Chapter 9: The Mystic Mountains

Ninetales got us up before dawn, and had already prepared a quick meal for us. Eating quickly, we started on our journey again. The smoke and ash soon was behind us, and the air was clear once more. The grass grew thick, making the journey much softer on our tired feet. Soon the Northern mountains fell behind us, and we traveled through the plains once more. The land had been healing slowly from the disasters of the previous year, but many fissures and scorched areas still dotted the land. We continued onward towards the South, and soon a new set of mountains was before us in the setting sun.

"Look, those are the Mystic Mountains," Ninetales pointed out, "They have always been the home to mysteries and secrets, and now it looks like we must uncover one that has remained hidden for centuries. The slopes of these mountains are always covered in thick clouds and fog. There are also the remnants of the ancient magic there, some of it in the forms of traps and puzzles. We must be cautious once we reach them."

We reached the base of the mountains, and Ninetales once again communicated with Alakazam. This time the conversation must have gone on a bit longer than last time, but after a while Ninetales revealed what news Alakazam had for us.

"Team ACT managed to contact the legendary birds, who had been on the lookout for any of Nerezzik's forces. Articuno, Moltres, and Zapdos had found a few scouting groups of the dark forces, but other than that Nerezzik had not sent many forces out of the central areas it now controls. It seems to be focusing on other places, probably to the North or West, and trying to add numbers to its forces."

"Well that should make our search here easier," I replied, "If we don't have to worry about Nerezzik's army coming after us, then we can focus on the task at hand much better."

Our search would begin tomorrow, and so we ate some nuts and bananas we had found that day, and then tried to get some sleep. As night fell, some strange noises and flashes came from the Mystic Mountains.

"What was that?" Charmander asked.

"The spirits and magic that live on the mountains here are more active at night, and so we will try to search as much as we can during the day tomorrow," Ninetales said, "Get your rest, for the spirits here are not always ghost pokemon, but sometimes have other forms. If we must fight these spirits, we will need all the strength we have. We will be safe down here, though, so you and Mudkip get your rest."

We all said goodnight, and tried to get what rest we could. The noises and light would happen in short bursts, but the night was mostly quiet, and so we fell asleep.

In the morning light, the mountains again seemed to be normal except for the thick clouds covering most of the upper parts. We started up an ancient trail that only Ninetales noticed, due to the marks on some rocks. At first, the trail seemed to lead up the mountain in switchbacks, but as we reached the first of the clouds that covered the upper part, we ran into a setback. A rockslide had destroyed the upper part of the trail, leaving only cliffs on that way up. We went left from the ruined trail, and headed into the thick woods covering the rest of mountain. The clouds made it difficult to see far ahead, but soon we reached a small clearing.

"Wait!" Ninetales warned, but Charmander and I had already walked out into the clearing. Suddenly we stepped on a symbol carved into the stone in the clearing, and it began to glow ominously. The air turned very cold, and ice shot up from the ground, freezing me and Charmander in place. Ninetales used its fire to unthaw Charmander, who then helped unthaw me. While we were distracted getting out of this trap, a new presence filled the air.

"Keep your guard up, we seem to have attracted some of the ghosts of the mountain," Ninetales cautioned.

Suddenly laughter filled the air, and a few ghost pokemon attacked. A Banette, Haunter, and Dusclops appeared for a few seconds, and launched a barrage of shadow balls at us.

"We are the spirits who protect this mountain," they said, "Turn back if you don't want to die."

They then vanished from sight, but would appear and launch attacks from unexpected places. After a few hits, all three of us were hurting a little.

"What should we do, Ninetales? They disappear before we can hit them," I said.

"There is a seed that grows often on these mountains. It's called an eyedrop seed, and it will make so you can see invisible things," Ninetales replied, "Run, until we find some."

The three of us ran through the forest, with the ghosts following us. Their attacks hit less now that we were on the move, but we had to find some of those eyedrop seeds quickly.

"Wait, look over there," Charmander pointed out, "There are some plants that are going to seed, let's check them out."

Charmander ran over, and grabbed a few of the seeds.

"Ninetales, Mudkip, catch these!" Charmander shouted as he threw some of the seeds to us.

Eating the seeds gave the mountain a whole new look. What had just been a fog covered forest before suddenly became alive now that we could see the ancient traps, as well as the ghosts chasing us. We formed a line, and as the ghosts approached, we unleashed our attacks. Two fire attacks and my water attack hit our three opponents, defeating them.

"That was pretty rough fighting enemies we couldn't see," Charmander said.

"Good job finding those seeds, Charmander," I complimented.

"That was just the beginning if the tales I've heard are correct," Ninetales added, "These ghost pokemon protect the lower parts of these mountains, but the spirits later are unlike any known anywhere else in the world. Gather as many of those seeds as you can find, and let's move onward."

We found more of the plants with the eyedrop seeds, and soon we had plenty to help us later. We continued through the forest, taking turns using the seeds to look out for magical traps or ghosts. Apparently the traps drew the ghost pokemon near, since we didn't run into anyone else in the forest. We climbed up the mountain, but soon steep cliffs once again blocked our way. We searched for a way up, but the only way we found was a dark cave.

"Looks like we are approaching the upper part of the mountain now," Ninetales observed, "We must look out for even more dangers than before, especially in a cave like that."

We started into the cave. The air inside was freezing cold, and the thick fog that covered the mountainside was even thicker in here. The drips of water echoed through the narrow passages that were ahead of us, and the large stalactites and stalagmites showed that the cave was ancient. Still using the power of the seeds, we avoided some traps that certainly would have been nasty by the looks of the glowing runes carved into the ground or walls.

Soon we arrived at a room with three archways, and a strange stone door with three indentations in it. On the door there was an inscription.

"I can't make out what it says," Charmander said.

"My ancient wisdom does not help me understand the writing any more than you, young one," Ninetales added as he walked up.

I then took a close look at the writing, and was surprised. "No wonder you two can't understand this. It is not written in the language used by pokemon. Instead it is in the language of humans, which I have never seen in this world before. Here I shall read it:"

'Seekers of light,

Alone you must fight,

Defeat the three,

And the way will be free.'

"It is a poem telling how to open the door," I explained, "Apparently we must fight three things before we continue onward. Look, each of these archways has more writing around it."

The first archway read: 'The test of power'. The second archway read: 'The test of mind'. The third read: 'The test of will'. Charmander, Ninetales, and I each tried to decide which way to go. Ninetales chose to go to the test of mind, and as soon as he walked past the archway, an ancient portcullis slid downward, trapping him in.

"Looks like once we choose, there is no going back," he said, "You two choose wisely, and good luck."

Ninetales went down his passage, leaving me and Charmander to choose between power or will.

"I have a strong willpower after enduring our last journey. I'll take that one," I said.

"Okay, good luck, Mudkip. That leaves me with power, which I certainly have gained as we rescued others," Charmander said.

We went down the tunnels, and were also shut in like Ninetales was. I continued down my tunnel until I reached a room. In the room appeared the ghost of a beautiful maiden, dressed like humans did long ago. She had pale white skin, and long golden hair.

"Mudkip, or should I say Ben?" she greeted, "I was once the princess of a kingdom. I went on long journeys, to help others, just like you. My travels seemed important to me, but when I returned I found that my home had been lost and destroyed. Your tale may hold a similar ending. You have abandoned your world for this one. In your time on this world, what will happen back at your home? I shall show you what will become of your world should you remain here as a pokemon. This shall be your test."

She beckoned me closer, and knelt down next to a large polished crystal that was in the center of the room. She touched the center of the crystal, and after citing a few ancient words of magic, the crystal began to glow. She removed her hand from the crystal, and then picked me up and placed me on its center. The room I was in faded away, and a new scene took its place.

Meanwhile, Ninetales was nearly done with his test. In the room at the end of the tunnel he took, a ghost had appeared. It was the ghost of a man, and it wore a robe of black embroidered with gold and silver runes. First, Ninetales was given a few puzzles to solve. He quickly moved the pieces into the right places and finished them. Now the ghost was asking him riddles.

"The more you have, the less you realize that you possess," said the specter.

Ninetales thought this over, and came up with an answer after a few minutes.

"The answer is knowledge," answered Ninetales.

"Now for one last one: A million eyes, ever watching, living half of time," said the ghost.

Ninetales thought it over. This was a tough one, and Ninetales began to ponder what his answer should be.

Charmander went down his own tunnel, preparing for the test of power that lie ahead of him. He entered the room at the end, and a ghost appeared. It was not a pokemon, but instead looked like the description of humans in the tales Charmander had heard. It had on blue armor, and wielded a large sword. This creature was much taller than Charmander, but he prepared to face it.

"Greetings, courageous one, we shall honorably battle, here in this room. I was once legendary for my sword mastery as a knight, so prepare yourself!" the ghost said in a deep, heroic voice.

The knight charged forward keeping his shield ready. Charmander shot a few flamethrower blasts at him, but he deflected them with his shield. The knight charged in close, and prepared to swing his sword. Charmander dodged behind a rock formation, but the knight's powerful blow shattered the rock. Charmander jumped up, over the knight, landing behind him. His fire spin surrounded the knight, who was turning around as he was hit by the attack. The flames died down, but the knight remained, his armor smoking. Charmander did a quick roll to avoid a slice of the sword, but this left him open from the knight's other attack. The knight hit Charmander with his shield, and Charmander landed on his back. He tried to get up, but was unable to, since the knight now stood over him with his sword pointed down, right at Charmander's neck.