Me? Own Pokemon? You've got to be kidding me.

Chapter 8

Mystic Isle of Knowledge

The ride to the Isle of Knowledge was a bit long, but Cyndaquil and Chikorita managed to pass the time by talking with Surge.

"Aye, I see, matey, yer supposed t' be a hero where ye come from, n' this be why yer goin' t' fair ol' Isle of Knowledge."

"Yeah. Mew told me and Chikorita to seek out Uxie, who is supposed to live there."

"Hey, Surge? If you don't mind me asking, how did you get this ship? And come to think of it, why are you a captain, anyway?"

"Hmm… Chikorita, ye've asked me 'bout a story I enjoy tellin' very much, I do. It all started when I was but a wee little lubber. I wasn't even thinkin' 'bout bein' a ships captain, I wasn't. I didn't talk this way either…."

Flashback to 20 years ago…

A little Squirtle was out playing with his friends. As usual, they were playing near the docks, sometimes in the crystal clear water.

"Hey, Surge! C'mere a sec!" The squirtle, who was named Surge, went over to his friend, who was looking at a ship. "Wouldn't it be neat to own a ship like this, Surge?"

"Uhh, I don't know, Splash. I've never been one for boats, not even the little ones that just go around the harbor."

"C'mon, Surge! You've gotta admit, it is pretty cool, isn't it?"

"Yeah, I guess it is…"

Over the next few years, I had been savin' me coins t' buy something'… And it ended up being this ship…

"So, Surge, you decided to buy a ship after all, eh?"

"Yes, I did, Splash. I don't know what I'm going to do with it, though. I don't even know how to use it! What was I even thinking when I bought it?"

"Surge, you were thinking many great things."

Both Surge and Splash, who were the only two of the group of friends left, turned to the voice. "D… Dad?"

"Surge, I've never told you this, but I was a ships captain before you were born. You will learn how to run this boat properly by the end of the week."

So me father spent the next week teachin' me t' run the boat. Eventually, I started taking people t' islands, n' even other lands, n' eventually somehow started t' talk like this. Sooner or later, I got me a family, n' stopped usin' me ship, untill you two came along.

End Flashback.

"…Wow… That's pretty interesting. What happened to your other friends, though?"

"They all either moved t' another city, or…. Are sleepin' with the fishes…"

"Oh, my… I'm so sorry, Surge…"

"Nah' there's no need t' be sorry, matey. I couldn't stop it. I do miss Splash, though. Anyway, no time t' talk about this! Land ho!"

The Isle of Knowledge was coming into view, and they could all tell that they would be there any minute. They finally got there, and stepped off the boat onto the soft, green grass.

"Now maties, when ye need t' leave, just come back t' me. I'll wait here on me ship fer ye."

"Thanks, Surge. See you soon!" They headed off toward the heart of the island. The trees looked so alive, almost as if they had never even been touched by anything. After walking for a while, they came to a thick forest with a rock with writing on it.

Cyndaquil read, "'Forest Maze. Make it to the other side to be closer to me.' Well…. This looks… pretty hard…"

"Don't worry, Cyndaquil. I'm sure we'll get through it, eventually!"

"Yeah, I guess…"

They entered the maze, and began trying to navigate their way to the other side. They took many wrong turns, some how found their way back to the start a few times, and even wound up going right by the way out without noticing. However, they soon realized this, and went back to finish the maze.

"Finally…"

They continued on through what now appeared to be a cave with glistening crystals on the floor. There were no major obstacles here, except for a large stone door at the end of the tunnel.

"Great. So are we gonna see these everywhere we go?" Regardless, Cyndaquil and Chikorita walked over to the wall, and picked up to stone slabs off of it. This caused a hole to open in the ceiling, so that they could see better, and a voice to sound out of nowhere.

The voice said, "If you wish to meet me, answer all of the questions on your slab correctly."

Cyndaquil's slab's questions were 'What does a Cyndaquil evolve into?', 'What pokemon is said to live here?', and 'In the ancient legend, which legendary pokemon was the leader of them?'

Chikorita's read: 'When did Giratina get released from the distortion world?', 'How many legendary pokemon are part of the ancient legend?', and 'When things can't seem to get any worse, what MUST you do?'

Cyndaquil went first. His answers were: "A Cyndaquil evolves into a Quilava, Uxie is said to live here, and the leader of the legendary pokemon was Arceus."

Chikorita's answers were: "No one knows anymore when this happened since all the books only say that he was released, there are seven legendary pokemon in the ancient legend, and when things cant seem to get any worse, you MUST prepare for that to happen."

"Those answers are all correct. Please, come in." The wall opened up, revealing a lake with yellow crystals around it, that, if they were alive, looked like they might know everything. And out of the lake came Uxie.

"Uxie, do you know why we've come here?"

"Indeed I do, young ones. Sit down, and let's get started with this."

To be continued…

A side note: The term "Forest Maze" actually came to me from an area in "Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars." In that game, you have to follow Geno (My favorite little buddy!) through, and taking a wrong turn lands you back at the start. In this story, it's a MAZE made out of trees, which is why it's called the FOREST MAZE. Still, I don't take ownership of the concept.