Chapter Twelve: A Screwed Up Gift for a Screwed Up Person

Sprir walked out onto the balcony to meditate for a while. She contacted the Alpha Pokemon, Arceus. He had a new objective for her.

Arceus appeared to Mespirit as the white flame with green eyes. "Listen, I need you for something special. Aside from spying on Trevor, you are being put into the team that will be investigating the capture of Giratina. Finding Giratina is of utmost importance."

"Um...okay. Thanks...I guess," Mespirit replied.

"What we know so far, is that Giratina willingly went with a Trainer about three months ago. And that's all we got," Arceus seemed ticked off. The white flame paced back and forth, thinking. "We believe that the capture of Giratina was what started this whole thing with the Gar-Duno and the Legendaries...why are you laughing?"

"Gar-Duno...it's a stupid name," Mespirit said, stifling a giggle.

"You are so immature. I wish you luck, and, well...you don't understand how important this is. If we find the captor of Giratina, we might be able to avoid the Armegeddon Upon the Earth." Arceus stared down Mespirit. "Go ahead, laugh."

"Seriously, why can't anyone of you guys come up with better, unordinary names?"

"Would you rather it be called the Day that the Earth gets Screwed Over?"

Mespirit tapped her chin. "That has a good ring to it..."

Arceus rolled his green eyes. "You are pathetic. Why did I ever create something like you?" He looked her in the eyes. "You know we need that human in order to stop the Arma-whatever you want to call it. The humans that have the legendaries will stop at nothing to amp them up in order to beat the other."

"Why are they even fighting in the first place?"

"I don't know. But the power that their captured Legendaries possess could easily destroy the world." Arceus sighed. "Trevor must learn the true thoughts of his Pokemon. How they think, whom they trust, and whom they don't." Arceus smiled. "Plus, I like fucking his life up as much as possible. So give him the ability. "

"Which one? I know at least a million."

"Give him the number five combo, with a large fries," Arceus smirked. "Also, I heard you're trying to get Trevor and that other human, the female, together."

"Um...kinda?" Mespirit was at a loss for words. Had Arceus been spying on her?

"Then you have less than a month," the Alpha floated into the air. "Then it all comes to an end."

Mespirit looked at him. "What does that mean?"

The white flame began to fade. "I talked with Celebi, and the outcomes of the battle don't seem to end well. Of the seventeen different outcomes, sixteen are failures, and the last doesn't seem to go over well either." Arceus vanished, leaving Mspirit alone on the balcony.


I flipped through the TV channels as Spiri walked back into the room. "So, how did it go?" I asked. Bark and Ivy were asleep on the bed, resting up for their training. Aqua was sleeping in the shower.

"It went well, and I need to talk to you in private," Spiri went back onto the balcony, and I shrugged and tossed the remote on to the bed. I went out next to her.

"This is a gift from Arceus to you," she said, putting her hand on my head.

"What the hell are you-" I was lost in mid-sentence when a searing hot white pain came into my head. Pain that felt like someone was dumping vast amounts of information into my brain, and it couldn't comprehend it all that fast. I wanted to scream, but that would hurt. I squeezed my eyes shut, taking the pain as it came. "What the hell are you doing?" I finally managed to yell.

She didn't respond, and then she took her hand off of my head. "You'll find out soon enough," said, leaving me alone on the balconey. I collasped, letting the pain wash over me like the ocean. Everything got whiter as I passed out from the pain...

"Is he alive?" The voice was not one I had heard before. It sounded sorta like a teenager, not that far from my own voice. I couldn't see who it was; my vision was still vividly white. Spiri better not have blinded me.

"Yeah," said yet another new voice. This one sounded more like a surfer. "See, bro? He's moving."

"Say something," The first voice said into my ear. "What are the names of you Pokemon?"

I groaned, as the world began to return to my eyes. "Um...Ivy, Bark and Aqua," I replied to the voice, still searching for it. I lifted my head up, and saw that the room was empty, save for my Pokemon staring at me, eyes wide.

"Where did those people go?" I asked them. "They were here a minute ago."

"To What the Hell Town," Bark said, bewildered. Call me nuts, but he really did talk! His mouth moved, and words came out! Words I could understand! "I asked you a question, and you understood it and answered it, even though you shouldn't have been able to..." Bark stared at Ivy, who was trying to take all of it in.

"So, that lady somehow made this chap able to commune with us," Ivy said, in his British accent. "Fascinating."

I stood up and walked to the bathroom, and proceeded to splash water on my face. This could not be happening! There was no possible way! Well, then again, I have been through hell and back, and traveling with a Legendary would mean some fucked up shit would happen.

Sighing, I decided to accept the fact. I mean, it's not a bad thing, right? Holy shit, this journey just got a little more fucked up. Well, training time. Perhaps doing something productive could wake from this dream.

"All right, guys. Time for training," I told my Pokemon. They groaned, eyes fixed on the TV. "Okay fine, it can wait. I'm going to go find Nikki." It was probably best that I got away from my team for the current moment.

"Um...can I go too?" Bark asked, hopping off of the bed he had climbed mere seconds before.

"I guess," I answered, even though I wanted away from these Pokemon. "Do you want me to carry you as normal?"

"Sure."

I stooped down and brought the puppy into my arms, and we continued the walk in silence. The lobby of the Center was empty, with only the nurse sitting behind the counter with the single most bored look in the world.

As the doors slid open permitting us to exit, I caught sight of what appeared to be Team Plasma grunts walking into the museum.

"Hey aren't those people Team Plasma?" Bark asked.

"Yeah, and Nikki was in the museum...Oh shit!" I ran forward, focused only on getting there. But, even with Bark, we would be outnumbered. Voi was out of the question, since I hand left my bag in the room.

"Bark, are you in fighting condition?" I asked. After the last battle with N, I wanted to make sure that I remembered to heal my team after every battle.

"Affirmative."

"Then into the fray we go," I said as we ran across into the museum. Plasma grunts were standing everywhere, and at the top of the staircase stood Nikki, Kip by her side, and Plank on the other side. On the main floor in front of them was Hawes, and another woman, presumably Lenora.

"Now, you wait! Enough fooling around!" Lenora shouted to the mob of grunts. Nikki walked down the staircase and stood next to her.

"So you've come, Gym Leader," one grunt said. "We, Team Plasma, claim this museum's Dragon Skull in the name of Pokemon liberation!" The grunts cheered, all heading towards the Dragonite skull.

"To show you we're serious, we'll steal it before your eyes!" Another shouted as he reached into his pocket. "Well, then, here's our smoke screen!" He pulled out several small orbs, and threw them to the ground. Smoke exploded everywhere, making it nearly impossible to see.

Someone bumped into me as they fled the scene. Slowly, the smoke lifted, revealing the the skull was gone. "Well, that really wasn't before our eyes. They had a smokescreen," I said as I walked over to them. Nikki gave a half-hearted wave.

Lenora walked slowly up to the skeleton, and ran off after Team Plasma.

"Oh no!" Hawes exclaimed as he saw the damage. "We have to go after them!"

"Come on!" Nikki urged me as she ran out. I took a few steps, but stopped in my tracks.

"Why am I always the one going after people like this?" I asked myself.

Because you have what it takes to become a hero...

It didn't sound like Voi. I looked around for the source of the voice, but Hawes was to flabbergasted to have said it, and there was no one else in the museum. My eyes settled on the black round stone next to the staircase. "As if that could talk," I muttered, deciding that it was my own messed up mind.

When I exited the museum, I saw Nikki and Lenora looking for any trace of the bandits. A man walked up to Lenora.

"Good day, Lenora," the man said plesantly. "Find any good fossils lately?"

Lenora seemed to forget about the issue at hand as she greeted the man. "This is a surprise visit. Are you suffering from artist's block again?"

She turned to me and Nikki. "Nikki! And Nikki's friend! This is Burgh. He may not look like it, but he's Castelia City's Gym Leader!"

"..Eh?" Burgh smiled. "Just looking for a change of pace." He looked around at us. "Seems hectic or something around here. What's up?"

"What's up?!" Lenora shouted back at him. Now she seemed to be concerned about the bones. "Someone just walked away with an exhibit, that's what's up!"

"Oh, hi, Trevor and Nikki!" Bianca shouted as she walked up behind us. "What's everybody doing here?"

"Well, everyone isn't here," I commented. "We're still missing-"

"Trevor, is there some kind of problem?" Cheren asked as he joined the group.

"And these two are...?" Lenora asked, looking them over.

"Cheren and Bianca," I replied, pointing at each one respectively.

"Your friends?" She asked Nikki, who nodded. "Okay then. Let's split up and search. I'll head this way," Lenora said, heading east. She had only taken a single step before turning back to us. "Everyone! I want you, Cheren and Bianca, to stay here at the museum. Burgh, you, Nikki, and her other friend go search Pinwheel Forest!"

"Got it," Burgh replied. "I'll lead the way."

"I'm counting on all of ya'll," Lenora called over her shoulder as she continued running off in her direction.

"Uh-huh. You're Nikki right?"

"Yep," she answered, picking Kip up, and returning Plank to his ball. "And this is Trevor."

Burgh smiled, before continuing. "Are you two raring to round up our robbers?" He started walking off toward the forest.

"Oh! Oh, Trevor, take this with you!" Bianca took something out of her bag and handed it to me. "Fennel gave me this Dowsing Machine to give to you."

"Thanks, but we really-"

"Now what did she tell me?" Bianca went into thinking mode, while Cheren snickered at the predicament. "You can use the Dowsing Machine to find places where items are hidden."

"So, back on topic, all we have to do is guard the museum, right?" Cheren asked.

"Right," Nikki said as she walked after Burgh.

"Hey wait for me!" I called after her, and Bianca shouted the same thing to Cheren as he walked into the museum.

"So, how'd it go?" I asked, ironic given the current situation.

"I won, barely," Nikki replied, pulling her Badge out of her pocket.

"Oh crap!" Bark, who was still in my arms, and had remained silent the entire time, looked up at me.

I set him down. "I need you to go get the others, and bring my bag along, if you can."

"I think I can do that, but I'm not sure if the others will listen to me," Bark said. "Give me about ten minutes," he continued with more confidence.

"I believe in you," I over -dramatically replied, watching as he ran on his way back to the room.

"So you came out here unprepared," Nikki noticed as Bark faded into the distance. "Don't worry, I'll protect you."

"Oh, please, I can take care of myself," I shot back, but then I felt Nikki's hand around mine. It was a plesant feeling. Holding her hand.

Kip rolled his eyes. "It's like watching a bad romance movie," he said. "I hope it doesn't become a porn flick."

I almost killed that cat. Just for ruining the moment. Maybe understanding Pokemon wasn't a good thing.

I glanced at Nikki, whose smile was barely present, but it was nonetheless there. I got a feeling inside me, one I hadn't had since I first met Dawn. I was in love.