Oh boy! The interesting part!

Chapter 48: Mt. Travail

After we returned to Treasure Town, we were greeted by all the guild members, who were desperate to know how our exploration with Team Charm went. It was chaos; Jade and I could barely get two comprehensible words out without getting interrupted by Loudred or Croagunk. Finally we managed to break away, and we returned to Sharpedo Bluff for the night.

The next few days passed uneventfully. We took jobs, explored, and otherwise lived the normal life of an exploration team.

It was about as normal as you could get… until that fateful day…

The day started out normal enough, except for the fact that a thick blanket of gray clouds blocked out the sun. Not a ray of sunshine was to be seen. The entire day was rather subdued; Jade and I simply explored with Ani-Chan and a Misdreavus in Treeshroud Forest.

I was somehow reminded of the time that Grovyle, Jade and I explored Treeshroud Forest. The whole forest was shrouded in gray and there was little movement, somewhat like how it was today.

By the end of our exploration, rain was drizzling down. We all teleported back to the guild, got our reward and went back to Sharpedo Bluff to turn in. Now, that would've been just fine if it wasn't pouring outside now.

It was chaotic: rain was pounding down, wind was ripping through the deserted shops of Treasure Town, lightning streaked through the dark sky, with a loud boom of thunder quickly following it. But Jade and I persevered through the storm.

After foraging through the storm, we arrived at Sharpedo Bluff, shivering and wet. I desperately wanted a blanket or a fire, but there weren't any blankets to be found and all the firewood was already too wet to start a fire. So Jade and I just huddled together, trying to block out the raging storm.

"My Arceus!" Jade yelled. "This is one big storm!"

"We haven't had one like this since that day we fought Drowzee!" I said.

It was true. We hadn't been caught in a storm since that day. Sure, occasionally a Pokémon would decide to use Rain Dance in a dungeon, and they'd somehow cause a light shower, but they had never managed to create a storm of this caliber.

"Gosh, ever since we restored the flow of time, it's been nothing but sunshine. What happened to the rest of the weather? It's kind of nice to have a storm like this, you know, because sunshine gets tiring after a while," Jade raved.

Yeah, it's true… Ever since we saved time, it has been nothing but sunshine… I thought.

My thoughts drifted around, and I thought about random things, but soon my thoughts landed on Luminous Spring.

Luminous Spring… It's awfully weird… Once we saved time, Pokémon could evolve at the spring… But why couldn't we evolve?

My mind flashed back to our graduation exam. I remembered how Jade had tried to evolve at the spring after Teddiursa evolved…

She couldn't evolve… Didn't that voice say that we distorted the space around us or something? But… how CAN you distort space? And why do we distort it…?

A bright flash of lightning and the clash of thunder brought me back to the present.

"Wah! The storm's really fierce!" Jade cried over the howling wind.

There was another flash of lightning.

"Anyway, we should go to sleep. Maybe the storm will be gone tomorrow," Jade suggested.

"Good idea." I yawned and laid down on my bed, staring up at the rocky ceiling of Sharpedo Bluff. "Good night, Jade."

"Good night, Emile."

I closed my eyes and relaxed my body, slowly drifting off into a dreamless sleep.

XxX

The next morning, I woke up not to the sounds of the storm, but to the sounds of a small flock of Starlys passing by our rocky home. I got up and hobbled to our "window", and instead of looking out on a dark, dreary storm I found myself looking out at the usual cloudless sky.

Wow… The storm cleared up overnight… Amazing.

I heard Jade slowly getting up beside me.

"Good morning, Jade," I greeted her.

"Good morning, Emile," Jade said. She walked up to the window and stared out it, examining the usual bright sky. "Well, it looks like the storm's cleared up. So… um… Here's to another day of exploring…?"

"Here's to another day of exploring," I said, giving Jade a warm smile.

XxX

The day passed uneventfully. Jade and I helped out a Hitmontop that had lost an Oran Berry in Steam Cave. It was an easy job, and I was quite surprised Hitmontop was willing to give up a valuable Gold Ribbon for it. Before we returned to Sharpedo Bluff I sold it for 2,000 Poké at the Kecleon Shop. Then I followed Jade to Sharpedo Bluff and collapsed on my bed.

As soon as I fell asleep, I began dreaming, which was odd, as I almost never had any dreams. Or at least, not any that I really remembered.

Anyway, in my dream, I was in an infinitely vast field of swirling, rainbow-colored mist. I couldn't move or talk or do pretty much anything except look out into the mist and think.

Where… am I? I thought. Is this a dream? If so, then it's a very weird one…

The mist in front of me began to bend and darken, forming a shadowy figure. As I watched, the figure became clearer and more colorful. Then, with a small flash of light, the haze around the thing in front of me cleared up…

In front of me was a somewhat delicate figure that shone like the full moon. In fact, it looked as if the moon itself had been plastered onto its body. Its body was mainly a light shade of blue, but its belly and head was a pastel yellow. It had pink arms, a pink tuft of sorts on its head, and shimmering pink wings. Its presence was strangely relaxing.

Hello? Who… are you? I thought.

The Pokémon scoffed. I assumed it was able to somehow read my thoughts. "Finally! I'm in! It took me long enough because your stupid mind wouldn't let me in. You need to be more open." The Pokémon's voice was distinctly female, but instead of a soft, delicate female voice like Chimecho's tinkling tones, her voice sounded bratty and stuck up like Skuntank's.

Um… okay…? Who are you, why are you here, and why do you sound so stuck up? I thought.

"Eh, sorry," the Pokémon said, though she didn't sound very sorry, "just talking to myself. But as for my name, you can call me Cresselia."

Okay… Hi, Cresselia. So… why are you here?

"Oh, yes. Why am I here? Well, I've simply come to deliver a message," Cresselia said.

And that is…?

"The world is gonna end."

That's exactly what Cresselia said, but to me she said "Do you know about all your efforts and sacrifices you had to put in to save the world? Well, guess what? They were all for naught, because the world is gonna end anyways." My mind instantly flooded with questions that I had the feeling that I wouldn't get answered.

Whoa, whoa, WHOA. Slow down. Why? What's causing it? I started.

"You."

Cresselia could've dropped a bomb on me, and it wouldn't be more shocking than this news.

WHAT?! I might cause the world to end?! But… didn't I already save the world? Why is it gonna end because of me?! Tell me! Tell me why right NOW! I was just too frustrated to think rationally now. I was just "yelling" words out at random.

"This might not make any sense to you because your brain is too puny to comprehend it, but you exist in this world. That's why the world's gonna end," Cresselia said.

It occurred to me only later that Cresselia was insulting my intelligence, but at that time I was too confused and surprised to notice.

But why? Why is my existence driving the world towards ruin?

Cresselia flickered like a hologram, and the misty world around me flashed. "Your very existence is driving the world to ruin. If you continue to exist… The world… will be… destroyed!" Cresselia said dramatically.

But why? I pressured. Why is my existence gonna make the world end?

There was another flash of light. Cresselia cursed.

"Blast…" Cresselia's expression turned from annoyed to loathing. "We'll discuss this at a later time. Goodbye for now…" There was another flash, but this one stung. I felt myself slipping away, my entire body feeling as if it were on fire…

Waaaaah!

I woke up in a cold sweat, safe and sound on my bed of straw. The swirly rainbow mist was gone. Cresselia and her cold, snarky voice was gone.

I took a moment to catch my breath. Oh my Arceus… That… what WAS that? Some sort of hyper-realistic dream… Cresselia… She said something about the world ending because of me…

I looked around. It was still dark out, and Jade was sleeping soundly next to me.

Well, it's still dark out… I guess it wouldn't hurt to get some more sleep…

I laid down on my bed and closed my eyes, dropping off into sleep again. I didn't have any more morbid dreams, but I swear, I could still hear Cresselia's haunting voice in my sleep…

"Goodbye for now…"

XxX

"Emile! Wake up, already!" Jade's familiar voice awakened me from my slumber. I sat up on my bed and looked into Jade's refreshed eyes, thinking about last night's dream.

Is it true what Cresselia said? Is it true that I'm pushing the world to destruction? And if it is, how do I tell Jade… She won't be very happy to learn that I might destroy the world…

"Emile? Is there something wrong?" Jade asked.

"I-I'm fine," I lied.

"Are you sure? You can tell me anything, you know," Jade pressed.

"I'm fine!" I said with more anger than I intended.

I could tell Jade didn't really believe me, but she decided to let the matter drop.

The day passed uneventfully, but throughout our exploration (rescuing an Illumise for a Volbeat) I continued to think about Cresselia's words.

The world might end because I exist. How does THAT make sense? I eventually decided to stop thinking about it, as it was giving me a headache.

Soon we had completed our job. We received our reward, which was a Red Bow that Jade happily tied around her neck to match my Green Bow. After everything was all sorted out, we returned to the Bluff for the night.

XxX

I hoped that I would be able to get some peaceful sleep that night after the craziness of the previous night, but lo and behold, as soon as I closed my eyes I was in the swirly rainbow mist place again.

Ugh, great. What's gonna happen now? Is Cresselia gonna come out and tell me that I'm gonna disappear again in three days?

"Well, not exactly." Cresselia made her big dramatic entrance, and in five seconds the Lunar Pokémon was hovering in front of me. "Hello, Emile."

I never recalled telling her my name, and the fact that she knew it made me unsettled.

Hi, Cresselia, I greeted her. Now, please do me a favor and continue telling me about why I'm wrecking the world.

"Your very existence is driving the world to destruction!" Cresselia said irritably.

Yes, I know that, but why? What am I doing that might make the world end? I snapped.

"Ugh. Fine, then. I'll explain. See, you're a Pokémon—well, technically you're a human—anyway, you're a human that comes from the future. You don't belong in this world," Cresselia said.

WHAT THE—! I then proceeded to fling every foul word I knew at Cresselia. Cresselia didn't seemed too bothered by the words, though. WHY IN THE NAME OF THE GREAT LORD ARCEUS DO I NOT BELONG IN THIS WORLD?!

"Calm down! Just shut your stubborn mouth and I'll tell you!" Cresselia sighed.

I took a few deep breaths. Okay. So anyway, why do I not belong in this world? I asked calmly, though my insides were still seething with anger.

"That's better. Now, well, this is a little hard to explain, but you are a human from the future, and as such, you distort the space around you," Cresselia explained.

Her words seemed oddly familiar to me. But then I realized that I had indeed heard those words before. A long time ago, back in Luminous Spring, the weird voice had prevented Jade and I from evolving. I remembered that memory as if it were yesterday…

"No. It is not that you don't have the right item. You simply can't evolve."

"Why can't I evolve?! I evolve into Bayleef and Meganium! I can evolve!"

"I sense… a distortion. You distort the space around you. You cannot evolve if you distort space."

Wait… Are you saying that what that voice said about the distortion of space… That was… all true? What? This doesn't make any sense!

"Yes. All that was true. You distort space," Cresselia said.

But how does that tie in to the whole "I'm causing the world's destruction" scenario?

"If you distort space, then slowly, gradually, the distortion around you would… gradually expand," Cresselia explained. "And if the distortion expands—"

Almost as if on cue, Cresselia's image flickered, distorted. A flash illuminated the swirly mist and sent a sharp shock through my body.

What would happen? Tell me! I pressed.

There was another flash. Cresselia began to fade away.

"If the… distortion expands…" Cresselia began, her voice distorted and hazy, "the whole world… would be… destroyed… That's why… you… must not… exist…"

Cresselia's image was almost gone, but I continued to pressure her for more info. What? Wait! Don't go! I don't get this!

Cresselia tried to tell me more, but I couldn't hear her… I felt myself slowly fading away…

XxX

"E… le? …mil? Emile?" I woke to the sound of a familiar voice.

Ugh… Who… What… C-Cresselia… she… distortion… need to be eliminated… me…

"Emile?! Are you okay?" Jade cried. I then realized that I had been thrashing around and saying random words.

"I'm… fine…" I muttered.

Jade helped me get up. "C'mon, Mr. Grumpy Face! Stop acting so… weirdly!" she chuckled.

Hmm… Jade's peppier than usual today… I wonder why? I noticed.

"Okay! Okay!" I said.

"Good. Now, here's to another good day of exploring!" Jade prompted.

"Hooray!" I said, though I was somewhat lacking in the usual morning energy.

Jade and I walked out of Sharpedo Bluff, ready for a good day of exploring, but we didn't get very far from our headquarters before we came across a panicking Bidoof.

"Hey, Bidoof! How's it going?" I asked.

"Huff… puff… By golly! I'm glad I caught up with y'all…" Bidoof panted.

"Why? What's up?" I asked.

"It's Azurill! He's in trouble!" Bidoof said frantically.

"What happened?" Jade asked.

"Well, it would be easier just to show ya. Come on down to the guild as fast as possible!" Bidoof said. He began to waddle out of Treasure Town, but Jade and I charged ahead of him.

We raced towards the guild, not bothering to apologize to Chatot once we ran over him. We raced downstairs and found Croagunk at his Swap Shop. He looked mildly concerned, but not quite concerned to leave the Swap Shop.

"Where's Azurill?" I demanded.

"Meh-heh-heh… He's in your old room," Croagunk responded. "I assume you're going to help him out?" But Jade and I were already halfway down the hallway.

We streaked into our old room, which looked just like we had left it last time. They hadn't even gotten rid of our straw beds.

Azurill was asleep on my bed. Marill was at his side, tears running down his face, a Chesto Berry clutched tightly in his hands. Sunflora, Chimecho, Chatot, Deputy Magnezone, and two of his Officer Magnemites were also there, observing the sleeping Azurill.

Bidoof suddenly came barging into the room, panting and covered with sweat. I was sure all the noise Bidoof was making would wake Azurill up, but he didn't do as much as stir in his sleep.

"So what's up with Azurill?" I asked.

"It doesn't look like there's anything wrong with him," Jade observed. She circled around the Polka Dot Pokémon, probably looking for wounds or some sign of a struggle, but she was right: Azurill didn't look hurt in any way.

"A-Azurill… He w-won't wake up…" Marill said through his tears. "I-I've tried e-everything, Chesto B-Berries… I got L-Loudred to use Uproar… b-but… he still won't wake up… I'm scared…"

Azurill moaned and flopped around on his bed. For a fleeting instant, I was sure that he'd wake up, but his eyes still remained closed.

"It looks like he's having a nightmare!" Jade exclaimed.

"Y-you mean… Azurill's trapped in a… n-nightmare?!" Marill gasped.

"It looks like it…" Chatot said glumly.

"Oh no!" Marill approached us and got down on his knees, his hands clasped in prayer. "P-please, Team Aura… Please… help him… I don't want to see my little brother suffering like this… Mother Azumarill will be crushed… please!" Marill begged.

"And you don't know what caused this?" Jade asked.

"Nope," Marill responded.

Jade withdrew from Azurill. "Hmm… If we could somehow see into his dream or something, then we might have a clue about what caused this…"

"But there's no way to see into a dream… right…?" I said.

"Actually… I think there might very well be a way to see into his dream," Chatot spoke up.

The whole room turned to the bird. "See, the Pokémon Drowzee are said to be able to see into dreams, so if we could just find a Drowzee, then there might be a way to see into Azurill's dream…"

"D-Drowzee?" Jade gasped. "Emile, you remember Drowzee, right? That creepy outlaw who kidnapped Azurill?"

"How could I forget him? He was the first outlaw we took down!" I said.

"Well, maybe, if he's not so bad anymore, then maybe…" Jade turned to Deputy Magnezone. "Magnezone! Do you remember Drowzee? You know, that outlaw that we took down?"

"ZZZT! Yes. I sure do. ZZZT!" Magnezone said.

"Where is he now, and is he a good guy now?" Jade asked.

"ZZZT! He is good now. I subjected him to intense grilling, and I do believe that he has reformed. ZZZT!" As Magnezone spoke, his Officer Magnemites crackled with electricity.

"So where is he now?" I asked.

"ZZZT! He has gone to Mt. Travail for meditation. ZZZT!" Magnezone replied.

"Sweet! So if we bring him back, then he might help us enter Azurill's nightmare! Then we could get some clues as to what's going on! Cool beans!" Jade said.

"Oh, thank you, Team Aura! How could we ever thank you?" Marill said, wiping away a tear.

I rubbed his head affectionately. "You don't have to worry about thanking us. Your smile is all the thanks we need!"

"So, do you think we're ready?" Jade asked.

"Well, we've got, like, a bajillion Reviver Seeds, so I'd say we're ready," I said, shuffling through my Explorer Bag.

"So let's go! To Mt. Travail!"

XxX

Mt. Travail was a very tall mountain; much taller than any other mountain that we had encountered so far. On one side of the mountain was a rocky trail, on the other was a vast sea.

"Wow. This'll take the entire day, I bet," Jade said, looking up at the behemoth mountain.

"No kidding," I said. "But we need to do this. For Azurill. And Marill."

"Right!" Ani-Chan said brightly. She and Sparky didn't really know Azurill and Marill like we did, but they were quite happy to help us.

"So let's go already!" Sparky said impatiently.

And with that, we began our climb up Mt. Travail.

Mt. Travail was full of Fighting types like Primapes and Hitmonchans, but there were also a couple of Psychic types like Mr. Mime and Meditite. There was even a Medicham, which brought back memories of Team Charm and our Aegis Cave expedition.

At one point we encountered a Shedinja, which wouldn't go down to any of our attacks. Jade's Magical Leaf? It would bounce off of the strange bug. Sparky's Thunderbolt? It was absorbed by a crack on its back. My Force Palm? More laughable than ever.

Finally I got so fed up that I decided to use Bite on the Shedinja. It fell with one hit.

"What the heck? That was so weird!" Jade said.

"It wouldn't die!" Ani-Chan said.

But we didn't have time to talk more, as a Bibarel had decided to try a sneak attack on us.

Up and up we went, slowly getting higher and higher up the mountain. As we slowly got closer to the summit, I began to think about the day we apprehended Drowzee.

We had to find Drowzee, who was up on a mountain to rescue Azurill that day… and now we're finding Drowzee again, who is once again on a mountain, to rescue Azurill. It's kind of ironic, actually.

Finally we reached the top of the mountain. It was flat, with many small pebbles scattered around. The air was rather cold, and it was a little hard to breathe. A great blue sea shimmering in the sun lay far below us.

Drowzee was quietly meditating at the edge of the mountain. He didn't seem to notice us as we slowly approached him.

"Um… hello?" I asked.

That snapped Drowzee out of his meditation. He turned around, and when he saw us, he gasped and nearly stumbled over the mountain in surprise.

"Wah! Why are you guys here?" Drowzee cried. "I've been good, haven't I? I've kept my nose clean! I've stayed out of my life of crime! There's no need to arrest me! Really!"

I stepped forward. "Relax, Drowzee. We're not here to arrest you. We need your help."

"My help?" Drowzee repeated.

"Yes." Jade and I explained Azurill's predicament to Drowzee, who listened with rapt attention. Ani-Chan and Sparky were off playing tag behind us, and it was a little hard to focus with their playful laughter, but we did our best to explain.

"Hmm… I see," Drowzee mused once we finished our story. "So that little squirt's in trouble? And I'm pretty much the only one who can help him?"

"Pretty much," I said.

Drowzee was silent.

"Please?" Jade begged.

Finally Drowzee nodded. "Sure. I can help you. Quite honestly, I've kind of regretted taking that cute little Azurill away. And now I'll have a chance to make it up to him… Sure."

Jade looked like she could've hugged Drowzee. "Oh, thank you! Thank you so much!"

"No problem." Drowzee walked past us and began to make his way down the mountain. "Well? Are you coming? From what you've told me, Azurill's not gonna wake up without us."