PMD: Explorers of Light and Shadow
Chapter 10: Radiant Wings
"Hey! What's up there?" I lead our group towards a large fissure in the base of a mountain. Steam rose out from holes on the hill's exterior.
"Do you think this appeared when we activated the Groudon statue?" Priscilla wondered aloud, surveying the cavern entrance "Look, another sign"
"It says "Steam Cave"" Zelot noted "Fitting, since there's all this steam coming off the mountain"
"Maybe it leads up to Fogbound Lake!" Sara said excitingly "Come on, let's go!"
"Give us some time to prepare!" Priscilla laughed before we went to the Kangaskhan Rock next to the cave entrance to organize our inventory. When we were done, we entered Steam Cave.
Meanwhile back at the statue…
Zubat came up to Skuntank, who was glaring at Wigglytuff intensely "Psst… Hey Chief! What's going on? Something wrong?"
"Chief… Hey Chief…" Koffing whispered "You've been staring him down for how long now…?"
"C'mon" Koffing urged "Let's you and I give him a double dose of the ol noxious gas…"
"Shh! Shut your yap!" Skuntank snapped.
"Dear friends! What's wrong?" Wigglytuff asked curiously "You're making such scary faces at me. I thought you were showing me a magic trick!"
"Bah, this guy's tough… really tough" Skuntank growled.
"I get it! You're trying to make me laugh with silly faces!" Wigglytuff grinned "I bet I can make you laugh too!"
Wigglytuff opened his mouth wide and pulled down on his eyes "Blabba! Blabba! Blapp! Blobba! Blobba! Blopp!"
"C'mon Chief…" Koffing gritted his teeth in unease "I can't take this anymore. This whole scene is freaking me out…"
"Okay then… this isn't working and we're out of options…" Skuntank steeled himself "Hey Wigglytuff!"
"Whatiswhatiswhatiswhat… what is it?" Wigglytuff let go of his eyes and closed his mouth.
"Hey, no hard feelings but…" Skuntank grinned darkly "You're going down! A double dose from me and Koffing… prepare to die!"
Koffing and Skuntank reared back, then unleashed a cloud of powerful purple gas right into Wigglytuff's face.
Steam Cave was, as the name implied, steamy. Which meant it was hot, humid and filled to the brim with Fire type Pokemon. Luckily, no one in our ground was weak to Fire types, which was good because we were running out of Reviver Seeds in both our bag and storage. We only had two left.
"Be careful of the Slugma here" Zelot cautioned "Their bodies are made of pure lava, so don't make contact with them"
"I can attack from a distance with Shadow Ball, Psywave or Magical Leaf, so leave them to me!" Sara smiled.
In addition to the Fire types in Steam Cave like Slugma, Magby and Numel, there was also a number of Bug and Normal types strangely. Snubbull, Farfetch'd, Yanma and Kricketune were all plentiful here. I dodged a Farfetch'd's Leaf Blade and struck back with Force Palm, sending the Pokemon backwards. I finished it off with a Quick Attack and saw something sparkling on the ground. I picked it up and found that it was a disc case with a orange disc inside. The words "Focus Punch" were written on the top.
"Huh? What's this?" I showed the case to Zelot, who just finished a skirmish with two Magby.
"Oh, looks like you found a TM Silvin" Zelot said as he took the disc case to investigate "Apparently, you can use the discs inside TMs to learn new moves. How it works, I have no idea"
"Maybe I can try it out now" I opened the case and took the Focus Punch TM out. I stared at the disc, looking at my reflection before the disc began to heat up suddenly.
"Yow! What the-" I dropped the disc in surprise, but it disappeared once it hit the floor. Suddenly, I had a nagging desire to learn Focus Punch, but had to throw away another move in return. I concentrated and forcibly forgot Counter somehow, granting me Focus Punch's power.
"I should of mentioned that the TMs WORK, but I have no idea HOW they work" Zelot smiled "But nevertheless, you learned Focus Punch. Want to give it a try?"
"Let's see what it can do" I spotted a Snubbull around the corner and ran towards it, orange light surrounding my fist. The Snubbull noticed and lunged at me with Headbutt, but I ignored the pain and focused as my fist began to feel hot with energy, as if someone was pressing hot iron against my skin. I couldn't take it anymore and unleashed the attack at Snubbull. My fist collided with the Pokemon's face and sent it flying straight towards a wall, burying the poor Snubbull into the earth. After the adrenaline worn off, I looked at my hand in shock. Smoke curled off the edges of my wrist, but nothing seemed broken. I unleashed an attack capable of shattering boulders and my hand was nothing more than smoking.
"Nicely done Silvin" Zelot stared at the hole I made where Snubbull was buried in "Focus Punch can really help in the future if it carries THIS much power"
"Urk, don't expect me to do it all the time" I clutched my hand in pain "Even though I felt no recoil from the attack, I feel… so tired now…"
"That's the cost for such powerful moves" Zelot helped me to not stumbled and eventually just carried me back to Priscilla and Sara, who went ahead to find the stairs "The PP limit of moves like this is usually five"
I sighed "I think I can only manage two per day"
"You need to learn and master a move before it comes natural to you" Zelot replied "You may be only able to unleash two Focus Punchs in a day, but in time, you can do more. At least as much as the PP allows you to"
"Just have to keep… practicing" I yawned "With great power, comes great need to take a nap"
Zelot laughed "You'll get your time for a nap after this adventure. Pray tell though, where did you get that quote from?"
"You knew it was a quote?" I smiled contentedly in Zelot's arms "It was from a book I read once"
"Really now? What book was it?" the Gallade asked as he Night Slash'ed a Farfetch'd with his free arm.
"I don't remember what it was… give me a moment…?"
"You can think about it when we rest" Zelot promised "There's the stairs"
"Phew, looks like we made it pretty high up" Priscilla said when she noticed me and Zelot coming up the stairs to the rest point "Hey Zelot! Is Silvin okay?"
"He's fine. Just tired from using his first Focus Punch" the Gallade let me down and I wobbled, trying to regain my footing. Priscilla laughed and helped me sit down in front of the Kangaskhan Rock. The ground beneath us was hot, like sitting on top of a frying pan.
"We must be getting close to the top" Priscilla dug out an apple and gave it to me to eat "We should get going soon so we can get the treasure!"
"GRRROOOOO…!"
The sudden roar shook the cavern and made me drop my apple in surprise.
"Huh? What was that?!" Priscilla looked ahead, but nothing that pointed the source of the roar.
"GRRROOOOO…!"
"Hmm… something must be ahead" Sara thought aloud "But are we going to let that stop us now?"
"No. We came this far to get the treasure and nothing's going to stop us!" Priscilla said, determined "Is everyone ready to move?"
"You sure are enthusiastic today…" I finished my apple and managed to stand "I think I'll recover before we reach the end. I'm ready to go"
"No more Focus Punchs" Zelot laughed "One more and you're liable to collapse"
"Don't worry, I don't think I can muster the energy to" I replied, albeit a bit woozy "I'm fine everyone. Let's go"
Upper Steam Cave as it was called had more powerful Pokemon than Steam Cave. Granbull, the evolved form of Snubbull were commonplace here. Illumise and Volbeat were here too and they are annoying because they constantly flew away and used Moonlight whenever they were wounded, healing them. I had to use a combo of Bite and Quick Attack to take them down. The real fear of Upper Steam Cave were the Magmar, who unleashed devastating Flamethrowers at anyone who stood in their way. Even Zelot, a veteran fighter, winced at the sight of a Magmar. We decided to avoid them altogether, although we were still wary of them since Magmar can fire Flamethrowers from across the room like snipers.
"Ugh, I can understand why more powerful Pokemon hang out here" Sara stiffened "It's more hot and humid here than back down in Steam Cave. You need to be very strong to survive in conditions like this"
"If this place is so warm, then why do Bug Pokemon hang out here?" I asked as I did my Bite Quick Attack combo on a fleeing Volbeat "This seems like the place they would go if they want to be roasted by a Magmar"
"Who knows? Perhaps they have gotten used to the conditions" Zelot suggested "Even if this place is a bane to Bug Pokemon themselves, I don't see any discomfort in the Illumise or Volbeat"
"It's certainly strange" Priscilla said while flinging a Geo Pebble to knock a Magmar out "They could be something atop this mountain that attract these two"
"Guess we'll never know" I shrugged.
We advanced up the floors of Upper Steam Cave and eventually reached the seventh floor.
"GROOOOOOO!"
"The roaring is getting louder" Priscilla noted as she paced the ground "That must be we're at the summit"
We walked into the room containing the stairs when suddenly, a whole legion of Magmar fell from the ceiling!"
"What in the-" Priscilla couldn't finish her sentence as the Magmar began to attack.
"Monster House!" Zelot cried, pulling us back "Fall back and take them on one at a time!"
And so we did, dealing with each Magmar individually. We swapped positions whenever one of us got too injured to continue. We worn down the crowd of enemy Pokemon, but more took their place.
"Make a break through the Magmar!" Zelot commanded "Head for the stairs! We'll stay back!"
"No! You're coming with us!" Priscilla protested.
"Don't worry about us! We'll be fine!" Sara assured as she Shadow Ball'ed another line of Pokemon "Go! We'll be back for you!"
"Come on Priscilla! We don't have another chance!" I grabbed Priscilla by leg and ran towards the staircase leading up to the summit.
"Zelot and Sara can take care of themselves" I comforted as Priscilla continued glancing back, probably wondering if she should stay or continue going "They are strong Pokemon, stronger than us. They can handle themselves"
"Right… Yes you're right" Priscilla closed her eyes and took a deep breath "They're holding off the enemy for us. Now it's our job to get the treasure"
On the summit, we found ourselves in an empty mountain field, with tall rocks shaped like spears nearby.
"This place… it feels… it feels strange somehow…" Priscilla said to herself as she surveyed our surroundings "The very air feels tight with tension!"
"It's making my skin crawl" I agreed "It's like I'm being… crushed by an overwhelming sense of danger…"
"Something has to be coming. It's no coincidence that both of us are feeling it"
Suddenly we heard a loud roar.
"GRRROOOOH… GRRROOOOHHH!"
"Ah-aahhhhhhh!" Priscilla clamped over her mouth to silence her scream "It's the same roar we heard Silvin!"
"GRROOOOHH!"
Then we heard footsteps, footsteps strong enough to shake the ground beneath us.
"It's… it's…" Priscilla shook with fear "It's here…!"
Meanwhile, Corphish led the rest of the guild back to the Groudon statue.
"Hey, hey, check this out everyone!" Corphish called as the rest of the guild followed suit.
"This is it? The Groudon statue?" Chatot asked.
"Oh! But there's no one else here!" Sunflora pointed out.
"Are you really sure you saw the Guildmaster, Corphish?" Chatot asked skeptically.
"Sure, I'm sure!" Corphish assured "I saw him when I was scuttling back to base camp. The Guildmaster dashed past, all willy-nilly, in hot pursuit of a Perfect Apple"
"I gave him a shout and wave, but he seemed too occupied to holler back" Corphish continued, then looked around "But I guess Silvin's team went ahead, so I'd bet that the Guildmaster went up after them, don't you think?"
Suddenly, the ground shook twice, as if massive footsteps were being taken.
"Hmm? The ground…" Diglett narrowed his eyes.
"Uh-what? It's shaking!" Bidoof cried in alarm.
"GRROOOOOOH…!"
"What… whatever could that be?" Chimecho asked in a low voice.
"What an uproar! Is it maybe…?" Loudred was staring at the Groudon statue, almost coming to a conclusion. Corphish hopped on the spot.
"Whatever it is, it came up there! Silvin and his team are in danger!" Corphish cried "Come on! We have to go!"
Everyone rushed over to the right, but Diglett knew he felt something.
"Hey, Dad!" Diglett called and Dugtrio stopped "Did you hear something right over there? Like moaning and groaning?"
"Oh, you just imagined it!" Dugtrio scoffed "Now let's hurry!"
"Yep!"
As the two left, Zubat, Koffing and Skuntank all laid in a heap next to a water puddle.
"Ouchee-wow-wow!" Zubat moaned.
"I'm d-d-deflated! I can't move!" Koffing cried in distress.
"Hork-ork-how did that happen…?" Skuntank asked "How did Wigglytuff shrug off our noxious gas combo like it was nothing?"
"And h-h-how did Wigglytuff strike back at us…" Zubat groaned "It's u-unbelievable. Wigglytuff is unbelievable…"
"What did I tell you Chief? You don't know what Wigglytuff's capable of" Koffing said.
"S-shut up you…"
Back on Steam Cave's summit, the footsteps grew louder and shook the ground beneath us even more.
"S-Silvin… if we don't make it out alive… escape and tell the others…" Priscilla stuttered fearfully.
"No way, I'm not leaving you behind" I reassured, placing my hand on her shoulder "Either we win together or we die together. We're not leaving each other behind"
"Stubborn aren't you?" Priscilla managed a smile "One way that will come back to bite at you. But for now… I'm glad for the support"
"GROOOOOOH…. GRROOOOOOH!"
And the beast appeared, a gigantic red Pokemon with black marking all over it's body. It's arms were rippled with muscles and his claws were as sharp as blades. It was the Pokemon depicted on the statue. Groudon.
"GRRROOOOH!" Groudon roared "YOU! HAVE YOU COME TO DESECRATE THIS PLACE?! DEPART NOW!"
"B-but all we want is to go to Fogbound Lake!" Priscilla said in her strongest voice.
"WHAT?! FOGBOUND LAKE?!" Groudon smashed the ground with one of his fists "I AM THE GUARDIAN OF FOGBOUND LAKE! I AM GROUDON! YOU WILL NEVER LEAVE HERE ALIVE, INTRUDERS!"
"Aaahhhhh! Here he comes!" Priscilla screamed.
Meanwhile, Chatot led the guild to the entrance of Steam Cave.
"Hey, hey! there's a way in!" Corphish said.
"We can go up through here!" Sunflora continued.
"Let's HURRY!" Loudred shouted and the guild charged into Steam Cave. While they were exploring the dungeon, Corphish went over to Chatot.
"H...h...hey… hey Chatot!" Corphish panted "Can I ask you something while we're running?"
"What is it?" Chatot snapped.
"Do you know of a Pokemon named Groudon?" Corphish asked.
"Well, of course. Just what do you take me for? I'm only the head of intelligence for our guild!" Chatot replied, irritated "Groudon is a legendary Pokemon spoken of in myths passed down through generations"
"A legendary Pokemon?" Corphish wondered aloud.
"Correct" Chatot replied "The myths say Groudon raised the land from the sea and created continents!"
"Hoo-boy that sounds like a colossal Pokemon!" Corphish exclaimed "But what if you were to face Groudon in battle?"
Groudon walked a few steps in front of us, shaking the ground even more.
"What would happen?"
"Battle?! Out of the question!" Chatot flapped "If anyone were foolish enough to face Groudon in a battle… Well it would be like throwing your life away! He's that strong! Like all legendary Pokemon!"
"GRROOOOOH!" Groudon roared in front of us.
"T-this is scary…" Priscilla said in a low voice "But I need to be brave. We can do this! Silvin, if we die, I want to tell you that you were the best friend I've ever had"
"Likewise Priscilla"
"PREPARE FOR MY WRATH! GRROOOOH!" Groudon roared and the battle begun. Groudon started first by raising his hand to the sky. The clouds above us split instantly and bright sunshine came down on us, covering the field.
"Harsh sunlight… watch out Silvin!" Priscilla called "If he uses any Fire type move, it'll be powered up!"
"AND UNLUCKY FOR YOU, FIRE IS ONE OF MY SPECIALTIES" Groudon's fist lit on fire with Fire Punch and he smashed the ground near me, expelling a huge inferno of fire. I leaped away just in time and countered with Quick Attack, but I dealt no damage to the behemoth. Next to me, Priscilla was throwing sand into Groudon's eyes with Sand Attack to lower his accuracy. I realized that if she didn't do that, Groudon would of already killed me with Fire Punch.
"Take this!" I dashed towards his leg and smashed my palm into it with Force Palm, making Groudon stumble slightly.
"GRRROOOH, A FEEBLE ATTEMPT" Groudon's hand came down and cut my chest open with Slash, leaving three giant, bloody claw marks.
"Silvin!" Priscilla screamed then ran over to me. Groudon attempted to stop her with Slash, but Sand Attack messed up his accuracy. Priscilla reached me and force fed me an Oran Berry, healing the injuries on my chest.
"We can't beat him with brute force alone" Priscilla said as she helped me dodge a Fire Punch from Groudon "We have to use strategy"
"Strategy like?"
"Seeds"
Priscilla dug a Sleep Seed from her treasure bag and threw it at Groudon, who caught it effortlessly and flung it back at us. We just barely escaped the cloud of sleep that expelled from the broken seed.
"I need you to distract Groudon so I can land the Sleep Seed" Priscilla said and I nodded, charging towards the giant behemoth.
"GA HA HA! COME TO CHALLENGE ME AGAIN, LITTLE RIOLU?!" Groudon's face morphed into one of pure terror, freezing me in my tracks.
"No! I won't let you!" I shook off the fear and charged, smashing Groudon's leg with Force Palm.
"YOU KNOW THAT CAN'T DEFEAT ME SO WHY DO YOU TRY?!" Groudon made an attempt to grab me, but a Sleep Seed flew straight into his eyes and Groudon instantly fell asleep, allowing me to get away.
"Silvin, take this" Priscilla tossed me a Violent Seed "You know what to do"
"Focus Punch"
"Focus Punch"
I ate the Violent Seed and my mind focused to absolute clarity. My arms felt like they could tear apart mountains. I marched up to the sleeping Groudon and focused, allowing my fist to heat up like before. Orange light gathered on my fist as it began to overheat. I yelled as I threw my fist of pure energy into Groudon's leg. The force was enough to shatter an Aggron. Groudon woke up and toppled, his left leg broken.
"GRRROOHHH! YOU LITTLE PUNY RIOLU!" Groudon roared "THAT'S IT! DIE!"
Groudon viciously grabbed me and began to squeeze the life out of me. I tried to resist, but Groudon's strength was still eons better than mine. I began seeing spots as Groudon nearly crushed my ribs, but an X-Eye seed flew into Groudon's eyes, blinding him.
"GAH!" Groudon dropped me and stumbled around, wiping his eyes "I'M BLIND!"
"Now Silvin!" Priscilla yelled.
I focused another Focus Punch and lunged as I did it, slamming my fist into Groudon's right leg, shattering every bone in it. Groudon fell to his knees, roaring.
"NO! YOU CAN'T!"
"THIS IS OVER!" I leaped as high as I could and delivered a boulder-shattering Force Palm, spiking a spear of energy through Groudon's chest. The behemoth of a Pokemon finally fell, cracking the ground as he collapsed. I landed on the ground just as the Violent Seed faded away. My arms felt weak and my legs weaker.
"I knew I could only manage two Focus Punchs in a day…" I mumbled before collapsing to the ground. Priscilla caught me, smiling.
"You did it Silvin. By the gods, you did it" Priscilla nuzzled her face into my head "I'm so proud…"
"I couldn't have done it without you Priscilla" I said weakly "Come on… the treasure… Fogbound Lake… awaits…"
"Stay with me Silvin" Priscilla fed me an Oran Berry "I want you to see the fruit of your hard work"
"Don't worry… I'll sleep when this is… over…" I ate and Oran Berry and got to my feet, although I doubt I could fight for the rest of the day.
"Now then, let's go" Priscilla said "Finally, we can see Fogbound Lake"
Before we could go however, Groudon's body glowed with a bright white light.
"What?! What's happening to Groudon?" Priscilla cried in alarm. The light around Groudon grew stronger, until it flashed, blinding us. When the light faded, Groudon was gone.
"Huh? Groudon… disappeared?" Priscilla said, confused.
"That was…" a new voice appeared "That was not Groudon. That Groudon was nothing more than an illusion I created"
"W-who said that?" Priscilla asked.
"Like I said earlier, I am the guardian here" the voice continued "And I cannot allow you to pass"
"Wait please!" Priscilla was practically praying that Groudon wouldn't reappear "We're not here to cause trouble!"
"We're only here for information!" I called.
"Huh? What do we need to know?" Priscilla asked curiously.
I quickly explained how I thought I knew this place and my theory that Uxie wiped my memories when I was human.
"Information, you say?" the voice said.
"Yes, that's the honest truth!" Priscilla cried "Well, we'll admit that we're an exploration team and we'd like to leave with treasure after all our effort"
"But we'll leave without any if you have a problem with it" Priscilla promised "So please, allow us through and at least answer some questions!"
"Hmm… well…" the voice pondered "Okay, I believe you"
Light gathered in front of us and a form took shape, a blue twin-tailed Pokemon with a head of yellow. Its eyes were closed and a red gem was on it's forehead.
"Let me welcome you then" the Pokemon said. Its voice was monotone, but strangely welcoming "I am Uxie, the guardian of Fogbound Lake"
"What?! Did you say Uxie?" Priscilla cried in alarm.
"Yes truly" Uxie nodded "I stand guard over something special… that resides in Fogbound Lake. Now let me escort you to Fogbound Lake. Please, come this way"
Uxie led us to a rocky platform that overlooked a lake of great proportions. The harsh sunlight faded after we defeated Groudon, so in reality, the sun was already down.
"Wow, it's gotten dark already" Priscilla noted as she took a look around the area "What a beautiful lake"
"It may be a little difficult to see at night, but…" Uxie turned to the lake "Behold! Fogbound Lake!"
"Whoa…" me and Priscilla said in unison. Even shrouded in darkness, Fogbound Lake was spectacular. Many pink and green lights were flying in the darkness, like fireflies.
"What are those?" Priscilla asked in amazement.
"The Volbeat and Illumise. They are attracted to the only light source in the night here" Uxie replied.
"What light source?"
"Look ahead"
In the center of the lake was a bright green light, shining in the darkness of the lake. We stepped a little closer to see and saw some sort of green gear shimmering in the water. The hole in the center was hexagon-shaped and six arrows protruded from the points of the hexagon. Whatever it was, it made my heart race for some reason.
"It's amazing…" Priscilla said "But what is it?"
"That is… a Time Gear" Uxie said.
"That's a Time Gear?!" Priscilla yelped in shock.
"Yes, I guard the Time Gear" Uxie replied "It's the sole reason I'm here"
Uxie turned back to face us "Others before you have tried to trespass this area, but I used my Groudon illusion to scare most of them off"
"I'm guessing illusions is one of your psychic abilities?" Priscilla guessed.
"Yes. Like so" Uxie raised one of it's tails and Groudon reappeared back to us, albeit shimmering like it was made of mist.
"Wah!" me and Priscilla backed away in fear.
"No need to be alarmed" Uxie held a small smirk on its face "Like I said, it's only an illusion. I control what it can do"
"Thank goodness. I don't think I ever want to fight something like that again" I breathed a sigh of relief.
"There have been others who defeated my Groudon illusion and managed to make their way to this spot" Uxie continued "But they were trespassers! So I took away their memories… by opening my eyes"
"Took away their memories… by opening your eyes…" Priscilla said thoughtfully, then snapped "Oh right, we have to ask you something Uxie!"
"Ask me anything" Uxie said politely.
"This is my partner, Silvin" Priscilla began "At present, a Pokemon. Before, a human!"
"Ah, a human you say… interesting" Uxie used on of its tails to stroke its chin.
"Yes, but Silvin has lost all memories as a human" Priscilla continued "So I just want to ask: did a human ever "trespass" Fogbound Lake?"
"The answer is… no" Uxie replied flatly "No human has ever come here"
"Oh… that's a shame" Priscilla slumped in defeat.
"I should explain further" Uxie said "I only erase memories of Fogbound Lake. I cannot fully erase the memories of living beings"
Uxie turned to me "I have nothing to do with your memory loss, nor do I have anything to do with your transformation into a Pokemon. I'm sorry"
"That's alright" Priscilla said, then turned to me "So it seems like you've never been here after all Silvin"
"Yeah maybe so, but I can't shake the feeling that it looks familiar" I said "Maybe it's just my-"
"A Time Gear! A Time Gear! Well, too bad!"
Wigglytuff waddled onto the scene, followed by wounded, but still standing Zelot and Sara.
"Priscilla, Silvin! You're alright!" Zelot called, relieved.
"Oh thank the gods you two weren't hurt" Sara smiled "We were worried about you being alone here!"
"We can't take a Time Gear" Wigglytuff said.
"Wigglytuff?! What are you doing here?!" Priscilla asked, flabbergasted.
Wigglytuff ignored Priscilla and walked up to the lake "Wow! Fantastic!"
"And who might this be?" Uxie asked, a little taken aback.
"Sorry. This is Wigglytuff, our guildmaster and this is our guild" Priscilla said, pointing to Wigglytuff and the guild behind us.
"Glad to meet you, friend! Friend! Friend! Friend!" Wigglytuff greeted, as innocent and cheerful as ever. Then he waddled over to the flickering Groudon illusion.
"Glad to greet you, friend! Friend! Amazing! Friend!" Wigglytuff exclaimed, then came back to gaze at the lake "Gaze upon this amazing view! I'm delighted we came! La-dee la! Dee-la-dee!"
We had another look at the lake before the rest of the guild climbed the plateau.
"Phew, we finally made it!" Sunflora said in relief.
"No time to catch out breath. We have to hurry!" Dugtrio urged.
"Hey, hey! Someone's over there!" Corphish piped up.
"Let's go!" Chatot called and the guild Pokemon ran forward, only to be stopped in fear by the Groudon illusion.
"Squ-squ-squawk?!" Chatot fluttered in alarm.
"Gr-Gr-Gr…" Loudred couldn't even finish his sentence.
"It's Groudon! Spit it out!" Sunflora cried.
"D-d-d-ding!" Chimecho fluttered uneasily, ringing her bell in the process.
"Don't eat me! I'm not tasty!" Corphish begged.
"Hello to one and all! So what's wrong?" Wigglytuff asked, completely unfazed by the Groudon illusion.
"G-G-Guildmaster!" Chatot stuttered in shock.
"Oh nevermind that! Come and look at the view everybody!" Wigglytuff urged "It's spouting! Pretty, pretty!"
"HUH?!"
But it was just as Wigglytuff said. In the center of the lake, where the Time Gear was, a geyser erupted from the bottom. The blue-green hue of the Time Geat mixed with the Volbeat and Illumise lights made the water spout look absolutely divine.
"Oh my! So shimmering!" Chimecho exclaimed.
"Yup, yup! Some kind of pretty!" Bidoof said, his eyes watering.
"Bidoof, are you crying?!"
"No, no! I'm not!"
"The lake geyser erupts every now and then" Uxie said, drawing attention away from Bidoof "It sends up water, just like a fountain and the Time Geat below sends up illumination. The Volbeat and Illumise glow with the fountain of water and in harmony, they are the very vision of beauty!"
"The treasure!" Wigglytuff exclaimed "The treasure… must be the view of Fogbound Lake!"
Me and Priscilla stared at the geyser, away from the others so we can be with each other.
"Are you taking in the view Silvin? It looks so magical!" Priscilla said.
"Divine. Like a god's gift for the eyes" I agreed "Although…"
"We didn't learn anything about your past, I know" Priscilla fidgetted "But I'm glad we came. I'm happy we got to see such a beautiful scene with everyone!"
"Poor Henry though" I smiled and Priscilla laughed.
"Poor Henry indeed. He's going to be on our heels for what happened here" Priscilla smiled contently "But… we'll tell him every detail"
"Yes… the view is too good to forget"
Me and Priscilla continued to watch the geyser in silence. While we were watching however, something prodded me from the back of my mind.
"If Uxie said he never met before…" I thought "Then how do I know this place?"
I took a closer look at the Time Gear "And when I look at the Time Gear, why does it make my pulse race and make me so uneasy?"
We continued watching for a few minutes until Wigglytuff decided it was time to go.
"So sorry! For disturbing you!" Wigglytuff apologized to Uxie "Had a fantastic time! Friend! Friend! Friend!"
"I shall not take away your memories of this place" Uxie said "You have earned my trust. But I trust that you can keep this place a secret"
"Surely! Thank you! We all know what we need to do!" Wigglytuff replied cheerfully "You know, another Time Gear has been stolen. This one must stay safe!"
"Wait… WHAT?!"
"Hush! Quiet down everyone!" Chatot called "Wigglytuff and I didn't tell you this so we wouldn't cause mass panic. I promise to explain once we get back"
That calmed down the guild and allowed Wigglytuff to continue.
"We won't ever say a word about this place! I swear in the name of Wigglytuff's Guild!" Wigglytuff said.
"Please hold true to that promise" Uxie pleaded.
"Okay! Let's be on our way!" Wigglytuff turned to Chatot "Chatot, if you will!"
"I'll hop to it, Guildmaster!" Chatot nodded, then turned to us "Everyone, we're returning to the guild!"
"HOORAY!"
And so, the guild's long and challenging expedition has come to an end. Everyone has returned safely to the guild except for Team Skull. God knows where they are now. But nobody gave a damn about them. Coming back to the guild meant we had to take up our regular training schedules again. Life was back to usual in the guild!
"Huh, Chatot wasn't kidding about the "imbued with magic" part" Priscilla said as the clouds covering Fogbound Lake magically moved off her Wonder Map "Now we can see Fogbound Lake and the surrounding area from the map!"
When we returned to Treasure Town, Henry greeted us with a flying hug and told us that a Pelipper delivered two larger Treasure Bags while we were gone. We sold one of our old ones to Kecleon's Shop and I gave my old one to Henry, who sold his older one in turn. When we arrived in our room, I collapsed in bed, falling asleep instantly.
"Life is back to usual Silvin" Priscilla whispered "Sweet dreams. Don't oversleep"
Life was NOT going as usual in other places though.
"There it is! Another Time Gear!" a Pokemon shrouded in darkness hopped up to a Time Gear that was resting in a stone monument in a watery cave "This is the second one!"
The Pokemon reached for the gear with his hand "Three more Time Gears remain. I must have them…"
The Pokemon took the Time Gear off it's monument and dashed away as the world behind him turned gray, time freezing in place.
"Brand me a criminal all you want, world" the Pokemon mumbled to himself as he tucked the Time Gear in his treasure bag "But this is to save you"
Our team:
- Silvin, Riolu
Level 23
Moves: Force Palm, Quick Attack, Bite and Focus Punch
IQ Level: **
- Priscilla, Eevee
Level 21
Moves: Quick Attack, Tackle, Bite and Sand Attack
IQ Level: **
- Henry, Starly
Level 18
Moves: Wing Attack, Quick Attack, Tackle and Growl
IQ Level: *
- Zelot, Gallade
Level 25
Moves: Psycho Cut, Night Slash, Brick Break and Leaf Blade
IQ Level: ***
- Sara, Mismagius
Level 24
Moves: Shadow Ball, Psywave, Magical Leaf and Confuse Ray
IQ Level: ***
And the last expedition chapter is done! The tactic used in the Groudon battle is recommended in the actual game, as well as all the other bosses. Throw seeds at them to make them helpless, eat a Violent Seed and then nail them with your most powerful moves. I introduced Monster Houses a dungeon earlier than usual (they are actually introduced in Amp Plains first) so Zelot and Sara can be away from the Groudon fight, as evolved Pokemon with Leaf Blade and Magical Leaf would trivialize the battle. The name "Radiant Wings" was supposed to represent Volbeat and Illumise's yellow wings in the geyser, but it couldn't come up sadly. "With great power, comes great need to take a nap" is a well-known quote from Rick Riordan's Percy Jackson series. Next up is Chapter 11: Tribes of Thunder where Team Skylar tackles Amp Plains, so favorite and follow if you want to be notified when a new chapter comes out. Also review if you want to give me constructive criticism or praise. Until next time!