Short Story #3: Radio Waves

He'd heard rumors about it. How if you turned your radio to a certain station while inside the Ruins of Alph it would pick up some strange signal. Curious, he'd decided to head to the Ruins of Alph and see if it was true. Even now he remembered it like it was yesterday: the event that would change his life forever.

He'd turned on the radio function of his Pokégear, turning the dial until he'd found it-a strange, almost haunting tone that sounded like nothing he'd ever heard. He'd checked the station description on his Pokégear, only to find that it consisted of three question marks. His Pokémon had let out a whine, a pleading look in its eyes, and too excited to pay attention, he'd returned it to its Pokeball and set off to test if the second part of the rumor was true. Sure enough, upon leaving the Ruins of Alph, the sound vanished.

This was somehow connected to the secrets of the Ruins of Alph, he'd decided, heading back inside the gate. If anyone was going to uncover its secrets, it would be him! He shuddered at the memory. If he'd known then what he knew now, he would never have gone into the Ruins of Alph again.

As the days passed, he spent countless hours exploring the Ruins of Alph-asking questions, talking to the scientists stationed there, examining the ruins' many strange chambers-all the while, keeping his Pokégear tuned to the strange station. His Pokémon didn't like the tone at all, and would make a huge fuss whenever it heard it, so he found himself keeping it inside of its Pokeball most of the time. Only now did he understand that it had been trying to warn him…

One day the scientists researching the ruins had come to him with an important announcement: it seemed as though strange markings had appeared on the walls of one of the chambers. Excited that he might finally have found something, he'd followed the man to the wall in question. Sure enough, there were strange markings on the wall, almost like hieroglyphics. He'd stared long and hard at these strange shapes, wondering what in the world they could be. They looked almost like…Pokémon…

Squinting hard at them, he'd realized that they greatly resembled the letters of the alphabet, and seemed to be spelling out some kind of message.

ESCAPE

Escape? He'd wondered, running his hand across the cool surface of the wall. What in the world could that mean?

On a hunch, he'd pulled out the Escape Rope he'd been carrying with him in his bag, as one never knew when they might get hopelessly lost up in the mountains. One could simply tie one end to a rock outside the entrance, and follow it back up again. A lot of good it would do him in this situation, but it was the only thing he could think of that the message could mean.

As he'd pulled out the rope, he nearly dropped it in shock at what he saw. The strange letters on the wall began to glow with an eerie light, the rope enveloped in a similar glow. The light grew so bright that he'd had to shield his eyes. There was a low rumble and the ground began to shake. Panic griped him as the possibility that the chamber was about to collapse entered his mind. Then, suddenly, just as quickly as it had started, it was gone.

He'd cautiously opened one eye, then both eyes shot open in awe and excitement. Where the message had been, there was now a large opening. How he wished now that he could have just left well enough alone, but at the time, he was only a twelve-year-old boy, unaware of the potential danger that lay waiting. Being young and foolish, he'd stepped through that opening without the slightest hesitation. As he walked through his radio, which had been playing softly this whole time, suddenly rose to an ear splitting volume. He remembered covering his ears in pain, the ground falling away beneath him, and then…darkness.

He awoke some time later, the sound of his radio still playing softly in the background. Glancing around him, he'd found that he was now in some sort of underground chamber. Pulling himself to his feet, he'd decided to have a look around. At first, he'd found nothing, but a chance glance at the floor revealed more than he'd expected. Spelled out in the same strange letters were messages. Oddly, he'd found it ridiculously easy to read.

Our words shall remain here for the ages.

Intrigued, he'd kept reading, unaware that the sound of his radio was slowly growing louder…

Thus we shall erect a Pokémon statue outside.

Here, the sound of his Pokégear had finally reached his ears, and he'd winced as a headache began to come on. Only now did he realize that he should have paid more attention to it, and to the dark shapes that flickered in and out of his line of sight.

They possess great insight and refuse the outside world.

By now, his head was pounding, but still, he'd refused to stop. He had to know. In the background he could make out the sound of his Pokégear, the sound growing louder still, and sounding almost…angry?

We humans must learn to walk in harmony with them. We depart for their sakes.

As he finished reading, several Pokémon floated in front of him, looking very angry. They resembled letters, and began to arrange themselves to spell out words at a furious pace.

This is a special place.

We tried to warn you.

You didn't listen.

Those before you have intruded here.

They respected our wishes.

They listened.

You did not.

You will be made to listen.

Here, he'd felt a terrible pain in his head as the Pokémon converged on him, their eyes glowing an angry red. He'd never felt pain like that before, and soon welcomed the darkness the descended upon him.

He'd awakened some time later, though how long, he wasn't sure even now. The first thing he became aware of was the sound of his Pokégear, as he'd never turned the radio off. He picked up his Pokégear, then frowned, and turned up the volume.

"So, do you think the boy has learned his lesson?"

"Perhaps not yet, but he will."

"Was it really necessary to punish him like that? After all, he is only a child."

"It only need be a punishment if that is what he chooses. If he learns from his mistakes, it can be a great gift."

He recalled dropping the Pokégear in shock then. Those voices…those were Pokémon talking! No…not quite. Listening to it more carefully, he could tell that it was some kind of radio signal He'd heard that the Unown-the Pokémon rumored to inhabit the Ruins of Alph-communicated amongst themselves via radio waves. But then, how was he able to understand it?

Wanting to hear anything but those strange voices, he'd turned his radio to the next station over, only to be greeted with nothing.

"What the heck? It isn't broken, is it?" he'd asked, then his eyes widened in horror. He hadn't heard a word he'd just spoken. "Helloooo!" he'd screamed at the top of his lungs, once again hearing nothing. Beginning to panic, he'd turned his Pokégear to the next station, turning the volume up as high as it would go. Silence.

Confused and terrified, he'd sat there crying in the darkness, waiting for someone to come and rescue him.

He'd never been more relieved in his life when the scientists had managed to locate him, although he couldn't hear a word they were saying. His grandfather and cousin had been both confused and concerned with his newfound deafness, the former sending the young boy to every doctor and specialist he could find. As he quickly discovered, he wasn't really deaf, just unable to hear most things. He could hear certain kinds of radio waves, something that confused the doctors to no end.

He'd finally understood what had happened that fateful day at the Ruins of Alph. The Unown didn't like the outside world and wished to be left alone in order to live in peace. This is why the ancient people had left the Ruins of Alph alone all those years ago. The message, ESCAPE hadn't been a puzzle. It had been a warning: Escape while you can and leave us be. A warning and a trap. Those who didn't listen were punished and made to listen, even if it meant not being able to listen to anything else ever again…

When it became clear to him that there was no way the doctors would be able to help him he began to pick up the pieces of his now shattered life. He'd learn to read lips so well that no one would ever guess that he couldn't hear. He'd traveled to many places, meeting many people, happy that he hadn't had to quit being a Trainer. Never in his wildest dreams had he imagined that his "gift" might one day prove useful.

Upon arriving in Mahogany Town, he'd heard some kind of radio signal, though he couldn't tell where it was coming from exactly. It was a rather strange tone that hurt his ears, and it was all he could do to stand being in the town for very long. What was worse, the Pokégear and radios appeared to be picking it up as well. Whatever it was, it seemed to be having adverse effects on the Pokémon and thus, had to be stopped. After investigating at the Lake of Rage, he'd found himself teamed up with another trainer, and, together, they'd managed to stop what turned out to be a Team Rocket scheme. Still, the experience of meeting the Trainer had made him happy, and he looked forward to meeting them again.

When he met them again at the Pokémon League, he'd enjoyed every minute of their fast passed battle-never did he recall having encountered such a strong opponent. Though he did end up losing, he vowed to get stronger.

Yes, though that day changed his life, it was what had also allowed him to meet such a talented individual.

Suddenly, he felt a tug on his cape and he looked down to see Lyra staring at him, her brown eyes full of concern and a hint of confusion.

"Lance? Are you ok? I've been calling your name for the past five minutes!"

He blushed slightly, knowing he couldn't simply tell her that he hadn't heard her. Couldn't hear her. "Sorry Lyra. Just reminiscing about old times!" he laughed, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly.

The brunette rolled her eyes. "Like all the times I beat you?" she taunted, pulling out a Pokeball.

"Well, we'll just see how you do this time," he laughed, sending out his Dragonite, who regarded him with a warm smile, eager to challenge the opponent he could never seem to beat.

As Lyra sent out her trusted Lapras, Lance decided not to let the past bother him. After all, sooner or later, everyone falls down the rabbit hole.

Author's notes: In case anyone was wondering, the writing on the floor is actual text from Pokémon Crystal and is spread out throughout the secret chambers of the Ruins of Alph.

Well, I hope everybody enjoyed this, feel free to review and let me know what you think! ^_^

Happy Halloween everybody! :)