Part 44
3/19/0048/Afternoon
Johto Region
Route 38
A yellow blur whizzed in between the thick foliage of Route 38, breaking through the shrubs and bushes with ease using its speed. Breaking into a clearing, the blur leaped, spreading its limbs a bit before it came in for a landing, discovering that its path had been blocked.
"You're not getting away this time Raikou!" A young man declared from above on the back of a Pidgeot that slowly descended into the clearing. Raikou on the other hand, was fully focused on the five other Pokemon that were blocking off its escape route from this clearing. "Alakazam, hold it down with Psychic!"
Alakazam, a member of the five Pokemon that had surrounded Raikou lifted its spoons, causing a blue outline to form around the Legendary Pokemon. This held the extremely rare Pokemon in place, gaining a roar of disapproval. Raikou tensed its muscles, trying to break free of the psychic energy, but to no avail.
Despite its status as a Legendary Pokemon, the damage done to the creature beforehand was far to extensive for it to break free of Alakazam's hold.
"Calm down Raikou." The young man continued as his Pidgeot landed on the ground, allowing him to jump off its back to run over to Raikou. Staring directly into the eyes of the beast, this silenced it for only a moment before it began to thrash about again.
"Don't you remember me?" He asked. "We met back on top of Mt Mortar. You zapped me and my Croconaw pretty good, although Croconaw is a Feraligatr now."
This didn't help at all as Raikou continued its struggle.
"Quit talking to it...Just put your hand on its head!" A new voice shouted. Another young man came rushing out of the bushes, gasping for air with a Ludicolo behind him.
"I was just getting to that."
Raising his left hand, he placed it on Raikou's head which caused his wrist to light up in a bright yellow light. This successfully silenced Raikou as it looked at him with bright eyes.
"So do you remember me now?" He asked again as Raikou gained a glow that healed all of the wounds it had sustained during the battle. The light soon faded away, revealing that Raikou was now in perfect condition.
"You're that guy."
"If by that guy you mean the other person with your Crest, then that would be me." He said, giving Raikou a grin as he motioned for Alakazam to release it.
"I see. So you're the Human I've been waiting for." It mumbled, studying him for a moment as it slowly trotted around him. "You seem alright."
"Alright?" He repeated. "Is that a good thing or a bad thing?"
"Forget it for now Robbie, we have to high tail it back to Ecruteak City, the defense there won't hold out Team Rocket much longer unless we help out." His friend called out to him, motioning for Robbie to end his conversation.
"Sorry Raikou, we don't have a lot of time to talk right now, but I want to ask a quick favor from you." Robbie said, receiving a slow nod from the Pokemon.
Embedded Tower
Deep within the confines of the basement of the stone tower, a bright light began to shine from the center of the floor, bouncing off the reflective surface of the crystals that rested all over the ground. The crystals scattered about on the floor rested had collapsed over a year prior to this date, and it was the first time any form of light had shined upon them, lighting up the basement.
The intensity of the light continued to increase until the entire basement disappeared within the spectacular display. For several minutes the basement remained this way, then the light faded, revealing a silhouette that seemed to be the source of the light hovering over the crystals that it had previously been buried beneath. Upon closer inspection, it could be seen that the true source of the light was the right wrist of the figure where a pentagon separated in five triangles could be seen. The figure raised its hand into the air, as if to call back what remained the light, allowing the large room to return to the darkness it had previously been in.
The figure dropped the ground, bouncing off a few of the crystals before he finally met with the cold hard floor with a groan.
"Oww." Blake groaned as held his head as he rose up. "It feels like I got hit by a Tauros."
Massaging his temples for a few moments, Blake's hazy vision finally cleared up, allowing him to take a look around at his surroundings.
"Where am I?" He asked himself as he got back on his feet. He couldn't remember much, but as he looked at the surrounding crystals, he knew there was something about them that was important. Approaching one of the crystals, Blake studied his reflection using the light from his wrist. "Whoa!"
Looking down at his wrist, Blake couldn't help but stare at it in awe.
"My Crest has finally been completed. Yumi-nee-chan will be so proud." He exclaimed as he looked down at the Crest. Then it hit him.
He had tried to free Lana. But the cost of breaking a seal had knocked him out.
"Lana!" He called out, looking around for the girl he had seen last time he was awake. His voice echoed, and he couldn't see anything beyond the perimeter of light his Crest had given him. No one else was here. "Aww, I guess I missed her."
Looking up, Blake spotted a hole in the ceiling of the room. It much brighter up there than it was down here.
'Maybe someone is up there.' He said as he squatted. Taking one tremendous leap, Blake covered the large distance between himself and the ceiling, reaching the next floor of the tower.
Even though this floor was brighter, there was still no one to found. But there was a corridor he could use to go outside. He could feel the breeze coming outside. Closing his Crest, the symbol on his wrist faded away as he exited the tower, giving him an excellent view of the cliffs that surrounded the Embedded Tower.
"Wow, this is amazing." He said, praising the scenery. He had never seen anything like this back in Ecruteak City. Placing his hands on his waist, Blake drew in a deep breath. The ocean had a really pleasant scent.
Lowering one hand, Blake's hand brushed against the Poke-balls on his belt, gaining his attention.
"Poke-balls?" He said as he detached one of them. "I wonder if there's anything in them."
Tossing the sphere into the air, it cracked open, releasing a shapeless white form that jumped to the ground before taking shape. A winged dragon appeared before Blake, stretching its wings a bit before looking around.
"Wow, a Salamence!" He exclaimed, rushing over to the Pokemon to get a closer look at it. Stopping right in front of its head, Blake placed a hand on its neck which gained a soft grumble from the dragon before it brushed its head against Blake's cheek. "Ryuu?"
"Rahh…?" It replied, staring at Blake. His hair was so much longer now, falling all over his shoulders. How long had it been since it was last outside its Poke-ball.
Blake only smiled at Salamence, impressed with the Pokemon.
"When did you evolve?" He asked it, gaining a confused expression from it as it tilted its head to the side. "Let's head back to Ecruteak City. I bet Lana went there. You can tell me on the way."
Blake jumped onto the back of the dragon, motioning for it to take flight. Salamence looked back at Blake, questioning his peculiar behavior. The biggest smile Salamence had ever seen from Blake was a small smirk he would wear during major milestones in his Battle Circuit career. It was kind of strange seeing him smile like he did back when he was younger.
Spreading its winds, Salamence flapped its wings before leaping into the air, riding on the winds over the watery deep.
3/22/0048/Morning
Route 38
"I remember this hill!" Blake said to himself as he took off in one final dash. Salamence had taken him deep into Route 38 before it ran out of gas to fly. Blake thanked it for all of its help, telling it that he could make it to Ecruteak City on his own now that he was in a familiar area.
This hill would be the final obstacle, a hill that he climbed numerous times back in the day. It gave him a perfect view of Ecruteak City, second only to the top of Bell Tower.
He would spend hours up here with Lana and Grace. Maybe they were waiting for him. The incline leveled off as Blake reached the top, throwing his hands into the air as if to give the city a hug.
"Hello Ecruteak City-" He began, only for his arms to drop to his sides. His eyes widened in shock as he stared at the city resting at the base of the hill. "H-How…?"
A tear snuck out of the corner of his eye, leaving a trail as it traveled down his cheek. Where…where did Ecruteak City go?
He could see a few old Shinto houses that filled the area, but the grand city was gone. There was nothing but a smoldering pile of ash. Where was his home? And his friends and family. Did they disappear with the city?
"Why does everyone keep leaving me?" Blake croaked as he looked down at his feet, allowing the tears to flow freely.
Blake propped himself up on one arm, looking around for the source of the wailing. It had been a while since he had last heard anything. Scanning the white room that he had been resting for quite sometime, he noticed that the other occupant had reappeared from their last meeting.
Only this time he was in tears.
Rising up from the ground, Blake looked at what he now assumed was the younger version of himself seated on the ground, balling.
"Hey!" Blake barked at the child, although he didn't plan on sounding that harsh. This startled the boy as he looked at Blake. "Why are you making so much noise?"
"All…all of friends are gone! They disappeared, and I can't find them anywhere!" He wailed.
"What do you mean?" Blake asked.
"The last time I saw any of them was in Ecruteak City, but it's gone!"
"Gone?"
"The whole city is gone. And I think Lana, Grace and Yumi had disappeared with it!" He went on.
Blake took a moment to think. How could Ecruteak City just disappear? He had passed through the city just a few months ago. Unless the Storm had something to do with this. Alan and Lola must have something to do with this. But for right now, he had to get his younger self to quiet down so he could think.
Taking a few steps toward the child, Blake walked face first into an unseen wall that gained a groan from the boy. Blake spent sometime trying to find a way to bypass the wall, but there was no way through or around it. He would have to calm the boy down with words alone.
"What makes you think your friends disappeared?" Blake asked.
"Because I can't find them!"
"So what!" Blake shot back, once again a little too harshly. But he succeeded in silencing the boy. "Lana, Grace and Yumi are all strong. Strong enough to survive on their own, and right now, they're clearly stronger than you."
Blake stared at the young boy who remained silent.
"And if you expect to find them, then you'll have to toughen up." Blake stated. His younger self continued to look at him with big eyes for a few moments before hastily wiping away his tears. He then rose to his feet, approaching the wall that had separated the two of them.
"Okay, I'll get tough. But you have to promise to get tougher too." He said, causing Blake to sputter.
"Me?"
"You run away, a lot." He replied.
Blake took a step back as his expression hardened.
"What are you talking about?" Blake asked harshly, but then he took a moment to think about it. It was true. He turned away from Lana when she needed him most. He shut himself down after his discovery in New Bark Town. He was trying to avoid the whole Crest business up until a little while ago.
"But if we work together, we can make each other stronger." The young boy continued as he placed on hand on the wall. "Promise?"
Blake raised an eyebrow before shrugging. The kid was smarter than he looked.
"Deal." Blake said as he stepped toward the wall, placing his right hand on the wall.
Their wrists lit up, causing the wall to shatter as if it were glass. The two of them were showered with dust as the white room became black. Then the two of them were suddenly thrown at each other.
Blake held his head, trying to calm the splitting headache he was currently experiencing. It was the worst headache he had ever felt. Like he had been pulverized by a Machamp.
But he knew what the cause was. He was remembering everything. His real childhood. The years he spent with the Kimono Girls as well as Lana and Grace. The lessons he learned. The joys he had.
Then came the night when one of the trees at the estate was struck by lightning, creating a fire that engulfed the whole building.
In the rush to escape the building, Blake and Grace were separated from the Kimono Girls, resulting in them exiting through a different part of the estate where they were scooped up by a Fearow. As the Fearow disappeared into the night with the two children, it transformed… into a Latios.
'Alan!' Blake exclaimed. 'He kidnapped us!'
Blake and Grace were dropped in Goldenrod City, where both of them were eventually be picked up by the two of them. Lola would take Blake to New Bark Town to live in the illusion created by Latias while Grace was given to the Pokemon Committee.
'All of this…was because of Alan and Lola!' Blake said to himself as he put all of the missing pieces together. The throbbing of his head finally came to a stop, allowing Blake to look up at his surroundings. He was indeed outside of Ecruteak City. Pagoda trees didn't grow in any other part of the region, but all that was left of the city a pile of ash. "It really is gone."
Looking over the entire area, Blake could seen the nearly the entire city was gone. Next to nothing had been left.
"What happened here?" Blake asked himself. A burst of flames flew up into the air from the forest on the east side of the remains of the city, gaining his attention. "A battle?"
Grabbing Salamence's Poke-ball, Blake released the Pokemon from the confines of his Poke-ball, ordering it to take him into the skies. The duo soared across the city, heading straight toward the source of the flames where they found an enormous battle taking place in the thick forest.
Blake soon spotted a uniform he never thought he would see again. The bright red capital 'R' stood out from the black, making the statement that this was Team Rocket.
"What's going on?" Blake asked himself as he looked at the trainers that opposed them. They all wore a dark brown camouflage uniform. Who were they? But that didn't matter at the moment. Team Rocket was clearly the enemy, and he was more than willing to battle against them.
Blake drew in a deep breath as the trainers dressed in brown cheered loudly. Team Rocket was on the run, heading toward Mt Mortar. They had won. What surprised him though was how powerful all of the Pokemon were. It was like he was fighting alongside an army of trainers with IBF level skills and Pokemon.
The sheer number of Pokemon Team Rocket had been battling with forced Blake to bring out all of his Pokemon to fight alongside the trainers in brown, giving them the freedom to fight as they saw fit. It would be too difficult to keep track of all of six of them in the free for all that was taking place.
Now that the battle was over, Blake and his Pokemon met up to greet each other. Staring at the group of six, Blake could only sigh with relief. They were six man team he had caught and developed from the start of his journey. At least he could confirm that his journey through the Battle Circuit had taken place.
"What's wrong?" Blake asked as he looked at the group. They were all giving him an odd stare, as though he had grown a second head, but before any of them could reply, a shout gained their attention.
"Commander, that's him! He's the one who helped us out." One of the trainers in brown called out, pointing to Blake.
Blake glanced at the person that was pointing at him, but his focus was drawn to the person that they were leading toward him. It was a dark haired male that was tall and well built, and he was giving Blake a questioning stare. Then he looked at Blake's team, studying each of the Pokemon.
"I've seen this team before. But you couldn't be…" He said as he approached Blake. "Is that you Blake?"
"Yeah, but who are you?"He asked in return, receiving a wide smile from the guy.
"Don't you recognize me?" He asked. Blake shook his head. "It's me, Matt. I thought I'd never see you again."
"Matt?"
So a hear has past, and Blake finally reappears with the completion of his Crest, but is completely unaware of what kind of world awaits him. This chapter wasn't too long, but this ends the whole transition phase I was going through from the focus on the Battle Circuit to the Storm.
I know it wasn't the easiest passage it anyone understood it, but after the arrival scene at Ecruteak City, he basically had a conversation with his younger self who he had locked away after being kidnapped in a blind refusal to believe that he had a family that may have abandoned him. The two of them merged, becoming one Blake.
Thanks for reading, and please give me some feedback.
