CHAPTER 35

Rylan opened his eyes and rubbed his head, feeling quite dizzy.

"Where…?" he murmured, looking around. Initially blurry from dizziness, his vision slowly became clearer.

Rylan was drenched in seawater, though there was no ocean to be seen. There was ground beneath him and it was covered in a few inches of the same ocean water as though the area had been flooded. There was no sign of trees or any kind of vegetation for that matter. The sky was mostly clear with only a few clouds drifting by. There wasn't much color to be seen, either; everything from the water to the sky seemed to be bathed in a warm sepia tone.

Rylan stood up and looked around, hoping his comrades were nearby. "Guys? Where are you?" he called out to the emptiness.

He took a few steps forward and felt something touch his feet. Looking down, he saw a few of the logs used to create the raft.

"They must be around here somewhere," he said. Thinking for a moment, he picked up one of the logs and planted it vertically in the ground to serve as a marker in case he wandered too far. There were no visible elevations of land in the distance, so spotting the log wouldn't be difficult.

He started to walk around and explore the area for anything or anyone he recognized. "Hello!" he called out. "Anybody there?"

Moments later, a powerful voice echoed through the air:

"Your Guildmaster has sent word to me that you needed to get to the Province of Yin and Yang," said the voice.

"Who are you?" asked Rylan.

"I am Kyogre, the Pokémon you have been seeking," the voice replied. "I am one of few Pokémon who know the whereabouts of the gateway to the Province. You are standing in the gateway as we speak. I have brought you there."

"I'm in the gateway?" Rylan asked. "But where are my friends, then?"

"I cannot say," replied Kyogre. "The passage to the Province is a test. If you have been separated, it is not my doing. You must prepare yourself for anything. If you all make it past the Gateway, you should reunite."

"I sure hope that's the case," said Rylan. "Wait… How come I can hear your voice but I can't see you?"

"This gateway connects our domain to the domain of Reshiram, Zekrom, and Kyurem. Since you are at the beginning, you can still hear what happens on this side," Kyogre explained. "As you progress further, however, I will not be able to help you."

"I should be all right," said Rylan. "I've made it this far. Thanks for bringing me here."

"Don't go thanking me," Kyogre said. "I'm only doing this because Slowking is threatening to bend the world to his will. Once this mess is over, I can't let anyone else inside…ever again. I promised Reshiram and Zekrom that I would keep their domain a secret. I advise you to do the same."

"I understand," said Rylan. "Gotta finish my business here and now, then."

Rylan continued to explore the area, but there was nothing but flooded ground and sepia sky as far as the eye could see in any direction. Rylan looked at the log he planted in the ground and wondered if it was even possible to get lost in a place like this.

"Kyogre, where am I supposed to go?" he asked. "There's nothing here."

To his surprise, there was no reply.

"Kyogre?" Rylan called out. "Are you there? I need help!"

A strange bubbling sound from behind caught Rylan's attention, and he turned around to see what was happening. A strange, transparent figure was emerging from the water as if surfacing from under the ocean.

"Buizel?" Rylan asked, immediately recognizing the figure. He wasn't sure why Buizel looked transparent but he knew what his ally looked like nonetheless. He quickly walked over to him.

"Buizel! Are you okay? Where have you been?" Rylan asked.

"You…" Buizel said softly, a slight hint of agitation in his voice as he breathed the word.

"Sorry?" Rylan responded.

"You!" Buizel glared at Rylan angrily. "It's always you!"

"What…?" What are you talking about?" Rylan asked.

"I've never trusted humans," Buizel said, "and I never will! You ended my days with my family! You've scarred me in more ways than one! And now you show up here and steal my best friend away from me! I'm nothing but a worthless piece of trash to you and soon she will see me the same way!"

"But Vulpix has always been your friend!" Rylan protested. "I heard the two of you talking that night on Mount Maelstrom! You two are inseperable!"

"I can't say the same about you and me," said a familiar voice. Rylan turned his head and saw a transparent Vulpix emerging from the water.

"Vulpix?" Rylan asked.

"Buizel is who he is because of you," Vulpix said. "I can't laugh with him anymore, smile with him anymore… You caused him so much pain. How can I be friends with someone like you?"

"Stop it, please!" Rylan said. "I never meant—"

"I'm pretty sure you did," said yet another voice. This time, the transparent figure of Zorian bubbled up from the depths. Rylan shook his head in fear and disbelief.

"You're cold," said Zorian. "Cold and cruel. When I joined Team Rocket, you couldn't wait to be partners in crime with your big brother. Not that you care about me, anyway. After all, these Pokémon are your new family now. What am I to you? What have I ever been to you?"

Rylan's eyes began welling up with tears. "No…"

"You never even notice me!" barked the emerging figure of Nidoran. "I try day in and day out to get you to notice me and you hardly cast me a glance! You care more about Vulpix than me!"

"Guess that makes me nothing more than a speck of dust to you," said Wingull as she rose from the water. "I pull all the weight for my team and nobody ever even thanks me. And you never even speak to me. I thought perhaps we could be friends but I guess I was wrong."

The Pokémon formed a circle around Rylan as they criticized him. Rylan fell to his knees, the water starting to feel as though it was rising.

"I…I didn't want to hurt anyone…" he spoke softly.

Finally, Gallade's figure emerged in front of Rylan to complete the circle. He crossed his arms and looked down at Rylan.

"I've never been more ashamed of another guild member before now," he said. "I should have convinced Aggron to release you months ago. It's your fault I was sent to the Distortion World. You can't even protect your own superior in battle. And if you hadn't taken the treasure from Mount Maelstrom, we wouldn't even be in this mess."

The water continued to rise slowly, the circle of bitter Pokémon closing in on Rylan while continuing to shower him with their insults. Rylan buried his face in his paws.

"I'm sorry!" he sobbed. "I'm sorry! Please, I'll do whatever I can to make it up to you all! I want to be a good friend, a good person! Just please don't be mad at me!"

As the assault of insults continued, Rylan's paws moved up to cover his ears. The water began to feel colder as it rose past Rylan's waist. It was as if the bitterness itself was slowly freezing the water.

"Is this it?" Rylan asked himself. "Is this how it's going to end? But then…I probably deserve it…"

The moment he said this, a memory tugged the back of his mind. He had heard these words before.