Chapter 17
"This is it!" Chespin called to his friends excitedly.
They had made it at last to the Hollow Canyon. This had been a long journey, and they would be glad to get this mission over with and return home to prepare for whatever new work came their way.
"I can't, er… Believe it," Slowpoke slurred, "We've finally, er… Made it here! Across this Canyon is, er… Holydawn Town!"
"You got that right, buddy!" Chespin smiled.
Fennekin, Froakie and even Shaymin could not hide their excitement at finally arriving at their destination. Although it had only been about two days in all, to them it had felt like a much longer journey. They were young (with the exception of Shaymin) and desired excitement, so a two-day journey across hills and dales, with little to no action, was an arduous task. Now they were itching to run into some wild Pokémon and have themselves a battle.
When they approached the entrance of the Canyon, they were faced by a Boldore.
"Entry fee, please," He said in a bored voice.
"Pardon me?" Shaymin said incredulously.
"By order of the Canyon boss, you must pay an entry fee of 100 Poké each if you want to cross the Canyon. If you want to move into the Canyon as a resident, I can take you to the Canyon boss to negotiate things…"
Shaymin turned round with a shocked look on her face and looked at the others.
"Entry fee?" Froakie asked.
"Let's just pay the fee!" Chespin said, "It's not that much!"
"Yeah," Slowpoke said, "It's just, er… 50 Poké!"
Shaymin was having none of it.
"Since when did a Pokémon have to pay to travel through a natural landscape that is necessary to pass through to get to Holydawn Town?" Shaymin said angrily.
"Er… Since the Canyon boss made it so?" The Boldore looked puzzled. "Come on, lady, don't shoot the messenger! Just pay up and we won't have to make a scene!"
"Preposterous!" Shaymin was fuming at the mere suggestion of paying Poké to cross the Canyon. "I demand to see this 'boss' of yours at once!"
"Very well, then," Boldore sighed heavily, "But he'll just tell you the same as I did…"
Shaymin nodded. "Thank you."
She motioned for the rest of them to follow her, and they entered the Canyon.
The Hollow Canyon was massive. High cliffs stood tall, and had lasted centuries without eroding, and a network of tunnels had been dug as homes for the Pokémon who lived there. Shaymin was astonished. The place where the Gracidea grew had been turned into a civilisation!
Chespin energetically looked around, making the most of this small tour.
"Look, Fennekin, a coal mine!" He pointed towards one of the caves, "Isn't that cool?"
"Yeah, Chespin, it's awesome," Fennekin said distractedly, "What isn't awesome, though, is the looks these locals are giving us…"
Froakie noticed it too. The Rhyhorn, Roggenrolla, Geodude, Aron and other different Pokémon, not always of Rock or Ground type, were eyeing them suspiciously as they made their way around the canyon to meet the so called "boss".
They arrived at the highest point of the Canyon after a good twenty-five minutes of sightseeing and climbing.
Awaiting them was a large Pokémon with grey skin and white iron plates covering its head, back, forearms and knees. He looked intimidating, and was surrounded by an entourage of followers. He gave off an air of royalty and power, so Chespin and friends knew immediately that this must be the Canyon boss.
Boldore spoke first. "Boss, these five Pokémon want to cross the Canyon, but the little one disagrees with the crossing fee."
"Fools!" The huge beast yelled, "Do you know who I am, you little shrub? I am the Canyon boss, Aggron! And not to mention these Pokémon you're travelling with! You picked bad friends!"
Chespin looked baffled. "Do you… Know us?" He asked, before Shaymin could open her mouth to start a fight with Aggron.
"Oh, you bet I know you," Aggron muttered darkly, "Don't you three little punks remember what you did?"
Fennekin panicked, "Listen, Aggron, sir, you must have the wrong Pokémon!"
Froakie knew immediately what Aggron was talking about. He was referring to the capture of Linoone. Granbull and his gang had probably tipped him off that they were headed this way as revenge for their humiliation the night before.
It's my fault… Froakie thought to himself, horrified.
"I have a reliable source that told me you three landed a good friend of mine behind bars!"
"You mean… Linoone?!" Fennekin realised, "So that's what this is? You're another filthy criminal, seizing control of this land for your own wicked purposes?"
"We did nothing wrong!" Chespin shouted furiously, "Linoone is an outlaw!"
Even Slowpoke, who was calm and relaxed at all times, was perplexed by Aggron's petty grudge.
Shaymin spoke, as she couldn't hold her tongue any longer, "You are being most unreasonable! The Hollow Canyon is a place where Pokémon should be able to live and pass through freely, and shouldn't be under the control of some glorified robber and his posse of subterranean freaks!"
Aggron was losing his cool. "I am no criminal, I am a businessman. The Poké here is distributed equally among all of my family. I make sure that no Pokémon living on these lands comes to any harm. There are orphans here, and families with no other home. Outcasts, and Pokémon with no place to go. Would you really deny them a home?"
"I'm not saying that!" Shaymin cried, "I'm saying that you shouldn't be using the Pokémon here to expand your own control and wealth! What you're doing here is wrong!"
"I've done worse things than you could ever imagine, shrub," Aggron sneered, "Pokémon have been sent to the bottom of this world because of me! But now, I've gone legitimate, giving Pokémon a home and a good life, and you're persecuting me, as well as bringing these three brats and some dopey clod here as backup? That calls for some payback!"
Aggron's group were circling the five of them, anger clear on their faces.
"Thanks, Shaymin!" Chespin said angrily, "We're going to be attacked because of you!"
"Come on, now," Slowpoke said, "We shouldn't be, er… Fighting amongst ourselves."
"Say your prayers, little ones," Aggron smiled cruelly.
Fennekin wondered how their journey to the Hollow Canyon could have ended up with them landing themselves in such danger. Who could have tipped them off about the capture of Linoone? This was crazy.
Froakie eyed the group of Pokémon circling them. There were some Lairon, Graveler, Boldore and even Pokémon like Whirlipede, Joltik, Vullaby, Lombre and Poochyena. They had rounded up quite a big crowd, and more Pokémon down at the lower levels of the cliffs were starting to notice what was going on.
The fight began when Shaymin sent a few sharp Razor Leaves at the whole group of Pokémon.
"Do not underestimate me!" She shouted, "I may not look like it, but I am the Sky Warrior Shaymin! I'll give you some time to reconsider not letting my friends and I pass through if you'd like!"
"Sky Warrior?" Aggron said snidely, "Don't make me laugh!"
"What I'm looking for, the item that reverts me to my most powerful form, is growing probably, say… Right on the other side of this Canyon!" She said, "If I had it right now, you would all be dead on the floor already! In fact, why don't I go and get it right now!"
She turned, and started to move back down the cliffs, jumping from rock to rock.
Chespin was fuming. "She gets us in this situation… And then just leaves us?"
"Calm down, Chespin," Fennekin comforted her friend, "Come on, we have to follow her!"
They started following her. An echoed, "Catch me if you can, 'Businessman'!"
"Big talk from a little shrub!" Aggron said, "Whoever catches them gets paid!"
The chase began. Chespin, Fennekin, Froakie and Slowpoke saw many Pokémon on their tail when they turned and looked back. Chespin was so angry at Shaymin.
"I knew that stupid flower-hog couldn't be trusted!" He yelled as he and his friends struggled to keep their footing on the narrow cliffs. They had neglected taking the trail they had come up on as it was now crawling with Pokémon who wanted to capture them and most likely kill them.
Froakie adeptly leaped from rock to rock, not causing any shaking of them as he went. However, his mind shook with the guilt of causing this whole thing. Sure, Shaymin had brought them to Aggron, but it was he who angered Granbull and beat up his entire gang, causing him to warn the Canyon boss about them. It seemed like he only ever brought trouble to the group. He was going to put a stop to that himself.
Chespin, Slowpoke and Fennekin were struggling to keep up with their nimble friend, and came to a complete stop whenever he turned and leaped back past them, a determined look on his face.
"Where are you going?" Chespin called.
"It's okay, just keep going! I'll meet you guys at the bottom!" Froakie shouted back. He had already disappeared halfway back up the huge Canyon.
As they approached the bottom, footholds became few and far between. Chespin had to leap to each one, then give Slowpoke and then Fennekin a lift down with his Vine Whip. This took quite some time, but eventually they reached the bottom.
"Thanks, Chespin." Fennekin said, brushing herself off after jumping down the final foothold.
"Er… Guys, look!" Slowpoke exclaimed.
They were surrounded. About twenty of Aggron's family were in a circle around them. They were no better off here than they were up at the top of the Canyon. Chespin cursed Shaymin with language he hadn't known he knew.
Meanwhile, Froakie was holding back another storm of Canyon-dwellers, easily dispatching them with water attacks, and the occasional melee attack. He was in the zone, just like he had been when he single-handedly protected his friends from Granbull's gang while they slept the night before. This fight was effortless to him, almost boring. He wished Aggron would hurry up and arrive so Froakie could test the "Canyon boss" out himself.
He got his wish when heavy footsteps echoed down the enclosed tunnel Froakie was fighting his way through. There he was, the huge iron dinosaur-like creature, along with a group of his pre-evolutions, Aron and Lairon. He glared.
"What are you still doing up here, little one? Are you so eager to die that you didn't run away like your other foolish friends?"
"Actually, I came back up of my own will. I'm not like them, you see. I'm stronger. Next to Miss Shaymin, I'm probably the second strongest right now. That means I have the second highest chance of taking you down, you steel-munching monster!"
Aggron swung his tail, sending rocks tumbling down the tunnel. The Aron and Lairon joined in, firing Rock Blasts of their own. Froakie deftly avoided them by jumping over them, and shouted taunts at them as their attacks missed. He fired a few Bubbles of his own.
"You think a few Bubbles will fell us?" Aggron asked mockingly. "At least make an attempt to damage us! Or are you just stalling us, and acting more powerful than you are to try and scare us?"
Froakie lost his cool at this comment. He hated being doubted in terms of power. He had devoted blood, sweat and tears in his training with the Shade Syndicate to get to the level he was at today. He had a trick up his sleeve that he hadn't used since coming to Treasure Town and joining up with the team. His main assassination technique, a skill beyond his evolutionary level passed down in his clan.
"You asked for it," Froakie smiled wickedly.
In his hands, there formed a swirling circle of water. It expanded, in turn forming five points, like a star. He fired the Water Shuriken, a move taught to him by his father before the incident. It flew through the air, ricocheting off rocks, and hit one Lairon square in the head. He was knocked out by the force of the blow, something a normal Froakie would definitely not be capable of.
Then Froakie moved, and started launching these Water Shuriken on the fly. Henchman after henchman fell to him, until it was just he and Aggron in the tunnel.
"You're good," Aggron said, "I'm impressed! If you hadn't captured one of my best friends and sent him to prison, I could easily make a home for you in the Canyon! You'd make a great underling- I mean, family member!"
"Ah, so you're a coward! You surrounded yourself with capable Pokémon to shield yourself from the outside world! You're creating your own private army! I've heard of you, Aggron. I know your game. You made a pact with Klinklang a few years back, but really you're just biding your time to relaunch your criminal activities!"
"You're sharp! But I can't have you blabbing to Klinklang, so now I really can't let you escape. You're going to die in this tunnel, kid! I bet you wish you'd just stayed out of my Canyon now, don't you?"
"Not particularly. I have fought Pokémon far more powerful than you! I'm surprised you don't know who I am. Granbull certainly did."
"I don't remember the names of little pipsqueaks like you who think they're powerful just because they can throw some water stars. Could those Pokémon you fought do this?"
Aggron reached inside the armour like padding of his forearm and unearthed a small gleaming stone.
"I found this in a far-off place, shortly before I arrived here." Aggron said, "Me and my crew were mining, and we dug it up! Isn't it cool?"
"That can't be… One of those? You have one?" Froakie had only heard about these in stories Tyranitar told him of great assassins who used these stones to transform themselves and gain new extremes of power.
"That's right, fool!" Aggron laughed. He held up the stone in his clawed hand, and a white light shone through the obscure tunnel. Froakie shielded his eyes and braced himself.
Aggron's Mega Evolution was huger and bulkier-looking than the original. His armour looked even more tough and protective. He roared and pumped his fist.
"This feels good!" He yelled, "We businessmen are always seeking the next best thing, and I found it in that mine! Now I'm an invincible force, and no Pokémon can touch me! I am far superior to you little fools! Hell, I could even give the shrub a run for her money, even if she's the Sky Warrior or whatever!"
Froakie was slightly perturbed by this transformation, but didn't show it. He kept the irritatingly cool smile that Aggron hated and would take great pleasure in turning into a contorted expression of pain.
"This should be a good workout," Froakie stretched his arms out wide, "I want to be strong enough to protect my friends from anything, so taking on a Mega Evolved Pokémon is the next step to that goal!"
Aggron sneered viciously. "We'll see about that, fool!"
Meanwhile, Shaymin blasted a huge Seed Flare and knocked several of her pursuers down the edge of the cliff. Hearing the screams, the rest backed off from the Legendary Pokémon and decided this fight wasn't worth it. Shaymin smiled.
"Sayonara, cowards!" She laughed cruelly.
She scaled to the top of the right side of the Canyon, which was green and lush, the opposite of its barren, dreary counterpart.
There it was, in the middle of the luscious grassland. A blood-red flower, infused with great energy. It was in full bloom, and Shaymin's heart was filled with elation just as it was when she first used it. She thought back to that time. Keldeo had been there with her, and had cheered loudly like an idiot when she first took to the air, looping through the sky at breakneck pace.
She pushed back her fond memories of her partner, and slowly walked towards the flower. This was it. Her whole journey had been leading up to this.
She thought of Chespin's anger when she said she had turned her back on this world, and no longer fought for anyone but herself. She then looked down at the bottom of the cliff to the centre of the canyon, where she could vaguely see three specks stuck in a circle of other little forms of Pokémon, fighting for their lives. She thought of how nice that group had been to her, particularly Fennekin. She saw herself in that young Pokémon, but hoped that Fennekin would never have to suffer the pain she had. Right now they were fighting to get out of a situation she had landed them in, so maybe her philosophy of only protecting herself wasn't the right thing to go by, this time.
They had done a lot for her, and kept her company on the road to the Hollow Canyon, so it was only honourable to pay them back.
Just this once. She thought as she headed back to the Gracidea.
She touched the Gracidea, and the transformation happened instantaneously.
She grew antlers, and her whole body turned white apart from her lower legs and a tuft of hair on her head. She smiled. It felt amazing to be back in her Sky Forme, and she felt like she could take down a thousand Aggron by herself.
The Sky Warrior took a running start and leaped down off the cliff. She went into a nosedive, heading down to repay the kind souls who had staved off her loneliness and made her feel like she had friends again, for the first time since Keldeo disappeared.
The Sky Warrior is back.
A/N: Chapter 17 is here. I've put up about 4 Chapters in the last week, and I'm getting through the story quickly. I wanted to outdo myself with this Chapter, and to be honest I think this is the best Chapter I've written so far that follows the story of Chespin and friends. I really enjoyed writing this Chapter, and I hope you all enjoyed reading it. The Boss of the Canyon has a powerful secret, and I was actually not sure about giving him this power, but decided to in the end. Froakie, again, shows how badass he is in this Chapter once more, and I just love writing about him. Anyway, stay tuned for the next Chapter, and as a side note please vote in the poll for the next Side Story if you want to have the next one be about one of the characters I chose as options. Thanks for reading, and please follow, favourite and review if you like the story.