Chapter 4!

Chapter 4: Wild Pokémon Modifier: Shiny

The group had set forward, with Cynthia on a litter carried by Red and Green.

Ethan pointed. "That's Ecruteak City. We should be able to…" He stopped as he noticed something.

The Kimono Dance Theater had been destroyed, and the Burned Tower, previously destroyed, stood tall and proud. "What the Distort?"

Lyra walked forward. "Huh? Why is the Burned Tower not destroyed?"

Green almost shrugged. "I don't know, but we need to get Cynthia here to a hospital, quick."

Red pointed at the hospital. Green nodded. "Yeah, come on, Red." The duo pulled the litter down the hill.

The eleven-year-old's black eyes narrowed. This city seemed to be messed up, too. The little girl remembered when she stayed in a hotel, here. According to many very old witnesses, the Burned Tower was destroyed 150 years ago. Why was it standing now?

Crystal pulled out the egg as she and her friends sat in the hospital, waiting for a doctor to report about Cynthia. Blue glanced over, and was very surprised. Crys was actually crooning and rubbing the egg! "Crys… are you okay? Did you bump your head or something?"

Crys put a finger to her lips. "Ssssshh…"

Ethan looked at her funny. From what he knew of Lyra's counterpart, she wasn't one to be very maternal. "Is that egg…?"

Crys smiled gently. "Arceus is the father… I suppose I could be the mother…"

The hospital doors flung open, and a man was brought in with burn marks on his face. "I'm not crazy! Ho-oh is there, and Lugia too! They're on the towers! They are!"

A nurse nodded and brought him to the next room. "Of course they are… of course…"

Yellow looked at Ethan. "Hey, what is it about Ho-oh and Lugia here?"

Ethan shrugged. "Quite a while ago, I brought the Rainbow Wing to Ho-oh, and it was calmed. It was pretty, and I didn't like the idea of catching it, so I allowed it to go free. Afterwards, the Rainbow Wing vanished."

Lyra smiled. "He's so… nice…"

Yellow pulled her hat off of her back. "I have the Rainbow and Silver Wings… We should go see what the Legendary birds are all about."

A doctor came in. "Okay, the patient is in tip-top condition. She only had some minor hypothermia, but it was cured pretty quickly, so she's ready to go."

Cynthia walked in, pushing the guy aside. "Yeah, yeah, go diagnose something over there." She walked up to Green. "Hey, thanks for earlier. If you weren't holding on to me, I would have been stuck in those ruins."

Green nodded. "Of course. I am glad that you're alright."

Ethan waved his hand. "Hey, just to be sure… you are the Sinnoh League Champion, right?"

Cynthia nodded. "Yeah, that's me."

Ethan walked forward holding a hand out. "Ethan, Champion of the Indigo League."

Cynthia smiled and shook hands. "It's so rare that I meet another Champion. Maybe after everything is over, we could get all the Champions to come and battle."

Ethan grinned. "I'd like you to meet someone greater than I."

Cynthia frowned. "Oh?"

Ethan pointed over his shoulder. "Our silent friend here is Red, the Pokémon Master."

Cynthia looked. "Who?"

Ethan turned around. Red wasn't there, and neither was Leaf. "Ooh… he probably is spending time with his girlfriend…"

Red smiled at Leaf. "You're so beautiful…"

Leaf smiled coquettishly and kissed him. "Says my strong Pokémon Master."

Red held her. "After this is over, I hope Ethan wins against me. I could get used to this…"

Leaf frowned and mock-hit him. "You know that I'm going to stay with you even if you remain on that big mountain of yours."

The door opened and Yellow strode into the unused room they were in, talking over her shoulder. "Okay, doctor, but maybe they're in here…" She noticed the situation almost immediately and froze.

The doctor behind her busied himself. "Actually, I think that the bandages are over in this cabinet… Yellow?"

Red and Leaf stared at Yellow, who stared right back. Yellow took a step back. "Red…"

Red looked at her without any emotion. He felt nothing for the blonde girl, and couldn't understand why she was attached to him.

Yellow looked at that face and fled, crying.

Red sighed. "I knew this was going to happen sooner or later. Maybe when we find Node, we can teleport Yellow into her own Red's arms…"

Crystal was holding a weeping Yellow. "Yellow… what's wrong?"

Yellow started to talk, hiccupping. "…Just trying to be helpful for the doctor… Red… and her…"

Crystal lifted Yellow's head. "You found Red and… Leaf?"

Yellow was still crying. "Um-hm…"

Crystal frowned. "Why aren't you crying to Blue? I'm not sure how to help you, Yellow…"

Yellow cried even louder. "Because… Leaf and Blue… are…"

Crystal mentally smacked herself. Of course. Despite the Red of this world not being Yellow's Red, the images of Red and Leaf together would be close enough to Yellow's Red and Blue together that it would distress Yellow to no end. "Oh, Yellow…"

Everyone finally got out of the building, with Yellow not looking at Blue, Leaf, or Red. Blue was confused. "Hey… what's wrong, Yellow?"

Yellow didn't answer, but instead talked to Ethan. "We should separate, one group to the Burned Tower, and one to the Bell Tower. I say Red, Blue, Leaf, and Cynthia should go to the Burned Tower, and Ethan, Lyra, Green, Crystal, and I should go to the Bell Tower." She handed the Silver Wing to Cynthia.

Blue crossed her arms. "Okay… be that way!"

The girl looked left and right. Red's group was separating… which way should she go? Who should she follow?

She followed the smaller group, the one with the identical girls.

Blue was fuming up the steps. "What's her problem? She's never this cold…"

Leaf took her arm. "She found Red and me together."

Blue stopped, hesitated, and then put a hand to her face. "Of course… that would make sense. The image of me and Red…"

Leaf cocked her head. "When were you with my Red?"

Blue shook her head. "No, I wasn't. The Red of our world, the one Yellow likes, is close enough to your Red to get confused. And I look a lot like you… So the idea of me with her Red would be enough to scar her."

Leaf nodded, putting the pieces together. "I see…"

Cynthia pushed the group along. "Hey, separate your personal lives from this thing. We're going to need to be focused if we're going to stop the person you talked about, Node."

Ethan was nostalgic. "It looks exactly as I remember it…"

Crystal nodded. "It does… surprisingly."

Ethan turned to her. "You were in a Bell Tower where you were from?"

Crystal laughed. "Suicune chose me as its trainer, and Ho-oh and Lugia fought me."

Lyra looked hesitant. "That guy Eusine won't be happy."

Crystal turned around quickly. "This world has a Eusine, too?"

Green ushered them up the stairs. "Time's being wasted, people…"

Cynthia looked at the impossibility. "How can this be?"

There were two flights of stairs that seemed to just hang out from the twin towers. They flowed together, and they led to a podium that had no visible support.

The groups met each other as they climbed. Ethan's group was confused as well.

Leaf scratched her head. "I suppose there was no point in us separating…"

Green shook his head. "I don't think that this existed at any other time, but it exists now."

The group of nine (ten, with the girl following) headed up, and they saw something remarkable. Ho-oh sat on the right, with Raikou, Suicune, and Entei sitting in a triangle around it. Lugia sat on the left with Zapdos, Articuno, and Moltres sitting in a similar pattern around it. Node was standing in front of them, looking back and forth between them.

Node frowned. "This is unfortunate. Why does there have to be two master birds? I cannot think of any instance where two is better than one or three. If there were three, I could understand… After all, three is the most powerful number in the system."

Leaf stepped forward. "Node, what are you doing here?"

Node turned and examined the group. "Ah, it seems there are more people. Red, Leaf, Ethan, Yellow, Crystal, Blue, Lyra, Green, Cynthia."

Cynthia looked murderous. "According to Arceus, you were the reason for the Sinjoh Ruins event. You caused me to endure the elements for five days before this group arrived."

Node cocked his head to the left. "A bunch of matter interacted with particles moving at a slow speed, resulting in a process of shut-down in a certain female Champion."

Crystal was confused. "What?"

Node looked at Lyra. "Lyra, or Kotone, or even 'Soul'… counterpart of Ethan, Crystal, and Lyra… generally found to be obnoxious by most people."

Lyra put her hands on her hips. "Hey!"

Node turned to Green. "Blue the Gym leader… or is it Green?"

Green frowned. "I'm Green."

Node looked around. "Must be a Japanese version… but I'm speaking English… Oh well. Green, counterpart of Green and Gary."

Green seemed puzzled. "What's that supposed to mean? 'Counterpart?'"

Node turned away from the group and started muttering to himself. Yellow stepped forward. "Hey, what you're doing could cause this world to collapse. Now, I'm sure you don't want that, so why don't you remove all of the Holes, put everything back to normal, and return Blue, Crys, and me to our own dimension."

Node turned towards Yellow, amused. "Whoa, cowgirl. You think that I would just give in to whatever you ask? I am the most powerful being in this world. I can do anything! The Holes are the world's way of trying to correct itself. The universe fixes itself. 'Normal,' as you call it, is a relative term and Pokémon type. As for returning you to 'your own dimension'…" Node smirked evilly. "There isn't any dimension for you to return to."

Blue, Crys, and Yellow jumped. "What?"

Node waved his hand, admiring a ring on his finger. "I simply created you. Your bodies, your memories, your personality… All created from a few good lines of code."

Yellow sat down quickly. "I'm never going… to see Red… again?"

Node actually laughed. "You never even saw him in the first place! You only remember seeing him! Such ridiculous people!"

Cynthia sent out her Garchomp, Green sent out Missingno, Red sent out Pikachu, Ethan released Typhlosion, Leaf sent out her Dragonair.

Yellow, Crystal, and Blue were too hurt by Node's words to react. Lyra tried to get their attention, but failed. "Hey, guys! We have a battle on here! Guys?"

Node waved a hand dismissively. "You think you can destroy me with two dragons, a mouse, a Hole, and a Typhlosion? Ha! Behold my power!" He pulled out a device and tapped its touch-screen.

Leaf frowned. Node was acting different than he did on the mountain. Node acted calm and collected on Mt. Silver, but here he seemed almost maniacal.

Node grinned. "Let's go!" With a final swish of his stylus, the ancient Legendary birds and beasts awoke, and abruptly changed in color.

Ethan was shocked. "What? They're… shiny?"

"Shiny…" Blue murmured.

Ethan nodded. "They're a different color from usual!"

Node smiled. "These are my Pokémon, now. The master of beasts and the master of birds are under my control! The beasts and minor birds themselves won't be mine, but they will still be under my command."

Crys snapped out of her stupor. "More than six Pokémon? Impossible!"

Node shook his head. "No! Not more than six! Two, only! The others are just along for the ride!"

Lugia cried its echoing cry. Ho-oh screamed its fury. Node looked triumphant. "Vanquish them all!"

Lugia sucked air in through its mouth, and Ho-oh charged its flames. The bird trio prepared Blizzard, Thunderbolt, and Flamethrower. The beast trio prepared Surf, Eruption, and Thunder.

"Garchomp, Dragon Rush!" Cynthia's Garchomp rushed forward and tackled Lugia.

Node looked menacing. "Lugia, Aeroblast!"

Lugia exhaled the blast, and Garchomp went spinning down to earth. Node smiled. "Even a single greater level matters." He looked at his screen. "That Garchomp is level 78? Meet a level 83 Lugia!"

Cynthia looked bewildered. "Level? What are you talking about?"

Crystal stepped forward. "Let me deal with this. Red, can I borrow your Pika?"

Red looked at her. Pika? A nickname? He nodded.

Node just laughed. "What can you do? I made you! You plan to attack the Legendary Pokémon of Johto with an electric mouse? I will destroy you, even if that Pikachu's level 88."

Crystal looked at Pikachu. "Pikachu, I'm trusting you to do what has only been done once before, but against the same opponents."

Yellow looked up. The same? That must mean…

Node shook his head. "Ho-oh! Sacred Fire!"

Crystal stepped forward, with all of the dignity she could muster. "Pikachu, Megavolt!"

Node's mouth opened in surprise. "Mega…"

The Sacred Fire washed forward, but was stopped by Leaf's Dragonair, who jumped in the way, taking all of the damage. Pikachu charged its energy, letting the power flow through it, and released.

The electricity washed over the eight legendary Pokémon, and one by one, they fell to the Megavolt's power. Node gasped. "What? A move from the manga world? What is this?"

Crystal smiled. "This Red's Pikachu and Red's Pika are connected in a special way. Both know how to use Megavolt, but this Pikachu simply never has."

Node shook his head. "That does not have any logic to it! You and your counterpart are different people! Power, energy, consciousness… these are things that do not flow between worlds! It wouldn't flow to begin with! There isn't another world that has data to be transferred!"

Crys' smile grew wider. "You wouldn't understand. Spirit is not a thing that can be calculated!"

Node scratched his chin. "Ha! Spirit? Oh well, the data, the power involved with 'Megavolt'… must have resulted in the loss of HP. Return, Ho-oh, Lugia. I've officially whited out!"

The bird trio and the beast trio shot glares at Crystal. Node smiled. "Another day, then…" He vanished, along with the Pokémon that followed their masters.

The ground started shaking. Blue shrieked. "Without Node to support it, this overhang's collapsing!"

Ethan kissed Lyra, who looked at him funny. "Um… Ethan? What was that for?"

Ethan smiled. They had managed to get to the ground unharmed. "Well, I would kiss the ground in thankfulness that we're alive, but that would be disgusting. So, instead, I kissed the best thing I could think of."

Lyra blushed. "Oh, how sweet…"

Green was panting. "Crystal, I don't understand what you did, but… I'm glad you did it."

Crystal nodded. "That was a move used by Yellow with… Pika…"

Yellow held her head. "All of our memories were fabricated? Why would he do something like that?"

Blue made a grim face. "Perhaps Node enjoys suffering."

Yellow suddenly was determined. "Okay, now I know what we're going to do."

The girl following them crept forward to listen carefully.

Yellow put her hands on her hips. "When we defeat Node, we'll get him to push all of the Holes outside of this world, and restore the destroyed and damaged cities to normal. After that, we'll have him create our own world."

Everyone gaped. Lyra was first to speak. "Is that even possible?"

Yellow flushed at everyone staring at her. "I don't really know, but it's all I have to live for right now."

Blue nodded. "Yeah. I don't know about the rest of you who are from this world, but I don't feel like I belong here. If it's possible… I would like to see my Green… and Silver again…"

Crystal nodded. "Yeah! After we save this world, we'll recreate our own, with Node's power!"

Red smiled, and then to everyone's astonishment, he spoke. "I will aid you. You have the Master's respect."

Cynthia looked at all the surprised faces. "What? Is it unusual for Red to speak?"

Node was in a Pokémon Center. "Blast it all… I should have used a few battle codes…"

A nurse with pink hair smiled as the machine behind her healed his Pokémon in about three seconds. "Okay! Your Pokémon are healed to full health! We hope to see you again!"

Node looked at her. She must be crazy. "You hope to see me again? You hope that my Pokémon are injured so badly that I'm forced to come to you? What are you, a sadist?"

The nurse was suddenly concerned. "No, it's… what all nurses say…"

Node pulled out his device. "Yeah, yeah, I can change that…"

A boy received his Pokémon back from the nurse next to Node. "Thanks, nurse!"

The nurse suddenly glowered. "You're welcome! Quit hurting your Pokémon, you idiot!"

The boy cried and ran out, and the first nurse looked at Node. "Um… if that thing changes what we say… why not change it to something nice?"

Node face-palmed. "It's not nice to injure a natural-born Pokémon. Why should it be nice that people come in here with them? I say that battles should be to the death, and not simply to unconsciousness. Maybe then weak trainers will learn that they should give up. If all the weak trainers gave up battling, I could conquer this whole stupid planet with a slice of cheese."

Node walked out, leaving behind a very shocked nurse.

Green and the others surrounded Green's Missingno. "Hey, Missingno. Where is Node now?"

The Missingno duplicated a Hoenn map. Blue frowned. "Hoenn, huh? I wonder if we'll see Ruby and Sapph's counterparts…"

Ethan frowned. "Ruby and Saff? Who're they?"

Crystal smiled. "Ruby and Sapphire are our Hoenn juniors. Come to think of it, maybe Emerald's double is there, too!"

Leaf poked Blue. "Hey, ego-girl. Why are you all named after colors or gemstones? Seems like the heroes' parents in your world aren't actually that bright…"

Blue smiled. "Well, as much as I want to take that as an insult, we actually don't have any parents… kind of. We were all made by Node, so I don't mind you insulting him- he's sort of a father, right?"

Yellow frowned. "That's a perverse idea. I don't like it."

Crystal was holding her egg again. "Lalalala… over the rocky shores…"

Missingno floated over the map and 'pointed' at a city. Cynthia leaned closer. "Ever Grande City? What's Node doing there?"

Lyra smiled and answered. "I don't know!"

Okay, that's it for this chapter. Thanks again to all who've reviewed!