-Chapter XXVIII: Transcending Evolution-

-Alice-

She awoke with a start, nearly falling out of the vine-woven hammock as it swung back and forth. Tears fell to the ground as she shook her head, trying to get the images out of her mind. That's just where the evil pokémon go… We're not going there.

She growled and stood up as she saw Larua somehow pointing her finger at her, still bound to the wall by enormous vines. "You keep showing me those images of the Distortion World… Why?"

"Why have we been here for two days?" Larua asked.

"Because I'm being paid to make sure you stay here," B fluttered down from a hole in the roof and gently pressed her needle-like arm into the ghost-types throat, forcing her head against the wall. Then her eyes widened slightly as the female Beedrill pressed harder. "I've been extremely lenient on you. I don't know why you're still conscious, but I'm about to fix that."

Then the Banette began laughing. "Hm-hm-hm-hm-ha-ha-ha! Ha-ha-ha! HA-HA-HA-HA!"

B narrowed her eyes as Larua opened her mouth just enough to speak. "You're too late…"

"Too late for what?" Alice questioned.

"You're all that's left! Hee-hee-ha-ha!"

"All that's left… No…" Alice covered her mouth, and Beatrice injected poison into the ghost-type's skin, knocking her out instantaneously.

"Alice, don't listen to her. I have what I need to know. She's been trying to get in our heads anytime she's been awake."

"But… I felt something…" Alice looked to the ground and closed her eyes, sending out an aura pulse to where she felt the disturbance originate from. "One of them is hurt… Really badly. And two- no, three… Three of them are mourning. I can feel it."

"Where?"

"Somewhere north… Uh…" Alice honed her vision and leaned against the wall in an attempt to keep upright. "Northern Desert…? That doesn't make any sense… What are they doing all the way out there?"

"How can you sense where they are?" B asked. "Only powerful psychics can locate other pokémon remotely."

"It's a gift I have… I can sense emotions on a spiritual level. I can sense my team's easier, since I've been with them longer and gotten more practice at honing in my ability, but… It doesn't make any sense…"

"Well, since you know where they are, why don't you go find them? My priority is here, with these pokémon. It's clear that your team is your priority."

"Are you sure you'll be alright with all four of them here?"

B simply prodded the Haxorus' arm with her lance-like arm. "Of course. I'll be monitoring them the entire time with a substitute clone."

"Okay… Do you know any way to get there really fast?"

"I can use my explorer's badge to warp you there," B replied as she held up a small golden badge. "Then you're on your own."

Alice smiled and tilted her head down momentarily. "Thank you…"

"It's not a problem," B replied. "But where in the Northern Desert are they? That's a lot of ground to cover by yourself."

"I can find them once I get there," she assured the Beedrill.

"If you say so." B smiled and held up her badge. "I've enjoyed our time together. It's given me a break from my daily routine, even if I hated you at first."

"Me too," Alice said half-heartedly. "Sorry, I just… I can't bear the thought of thinking that they might not… Y'know… they might not be here anymore."

"I understand," the Beedrill hummed. "Good luck."

Her badge glowed with a golden hue, and Alice felt the teleportation effect take hold of her body as she was whisked away in a flash of golden light. She only felt that exhilarating feeling for a brief moment before the golden sphere surrounding was enveloped in darkness, and she was thrown out of the warping effect, tumbling across hardened sandstone fragments, cutting and bruising her skin as she was slammed into a solid stone wall. She groaned and laid on her back, staring up at the bright blue sky. "Ow… Ow, ow…" she saw two familiar pokémon and gasped out loud. "Roy! Vulcan! Oh, thank Arceus!"

She struggled to her feet as the ghost-type greeted her with a small tilt of his hat. "Alice."

"What kind of 'hi' is that?!" she said with a grin as she pulled him into a hug. "I haven't seen you in a week! I thought you guys might have died! How are you together?! Where are we? I have so many questions!"

"Well, so do we…" Roy muttered. "Look behind you."

Alice turned around, following Roy's gaze to the tan-skinned pokémon sitting on the ground, curled into a ball about fifteen feet away.

"Uh… Hi. I'm Alice." the pokémon looked at her with a dazed expression, but didn't respond. "...What's your name?"

"Alice… That's Connor." Vulcan lamented.

She turned her head towards him, making sure she heard him right. "What?"

The tan-skinned pokémon stood up, and she immediately closed her eyes to try and read this pokémon's emotions. But she was too confused and shocked. There was no way that was Connor!

"Alice… My name is Connor. But I'm not who you remember," he said. When he spoke, tears filled her eyes. That was his voice, without a doubt. Maybe a little bit less gravelly, but definitely him.

"Wh-what do you mean? You can't be him! He's a-"

"I was a Swampert, I know. Those two have been explaining everything to me that they know," the fighting-type sat on one of the pieces of rubble and shrugged lightly. "So… Here's what we know: I got amnesia because I shielded the Charizard from the falling debris. Somehow I regained my memories of my past life… The one about the time gears-"

"She wasn't there for that," Vulcan quickly interjected.

"Oh. Well, I remember my past before this team, but I've forgotten everything from the past… 3 years, I think. Right? That's how long I've known you guys, apparently."

Roy nodded, and Alice just shook her head in an attempt to wrap her mind around what was going on. "But… Why aren't you a swampert?"

"Because when I got amnesia… I think my human form took over again. So now I'm just a human."

"Human… Aren't they supposed to not exist in this world?" she asked. "I'm not big on mythology, but Arceus created this world just for Pokémon, right?"

"Now you're just sounding discriminatory," Connor said as he stood up. "But I know you're confused. So am I. I was a human born in the future, destined to save the world with Grovyle. That's all I remember. So now I have no idea what's going on. Even with Roy and… Sorry, I forgot your name, Charizard."

"...Vulcan." he replied through the tears in his eyes.

"Vulcan. Right… I'm sorry for whatever you're going through. I truly am. And I'm sorry that you have to see me like this. I would never wish this upon anyone." Then he looked at her again, finishing his previous sentence. "Even with those two explaining everything to me."

Alice looked between them, completely in disbelief. "Connor… How do you not remember?"

"I don't know. Roy's been trying different spells on me for the past ten minutes. So far nothing's worked."

"You guys have been sitting here for ten minutes?" Then she looked around further, truly taking in her surroundings. Her jaw dropped as she realized the size of the structure she was within. "Whoa… What is this place?"

Roy sighed and began explaining. "It's the palace of the Northern Desert. Don't question it. It's here, so we're using it for tonight. The Mafia already found us somehow, so we have to move again." he said annoyedly. "Plus, it ends up that Mirage is the Queen of the Desert now. Isn't that exciting?"

"Roy, stop being confusing!"

"Team Firestorm." a powerful male voice echoed across the courtyard, and Vulcan knelt on one knee while Roy tilted his head down. "Your majesty."

Alice tilted her head and saw a colossal Flygon towering above the ruins. It had a crown atop its head decorated with green and red gems. Alice copied Vulcan and knelt as well, deciding it was better to follow his lead.

The king flew down to meet them, and when he got close, she could feel the anguish and sorrow overflowing from his body as if it were her own. "I'm truly sorry, but… My daughter has asked me to inform you myself… You are all that is left of Team Firestorm."

"No…" Alice whimpered. "That's…"

"It's true," Roy sniffled. "I could sense when each of them passed on… Aside from Manaphy, Mirage and Dawn… We're the only ones left."

-Roy-

He scowled and looked away from Alice as she wept. This is going great… he said to himself. Then he looked up at the cloudless sky overhead, observing the bright colors caused by the sunset, staining the sky hundreds of shades of purple and orange.

"It's sundown already?"

"Time is sped up in the desert," the King said as he moved closer. "Days are reduced by about three hours."

"Oh, yeah, that makes perfect sense..." Roy muttered as Team Skull moved from around the rubble. Alice ignited her fists when she saw them. "Watch out!"

She leapt forward, but Vulcan grabbed her mid-leap and held her back. "They're on our side now."

"But-"

"I know! I know… They're Team Skull. It's their fault we're here. But just… Don't attack them. They're trying to help."

Alice pulled away from him with disbelief. "Vulcan… What are you talking about? They're Team Skull!"

Skuntank sighed and looked to the ground. "Listen, Alice… I explained this to Mirage and everybody else; We want to help you guys beat them."

Alice's gaze flittered back and forth between Team Skull, Vulcan, the King and Connor. Her mouth was hanging slightly open, and Roy understood why. She was tied to all of their emotions. At least, that's how she explained it. Whatever they felt, she felt, to an extent. They were all confused… hurt… angry… filled with sorrow… That was a lot for somebody to bear.

Roy formed a fireball in front of him as a section of sand swirled upwards, solidifying into a Claydol who looked to the King. *Your highness, may I begin rebuilding the tower?*

"Yes," the King absently waved his hand in approval. "Do what you must."

The Claydol's eyes glowed as it began rotating in a circle, and Roy slowly dissipated the mystical fire. They all flinched as the remains of the collapsed tower were enveloped in a pink glow. Roy floated backwards as the smaller sections were lifted off of the ground, followed by the larger sections. The Claydol rotated increasingly faster until the largest slabs of sandstone were being held hundreds of feet above their heads. Roy watched, completely awestruck, as the cloud of rubble was swirled in a circle and slowly stacked together like a giant puzzle. But instead of send more rubble flying everywhere, it all merged together as if it were being held by a stickyweb.

Piece by piece, the top half of the tower was being rebuilt by a single psychic type. "How…" his jaw dropped as the slabs of stone more than forty feet long were rotated in midair, floating weightlessly. When they clashed together, Roy could feel the shockwaves travel through the air, pushing a small gust of wind across the courtyard. Once the final pieces were forced together, the Claydol's rotation ceased.

Roy's sorrow was replaced with awe as the entire courtyard was restored to almost perfect condition. That was one of the most impressive feats of psychic strength he'd ever witnessed.

Once the Claydol assured it was structurally sound by allowing him to tug on it with psychic, the King pointed towards the top. "Go and rest. Our fight starts tomorrow."

"You're fighting with us?" Alice asked with a bit of hopefulness in her voice.

"Yes. This Pokémon Mafia has declared war on the Kingdom of the Sands. And I intend to destroy them."

Connor grunted and tapped Roy's shoulder. "The pokémon Mafia? What's that?"

Roy pursed his lips and took a deep breath. Hearing Connor ask that was definitely up there on the scale of strangest things he's been asked. It never occurred to him that Connor forgot about the Mafia as well.

"They're… The pokémon that are hunting down our team," he said. "That's the short version."

"Okay. So what can I do to help?"

"Can you use any fighting-type moves?" Roy asked.

"Actually… I can't use pokémon moves," Connor admitted with reluctance.

"Oh. Uh… Maybe Amber will know what to do."

"Amber's here?" Connor asked with a smile. "That's great!"

"Yeah… I don't know where she is, though. I think they're still looking for us."

"We need to let them know where we are!" Connor said with a grin. "Amber can give me back my power, then we'll be fine!"

"How do you know her?" Vulcan asked.

"She's a… a pokémon from the future," he said with brief hesitation. Roy narrowed his eyes, but shrugged and dismissed it. There was no way he was prying any information out of him.

"I will send my pokémon to find them," the King interjected. "Now go rest."

"In there?" Skuntank questioned. "That's where we were just attacked!"

"The palace is protected by a psychic barrier after the attack. Nobody outside of the kingdom can get in without special permission." the King wiped a tear from his eye, and Skuntank just sighed and tilted his head down. "Yes, sir."

*Later That Evening*

-Roy-

Once he was sure that everyone was asleep, he floated through the wall and took in the moonlight illuminating the palace. He smiled and took several deep breaths, taking in all of the surrounding villages and towns within and outside of the walls. It was surprisingly peaceful. He saw the occasional nocturnal predator prowling on the edges of the horizon, but for the first time since their first battle with the Mafia, he felt at peace. Even when he learned his past, it just bothered him more and more every time he thought about it. When he restored Dawn's sight, that was arguably the best moment of his life. But this was different. It was just… peace. Almost unearthly.

"Uh… Hi-"

Roy teleported into the shadow realm and reappeared behind the pokémon who was floating above the palace. Then he just smiled. "Dawn… It's about time you got here. Did you finish whatever it was you were doing?"

"Yup!" she replied with a smile as she turned around in midair and kissed him. He embraced her as they floated weightlessly in the night sky, and she looked to the horizon. Roy followed her gaze, then looked back at her. She seemed to be deep in thought, but he knew what that was like, so he left her alone for a moment. Then she spoke up. "Roy… You want to go exploring?"

"Exploring?" he asked with a light laugh. "I'd love to, but I need to stay here in case anything happens."

"Please?"

Roy's smile wavered as tears lined the edges of the Kirlia's eyes. "Dawn… What's wrong?"

"I want to go to Luminous Springs. I heard the voice in my head saying I needed you with me." she murmured.

"Me specifically?" he glanced back at the sandstone tower where the remainder of his team was sleeping, then back at her. "...Fine. But I want to be back before sunrise."

"Okay," she said with a half-smile. Roy couldn't ignore it now. "Dawn, seriously, what's wrong? You have an 'I'm upset' look written all over your face."

"Nothing. I just… I dunno." she briefly blinked, then smiled. "It's nothing. Let's go!"

Roy sighed and drew the shadows cast by the palace into himself, deciding to ignore her avoidance of the subject. "Race to Luminous Springs?"

"You're on." Dawn said with a smirk. "Onetwothreego!"

She vanished in a flash of light, and Roy phased into shadows. Once he was in the shadow realm, he distorted the space around him, just as Dusknoir had taught him. Then he rose out of the ground in a clearing in a forest, with silver beams of moonlight streaming through the canopy, illuminating the ground in the soft glow. There was a giant hole dug out in the center of the clearing, which he just levitated over. He smirked as Dawn appeared in front of him a couple minutes later.

"How did you get here faster?" she asked.

"Shadow Travel is the fastest form of transportation," he jokingly bragged, not letting it show how much that leap drained him of his energy. He was barely able to stay in the air. He took a deep breath, and when he saw a flash of light up ahead that lit up the clearing as bright as day, he tilted his head. "Oh? That's never happened before…"

"Maybe it's a sign!" she giddily flew forward until they were in the small crater filled with water. There was a constant beam of light shining down onto the pool, even in the middle of the night, giving it a mystical feel. Roy reached out with his spectral senses, not sensing any other life forms as Dawn grinned and touched the edge of the water.

The same voice that had appeared for him resonated throughout the springs as the surface of the water rippled at her touch. A deep, power-filled voice that sounded as ancient as anything he'd ever heard. Somehow it felt even more powerful than when he evolved almost two years ago. This… is Luminous Spring. Those that seek awakening, step forth.

Dawn stepped forward nervously onto the surface of the springs, the water around her feet solidifying without using her psychic abilities. Once she reached the ray of light that shone down, the voice spoke again. Kirlia… This is Luminous Spring. Do you seek to evolve?

She nodded rapidly, a grin quickly forming. "Yes! I want to evolve!"

Roy smiled behind her as the voice continued. Do you need an item to do so?

"Nope! I don't!"

So be it… Seeker of awakening… let us begin.

The light grew brighter around her, forcing Roy to divert his gaze, then it dimmed down after a moment. When Roy looked back, she hadn't changed. She was still a small Kirlia.

She looked at her body and her jaw nearly dropped. "Wha-?! Why didn't I evolve?"

No… You may not evolve. Your fated evolution requires an item of great importance tied to the evolution of your species.

"My… fated evolution? What the heck does that mean? I thought I found what was lost already!" She glanced back at Roy, but he was just as confused as she was.

The one behind you… he carries the necessary item in his bag.

She turned around to face him. "Roy?" His eyes widened in response. I have something I don't know about in my bag? Since when?

Yes. The Mismagius carries the Dawn stone needed for your evolution.

She looked up at the source of the light in shock. "Dawn stone?! Only boys can evolve with that, though!"

Your evolution transcends the confines of our power. Only if you hold the Stone will you be granted evolution.

Dawn shrugged and turned back to him. "Okay…? Hand it over, Roy."

He nodded and sifted through his wonder bag. Sure enough, its polished turquoise surface twinkled in the light of Luminous Springs. He pulled it out of his bag and handed it to her with psychic. "Okay, Luminous spring voice! I'm ready!"

The beam of light narrowed and seemed to focus on the stone in her hands, glowing brighter for only a moment before it returned to normal. So be it… Seeker of awakening… let us begin.

He watched as Dawn was lifted off of the ground. The light grew brighter and the plants around the spring all began glowing with a golden brilliance. The water beneath her swirled up into a column that enveloped her as the wind picked up speed. He squinted while keeping an eye on her inside the vortex of water.

Okay… this didn't happen for me… Something's off about this.

Pink fumes rose from the plant life around him, being drawn into the vortex of water. Life energy?! He observed with shock. Why does the spring need so much extra power?

As the light died down and the water receded, his jaw dropped as a Gallade knelt down where Dawn had been a moment before. It caught its breath and stood up, being a full six feet tall, and looked at its arms in awe. "No way…"

The voice of the spring rang out louder than he had ever heard before. Behold… The Alpha Gallade.


D'Awww snap! That just happened! If you guys enjoyed this chapter, go ahead and leave any questions, comments, concerns or theories in the form of a Review or PM! Much Love!

-PL