PMD: Explorers of Light and Shadow
Chapter 20: Spirit Dance
Sealed Ruin thankfully had no Ghost types like Chasm Cave and Dark Hill did. Instead, it mostly had a mix of Grass, Steel, Poison and Dragon type Pokemon like Tangrowth, Forrestress, Shelgon and Metang. It wasn't as bad as Chasm Cave or Dark Hill, but not great either, seeing as my Fighting type moves weren't effective against anybody here.
"The murals and writing on the walls are creeping me out" Priscilla murmured as she brushed her hand across the dusty wall, revealing a layer of dried blood "All the murals are old and moldy while every message I see is written in blood"
"Do the messages have something in common?" I asked.
"Most of them said "HELP!" and "FREE US"" Priscilla replied with a shaky voice "A couple others said "BEWARE" and "GO AWAY""
"That's… ominous…" I mumbled "If not outright terrifying. I'm going to have to live with nightmares of this experience for the rest of my life"
"Same here" Priscilla sighed "I'm never going to forget this, no matter how hard I try…"
We continued on through the ruin, taking out Pokemon after Pokemon. The enemy Pokemon were a corrupt as ever, savagely attacking us while having the trademark bloody eyes, murderous grin and psychotic laugh. The first time we heard a Muk laugh like a psychopath behind us, Priscilla nearly screamed in terror, but I managed to silence her in time so we wouldn't give away our location.
"Under any circumstance, don't scream or talk loud" I hissed as I held my hand over the Eevee's mouth "All we can do is whisper. We don't want any more of those psychos after us, right?"
Priscilla nodded in understanding, poking my hand to silently ask me to let her go and I released her. Moving further into the ruins was met with a much higher amount of Pokemon. We found ourselves facing three Metang at once, which caused me to "die" by a Zen Headbutt. Thankfully, Priscilla revived me and we took the three Metang out.
"What's with all the Pokemon here?" I asked as I wiped the sweat off my forehead "There's more here on the upper floors than we've seen before"
Priscilla nervously glanced to the room beside her and gasped as a whole horde of enemy Pokemon fell from the ceiling for no reason at all.
"Silvin! Monster Houses are triggering all around us at random! We need to find the stairs before they overwhelm us!" Priscilla urged.
"What?! Can they even do that?!" I asked, shocked as the horde of Probopasses, Shelgons and Tangrowths began chasing us through the narrow hallways. I threw a Petrify Orb behind me to temporarily freeze the enemy Pokemon in place as I continued running. While I was running, I took a second to glance at the bloody writings on the walls, which were glowing red for some reason.
""FREE US", "GO AWAY", "DIE"" I read aloud as I continued dashing down the hallway alongside Priscilla "Hey Priscilla? Know why these writings are glowing red-"
I was interrupted when an intense pain overwhelmed my brain, bringing me to the ground instantly.
"Silvin!" Priscilla watched in horror as I, out of control, looked up at the glowing writings and murmuring them under my breath. Suddenly, I rose and slammed Priscilla to the ground with Force Palm.
"What the hell am I doing?!" I thought to myself, but my body wasn't in control. Did the writings possess me somehow?
"Silvin… what happened to…" Priscilla rose and glanced at the blood red writings on the wall, then saw a rosy aura around my body.
"The writings… someone imbued them with magic to possess anyone who reads them…" Priscilla murmured under her breath "But how… how do you break them out of…"
Without warning, I struck again, sending Priscilla to the wall with Quick Attack.
"Gah!" Priscilla groaned when she hit the ground again, struggling to get up "Silvin, stop doing this!"
"Free us… leave this place… die…" I muttered as I shuffled forward, fist glowing with the orange energy of Focus Punch. Mentally, I gasped in horror. There was absolutely no way Priscilla would survive a Focus Punch from me. What worried me the most is what the enemy Pokemon or I will do to Priscilla once she's down…
I couldn't think any longer as possessed me lunged forward, Focus Punch aimed at Priscilla's head. Before the fist connected however, the Eevee threw a Stun Seed into my face, paralyzing me to the marrow of my bones. The orange energy around my fist faded as I fell to the ground, struggling to move.
"Silvin… please wake up" Priscilla pleaded "I can't survive here without you. You're the only one who can protect me!"
"Free us… go away… die…" I murmured in response. God, I was getting tired of myself saying that already.
"Damn, no good" Priscilla grit her teeth "Come on Silvin! I know your spirit is stronger than that. Are you just going to let some stupid writing take over?!"
No response from me, just a little groaning as I struggled to move under the Stun Seed's effects.
Priscilla sighed "I knew that wasn't going to work. This isn't a fairy tale after all"
The Eevee brought out a Sleep Seed and threw it onto my chest, releasing a cloud of gas that put me to sleep instantly. Before I could close my eyes, I heard Priscilla murmur under her breath.
"Now I have to drag him through the dungeon. Gods above, I love him but why… why does this have to happen to us…" Priscilla sighed than gasp "The Monster House Pokemon! They are free from the Petrify Orb!
That was the last thing I heard before my possessed self closed its eyes. When I awoke at last, I found myself next to a Kangaskhan Rock with its head chopped off. Around us, intricate writing marked the walls, but none of them were glowing or written in blood thankfully.
"You're… awake…" Priscilla whispered "Are you… feeling better?"
I glanced at the Eevee and noticed a cluster of Stun and Sleep Seeds in her paw. She was planning to stun me and put me back to sleep if I was still possessed. Smart girl.
"Ugh, my head…" I reached up and rubbed my head "Just a minor headache, but I'm feeling better. Myself now"
"Oh thank goodness!" Priscilla dropped her seeds and hugged me tightly "I had to drag you through the rest of the dungeon myself. Do you know how nerve racking that was?"
"I could tell. I'm so sorry Priscilla" I patted the Eevee on the back of her head "Now I know better than to interact with anything in this world. Everything is so messed up"
"You know… I heard a story once" Priscilla told me "It was about a nefarious witch named Gardevoir who could possess the mind of anyone who reads her works. The same magic must of been used here"
"You mean she used imbued magic into the bloody writings to turn anyone who read them insane?"
"That seems to be the most likely conclusion"
"Ugh, I can't believe I was stupid enough to read them and turn against you" I muttered, then looked at Priscilla in the eye "Again, I'm so sorry that I attacked you. I wasn't in control of myself"
"... I know" the Eevee nodded sorrowfully "You're lucky that you didn't read more. The book I read said that if anybody read even a full page of Gardevoir's cursed words, their mind and body would be possessed by the witch forever"
"And how long has it been since I was possessed?"
"About half an hour"
"So five words were enough to completely take over my mind for half an hour" I said, amazed, then slumped "Now I'm starting to wonder about my mental resistance in general"
"I think the stronger your mind is, the more resistant you are to Gardevoir's curse" Priscilla noted "I managed seven words back there before something began creeping up in the back of my head. You weren't so lucky"
"I could only do five words and even then, I was still possessed" I grabbed my head in frustration "I'm still so ashamed that I hurt you Priscilla. I don't know how I can ever repay you"
Priscilla managed a weary smile "We can get to that once we're home. For now, stop apologizing. It's getting annoying"
"Yes mother"
"Anyways, can you walk?"
I gently pushed Priscilla off my chest and got up, loosening my arms and legs "There's nothing wrong with my body. I just have a minor headache. Probably a side effect from the curse"
"Okay, that's good" Priscilla got up and gathered her seeds "We should get moving then. I paralyzed a group of enemy Pokemon earlier with another Petrify Orb and they might start moving again soon. We need to head further in"
"Right behind you"
Deep Sealed Ruin was no different than Sealed Ruin before it. The enemy Pokemon were the same, the environment was just as creepy as the last and every Pokemon we saw wore the same trademark look that scared us witless.
"Look and read nothing on the walls" Priscilla ordered "I don't want to drag you through the dungeon this early"
"Of course. I'm the only one who can protect you, right?" I replied with a smirk.
Priscilla sighed "I wish I didn't say anything so corny…"
We continued on through the Deep Sealed Ruin until we reached an empty clearing. Dusty pebbles littered the ground and the entire place was poorly light by torches, which were frozen in time.
"Grovyle! Are you okay?" Priscilla and I rushed to Grovyle's side, but he cried out.
"You two! Stay b-back!"
"Huh? Why?" Priscilla asked, wide eyed in shock "You're on the ground, pulsing with purple electricity and you don't want us to help you?"
"An enemy lurks nearby. Stay alert!" Grovyle warned.
"An enemy? I don't see anything…" I said as I gazed around the dark, empty area "There's nobody here but you, me and Priscilla"
"The enemy is right… beside you Priscilla!" Grovyle groaned.
"Huh? This old rock?" Priscilla looked over it carefully "This can't possibly be the enemy that attacked you"
Then the rock shook, forcing Priscilla back with a yelp.
"Hee-hee… hee-hee" a voice laughed ominously "All those who TRESPASS upon this land will be punished! 108 times!"
"That's an oddly specific number…" I murmured.
"108 times… a voice coming from a rock…" Priscilla mumbled thoughtfully "Wait a minute… Spiritomb! Stop hiding and come out from your rock! We know it's you!"
"None shall be FORGIVEN! None!" the voice cackled as purple energy began forming around the old rock, forming a circular shape "Not least of all… YOU!"
"Who are you and what do you want with us?!" I demanded.
"Hee-hee… we are Spiritomb!" the energy collected itself to form a swirling mass of purple and yellow light, with green eyes and a sinister green "We are the manifestation of a fusion of spirits! A hundred and eight of them!"
"Be careful! This Pokemon is strong!" Grovyle warned.
"Hee-hee… prepare to serve your punishment!" Spiritomb laughed maniacally "I'll start with you two first. Die!"
Before Spiritomb could launch an attack though, Priscilla threw a Sleep Seed in his face and put him to sleep instantly. Then, Priscilla handed me a Violent Seed so I could whale on him with Bite, as Spiritomb was a dual Ghost-Dark type Pokemon. The typing also meant he has no weaknesses, so if we were different Pokemon, it wouldn't make any difference. As Spiritomb slept, I attacked him over and over again with Bite. The sleeping gas from a Sleep Seed is so strong that it takes several hours for the victim to wake up naturally from it. Unless the victim was hit with an overwhelmingly powerful move, they wouldn't even wake up if being attacked.
"Try to heal Grovyle while I'm doing this!" I called and the Eevee rushed to Grovyle's side with an Oran Berry. However, she couldn't even touch Grovyle thanks to the veil of purple electricity surrounding him. Anything that touched the electricity burned on contact.
"There has to be some way to get this electric pulse off you!" Priscilla growled in frustration.
"Don't worry about that right now. Help the Riolu fight Spiritomb!" Grovyle replied, irritated "He's starting to wake up now"
"Stun!" the Eevee threw a Stun Seed into Spiritomb's face just as he was waking up, buying me more time to whittle his health down. Finally, after like 20 Bite attacks, Spiritomb roared in defeat.
"UUGGGHGH… OOHHHH… ARRGGG…!" Spiritomb groaned loudly "OOOHH… ARRGG…! GAAHHHH!"
"Come on, I didn't hurt you that badly, did I?" I muttered "I mean, Groudon didn't roar that loud when I broke both his legs with Focus Punch and impaled him through the chest with Force Palm"
"UGGHGGHH…! GWAAHHH!" suddenly, the earth shook all around us.
"What the- What's happening?!" Priscilla cried in alarm, but just as suddenly, the shaking stopped and the purple mass of energy around Spiritomb returned to the rock he came from.
"Eep!" Spiritomb whimpered.
The purple electricity surrounding Grovyle wore away, absorbing itself back into Spiritomb's rock.
"Eep!" Spiritomb whimpered again "R-run away!"
And the rock dashed off somehow, back into the Sealed Ruin.
"W-what was that? What was that all about?" Priscilla murmured, then walked over to Grovyle "Are you okay? Can you get up now?"
"They got spooked and ran away. That's what happened" Grovyle groaned and got to his feet, dusting himself "That Spiritomb… it was clever. It ambushed and went up my nose, taking control of my body"
Priscilla shivered, probably remembering another incident of possession that happened earlier.
"So it was a bad Pokemon" I said flatly.
"No, that's not entirely true" Grovyle began "Spiritomb was probably angered that we trespassed it's space. It was frightening… that it became so angry that it lost control of itself"
"I've been seeing that in every Pokemon in this world as of late" I said "Every enemy Pokemon we see seems to be corrupted by the darkness here. Not only that, there were cursed words in the Sealed Ruin that drove people insane"
Grovyle bit his lip "Yes, that mostly happens to Pokemon here in the future. Normally, Spiritomb is a timid Pokemon. You saw that when the situation turned sour and it fled. A lot of Pokemon used to be docile and timid before all of this happened"
"So are you saying that the planet's paralysis warped their personality too?" Priscilla asked.
"That's what it seems. Can you imagine looking up and staring into a dark sky for the rest of your life? That's enough to turn anybody's spirit dark" Grovyle said gravely "As such, many Pokemon became obsessed with self preservation. They became more savage and bloodthirsty as a result, completely driven by the will to survive"
"That's… horrible…" Priscilla murmured, staring at the ground with a somber look "Pokemon who were chosen by fate to be good turned evil because of the darkness... "
"Now will you finally trust me?" Grovyle asked, shocking us both "You saw the horror that was inside the last couple dungeons for yourself. You know how merciless the enemy Pokemon are. Teaming up will be the best option for our survival"
"I uhh… somewhat trust you?" Priscilla looked at Grovyle with a confused look "I mean, I don't completely trust you, but…"
"Hmph, I told you before and I'll tell you again" Grovyle turned his back on us "There's no point in continuing together if there's no trust between us. I'm leaving"
"Wait Grovyle!" Priscilla cried, stopping the outlaw in his tracks "I didn't say that I didn't believe you. Trust me, you're right on everything before. We saw the terror in Chasm Cave, Dark Hill and Sealed Ruin for ourselves. Everything feels like it came out of a nightmare!"
"That wouldn't be far off…" Grovyle murmured.
"That being said, teaming up to survive would be a great idea" Priscilla continued "But… how can I trust you after you tried to destroy our world in the past?"
"Hmph. Look at how that turned out" Grovyle gestured to all around him "My plan was stopped in the past and look at this! Everything is still frozen in time!"
Grovyle looked at Priscilla in the eye with seething anger "You seem to care about the Riolu kid and trust his word. So why not trust his word now when he urged you to go with the most logical conclusion?!"
"Don't change the topic! You tried to bring ruin to our world in the past and that's why I can't trust you!"
"So what if I tried to go through with my plan?! The world would of come to this anyways!"
"What, so you were trying to speed it up?!"
"You don't understand!"
"And you're not telling us!"
"EVERYONE STOP!" I yelled, silencing both Grovyle and Priscilla. I took a deep breath and approached both Pokemon "Look Priscilla. Going with Grovyle is our best chance of survival. It doesn't matter if he's untrustworthy or not because he's the only way out of here. If we travel with him, we will know why he came to our world in the first place, how he got there and other questions you want to ask. So please, let's travel with him and at least get more information"
"But what if everything I say is a pack of lies?" Grovyle dared.
Priscilla sighed "It's all right. I won't take everything at face value right now, but… I'm desperate for answers. Anything"
"Well… fine" Grovyle crossed his arms "Follow me"
Hours later, we found ourselves in an indention of a mountain to hide ourselves from the Sableye.
"Good, we should be safe for now" Grovyle checked behind him, then turned to us "The Sableye won't be able to spot us easily from here"
"So tell us Grovyle…" Priscilla began "In the future… why did the planet's paralysis take place?"
"The cause of the planet's paralysis… dates back to your time. The world of the past" Grovyle explained "The planet's paralysis began with the collapse of Temporal Tower, which is governed by Dialga"
"Dialga… you mentioned Dusknoir working for him back in Crystal Lake" I recalled "But who is Dialga?"
"Dialga is a legendary Pokemon that controls time" Grovyle answered "Dialga ensured the proper flow of time from Temporal Tower"
"If Dialga is that powerful, then what could of possibly toppled his domain?" Priscilla asked.
"No one knows. Anyways, when Temporal Tower collapsed, time began going out of control too" Grovyle continued "And eventually, the planet fell into paralysis"
"What happened to Dialga?" I asked.
"When time got out of control, Dialga did as well" Grovyle replied "Now here in your future, the planet is fully paralyzed. Thus, Dialga has lost all reason and is now governed by darkness. Some dare to call him… Primal Dialga"
"... Primal Dialga?"
"Yes, Dialga has transformed into Primal Dialga, a primordial presence" Grovyle said gravely "He seeks only self preservation and destroys anyone who attempts to change history. That's why Dialga wants me dead. Because I tried to change history. I tried to stop the planet's paralysis"
"If that's the case, then why were you stealing the Time Gears in the world of the past?" I asked, crossing my arms "Wouldn't that just speed up the planet's paralysis?"
"That's what the common Pokemon would assume, but no. My plan was this" Grovyle cleared his throat "I didn't steal the Time Gears from your world. I was collecting them because they were needed to prevent the planet's paralysis"
"How so?"
"I needed to take them to Temporal Tower and put them in place" Grovyle continued "Doing so will reverse the collapse of Temporal Tower and thus, prevent the planet's paralysis"
"But wouldn't the areas without their Time Gears still be frozen?" Priscilla asked.
"Yes, that's what would happen" Grovyle nodded "However, it's only temporary. Once the Time Gears were set in Temporal Tower, time would be restored to normal everywhere"
"So what about all the things Dusknoir said about you?" Priscilla frowned "I mean, I don't believe him NOW, but he said you were a wanted outlaw in the future"
"That's true. I'm wanted because I'm trying to change history" Grovyle replied simply "Putting it simply, Dusknoir is not a Pokemon sent to the past to rescue your world from me. Rather, he was sent as an agent by Primal Dialga to kill me and prevent anyone else from altering history"
"So it was a lie all along" I crossed my arms and squeezed my bicep "Dusknoir said he was a Pokemon sent to the past to arrest you. But in reality, he was sent by Primal Dialga to kill you"
"That's correct"
"So everything he did… was to gain our trust?" Priscilla said slowly "All the things he taught us, all the times he rescued us… are you saying it was all a facade?"
"That's what it sounds like"
"Ugh. I WOULD confront Dusknoir about all of this, but that's just suicidal" Priscilla sighed, stamping the ground with her paw "What are you going to do now Grovyle?"
"I'm going back to the past to prevent the planet's paralysis" Grovyle said firmly "To do that, I need to find my friend, Celebi"
"Celebi…?"
"That's right. You can come with me or not. Your choice" Grovyle replied "You two decide on your own course of action. I'm off"
"Silvin… what should we do?" Priscilla asked, fear clear in her voice.
"I don't know. The only thing that's clear is that the planet's paralyzed" I clasped my hands together "And that the only way to prevent it is to go back to the past and place all the Time Gears on Temporal Tower"
"... But all of it could of been a lie" Priscilla murmured "I don't know who to trust anymore except you Silvin. I don't know what to believe to be true or false"
"I know Priscilla. Me too" I nodded solemnly "But I think following Grovyle to meet with Celebi is the best plan to get back home"
"Of course. There's no other option than that at the moment" Priscilla sighed "Alright then, it's settled. We're following Grovyle back to the past. If everything turns out to be a lie and Grovyle's plan speeds up the planet's paralysis, then we'll be the ones to stop him"
"Agreed" I smiled "Come on. We need to catch up"
Meanwhile back at the ruined Temporal Tower, Dusknoir waited at the edge of darkness, awaiting Primal Dialga to appear.
"GGRRRRR…." Dialga growled, his red eyes and orange outlines flashing in the dark.
"Master Dialga. The stage has been set for the capture of the escapees" Dusknoir reported "When the time comes, it may be necessary for us to beg for your help, Master Dialga"
"GRRRR…" Dialga replied.
"... As you wish" Dusknoir bowed "By your leave, we shall proceed"
Primal Dialga's red eyes and orange light faded into the gloom, leaving Dusknoir alone as darkness covered the ruined pinnacle of Temporal Tower again.
"Grovyle… you are far too predictable" Dusknoir murmured to himself "Running back to Dusk Forest to return to the past… do you know how easy it is to set up an ambush there? Not only that, we can capture your little friend, Celebi too. You're doomed Grovyle and Silvin. There's nothing you can do to change fate…"
Our team:
- Silvin, Riolu
Level 38
Moves: Focus Punch, Force Palm, Quick Attack and Bite
IQ Level: **
- Priscilla, Eevee
Level 35
Moves: Wide Slash, Vacuum Cut, Bite and Quick Attack
IQ Level: ***
And that was the third "In the Future" chapter, covering Sealed Ruin and the Spiritomb battle. Sealed Ruin is a much needed break from the hell that was Dark Hill, especially since there aren't any Dusclops with Pressure or Ghosts with Spite draining your PP. The Spiritomb fight is fairly tough at first glance, since Spiritomb has no weaknesses, but putting him to sleep with a Sleep Seed and nailing him with attacks like Charge + Spark on Shinx can bring him down with not too much effort. Up next is Dusk Forest and Deep Dusk Forest. Favorite and follow if you want to be notified of a new chapter and review if you want to give me constructive criticism or praise. Until next time!