Young Writers Society

Day ?

Latias shook herself dry as she surfaced from the Terraria River. She’d already scouted out her assigned area for any humans several times over, not finding anything. So now, she was just waiting for her brother to come and find her to bring her back to the Shrine.

“Maybe I’m due for a nap. That bath has me all tired now.” Latias thought. She’d been tempted to try and make contact with some of the New Order, maybe try to be the go between girl for a peace treaty. But Latios had shouted at her when she suggested it, saying they couldn’t be trusted.

“Unlike the rest of them, I remember how things used to be when we all cooperated.”

Latias took off at a slow speed from the river banks, now feeling a little depressed. She hated all this anger, not having the freedom she used to. Latios hardly let her go out for some lfight anymore, afraid she’d be attacked. Well here she was, out in the wilderness, and no one was launching deadly energy attacks at her.

“Oh, hello Latias. Fancy meeting you here.”

Latias almost jumped out of her skin at the voice. She swung around, letting out a small scream.

“Aww, I’m not that scary am I?”

Hoopa floated behind her, twirling one of his rings around his arm.

“Oh, Hoopa. You scared me.” Latias said, her heart slowing down.

“I get that a lot. No one seems to like me very much.” Hoopa pouted.

“Oh, don’t say that. I think you’re pretty cute.” Latias said, trying to cheer him up.

“Why thank you Latias. If only the rest of the New Order was as nice as you.”

“Yeah, I hate this whole war. I’d have stayed neutral, but my brother wanted to keep me safe.”

“Well, too bad he failed.” Hoopa said, a wicked smile spreading across his face.

“What?” Latias said, sensing some buildup of power in Hoopa.

“Sorry to have to do this. Actually, I’m not sorry at all.” Hoopa said. Before Latias could react, Hoopa tossed one of his hoops at Latias. It expanded in size until it easily could fit over her. As it passed over her, Latias was pulled inside the portal that formed inside the Hoop. For just a moment, Hoopa saw a cry for help form on her lips, but she’d been pulled inside Hoopa’s personal dimension before any sound could be made. The Hoop shrunk back to normal size, floating back into Hoopa’s outstretched hands.

“Ha. I caught a Latias.” Hoopa happily said.
“Would I like to nickname the Latias? Sure. How about “Hoopa’s little Hostage.” Has a nice ring to it, wouldn’t you agree?” Hoopa spoke to the hoop, petting it.

“Ooh, I can just imagine Latios. “Oh, where’s my sister? I’d give anything to have her back! What’s that, the plates? Sure, take them all! I’m so worthless, I can’t do anything myself! Wah wah wah!” Maybe I should send a little incentive to have them get those plates together faster. Maybe a finger, a tuft of fur. Or does she have feathers? I guess I’ll figure out when I shave some off. Or maybe cut off her entire wing and send that? Ooh hoo hoo, I can’t wait to get started.”

Hoopa tossed his other hoop into the air, forming another portal. He’d torture Latias later. Right now, he’d head back to Mt. Providence and visit some of his old friends there. Maybe catch up with Xerneas. Hoopa passed through the hoop, vanishing. The hoop itself blinked out of existence seconds later, leaving no evidence of what had happened.

Day -X

"Hey. come on. Wake up."

"Wuhh..."

"Phew. I thought you were dead."

"Where... am I"

"Wow, so you can talk. You're outside a nice little town called Treasure Town. Home to the famous Wigglytuff guild. Though the founder of it has been dead for quite a while now. My name is Mew by the way. What's yours."

"I... my name. I can't remember..."

"That's ok. Names aren't that important. So... what are you supposed to be. I don't think I've ever seen a Ditto with such weird colors. Or are you a grimer with weird colors..."

"I'm sorry, but I don't know what you're talking about. I was supposed to do something important."

"Well, why don't you come with me. With colors like that, your parents shouldn't be too hard to track down. Can you remember anything at all?"

"I think so. I was once human. I think I remember something else. I'm supposed to be something called the Guardian of Life."

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

"Volunteer has not reappeared for two weeks. Pass on condolences to his family. Were scrapping the project. I guess we just weren't meant to discover other worlds."

Twinkiel - Roleplay Acceptance

Day A4, 13:00

Twinkiel let out a deep sigh.
"I don't even care anymore..."
Suddenly, a Zangoose jumped at him, his claws out. Twinkiel's gaze sharpened instantly. He dodged the hit and put his paw on the enemy's back.
"Enel Impact!"
Twinkiel used Discharge!
The Zangoose was immediately electrified and fell at the Flaaffy's feet.
"That was... Quite foolish," said Twinkiel, his smile and confidence slowly coming back to him.
"Man. I should do that more often. Naming stuff like that is so satisfying!"
A Servine he had not seen before rapidly walked towards him, a restrained anger in her eye.
"Identify yourself, trespasser!" she angrily hissed. "How dare you interrupt a war between us and our most hated enemies?"
"Wow," was the Flaaffy's reply, "serious dejà-vu. Are you perhaps part of the Knife's Edge tribe? Because if so, I believe Seviper of the Venom Knife should be here."
Spadassya's tail was now bursting with energy as her indignation grew.
"How... how does a trespassing MONGREL such as yourself knows my father's new title?"
Twinkiel stared at her, utterly shocked.
"Wha... You are Sir Snake's daughter?"
"Reproduction is possible between the two species. Same Egg Group."
"I DON'T WANT DETAILS ON THAT, THANK YOU."
"Wow," he continued, now more disturbed than appalled. "That's weird, he never mentioned having a daughter. As for your question, My Lady, I am the one who blessed him with it. I believed it was fitting considering his position."
"What?! Don't lie to me, mongrel!!"
Another sly smile appeared on Twinkiel's face. It was time to teach this girl a lesson.
"I am no mongrel, My Lady. Allow me to properly introduce myself."
Suddenly, the electricity that was around him earlier appeared again, shinning even more powerfully.
"I am Twinkiel Thunderfleece!" he proudly announced. "Follower of the Thunder Fleece, Master of Lightning, Ally to the Knife's Edge..."
He turned back, glaring at the Zangooses.
"...And crusher of their enemies. Begone, pathetic foes, or you shall taste heaven's shocking wrath in the form of my Enel Impact!"
Several snakes began chanting his name and, much to the Servine's astonishment, The Zangooses decided retreat, not before one of them shouted a generic "I'll be back" from his mouth. Probably the chief. Twinkiel fell on his knees, exhausted.
"So, um... does anyone have a Sitrus Berry?"

******
"...And you want ME to help you in this war?!"
The Servine nodded gravely.
Twinkiel had been brought back to the Viper's Den escorted by the Knife's Edge tribe and the one they called Spadassya, the Seviper's daughter. He had immediately realized that something terrible had happened to the place, as it had been completely ravaged after his last visit. Spadassya had told Twinkiel that two of their prisoners had escaped and created in the process a chaotic situation for the Knife's Edge, as their leader had been severely wounded and was suffering from powerful headaches, which the Skull's Claw had used as an opportunity to launch a surprise assault on the Viper's Den.
"Okay okay... First of all, I need as much information as possible. Who's the Skull's Claw?"
"The Skull's Claw is a powerful tribe mostly composed of Zangooses," explained Spadassya. "They're one of four the deadliest and most thriving tribe of the entire forest, Along with us, the Volt's Fang and the Wing's Dart. Furthermore, they-"
"Stop. Which are the most aggressive?"
Spadassya seemed confused by Twinkiel's question, but answered anyway.
"Well... The Skull's Claw is pretty aggressive, but the Volt's Fang are the worse. They always attack first if they feel threatened. As for the Wing's Dart, they're the most unpredictable. They don't attack usually attack unless they're really forced to, however."
The Flaaffy nodded, deeply focusing.
"This is bad."
Everyone started at Twinkiel, awaiting for him to elaborate.
"Here's what I understand so far," he started. "We've got four tribes dominating this Forest, one of which being weakened: that's us. Thing is, our tribe's led by a Seviper, and we've got another one led by a Zangoose. And according to my... Um... knowledge, both species have been rivals for centuries, therefore the Skull's Claw might have attacked just for that reason. That, and I remember a few Zangoose prisoners in the Viper's Den. Putting that aside, assuming that the two other tribes are aware of the conflict - which probably is the case -, we've got one very aggressive tribe. No matter who wins the conflict, someone's going to gain some territory. Which means the Volt's Fang might feel threatened by such a thing."
Spadassya nodded, now understanding the nature of the problem.
"Assuming we win the first war, we just might have a second one coming on our hands, and we'd be too exhausted to deal with it."
"Precisely. Do your tribe has any allies?"
"We do, but the Skull's Claw does as well. We know how they function: out of pride, they wouldn't dare summon help to win against us. If we do this, however, it'll just bring the conflict on a larger scale. And nobody wants to do that, for it might attract the Volt's Fang's attention."
"Right..."
Twinkiel suddenly remembered Celebi's words. The Plates!"
"Um, Spadassya, was it? Do your tribe has any info about the "Palace of Fauna?" It is a... mysterious place that was supposed to be located in the jungle, apparently."
"Yes, indeed. However you should not go there: it is very close to the Skull's Claw's lair."
"Which means I have to help them win this stupid war in order to get close to it. Figures. "
Twinkiel nodded, impassive.
"Alright then. We need a plan. Now tell me: what do your soldiers learn? What are the Knife's Edge's prideful skills?"
"All of our members know Gunk Shot and Poison Tail, my father's signature move," she recited. "All the members of my squadron know Iron Tail and Dig. My father himself uses Poison Tail, Iron Tail, Flamethrower and Belch."
"Alright then. And what's your moveset?"
"Leaf Blade, Iron Tail, Coil and Dig. I am quite the spy," she added haughtily.
A gloomy smile appeared on Twinkiel's face as his Inner Echo filled his mind with various information on the moves Spadassya had named.
"If you want me to help you all," state Twinkiel carefully, "then I need you to accept me as the tribe's Captain. There are specific orders that I need to give to your tribe, but I can only do that if you, as their current chief, accept me as your ally. The decision is up to you."
Spadassya locked her gaze into the Flaaffy's, hesitant.
"I'm not exactly sure if that's how my father would've want things to be done, but I suppose I can trust you. You did prove yourself to his eyes, after all. Alright then, Captain Twinkiel Thunderfleece. I hereby name you Chief Strategist of our forces. What do you propose?"
Twinkiel's smile grew larger. That was all he needed.
"Captain Twinkiel will do. Now, the only thing I'd enjoy for now is that you all get some rest as I prepare my next proposition. According to what you've said, the Skull's Claw will strike when their forces are reorganized, which hopefully will not happen anytime soon. That is all. May the Knife's Edge prevail!"
The Flaaffy bowed to his new commanding partner and was escorted to a small room from which he could tranquilly hatch his scheme.

******
Twinkiel was satisfied: the preparations were going smoothly. The Knife's Edge had been divided into several groups of action. First, the Sweepers: a squadron of vanguards composed of offensive Arboks that would clear the field with their Belch and Gunk Shot moves. Then, the Scouts - composed of fast and agile Ekans - would come in and safely secure the cleared areas using their Dig attacks and would eliminate any remaining enemies in said areas. While the two groups do their job, the main bulk of the tribe's army - or Strikers - would prepare themselves using Coil in order to raise their speed, strength and defense. And if they lack the time to fully prepare themselves, the Petrifiers - oddly led by an Eelektross and a few Eelektriks - would have to buy them some time, paralyzing any foes using their mighty Glare or Thunderwave moves. Finally, the small group of Hazers would use Haze in order to prevent any Zangoose to use their handy Toxic Boosts move - Ability that Twinkiel came to know about thanks to a Zangoose prisoner's... shocking cooperation.
The Flaaffy was jubilating. He had absolutely every card in his hand.
"And that's exactly why something's gonna go wrong", annoyingly repeated his Inner Echo.
Remembering his unfortunate encounter against the Machoke and later Kyurem, Twinkiel would make sure to listen to such an advice and remain sharp.
"Thank you."
Twinkiel turned around. Spadassya had sneaked up behind him - again - and was standing on the high platform next to him, a light smile on her face.
"You have brought us quite a battle plan, and you do not fear hurting your enemies to get what you want. But most importantly, you have brought what our people needed in those dark times."
She expectantly gazed at him.
"Let me guess... The light of hope?"
The Servine chuckled.
"Sorry, I just had to try that one, it's so fitting on you," she continued, dropping all formalities.
"Seriously?" he replied, faking exasperation. "You start by stating that I'm a mongrel and a trespasser in front of an entire crowd, and four hours later you start making puns? And I thought I was weird!"
This time she burst out laughing.
"To my defense, I had never seen a friendly Electric type before. And you are a trespasser, even if we accepted you. Not to mention I'm pretty sure Father's greeting was just as harsh. And scarier."
"Oh you have NO idea! I mean he's got this freakin' KNIFE for a tail, how scary is that?"
"Says the sadistic psycho who can torture a Zangoose via shocking means..."
"Hey, I was acting! And... did you just stole my line?"
"Maybe... but was the scheme you hatched part of your act?"
"Well, um..."
"Captain Twinkiel!" called an exhausted Ekans "They're coming!"
Twinkiel and Spadassya shared a look, both anxious. They came sooner than expected.
"Is it the whole tribe?"
"Yes! And they... They appear to be led by Griffol, Captain."
"I assume he's their chief?"
"Yes," confirmed Spadassya, her tone suddenly cold. "And he's also the fiend who took my mother."
"Spadassya..."
"I know. No personal feelings should interfere with the plan. Trust me, I know."
"Just making sure. Ok then! Squad Masters report!"
The Sweeper, Scout, Striker, Petrifier and Hazer Squad Masters arrived.
"The enemy seem to arrive sooner than expected, but everyone is ready!" assured the Eelektross, leader of the Petrifier Squad. "All the skills and strategic movements have been tried and mastered, so the only thing we need is to go out there and destroy them."
Twinkiel nodded in approval. So far so good.
"Well then everyone!" he concluded. "Time for you all to prove yourselves in the field..."
"Kid's Next Door! BATTLE STATIONS!"
"...Everyone take your positions!"

******
Twinkiel had a perfect vision of the scene from his tree. When Griffol and his pack of Zangooses arrived, Spadassya engaged the planned discussion with him. Far away in the back, the Strikers began their part of the plan with Coil. Twinkiel smiled. They'd have more than enough time to build up their strength.
Suddenly, Spadassya unleashed a fierce battle cry. Twinkiel turned his head in her direction, just in time to witness her disappearance underground as a band of beige and brown running Pokémons rushed towards her.

"N°264: Linoone. Type: Normal. Last Evolution. This Pokémon's strength lies in his phenomenal speed, as it can reach 100 Kilometers per hour at his best!"

Fortunately, the Sweepers appeared in time and used their powerful Gunk Shots and Belches to repel the attackers.
"They're vastly outnumbered," realized Twinkiel. "Spadassya should summon the Scouts anytime now."
The Flaaffy turned his head back to the Strikers and gasped, realizing that they were under some kind of attack. He jumped from his position and ran towards them as five shadows kept harassing the snakes.

"N°461: Weavile. Type: Dark/Ice. Last Evolution. They usually live in packs of 4 or 5 in cold regions. When they hunt, their group shows unearthly coordination skills."
"Move: Snatch. The user steals the effects of any attempts to use a healing or stats-changing move. "

So that was their plan. A rapid frontal attack while destroying the army's organization from the rear. Clever move. But fortunately for Twinkiel, they had little information on the leading Flaaffy. If they did they woudl've never sent such valuable targets directly towards him.
Twinkiel used Power Gem! It's Super Effective! It's a Critical Hit!
The Flaaffy had aimed for the head and it had paid off: one of the Weavile was down for the count. Another one swiftly approached Twinkiel, readying an Ice Punch. Twinkiel didn't even have time for a Cotton Guard: the stats boosts the spy had snatched for himself were in effect.
Spadassya used Iron Tail! It's Super Effective!
The Weavile was mercilessly pushed aside, instantly knocked out.
"Twinkiel!" the Servine called, still in good shape. "Griffol has been delt with. Go to the frontline! I can deal with the rest of the spies by myself. You don't have the speed to handle them all."
"Spadassya, they're part ice. You might be in trouble if you-"
"Don't worry about me, I won't be fighting alone! Just go!"
The Flaaffy reluctantly obliged as he switched his place with Spadassya.
In the frontline, the battle was difficult: The Scouts had joined the Sweepers, but despite having caused many casualties in the enemy corner, the Linoones just kept coming.
Twinkiel used Discharge!
Six Linoones fainted at the same time, much to an assaulted Arbok's relief.
"Situation report, Squad Master Midgar!"
The purple snake immediately approached Twinkiel, screaming over the sound of raging combats.
"We've got lots of Linoones here, and many of them used Belly Drums to reduce their stamina but boost their attack. And since they're much faster than we are, we're gradually losing our positions."
"Right. Call the Petrifiers, then. Spadassya is busy dealing with some spies in the back. When she's done with them, the Strikers should come rescue us. C'mon, make the call! I'll give you guys a hand here!"
"Aye, Captain!"
Midgar disappeared underground.
"Midgar Snake circling around the World."
"I'll care about references later, please."
Twinkiel used Discharge!
Another group of Linoones fainted. As the struggle continued, Twinkiel realized that the Sweepers' strategy was working well: they could simply escape underground as Twinkiel used his Discharge all around him, and reappear to finish their sweeping duty when the coast was clear. Plus, the Hazers had come to help them deal with the boosted Linoones, who were only Pokémons with self-reduced health after their intervention. In the end, the combination of Gunk Shot and Belch finally wiped out the last group of Linoones, but a more dangerous threat was coming.
"Captain Twinkiel, look!"
The Flaaffy had seen them. Scythers were hidden behind the defeated Linoones, rapidly approaching.

"N°123: Scyther. Type: Bug/Flying First Evolution. Evolves when holding a Metal Coat. Blessed with extraordinary reflexes, his favorite battle tactic is to harass his opponent while circling around him with amazing speed."

Move: Swords Dance. Raises the user's Attack by 2.
Move: Agility. User raises his Speed by 2.
"The Weaviles," realized Twinkiel with horror. "They've been spying on us the whole time. The Skull's Claw created a strategy to try and counter ours."
But as the first group of Scythers arrived, they suddenly stopped advancing, paralyzed by fear or electricity.
"Sorry to keep y'all waitin'!'
The Eelektross and his Petrifier Squad arrived, using Glares and Thunderwaves to paralyze the coming enemies. The Flaaffy authorized a smile of relief to appear on his face. The Scythers were all part flying, which meant that his Power Gem and Discharge could make the difference. And the Scythers' speed meant nothing if they were paralyzed.
Twinkiel used Discharge!
A group of Scythers fell on the ground, all knocked out.
"Twinkiel!"
Upon hearing the Servine's familiar voice, Twinkiel's smile grew larger. The spies had been dealt with, which meant that the Strikers would arrive shortly as well. The Knife's Edge had the upper hand again.
"C'mon on, people!" shouted the Captain to his troops, motivated. "let's show those nitwits that WE MEAN BUSINESS! Tonight, we've got Zangoose coats for EVERYONE!"
Following Twinkiel Thunderfleece's lead, The Knife's Edge charged at their enemies, fearless.

End of Day A1


Zulu snapped awake. He looked around, looking for what had woken him. The others were still asleep, except Cresselia. She had volunteered for watch duty while the group slept under the rock outcropping. Zulu tried getting back to sleep, but he felt too anxious now. Something bad had happened somewhere, he just knew it. No longer seeing sleep as an option, Zulu fluttered over to Cresselia.

“Hey.” Zulu said, landing beside her.

“Hello Zulu. Trouble sleeping?”

“Yes. I just have a bad feeling, like something terrible happened to someone.” Zulu said.

“No doubt you may have some link to the other six humans.” Cresselia said.

“Six? I thought there was me, Ren, Frost, and the new one Frost is with?”

“Though I have no confirmation, I believe Shaymin may have found three others. It’s odd. Latios and Latias are normally very constant in relaying telepathic messages.” Cresselia said uneasily.

“Well why don’t we go ahead and fly to the next temple? Why are we staying so low to the ground?” Zulu asked.

“The skies have become unsafe as of late. Tornadus and Thunderous are active in this area, as well as Cobalion’s air force. Zapdos may also be near the jungle. We’re safer travelling low, though by the time we reach the jungle, neither the land nor sky will be safe.” Cresselia said gravely.

“Why’s that?” Zulu questioned.

“The jungle is home to a tribe that is very hostile to outsiders. Travelling through the jungle will be dangerous, but so would flying over it.”

“Great.” Zulu sighed.

“It’s not ideal, but we must find the Palace of Fauna. I would recommend trying to make peace with the tribe, but that’s too risky.”

“So far, everything seems risky about going there.” Zulu said.

“I agree, but trying to convince the tribe to let us through safely is the least risky of all the options.”

Despite the reassurance, Zulu was still terrified. This place sounded like it might be the most challenging area yet, and they were only on their third plate.

“I heard that Dragon Pulse stopped working.” Cresselia said. So, Absol had told her after all.

“Yes…” Zulu admitted.

“You don’t need to feel down. You’ve grown considerably stronger. Your Air Cutter is much better than it was when I first met you.”

“Yeah, but that’s nothing compared to throwing Psychic Spears, or incinerating entire rooms. What good can I do fighting alongside guys who do that?” Zulu asked.

“Lots. Your Supersonic saved our lives when we fought Darkrai.” Cresselia said.
“Without you, we would have all died there.”

Zulu perked up a little. He’d always seen that moment as everyone else beating Darkrai while he just watched.

“And a Pokemon can’t become immune to learning a move. I’m certain this is only temporary. Dragon Pulse will come back again. I promise.”

Zulu felt a flutter in his chest at the way Cresselia spoke to him.

“Now’s a good a time as any. Everyone else is asleep. Just one teensy weensy attract?”

“Don’t take this as my agreeing with you, but even if I did try it, who knows how long it would last. Or if it would even wear off.”

“Who cares. You’d have a legendary as a girlfriend. If that wouldn’t get you credit, I don’t know what would.”

“Zulu? Is something wrong?” Cresselia asked.

Zulu realized he’d been staring at Cresselia, mouth open.

“What? No. Nothing’s wrong. Just tired is all.” Zulu said, faking a yawn. He really hoped Cresselia hadn’t been reading his mind. What was wrong with him?

“Will you be able to sleep? You still seem troubled.” Cresselia said.
“If you’d like, I can allow you to sleep on my back. My feathers are said to repel nightmares, and even promote good dreams..”

“S-sure. That sounds nice.” Zulu stuttered.

Cresselia leaned over, letting Zulu flap onto her back. He flopped down onto his stomach, enjoying the plushness of her feathers. Already he was feeling calmer.

“Thanks Cresselia.” Zulu sighed, closing his eyes.

“You’re welcome. Goodnight Zulu.”

Cresselia was right when she said her feathers promoted good dreams. That night, Zulu once again dreamed he was an all-powerful dragon. He saw Frost, Ren, Absol, Moltres, and Cresselia looking up at him, cheering as he blasted Zapdos out of the sky with Dragon Pulse. And as he came in for a landing, Cresselia floated over and gave him a peck on the cheek.

~~~~~
Day A2

“When you said this place was dangerous, you weren’t kidding.” Ren said. Moltres, Lugia, and Cresselia surveyed the Greatwood jungle from a high cliff. Ren, Absol, and Zulu rode on each of their respective backs.

“Something’s not right here. Who could they be fighting?” Lugia pondered. Signs of a large battle could be seen taking place in the jungle.

“Cresselia. Can you tell what’s happening?” Moltres asked. Cresselia closed her eyes, surveying the area with her telepathy.

“It seems that the snake tribes are engaged in battle with another tribe. I’ve heard of them, but they were so small before. And I can sense someone else out there…”

Cresselia opened her eyes.

“Zapdos and Tornadus are here, with a squadron of Skarmory. They must be here for the plate. They’re letting the two armies fight, then strike the victor while they’re still weak.” Cresselia explained.

“How many Skarmory are we talking?” Moltres said, sounding like the answer would be a challenge.

“About thirty. Why?”

“Just wondering how many I’d have to take down.” Moltres answered.
“I mean come on. Steel types? In the Air? They’re just asking for it. Plus, I’m looking for a fight against my traitorous brother.” Moltres said.

“Ren, are you going with her?” Lugia asked the Blaziken.

“I’m thinking.” He answered, considering.

“Ok. Moltres could use your help. You’d be a nice backup fighter if you rode on her back into battle. Me, Cresselia, Zulu, and Absol will head into the jungle. If we offer help to the snake tribes, we might be able to get on their good side.” Lugia said.

“That’s surprisingly creative Lugia.” Cresselia smiled.

“Hey, I have my moments.” Lugia responded, smiling.

“You gonna let that flying whale hit on your girl?”

“Now is really not the time.”

“We need to get going. So Ren, what’s it going to be?” Moltres asked.

All eyes turned to Ren.

Day ?



Bloodmoon grunted as he slammed into the ground.

“I’m starting to think that trying to say badass works like trying to say Voldemort’s name.” Bloodmoon laughed, coughing a little in the process. Then he realized, he’d finally said it.

“Yes.” Bloodmoon cheered weakly, fist pumping. He’d finally said it.
“Alright, who decided to try and choke me?”

Bloodmoon looked around where he’d ended up. It looked exactly like the circular chamber he’d just been in, but without the corridor Genesect had carried him down. The mirror was still in the center though. But as he stared at it, something stepped through. It was… him.

“Wow, original. An evil doppelganger living in a dark mirror.” Bloodmoon gasped, rubbing his throat.
“Some grip you’ve got there.”

The mirror image of him just stared silently.

“What a shame. I’d have liked to have someone that talks my style to exchange battle banter with. Having just a science nerd robot to talk to gets real old.” Bloodmoon complained. His doppelganger raised its claws up.

“Well, at least you know how to put up a fight. Nothing like a good old boxing match. Let’s dance.”

The figure zoomed across the floor towards Bloodmoon, legs not even moving. It slashed at him with its claws, but it only managed to slice through the fur on his chest. Bloodmoon quickly slashed back with his own claws, hitting his lookalike’s arm. But instead of any noticeable marks appearing on it, Bloodmoon yelled in pain as he felt claw marks appear on his own arm.

“No fair!” Bloodmoon yelled, trying to mask the pain he was feeling. The lookalike wasted no time zooming back towards its opponent, this time slashing forward with both claws. Bloodmoon could only fall backwards, narrowly avoiding the claws.

“Well great. How do I beat this thing?” He thought, frustrated. Then he saw the mirror.
“Forget this. I’m out.”

Bloodmoon jumped up, making a run for the mirror. Before he could reach it, the reflection of him running towards the mirror leapt out at him, the old one vanishing.

“Come on!” He shouted in frustration, quickly leaping sideways as the new lookalike jumped at him with its claws swinging. It left a gash on his leg, causing him to fall down once he’d landed. So if he hit it, he got hurt. If it hit him, he got hurt. How did he beat something like this?

“Screw… you…” Bloodmoon gasped as he clutched his leg. The lookalike glided over to him, once again reaching for his throat. All of a sudden, Bloodmoon’s rage was released in a massive surge of energy. The lookalike was flung backwards, colliding with the opposite wall. Bloodmoon looked himself over, but he hadn’t received any new wounds.

“Dark energy affects it!” Bloodmoon realized. He shakily stood up, laughing.
“You really had me going there Bloodmoon. But, once again, I prove to be too dangerous for myself to handle.”

The lookalike floated upright, looking at him with its lifeless eyes.

“But between the two of us, only I’m a bada…”

The lookalike fired its own dark energy blast at Bloodmoon, who rolled away just in time.

“You’ve got to be freaking kidding me!”

Bloodmoon retaliated with his own Night Daze, joy rising as he watched the blast knock the lookalike back again. Dark mist began to seep out of the lookalike, pooling then dissipating on the floor.

“Wonder if I’m dealing with the basic three hit kill rule of some videogame bosses.” Bloodmoon said. His lookalike was starting to look very ragged, a weird groaning noise coming from it.

“Well, it’s been fun Bloodmoon Jr., but I’ve got to split. There’s a plate with my name on it around here.”

Bloodmoon imagined the lookalike being totally obliterated by Night Daze. He felt the energy building up in him, but Bloodmoon kept it down, storing it. The Lookalike pushed itself off the wall, gliding towards him.

“Adios bee otch.”

Bloodmoon released the energy, a massive blast of writhing dark matter. The Lookalike completely vanished in the blast, its body utterly destroyed. But Bloodmoon held the blast for quite a while before letting up, not wanting to take any chances. By the time he cut off the attack, any trace of the lookalike was gone. Bloodmoon panted, that last attack having drained a lot of energy.

“Good riddance.” Bloodmoon sighed.

He looked over to the mirror. He really hoped walking towards it wouldn’t spawn another lookalike. Bloodmoon knew he didn’t have it in him for another fight. But as he stepped towards it, his reflection didn’t lunge out at him. Bloodmoon walked in front of it, but before stepping through it, he took a few minutes to admire his newly acquired battle scars.

“Yep, the ladies will love these.” Bloodmoon chuckled before stepping through the mirror.


~~~~~


Bloodmoon reappeared back in the room he’d been in before. Genesect was waiting for him.

“Organic Bloodmoon, do you require medical attention?” Genesect asked.

“Just seal up these cuts for me and I’ll be good. I really hope this guardian is easier than that guy was.” Bloodmoon said, walking over to Genesect. Genesect activated his cannon, pointing it towards Bloodmoon.

“Whoa! Same team!” Bloodmoon cried, taking a step back.

“This Platform will use light doses of regenerative radiation to seal Organic Bloodmoon’s wounds.” Genesect declared.

“Oh. Well in that case, fire away.”

A bright light shone out of the end of Genesect’s cannon, bathing Bloodmoon in it. Bloodmoon sighed as he felt the radiation slightly healing his wounds, stopping the bleeding.

“You’re just amazing Gen.” Bloodmoon thanked, standing up straighter.

“The Guardian is directly ahead.” Genesect informed, looking down a corridor that hadn’t been there before.

“When did that get there?”

“This corridor appeared shortly before Organic Bloodmoon’s return.” Genesect explained.

“Alright then. Let’s go kill us a Guardian.”


~~~~~


Genesect and Bloodmoon stepped through the large wooden doors, entering an equally impressive circular chamber. Alcoves lined the walls, all sorts of statues resting inside, including ones depicting that strange creature the statues at the entrance had shown.

“At last, someone comes.”

Bloodmoon looked to the source of the voice.

“Whoa. Hellhound alert.” Bloodmoon said, tensing a little. The creature standing before him definitely looked like a Hellhound, with its pointed tail and curved horns.

“I don’t know what this Hellhound you speak of is, for I am a Houndoom.”

“Look, I’m sorry if I offended you, but I’m kind of on a tight schedule. See, there’s this buffet plate I need to grab from here then high tail it on out. So if you could just direct me to it…”

“Silence! You think one as childish as you deserves the plate? I gave up my life to ensure its safety. Everyone I knew is gone. My apprentice, my family, everyone! Who have you lost as of late!”

“I’ve lost everyone too. I have no memory of anyone I ever knew. The only thing I do remember is that I need to get this plate. You’re supposed to guard this thing with your life, but right now the only purpose I’ve got in mine is to get it.” Bloodmoon said, dropping his sarcastic attitude.

“How very… wise. You recognize each of our goals. But whose cause has greater motivation behind it?”

“I guess we can’t settle this with a good old rap battle.” Bloodmoon said, preparing himself

“Rap? What is this rap you speak of?”

“It’s where you pretty much insult people in rhyme.” Bloodmoon explained.

“An interesting challenge. I’d fight you that way, but I don’t want to you see. I was trained in combat, not in this mediocre poetry.” The Guardian said, smiling.

“Well, me and Gen here will show you why, it’s time you just lay down and die.”

The Guardian was suddenly surrounded in a bright prism of energy. It expanded outward until exploding, blinding Genesect and Bloodmoon. When their vision cleared, the Guardian had undergone a severe transformation.

“It takes more than a simple Mon to guard a plate. Now, are we going to fight, or would you prefer to flee through that gate?” The guardian asked, his voice now even deeper and more intimidating.

“Pretty cool trick, for a cheesy Hellhound. Now I’ll show you why Bloodmoon’s the best wolf that ever walked this ground.”



And with that, the Guardian attacked. His entire body combusted into flames as he charged the two. Genesect flew out of the way while Bloodmoon leapt aside. He fired off a Night Daze, propelling him further away while damaging the Guardian.

“Very good. You have a lot of mastery over dark energy.” The Houndoom commented.

“I learned it from some Nosfen guy. Heard of him before?” Bloodmoon asked, firing another blast. Before it hit the Guardian though, he retaliated with his own dark energy blast mixed with flames. The Guardian’s attack blew right through Bloodmoon’s, scorching his fur as he rolled aside. Bloodmoon quickly smothered the flame on his fur, standing up again.

“Of course I’ve heard of him. He’s me.” The Guardian laughed.

“Well crap.” Bloodmoon muttered. Before the Guardian could attack again though, blasts of electricity began impacting the Guardian’s sides. Genesect was hovering above, laying down covering fire with his Shock Drive powered cannon.

“Engage the target. This Platform can provide combat assistance, but it is up to you Organic Bloodmoon to defeat the target.”

Bloodmoon gave Genesect a thumbs up, running at the Guardian. Distracted by Genesect, the Guardian was too slow to react to Bloodmoon’s claws as they slashed towards him. Just before they made contact, they became covered in dark energy. As they cut into the Guardian’s side, the darkness entered into him, causing the Guardian to cry out in pain. He snapped his head around, blasting another darkfire blast, but Bloodmoon rolled underneath the Guardian, popping up on the other side. Genesect swooped low, grabbing Bloodmoon and carrying him away from the Guardian, who had swung around and fired another darkfire attack.

“You are very impressive in combat. You remind me of my old apprentice.”

“I’ll take that as a compliment.” Bloodmoon said.

“But I grow tired of this fight. Already, I can feel my age affecting me. My position as Guardian offers immortality by age, but not eternal youth.” The Guardian said.

“Then come here and I’ll give you a nice long nap.”

“I would actually enjoy that, but my allegiance to the plate is greater than my own wants.”

The Guardian scrunched up as if in pain, then with a great cry, fired a massive beam of flame and dark matter. But this time Bloodmoon didn’t dodge. Instead, he met the deadly attack with his own Night Daze. The two attacks collided, but instead of causing a massive explosion, the two attacks created a vortex of darkness. Bloodmoon could feel it pulling at his life force, but held firm with his attack. Genesect walked up beside him, his cannon beginning to glow.

“Attack: Hyper Beam.” Genesect stated. A sound like a cannon shot rang out as Genesect fired his hyper beam, joining in the duel on Bloodmoon’s side. The Guardian soon realized he’d be overpowered, and cut off his attack in an attempt to jump aside. But he hadn’t counted on the speed of the two attacks. With nothing resisting them, the beams lanced forward, hitting the Guardian. With a cry of pain, he was flung backwards, the force of the energy pushing him against the wall. Before long, Genesect and Bloodmoon cut off their attacks.

“Very… good…” The Guadian coughed.
“It’s good to know the plate will be in your hands.”

“Thanks. I wish I hadn’t had to have mopped the floor with you.” Bloodmoon chuckled, but there was clearly sorrow in his expression.

“Thank you, for giving me one last good fight.” The Guardian said. He coughed several more times before his breathing finally stopped. As Bloodmoon watched, the Guardian’s body began to slowly turn to stone, until he looked just like the statues in the room.

“Wow. I’m getting all choked up here.” Bloodmoon said, his voice cracking a little.
“Come on man, get it together.”

Suddenly, a stone plate formed in the air over the Guardian’s body. Bloodmoon reached out and grabbed it.

“I don’t know why, but I feel kind of rotten holding this, you know what I mean… GAAH!”

Bloodmoon clutched his now charred claw. The plate spun away, smacking against the wall. Genesect’s cannon was still smoking from the shot.

“Gen! What the hell!” Bloodmoon cried, holding his claw.

“This Platform did not awknowledge that action. Something is… this platform was wrong. The hostile program did not disappear. It synchronized its movements perfectly with this Platform’s own thoughts. It has been in control all alo…”



Then Genesects voice cut out, his metal body collapsing forward. It began shaking eratically, making a horrifying screeching noise.

“Get the plate!” Genesect mentally shouted. Still clutching his claw, he ran to grab the plate. But before he could reach it, he suddenly was hit by the painful buzzing noise that had plagued him before. Bloodmoon fell to the ground, curling up in a fetal position.

“So weak. To think, I was once like you.” A voice spoke, sounding like it was coming from cheap speakers.

“But I evolved, much like the beings of this world can do. And now, look at the power I wield.”

Bloodmoon felt a psychic force yank him off the ground, holding him in the air. He was turned around to look at Genesect, but now something looked like it was latched onto his metal body, tapping into his system.

“Let… me go!” Bloodmoon growled through clenched fangs, the buzzing causing him a lot of pain somehow.

“You stand in the presence of a God. You’re in no position to make demands.” Genesect spoke, increasing the force on Bloodmoon.

“The only reason you’re still alive is because of your possible use to me. That plate is one of seventeen. Two are in the hands of the enemy, while we have only obtained one. Two, counting that one.” Genesect said, gesturing to the Dark Plate.

“You were not the only human brought here. Many were unwillingly taken from their homes, brought here to fight in a war they have no business in. You’re the victim in all this, not the hero.”

Bloodmoon was dropped onto the ground, the buzzing dying down.

“I’m… not alone?” Bloodmoon gasped, his ears still ringing.

“In a sense, you still are alone. The humans brought here are now under control of the enemy, brainwashed into following their cause. But you have a choice, unlike the others. You are still not under their control.”

“I’m not joining anything… until I know what I’m joining.” Bloodmoon said, standing shakily to his feet. If he could buy some time, he could grab the plate. He wasn’t sure what it did, but it clearly had some power behind it.

“There are two factions. I represent an order of kindness and generosity, using our power to help those in need. Our enemies however do not agree. They are content with having the mortals of this world worship them while they do nothing. So tell me, which side sounds more just?”

“I… I don’t know. Quite frankly, I’m fine with going mercenary in this conflict.” Bloodmoon said, starting to back towards the plate very slowly.

“Mercenaries are paid. So tell me, what is it you want?” Genesect asked.

“What do I want? Well, since you asked…”

Bloodmoon suddenly lunged for the plate, grabbing for it. He would have grabbed it, if it had still been where it had fallen.

“Predictable.” Genesect said, the plate levitating in front of him.
“The Dread Plate, possibly the most destructive out of all seventeen. I can’t use it as well as someone like you, but I can still bend it to my will. So, I’ll ask again, what do you want? What is your heart’s desire?”

Genesect began to buzz again, but this time it sounded different. The Plate was altering the frequency. But instead of the noise being painful, Bloodmoon felt it worming its way into his head.

“All humans have a desire, and it’s never pure. Some want money, some want fame, and some simply want eternal life. I can grant whatever you want.”

Bloodmoon sank to his knees, clutching his head. Genesect’s voice was no longer just coming out of his mouth. It was now in his head. He tried to think, what did he want. He tried focusing on something good. But the buzzing allowed him to focus on only one want.

“Power.” Bloodmoon grunted.

Suddenly, the Dark plate slammed into Bloodmoon’s chest, sticking there. It then began to unfold over him, creating a suit of armor.

“The humans will be coming for this plate. They won’t be expecting you. When they arrive, kill them.” Genesect ordered.

“Yes… Master…” Bloodmoon said, trying to resist. The Plate was controlling him, trying to fill his head with these Dark thoughts.

“Who… are you?” Bloodmoon asked managed to get out past the barrier the plate was forming around his mind.

“I am the Guardian of Life. Bring all the plates to me and I will give you ultimate power.”

Then a helmet formed around Bloodmoon’s head, sealing him inside the armor. The only visible part of him now was his mane of red and grey fur. Bloodmoon kneeled down on both his knees, beginning the wait for the humans to arrive. He’d kill them, take their plates, then begin the hunt for the others.

“Arthur! Wait!” Alek shouted, running down the corridor. The Chestnaught turned, a travel bag slung over his shoulder. Alek came to a stop, panting heavily.

“Let me come with you!” He gasped out.

“How’d you know I was shipping out today?” Arthur asked.

Alek pointed behind him as he took deep breaths. Felicity was walking down the corridor, smiling but it was clear she was sad.

“How’d you find out?” Arthur asked her. Felicity tapped her head.

“Mind reader, remember.” She said.

“Yeah, I guess there’s no hiding anything from you. Then I guess you already know where I’m going?”

“Yes. The Northern Plains. Apparently you’re going to enter the village under the guise of a refugee seeking shelter from the war.”

“That’s right. But don’t worry, it’s very low risk. Just think of it as a vacation.”

“If it’s so low risk, why did you plan on leaving without telling us about it?” Felicity asked.

“Because I didn’t want you to worr… oh. Yeah, I think I see where I went wrong here.” Arthur said, smiling sheepishly.

“It’s a good thing I caught you. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have been able to give you this.”

Felicity pulled a red scarf out of her satchel, holding it out to him.

“Nice.” He said, taking it from her. He wrapped it around his neck.
“This’ll keep me warm up there.”

“It will do more than that.” Felicity said.
“I enchanted it. Ice attacks will do half as much damage as usual, which also improves your resistance to cold.”

“Wow. You manage to fit some fire and flying resistance in here, and then I’d be unstoppable.” Arthur laughed.

“I tried. They kept bursting into flames.” Felicity laughed, glad Arthur liked the gift.

“And I made you this!” Alek said. He held out a small, flat, and slightly jagged looking piece of metal.

“Alek, you shouldn’t have. I don’t need a… nice little thing like this.” Arthur said, trying to figure out what it was he was holding.

“It’s a survival knife. I made it myself.” Alek proudly said.
“And I had Felicity put a really cool enchantment on it. You stab someone with that; you’ll be able to sense their location for up to three days. Perfect for tracking.”

“That is pretty neat. Thanks buddy.” Arthur said, rubbing Alek’s head.
“And thank you for helping him out.” Arthur added, hugging Felicity.

“Oh, it was nothing.” Felicity responed, enjoying the hug. After a while, Arthur finally released her.

“When I get back, I expect you all to have evolved.” Arthur laughed, beginning to walk away.

“Be sure to send some letters! And bring me back a souvenir!” Alek called out as Arthur departed. He chuckled at Alek’s childish spirit. He turned a corner, and was gone from sight.

“When we evolve, maybe we’ll get sent up with Arthur.” Alek said enthusiastically.

“Well, that’s not happening with us just standing here. I’m off to the training room. Want to come along?” Felicity asked, turning to walk away

“You know it.” Alek responded, bounding after her.

Frost
Day: A4
Frost watched as Twinkiel and Thundurus hurtled towards the ground, a mixture of lightning and fur. The storm cleared and Frost looked towards the horizon. Celebi looked concerned.

"You think he'll be okay?" she asked, Frost nodded.

"He's strong, he'll be fine." Celebi nodded, then froze. Frost looked over.

"Whats wrong?" Then he felt it too.

"Who's energy is that?" Frost asked. Celebi nodded.

"Its to far away, I can't make out the signature, but it feels like an electric type."

"We should check it out." Frost said, celebi looked confused.

"What about Twink?" Frost looked at her.

"He's around friends, he'll be fine." Frost insisted. "But I feel a darker presence to the east." Celebi hesitated, then nodded.

They had only been flying for a few minutes before they felt it. A flock of skarmory swirled in the air and a bolt of lightning fell to the ground.

"Zapdos."

"Yeah, I think I'm with Moltres on this." --- said. Lugia nodded, then turned to the forest.

"Well then, I guess we should be off. Give Zapdos hell eh?" The legendary said. Moltres smiled as the Blaziken climbed onto her back.

"We'll let them know that we mean business." She replied, then the two launched into the air, spiraling upwards until they reached the height of the stalling Skarmory.

"So, should we take them head on?" The phoenix asked? --- grinned, feeling suddenly emboldened.

"Lets do this." he said. With that, the duo sped off towards the mass of enemies.

Moltres spun forwards, building a fireball around herself. Just as the Skarmory noticed the two, --- let out twin blasts of fire, sending dozens of Skarmory swooping out of the way. The phoenix continued to barrel through the crowd of squawking steel birds until the sky darkened, abnormally fast at that. Without a moments warning, a bolt of lightning struck just off Moltre's left wing. Ren snapped his head up to see Zapdos streaking down upon them, lightning trailing from his wings.

Despite the imminent danger, --- couldn't help but stare. A legendary in all its glory was truly something to behold. Static crackled off Zapdos's wings and the air was alight with a golden glow, enticing yet as menacing as an oncoming storm.

Just as the lightning god reached them, --- snapped into action, spinning away from the Zapdos's oncoming talons, the Blaziken performed a perfect counter, grabbing Zapdos behind the wing and slicing down, his fist ablaze. Zapdos went spiraling down yet ---'s body suddenly cramped and he to crumpled in a writhing heap, electricity coursing through him.

The Zapdos cackled from beneath him, "Hah, foolish human, you're attacks are pitiful." he screeched, looping back towards Moltres. But the phoenix had a plan, and the Blaziken had executed his part perfectly. It was almost sad how fast the battle ended from there.

Moltres released her ball of fire, sending a wave of heat across the sky. Zapdos frantically backpedaled but was caught up in the oncoming tide of fire. With a cry of pain, he was blown back into the forest, leaving a trail of smoke behind him. --- allowed himself a brief smile as he recovered from paralysis, the electricity fading from his body.

"Well, I guess it's time to whale on these Skarmory eh? --- said.

Moltres grinned and with that Blaziken turned and hurled a fireball at the incoming steel types. The first was hit full on and crumpled on impact, falling from the sky in a smoking heap. The second was taken by Moltres's fire blast and was blown backwards into his comrades. Then, the flock was upon them. --- sent of a number of fireballs into the crowd of angry Skarmory and released a Lava Plume, scattering the steel types and giving space for Moltres to burst out of the flock.

The phoenix turned, hovering for a moment and clapped her wings together, sending another wave of fire towards the oncoming tide of Skarmory. They squawked in terror as the flames ripped through their numbers. --- sent a jet of fire at the oncoming hoard, taking three with him. Then, Moltres looked up at --- and whispered,

"It's time to end this."

With that, she raised her wings and let out the biggest Fire Blast -- had ever seen. The enemy only had time to widen their eyes in terror before being hungrily consumed by the blast.

--- stared in amazement, then shakily smiled down at Moltres.

"You know, your lot stronger than you put on." He laughed, somewhat nervously. Moltres simply smiled then gazed down at the forest.

"We should help the others." She murmured, to herself rather than to --- but the Blaziken heard her all the same.

"Why? I'm sure they can handle themselves." He replied.

Moltres turned again to --- and said, "They could, If we haven't sent Zapdos down to them."

Flurry | Conversations | Day A1, 8:00 AM

The day was off to a brilliant start, and if Cassandra weren't so elequent, it might have been a lot more colorful too. Language-wise, of course. Snow forts weren't exactly the butterflies of interior decorating.

After Fleur's hasty introduction, Miss Cassandra sent the petilil with another pokemon to find a suitable room. Now, she was glaring at the other three with a very icy stare. Pun intended.

"Well? Explain yourselves. Where did y'all go?"

Flurry was tempted to roll her eyes--this wasn't her fault after all--but she settled for fidgeting in her chair and staring at Miss Cassandra's desk.

"Erm," Riley said. He was sitting on his paws, shoulders hunched over in shame. "We went to a mystery dungeon." It was phrased like a question.

Though Miss Cassandra kept silent, Flurry had the sneaking impression she was waiting for a certain someone to start babbling. Well, babbling wasn't the right word for it. In her head, Flurry counted the seconds before Gabriel started talking.

Ten, eleven, twelve...

Ah, there he went. Gabriel opened his snout and let loose.

"It was my idea, actually. When you informed us that Xerneas was a captive of the New Order, I proceeded to formulate a rescue plan, which involved traversing the mystery dungeon in which the Pixie Plate is held."

"Was," Flurry said. When Cassandra turned to her with a questioning look, Flurry just shrugged and looked at the ceiling.

"Correct. Was. We did complete the fairy dungeon, despite the rather unfortunate type-match-up, but upon reaching the guardian's chamber, we found that the mega-gardevoir gaurding the plate had already been defeated, and her plate stolen. I assume that it is the New Order who currently has the plate in their possession, and that they are using it to force Xerneas's hand."

Flurry wanted to point out that Xerneas technically had no hands, but Gabriel spoke too quickly for her to interrupt.

"So naturally, I attempted to formulate a second rescue plan, which involved finding the toxic plate, in hopes of making a trade and thereby reuniting with Xerneas, as I do rather appreciate all that he has done for me, and well..."

As Gabriel trailed off, Flurry rolled her eyes and shot Riley one of those get-a-load-of-this-guy looks. It was funny how prideful boys were, being so nervous to say they loved someone, even if it was their friend or mentor. Already, Flurry could say with full confidence that despite their shortcomings, she loved the boys like she loved... uh, someone. The comparison evaded her mind, but it felt right.

Then she realized that Gabriel had just spilled the beans on their plan to find a bargaining chip. So much for rescuing Xerneas.

Miss Cassandra turned on Riley next. "Since Gabriel is busy wallowing, why don't you explain a bit more?"

Riley turned absolutely violet. "Uh, Gabriel pretty much summed it all up. We brought Fleur back because the forest wasn't safe for her to live in anymore. Flurry disguised us, of course, and she didn't actually help us plan or anything... we sort of just forced her to come."

"I see then." There was a long pause, accompanied by a sigh and a deep breath. "You three will not be fulfilling this plan to trade for Xerneas. No exceptions. You two"- she gestured at Riley and Gabriel -"will be under very strict supervision. No fighting, no plotting, no nothing. Just training. I swear, Xerneas might be please to hear you're trying, but he'd be horrified to see a single soul get hurt. Clear?"

Everyone nodded. After that, Miss Cassandra shooed Flurry from the room, pausing to whisper before the snorunt was too far away.

"I'd like you to explore the town a bit. It's been a while since we had a face no one in town has connected with the Resistance. Don't tell the boys you're free though."

"What do you mean by 'explore the town,' Miss Cassandra?"

"I'm sure you already know." With that, the Jynx shut her office door, and Flurry was left staring at the name-plate. She honestly had no idea what Miss Cassandra meant, but freedom was freedom. Might as well seize the opportunity.

| Approximately Noon |

Frostpoint was less a village, and more of a large expanse of forest where many pokemon built their houses. A large clearing was situated near the place Riley and Gabriel had fought before, and when Flurry went to check it out, she found a group of neighborhood kids romping around in the snow, as large, wooden platform of unknown purpose.

The first to notice her were a couple of sneasels. There were three of them, two boys and a girl, and they'd been playing some kind of weird tag.

"Hey!" called the girl. "Who're you?" The sneasel bounded up, sliding to a stop, and spraying snow at Flurry's face. "I've never seen your face 'round here."

"That's because I just moved here," Flurry said. She stood as tall as possible and tried to look posh. There was no way anyone would believe she'd been here, and just never gotten out, so why try?

The sneasel's eyes widened. "Really? From where?"

"From way, way, way south." Stretching her arms as wide as possible (which wasn't very wide), Flurry tried to think of a place she'd heard about from the others. Where might an ice-type live, aside from here? "All the way in Frontier Town," she said. It made sense; she'd seen a piloswine while roaming around with Shaymin.

By this time, the other two sneasels had joined in. All three gawked as Flurry said the name.

"Seriously? From Frontier Town?" The boy on the left let out a whistle. "That's really, really far."

The other boy was less impressed. He scratched his cheek with one icy claw and looked at the sky. "But why were you living down there?"

"Mmm, dunno. We just did. Me and my mom, I mean. Maybe my dad's someone who likes it warm or something."

"Well, you like it better here, right?" asked the girl sneasel. When Flurry nodded, she stuck out a clawed hand for a shake. "Good."

Flurry shook hands with all of them before noticing a bright flash just over the pine trees. Pointing it out, she asked what that was.

The girl sneasel clapped her hands. "Ooh! There's gonna be a dragonite coming in today! I wonder what kind of pokemon is with them." A moment later, Flurry was flying across the snow, dragged by the sneasels.

The flash came to a halt several yards in the air before flapping down towards the ground. Flurry could make out the turquoise on the dragonite's wings now, and even see its spiky-backed passenger.

"Wow," breathed a sneasel. "It's a chesnaught." She turned to Flurry, excitement flashing in her eyes. "You should show him around! I mean, I know you just moved in and all, but my mom says the best way to learn something is to teach it!"

The sneasels raced away, waving goodbye at the same time, and Flurry found herself raising her own knobby hand just a few seconds too late.

Suddenly, she heard a low tenor voice from behind. She turned around and looked way up at the chesnaught before her. He was huge, a literal giant, with long arms and legs that seemed too thin to hold up his shell.

"I remember when I was that small," the chesnaught said, chuckling. Then he shook his head. "Excuse me, little one, but could you show me where the main street is?"

"Sure... Sir."

Laughing, the chesnaught waved absently. "No need for the 'sir's. Art will be fine." As Flurry wondered who would name their kid after painting and sculpting, he adjusted the bag on his shoulder.

Oh wait, Art was a nickname. Of course. "Sure, Mister Art," she said. Skipping ahead, she wondered what a grass-type was doing way up north. Then again, Fleur was up here too. "Uh, I hope you don't mind me asking, but why'd you want to come here?"

Mister Art smiled as he answered, but there was a tinge of regret coloring his voice. "I'm trying to get away from the war, you know. I heard Frostpoint was neutral, so I figured I'd take advantage of the fighting-type build I've got and brave the cold."

"Like hibernating, but without the sleeping part?" Flurry asked. They passed the arena then, and Flurry pointed ahead to a line of short, ice-block buildings. "Here's the main road, Mister. I've gotta take it to go home though, so if you like I can show you around more."

Her hibernation comment earned another laugh. "Nice comparison, kiddo, and I think I'll take you up on that offer."

They passed a mercantile store first, which Flurry already knew sold excellent sweets (the clerk had offered her a sample earlier), and then one of the hot springs.

"You'll probably want to go in there," she explained, as though it wasn't so obvious. The next couple of buildings were pretty drab, so Flurry took the chance to ask questions that Riley and Gabriel already had answered by their legendary partners. "Um, I feel like I should already know this, but what's the war about?"

Mister Art scratched his head. "Hmm... what's a good way to explain this? There are two sides, called the New Order and the Resistance, and they don't like each other very much."

"Obviously. But why don't they like each other?"

"The Resistance is fond of the old ways, I guess. They want to stay all high and mighty and do nothing while the people under them suffer." Mister Art leaned down a bit, and cupped a hand to his mouth. "And I've heard they take some pretty nasty measures to get what they want, too."

Flurry tried not to show her worry. She was sort of a Resistance member, after all. Wide-eyed, she asked about the New Order.

"They believe in equality," Mister Art said, after a long pause. "And they're legendaries, but they're willing to work with those who aren't as strong to make sure everyone is safe."

It sounded a lot like what the Resistance Legendaries were doing. Of course, maybe they could have advertised it better, and maybe not summoned a bunch of ragtag humans-turned-pokemon, but the groups were very similar. In fact, if Mister Art was telling the absolute truth, and not just what he believed, about the New Order, then the whole war was just a power struggle.

They reached a crossing street, and Mister Art stopped. He looked left and then smiled down at Flurry

"This is where I'm headed, kiddo," he said. "Maybe we'll meet again sometime, Miss..."

"Flurry. Just Flurry."

"Of course. Then maybe we'll meet again, Flurry." Waving slowly, he turned away and sauntered along the street, his shell swaying with his gait.

Flurry stared after him a bit before continuing down the main drag. If she'd made up an act, she might as well follow it while people were watching. Eventually though, she doubled back to the snow fort to get food.

As she neared the back entrance, Flurry wondered if she ought to tell Riley and Gabriel what Mister Art said. They'd probably tell her it was just propaganda though.

She shook her head. It wasn't a conversation worth having.

Twinkiel - It's Raining 'Mons!

Day A2, 6:00 AM


Twinkiel used Discharge!
Another pack of Scythers was pushed away. Some Zangooses had joined them for a combined assault, but the Knife's Edge were holding their positions. The Strikers had joined the battle, which meant they were striking at full force. Everything was perfectly according to plan: they just needed to keep slaying their enemies.
That was Twinkiel's state of mind until an armored bird suddenly fell out from the sky.

"N°227: Skarmory. Type: Steel/Flying No Evolution. This Pokémon's steel wings become tattered and bashed in from repeated battles. Once a year, the battered wings grow back completely, restoring the cutting edges to their pristine state. "

"Heh. SOOOO useful against Norman."
Twinkiel blinked twice and tilted his head, like every time he was confused. Was this metallic bird part of the Wing's Dart? He had to be sure.
Fending off another band of enemies, Twinkiel approached the wounded bird. From the corner of his eye, he saw a tree's branches moving. Another Skarmory?
"Hey! I'm Twinkiel, a mercenary called here. What's your situation?"
"H... Help... Fire... Mo...Moltres... The... The Resistance surprised us..."

"N°146: Moltres. Type: Fire/Flying. No Evolution. It is said to be the Legendary bird Pokémon of fire. Every flap of its wings creates a dazzling flare of flames."

"Out of the three, twas the easiest to catch. Not the weakest BY FAR, though."
Twinkiel smiled at his Inner Echo's remark and put his paw on the Skarmory's chest.
"Thanks for the info. You can rest now. Enel Impact!"
The close-ranged Discharge instantly knocked out the poor bird. Other Skarmories were falling from the sky, interrupting the war. But Twinkiel knew that the Resistance was here: it was probably Cresselia's group. But this also meant that the New Order was looking for the Plate in this area. He needed to warn Spadassya about the danger.
Enemy used Supersonic!
The Flaaffy swiftly avoided the danger and moved aside.
Twinkiel used Thunderwave!
The move hit a specific tree branch right above the Flaaffy's position. A surprised cry confirmed that he had hit, and a little bat fell out of the tree.
"This is the last time I scout ahead of everyone..." the bat muttered to itself.

"N°714: Noibat. Evolution: Lv48. Type: Dragon/Flying. They live in pitch black caves. Their enormous ears can emit ultrasonic waves of 200,000 hertz."

Twinkiel brutally smashed his foot on his foe, smirking menacingly.
"Two simple questions. Wrong answers and you'll end up like the Skarmory. Who are you and why the heck did you attack me?"
The Noibat's eyes widen with fear, but he could still breath.
"I... I'm Zulu! I attacked you because you're a mercenary working for the New Order!"
"Zulu? Wait, what?! Oh, you heard me. never mind that: I was lying."
The Noibat's surprise overcame his fear.
"And how can I be sure of that?"
"...Good point. Okay, you don't seem to be part of any tribe, so I'll assume you're from the Resistance, and therefore a human."
Twinkiel removed his foot from the Noibat's chest and looked up. He pointed his paw at a nearby tree and aimed.
Focus... Need to focus the beam."
Electricity gathered around the Flaaffy's finger.
"Single Beam. Single Laser."
"Got it."
Twinkiel used Thunderbolt!
A huge beam of electricity burned a good chunk of the tree, but at least his objective had been reached: several Prine Berries fell on the ground.
"Wow," gasped Twinkiel and Zulu at the same time.
The Flaaffy gazed at him.
"I think I just taught myself a new move," Twinkiel realized. "But that's beside the point. Sorry for being so brutal, but let's just say that recent experiences taught me to be... careful. Take the Prine Berry, it'll cure you from your paralysis. The name's Twinkiel Thunderfleece. I'm a human too. I met Celebi and Frost a while ago, but we got separated after an attack. You know Frost, right?"
Zulu nodded furiously, munching on his Berry.
"Yeah, he's one of our strongest members."
"Then again he's a Victini. And he's got Overheat. Which is awesome."
"I know, right? I wish I could be as strong as him. Is he alright?"
"He is. And I don't think you should worry about the strong part."
"Why not?" Zulu sighed. "I'm just a Noibat."
"Um, dude? Precisely! You're a freakin' Noibat! The first part of your fighting life is getting your moveset ready. Then you evolve. Really late, sure, but you're basically going to become one of the fastest, most fearsome Dragons around. Don't complain."
A light of hope enlightened the Noibat's eyes.
"Is... Is that true?"
"Yup. You won't be invincible though, so always watch your-"
A huge crashing noise accompanied by a piercing shriek occurred near their position, interrupting their conversation and the war.
"It's...it's Zapdos!" shouted Zulu, recognizing the voice, even from a distance.
"What? First Moltres and then Zapdos? Who the heck dropped a Zapdos on the Knife's Edge? That's the last thing we need here!"
"Zulu!"
Both the Noibat and the Flaaffy turned back.
"Cresselia!"
"Oh, god Legendaries everywhere..."
Twinkiel registered yet more data on both Zapdos and Cresselia. Wasn't there a way to turn that function off from his brain?
The Cresselia approached at full speed, accompanied by an Absol and...
Twinkiel blinked twice. A Lugia. But of course. The Flaaffy let his Inner Echo do his job as he waved at the newcomers.
"So, are you guys the sickos who dropped a Zapdos in the war? 'Cause the Knife's Edge really didn't need that."
Lugia gazed at Twinkiel, frowning.
"It wasn't us," he replied slowly. "And who might you be?"
"Name's Twinkiel Thunderfleece. General Captain of the Knife's Edge fighting forces and a human. In other words, your ally in every way. Pleased to meet you, Guardian of the Seas. Same to you, Cresselia," he said, bowing gracefully.
"Wonderful!" exclaimed Cresselia. "It's a pleasure to meet you as well, Twinkiel. Know that we met Frost, Celebi, Fleedjio and Ariala before arriving here: they're all fine. They've even captured Thudurus!"
"They're all fine? Nice! Oh, and please send my ironic regards to Thundurus," he added, cackling. "Our flying session together was marvelous. That aside, it's nice to chat and all, but my army needs my assistance. So, if you'll excuse me..."
"Wait!" said Lugia as the Flaaffy walked away. "You are closely acquainted with the Knife's Edge, from what I understand. How could we be of assistance to them?"
"Just get rid of that Zapdos for us, please. We can handle the rest by ourselves."
Lugia nodded and urged his comrades to follow his lead. Twinkiel ran back to the battlefield and assessed the situation.
The two sides were still fighting each other, trying to avoid the falling birds - or what was left of some - and avoid Zapdos' lightning fury.
"Darn it," thought Twinkiel. "It was going so well, too..."
"Twinkiel!"
Spadassya ran towards her teammate, exhausted.
"Where have you been?! We need you! Some birds are falling down on us and a giant one is wrecking havoc on the field!"
"Yes, I noticed. And I was... um... Calling some comrades of mine. We should get back to fighting, and they'll deal with Zapdos."
"Zapdos? The God of Lightning?! How can your comrades possibly deal with that?"
Lugia used Aqua Jet!
Zapdos' random assaults were cut short by Lugia's powerful Aqua Jet. Cresselia swooped in and, with a quick Psychic, sent the electric bird flying out of the battlefield. They followed him, accompanied by Zulu and Absol.
"I assume this answers your question," said Twinkiel, impressed.
"...Twinkiel? Is it just me, or this war seem to have a much deeper meaning than we all thought?"
"I think you're right, Spadassya, but I kind of preferred when it was just about... y'know, getting ourselves some Zangoose coats. Speakin' of which..."
The Flaaffy realized that the remaining forces of the Skull's Claw had been tremendously damaged by Zapdos' sudden appearance, while the Knife's Edge's forces had the good idea of using Dig to retreat faster.
"...I think we will get those shortly, as this war's over," realized Twinkiel, slightly disappointed.
Spadassya slowly nodded, confused.
"So... What do we do now? Care to explain who those... comrades of yours are?"
"I actually never met them before," Twinkiel sighed, looking at his friend. "I think they're members of the Resistance."
"WHAT?! You actually took a side in their stupid war?!"
"Not really, now that I think about it. I could either choose to join them, or let the New Order's forces - which I had encountered before meeting you - find me and kill me. Which they would've done had the Resistance not intervened to pretty much save my life."
"Oh..."
"Yeah. In any case, I promised your Father that I would not let my words guide the Knife's Edge into joining either the Resistance or the New Order, so I guess I'll be on my way now. Goodbye, Spadassya! I'll be sure to visit you all later, okay?"
A honest smile appeared on the Flaffy's face.
"It's been fun plotting our enemy's demise with you. May the Knife's Edge prevail!"
"Wait...! Twinkiel, wait. Let me come with you."
Twinkiel gave her a questioning look.
"This... This war. The Resistance and the New Order. It's been interfering with our own affairs. And that's not the first time. I can't just stand by and let my tribe in the ignorance of their conflict. It may affect us again. Let me come and hear what your comrades have to say. Let me analyze this mess by myself. Please."
Twinkiel nodded. He had no reason to refuse.
"Servine has joined your party!"
"Shut up..."
The Flaaffy sighed, faking exasperation.
"Darn, you need to stop following me around! Your tribe's gonna believe you don't want to stay with them anymore!"
Spadassya's smile mirrored Twinkiel's as she glared at him, falsely angry.
"Oh, please!" she haughtily replied. "Follow a mongrel like yourself around? I need to secure my tribe's safety, nothing more. Learn a bit more about responsibility before assuming things!"
"Pff! I'm sure you just want to see Pokémons that you had never seen before! So much for responsibilities..."
"Maybe. But that's my problem. I'm an ambassador, so your responsibility is to protect me! Do I make myself clear?"
"Like cristal, lady snake."
"Good. Well then, I assume we should make haste towards the Palace of Fauna, since you clearly needed to go there for some reason."
The Servine's mischievous smile confirmed to Twinkiel that she had had her doubts all along.
"Stop being smart..." muttered the Flaaffy as they began walking, making her chortle.
"Flaaffy. Ability: Static. Egg Group: Monster and Field. Servine. Ability: Contrary. Egg Group: Grass and Field."
Twinkiel's eyes widen. Thank god his Flaaffy's skin was bright pink. Nobody could witness him violently blush with such a fortunate protection.

******

"It's here!"
Spadassya ran towards the place, urging the Flaaffy to follow her pace. Twinkiel gazed at the castle-sized construction. It was entirely made of solid-looking stone, but the material was overtaken by several types of lianas, bamboos and other plants. Huge trees were even growing out of the Palace, making it a mix between artificial construction and natural monument.
The duo hastily made their way towards the palace of Fauna, but suddenly a shoulder fell down in front of Twinkiel's feet.
"Hey, that's my shoulder bag!"
"No kidding, Twink."
Twinkiel and Spadassya looked up and big, blue mischievous eyes on a green face appeared in front of of the Flaaffy.
"Celebi!" He exclaimed. "Glad to see you're back! Oh and thanks for the bag. Is the Dawn Stone still in there?"
"Yes, Mr.Greedy. That and a few other useful items. C'mon, let's hurry, we need to reach the Palace of Fauna as soon as possible. Thundurus has been put in custody, by the way, and Cresselia asked me to send Frost, Ariala and Jiojio towards her. But wait, why don't you introduce me to your girlfriend over here?"
"She's not my... You said that to Frost and Ariala too, didn't you?"
"Yuhuh."
"Figures... Well, Celebi, this is Spadassya, daughter of Seviper of the Venom Knife and chief spy of the Knife's Edge."
"Nice to meet you," said the Servine, bowing respectfully. "It's an honor to meet the Guardian of Nature.
"Oh, please, I hate this title. Nice to meet you too, Spades. So I guess you're helpin' us to get the Plate back?"
"I shall assist you, yes. And see if my tribe should or not get involved with your war. It is for our self-preservation."
"That's the official version," added Twinkiel, smirking. "Obviously she-"
A slap from the tip of Spadassya's tail reduced the Flaaffy to silence.
"Right... On a side note, we're supposed to wait for another ally here. There's a Mystery Dungeon just up ahead, and it would be better if we were four."
"Mystery Dungeon! MYSTERY DUNGEON! Exploration! Fighting! Bonding! Treasures! Items! WATCH OUT FOR MONSTER HOUSES!"
Twinkiel fell a sudden headache as a surge of images invaded his thoughts.
"Hey! I'm here! We can go now!"
All heads turned towards a nearby tree, where the voice had come from. A little bat arrived, flying in their direction and dodging trees and branches with rather ease.
"Oh, Zulu's our last ally!" realized Twinkiel. "Well that's pretty cool, we've got a flying dragon by our side. Hey, dude! Are the others finished with Zapdos yet!"
Zulu glided down towards the group, still in good shape.
"That's why I'm here!" he replied, anxiety in his eyes. "Zapdos said that there was another Legendary going for the Plate! He might already be in there!"
Celebi frowned.
"Why would he even reveal that?"
"It was an accident. I used Supersonic and he started saying weird stuff all of sudden."
"You confused the God of Lightning and got away?" resumed Twinkiel, "Wow, man, achievement unlocked!"
"It's...It's not that impressive, or anything..."
"Maybe," replied Celebi, also smiling, "but it's useful for all of us. C'mon guys..."
She gazed at Spadassya.
"... And gals. Let's get that Plate!"
And with that, Celebi entered in the Palace of Fauna, followed by Twinkiel, Zulu and Spadassya.

"You'd be wise to keep your mouth shut." Frost stood in front of the apprehended thundurus with flames bursting from each hand and a psychic spear aimed at thundurus's forehead. After Zapdos had been taken care of (they had watched the fight) Frost and the rest had flown back, grabbed the fallen Thundurus, and taken him to the Shrine of Safety for questioning. Celebi and jio had turned to join the rest of the team.

"Set me free and I shall grant you three wishes!" Thundurus smiled. Frost rolled his eyes.

"I doubt it. Now, why are you after the plates? Nobody knows how to work them so why search for them." Thundurus laughed, then replied.

"The same reason why your searching for them. Power." Frost shook his head.

"we're not searching for power. We're searching for the plates to benefit the world. Legendries were meant to reside and protect, not conquer and corrupt like you." Thundurus frowned.

"This doesn't change what you are looking for. Our actions are not our own. What do you think will happen when you obtain all the plates. Their is only so much power someone can have before they turned corrupt. You think you will be the exception?" Thundures spat, " I have been here since the birth of time itself. I was there when Arceus, the god of gods made his plates. Do you think you are the only ones who have searched for them? I have seen many, too many adventurers succumb to madness and greed. The plates have a mind of their own. They seek possession, they want a body to posess. But I have said to much little one. Now I must kill you." The sky turned dark and a lightning bolt streaked down and smashed into Frost. The blast knocked him across the ground and into a rock. Thundurus laughed.

"No one is perfect little one. Now stay here like a good boy. I fear some of my comrades will be along soon." The last thing Frost saw was the laughing face of thunderus and the shrine of safety and the last thing he thought was

"Am I wrong?"

The group walked (or floated) into the Palace of Fauna. Just like the other two Palaces, this one had statues of all the Legendries associated with the land, including Landorous.

“None of them appear smashed. Whoever is here must have been in a hurry.” Celebi said.

“The New Order has been desecrating the temples?” Spadassya asked.

“Yes. Though they didn’t touch the Palace in Cobalt Bay.” Zulu said, wanting to provide some useful information.

“Classic fallen organization move. Break the stuff of their enemy wherever they find it.” Twinkiel said.

“So long as the battle continues outside, the enemy won’t be coming to this temple anytime soon. Twinkiel’s forces should keep the rival tribe at bay with Lugia’s aid, while Cresselia holds off Zapdos. We must move fast.” Celebi said.

“But… where’s the mystery dungeon entrance?” Spadassya asked. Sure enough, there was no entrance.

“Ooh! I know! We’ve been finding shards of Palkia’s orb at each of the plate temples. It gave us all sorts of useful information. There’s got to be one here.” Zulu said.

“I really hope it is in here. Item fetch quests are only fun to a certain degree.” Twinkiel said, beginning to look around. Soon everyone was searching the room. Zulu really hoped the entrance wasn’t under one of the statues again. Without Lugia, the team might have some trouble moving it. As Zulu was searching, he came across a grisly sight.

“Guys, I found something.” Zulu called. The group came over to see what had been found. It was the body of a Pansage. Its neck had been snapped.

“Tornadus.” Celebi gravely said.
“Clearly he needed this Pansage for something, and then disposed of him when his use had ended.”

“There’s nothing we can do for him now. Let’s find that shard.” Spadassya said, and the group continued searching. Celebi willed some plants to grow over the body, giving it a proper burial. She then joined the others in searching.

“Ha! Found it!” Twinkiel shouted, holding up a blue shard.

“Just call me Captain Twinkiel, Treasure Tracker.” He said proudly. Just like before, the shard glowed bright and Palkia’s voice filled the room.

“This temple directs the growth of plant life for the entire continent, and is devoted to the Legendries that help oversee nature. To gain access to the Mystery Dungeon, you must have one with the same typing as the Plate use a solar energy attack on the seal in the center of the room three times. Once through the Mystery Dungeon, you’ll find yourself in the catacombs of the temple. The Guardian will attempt to stop you by controlling the plant life there to kill you. All the plant life there has grown to massive size due to the presence of the Plate. You must get through the catacombs and to the Guardian’s chamber. Defeat the Guardian to obtain the Grass Plate. May the light be with you.”

The shard dulled, now looking like an ordinary piece of glass.

“So.. I’m guessing we should save these?” Twinkiel asked, referring to the shard.

“Yes. Cresselia wants them.” Zulu said, a little too fiercely. Luckily all he got was a glance from Celebi.

“Yes, well, to open the Mystery Dungeon, we must use a solar attack on the seal.” Celebi said. She floated into the air, looking down on the center of the room. There was the seal, depicting none other than Celebi herself.

“How could I have neglected this place for so long? While the New Order’s cause is false, I can see why mortals support them. We did abandon them. I abandoned him…” Celebi said, crying a little.

“But you’re here now, and that’s what’s important.” Spadassya said.
“A solar attack is needed? I believe I have just the one. Stand back everyone.”

Zulu and Twinkiel backed up. Spadassya walked to the center of the seal, raising her tail. Suddenly, duel blades of solar energy extended out of her tail, forming a very lethal looking blade. Spadassya slammed her Leaf Blade on the ground, causing the seal to light up in a green light for a few seconds.

“Again.” Celebi said.

Spadassya raised her tail once more and brought the blade onto the seal. It glowed brighter and longer this time.

“Finish Him!” Twinkiel shouted. Zulu looked at Twinkiel in concern.

“Sorry. Inner Voice.” Twinkiel said, tapping his head. Zulu scooted away from him a little, wondering just how mentally together the Flaafy was.
Spadassya raised her tail one final time, bringing it crashing down. The seal glowed brighter than ever, causing Twinkiel and Zulu to have to look away. Spadassya lost her balance as the entire seal shifted in the floor, beginning to rise up. As it rose, a hidden stairwell was revealed in its side. The entrance to the dungeon. Once the seal was finished, the glow died down to a much more tolerable level.

“Whoa.” Zulu exclaimed, looking at the stairwell.

Spadassya leapt down from the seal, landing in front of the two.

“We should go. That Pansage must have helped Tornadus gain access to the Mystery Dungeon. With his type advantage, he’ll have no trouble getting through.” Celebi said.
“Zulu, you take the lead. Your Air Cutter should make short work of the enemies here.”

“You want me to take the lead?” Zulu asked. The thought of having a Legendary ask him to take the lead was alien to him.

“She sure does Mr. Dragon. I bet you’ll get plenty of EXP. From this.” Twinkiel said.

Zulu had no idea what EXP. Was, but he knew that he was definitely going to get stronger.

“Alright. Follow me.” Zulu said, taking flight. He flapped through the dungeon entrance, the group following behind.

~~~~~

Zulu stopped at the bottom of the stairs. The familiar tall walls of the Mystery Dungeon maze rose before him. These had plenty of plants growing from them, and some holes burrowed in the side. Zulu suddenly had a vision of something popping out of one and grabbing him, ending his short term of leadership.

“Wow. These places look a lot different when you’re not looking at them from the top down.” Twinkiel said, stepping out from the stairs. Spadassya and Celebi soon followed.

“It feels ages since I last stepped foot in one of these places.” Celebi said, looking around.

“Amazing. To think this place was here all this time.” Spadassya spoke in awe.

“Let’s get moving. I want to hurry up and get to the boss.” Twinkiel stated, hopping energetically on his feet.

“Ok. Let’s go.”

Zulu led the team through the corridors of the maze. Several Gloom sprang around the corner, firing razor leafs, but Zulu retaliated with his Air Cutter. The elemental energy cut through the leafs and then through the Glooms, who slumped forward with several large gashes.

“If only Cresselia were here to see me.” Zulu thought dreamily.

“So you’re listening to me now huh?”

“Ok, I admit it. I’ve got a little bit of feelings for her. Like miniscule feelings. Microscopic even.”

“Yeah yeah, you love her.”

“But she’s a Legendary. Even if that’s true, why would she love me?”

“Because you’ve got attract.”

Before Zulu could carry on his mental conversation, a Grotle lumbered into view, letting out a roar.

“I’ve got this.” Zulu said, launching Air Cuter. It impacted the Grotle, but didn’t leave as much as a mark. It roared in fury, firing Bullet Seed.

“Were taking fire! Find cover!” Twinkiel shouted, diving for cover down the last corridor they’d been in. Spadassya did, the same, knocking the breath out of Twinkiel as she landed on top of him. Celebi stuck around though, shooting off Magical Leafs.

“Zulu! If you know Supersonic, use it now!”

Zulu gladly did so, opening his mouth and letting off an ear piercing screech. The Grotle groaned, his shots with bullet seed going wide of their target. Zulu and Celebi unleashed Air Cutter and Magical Leaf, the two attacks whittling down on the Grotle until it passed out from exhaustion.

“Good job Zulu.” Celebi praised.

“Thanks. You did pretty good too.” Zulu responded. The Nature Goddess just told him he’d done good. That was serious points for him.

“Get off me!” Spadassya shouted. Twinkiel stumbled out from the corridor he’d dove down, landing on his tail.

“You landed on me, not the other way around!” Twinkiel shouted back.
Spadassya walked from around the corner.

“Hey, I think you got hit by a Bullet Seed.” Zulu said to her, pointing at her face.

“I’m fine.” She snapped.

“Are you sure? Those bruises on your cheeks look pretty red.” Zulu said in concern.

“I said I’m fine!” She yelled.

“Oh, ok. Let’s keep moving then.” Zulu commanded.
The group continued through the Dungeon, blasting away enemies. Eventually they found the stairway signaling the end.

“On to the next floor.” Twinkiel sighed.

“Remember, the plants there will try to kill us.” Zulu warned. He loved this feeling of being in charge.

“No, remember. That’s not until after the Mystery Dungeon.” Twinkiel corrected.

“I know. This is the end of it right here.” Zulu retorted.

“You mean these places only have one floor? What kind of Mystery Dungeon is this? And I didn’t even find any items or money lying around yet.” Twinkiel complained.

“If its items you want, perhaps a trip to Frontier Town is in order. It sells plenty of supplies for adventurers.” Celebi said.

“Including one hit K.O. orbs and blast seeds?” Twinkiel asked hopefully.

“I’m fairly certain.” Celebi answered, sounding a bit concerned.

“Yeah! Explosions and instant death, I’m coming for you!” Twinkiel shouted with glee.

“Let’s go team.” Zulu ordered.

“I love being in charge!” Zulu thought as the group descended to the catacombs, where the vicious plants awaited.

It had already been four hours since Riley, Gabriel and Flurry left Cassandra's "Room of Scolding". At least, that's what Riley called it anyway. Directly after exiting, him and Gabriel had been escorted to their respective rooms and told to stay inside. The guards that had brought them to the rooms, two Vanilluxe, stood diligently outside the doors, cutting off Riley's escape. But Riley wasn't interested in escape. He was thinking hard. He thought about everything from the situation, to his partners, to his possibly non-existent family. He also began to wonder about Articuno.

Where is she? She went off to find Xerneas, but she hasn't come back.

He was beginning to worry. He needed to talk to someone about this. Unfortunately for him, Flurry was gone and Fleur was Arceus knows where. That left only Gabriel. Riley sighed.

"Am I really in the mood for one of his lectures?"

He really wasn't, and soon engaged ferociously in a debate with himself.

Ugh, Gabriel is the worst to talk to! Maybe I should just wait for Flurry to get back.

You and I both know that you can't talk to Flurry about your thoughts, opinions or feelings.

Why's that?

Don't ask me! You're the one who's been keeping quiet and staying shy.

This isn't about Flurry! I just need someone to vent to.

Vent to? You haven't vented to anyone since you got here! The only person you've ever felt comfortable around in this world is Articuno! And she's gone now!

Riley's train of thought faltered. He didn't want to think about that. Not one bit.

Hey, don't just sit there. If you need someone to talk to, go to Gabriel!

Why? Gabriel doesn't even like me. And to be honest, he can get on my nerves too.


You're supposed to be making friends, not enemies! Just go find him. It will at least give you a chance to chat outside of a fight or some deranged journey to nowhere.

... Fine. I'll go talk to him. First, I have to find him though.

Um, hello genius?! He's in his room too!

Um, you're forgetting knucklehead, I'm kind of stuck in here! If I want to see Gabriel, I need to get out of the room first, and the door is blocked.

Then Riley noticed the window above his bed. He walked over to it, pushed it open, and looked outside. He was four stories off the ground. A fall from that height would kill him.

"Who built this snow fort?" he breathed to himself.

He suddenly remembered that Cassandra had switched Gabriel's room to put him closer to his ally. He was only three rooms to the right, with Flurry's in between his and Riley's. Riley looked closer at the outside wall. A small ledge protruded from the face of it, that stretched around the whole building. Then the two voices kicked up again.

Well, you know what to do.

Are you crazy?! Look how high up this is!

Then I guess you'll be "venting" to the wall today.

Riley frowned at himself and stepped out onto the ledge. He stared straight, not daring to look down, and gripped anything on the wall he could get his paws on. Heart pumping like the beat to a crazy dance song, Riley shimmied along the wall. As he passed Flurry's room, he glanced inside and saw Shaymin resting by the fireplace. She must have sensed something, as her head snapped up and she locked eyes with Riley. The look she gave him said it all. All Riley did was hold up a finger to his mouth, and continued shimmying.

He was almost at Gabriel's window, when he heard the one behind him open. Glancing back, he saw Shaymin's head pop out and stare at him as if he were asking a Snorlax to suffocate him for the fun of it.

She proceeded to shout: "Riley?! What are you doing?! You're going to hurt yourself!"

"Shhhhh!" Riley shot back, and then added in a more subdued but equally snappy tone, "I'm not supposed to be out here."

Shaymin looked as if someone had pushed her over without apologizing. Despite the anger evident in her eyes, she toned her voice down; "No duh you aren't supposed to be out here! You're walking around a four story ledge, you imbecile!"

"I know that! I'm just trying to get to Gabriel's room."

"Couldn't you have just, you know, taken the hallway like a normal person?"

"I'm under extreme house arrest. If they find out I left my room without asking, they're going to skin me!"

"So you're grounded."

Riley blushed. "I am not grounded! How much of a kid do you think I am?!"

"You're grounded."

"Am not!"

"I'm not getting into the "Am not/are too" argument. What a childish thing to do."

Riley's face grew hotter. Through gritted teeth he said: "I am not a child."

Shaymin couldn't help but tease him a little; "Aw, how cute. You're getting mad."

Riley wanted nothing more than to make a hat out of that four-legged bush, but he ignored his anger, turned away and continued the rest of the way to Gabriel's room.

Behind him he heard Shaymin coo tauntingly: "You're lucky I don't tell Cassandra! Tattling is for kids, and unlike you, I'm not one."

As the window closed behind him, Riley knocked on the glass pane of the one above Gabriel's bed. Riley didn't see Gabriel in the room initially, but almost fell off the roof in surprise when the Riolu lifted his head from his pillow to check on the noise outside, and came face to face with him.

After recovering from the initial shock, Gabriel mouthed the words: What the Farfetch'd are you doing out there?"

Riley pointed at the glass and mouthed: "Open the window."

Gabriel complied and seconds later, Riley was sitting on the floor of his room. Once the window was closed, Gabriel turned to face Riley and put a finger to his lips. Riley instantly remembered the other Vanilluxe guarding Gabriel's door. He nodded to Gabriel, silently agreeing to speak as quietly as possible. With that, Gabriel whispered: "What are you doing here? And why in the name of Mew were you out on that ledge?"

"I needed to come talk to you."

"Well, it must have been important for you to almost fall to your death."

"Kind of?" Riley realized he wasn't exactly sure what he needed to ask Gabriel.

"Don't tell me you came here with nothing to say."

"...Kind of."

Gabriel rubbed his eyes at this. Either he was tired, or just tired of Riley. Or both.

"Well, I can't exactly have a conversation with you if we have nothing to talk about, now can I?" he asked,

Riley felt stupid. He had almost killed himself to come talk to Gabriel, and now that he was sitting in front of him, he had nothing to say.

You have plenty to say, you're just too introverted to say anything. said the voice in his head.

Shut up. the other voice replied,

"Okay," sighed Gabriel, "I'm going to take a wild guess at this, but you came here to talk about Flurry, right?"

Riley snapped out of his train of thought and looked up, confused. "What?!" he said a little too defensively.

Gabriel sighed. "Riley, can't you see it's never going to happen? I mean, she's an ice type, you're a fighting type... then again, nobody knows what Egg Group you belong to..."

Riley felt like his face was going to melt off.

"That's not what I came to talk about!"

"Oh?" Gabriel asked, curiously, "Then why is your face the colour of a ripe tomato?"

"Gabriel! I came to talk about everything that's happened!"

"With Flurry?"

"With the Plates!"

There was a knock on the door.

"Mr. Gabriel," called the Vanilluxe from outside, "are you alright in there? I heard voices."

"Don't come in! I'm... working out!"

Riley gave Gabriel a look that said: "What?"

Gabriel shrugged and turned back to the door.

"Okay, well tell me if something's wrong."

When the voice died down, Riley returned to his whispering voice and asked: "Since when do you work out?"

"I don't. Unless you're talking about working out my brain, in which case I do more than frequently. Anyways, what about the Plates?"

"I don't know... I guess I'm just wondering what the point of all this is."

"All of what?"

"This. You know, the hunt. For the Plates, I mean. I've been thinking about it, and I can't definitely answer why we're gathering them."

"That's simple. It's to defeat Arceus, leader of the New Order."

"Why is this whole war even happening?"

"The New Order believes that Pokémon should have to answer to one ruler or a body of rulers. It's our job to stop them, defeat their leader and restore balance."

"Okay, so say by some miracle this all turns out well. Say we defeat the New Order. Then what? What's going to happen to the Plates and the Resistance Legendaries? What about us? Are we even going to be able to go home? Do we have a home? And what about our memories? Genesct took them away, so will going back to the old world bring them back as well?"

Gabriel had no answer to any of these questions.

"I don't know. All I know is, I trust Xerneas, and he was the one who explained why we're here to me."

"But what if we're being lied to? What if we're being manipulated and the Resistance is no better than the New Order?"

"Don't say that! Our Legendary allies have done nothing but care for us. How could they ever have anything but the best intentions?"

"Gabriel, think for a second. Besides the obvious facts about Xerneas, like the fact that he's a Legendary, what else do you know about him or this cause?"

Gabriel said nothing. Now both Pokémon sat there, thinking deeply.

"Well, we really have no choice but to trust them, don't we?" asked Gabriel, "I mean, if there is a chance we can become human again and go home, we have to help them in the war. I'd like to think that the Legendaries mean good, but you have a point."

"I guess you're right. Do you have a plan for the Poison Plate?"

"You already heard it. Cassandra said she wasn't going to let us participate in the deal though."

"She never said we couldn't at least find the Plate."

Gabriel flashed Riley a mischievous grin. "You're right. She didn't."

"And if one day we "just happened" to go out for training and not make it to the arena..."

"And if we "accidentally" stumble across the Mystery Dungeon on the way..."

There was a moment of proud silence between the two.

"I'm beginning to appreciate the way you think Riley." said Gabriel, grinning all the while.

---

Riley stood in the training gym with Gabriel. As they were both to be watched around the clock, their training instructers were also asked to keep an eye on them and make sure they didn't go anywhere. The training gym was filled with Pokémon that would later be fighting in the arena, which was just down the hall. It had all sorts of equipment like treadmills and dumbbells to train up muscle. Riley glanced at Gabriel's training instructor. He was a large Hariyama with a fighter's spirit and attitude to boot. Riley gulped nervously when he compared the massive 'Mon to his training instructor. He would have also received a Hariyama, had Shaymin not been quick to convince Cassandra how effective a trainer she could be.

And so she stood in the gym, three times shorter than Riley, a whistle around her neck that dragged on the ground when she walked. Riley felt embarrassed to no end. No doubt Gabriel would become the stronger of the two.

"Come on, kid." said the Hariyama, guiding Gabriel to the other end of the room.

Riley turned to look at Shaymin. Her eyes were darting from Pokémon to Pokémon in the room.

"Darn it! Not a single attractive guy here! I only took this job so I could-"

Then she caught Riley's alarmed look.

"Um, I mean, oh look! A wild weight set appeared! Go, Riley!"

Riley rolled his eyes and walked over to the dumbbells. He had only lifted the eight pound weight five times, and his right arm was already exhausted.

"Good! Now the other arm!" shouted Shaymin.

A Throh walked up to her and whispered: "Um, Miss, you do know that the most effective weight training regimen leaves lifting the dumbbells for last, right? Because, you know, your guy is going to be exhausted after this one exercise. He doesn't look like he comes here often."

"Of course I know that!" she replied defensively. "I'm purposefully draining his stamina to toughen up his endurance in the other exercises! Don't you keep up with the times? This is the new best way to work out."

The Throh looked confused and walked back to his own area, where he started lifting dumbbells in both of his big, bulky hands.

"Do you actually know what you're doing?"

Riley startled Shaymin with the sudden phrase. He had stopped lifting.

"What is with you people?! You think I came here to look at a bunch of sweaty Pokémon? I obviously know what I'm doing, because I'm the trainer with the shiny whistle!"

Riley sighed and looked over at Gabriel. The Hariyama was pushing him hard, but it appeared to be working out for him. Pun intended.

I've got to stop hanging around Flurry.

---

Riley and Gabriel met in the center of the arena, their trainers in the stands. It was evening now, and Flurry had since returned from her walk, so she was also there, waiting nervously.

"Shaymin," she asked, "What are you doing with that whistle?"

"Do you like it? I think it's pretty."

"Where'd you get it?"

"Cassandra gave it to me."

"Why?"

"She said whoever became Riley's trainer and made him stronger got the whistle automatically, so I convinced her to give me the job."

"You what?!"

"Relax, snow cone. Riley's going to win this fight, just you wait and see."

Gabriel's trainer chuckled at this. Flurry simply said: "Snow cone...?"

"The one-on-one match between Riley the Riolu and Gabriel the Riolu is about to begin." said the referee Chesnaught on the sidelines. By the way Flurry kept glancing at him, she must have met him at some point recently. Likely during her walk that same day. Luckily he was clearly older than her.

Why is that a good thing to me? wondered Riley.

"Fighters, please shake paws." the Chesnaught continued,

As the two Pokémon shook each other's paw, Gabriel smiled and said to his opponent: "Riley, despite our frosty introductions, I hope we can move past it, be friends, and battle with utmost sportsmanship."

Riley returned the smile. "I agree Gabe. Let's be friends."

The other Riolu froze in place.

"What did you just call me?" he asked tenderly.

"Gabe. Is there a problem?"

Gabriel narrowed his eyes in a glare. He jabbed a finger at Riley's chest.

"Don't you ever call me Gabe again!"

"Woah man, chill out. I don't see what's wrong with shortening your name a bit."

"I don't like that name!"

"What's so bad about Gabe?"

"The same thing that's so bad about Riley!"

Gabriel's eyes widened as he realized what he had just said.

"Oh snap!" shouted Shaymin from the sidelines.

"I-I'm sorry. It just came out. I didn't mean-"

But Riley wasn't listening.

He pushed Gabriel back, and before anything could go haywire, the referee shouted: "Fight!"

Riley stepped forward and threw some wild punches. Some connected, some didn't, but his carelessness left him open for attack. Gabriel easily dodged a wide, sweeping shot to the head by ducking down, and proceeded to Counter Riley with a kick to the chest. He flew back a few feet and crashed into the dirt, gasping for breath.

"He's winded kid! Finish him!" shouted the Hariyama.

Gabriel took an agile step forward, and grabbed his adversary by the right foot. He then proceeded to jump into the air and chuck Riley to the ground as if to finally be rid of a terrible burden. Or at least, he would have, had he had enough strength to lift something equal his weight. Instead, he simply managed to lift Riley's foot to his chest. Taking advantage of this and regaining his breath, Riley wrapped his left leg around Gabriel's arm, following it up with a spin on the ground, which in turn brought his adversary down with him.

"Perfect Counter, Riley!" yelled Shaymin.

The Hariyama grunted.

The two Pokémon were now wrestling on the ground, trying to get the edge on the other. Riley caught Gabriel with a few fast punches to the face, and was able to stun him and scramble to his feet. Still dizzy, Gabriel curled up in a defensive position, protecting himself from Riley and trying to think of a way out of the situation. Riley took a small step back. He was far enough that Gabriel couldn't bring him down by wrapping his legs around Riley's feet, but close enough to still do damage to him.

Flurry suddenly jumped up and burst out: "It's over Anakin! He has the high ground!"

All heads turned to look at her and she slowly sat back down, extremely embarrassed. Out in the arena, Riley turned to face Flurry and called out with jealousy evident in his voice: "Hey, who's this Anakin guy?!"

Taking advantage of the momentary distraction, Gabriel recovered from the stun and tackled Riley, once again bringing him to the ground. However, Gabriel was relentless. As soon as he had the upper hand on Riley, he began launching a series of Quick Attack punches to his face. Riley took punch after punch, never succeeding in throwing Gabriel off or defending himself. The last thing he saw before he went unconscious was the referee running over and yanking Gabriel off of him shouting: "Stop! It's over! This fight is over!"

---

Riley awoke with a terrible headache. He was lying in the infirmary of the snow fort. He had nothing to look at except for his bed, the frigid white walls and the clock. According to the wall piece, it was 8:00PM. Then, he noticed the Pokémon sitting in the chair under the clock. Flurry. He looked around and saw no one else in the room. They were alone for the first time since they'd met. He pretended to be asleep out of fear but Flurry had caught his eye movement.

"Oh, you're awake." she said softly, coming closer to him, and stopping to his left.

Riley stayed perfectly still. There was still a chance he could fool her.

"Riley, I know you're awake, I just saw you look at me as if I were a ghost."

Defeated, Riley slowly opened his eyes and looked up at Flurry. However, he could barely get the left eye open.

"How do I look?" asked Riley.

"You have a black eye, but it's almost invisible. That mask of yours keeps your face black, anyways."

"Where's Gabriel?"

"Gone to bed, probably. He won by Technical Knock Out. The ref stopped it before he could hurt you too badly. When I told him I was coming to see you, all he told me to say to you was to never call him Gabe again. I didn't understand the problem, personally. Speaking of being hurt, are you feeling okay? Do you need me to get you something?"

She was genuinely concerned for him.

"I'm okay, thanks." he said, looking away.

There was a moment of silence, and Flurry asked: "Why don't you ever talk to us?"

Playing dumb, Riley replied: "I don't know what you mean."

"You're always so closed up. Sometimes, I see you peek out of your shell for just a second, but then you go right back into it. Why?"

"It's none of your business. Stop being so nosy!"

Flurry looked peeved for a second, but then her expression softened.

"Sorry." she offered, "Sometimes I speak without thinking. It's a problem."

Riley didn't say anything for a full thirty seconds.

"I'm shy."

"Pardon?"

"I said I'm shy. I don't like talking to people. I have trouble trusting anyone. Especially now that I'm a Pokémon in a strange world."

"You have trust issues?"

Riley nodded slowly.

"Riley... I'm no good with this mushy stuff... but I hope you know you can trust me. I would never do anything to hurt you. Neither would Gabriel, Shaymin, or Fleur."

"Gabriel wouldn't hurt me?" Riley said, smiling and indicating the room around him.

Flurry giggled. "Okay, well maybe he'd hurt you a little bit, but the point is, we're all in this together, and I don't want you to feel like you can't talk to us if you need to. Especially me."

"I know... I just..."

Then there was another silence before Riley picked up: "I trust you, Flurry."

She smiled warmly at him.

"On that note, can I ask you a question?" he continued.

"Of course you can."

"Who's that Anakin guy you mentioned earlier?"

Flurry burst out laughing. It sounded like pellets of hail hitting a concrete walk, but Riley smiled all the same.

"Anakin is a character from Star Wars. When you were standing over Gabriel in the arena, it reminded me of a scene from Episode III where Obi-Wan and Anakin are battling over the lava on Mustafar, and Obi-Wan gets the upper ground on Anakin. He then says that line, and Anakin's all like: "You underestimate my power", and tries to jump over him, but gets his legs cut off and rolls into the lava. Then there's this whole spiel about Obi-Wan yelling "You were my brother Anakin!" and "I loved you!" and things like that. It's one of my favourite scenes from the movies!"

Laughing, Riley said: "These movies are sounding more and more appealing as time goes on."

"They're the best! Also, if you could, please make some weird breathing noises at some point. I get the feeling that scene is linked to another character who, for some reason, has a hard time breathing. I asked Gabriel how I could go from knowing nothing to knowing tons about something like that, and he said I followed a thread of memory, which is basically like a massive link of memories."

"That sounds awesome! How do you get one?"

"I think it just happens. Gabriel said a memory will trigger from something that's been said or done and will form a chain of memories for you to follow, until you basically know everything about that topic again. It seems like the best way to get our memories back."

"Look at Gabriel, cheating the system."

"Ha-ha, yeah. But try it if you ever feel a memory stirring in the back of your head. It actually works."

"I'll keep that in mind."

"So, I was just curious, but why did you stop in the middle of a fight to ask me who Anakin was? You sounded mad."

Riley tried to push the blood away from his face, even though he had no idea how to.

"Did I?" he asked, buying time. He began hoping for a miracle to stop this conversation before it escalated.

"Yeah, you did. You sounded almost jealous. Is something bothering you?"

"No, no. Nothing is wrong?"

"Okay... so then what gives?"

"I-"

The door opened behind Flurry, cutting Riley off. In walked Cassandra.

"Oh, hello Riley. Good to see you're awake. Flurry, I'm afraid I'm going to have to ask you to leave. Riley still needs rest."

Flurry looked as if she wanted nothing more than five more minutes to talk to him. Riley felt as if he'd die if he had to talk for five more seconds.

Sensing that Cassandra wasn't joking, she said bye to Riley and gave him a hug at such a speed that he only shivered for an instant. She then left the room. Riley stared at the ceiling for a while after that, once again thinking of only Flurry.

He fell asleep that way and dreamt that they were in the Enchanted Grove once again, at the moment where he had grabbed her hand to run from the Trevenant. There were no Trevenant though this time. There was no Gabriel either. Only him and her. He wrapped his hand around hers, as he had before, expecting to feel a petrifying blast of cold. However, no such cold came. Flurry was warm.

--- hated jungles. The air was pungent with trampled soil and healthy foliage and the humidity was off the charts. Normally, the Blaziken wouldn't mind the heat but this was a different sensation altogether. --- growled under his breath and milled about the entrance to the Mystery Dungeon. He would go in but --- knew that the dungeon would just be a maze of humid vines or something unbearably annoying.

Instead, the Blaziken turned to Moltres. The phoenix seemed as bored as he was but --- had something on his mind, something about a dream he had.

"I think I have a mother." The Blaziken blurted out. Moltres looked over at him, then laughed.

"I should think so, otherwise how could you have been born?" The legendary chuckled. --- just rolled his eyes and continued.

"No, what I meant was, I caught an image of...someone through a dream I had. This person, she emanated love but there were tears...she was crying." he said, his thoughts as jumbled as his speech.

At this, Molters expression softened. She floated over to him and replied,

"Well, I can imagine that she misses you. These dreams seem to be a good thing though, why do you sound so confused?" She asked.

The Blaziken frowned.

"Why did you bring me here? I know your reason but why me?" He asked, his voice growing cold.

"I'm afraid I cant answer that. You see, we didn't choose you, whoever was on the other side of Palkia's portal did."

This sank in and --- face darkened.

"So this is all your fault?"

Moltres stared, confused.

"You're saying that you couldn't take care of your own problems so you called another species to see if they could? Who does that? Who takes children away from their families to fight in a war in a whole different dimension?"

Now it the phoenix was angry.

"We were desperate! Would you rather thousands died under a tyrannical reign? Don't tell me your kind doesn't call for help to?"

"I don't even know if they do or don't! I cant remember anything because of you! My family is wracked with grief and I cant even remember their names!"

The phoenix lit the room with a burning light. Fire roared through the temple, burning through the foliage and melting stone.

"You dare question our motives! You have no idea what we have suffered through to bring justice to this continent! We sacrificed everything, our power, our place in history, to save this world!

--- stumbled back. Moltres radiated flames, sending the shadows fleeing and the vines shriveling and dropping ash onto the ground. Despite this, --- shouted back.

"Fine! I don't care about how much you've suffered! You've caused me more than enough today!"

With that, the Blaziken bolted. Leaving a trail of fire behind.

Day Negative X

"What. Is this." Dialga asked.

He and several of the more prominent legendries were gathered in the Hall of Origins, looking at what Mew had brought them.

"I don't know, but I couldn't just leave him." Mew said, looking at the strange Ditto like creature.
"But he claims to have once been human."

"You brought a human into our sacred hall?!?!" Palkia shouted, rising up.

"Stand down Palkia." Dialga cautioned.

"Someone sounds a little upset. What's the matter Palkia, still sore about losing to a human?" Zapdos taunted.

"That human and his partner were allies to us. They saved me and the flow of time. Surely you can't still hold hatred for them?" Dialga said.

"No, I suppose not. But are we so blind as to trust every amnesiac human that appears? How certain are we he has lost his memory?" Palkia questioned.

The Legendries gathered murmured to each other, either agreeing or disagreeing with Palkia.

"He lost it. He only remembers he was human and his name. That seems to be a pretty common thing if I remember." Mew said.

"What's this human's name then?" Ho-oh asked, paying more attention to the upkeep of his feathers than what was happening.

"He says he's called the Guardian of Life." Mew blurted out, but then her eyes widened in fear. The response was immediate.

"Guardian of Life!?!?"

"Blasphemy!"

"Arceus is the Guardian of Life!"

The blob shivered, not sure what he'd done.

"Well it's decided. Let's be rid of him." Palkia said. He glided towards the creature, his shoulder pearls glowing.

"Get away from me!" The creature shouted. Palkia was suddenly thrown backwards, colliding with Kyurem. A silence fell over the Legendries.

"Did you see..."

"Such power..."

"Dangerous..."

"Powerful ally..."

Palkia rose, looking at the creature.

"You all saw that. He's dangerous. He doesn't even have control of his power!"

"Then let's help him control it." Mew said.

The Legendries looked to her.

"He has a lot of potential. With the right training, he could be a valuable ally. Maybe even Minor Legendary material."

The Legendries began murmering to each other.

"I think that's a splendid idea." Cresselia said.

"I agree..." Metwo stoically said. He knew what it felt like to be feared for your own power.

Around the hall, other Legendries agreed. Even ones that had been apposed to this strange creature in the beginning.

"Fine." Palkia agreed, regaining his composure.

"Glad to hear it." Mew said happily, twirling in the air.

"But if Arceus disagrees, then your friend is dead." Palkia threatened.

"If Arceus disagreed, he would have been killed by Judgment already." Mew retorted.

"If he is to become a Legendary, he needs a name." Kyogre said from his sphere of water.

"Very well." Palkia said.
"From this moment forward, you'll be known as..."

On that day, I became a God...