Chapter 20
The Last Adventure?
Team Poképals, now sadly without Grovyle, arrived on top of the Rainbow Stoneship just in time as it moved off the top of the temple to fly them straight towards the Temporal Tower. The stoneship itself left the trail of a rainbow behind it as it got closer to where the tower was. Once it got close enough, Leon and Blaze made their way off the Rainbow Stoneship and onto the rocky trail ahead towards Temporal Tower. While they did, they noticed the ominous red sky above the tower itself.
When they arrived near the entrance, they felt the ground shaking violently, indicating that the planet's paralysis was getting stronger. They decided to turn to each other to catch themselves up on the current situation.
"What in the world was that tremor, anyway?" questioned Blaze.
"I don't know," answered Leon, "but Grovyle once said something about this! He said that time started going haywire everywhere because Temporal Tower here began collapsing."
The two pals now had determined looks on their faces.
"So that tremor we just felt," Blaze replied, "means that the tower could be collapsing as we speak..."
"Right, Blaze! We need to hurry!"
They turned to the Kangaskhan rock nearby to stock up on their items for their last possible adventure together within Temporal Tower. Once they were all done organizing, they made their way into the tower itself.
The dungeon of Temporal Tower was filled with a mixture of psychic, steel, and normal type pokémon. Leon and Blaze knew by now that they needed to know their type match-ups in order to quickly get to the top of the tower.
Once Team Poképals made it to the pinnacle of Temporal Tower, they noticed that constant flashes of lightning came from the ominous red sky with its clouds swirling. They felt another tremor, this time more stronger than the previous ones than they felt earlier through the trek up the tower. With no more time to waste, they went ahead, and noticed a mystic relic with a big circular pedestal within it, and more importantly, five indentations to where to put the Time Gears into to prevent the planet's paralysis.
"That must be where those Time Gears go to prevent our planet's paralysis!" said Blaze.
"Let's hurry and put them in there, then!" replied Leon.
Just as they made their way up the stairs to the pedestal, a bolt of lightning struck the stairway, sending Team Poképals back a few feet! They got back up, just as the sky went dark.
"It turned dark all of a sudden!" said an alarmed Blaze.
Suddenly, a voice growled within the pinnacle itself!
"So, it's you! You seek the destruction of Temporal Tower!"
"What?! You're wrong!" insisted Blaze.
"Yeah! We're here to prevent time from stopping!" said Leon.
"Time...stopping..."
A flash of lightning struck, returning light to the tower's pinnacle! The voice growled again, as a blinding light appeared for a brief moment before revealing the corrupted, primal version of Dialga himself! Startled by his sudden appearance, Team Poképals went back a few feet!
"It's Primal Dialga!" they both said.
The corrupted temporal pokémon roared in response.
"You dare bring ruin to the tower?!" he questioned.
"No!" insisted Leon.
"That's wrong!" said Blaze.
"Silence!" bellowed Dialga, as he growled. "For all those who threaten Temporal Tower...I will show no mercy to them!"
He roared again, as the two pals turned to each other!
"It's no use, Leon!" Blaze said. "He's not listening to us at all!"
"Dialga's losing control because time is breaking down!" replied Leon. "But this isn't like his primal version of himself in the future, so that means he's not yet fully consumed by the power of darkness! There's still a chance that he can be brought back to reason! There's still hope!"
"You're right, Leon!"
Team Poképals turned back to Primal Dialga and got into their battle stances!
"Ready, Blaze?!"
"More than ever!"
"OK, then, Dialga! Let's do this!" they both said.
The primal temporal pokémon roared in response.
The final battle to save the world has now begun!
Leon and Blaze knew that Primal Dialga, unlike the Groudon illusion back at Fogbound Lake, was the real deal here! They knew that a legendary pokémon like him was not to be reckoned with, so they had to rely on their pure battling skills only to bring down the corrupted version of the temporal pokémon.
After a few minutes, they were able to weaken him enough to send him staggering a few feet back!
"All right!" cheered Blaze. "He's gotten weak!"
"It's not over quite yet, though!" insisted Leon. "Let's use our best moves to end our battle once and for all!"
"Right with you, pal!"
They started to charge their moves for a few moments, then they shouted their names from out of their mouths!
"HYDRO PUMP!"
"FLAMETHROWER!"
They launched their moves towards Primal Dialga which were able to hit him spot-on!
The temporal pokémon now struggled to stay standing up, as he growled weakly for a few moments, before he finally collapsed onto the ground with a loud thud. Team Poképals was extremely exhausted at this point, but they knew that they finally won their most crucial battle ever.
"We...did it..." Blaze said while he caught his breath.
"And now that we did, Blaze," Leon replied, "it's time to go put those Time Gears in place! C'mon! Let's get to that pedestal!"
They made their way to the relic, but they were stopped by the earthquakes that now shook the Temporal Tower continuously! The ground at the pinnacle was also starting to fall apart!
"These tremors are the worst than they've ever been!" Blaze said. "They're even starting to tear this surface apart!"
"There's no more time to waste!" replied Leon. "We have to get to that pedestal...now!"
They went up towards it. With great difficulty, they had to place the five Time Gears into place in the indentations, but they managed to do it.
"Done!" Blaze said. "They're in there now!"
The pedestal, along with the mystical relic surrounding it, glowed to a light blue color, while the Time Gears sunk into the pedestal itself. Leon and Blaze waited for a few moments for the effect to take place, but the ground shook even more violently, sending them tumbling down the stairs of the relic! They got back up quickly.
"Wh-why isn't it working?!" demanded Blaze. "We put the Time Gears where there were supposed to go, but why won't these tremors stop?!"
They could only turn to each other.
"It can't be too late for us! It just can't!" insisted Leon.
Just then, a bolt of lightning from the red sky struck a pillar on the pinnacle, sending Team Poképals to the ground again! They stayed down and braced themselves while more bolts of lightning struck the top of Temporal Tower! Finally, a blinding white light covered the entire area!
A few moments later, Leon and Blaze woke up to a nearly destroyed pinnacle of Temporal Tower, with its floor and the sky now a creamy-yellow, and the relic and its pedestal now glowing green. The two pals turned to each other.
"Hey, Leon..." began Blaze. He looked around before he turned back to him. "Wh-where..."
"This..." a voice rang out, "...is Temporal Tower."
They turned to see that it was Dialga! Not only that, he was restored back to his normal, rightful, and controlled self! They approached him.
"Ahhh! Dialga!" shrieked Blaze.
"You have no cause for alarm," the temporal pokémon insisted. "I have regained my reason."
"What?"
"Although Temporal Tower has taken heavy damage...it has, and will survive. Now, observe."
Dialga turned around and the gem from his body showed Leon and Blaze a view of the Treeshroud Forest area that had now regained movement! Trees were moving from the wind, along with the grass, plants and the leaves!
"Th-this must be..." Blaze began.
"Dialga must be showing this to us..." Leon said. "He must be using telepathy to do so."
The view zoomed closer to the leaves to show that dewdrops had indeed started to fall once more.
"This...must be Treeshroud Forest!" Blaze said, finally finishing his sentence. "But it's not the same! When we were there, time was stopped! But this time...it's moving again!"
Next, Dialga showed them a view of Treasure Town, showing the residents and visitors there rejoiced from the restoration of time.
"Everyone looks happy in Treasure Town, all right!" Leon inserted.
The temporal pokémon then showed Team Poképals a view of the ravaged Hidden Land, and finally, a view of the nearly collapsed Temporal Tower. A sun also shone above and onto the tower itself.
"It's Temporal Tower," commented Blaze. "It seems to be badly damaged..."
"But it's still standing!" said Leon. "It didn't fully collapse! It did survive, after all!"
Dialga ended his telepathy and turned back to Team Poképals.
"Temporal Tower survived the crisis," he said. "Time has returned to normal here, and thus, it has resumed in places where it had stopped. Because you stopped the ruin of Temporal Tower...the planet's paralysis has been prevented. The world's peace...has been restored."
"R-really?!" questioned Blaze with a wide smile. He and Leon turned to each other. "We did it, Leon! We really did it!"
"We brought peace to the world!" responded the piplup.
He and Blaze ran to each other to give themselves a hug, while they hopped in circles and laughed joyously. They calmed themselves down eventually and turned back to Dialga.
"Allow me to thank you," he continued. "I thank you for reaching the Hidden Land...for the courage you had to stand up to me, even as I raged out of control...and for preventing the ruin of Temporal Tower in the nick of time. Thank you. All this, I owe to you."
"You're welcome, Dialga," Team Poképals said.
"But all is not yet as it should be...for it will take time to do so. I must see to the repair of Temporal Tower." Dialga turned to where the Hidden Land was. "The Hidden Land, too, has been ravaged...but the Rainbow Stoneship should still be operable...and Lapras should still be awaiting your return."
"OK! We'll make our way, then!" Blaze said, as the temporal pokémon turned back to them. The chimchar and Leon turned to each other.
"Let's get back home to Treasure Town, Leon!"
"I couldn't agree more!"
They made their way off the Temporal Tower.
On Team Poképals' way to the Rainbow Stoneship after successfully saving the entire world from near paralysis, Leon was struggling to keep up with his best friend Blaze on the rocky path. Perhaps the piplup's time to leave was surely almost here…
My body...feels heavy, Leon thought. What's wrong…? Why am I struggling to move…? It's almost as if...my legs are weighed down… Maybe...now that we changed the future...my time in this world...is over…
Suddenly, an earthquake, though not as serious when the planet's paralysis was nearly happening, was felt on the path, snapping him out of his thoughts.
"Whoa! Tremors!" said Blaze.
After a few seconds, the earthquake stopped. The chimchar was obviously relieved that it was not serious as before.
"Well, at least it wasn't as bad as it was before, so that's a good thing. Things are still getting back to normal, I guess." He turned to Leon. "C'mon, Leon. Let's keep moving."
The two pals went ahead, until Leon himself stopped when a few yellow orbs of light came from his own body…
This...this light… he thought. He bore a somber face, realizing the inevitable was about to happen. I guess it's finally time… My time with Blaze...ends now. I must tell him the truth.
"Hey, Blaze..." he said out loud, as the chimchar turned back to him and approached him, "...I don't feel so good."
"Why, what's wr-" Blaze began, when he cut himself off by noticing the strange orbs that emitted from his best friend. "What's happening to you?!"
"I'm sorry, Blaze." Leon had an apologetic smile on his face. "I kept this to myself for a long time… It looks like...I have to say goodbye..."
The chimchar was understandably alarmed.
"What?! Goodbye?! What are you saying?!"
"Dusknoir told me that if we changed the future, pokémon and humans from the future world would vanish from history… I'm a former human from the future world, so that's why...I'm destined to disappear too."
"Huh? What? Wh-why? I don't understand!"
"Thank you for everything. I'm about to leave now…but Blaze...I'll never forget you."
The chimchar got closer to the piplup.
"W-wait a second… I only made it this far because you were with me, Leon." Blaze now had tears in his eyes. "Don't you understand…? You made me strong, pal… If you go...I...I don't know...what I would..."
"No, Blaze. You have to be strong on your own, and you have to live! You must go home...and tell everybody about what happened here...so that nothing like this ever happens again."
The chimchar sniffled.
"L-Leon..."
The piplup's orbs around him got brighter and started to increase in numbers.
The light...is getting brighter…
"Don't go, Leon! Please don't leave me all alone here!"
"Thanks for everything, Blaze. I'm glad that we got to train together at the guild, for going on adventures together, and most of all...I'm grateful...that I got to know you, pal."
"Wait...Leon..."
"I'm so sorry that it had to come to this. I'm still very lucky that you were my friend..."
"I feel the same, Leon! To me...you're like my big brother! My family! A pal for life! And...you're more important than anything in my life..."
"Yes...I feel the same way, Blaze… Even after I'm gone...I will never forget you."
The orbs around Leon increased in amount again, until eventually, he faded in front of his best friend's eyes. The only thing left was the piplup's Joy Ribbon, which dropped to the ground. Blaze went closer, as tears streamed from his eyes.
"Leon...Leon!"
He dropped to the ground.
"LEOOOOOOOON!"
Blaze laid there, weeping and crying heavily for what seemed like forever, as he had lost Leon, his most precious pal in the entire world. Eventually, Blaze, with his eyes red from all the tears he shed, and was still crying, got back up, and picked up his lost pal's Joy Ribbon to put in the bag, before he turned away and made his way slowly towards the Rainbow Stoneship.
"...I have to live...I must get home alive...and tell everybody about what happened. Because it's...Leon's...last wish..."
The chimchar got close enough to see the stoneship, as tears stopped from his eyes for now.
"Th-there's...the Rainbow Stoneship..."
He ran over to the stoneship. He tripped on the ground once, but got back up and got aboard his means of transportation to the Hidden Land. He turned around to look at the Temporal Tower, as the Rainbow Stoneship made its way to the Hidden Land.
"Temporal Tower is..." he began, "...getting farther and farther away..." He realized he was also getting far away from the remains of Leon, and cried tears again. "...And Leon...I'm getting farther away from him..." He turned away from the somber sight, as he cried out his best pal's name.
Team Poképals had finally succeeded in their mission to save the world from disaster...but at a tragic cost.
Blaze eventually arrived at the ravaged Hidden Land, traveled across it, went on Lapras without a word to her, who took him across the sea...and safely returned to Treasure Town.
Upon arriving, Blaze went straight to the guild, where its members surrounded him and cheered for his accomplishment. They later realized however, that Leon had not returned with him and were saddened by the piplup's disappearance. Despite that, Blaze urged them to listen to the adventure that he and Leon took, about what happened in the Hidden Land, what took place in Temporal Tower, and about the loss of Grovyle...and of course, Leon. Blaze also spoke of how the destruction of time was stopped, and how the world was restored to peace.
In the town's main square, he told the story to everyone else, whenever and wherever possible, to as many pokémon as possible. It was a story that had to be told...one of hope for world peace...and for future peace.
Several months had passed. Treasure Town returned to its cheerful routines, as the scars from the planet's injuries slowly healed...allowing life to gradually return to normal. It was still not normal for Blaze, though, as he barely had the heart to go on jobs to increase his team's rank, and requested to take an indefinite hiatus after a while. He instead focused on other voluntary work for the guild.
One evening, Blaze went out to the guild's entrance as he met up with Bidoof, who was on his way for dinner that was being prepared.
"Howdy, Blaze. Going out for a bit?"
"Yes. Just for a walk, of course."
"Yup yup! Sounds nice indeed! Just don't be late for supper!"
"Understood."
Bidoof watched Blaze make his way down the stairs, and towards the beach.
At the beach, the krabby were blowing the bubbles across the area, and into the sea. The sun was setting, as Blaze himself got close to the waters to get a closer look at the sunset. He was amazed at the sight as always.
"Oh, boy...this is beautiful!"
He stared at the sunset for a few moments, taking in the wonderful view. Later, he spoke again.
"I haven't seen this for a long while. It's as beautiful as I remember. I've just been too busy to come and see it. But I've missed this...fantastic sight."
The chimchar thought about something for a brief moment.
"...I wonder when it was when I last saw this… I think it was..." A light went on in his head. "Oh yeah! The last time I saw this...is when...I first met Leon..."
Blaze thought about the time when he first met his best pal Leon. He had seen him unconscious on the spot where he arrived, and urged him to wake up. After that thought had ended, the chimchar turned to that exact spot, and continued his speech.
"The view was like this that time too..."
He went closer to the spot, and stopped halfway there.
"When the krabby blew all those bubbles along the beach...I noticed...that Leon was right there… He was...unconscious...but I managed to wake him up. That was when...he and I...began our adventure."
Just like that, memories came into Blaze's head that involved all the adventures he and Leon had.
First, Blaze and Leon agreed to form the heroic Team Poképals here at the beach.
Then, at the guild, they promised to always do their best.
There was that time when Blaze felt reassured by Leon that he would have his back when he learned he had no family.
At the entrance of Waterfall Cave, the sight of their first exploration, Blaze put his faith in Leon to jump into the cave with all the courage he had in the world.
The time when Blaze knew he made the right decision to form Team Poképals in order to solve the mystery of his Relic Fragment.
At the top of Steam Cave, near Fogbound Lake, where Blaze and Leon had to put their bravery to the test to defeat the Groudon illusion...
Then, at the lake itself, where the two pals took in the amazing view of a geyser that sprayed out like a fountain.
The time when they discovered the entrance to Crystal Crossing deep within Crystal Cave.
The time when they were in the future, where they successfully attacked the sableye at the right time to escape certain danger...
When Blaze thanked Leon for picking him up when he felt down and out…
When they resolved to get back to the world of the past…
And finally, when they resolved to complete the mission of saving the world for Grovyle's sake at the Old Ruins of the Hidden Land, near the Temporal Tower.
The showcase of memories came to an end, as Blaze found himself back at the beach in the present.
"I remember it all so fondly. I remember all those memories of my time with Leon..."
The chimchar had tears in his eyes.
"B-but now...he's g-gone. He's n-not...h-here a-anymore..."
Unable to take it anymore, he collapsed onto the sand, crying his eyes out. Just then, Bidoof arrived at the beach, worried for him.
"B-Blaze!"
Bidoof ran towards the chimchar to check on him.
"You were gone so long that I was getting worried about you… Wh-what's wrong?"
Blaze turned around to him and gave him a hug, crying out his name in the process. Bidoof didn't know what else to do, as he could only try to comfort the poor Blaze.
Meanwhile at the pinnacle of Temporal Tower, Dialga could feel Blaze's immense pain and sorrow from way above.
"Blaze...when you left here...and bid farewell to this place from the Rainbow Stoneship…I felt your intense sorrow even here. If that is how you still feel now...and if Leon were to share those feelings...I will grant your wish. The world needs both of you still. That is why...I will trust you with a gift. I leave to you...the future!"
The temporal pokémon turned around and looked to the heavens.
"This is my thanks! Please accept it!"
He let out a loud roar to the skies.
Back at the beach, Bidoof was still trying to comfort Blaze as best as he could, when he noticed that a big yellow orb appeared at the spot where Leon first arrived. When it disintegrated, he could see the piplup himself reappearing like magic! Leon was stunned that he came back.
"B-Blaze, l-look behind ya!" ordered Bidoof.
The chimchar got up quickly and turned around to see that it was his best pal, exactly at where he was first found. He stared in disbelief, but had a smile on his face with tears in his eyes.
"L-Leon..." Blaze began, "...is that really...you?"
The piplup, with tears also in his eyes, smiled back,
"Yes, pal...it is me. I'm back."
All of a sudden, while his tears streamed down his face again, Blaze quickly ran up to Leon to give him a much needed hug after not seeing him for so long. The chimchar cried out his pal's name, while they spun around 360 degrees once, still holding on to their embrace. They held onto to each other as much as they could.
"L-L-Leon...I missed you so much..."
"I missed you too, pal..."
"D-don't you ever leave me again! I don't k-know if I can m-make it on my own if you l-leave me once more..."
"I know...I promise."
Leon and Blaze continued their hug for a few moments, until they eventually separated. The chimchar wiped his tears away, with his eyes now red from the joyous crying, but he now had a wide smile on his face.
"Remember you told me that I was like a big brother and a family?" questioned Leon.
"Yup, I sure did." answered Blaze.
"Like a pal for life?"
"Yeah."
"And...perhaps...more important than anything in your life?"
"Yes, and you're still super important to me now! Don't you ever forget that."
"I won't. I promise."
Leon and Blaze still had big smiles on their faces at this time. Bidoof had to remind them, however, that dinner was about to begin at the guild.
"Ummm...sorry to interrupt this heartwarming reunion, but supper's almost ready!"
The two pals turned to him.
"OK, Bidoof!" said Leon. "Go over to the guild, we'll meet you there!"
Bidoof nodded in agreement as he turned around and made his way to the guild. Team Poképals turned to each other once more.
"Boy, those guild members are gonna get a kick out of this when they see you for the first time in such a while!" said Blaze.
"Yeah, no kidding," replied Leon. "Should we head back, now?"
"Yup, but hold my hand so we can run over there together! It's basically a way of me saying that I'm never letting you go again!"
"Ha-ha! Sounds good to me!"
Leon and Blaze finally made their way to the guild, holding hands with each other in doing so.
The chimchar now was now finally happy again, thanks to his old pal back with him at last.