Episode 20

The Unown Secrets of Alph!

"Alright, now that you've captured your smeargle, we can be off!" happily exclaimed Ethan. He was ready to go earn his second badge.

"You mean you don't want to go explore these mysterious caverns?" asked Eusine.

"No, I just want my badge!"

"Well, that's too bad; you'll have to wait, because we're going into the ruins!"

"Oh no we're not! Who made you team leader?"

"Well, I am the oldest."

"So? That doesn't mean anything!" Ethan huffed. "But fine, have it your way! Go have your stupid little ruin expedition, but I'm going to go to Azalea Town and win my second badge. You can catch up when you're done."

"Fine."

"Fine."

"I'm glad."

"I'm glad you're glad."

"Good."

"Later."

"Come on, Kris." They both said in unison.

"WHAT?" roared Ethan. "How dare you try to get Kris to follow you? She was my friend first and she agreed to follow me on my journey!"

"Well, you can forget that. I'm sure Kris wants to stay with a more mature companion. Isn't that right, Kris?"

Silence answered him. Kris was facing away from both of them and towards the Ruins.

"Kris?" asked Eusine again.

"You in there?" asked Ethan.

Kris turned and faced them; her eyes glowing.

"K-kris?"

"You have disturbed holy ground." Said Kris, though it wasn't really Kris. Something about the voice was all… wrong. "Leave here at once or face our wrath, humans."

"What are you talking about?" asked Ethan. "Quit kiddin' around!"

"I-I don't think sh-she's joking Ethan. And I don't think that it's Kris who's talking to us."

"What do you mean, Eusine? Of course it's Kris. She's right in front of us."

"You have been warned. Now prepare yourselves!" Suddenly a blue beam of light surrounded Kris and she took several steps backwards until she melted into the wall and disappeared. Ethan and Eusine quickly dashed over to the wall.

"Where the heck did Kris go? And what are these weird symbols carved here?"

"The glyphs of the Unown." Said a mysterious voice from behind them. They both jumped and turned around quickly. Standing in front of them was a young woman with dark blue hair and green eyes. She wore a pair of white jeans and a pink belly-shirt.

"Glyphs of the Unown?" asked Ethan.

"They're an ancient writing said to be among the first writings. Unown is a species of pokémon that range in twenty-six different shapes: each representing a letter. If you look closely you can kind of make out the different letters. Although, you won't be able to read them because they're written in an ancient language. Shall I translate?"

"Uh, sure." Said Eusine. "But first may I ask who you are? You seem familiar to me somehow."

"My name is Sabrina."

"Sabrina? As in Saffron City's Gym Leader?" Eusine said in shock.

"Former Gym Leader. I retired and handed Gym Leadership over to the gym next to mine."

"Hmmm, so what brings you all the way out here?" asked Ethan.

"These ruins as a matter of fact. I was just passing through the area when a voice called out to me."

"A voice?" asked Ethan beginning to think that this woman was crazy.

"I'm not crazy. I'm a psychic."

"Like the psychic-type pokémon?" Did she just read my mind?

Sabrina smiled. "Yes, and as a matter of fact, I train psychic types. Anyway, right now we need to figure out what happened to your friend. Allow me to read this wall."

"S-sure." Said Eusine.

"'Should mortal tread on holy ground and disturb our peaceful rest, judgment and wrath shall abound until the earth's distressed. Leave ye here lest ye be of ancient legend.'"

"Ancient legend? What's it mean?" asked Ethan.

"It means we're going to have a nightmare trying to rescue your friend. The unown have a way of reading emotions, feelings, and thoughts. I think they became upset when the two of you were fighting earlier. They took possession of your friend to warn you and they took her as punishment for your ill-feelings."

"Punishment?" asked Ethan.

Eusine explained. "Unown are very wary of humans. They have seen our darkest hours and think that we're all out for selfish gain."

"I see. So how do we go about getting Kris back?"

"There is only one way." Said Sabrina. "We have to write a certain message on the bottom of this wall in charcoal. It has to be written in the ancient language with the ancient glyphs. Leave this to me."

"Alright." Said Ethan and Eusine.

She crouched down, pulled out a piece of charcoal and read what she began writing: "'We are friends of pokémon. We humbly ask that you allow us to pass through this threshold as our need is dire. We swear to not attack or capture any pokémon within your chambers lest we be attacked first.'"

As Sabrina finished writing, the glyphs on the walls began to glow and soon each letter became a three-dimensional figure and began to float. "Those are the unown!" said Eusine in wonder.

A small section of the wall began to move as a hidden door was revealed and opened. "Let's hurry!" shouted Sabrina and the three of them rushed through the door. After they entered they were floating in a dark space. "Unown, please end your illusion, for we are friends." At Sabrina's words the darkness lifted and they were standing in less-extreme darkness, but still darkness none-the-less as it was a dark room. "Go, Alakazam, use flash!" Sabrina unleashed her psy-pokémon in a flash and it held its spoons together making a glowing that surrounded them. "This way!" They all followed Sabrina.

As they reached another, brighter corridor they saw Kris. She was sitting up on a chair at the top of five steps like it was a throne. Her eyes were still blank and glowing like she was in a trance. "Why have you come here?"

"We want Kris back!" shouted Ethan.

Sabrina put her arm out in front of him. "Let me handle this. Oh, great Unown, please release these children's friend. She means so much to them! I bring you offerings!" She pulled out two bags: one filled with gold coins and another filled with berries. "You may also feed off of my psychic energy as well as Alakazam's to your heart's content."

"Alakazam!" it agreed.

"We shall consider your offer." A burst of light surrounded the two bags as well as Sabrina and Alakazam.

"We are pleased. Take the girl and leave immediately."

"Thank you, kind masters!" She said with a bow.

Kris' eyes stopped glowing and she slouched in the throne. "Wh-where am I?" she asked.

They all approached the throne and Sabrina picked her up. "You're safe now, that's all that matters."

Suddenly, an explosion was heard from the other room as two people burst into the chamber they were standing in.

"To infect the world with devastation!"

"To blight all peoples in every nation!"

"To denounce the goodness of truth and love!"

"To extend our wrath to the stars above!"

"Cassidy!"

"Butch!"

"We're Team Rocket; circling earth all day and night!"

"Surrender to us now or you'll surely lose the fight!"

"Raaaticate!"

"Who are these clowns?" asked Sabrina.

"Oh no." sighed Eusine.

"Not you two again!" shouted Ethan.

"Well, well, well," said Butch. "If it isn't the squirts from Route 30."

"You may have bested us there, but you will not interfere with us here." Threatened Cassidy.

"What is it that you want?" asked Kris.

"We've heard rumors that under these ruins dwells a lapras which is a rare pokémon." Said Cassidy.

"So you're going to try to capture it?" asked Ethan.

"Precisely."

"Well, that's fine and dandy, and you certainly have a right to try to capture a wild pokémon, but did you have to disturb a fragile place like this?" asked Eusine.

"Ha!" scoffed Cassidy. "As if we care! We'll capture as many unown as we can in the process too!"

"Yeah! Go, Hitmontop, dig!" shouted Butch as he sent out a pokémon that resembled a top.

"Hitmontop: the Handstand Pokémon. Hitmontop's smooth, graceful kicks are deceptively powerful. Opponents may be surprised by their force, so beware."

"Wow, sounds like an awesome pokémon!" exclaimed Ethan.

Kris sighed. "This is no time to be impressed."

"Sorry! Go, Yanma! Sonicboom!" Yanma's attack went right over Hitmontop as it buried under ground followed by Butch, Cassidy, and Raticate.

"Let's follow them!" shouted Sabrina.

"Right!" they agreed in unison.

Suddenly the walls around them began to glow as a swarm of unown took form.

"Great." Said Ethan ironically.

"Down the hooole!" shouted Sabrina as she leapt after Team Rocket.

"Yanma, distract the unown with sonicboom!" Ethan commanded as Kris, Eusine, and then himself followed Sabrina's lead. As they reached the cavern below, yanma swooped down and joined them. "Good job, now return!"

"Stop right there, Team Rocket!" shouted Eusine.

"Team Rocket?" Sabrina gaped.

"Yeah, that's who these goons say they are anyway."

"Hm, go, Slowbro!" Sabrina unleashed her Slowbro to face Team Rocket. "Psychic!"

"Slow! Brooo!" Using it's psychic powers it lifted Cassidy, Butch, Raticate, and Hitmontop into the air and then flung them against one of the cave walls where it held them.

"So you two claim to be members of Team Rocket?"

"W-we are!" shouted Butch.

"We used to be under Giovanni, but then he quit on us when some pipsqueak defeated him." Said Cassidy. "So we've been recovering underground for years."

"Hm, well today, you lose!" at Sabrina's words, Slowbro tossed them through the hole they came through and out of the ruins where they went airborne and set sail into the sky. Slowbro then picked up a boulder with its mind and plugged up the hole hitmontop had dug. "Return, Slowbro, you did a wonderful job!"

They all looked out across the lake they had neglected to notice while battling Team Rocket. It shimmered from light that shone in through cracks in the walls and ceiling of the cavern.

"So this is Union Cave." Said Eusine in awe.

Across the small lake a splash was heard followed by a large, majestic creature surfacing and letting out a beautiful cry.

"Was that…?" Ethan started.

"Lapras." Kris sighed finishing Ethan's sentence.

"How anyone could want to poach that is beyond me." Said Eusine. "It's so wondrous it should be a legend itself."

Our heroes had finally made it to Union Cave after a long, tiring adventure through the Ruins of Alph. It only makes you wonder how many amazing creatures dwell in the amazing world of pokémon. What awaits our heroes in Union Cave? Find out next time on Pokémon Heart and Soul.

To Be Continued…

Well, there ya go, two chapters in one day! Haha. I hope you're enjoying my story! Please review!