Chapter 29: Liberation Day
September 6, Santalune City, Kalos, 6 pm…
Platinum got off of her borrowed aerial transport Pokémon and quietly made her way towards the nearby building. She hid herself in a narrow alley between the buildings and waited. For the next several minutes, she remained perfectly quiet, focusing all of her attention to her hearing. She didn't hear anything, and certainly didn't see any sort of rapid movements.
She still waited for another minute before deciding that she was not followed by any of the mind controlled victims or the Mega Hunter himself.
She peeked out of her hiding place and checked the streets. There were a handful of people walking around, but none seemed to be under the mind control of Zygarde, as they were all walking like normal people and not a part of some hive mind collective. With a sigh of relief, she casually exited the alley and made her way towards the Pokémon Center.
As she approached the distinct building, she glanced around to maintain caution and to look for Blue. The heiress soon spotted Blue leaning against the Santalune Boutique, smoking from a cigarette. The heiress jogged towards her senior, calling her name to get her attention. Blue saw and heard her, and hastily put the cigarette out, trying her best to blow the smell away.
"Sorry, Platinum," she said as her junior approached. "I didn't think you'd come so quickly. So how are you doing? The last time I saw you, you were sort of hurt."
Platinum bowed to her senior politely. "Thank you for your concern, senior. I am doing okay. How are you feeling?"
Blue observed the direction of the wind and moved accordingly so that the wind didn't blow the cigarette smoke towards her junior.
"I'm doing fine, kid. But enough about me. Your friend. You said he's mind controlled, right?"
"Yes, senior," Platinum said with a sad expression. "… I know he is."
"How did you intend to find your friend in the first place?" Blue asked as she put a mint flavored gum in her mouth.
Platinum rummaged through her bag once more and took out the Pokédex Scanner. "Senior Crystal gave me this. She modified an existing device to search for Pokédex frequencies. It has a moderate range, but it does not work while moving too quickly."
Blue took the Pokédex Scanner and tested it. She flipped it around and examined various parts of the device before she let out a short sigh.
"I'm sure this was the best that she could do," she said. "I'll have to tinker with it a bit to make it useful. Come on, while I work on it, you can tell me what happened with you and your friend."
The two girls headed towards the outskirts of the city and towards a hidden clearing in the forest. Blue sent out her Ditto which quickly morphed into a tent. Blue crawled inside first and Platinum soon followed.
Platinum remained on her knees as Blue took off her bag and set it on the corner of the tent. The heiress glanced around the… rather small tent, wondering if her senior had spent all this time living like this. Blue was unaware of her junior's gaze and simply took out a few devices from her bag.
"… Senior," Platinum began. "… Have you been… living like this the whole time?"
"Why do you ask?" Blue asked as she put her modified Silph Scope on her head. "Doesn't match your standards?"
Platinum gasped as she quickly realized how awful she must have sounded. "N – No, senior. I… I just meant…"
Blue smiled. "Relax, kid. I'm just joking. I know this is rather uncomfortable. I'd rather live inside a building too. But sometimes… not everything works out that way."
"… I am so sorry," Platinum said as she bowed to her senior. "Senior, please come to stay with us. The other seniors miss you and want to see you return. And the other juniors all respect you and look up to you. And we would all like to learn from you."
Blue momentarily paused before she lightly shook her head and resumed fiddling with her devices. "… Maybe one day. But… for now, just… let me be." She let out a short sigh and lowered her modified Silph Scope over her eyes. She flicked it on and changed the settings a bit as she stared at the Pokédex Scanner. "Hmm… there's some sort of a disturbance here…" She looked around for the source and pulled back a little when she looked over at Platinum. "What the…"
Platinum frowned a little. "Senior? Is something wrong?"
"… A bit of an electrical disturbance," Blue said, looking at her junior from head to toe. "… For some reason, I can see your… undershirt?"
Platinum quickly looked down and realized what her senior was talking about. "Oh. … It is a… prototype technology."
Blue raised her goggles so that she could see her junior's face. "Hm. I'm guessing that I shouldn't ask about it." She lowered her goggles once more and altered some settings to compensate before she looked at the Pokédex Scanner again.
"If I may ask… What are you doing to it?" Platinum asked carefully.
"Making it useful," Blue answered. "Increasing its range so that it covers several cities at once instead of mere kilometers. And also boosting its capabilities so we can fly with it. Otherwise, this is annoying as hell."
"So… are you certain that you can free Diamond from mind control?" Platinum asked.
"Yes," Blue answered. "But the question is… Are you prepared to do what is necessary to free him?"
"Yes, of course," Platinum answered quickly, with firm determination on her face. She frowned a little as she realized that Blue was asking something other than the obvious. "… But what do you mean, senior?"
Blue raised her modified Silph Scope once more to see her junior's expression. "… You're going to have to fight him. By yourself. I will not be in sight range so I can remain hidden from Zygarde. You must also not mention anything about breaking the mind control. And when he comes, you will have to fight him and beat him down until he can't get back up. Can you really do that?"
Platinum hesitated as the thought about hurting Diamond flashed across her mind. "… I… I have to… hurt him?"
Blue nodded. "Yes. I heard that he's one of your closest friends. Or should I say… one of your only friends. And I know that you really value him. Otherwise, you would not have come all this way for a chance to free him." She let out a sigh and put a hand on Platinum's shoulder. "It will be very hard on you. But you have to attack him and knock him unconscious. And keep in mind that Diamond will not know that he needs to be unconscious for the mind control to break. He won't know for sure why you're attacking him. … Are you sure you can do this?"
Platinum clenched her hands into fists and lowered her head. "… If… if that is what I must do to free him… I will do it. … This is for his good as well. … Once he is freed, I will explain everything and apologize. But until then…" She took a deep breath to solidify her own resolve and soon nodded. "I am ready, senior."
"Good." Blue gave her a gentle pat on the shoulder and returned to working on the Pokédex Scanner.
For a few minutes, Platinum remained silent as Blue worked on the device. After several tests and additional tinkers, Blue finally took off her Silph Scope and nodded at Platinum.
"It's done. The scanner can now scan up to 50% of Kalos at once. And it'll point out which Pokédex it's tracking, based on region. The Sinnoh Pokédex and Hoenn Pokédex emit different frequencies, and same for the others."
Blue pressed the refresh button on the scanner, and multiple dots showed up on the radar, including its geographical coordinates. Platinum watched with interest as several dots were converged in a single location, with more dots coming closer.
"That must be Lumiose City," she commented, pointing at the large cluster.
"Yes. I'm guessing that everyone have completed their tasks and are gathering once more," Blue said. "Which means, sooner or later, something big is going to happen." She let out a sigh as she thought about the possible future. "… But first things first. We save your friend, make more allies, and find the opportunity to attack. We'll have to strike hard and fast, before the Mega Hunter comes to defend. But even then… we'll be ready."
"Yes," Platinum said, smiling as she noted Blue's usage of "we".
"All right, let's see…" Blue zoomed out on the radar and more dots appeared. "Okay, so one Sinnoh Pokédex is… right here," she said as she glanced over at Platinum. "Another one in Lumiose, and another one in… Dendemille Town."
Platinum quickly took out her Pokégear and called Pearl. "Pearl, where are you right now?" she asked as fast as she could the moment he answered.
"Uh… Lumiose, back at the lab that we kind of took over," Pearl answered, bewildered by the sudden rapid question.
"Thank you. I will call you later." Platinum hung up and put her Pokégear away. "Diamond is definitely in Dendemille Town. Thank you, senior. I will head there right away."
Blue wasn't listening to her, however, as her eyes were fixated on the radar. "… That's odd," she said with a frown.
Platinum watched the screen as well. "What is odd?"
Blue pointed at a blinking dot. "… That's a Kalos Pokédex. And… the other one is in the same town." She checked the map. "… Both Kalos Pokédex are in… Camphrier Town, with one heading west. … But… that's not where Y died."
Platinum tilted her head and thought about it. "… If both Kalos Pokédex are in the same town… Perhaps X found Y's body and moved her to bury her."
"Maybe." Blue frowned again as she shook her head. "… If X did find her… he must be really hurt. … I heard that those two were childhood friends."
Platinum's expression turned dark as she nodded. "Yes. It must hurt him more than it would hurt me if I found Diamond… … dead."
Blue shook her head. "We'll have to talk to him after. Right now, focus on your task. I'll take you to Dendemille and let you deal with your friend. And after saving him, I'll go find X."
"I understand, senior."
"Then let's go. The faster we save your friend, the better."
…
Dendemille Town, 8 pm…
…
Blue and Platinum looked down from the Ditto-Jigglypuff. Platinum scanned the streets below with unblinking eyes, determined to fully scan everything that remotely looked like a person. Blue kept an eye on the Pokédex Scanner, making sure that Diamond was still in the town.
Diamond's Pokédex signal did move, but the scanner still showed that the boy was in the northern half of the town.
Platinum shivered a little as the cold evening wind hit her from all over. She rubbed her arms to try to stay warm, but still kept her eyes on the streets below.
"You cold?" Blue asked, sensing her junior shiver.
"Yes," Platinum answered. "This town… is almost as cold as the peak of Mt. Coronet of Sinnoh."
"Yeah… I'm freezing too," Blue said, shivering as well. "I should've brought a coat. I have one that I used when I toured the colder towns of Kalos, but this time… we're… riding on that coat, so…"
Platinum looked down at the Jigglypuff that she was riding with her senior. The Ditto-Jigglypuff wiggled its arms a little, indicating that it was the coat that Blue had mentioned.
"My apologies, senior," the heiress said.
"Don't worry about it," Blue said. "It's just a cold breeze. Nothing I can't handle. After all, I was kidnapped by a man who specialized in Ice types, you know." She suddenly raised her modified Silph Scope in front of her eyes. "Oh. Dia spotted. He's near the top of the stairs that lead to the bridge connecting the town to Frost Cavern."
"What is he doing there?" Platinum asked. "Or rather, what does Zygarde want from there?"
"Once you free him, you can ask him," Blue said. The Ditto-Jigglypuff began to rapidly descend. "Good luck, Platinum. And be careful. I'll pick you up once Dia is knocked unconscious."
"Yes, senior." Platinum got off of her senior's Pokémon and gave her a polite bow. "Thank you so much for helping me."
Blue's Ditto-Jigglypuff ascended once more, staying high enough to avoid being spotted by anyone not paying attention. The Ditto shifted its color to match the clouds above, making itself almost invisible.
Platinum watched her senior disappear before she began to run towards the bridge that led to Frost Cavern. She stopped running once she reached the stairs, however. If she had to fight Diamond, she would need stamina. She couldn't exhaust herself by running up the stairs. But she couldn't stall too much either, so she climbed up the stairs one at a time but as fast as she could manage.
'What do I say to him?' she wondered. 'I must not mention mind control, but I must comfort him as well…'
When she finished climbing the stairs, she spotted Diamond about to step onto the bridge. Platinum suddenly felt a wave of relief wash over her the moment she saw him. She had been so worried, and even though he was mind controlled, just seeing him was enough right now.
"Diamond!" she called out, as she ran towards the bridge.
Diamond slowly turned around and watched her as she stopped in front of him. "You…" he muttered in monotone.
Platinum clenched her teeth as she watched him take out a Pokéball. She reached for hers as well, but hesitated. She really didn't want to fight him. She certainly didn't want to harm him. But did she have a choice?
Diamond sent out his Torterra. Thanks to Zygarde's mind control affecting the Pokéballs, the Torterra wasn't going to hesitate in attacking Platinum.
Platinum clenched her Empoleon's Pokéball, but couldn't send it out. She simply held onto the Pokéball, lightly trembling as she desperately thought of an alternative way to save her friend.
"Diamond… we… we do not have to fight," Platinum said, her voice shaking. "Please… I… I do not want to fight you."
In a blink of an eye, the Torterra shot a single Razor Leaf. The leaf flew straight towards Platinum's face like a bullet, and it would hit her long before she realized it was happening. But a light blue hexagonal field materialized in front of her, stopping the Razor Leaf. Countless more hexagonal fields materialized around her in a sphere as the impact energy was absorbed by the shield system. The leaf fell harmlessly towards the ground, and the shield returned to being invisible.
Platinum's eyes moved towards the side a little and a little indicator appeared for a couple of seconds. The shield system was now at 98% charge. She clenched her teeth again and sent out her whole team.
"… So be it. … Diamond… you leave me no choice," she said, forcing herself to stay strong. "I do not know what has come over you, but… if I must fight you… … I will. … Please forgive me…" Diamond proceeded to send out all of his Pokémon, but Platinum struck first. "Blizzard!"
…
Meanwhile, Ambrette Town…
…
A fisherman reeled up the rod to check if there was a bite. … Nothing. With a sigh, the fisher reattached the bait and tossed the hook far into the water once more.
For the next few minutes, the fisher thought about the situations around the house and the news he heard earlier. The Legendary Pokémon… news regarding them were quite high above his pay grade. All he had to do is just mind his own business, and… catch some fish, damn it. He's been doing this for hours and nothing bit.
Maybe the fish sensed the presence of the Legendary Pokémon and fled the area. Wildlife was always sensitive to impending disaster…
The fishing rod dipped as something bit. The fisher quickly reeled. After a bit of a struggle, the catch surrendered and was pulled out of the water. It was a… long blue Pokémon with jagged teeth. … A Huntail?
The fisher frowned at the strange catch and wrote into his journal. This Huntail was a deep sea Pokémon. It would not be anywhere near the shore in normal circumstances.
A raindrop suddenly hit the journal. The fisher looked up and noticed that dark rainclouds suddenly appeared and covered the skies. He frowned as he recalled that the weather forecasts predicted no rain for the next few days. But even as he finished his thought, the raindrops turned into a light drizzle, which rapidly turned into a heavy downpour.
The fisher turned to look at the ocean, wondering if the suddenly shift in weather had caused the Huntail to move from the deep sea into the shores. Or maybe it was pushed by something else?
Just then, the strong waves of the ocean merged into a huge tidal wave. The tidal wave rapidly headed towards the coast, threatening to swallow the whole town.
The fisher stared at the approaching tidal wave, frozen in terror. There was no point in running. The wave was too big, he'd get swallowed anyways. He could only stare at the inevitable death.
To his surprise, he saw a huge black Pokémon riding the tidal wave, and making it even bigger. And… there was a… girl riding it…
From on top of Primal Kyogre, Sapphire watched the region of Kalos seemingly rapidly approach. … Primal Groudon was probably near the region as well. Sapphire had lost the Primal Groudon, as it had somehow found a way to rapidly increase its movement speed while on the ocean.
But since Primal Groudon was headed to Kalos, it would either be in the region already, or was very close. All the Primal Kyogre had to do was make its presence known, and the Primal Groudon would reveal itself as well.
The huge tidal wave crashed into the shores of Ambrette Town, destroying every structure and forcing the cliff to collapse.
Sapphire watched the buildings crumbling apart in the force of the tidal wave. Within a minute, the whole town was submerged due to the heavy rainfall and continuous bombardments of huge waves.
The Primal Kyogre "landed" on the remains of Ambrette Town and slowly turned to face the ocean. So Primal Groudon wasn't here yet. But soon it will be. And whatever it wanted to accomplish by coming to Kalos would be stopped.
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What Could Have Been:
Blue pointed at a blinking dot. "… That's a Kalos Pokédex. And that's another one," she said, pointing at a different dot. "… Both Kalos Pokédex are on here, but…" She checked the map of Kalos and tilted her head. "… Neither dot is where Y died."
Platinum suddenly felt a shiver down her spine. "… What do you mean?"
"Look. Y died in Route 5. I saw her body. She was strangled and impaled. Lots of blood, no pulse, cold skin… dead. But this one dot is in Camphrier Town. The other is in Laverre. … That should not be possible." She frowned again and pointed at the dot on Camphrier Town. "… Either someone dragged her body here to bury her, or…"
"… The body is moving on its own?" Platinum asked in disbelief. She shuddered at the thought. "No. That… is impossible."
"That's why it's odd," Blue said. "… We should investigate."
