Ryan turned up for breakfast late, feeling like he hadn't slept for a single minute that night. Luc and Deus were already set for breakfast, cooked for them by the Ranger Louis, an old friend of Deus. Ryan had fed his Pokémon last night and gone to bed immediately after, but his head hurt nonetheless. Ryan knew it hadn't been the Ranger Station they had found themselves a place to rest in that was the source of his lack of sleep: the beds had been cosy, the temperature moderate and the Station's other members didn't snore. No, it had been the dreams that had kept him from a relaxed night of rest.
Dreams of piercing emerald eyes.
He had stumbled up to the washbasin and had attempted to clear his mind with a splash of cold mountain water. It had helped, more or less, but the headache remained.
He had looked up into the overhead mirror, water dripping from his chin. A young man had gazed back at him, a face he did not recognize as his own. Deep, dark eyes and a shock of brown hair, his naked upper body looked tough and muscular from years of training and fighting with and alongside his Pokémon.
He had turned away and got dressed, lastly clasping the metal braces around his arms, something he had grown accustomed with. The golden braces didn't glint in the light, but instead seemed to burn from a fierce fire from inside the metal and seemingly liquid over Ryan's arms. He had received these braces a long, long time ago, and used them whenever he would spar with Luc or any of his other Pokémon to protect himself from his Pokémon's strength. The braces had become trademark for him since then, people recognising him from his braces more often than from his outer appearance.
As he walked into the diner room of the Station, murmuring greetings to the various personnel, Deus noticed him and gestured him over. He took place opposite of him, next to Luc as always, and squinted against the bright sunlight shining through the window behind his friend.
Deus laughed heartily at his companion's woes, turning only a few heads as most of the Rangers and Mechanics stationed here knew the tall man well.
"Someone's gotten himself a bit too much wine last night, now did he?", he said teasingly.
Luc merrily watched his Trainer, who kept his mind closed off pretty much entirely. The Lucario only felt a mild confusion and annoyance radiate from his friend through their bond, and understood instinctively that Ryan needed some time alone, without him prying into his thoughts.
Ryan grunted at Deus' question, unwilling to tell the truth behind his state of mind, and began picking away at the food on his plate. His moods, however, immediately lifted as he tasted the pancakes with honey. He realised he was famished, and hauled the pancakes in as if his life depended on it. 'Le Whirlpool' might have been the best of the best, its portions had been deceptively small. Deus and Luc shared an amused glance as they saw their friend feast on his breakfast.
"Seems like someone still has respect for the old recipes." a voice came from behind Ryan. Turning, he recognised Louis, Viralian Town's Lead Ranger. Years before, they had met once, and fought an influx of nasty Mightyena together far to the North. What he most remembered about man were his tendencies to use 'ancient' recipes for his culinary miracles.
"Too long since I tasted your recipes, Louis, too long." Ryan said, his mouth still stuffed with pancake.
"Ha, thought you'd like it.", the Ranger replied, "So I went ahead and made you a second plateful." He dumped a second load of pancakes on Ryan's plate.
Ryan nodded thankfully at the slightly older man, and immediately dug in. Louis and Deus proceeded to make small talk as Ryan finished his second round.
"Thanks Louis, your cooking's still as good as ever." Ryan finally managed to croak as he pushed the empty plate back.
Louis smiled brightly at the compliment. Just as he wanted to say something, Lucario interrupted by poking Ryan to get his attention and continued to point at the man's watch. His friend, after taking a look at it, jumped up as if stung by a Beedrill. "It's nine-thirty already! The Cliff Challenge starts at ten! We're gonna be late!" He jumped up and grabbed his bag. "Come on Luc, Grovyle will never forgive us if we're too late!"
His Lucario nodded, before heading after him towards the door.
"Good luck!", both men called after him, and Deus added: "I'll see if I can't join you guys later. With a nod and a wave, the two left the Station through its glass door, leaving the two bemused men behind.
From the Ranger Station, set on a hill overlooking the town, they skirted the outer neighbourhoods and thus arrived at the pathway leading to the Cliffs. Here, the number of hikers grew exponentially, and soon Ryan and Luc had joined the ever growing mass of people heading in the same direction, with the same destination in mind. Ryan had released Grovyle a little earlier, and the Grass-type walked proudly behind them. After hearing about the Kyogre Cliff Challenge, the green Pokémon had immediately set his mind on winning it. The last month he had dedicated most of his time honing the speed and accuracy of his Razor Leaf attack, the only attack he was going to need for the Challenge awaiting him.
The crowd suddenly seemed to spread out, and Ryan saw the steep drop of the Cliffs through the people, the ocean hundreds of meters further below.
A large sign indicated the sign-up for the Challenge, and Ryan and his Pokémon fought their way through the mass of bodies to reach it.
"Hi," Ryan started as he finally reached the table, but paused as he saw who sat behind it. "Nurse Joy?"
"Referee Joy today, young man", Joy corrected him, "I'm in charge of the Challenge this day. Now, how can I help you?"
Shaking his confusion off, Ryan gestured Grovyle to come forward. "I would like to sign Grovyle here up for the 'Medium-class' Cliff Challenge."
Joy nodded. "You're just in time! I was going to close up shop in a minute or so. What is your name?". She picked up a ballpoint and a piece of paper, and looked expectantly at Ryan.
"Ryan. Ryan Donnel." he stated.
Joy nodded. "And the name of your Pokémon?"
He and Grovyle shared a quick glance. "Er... He doesn't really have a name. Didn't want one. Just Grovyle..."
The Nurse/Referee noddes again. "Alright, that's settled then. The match begins in five minutes. Hurry along to spot eleven, it's still free."
With a grateful nod, Ryan and his Pokémon made their way along the cliff's edge. Here it was distinctively less busy, as most attendees had made their way to the stands erected along the Cliffs. Ryan hurried past the other Trainers to spot Eleven, which was only indicated as such by a small sign. He turned to his Pokémon, who was anxiously waiting. "Alright buddy, you go out there and show them what you got! This is your moment, your time to shine!"
Grovyle nodded, and smiled. "Gro!"
"High five buddy, we believe in you!"
Grovyle smashed his hand against both Ryan's and Luc's, and went to stand at the edge of the Cliff.
"You can do it Grovyle!" Ryan whispered as his Pokémon readied himself. Grovyle looked back over his shoulder, and smirked at his friends. Then he refocused on the task at hand.
"Welcome", a voice thundered through the speakers,"to the seventy ninth Medium-class Kyogre Cliff's Challenge!"
The crowd went wild and confetti flew richly through the air.
"Let round one ensue!"
On cue, five discs were fired from mechanisms hidden alongside the Cliff. All contestants proceeded to fire upon them with their own attacks, as did Grovyle. With accurate Razor Leafs he destroyed each and every disc before it reached its highest point. Other participants used attacks such as Rock Throw, Ember or Magic Leaf to clear their own task.
Every contestant was able to destroy his or her five targets. However, they were expected to, as the first round was meant as a warming-up. Now, the difficulty would increase, until one Pokémon was left standing with all its targets destroyed
For round two, again five discs were fired into the blue, but now every single one of them was fired onto a wildy different and random trajectory. Here, too, every contestant held his own, and Grovyle didn't even break a sweat.
Round three was much the same, with more discs but again all eleven Pokémon hit every single one of their targets.
Only in the fourth round did a Pokémon miss his target: the Butterfly in question missed one of its Magic Leafs, and was unable to fire a second one after the disc. A missed disc counted immediately as a defeat, so the Bug-type headed for its owner, snivelling softly at her loss.
Round five and six were devastating for the participants, as all but four were unable to hit any or all of their discs, and had therefore lost.
Grovyle was left, together with a Grotle, a Graveller and a Gallade. The latter peaked Ryan's attention as he tried to imagine how the Psychic-type could possibly destroy the discs. Keeping an eye on the Gallade's discs, he noticed a purple aura appearing around each of them before they were obliterated by it. He was using Psychic, Ryan realised. His Gardevoir could use that same attack as well, but he did not know if she had the capability yet to concentrate on so many fast moving objects at once to use the attack. He imagined it would be a good exercise for her.
Graveler and Grotle failed the sixth round, each missing one of the discs by a hair's width. Now it was just between Grovyle and Gallade.
"Come on Grovyle! You can do it, by Arceus!", Ryan yelled at the top of his voice. He was joined in his support by Lucario and much of the crowd, but his Pokémon seemed to ignore them all, instead focusing on the task at hand.
Both succeeded in their seventh round, although only just for Grovyle. One of his Razor Leafs had only nicked its target, and only by an improvised throw by his off arm was the Grass Pokémon able to destroy it in time. More luck than skill, but Ryan was nonetheless happy that his Pokémon was still in the race.
The booming voice returned over the roar of the crowds. "Rrrrrround Eight, everyone! The Golden Round! The Last Round! The never-ending-round! Who shall remain standing after this final battle?"
Round Eight was a horror. Disc after disc after disc was send spiralling into the sky, sometimes as many as ten at a time. Grovyle held out longer than anyone might have expected of him, longer than even Ryan held for possible. However, in the end, one minute and ten seconds in, fate came asking for its pay check. A sharp blade of grass just missed his target, and nothing Grovyle could do could change it. Five seconds later, the Gallade finally lost his focus and let one of the discs slip by, only to find it out of his reach a moment later.
The crowd went wild. Never before in their lifetime had anyone gotten this far in the Challenge, and never before had a finale ended so closely. Ryan hurried over to his Grovyle, who stood staring out over the Ocean, its shoulders sagged. However, when his Trainer approached him, a sudden shift in his stance revealed new strength. Ryan kneeled besides his Pokémon, who glanced over to him quickly and gave him a tiny smile. His Trainer echoed the smile and patted his Pokémon proudly on the back. How much had his friend changed over the years since he had caught him as a little Treecko, so sure that he could take on the world, and only ever happy with a victory. The fact that Grovyle took as much satisfactory from his second place as he would have had from a first place told Ryan that his Pokémon had gone through many positive changes since that first meeting.
Then Grovyle did the second thing that would have an impact on both his and his Trainer's further life: he went to congratulate his opponent.
The Grass-type made his way through the contestants and their trainers until he arrived at spot five. Here, the Gallade looked around in surprise from his conversation with his Trainer to see Grovyle come up to him. Something in his stance changed, and the Pokémon took a defensive position in front of his Trainer. Grovyle, however, did not attack or do anything threatening. Instead, he held out his hand.
The Gallade, seemingly unaccustomed to this kind of social behaviour, glanced uncertainly behind him. Whatever advice or order he was given, he turned back towards the grass Pokémon and shook the outstretched hand tenderly with his own. "Grovyle!", Ryan's Pokémon spoke eagerly. A hint of a smile appeared on Gallade's face.
Ryan and his Lucario choose that moment to arrive. Gallade's smile vanished and he politely but abruptly disengaged from Grovyle. He stared at Ryan, his face emotionless, but his stance again took some defensive form. Lucario, noticing the sudden weirdness of the situation, halted Ryan. A short standoff followed, with Gallade covering his Trainer on one side, Ryan and Luc on the other, and Grovyle confused in the middle.
The awkward atmosphere was however broken by the Trainer of Gallade, who stepped around her Pokémon to meet the new arrivals.
"Ah, Ryan, was it not?" Liara shot a warning glare at her Pokémon, who completely ignored her and continued to stare at Ryan.
Ryan, however, proceeded to ignore the Gallade entirely, and was instead surprised by Liara's entrance.
"O, er, hi again.", he started off rather tentative. "Seems that we meet again, er, Liara." His last word was more a question than the statement of her name.
"Seems like we do indeed. So, you're Grovyle's Trainer then, I assume."
"Yes, yes, I am. And you're Gallade's."
She smiled. "Yep." she simply stated.
She stepped up to Grovyle, who was still trying to figure out why the hell his trainer was acting so weird, took his hand and shook it. "Well fought, Grovyle, it was my and Gallade's honour to compete with you."
Grovyle blushed a bright red at the comment and started to scratch the back of his head, embarrassed by her kind words. "Gro..."
Ryan, meanwhile, turned to Gallade. "Well, Gallade, I must say you have a mean concentration. The way you were able to destroy those discs was impressive to say the least. I'm sure Grovyle has already pointed out to you that you were a worthy opponent to him as well." Grovyle nodded repeatedly at this statement.
"Anyway," Ryan continued, "it was as much an honour for us to compete with you as it was for you to compete with Grovyle."
Ryan stuck out his hand and Gallade glanced down at it. Lucario tensed, and Ryan noticed Liara, who had released Grovyle's hand, glaring intently at her Pokémon. In the end, after waiting just long enough to make everyone uncomfortable, Gallade took Ryan's hand and shook it slowly. Everyone seemed to relax as the two of them shook hands for a moment or two and then released one another.
"Well," Liara begun, trying her best to lighten the mood, "maybe it is time for us to head towards the stage. Can't let the mayor wait for too long, can we?"
Ryan and his Pokémon nodded, and followed her and her every silent Gallade towards the back of the stands.
"You know,", Luc spoke through their bond, "for a second there, I really thought he was going to hurt you. His aura stated that intent, Arceus knows why…," (here Ryan couldn't help but smirk slightly, as he noticed his Pokémon use his own favourite curse) "… but somehow, that girl was able to calm him down. I might even have felt a telepathical conversation between the two of them."
Ryan shrugged virtually. "I know, I felt it too. But let's not be suspicious of every move he makes. He's probably just overly protective for his Trainer. I can name other Pokémon who have had that tendency..." he added, looking at his first Pokémon who in turn glanced up at him in mild annoyance.
"I understand that, but this is just... it just feels weird…" Luc sighed. "Look, just… take care with him, okay?"
Ryan nodded almost imperceptibly. "Promised, but it's not that we're going to see them much longer, do we?"
Now it was Luc's turn to look at his friend with an air of amusement. "We both know that you're going to try to get as close to her as you can get, and for a long as possible. I sense your interest in the girl, Ryan, it's not something you can hide easily from me."
Ryan grumbled silently, softly cursing his luck for having a Lucario with a sense of humour, and ignored him for the rest of the short walk.
The allocation of the prices was a festivity on its own. A large stage had been erected a bit further away from the Cliffs in a field normally used for Mareep and its evolutions. On it sat Viralian's mascot Pokémon: the largest and oldest Venusaur Ryan had ever seen. It was the protector of the Town, the flower on its back still healthy and strong despite it being said to be over a century old. The Mayor, an old, respectable man himself, seemed small and weak compared to his massive companion. He held a short speech, indicating his love for his town and its people, and thanked every participant for their hardships in the Challenge. Then he and the ancient Venusaur began their task.
Graveller, who had held out just a little longer than his opponent Grotle, was the first to receive his price. Venusaur handed him a beautifully crafted bronze medal using one of his vines, and spoke a few words with the four-armed Rock-Type, a great honour on itself.
Grovyle, being second, was next. The Mayor handed Venusaur the silver medallion, who slowly put it around Grovyle's neck. Ryan's Pokémon bowed deeply before the ancient giant, unable to think of anything to say. Venusaur just nodded sagely and spoke a few unheard words with Grovyle, who blushed and nodded fiercely, thankful at the protector of Viralian Town. After a few more seconds, the Venusaur nodded again and turned to the victor of the Challenge. As he did so, Grovyle turned around to his Trainer and proudly presented to him his silver medal. Ryan gave him a thumbs up, grinning from ear to ear.
Venusaur smiled at Gallade and bowed his head slightly as a sign of respect to the Psychic Pokémon. He was presented with a medallion of pure gold by the Grass Pokémon. He bowed as well out of respect for the ancient Pokémon, not as deeply as Grovyle had, but deep enough to show his utmost respect. The protector smiled and again spoke a few words in the Pokémon's native language. It even managed to make the otherwise stoic Pokémon falter slightly, and a tiny smile spread on the Psychic-type's face.
After all being said and done, Venusaur turned to face the assembled crowd. With a mighty roar that Ryan felt echoing through his body, the mighty Pokémon threw thousands of colourful petals into the air. The mass of humans and Pokémon yelled in approval as the petals landed on and around them, twirling through the air like a rain of flowers. With that, the Mayor and Venusaur left the stage, leaving the crowd to cheer for the winners of the Challenge.
After everything had quieted down a little and most of those interested had returned to the stands to watch the Heavy-category in action, Ryan met up with Deus.
"Ho-ho, buddy," he greeted Grovyle first, "let me see that medal of yours."
Grovyle proudly showed off his silver medal, and Deus eyes widened as he saw the intricate symbols lining it. After whistling softly, Deus continued: "By Space and Time, isn't that a gorgeous piece of art! You must be very proud to have won such an amazing price." He pointed at one of the hieroglyphs. "This is the symbol of the Oceans. It is said that it is one of the signs lining Kyogre's back." He looked up at Ryan. "Legends say that Kyogre and Groudon made all the continents in their many battles. Water and lava combined formed earth and more life. And after that, Pokémon evolved, climbed out of the sea and onto land."
He gestured broadly at the Cliffs, the Town, the forest and the mountains in the distance. "Hoen, Johto, Kanto, Almia, even our Hylia: all have been created by these impossibly powerful beings."
His serious expression suddenly became a sad smile. "Of course, this could all be just that: mere legends. Who knows... I surely don't."
Ryan looked intently at his friend. Something told him there was more behind this outburst of history, but he knew not to ask his friend about it: either the Ranger would answer with a cryptic question of his own, or would ignore it entirely. He chose to let the matter rest. His companion would explain himself in due time, or not at all.
Deus shook himself out his reveries and turned back to Grovyle. "Anyway, dear Grovyle, congratulations. Very well done indeed." Grovyle's chest swelled with pride.
Liara, who had just before been seen speaking sternly with her Gallade, joined them. "Hiya again, Deus."
The giant immediately lost all interest in both Grovyle and the medallion, and focused his attention on the young woman. "Milady, a pleasure to meet you once again!", he said, with a bow more gracious than anything Ryan has ever seen him do, "I understand that this Gallade is yours?"
Liara nodded. "Yes, he is the first Pokémon I received from Professor Oak when I was eleven. He was just a little Ralts then, of course. I trained with him for the past six years, and we've been inseparable from the very beginning." She placed her hand on the Gallade's shoulder, who again showed one of his tiny smiles. It seemed to Ryan as if the Pokémon was unable to move his features any more than that.
Deus, meanwhile, walked slowly around the Psychic-type, his trained eyes taking up its characteristics. "He is strong, can't say anything else but that. Never seen one of his kind before, however. Don't know any of his straits or skills and what more."
His eyes met Liara's again. "He is an evolution from Kirlia, isn't he?:
She nodded. "Yep. However, he's the only one I - he - has ever met of his kind, or the other evolutions. They are deemed quite rare in these parts."
Deus nodded solemnly, looking up into the blue, seemingly deep in thought. "True, true, I actually know only one other Trainer who has a member of his species..." Silence followed, as if the giant was trying to come up with a name.
Gallade stiffened as he heard Deus' statement. Liara cocked an eyebrow, and Ryan just sighed at his companion's melodramatic show.
"He means me.", he prompted. "I have a Gardevoir."
Deus glared at him. "Bah, you're no fun at all."
Ignoring the Ranger, Ryan grabbed the Pokéball from his belt and released from within Gardevoir.
His Pokémon looked curious at Gallade, who seemed to be frozen in place, his eyes large and his lips forming a small 'o'. She cocked her head, just like Liara had a moment before, her green hair falling in front of her pale face. Ryan could have imagined it, but it seemed as if Gallade gulped at the sight.
Liara was the first to speak. "Wow!", she exclaimed, as she stepped towards Gardevoir, "You are absolutely gorgeous!"
The maiden Pokémon blinked and then blushed at the compliment. "Gar!"
Gallade tried to speak, to say anything, but nothing could exit his stuck up mind. Gardevoir looked at him weirdly, and instead started conversing with his Trainer. Ryan could feel Gallade winch at that.
"You kinda must feel bad for him," Lucario spoke, "He has never seen a female of his kind before, so you can imagine what her beauty does to his brain." Ryan nodded. He knew all too well how a female could make your mind collapse...
Deus, meanwhile, was watching all this with a satisfied look on his face. Then, he glanced on his watch. "Alright folks, I'm gonna get some lunch before the main show starts. Any of you guys want to join me?"
Liara and Ryan glanced at one another. "Sure!" they both replied.
After a large lunch, in which Deus had all but forced the others to eat every possible food item under the sun, the group headed to the town square for the official opening of the festival. Grovyle and Gardevoir had returned to their balls (the latter much to the dislike of Gallade), because the square was so packed with people there wasn't even enough room to scratch your nose.
Somehow, with the help of Deus' imposing figure, they were able to get close enough to the stage to get a view on what would happen.
The Mayor stepped onto the stage, scratching his short, white beard, followed by the other members of his Town council. Two more men followed, each hauling one side of a large, magnificent chest up the stairs, and put it down in front of the spokesman.
A wave of the gentleman's hand brought an eery quiet over the audience. He cleared his throat, and began: "Welcome, citizens of Viralian. Welcome, citizens from all across Hylia. Welcome, citizens of Hoen, Kanto, and every other nation on our globe!"
The collective assembly hurrahed.
"Welcome, everyone, the Festival of the Kyogre Cliffs!"
The crowd roared its satisfaction again.
"We will now begin with the ceremony, as part of our tradition our people have chosen to uphold..."
The two carriers clicked the chest open, and the Mayor tenderly lowered his hands into the opening.
"... the Eye of Kyogre!"
From the container, the Mayor took a large, deep blue stone. As soon as the stone was touched by the rays of sunlight, it refracted them into hundreds of separate bluish beams, each in a slightly different hue.
The collective crowd gasped as the gorgeous display of light shone across them and onto the surrounding buildings. The Cathedral was plunged into a deep sapphire, as was the fountain in the middle of the square.
A moment later, the serenity was brutally disturbed by a mighty roar. As all gathered looked around in confusion, a huge shadow fell over them. Some people screamed and others looked on in shock as a large Charizard flew low over the crowd's heads. Ryan could just make out a masked man sitting on top of the massive beast. The creature hit the Mayor with one of its claws, sending him sprawling into the councilmen. Then, it beat it's wings and rose above the buildings once more, disappearing from sight.
The entire happening hadn't take longer than three seconds. Panic, meanwhile, gripped the audience, most of whom fled the square in a hurry.
Before they could do anything, Deus grabbed Ryan and Liara and pulled them with him to the stage, dodging panicked people and Pokémon on his way there, Lucario and Gallade following on their own account.
As they arrived, they saw one of the carriers help the Mayor. The old man groaned, and held on to his arm, which was bend in an awkward angle.
"Sir!" Deus yelled over the turmoil, "Sir, are you alright?"
He and Ryan knelt down next to the man. Liara kept standing, her hand covering her mouth as she saw the broken arm.
The Mayor coughed and opened his eyes. He whispered something, but it was inaudible, so Deus asked the old man gently to repeat himself.
"It took the Eye!", the man muttered. "It took the stone! You must find the Eye, before... before..." The pain caught up with him and he drifted into blissful unconsciousness.
Deus stood abruptly as councilmen moved in to take care of their spokesman, his eyes dark but his voice steady. "Ryan, Liara, follow me."
The Ranger walked to the edge of the stage and looked out onto the square. Most of the audience had fled into the streets leading away from the square, gripped by blind panic. Some, however, has stayed. Many of these had Pokéballs strapped to their belt or chest.
"Attention everyone!" Ryan winched at Deus' loud voice. When trouble arose and there was a leader needed, Deus was the man for the job. If only in the sense that people eagerly followed his commands to get away from his yelling. It certainly got their attention.
"The Eye of Kyogre has been stolen! However, we're going to get it back!"
As the gathered Trainers looked uncertainly at one another, Deus glared at them. "Yes we are! You are all Trainers, for Arceus' sake! And you'll be led by a famous one at that!"
Deus finger pointed almost accusingly at Ryan, who groaned almost as loud as the Mayor had moments before. Here we go again.
"This here is Ryan Donnel! You might have heard his name if you're from Hylia! He competed in both the Kanto and in the Johto Pokémon League for our nation, making it to the half finals both times! He is one of the best trainers this nation has ever seen!"
The Trainers now all had their eyes set directly on Ryan, who couldn't help but blush at the sudden attention, all the more when he felt Liara's curious gaze add to the tension.
He sighed, the all too familiar pressure returning to him. Luc, as always standing beside him, send thoughts of support through their bond. He nodded once in appreciation at his best friend.
Deus, meanwhile, continued: "Together, you can stop whoever stole this priceless artefact that has protected this town for so long." He gestured dramatically. "Everyone who has a Pokémon capable of flight, release it now and fly like the wind! Everyone who doesn't, climb on the back of one of your colleague's, or spread the word on the ground: we are going to get that stone back."
The Trainers seemed far more willing now: adventure lay ahead, and they would be led by an experienced colleague. One by one, they pulled out Pokéballs and released flight-capable Pokémon. Pidgeot, Honchkrow and other winged Pokémon filled the square, and then the skies.
Ryan, deciding that the choice had been made for him, released Staraptor. But before he could mount his Pokémon, Deus grabbed his arm. "Ryan, I'm going to the Ranger Station to get reinforcements. You must lead these people in pursuit. We MUST get that Stone back, do you hear me? It is the only thing that counts now."
Ryan nodded, and smiled at his friend. His companion returned the smile weakly, and clasped him on his shoulder. Then, he turned resolutely and stalked off.
Resigned to his fate, Ryan turned to the expecting faces around him. He swallowed, and simply said: "Let's go."
He mounted Staraptor, Lucario jumping onto the bird to sit in front of him, and with a large sweep from Staraptor's wings, shot high up into the sky.
Looking over his shoulder as Staraptor shot towards a staggering altitude, he saw tens of Pokémon Trainers, riding a wide variation of Pokémon, follow in his wake.
Liara was suddenly beside him, seated on top of a Flygon. The green dragon yelled happily at them, which Lucario and Staraptor both answered with a smirk and a nod. The girl looked curiously at Ryan, who immediately knew he would have some explaining to do when this was all over and done with.
He looked at the red speck in the distance, racing out below them.
If they could get it done.