Sparrowflyaway: Chapter 2! Yay!
Raye: Why are you getting so excited?
Serena: Oh, come on Raye, I'm excited too!
Mina: Yeah, me too! I wanna know about all these 'weird and wonderful things' that are supposed to happen to us.
Sparrowflyaway: You'll just have to wait and see, won't you, girls.
Serena: You're mean!
Sparrowflyaway: No, I'm just giving you guys a surprise.
Serena: Can you give us a hint?
Sparrowflyaway: Nope.
Serena: Awwww...
Sparrowflyaway: Serena, trust me, you'll like it. Anyway, I-
Mina: And what's with changing our transformation items? Now we won't be able to transform into our scout forms!
Sparrowflyaway: That's also a surprise, Mina. Just wait and you'll see. Anyway, as I was saying, I have gotten a few reviews since I posted the first chapter, so I would like to say thanks to the following people for taking the time to give me feedback: PEJP Bengtzone, midniteryder, Batthan, and LightLoveLife. Now, Serena, would you like to say the disclaimer?
Serena: Ooh, really? You want me to do it?
Sparrowflyaway: Yup. Go for it.
Serena: OK! Sparrowflyaway doesn't own Sailor Moon or Pokemon. ...Do you?
Sparrowflyaway: No, I don't.
Serena: I didn't think so.
Sparrowflyaway: *sigh* Let's get on with the chapter, shall we?
Serena & Mina: Finally!
"This place is incredible! Any ideas where we are, guys?" Serena asked.
"I don't know," Amy admitted.
"Wow! That's even more amazing, Amy! You not knowing something!" Serena exclaimed, turning and grinning at her blue-haired friend. Amy blushed.
"Well, it's unlikely that anyone besides Professor Oak's team has any idea that this place is actually here. Well, except for us, of course. Everyone else probably thinks it's just a myth," Amy said.
"You have a point there, Amy," Darien said.
"Oh, wow, they're weird!" Mina exclaimed. Everyone turned to find her staring into the lake at the foot of the waterfall.
"What's weird, Mina?" Artemis asked. Mina looked up at them.
"These fish! They look just like love hearts!" she said, pointing into the water. The others walked over and stared down at the pink love-heart-shaped fish.
"Wow, you're right! They are weird," Lita said.
"Do you reckon they're pokemon?" Serena asked.
"Maybe," Mina said.
"I wonder what other kinds there are," Amy said, looking around.
"Whoa! Look at the size of that thing!" Mina exclaimed, pointing over to the other side of the waterfall, where a huge orange turtle shell was lying on the bank. The group walked over to it, wondering what kind of turtle they would find inside. They didn't have to wonder for long, as the shell shook as they approached, and out popped a blue head, arms, legs and a short tail. The turtle Pokemon looked at them and growled, two large shiny cannons emerging from it's shell.
"Uh oh, I think we disturbed it's beauty sleep," Serena said nervously.
"Yeah. This guy looks as grumpy about waking up as you do about the thought of homework," Raye said.
The pokemon suddenly stopped growling and sniffed at them, it's eyes widening in something like surprise.
"Blastoise," the pokemon said, it's tone also suggesting surprise.
"'Blastoise?' That's not what normal turtles say," Mina said. Amy gasped.
"Oh, of course!"
"What?" the others chorused.
"There was a piece in one of the books that I found. It said that most Pokemon are only capable of saying their own name," Amy said.
"So... This guy is called Blastoise?" Mina asked.
"Seems that way," Raye said.
"Blastoise!" the pokemon shouted excitedly, pointing it's cannons up and shooting two large jets of water high into the sky. Within seconds, many small blue turtle pokemon appeared in the lake and swam to the edge, looking curious as to why there were humans there.
"Squirtle! Squirtle squirtle squirt?" one of the round-headed turtle pokemon said.
"Wartortle, tortle tortle wartortle?" a dark-blue turtle with wing-shaped ears asked.
"Blastoise," the huge pokemon said. The other turtles became very excited at what Blastoise had said, and immediately picked up the six humans and two cats and began marching through the forest with Blastoise leading the way.
"Ummm... Blastoise?" Serena asked timidly. Blastoise turned and looked at Serena, it's head tilting to one side in curiosity. "Where exactly are you taking us?" Serena asked.
"Blastoise, blast blast blastoise," Blastoise replied.
"Well that was a stupid question, Serena. How is asking Blastoise a question going to help us if all it can say is it's name?" Raye asked, the small turtle pokemon carrying her marching just behind the ones carrying Serena.
"Oh, right. I didn't think of that," Serena said sheepishly.
"Hey, I wonder what these little guys are called," Lita said, looking around at the small turtle pokemon.
"Well, one of those guys," Amy said, pointing at one of the pale-blue, round-headed turtle pokemon, "was saying 'Squirtle' earlier, so I'd say it's a Squirtle. And one of those," she continued pointing at one of the dark-blue turtles with wing-shaped ears, "was saying 'Wartortle', so that'd be a Wartortle."
"Squirtle!" one of the Squirtle said, smiling at Amy.
"Wartortle," a Wartortle agreed, nodding. Just then, the group came to another clearing, where a large hut with an enormous doorway was erected. As the group approached, a tall grey-haired man emerged from the hut, looking rather annoyed.
"What is it this time, Blastoise? I'm tired of that signal of yours going of twenty times a day, and-" the man stopped short when he saw what the turtle pokemon has brought with them.
"Hey, you're-!" Serena gasped, recognising the man.
"Professor Oak," Amy whispered. Oak looked startled that the group knew who he was.
"Do I know you?" he asked. The turtle pokemon put their prisoners down and stepped back, looking eager.
"Not personally, sir. Allow us to introduce ourselves. My name is Serena Tsukino, and these are my friends Amy Mizuno, Raye Hino, Lita Kino, Mina Aino and Darien Chiba," Serena said, each of her friends waving as Serena introduced them. Luna cleared her throat, and Serena giggled. "And we mustn't forget about my cat, Luna, and Mina's cat, Artemis."
"Hello," Luna smiled, nodding.
"Hi there," Artemis said. Oak looked surprised to hear the cats talk, but nodded in acknowledgement.
"It's a pleasure to meet you all," he said.
"And you, Professor. I must say this is a very interesting quest your map led us on," Luna said.
"You found the map?" Oak gasped.
"Well, Serena was the one who found it," Amy said.
"Yeah, and it led us to the cave that you found," Serena added.
"You opened the cave? Oh my word. Then you also found..."
"We found the altar, yes, and this," Amy said, taking the gold-and-silver pokeball from her backpack. Oak gasped and pushed the ball back into Amy's backpack, glancing around.
"You'd better come inside," he said, before ushering everyone inside, including Blastoise and all the Squirtle and Wartortle. Once inside, Oak slid a leafy screen across the hut's entrance and invited the humans and cats to sit down at the table. Blastoise and his friends were already settling themselves around the room, apparently having been in the hut many times before.
"May I see the ball, please?" Oak asked. Amy took it out and passed it to him. Oak examined it, awestruck, then looked up at the others.
"I must ask you, how did you come to getting this? It was secured onto the altar long ago, even before I found the cavern," Oak said, sitting down opposite his visitors.
"Well, you see, sir, we had items that fit into the holes on the altar, and once we'd placed all of our items on it, the ball opened up," Serena began.
"Wait a moment. Did you say that the ball opened?" Oak gasped.
"Yes sir. Is that significant?" Raye asked.
"I should say so. This ball, what we call the GS Ball, would only open to the Six Ancient Rulers of the Inner Planets, also known as the Princesses of the Moon, Mercury, Venus, Mars and Jupiter, and the Prince of Earth," Oak said tersely. The group gasped.
"How do you know about that?" Luna asked.
"I said it was a pleasure to meet you, but now it is more of an honour. In answer to your question, all of the pokemon here have known about you for centuries. It was just a matter of learning to understand what they were saying," Oak said.
"OK... but what are we supposed to do with these?" Mina asked, pulling out her orange-and-gold Pokeball. Oak gasped and took the ball gently, examining it in amazement.
"This... Do you all have one?" Oak asked. The other five nodded. "I do know what these balls are for, but I am forbidden to tell you. All I can tell you is that this ball, along with all of the others, will not open until you find the key that unlocks it."
"What exactly does this key look like?" Raye asked.
"Each ball has a separate key to open it, and only the legend can tell you what the keys look like and how to activate them," Oak explained.
"What legend? What does it say?" Luna asked.
"Unfortunately, I don't know. The legend was hidden deep in Deoxys Mountain, and it is said that only those worthy will be able to journey to the centre of the Mountain to discover the legend and its secrets," Oak said gravely.
"That doesn't sound too hard. I mean, after all, we've defeated some of the universe's biggest threats to life. We should be fine," Serena said.
"Unfortunately, it's not that simple. The guardian of the Mountain, Deoxys, is a very strict guardian, and lately it has become rather violent towards anyone who goes near it's home," Professor Oak said.
"So how are we supposed to get in there?" Lita asked.
"Blastoise! Blast blastoise!" Blastoise exclaimed.
"You're right, Blastoise. Good idea. We should call them right away," Oak said, pulling out a red-and-white Pokeball.
"You understood that?" Mina asked, amazed.
"Of course. To understand what a pokemon says, you need to have a connection with them," Oak said, pressing the button on the pokeball. The ball opened, and out popped a large brown bird Pokemon. "Pidgeotto, go and get Charizard and Venusaur and tell them to come here immediately. It's an emergency," Oak told the bird.
"Pidgeotto!" the bird pokemon cried, before flying through the screen covering the door and vanishing.
"Who are Charizard and Venusaur?" Artemis asked.
"Two wild pokemon that I have befriended. Blastoise here is another of the pokemon that I have befriended instead of capturing," Oak explained.
"Blastoise," the turtle pokemon smiled.
"How'd you befriend it?" Serena asked.
"Blastoise had a Jigglypuff stuck in one of its cannons, and it kept putting Blastoise and all of the Squirtle and Wartortle to sleep. I removed the Jigglypuff, and that's how we became friends," Professor Oak said. Noticing the group's puzzled looks, Professor Oak pulled out a small device and pressed a few buttons, then placed the device on the table. A holographic 3D image of a round pink pokemon appeared. Then the group jumped as the device began to talk.
"Jigglypuff, the balloon pokemon. This pokemon sings a soothing melody that puts all who hear it to sleep," the device said.
"This is called a Pokedex. I designed it myself," Oak said proudly.
"That's awesome. What about the other two pokemon? Charizard and Venusaur?"
"Both wanted to become stronger, as they're very competitive. I helped them both evolve from Charmeleon and Ivysaur into their present forms," Oak smiled.
"That's cool. So what are they coming here for?" Lita asked.
"Blastoise, Charizard and Venusaur are going to go with you to the centre of the Mountain to discover the legend. They will do their best to protect you and guide you to the centre chamber," Professor Oak said. Just then, two loud roars reached their ears, and the group went outside to find a large orange dragon-type pokemon breathing a large jet of flame at an equally large green dinosaur-type pokemon with a large pink flower on its back. The dinosaur-type pokemon was blocking, or perhaps attempting to overpower the flame with a beam of yellow-green energy.
"Charizard! Venusaur! Enough! Now is not the time for your disagreements, we have much to do," Oak said. The two battling pokemon ignored Oak and continued fighting. Blastoise roared and aimed its cannons at the two fighters, the twin jets of water striking them and knocking them backwards. The two struggled to their feet, looking angry.
"Blast blast blastoise, blastoise," Blastoise said, pointing at the humans. Charizard and Venusaur looked surprised and stared at the humans, their argument apparently forgotten.
"Char?"
"Saur?"
"Yes, my friends. These are the humans that you have spoken of for so long, and they need your help. They need you to help them reach the centre of Deoxys Mountain," Professor Oak said. Charizard and Venusaur nodded slowly and then bowed to the humans, whose eyes widened in shock. They glanced over at Blastoise, who was also bowing to them.
"That's their way of telling you that they are more than willing to escort you to the legend. They realise that you do not understand what they say, so they're showing you in the only way they can," Oak said, smiling. Just then, a howl echoed out of the forest, and a pack of grey dog-type pokemon emerged, growling and baring sharp white teeth.
"Poochyena and Mightyena. They've been terrorizing the Squirtle and Wartortle here for weeks," Professor Oak said, watching as more and more of the pokemon emerged from the trees.
"This doesn't look good," Serena said nervously.
Mina: You're right, Serena, this doesn't look good.
Serena: Why'd you leave the story there? With us about to be Mightyena Chow?
Raye: I highly doubt that we'll end up getting eaten, Serena.
Sparrowflyaway: Do you really think I'm that mean, Serena?
Raye: I wouldn't put it past you...
Sparrowflyaway: *sigh* How about you just wait until the next chapter.
Serena: Wait a second, I wanna know what this legend is about!
Sparrowflyaway: You'll have to wait for that too, Serena. Just be patient, things will clear up in time.
Serena: Oh, alright. But all this is rather exciting, isn't it!
Luna: Yes, if you like getting eaten.
Sparrowflyaway: *groan...*