I found myself surrounded by exotic plants as the reaper and I continued our march through this eerie forest. My mouth gaped open in awe at the sight of the trees that seemed to touch the every sky itself. All around me, flowers of divers color and pattern surrounded my feet and berries from different origins hung from the trees. Still, I sensed something unholy and alarming trek down my spine with every step I took. Although the scenery looked majestic and peaceful, I could still detect evil spirits spew around me; as if a poison was leaking from the ground that I now walked.
Not being able to bear the silent, I called out to my guide. "Darkrai, where, precisely, are we?"
"All answers shall be answered in good time." he whispered without turning to face me. "Remain patient."
Patient was something I could handle, but the anxiety I felt as we continued to move began to take control over me. As we moved deeper into the forest, I began to realize something about this realm-something dark and evil. With every glance I would see movement farther away: the grass would dance wildly, flowers' petals would weep, the fruits would turn purple and rot, and the trees would moan in agony. When Darkrai had stopped, I found myself in a deeper part of the forest. The ground was a mixture of black and red and the spikes that shot up from the soil would ooze with blood. Something was truly amiss.
With a beckon of his fingers I was beside him. In front of us stood a boulder-size rose that remained wrapped in its own petals. Its color was that of crimson red, its body was neon green and its vines spread across the floor. We watched silently as the rose began to stir viciously from the inside and its petals began to wilt. The flower began to bloom and I witnessed a Pokémon sitting patiently on the stigma of the blossom. Her body was a mixture of hot-and-pale pink, and her large eyes glowed dark green.
My mouth dropped in shock as I whispered the name of this legendary Pokémon: "Celebi the Traveler."
When she toward Darkrai, her expression was joyful and bliss. When she saw me it became sour and bitter.
"Celebi," Darkrai bowed respectfully toward the legendary Pokémon. "Thank you for revealing yourself to us."
She giggled in response.
"Oh, Darkrai," she spoke in a cheerful tone. "There's no need for that; I was already told of you and the Shadowaura's arrival. It is I who should thank you for coming."
She turned her attention back to me and I flinched at her sudden change in faces. Her voice became seductive and her eyes resonated with cruel humor. I was horrified by the sight of this Pokémon who claimed that she was in fact Celebi. From the stories I had read, Celebi was the guardian of the forest and traveler of space and time. She is the messenger of Lugia and resides in the southern part of the world; the Celebi that I saw before me was nothing like the one I heard from. She placed her three-fingered hands on her chest and smiled mischievously toward me.
"Surprised?" she whispered, as if she read my mind. "I suppose you should be. Unlike some Pokémon, we, legendaries, are able to take on a multiple of personas'. The persona that you know me by is the forest guardian or the messenger of Lugia. In this realm, I am one of the seven rulers of the distorted world. That would also explain why I look different-understand?"
I nodded in response and she smiled warmly at me.
"Now that introductions are out of the way," She began. "Allow me to introduce to you my kingdom." Her paw moved from tree-to-tree and fruit-to-fruit. She chuckled darkly to herself as she sung a melody of madness. I looked toward the reaper for assistance and he sent silent words of encouragement for me to speak.
"If I may, Celebi-"
She shot death glares at me and growled. "That's lady Celebi!"
I held my ground, but still felt immense energy-all negative-push through me. "Alright, then, Lady Celebi," I repeated. "Tell me: what is this realm that you rule over?" She smirked at my question and I could tell that I wasn't going to like her answer.
"This place that you now stand in is my domain-the fist level of the distorted realm." she smiled sadistically, as if she had just slaughtered an entire village of innocent lives. "This is the realm of Lechery!"
Sweat began to pour over my face as the legendary Pokémon held her paw into the air. Instantly, the sound of morphed into screams and shrills of the suffering. All around me were the faces of Pokémon who were encased into the trees and their agonizing expressions plastered on the outer part of the bark. The flowers that surrounded my feet turned crimson red and vines from the tree rained down on us. My mouth became dry and my face pale as I witnessed a multitude of Pokémon entangled in the spikes. They called out to me for help and I was almost compelled to save them, but Darkrai grasped my shoulder and forced me to watch the cursed soul's punishment go underway. I watched as the vines forcibly entered the Pokémon's veins and drain away their very life. As the very last of their essence drained away, the vines turned red and the trees began to change; they took the form of the Pokémon they just absorbed and their expression remained bound to the bark.
The vines released the lifeless corpse and it enveloped the floor in an emerald green dust-the flowers bloomed red then green soon after. I cocked my head to see that the queen of Luxuria was now inches from my face and a pleasurable grin was plastered onto her flawless face.
"Just like a poison that courses through the veins, so is the power of lust." she whispered before taking a bite out of a berry that had turned rotten with purple. "Those who were unable to control or relinquish their sexual nature are cast down here: rapists, desirers, and those who betray their love for another-are all condemned here for the rest of their days. For their crimes in their previous life, the sinners are to be drained of the very life they wasted away and transferred into the forest you see before you. It is then, that their bodies are returned to the soil from which they came, and their souls are trapped inside the trees-to give nourishment and life to this realm. Once the tree grows old and vanishes, the spirit that was trapped inside disappears as well."
I remained stun at this revelation. Celebi had already finished her berry before continuing. "If you wish, you may snap a bark off one of the trees; you shall hear their cries and revealed, a mist of white shall appear and tell you of their past misdeeds."
She pointed toward one on the far north. With approval from Darkrai, I rushed toward the bark and peeled away a piece of its bark. A thunderous screech found its way into my ear as blood began to seep. When I regained focus, I was confronted by a mist as white as snow. As I gazed ever so close at the clear smoke, I was surprised by the form it began to take; what now stood before me was an ivysaur scarred with regret and anguish. She bore the half-covered heart shape on her forehead. Her leaves had all, but fallen, and the petals that had not withered away were left tattered and destroyed.
"Petalstorm!"
Despite the condition she was in, I could tell that this was the same ivysaur I knew by Petalstorm. Sudden fury coursed through my veins as I turned to face the two legends who'd dare to stand there with blank expressions. Just as I was about to make a remark, Darkrai had stopped me with a cool, warning glare. I held my tongue, but still shot malice glares at the time-traveling Pokémon.
"Calm yourself, young riolu," he spoke as if he understood what I was feeling. "What you see before you is a ghost from a possible future. In the world of distortion, you may come across spirits who still live, but now resides in the afterlife-it is to show a possible outcome for what will happen if said Pokémon journeys into either planes till his or her judgment has been carried out."
As he spoke, I watched helplessly as the spirit of Petalstorm continued to beg for forgiveness until she returned to the tree, from which she came from. I turned toward the legends and spoke with words still inflicted with sorrow and hurt.
"Why her?" I asked desperately. "This Pokémon has done nothing, but save lives as atonement for her misdeeds. She done everything she could to save a Pokémon from dying-whether good or bad, she had stride to do the right thing. She has saved my life countless times, yet she is to be condemned to this realm; that is ludicrous! She does not deserve this punishment!"
Moments passed before any of the two spoke. Finally, when Celebi has risen, her eyes glowed with sympathy.
"Desire of the flesh is not the only form of lechery, Shadowaura," she placed her paw on my cheek. "There are others."
I looked confusingly at the female legendary before she continued to speak.
"What you say is true-he does not deserve this form of punishment. But what you fail to see is how she does it. The one you call, Petalstorm, has a great sense of devotion toward you and the rest, as well as her reason for living. Her sin is for loving you and her responsibility more than she loves the creator of all, Arceus. Her form of lechery is that of loving someone more than herself or the creator she is to worship; she, in a sense, lust for everyone's well-beings than she does for Arceus."
She took a step backwards from me before continuing. "She remains scarred by events that continue to haunt her. In response to it, she has discarded her life and continues to serve the injured and broken at a level higher than that of a legendary. By giving into her own form of lechery, she has already condemned herself to this horrid place." I thought this over and was shocked at the discovery of Petalstorm's own form of lust; for all the times that I've known her neither me nor the others had ever noticed this side of her. Were there secrets that we all were keeping from one another?
Images from my past began to return and standing in front of me was my mate-my beloved, Jolt Jolteon. She was the only Pokémon I ever loved, and to this day it has not changed. At first, we were bitter enemies, now we are bound by an oath between two lovers. Despite the knowledge that her parents, her sisters, and even few Pokémon will consider her an outcast for loving a creature like me, she still chose me over anything else; she gave me her heart and in exchange, I gave her mine.
I looked back toward Celebi, who beheld a face that knew of things I did not.
"Tell me," I asked the queen of lechery. "Is it wrong to love a mate...at a state of high value?"
She smiled sympathetically toward me before speaking.
"'Tis wrong to put someone at a higher status than yourself and those around you." she spoke solemnly. "But to care for someone at a level equal or higher to Arceus is a sin of its own; to treat and respect someone just like how you wish to be treated is worthy of the creator's love."
I felt as though a boulder had just been lifted off my shoulder at her words. I thanked her and she began to giggle with no way of controlling herself. I turned toward Darkrai, who began his descent down the next level of the distorted realm. Just as I was about to follow him, my arm was grabbed by the paws of Celebi. When I looked her in the eyes resonated green and were full of wisdom.
"Be forewarned," she whispered. "You shall come across many traps and lies as you progress through this world-be vigilant and never lose yourself."
I was about to question her as to why see would say such a thing, but before I could, she had already released me and vanished. As I stood there, lost in thought as to what had just transpired, I heard the call of my guide and took off toward him.
