The platinum blonde girl was surprised at how beautiful the inside of Meteor Falls was, but she had no time to admire the view and begrudgingly started making her way through the cavern, the Lake Trio following suit. After battling all the Trainers, surfing and climbing waterfalls, Louella finally found Steven talking to an elderly woman. Upon reaching them, the blue haired man smiled at the platinum blonde girl.
"Louella, good timing…we have the Meteorite shard; I've also come to understand quite a few things, as I suspected might happen. On that note, allow me to introduce you to someone…this honorable woman is a direct descendant of the ancient Draconids."
The elderly woman bowed to Steven and the Queen of Hoenn respectfully, her eyes taking on a glint of nostalgia as she spoke to them.
"Yes, Steven is right…I am one of the Draconids; one of those who was tasked with passing down to the next generation the knowledge of Mega Evolution, along with the great lore of the great Lord Rayquaza…who is the 6th child of Lord Arceus and Lady Angeallen, the Father and Mother of us all. Ever since times long passed by, Hoenn has been the epicenter of countless great sufferings…including the wars between the Omega Crimson Tribe and the Alpha Aqua Tribe, which all but wiped out one of those Tribes of innocent people. During more than several of those tragic times, the disaster often took the form of a Meteoroid, which fell upon our land from distant space."
Steven, Louella and the Lake Guardians continued to listen to the story the woman was telling them, Louella knowing full well about the war that started between her and Maemi's own people and the Omega Crimson Tribe long before they themselves were even born.
Apparently, it had started when a squabble broke out over who had created all life in the world after Arceus and Angeallen blessed the universe with the planets that help make it up as a whole. Some said that it was Groudon, while others believed that it was Kyogre, and from there the wars began.
At some point in time, the Omega Crimson Tribe died out completely and Louella and Maemi's family didn't need to worry about them anymore as he listened to the older woman tell them the rest of the tale.
"At other times, it was Primal Reversion from our own ancient Pokémon that brought us to the brink of annihilation…but in every instance, Lord Rayquaza has saved us all from death. So it was told that the great Lorekeeper, who Zinnia is today, standing before a Stone that shimmered with a rainbow light, offered up a single wish to Lord Rayquaza. Upon hearing their most fervent desire, Lord Rayquaza became imbued with a marvelous light and transformed. In this transformed state, Lord Rayquaza calmed both Primal Pokémon and saved our world yet again."
Steven could hardly believe what he was hearing, while Louella herself was also stunned…her parents had never told her and Maemi of this tale before, but that was probably because either they themselves didn't know it or thought that she couldn't handle so much information at once.
The Lake Guardians were also stunned. They were Arceus and Angeallen's third, fourth and fifth children, and they had forgotten about the whole squabble, but to remember it again brought forgotten memories of Rayquaza to them.
"Hmm, a rainbow-colored Stone and an invocation from the Lorekeeper…coupled with a Rayquaza unlike any ever seen…I see…it does seem to resemble what we know about Mega Evolution." Meddella spoke up.
"Yes, it does indeed…a person, a Pokémon, a Stone of great power, and the bonds that tie them all together…this process was called 'Mega Evolution' by those who came many years later."
Steven spoke up. "Ah, now I see…the process of Mega Evolution first came about from humanity's first ever meeting with Rayquaza. Now I have one last question, if you don't mind."
"Not at all, please ask away." The older woman said to Steven.
"The Lorekeeper, do you know of their identity?"
"Aye, indeed I do…like I said, the current Lorekeeper of this generation is named Zinnia, and she had been trying to avert the disaster that has befallen our world twice before…in her own way. She tried joining Team Aqua and teaching them the secrets of reviving the ancient Pokémon and drawing Rayquaza to our world through that process; but when that plan failed, she chose to embark on her secondary plan: to scour the world and gather the Keystones, even if it meant resorting to thievery to get them."
Steven seemed to understand. "Hmm, I see…I thought something was off about that girl; but to think that she was actually one of the ancient Draconids…did she never once stop to think of the irreparable damage she would've wrought upon our world?"
The older woman sighed; she was upset with Zinnia but knew that in the end, the girl had the best intentions in mind.
"I am sorry to say that she probably didn't think that far ahead, but know that she had the best intentions in mind when she embarked on her missions…in the end, history truly is doomed to repeat itself. I do know this much, Zinnia will follow her convictions to the very end…just as both of you must follow yours."
Steven was once again silently pondering the situation before he spoke up to everyone present, his eyes glinting with determination.
"Ah, yes…in that case, I shall head back to Rustboro City at once. Louella, I'll meet you and the Lake Guardians there whenever you're ready." Steven said to Louella and the Lake Trio before he exited the cave.
Louella was still trying to make sense of everything she'd learned, but decided to break it down little by little as she too exited the cave with Ulyana, Meddella and Alexander after thanking the woman for her time and her story. Upon coming outside, the platinum blonde girl took the adjacent Route and ended up back in Rustboro after 40 minutes. When she tried entering the building, Louella and the Lake Trio literally ran into the same scientist that asked them to retrieve the Devon Parts for him when they first met.
"Oh, it's you again! Please, you've got to help us! We're in big trouble, we're-" Louella cut him off, grabbed the older man by his shoulders and shook them gently yet firmly.
"Hey, calm down! Take a deep breath and then very calmly tell me what's going on, otherwise you're gonna have a heart attack."
The scientist did as was instructed, his demeanor a lot less frazzled…after another few seconds, he looked at the platinum blonde girl and told her and the human-disguised Lake Trio what happened.
"Those Team Aqua brutes stole the controller for our Link Cable system, it's called the Dimensional Shifter…they said something about going to the Mossdeep Space Center, and although Steven and Kelsi have already gone after them…I can't help but worry for them."
"Well, if you want I'll go help them out…I also have a stake in all this madness, so I can't just let all of it come to pass without doing something to put a stop to it all."
"Really?! Oh thank you so much, young lady! And you three, thank you too. I'll let the President know of your intentions, so get going before Steven and Kelsi get hurt!"
The platinum blonde girl nodded before signaling for the Lake Guardians to turn into their Pokémon forms and calling Leia out and asking her to fly her to Mossdeep City, the Dragon and Psychic Type Pokémon smiling and taking off as soon as Louella was securely holding onto the fluffy down feathers on her back without causing her discomfort.
After arriving at the Pokémon Center in Mossdeep, Louella had her Pokémon and the Lake Guardians healed up before heading to the Space Center. When Louella and the human-disguised Lake Trio walked into the building, it was empty other than all the Grunts scattered about everywhere. When she managed to beat them all, the platinum blonde girl headed up to the second floor followed by the Lake Trio…only to be greeted with a sight that made their blood run cold.
Steven was on the floor clutching his stomach and groaning in pain, his pale skin had bruises from either a fist or a hand and he was coughing violently from loss of air. Kelsi was just as badly injured. Her normally neat hair had been messed up as if a Pikachu had shocked her. Matt was smirking down at Kelsi and her brother, cracking his knuckles, but Louella was next to her friend in less than a minute and glaring up at Matt.
Steven looked up at Matt with tears gathered in the corners of his eyes and tried speaking again, this time trying not to yell due to the fact that the bigger man had almost crushed his windpipe when he strangled him before beating him up.
"How could he do this to you?" Ulyana asked in shock.
Louella glared. "Please, return that control system to us…don't you understand that that Link Cable is our last hope of saving this world?"
Matt's face paled considerably when he heard Louella say that; was it really true?
"Hold on, what do ya mean 'last hope'?"
Steven was by now up on his feet again with Louella's help, blood running down the corner of his mouth as he wiped it off on his sleeve before speaking again.
"I mean, that if we don't stop the Meteorite soon…then everything will be gone forever. If you refuse to listen to reason, then we'll have to take it back by force! Louella, back me up and help me take down this jerk!"
"Heh, as if you're in any condition to battle me…I beat the shit out of you without even breaking a sweat! And now you say that you can beat me?! Hah, it's enough to make me laugh!"
Kelsi was still on the floor, watching everything happen.
Louella and Steven both pulled out a Pokéball and got ready to battle Matt and his Grunt, the two opposing Trainers also unleashing their Pokémon.
After 10 minutes, the battle was over and Matt's side had lost.
Kelsi was able to say "In your face!"
"Damn it all; am I never gonna be good enough, bro?!"
"Louella, take the Dimensional Shifter before-" Steven was cut off when he saw a Whismur run in and steal the machine from Matt like it was nothing at all.
Alexander noticed something familiar. "Hey Steven, doesn't that Whismur belong to-"
"Nice job, Aster!" Zinnia said as she ran into the room, the small Pokémon handing the device to her before both of them turned to leave. The brown haired girl turned to look at Louella and nodded at her, a knowing smile coming to settle on her face as she spoke to the platinum blonde girl.
"This thing, you know what it could do if left in the hands of those who would use it to possibly doom another world to Armageddon…which is why you don't really need it."
Zinnia smiled once again at Louella, but this one seemed sad as she destroyed the machine beneath her foot. She then eyed Matt and stole his Keystone as if it as the easiest thing in the world.
"I know that all of you were pinning your hopes on this thing, but like I said earlier, you don't really need it. Now that I have all the Key Stones, I'll be heading to the Sky Pillar…Louella, if you really do wish to save this world without dooming another, then meet me there and I'll tell ya something really interesting! Until then, later! Let's get going, Aster!"
Whismur chirped lightly, to which Louella understood as "Alright, Zinnia!"
Everyone watched stunned as the girl ran off, Matt being unable to believe that Zinnia now had Archie and Abigail's Key Stones too. Steven and Kelsi themselves couldn't even begin to consider what plan she had in mind for this situation, but one thing was for certain…the Sky Pillar that she mentioned was really only spoken of in legends long forgotten by ordinary humans.
Louella was also curious about the place she mentioned, and as if to answer any unspoken questions, she looked at Steven knowingly before he spoke to her.
"Louella, there's something you should know about the Sky Pillar that Zinnia mentioned just now…only the ancient successors and those who know what happened in ancient times can enter it, as well as the Lorekeepers entrusted with passing on the knowledge to the next generation. Louella, there is one other who can enter the Sky Pillar…only he can undo the Seal on the entrance to the Sky Pillar."
"Who is it?" Louella asked hopefully.
"Wallace Reinhart. Like Zinnia and like yourself, he is one of the only other ones who can enter the Sky Pillar…but he's the only one who can physically undo the Seal blocking the entrance. I'll let him know that you're on your way over to Sootopolis City, whereas I will stay here and help the Professor devise a plan of action for what to do next."
Ulyana and Meddella smiled at each other. "It's showtime!" They said simultaneously.
"Hey, what about me?" Alexander asked.
"We should've included you. Sorry." Meddella apologized.
Louella blushed and ran out of the building. The Lake Trio followed. Louella turned pale at being able to see Wallace again. The last time they'd met up, the two of them didn't get to spend much time together…this time; they would resolve things quickly and possibly get to spend more than just a few hours in each other's company.
Ulyana, Meddella and Alexander changed into their formal wear before turning back into their Pokémon forms. Louella climbed onto Leia. They flew off, followed by the Lake Trio.
In Sootopolis, Wallace was staring at a large tree, thinking about Louella. She and the Lake Guardians were on their way!
Lisia was walking with Ali, when she heard beautiful singing. "Brother, look!"
"Let it go, let it go, can't hold it back anymore. Let it go, let it go, turn away and slam the door. I don't care what they're going to say. Let the storm rage on. The cold never bothered me anyway."
Louella and Leia landed beside Wallace, the Lake Guardians close behind. Ulyana, Meddella and Alexander turned into humans.
"Are you happy, Louella?" Alexander asked his Trainer/lifetime friend.
"Duh, what do you think the answer is?" Louella responded, giving Alexander a playful nudge.
Louella's Pokémon:
Swampert (Mia) Female
Gardevoir (Shimmer) Female
Sylveon (Delilah) Female
Diancie (Diana) Female
Latias (Leia) Female
Kyogre (Sapphire) Male
Uxie (Ulyana) Female- occasionally disguised as a human
Mesprit (Meddella) Female- occasionally disguised as a human
Azelf (Alexander) Male- occasionally disguised as a human
With Professor Birch:
Dedenne (Ivy) Female
Pikachu (Bella) Female