Okay... Phew... This chapter is 7000+ words long! That's the longest piece of work I've ever written! Of course, I don't expect you to read the whole chapter in one go. A LOT happens, though. Some good, some bad, and it wouldn't be complete if there wasn't some unexpected things in there, too. So, enjoy!
Also, since it's super long, I'm sure there's going to be some awkwardly worded sentences, or some other stupid mistakes that I missed. So bleh...
The colossal storm from yesterday had continued as Mienshao predicted. It had rained the whole day, and we all accomplished absolutely nothing. Mienshao went to bed in a foul mood that night. I felt bad for him. But the next day, everything cleared up. The early morning sun was smiling, clouds glided through the ocean blue sky, and the wet grass and trees occasionally waved in sync with the wind. Stepping outside near the entrance to Paradise, I could smell the morning dew that was left over from the storm. As I took in a deep breath of the fresh summer air, Mienshao walked next to me, getting his sleeves wet as he dragged them along the grass. His usual straight, emotionless, but serious-looking face indicated the amount of thinking he had done as he slept. He probably has a whole plan set to make the most of the day. After all, it's been three days since Monferno left to inform the other rescue teams. He could be back soon, so we need to make the most of the time we have.
Mienshao panned the scenery, taking in the change of environment.
"It's hard to think there are days that are as cruel as yesterday... And then there are days that are as calm and beautiful as today. It's unfortunate the rest of Paradise can't look like this." Mienshao looked down and closed his eyes, feeling gloomy. I placed my paw on his shoulder.
"Yeah, but if it didn't rain every once in a while, and every day looked like this, it'd get pretty boring." He looked at me; I gave him a smile. "So anyway, what are we doing today?"
"Dewott went off to go send out the letters to the other teams. I'm sure Snivy's in his usual place, and Nebula..." Mienshao looked around. "Hm... I don't know where she is..."
"Well, shouldn't we go look for her?" Mienshao shook his head.
"There's no time. With yesterday completely wasted, we have much to get done today."
"But-" Before I could argue with him, Mienshao briskly walked off out of Paradise; We probably have to go out to Post Town for something. Guess we'll worry about Nebula later...
"HEY!" Mienshao and I stopped walking. In the distance in front of us, another Pokémon approached. More of his figure appeared as he got closer. The Pokémon had gray skin, and walked on two legs. He had curls of "hair" on his head, and large, violet, bulging veins patterned his muscular arms, thighs, and chest. The Pokémon was a Gurdurr. He walked up to us.
"Hey there- whoa! I didn't expect to see you evolve, Mienfoo. How's it going?"
"Uh... Mienshao, do you know this guy?" I whispered.
"It's a pleasure to see you again, Gurdurr. Oh, this here is Delphox. She's a fairly new member of the rescue team," Mienshao introduced him to me. I gave a friendly smile.
"Hello."
"Delphox?" Gurdurr put his hand to his chin and thought for a moment. "I don't think I've ever seen a Pokémon like you before..." I let out an annoyed sigh.
"You're not the only one to think that. I'm from a very far off region."
"Hm... Glad to meet ya', anyway."
Mienshao spoke. "Gurdurr used to have a business here in Paradise. He helped excavate the land, and even built our main base. However, once we had as much of the land cleared as possible, Gurdurr took up his store and left Paradise so he could expand his business."
"Ah, I miss the look of this place." Gurdurr admired the land around the entrance to Paradise. But what will he say when he sees the rest of the place? If Gurdurr worked hard on this land, would he be angry to see it ruined? I switched topics.
"So, why are you here?" I asked.
"Oh yeah. I heard that Snivy came back! Although, I didn't even know that he was gone in the first place. So I wanted to see what was up with him." So Mienshao was right; News that happens in town does spread quickly...
I saw Mienshao perk up. "Ah, very well then. Delphox," Mienshao turned towards me. "See if you can go get Snivy and bring him here."
"But what about you and Gurdurr?"
"Don't worry, I have a small favor to ask of him..."
"Oh?" Gurdurr rubbed his hands together with an eager look, as if he was prepared to do some work. But I decided to let them figure that out. I walked off towards the back of Paradise, where the normal type dojo was. I still have to ask Snivy why he sits there...
Upon approaching the mountain where the dojo was, I spotted someone near the top. As I got closer, I noticed it was Nebula, cloak and all. Well... there's not much to see besides her cloak. She was looking in the opposite direction I was coming from. Out of curiosity, I tried reading her thoughts again. However, as I expected, my psychic force just "poofed" away as it got near her. I'd ask her why I can't read her thoughts, but that would be a stupid thing to do. I can already imagine she'd get angry at me; It's a total invasion of privacy, so I know she wouldn't like to hear that. At this point, I realized that she was staring out towards the top, and still didn't sense me behind her.
She was staring at something...
I sneaked around her, wading through some bushes, and continued to walk towards the top of the mountain. Once I got to the top, as expected, I could see Snivy looking out over the edge. I looked over at Nebula...
Wait... Was she staring at Snivy? Hm...
I didn't want Nebula to think I had intentionally avoided her, so I went back down the mountain and back on the trail up. This time, I walked right by her.
"Oh, there you are Nebula." She immediately jumped and turned around when she heard my voice.
"Ah, it's just you Delphox... Phew..." I saw her relax.
"What are you doing all the way over here?" I asked.
"I uh, um..." Nebula shuffled her feet.
"Do you want to meet Snivy?" She perked up.
"I do, but... I'm not sure what to say..."
"What do you mean? Just go up and say 'Hi'."
"No, I know that. But..." She paused.
"Hm? But what? What are you going to tell him?" Nebula didn't answer my question. She remained silent. "Well, if you wanna say something to Snivy, just go say it. He isn't going to hurt you. If it helps, I'll go with you. Actually, I have to ask Snivy something, too."
"... O-Okay." She replied. Without being able to see her face, it's really difficult to see what expression she's giving.
I lead the way as we walked up towards Snivy. As usual, he had his cloak on, and his sword was wrapped around on his back. Even though he knew we were there, he continued to stare out in the distance.
"Hey Snivy," I greeted him, and sat down.
"Hi." He spoke softly. Nebula stood behind me. Strangely, she didn't say anything. I looked out to where Snivy was staring, and saw the waves repeatedly crash on the beach in the distance. No matter what time of day it was, it always looked pretty... But is that why Snivy sits here?
"Y'know... how come you always sit up here?" I asked him. He looked down and took a deep breath.
"Remember yesterday how Dewott told you that Eevee had used a wish stone to bring me back to life?"
"Yeah, I remember that."
"You see... the reason I died in the first place... I was up here with Eevee; She was testing me through her entry exam. I had to beat her in a battle in order to join the rescue team."
"Oh... So you guys actually did test new recruits that joined the team."
"I actually ended up knocking Eevee out during that..."
"... And now I know why they stopped testing new recruits..."
"A few moments after I knocked Eevee out, a Pokémon that Kyurem sent came up here; It was a Gengar. He was sent to kill Eevee. I managed to kill Gengar, but..." Snivy paused. "As I was carrying her back to the base, it turned out Gengar wasn't dead. Sacrificing his own life, he cast a curse in a drastic attempt to kill Eevee. But I only had enough time to get her out of the way... The curse hit me, and my fate was set..." Snivy stood up and faced the dojo.
"The reason I stay up here is because this was the place where I had spent my final moments with Eevee before I died." Snivy pulled out his sword. "And then I was sent inside this sword..."
"Oh, that also reminds me... Tell me about your sword." I asked. Snivy then explained to me the story of how his father obtained the sword, how it was crafted from Zekrom, and what the symbol on the blade meant. When Snivy ventured off on his own, his father gave the sword to him, and then Snivy discovered he could communicate with Zekrom. Zekrom helped Snivy get on his feet, and Snivy helped Zekrom by defeating the Bittercold with the sword. So they really were friends. Now I understand why it really hurts for Snivy to not have those powers. They were a sign of his friendship with Zekrom... and losing friends sucks...
"I'm sorry that all happened, Snivy." He let out a sigh.
"It's not your fault. Plus, you're the one who keeps pushing me to keep going, so I have to thank you for that." He gave a small smile to me. I smiled back as I stood up and stretched.
"Well, now that that's out of the way," I turned towards Nebula. She perked up. "Nebula, you had something to tell Snivy, right?"
"Hm?" Snivy tilted his head at Nebula.
"Oh, I uh..." She paused. "I just... wanted to say- huh?" She tilted her head. "What's that around your neck?"
"You mean this?" Snivy pulled out Eevee's pendant, which hung around his neck. I figured he still carried it. "This is Eevee's pendant. With her gone, I feel it's my responsibility to hold on to it..." Nebula was engrossed in the shiny blue gem in the pendant. For a moment, I swear I saw Nebula raise her paw, as if she was going to grab the pendant, but she quickly stopped herself.
"A-Anyway..." She stopped to take a deep breath, but she still seemed shaky. "I want you to know that... Y-You should keep your head held high. Don't listen to what anyone else tells you. Listen to your friends, and trust them. Unlike with the Bittercold, you're not the only one who can stop Kyurem. But we can't stop him without you. So just... Don't give in to darkness..."
"Wait... The 'darkness'? You... Do you know that voice I keep hearing?"
"Urk!" Nebula quickly turned around and jumped away.
"Wait!" Snivy and I ran after her. But when we reached the top of the steps, she was nowhere below the mountain.
A gentle breeze blew through the air...
"What was that all about?" I wondered.
"I don't know... Why did she tell me those things? Why did she run off...? Who is she?" I didn't respond. I didn't have an answer to give because I wish I knew. But since Nebula ran off, there's not much else we can do. I shrugged.
"Well, anyway..." I turned towards Snivy, "Did you know Gurdurr is here?"
"Oh, that guy? I remember him... What's he doing here?"
"He said he wanted to see you since you came back to Paradise."
"Hmph. I didn't expect him out of everyone to want to come see me..."
"Y'know, everyone who was once here probably misses you more than you think."
"Hm..." Snivy looked down; He didn't know how to respond to that.
"We better get going..." I lead the way back to the entrance to Paradise as Snivy followed behind. We didn't see Nebula on the way there... I wondered why she gave that whole speech to Snivy. And why did she mention that "darkness" to him? She must know something. But what...?
When we made it to the center of Paradise, with all of the desert-like land, we saw Mienshao and Gurdurr talking to each other. Around them were an assortment of tools, ranging from shovels to pickaxes to watering cans, and there were tied up burlap sacks; I had no idea what was in them, though. As Snivy and I approached them, Gurdurr turned around and started pulling out materials within the sacks.
"What are you guys doing?" I asked. Mienshao turned to face me.
"Oh, there you are Delphox. I see you brought Snivy; Very good. As for the reason behind these supplies-"
"Hyaaah!" Gurdurr groaned loudly as he dropped an apparently heavy sack in front of Mienshao, interrupting him. "Man, that was heavier than I thought. Anyway, we're going to re-excavate this land!" He announced it happily. I put my paw to my chin and turned towards Mienshao.
"But I thought we had other important business to take care of, Mienshao?"
"Yes, but..." Mienshao turned around. He took a long look at the isolated land. A swift breeze carried a tumbleweed in the distance... "I would give up anything to see Paradise restored to the way it once was..." Gurdurr walked up next to him.
"Y'know, you could've just called me to fix this land up..."
"Hmph, not only did I not know where you were located, I was afraid we would not be able to pay you back."
"Psh, nonsense. If I had known the land looked like this, I would've came up and fixed it myself ages ago." Mienshao faced Gurdurr and gave him a smile.
"Well then, we are grateful for your hospitality." Gurdurr nodded in response.
"Alright, so..." He rubbed his hands together excitedly. "Let's get started!" Strangely, I saw Snivy eagerly walk up to Gurdurr.
"Ah, hey there Snivy! It's good to see you're still here. You planning to help us?" Snivy happily nodded.
"Seeing Paradise restored is something Eevee would've wanted; I'd be glad to help!" Gurdurr rubbed the back of his head.
"Oh, yeah... I heard what happened to her. I'm sorry..." Gurdurr cleared his throat. "A-Anyway, let's get to work!" Snivy was able to brush off his comment, and the four of us got started.
We first listened to Gurdurr's instructions. He and Mienshao would dig up the land and put down rich soil for all the plant life to grow. Snivy and I would then place seeds down once they had the soil placed. In the far east and west ends of Paradise, we were going to have a huge, leafy forest made, to ensure there would be shade from the center; The center land would become a free, open field, with lots of sunshine. (The back of Paradise was already a rocky place, and the front, aside from the main team base, still retained the waterworks around it. We didn't need to excavate any of that land.)
We worked hard under the sun. Having to carefully measure the distance between seeds very quickly became a laborious and tedious task. But I was able to test my psychic powers; I would grab a whole bunch of grass seeds, evenly space them out in a straight line, and then plant them in the ground. When Mienshao noticed, he was impressed. The thought of seeing Paradise restored encouraged me to keep working. All the while we worked, I could see Snivy with a cheery smile. I was relieved to see him not be all gloomy for once. Later on in the day, Dewott eventually came back from Post Town. Obviously, he joined in our collaboration. Being the water type that he was, he was tasked with watering all the seeds we had placed. The difficult part was making sure he didn't over-water them, though.
Nebula, however, was still nowhere to be seen...
At around noon time, another Pokémon showed up at Paradise. An eccentric Azumarill bounced over to us with her rabbit-like ear flapping above her head and her zig-zag tail waving all over the place. Mienshao introduced me to her, stating that her original job was to help Dewott with the amount of paperwork that came in. She was here for the same reason as Gurdurr: To see what was up with Snivy. However, she decided to wait on that, and joined us on rebuilding Paradise. With her being a water type too, she went and helped Dewott carry out his task. It was around this time that we had finally finished preparing land in the west end of Paradise; We decided to do the center field last, and moved to the east.
While working in the east, a few more Pokémon came in to Paradise. The first to show up was a light-blue skinned Quagsire.
"Oh, would you look at that? Quagsire's here." Mienshao announced.
"It is very great to, hmmm, see you all, again!" Quagsire waddled over to us. While Snivy and everyone else greeted him, Mienshao walked over to me.
"Quagsire was the one who sold all this land to Eevee."
"Wait? All of it? It must've cost a lot..."
"More than you think..." Mienshao nodded his head. "Quagsire also dealt with the outlaws we captured."
"Really?" I looked over at Quagsire. His big, bright smile and small eyes made him seem like a very kind Pokémon, who wouldn't even raise a finger in violence. "Are you sure about that?" I asked.
Mienshao laughed. "We didn't believe he'd be that kind of Pokémon either, but it's true." Eh... I still didn't believe it to be true...
The next Pokémon that came was a Scraggy. Dewott had an angry reunion with him...
"Hey... I remember you! Why are you here?"
"Hmph." Scraggy grabbed his trousers and pulled them up in annoyance. "I'm not here to see you, if that's what ya' think," he had quite the smug attitude. "I'm only here because of Snivy." Scraggy turned his head away. I walked over to Dewott.
"So, you mind telling me what's with this guy?"
"Hm... Truth be told: He was in cahoots with Gurdurr. A very long time ago, Gurdurr ran a scam together with this guy and they would completely rip everyone off. They even did it to Eevee, back before Paradise was first established. When we finally ended their scheme, they promised to help us. Scraggy here was good at helping us learn new attacks. But regardless, I still don't trust him." Scraggy turned around and got angry at Dewott.
"Ugh! How many times do I have to tell you!? I've stopped doing that!" The two of them began to growl at each other, almost butting their heads together. I could see Dewott winning the fight though, due to the size difference. I laughed at their rivalry.
"Hey, Scraggy." Snivy had walked over here. Scraggy immediately perked up and faced him.
"Y-Yes Snivy?"
"Would you mind helping us out? I was planning to talk to everyone about what happened after we got all of this work done."
"Yeah, s-sure thing!" I laughed in my head at how he was completely willing to listen to Snivy. Did he fear him? Oh well, it didn't matter; As long as he helped...
The final Pokémon that came by had quite an entrance. He came storming in with a ball of fire wrapped around his body, rocketing pass all of us. When he finally landed, and the fire dissipated, I could see the Pokémon's giant blue eyes, and he had pointy ears that formed a "V". I didn't know this Pokémon, though.
"HEELLLLLLLLOOOOOOOOOOO!" He shouted really loudly, disrupting the calm atmosphere we all had been working in.
"Well, if it isn't Victini," Mienshao greeted him. "How nice to see you!" Vicitni began bouncing all over the place and talking super fast.
"Ohmigosh! Mienfoo, you evolved! You're all purple and white and have these weird sleeve things on your arms. That's so cool!"
"Yes, it's certainly been a long-"
"WHOA!" Victini turned his attention to me and flew up in my face. "I've never seen a Pokémon like you before! You have huge ears! And this red dress you're wearing- What's your name? Are you a fire type? Oh, what's this for?" He grabbed my wand out from under my yellow fur, which acted like a tunic. (I kept my wand on the inside of it.) I annoyingly snatched my wand out of his hands. I gritted my teeth, trying not to snap at him.
"This is my wand. Please don't touch my wand ever again," I placed my wand back on the inside of my fur and relaxed. "My name is Delphox. I'm actually a fire type, and a psychic type Pokémon." Victini's eyes widened.
"You're a fire, psychic type, too!? That's awesome! I'm super glad to meet a Pokémon like you!" Mienshao could sense the irritation building up inside of me and decided to grab Victini's attention.
"So Victini, are you here to see Snivy, too?" Victini turned towards Mienshao and gasped.
"How did you know!?"
"Everyone who once worked here in Paradise decided to show up and say 'hi' to him."
"I heard stuff happened to him and Eevee, so I flew over here as fast as I could!"
At that moment, Snivy walked by him.
"Oh, hey Vic-"
"SNIVY!" Victini instantly jumped on Snivy. "Are you okay!? You're not hurt, are you? I heard Eevee died- that's so sad. I'm so sorry to hear that..."
"Ugh! Please, get off me." Snivy calmly asked him. He stood back up. "Phew... Anyway, I was planning to talk about it later. Would you mind helping us rebuild Paradise, though?" Victini saluted Snivy.
"Yes, of course! You can count on me!"
I don't know why, but Victini was so energetic that despite how annoying he could be, it was hard to not smile at his cheerfulness. Mienshao told me that everyone who once hung around here in Paradise is now back. With all the extra helping hands we had, we finished the east side of Paradise much sooner than the west. All that was left was the center field. We had planned it to be entirely full of grass, but with everyone else that showed up, we managed to even get a river running through the place; The source of it came from the ocean that was way in the back, behind Paradise. The total time spent working on Paradise was six hours. Three on the west side, two on the east, and another two for the center field.
And so, it was finally sometime late passed noon; The sun would soon begin to set. Paradise was completely refurbished, and within the coming days it would grow into a much more beautiful place.
Throughout the whole time we worked, as more of these Pokémon came to check up on Snivy, I could see him open up more. He was laughing and having a good time working with all of these friends he had here. I remember when he first came back nobody knew who he was, and he looked miserable; I felt bad then. But now that he's had a chance to reunite with his friends from the past, it seemed like he was genuinely happy. And it made me feel... I guess "accomplished" would be the best word for it.
We all ended up going to the team base to cool off after all our work. Unintentionally, it became a loud party. Everyone sat at the center table, sharing stories of what they were currently doing with their lives, while eating oodles of berries and seeds. Snivy, of course, was enjoying it just as much as everyone else. But I didn't take part in any of that. I leaned against the wall with my arms crossed, watching the merriment go on. However, it was here that I noticed that Nebula still wasn't around; She didn't help us at all. She was so set on joining the team to tell us of Kyurem, but she didn't want to help rebuild Paradise? Hm...
Suddenly, Mienshao stood next to me, leaning back against the wall like I was. But he didn't say anything to me, he just observed the party. So, I started to chat with him.
"So, are you still okay that we spent the day working on Paradise, instead of preparing for our battle with Kyurem?" Mienshao gave me a smile.
"Of course! I'm so relieved to finally have everything put back to the way it was. Even though we'll need to wait for everything to grow, I'm just glad that having Snivy back really did lead to rebuilding Paradise... And it's thanks to you, Delphox."
"Wait, me? I didn't do a whole lot, though..."
"Yes, but before, when it was just Dewott and me, we could never leave far from Paradise. We always had to keep watch over it. But when you came along, you allowed us to free up time and focus on the larger task: Getting Snivy back to Paradise. And so, I thank you..." Mienshao closed his eyes and let out a long sigh of relief. "Ah~... I didn't think... I'd ever see this day come..." Right then, for a split second, I was pretty sure I saw a single tear flow out of Mienshao's eye.
"A-Are you crying?" I asked him with a smile. He quickly turned away, rubbing his eyes.
"No, not at all; I'm fine. I just need to step out for a moment..." Mienshao briskly walked off.
Hehe... I never expected to see that from Mienshao...
Mienshao stepped outside. He leaned back against the wall to the base and let out a sigh, calming himself. He then looked up in the distance, and saw the sun just about to sit on the edge of the horizon. The orange light covering the land made Paradise look like it was made of gold. The yellow clouds in the peach sky gently cruised on by. Mienshao stepped forward to get a better view. But he stopped when he heard a noise behind him.
"Hm?" He turned around, and saw Nebula sitting on the roof. Her cloak gently flapped with the occasional breeze through the air. "Oh, there you are..." Nebula remained quiet. "Is there a reason as to why you didn't want to help us today?" He asked her calmly.
"There was something I needed to take care of. Plus, I did help a little..." Mienshao tilted his head.
"Are you sure? I don't recall seeing you anywhere while we worked."
"Listen, I can prove it. Remember when you guys started on the east side, and how you accidentally left behind two sacks of materials in the west?"
"Yes, but when I arrived-"
"There was only one sack, right? I carried the other one back to the east for you."
"But no one mentioned seeing you."
"I threw the sack with the rest of the materials when no one was looking."
"Hm..." Mienshao leaned back against the wall again, looking out at the sun. "Did you do anything else?"
"I threw some more grass seeds in a few areas that you guys missed. I watered them, too."
"Ah... I thank you for your help, then." Nebula was silent.
The sun continued to shine out in the distance...
"Why are you hiding from everyone?" Mienshao asked. Nebula paused before answering.
"I need to stay hidden. I can't let anyone know who I really am."
"And why is that?"
"I told you: If I reveal myself, then I'll disappear. Arceus warned me of that..."
"Arceus?" Mienshao got off the wall and looked back at Nebula in shock. "Arceus sent you!?" Nebula didn't respond, though. Mienshao calmed himself and sighed. "If I had known you were involved with the Legends somehow, I would've been willing to understand. If you must hide yourself because they told you, then I will not push for your identity. But I do have one question to ask..." Mienshao crossed his arms as Nebula perked her ears up. "Why did Arceus- if it even was Arceus- why were you sent here?" Nebula paused again before answering.
"There is a bigger reason, but I can't share that with you. Partly why I was sent was to inform you of Kyurem, the wish stone, and Zekrom and Reshiram. That is all."
"I see..." Mienshao leaned back again, against the wall. That was the end of their conversation. A moment of silence passed.
Mienshao closed his eyes and began to doze off...
A short time later, Mienshao thought he heard something slide in the grass, but the sound immediately stopped, so he ignored it. But the voice he heard...
"Pardon me," Mienshao opened his eyes. A giant green serpent slithered in front of him. Mienshao's eyes widened at the snake's presence. The serpent's stern red eyes and prideful posture sent a chill down his spine, but he remained unfazed by the creature. "I was informed that this was the team PokéHeroes' base of operation. Is this true?" Mienshao got off the wall and gave his usual introduction.
"Yes, this here is the base to team PokéHeroes. I am the leader, Mienshao. Is there something I can help you with?"
"Perhaps there is... I am looking for a Pokémon, specifically a Snivy. If I am correct, he is a part of your team."
"Oh? Would you care to meet him?" Mienshao offered.
"I would appreciate that," the serpent let out a sigh of relief. "It's been ages since I last saw my son..."
While everyone was still being rowdy, I heard Mienshao open the door and he walked back in.
"Snivy!" The room instantly went quiet. Snivy looked up at him. "It appears you have another visitor." Mienshao stepped to the side as a tall, pale green serpent-like Pokémon slithered up front. Honestly, I didn't know what Pokémon it was. He was clearly the tallest out of everyone in the room. He held deep red eyes like Snivy, and the intricate yellow markings on the middle of its body made him seem like a magnificent Pokémon. He had a prideful posture that made you feel like you were standing before a king.
Mienshao had walked back next to me; I decided to ask him.
"Hey, what Pokémon is that?"
"That is a Serperior."
"A Serperior? Hm..." Okay, but how did this Serperior know Snivy? I looked over at Snivy, only to see him standing up, caught in disbelief.
"F-... Father?"
"FATHER!?" All of us (except Mienshao) were blown away. This was Snivy's dad!? Holy crap.
Snivy ran up to his father. He gave Snivy a small, warm smile. "I'm glad to know you're doing well, Snivy. Although, I had expected you to evolve by now..."
"But father... H-How- Why are you here?"
"I had heard the story of what's happened to you. But I wanted to hear the specifics from you, directly. Or rather, what I should ask is, what have you done since you left?"
"Oh. Well, I was just about to tell that to everyone else here. But you want to know everything, so I'll start from the beginning..." As Snivy went back to his spot at the table, the Serperior sat off to the side like Mienshao and me; He coiled himself into a comfortable position, prepared to listen to Snivy. We all turned our attention towards Snivy.
Snivy began his story by talking about when he first came here to Paradise and met Eevee. He explained how he saved her, how he screwed up, how he met Zekrom, blah blah blah. Everyone already knew this story, and I knew bits and pieces of it. So I don't really have to explain, do I?
Eventually, he got up to telling the more recent events, and what happened when he and Eevee went off to fight Dusknoir. He very quietly mentioned how Eevee died. Every one of us, including the Serperior, closed our eyes in remorse. But Snivy was able to recover and continue the story. However, as soon as Snivy was about to mention the part where he lost control of himself, he paused.
"D-Dusknoir had killed Eevee and then... I... uh..." Snivy paused again. He looked really nervous about something. I tilted my head in confusion. What's his problem?
"Are you okay, Snivy?" His dad asked. Snivy shook his head.
"Y-Yea, I'm fine! I just... need a moment..." Snivy let out a sigh. But I could tell he was still worried. Something wasn't right... And I was starting to worry, too. But Snivy continued. He kept stuttering as he recounted what happened with Giratina, and how he lost the sword's powers. At that moment, for a second, I saw Snivy glance at his father. But he quickly looked away, and continued his story.
Out of curiosity, I looked over at his father, too. Just then, I realized what was wrong with Snivy; His father held a glare. But it was so patronizing that anyone looking at him would lose there nerve. But why was he staring daggers? Despite the disheartening look though, Snivy managed to continue the story. He continued all the way up to when I met him, and how I encouraged him to come back to Paradise. But despite how heartfelt he told that part, his father's gaze didn't change at all. Finally, Snivy finished his story.
There was a long moment of silence...
Suddenly, everyone started clapping for Snivy. I could tell that eased him a bit, but then his dad slithered over to him, still holding that glare.
"So, uh... Yeah. That's what happened, father..." But the two of them continued to stare at each other. Everyone started to become just as confused as me, wondering what was going on. I quickly focused my psych on Snivy, and read his mind.
"Oh, crap! He's going to kill me! But there was no way to lie about the sword..."
The sword? Unexpectedly, the Serperior used a vine that sprouted off his back and grabbed Snivy's sword, pulling it out of the sheath.
"Wait, I-!" Snivy tried to think of something to say, but he couldn't. His dad carefully analyzed the blade, looking at how worn out it was. He began to give off an irritated growl.
"Is it true, Snivy? Is this blade really no longer under the power of the Legends?"
"Y-Yes..." Snivy answered truthfully.
"I see..." His dad turned around. "We're leaving now, Snivy."
"Wait, what?"
"I thought you were capable of handling yourself. But if you managed to break your connection with the Legends, then perhaps I was wrong. You're coming home, so I can hopefully teach you to be more responsible."
Snivy was completely blown away by his dad's harsh criticism. He tried to reason with him.
"But father, I can't go. With Eevee gone I have to work hard in her place; I'm not leaving the team." Snivy stood firmly. But the Serperior faced Snivy and this time he had an even more threatening glare, baring his fangs, and raising his voice.
"This is not open for debate, Snivy! We're leaving right now!" Snivy's dad turned around and began to slither away. We were all terrified of him...
Snivy didn't move, though. He tilted his head down and sighed, looking depressed.
Y'know... I went through a lot to bring Snivy back, and it took forever to see him become happy again. But his dad just made him feel completely worthless all at once. And it pained me to see him like that...
I stood up for Snivy...
"Hey," The Serperior glanced in my direction. "You know, you could stand to be a little more grateful- heck, even more proud of your son for what he's done." Serperior faced me now with his glare. But I wasn't fazed by it.
"Excuse me!? How could someone like you ever hope to understand what it means to be given responsibility of the Gods? Clearly, he needs to be put under my guidance."
"You're right, I won't understand what it's like to be given divine responsibility. But that doesn't change anything! Snivy's still young, and he's accomplished a lot. Heck, if it weren't for him, we'd all be dead. All you care about is that stupid sword, but Snivy's learned to live without the power of the Gods. And I'll be damned if you're just going to come in here and take him from us."
At this point, there was a definite violent tension rising in the room. Everyone at the table nervously shifted away from Serperior and me. Mienshao was also fully alert. Serperior glanced over at Snivy, who continued to look down at the ground.
"Snivy..." Snivy glanced up at his dad. "If you plan to stay with these Pokémon..." he switched his gaze back to me, "Then let's see if they're really worth fighting for!" Suddenly, Serperior picked up his tail and tried slamming it down on me, but I managed to roll out of the way. I wasn't expecting a fight, and I know this will hurt Snivy, but now I have no choice.
"You want to fight? Fine." I pulled my wand out and started spinning it in a circle, creating a small flame wheel. "Mystical fire!" The ring of fire shot straight at Serperior. He raised the lower half of his body up in an attempt to block my flames. Even though he's a grass type, he appeared completely unharmed by my attack; There weren't even any burn marks! How...?
"Urk!" I felt one of Serperior's vines wrap around my foot, and he hurled me at full force into the wall. "Agh!" With the wind knocked out of me, I fell to the ground writhing in pain. I couldn't get back up; Jeez... Snivy's dad was extremely powerful. He loomed over me.
"Hmph. I should end you for thinking you could criticize my judgment on my son. You can't even stand up for yourself in a fight!" As he lifted up his tail to slam it down on me again, I closed my eyes and prepared to take the hit.
But instead...
"Ugh!" I looked up, and I saw Nebula took the blunt of the attack for me. Despite the amount of force she took, she still stood up.
"What!? Where- Who are you!?" Serperior demanded. Nebula pushed away his tail.
"I'm not going to let you hurt my friends!" She then began to unleash a barrage of swipes at Serperior. He attempted to counter her attacks, but she was extremely fast and was able to dodge them.
I took this chance to notice that Mienshao and Dewott had gathered everyone in a corner away from us and guarded them. I also glanced at Snivy; He had a strange look of shock, anger, and indecisiveness on his face. I could tell this was a lot to throw on him, and again, I felt bad...
Eventually, Serperior did manage to land a hit on Nebula, knocking her to the ground. I could tell by Serperior's voice that he was furious.
"I've had enough of this cheap endeavor! Have at you!" This time, Serperior prepared a leaf blade of his own; A green aura surrounded one of his vines, and he raised it above Nebula, intending to strike her down. I looked away at the last moment.
A loud clang reverberated throughout the room...
I looked up... Snivy jumped in and blocked the leaf blade with his sword! Serperior gave an astounded look.
"Snivy!? You dare raise your sword against me!? You're own father? Hmph..." Serperior receded his vine. "I'll give you one chance to put it away..." Snivy continued to hold his sword up.
"No... I told you, I'm not leaving!" Snivy said it proudly. "After all the time I spent with this team, I've learned a lot about trusting friends, and what it means to truly do good for everyone. I learned how to handle myself without relying on the sword. I don't need any help! Leaving now would only make me a coward!" Serperior seemed to calm down a bit, and listened more intently to Snivy. "Plus, I still have one mission left to do: I have to help this team get back to its former self. It's my fault Eevee is gone, and I need to stay for her sake!" Snivy let out a sigh. "I'm sorry father. I can't go..."
There was a long pause filled with silence. I could sense the tension leave the area. Serperior slithered over in front of Snivy, but with less of a threatening look this time. He closed his eyes.
"If this is truly what you want, Snivy... If this is truly how you see your future, with this rescue team, then so be it." Snivy eased up when his dad said that. Serperior turned around and headed towards the doorway leaving the base. But he stopped once he got up to it.
"Oh, and by the way Snivy..."
"Hm?" Snivy turned towards his dad.
"You're mother was the one who told me to come out here and see you. In case you're wondering, she's doing fine. I'll be sure to tell her about you..." I saw Snivy nod and he gave a small smile.
"Thanks for letting me know, father."
And with that, Serperior finally left. Snivy let out a loud sigh of relief before running over to Nebula to check on her. Mienshao rushed over to me.
"Are you okay, Delphox?" He helped me sit up.
"Ah..." I could feel my whole body ache. "I think I'm mostly okay..." Mienshao helped me stand up, but I didn't need the help. I told him to let go; I was capable of walking. Although, there was a sharp sting in my back. "Ugh... Please get me some Oran berries." I sat down at the center table. Snivy helped Nebula over and he sat next to me. Then everyone else joined back at the table, too. We all went back to making merry. But we were a bit quiet... Dewott was the first to acknowledge what happened.
"Man, that was pretty scary back there..." One by one, everyone then made their own comment about what had happened.
"I wanted to join in and help Delphox, but honestly, I got a little scared." Gurdurr explained.
"Are you kidding me?" Scraggy replied. "That was crazy! I was thinking of a way out in case things got really ugly..."
"I was afraid he was actually going to kill them! That would've been horrible..." Victini shivered.
"Well, let's all be thankful that things didn't get worse..." Everyone agreed with Azumarill's comment.
"Despite the unexpected violence, it was a rather, hmmm, entertaining show, was it not?" Everyone except us (the team) nodded their heads at Quagsire's statement.
"Hmph, I'm glad you guys enjoyed the performance..." I joked. Everybody laughed. Snivy unexpectedly spoke up.
"Everyone... I'm sorry that happened. I knew things were going to get bad the moment I mentioned how the sword lost its powers."
"Don't worry over it, Snivy," Gurdurr assured.
"We're just glad you and everyone else are safe..." Azumarill smiled at him. Snivy nodded his head in response.
"Thanks everyone..." Snivy smiled. As he sat down, he whispered to me. "And thank you Delphox, for standing up to my dad. As you can see, he's a bit prideful and stubborn." I rolled my eyes.
"Heh, I could tell..."
The whole lot of us continued to converse late into the night...