Chapter 63:

Last of the Summer Vines

Upon arriving in Veilstone City, I was informed by the team that they had successfully taken down the HQ . However, not all the news was positive.

"Well, the Eterna City team did take Saturn into custody, but Charon got away" Crasher Wake said sadly.

We all glanced at the ominous Galactic Building briefly, now desolate. It was weird to think that they were once the most feared people in Sinnoh, though we did have that ounce of concern that they might return.

"Listen. If they come back, we'll beat them into next Thursday!" Maylene informed. "But we do have some other good news. I had a message from Volkner to pass on to you as soon as; the Sunyshore power Is back!"

My face light up brighter than all the lights that would have turned on. After all this time, I could finally try out for my final Badge. Once I get it, the Pokémon League will be up for the beating!

I got out my Badge Case and looked at my progress.

"So Leon" Lyra told me. "Are you heading off their today?"

I nodded. "Of course. I can't wait any longer! Final Badge time!"

"Neither can we" Ethan said. "You don't have to say yes, but me and Lyra would like to accompany you to Sunyshore City. There's an old friend we would like to meet over there."

I put my thumb up. "The more the merrier! I'm leaving in an hour, get ready."

Crasher Wake sent out Gyarados into the sea next to Veilstone. "I'm going to head back to Pastoria" he informed, as Gyarados bent its head down and allowed him to get on. "If anything happens, let me know!"

As Gyarados swam off, me, Ethan and Lyra got ready to head south.

Upon arriving Route 214, Ruben and Graveler appeared.

"I heard all about it!" he said. "Congrats to the lot of you!"

"Thanks" I said. I went into my Bag and pulled out the Town Map.

"Sunyshore City is east of the Valor Lakefront Hotel" Ethan said, following the route with his index finger. "Then it's along Route 222, which is a straight path along the beach."

"Alright!" Lyra shouted. "I'm sure Marill would love to have a splash about!"

I folded up the Town Map and put it away. "Then let's not waste anymore time! Let's head off!"

"Let us know if you need anything!" Ruben said.

"Ethan, have you seen the greenery here?" Lyra asked.

"Lyra, we went down this road to get to Veilstone City just last week. Of course we went down."

We walked over a small ledge to where all the lush green trees would be. However, we were greeted with something, wrong. In place of the vibrant leafy foliage were brown, lifeless husks of the famous pine trees this route was known for. Even the flowers were dead.

"What happened here?" I asked. "Did Dialga and Palkia affect the plant life to?"

Ethan picked up one of the wilted roses. "They don't look poisoned, the soil isn't contaminated and the weather has been perfect for them."

I just looked at it in sadness. I hate seeing dead plants.

"What's been going on here then?!" came a male voice.

I saw two friendly faces that I hadn't seen in a while, evident by the fact that the male of the group had a terrible scar under his eye.

"Florence, Stig!" The three of us had a group hug. "So glad your safe! Has the business been affected by what has happened?"

"Everything's been fine" Stig told us. "Well, except for all this clearly. We might know the- oh my goodness… ETHAN SCHNEiDER?!"

Ethan gave a small wave. "Yeah, I'm in Sinnoh for a bit. I may have helped take down Team Galactic…"

Florence and Stig were speechless. "Never would we have seen the day where we got to meet you…"

I told them to keep on track. "I'm sorry, were you about to say that you know the source of the problem?"

Florence put her hand on the trunk of a dead tree. "These plants have had their nutrients sucked out."

I scratched my chin. "Hmm… then it could be a Pokémon that knows the move Absorb, Mega Drain or Giga Drain."

"I think we should find it then" Ethan said. "Go Venomoth!" Ethan sent out a purple Pokémon with thin wings.


?

?

? Type

? Pokémon

Region of origin: ?

?'?" (?.? m)

?.? lbs (?.? kg)

No data


"I'm not surprised by the lack of data" Florence told me. "Venomoth aren't found in mainland Sinnoh so your Pokédex won't recognize it."

"Allow me" Ethan said, flicking out his own Dex. It was similar to mine as it had two screens and flipped open, but was a lot slimmer.


Venomoth

110

Bug/Poison Type

Poison Moth Pokémon

Region of origin: Kanto

4'11" (1.5 m)

27.6 lbs (12.5 kg)

The powder on its wings is poisonous if it is dark in color. If it is light, it causes paralysis.

Venonat -Lv 38- Venomoth


I wasted no time in sending out Drifblim. "Let's find the culprit." Drifblim and Venomoth flew off in separate locations as we all searched on foot.

Florence, Stig and Lyra went off by themselves whilst me and Ethan looked in other places.

"Ethan… I have some questions" I asked as we walked down the path casually. "What was your journey like? Did you have to save the world?"

"Well, not really" Ethan replied, looking through some withered bushes. "I just had to take down the mafia, you know you're average Tuesday. Why did you ask?"

"Because, well, I just want to know. My final Gym challenge is coming up, so I want to have some advice and I thought that hearing about someone else's experience would be the way to go."

Ethan patted me on the back. "Lucas, you have all the right to be nervous. I tell you, my final Gym match was against the cousin of the Indigo Champion at the time, and she really put up a fight. I expect that the Sunyshore Leader will to, but that's why you're on this journey after all!"

"I never actually planned this. My friend Barry kind of got us into trouble and long story short, we were attacked by Starly. One thing led to another and here I am now. Sometimes it's the mistakes that we make that set us on the right path."

Just then, Venomoth and Drifblim flew over to us in panic. "Find anything?" I asked.

Both pointed south with their faces. "Show us" Ethan commanded.

"HEEEELLLPPPP!" Lyra was hanging upside down tangled in some dark blue vines. Any darker and it would be green. Stig and Florence were nowhere to be seen.

"Lyra!" Ethan shouted when we arrived on the scene. "We'll get you down, hold on. Venomoth, Psychic!" Venomoth untangled the vines telepathically. Lyra fell down with a great thud; thankfully it wasn't a huge fall.

I ran to Lyra to check if she was alright. "You know, you couldn't have a giant pillow or something."

Ethan inspected the vines. Actually, the fact that they were vines was confusing. Sinnoh doesn't have any jungles or rainforests, it's just doesn't have the tropical environment necessary for that growth.

"It came out of nowhere" Lyra told me. "Florence and Stig chased it further down that way, but forgot about me in the panic."

I continued to have a look at the wilted surroundings. "Hold on" I said. Through the withered plants where trees would be, was a path. The other two caught onto what I was looking at.

"Let's focus on finding the others first" Ethan told me, though that was what I was planning on doing from the start. "We also need to be on the lookout for whatever is killing this foliage…"

As he said this, a big shadow loomed over us. Turning around, we saw it; a Pokémon made from vines. The same type of vines that Lyra was caught up in. It had two long arms with red fingers and its eyes were barely see able.


Tangrowth

182

Grass Type

Vine Pokémon

Region of origin: Sinnoh

6'07" (2 m)

283.5 lbs (128.6 kg)

Its arms are made of plants that bind themselves to things. They grow back right away if cut.

Tangela -Ancient Power- Tangrowth


"That's it!" Lyra yelled, just as Stig and Florence ran in, stopping at a safe distance.

Tangrowth's arms started glowing a light green colour. "It's about to use Giga Drain!" Ethan yelled. "That must be the cause of this!"

"Scyther, go!" Stig sent out a large green Pokémon with two large scythes and giant wings.


Scyther

195

Bug/Flying Type

Mantis Pokémon

Region of origin: Kanto

4'11" (1.5 m)

123.5 lbs (56 kg)

The sharp scythes on its forearms become increasingly sharp by cutting through hard objects.


"X-Scissor!" Scyther slashed Tangrowth in an X formation which knocked it to the ground. Tangrowth came back with Ancient Power that hit Scyther for a lot of damage. "Okay, go Ultra Ball!" Stig threw an Ultra Ball at Tangrowth. However, it bounced right off. Tangrowth then eyed the path that had been found, and ran away.

"Tangrowth must have a Trainer" I said. "Someone must be behind this, and it might have to do with what is down there."

We all looked at the path again. "Let's find out what's down there" Ethan told me.

The path winded through the forest, which seemed to come to life the deeper we went. At the end of the path was a large patch of tall grass with a wall. It was one that could be scaled with Rock Climb.

"What could be up there?" Ethan asked.

"I'll go up. I can use Rock Climb" I told them. I went through the grass and went to the wall. "Mamoswine, come out and use Rock Climb!" I sent out Mamoswine, got on it and had it scale the rocky face.

The top was foggy, probably even more that Mt. Coronet. However, I could just about make out a body of water. "Another Lake?" I thought to myself.

Upon coming back down the cliff, I told everyone about the discovery.

"You look live you've seen a Ghost Type" Lyra said. "What was up there?"

I told them all about the Lake.

"But… that's impossible" Stig said. "There are only three lakes in Sinnoh. Verity, Valor and Acuity. Even on Poogle Earth, only they are viewable."

"Then it's this hidden lake that Tangrowth, and therefore its Trainer, must have been looking for" I said. "We can't really hide the path, so let's head to the Lakefront Hotel and tell them about the Tangrowth."

The 5 of us talked about the lake with Officer Jenny, who took down a report even though she barely believed us.

"Hmm, well we will keep our eyes out for the Tangrowth. Thanks for the report."

Once again, the Valor Lakefront was fully booked so it was time to rough it on the beach.