For the one hundredth reviewer of On The Wings of Death, fireflii! Apparently Lugia is very popular amongst you guys haha. I would have had this up sooner, but long story short, bad storm + open windows = rain inside house + destroyed modem = no internet
The Fletchinder finally went down from the stress of a combination of Leech Seed, Poison Powder and repeated Flashes. Lyra recalled him with a smile. "Good job, Fletchinder," she told the Poké Ball. "Floette, you're up!"
Next to Lugia, Gold blinked. "And I thought she was going to use the Inkay," he said dryly. "Guess I still don't know her after all, do I?"
The two trainers were on extended vacation from the Indigo League, since it was just so boring there now. Lugia knew that it was supposed to be more interesting, but the Elite Four did a good job of stopping trainers (although Lyra still insisted that the trainers ran away as soon as they saw Will) and the ones that did make it through usually met their defeat a la Meganium. It had been so quiet for so long that Lyra had decided to leave Johto on an extended vacation.
Which, in her world, apparently amounted to starting a journey all over again, which meant that the only two Pokémon she had brought were Meganium and Azumarill. And Lugia himself, although she had strongly stressed that he didn't have to come. In return, he strongly stressed that there would be plenty of upset trainers if she accidentally got herself killed by stroking an Espurr's ears.
That had been enough to secure his place on the trip, although in reality he was a free Pokémon – Lyra had freed him two days after he allowed himself to be caught by the Premier Ball – he did, after all, have duties to do. But when he wasn't busy he preferred to be around Lyra, if only because he had been searching far too long for a silver soul – which she had. The same applied to Ho-Oh, who at this precise moment was Arceus-knows-where. Probably in the Hall.
As the news started spreading that the Johto Champion was challenging Leader Ramos, more and more people began filing in. Gold groaned. The whole point was pretty much not attracting attention – well, that was one thing they'd failed in.
Lugia used a brief Psychic to plant the suggestion that there was a horde of Axew in Azure Bay, causing another miniature stampede when trainers bolted to catch fake Axew. Gold sent him a look that plainly said I know what you just did. Lugia ignored him.
A while later, after the Jumpluff went down and Floette was dodging Sludge Bombs from the Weepinbell, another trainer slipped in, sitting down on a seat that was reasonably close to the battlefield and equally distant from him and Gold. Lugia blinked in surprise when his Psychic failed completely, dissipating before it went anywhere close. The new trainer didn't even seem to notice, focused on the battle before them.
Floette released a Misty Terrain, cloaking the field in soft pink that wasn't quite the same colour as Palkia's pearls, but still fairly close. Weepinbell spewed Acid in response, coating parts of the misted ground with purple. Floette floated away and spun to avoid the next shot of gunk.
Lugia took the time to observe the new trainer – dark haired, with just enough red scattered throughout to be considered as red highlights. From his position, he could just see a red T-shirt.
Below, Floette's eyes glowed with a Psychic. Before her new captures, Lyra had informed them (with Lugia as translator) that they would eventually be freed back into the wild and that she would not be keeping them. The Floette, like the Fletchinder, didn't care. Any chance was a chance to get stronger – that was simply how it worked.
The Weepinbell managed to spew Acid even as Floette sent it flying, the impact knocking the Weepinbell out. Floette didn't have the energy to duck the last piece of flying gloop, purple spreading over her flower in a swift knockout. Lyra recalled the Floette with a smile.
Ramos' Gogoat appeared last, and Lyra hesitated for a moment before releasing Meganium. So far, she had a Floette, a Fletchinder and an Inkay – but with Meganium and Azumarill it was a solid team nonetheless. Grass against Grass always led to interesting battles – he wondered what Lyra would do this time.
Gold picked up his Pokédex to scan the Gogoat, nodding in approval at what he found. He wasn't on a badge run and he wasn't starting a new journey, but being dragged along by Lyra had its inevitable effects. Three badges rested in his new badge case. Knowing that he wasn't with new Pokémon meant that each Gym Leader was perfectly happy to produce the much stronger ones, and Typhlosion for one certainly wasn't complaining about getting a decent workout again.
The strange trainer leaned forward a little, clearly taking notes for (presumably) his own battle against Ramos for the badge. Lugia swept another Psychic at him, just in case something was off the previous time. It bounced off and he dismissed it before the wave could hit a chair – the last thing he needed right now were questions on why a chair was levitating as he considered the strange trainer.
It definitely wasn't the result of being under a Dark-type move for prolonged periods of time – not many people were aware of the fact, but overexposure to Dark Pulse or Night Daze brought a little immunity to psychics the same way having a Trevenant use Forest's Curse on a person made being burned alive a thousand times more painful. Of course, there were always the detrimental effects of being under Dark Pulse 24/7 to consider. It wasn't a Dark-type Pokémon either doing the work. There was something strange about it all, and there was a memory hanging just out of reach that Lugia knew was alarmingly relevant. If he could recall it, that was.
After a few minutes of the two Grass-types staring at each other (more or less), Meganium leapt into action. That was something that always surprised challengers – just how fast Lyra's Meganium actually was. The bulky Pokémon certainly didn't looked fast. It just made the expressions all the more hilarious.
A Flash exploded from the petals around Meganium's neck, illuminating the entire arena. Gogoat flinched, turning away from the light. The Dragon Tail that followed was too fast for the Gogoat to respond. The Body Slam simply finished it off – Lugia was inclined to feel sorry for the Gogoat that just got sat on by a Meganium. Not that Gogoat as a species weren't heavy, but there was a reason overweight people weren't allowed on Gogoat taxis.
Lyra accepted the Plant Badge with a smile, sliding it into her new Badge case. Gold whooped and hollered out a 'Good job!' that was far too loud to be appropriate, not that he cared. The referee frowned at him. Gold gave him a winning smile in return, and Lugia shifted over one seat.
I have no idea who this weirdo is.
Lyra grinned up at them, Meganium next to her. Lugia made his way out of the audience stands down into the Gym proper. "Congratulations," he said.
"Thanks, Lu-cian," she hastily amended, glancing around to make sure nobody caught her slip. Gold tripped his way down the stairs to join them.
"That was a really good battle," he said cheerfully. "But Typhlosion's going to wreck them all. Just watch and see."
Ramos only rolled his eyes. It was a little surprising – Ramos looked far too dignified to be rolling his eyes. Then again, Ho-Oh had always been the better judge of character out of the two of them. Supposedly Lugia had 'the emotional capacity of a Revival Herb'. He wasn't even going to respond to that.
Gold booked a full six-on-six for the afternoon – even though he continuously insisted that he wasn't trying to get badges, so far he wasn't doing a very good job of persuading anyone – and the three of them departed from the Gym.
Out of the corner of his eye, Lugia noticed the strange trainer departing also.
~OoOoOoO~
Ho-Oh joined them for lunch by walking out of a dark alley and seamlessly matching their strides, easily making their party of three become four. She also informed him that Articuno's Snowpoint blizzards were tiring, which meant that Regigigas had put enough distance between himself and civilisation that major destruction wouldn't be too much of an issue. The Colossal Pokémon was prone to… occasional acts of destruction when he woke up, which was part of the reason why he didn't stay in the Hall too often. Even though the Hall would probably be a lot easier to repair than Snowpoint City.
Gold blinked in surprise as he left, with the excuse of 'wandering around', but Lyra was a lot more open to the idea, with a cheerful "Return soon!" being called after him.
Ho-Oh only told him to avoid creating forty-day storms before returning to her Pinap Tart. How nice.
Lugia found the strange trainer easily enough, by spreading an area-wide Psychic and looking for the one black spot. He turned out to be sitting on an old stone wall, swinging his legs and talking to a Fletchinder, whose beady eyes constantly swept the entire area. A strong character, then – this Fletchinder was clearly a hunter, and a good one at that.
There wasn't really a particular spot to hide, so the Fletchinder spotted him pretty quickly, giving a chirp. Stranger danger – a female, then.
To Lugia's surprise, the trainer laughed. "Stranger danger," he repeated. "Good one."
Very few people could understand Pokémon. The fact that this trainer had instantly narrowed Lugia's list. He stepped forward, and the trainer turned to meet him.
Vivid green eyes stared at him, taking in and assessing Lugia just as much as Lugia was assessing him. The colour scheme now was alarmingly familiar, if only he could figure it out – red and black, who wore red and black?
"Yveltal," he said aloud, and the trainer blinked in surprise. "Huh?"
Now he got why there was a perpetual aura of Dark around him. "You're that kid," he recalled. "Harry Potter – Void now, right?"
"Harry Void, trainer," he agreed. "Uh, I can put in a pretty good guess, but how did you know me?"
Lugia shrugged. "He talks about you. Sometimes. When he's not busy arguing with Xerneas. I think he's trying to change Xerneas' mind. On what, we have no idea. Something about going somewhere." He held out his hand. "Lugia."
Harry's eyes grew wide – clearly, even though he had on some degree expected a legendary, he still wasn't prepared for it. "Um. Oh. Wow. As in, the guardian of the seas?"
Guardian of the Waters, his Fletchinder corrected. You're getting there.
"The very same," Lugia agreed. "I suppose you know that to a psychic, you are literally a black hole. It's as if there is a permanent Dark Pulse suspended over your head."
Harry blinked. "Oh. Really? My père just said that he put his mark on me so that wild Pokémon would try eat me or something, but do I really stand out that badly to a Psychic?"
Lugia suppressed his smile at the term of endearment. There was just something insufferably cute about the idea of Yveltal being a father – mainly because if anyone was going to be a father, it would have been Xerneas, not Yveltal. He had to wonder how precisely such a series of events could have occurred, and then the chances for it ever occurring again. Uxie would tell him a complicated number that amounted to practically zero, probably, and Palkia would just huff and inform him that she was closing down the rifts.
"Not unless we do mind-sweeps," Lugia told him. "But once we do, you stand out because there is nothing where you should be. I can't see why that should be a bad thing, though. It'll keep your thoughts safe, and it should make you less resistant to manipulation. Nice Fletchinder, by the way. Gale Wings?"
The Fletchinder chirped in response. Yep! Awesome, right? Harry rolled his eyes.
"She used to be a bit more serious around Camphrier Town. Then she basically single-handedly defeated Leader Korrina's team, and if that didn't boost her ego then I'm a Tamato Berry in disguise." Lugia's lips twitched at that.
"I'm sure Fletchinder is an admirable example of her species," he commented. The Fletchinder's eyes – sparkled? – glinted, and she voiced her agreement. Harry sighed.
"Sure, go and support the other team. You are such a traitor, Fletchinder. Honestly."
"I suppose you're here for the Plant Badge." Lugia switched the subject before boy and bird had an argument on a wall. Harry nodded.
"Ramos is good – I've only watched so far, but his Jumpluff is actually really scary. I'm not surprised the woman's Fletchinder lost against it even with type advantages. Ramos isn't really the strength kind of trainer, he's more like the sneaky one with Toxic and Leech Seed who laughs at you because you never thought there were more way than one to use a move." He blinked, then flushed a little as he realised what he'd just said. "Uh, let's forget the fact that I just insinuated that the Gym Leader was sneaky."
"Good observational skills," was all that Lugia replied with. "Moltres would be proud."
"Moltres?"
"He's got the sharpest eyes out of the three birds I have the misfortune of watching over."
"Oh."
They fell into silence for a while before Harry's Holo Caster beeped. This is the Coumarine Rangers Station. A sole Snover has been detected near Azure Bay. Should our team not get there in time, swimmers and beachgoers should be aware of the possibility of sudden rain. Warm sea air will melt the hail into water. Repeat: swimmers and beachgoers should be aware of the possibility of rain, not hail. This is the Coumarine Rangers Station; swimmers should be aware of the possibility of sudden rain.
They both turned to look in the direction of Azure Bay. Wisps of white cloud were beginning to swirl together, turning darker and darker as they approached what would probably be the eye of whatever the Snow Warning could pull off in warm weather. A simple rainstorm, nothing more, and at the very least not quite at destructive as Zapdos' temper tantrum a few weeks ago.
Ho-Oh's not going to be too pleased with this rainstorm.
Harry was frowning. "Er, I should probably go. I'm not really sure what you legendaries do to avoid the rain, but I don't have any magical drying properties and until I do figure out how to stay dry in the rain I'll be taking shelter at the Pokémon Centre…" He trailed off. "Um, it was nice meeting you?" It came out as more of a question than a statement, not that Lugia particularly minded.
"It was nice to meet you," he said, inclining his head. "Best wishes until we meet again. I have no doubt that we will."
It was true. At the very least, opening the rift back to Harry's own world would probably take place in the Hall of Origin. Palkia would probably do it there just because she didn't want to spend time getting to somewhere else. The situation with her and Dialga – well, no was a good way to put it. It was not getting mentioned. It was never getting mentioned. That worked out to no Roars of Time or Spatial Rends, which worked out to relatively peaceful cohabitation.
Harry seemed a little surprised by that, but he nodded, giving a hesitant wave before he disappeared from view, the Fletchinder nestled snugly in his hair. Oh, definitely a good hunter, that one.
The Future Sight caught him just as Harry vanished from both his sight and the range of the passive psychic field always present around him. Lugia dropped onto the stone wall as images danced before his eyes, elaborate visions of all that could be. Any kind of looking into the future was difficult, the future could change so much with the actions of so little – the Butterfree effect – so instead of seeing one future, there were alternate timelines, streams where this could have happened to lead to that, or that could have happened to lead to it. It was imprecise, and it was the only way to glimpse what could be.
Future Sight at least had the advantage of sorting out what was unlikely and what was more likely. Out of the thousands of streams available for Harry – tumultuous times ahead, then, important decisions forked into two time streams to account for the possibilities and he had thousands – several lead to doubtful conclusions, such as Harry sharing Candied Bluk with a grey-eyed boy while one of the famous composer Beethoven's pieces played in the background – the Umbreon Sonata, if he heard correctly. Another had piña coladas and a pineapple performing in a Musical while Harry looked on.
Lugia dismissed those as irrelevant. What did seem to be present in all the saner timelines, however – before they diverged in a hundred different ways, there were several timelines more-or-less identical up to a certain point that probably was an important event where Harry could change in a multitude of ways – was a graveyard, and what looked like the horns of a Houndoom tilted upwards, catching the bluish light of a full moon.
Whatever could be said about Yveltal's parenting – although from what he was seeing, Harry clearly turned out alright so maybe Yveltal was actually good at parenting, who would have thought – clearly there were important decisions in his son's future. But things had a way of turning out right in the end, and Lugia wasn't the type of person to worry about alternate universes. He left that up to Palkia and Dialga.
"May the Star of Victory follow your steps, Harry Void," he murmured aloud. "And Jirachi smile upon you should you ever have dark days."
Any legendary could invoke another legendary. Whether or not the other legendary listened was fully dependent on how much they liked or disliked, respected or disrespected the other. Lugia wasn't on bad terms with anybody and definitely not with Victini, although Jirachi – well, that kind of depended on whether or not Jirachi would wake up from his 'nap' to listen.
He was confident that Harry would still be okay, whether or not Lugia's words were heeded, but extra blessings never hurt. Lugia rose from the wall.
Harry Void might have a possibly difficult future ahead of him, but Lugia didn't really want to get caught in the rain. Natural rainstorms inevitably attracted one of the storm legendaries, and – well, he didn't want to be around when they and Zygarde clashed. The green-and-black legendary was utterly terrifying when she was angry, and – well, he just didn't want to be caught up in her rage. Few walked out of it intact.
He turned and walked back into Coumarine City. Lyra would insist on watching Gold's match, after all, and Ho-Oh was bound to be there. Lugia just needed to figure out a plausible excuse to avoid her.
If there was such an excuse to be found at all.
I have the headcanon that Ho-Oh and Lugia are the kind of siblings who just try to stay out of each other's way as much as possible because even though they can stand each other without destroying half the world it's to both their mutual benefit if they just don't meet at all. I also have the headcanon that Zygarde is utterly terrifying if her domain (the environment) is under threat. As in, I-don't-care-how-many-resistances-or-immunities-you-have-a-localised-Draco-Meteor-will-still-smash-you-to-shreds terrifying. Because even Fairies will have some trouble recovering from being buried under ten tons of rock covered in draconic energy.
I just prefer Gold to Ethan. Maybe it's because Ethan and Silver just sounds weird, while Gold and Silver matches. Let's just not ask about all the other Dex Holders. It gets complicated from there
~dreamingthroughstarlight
