Lori's second class couldn't have dragged on for any longer. Seriously.
She stared blankly as the teacher spoke to the class, summarising Pokemon and their unique abilities on the whiteboard in front of her.
Static, wasn't it? The one that did some kind of status condition upon contact? Lori honestly couldn't remember... Too many thoughts were flooding her mind.
"Miss Lori, can you please tell me what ability allows the defending Pokemon to be cured of any status condition upon switching out of battle?"
Oh crap...
Lori shook with anxiety as sweat dripped down her forehead. There was no way she could fail class on the first day. Damn it... Why had she not listened the entire period? Also, why did the teacher have to pick her out anyway? Out of all these fifteen students...
Mrs. Saisha lowered her glasses as she gazed in Lori's direction. "I am waiting for an answer."
Um.
A sharp voice cut through the atmosphere. It was Harper.
"Natural Cure Ms. Saisha. The answer is Natural Cure."
Well, that was awkward. Frustration burned like a furnace within Lori's body at the conclusion of that horrendous boy answering her question.
"I didn't need your help Harper!" She hissed. The boy cackled in response.
"Well you could have fooled me because it sure seemed like the opposite."
"Arghhh!"
Lori had almost hit breakpoint with Harper after his creepy incident earlier on. She would find out and expose his secrets soon enough.
Once the school bell had rang for morning tea, Lori stormed towards Harper's desk, who in return shot her a crooked smile.
"Don't you dare smile at me Harper!"
"Oooo you're a feisty one today Miss Rose. I surely could get used to this."
Lori could barely contain the fury that ached to burst from deep within her. She wanted to punch him right there, and badly. Studying to become a Pokemon Trainer was one thing... But knowing about the purple Pokemon in trouble and not doing anything to save it? Lori felt as though she had a duty to protect Pokemon in danger regardless of if she made a scene in front of the entire class or not.
"Stop playing games with me Harper. You know everything about that purple Pokemon living next door to my house and you know it! On another note, you might even be Mr. Rude Boy who lives there and treats the poor creature with such torment. It wouldn't surprise me honestly, you act and sound exactly like he did!"
Lori immediately noticed that dark hue of blood-red gradually fill his striking yellow eyes. Almost instantaneously, they returned back to normal.
"I don't know anything."
"You are a liar!" As her index finger forcefully poked Harper in the chest, Lori was suddenly taken aback as vivid images flooded her mind.
She was standing amongst a large group of people near market shelters created from woven fabrics and Dahara City's beautiful historic mud brick houses. Lori noticed the women wearing old fashioned hijabs as they hand crafted stunning artwork on pottery pieces and other sorts of treasures. The artwork had been centred around the great symbol of Arceus, the supposed 'creator' of the entire Pokemon World.
As Lori curiously scanned her surroundings she saw the scorching arid desert rolling endlessly in the distance. Wait a second...
Where were the skyscrapers? Where were all the cars, the bitumen paved roads and the gigantic street lights that illuminated the city on dark nights like these? This was all a little too odd...
"Excuse me sir." Lori nervously approached a nearby man wearing a headscarf, piles of gold overflowing in his hands. He eyed her cautiously before nodding his head silently, keeping a very close eye on his prized treasure.
"Where are all the skyscrapers? Where am I? What year is it?"
"What are you babbling on about child? I do not know of this skyscraper you speak of. This town is named Dahara of course as you can see by our endless horizon of desert sand. The year today is 1 B.C. Now go and return to your parents child, Hoopa will be returning very soon."
"Excuse me?"
All of a sudden a dark, malicious voice filled the entire town as a monstrous evil purple Pokemon with yellow rings encircling his six arms smirked widely, bearing rows of razor sharp teeth towards his humans below.
"Hehehe. Speak to me citizens of Dahara, what desires and passions so desperately ache the very core of your pathetic weak hearts? I will make a deal with you all and shower your desert once again with gold and rare treasures."
A old man wearing a headscarf and robe threw his hands up towards the mythical Pokemon. "We need as much gold as we can get for our town to prosper! Please Hoopa! Provide us with more gold!"
Hoopa shot a sly prideful smile. "Deep inside your heart is filled with selfishness, cruelty and jealousy. I like it. You may receive your end of the bargain."
"I created this for you Hoopa, in the hope that you may bless me and my family!" A younger woman sitting in a nearby market stall held up a piece of her most prized pottery towards the Pokemon. He glared at her angrily before throwing a fit of rage.
"How dare you offer me this vase covered in artwork dedicated towards Arceus! I am the only master and God of Dahara! I continue to provide your city with riches and this is how you repay me!? Now your citizens will feel the full wrath of Hoopa!"
Lori gazed up in terror as the six yellow rings left the Pokemon's arms, opening what looked as though to be some sort of portal. Six enraged legendary Pokemon hurled their rugged bodies out of the rings, causing the entire earth to shake and lethal storms to brew violently above.
What on Earth was happening?
Hoopa's voice roared like crackling thunder throughout the town. "I am stronger than any mythical Pokemon that has ever walked this Earth! Dahara, you must bow before me! You must succumb to your new master!"
The citizens of Dahara City screamed with fear as they attempted to hide in the shadows and escape the Pokemon's dark evil presence. The six legendary Pokemon began to viciously burn down their buildings, tearing apart every inch of the town that the citizens had laboured so hard day and night to build. Dahara City had turned into a ruin, with many people unable to escape the flames and being burned alive within the walls of the town. Hoopa laughed at the horrific torment happening around him.
Suddenly, Hoopa stopped when he noticed the captivating beauty of a young girl standing directly in front of him. It was Lori.
He lowered himself towards the dusty ground below to become closer to her, curiously studying her every move. She was standing alone, the citizens of Dahara watching from the distance in fear. After a few moments of silence, he spoke.
"Lori? How... Why are you here?"
A wave of emotion hit the Pokemon instantaneously and Lori sensed it. Almost as if the Pokemon had just seen his near future, and the expression of his emotions showed that he did not like it at all. A future of torment and pain perhaps? She couldn't quite understand it, but words came to her mouth and she spoke them anyway.
"Regardless of what happens Hoopa, I'll do my very best to be there for you. Regardless of how reckless and destructive you become, I am rooting for you."
The lethal hurricane encircling above the town gradually disappeared as Lori watched a sense of calmness wash over the mythical Pokemon. A soothing voice, almost like the sweetness of pure honey echoed deep inside Lori's mind.
"You are his salvation Lori. You are the key to his freedom."
Suddenly, her vision became blurry as she collapsed towards the ground. A concerned expression crossed the purple Pokemon's face as he watched her. When Lori's vision went completely black, she was awoken with a jolt by a familiar voice.
It was mother.
"Wh- What... What happened to me!?"
Mother softly stroked her warm hands along her daughter's forehead.
"Rest up my dear. You fainted at school after fighting with Harper. I really don't understand why you hate the boy so much. He came around here earlier to see if you were ok."
Lori growled under her breathe, the dream of the mythical Pokemon Hoopa still clear in her mind. "I just do."