Chapter 36: Beware, young one…

I watched on as the unnamed Trainer's Pokémon were carried away in stretchers. Bandanna told me that his Pokémon will be rushed over to the Pokémon Center for intensive care. The Trainer, however, will have a hard time recovering from burns like those. I stared at him lying on the ground, knowing I only had myself to blame for it. I would have come up with another plan to win that fight, but I was too distraught from avoiding getting hit to think very clearly.

I felt like I ought to be next to the Trainer before he's carried off. I walked up next to him, and knelt down.

I guess we went a little too far with that, huh? I told him telepathically. Sorry about that, maybe I'll just pay for our own meal, like I originally doing.

The Trainer scoffed, but he also knew he couldn't vocalize. What are you doing feeling sorry for? You won, and you've proven yourself worthy of the Sacred Fire.

I rested a hand on the left shoulder, the lesser burned portion of the body, and he still tensed up. perhaps it's just in my nature to be sympathetic. I may have won, but I could have done it with other methods. Now your Pokémon are going to be pretty worried about you once they come back from the Pokémon Center.

The Trainer was silent for a few seconds. That was a hell of a combo, I never would have thought of something like that. Hurts like hell, though.

I felt a warmth coming from the pendant, and was curious when I saw it glowing faintly.I looked back at the trainer, and his scorches seemed to peel away. His blackened skin was becoming repaired a lot faster, becoming more colorful until it stopped to where he was only with some major scrapes and many bruises.

I gasped. "Whoa… did I do…"

I felt a hand gently rest on my shoulder, the girl from before nodded, and the guy was lifted in a stretcher.

The thought occurred to me, and I looked around for Suicune. It wasn't there, and neither was Magician. Bandanna was standing at the outside entrance with Riolu, who was shaking his hand with a cheerful expression on his face. I smiled at them, Riolu spotting me and dashing in my direction.

"You Wuhh Gweat in tere!" Riolu cheered. "You wuhh like Bam, bam, and den Whooooop and den BOOMBOOMBOOM!"

I felt that warm feeling again as I watched Riolu explain what he witnessed in the fight. I still had to remind myself that I am not as pure as he might think, though.

It's hard to remind myself that I joined Team Rocket to improve on my tactics with Pokémon. I thought, reminiscing my couple years. because as of late, that's hardly the case in Pokémon Battles. All I'm doing is performing stealthy theft operations, and on the couple of times we get caught did I ever become resourceful in Battle… Riolu was lifted onto Blazikens Shoulders, and Riolu was socializing happily. Bandanna smiled and we both looked at the little guy having fun when Alakazam and Blaziken worked up a quick act for him. All my time in Team Rocket was spent improving my methods of doing things, such as stealing and intelligence. If it wasn't for that Club of Kindness I go to every day, as well as the frequent Pokémon Battles for sport, I'm not sure if I could have stayed in Team Rocket as long as I have…

"Hey, you said you were looking for a somewhere to stay, right?" Bandanna inquired. "Perhaps I could suggest a place."

As it turns out, Bandanna, who formally introduced himself as Ecruteak Gym Leader Morty, was well aware of his city. The hotel was a fairly good one, and one that even had a small kitchen in the higher priced ones. He paid for my room, and I placed my backpack and groceries down next to the bed.

I felt a little awkward about the city's gym leader paying for a pricey room. I turned to thank him again, but his observant gaze stopped me. His eyes made me feel like he was trying to understand something about me. Whatever it was, though, he was trying hard not to disapprove of it.

"Tell me… How is it you came across the pendant?" Morty asked.

I felt like I was in those anime sweat-drop scenes. "Uhh, I stumbled across it in Lavendar Town back in Kanto, why?"

Morty kept his stare fixed on me, but he shook his head slightly. "I can tell from your expression, you've done some evil. You focus on innocent reasons, but you find yourself doing things you wouldn't usually want to do, which you dismiss as something else."

The analysis reminded me of Sinnoh Champion Cynthia. Based on everything Blaziken told her, she summed me up with surprising accuracy, and even went as far as to explain how I'd react with whatever happens. But since I'm here, I figured it's no surprise. Some of the Pokémon said I'm the closest match to be Ho-oh's chosen, whatever it was.

"Hmm…" I didn't have any real response, so I didn't say anything. Morty seemed to have been thinking about something, and his brain was going through some large amounts of research he conducted the night before. Unfortunately, it went by too fast for me to get any idea, so I decided to keep quiet.

"It's quite a mystery." Morty mused. "I've worked hard to prove myself worthy of Ho-oh, and yet you're the chosen."

I didn't speak because he has a point, not of how he worked hard, but of how it's a mystery.

"I don't even understand a whole lot of all this…" I said, sitting on the bed and looking down.

Morty looked at me with concern.

"That's really the reason I even came here." I explained. "It all starts with meeting the Ghost of Marowak, who gives me a Rainbow Feather on a golden chain. That feather changes into the shape of the Kanto Earth Badge, and a couple years later, I nearly get killed."

Morty thought all this through, and it was beginning to sound like some legend he heard.

"The Next day, I wake up to learn that this Pendant can help me understand Pokémon speech. And I learned the hard way that there are some out to get me. This imposter of myself named Silvershade, the sudden return of Shadow Pokémon, and now these TruShade copies…" I took a deep breath, and took off my pendant. Morty glanced at it, and smiled briefly.

"Actually… That pendant was just a start." He said.

"Huh?" I looked up at him.

"'A Token of the Sacred Fire will be a doorway, and it shall reveal to he and his kind a new view of their world.'"

My head began tilting in confusion. Morty shook his head, and opened one of his Pokeballs.

"Hmmm…" Gengar looked around. "There somethin' going on, boss?"

I stared at Gengar, glanced at the pendant and then at Morty.

"If one of the many prophecies are correct, then essentially, that pendant allowed you to understand Pokémon, like you said." He described. "However, that transformation you called 'Unison' imprinted that ability for good." I absorbed all that information slowly, then he crossed his arms. "Think about it: if that Pendant was what allowed you to understand Pokémon, how is it that other people could talk with them like you can?"

I thought back on the news broadcast with the Houndoom, and realized Morty was right. Ever since I learned how to talk with Pokémon, I've seen on the news that the phenomenon was happening everywhere. But all that did was explain how I can understand them, what about Silvershade, the shadow Pokémon, and those Trushades? What do they have to do with my fate, my destiny, or whatever the hell you want to call "WHAT'S NEXT"?

I still thought about the Scyther's message from Silvershade the couple of days before. "'if you think you will be able to defeat the shadow that lurks behind you every day, you're going to regret thinking it.'"

"Defeat the shadow that lurks behind me…" I murmured.

"Hmm? You say something."

I shook my head. "N-nothing, I'd better get cooking." I stood up and offered a handshake. Morty took it, and I thanked him again.

"I'm likely going to be staying here for awhile." I said. "so perhaps once I've caught up on my rest, I'll see if I could talk to you about these legends and prophecies and… stuff."

Morty acknowledged, and left afterwards. I stepped into the kitchen, finding that it was not very big compared to the rest of the room. The fridge was at the end of it, the stove was near the entrance. This kitchen, at most, seemed to give enough moving space for one to two adults, but only enough room for one to exit at a time.

I stared at it glumly, and quickly got to work on my stuff.

About a half an hour later, Dinner was served. Riolu poured his flavor of dressing onto his salad, I had to stop him from drowning his food in it. Blaziken wasn't too thrilled of the lack in spicy stuff, but he was able to get by with sour… somewhat.

I personally tried to merely put up with it the usual way. Thankfully, we got the food taken care of, because I was still able to make our usual drinks.

The Meal went by surprisingly quiet, even Riolu wasn't speaking too much. I still kept thinking about how I was going to work out my questions. All I learned so far is that the pendant was what helped me understand Pokémon before Unison, and now I need to know a few more things. Thankfully, I was able to figure out through the brief flashes in Morty's mind earlier, that I'll definitely be in luck. One of the images that stuck out the most was a notebook that had "The Overseers and the Sacred Flame", another flash shown me three Pokémon scribbles that looked a lot like Mew, when a colored variant flashed there, one of them looked a lot like the Mew-like Pokémon from before.

He looked like Mew, yet it wasn't really one. I thought to myself. I don't get it, though… Why do I feel like I'm supposed to know him? I added the thought to my mental list of questions to ask Morty.

Blaziken sighed, Riolu felt uneasy, and Charizard stared at me, as if expecting me to say something. Alakazam, took a breath before breaking this awkward silence.

"Alright… I see that fight took all the enthusiasm out of us."

I took off my pendant and stared at it. After a moment's consideration, I told everyone of what Morty revealed to me. Riolu was confused, but Blaziken and Alakazam were skeptical.

"So after this Unison occurs, ordinary people can understand Pokémon like you can with us?" Alakazam queried. I nodded; Blaziken drank the last of his smoothie and got up.

"Well, it's not like we're supposed to be back at Kanto anytime soon." He declared. "So I'll ask now: what's the plan?"

I took a moment to figure out what the plan was. I initially wanted to learn about what these legends are all about. More importantly, I wanted to know who Silvershade really is.

"Hey, Ewic." Riolu said from the windowsill. "What's dat Buunt towuh over tere?"

I walked over to his side and looked his direction. Sure enough, a burned down ruin of what seems to be a tower was standing there. I checked the sky, and it was late afternoon, which meant that if we want to explore the tower with daylight available, now would be the time.

"that's a good question." I said, "I'm not sure."

"Maybe we aughta check it out." Marshtomp supplied. "We got some time, right?"

Charizard snorted. "Bah, you guys go on ahead, I'll relax right here."

I shrugged, and got up a few things before setting off towards the tower. The Tower was only a short walk away, but when we got to the entrance, Magician was standing there. I line-eyed his back, and walked in to look around at the place.

The Burned Tower was oriental in nature, with the source of the fire unknown. The first floor remains fairly sturdy, so it's safe to walk on. The Center of the room, much like the roof, has a large hole in the floor, and underneath lies a small cavernous area. I looked into the hole, but all I could see was a faint blue light at the bottom, and figured I might need to get down there to get a better look. Deciding to take the quiet path, I located a nearby ladder and climbed down, Blaziken and Marshtomp followed suit and together, we crept towards the blue light at the center.

I felt a familiar presence when I got close, and stopped when the blue light's silhouette turned to look at me. The light was Suicune, and apparently he wanted to talk to me, judging from the look in his eyes.

…You seem to have quite a lot of questions, boy. Suicune commented. And with no certainty of where to start, you sure are a puzzling one. So much natural power, and yet so innocent and curious. With that and your unwavering kindness towards Pokémon, despite your… 'work… it's still a wonder why Ho-oh's chosen you first.

I gulped, Suicune knew about something. But he's right, I still don't know where to start. After a moment's thought, however, I picked out one of the few questions question that stuck out the most in my mind.

"Suicune…" I felt nervous, asking this of a Pokémon of legend. "Who is this 'Darkness Silvershade'?"

"huh?" Magician's voice sounded from a distance.

The one you know as Darkness Silvershade, is a dark being created from the shadows of three seers of the world. Suicune stated. once known as the Dark One, it spread madness and blood thirst wherever it's influence had an effect. That is, however, until it was defeated by the legends of the world.

"What does Silvershade want with me, though?" I queried.

"What's going on down there?" Magician demanded, but I ignored him still.

it wants the ability you possess. Suicune's gaze emphasized how serious it felt. There's a reason why it copied your body, and that's also why Ho-oh is concerned about your well-being.

"What?" Now we're getting somewhere.

The Pokémon of many types has prophesied a human to release one of the three seers from his human seal. Two of the three have been released by themselves, but their youngest, and therefore most innocent, must be freed by outside assistance.

"Outside assistance…?" I repeated quietly. "You mean like I have to help set him free?"

Suicune nodded. Yes. However, here's also the prophecy that The Sacred fire can turn dim with evil, and his fate lies with the winds.

I took a moment to revise the information so I could remember. IF what I heard was true, then Silvershade is supposedly a dark being from ancient times created from the shadow of three… supervisors of the world. He caused chaos wherever he went, turning our beloved planet into a "world class" madhouse… however, this Dark One that he was before was stopped by all the legendary Pokémon of the world we know at this moment. Now, these three "supervisors" got themselves sealed up somewhere in the middle of all this, and I have the ability to free the one that couldn't unlock his seal by himself. To make matters matters worse, there might be a case where this darkness and whatnot might make me evil somehow, and that my fate lies "in the winds" (I'm guessing that means, who knows what's next). Well, now all I need is a psychiatric institution and I'll be fine after a couple years, if I tried to tell anyone back at base.

"What are these Truly Shadow Pokémon copies?" I asked, finally feeling comfortable about what I should ask.

Suicune paused, however, and his gaze seemed to look past me. A hand rested on my shoulder, and I figured that Magician must have come down here.

You… Suicune said, a sense of irritation in his voice. The so-called "Suicune Hunter" Eusine… you're becoming quite an irritant.

"Incredible…" Eusine apparently can't hear Suicune. I looked at the Pokémon and stuck my thumb at the man with a gesture of confusion.

"Suicune Hunter?" I asked. "How long has he been doing this?"

Suicune looked back at me. Years… his obsession about trying to prove himself to me has grown tiring. I shall never understand how he can't get the message. But as long as he lives, he'll still keep chasing for my approval.

I looked at Eusine, whose eyes are sparkling, then back at Suicune. "Perhaps I could serve as the middleman, the line of communication between you two…"

Eusine snapped out of his trance when he heard me. "What! You can communicate with Suicune?" he exclaimed.

Suicune, however, shook his head. He won't listen to you. I've done this before, and he will just shrug it off with his stubborn determination.

"You can communicate with Suicune?" Eusine asked.

Suicune turned away. I should be going now. If you still request answers, the kimono girls should help you, Gym leader Morty should be able to help you as well. Farewell, Chosen of the Sacred Fire.

Another North wind blew as Suicune leapt. Eusine attempted to make chase after it, I stared on in wonder.

"Whoaaa…" a voice said above me. I glanced up at the source, and remembered that Blaziken, Riolu, and Marshtomp were with me. Marshtomp was sleeping on Blaziken's shoulders, whereas Blaziken himself was staring onward where Suicune left.

Blaziken looked at me and stared me in the eyes. In that instant, I really felt I was with my best friend. We understood each other better than what some close observation would, and nothing would set us apart for long.

I broke eye contact when I began reading his mind. I looked back at Suicune's exit, still replaying the entire conversation in my head.

"Dark One, huh… and these three seers?" I thought back on the strange Mew-like Pokémon that appeared near the ferry and at the Olivine lighthouse. Could that might be one of them? I looked further up, and figured we'd better get back to the hotel. I crouched down, counter to three, and pushed myself off the ground. The second floor rose quickly, and was about to hit the ceiling until I stopped rising, Riolu ducking his head to avoid hitting it. I floated at the top of my jump for maybe a split second, and I bent my knees slightly before landing with a loud BOOM on the wood.

I stood up slowly from the crater I inadvertently made just as Blaziken landed softly on the edge. I scowled at him when I saw the amused look on his face, and called him a showoff, before we walked outside into the light blue night. Small lamps were being lit by volunteers with matches, but aside from that, the streets were very quiet. I closed my eyes and took in this peace and quiet with relief. It's been soo crazy, and yet I feel that with all the stress, all the fighting for my life, and above all, the fast pace that this is happening… Well… it's just like I need to enjoy every quiet moment as best as possible.

"Hey, you!" a voice called, causing a vein in my forehead to throb for ruining to moment. I opened my eyes, and found Eusine walking towards me. I cocked an eyebrow to indicate my attention's on him.

"You mentioned being the middleman of communications between me and Suicune, right?" Eusine inquired. I noted Suicune's notation about his stubborn attitude, and shrugged.

"Well, what did he say?" he pressed on, eager to hear what he hopes for. His mind explained his obsession… at one time, he seemed to have crossed paths with Ash, and has even tried to Catch Suicune… with no luck. What noted his obsession, was Ash saying he saw Suicune before, and Eusine taking it as some insult.

Personally, I'm not surprised Ash would come acrossed Suicune. A few people from the Orange Islands say he's saved the world before, but who could believe that? I mean, Articuno, Zapdos, and Moltres… becoming disturbed on their home islands by some collective wacko, only to find his collection ruined by a kid who fights alongside Lugia. While I can find that part somewhat believeable (I mean, look at Red, he essentially broke Team Rocket apart a few years before I was conned into joining), what makes the whole thing hokey is this one line in some legend: "and the whole world shall turn to Ash."

"Kid?" Hellooo?" Eusine began snapping his fingers in my face. I left my train of thought regarding Ash and grew bored of his nagging.

"this guy really needs a reality check." Blaziken commented.

"No kidding…" I mumbled

"so you're trying to indicate you didn't hear him." Eusine seemed to be a bit annoyed by my lack of response, so as a bitter aftertaste, I said it outright. "Your obsession of earning his approval, and your ignorance of his denial has grown tiring. He answered one of my questions because that's what I came for, and you need help. Good night, Eusine."

I began walking towards the hotel, and ignored his demands of how I knew his name. Riolu dozed off on my shoulders, and Marshtomp began snoring as we climbed the stairwell.

I recalled Marshtomp and Riolu, along with Charizard when we got to the room, and plopped facedown on the bed. Blaziken sat down on one of the two chairs, and rested his legs on the table. I groaned into the pillow, finally feeling all the exhaustion that was pent up, Blaziken made a brief laugh, and said "That fight earlier must have taken more of a toll on you than you thought. Good night, Eric."

Everything was dark, I was floating somewhere, and I knew this felt familiar.

I felt that cold wave, but I made the effort to push it down and kept a straight face. It felt wrong, somehow… like I should be feeling this. This wasn't the first time this happened. I felt myself suddenly standing on a wooden floor of some kind, and a fiery presence told me immediately who it was.

"Why?" I demanded. "What are these feelings, these emotions, what are they for?"

Those are what you've held back from the world. the voice of Ho-oh said. Your ability to restrain your emotions will become a flaw that others will exploit.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

You're unique among the ones you call collegues. Ho-oh stated. unlike the others, you've felt a great deal of remorse for the deeds you do. But you learned that any sign of weakness will deny you of what you initially aimed for.

"and what was it that I was aiming for?" I shouted, growing frustrated. "because after a week ago, I don't know what's what!"

Initially, your defeat at the hands of the Psychic Leeroy damaged your spirit. You felt like you let down everything you fought for. what I "felt" now was myself grow angrier at every word, but I knew the truth of it, and listened in silence. Your damaged spirit and frequently naïve nature led you to joining Team Rocket. You learned quickly, however, that being among them turned into a survival game. By playing their game, you've learned many traits that most will know to be wicked. One of those traits are the ability to hide your true feelings. I, however, can see all of those feelings.

"Well that's not fucking fair!" I exploded. "First, it's The Sinnoh champion Cynthia, who explains my most likely response; Second, it's Gym leader Morty, who summarizes my intentions; and now you, who tells me the reasoning behind everything I've done. Why is it that everyone else know SO MUCH about me, and yet I don't have a DAMNED clue on what's happening to me!"

you see? Ho-oh said calmly. your trait to hide your feelings has proved to be a weakness.

"What's it to you?" I kept raging. "YOU won't give me my answers!"

You wouldn't understand. However, I understand that you're pretty… "pissed off" as humans your age would say.

"You're damned right I'm pissed off!" I continued. "It's just not fair. All you people know so much about me, and yet when I ask for answers, I don't get them all. Either something prevents me from getting my answers, or everyone hopes to keep me in the dark… it's just not fair… Why won't you give me my answers, will the world just suddenly cease to be if I know now?"

I felt like the fire that burned with rage had died down. In its place was a hopelessly empty feeling. I felt like I had nothing left, the cold wave began to seep in, and I still tried to restrain it. The warmth emanated and I let it in, allowing myself the comfort of trying to find something happy to hold onto.

Beware, young one. You will need to come to terms with yourself eventually. Should you not do it sooner, it will be all the more painful when it presents itself without your say-so.

I opened my eyes to blackness. I got up and looked out the window, only to find dawn breaking outside. I glanced to my left to find Blaziken still fast asleep, then held my pendant for a couple seconds before taking it off. This thing was the whole reason I was here in the first place, there were so many things I could never understand about without help, Suicune would have been a great help had that Eusine guy not been around. I've had two people and a Pokémon tell me so much about myself, and what do I get from the one I hoped could help me: a warning to be wary of what feelings I hold back. Well, I've had enough, all of it, this Sacred fire, this legend, that Silvershade fuck and his Trushades, they can ALL just go to hell for all I care.

"To HELL with this thing!" I yelled before chucking the pendant. I didn't care anymore, I ignored the glass cabinet shattering, I ignored Blaziken waking up with a start, and stormed off to who-knows-where, just to be alone.