Chapter 18
Lapras
As the sun was setting, Leon and Chimchar made their way to the beach outside of Treasure Town as they promised in order to find Grovyle after failing to fine him there at Sharpedo Bluff, but he was not at the beach either. Chimchar turned to Leon for a conversation.
"Nope, Grovyle's not here after all," the chimp pokémon said.
He looked around the beach to notice that the krabby that normally blew bubbles around the area were not around.
"Speaking of not being here...the krabby aren't here, either! They always come out here during the evening to blow bubbles. I love seeing their bubbles go floating away in the evening sky. That's too bad. It's a letdown, but take a look at this gorgeous sunset here!"
Chimchar and Leon looked toward the ocean at the sunset above the waters.
"Man, what a beauty!" Leon commented on the amazing sight.
"Yup! It's always beautiful, like it always is," Chimchar replied.
They turned back to each other. Chimchar took off his necklace containing his Relic Fragment and showed it to Leon.
"You know..." the chimp pokémon began, "...it was my dream to solve the secret of my Relic Fragment, but I'd have never guessed that it was connected to the Hidden Land! That reminds me of the time when you arrived here, and where Koffing and Zubat of Team Skull tried to steal my Relic Fragment! I was too scared to get it back, but you gave me the courage to do so, Leon."
"Yeah! That's how we really started as a team! Getting back your Relic Fragment was our team's first adventure. Now, we're using the same fragment to get to the Hidden Land! When we think about it, it's sorta strange, but that's the case. My adventures with you, Chimchar, and our search for the Hidden Land, were all started thanks to this Relic Fragment!"
"By the way, I even remembered that you didn't have your human name at first when we greeted each other for the first time here...but once we found out thanks to the close call with Dusknoir and company back in the future, it got a little strange referring to you as Leon, but that's your real name!"
"Yeah! Speaking of names, I haven't given you one yet. Have you heard of nicknames? They're names that are given to certain pokémon from humans, like me, that have grown so close to each other. Even though I haven't given one to Grovyle yet, I should do so now to you, Chimchar."
"OK, then! What will my new name be, then?"
Leon thought about Chimchar's new name, his nickname, for their ongoing adventures. After a few seconds…
"Blaze! Blaze is your new name!"
"Blaze?"
"Yeah! Because you're a fire-type pokémon, of course! Do ya like it?"
"Yup! I think it's awesome!"
"All right! Blaze it is from now on, then!"
Leon, and his newly named chimchar pal, Blaze, did a fist-bump in approval. They turned to the sunset again.
"This beautiful sunset here..." Blaze began, "…will be lost if the planet's paralysis can't be stopped."
"Well, we gotta stop that from happening!" Leon replied. "We can't waste any more time finding the Hidden Land!"
The piplup turned to the chimchar to give his Relic Fragment back to him.
"You're right, pal!" said Blaze. "Let's do it tomorrow with a great effort!"
They turned back to the sunset once more.
He's right, Leon said, we have to try hard. I must fulfill the mission that I had with Grovyle before I lost my memory. The mission to help the pokémon of this world and those of the future.
Blaze snapped him out of his thoughts.
"Hey, Leon, look!"
"W-what's that?"
An unknown pokémon sailed across the water far from the beach. It was blue, had a cream-colored stomach on its stomach, and had a gray shell on its back with many bumps on it.
"What could that pokémon be?" Blaze said after a few moments. "It looks like it's swimming across the sunset."
"Yeah, it's a little strange..." replied Leon.
They stared at the sunset for a few more moments, then realized that it was getting late.
"It's getting pretty late," said Blaze.
"Yup. We need to get back to the guild now," replied Leon. "I'm getting a little hungry."
"Me too, pal. Me too."
They turned away from the sunset and left the beach. What they did not realize, was that Team Skull was watching them all that time, as they came out of hiding and onto the beach.
"Chaw-haw-haw!" laughed Skuntank. "The krabby weren't around for a good reason! We scared 'em off!"
"But chief," Koffing replied, "that old-timer Torkoal wasn't lying to us, after all."
"That junk we stole back then," Zubat said, "wasn't really that valuable to us until now!"
"So what?" replied Skuntank. "We'll get that Relic Fragment from 'em one way or another! That way, we'll get to explore the Hidden Land ourselves!"
Team Skull laughed in approval.
Later that night, Wigglytuff arrived near Brine Cave, standing on the edge of a cliff near the water. He saw the blue pokémon that Team Poképals saw earlier approaching him.
"Lapras, long time no see~!" greeted the guildmaster.
"It's been too long, Wigglytuff," she replied. "You look well. Is Chatot doing well too?"
"Yes, he's doing very well~!"
"I'm glad to hear that! I've always meant to thank you. I deeply appreciate the promise you made...and upheld it for all this time."
"Not a problem at all~!" Wigglytuff had a serious look on his face now. "But tonight...I'm here to see you about that promise. Right now, we're finding ourselves in a situation where we can't afford to uphold that promise anymore. I suspect that you know why. Now, please tell me...about that strange pattern we once saw."
They continued their conversation into the night…
The next morning back at the guild, Team Poképals announced that the name of the chimchar would be Blaze from now on, thanks to Leon giving him that nickname from last evening. Chatot and the others understood, as he briefed the guild. They knew that Wigglytuff had not yet returned from his errand, but the members had to continue their planned trip to Brine Cave as scheduled. Worried about the guildmaster's absence, Chatot urged them to trust him leading the way to the cave itself, to which they agreed on. They trusted him all this time after all. Chatot then showed the guild where Brine Cave was on their map, and they all made their way there.
When everyone arrived at the entrance of Brine Cave, Chatot briefed the guild once again, this time giving them the objective to reach the deepest part of the cave's dungeon to where the pattern from Blaze's Relic Fragment was. The parrot reminded them once more of the vicious pokémon and its company that lurked within Brine Cave itself, and urged the guild to take extra precautions. Chatot then told the guild that back then at this very same cave, he and Wigglytuff were attacked by those vicious pokémon at the room where they saw the pattern. The parrot took one nasty wave of attacks for the guildmaster, which ended with Chatot being tended to by Wigglytuff. The guild took heed of the story, and went into Brine Cave. Chatot, as he promised to Team Poképals, accompanied them.
As everyone made their way into the cave, all of them were unaware that Team Skull was right behind them…
"Well, chief," Zubat began, "looks like those louts from the guild are already inside."
"Should we follow 'em?" questioned Koffing.
"Sound good to me!" agreed Skuntank. "Let's keep a low profile while doing so, though! When the right times comes somewhere along in the cave, that's when we'll grab that wimpy chimchar's Relic Fragment! We'll hightail it to the deepest part of the cave then, to grab all the glory of solving this mystery!"
"Brilliant, chief!" exclaimed Zubat. "Your plan's perfect!"
"Naturally! It will be us, Team Skull, going to the Hidden Land! Nobody else!"
They laughed in agreement, and went into the cave.
The dungeon of Brine Cave was filled with water-type pokémon. Like some of the other prior dungeons, Blaze had to rely on Leon, and Chatot for this exclusive trip, to help him with his weakness to the water-types.
When the reached the midway point of the cave, Team Poképals and Chatot stopped for a rest, and a conversation.
"Chatot," Leon began, "are we nearing the place where you saw that pattern?"
"Yes, we're nearly there. We don't have far to go, however...as I've told both of you before, every step also takes us closer to those vicious pokémon."
"Right," replied Blaze. "We'll have to be on our guard and keep our eyes open. We don't have far to go now, so let's keep it up!"
Just as they were about to leave, Team Skull ran into Blaze! He cried out in pain as they rammed him. Leon and Chatot turned to the group and Blaze.
"Great, it's you again, jerks!" the piplup said to Team Skull.
"Long time no see to you too, weaklings!" replied Koffing.
"You're that team..." said Chatot.
"We're here for that Relic Fragment of yours, Chimchar!" Skuntank said, referring to Blaze.
"First of all, my name is Blaze now, and second, you'll never have my treasure!"
"Too late! Zubat, if you will?"
The bat pokémon flew over to Blaze and snatched his Relic Fragment from around his neck! Zubat handed it over to his boss.
"If I can recall," Koffing began, "this is the second time you're getting mugged for this!"
"You don't learn very well, that's for sure!" said Zubat.
"W-wait, please!" said Chatot in panic. "I'm afraid I'm not following what's going on here! Why are three of you even here? We haven't see any of you, Team Skull, since you suddenly disappeared during the expedition, and I fretted for your well-being!"
"Worried, huh?" questioned Skuntank. "Chaw-haw-haw! Your guild's full of gullible nincompoops just waiting to be fleeced."
Chatot felt offended by the obnoxious comment.
"Your demeanor and language seem to be much coarser now!"
"You're right, Chatot!" Leon and Blaze said.
"Team Skull was deceiving the guild all this time!" insisted Blaze. "They're a bad exploration team, and they're a bunch of crooks!"
"Wh-what?!" Chatot said in alarm. "Is that true?!"
"What else?" Koffing replied.
"You'd have to be naive beyond belief to be fooled this long!" insisted Zubat.
"Anyway," Skuntank said, "now that we've got the Relic Fragment, we'll go to the Hidden Land ourselves! Eat dirt, nitwits!"
Team Skull laughed and went ahead in the cave. Leon, Blaze, and Chatot could only watch them for a few moments, as the parrot squawked in anger over what just happened.
"Those stinkin' scoundrels played all of us like fools!" He flapped his wings in disgust. "They won't get away with this! I'll show 'em what it means to trifle with me!"
Chatot ran after Team Skull as fast as he could.
"Wait, Chatot!" Team Poképals yelled.
Leon and Blaze turned to each other.
"Boy, he surely was irate that time," Blaze began. "I hope he'll be all right!"
"Yeah," Leon replied, "he warned us about those vicious pokémon lurking ahead, so we'll need to be careful if we run into 'em! Now let's hurry and go get back your Relic Fragment from those Team Skull jerks!"
They turned back to the front and went ahead in the cave.
After several more floors of battling more water-type pokémon, Team Poképals arrived deep within Brine Cave. The floor's air was unbelievably hot and humid. Leon and Blaze heard groans of pain ahead of them, and went forward to discover that Team Skull had been badly hurt and lying on the ground! They went near them.
"Wh-what happened to you guys?!" questioned Blaze with worry on his face. He then realized who might've attack them… "Wait! Were you attacked by a mysterious band of enemies?"
"You knew it was coming?" replied Koffing. "It would've been good for us to know that..."
"Not that you'd...tell us anyway." insisted Zubat.
Leon and Blaze turned to Skuntank, who took the worse of the attack than his teammates.
"Skuntank!" the piplup exclaimed. "I can't believe I'm about to say this, but...are you all right?!"
"Chaw-haw-haw… You find us at your mercy...and you're worried how we are? How sickeningly generous can you nitwits be?!"
"It's true that I hate you jerks greatly, but at times like this, we're not about to walk away from anyone like you if they're badly hurt."
Skuntank could only laugh.
"You're wasting your concern on us...we'll be fine. That pompous Chatot riled me up enough to keep me goin'!"
"He did what?!" Leon and Blaze exclaimed.
"He came along after we got wiped out! When he spotted us down 'n out...he scolded us with all sorts of choice words! When he was done that, he went on his way. I'm still seeing red after all that punishment. I'm so steamed that I refuse to give up here. I'll get outta here if I have to crawl...so I can deliver my payback to that blasted Chatot!" Skuntank calmed down and continued. "But...if you think about it...we were close to giving up, when he saved us by riling us up!"
"But even though you say you've been saved," Blaze insisted, "you look like you're still in a lot of pain."
Skuntank laughed again, not appearing to care for his own pain.
"We've been bad to the both of you all this time. You went through downright rotten times because of us...yet you still bring yourselves to worry about the likes of us?"
"Yes," answered Leon. "You did make us furious over and over, but when we saw you down and out like this...we cannot just walk away."
Skuntank laughed once more.
"W-whatever...just take your Relic Fragment back already!"
He tossed the fragment to Blaze and he quickly put it back around his neck.
"Thanks, Skuntank."
"Humph. Why thank me? The next time we meet, we're gonna be back to our old tricks of messing with ya… Besides, don't waste anymore time worrying about us. Go and help Chatot out...fast."
Team Poképals had serious faces by this realization.
"That's right!" said Leon. "Where did he go?"
"He went deeper..." Skuntank answered, "...to go after those enemies...both of you should hurry up and get to him now!"
"OK, Skuntank, thanks! We'll go after them! You and your team should get out ASAP! Don't give up, you can make it!"
"Humph! I'll ask you to not patronize us!"
Leon and Blaze turned to each other.
"All right then, Blaze! Let's go after Chatot! He might be in trouble right now!"
"Yeah, let's go!"
Team Poképals went ahead in the deep part of Brine Cave.
When Leon and Blaze finally caught up to Chatot, they noticed him standing in place.
"Chatot, there you are!" they said.
He turned to the team, wearing a serious face.
"Quiet, you two! Those vicious pokémon are very close by! I saw their retreating figures when I gave chase...but I'd lost sight of them by the time I reached this spot. They must be lurking here somewhere."
Team Poképals, heeding the warning, looked around with Chatot. All of them were on high alert…
After a few moments of finding a place to hide from the vicious pokémon…
"There doesn't seem to be anyplace to hide here," insisted Blaze.
Chatot was thinking with unease in his mind.
I sense that danger is very close to us!
"These rock walls are the only things surrounding us," said Leon.
Chatot continued to think.
I'm on the verge of remembering that one glance when I saw those vicious pokémon… He had a light go on in his head. That's it! When they attacked me last time...they seemed to appear out of nowhere! But when I think about it hard enough, they really appeared from…
He looked up to the ceiling to see that two omastar, who were spiral pokémon, and a kabutops, which was a shellfish pokémon, growling at him! He turned his head back down towards Team Poképals to warn them of the immediate danger!
"Leon! Blaze! Watch out, they're above us!"
They turned to him quickly!
"What?!"
The three vicious pokémon on the ceiling suddenly jumped down in front of Team Poképals as they turned around to them! They jumped back in alarm!
"I am Kabutops!" the shellfish pokémon introduced himself.
"And we're the omastar brothers!" the spirial pokémon said next.
"All trespassers must be taught a lesson!" Kabutops bellowed. "Take this!"
He and the two omastar unleashed their attacks on the three pokémon, as Leon and Blaze closed their eyes! They heard a grunt of pain in front of them, and opened their eyes to see that Chatot had taken the blow for the team!
"Ch-Chatot!" Leon and Blaze cried out.
"What?!" Kabutops said.
Chatot grunted in pain again.
"I won't let you get away with this…!"
"Well, what a surprise!" Kabutops said with sarcasm in his voice. "That hero shielded his buddies with his body. That's not what I'd call smart.
"Hey! I remember!" one of the omastar said. "Kabutops, that big hero's been here before! We KO'd him the same way too!"
"So this is the second time he's done that?" the shellfish pokémon questioned. "That really takes a whole lot of smarts!" He laughed.
Chatot again grunted.
"Say...what you will...but they're...our prized recruits! I won't let you harm them!"
Team Poképals had tears in their eyes.
"Ch-Chatot..."
The parrot grunted once more before he finally collapsed.
"CHATOT!" Leon and Blaze yelled.
Kabutops could only laugh.
"It's your turn next!" he said to the team, as he and the two omastar got into their battle stances.
"No one hurts our friend and gets away with it!" Team Poképals furiously yelled, as they got into own stances. "Prepare yourselves!"
Just like that, the battle begun!
Kabutops and his omastar acquaintances were all mixed with rock and water type moves, so Leon had heavy determination to do all he could to back up Blaze from being clobbered like Chatot. Despite this daunting task, the team still had leftover items in their bag to use at their disposal to aid them in this furious battle.
When Team Poképals finally defeated Kabutops and the two omastar after a while, the foes backed away from the heroic team. They split up and made a beeline to get away from any further harm, not that Leon and Blaze planned to punish them further. The two went over to Chatot to see if he was all right.
"Chatot, are you OK?!" questioned Blaze.
The parrot pokémon slowly tried to get back up, but struggled to do so. He grunted in pain.
"Please stay with us!" demanded Leon in understandable worry.
A voice from behind called out Chatot's name, as Team Poképals turned to see that Wigglytuff and Grovyle had arrived at the scene.
"Guildmaster...is that you…?" said Chatot weakly.
"It's both of you guys!" Leon said. "Come quickly, Chatot's hurt badly!"
"GUILDMASTER!" Loudred's voice bellowed.
He and the other guild members also arrived and were surprised to see the wood gecko in front of them!
"AAAH! It's Grovyle!"
"What's he doing here with the guildmaster?!"
Wigglytuff turned to his guild's members with a somber look on his face.
"I'll explain later! This is more important!"
He turned back to Chatot and rushed to him. The members noticed the badly hurt parrot.
"This is bad! Chatot's down!"
"He's hurt!"
They all surround the gang to check on Chatot. Wigglytuff had tears in his eyes.
"Chatot...a-are you OK? Are y-you hurt?"
The parrot weakly laughed.
"Ha...I'm...just fine… I'm hale and hearty...as you can see..."
"N-no, you're not!" insisted the worrying Wigglytuff. "I'm s-sorry about not g-getting here earlier..."
"Please...don't blame yourself...guildmaster...but...this is so humiliating to be clobbered by the same enemies...again!"
"That isn't true, Chatot! The l-last time we came h-here...you lost consciousness right away, so you probably don't remember this. But...that time…when Kabutops' gang sprang out at us...you shielded me from their attack."
"Excuse me…?"
"I sent his gang packing right after that, but...if it weren't for you jumping out to shield me, Chatot, that would've been it for me. I owe my life to you."
"That's...what happened?"
"Yes, Chatot. You...are my invaluable partner."
"I...am privileged to hear those words, guildmaster. I'm...such a happy pokémon."
Chatot collapsed again, as the rest of the guild was alarmed with great concern.
"CHATOT!"
"Everyone, stay calm!" announced Grovyle. He went to check the now unconscious Chatot. "...Yes, he'll live. He still has time, but you must get him back to the guild now!"
"Well, let's get back to the guild, then, quick!" Blaze said.
Wigglytuff, having cried his tears out, turned to the chimchar.
"No, we'll take Chatot back to the guild. Both of you, Leon and Blaze, along with Grovyle, need to keep going."
Team Poképals turned to the guildmaster.
"But…!" Blaze began, but was interrupted.
"Don't worry about it. Besides, if you don't go on from here...Chatot's shielding you will have been for nothing."
The chimchar reluctantly nodded in agreement.
"The pattern from your Relic Fragment is up ahead," said Wigglytuff. "Hurry, now."
"Thanks, Wigglytuff." replied Grovyle. "We will continue onward."
He made his way to the next room, as Leon turned to Blaze.
"He's right, Blaze. We have to keep going! There's no turning back now!"
"...OK, then. Let's go."
Team Poképals made their way as well, but before they did, they turned to the guild one more time. The duo then spun back towards the front and went to the next room…
While Leon, Blaze, and Grovyle were running, they had a chat to catch up on their own current state of affairs.
"Grovyle, how did you know to join us here?" began Blaze.
"Wigglytuff brought me."
"He did?"
"Yes. He'd been looking for me. As soon as he found me, he asked me to go with him. He said both of you were close to finding the Hidden Land. It worked out fine, because I planned to join you anyway."
"Planned to join us? Wait, does that mean…?"
"That's right, I've collected all the necessary Time Gears."
"All right! All we have to do now is get to the Hidden Land! We should be close to the place with the strange pattern now!"
The three pokémon arrived at the last room deep within Brine Cave that had a cave opening on the left leading to the sea. The sky indicated it was evening as they saw the sun setting. They turned to the right to see the strange pattern everyone mentioned from before.
"Hey! It's the same pattern that was on my Relic Fragment!" announced Blaze. "This must be the same pattern that Chatot described."
"Well, show your Relic Fragment to the pattern right there, then!" insisted Leon.
The chimchar did as he was told and took the fragment off around his neck to show it to the wall. A few moments later, the Relic Fragment started to glow!
"Hey, it's glowing!" Blaze exclaimed.
They turned to the wall to see that the pattern there also glowed!
"Wow! The pattern on the wall's glowing as well!" Leon said. "It's as if...it's reacting to the Relic Fragment!"
All of a sudden, the pattern on the wall produced a blinding light that produced a beam that shot out of the cave's mouth! The three pokémon then looked to the mouth, as Blaze put his Relic Fragment back on around his neck.
"What...was that?" Grovyle said.
"That beam of light shot out to sea!" answered Blaze.
Suddenly, something was coming towards them.
"What's that out there…?" questioned Leon.
"It's coming closer towards us!" said Blaze.
The pokémon came close enough to reveal that it was Lapras, the same pokémon that had the important talk with Wigglytuff last night. She approached the trio.
"All of you are Grovyle, Leon, and Chimchar...correct?"
They nodded in agreement.
"Actually, it's Blaze, now," the chimchar said. "Leon gave me that cool nickname. Anyway, how do you know our names?"
"I met Wigglytuff last night," answered Lapras. "I was informed by him."
"He told you?"
The transport pokémon nodded in agreement. Blaze turned to the pattern on the wall.
"That pattern on the wall shot a beam of light across the sea," he said. He turned back to Lapras. "Then, you appeared right after that. Can you tell us who you are?"
"I'm Lapras, the guide to the Hidden Land."
Team Poképals jumped up in surprise!
"You're what?!" Leon and Blaze both said. "You can take us to the Hidden Land?!"
"Yes," answered Lapras, "you unleashed the beam of light from the pattern on the wall, which is the signal for gaining entry to the Hidden Land. It is beyond the sea. Step onto my back, so I can carry all of you across the sea. Don't be afraid. I'm exceptional. I can carry you all and more on my back."
Lapras swam to the side of the landing, allowing Team Poképals and Grovyle to get onto her back. She then took them all out of the cave's mouth, and out to the sea, to get to the Hidden Land.