Chapter 26: The Point of No Return

June

At Slateport, Captain Stern was leading a small group of fellow sea explorers. "The Dive spell only works to a depth of a thousand feet," he explained to the newest member. "But Devon's Deep Diver allows this vehicle to reach up twice that depth."

"And research on how our submarine performs will allow them to make a Deep Diver capable of even greater depths," another added.

Stern nodded. "There is so much about the sea that we do not know. We will be breaking new ground with every Deep Dive we make."

"Amazing. Are you sure it works?"

"Of course I'm sure. We've already gone down a thousand feet for an hour without trouble. Now we shall test this sub to her limits!"

But when they entered the shipyard's building dock, there was a man in black clothes and a white mask on top of the idling sub. The red-haired ninja laughed. "Thanks for all your hard work," Maxie said. "Now we can complete this mission. Forward!" He vanished into the sub, which rushed out into the open seas.

For a moment, Stern was stunned, his dreams crushed by the theft. Then he screamed something the censors would find unprintable.

Kiri came upon a swimmer. She rolled up to him. "Excuse me, but can you point me to Mossdeep?"

The swimmer paused to talk, then noticed that she was riding her wheelchair over the water. "Uhh, um, it's that island there," he stammered out, pointing to the southeast. "Young Wizard."

"I'm just a Mage, but thanks." She went to Mossdeep.

It was a beautiful island community filled with fragrant trees and flowers. Most of the buildings, including the Gym, were on the lower plains. Up on a high hill there was an Observatory. There was still plenty of time, so Kiri went to the Observatory.

On the way, a little girl nearly ran into her. She smiled. "Hey, careful there, speedy."

The girl giggled. She had long black hair with blue highlights and a green gingham dress. Under her right arm was a long-eared black doll with a zippered mouth and an oval-shaped head. "Sorry. Have you seen my mommy's puppy?"

There was a yip as a long-haired orange and red dog bounded to them. The young Growlithe licked the girl's face. "Gotcha this time!"

She giggled.

"Nice puppy. Excuse me."

"Bye!" She and the Growlithe ran off to the beach.

There were several magicians and a Wizard working in the Observatory. One of the magicians noticed her. "Good afternoon. Here for a visit?"

She nodded. "Yeah, I was curious. What's this place for?"

"Observing the heavens for astrological readings. There's not much to see during the day, as we just do translations, but if we're not busy at night, we might show you our telescope."

"That sounds neat. May I come later?"

"Tonight? I think that'll be okay."

Kiri shrugged. "Maybe not tonight. I have a Gym Challenge to do and that might wear me out."

"Yes, it would. Well, good luck."

Since they weren't doing much, she left, merrily racing down the hill, then jerking herself to a stop before she rolled off the short cliffs. Then she cleared her mind and entered the Gym. Her strategy had come this morning, by unexpected means.

...

Kiri woke up to the smell of bacon. While she was getting dressed, Choora summoned herself. 'Hey, can we talk?'

She nodded. "Sure thing Choora. Sorry I haven't used you much."

'It's fine; I understand that you must work with all of us to move ahead. Actually, it's about the upcoming Gym.'

"Really? There's two more, one in Mossdeep and one in Sootopolis. Both are over the ocean."

'I know. I had a dream last night that showed the Mossdeep Gym. It's belongs to my type.'

"Psychics? That'll be tough."

She nodded. 'But with the proper strategy, it should be easy. I think I know how.'

"So what's your idea?"

She held out her silver spoon. 'I can tell, to some extent, what our opponents mean to do. But such foresight is normally brief, by the next second. Those at the Mossdeep Gym will be able to do so as well. And the Leaders, they will be able to communicate silently with each other and their Pokemon, as well as slightly predicting moves. Therefore, when we enter the Gym, we must have no strategy immediately in mind.'

"How can we do that? We need to have some strategy to defeat them."

'If you trust in us, there may be a way. I feel that Samba and Honey will be your best duo. Use spells to protect them, but allow them to attack naturally. Encourage them, but let them know ahead of time that you will not be giving any orders. Follow this path and you should win.'

Kiri thought on it, then nodded. "Okay, we'll do that."

Choora smiled slightly. 'Thanks for believing in me.'

...

As she approached the twins, Kiri only let herself notice what was there. There were sliding tiles that pushed challengers away, but as a Mage, she was able to bypass that part of the Gym. There were several Gym Trainers, all with the gear of a psychic: crystals on necklaces, tattoos of magic symbols, enchanted clothing. At the back of this Gym were the young twins she had met at Mt Chimney.

Although of different genders, they were identical otherwise. They were ten years old, still young enough that they couldn't be told apart by body type. The girl did have longer hair, held back by long pins into a ponytail, while the boy had shorter hair tied up neatly. They both wore identical outfits, blue pants and shirts edged with yellow trim. Their Guardians were even twins, identical Espeons that seemed to enjoy mirroring each other's every move.

"Hello again, Mage Kiri," the girl said.

"I am Tate," the boy said.

"I am Liza. We knew you would come today."

"But we cannot see the battle itself."

"Which is good, because what would it be worth..."

"If it were already decided?"

"Good, cause I like things that way," Kiri replied.

"As it should be," Liza said. The shield and three orbs appeared. "This will be a Double battle."

"Two Pokemon alone must fight on each team."

"As twins, we know each other's thoughts."

"As psychics, our Pokemon know our commands."

"Both without a word spoken."

"Can you face such adversity?" They summoned their Pokemon, Tate calling a Solrock and Liza calling a Lunatone.

Kiri summoned Samba and Honey. They had already spoken, so the Pokemon knew of Choora's plan. Noting the Leaders' choices, Kiri cast Protect.

A good move, for the Solrock started off by throwing Flamethrower at the Ice Pokemon. Protect absorbed the attack, then vanished. Samba then cast the battle version of Surf, summoning a massive wave of water to crash into their opponent's team. They all got soaked, and hurt in the case of the twins, Lunatone, and Solrock. But as it was enchanted water, it wouldn't take long to dry.

As the wave was crashing over them, Honey started to cast Powder Snow. She got lucky and froze the Lunatone while it was casting a boost spell over itself. Then the twins cast Psywave, sending a rainbow wave of light at both Pokemon. Honey was able to blunt the spell's force with her natural psychic powers, but Samba was knocked onto his back. Kiri cast Protect again.

It failed to appear and the Solrock threw rocks at Honey. She avoided most of them and used Ice Punch to weaken it further. In the meantime, Samba scrambled back to his feet and cast Surf again. That was enough to knock out the two opposing Pokemon.

"That was one of the quickest battles we have seen where we did not win," Liza said.

"So you attempted to counter our powers by trusting your Pokemon fully to do their best?"

"You have trained them well to be able to do that successfully."

Kiri nodded. "We've worked together enough that I knew it could be done."

"You well deserve this Mind Badge," Tate said, before enchanting her card with a silver light. "It will enhance the special abilities of all your Pokemon."

"And it will allow you to go underwater without need of air."

"Really? That's great."

"This is the symbol for Dive," Liza said, drawing it in the air with glowing magic. It looked a simple fish in a bubble. "The protective bubble will respond psychically to your wishes."

"All people have some psychic and magic powers, but few of us develop them."

"It does take a special person to do so."

Tate winked. "And Dive should prove very useful in your last badge Challenge."

"Alright, I'll keep that in mind."

"The next spell we have for you is Calm Mind," Liza went on.

"It raises both the power and defense,"

"Of purely magical skills."

Tate then drew a glowing symbol like his sister had, this one like a yin-yang mark. Kiri looked at it, then considered it. "Okay, like this?" She clasped her hands together and cast the symbol. She felt her mana grow more vibrant.

"Yes, that is right," Tate said.

As the night began to grow, Kiri went up to the Observatory. The battle hadn't been as bad as she thought it would be. Although, she had a feeling that the twins weren't expecting her to be that powerful. They didn't know all, even though they did know a lot.

"Isis!" One of the astrologists was standing on the path to the observatory. With her was an upset Growlithe. "Isis, come back here."

"Did something happen?" Kiri asked.

"My little girl is out playing too late. She normally comes in by sunset, but only my Growlithe came back."

"Is she about this high," Kiri held her hand up about three feet off the ground, "with long black hair and a doll with a zipper for a mouth?"

She nodded. "Yes, have you seen her?"

"Earlier today. I can help you look."

"Thank you. Just bring her back here if you find her." She turned to a small wooded area. "Isis, playtime is over! Oh, I hope it isn't that doll."

"What about her doll?"

"It's a Banette doll. I'm pretty sure it's not the Pokemon Banette, but the twins have been busy today, so I couldn't check with them.

"I haven't heard of that Pokemon. Hang on; let me see." She opened and looked for new entries. Because she had seen the Lunatone and Solrock back at Meteor Falls, there were only two: Growlithe and Bannette. It said that Shuppets, the spirits of revenge, could evolve into Bannettes, Pokemon that look like dolls, but were capable of possessing young children and putting them in danger. "Um, looks like it was the Pokemon."

"Really?" the mother asked. "I don't know where she picked up that doll, but I thought it was harmless. Oh, this isn't good."

"Then we'd better do this the fast way." Kiri released Choora from her Pokeball. "We need to find a little girl that has a Bannette. She should be on this island."

Choora concentrated for a moment, then nodded. 'She is safe, for now, but the tide approaches. Down by the western beach here.'

Kiri relayed this information. "That's her favorite spot to play," the mother said as they went down to that beach. "But she usually knows better than to stay out so late."

'The twins are not here either,' Choora added. 'There's been a meeting called of the Leaders.'

"Do you know what about?"

'It's hidden from me, but most likely the current situation with the missing orbs.'

The tidal sandbar was shrinking. Isis was standing in front of what seemed to be a rip in the air. Something dark and otherworldly seemed to be on the other side. Isis stood there motionless, clutching her Bannette doll to her chest.

"What are you doing, Isis?" her mother asked. "Come here; it's dangerous when the tide is coming in."

Then the incoming tide froze. All sound froze. Time had stopped.

The Bannette winked. 'You will come with me, yes?'

'I don't like it,' Choora told Kiri. 'But it seems to be trying to help us.'

"Why should we follow you?" Kiri asked.

'There is something you should know, yes? Trouble stirs, but maybe not as expected. No harm will come to you or Miss Isis, promise. She took me in when I was lonely.'

After hearing this, and noticing the others were frozen as well, Kiri nodded. "Okay, but we'd better come back as soon as our business is done."

'Of course, of course.'

Isis broke out of her trance like state. "You can talk to my Annie?"

Kiri nodded and rolled up to her. "Annie wants us to come with her."

"Where are we going?"

Annie slipped out of Isis' arms. 'Come, come. Place of secrets. You only come because it is important.' She hopped through the rip.

"We'll protect you," Kiri told Isis. "And Annie will too."

She nodded gravely. "Okay." She put a hand on the wheelchair and walked with her through the rip in space.

Annie was hopping up and down on the other side. It was like a spooky old forest, with twisted trees and a weedy path. Behind Annie was a powerful and enormous Pokemon. He had segmented plates of armor along his body and six sturdy legs. He looked very much like a Bug, if there was one taller than a two story building. He radiated the magic of Dragons and Ghosts in such a way that Kiri could tell he could likely kill them in one clean blow.

His image shimmered for a moment, then he reformed himself. He was the same shape as before, but now stood only six feet tall. He bowed his head. "Greetings, child of Mossdeep, and you, young Mage. I am called Giratina."

A watery presence filled his attention. "Don't disturb us," she whispered. "The peace may be enforced, but it is peace."

A distant voice of the ground reached him. "Don't disturb us. We seek to protect, but black flames await."

And someone from the sky added, "Two live as one. Three are powerful in unity, but should one fail, they all fail. This is truth, whether Guardian of a Wizard or Guardian of a region. This is truth, whether Pokemon or Human."

Vincent blinked. Flickering torchlight showed rough cave walls of red rock. He was lying on the floor, various pebbles jabbing into his back. He got up and grabbed a water bottle from his bag. After drinking it, he asked, "Where are we?"

"In the underwater cave we dove to," Missingno said. "The cultists have stolen the Slateport submarine and we're here to find out why."

He didn't remember any of that. "Huh? Why us?"

"You swore by your honor as League Champion that you would. Stern was very grateful." He paused. "You don't remember again?"

He shook his head. "No."

The strange Pokemon sighed. "I'm deeply sorry. You agreed to help me and you're suffering for it. I don't want to fail again as a Guardian. But don't worry. Maybe if we defeat these goons, it'll be enough to redeem me."

Vincent wondered what Missingno was really trying to do. "Yeah, should be. Let's go." He walked towards the torch light.

There were four adults here, two men and two women, all in CCP uniform. They had three orbs that looked like glass, but had too much mana to be ordinary glass. They were chanting before a large underground lake. There was a deep watery presence, a slumbering power. Vincent challenged them...

...

And they were gone.

He blinked. The three orbs were floating in front of him, unharmed. "Huh?"

"This is not good," Missingno said. "Let's get these back to Mount Pyre. Then I can pray for the forgiveness of Arceus."

Vincent didn't remember much of how they got to Mount Pyre either. But he found himself in front of the submarine at the foot of the sacred mountain. It was early morning, judging by the sunlight. As he squinted, eyes adjusting to the change, Tate and Liza approached him. "You have gotten the stolen orbs and the submarine," Tate said.

"Well done, Champion," Liza added before they both bowed.

Missingno was in his Feraligator disguise. "Let's return these quickly, to avoid disturbing the immortals any longer," Vincent said.

No, he thought, that was Victor speaking. It was like Vincent did not exist around people other than Missingno, Wally, and Kiri.

A few other Gym Leaders and the Elite 4 were at the sacred Mountain as well. They walked with Victor up to the shrine. As always, Victor dazzled the crowd by recounting the adventure which Vincent hardly remembered. Something wasn't right, but he couldn't put his finger on it. It was so hard to think these days.

At the shrine, he placed the three orbs in their proper places. They shone for a little while in the morning sun. And then they shattered into dust. A nervous silence fell over the group, but within the mountain, there came many ghostly wails. The formerly calm atmosphere became one of fear and uncertainty

Roxanne spoke first. "What's going on? What's going to happen now?"

Rayquaza answered with a roar. The sky dragon descended again. "Someone here has made a wish to destroy the orbs," he growled. "Tell those in the sacred cities that they must keep their benefactor calm. There is an outside force driving us, and if not stopped, we shall go berserk and things will become dire." He then flew off towards Fortree.

The group looked to each other nervously. It was Victor/Vincent, Roxanne, Norman, Wattson, Tate, Liza, and the Elite 4. But who there would want to break the truce between the immortals?

'I'll protect you,' Missingno reassured Vincent. 'No matter what, I won't fail you.'

Wallace was in his Gym with his apprentice Parker. "You've got the spell right,"

"Good."

"But you don't have it down."

The boy was surprised. "What? But I've been casting it right."

"You're still taking time to concentrate. When it comes to battle, your actions must be fluid and immediate. These actions and spells should be so known to your body that you do them without hardly thinking. I take on challengers at a slow pace, but that is because I must abide by League rules. In top form, it must be a quick and steady beat that is never dropped." He snapped his fingers three times while adding, "Never once stop."

Parker nodded. His talents were forming. "Never once stop... okay, I'll work more on it."

"Constantly."

The door to the Gym came open as a man with a Grumpig came in. "Wallace! Everyone needs to get out!"

"What?" He noticed how serious his aura was; this was a dire threat, no joke. "Parker, teleport others to the center. Let's go." Those who could teleport on their own left; the rest were sent out by Parker and Wallace until it was just them, and then they left.

Right as they appeared at the Pokecenter, there was a rumble from the earth below their feet. "What is this?" Parker asked, holding onto the sign.

"I don't know," the Grumpig's trainer said. "But she just panicked and said everyone had to leave the Gym."

"Something stirs that should sleep," Cassie said, nervously tapping her front hooves together.

Running through everything he knew of Sootopolis, Wallace's eyes were soon turned to the Cave of Origins on the north shore. The spiritual energy of that place had been growing weaker, something that greatly worried him. He was about to tell his Trainers that he was going to check it out when a red light shot out of the cave entrance. It went through the Gym and demolished the building. As broken water pipes began spraying new fountains everywhere, Groudon materialized.

The sunlight reaching into Sootopolis suddenly intensified. It reflected off the white surfaces and became almost blinding and burning. The great red reptile blinked for a moment, adjusting being awake. He flexed his claws, then leapt up to the hole of the volcano. Once there, he roared. The sound reverberated through the town and through their bones. A short time later, there was an answering roar as Kyogre called back. From below, Wallace could see Groudon tracking his rival's movements to the south, going east.

But he didn't seem interested in a fight right now. Groudon jumped off the volcano. By the rumbles of his motions, he was headed east as well.

Wallace turned to Parker. "Call Pacifidlog and Slateport; warn them Kyogre is headed towards them. I'll call Dewford and Lavaridge."

The apprentice nodded, then followed him inside to make what warnings they could.

Brawly was in the middle of a battle with a Trainer. It wasn't going well for his opponent, a young man with a Lairon. However, lessons like this were necessary, even if it earned him the ire of the Trainers. They would face far less merciful opponents in later battles if he went easy on them.

But something at the edge of his mind told him that something wasn't right. That something was vindicated when the Sapphire appeared in the room, glowing bright blue.

"Hold it," Brawly said so firmly that everyone in the Gym froze. He gazed into the gem and soon discerned its meaning. He snatched it out of the air, then recalled his Hariyama. "Sorry, we'll have to redo this battle. I have more important business to attend to." Then he ran out of the Gym.

He nearly ran into Nurse Joy, who looked flustered. "Brawly, Kyogre is..."

"Coming, I know. Get everyone away from the shore, just in case." Then he ran down the rocky path to the shrine on the other shore.

It was one of the problems of having trained very few Psychic or Flying types, he thought. He could Fly to other towns, but couldn't teleport across his own island. And just as he thought it, a familiar scarred Abra appeared on the side of the path.

'I will assist,' Dusack said before teleporting Brawly to the shrine. His Infernape appeared as well, looking frazzled.

"Thanks, Dusack," he said, patting the old Abra on the head.

'This is too important and your time is up.'

Right then, Kyogre leapt out of the water and crossed over Dewford Island, just like she had crossed over Slateport. She landed with a crash that sent a tall wave smashing into her shrine. The downpour that followed her drenched everything as much as her waves were. Brawly brought the Sapphire over there and waited, holding one hand over his eyes so that he could see.

The shore waters were shallow, but Kyogre glided over the waves to meet with him. "Greetings, Wizard Brawly."

He bowed to her. "Greetings, Master Kyogre. What has awakened you?"

Flannery clutched the Ruby, finding some comfort in its pinkish-red glow. Still, it was hard to be calm when face to face with a being that could raise mountains and then smash them flat in seconds. It didn't help that his voice growled within her bones. "Lokire has been up to mischief. It has someone hiding it, so we cannot locate the devil."

"What can I do to help you?"

He chuckled. "No need to be so nervous, my lady." He looked up at the sky, finally bright and sunny. But not like normal. This was like an enormous magnifying glass had been placed over Mount Chimney "And yet... do not let anyone disturb me. The evil powers seek to incite us and we know it. I must have peace to fight off its power. This devil needs to be found, or else I shall lose control of myself. None of us desire that, save Lokire. I will set a wall at that entrance to where only one with the Ruby may enter. Keep that sacred gem safe."

Pokenav Extras

People

Tate Tivis
Job: Gym Leader/Sage
Hobby: playing marbles
Battle Strategy: I work with my sister.
Secret: he gets really annoyed when ignorant people tell him to act his age

Liza Tivis
Job: Gym Leader/Sage
Hobby: styling hair
Battle Strategy: I work with my brother
Secret: she hopes that her sister Isis will be relatively normal

Pokemon

Lunatone
Trainer: Liza
Team: 4th Tier
Nature: Quirky
Likes: eclipses
Dislikes: not having hands

Solrock
Trainer: Tate
Team: 4th Tier
Nature: Quiet
Likes: fire
Dislikes: the spell Double Team

Legends

Giratina: One of the most terrifying immortals to meet face-to-face, Giratina is the Guide of Lost Souls. He watches over all Ghost Pokemon as his children. Most souls of the dead settle down within 40 days; however, a few do go astray or get lost. Giratina seeks out these lost souls and guides them to where he lives, which is described as the reverse side of our world. Whatever happens to those souls is uncertain. The Ghost Pokemon do not speak of their father's secrets.

Magic

Two are one/three are powerful: This is a fact of magic that has been around since magic could be learned. 'Two are one' refers to the bond of Guardian and Wizard, although it also is about the relationships between some immortals, such as Latios and Latias.

'Three are powerful' can be said about many things. Special spells often require three casters, or one main and two supports. Many immortal trios also exist. Groudon, Kyogre, and Rayquaza have been described as a somewhat shaky trio, but a more certain group is Raikou, Entei, and Suicune of Johto.

Lots of stuff happening here. Someone was wondering what happened to the other Mages who started with Kiri. Well here's one. Parker got the Mudkip and he went to apprentice under Wallace. So he's not been out traveling. May went the route of focusing on school.