Chapter 4 – Corruption
As I came out, finally fully dressed, a force slammed into me from behind. Something invisible. I lay on the floor yet again, grumbling. "The hell?" I thought to myself. "Any of you guys feel that just now?"
"Wes," Silver's voice came through as a sigh of relief. "Shadow and I are fine, as are Brightstar and Sempre, but Talon and Zeera just froze up. They're stirring now, and it looks like there's a battle on the way. I can't talk for much longer, but I believe I know what caused this. We'll all meet you on the first floor once we've subdued the others."
"Don't let any other ex-Shadow Pokémon out of their Pokéballs," Shadow warned. "That probably includes both sets of them. Don't let that kid send any of his loose, either."
"Got it," I answered, closing the psychic link. When we weren't in visual range of each other, the connection functioned a little like a cell phone, one that was always on and included more than two people. I had been so focused on talking to Silver and Shadow that I spent the whole time lying motionless on the floor. Right as I thought something along the lines of "oh shit, I should probably get up before they all think I'm dead", before I could make the move to actually get up, everyone came running over. Someone, presumably one of the scientists, started freaking out, and thought I was dead. "I really must be psychic," I thought to myself.
Brock placed a hand on my shoulder, hindering the whole process of getting up even more. "Hey, are you okay? Do you feel faint?" A dark presence filled the room. It was something beyond just negative emotions, beyond even evil intent, and it hovered in the air, visible as a thick purple mist. Surprisingly, nobody else seemed to see it. I didn't get it; I had never been able to see the auras of Shadow Pokémon, yet I could see the physical form of the force that poisoned them. I could feel it, a chill that I couldn't shake. "Wes?" Brock asked again.
I shot up. "Don't let any of the Shadow Pokémon loose," I said firmly, though the mist was causing me to panic. "Even if they've been purified, if they were Shadow Pokémon at any point, they've been affected."
Everyone looked confused. I then realized that I was the only human in the building that understood what was going on. Some of the other Pokémon came running down, darting past us, heading for a room to the right. "Why are they all going to the Purification Chamber?" Michael wondered aloud. "Wait…are you saying all the Shadow Pokémon have been transformed again?"
I nodded. "Yes, but this time it's much worse. My Pokémon upstairs told me that the two Shadow Pokémon in our party have gone crazy. There's a battle going on up there right now. I think this is more than just reverting them back into Shadow Pokémon. This is corruption of the soul," I said through a grimace, realizing it as I said it. Seething with anger, I felt a power rising inside me. Darkness. Despair. Rage. Hatred. Pain. Confusion. Insanity. Bloodlust. Just then, Lugia broke out of its Pokéball and destroyed the glass wall, escaping from the building. I noticed that its coloring had changed from white to a dark, bluish purple. I could also see the angry red, but strangely black, aura burning around it. There was no time to wonder why my eyes suddenly had the power to see the special energy of Shadow Pokémon; Lugia fired off dark beams that moved like currents of air, a Shadow version of his Aeroblast attack, and they destroyed all in their path. If he wasn't stopped quickly, both the lab and the forest would become as flat and desolate as the rest of Orre. I ran outside, barely thinking. My mind was a blur.
Lugia's blazing red eyes stared at me, the empty, white irises freezing me to the spot. Terror washed over me, yet I still felt compelled to join him. Snapping myself out of it, I called to the four Pokémon up in the lab, "Get down here, you guys. Lugia's free, and he's destroying everything."
"Silver and I are on our way," Shadow answered. "Zeera KO'd Talon, and Brightstar's taking care of Zeera. She'll come down with us once she's got them both unconscious. Sempre's volunteered to guard them." I focused on their power, their purity. The Shadow energy wafting around us hadn't worked its way into their minds like it had mine. I looked up at the raging legendary bird. His power, still in its purest form, rested with me. Maybe, if I could give it back somehow, it would be enough to break the curse on him for good. Even with no hard evidence supporting the idea, I had to believe that it would work. Even so, there remained the problem of approaching a 17-foot tall dragon-bird with an arsenal of both long- and short-range attacks, including Hydro Pump, Iron Tail, and Earthquake.
Suddenly, Silver and Shadow burst out of the wreckage that was the receptionist's area and opened fire on Lugia, using attacks like Hyper Beam and Shadow Ball. Despite its strength, Lugia fell after only a few short minutes of battle with my old friends. I ran over to the fallen bird, acting completely on impulse, and pressed my forehead to his.
The sensation that filled me was indescribable. My body went cold, completely paralyzed, but my soul began to burn, with the conflict of extreme darkness and extreme purity as Lugia's soul and mine merged. It all happened in a matter of seconds, but when it was over, both of us lay on the forest floor, exhausted and barely moving. "Hey, Lugia," I asked, too tired to speak normally. "What just happened?"
"I must thank you," he responded, also too tired to project his mind-voice into physical sound, "for saving me once more. In short, you shot your soul through mine, they merged, and the unity purified my soul. My power, contained in your soul, eliminated the darkness, but you don't have a large enough amount to destroy it all. You must have absorbed some of it, yet you seem no worse for the wear. Humans truly are astonishing."
"What? How could I, though?"
"It seems my power has begun to change you. It has infused you with the power to identify and purify Shadow Pokémon. I recommend, however, that you open the doors to their hearts as much as possible before you try it again. Even a human's soul can't take the strain of touching a hundred or so Pokémon souls, especially if this level of darkness is involved. You need adequate rest between each purification, as well."
I considered the warning, when something that should have been obvious came to mind. "Why can't I just use the Relic Stone in Agate Village, or the Purification Chamber here?"
"What I just felt was not the same as my original corruption – what I believe the humans call Reverse Mode – but you already knew that, didn't you?" I thought the state was called Hyper Mode, but it was likely the two waves were slightly different. "In any case, it was not only that I became heartless, but I was also mindless. All I felt was rage, the need to destroy, and my rational mind had no power over my actions. I doubt conventional methods of purification will work, but feel free to try, if you wish."
"If it doesn't work, though, that means I have to purify all of Michael's Pokémon, too?" Lugia nodded weakly beside me. "If I join my soul to theirs, will they still want to go back to him?"
Lugia's eyes closed, presumably in thought. "It is very likely that they will go with you, as the majority of them were purified by way of the Purification Chamber, and spent little to no time befriending him. Those that he purified at the Relic Stone will stay with him, especially if he continued to care for them after they were purified. Even then, you must forge an equally strong bond to effectively purify them; you only purified me because the essence of my soul was already joined to yours. There is no guarantee they will want to leave and go back to their original trainer, simply because you were not the first one to show them kindness or the first to save them."
I groaned internally. I didn't want to take all of Michael's Pokémon. He was strong enough to be the bigger man in the situation, and would probably hand them over, but he wouldn't be happy about it. I felt like a thief all over again, and wondered if there might be some way to get his Pokémon to stay with him. If one or two of them truly preferred me though, then I had no right to ruin their happiness, especially after going though the hell of becoming a Shadow Pokémon twice in their lives.
Silver and Shadow sat by the two of us, and touched their noses to my face, leaving behind two small, wet marks. Humans came running over, Brock and Michael among them. I finally noticed that Lugia had returned to its original form. He closed his eyes and sighed. "You're tired, aren't you? And here you are, playing it off like you're not…" I observed.
"As are you…I leave myself in your hands, my new trainer. When we have both recovered, you may give me a nickname, like the rest of your partners."
"I'll come up with something good," I promised him. Like before, I felt hands grab me, heard others' voices, but my brain failed to register any of it. Lugia's protection over me began to fade, and I could feel the negative side-effects of housing his power creeping up on me. Worse yet, my whole body ached as if I'd been hit by a tidal wave, and the pain washed over me again and again, to the pulse of my heartbeat. Weakened from the return of the negative effects of Lugia's power, and wiped out from the purification, I let myself go. Sleep was inevitable, anyway, and I had a conversation to finish.
Not a minute later, Lugia came to me in a dream. Unlike our first metaphysical encounter, he lay beside me on the ground, as opposed to flying. His physical form was probably still unconscious, though his voice echoed through the walls of my mind, strong and resonant as before. "This is exactly why you must warm up to a Pokémon's heart before breaking the lock on its door. As I said before, you only managed this time because you purified me with my own power. Should you attempt to purify another Pokémon without going through the necessary steps, you will suffer more than simply absorbing some of the darkness of its soul. While that darkness does put you at risk, the process itself poses a more immediate danger. You and I could have both died back there. You could end up killing yourself and the Pokémon if you are not careful."
"You said you gave me the power because I was the only person on hand, but I think you actually had two options, and you chose me in order to save Michael the pain of it all," I answered truthfully. I bore no resentment towards him; my body may have been damaged beyond complete repair, but I got the chance at another adventure in my life. I had a reason to live again. That alone was priceless, and the price for it all was something I was willing to pay. I'd have taken the pain a hundred times over to be able to get back into action. "We'll have to leave Orre, won't we?" I asked, myself more than him, but I wanted his answer.
"The people here do not remember you very clearly, but some will recognize you. The police are among that number, so yes, it would be ideal to leave. That is not to say you cannot come back later, after you have saved all the Shadow Pokémon and shut down the culprit behind this assault, and cleared your name. Then, you can go on to do whatever you please with your life. Perhaps you could become a show battler – I have encountered very few people who understand us as well as you, and regardless of skill or experience, that accounts for something." He looked at me and smiled. Warmth swelled within me. I knew then that, if I forged bonds as strong as what I already had with Lugia, I wouldn't be able to let them go unless the Pokémon were truly determined to return to Michael. It was so wrong of me, but the love drew me in. It was a drug to me, because I hadn't felt so much of it at any point in my life. I felt Silver, Shadow, and Brightstar's presences with us, and though the dream faded, I was able to rest in complete comfort. There were no nightmares. I slept better that night than I had in my whole life. Early the next morning, I woke with everyone but Zeera and Talon piled on top of me. I lay there in peace, wishing it could last forever. I knew that, when the sun rose, it would be over, but until then, I planned to milk it for all its worth.
When the time came that we had to wake up, we did so slowly, taking in everything that had happened. Our group of seven had been together for so long that Zeera and Talon's absence affected us deeply. Waking up in a smaller pile of bodies, without Zeera's fiery warmth and Talon's steely body to absorb and reflect it, the world felt just a little colder.
Brightstar took charge, nudging everyone awake. "Come on, you all," she muttered. "There are Shadow Pokémon to save, and we must start by helping out Zeera and Talon. Wes, you said that either the Purification Chamber here or the Relic Stone in…Amber Village?"
"Agate," I corrected. As powerful, mature, and supposedly "wise" Brightstar was, her long-term memory and navigation skills left a lot to be desired. It was, of course, the reason nobody knew where she was originally from.
"Both structures have been used to purify them in the past, correct?" I nodded. "Then we start there."
"It's not that simple, Brightstar," I reminded her. "The Relic Stone only has enough power to purify a Pokémon whose heart is fully ready to be opened again. It can only undo the final lock on a heart that's had the time to heal. And I'm not sure how the Purification Chamber works, but I would assume it's also not an insta-cure."
"Well, then," she answered, "I suppose the best thing to do is start training up these Pokémon. I don't like the sound of that Purification Chamber – if they plan to use machinery to cure the ailments of a closed heart, then you're the wrong man for the job…am I right?"
It wasn't a question. Those slitted eyes, green and dazzling, were irresistible. Nobody I knew could win an argument with Brightstar, or avoid her subtle way of manipulating people. "Of course. However, I want to talk with the other humans for a while. I think I have a way to make this endeavor just a little bit more interesting."
A couple hours later, I sat at a table with Michael, Brock, and the lab's head scientist Professor Krane, downing a cup of coffee with some of the meds Kayle had given me. For the most part, they seemed to work, so I kept them with me. I'd described my situation for the most part, and when it came down to negotiating with Michael, he simply smiled and said he'd do anything to save the Shadow Pokémon.
"They've already suffered so much…they've felt things that normal Pokémon probably can't understand. But, if any of them are still attached to me, I want them back."
I let myself smile then, despite all the dark possibilities, thoughts of things that could and probably would go wrong. Michael…was a good kid. I reached over and placed a hand on his head. "You know, the Shadow Pokémon around here are real lucky. They got a guy like you as their trainer."
"Eh? What makes you say that?" he asked, thrown off by my sudden change in demeanor.
I opened my eyes and made direct eye contact with him. "It's because you care. You are one of the few people in this world who looks at a Pokémon and sees a person, not a pet, not even necessarily a friend, but a person. Someone you have to build a bond with. You know that a human can't just capture a Pokémon and a bond will develop between them. It takes work, just like with human relationships. You see that we're not all that different, Pokémon and humans. I never would have even considered it when I was your age." I removed my hand and took a sip of coffee from the mug. I adopted a more serious tone and continued. "You'll never be a Pokémon master…because you know that they're not just friends who will fight or compete for you. You would never try to become the master of all your human friends…"
"So why do people try to become the masters of their Pokémon?" Michael finished.
I nodded. "Exactly."
"But…you're the same." That comment caught my attention. I looked at him, slightly stunned. Did he really think so highly of me? "I mean, you sleep in a pile of Pokémon every night. You let them out of the Pokéballs every chance you get, and you have conversations with them as if you always had six humans by your side instead. What makes you think you're any different from someone like me? Why do you think that a kid like me has more potential than you?"
Sharp kid. I couldn't believe he'd read so much into my words. "Maybe it's because I'm older. Because I'm not a kid anymore, no matter how much I might look like it. I've had the chance to screw up and hurt people, including my friends. Including Shadow and Silver. Maybe, ten years from now, you'll be thinking the same thing, staring into the eyes of some other twelve-year-old with the sun shining behind him, hoping to hell that he won't have his spirits crushed. Even though you know that, someday, it will happen. The world isn't that nice."
Brock, in an attempt to steer the conversation away from such a dark direction, stood up then. "Look, you two can continue this discussion on the way back to Pallet Town. I'd like you two to meet Professor Oak, and he could have an idea of how to save more Shadow Pokémon at once, or at least make their suffering less while they're waiting to be saved. That, and I think he'd like to hear what you guys have to say on the issue of Shadow Pokémon."
"And how do you plan to get there?" I pointed out. "I thought you said it took two weeks' worth of riding on a boat to get over here from Kanto. Somehow, I doubt the three of us have that much money to burn."
Brock took out a Pokéball. "Not to worry. Inside here is a Kadabra. Professor Oak has an Alakazam in his lab, and the two Pokémon are quite familiar with each other."
While Brock was talking, I was speaking with the Kadabra inside the ball. "So, this Alakazam back at Professor Oak's lab…"
"Wes?"
"That's interesting. This Kadabra and the Alakazam at the lab are brothers," I told him. "Oak's definitely smart. However, this Kadabra is young. Kanto is incredibly far away…especially if we're heading for Pallet Town. Though, I guess it'd be worse if we were heading for Johto."
Brock gave me a quizzical look. "How do you know all this?"
For a second, I thought I'd slipped up, revealed too much about myself, but I told myself to cool it. "What, did you think I was born here? No one who lives here is originally from Orre, well, except for Michael," I said, flashing a grin at the kid. He responded with a playful glare. "We all migrated here. I just happened to come from Kanto."
"Well, it's good that we have someone who knows the terrain of both regions. Now, what were you saying about the Kadabra being young?"
Right. That. We were talking about something. "He's too young to make the trip, even with his brother acting as a wireless receiver, directing him straight to Pallet. We'll need some other psychic-type Pokémon."
"You're the only one in the party who has any psychic-types," Michael said. "Remember, all our Shadow Pokémon, except for Lugia, should be considered out of commission until we can help them. Asking a Shadow Pokémon to do this would just drive them insane."
"Yeah, you're right." I thought for a moment, automatically considering Silver, but I wasn't sure if even he could make it to the west side of Kanto in one go. Shadow had some impressive psychic abilities, too, considering his being a dark-type, but they'd still probably need help. "We'll use Silver, Shadow, and Lugia."
"Where is Lugia, anyway?"
Instead of being sarcastic, I cut him a break. "I've already got six Pokémon with me. That means he's in the PC."
"Oh…right." His face screamed, "I knew that, what are you talking about," to anyone who bothered to look.
"Could you ask Professor Kane to transfer all of our Pokémon into the international system? I mean all of them, guys. In order to put as little stress as possible on all the Pokémon that will be actively transporting us, only those four should be with us when we teleport." I looked at them, and they nodded. "We can get them back once we're at Oak's lab."
Once we agreed on everything, we all headed back into the lab to rearrange the party. Once everything had been arranged and we were back outside, Brock and I let the four transporter Pokémon out of their Pokéballs and we waited while they gathered their concentration. Silver and Shadow sat on either side of the Kadabra, while Lugia stood behind them, wings outstretched. Michael finally came out, with a woman and a young girl on either side of him. The woman whispered something to him, and the little girl refused to let go of him, despite the large smile on her face. I would later learn that the woman had been his mother, Lily, and the girl was his sister, Jovi.
"So, Wes, why are we using Shadow?" Michael asked me, hugging Jovi back and persuading her to let go. "It's okay, Jovi, I'll be back soon."
I waited until she backed off before answering him. "Shadow may be a dark-type, but he has some powerful psychic attacks. Also, he and Silver aren't just brothers; they're twins. They hatched at the exact same time. Because of that, neither of them is at full power when they're separated." I could have gone on to say that I'd been born on the same day that they had hatched, but I decided to save that little detail for later, when he and Brock would be more inclined to believe my true and crazy stories.
"We're ready," Lugia announced, grabbing everyone's attention. "Please come stand in between these three and myself. We're making a psychic circle, and everyone in it will go to Pallet Town." As we all proceeded, he asked, "It's just the three of you? I was under the impression that Professor Krane was coming, as well."
"Nope," Michael answered. "He has to stay here and help the other scientists figure out what the source of that shockwave was. He thinks it seems odd that one transmission could suddenly corrupt all the Shadow Pokémon at once like that, so he's calling in professors from other regions. Professor Oak has a reason to stay in Pallet, though, so we're still going over there."
Lugia nodded. "I understand. You three, Wes especially, will feel some impact from the amount of power we're going to use. We'll be very careful not to hurt you, but I thought I should warn you."
"Thanks for the tip," I answered. "Now, let's go."
A psychic signal of mirth reached me. Lugia couldn't physically smile, but his energy signature didn't lie. "Impatient, as always," he told me privately. The four Pokémon counted down over the psychic link, which I could hear, so I was the best prepared when we were suddenly jerked off our feet. Moments later, we all landed on the ground. The Kadabra had nearly passed out, and Silver and Shadow lay on their sides, breathing heavily. Even Lugia slumped over, laying its neck on the grass. The three of us humans had all landed horribly; Brock and Michael had both face-planted into the grass. Looking at them, I sincerely hoped the ground was softer than it looked. Of course, having landed on my ass, I knew better.
Nobody attempted to get up. My whole body felt a little shaky, probably as a result of the force of all that psychic power, and because of my landing, my whole spine hurt. So, I opted to lie on my back, listening to the Pokémon's panting and the humans' groans of pain. We must have stayed like that for at least ten minutes.
Such was the scene that Professor Oak happened upon when he stepped outside, a weary-looking Alakazam following him. I sat up just in time to see the expression on his face when he saw us. We both promptly burst into laughter.
I hadn't actually fucking laughed in so long, I wondered if there was something wrong with me. Going by the looks that Brock and Michael shot me, they were probably wondering the same thing.
Author's Note: Sorry for the long wait, guys. I thought I could get this in before I had to just stop and spend some time dedicating the majority of my life to school. As it is, I have an exam today, but I thought I could use a break from studying. Thanks to some nudging from my beta, chapter 5 is already being written up. Hopefully, the next update will come within the next three weeks.
