Pokemon Rorroh Episode 4: The Festival of Fate! A Heart of Hope

The next day, Winter and Jack take their seats among a crowd of other villagers and tourists who are excited for the ceremony to commence. A villager wearing a Darmanitan tribal mask gives Winter a parka to wear over her outfit to blend in with everyone else's outfit. Jack becomes upset because the villager never gave him a brown parka due to the fact that he is still wearing the pink poncho Winter gave him the day before. Wade and Ashley sit on Winter's lap also ready to view the ceremony. Then, the audience goes silent when a Salandit and a Vulpix jump on opposite sides of the stage. Two more villagers wearing a Krookodile and a Banette mask respectively commands the Pokemon to attack in a different language. This language is native to the Drem Tribe. Salandit and Vulpix use Ember to light five torches on each side of the stage, then they light a giant torch in the center. The audience goes wild when the torch is lit. Some of the villager in the crowd start a chant as the curtain behind the giant torch is opened and the musicians play a classic song "Drem Godos", the anthem of the Drem Tribe which means "Dream God" in Drem Tribe language. The Elder Council goes up onto the stage with their partner pokemon and among them is Casey with Hoppi by her side. Elder Dremlin is the last to go on the stage with her shiny dragonair and walks up to the podium. The crowd goes silent.

"Drem Tribe, and other visitors who seek to share our beliefs, we are gathered here once more for our annual Drem Village festival. This year is our 1005th celebration of our Drem Godos, the once who guides our lives, Jewlmast. Ever since the world began, Jewlmast has been watching over every single living thing with her Fate Jewel. She is the one who knows our future, who knows when we will live, and knows when we will die. Her home, the sacred Heart Lake is to always be a symbol of our religion and a symbol of the Drem Tribe itself. Many wonder, why do we call Jewlmast the Dream God. Thousands of years ago, Jewlmast visited the hero of Rorroh in their dreams before the great apocalypse was going to occur. She granted the hero a gift to be friends with pokemon and the use their bonds to save the world."

Jack leans over to Winter and whispers. "I don't buy it. There is not way a human can talk to a pokemon."

"But you can understand Wade and Ashley."

"That's because I am a pokemon now. I can speak to humans. It's not that rare for a pokemon to talk like a human."

"Now, without further adeu, I will introduce our regional professor, Jade Ivory and famous Kanto professor Samuel Oak!" Oak and Ivory go onto the stage with Oak holding a handbag.

Ivory is the first to speak. "Thank you very much Great Elder Dremlin. As many of you know, every year I host a special battle competition with eight trainers. The prize is usually a starter pokemon from a specific region. Last year, we had the marvelous Professor Sycamore here to hand out the Kalos pokemon Chespin. However, since we have Professor Oak here this year, we have a bigger surprise."

Oak speaks. "The winner of the competition this year gets all three of the Kanto starter pokemon." The crowd gets excited. "Yes, Bulbasaur, Charmander, and Squirtle will all go to the winning trainer. That competition will begin in a little bit. Now, I am happy to introduce the Vill Mill Band with their rendition of "Old Man River"."

As the band plays, a hooded figure dressed in black shows up in the town. He ignores one of the town greeters and walks straight into the woods. He climbs the tallest tree he can find and takes off his cloak. The man is wearing a silver and black mask with two holes cut out for his eyes. He is wearing a mechanical body suit and sends out his Sandshrew who has a black bandana around his neck. The man opens his suitcase that is filled with eighteen different colored vials. He takes out one labeled "NM" and is the only one that has liquid in it. He rolls up his sleeve and reveals a scar on his left arm as if someone did surgery on him. The man injects the serum into himself as Sandshrew watches. The man puts the vial back as the effects begin to kick in and he goes into shock and falls out of the tree. The Sandshrew grabs the suitcase and slides down the tree to see his trainer.

Winter sits in the Pokemon Center with Wade. Nurse Joy comes in with Ashley who has just healed. Casey runs in with Hoppi and meets up with Winter. "Are you ready? We're battling in the first round!"

"Really? That's cool."

"Aren't you excited? This is how its gonna begin! This is how we're gonna become rivals!"

"Right." I totally forgot about that. She's entering contests too and we're gonna be rivals. I never had a rival before.

Winter and Casey get called onto the battlefield. In the audience, Wade pouts because Winter chose Ashley over him. He is sitting next to Jack. Winter and Casey send out their pokemon and the referee says "Battle Begin!"

Casey is the first to attack. "Let's do this right Hoppi! Use Pound!" Hoppi rushes in to use Pound, but Ashley dodges it with ease. "Use Pound again!"

When Ashley dodges multiple times in a row, Winter reacts. "Use Swift!" Swift lands a hit on Hoppi.

Casey gets nervous and looks at Elder Dremlin who is sitting on her special throne. It's obvious that she had never had a real battle before. "Um… um… use Jump Kick!" Hoppi jumps and actually hits Ashley, causing a ton of damage. "Use Quick Attack and circle Ashley!"

"Ashley, use Quick Attack to dodge!" Hoppi and Ashley race around the battlefield. Hoppi keeps trying to land a hit, but Ashley is too fast and is able to land a Bite on Hoppi and throws her across the field. "Use Dig!" Ashley goes into the ground.

Casey begins to panic. "Uh-uh! Hoppi, use Quick Attack!" Hoppi uses Quick Attack, but it isn't any use because Ashley hits Hoppi head on. Hoppi crashes to the ground and faints. The referee declares Hoppi unable to battle and Casey runs out to the field. "Hoppi! Hoppi!" She picks up Hoppi in her arms and Hoppi slightly awakens. "I'm so sorry."

"That was fun Casey!" Winter goes up to Casey. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, its just that, I thought we would win."

They head towards the Pokemon Center. "It's okay Case, there's always next year. You can train and get better."

A while later, Winter is alone in the Pokemon Center when Jack and Casey run in. "Winter! I'm so sorry. I can't believe that guy beat you." Casey hugs Winter.

"It was obvious that she was gonna lose. The guy had a Pignite for Pete's sake! It was a bulky Fighting type and Ashley was weak against him." Jack stated without any holding back.

"Thanks Mr. Rude. Why can't you be nice for a change?" Casey got riled up. "The entire battle you were like, 'Pignite's gonna win' or like 'Ashley can't compete with that'. Can't you care for your friends for a change?"

Winter intrudes. "Listen, when Ashley gets healed, why don't we get lunch."

"Fine." Both of her friends say in a low tone.

In the woods, the man awakens and stands up. He takes out a device and turns it on and it sends out a sonar pulse. "Backup plan B is a go." His voice is disguised by a device in his mask.

Everyone is in the Pokemon Center having lunch and sort of getting along. The man enters the town and throws a ball into a well next to the stage. The ball explodes and gains everybody's attention. The man walks onto the stage and grabs the microphone out of Oak's hand. The winner of the competition with Pignite tries to attack, but the man's Sandshrew uses Rollout and knocks out Pignite in multiple hits. "Residents of Drem Village, I am Conner. I am here to use your guardian, Jewlmast for an experiment I am conducting. I will give you all a chance to summon Jewlmast and give it to me, or suffer with the destruction of your peaceful home."

Elder Dremlin glares at him from her seat. "Young man, how dare you threaten our home! You should be ashamed of yourself to think that we would help you capture Jewlmast."

"Great Elder Dremlin, you do not understand what is going to occur. I have been told by the spirits that I am supposed to be Rorroh's next savior. And I will do anything necessary to achieve that goal."

"I doubt that the Rorroh Hevannas would choose a man like you to be our savior."

"Sandshrew, use Poison Sting!" Conner commands Sandshrew.

"Dragonair use Blizzard." Dragonair freezes up Sandshrew's Poison Sting. "Use Dragon Tail." Dragonair hits Sandshrew and knocks him out. "I believe I have made my point young man. Now leave our home!"

Winter, Jack, and Casey hurry to the scene where the entire village is watching Conner. Conner smirks and laughs in an evil tone. "I knew you were strong Great Elder." He returns Sandshrew. Conner takes out his device. "Time for the real show to begin." He presses a button that lets out a sonic shriek that hurts everyone's ears. A Flamethrower appears out of nowhere and burns up a hut. A Hydreigon comes out of the forest with black glowing eyes and attacks the crowd. Two Scolipede use Steamroller on a group of juveniles who cannot escape quick enough. A horde of Beedrill speed out and shoot Poison Stings at a large group of people. Some of these people are poisoned badly. A Pangoro comes out and launches a Dark Pulse to destroy half of the stage. The torches fall to the ground and set half of the town on fire as Conner goes through the flames unharmed and throws Elder Dremlin off the stage. Dragonair goes to attack Conner, but when Conner presses another button, Pangoro rams into Dragonair.

"Holy shit!" Jack exclaims as the village is being destroyed. "This went from zero to a hunna real quick!"

"Casey!" Winter screams noticing that Casey has vanished. "Casey!" Winter grabs Jack. "She's gone."

Jack laughs. "She was annoying anyways. Let's ditch this and go to Quinntown."

"We have to find her before she gets hurt. Are you heartless?!" Winter pauses. "Heart Lake. She's at the lake!" Winter grabs Jack and runs to the lake where she sees Casey crying in fear. "Casey! You're alright!"

Casey holds Hoppi tight. "It's happening again…"

Before Winter can help Casey, a Hydreigon destroys the wooded area and creates a path leading towards the lake. Conner strolls over with Hydreigon. "Do you like it? I created it myself. It sends out a pulse to override the brains of any pokemon in the area I choose. I only choose the strongest there is."

Jack backs up. "Listen, Conner, I'll tell you this, I don't care what you do as long as I don't get burnt to a crisp. We good?" Hydreigon uses Tri-Attack and everyone is able to get away from it. "Dude!"

"Give me Jewlmast. Summon it!"

Casey stands up. "We can't summon Jewlmast! Jewlmast summons us!"

Conner takes out another device and scans the heat readings on the lake. He spots Jewlmast using the energy seeker. "There! Hydreigon attacks with Dark Pulse at seemingly nothing, but the Dark Pulse lands and Jewlmast's invisible cover is blown. It lands into the water and Conner steps into the lake with a suitcase and a collar. "This was too easy." Out of nowhere, a Swift and Bubblebeam knock Conner away from Jewlmast.

Winter gets up with a limp. "You won't get Jewlmast!"

A Dragon Pulse hits Hydreigon and knocks it out. Elder Dremlin and Dragonair backed by the Elder Council and other pokemon. "It's over Conner! You may have caught us off guard, but we defended our home and stopped your little crusade!"

Conner sends out another pulse and controls all the village pokemon. He makes them attack one another. Wade and Ashley also get affected and Jack falls to the ground as he transforms back into Zorua. Wade and Ashley start to attack each other viciously and Winter go up to them to hold them back. She falls onto the ground with Wade and Ashley in each arm, their eyes blacker than coal. Winter screams for them to stop, but they soon attack her with Bite and Peck. Winter's arms and legs bleed from the attacks, but she tries her best to help her best friends. Conner is surprised by Winter's actions and laughs. Conner then does the unthinkable. He uses Mega Punch on Winter and hits her in the gut, knocking her back.

"That was Mega Punch!" Jack yells. "He can use pokemon moves!"

"That's right. I'm a pokeman. There are still hybrids out there. I'm just brave enough to embrace it!" Conner laughs as his hands charge up a beam aimed at Wade and Ashley. Winter is able to use the rest of her strength to push her pokemon into the lake as Conner unleashes Hyper Beam at Winter.

"WINTER!" Jack runs at Conner and uses Scratch. Conner avoids it, but Jack destroys the mind control device and all the other pokemon go back to normal. Wade and Ashley breach the water's surface to breathe and realize what had happened. The villagers and their pokemon surround Conner, but he uses Smokescreen and is able to escape.

Wade and Ashley see Winter limp on the ground after the dust from the Hyper Beam attack clears out. Winter's clothes are ripped and tattered. Half of her face is covered in burns and she is covered in blood. The Quinntown ambulance arrives as all the villagers are told to leave the scene, including a distraught Casey, now scarred by the image of Winter. Jack, Wade, and Ashley stay huddled by Winter, hoping for a sign that she is still alive. The paramedics shock her several times before pronouncing Winter's death. They put her into the truck with Jack, Ashley, and Wade still by her side.

Winter opens her eyes, and squints when the sunlight hits them. She sits up and looks around and sees that she is still at Heart Lake, but nobody is around. The sun starts to set and Winter gazes at the pinkish colored sky.

"Hello Winter."

Winter turns around and sees Jewlmast floating in the air. "Jewlmast?"

"I am very proud of your actions today Winter. Not many trainers would take a hit like that for their pokemon."

"Where are they? Wade, Ashley, Jack, everyone else."

"They're at the Quinntown hospital with you." Jewlmast's tone becomes sorrowful. "Your sacrifice was a costly one."

Winter tears up. "I'm…. dead… I-I can't."

Jewlmast sighs. "I'm sorry Winter. It was fate. Your death was a meaningful one."

"Oh, what do I do now?"

"Well, usually spirits see the great Godosus for their summoning into the underworld, purgatory which means roaming around the Earth, or to earn a spot in Godosus's Skyview."

"And you're gonna take me there?"

"I, I thought about it." Jewlmast circles Winter. "I've been watching you for a long time, Winter. You've heard about the Hero of Rorroh tale, or maybe part of it from Elder Dremlin. It's been thousands of years since we've found someone who can help us in our fight against the dark evils of the world. Of course, now, Godosus is skeptical about people today and if there will be someone who can bring peace in our time. However, I've decided to change fate."

"What do you mean?"

"I've seen what happens in the future and if us Hevannas cannot stop it, we need a hero that can. I see a heart of gold in you Winter. And you give me hope that we can make a better future. That is why I've decided to help you on your journey. I will give you something no other normal human has ever had and it will let you bond with not only your pokemon more, but all pokemon in a certain way for the good of all pokemon and mankind." Jewlmast touches Winter's head and Winter is knocked out again.