Thanks to JellyBunnyBeans and Tgonthefiery for reviewing the previous chapter.
If that guest is still checking this out, I'm sorry to disappoint you but I have no intentions of becoming an author. I just write for fun.
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Chapter Nineteen: Questioning Beliefs
Reaching Canalave City had taken a couple of days, taking her on a wet and cold journey towards the northern part of the region. Her journey took her towards Celestic Town, but the main entrance was blocked because of an incident involving Team Galactic. Instead, she had been forced to take a path through the forest to reach the destination of her next gym badge. Fortunately, the journey had been a relatively short one thanks to Barry's company.
He hadn't stayed with her for the entire walk though, running ahead, claiming he was finding hard travelling at snail pace. Dawn didn't feel too concerned about him leaving since she knew she'd meet up with him again in due time since they had a habit of running into each other. She pulled the hood off her raincoat down and stepped through the gate house.
As she exited the gate house, the salty smell of the ocean filled her nostrils, filling her with sadness. It reminded her of the earthly odour of Pastoria's Great Marsh and with that came the images of the disaster that had taken place. She drew in a deep breath and forced the visuals aside, knowing she had to be strong for the remainder of her journey.
Canalave's environment was different from every place she had visited so far had been surrounded by trees or low cliffs, but this city was open to the sea. A chilly breeze coming from the northern most city, Snowpoint, blew through the area, causing her to shudder involuntarily. She wrapped her arms around her body and hurried towards the Pokemon Centre on the northern right corner of the city. Canalave was separated by a canal and the other side could be accessed by crossing over the drawbridge. The bridge looked sturdy enough, but would it hold if a tidal wave rushed the city? There'd be no place to go since the city was so open.
She shuddered again as another strong burst of chilly wind brushed up against her skin and quickly pushed the doors of the Pokemon Centre open. Closing the doors behind her, she walked over towards the counter to heal up her Pokemon when she came to an abrupt stop. Something was moving inside her bag! Immediately, she glanced down, wondering if a wild Pokemon had somehow jumped inside to hide from the rain. Carefully, set place it down on the ground and zipped it open.
The Eevee egg was safely secured in a corner and now it was moving back and forth, trying to break free of the strap holding it in place. She removed the protective casing around it and discarded it on the floor, watching the egg with interest. There was a crack running directly down the middle. She drew her face closer then jumped back, as a tiny claw protruded from the crack, wriggling around, trying to break more shell.
More pieces of egg shell fell off as the vibrations intensified. Soon, the bottom of her bag was lined with shell. A brown feline creature with round black eyes emerged from the remains of the egg, its fluffy tail held erect. Dawn reached down and placed her hands around the Eevee, gently lifting the baby Pokemon out of its egg. The feline tried to jump out of her hands, but Dawn held it in place. Was it a male or a female? She moved her head beneath the Eevee's wriggling body then lowered her new friend back into her bag so the Eevee couldn't escape. Eevee was a female, bringing her gender ratio to five to one. Did gender even matter when it came to Pokemon battles? She wasn't sure. Eevee started gnawing on the pouch of Sacred Ash.
Dawn gently pushed the Eevee away and shook her finger in her face. "No," she said firmly. Eevee pinned her ears against her head, wrapping her fluffy tail around her body, giving Dawn the impression her Eevee was sad. Dawn wasn't going to allow herself to be fooled by the adorable expression. Eevee had to learn discipline early on. She reached down and scratched Eevee behind the ears, earning a soft purring noise from the feline.
"A newly-hatched Pokemon!" the nurse cooed, leaning over the counter, gushing over the cuteness of her Eevee.
Dawn nodded. "Is there anything I need to know about baby Pokemon?"
"Newly-hatched Pokemon require a lot of attention in their first few days. They are naturally curious as you can imagine and they must be supervised at all times. Since you don't have the parent Pokemon, you'll need to give your Eevee a specially made potion to allow her to grow into a strong and healthy adult." The nurse walked around the counter, carrying a small bottle of white milk and handed it to Dawn.
"Thanks."
The nurse crouched down besides her. "Do you know what Eevee evolution you want?"
Dawn nodded again. "Vaporean. I already have a water stone."
"I'd wait until your Pokemon is past the weaning stage before evolving her. Sometimes, an early evolution can cause problems for your Pokemon later down the road, like physical deformities and such." She scratched the Eevee and smiled. "I would also advise involving your Eevee in battling until the weaning stage has passed. Early injuries can be fatal early on."
Dawn placed the bottle inside her bag. Eevee jumped on it and started attacking it with her claws making Dawn chuckle at the silliness of it all. "How many times do I feed her?"
"Twice a day – when the sun rises and when the sun begins to set. She'll only need a few sips so this potion will last you until the weaning stage is over." The nurse stood up. Dawn made sure her Eevee was safely in her bag before standing up. Eevee poked her head out of the bag, wagging her tail from side to side. "Would you like your Pokemon healed?"
"Yes please."
She headed over to the counter, setting her bag on the floor again then removed her pokebelt, handing it over to the nurse. The nurse took it and removed the pokeballs, placing them in a machine. The healing process took a few short minutes. "There you go!" the nurse chirped. She reattached the pokeballs to the belt and handed it back over.
Dawn thanked her and exited the building, carefully slinging the bag over her shoulder. She made her way towards the gym when she spotted Barry exiting from it. He greeted her with his usual trademark grin. "Hey there, Dawn! You're going to challenge the gym leader, right? Well, I've already beaten him and you should be able to as well since you're almost as strong as I am."
"Almost as strong as I am? Have you forgotten that I defeated you the last time you and I battled?"
"That was a long time ago and I'm stronger than that now." He stepped aside. "Anyway, you go on and battle the gym leader. When you're done, I want you to come to the library here in Canalave. I want to show you this awesome book I found! You'll love it, I'm sure of it. Well, see you there, Dawn! Don't take too long otherwise I might have to fine you!" He gave her another dazzling grin then raced towards the only two-storey building in the city.
Dawn pushed the doors open and stepped inside.
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Candice glanced down at the notes on her desk, her eyes briefly skimming over the information. There was at least a fortnight's worth of homework sitting on the table. Sighing, she picked up the first workbook and opened to the first page. "Ice-type Pokemon – Strengths and Weaknesses," she read aloud, groaning inwardly.
She didn't understand why her tutor even bothered giving her homework on ice-type Pokemon. She was the gym trainer of Snowpoint City, the home of ice-type Pokemon, and answering questions about her type speciality seemed stupid. Why couldn't her tutor give her homework on a type she wasn't so familiar with, such as the dark-type or psychic-type?
But her tutor insisted on it, claiming studying the ice-type would help maximize her bond with her Pokemon. Her tutor, Lorelei, was a former member of the Indigo League, but had left to pursue her interests elsewhere – that interest was teaching and now she offered her services to other ice-type trainers, helping them achieve the status of an ice-type master.
Candice respected the woman for her skills, but Lorelei was so blunt and lacked a sense of humour, it was a task to even put up with her for two hours a week. With another sigh, she tried to force herself to read the words written on the paper, but found her concentration drifting to other places – like the gossip column in her favourite magazine, 'Sinnoh Times'. Reading the magazine was so much more interesting than reading Lorelei's notes about the obvious.
She was about to open her drawer to read some more when she heard a knock on the back door. Curious, she stood up and walked over to open it, surprised to hear someone outside. She didn't remember inviting anyone over. Her fingers wrapped around the knob and she twisted it clockwise until it popped open. Standing outside in the freezing cold was Maylene dressed in garments Candice never thought she'd ever see the girl wear.
"Maylene!" she enthused. "I wasn't expecting you!" She ushered the girl inside and hurried over to make her friend something hot to drink.
Maylene sat down at the table after removing her thick woolly jumper. "I wanted to get out of the city for awhile… I needed to clear my head."
Candice grabbed a white mug from the overhead cabinet then placed it on the counter before turning on the kettle. Once the water started to boil, she headed back over and leaned against her desk, giving Maylene an impatient look. Her fellow gym leaders only visited her in summer when the snow stopped falling claiming it was too cold to make the long trek during the other seasons.
Candice hardly noticed the difference – woolly jumpers and long pants were still worn in the summer months. She was beginning to suspect her fellow gym leaders were just lazy – except for Maylene who enjoyed making the trek, claiming it increased her fitness. "It's about a boy, isn't it?" she said, grinning.
Maylene frowned. "What makes you think that?"
"Your summer-time visits usually aren't this early in the season," Candice replied, her grin widening at the tinge of red appearing on Maylene's cheeks. "I mean, the snow is still falling – it won't stop until next week. So, come on, give me the juicy details. Who is he and what did he do?"
The Veilstone gym leader fidgeted uncomfortably in her seat, moving her eyes away from Candice to stare at something on the ground. That just heightened Candice's curiosity – whoever it was it must've been someone Maylene liked strongly to want to avoid the topic. "Just some guy, that's all. He's not a problem anymore," she said, although she didn't sound convinced.
Candice's grinned widened. "Oh come on, Maylene! Don't be like this! You can't keep it all bottled up inside, you know," she teased, climbing onto her desk, swinging her legs from left to right.
"All right, all right!" Candice looked at her expectantly as Maylene took in a deep breath. "It's Volkner."
"Oooo, does Maylene have a crush?" Candice said lightly, her grin widening, as Maylene's cheeks turned a deeper shade of red. "And on Volkner too! That's so cute!" she squealed. "I can't say I'm surprised though – I always thought you were the only girl who could put him in his place. So, what did he do? Did he serenade you with a song? Give you some flowers and a box of chocolate? Take you out on a date somewhere?"
Maylene just looked at her as if to say, 'what are you going on about?' "He kissed me, reeking of cheap alcohol at the casino – not exactly my idea of 'romantic'," she replied sourly.
Candice gasped. "He did that? I hope you taught him a lesson… You did, right?"
"I slapped him."
"And that's it?" Candice was shocked. She just slapped him? "You just slapped him?"
"What else was I supposed to do?"
"Uh, hit him where it hurts?"
Maylene's eyes widened. "I wouldn't hurt him that bad."
"Well," Candice replied, crossing her arms over her chest. "That's what I would've done."
Maylene sighed, her shoulders slumping. "I want to help him, Candice. Call me a fool, but I… Don't want to stand by idly and watch him suffer. He's a gym leader, he's one of us whether he likes it or not, and I just wish he'd understand that people do care for him," she blurted out, taking Candice by surprise. Maylene must've realized what she had said and blushed again, her face almost as red as Flint's hair. "He already suspects that I might care about him."
"Might?" Candice snorted. "Make that do care and I think it's cute."
"You think everything is cute."
Candice shrugged. "Fair point… I know he upset you, and you have every right to be mad, but if you really want to help him, you need to make sure he understands that. I know you like him, so stop making yourself miserable and do something about it, otherwise you might lose him forever."
"You've been reading way too many romance novels."
"It's better than reading these notes Lorelei gave me…" she murmured. "But seriously, you're a fighter – I thought fighters never gave up?" The kettle stopped boiling and Candice hopped off the table to prepare Maylene a mug of hot chocolate.
"You're saying I should tell him?" A dry laugh left her throat, as if she thought the girl was making a joke. "You think he'd listen to me after I sent him packing and told him not to return?"
Candice returned, placing the mug on the table before Maylene. The fighter picked it up and took a sip then set it down again. "What do you fight for again?" She gazed upwards then lowered her gaze again. "Don't you fight for tears, love, courage and hope?" Maylene remained quiet. Candice continued. "All I'm saying is, don't abandon all hope. Go and get your man," she added, flashing a grin. Maylene rolled her eyes, but a smile was beginning to form on her face.
She stood up. "You really need to lay off the romance novels."
"And you need to head over to Sunyshore now and give Volkner a good beating." Candice pushed Maylene towards the door after giving the fighter her jumper back. Maylene put it on and pushed the door open, inviting a cold breeze to enter the gym. She shuddered. "Be sure to call me!" Maylene just chuckled and exited the gym and Candice closed the door, shutting out the cool wind. She turned to her books again and sighed. Time to hit the books, she thought.
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As per usual, the gym advisor was standing at the entrance, waiting to give challengers advice for the upcoming challenge. Dawn wondered how he managed to get here so quickly and figured he must've had a Pokemon that could fly to transport him around in reasonable time. He waved at her and beckoned her over. "Are you ready to claim your sixth gym badge?"
She nodded, looking around the gym, noticing there was a lift before her. It was a bland looking room with plain grey walls and matching floor tiles. Since gyms were designed to represent a type, she figured this was a steel-type based gym judging by her grey surroundings. "I am ready."
"As you've probably already figured it out, all trainers in this gym specialize with the Steel-type. Steel-type Pokemon have a strong defence which will make it difficult for your Pokemon to inflict damage, but they do have quite a few weaknesses for you to take advantage of. Ground-type Pokemon are super weak to water and ground-type moves so make sure you have a Pokemon that knows such a move to win! Oh, some fire-types will be useful here as well against steel-types without ground as a secondary typing!"
Torterra was part-ground and she had upgraded her Pokemon's move set before leaving Pastoria. Now he knew Earthquake and she was glad she had purchased it. "So how do I get around this gym?" she said, checking down into her bag to make sure Eevee couldn't escape. The last thing she needed was for her newborn to get caught in the middle of a fierce fight. Fortunately, Eevee didn't seem interested in causing problems, finding nibbling on Dawn's bag more fascinating that her surroundings. She looked at the advisor again.
The advisor drew her attention towards the lift in the centre of the room. "Byron waits for you at the very bottom, so you'll have to use the lifts to descend into the underground. When you reach the second level you'll have an option of choosing a door – one door will lead you to a battle and the other will be battle free, but both will take you to Byron, so it doesn't really matter which one you select," he explained.
Dawn nodded. "Thanks." He just smiled in response and Dawn made her way to the lift to begin the descent to the bottom. She was vaguely reminded of Roark's gym although his was quite basic in comparison. Stepping into the lift, she pressed the big red arrow pointing down. It took a few moments for her to reach the first level where a trainer in a miner's outfit awaited her. The room was rather large – Roark's gym could fit in this room.
The male, called Gary, readjusted his yellow helmet then faced her. "I'll show you why defence is the best form of offense!"
He brought a hand to his pokebelt and threw out his only pokeball. A grey, robotic, circular type creature with a single, large emerged from its pokeball, levitating in one spot. There were two horse shoes attached to both sides of its head and a screw above its single eye. She brought out her Pokedex to obtain data.
Magnemite. The faster the units at its sides rotate, the greater the magnetic force they generate.
The advisor had mentioned Fire-types would do well here against those without a secondary typing of Ground. Her Pokemon had levelled up significantly since their last major battle thanks to the large amount of trainers on the route between Pastoria and Canalave.
"Houndour, this battle is all yours!" Dawn cried out, summoning her Houndour to the battlefield. Houndour wagged his tail, and gnashed his jaws at the Magnemite, eager to battle. "Houndour, use Fire Blast!" He opened his jaws, brought back his head and held it in place until an orb of fire formed in his mouth. He lunged forward, expelling the ball from his mouth. As the ball sailed forwards, the flames encasing it grew in size. It smashed into the Magnemite and exploded, taking down the opponent down in one hit. The screw on its head melted and the Magnemite fell to the floor.
"Oh no, you defeated my Magnemite!" Gary wailed.
While Gary dropped to his knees, Dawn hopped back on the lift with her Houndour, and pressed the red arrow pointing down again. A couple of moments passed and she found herself on level two. Two identical doors were before her. Dawn decided to go left and climbed onto another lift taking her down even further underground. She hopped off on the next level and entered the room where trainer dressed brown leather awaited.
"I'm Cesar, an ace trainer! You won't be able to get past me!" he boasted, brushing green bangs aside from his face.
Dawn didn't know what an ace trainer was - were they trainers possessed an above average skill set when compared to the common trainer? Did ace trainers eventually become gym leaders or was it just a label to boost one's status? Houndour stepped in front of Dawn, eager to take on another battle.
Cesar threw out a single pokeball. A bipedal, bug-type Pokemon with a red, metallic casing emerged. The Pokemon raised its abnormally large pincers and made a cutting gesture. Dawn swallowed nervously, raising her Pokedex.
Scizor. The final evolution of Scyther. It raises its pincers with eyelike markings for intimidation. It also swings them down dangerously."
Houndour growled. "Scizor, use Razor Wind!" The Scizor buzzed its wings, whipping up a violent windstorm behind it. Something invisible attacked her body and she winced, biting down on her lip to stop herself from crying out. Glancing down, she was surprised to see a tiny wound had formed. It was like receiving a paper cut but only it wasn't caused by paper. Blood leaked out of the cut. Houndour swatted at his nose as he too received a cut. Scizor's wings buzzed even harder and Dawn yelped, as she received more invisible cuts to her body.
"Houndour, use Fire Blast!" Houndour conjured a ball of flame as Scizor's windstorm died down, much to Dawn's relief. She was bleeding from various cuts on her body and it felt like the wind had been trying to rip her skin apart. Although the storm was over, she could still feel the burning sting. The ball of fire sailed forwards, closing in on the Scizor when the bug jumped to the right, narrowly avoiding the ball by an inch. Houndour's ball of fire collided into the wall, leaving a black mark on it.
"Scizor, use Fury Cutter!" The bug sped forward, and scooped up Houndour with a massive pincer then slashed at him with the other, prompting her Houndour to cry out in pain. He was covered in different sized cuts from head to tail and obviously it was hurting as her canine struggled to stand on all fours.
"Use Ember, Houndour!" Houndour coughed up a small ball of flame.
The ball hit the Scizor in the stomach, causing its metal casing to melt. The Scizor threw itself onto the floor and rolled until the flames died out then picked itself back up. "Scizor, use Slash!" It dashed forward again, this time slashing at Houndour with both pincers. Houndour was thrown off his feet, but the canine refused to stay down.
"Houndour, use Fire Blast on those pincers!" Houndour happily obliged. Instead of aiming for the opponent's face, Houndour aimed his attack at the Scizor's powerful weapons. This time, he was unable to avoid the attack and cried out as the flames burned its pincers, melting them. Without the pincers functioning normally, the Scizor was useless and unable to attack. "Finish this battle with Ember!" Spitting out another ball of fire, Dawn watched as Scizor was engulfed in flames. The trainer called his Pokemon back before Scizor was burned to a crisp.
Houndour sat down on his haunches and howled at the ceiling as he was shrouded in white light. The canine's evolution had come a little late, but she suspected Paul's mistreatment of the canine delayed the process. She shielded her eyes from the blinding light only lowering them down to her sides when a deeper howl reached her ears.
In Houndour's place, was a much larger and less cutesy canine. A long whip-like tailed replaced the stub and his ears had morphed into horns which raked sharply towards his back. She brought up her Pokedex again.
Houndoom. The final evolution of Houndour. The flames it breathes when angry contain toxins. If they cause a burn, it will hurt forever.
Dawn felt sympathy for any opponent who dared stand in her Houndoom's way except for Paul who deserved to suffer for the rest of his miserable life. She hopped back onto the lift and hit the downwards arrow again, stopping at the floor labelled 'level three'. Once again she was faced with two doors and this time she chose the one on the right. Stepping through the door, she was greeted by another trainer dressed in brown leather.
"I'm Breanna, an ace trainer. You probably fought my twin brother moments ago, but you won't have such an easy fight against me! Prepare to be defeated!" There were three pokeballs hanging around the girl's waist indicating this was going to be a triple battle. "Come on out, my Bronzor's!"
Three flat-faced, circular, blue-green Pokemon appeared each one with a pair of round, yellow eyes. There was a large bulb in between its eyes and Dawn assumed it was a nose. The four dots around the Pokemon's eyes gave her the impression it was smiling. It was an unsettling sight.
Bronzor. There are researchers who believe this Pokemon reflected like a mirror in the distant past.
Houndoom stepped forward again, nominating himself for the battle. Dawn summoned her Haunter and Deino to flank her canine and provide support. "Houndoom, use Ember! Haunter, use Shadow Punch! Deino, use Bite!"
Her three Pokemon jumped into the fray, making the first moves against their opponents. Houndoom directed a fire ball at the middle Bronzor who was immediately charred by the fire. Haunter floated towards the Bronzor on the left and drew back a claw, conjuring a dark purple aura around it. He drove his claw forward, hitting the creepy smiling Bronzor in the face, turning the smile upside down. Deino threw himself at the final standing Bronzor, grabbing hold onto one of the six bulging spheres, sinking his teeth in until the Pokemon called out in pain. All three Bronzors dropped to the ground, incapable of fighting further. That was much easier than it looked, Dawn thought, beginning to think ace trainers were just false labels.
As she moved back onto the lift, her Deino began pacing back and forth, growling at something invisible. Dawn eyed her Deino warily – was her Deino going to attack her again or was he simply being moody? She wondered just what kind of drugs Deino's original master had fed him to make her dragon act in such a bizarre manner. Deino suddenly stopped moving and craned his neck to the right then shook it, as if there was something about his neck that irritated him.
A purple aura emanated from her Pokemon. She looked on, confused. This couldn't be an evolution because there was no white light nor no signs of vibration, so what was going on here? Her Houndoom growled and Haunter floated to the other side of Dawn's head, glaring down at the Deino. Deino trembled, lowering his head, planting his limbs firmly into the ground. A head sprouted from the tuft of dark fur around his neck.
Was this a side-effect of the drugs in his system? She brought up her Pokedex. "Zweilous. The evolution of Deino. It tends to bite everything, and it is not a picky eater. Approaching it carelessly is dangerous." She put it away again, tucking it behind her pokebelt to hold it in place. Zweilous' two heads looked at each other and immediately started attacking the other.
"Hey! Stop fighting!" Dawn blurted out. Her Eevee stopped nibbling on her bag, and watched the two-headed dragon with curiosity. She tried to climb out of her bag to investigate, but Dawn picked her up. Eevee kicked and squirmed, trying to free herself, but Dawn's hold was too strong. "Bad Eevee," she scolded. Why did her Pokemon have to evolve now in tight quarters? Eevee pinned her ears and immediately stopped squirming.
Zweilous's heads continued to fight however giving Dawn a headache. Why had there not been a manual written for Pokemon with more than one head? She thought about approaching the dragon, but memories of being bitten stopped her in her tracks. Being bit by two heads did not sound appealing at all. Both heads growled at each other, engaged in a vicious biting battle, each one trying to fight dominance.
"Please stop fighting! Save it for the fight ahead!" Dawn pleaded. Zweilous ignored her. She sighed. It was like watching two siblings fight each other, except these siblings shared the same body. The doors of the lift opened and she stepped off it, followed by her Houndoom and Haunter. Zweilous fought with himself for a couple moments longer until he too walked off the lift. Now her dragon's two necks were wrapped around the other and they didn't seem able to unravel themselves. The two heads whined, trying to break free of the lock, but their attempts proved futile.
Dawn drew in a deep breath. "I'm going to help you free your necks, all right?" she said, glancing down at her Zweilous. The two heads just looked at her. "Please don't bite me – I'm trying to help you and I can't do that if you bite me." She lowered herself to her knees and slowly brought her hands towards the neck on the right. The first head growled, and Dawn drew back her hands, worried the other head would bite them off. The second head stared at her, but didn't make a move. She placed her hands on the scales again finding them surprisingly warm to the touch.
The heads growled again. Sweat beads formed on her forehead. Carefully, she unravelled the first neck from the second, praying to Arceus the heads wouldn't decide to bite her once they were freed. "That's it… stay calm… almost there…" she said soothingly as she separated their heads. Immediately, they moved their heads towards her and Dawn feared they were going to knock her backwards. Instead, the two heads lowered themselves down in a way she thought was a bowing gesture. A low growl left the throats of the two heads.
Dawn was confused. Did they want to be petted on their heads or was it something else? With a trembling hand, she reached out and patted the head on the right. Zweilous's first head growled in appreciation, almost making a purring like noise. Confidence building, she patted the other head and earned the same response. Zweilous didn't appear to be agitated at least and actually seemed to enjoy having their heads rubbed.
"Ready to take on the next battle?" Zweilous' heads nodded. She turned to Houndoom and Haunter who also nodded. Climbing back to her feet, Dawn led the way to Byron's chamber, her Pokemon sticking close to her side. She walked through a tight cavern until she reached another door. There wasn't a button around she could see and she wondered how it opened. With a shrug, she brushed her fingers against the door then jumped back as it opened. Touch-sensitive door, she thought. Nice touch. She stepped through the opening.
.
Cynthia sat by her grandmother's bed, her hands resting on her lap, as she waited for the professor to awaken. A couple of days had passed by since the woman had been put to sleep and Cynthia was beginning to wonder if the woman was going to wake up at all. Fortunately, her younger sister wasn't at home – Cynthia wasn't sure how the girl would cope if she found her grandmother in this state.
For the past few days she had been thinking about Cyrus's parting words – the Galactic leader had mentioned something about Carolina's experiments and Cynthia wondered what he had meant by that. It dawned on her she didn't know much about her grandmother's early years – the woman never spoke of it and Cynthia never asked.
"What are you hiding?" Cynthia murmured, glancing down at the elderly woman. The woman did not awaken. Cynthia leaned forward, taking her grandmother's hand in her own, grasping it tightly. "Please wake up." Still, there was nothing. With a sigh, Cynthia released her grip and stood up to get some fresh air. She was about to leave the room when her grandmother stirred. Immediately, she sat back down. "Grandma?"
Carolina's eyes fluttered open. "…Cynthia? Is that you?" The elderly woman lifted a weak hand and Cynthia took it, interlocking her fingers with them. "I… tried… I tried to stop him…" she said weakly. By 'him', Cynthia knew she was referring to Cyrus.
"He's gone, grandmother. He left awhile ago, but don't worry, I'll stop him."
Her grandmother's fingers tightened their grasp. "I failed… it was… my fault… I gave…" She coughed. Cynthia placed a hand under her grandmother's head and brought her head forward gently. Reaching out with her other hand, she grabbed a glass of water on the bedside table and brought the rim to her grandmother's lips and poured a bit into her mouth. Carolina lapped it up and groaned.
"Everything is going to be all right," Cynthia soothed, placing the glass back down. Carolina groaned again, trying to move her hand to her pocket, but was unable to lift it. Cynthia did what her grandmother could not do and grabbed whatever objects were inside. Her fingers brushed up against a container. "What is this?" she said, placing the item on her lap, looking at it hesitantly. Had Cyrus left it behind?
Carolina's eyes widened and she murmured something Cynthia couldn't decipher. Fuelled by curiosity, Cynthia opened the container, her eyes resting on a syringe. Carefully picking it up, she dangled it before her, a frown on her face. Had Cyrus injected her grandmother with a sleeping potion? But that couldn't be right – the syringe had been in a container with her family's initials on it. Besides, why would Cyrus be walking around carrying a syringe when he had an army of grunts to protect him?
"What is this?" she asked again, more forcefully this time, training her eyes on Carolina. Carolina looked away from the syringe confirming Cynthia's fears. Her grandmother knew very well what it was. Was this what Cyrus had been referring to? Her grandmother's experiments? "Carolina," she said in a low voice. "What did you do?"
A tear rolled down her grandmother's face. Cynthia lifted both eyebrows – Carolina never cried. "My… experiment… my potion… I planned to use it against him… to stop a disaster from happening…" she said weakly, looking at Cynthia with pleading eyes.
Carolina had planned to use the syringe against Cyrus to put him to sleep so his plans would fail and the world would be saved. Her syringe. Her experiment. Her potion. But why would her grandmother want to hide it? Unless… No. "This is why everyone left you… they knew about your experiments…" Cynthia said slowly, pulling together the pieces of the puzzle. "You created the potion… and tested it on… Pokemon?" She glanced down sharply, hoping to Arceus she was wrong, and that it was simply just a cruel joke, but Carolina didn't deny it.
"Cynthia…" Carolina said, reaching a hand towards her granddaughter.
Cynthia drew her hand back. "You experimented on Pokemon!" She stood up abruptly.
"You must understand… I didn't have a choice."
"Everyone knew, didn't they? That's why they all left!" she blurted out, reeling from the revelation her grandmother had experimented on the Pokemon she claimed to love. Was that why she was so determined to send her on a journey at the age of ten so she could continue doing her experiments in peace? Rare emotion of anger poured through her. "What else did you do? What else did you experiment on?"
"…Just Pokemon…"
She snorted. "And I should believe that? You've been lying to me for years! You made me believe that Pokemon meant everything in the world, but you only cared for them for research purposes! You kept this from me – why, so you could keep me all to yourself?" Her voice raised an octave higher. "Did you plan to experiment on me as well? Is that why you locked that room? So no one could ever learn the truth?" So many questions were racing through her mind.
"Cynthia… please… I did what was necessary… we were struggling financially and this was the only way I could support us…"
"At the cost of driving everyone else away! Why should I believe anything you have to say? You kept this from me – what else are you hiding?" She drew in a deep breath and exhaled, trying to calm herself down. She was the Champion after all and a Champion should always be in control of their emotions. Looking down at her grandmother, she shook her head, feeling betrayed by the one person she thought she could admire. "And to think I once wanted to be like you," she added bitterly, turning her back.
"Don't you turn your back on me, Cynthia… It was because of me you are what you are today…" Her grandmother's voice trembled with each word she spoke, her desperate pleas filling the room. "Cynthia!" Cynthia walked out without saying a word, not stopping once to glance over her shoulder.
.
This room was different from the others – the other rooms were fashioned to look like a typical warehouse, but this room looked like a giant cave. The strong scent of earth filled her nostrils and she suddenly felt frightened. If the cave collapsed they'd be buried alive. The only way up was via the lift. Fortunately, at least she could see well enough as the ceiling had a row of lights installed. There was a man standing on the opposite end, a brown weathered cape on his back, the ends touching the ground. She was instantly reminded of Roark, or at least, an older mature version of him.
The man walked over, cape flapping behind him. "I spent a long time living on Iron Island, creating a safe reserve for ground, rock and steel-type Pokemon. Being surrounded by ocean makes me feel a little out of place, so I created this gym to capture the environment of my Iron Island. I know you've defeated my son, but that's not surprise – he still has much to learn. In place of my son Roark, I, Byron, will take your challenge!"
He brought out his first Pokemon, something which looked like three Magnemite's stuck together to form a triangle.
Magneton. Many mysteriously appear when more sunspots dot the sun. They stop television sets from displaying properly.
"This is your battle, Houndoom!" Houndoom rushed forward, uttering a low growling nose. "Use Fire Blast!" Houndoom sent forth a glowing ball of fire. Magemite wasn't able to avoid it, and was struck in one of its three faces, a black scorch covering the place hit.
"Magneton! Use Thunderbolt!" The Magneton created a bolt of lightning with its horseshoe magnets and sent it forwards, striking the Houndoom on the rib caged barring on his back. He yelped, but fortunately managed to hold his position.
Her former battle against a younger version of a Magneton had been a short battle. This one would be no different. "Now use Ember!" Houndoom whacked the ground with his tail then coughed up a ball of fire, created from the pit of his belly. The ball sailed forward and slammed into the other face of the Magneton until that one too was covered in a black scorch mark. Only one face remained.
"Use Thunderbolt again, Magneton!"
Houndoom yelped, as he was struck by the bolt of lightning again, throwing him off his feet. The previous battles had taken their toll on him and he flopped to the ground, landing on his side, tongue hanging out of his mouth. Dawn recalled him and sent forth her Torterra.
"Magneton, use Flash Cannon!" Grey beams of powerful energy left the three eyes, fusing into one giant ball. It flew towards Torterra and struck him in the face, exploding into blinding light upon impact.
Dawn winced and blinked several times in a row then looked on. Torterra had been pushed back several feet but aside from that, he looked unharmed. "Torterra, use Earthquake!" The gym advisor had mentioned Steel-types were weak to Ground-type moves, but would the levitating Pokemon be unaffected? She hoped she hadn't just wasted a move. Torterra lifted his four legs at different times, stomping the ground until the walls shook. Dawn dropped to the ground figuring it was better to sit down than stand so she wouldn't be thrown aside.
Cracks appeared in the ground, in the walls and in the ceiling even, causing several rocks to become loose. One of the rocks landed on Magneton's head, felling the Pokemon, rendering it unable to attack. Byron called his Pokemon back then brought out his second one. "You're pretty good," he remarked.
"You're not so bad yourself."
Byron summoned his second Pokemon. A large serpent made up of grey rocks appeared from the pokeball, reaching upwards towards the ceiling. Nine metres of solid steel defence.
Steelix. The evolved form of Onix. It is thought its body transformed as a result of iron accumulating internally from swallowing soil.
"Torterra, use Earthquake!" Again, Torterra stomped on the ground, causing the walls around them to shake violently. More rocks came crashing down. Dawn rolled out of harm's way as a couple of stalactites plummeted to the floor, missing the point of one by a mere inch. She picked herself and dusted the dirt off her clothes, realizing she must've looked like she had gotten out of a brawl with the cuts on her body.
Torterra pulled his head, legs and tail into his shell to protect himself from the falling rocks. Steelix's large size made it impossible for the creature to avoid the rocks and it crashed to the ground, as a boulder size rock fell on its head. A cloud of dirt rose up from the ground, shrouding the Steelix in sand. Dawn flicked some grains of her shoulder blades then ran a hand through her hair. It was as if she had bathed in sand.
Steelix lifted its tail and brought it around, smashing the rock sitting on its head. It picked itself up from the ground and let out a deafening roar. "Steelix, use Ice Fang!" Steelix opened its mouth revealing a row of blunt teeth. It moved forward and crashed down, clamping its jaws around Torterra's shell. A layer of ice covered her Torterra. Steelix moved away. The ice covering fell apart and Torterra collapsed.
Dawn withdrew her Pokemon and summoned Honchkrow to the field. "Honchkrow, use Swagger!" Honchkrow flew circles around the Steelix's head until the Pokemon looked dazed then spat a gob of saliva into the Pokemon's throat.
"Steelix, use Ice Fang!" Steelix gnashed its jaws at Honchkrow, but the avian evaded the attack. Steelix bit down on a rock jutting out from a wall and desperately tried to yank itself free, allowing Honchkrow a chance to attack again.
"Use Night Slash!" Honchkrow threw himself at the Steelix's back, scraping his talons against the steel defence. Honchkrow's sharp talons only left a tiny scratch mark against the steel defence. Steelix pulled itself from the wall and tried to attack Honchkrow with its tail, but the avian rolled out of the way, and Steelix struck itself in the head instead and fell. The steel-cased serpent did not climb back up again.
One more Pokemon left and Dawn was becoming worried. This was the first time she was fighting a battle without a significant type-advantage and the battle could easily go in Byron's way. She had to rely on taking advantage of the environment to win this battle otherwise all would be lost and she'd have to retake it.
"Oh, what's this? My last one! This is where we make our stand!" Byron summoned his final Pokemon. The final Pokemon shared a similar type build to her fallen Torterra, only he didn't have a tree nor a shell on his back. His head was shaped like a castle wall, complete with four cream yellow, window-like spots and three dark grey spikes on the top. Four blunt tusks protruded upwards from is lower jaw while a single spike pierced the tip of its nose, making it look like it had two spikes.
Bastiodon. When they lined up side by side, no foe could break through. They shielded their young in that way.
"Honchkrow, use Wing Attack!" Honchkrow flapped his wings and arrows rained down. The Bastiodon lifted its head on an angle and closed its eyes, as the feathers made contact. The feathers did little damage and simply bounced off onto the ground around the Bastiodon's feet.
"Bastiodon, use Stone Edge!" The dinosaur-type Pokemon slammed its tail and a rock spike burst up from the ground, striking Honchkrow in his belly, driving him up into the ceiling. The spike disappeared as quickly as it had appeared and Honchkrow fell to the ground, landing on his back, his talons raised in the air.
Dawn cursed inwardly and withdrew her avian. Now she had only two Pokemon remaining – Zweilous and Haunter. Eevee didn't count because she was still in the weaning phase and obviously not strong enough to last even a couple of seconds. She decided to send out Haunter next, hoping she'd be able to put the dinosaur to sleep for a couple of turns.
"Go for it, Haunter!" Haunter floated forwards. "Use Hypnosis!" Haunter hovered above the Bastiodon's head and pressed a claw against its hard head. Bastiodon slumped forward, dozing off immediately. "Now Haunter, use Shadow Punch!" Haunter slammed a fist into his opponent's face. Bastiodon shuddered, but remained asleep. Bastiodon's high defence almost made Haunter's attacks useless and Dawn decided to withdraw her Haunter. She called forth Zweilous who bounded towards the sleeping Bastiodon.
"I'm not done yet! There's no giving up!" Byron said.
"Zweilous, use Dragon Rage!" Dragon Rage's effectiveness was becoming less useful the stronger her Pokemon and challengers became, but it was the only attack she had left that could inflict some decent damage since its damage output never changed. As she had predicted, the blast of draconic energy did a fair amount of damage, pushing the Bastiodon a few inches back. "Use another Dragon Rage!" Bastiodon was struck by another blast of Dragon Rage and fell over onto its side.
Byron seemed dumbfounded. He probably hadn't expected to be defeated in his manner, but a win was a win. "Hmm! My sturdy Pokemon, defeated!" He recalled his Bastiodon and wondered over to Dawn, smiling. "I have to say, that wasn't how I imagined myself to go down, but you did well to change your strategy midway through the match." He dug a hand down into his pocket and pulled out a shiny badge. "You were strong enough to take down my prized team of Pokemon. In recognition of that power, I give you this, the Mine Badge!"
"You had me worried for a moment."
He threw his head back and laughed. "Tough trainers like you and Barry crop up constantly to challenge the old guard. With more young trainers like my son and you two taking charge, the future of Pokemon is bright! But I'm not stepping aside just yet! I merely need to rededicate myself to training on Iron Island. Speaking of Iron Island, you should drop by sometime. We're usually closed to the public at this time of the year, but I'd like to invite you and your friend over for tea sometime when I've finished making renovations! What do you say?"
She wasn't going to turn down an offer for free food so she nodded. "That sounds great."
"I'll make sure my son is present too – it's been awhile since I last saw him…" He dug down into his pocket again pulling out a contact card. "Here's my number – give me a call when you're ready and I'll let you know how things are going!"
She took the card from him and put it in her bag. "I reckon you'll go far… er, sorry, what was your name?"
"Dawn."
"Well, I wish you the best of luck, Dawn! See you around!"
.
Dawn headed to the Canalave library after healing up her Pokemon. Barry had insisted she had to drop by to check out a book he had found – She had other things to do than checking out books, but Barry was her best friend and she didn't want to turn down his offer. Pushing the door open, she stepped inside and found the place busy with life. There were groups of people on the ground floor, sitting down on the couches, noses buried in their books whilst other people were busy on the computers typing away at the keyboards.
She didn't spot Barry's messy bushel of hair on this floor so she wandered over to the stairs and carried onto the next floor. This floor seemed more like a meeting room than a reading area – there were twelve tables each with seven chairs spread across the room, with a small podium and projector on stage. She spotted Barry sitting at a table with Lucas.
Barry waved her over. "Dawn! Come sit down!" He gestured to the empty seat beside him and she sat down in between him and Lucas.
So much for being shown a book, Dawn thought. "What's going on here?"
Lucas shrugged. "I don't know, but the professor insisted we have a meeting to discuss something really important. He said he was bringing along a couple of important people and figured we should hear it too." He readjusted his cap and leaned back in his chair. Dawn wondered why he wore a cap inside and figured he must've had a really bad haircut or something to want to keep it hidden all the time.
"How'd the gym battle go? My Infernape had a weakness, but I managed to defeat Byron!" Barry said.
"It was a tough fight, but I got there in the end."
They both turned to look at Lucas. "I had something to eat?"
Barry chuckled. "So, just what are we waiting for anyway? I was planning to leave for Snowpoint immediately after to claim my next badge."
The next destination was Snowpoint City? Dawn shuddered. She knew the route to Snowpoint was a long and cold journey that would take at least a week to reach by foot if the weather was right. Sometimes the weather was so poor the route had to be closed off until the conditions improved. Note to self, purchase warm sweater, she told herself.
"The professor said he had something important to tell us. He's bringing a few special people along as well to help us understand the situation at hand a little better," Lucas supplied. "That's all I know though; I was right in the middle of eating my meal when I received a call from him, telling me to come to Canalave immediately." He shrugged. "And here I am."
They sat down in silence, lost in their thoughts. Barry was busy examining his gym badges and Lucas was rummaging through his backpack searching for something. Her mind wandered to Galactic and she wondered what they were doing now – had Crasher Wake found out why Galactic had bombed the Great Marsh? Where was Cyrus now and what was he planning?
"Professor Rowan!" Barry blurted, pulling Dawn out of her thoughts. She glanced over in the direction Barry was looking at and found the professor with Fantina and a male she recognized as the former Champion of Hoenn, Steven. She straightened in her chair, dumbfounded. Steven was the last person she expected to see.
"Ah, I see you have both arrived safely, that is good news," the professor said, pulling a chair out. He sat down. Fantina and Steven sat down in the other seats leaving one chair left. "And where is our final guest?" He looked to Fantina and Steven for an explanation.
"She won't be able to join us," Steven said. "She sends her apologies but some business came up and she had to attend to it," he added. Fantina raised a brow, but did not say anything, bringing a hand to her mouth, as if she was trying to hide a smile.
"What's going on, professor?" Barry said.
"I've brought you three along here this afternoon to talk to you about the importance of the legendary lake Pokemon. I'm sure you've heard about the Lake Guardians of Sinnoh before, right?"
Barry nodded. "Yeah, I heard about it on television once. There's supposed to be one living in Lake Verity near our hometown, but there was no Pokemon when we were there. Besides, if there was one, we would've known. Dawn and I always played by the lake." He looked at Dawn for some support and she nodded.
"He's right. We never caught a glimpse of the Lake Guardian before." Although she had spotted Cyrus standing before the edge talking to it as if he knew there was something down there.
Steven cleared his throat and leaned forward. "That's because they've been in hiding for centuries, but now Team Galactic are trying to capture them to harness their energy." Professor Rowan looked at him sharply, but Steven ignored him and continued on. "The bombing that occurred at the Great Marsh was just a distraction for the real event. I've received word from Looker that suspicious activity has been occurring around each of the three lakes."
"You think Team Galactic are going to capture the Lake Guardians?" Lucas repeated his eyes wide.
Steven nodded. "I'm positive. You three need to stop them before this gets out of hand. I would do it myself, but I believe my presence would hinder our efforts and make it much harder to infiltrate their headquarters. That's why this task falls upon you three."
"How are they going to capture the Lake Guardian?" Dawn said.
Fantina answered her question. "Bombing the lake."
Barry gasped. "No way!"
"You can see why this matter is so serious," Steven answered. "You need to stop this." Although he was addressing the group as a whole, he seemed to be directing his statement to Dawn, looking at her as he spoke.
"We'll split up, then!" Barry exclaimed. "No one is going to mess with the Lake Guardians while I'm around! I'll head to Lake Acuity! It's the furthest lake away but I'll get there much quicker than you two, no offense."
"I'll head to Lake Verity then," Lucas answered then turned to Dawn. "That leaves you with Lake Valor."
Lake Valor was close to Pastoria City and that meant coming close to the site where many innocent Pokemon had lost their lives. She forced the bloodied corpses out of her mind and nodded. "Okay."
There was silence then Professor Rowan stood up. "Then it's decided. You three must leave now and make haste. I'll return to my lab to find out why Galactic want the legendaries so badly and Fantina and Steven will inform the league and the other gym leaders. Please be care-" The entire room vibrated as a tremor shook the building. "What in the name of Arceus?" the professor said, grabbing onto the table with both hands.
"We're too late!" Fantina exclaimed.
Another tremor hit the area. Screams from downstairs echoed throughout the building. Dawn gripped onto the table for dear life. That was no natural tremor. "Quickly now! Downstairs!" Professor Rowan exclaimed, leading the way to the ground level. Dawn hurried after him, her heart racing many miles per minute, as another powerful tremor hit the building. She arrived on the ground level, but it no longer looked like a library – it looked like a warzone.
Bookshelves were knocked onto the floor, tables and chairs turned over and books scattered everywhere. Computers had fallen onto the ground and some were unfortunate enough to have their screens broken. Glass from fallen light bulbs stretched across the carpet, making it look like a bomb had gone off. People were hiding under tables, darting their eyes around, wearing horrified expressions.
"Leave now! I'll stay behind and provide protection," Steven said.
"I'm staying as well," Fantina said. "Not even a former Champion can clean up this mess on their own."
Professor Rowan looked to Dawn and her two companions. "Go, quickly! Save the Lake Guardians before it falls into the wrong hands!"
Dawn didn't need to be told twice. She raced out of the library and called out her Honchkrow. Honchkrow seemed to sense her distress and lowered himself onto the ground, allowing Dawn to climb on his back. It was the first time she had ever used her Pokemon for transport, but there was always a first for everything. "We need to head to Lake Valor!" Honchkrow nodded, and lifted himself up into the air while Dawn wrapped her arms around his neck, clinging on to dear life.