Hello everyone, now that I've gotten the little detour out of the way, it's time to get back to the plot, and this is where things start to get interesting. Between the next instalment of Rejuvenation coming closer to fruition, and Solar-Light/Lunar Dark getting its final update soon, I am psyched to play more fangames.
So with that out of the way, let's kick start this chapter already!
Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon Rejuvenation, nor do I own Pokemon Uranium. They are the property of their respective creators.
Gearen Laboratory: Julius' room
Julius sighed to himself upon entering the room that he's currently renting; not because he hates it or anything, but because he hates what's coming up next. Sleep; one of the most important necessities for a human being, and the bane of Julius'existence. Ever since that fateful day in Ayrith he has been experiencing dreadful nightmares every time he tries to go to sleep. But these weren't ordinary nightmare; they were the sort that left you paralysed in fear the moment you wake up. Julius and Nancy spent a fair amount of money on potential cures for his nightmares, even going so far as to acquire a Lunar Wing from Cresselia, however nothing seems to have worked, leaving Julius to wonder what exactly is going on.
The young man got changed into his pyjamas and hopped into bed, as he recalled what had happened on this extraordinarily busy day. Though he was still miserable over the fact that his mother got captured by some terrorist organisation for unknown purposes, it was a small blessing that he got to meet Aunt Tesla once more. His brief lapse of relief soon went to the back of his mind as his pessimistic side rose up once more; most notably, in regards to the time he spent with Melia and her friends. While a part of him found some comfort in hanging out with them, he mentally kicked himself for allowing them to hold any sort of value to him. After all, Larkspur could be stalking him, and the last thing he wanted was for more innocent people to get tortured simply because they knew him. And yet, despite his fears being evident, he couldn't find it in himself to push them away, especially Ren since they were childhood friends. Julius figured that it was best to get what little sleep he can, since he had a big day tomorrow, and proceeded to drift off into the next nightmare.
Julius' dream
The young man got up off the floor and looked around him; an empty void that was blanketed by a thick fog. Julius looked around and started to panic; no matter how many times he witnesses it, it still frightens him greatly. But that was only the beginning; all around him were flashbacks of the torture he and his friends endured at the hands of Professor Larkspur; how despite all his might, Julius was unable to do a single thing to stop the insanity.
"S-Stop it!" he pleaded, falling to his knees and covering his ears to block out the distorted, agonising screams of pain. But no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't block it out. The cacophony of madness continued for what seemed like an eternity when all of a sudden, the screams died down. Julius uncovered his ears and gradually got up off the cold floor as the flashbacks died down. A part of him hoped that this was the end for tonight, that whatever being that was torturing him every night with these horrible dreams had taken pity on him. His worst fears were confirmed when from the fog, a group of four figures made entirely of shadows emerged from the oppressive blanket and glared at him ominously. Their facial features, if they had any were unrecognisable, but based on their silhouettes, they were taking on the appearance of Julius' former friends.
"Why…" one of the figures called out in a distorted, agonised cry. "Why did you abandon us?"
"I didn't abandon you! I tried to help you, honestly!" Julius attempted to reason with the intimidating figure, but his desperate cries fell on deaf ears.
"Silence, traitor! You abandoned us, abandoned your friends. Did we mean nothing to you?"
"Did you hate us from the very beginning? Were you planning and hoping that we'd meet our grisly demise at your hands?"
"I…I thought you loved me…but I see that it was a lie…" the fourth voiced droned out painfully, breaking Julius' already weak heart.
"I-I do love you Scar—" Julius began speaking, but was cut off.
"Lies! I hate you, I hate you! I wish you were dead!" the voice barked harshly, causing the young man to flinch in pain.
"W-What do you want me to do?!" Julius cried desperately to the figures.
"You can atone for your sins by leaving those innocent people you're attempting to kill, before ending your miserable life." One of the voices called out.
"Pay us with your blood, vile fiend!"
"Leave this plane of existence already!"
"Die, just die already!"
The voices continued chanting, as Julius collapsed into a ball on the ground and started shivering to himself, tears pouring down his cheeks as the figures stepped closer and closer towards the distraught young man.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'M SORRY!" Julius cried out loud, as the world was suddenly blanketed by a harsh light.
The next morning
"Gahhh!" Julius cried out loud, waking up from his terrible nightmare. He checked the time on the alarm clock beside him, and realised that it was around half-past eight. Wiping the dried up tears from his cheeks, he got up and went to take a quick shower. After all, he wanted to look respectable for his little trip with Melia. The shower was decently large, more than enough room for a couple if they're into that sort of thing. As he turned the water on and stepped into the shower and began to clean himself, he began wondering just how today would play out. After all, there must be some reason that Melia wanted him to come along with her to Goldenwood Forest. Maybe it was to take a closer look at his Pokémon, maybe it was some spur of the moment confession, though he felt that it was a bit too soon for that option. Or maybe this was just some sick prank designed to make him look like a complete and utter fool, with Ren and Venam in on the joke. Julius brushed off that last thought quickly; after all Melia doesn't seem like the type of person who would do something like that. Either way, he was done with the shower and turned it off. After proceeding to get dressed and packing his bag for the day, he exited his room and proceeded to make his way to the Goldenwood train station.
The train station interior was quite the marvel to behold; with a shiny brown floor, bright red walls and a couple of miniature chandeliers hanging down from the ceiling. The line was surprisingly small, however Julius brushed it off since it was fairly earlier in the day. It was then that he spotted Tesla reading the train schedule for the day, as she soon turned around and noticed the young man.
"Oh Julius!" Telsa called out as she went towards him. "How are you? Are you feeling okay?"
"Not really…I still haven't heard anything about what happened to my mom." Julius sighed sadly, as Tesla brought him closer to her.
"There, there. Auntie Tesla will watch out for you during this most taxing time. You mother is still out there, and we both need to get stronger if we are to save her." The older woman comforted the young man as an idea popped into her mind. "Tell you what, why don't I get you a ticket to Goldenwood Forest? It'll help take your mind off of things for a while."
"I-I appreciate the gesture, but I can purchase my own ticket." Julius replied, only for Tesla to knock back his statement.
"No need to worry about paying me back or anything, it's been a long time since I treated you and I'm feeling a bit nostalgic today." Tesla insisted, with Julius yielding to her offer. The older woman proceeded to buy a one-day train ticket to Goldenwood Forest and handed it over to the young man. "Here you go, sweetie!"
"Th-thanks, Aunt Tesla…" Julius thanked her, taking the ticket as the older woman smiled at him. Though he greatly disliked the idea of other people paying for him, he'd let it go this time since it was Tesla's attempt to cheer him up.
"I must say that Goldenwood Forest is one of my favorite places in Aevium. The golden trees and the eternal smell of autumn brings back nostalgic memories…" Tesla sighed blissfully to herself. "I'm sure you'd enjoy it as much as I do."
"If it's as good as you say it is, then I'm sure I'll enjoy the scenery." Julius commented.
"Now that's the Julius that I want to see! You go enjoy yourself out there; I've got some things to do. See you later!" Tesla wished him the best, waving at him before leaving the station. Julius briefly glanced at the ticket before making his way to the train and proceeded to take his seat, waiting patiently in his seat for a few minutes before the intercom flared to life.
"Thank you for taking the Goldenwood Express today, we hope you enjoy your trip to one of the Seven Natural Wonders of Aevium." The intercom spoke out loud, as the train started to gain momentum as it went down the tracks at impressive speeds. Julius watched through the window in awe, as the usually green trees were gradually getting replaced by the bright gold trees that gave the area its name. Around then minutes later, the train came to a screeching halt as it arrived at the small station located there. The intercom blared out another message, thanking the passengers for taking the Goldenwood Express and wishing them the best, as the young man stepped out of the train and began exploring the area.
For all the hype that Goldenwood Forest gets, it most certainly lives up to it. The large, golden trees stood proud and tall in the area as they occasionally showered the area with their leaves, creating the illusion that it was raining gold. The autumn smell, as Tesla kindly put it, was a scent that was a mixture of various flowers that decorated the area. Julius was enamoured by his surroundings as he was walking down the large dirt path, until he spotted Melia planting a couple of those Stars that Jan showed him the other day.
"M-Melia?" Julius called out to her, as she had finished planting the last one and turned to face him.
"Ah, you arrived Julius. A bit later than I anticipated, if I have to be honest." Melia commented.
"Sorry about that, I was a bit sluggish this morning since I didn't sleep all that well last night." Julius sheepishly admitted.
"I get it, you were so excited for today that you couldn't get much sleep!" Melia giggled cutely, covering her mouth with her hand. "You're such a doll, Julius."
"M-M-Me?!" Julius blurted suddenly, a fierce blush appearing on his face as Melia chuckled louder than before.
"But I jest; anyway if you need to heal your Pokémon, these Stars can help you out in a pinch." She told him, pointing to the machines to show them off. "They're the latest invention by Blakeory Co. Quite handy, don't you think? They're efficient, and environmentally friendly."
"Yeah, I remember Jan showing them to me the other day." Julius replied. "A nifty little thing that I'm surprised the other regions don't have yet."
"They're still in the testing phase; once all the kinks are ironed out, I'm sure they'll be mass produced within an instant." Melia commented. "Anyway, while we're heading to Goldenwood Forest, we need to be on the lookout for a young girl who had gotten lost in the forest."
"Huh, when did this happen?" Julius inquired.
"While I was at the train station, I saw an elderly gentleman clutching his back in pain while a young couple were taking care of him. He kept going on about how his granddaughter got lost in the forest, so I offered to go look for her." Melia explained the situation.
"In that case, we better get a move on and look for her." Julius stated, as the two began wandering the area together in the search for her. Luckily for them, it didn't take long, as they spotted a frightened young girl stuck up a tree.
"C-Can you help me please…" she begged, clinging onto the tree for dear life.
"H-Hang on! We'll get you down there!" Melia called out to her as she began to think of a plan as quickly as possible.
"What do you suggest we do?!" Julius asked her.
"I've got an idea, but I need to run it by you first." Melia replied. "Do you think you can catch her?"
"Sure I can, why'd you ask?" Julius replied, before it dawned onto him. "Ah, I see where you're going."
"Good. I'll need you to stand over there." Melia ordered him, pointing to an area right by the base of the tree, with the young man doing as he was told to. "Do you think you can jump down from there? My friend can catch you if you do." Melia asked the young girl.
"I-I can't! I'm too scared!" the young girl protested.
"You have to trust us; you won't get hurt, I promise!" Melia tried to reason with her, and it seemed to work. The little girl let go of the tree and took a deep breath before she leapt down from the branch, as Julius managed to catch her. The momentum caused the young man to stagger back a few feet, but he was able to stop and gently lower the girl down to the ground.
"Thanks mister! Thanks miss!" the young girl thanked Julius and Melia.
"No worries, now why don't we take you back to the station so you don't get lost again?" Julius offered.
"I can find my way back on my own from here; I climbed up that tree to get a better view of the area, but I got stuck." The little girl knocked the offer back. "Thanks again you two, see ya!"
"See you later young one." Melia smiled at her, as the young girl made her way back to the train station. "That was some catching you pulled off!"
"No need to credit me, I was just doing as you told me to." Julius replied humbly.
"Now that we've gotten that out of the way, it's time for us to go to work. Are you ready?" Melia told him.
"Sure. I can handle it." Julius replied, as the duo went off into the forest. It wasn't five minutes into their excursion when the spotted a pair of Vivillon fluttering by one of the golden trees; one of them had a shiny white wing pattern, while the other one had a dark blue wing pattern that resembled the night sky. Melia gazed at the butterfly Pokémon in awe as she opened her suitcase and got out what looked like a jar of Pokéfood that was especially designed for Bug-type Pokémon. The two Vivillon eagerly eyed up the food and flew over to Melia as they started to eat out of her palm.
*giggles* "It tickles!" she giggled, as Julius watched quietly in awe. She must have some special gift that made Pokémon warm up to her quicker than usual. Once the Vivillon had finished eating, they flew up into the air, leaving a shower of sparkling scales in their wake.
"Woah…" Julius gasped in awe at the sight. "So amazing."
"It is an impressive sight." Melia agreed, before turning to him. "Come on now, we've got plenty of other things to do!"
"Ok then." Julius replied as they continued down the path, which was right by Goldenwood Lake. As the largest body of freshwater in the area, it was a gathering place for several species of aquatic Pokémon. The natural diversity of species attracted several fisherman to the area, with one in particular grumbling to himself.
"Tch, another no-biter?" he complained, as he reeling in his hook and discovered that there was nothing on it.
"Is something the matter mister?" Julius inquired, as the young duo spotted the man by the edge of the lake.
"Yeah, I can't seem to catch a lucky break today. I haven't landed a single thing, and I already used several different types of bait." The fisherman explained, as Melia began searching through her briefcase for something to help the man.
"Here, this should help you catch something." Melia said, handing him what looked like gummy worms, but were made from some sort of processed meat. "This is useful for catching Pokémon that thrive in very deep water, perhaps this will be of use to you."
"Thanks lass!" The fisherman replied, taking the bait and attaching it to his hook before casting it into the water once more. The trio waited for what seemed like an eternity, as the hook silently bobbed in the water, until something snagged on the hook. The fisherman's eyes sparkled with glee as he eagerly started to reel the fish in, hoping he had caught something large. With an almighty yank, he pulled the rod into the air and gazed at the hook, which hand nothing on it. He sighed to himself once more, until he was struck on the head by a falling Magikarp that started to flop about on the dry land.
"BWHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Both Melia and Julius chuckled loudly as the fisherman turned around and lifted the Magikarp off the ground.
"Well at least I got something today…" he said to himself, as he packed up his gear and went back towards the train station.
"Well that was a nice little distract—" Melia began as she soon noticed a large patch of flowers that were surrounded by a small wooden fence. "Oh my, they look quite pretty!"
"Yeah, they kinda do." Julius replied, as the duo got a closer look at the flowers. The patch had several different varieties of flowers, all neatly lined up based on their color. "Should we take a closer look at them?"
"Nah, they're fenced off for a reason. Best thing to do is to leave them alone." Melia suggested as the duo continued their excursion in the forest. They continued exploring the area, until Melia noticed a sign by a crossroad that indicated that Goldenwood Cave was nearby.
"Excellent! We're finally here." Melia smiled upon reading the sign.
"Goldenwood Cave, what business do we have there?" Julius inquired.
"My father mentioned something about a rumor involving this very cave. Something about an ancient text that dates back to the time of the Garufans." Melia explained. "I'm sure if we work together, we can traverse the cave easily."
"Sounds like a plan." Julius agreed to the idea, as the young couple walked up the stone steps and entered the large cave.
"Now this is where things get interesting; you know how Goldenwood Forest is a training ground for newbie trainers', right? This is the specific spot where everyone gathers to train. However these trainers always come with their friends, meaning that you won't be fighting them one at a time. I take it you know where this is going…" Melia began, as Julius managed to connect the dots.
"Ah, you want to team up with me to make things easier for us." Julius deduced.
"Correct." Melia smiled, confirming the young mans' hunches. "We'll be the ones who'll take this cave by storm!"
"Alright then, lead the way." Julius offered, as Melia went on ahead with the young man following behind her. The interior of the cave had a lot more vegetation than the young man initially expected, with golden bushes dotting the landscape. There were a few small pools of water where the denizens of the cave drank from, when they weren't busy battling each other over whatever scraps of food they could find. However Julius was knocked out of his train of thought by an arrogant sounding voice.
"Heh, look at this little weakling, clinging onto Melia because he's too cowardly to fight on his own." The voice called out, as a teenage male with spikey white hair and an all-black outfit approached the couple. Beside him was a youngster with a blue cap, red t-shirt and navy blue shorts.
"Now hold on a minute Jeff, there's no need to cause any trouble." The youngster attempted to reason with his companion, but it didn't seem to be working.
"Oh be quiet, Nickolus! I'm not letting someone as perfect as Melia get stuck dragging this loser around." Jeff retorted, as Melia started giggling to herself. "Wh-What's so funny?!"
"If only you knew how strong my partner was, then you wouldn't be saying those things." Melia giggled.
"Oh yeah, well why don't you prove it then?!" Jeff retorted, as he and Nickolus sent out a Lotad and a Pichu respectively.
"So you want to battle us? Fine by me; I'll chose Buneary!" Melia sent out her Pokémon, as a small rabbit-like Pokémon that was purple and white stepped onto the battlefield. "Which Pokémon will you go for, Julius?"
"Hmmmm…I think I'll settle with Haagross for this match." Julius commented, taking his Pokéball and throwing it onto the field, as a large purple and greenish-yellow Pokémon emerged from its ball and slithered onto the battlefield. The specimen was fairly long and was as tall as Nickolaus, and dripped poison everywhere. It's body was slender, save for the area where it's stomach was, and it had four stubby legs and a pair of small arms on where it's chest would be. The most notable feature were the hornlike appendages that sprouted from the sides of its head that ended in a pair of bolt-shaped horns.
"What…is that?" Nickolaus inquired, confused and frightened by the mysterious creature, as it casually eyed up the young trainer.
"Whatever it is, it's gonna get creamed by yours truly!" Jeff bragged. "Lotad, use Bubble on your enemy!"
The small lily-pad Pokémon opened it's mouth and fired a small torrent of bubbles at the opposing Pokémon, as Nickolaus ordered his Pichu to use Thundershock in combination with the Bubble attack to electrocute the bubbles, powering it up by quite a bit.
"In that case, I'll set up a Light Screen to shield us from the attack." Julius replied, as his Haagross used its power to conjure up a wondrous wall of light to block the incoming attack.
"Buneary, use Double Hit to knock back any stray bubbles that break through the wall!" Melia called out, as her Buneary stood guard near the wall and used it's powerful ears to strike at any bubbles that passed through the wall, as they were sent back towards the Lotad and Pichu, striking them dead on. The Lotad was able to hold its ground, but the poor Pichu was flung back towards the cave wall and was knocked out.
"Woah…" Was all Nickolaus could say, as he recalled his fainted Pokémon and sent out his Jigglypuff. "U-Use Sing on that Haagross!"
The Jigglypuff nodded and began singing to the crowd, with Buneary covering her ears to block out the hypnotic melody. Haagross wasn't so lucky however, and collapsed onto the ground and began nodding off, forming a crescent of some sorts that acted as a shield for Buneary, something that both trainers figured could work to their advantage.
"Ok, the Light Screen is still up. That's fine, we can work with it." Melia spoke to herself, as she figured out what to do. "Buneary, use Double Hit on Lotad, then duck behind Haagross for cover!" she called out, as the small rabbit nimbly ran through the dark cave and used it's ears to pummel Lotad several times, before knocking it towards the wall. Jeff growled to himself as he recalled his fainted Pokémon and sent out his Roggenrola.
"Tch, you must think you're some hotshot because Melia took pity on you. But I'll be glad to teach you your place; Roggenrola, use Rock Blast on that slug-thing!" Jeff called out, as the small rock fired a barrage of smaller rocks from it's ear, striking the large hagfish dead on, as it was awoken from it's slumber. It started glaring at its opponents, angered over being woken up so rudely.
"Uh-oh, you shouldn't have done that. Haagross hates being attacked while sleeping, and will enact revenge on the guilty party. How about you use Sludge Wave to fulfil your desires?" Julius suggested, as his Pokémon was more than eager to do so. It conjured up a sizable pool of toxic sludge from it's body, before directing it towards the opposing Pokémon in a giant wave. The Jigglypuff and the Roggenrola barely had any time to react before they were engulfed by the sludge wave and were flailing about in the sludge, before it subsided a few seconds later. Both Pokémon weren't able to stand up to the attack and were knocked out cold.
"Oh my…I guess I underestimated you." Nickolaus said, as he and Jeff recalled their Pokémon, the latter had an agitated look on his face.
"Y-You couldn't even beat me by yourself! You depended on Melia this whole time, didn't you?!" Jeff hissed, pointing at Melia.
"Nothing wrong with having Melia help me out. Though I can say with certainty that I could've ran circles around you on my own." Julius retorted smugly.
"This is insanity! Why is she hanging out with a loser like you, instead of a handsome guy like me?" Jeff scoffed.
"Because he's not an arrogant braggart like you, who looks down on others just because they're partnered with me." Melia retorted smugly as well. "Then again, I guess it's natural to be jealous that I'm hanging out with a champion-tier trainer like Julius."
"C-Champion?! Dammit, I knew that this was a bad idea!" Nickolaus complained, kicking a nearby pebble into one of the pools of water. "Oh well, I guess it was kinda cool to see a champion in action."
"You, Julius, was it? This isn't over! I will beat you and prove to Melia that I'm the better option!" Jeff warned the young man, pointing at him briefly before leaving the area, with Nickolaus waving at the duo before following his friend.
"What was all that about?" Julius inquired, as he and Melia recalled their Pokémon.
"He's some trainer who's got a crush on me; he's obsessive to the point where he gets angry every time he sees me hanging out with another guy. The amount of times he's gotten into a scrap with Ren must be totalling in the double digits, though Ren defeats him every time he challenges him to a Pokémon battle." Melia explained the situation.
"Heheheh, that's my mate!" Julius exclaimed, praising Ren's skill in battling. "Now then, shall we get a move on?"
"Certainly!" Melia replied, as the duo continued walking through the cave. They had walked a fair distance, crossing over a wooden bridge that had a fairly large river flowing underneath it as they were watching some of the Pokémon frolic by the riverside. Julius' mind had wondered off again, when he was quickly snapped out of his mindscape once again as Melia started calling out to him.
"Look at this!" She called out to him, as Julius looked at where she was pointing at and saw what looked like a wall that had some ancient text on it.
"Is this what Professor Jenner wanted you to research?" the young man inquired.
"I believe so; let me take a picture quickly and then I'll begin reading it." Melia replied, opening her briefcase and brought out a portable camera, checking it to make sure that everything was working properly, before walking closer to the wall and began taking pictures of the text. Julius was concerned that the bright flashes could upset the resident Pokémon, and cause them to attack the trainers in a frenzy, but it seemed that he got worked up over nothing, as no hostile Pokémon charged at them following the camera flashes. After taking half-a-dozen photos, Melia put her camera away back in the suitcase and got out a book that was useful in translating ancient text.
"Ok then, that's the photos done; now to see what makes these inscriptions so special…" Melia began reading the book, taking the occasional glance at the wall of text. However a confused look appeared on her face after a few minutes of attempting to read the text. "Huh, this text is barely legible. I can't get an accurate translation whatsoever."
"Well that's not good." Julius replied, moving closer to the wall. "Maybe I can read—WHOA!" he cried out, tripping over a rock and was falling towards the wall.
"Julius!" Melia cried out as the young man collided with the wall, only for it to shatter into lots of little pieces as the young man landed face first onto the ground. "W-What in the world?!"
"Ohhhhh…" Julius winced, as he got up onto his hands and knees and began rubbing his throbbing head. "Ahhh, that was quite unpleasant."
"Are you ok Julius?" Melia inquired, crouching beside him to check up on him.
"Yeah, I'll be fine in a few minutes. Sorry about the wall though…" Julius apologised, getting back up on his feet.
"No need to apologise; in fact I think you made things more interesting." Melia smiled. "That wall was put up there to keep whatever's behind here hidden from plain sight. In all my time here, I'd never expect to find a secret passageway in Goldenwood Cave!"
"How about you go in first to make up for my blunder? That way, you'll take the credit for whatever we find back there." Julius offered.
"You're such a gentleman; I think I'll take you up on that offer." Melia replied, doing a little curtsy as she entered the hidden entrance, with Julius following behind her. The duo walked through the small passageway for a little while until they found the exit out of the cave, and were blessed with an amazing sight.
They had stumbled upon a grove that was unscathed by humanities influence; as dozens of Vivillon were fluttering about in the air. The grass in the area was a lot taller and thicker than the grass outside the cave, and the trees weren't as neatly lined up as the ones in the forest were.
"Wow, this place is amazing." Julius sighed in awe, as he was hypnotised by the mesmerising view. "You think we should tell Ren and Venam about this place?"
"As much as I want to, I don't want this area to get overpopulated with people thinking this is some sort of secret club, which could be damaging to the environment here. Besides, we haven't fully explored this place yet." Melia replied, as the duo walked down the hillside and made their way to a large clearing in the area. "Perfect; now turn around and close your eyes and count to ten." She told Julius.
"Uh, ok then…" he replied, doing as he was told to. As he counted in his mind, he was wondering why Melia would ask him to do it. Once he had reached ten, he turned around and opened his eyes, only to see a large rug covering the ground.
"Surprise!" Melia called out, striking a playful pose. "Let's have a picnic here, this is the perfect place to have one."
"O-Oh, is this why you asked me to cover my eyes?" Julius inquired.
"Yep. Considering all the hard work we did today, I think we deserve a nice reward, don't you think?" Melia asked Julius.
"A-Are you sure you want me to eat with you? I mean I don't think I deser—" Julius began.
"You think you don't deserve it because you broke the wall?" Melia cut him off. "You silly goose! I'm not upset over the wall getting broken; besides it was thanks to your trip that we found this place to begin with." She giggled.
"I-I guess so…" Julius replied, his mind still hung up over the idea of having a picnic with Melia. That incident with the cave wall wasn't why he felt he didn't deserve her kindness, but he decided not to press the issue any further. "Do you mind if I help you set it up?"
"Not at all." Melia answered, as she opened her suitcase and began to set things up as Julius lent her a helping hand. After a few minutes, they had finished setting up the picnic, as plates containing fruit and sandwiches covered the rug, alongside a couple bottles of soft drink.
"This day had completely blown my expectations away." Melia sighed blissfully, taking a small swig of cola from her plastic cup. "Not only did we get a lot accomplished, but we discovered this amazing place, and had a lot of fun doing so."
"Yeah, today was pretty amazing." Julius agreed, taking a bite out of a ham and cheese sandwich, as he was surprised by a noise from behind and turned around to see what it was. "Must've been the wind—what is that…?" He began, as he soon got distracted by a large statue of Arceus doing a majestic pose.
"What are you talking about?" Melia turned around and saw the statue as well. "Huh, how curious. Why was this hidden all the way back here?"
"You think we should check it out once we've had our fill?" Julius suggested.
"Certainly; after all I want to enjoy this day a bit more. A day where I made another life-long friend." Melia smiled, surprising the young man.
"Life-long…friend?" Julius said, unsure of how to feel. He couldn't comprehend why a perfect woman like Melia would treat some insignificant cretin like himself, as a friend. Furthermore, he was mentally kicking himself for allowing things to progress this far, as he had inadvertently put Melia in danger by associating with him.
"Yeah, I consider you a life-long friend, Julius. Thank you for coming out with me today." Melia thanked the young man. "You've made today a most memorable one. Especially since it'll be the last memory I make in the Floria District."
"Huh…what do you mean?" Julius inquired, slightly honoured by how much Melia cared for him.
"I leave for Grand Dream City tomorrow, where I am to become the Normal type Gym leader. I'd be going alone though; Ren's busy with his job as my dad's assistant and Venam's got her job as a Gym Leader." Melia answered, a hint of sadness in her tone of voice.
"I see…" Julius replied, thanking his lucky stars that Melia would be safe from Larkspur now that she's moving away from the area. "I'm confident that you'll be an amazing Gym Leader."
"Thank you." Melia smiled at the compliment, her mood picking up from before as an idea formed in her mind. "Hey Julius…why don't you come with me to Grand Dream City?"
"S-Seriously?!" Julius exclaimed in surprise, as new fears flooded his mind. What if Larkspur is in Aevium, and he spots him hanging out with Melia? He'd most certainly capture her and put her through some serious torture sessions just to get back at him.
"Sorry, I guess it's kind of a tall order to ask someone whom you've just met the other day." Melia apologised.
"No, no. I need to apologise for my reaction, it wasn't called for." Julius replied.
"Well it's an understandable reaction, but on that note…" Melia replied, getting up off the mat and faced the young man. "Hey, Julius, fight me in a Pokémon battle."
"A Pokémon battle? I can work with that, but are you sure you want to fight me? I am a champion-tier trainer after all." Julius replied, standing up and facing Melia as well.
"Of course I do; this'll give me the perfect chance to plan out a strategy for when we fight in an official gym battle. How about a quick one-on-one battle?" Melia replied, taking out a Pokéball from her bag. "Ready when you are."
"I was born ready!" Julius replied, as he was about to select a Pokémon, only for his Vilucard to burst out of its ball and started cackling to itself. "Ok then, I guess you know what my partner for this battle is."
"In that case, I'll call out Buneary!" Melia called out, as she threw her Pokéball and the all-too-familiar rabbit Pokémon emerged from it and stared down its opponent. Vilucard was eyeing up the young Pokémon before it, as a mischievous idea was formed in its mind. The Villainous Pokémon quickly scrambled up the tree so that the Buneary couldn't reach it, and started firing a barrage of Sludge Bombs at it's opponent. Buneary hopped from rock to rock to dodged the incoming salvo until it safely arrived at the base of the tree where Vilucard was perched, and used Double Hit on the stump in an attempt to knock it down.
"W-Woah!" Julius was caught off guard by the surprise tactic that Buneary was utilising.
"I figured that if I can't fight you head on, I'll use the environment to my advantage. A common tactic utilized by Aevium's gym leaders." Melia replied, as he Buneary managed to knock the Vilucard off it's perch, as the Villainous Pokémon crashed onto the ground and winced out loud in pain. "Now to finish this; Buneary, use Double Hit one more time!"
The Buneary hoped on over to the fallen Vilucard and was about to pummel it with it's ears, when in an instant, Vilucard leapt up off the ground and pinned Buneary to the tree, the bat Pokémon's fangs glowing a harsh black as it bite down hard on Buneary's arm and started draining the energy from the small Pokémon, as the small rabbit cried out in pain.
"B-Buneary!" Melia cried out in concern. "I-Is it using…"
"Drain Life? Correct." Julius replied, as Vilucard stepped back from the weakened Buneary and wiped its lips. "The signature move of the Vilucard line; it deals damage to the opponent by biting down on them, draining their energy to restore the user."
"I see…in that case I'll have Buneary retaliate with Double Hit!" Melia called out, as the small rabbit sucker-punched her opponent with her ears, surprising the bat and causing it to stagger a few feet back. The Buneary then stated hopping on the spot for a bit until it launched itself into the air and aimed it's feet at the weakened Vilucard. The Vilucard noticed the Buneray and bided it's time, waiting for the perfect opportunity to strike. When the Buneary shot past the tree line, Vilucard unleashed a barrage of Sludge Bombs at it's opponent, the Buneary unable to move out of the way and was pelted by the unrelenting salvo as it was sent hurtling towards the nearest tree.
"Buneary!" Melia called out running over to her Pokémon, who was knocked out after the attack. "Oh thank goodness you're alright!"
"S-Sorry about that…" Julius apologised, with Vilucard bowing it's head in shame.
"It's alright. I did expect you to give it your best, and it seems that you did." Melia replied, as she recalled her fainted Pokémon, as Julius recalled his Pokémon as well.
"I gotta admit, for a young Pokémon I was pleasantly surprised to see it last this long against an experienced Pokémon like my Vilucard. That tactic where you knocked it down from the tree was some clever thinking." Julius praised the girl before him.
"Thank you; hearing that from a champion like yourself is some high praise indeed." Melia smiled. "I'll admit that I'm a little bummed about the loss, but that's ok; nobody expects you to be an unstoppable force all the time."
"Now that we've got that settled, how about I help you pack up the picnic?" Julius offered.
"That'll be appreciated, thank you very much." Melia replied, as the duo got to packing up the picnic. As the duo had finished folding the blanket and had just finished placing it in the suitcase, a cold chill appeared in the area, an ice-blue fog emanating in the air. The fog dissipated a few seconds later, before the earth started shaking all of a sudden and the faint sound of trucks rumbling could be heard.
"W-What on earth was that?!" Julius cried out.
"It sounded like it came from Goldenwood Forest. Come on Julius, we've got to investigate this right away!" Melia exclaimed, as the duo quickly left the area to investigate the cause.
15 minutes later
The duo had arrived back at Goldenwood Forest, where they saw a young couple comforting an old lady, who was visibly distressed. The first thing they noticed was that the air was thick with smoke, as if something was on fire.
"What's going on here? What happened?!" Melia called out, as she and Julius ran up to the group of people.
"W-We don't know. We were in Goldenwood Cave when we heard this huge explosion outside. We ran out as fast as we could, and saw this old lady searching the area frantically for something." The woman answered.
"Some thugs stole my precious Furfrou from me…" the old woman cried out. "They ganged up on me three-against-one and stole my Furfrou from me. I can't remember what their faces looked like, but they were wearing black and red uniforms."
'Black and red uniforms? You don't mean…' Julius started thinking to himself, as he noticed a concerned expression on Melia's face. It seems that the two of them were on the same train of thought.
"I'm just going to leave this behind…just in case." Melia said, placing the suitcase on the ground right by Julius' feet. "If these thugs are who I think they are, then I'll need to act quickly—"
"This way!" A voice barked out loud, as the sound of several footsteps running towards their location could be heard. The old lady started to panic once again, as a trio of thugs in familiar uniforms arrived at the area and confronted the trainers. "We weren't done taking things from you yet!"
"I knew it…I didn't want to believe it, but it's clear as day now." Melia said under her breath as she stepped a bit closer to the thugs. "These thugs are part of a criminal organisation called Team Xen."
"Team Xen!" Julius exclaimed, walking up to Melia's side. "Where the hell did you take my mother to, you bastards?!"
"Woah there, we don't know anything about your mom. That must've been some other grunt who snagged her. That said, I don't think I'm gonna tell you, even if I know where she is." The grunt at the front replied, a nasty sneer on his face.
"Bastards…" Julius growled under his breath, clenching his fists tightly.
"No need to get so angry kid; after all, we're no longer a running joke in Aevium. I'd consider that great news!" the female grunt commented in a rather whimsical tone of voice. "Anyway, we're just gonna continue what we started and then we'll—" she began, before taking a closer look at Melia and stepped back in surprise. "Hey guys, isn't she…"
"The main objective?" the other grunt answered, as wicked smiles appeared on the grunts faces. "Well, well, well. Looks like we've struck paydirt. You there, girl! Come with us and we'll let the others leave unscathed."
"Whhhaaaaaaaa…Y-You want the girl?" the old lady replied, as she struck a somewhat elegant pose. "Ohhhhh myyyyyyyy, I'll admit that I'm slightly honoured. So how long have you been eyeing lil ol' me up…?" Needless to say, everyone was rendered speechless by what they just witnessed.
"W-What on earth are you going on about?! Who on earth would want a gross old bag like you?! Can it, grandma!" One of the grunts barked viciously. "We're talking about this girl! The one with blonde hair, Melia."
"Me…you're here for me…?" Melia replied, pointing at herself.
"Hey fuck you, asshole!" Julius snapped at the offending grunt. "It's bad enough that you're harassing little old ladies, but I won't let you kidnap Melia!"
"Well would you look at that; Mr. Mommy Issues is trying to play the white knight card, what a hoot!" the female grunt chuckled. "Anyway, we were ordered to kidnap Melia, as we were tipped off about how she'll be here this very day."
'Tipped off, what did they mean by that? Who told them that Melia would be here today…?' Julius pondered to himself.
"I'll never go with the likes of you!" Melia declared boldly, as the grunts chuckled darkly in response.
"We figured you'd say that, so it looks like we're gonna have to take you by force!" the head grunt retorted, as he threw a Pokéball onto the ground and a Meowth popped out of it, except that it didn't look like any other Meowth. It's body was a dark purple and it was snarling harsher than a Meowth usually snarls.
"This Meowth doesn't look right…" Melia pointed out.
"Yeah, I've never seen anything like it." Julius commented.
"Oh, is it really that noticeable?" the grunt replied. "Tch, Madelis said that it wouldn't be apparent enough for people to realise…but I guess she was wrong. Whatever, you're right Melia, this isn't a normal Meowth, it's a Shadow Meowth!"
"S-Shadow Meowth?!" Julius exclaimed in shock.
"Yep. It's been subjected to an experiment that was thought to be long gone. But alas, we've recovered enough data to recreate our own army of Shadow Pokémon!" the grunt proudly proclaimed
"But that's impossible! That process was destroyed many years ago!" Melia protested.
"It was, but we brought it back from the dead. I think now's a perfect time to demonstrate the power of Shadow Pokémon to you fools!" the grunt sneered, as the Shadow Meowth got into a battle stance.
'Julius, I need you to enter 6489 in the code input on the briefcase my father told me to put it in if things get rough out here. Hurry!' Melia whispered into Julius' ear as he made a mad dash for the briefcase and put in the code he was told to. The suitcase made a satisfying 'click' as it opened and revealed a rather strange device that he hadn't seen before. It was a glove of sorts that had a small device attached to it where a Pokéball could be stored in. Speaking of, there were several Ultra Balls in a small bag beside the glove.
"What is this…?" he inquired, taking the glove out of the case and put it over his hand.
"If that's what I think it is, then I need you to place one of those Ultra Balls into the container and come over here!" Melia called out, as Julius did just that and made his way to her side. "Ok then, I need you to capture that Meowth. It goes against everything that you were taught when you were on your first journey, but it's the only way we can deal with this situation safely."
"You can't be serious! Do you really expect me to cower in fear of the kid with mommy issues?" the grunt called out arrogantly. "Alright then, I'll let you have a chance against me. Just don't go crying to mommy when I lose—oh wait, I forgot. You can't!"
The grunts started chuckling at the joke, as Julius had become uncomfortable all of a sudden, kicking the grass underneath his feet. "Alright then Meowth, put that kid out of his misery!"
The Shadow Meowth hissed at Julius, lunging towards the young man, who was barely able to dodge the incoming attack. He then took the Ultra Ball out of the storage capsule and threw it at the Meowth, striking it dead on as it was sucked into the Ultra Ball and started struggling to get out. After a few seconds of vigorous shaking, the light on the ball died down, indicating a successful capture.
"W-What?! My Meowth!" the grunt protested. "H-How could you snag my Meowth?!"
"So it is a Snag Machine, just as I'd hoped it was." Melia commented, picking up the Ultra Ball as she inspected the device. "Now what is it doing in this briefcase? Unless…"
"G-Give me back my Meowth!" The grunt demanded. "I raised it from an egg, you can't just take it away from me!"
"Well if you cared so much about it, then why did you experiment on it?" Julius inquired, the grunt clamming up in response.
"You'll both regret this! You'll never escape from this forest!" the female grunt warned them, as the trio ran away from the area.
"Well we both got out of that okay." Melia commented, turning to the other bystanders. "You three, stay in that cave for the time being and hide. We'll deal with the situation here."
"O-Ok then…" the old lady replied, as the trio proceeded to enter the cave behind them.
"Julius, we're going to escape from this area and divert Team Xen's attention away from here." Melia told him.
"Got it!" Julius replied, as they began to make their way through the forest.
0000
The grunt from before ran up a ledge as fast as his legs were able to and made his way to a tall blonde man standing by the water's edge, facing what looked like a large black and purple sphere in the air. There were a pair of grunts beside the man who acted as a lookout of sorts.
"S-Sir!" the grunt called out to the blonde man in a state of total fear.
*sigh* "And what is the matter now? You don't have her, do you?" The blonde man sighed in an annoyed tone, not even bothering to face the grunt.
"I-I failed my mission…" the grunt admitted,
"Tch…damn it!" the blonde man replied, turning to face the grunt. "What happened?"
"W-We found Melia, but she wasn't alone. There was this kid beside her, a guy a year or two older than her. He said something about us stealing his mother and wanted to seek revenge on us. So I tried attacking him with my Shadow Meowth but…but…he took my Meowth from me!" the grunt recalled, before his started sobbing profusely.
"Taken away, what do you mean by that?!" the blonde man demanded an answer.
"He had this Snag Machine of sorts on his arm! He just up and took my Meowth from me." The grunt replied hastily.
"A Snag Machine?! Why would Melia have one of those?! That's way too much of a coincidence…the only possibility is…" the blonde man exclaimed, as he started thinking to himself. "Hmph. Well the path to Wispy Path is blocked, so they'll have to come down this way. I'll be able to take the both of them on myself. You there, leave this place immediately!"
"Y-Yes sir!" the grunt replied, as he proceeded to leave the area.
"Eli, Shantelle, get ready. I'll need you to keep me safe until this is completed." The blonde man ordered the grunts beside him, referring to the large sphere in the air.
"It's Sharon, not Shantelle…" the orange-haired grunt sighed, correcting the blonde man.
"Sir…Yes!" the black haired grunt replied as the blonde man got back to work.
0000
Melia and Julius were running through the forest, ducking and weaving behind any trucks they saw to stay hidden from the Xen grunts. They had managed to make significant progress back to town, when they spotted a Xen grunt harassing a young lady, threatening to attack her with his Shadow Finneon.
"Hehehe…now be a good girl and I won't have to hurt you…" he sneered ominously, stepping closer towards her.
"Leave her alone!" Melia demanded, as the grunt turned to face the young couple.
"You! So you're the Melia I was tasked with capturing. Once I'm done with her, you're next. Unless of course, you provide a most generous incentive…" the grunt chuckled ominously, eyeing her up with lust.
"Here's a counter offer I have; back away now, and I won't have to sic my friend onto you." Melia retorted.
"Your friend? Oh I wonder where they could be. I'm so scared…" the grunt mocked her, only to get caught off guard by the sound of a Pokéball clicking, indicating a successful capture. He turned around and noticed that there was an Ultra Ball right where his Shadow Finneon was, as Julius picked up the ball. "M-My Finneon!"
"Maybe this'll teach you not to harass young women next time." Julius quipped, with the grunt gnashing his teeth in anger.
"Alright then, you want to play that game with me?! Then get a load of my Shadow Happiny!" the grunt sneered, as he sent out his second Shadow Pokémon. Like with the other two, the Happiny was colored a harsh purple and was snarling at the trainers.
"Another Shadow Pokemon? How generous of you; allow me to capture it like so…" Julius replied, throwing another Ultra Ball at the Shadow Happiny, sucking it up into the ball. It shook violently for a few seconds, before the light died down.
"I-Impossible! Both my Shadow Pokémon were snagged?!" the grunt cried out in disbelief. "Y-You'll pay for this!" He shouted, as he ran away from the area.
"T-Thanks for saving me from that man. Had you not arrived here in time, I fear what he would've done to me." The young woman thanked the two trainers.
"No need to thank us, we were just doing the right thing." Melia smiled, as Julius handed her the two Shadow Pokémon he had just caught. "Take care out there!"
"Yeah, you two take care." The young woman replied, as the three went their separate way. Melia and Julius continued to run through the forest, when they soon spotted a pair of grunts and a blonde man, looking over the lake as the purple and black sphere began to grow in size.
"Well, well…looks like our targets were kind enough to come right to us." Sharon commented, as she and Eli started down the trainers.
"Melia bad girl right? We capture them and sell them to high up?" Eli inquired, his improper sentence structure indicating that English wasn't his first language.
"Sell? We're not selling them, we're capturing them." Sharon reminded her partner. "I assume you meant that we give them to our leader, right."
"Yes, yes! That is what Eli mean!" Eli smiled cheerfully. "We kill them too, yes?"
"What?!" Melia exclaimed, attracting the couple's attention. "There's no way that we'll let you do that!"
*sigh* "What am I going to do with you, Eli…?" Sharon sighed to herself, smacking her face with her palm.
"Well you two can start by letting us be on our merry way then; I already dealt with two assholes earlier, don't make me add you to the list." Julius replied.
"Leave? Oh no, no, no. you two are not leaving here on your own volition." Sharon retorted.
"Yes, we are leaving; I don't care how obsessed you are with me, but we're leaving whether you like it or not." Melia stood her ground.
"See that's where you're wrong; you're not getting away, and you won't see this place ever again. You may as well give up as it's pointless to resist us." Sharon replied, crossing her arms.
"Never! We'll never give up!" Melia boldly declared, taking a Pokéball out of her pocket. "What do you say Julius, want to take these clowns out together?"
"Certainly." Julius agreed to the proposal, taking out a Pokéball as well. "They'll be dealt with fairly easily."
*sigh* "I guess we have to do this the hard way. Come on, Eli, let's shut them up for good. Go, Misdreavus!" Sharon called out as she sent out her Pokémon.
"Time for battle, Murkrow!" Eli called out as he sent out his Pokémon. The small bird perched itself onto the nearest tree branch with the Misdreavus floating nearby.
"Alright then, take to the sky, Happiness!" Melia threw her Pokémon, as a shiny Togekiss emerged from the Pokéball and proudly flew into the air, chirping happily while doing so.
"In that case, I'll call out Haagross!" Julius called out as well, as the familiar hagfish Pokémon slithered onto the battlefield and confronted the hostile trainers.
"Uhhh…" Eli was at a loss for words. "What we do Shardon?"
"I've got no idea how we're going to get out of this fight unscathed! And it's Sharon." She snapped, reminding Eli what her name was. "Misdreavus, use Psywave on that giant thing over there!" Sharon pointed at the Haagross, as the small ghost Pokémon emitted an eerie wave of psychic energy from the orbs around her neck. It struck Haagross dead on, the large hagfish shaking its head back and forth to recollect its thoughts, only to charge up a Thunderbolt and fired it at Misdreavus, causing the small ghost to cry out in pain before collapsing onto the ground, knocked out from the attack.
"Oh great, we're dealing with a bulky worm-thing that can shoot lightning bolts from its horns. Wonderful." Sharon commented sarcastically. "Guess it's all up to you, Eli."
"Shardon…" Eli inquired, before turning to his Murkrow. "Peck on happy bird." He pointed to Melia's Togekiss. His Murkrow, who was as unsure of things as its trainer, flew off the branch and started flying towards Togekiss, pointing it's sharp beak at it.
"Dodge and counter with Moonblast, Happiness!" Melia called out, as the Jubilee Pokémon nimbly dodged the incoming attack and began charging up lunar energy with its wings, before firing it at the enemy Murkrow, striking it head on and causing it to fall to the ground alongside Misdreavus, knocked out from the attack.
"Well this went just as I expected it to…" Sharon sighed in frustration as she and Eli recalled their fainted Pokémon. "Seems all my big talk was just that, big talk."
"And that's what you get for messing with the wrong team!" Julius grinned, as he and Melia high-fived each other. "Now are you going to step out of the way, or do we—" he began, only to get interrupted by a Pokémon cry coming from the left. The group of four turned and saw what looked like a shiny Garbodor running up towards them.
"I-Is that the Garbodor from earlier?" Melia inquired, taking a closer look at it. "It is! It is the Garbodor from back in the sewers!"
"Oh, look. A threat to the mission! Sorry, Zetta, but we've got to deal with this, right Eli?" Sharon called out to the blonde man.
"D-Do we?" Eli inquired.
"Absolutely, I mean it is our JOB to take care of threats. C'mon, let's go." Sharon called out, as the Garbodor ran back where it came from, as the two grunts followed it in hot pursuit.
"What a strange duo." Melia commented. "Well that's them taken care of; why don't we confront this Zetta character now?"
"Sure; I'm confident we can deal with him easily." Julius replied, as the duo made their way up the ledge to confront the blonde man, who was still focused on the large sphere in the air.
"Hmph, so Sandra and Eli weren't able to hold you two off? Sheesh, what are they feeding kids for breakfast these days?" He joked in a serious manner, as he turned around to face the two trainers. "I gotta give you props for making it this far—is that a Haagross by your side?"
"Yeah, it's one of my companions. Why'd you ask?" Julius replied, petting his Haagross.
"I was warned about a trainer with Pokémon hailing from the Tandor region, and it seems that you're the one I was told about. The name's Zetta, but I'm sure you already know that by know." The blonde man introduced himself, as Julius was about to get a better look at him. His hair was combed over for the most part, though it was quite spikey at the back. Zetta's outfit consisted of a grey shirt and pants that were covered by a large blue coat. "What's your name?"
"J-Julius…" the young man replied, unnerved by Zetta's sudden courtesy.
"Julius? What an odd name. Did your mother hate your or something?" Zetta inquired.
"Oh fuck you! My mother would never hate me! Speaking of which, tell me where she is right now!" Julius demanded, clenching his fists in anger.
"Okay then, I must've hit a soft spot." Zetta replied, turning to face Melia. "And you must be the Melia I was tasked with acquiring. Huh…so that's what you look like I guess things are starting to make sense now."
"Are they? Because I'm completely lost; you're just spewing utter nonsense!" Melia snapped in frustration. "Why would you attack Goldenwood Forest?! Why do you want me that badly?! Am I that important of a target?!"
"Well you answered your own question so I'll skip it. However I do want to know the story behind that Snag Machine that Julius is lugging around; where'd you get it anyway?" Zetta inquired.
"None of your business, jackass!" Melia retorted.
"On the contrary, that machine is definitely my business. See, it throws a huge spanner in a huge part of our operations. So hand it over, now." Zetta demanded, outstretching his hand.
"How about no? I'm not handing over diddly squat to a creep like you!" Julius replied, with Zetta sighing to himself.
"I expected you to say that, so I brought a little friend to speed up the negotiations." Zetta replied, as he pointed to the large sphere behind him. "I take it you know what this is?"
"I have no clue what that thing is…" Melia answered, as Julius was at a loss as well.
"Fantastic, that means I get to be teacher for a day!" Zetta grinned, clapping his hands. "So listen up! This, my humble students, is what you would call a Dimensional Rift. Spheres of incredible dark energy that are composed up of a single sacrifice. They may act as transportation, warping if you will, or as…deadly weapons!"
"Deadly weapons? That thing screams overkill!" Julius exclaimed.
"Hahaha! Right you are, it can be considered overkill. A gold star for Julius!" Zetta joked some more.
"So how deadly is this thing?" Melia inquired.
"Ah Melia, always the curious student. I like that." Zetta replied. "Just one of these things can wipe out an entire town within minutes. But conjuring up a Dimensional Rift takes a lot of effort and energy. Which is why it's a last resort, so to speak. I don't want to use it willy-nilly, which is why I'll battle Julius to see if I need to use it. If I win, I'll take Melia and the Snag Machine. If I lose however, you'll get to see first-hand what this thing is capable of. Sound fair, right?"
"Fair my ass, this is a lose-lose situation!" Julius protested. "After all, I'm not just some ordinary trainer from Tandor. I'm the Champi—" he began, before clamping his mouth shut upon realising what a foolish idea it was to reveal that bit of information.
"Huh, you were right about things being unfair. There's no way I'd be able to defeat a Champion. Oh well, I guess I have to use my last resort after all." Zetta replied, turning towards the Dimensional Rift.
'Melia, we can't risk losing the Snag Machine to the Dimensional Rift. So you take it and keep it safe. He wouldn't do anything to harm you.' Julius whispered to Melia, as he took off the Snag Machine and gave it to her.
"Sounds like a plan." Melia replied, as she took the Snag Machine and wore it over her hand. "Hmmmm, this is quite the comfy fit. I'll make sure that Zetta doesn't get his dirty mitts on it."
"In that case…" Julius said, returning his Haagross to its Pokéball, before turning to face Zetta. "Hey asshole! Why don't you give me your best shot?"
"Oh, you're that eager to die? I'd be happy to indulge you then." Zetta replied. "Dimensional Rift, it's time to wake up!"
The large sphere started to glow harshly as it started to change colors from purple to blue to grey to black and back to purple quite rapidly. Within an instant, a small vortex emerged from the sphere and started to drag Julius towards the Dimensional Rift, surprising the young man as he was being lifted into the air.
"J-Julius!" Melia cried out, returning her Togekiss and made a mad dash for Julius, grabbing his hands tightly and attempted to drag him away from the vortex. However it was too strong for Melia to resist, as she started moving closer and closer to the sphere.
"M-Melia. Don't worry about me, I'll find a way out of this thing!" Julius called out to her.
"I won't leave you behind!" Melia replied, as she mustered all the strength that she could, and was able to gain a small amount of ground.
"Oh for the love of—" Zetta scoffed to himself, picking up a small rock and threw it at Melia, causing her to wince in pain and let go of Julius, as he was soon sucked up into the Dimensional Rift.
"J-JULIUS!" Melia cried out in fear, having witnessed her friend getting sucked up by the Dimensional Rift.
Sorry for the cliff-hanger, but I figured it was the perfect time to end this chapter. Some of you may be surprised that Julius didn't get to fight Zetta, but that'll give Melia another chance to shine in the next chapter. Speaking of which, if things go to plan, the next chapter should contain the first Gym Battle between Julius and Venam. As for the part where Melia's Togekiss used Moonblast, I know that Togekiss can't learn the move, but I figured it'll make sense for her Togekiss to have it, since Melia is very special.
I'll catch you all in the next chapter. See ya!
