A/N: The release of HeartGold/SoulSilver has got me really in a puzzle. Should I continue the storyline as is, or modify to perhaps suit the new gaming situation? Hmmm...Has anyone noticed that HG/SS might be following PokeSpe now? :3 Especially the G/S/C arc. I think. I hope it's true, no Pokémon fan should be left clueless about this epic manga.
Woohoo, ten chapters! Thanks to all who read this story, and for giving it a chance. I owe you guys for the long wait, and this chapter is pretty big just for you guys. Enjoy!
DISCLAIMER: I own nothing but the plot! :)
Chapter 10: The Discovery
The yellow-brown tree leaves were swirling in the crackly-dry breeze, and the flurry of foliage greeted the Pokédex Holders as they stepped off the bus at Solaceon Town.
Platinum, with her encyclopedic knowledge of almost everything, had planned their way in going to Snowpoint City. Carefully factoring in Sapphire's condition, the heiress decided to make a gentler route to take: making stops at Celestic Town and a brief crossing into Mt. Coronet before taking the long and perilous snow-beaten trail northward.
"Tomorrow we can start going to Celestic and pick up some special herbal medicines," Platinum continued. "They don't have a Pokémart there, though. We'd best get supplied from here."
The Pokédex Holders split up for the day around the town.
"If you'd like for me to raise your Pokémon, please have a word with my wife."
The little blond boy laughed and climbed onto the fence of the Daycare Center. "Thanks, but I just want to watch the little ones play."
Emerald, Blue and Green were at the side of Solaceon, looking at the Pokémon that gamboled within the enclosures. Blue and Emerald were leaning on the fences and looking out upon the fields. Green stayed close to the Daycare Man in mild conversation.
"Weather's been pleasantly mild, eh?"
"It has, sir."
"I guess the Phione must have been moving for a while now!"
"...Phione, sir?"
The Daycare Man smiled. "Phione are mysterious sea fairy Pokémon, extremely rare. They can produce dew that can heal any sickness, they say! Their presence influences the changes of the sea at times. They sometimes make the weather milder by keeping the waters calm and strong." The kind old man's face brightened under the gray whiskers at the good weather. "It does make me feel blessed."
Emerald grinned. "You don't say. So that's what's been keeping the balance!" he whispered to the Viridian Gym Leader. He seemed quite relieved, and had a wide grin on his face. "The situation's pretty much under control, eh?"
The older boy nodded, reevaluating what he had thought about. "Mm-hmm. For the most part."
Blue raised a fine-line eyebrow. "'For the most part'? You're so pessimistic."
Green thought a moment before answering. "Well, the Phione can't keep this equilibrium permanently. Their numbers will have to be tightly controlled for the stability of the whole region." Being Professor Oak's grandson, he was naturally inclined to know a thing or two about ecology.
Emerald whistled and continued looking straight ahead. "That's hard. Makes sense to have the Legendary to keep everything in check."
He sighed as he spotted a familiar white cap and a crimson head of hair enter a clothing store. His normally confident boyish face showed a bit of doubt. "It doesn't make this any easier, though."
Silver had to redefine his vision of "ruthlessness".
When he heard that Ruby was a ruthless person in battle, he came to believe that he was merciless and decisive. Intimidating, with the same bloody luster he shared with his father Norman in battling. Silver knew all about inheriting - he did himself with his own...father, Giovanni.
Apparently there was another kind of ruthlessness.
Ruby had dragged Silver to the clothing store to be helpful...translated, to be a pack mule. And holding bags of Pokémon medicines and travel supplies was tiring, but after watching the younger boy haggle, hustle and hurry to get their shopping lists done, Silver preferred being the pack mule.
After a quick pick-up for some barbeque (that being the specialty of Solaceon's farming industry), Ruby was again in the thick of battle. And his red-haired companion was very, very glad he wasn't part of this battle.
"I saw this first, ma'am!"
"The heck you did!"
"This size is perfect! It's really important!"
"You aren't the one carrying babies, boy - I know it's important!"
After several more minutes of intense scouring and a nerve-wracking tug-of-war, Ruby was able to reemerge with two more plastic bags of winter clothes, scarves and maternity wear.
"All at a discount!" Ruby laughed and wiped at a slight scratch on his face. His face and body seemed to be slightly battered, but the Coordinator was in a hale mood, and he proudly walked around with his treasures toward the exit of the store.
Silver had the terrible urge to laugh, and he did snort a little. "You seem so focused on whatever you do, Ruby. It's kind of amusing."
The arms in the black jacket felt like lead from carrying stuff, but Silver didn't mind. Ruby was beginning to be very relatable...very flamboyant, but relatable. He knew the pain fathers could bring, and being around fierce women, and was a monstrously talented battler.
The capped trainer only smiled serenely. "Well, that kind of absolute focus helps everywhere. Battles," he said, locking onto his senior's metallic irises, "are fought on the battlefield of life." He looked at this young man, more soldier than trainer, and shrugged.
"And hey, those discounts were huge. It was totally worth it!"
"Even when that fat woman tried to throttle your neck?"
"Definitely."
Both of them chuckled.
Pearl, being as stubborn as he is, dragged his best friend to the edge of town to practice a Manzai script every now and again in case they got rusty.
Gold and Red followed, being fond of humor in general. There were peals of laughter, and occasional sounds of slaps from a large paper fan.* Chatlord the Chatot and Beh the Munchlax imitated their trainers' mannerisms to a T, with the parrot Pokémon squawking and repeating criticisms to the meek blue-grey mammal companion. Everything seemed like so much fun!
The practice was predictably erratic until an odd smell rushed by.
Of course Beh caught the scent - the smell was berry-like - and managed to dash with surprising speed to a certain patch of grass north of Solaceon Town. "Wait!" Dia cried and tried to catch up to his Pokémon. His blonde Manzai partner was already hot on his heels, spurting vehement complaints - how will they sink in practice now? The other two young men followed close behind: Gold on his skateboard and Red on his own long legs. Finally sensing the smell, the soft-spoken boy ground to a dead stop.
Pearl didn't brake fast enough, and he slammed into Dia's back, who surprisingly did not falter. He landed with a thud on his butt, grumbling but keenly aware that Dia was aware of something that he wasn't at the moment. Gold did a trick before jumping off his vehicle, and Red was breathing heavily.
"What…was that?"
Diamond inhaled hard. It smelled like perfume...a very familiar perfume of a woman. It was subtle and spicy, something that he never paid attention to before...this sudden scent was recognizable, yet the rush seemed more Pokémon than anything. The Battler already had a hand to his Pokéball belt.
The grass rustled as the rushing thing disappeared. A faint plink signaled something had dropped.
The little Munchlax waddled into the grass and pulled up the object from the ground. Immediately Pearl blanched as he saw a collar with familiar yellow initials. It had lain in the grass, trampled slightly by paw prints of what seemed to be of feline Pokémon origin. His fears were confirmed when his best friend nodded stiffly.
Team Galactic.
"You idiot, you could have been caught!" Saturn's voice was cutting through the receiver.
"I wouldn't worry if I were you." Mars was abrasive, sneering and cold. "Obviously you aren't as concerned about Master Cyrus as I am! What about acquiring that energy source? If we don't get all the power we need, we cannot reopen the Distortion World!" She looked around at her Purugly, who kept a tight watch.
The two were inside a hidden building, one of the secret locations Team Galactic had. A large network of processing machines was there, as well as cabinets of files and information. The red-haired commander was pleased to see that her subordinates' reconnaissance data was genuine, with her own eyes. Sending the data to Saturn through the computers, Mars leaned back on her chair and scratched her cat affectionately behind the ear.
"Excuse me? 'I wouldn't worry if I were you?' You have obviously forgotten who we're dealing with." Saturn chided his subordinate smoothly. "These so-called 'kids', if I recall, foiled our plans before." His displeasure can even permeate the receiver to the white and sterile room.
"Fine. I'll be right there." Mars punched the "hang up" button hard with her finger. Stupid Saturn. Standing up from her desk, she was making her way to the door when a sudden glow of light to her extreme right hallway caught her eye. She ran toward it.
It was Sird. The pale woman was harsh under the sun seeping through the broken window. Beside her was her Pokémon, with ten crystalline arms and a sinister red eye in center. In Sird's clawed fingers were several thick folders, scrounged from the filing cabinets and thickly labeled "Project Release".
The Rocket Beast's Starmie began spinning wildly, building up static power and releasing a Thunderbolt attack. Purugly dodged it and slashed at the alien creature with its claws, trying to chew one of its arms off. Their trainers were running at each other, into a battle of their own.
Mars kicked Sird's side, pointed black heel drilling at the ribs. Sird coughed and swung forward, elbowing Mars in the face and dropping the papers everywhere. She smirked as a black and blue mark swelled below the red eye. The smirk disappeared into a shriek, however, as Purugly's firm jaws clamped onto her calf and drawing a little blood. Starmie followed up with Rapid Spin, throwing Mars and Purugly away from its trainer.
The Galactic Commander grunted and swung her leg in her opponent's knees. Sird yelled and crumpled to the floor, just a few feet from the documents she was trying to steal. Mars stepped over her and pulled a fistful of the front of Sird's robes and spat in her face. "What are you doing here?"
The lilac-haired femme hissed a little and strained forward to whisper something.
"Those kids...don't you think...it's strange that they are all here?"
Mars hesitated - for a split-second - and that was all the invitation Sird needed.
She knocked the air out of the other woman with a well-placed punch and climbed upon her Starmie's body. Commanding a Flash-Bubblebeam combo, Sird was propelled out another window upon the Pokémon's back while the Galactic Commander was blinded from the light.
In a moment, they were gone.
The red-haired Commander cursed. Then she sat on the floor. She threw her head back and laughed. Exhilarated, mad?
Mars beckoned her Purugly closer and examined its jaws, still a little damp from tasting Sird's leg. She was pleased to find the tiny microchip at the canines to be missing.
The sudden beeping of the computer monitor meant the tracker was activating.
"When I'm old enough to have my kids," Sapphire moaned. "I ain't having them." She retched again.
Crystal, Yellow and Platinum stayed behind inside the Pokémon Center. They were all in the bathroom, huddled near the toilet as a wave of nausea made sickening splashes into the water.
"Why do they call it morning sickness," Crystal wondered, exasperated, "If it doesn't happen in the morning?" She was wiping Sapphire's face with a damp towel, and Yellow was rubbing her back. Platinum stayed close by, a little taken aback. They did all they could as the brunette arched over the toilet and threw up several times.
"...Thanks," she managed to pant after drinking some water gratefully. On wobbly legs she collapsed onto the bed, trying to regain herself. The other three girls watched over the young woman, concerned. Deciding to let her rest alone, they went to the main lobby and fell into a discussion over the events so far.
"I've read pregnancy books, and I've heard these were symptoms for the first month," Platinum whispered, mystified. "But, it's only been five days since the incident! Why is it so fast?" She sofa and sighed, feeling a bit useless.
"...Pokémon gestation is a month at the shortest..." she replied softly to herself, taking on the magnitude of the situation. "Maybe the whole thing is fast because...the world needs Manaphy soon."
The other two girls said nothing, only murmured their agreement. They looked up and smiled as Ruby and Silver appeared, laden with bags.
Ruby gave a quick greeting and went to the rooms eagerly with clothes and food for his best friend - Yellow blushed at the thought if her crush was as sweet - while Silver collapsed on the couch next to Crystal, red hair surprisingly disheveled. He made no explanation, only mouthing the word discount. Platinum giggled, she had never heard someone so eager over a discount before.
The seemingly peaceful atmosphere was broken when a gagging sound erupted from the dorms.
"...Oh no." And angrier than she's ever been in a while, Crystal stomped to the rooms. She'll give such a telling-off to that boy...didn't she tell him not to bring any greasy foods around while Sapph had her morning sickness? Her petite senior was ahead, a tired face showing. Silver joined in too, partly to help and partly to see what will happen to Ruby when Crys gives him her own death glare.
And Platinum was left on the couch, feeling that, despite her knowledge and power, she wasn't much help after all.
The very dark, very quiet room was a room of secrets.
Surely Sird was there, but that was because Sird was a secretive woman. Her leg was tended to, and she looked as composed as ever. The documents she was able to filch were spread out on a lone table in the room. Except for one.
She was speaking directly to a heavily-scarred figure lying on the bed. His torso was swathed with bandages, his face though still as focused as ever. Her voice held reverence, respect. "We have successfully lured them away from our objective, sir. They are currently chasing after another target - the newest Legendary Pokémon of the sea."
A murmur replied, too quiet to hear.
"...We will capture the creature at the latter stage of our plan, sir. Team Galactic is unaware that this new Pokémon cannot be captured at the moment. The reports have indeed confirmed the presence of the Pokédex children. They are involved in this."
A difficult look emerged on his face, and a heavy sigh escaped from his lips. His meaning was clear.
Do what you must.
"Yes, sir."
The fragile figure in the bed looked on as Sird bowed and walked out of the room. One unbroken thought stood out from his ambitions.
My son...
As Sird left the room, a sinister smile spread across her peaked face. She listened to her own heartbeat in the ghostly corridors, aware of the paper secret she held near it.
They were soft cerulean shadows under the waer south.
A colony of Phione danced under the sea, numbering just under fifty, yet that large a gathering already a rarity in itself. They spun their delicate blue bodies to the ocean current, shining red jewels humming a presence that soothed the sea and brought peace - an enchanting undersea song.
These creatures were tied to their Prince, a prince that was soon to be born. Eagerly they waited, doing their duty by harmonizing nature as much as they possibly can. Everything seemed perfect in their plan, to await the newest Legendary Pokémon...
A huge mass of cables suddenly descended upon them, shrouding them in shadow. The sea fairy Pokémon struggled to break the net, thrashing wildly, their song becoming dissonant. A powerful shock paralyzed their fins - to their horror, the cable net was charged with electricity. A collective spasm shook the Phione colony - they were rendered helpless, limply hanging from the net.
The Phione that managed to escape were grievously injured, hiding behind the coral reefs and rocks. They watched, helpless, as their brethren were hauled up to the surface world...the other Phione, they must warn them!
The sea fairies swam off, alerting the other colonies, yet the forlorn blue eyes dimmed, knowing that the equilibrium may soon be broken...
Where was their Prince?
TBC
*A paper fan for the straight man (Pearl) to smack the funny man (Dia) is a classic staple of Manzai comedy routines!