ZOMG SUPER SPOILERZ IN THIS CHAPTER
READ AT YOUR OWN RISK
Chapter 28: The Power of Darkness
Not only did we have Grovyle, who could take out pretty much any enemy with a well-timed Leaf Blade or Dig, but we now had Celebi, who could use Heal Bell and cure us of any status conditions, like poison.
She could also use a move called AncientPower, which had a chance of buffing Celebi up and making her faster, more powerful, and more resistant, even if the Pokémon she was facing wasn't affected much.
I was quite surprised to find Pokémon like Steelix and Rhydon as we explored Deep Dusk Forest. Those enemies seemed really out of place in a forest. But I was in a world of talking Pokémon, and I was slowly getting used to strange things like this.
As we progressed further into the forest, the trees all around us changed from a sickly green color to a sickly yellow color, as if autumn had suddenly come. But I didn't see any leaves fall from the trees. I guess it was because of the whole "planet's paralysis" thing.
Gah… Being stuck in a dark world like this can really drive a Pokémon insane… I wonder if there's any way to fix a world like this, I thought as I looked around.
A few floors after the trees changed color, we walked down the stairs and emerged into a sandstorm.
"Sandstorms in a forest. This is illogical," Jade said.
"Unfortunately, this is life for us," Celebi said. "It's absolutely dreadful to live in such a dark, dreary world. That's why I'm allied with Grovyle here. If he wants to fix this world, then so do I. I go where Grovyle goes."
"Probably because she loves him," Jade whispered to me. We giggled a little.
A few floors of sandstorms later, the trees began to thin. One floor after that, we reached the bottom of a tall plateau.
"The Passage of Time should be just up this plateau! Follow me!" Celebi said. With a flutter of her wings, Celebi began to float up.
"Ugh… We have to climb… again…" Grovyle muttered.
"Again? You've climbed up here before?" I asked.
"Obviously! This is the same Passage of Time that my friend and I took when we first travelled back in time… That reminds me… I wonder where he is now…" Grovyle said.
"You had a friend?" I asked.
"Yeah…" He drifted off into Memoryland and muttered something that sounded like, "Please be safe…"
"C'mon, Slowpokes! Hurry up already!" Celebi said, fluttering up higher.
Jade sighed. "Okay, lovebird," she said.
And we began our long climb up the plateau.
All the while I was thinking about how close we were to home. We'll be home soon… We'll be back at the guild… I just can't wait to go home…
A few minutes in, Jade cried, "Ow! I have blisters on my hands!" I took one look at my black paws and saw that I, too, had blisters on my hands.
"You two! Endure it! You've endured so many dungeons… you've survived a fight with me… you've survived a direct assault from the Sableye… This should be nothing!" Grovyle encouraged us. "I have blisters, too, but I'm not complaining!
"You're more resilient than us," Jade reminded him. She winced in pain as she grasped a rock with her stubby arm.
"Good point," Grovyle said.
After maybe ten minutes, we reached the top of the plateau. The top was a flat, rocky plain that didn't look like anything special… except for the glowing white gate of energy that sat a few feet in front of us.
"Holy… Is that the Passage of Time?" I asked.
"Yeah," Celebi said.
"Sweet! So if we were to step in there, we'd go back to our time?" Jade asked.
"Yep!" Celebi said. Then her eyes turned sad.
"Oh… You won't be coming with us, will you?" I asked.
"Nope. I have to stay here. Once you step in the Passage, you'll go back to your own time… So this is goodbye," Celebi said.
"Celebi…" Grovyle said. "I'll really miss you."
"I'll miss you, too, my dear Grovyle. Just… go back and save the world, okay?" Celebi said.
"I will," Grovyle said.
We approached the Passage and were about to step in… but then…
"That's far enough!" Unfortunately, I recognized the voice.
Six Sableye appeared all around us. Dusknoir rose up from the ground. At first I wondered how he'd done it. Then I remembered Dusknoir was a Ghost type. He could walk through walls.
"Wah! D-Dusknoir!" Jade said, stumbling back. Grovyle, Celebi, Jade and I backed up into a close circle.
"Hello, Team Aura. I see you've recruited a few more members," Dusknoir said.
"Dusknoir…" I said. "How did you do this? We've never seen you or a Sableye since we left the stockades!"
"…Clever. He let us roam free, but the Sableye were tracking us the whole time… Then we found Celebi and came up here… And now you can capture us all. You're quite the clever fellow," Grovyle said.
"Precisely. You're pretty smart too. But are you smart enough to escape me?" Dusknoir said.
"I did it before, I can do it again," Grovyle said, analyzing the Sableye as if he were thinking about how to take them down.
"Hoo! Hoo-ha-ha! You think that I haven't come prepared since last time?" Dusknoir laughed. He turned around and said in a loud, cold voice, "Master Dialga! Now!"
Grovyle violently swore, but his curses were drowned out by the horrible noise that sounded.
It sounded like an elephant had been dropped off a cliff. A huge thud followed by an earsplitting "GROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" nearly broke my eardrums.
Then a shadow appeared on a nearby cliff, and Grovyle swore again.
The shadow was quite large, several times larger than me. It had four legs, a very long head, and a large tail. Then something shone on the shadow, and everyone (including me) swore.
It was dark blue with bright orange "stripes" on its body. His red eyes were wide and had a manic look in them. It opened its mouth and roared, "GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!"
"Is that…" I said.
"P-Primal Dialga," Grovyle squeaked. I had never seen Grovyle look so afraid.
"GRRRRRR… GROOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Primal Dialga roared.
Dusknoir began to laugh. "Hoo-ha-ha! Let's see you try to escape… THIS! HOO! HOO-HA-HA!"
Grovyle stepped forward, hands raised "Okay. Okay. We surrender."
"WHAT?!" Celebi, Jade and I screamed.
"I'm sorry, my friends. Dusknoir and his Sableye are one thing… But against Primal Dialga… We'd be lucky if we could land one hit on him. I'm so sorry…" Grovyle said.
"Hm! I see you've chosen the wise choice! Very good," Dusknoir said. "Now, all of you. Come forward…"
Jade stiffened and took a deep breath before screaming, "NO!"
We all looked at Jade.
"Jade… It's no use. There's no point in resisting him. We can't fight them all," Grovyle said. He continued to walk forward…
"No, Grovyle! Don't give up hope! We can still win this!" Jade said.
"But how?" Grovyle asked.
"Just… don't give up. I'm sure we can escape this…"
"Why are you submitting to him so easily? There's no telling what he'll do to you," I said.
"Time for another explanation…" Grovyle whispered. "The first time I traveled back in time… I had a friend. Both of us had the same idea in mind: we would go back and change history. But he was truly bizarre because… he was a human."
My heart nearly stopped. Holy Arceus! Grovyle had a human friend! And I was a human…!
"We got separated during our time travel experience, and I haven't seen him since, but I'm sure that he's still in the past, finishing what I started… So if you take me, Dusknoir, you still haven't won. You haven't captured my friend," Grovyle said confidently.
Dusknoir laughed. "Hoo-ha-ha! And who was your friend's name?" he said.
"His name? His name was… Emile."
I nearly fainted.
I was vaguely aware that Jade was staring at me, her mouth agape. "Emile…"
"Hoo! Hoo-ha-ha! Turn around, Grovyle! Do you see that Riolu?" Dusknoir said.
Grovyle slowly turned around…
"Yes! Him! Now, little Riolu, what is your name?" Dusknoir said.
I didn't answer for quite a while. My voice wouldn't work. I was just too surprised to speak, to attack, to do anything.
All eyes were trained on me, waiting for me to deliver my name…
Finally, I managed to get out, "E…Emile."
Jade, Celebi, and Grovyle gasped. Dusknoir and his Sableye began to laugh. Dialga roared.
"No. No. Impossible. The Emile I knew wasn't a Pokémon," Grovyle said.
"Ah, are you quite sure? As I recall, you had a little… accident while you two were traveling back in time… And as a result of that incident, Emile here turned into a Riolu!" Dusknoir said.
"But… how did you figure that out?" Grovyle said.
"It was a long time ago… Back when I first met this little runt… At first, I suspected nothing… But then I heard about Emile's special ability…" Dusknoir said.
"His Dimensional Scream?" Jade asked.
"Yes. Then I started thinking… But then he told me his name, and I knew…" Dusknoir said.
Then everything fell in place. My transformation… Dusknoir's small smile when I told him my name… Celebi calling me Grovyle's friend as if she had seen me before… All I could do was stand, petrified, while everyone talked.
"And that's why I dragged him to the future with that idiot, Jade! And now, this will be the end… for both of you!" Dusknoir said. Then he and the Sableye began to laugh manically.
"Emile…" was all Grovyle could say.
"Look, guys, we need a plan. Now," I said. "Don't worry about my identity… Just worry about getting out of here…"
"There's no use… We're destined to fail… We can't do anything…" Grovyle said sadly.
"Grovyle! Don't just give up! We have to think of a plan!" Jade said.
"We can't. We'll fail. There's no point to resisting," Grovyle said, sounding utterly defeated.
"NO! We can't just give up! WE. CAN'T. GIVE. IN!" Jade roared.
"She's right! There's always hope! Always!" I said.
"Hold on! I think I've got a plan! Celebi, can you create a path through time and get us to the Passage?" Jade said to Celebi.
"It won't be easy! Dialga here will thwart any puny attempt to time travel!" Celebi informed.
"Celebi… Please. We just need to get out of this ring of Sableye, then we'll be fine. Please. Please," Jade pressured.
"Grovyle is right! There's no hope for you!" Dusknoir said.
"Celebi, please," Jade said.
Celebi sighed. "All of you. Grab onto my arms." We all obliged.
"Now, enough chatter. This ends now," Dusknoir said menacingly. He pointed at us and said, "Now! Attack them!"
The Sableye charged at us, but just before they could attack, Celebi said, "Time to travel!"
A bright light blazed in my eyes and I was swept off my feet…
I was blinded. The only thing that I could feel was Celebi's arm. I clutched onto it like a lifeline. The next thing I felt was a slow tugging sensation, as if I was being pulled in a gentle river current.
For a minute all I could feel was the gentle tugging sensation. Then I heard a sound like breaking glass. Black fractures webbed my vision, and…
KERRACK! It was as if I had broken through a window. I heard the cracking of glass, and Jade, Celebi, Grovyle and I were deposited right next to the Passage of Time.
"Now! Now's your chance! Run to the Passage… Go back in time and stop this!" Celebi said.
"You'll be okay, I presume?" Grovyle said.
"Yes… Don't worry about me. Save the world for me," Celebi said.
"We will," Grovyle promised. Without further ado, Grovyle jumped into the portal.
"Are you ready to go back to our time?" Jade asked.
"As ready as I'll ever be," I said.
Jade grasped my hand. "Okay, Emile. Let's go."
"Goodbye, you two! Goodbye Emile! My friend!" Celebi said.
And with my hand interwoven with Jade's and my mind still tingling from my revelation, we jumped into the portal.
XxX
GASPY FACE! EMILE IS A HUMAN FROM THE FUTURE?! IMPOSSIBRU!
Sorry for the caps lock. Anyway, thanks for reading. Don't forget to review.
