ll eat is Pokémon food.”

Swallowing the rest of his food, Larry turned his attention back to the statue. The Mew that was carved looked exactly like the real Mew. However, where were the two humanoids under it. “Who’re these guys anyway?” Larry asked, looking at the humanoids. Turning back to Jenny, he saw that she was looking down now. The same thing could be said about the Mew. Apparently something had happened…something bad.

“Those are the embodiments of Meloetta,” a voice said from nearby. Turning around, Larry saw a short elderly woman approaching. “Mother Bell,” Jenny said, looking up. The woman smiled at Jenny as she passed, stopping in front of the statue. “Aria and Pirouette,” she continued. “Two forms of one Pokémon…Meloetta.” Turning to face Larry, she noticed Mew sitting on his head.

The little Pokémon looked at the woman curiously, though it said nothing. “So you have befriended a guardian,” she said in an elderly voice. “Then you must have a heart that is pure.” Reaching out her hand, she touched Larry’s chest as if to feel his heartbeat. “I’m sure you’re curious,” she continued. “It’s only natural to wonder about the goddess of music. So I’ll tell you the sad tale of Meloetta & Mew, too.” Walking back up to the statue, she let out a deep sigh as she contemplated her thoughts.

“It all starts a few months ago,” she began, closing her eyes in remembrance. “It was the Day of the Guardians at the time, a celebratory day commemorating the Guardian’s help in the construction & protection of the village. Everyone was busy making preparations here and there, so it came as a shock when it happened. The Guardians were entertaining the children so even they weren’t prepared.” She paused for a moment as she looked up into the sky.

“They came by air,” she continued. “Three large ships that bore a strange purple insignia…Dim Sun. One of them went to the haunted forest and the other two came here. We were completely unprepared for their onslaught. The guardians fought with all their might, but even they weren’t strong enough to stop them. In the end, Meloetta was taken along with most of the other forest Pokémon. Mew wanted to get Meloetta back, but even it wasn’t strong enough to do it all alone.” Mew nodded solemnly, knowing more than anyone the extend of its power.

“It gets worse from there,” Bell continued. “What we hadn’t realized was that Mew & Meloetta weren’t the only legendary Pokémon here. There was a third residing in the haunted forest…Darkrai. It was the protector of the ghosts. However, it two fell to the hand of Dim Sun a month ago. Over the past few weeks, Dim Sun have come here on multiple occasions to capture the last legendary, Mew. We’ve suffered no casualties, but lost many of the forest Pokémon.”

Turning back to Larry, she looked at him with sorrow filled eyes. “Won’t you help us?” she asked suddenly. “I know it’s a strange question to ask a young trainer such as you, but if Mew is like this with you…there was a prophecy I was told as a child. It foretells a stranger coming into the village who befriends Mew…just like you did. With Mew’s help, this trainer is supposed to journey into the Dim Sun’s headquarters and rescue the two legendaries from captivity. I believe this stranger is you.” Larry looked at the woman in confusions, not knowing at all about this. Sunny was just as confused, not really knowing what was going on.

“Alright,” Larry said with a sigh. “Guess I don’t really have a choice. Still, I doubt I can do this even with Mew. How many Pokémon are still here anywhere?” The woman thought for a moment, scratching her chin. “Twenty or so,” she answered. A wide grin came onto Larry’s face now.

“Then we’ll attack army style,” he said, raising his fist. “I need you to gather all the Pokémon in one place. Once that happens, we just wait for Dim Sun’s attack and board the ships when they try to get Mew. Oh yea, we’ll need you as bait little guy.” Mew sighed but said nothing, agreeing to the plan.

Turning around, Bell went into the forest to gather the Pokémon. Mew would follow close behind. “Oh and Jenny,” Larry said, looking back to the female trainer. She nodded, understanding what Larry was asking right away. “I’ll be right there to back you up,” she said with a smile. “Plus you’ll need a way back to the village when you rescue Meloetta.” Larry nodded and went over to sit in front of the statue as he waited for Bell & Dim Sun.
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It was dawn when the large Dim Sun armada came over the village. Larry stared in wonder at the floating blimps as a wide grin came onto his face. “Here they come,” Larry whispered to his team. They were all hiding safely in a hole covered under a patch of grass that acted as a roof camouflage for them. Just like they planned, Mew was in the middle of the village, waiting for Dim Sun to land. However, rather than simply landing, the blimps started dropping bombs of some kind. They were letting loose Voltorbs & Electrodes.

“Guess they really want Mew,” Larry thought, a little worried. However, Mew navigated through the bombs with ease, taunting the Dim Sun’s as it did so. The group must have taken the bait, because the next thing everyone knew, the blimps were landing in front of Mew. “Wait for it,” Larry whispered.

Opening up, the blimps would let out a large group of soldier in black suits. “Capture the Mew alive,” they all shouted, raising objects that looked like guns. At that moment, Larry would spring out of his hole with Sunny at his side. “Now!” Larry commanded, breaking out in a run. However, he was stopped when he heard a voice calling to him from nearby. Turning, he’d see a Pokéball being thrown into his hand. It was Mother Bell who had thrown him the white and red object.

“Take this with you,” she said. “It could come in handy later.” Larry nodded in thanks before turning back to the blimps. By now the army of Pokémon was already boarding one of the ships thanks to help from Mew and Jenny. The Soldiers were all scrambling out of the way to avoid getting shot at and trampled. Larry was the last to climb on board, staying behind to hold off the troops so Mew could get on.

After Mew saw that Larry was safely on, it used its psychic powers to close up the blimp and leave the Soldiers trapped in the village. Noticing a button nearby, Jenny pressed it so that the opening would stay closed. “Alright now we just have to find the holding chamber,” Jenny said. “There we should find Meloetta and Darkrai.” Larry nodded and turned to head through the nearest doorway.

As the group made their way through the blimp, they’d encounter opposition from a few grunts here & there and there powerful third level evolutions. These guys weren’t playing around. However, none of them seemed to be a match for Mew and the Pokémon army. However, this wasn’t a good thing. As they advanced, they began to meet tougher and tougher opposition. By the time they finally made it outside the holding chamber, they were tired, exhausted, and injured. “Finally,” Larry said as he looked at the sign that read: “Holding Chamber.”

Using Tropo to bust open the door, Larry and his group looked around expectantly for opposition. However, when they came in, they found no opposition. In fact, there was no Meloetta either. “What the,” Larry said as he walked in. “Where’s Me-“ He cut off as he heard something rising behind him. A wall was coming into the doorway to block their escape.

“It’s a trap!” Larry shouted, banging on the door. However, no one really heard him. Turning he saw why. Rising out of the ground…in a dark pool…was Darkrai! “Holy Crap!” Larry shouted fearfully banging at the door. The legendary Pokémon looked at them with dark red eyes, which was strange for it.

All of a sudden, a secret passage would suddenly open up in the wall as a Dim Sun member walked in. He was a tall man with blond hair and black sunglasses to conceal his eyes. The rest of his body was covered by the usual Dim Sun suit, which actual stretched up to touch his nose. “That’s far enough children,” he said, standing next to Darkrai. “Now if you’ll just hand over Mew, I’ll just let you go peacefully.” Jenny shook her head, jumping in front of Mew.

“We aren’t leaving here without Meloetta and Mew,” she said in a scornful voice. “Tropo, use Body Slam!” Nodding, the Tropius would run up to Darkrai before jumping up in an attempt to slam his whole body into Darkrai. However, the legendary would easily dodge the attack and turn around to deal a powerful Dark Pulse. Raising its hand, Darkrai fired a stream of dark black and purple energy circles straight at Tropo’s head. The powerful point-blank attack was enough to knock the Pokémon out cold.

“Tropo!” Jenny shouted in shock. “Why you!” Darkrai raised its hand again as it readied another Dark Pulse, but it stopped when a ball of energy suddenly collided with it, sending Darkrai flying backwards. Sliding across the floor, Darkrai looked around for the attacker. Its eyes stopped on the small figure of Mew, who was floating towards it. “I think he wants us to go on,” Larry said, noticing Mew’s body language. Mew nodded, gesturing with its tail towards the secret passage that was still open. “You heard the Pokémon,” Larry said, heading towards the doorway. “Everybody come this way.”

However, the Pokémon didn’t move. It seemed that they wanted to stay behind to help Mew. “You guys can stay then,” Larry said. “Let’s go Jenny.” The trainer didn’t move either. She was glued in place thanks to a mixture of anger and sorrow. Larry had to go back to help her. “C’mon Jenny,” Larry said, lightly tugging her arm. “We have to go. Tropo is going to be fine once we get to a Pokémon Center. Right now we have to save Meloetta.” Jenny was hesitant, but nodded, following Larry into the path. Darkrai tried to stop them, but Mew stood in its way. The dark type would have to go through Mew if it wanted Larry.

The pathway the two went through was actually a long corridor which had walls covered with caged Pokémon. “We better free them two,” Larry said, stopping. “Try a vine whip Sunny.” The Snivy nodded and grabbed onto the bars of one cage with her vines. It was a struggle, but the grass type eventually managed to break a Petilil free. “At this rate it’ll be forever before we free everyone,” Larry said with a sigh. “There’s got to be a faster way.”

He looked to Jenny for help, and it just so happened that she had the perfect Pokémon for the job. Throwing out a Pokéball, out would pop a large praying mantis-looking Pokémon with blade-like arms. It was a Scyther. “Alright Blade,” Jenny began, “use Slash on all these cages.” The Scyther nodded before darting around the room and swing around his blades. This method got the job done much quicker, Blade cutting through the cages as if they were made of paper. In no time at all they had everyone happy and free.

Now that this job was done, Larry and Jenny went through the door at the end of the corridor. When they did, they found themselves in a white windowless room filled with watching cameras. Right in the middle of it…was Meloetta! The legendary was trapped in a clear spherical cage that was specially designed to lock out all psychic powers. “Meloetta!” Jenny called, happily rushing towards it. Meloetta looked up at the female with soulless eyes. One could only imagine what they did to this legendary. “We’ve come to rescue,” Larry explained. The legendary’s mood brightened at this, Meloetta standing up with a smile it hadn’t used in a while. Meloetta was in its Aria form at the moment, so its long green wavy hair hung down to touch the floor behind it.

“Free the goddess Blade,” Jenny said with a smile. Raising his arm, the Scyther would cut through the prison with ease, making Meloetta fall out and into the arms of Larry. The cage may have been high tech, but it fell apart just like any other. “You’re free now Meloetta,” Larry said as he put the Pokémon down. It looked up at him and then to Jenny with a smile of gratitude. However, to truly show her gratitude, she wanted to sing. “Sorry but you’ll have to wait to do that,” Larry interrupted just as she started. “Right now we have to go back for Mew and the gang.” Meloetta looked disappointed, but nodded, following after Larry & the rest. When they finally arrived, they came across a horrible sight.

Scattered across the floor of the room were the unconscious bodies of the whole Forest Army. The only one still standing was Mew, who was barely standing. “Mew!” Larry called. “We got Meloetta!” The Pokémon was distracted as it heard the trainer’s voice. Turning its head, Mew was completely unprepared for the Dark Pulse that came next. Larry watched in horror as he saw Mew sent flying across the room and hitting the hard wall behind. Mew was out cold.

“M-Mew,” Larry said in shock. Looking back at Darkrai, Larry did something he hadn’t done in a while. He got angry. “Darkrai!” he growled, taking off in an angry dash. Sunny knew that Larry couldn’t do anything against a normal Pokémon, let alone a Darkrai. Likewise, she would rush in front of him to act as his sword. Stretching out her vines, she aimed to slap Darkrai repeatedly. However, the man controlling it had other plans.

“Maybe I’ll just catch that Snivy of yours too,” he said, taking out a strange white crystal. Throwing it like a dart, the projectile would suddenly vanish as it touched Sunny’s head. At the same time, the Snivy’s vines would drop to the ground and recede into her body. “S-Sunny,” Larry said, a hint of worry in his tone. The Pokémon turned around to look at Larry, so he at first thought the crystal had no effect. However, as he looked into her now dark and soulless eyes, he knew something was wrong.

“Your Snivy belongs to Dim Sun now,” the man said simply. “Isn’t that right, Sunny?” At that moment, the dark purple Dim Sun insignia would appear on Sunny’s head. She was under his control. “What did you do to Sunny?” Larry growled. “Who are you!?” The man didn’t respond, simply taking off his black sunglasses. When he did, Larry found himself looking into a blue right eye. The other eye was covered by a dark high tech monocle of some kind.

“X,” he finally answered. “You can refer to me as X. As for your Pokémon, she’s under the same mind control as Darkrai. The mind control device right here.” As he said that, he pointed to the monocle, which seemed to have a target on it. Jenny growled as she looked at the device. X was just giving them a target because he felt confident that Larry & Jenny couldn’t beat him.

“Don’t get so cocky X,” she said, taking out another Pokéball. “Did you not notice that there were more of us now.” She smiled as she gestured to Meloetta and the rest of the gang. Throwing out the Pokéball, out would pop a green somewhat humanoid Pokémon with flowers for hands. It was a Roserade. “Petal Dance!” Jenny instructed. “Blade, use Razor Wind.” The two nodded and raised their hands as they prepared their attacks. Blade would cross and then swing his arms forward, releasing multiple white crescent shaped blades, while the Roserade would lower her arms and release a stream of flowers. Both attacks were coming straight for Darkrai, but it didn’t move.

They were seconds away from connecting, when a blue spherical barrier suddenly came up to stop the attacks. It was from Sunny, who had used a move called Protect. This came as a surprise to Larry since his Snivy didn’t know that attack. What he didn’t know was that the crystal not only took control of the Pokémon, but also amplified its powers. This was why Darkrai was able to beat Mew so easily. “Vine Whip,” X ordered. “Darkrai, use Quick Attack.” As soon as he said that, Darkrai took off in an incredibly fast speed run & Sunny stretched out her vines to hit the group. Some of the Pokémon took the hits, but others were out of range so they suffered no damage.

“Don’t hurt Sunny!” Larry shouted as he saw some of them about to launch a counter attack. Jumping in front of the Snivy he held out his arms to both sides in a protective manor. Sunny took advantage of this opportunity to whip Larry with her vines. However, the trainer didn’t move. “I’m not giving up on you Sunny,” Larry said, closing one eye from the pain. “Fight the mind control dude.”

The punishment continued and Jenny desperately wanted to step in, but she could see by the fire in Larry’s eye that he wouldn’t let anyone interfere. “Why won’t you just go down already?” X asked, a hint of anger in his tone. “It’s hopeless. You’ll just end up dying this way.” Larry turned his head to X and surprised the man as his lips parted in a smirk. “It’s simple really,” he answered. “Sunny’s my best friend. She’s may be just another Pokémon to you, but to me she’s more important than anything. I’d rather die than let you take her.”

X wasn’t moved, simply looking down on Larry and his views. However, the same couldn’t be said for Sunny. It was for a split second, but Larry saw her eyes suddenly change back to their normal red color for a moment. She was fighting desperately against the mind control, and X could see that now. “S-ni-vy,” Sunny said as she fought. “S-ni-vy. S-ni-v-“ She cut off when she suddenly felt a hand come across her cheek. It was a Wake-Up Slap…from Meloetta. While everyone was distracted, she had somehow made her way up to the Snivy without Darkrai spotting her.

“Snivy,” Sunny said in surprise. All of a sudden, her eyes would return to their normal red as the mind control was broken. “Snivy,” Larry said, dropping to his knees. The vine whips had really done a number on him. Sunny walked around Meloetta so that she was standing face to face with Larry now. “Snivy,” she said, looking up into her trainer’s eyes. This was a side of Larry Sunny had never seen before and this was a side of Sunny Larry had never seen before. For the first time, they were being sentimental.

“Thank you Meloetta,” Larry said, remembering the legendary. Turning around, Larry would see that Meloetta had vanished. Looking around, he saw that it was now fighting with Darkrai. The two were fighting on equal grounds, most likely because the battle with Mew had done some damage. For a Psychic, Meloetta fought considerably well hand to hand. “Go Meloetta!” Larry cheered. “Now then…” Turning his attention back to X, Larry would notice that his high tech monocle had cracked. It must’ve been because of Sunny breaking free.

“You’re mine now!” Larry exclaimed as he made a run for the leader. However, he would suddenly stop when he saw a dark figure suddenly appear in front of him. Darkrai had used quick attack to get ahead of Larry. Larry shivered as he now found himself looking up into the dark type’s piercing red eyes. Darkrai was using hypnosis. All of a sudden, Larry would find himself falling backwards as he fell into a deep sleep.
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“Where am I?” Larry said as he walked around the dream world. “What is this place?” Looking around, he saw nothing but dark clouds. It was easy to see, but at the same time extremely dark. Larry wasn’t unsure about this place. All of a sudden, Larry would notice a dark figure moving in the corner of his eye.

However, when he looked, there was no one here. Moments later, it happened again to the same results. “Who’s there?” Larry asked. There was no answer. He didn’t see anyone out of the corner of his eye anymore either. Looking about in a somewhat paranoid fashion, he continued to walk around. However, he stopped when he heard something behind him.

Turning, he was shocked to find Darkrai was standing right behind him. “Holy Crap!” Larry shouted, falling backwards. When he looked back up, Darkrai was gone. “What was that all about?” Larry thought, getting up.

The horror show didn’t end there. It seemed that Darkrai was playing on a human’s worse fears. Swarms of spiders, creepy dolls, ghost attacks, Darkrai was pulling out all the stops the frighten Larry. However, there was one crucial detail that Darkrai hadn’t predicted. Larry loved the dark. He loved the ghosts that jumped out at you and the spiders that ran over your feet. He loved the dolls that seemed to watch you and the bats that came towards you. Larry loved everything about the dark, so Darkrai was at a disadvantage in this area. Eventually, he just decided to give up since Larry was enjoying the Nightmare way too much. It was time for a different tactic.
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Larry woke up moments later in a daze. His head felt like it was about to explode, so he grabbed it to try to ease his pain. “Ow,” he whined, sitting up. “What happened?” Looking around, he found another horrifying sight. Lying on the ground unconscious…was everyone. Meloetta, Jenny, Sunny, they had all fell to the hand of Darkrai. All that was left was Larry.

Standing up, Larry looked at his follow team with sorrow. Now what was he to do? Sunny was the only Pokémon he’d brought on this trip, everyone else being left at the Pokémon Center. He couldn’t fight both X and Darkrai alone. Just as X had said, he’d die that way. So what was left for him to do? Clenching his fist, he fought back a tear of defeat.

That was when Larry remembered…he still had one more Pokémon! The Pokéball Mother Bell had given him…he could still use that! “Please be someone good,” Larry thought, taking out the Pokéball. When he threw it in the air, out would pop a bipedal jackal-like Pokémon. “What the,” Larry thought, taking out his Pokédex. After scanning the creature, the mechanical voice turned on in its usual explanation.

“Lucario,” he began, “the Aura Pokémon and the evolved form of Riolu. By sensing the aura of its opponents, Lucario can read their thoughts and movements. It is said that no foe can remain invisible to Lucario, since it can detect Auras. Even foes it could not otherwise see.” Larry grinned at that explanation. He had himself a champion who might just stand a chance against Darkrai, who was weak from all the fighting.

“And it says here that Lucario is a fighting steel type,” Larry added. “That gives us the advantage. Alright X, prepare to get owned. ” Darkrai responded to this by giving Lucario a powerful Dark Pulse. Lucario instinctively fired his own Dark Pulse to cancel out Darkrai’s. The two attacks collided with one another before exploding in a cloud of smoke.

“Good job Lucario!” Larry congratulated. “Now Close Combat!” The Pokémon nodded before leaping into the cloud of smoke. Inside, the silhouettes of Lucario and Darkrai could be seen battling one another. Lucario seemed to be pushing Darkrai back, but it quickly countered by releasing a gust of purple wind at Lucario, pushing him backwards. “Ominous Wind,” Larry said. “So you’re using ghost moves now, eh? Lucky for us, Lucario can handle ghost stuff just as good as dark stuff. Let’s see if you can handle it too. Alright Lucario, show him how fast you are. Extreme Speed!”

At that order, Lucario would suddenly launch at Darkrai in a tackle at an incredible speed. It was so fast that the legendary had no time to react, being sent backwards by the attack. “Now Aura Sphere!” Larry shouted, getting excited in the heat of battle. Raising his hand, Lucario fired multiple tiny blue energy balls at the Darkrai. They connected hard on it, sending Darkrai even further backwards. It was on the ground now, panting from all the damage done. Larry took advantage of this opportunity to run for X. Jumping up, Larry aimed to punch out the cracked monocle. The attack caught X completely off guard and actually shattered the device.

“That’s what you get,” Larry said, seeing X fall now. He must not have been much of a fighter, because Larry didn’t even have good fighting skills. Turning around, Larry would run up to stand in front of Darkrai, looking down to analyze its face. Its eyes had returned to their normal bright blue color, so the legendary was back to normal. “You’re free now,” Larry explained with a smile. However, Darkrai didn’t answer. Instead, it simply sunk into the floor like the mysterious shadow that it was. Still, Larry heard the distinct words “Thank you” echoing in his brain. He didn’t know who’s voice it was, but decided not to question it.

Turning his attentions back to the wounded others, Larry made a sudden realization. “How are we going to get out of here!?” Larry exclaimed suddenly. As if to answer his question, Larry would suddenly find him and everyone else standing in the middle of the village. It was thanks to Mew, who had just woken up. “Thanks Mew,” Larry said graciously. The legendary nodded before suddenly disappearing as it turned invisible. Now all that was left was to get everyone to a Pokémon Center.
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In the days that followed, everything returned to normal in the village. After giving Nurse Joy quiet a scare, all the Pokémon were healed and returned to the forest. Mew & Meloetta went back to protecting everyone as the guardians, Darkrai joining them later on. Jenny became recognized as a strong trainer and was appointed the position as village second in command. As for Larry & Sunny, the two were later rescued from the island when their cruise ship was making a journey from Johto to Etrua. Now, as they enjoyed themselves as they were Etrua bound, Larry & Sunny found that they had a new respect for one another. However, Larry still felt uneasy. Dim Sun may have retreated after the fall of their leader, but how long would they stay quiet. Whenever they acted again, the village would have at least been happy that Larry would be right there to help out again. After all this excitement, that island seemed like a second home.