37. Empathy
Chapter 37. Empathy.
Summary. Anabel designed a series of tests for Paul, in the attempt to try and get him closer to his Pokemon. With interesting results.
The snow came crashing down outside, but as Paul awoke, he became aware of her arm around his chest. He looked up, and saw Anabel open her eyes.
"Now, you are ready to learn." She whispered.
"How long were we asleep?" He asked.
"A few hours." Anabel smiled. "You were snoring away."
Paul tried to get up, but he was trapped in the parka. He managed to untangle himself and walked to the door for some air. He instantly felt the cold sting on his face and arms. Even though the fire had died out hours ago, the warmth still remained in the cabin.
"What do we have today?" He asked, noticing that despite the snow still falling, it was beginning to freeze over.
"You would like to bond with your Pokemon."
"It's not another series of bogus tests is it?"
"Of course not." Anabel looked offended. "Mind you, it will involve you running around in the snow with your Pokemon."
Without warning, Anabel slammed the door to the cabin shut, leaving Paul in the cold.
"Hey open up."
"It looks cold out there." Anabel laughed. "You might want to start running before I end up with a snowman. Do your Pokemon need warming up as well?"
Paul kicked the door in anger, hoping to feel it give, but no such luck.
He turned, and saw the wide open area. He sent out all his Pokemon and started to run around to keep warm. Several of his Pokemon joined him, although Magmortar, Scizor and Weavile didn't look too bothered by the cold. Probably due to their types.
It was left to Torterra, Honchkrow and Rhyperior to run with him. All three of them were weakened by ice, and wanted to stay warm. Actually all he felt was Honchkrow flapping its wings next to him, while Torterra and Rhyperior lumbered around a few feet behind him.
Ash awoke to find Nightmare staring at him.
"Will you stop doing that?" He asked, as he rubbed his eyes.
"Why does it freak you out?"
"Little bit." Ash replied, as he got out of bed. Nightmare threw a pillow at him. "What!"
"When do you battle that guy?"
"In a few days." Ash said. "Why do you want to know?"
"I want to battle." Nightmare replied. "I want to see how good I am. Seeing his Pokemon yesterday made me realise that he might be a good barometer."
"Thanks for coming round." Ash said. "What attacks do you know, apart from Shadow Ball?"
"I will show you." Nightmare grinned. "But you have to do something for me."
"What." Ash asked, instantly suspicious.
"Can I stay out of my Pokeball? I hate that thing."
"Sure." Ash said, shaking his head.
Jim awoke to an enthusiastic knocking on his door. He reluctantly left bed, and walked to open it. He found Olly outside, looking like he had been up all night.
"What do you want?" He demanded.
"Come with me." Olly replied, ignoring the sarcastic tone. "I need your help with something."
"What could be more important then sleep?"
"Let's find out."
Jim slammed the door in anger. He hadn't walked more than a few feet away, when he heard an enthusiastic knocking again.
"Go away!" He yelled.
"Room service." The person on the other side of the door yelled.
Jim turned back to the door, and opened it. "I didn't order any.."
He was cut off by the Toxicroak that charged in and pinned him to the ground.
"Hey what gives?"
"I didn't want to have to resort to this." Olly said, as he walked in. Toxicroak jumped off Jim.
"You really don't take no for an answer, do you?"
"Not really." Olly said, as he patted Toxicroak on the head. "Now let's go. I'll explain it on the way."
"Can I put some clothes on first?" Jim asked.
"Sure, go on." Olly replied. "I'll wait outside. Don't even think about running."
"What have you been doing?" Jim asked. "Don't even think about running. Where am I going to run to?"
"You might jump off the balcony."
"I don't have a flying Pokemon, and we're on the twentieth floor."
"You still might do it."
"No, I won't, because I don't have a death wish."
"Then, you might want to... nah, forget it." Olly said, as he walked out, leaving Jim apprehensive.
"Behold my attacks." Nightmare intoned. "See that tree over there?"
"Don't do it!" Ash shouted, as Nightmare fired a powerful Hyper Beam into the tree.
"What, I thought you wanted to see my attacks?"
"Yeah, but there are Beedrill in that tree." Ash shouted, as he started to run away. Nightmare turned and saw several Beedrill heading for him.
"Stupid Beedrill." He said, as he vanished into the floor.
Ash managed to escape from the Beedrill, but it was close. They had seemed unwilling to stray too far away from their habitats. As he and Pikachu collapsed to the ground, Nightmare reappeared.
"Anyway, I can use Hyper Beam was the general point of that." He said. "Also Destiny Bond, Night Shade, Poison Jab, Shadow Punch, Hypnosis, Dream Eater, Nightmare and that move which revives ghosts. But I don't think I'll need that."
"Wow." Ash remarked. "Anything else?"
"What more do you want?"
Jim eventually came out of his room, and found Olly waiting.
"Right, what do you want?"
"Ever heard of the Pokemon God Arceus?"
"Who hasn't?"
"Ever seen a picture of it?"
"No, none exist."
"Not in mainstream print." Olly said, pulling the book he had bought out. "Look on page 329."
Jim took the book, and flicked to the page. He saw the strange Pokemon with the wheel.
"What does this have to do with anything?"
Olly reached into his pocket, and pulled out the red gem. "Look at the wheel, and then look at this."
Jim did so. "What's your point? So they look remotely similar."
"I found this in a room in this hotel. I did some research and found out that its the jewel of a legendary Pokemon. That is a book on legendary Pokemon.."
"Is Arcanine in there?" Jim interrupted.
"Why does that even matter?"
"Is it?"
"Well, it is classed as a legendary Pokemon, but it isn't a legendary Pokemon per se."
"So what are you going to do?"
"Well, these jewels are left behind when something is changed. I think that something was different, and this jewel is proof."
"Why are you telling me this?" Jim asked. "For all we know, life was better before."
"You don't know that for sure. And isn't a risk worth taking, if you have absolutely no idea what is going to happen?"
"Not really." Jim said, as he picked the gem up. "And you're a moron for trying to change the past."
"Who said anything about the past?" Olly said, angrily, as he reached for the jewel to get it back.
"Why do you want this?" Jim wondered.
"I found it." Olly said, as he grabbed it away. "You're going to try and change time with it."
"I don't want to do it anyway." Jim replied. "I'm just going to stop you doing it."
The jewel was thrown across the carpet, and both trainers dived for it. They touched it at the same time, and it started to vibrate, as a white light burst from it.
"What's happening?" Jim said, as he vanished. A few seconds later, Olly followed him.
Paul had been running around for what seemed like hours. The sweat was starting to freeze, and making him even colder. His knees were starting to hurt again, as well. Honchkrow looked cold and angry. Rhyperior looked mildly annoyed, and Torterra had given up long ago, and was crashed out next to Weavile and Scizor. As Paul circled around, he feelt compelled to give encouragment to them.
"Come on Torterra, you can continue moving." He said. "Rhyperior, you are doing awesome. Honchkrow keep believing."
As he finished speaking, the door opened, and Anabel stepped out.
"Come on in. You passed."
Paul shivered, as he walked in.
"You are wondering what the point of that was." Anabel remarked. "You knew when your Pokemon couldn't do anymore, and tried to encourage them for more. That is what is different."
"So, are we staying here for longer, or heading back?" Paul asked.
"There is just one more test you have to endure." Anabel replied. "I will tell you in the morning."
"But it's the afternoon."
Anabel looked at him. "Then, get back out in the snow."
Paul mentally kicked himself.
Anabel smirked.
They found themselves in the strange room with the concrete walls, and the fog.
"This is strange." Jim muttered. "Where are we?"
"I don't know, but I think we're alone."
"I think you might be wrong." Jim said, as he saw the figure approaching them.
He looked like any other guy. He could have been someones grandfather, with his fine white hair, and suit.
"Who are you?" He demanded. "And what are you doing here?"
"I could ask you the same questions." Olly snapped. "It wasn't by choice."
"Then welcome." The man said, visibly calming. "My name is Arthur Chaos, and this is the Hall of Origin."
"I thought this was a myth." Olly replied.
"I wanted people to think that." Chaos said. "Now, I sense you have many questions."
"Where actually are we?" Jim asked.
"The Hall of Origin is the home of Arceus." Olly said. "It's all in that book."
Chaos looked annoyed. "Always my problem."
"What do you mean?"
Chaos smiled. "The book is a by-product of what happened. It appears when the world is changed."
"So, I was right." Olly grinned.
"But what have you accomplished?" Chaos asked. "You haven't discovered anything."
"What was changed?" Jim asked. "Just out of interest."
Chaos sighed. "Let me tell you a story. Once there was a woman. A pure radiant soul, who hurt someone badly. She felt bad about it, and asked me to change it. I, along with Dialga and Celebi managed to work out a scenario where she never existed. That is the only thing that is different. Apart from the things which she affected, because if she never affected them, then things would be different."
"Who was she?" Jim asked.
"Her name was Cynthia." Chaos replied. "I think both of you knew her."
"Doesn't ring a bell." Olly said. "Give my memories back!"
"No." Arthur Chaos replied. "I will not. Think of the people that could be affected."
"I don't care."
"You can't have them back. In fact, why would you want them?"
"Because they're mine." Olly said.
"I want mine back as well." Jim said, suddenly.
"Sorry." Chaos said. "Goodbye, and don't stick around."
Chaos turned to leave.
"Hey!" Olly yelled. "I challenge you to a Pokemon battle."
Chaos turned, a smile on his face. "And what makes you think you can win?"
"A sense of blind confidence." Olly replied. "Plus, I have this."
Olly held up the red gem. Chaos' eyes flashed. "So, you have that gem."
"I figure that this is the proof of what was done. What would happen if it gets destroyed?"
"You couldn't hope to destroy it." Chaos replied. "It would take the roar of time to destroy that."
"Then, let's battle. In fact, let's have a tag battle. Me and him vs you. If we win, you have to correct what you've done. Cross out what you've done, and put things back to the way they were."
"What if you lose?"
"Whatever."
"That isn't good enough." Chaos said. "If you lose, you both have to stay here forever."
"Deal." Olly said, leaving Jim fuming.
"Hey, do I get a say in this?"
Arthur Chaos clapped his hands, and they were rematerialised in a stadium. He stood at one end, Olly and Jim at the other.
"So, a tag battle then." He said. "I choose Dialga and Palkia."
Chaos waved his hands, and the two legendary Pokemon of time and space appeared.
Jim looked at Olly. "No way man."
"Just shut up and pick your Pokemon." Olly said, as he grabbed a Pokeball from his belt and threw it. "Dragonite, go."
Olly sent out Dragonite.
"Bayleef, go."
Jim sent out Bayleef.
"We are so screwed its unreal." He muttered.
"Get a positive outlook." Olly said. "You go for Palkia."
As much as he hated to admit it, anger was keeping him going at the moment. Then, he would remember how the point of the excercise was to keep him peaceful and connect with his Pokemon.
He had let Scizor and Weavile run with him this time, despite their protests. He had run about forty laps around the area, when a snowball hit him in the face.
He crashed to the ground, and then sat up to spit the snow out of his mouth.
"What was the point of that?" He demanded, as Anabel approached him.
"To test your reflexes and how you adapt to certain situations. Even something simple as avoiding that snowball could have helped you in the future by seeing an attack before it happens."
"Easy for you to say." Paul replied. "You have psychic powers."
"But I don't use them in battles to see what my opponent is going to do. Otherwise it would be like shooting fish in a barrel."
"I think it would be an advantage." Paul remarked, as he dusted snow off the back of his shirt.
"Telepathy is a funny thing. In the heat of battle, you have to rely on your own instincts more than anything else. Plus, some trainers know how you can use telepathy, and deliberately send out misleading thoughts. I don't need that stuff. I just use it to talk to my Pokemon. It really causes problems for the opponent when they don't know what you are going to do."
"I could see that being a problem." Paul said. "It was a problem when I battled your Espeon."
"Then that proves that it works." Anabel said, turning away.
Paul seized his chance. He stooped down, and grabbed a handfull of snow. Anabel shrieked as some of it fell down the back of her coat.
"You prat, that was cold!" She yelled.
"Revenge." Paul smirked. "Is best served cold, and you can't get much colder than that."
Palkia fired a powerful Special Rend attack at Bayleef, who jumped out of the way.
"Use Leaf Storm."
Bayleef blasted Palkia with a flurry of leaves. Palkia winced in pain, but didn't seem to take much more damage.
"Dragonite, Dragonbreath."
Dragonite blasted Dialga with a powerful beam of green energy, but the attacks weren't doing enough damage.
"You cannot hope to beat these two Pokemon." Chaos said. It wasn't a taunt, or even a sneer. He just seemed to be stating the facts.
"Let's find out then." Jim said. "Use Sunny Day."
Bayleef started to glow in sunlight, as the previously dark and cloudy sky became filled with sunlight.
"Nice move." Olly said. "Dragonite, Overheat."
"Stop the attack with Water Pulse." Chaos ordered.
Palkia fired a sphere of water into the oncoming flame, and stopped it.
"Solar Beam." Jim ordered.
Bayleef fired the white hot beam of solar light into Palkia, who howled in pain.
"That did something." Olly remarked. "And I just remembered what Palkia's weakness is. Dragonite, use Outrage."
Dragonite roared, and charged at Palkia, eyes glowing with fire. He threw several powerful punches into the clearly hurt Pokemon.
"You might want to do something about Dialga." Olly remarked. "Dragonite seems to be enjoying pounding on Palkia."
"Right, Solar Beam!" Jim yelled.
Bayleef fired a powerful beam of white hot light at Dialga, but it didn't do much damage.
Dragonite finished pounding on Palkia, and dropped to his knees, exhausted.
"Palkia, use Special Rend." Chaos ordered. "Dialga, use Roar Of Time."
Olly instantly burst into laughter. "Thank you, I was waiting for that."
As Dialgia opened its mouth, and started to bellow a powerful roar strong enough to shake the very foundries of time, Olly reached into his pocket and pulled out the red gem.
"Have a guess what words you shouldn't have said earlier." He yelled at Chaos, as he threw the gem into the maelstrom.
"Think about what you have done." Chaos shouted, as the gem smashed into thousands of pieces under the powerful roar. "You have changed the world."
"I did not." Olly yelled, struggling to make himself heard over the roar of time. "I put things back the way they were."
"But you don't know what is going to happen!" Chaos shouted, as he started to revert to his natural form.
"I know." Olly replied. "I'm terrible, aren't I?"
As a bright light started to burst from the remnants of the stone, a shape started to emerge from the vortex.
Without warning, things started to change.
Elias Mao was on the phone to his mother, when the line went dead, and he wondered why he was speaking to no one in particular.
Ash was training his Pokemon, when his Gabite started to fade out, until it vanished. Ash didn't question it, instead wondering why he had failed to bring a sixth Pokemon with him.
Olly and Jim saw her emerge from the fires of time.
They instantly knew who she was, even if she didn't seem familiar.
"Hello, boys." Cynthia smiled, as she walked over to them. "Did you miss me?"
"You fools." Arceus roared, as he walked over to them. "I changed the world for a reason."
"Yeah, because I asked you to." Cynthia retorted. "I never asked for a way to be left around for me to be brought back. Because you left that there, it is your own fault."
"I had a plan for you." Arceus snarled. "You were going to become a higher being."
"Yeah, I appreciated the offer." Cynthia replied. "But, I guess you broke that deal."
"You will regret this!" Arceus said, angrily. "If you leave now, you will never get back to where you were."
"And somehow." Cynthia replied. "I just can't seem to care."
"Well, you should do!" Arceus shouted, as the stadium seemed to tremble under his voice. "You had a higher purpose, and you are throwing it away for a pair of humans."
"That's what people do." Olly replied. "We might not be very smart, but we love each other, and that is what counts."
"You still feel the same way, even though I left you?" Cynthia asked.
"Hey, I'm sure you'll fill me in on why you did it later." Olly said, as he gave Cynthia his long black coat. "Not quite your own, but hey, you can't be choosy."
Cynthia turned to Arceus. "I respectfully tender my resignation."
"Are you crazy? You can't resign from heaven." Arceus said. "I refuse to let you."
"So you are going to keep us here for the rest of time?" Jim asked.
"You two can go." Arceus said. "But Cynthia stays."
"Well, we aren't going to solve this anytime soon." Olly replied.
"Go." Cynthia said.
"What?"
"Both of you have a higher purpose." She said. "And you can't fulfil it if you are to trapped here."
"I'm not leaving you." Olly replied, angrily. "I'll battle Arceus to get you out of here."
"Do you really think you can win?" Arceus asked. "I am the creator of all Pokemon. I could make your Pokemon crumble into dust if I wished."
"Then let's finish our battle." Jim said. "We win, we all walk out of here. We lose, you can keep us."
"Interesting." Arceus replied. "I have no need for you, so whatever happens, you can go."
"No deal." Jim said. "That's my sister, and I'm not leaving her."
"If I cast you from the heavens, it makes no difference." Arceus growled. "Now let's get back to the battle."
Ash withdrew Noctowl, and let it stretch its wings for a bit.
"Nice Noctowl." Nightmare muttered. "Do you remember Cynthia now?"
"I do." Ash said. "I can't explain it, but I'm getting two versions of the events."
"This battle is between Olly's Dragonite and Jim's Bayleef, facing off against Dialga and Palkia."
Palkia looked to be more badly hurt than Dialga, and Dragonite's confusion had worn off.
"Let's get back to it." Arceus said.
"Gladly." Olly replied. "Dragon Claw on Palkia."
Dragonite slammed a fist into Palkia.
"Frenzy Plant." Jim ordered, as Cynthia made her way to the stands.
Several thorny plants burst from the ground around Palkia, who roared as it was beaten down and penetrated by the attack. It knocked Palkia out completely, leaving Dialga alone.
"What do you think now?" Jim asked Arceus.
"Can you defeat Dialga though?" Arceus smiled. "Dragon Pulse."
Dialgia fired the powerful pulse at Dragonite, who flew out of the way. The attack carried on and badly weakened Bayleef.
"Use Sunny Day." Jim shouted. "And then use it to power a Synthesis."
Bayleef created more sunlight.
"Flamethrower." Olly ordered, as Dragonite covered Dialga in fire. "And then go in with a Focus Punch."
Dragonite slammed a fist into Dialga, almost knocking it over.
"Unleash Solar Beam." Jim ordered, as Bayleef finished healing.
"Counter it with Overheat." Arceus said.
Bayleef and Dialga launched their powerful attacks. They collided in the middle of the arena, before the Overheat overpowered the Solar Beam and knocked Bayleef out cold.
"No." Jim whispered, as Bayleef crashed over to him.
"What are you going to do now?" Arceus said.
"Kick his ass." Jim said, as he recalled Bayleef and climbed up to the stands.
"What do you think I've been trying to do?" Olly asked, as he returned to the battle.
Dragonite faced the rather badly beaten Temporal Pokemon, but Olly wasn't fooled by how tired it looked. It wasn't legendary for nothing, and was probably still capable of knocking Dragonite out.
"Your move." He said to Arceus.
Cynthia watched as the man she loved faced off against two legendary Pokemon, when her brother came up.
"Thanks for battling for me." She said. "It can't be easy facing off against Pokemon like that."
"No problem." Jim replied. "You're my sister. As much as you wanted to make me forget it."
"Jim. I only did what I thought was the right thing to do." Cynthia said. "I felt so bad about what happened to Elias and I wanted to make it better."
"By making it so you never existed?"
"It was Arceus' idea." She protested.
"So, you took the advice of a God over what you should do?"
"As a God, he has many duties to fill. My main contact was with Celebi."
"Dialga, use Dragon Pulse."
Dialga fired a powerful pulse of blue grey energy at Dragonite, who flew out of the way.
"Dragon Claw."
Dragonite swooped around the back of Dialga and slammed its claws into the back of its neck.
"Use Headbutt."
Dialga spun and slammed its head into Dragonite, who was thrown backwards by the force of the impact.
"Time to finish this with Roar of Time." Arceus said, feeling supremely confident.
Dialga opened its mouth and unleashed the ferocious roar at the grounded Dragonite.
Olly closed his eyes, and wondered how he was going to get out of it. He could see Cynthia falling into Arceus' paws once again, and he wouldn't be able to stop it. He then opened his eyes and smiled.
Paul collapsed on the ground, in exhaustion. He had been chasing Anabel around the airstrip for the last hour flinging snow at her. He had come outside, while she had wrang her clothes out inside. They had been full of water, due to the amount of snow he had launched. He was tired, but felt the unusual sensation of being happy. He had never really had a childhood, and this was the first time he had done something like this in the snow.
Paul was still thinking, when he heard the door open, and Anabel came out. She had put her clothes back on, now that they were dryer, but he could still see that her violet hair was wet. It was now a similar colour to his own.
"Love the hair." He smiled.
"Do you want the room to dry off?" Anabel asked.
"Why?" Paul asked, as he stripped his shirt off. "I'll do it here."
As Paul started to squeeze water out of his shirt, Anabel noticed a scar on his chest.
"What's with the scar?" She asked, before feeling a wave of anger pass through her.
"My Dad's a real bastard." Paul replied, his voice as cold as the landscape.
Anabel decided not to pursue it, as the anger Paul was giving off was making her shiver. Or it could be the snow. She didn't know how Paul was standing it at the moment.
"Endure!" Olly yelled, as Dragonite jumped up and faced the attack face on. It visibly flinched as the Roar of Time washed over him. As the attack stopped, Dragonite looked exhausted from the efforts of stopping the attack.
"You do have a strong bond with your Pokemon." Arceus remarked.
"You better believe it." Olly replied. "Earthquake."
And with Dialga unable to avoid the attack, Dragonite slammed into the ground and sent a huge shockwave at the Temporal Pokemon and knocked it over.
"Finish if off with Focus Punch."
Dragonite jumped up and flew at Dialga, charging up a punch. Dialga still couldn't move as Dragonite slammed a fist into its head, and knocked it out.
Jim and Cynthia jumped up and applauded, as the voice rang out.
"Dialga is unable to battle. Dragonite is the winner."
Arceus looked stunned, before smiling. "I guess you won."
"Damn right." Olly replied, as Dragonite collapsed to the ground in fatigue.
"Your Dragonite is an exceptional Pokemon." Arceus remarked, as he walked over and placed a paw on the dragon Pokemon. Dragonite sighed in pleasure as he was healed completely.
Jim and Cynthia ran down.
"Can you heal my Bayleef as well?"
"Of course." Arceus smiled, as Jim let his exhausted Bayleef out.
"Am I free to go?" Cynthia asked.
"Of course." Arceus replied. "That was the deal, and although I'm not happy about it, I intend to keep the deal this time. As long as it's what you want, then go back to earth with my blessing. Nothing will have changed. It will be as it was before you made the first deal."
"And Elias?"
"Mr Mao's past has been put back on its original path. But I suggest that you stop worrying. His father cares about him, and Miss Montgomery clearly shows great affection for him."
"Then I thank you for helping me." Cynthia said.
"Farewell Miss Jacobs, Mr Jacobs and Mr. Lowe." Arceus said. "I hope we will meet again at some point."
Everything went dark, as the three trainers felt a squeezing sensation.
Paul and Anabel were heading back to the resort.
"This Island really is remarkable." Anabel said. "Mountains, ruins, a huge network of tunnels underneath. I can believe that we are in another region."
"What?" Paul asked.
"Starburst Island is part of the Verger region." Anabel explained. "I thought people knew that."
"No." Paul replied. "So, are there gyms in this region?"
"Of course." Anabel said.
"I think I know what I'm going to do after this tournament." Paul remarked.
Author's Notes. I wonder if that's a hint of what might be coming in life after this fic.
So everything is back to normal. Or is it? Actually, it probably is back to normal.
The bit where Jim asks Olly if Arcanine is in the book about legendary Pokemon is a reference to when Skyfighter asked me if Arcanine was a legendary Pokemon in a review.
It was originally going to be Olly and Jim facing off against Dialga and Celebi.
Also for the first part of the chapter, and the last eight months, I've been calling Dialga Dialgia for some reason. I tend not to read things very carefully.
I enjoyed writing this chapter, so don't forget to review, and tell me if it is good or not. The battles start again next chapter
Thanks to everyone who has reviewed. It's great. I look forward to waking up in the morning and reading them. Make my morning.