Chapter 21

Truths

As Alex came to, his entire body felt like a bruise. He was groggy but when the memories of Crystal Cave came back to him. immediately looked to his side. He was in his room with a Pokémon that looked similar to Blaze, but not the same.

"Oh you're awake!" A voice said from the corner of the room, Alex looked over to see Belle hovering an oran berry towards him. Alex sat up and ate the berry, he looked over to the other Pokemon in bed, still confused.

"Who is that?" Alex asked.

Belle's face showed as much confusion as Alex, she squinted and said "um, it's Blaze, your partner"

"Then why does he look different?" Alex asked, not convinced.

"He evolved, you know, when a pokemon gains enough experience to reach their next stage, he can still evolve one more time and Axews evolve twice as well" Belle explained, her tone sounding as if she was explaining how to walk.

Alex gave an embarrassed look, Blaze had mentioned something that once when talking about Alice and Mary but he didn't remember. He decided to change the subject and asked "why are you worried about us? Are Uxie and Azlef ok?"

Belle shook her head and replied "still worried more about everyone but yourself, Azelf is fine, she and Mesprit finished healing Uxie, that way I could tend to you two"

"How long have we been out?" Alex asked, concerned he had missed something important.

"Two days, don't worry, the time gear is safe. Nigel is still on the run through" Belle admitted.

A groan caused Alex to look over and see Blaze waking up, the Monferno looked down at himself, realizing that he had evolved. Blaze was stunned, he didn't even remember what happened after Nigel hit Alex.

"Could you give us a sec Belle?" Blaze asked, his voice was slightly deeper.

Belle sensed his emotions and immediately floated out of the room.

"Alex, I should've told you this sooner, but now its unavoidable" Blaze admitted, his tone was morbid and fearful.

"What is it? You can tell me anything Blaze, we're best friends" Aelx replied, doing his best to hide the concern in his voice.

"The reason that I haven't talked about anything before I met you is because I didn't want to tell you this and scare you away from me. The reason I'm so timid around anyone but you, why despite my training I still get scared easily, is because I'm scared of myself" Blaze began to explain.

"What do you mean?" Alex asked, the concern in his voice rising.

"Do you wonder why my name is the same as my species ability? Because when I was born, I cried and threw fits like every other baby, but when I got angry my fire got out of control. My parents did their best, but I burned our house down when I was 10 and…...my parents didn't make it out, they saved me by throwing me outside. Everyone in town blamed me, but I couldn't be considered a criminal and everyone just ran me out of town, I ended up in Treasure Town a while later" Blaze was crying as he finished his story.

Alex hugged his friend, doing his best to comfort him, he wasn't scared of his partner, but he at least got where he was coming from.

Alex released his hug and asked "Why did this only bother you now?"

"As Chimchars mature and evolve, the ability gets stronger. The first time I used after evolving it I was nothing but blind fury. I don't even remember what happened other than just what I felt. Anger, hate, rage, just single minded fury. What if that ability activates and I hurt you" Blaze admitted, the fear in his voice was unmistakable. This power was situational, it only manifested as a last gasp, the only times it could've activated was at Fogbound lake and Mesprit's lake, but he was knocked out before it could happen on both occasions. With more power and stamina from evolution, it was a very possible situation now.

"Hey, we take risks every day man, I'm here for you, you now that right? If it comes to that, I'll stop you" Alex assured him.

"Ok" Blaze replied quietly.

"Hey, we need to go NOW!" A loud voice said, catching the apprentices off guard.

Alex turned to see Chuck running down the hall.

"Why, what's happened?" Alex asked.

"Ivan has an MAJOR announcement in town square!" Chuck replied

As the guild apprentices arrived at Treasure Town's main square, Alex and Blaze noticed two things of interest in the crowd of assembled Pokemon. One, that team Go-Getters and Wallce were noticeably absent, and that the three lake guardians were present next to Ivan.

"That seems to be everyone else, but where is the guildmaster and Team Go-Getters?" Officer Edison asked Ivan.

"They're guarding Crystal Lake, Ivan already told them what he's about to announce, they're guarding the time gear until we execute our plan" Azelf replied, it was unlikely Nigel could get through his failsafe, but Wallace and Go-getters were more than capable if he could. Wallace was far more skilled and powerful then he ever let on.

"Now then, I have something to tell you all, something you may find unbelievable, but it is the truth and only the truth." Ivan began, causing the crowd to fall silent.

'The reason Nigel has so much knowledge of the time gear location, and why he seemingly appeared overnight, is because he is a pokemon from the future" Ivan explained, getting a collective gasp from the audience.

"The future, as in events that have yet to happen?" Blaze asked.

"Yes, in the future, Nigel is an S+ ranked outlaw with the highest bounty in history on his head. After evading capture for years, he escaped to the world of the past. He intends to cause a cataclysm of horrifying proportions" Ivan continued.

"What kind of event is he trying to cause?" Ned asked.

"Once the final time gear is removed, time itself will be destroyed, and the planet will become paralyzed" Ivan said, his audience seemed confused as that term meant almost nothing to them.

"What is the world like if it's paralyzed?" Cleft asked, finally managing to speak. He was so enamored by Ivan's speech that he was afraid to speak out of turn.

Ivan's eye squinted a little, like he was recalling a painful event, he spoke with a monotone voice as he replied "in a world that is paralyzed, the wind doesn't blow, the sun never rises, Pokemon that are tough enough to survive constantly fight over the limited resources. There is no summer or spring, it is a world of unrelenting darkness"

As Ivan finished his explanation, Carver of all pokemon spoke up and said "I don't mean to offend ya, but I can't wrap my head around how you know all of this Ivan"

Everyone looked at Carver as if he had just cursed out loud, only for Ivan to chuckle and say 'that is actually a very valid question, how would I know about the future events, where Nigel came from and how destructive his plan could be without ever researching the time gears up close? That is because I too am from the future"

The entire audience, save for Alex simultaneously yelled "WHAT!" the former human wasn't exactly shocked however, as it made sense the more and more he listened. How did Ivan know those things, or have knowledge of an ancient art that hadn't been practiced in at least a thousand years.

"I apologize for hiding this from you, but I needed to blend in. Once I had studied this world extensively, I traveled to this time to apprehend Nigel, had I revealed this sooner, I would've been branded a lunatic and more importantly Nigel would've likely been alerted to my presence. I am sincerely sorry for having deceived you this long" Ivan conceded.

"You have done nothing wrong in my book, we must capture Nigel!, it's time we all work together to apprehend him!" Cleft stated firmly, getting a collective nod from the crowd.

Ivan sighed, he shook his head and replied "I am honored by your offers of aid, but i will need you all to stay away for my plan to succeed"

"What, why?" Blaze asked.

Azlef floated forward and said "we have made a plan, everyone needs to spread rumors far and wide tha I am returning to crystal lake, the failsafe can be held indefinitely but we will make Nigel think that I have to lower it for a recharge. Once he comes, Wallace and I will help Ivan and Team Go-getters apprehend Nigel in a ambush. You must spread these rumors , but not so much as to draw suspicion, understood?"

Alex and Blaze gave each other a nod, it was out of their hands when it came to capturing Nigel, but they would do their part.

Author's note- thoughts? the next chapter will be a battle that we never saw in the game but should of seen. I want to know you guy's thoughts on Blaze's backstory, I needed an internal stuggle for him so struggling to control his unaturally strong fire seemed apropos. He's been hoding back in every fight until now.

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