[The Following Chapter of "Pokémon: Crimson Fury" is made up entirely of entries from The Lost Journals of Balthazar Aced, which are being read by Ryan prior to the next day in his Journey. Unless you would prefer to go into the next chapter where the story resumes, please read ahead. Note that if there is a number Entry being skipped, it is likely a diagram or series of mathematic equations that would be virtually impossible to replicate on screen here without going too deeply into detail.
And Now, Back to the Story]
Entry #1 (Journal #2): Each day, with almost nineteen hours spent in the labs, James and I are doing everything we can to try and find a way to counteract the Crimson Madness that plagues Arcana every fifteen years. But for every discovery we make that helps progress our research, another discovery shrouds the answers in an endless array of mysteries. How can we know that a vaccine created will prevent both humans and Pokémon from these same afflictions? What if it permanently alters one's mental capabilities? We are beginning to worry about the validity of our experimental research so long as we do not have a willing Test Subject, but we have both agreed that such a route taken is far too dangerous to try and have a combined sense of shame in regards to even considering it. We both miss our families. I can't recall the last time James left my lab to head for the Pokémon League to conduct his duties as Champion. But I must admit, without him, I would be as oblivious as I was when I undertook such a tasking operation as this.
Entry #3 (Journal #2): A willing subject has come our way and it was certainly not from somewhere that I would have normally anticipated: a young man with a rather peculiar name from Unova. He once thought to separate Trainers and their Pokémon as if we treat them as slaves, but a defeat at the hands of another individual taught this young man that not all people use Pokémon as tools of war and conquest. Those who do, at least in my personal belief, should have their Trainer's Licenses revoked and be put in Klefki Prison.
But, back to our subject. He has a very loving relationship with his Pokémon, treating them as beings equal to or greater than himself. Using the stone that we discovered in the meteorite crash landing near the Ruined Tunnel and Kingston Castle, and despite James's reservations, we experimented on him. Simply being in the same room as this Crimson Stone did not seem to instigate nay changes within him, although on closer observation, he could feel but the slightest twinge of something in his heart. The closer the stone was brought to him, the greater the feeling became. An accelerated heart rate (generally to the terms of superhuman capabilities), combined with a feeling of sharp pain in the lower spine and shortness of breath, many of these being the signs of a coming heart attack. The worst pain was felt when he took the Stone into his hands, which not only caused him to scream in a sharp amount of pain, but it also caused the Zoroark to writhe on the floor as if in agony. Once he dropped the stone, however, he seemed to regain some bit of normalcy, though the pain did not appear to leave him in any significant way. He did, however, possess no memory of anything that unfolded in between the moments of him picking up the trinket and placing it down. James and I finally have a lead, but little more to work with. We still do not know what exactly is causing this Madness to overtake people, nor do we know if there are any countermeasures we can take to ensure it passes painlessly.
Time is running short for us. With barely two years until the next Crimson Moon comes to Arcana, we must reach a conclusion soon, or else all of the work we've done over these past eighteen months will have been for nothing.
Entry #4 (Journal #2): Sad news to report this day. A colleague of mine in Kanto has perished after a failed experiment in Pokémon Gene Splicing. His research could have proven helpful to us as we try to find a vaccination for the Crimson Madness. We would write often to one another with the latest updates and discoveries we had concocted, but the slowed pace of our work has shamed me from continuing our correspondence in kind. His last letter to me went into great detail about potentially coming across the DNA for a Mythical Pokémon by the name of Mew. I am not a firm believer in Mythological Pokémon, but could these findings have proven accurate? Was my friend's death the result of humans tampering where nature has warned us not to? I suppose that is the greatest question of them all. I sink into a despair that even the occasional days away from this work with my wife and son does not alleviate for me. I want only to be able to complete my work. I feel a certain obligation to Arcana to ensure that we do not live in fear of a simple act of nature.
Entry #1 (Journal #3): The longer this process takes us, the more perilous our situation becomes. I only wish that my wife and son could understand this as much as James. Matilda knew that when she and I were wed that I was firmly dedicated to my research. I do not have the luxury James has of being the heroic Champion that can take time off whenever he pleases to be with his loved ones while also keeping an eye on the rest of the region. I am firmly devoted to reaching a conclusion, not only for the good of Arcana, but my family as well. Should this mean I sacrifice a few days with my family in order to provide for the world something of substance, so be it.
The boy we had tested our theories on has since gone off on his own, but his help has been largely beneficial. Thanks to him, we now know that the Crimson Moon's power only seems to affect those with particularly strong bonds with their own Pokémon. Those who treat Pokémon as tools or subjects to their whim, are unaffected by such power. However, James and I have come to a startling revelation. While those who do not have the power to obtain these drastic power boosts and the horrific consequences that come with it are unable to likely ever achieve it, they could perhaps find some way to control those under the influence of the Crimson Madness. This seems to suggest that if someone were to learn about our research and had the means of controlling someone underneath the influence of the Madness, they could become quite a powerful person. For a time, of course. So long as this Crimson Stone we discovered from the meteorite that fell near Kingston Castle is just an isolated incident, we need not fear someone using this power with evil intent. After all, fifteen years is a remarkably long time for one to be without their primary source of power.
James has not for the first time, suggested that if we do not reach a satisfactory conclusion, that these journals should be burned so that this does not come to pass.
Entry #5 (Journal #3): Where would my research be without James? He has been as integral to my research as anyone else I could have hoped for. I find myself making less progress and less of an effort when he is not here. I do not blame him for spending time with his children and grandchildren, though. Somedays, I wish Elezar would understand why I am not often at home. Our research needs to go unabated, so that the rest of the people of Arcana can live in a world where the Crimson Madness is not a danger to man and Pokémon alike. On days like today, I am hard-pressed to find some sort of clue or theory that I have not already attempted and failed to receive a proper answer to.
But on those days when James is here, I feel as if I have the power to find the answer to all of life's many questions. Perhaps it is the confidence he exudes that helps me conquer my own personal fears of failure? Or perhaps our decades long comradery is so strong that even questions that have vexed me since my youth can be answered? Regardless of the answer, all that truly matters is that I am a very different man when James is around. He is a true friend.
Entry #6 (Journal #3): "All of Your Curiosities and Fascinations will become reality should you reach out to me, Aced"
Entry #7 (Journal #3): I have come across another anomaly in my studies. A corporeal being has visited me many times in my restless sleep. It is unclear to me if this being is man, woman, Pokémon, or something entirely different. The only thing that resonates with me when I awaken from my momentary slumber is two piercingly blue eyes and the quote that is told to me that I have written above. I do not know how this facsimile has come to know my name or my desires both public and secretive, but it seems able to communicate with me in a way I only thought possible with James. An intellectual peer with the power to traverse dreams and thought? An intriguing concept that might help me to better understand the mysteries of the Crimson Moon.
Entry #8 (Journal #3): I have come to an understanding with my Corporeal Friend. Though we have never met in person, we do believe in the same cause: protecting the world from those who would harm it. We also have our own demons to battle. My peer has been through a great deal in what I can only describe as a short but miserable existence. Betrayed by those once trusted and forced into exile, I can tell the very idea of existence hurts this being. And yet, despite all the shadows that plague the past, my friend still looks to the future as hope. When I revealed to my friend the extent of our research, it seemed to spin the wheels in the realms of thought never before traversed. The Crimson Moon has a unique power over the linked hearts of human and Pokémon. My friend is curious to see what would happen should those bonds be tested. And I should add, as it may be our only point of disagreement, that thoughts of the Crimson Madness becoming a permanent affliction have crossed my friend's mind.
Entry #1 (Journal #4): The unfortunate day may yet come when I am forced to decide between my two close friends: The Corporeal Being and James. Their staunch differences of opinions regarding where our research is likely to progress has me forced to come to the crossroad that I sincerely wish I could have avoided. But a scientist must never waver from the undeniable fact. What's done is done, and I will need to take whichever path that best suits my work.
I have always strongly admired the compassion that James has for all life in Arcana. He loves before loathing and bonds before battling. It should make him the perfect person for Arcana to rely upon as it's leader. Yet my Corporeal Friend has suggested that James will hinder our research with his unwavering refusal to allow further experimentation. He took the experiments done on the boy from Unova too seriously and worries about the ramifications he may suffer from. That's James, for you. Always caring to protect anyone he possibly can. Admirable qualities, but men in pursuit of higher studies must unfortunately make difficult choices so that mankind and Pokémon can not long live harmoniously for the foreseeable future, but for all times to come. And I am beginning to understand why my friend fears James will only harm our work moving forward.
And then there's my Corporeal Friend. No doubt, we have a mental connection that is quite strong. We agree on most facets of my work, so much so that I have taken my friend's advice and stepped away from my family. I know that Matilda and Elezar will be better off without me in their lives, as does my friend. We mustn't allow those who would hinder progress to stand in our way. And yet, I fear my friend lacks the basic emotional empathy needed for a being to exist. Perhaps it stems from the dark past that we two have discussed, or perhaps it comes from a general disdain for all life, human and Pokémon alike. Some have come to conclusions such as this, including a rogue I met in Kanto while on holiday before my studies began. But those who find these dark paths are often destroyed by their own ignorance for what truly brings humans and Pokémon together: the connections.
For me, it is a difficult choice that I know will have colossal consequences should I choose poorly. James represents the Heart. It acts without logic or strategic planning (not to say that James isn't smart, because he is as sharp as a rapier), but he would perhaps be better off thinking with his instincts rather than approach a situation logically. The Corporeal Being represents the mind. Unbiased and unfazed by the illogical parameters of feeling and emotion. Though it acts precisely and plans out the course for it's own thinking, can the mind be hindered without cooperation and feeling? These are thoughts that will plague me in the coming days. Oh, how I wish James were here to help me.
Entry #2 (Journal #4): I was surprised to find an unexpected visitor to the lab today. My son, Elezar. When given the opportunity by Matilda to make his name in the world, rather than take on the inspirational Pokémon Journey that his peers have all undergone already, he rejected this and came to my lab to serve under me as an apprentice. I welcome any who are eager to share in my studies, but I fear that my absence in his youth has irreparably damaged Elezar. While he relishes in the time we are working together as a kind of father-son team, he is quick to anger and derision when my attention is given to others, especially James. The boy's hatred for James is quite irrational and unfounded, though I will not stir up that Beedrill's nest at the moment. Not when we are less than five months from the next slated appearance of The Crimson Moon. We need to act fast, and thankfully it seems that Elezar, James and My Corporeal Friend are all finally beginning to see eye to eye with one another. But is it already too late?
Elezar did inform me of something unexpected. In the time I have since left my son and my wife to their own devices, Matlida encouraged him to marry into one of Arcana's prominent families. Amelia Fiveroux. From what I've been able to discern about her, she is a charming woman, though approximately 6 years my son's senior. I believe Amelia was supposed to be betrothed to Robert Kingston, but he seems to have left on his own quest to become a Champion without his father's support. More troubling, however, is the fact that it was only through my first contact with Amelia that I learned that I too have a Grandchild. Jocelyn. A fine name.
When I confronted my son about this new knowledge, he dismissed it as unimportant to the grand scheme of things. I truly do not know what has become of my son. He already appears to be a lost cause.
Entry #4 (Journal #4): Jonathan, Victoria, Michael, Madeline, Christopher, Jenna, Cameron and William. These are the names of James's eight Grandchildren, though he has since left to oversee the birth of a ninth. I believe he said the name will be either Daniel or Danielle, depending on the child's gender at birth. I have not met any of them, but I have seen some of the drawings they sent to their grandfather. There is one in particular that intrigues me: his grandson Michael sent him a picture of him spending time with a new friend that has since moved to Arcana from Alola. Maria Pines, a renowned Pokémon Professor from that part of the world, has moved to Arcana for a bit of a slower life along with her two orphaned granddaughters. Showing the heart that the Kingston Family has, Michael took no time at all to befriend both girls and became something of a surrogate brother to the youngest and perhaps something greater to the elder. The love that the Kingston Family emits for all life is perhaps their greatest treasure they can offer the world.
We four have been friends for as long as I can remember. Myself, James, Bonnie and Claude. From perhaps when Professor Queensbury oversaw things in Arcana when we were children to this very day, all four of us have a union that is stronger than brick and mortar. Claude represents both James and myself as our personal and public attorneys and has since made a masterful living for himself as a lawyer. Bonnie completed her goal of becoming a Queen of Arcana when she reigned for an unprecedented 11 consecutive years from the time she was 13 until she was forced to retire at the birth of her and James's first child at the age of 24. Never could I have been happier for James than the day he asked me to be the Best Man at his wedding to Bonnie. It was both the happiest and the saddest day of my life. James would never again be just my best friend evermore, he would also be a father and a husband, on top of his already daunting task of being the Pokémon League Champion. It also meant that I had failed in my secretive mission to keep James as a single bachelor for the rest of his days. Though I love Bonnie like a sister, she can be a little overwhelming when it comes to a need for attention. Alas, we cannot win every argument that we to have.
I do wonder if I made the correct choice in completely exiting the lives of Matilda and Elezar when I did. I have Elezar by my side now, but what I have I missed out on while I have been pursuing these answers about The Crimson Moon? Elezar has changed a great deal since we separated last as Father and Son. He is far more intellectual now, though his heart has been covered in the ever connecting shadows of hate and contempt. Perhaps he would be better suited in meeting my Corporeal Friend?
Entry #5 (Journal #4): RIP Matilda. A woman who deserved a far greater husband than I have been to her. Roughly nine or so years after James and Bonnie were married, my parents compelled me to pursue the hand of one of Claude's cousins. It has been so long, I could not tell you her name. But I was so adamant that I would not be forced to marry that I unintentionally married a woman on our first date. She was a shy and pretty child that I had no love for, but she was kind and understanding. She merely wanted to be a loving wife and raise a child or two. I simply wanted my parents to get out of my affairs.
She deserved so much more than I gave her. The sweet and unassuming girl I met on that date never left her and she always held true to who she was: a compassionate and caring woman. All that I gave her were likely 30 years of misery and a son who detested the both of us in different ways. And now, after her fall, the angels above will take care of her, while I'm left to contemplate the reasons why my life is as it is before I sink into the darkness below.
James has been there for me in these troubling times, though my other colleagues are telling me that I cannot allow such a distraction to bother me when there's less than three months until the next Crimson Moon. Even Elezar, who has taken the news of the death of his mother as if it were a breeze. The boy is truly troubled. Another mistake in my wasted life of denials and refusal to accept who I am.
Entry #1 (Journal #5): Barely a week left before the Crimson Moon comes and we have found nothing. The only small chance is an outlier. There was recently a skirmish that occurred in the Orre Region between a group of freedom fighters and an organization that artificially sealed the hearts of Pokémon through dark means. They were all seemingly cured by the interference of the Pokémon Celebi, who can be found at the Relic Stone in Agate Village. If Celebi and the other Mythical Pokémon play a crucial role in the prevention of the Crimson Fury, this could perhaps be the remedy we have been waiting for. Yet, I fear I cannot relay this information to either Elezar or my Corporeal Friend. Actually, I am beginning to believe this being isn't actually my friend, after all.
Elezar has taken a fascination with the Crimson Stone. He brought a friend of his from Finishing School, a boy with a crazed look in his eyes when they were under the presence of the stone we found in the crash landing site. The two are no doubt motivated by whatever silky words come from the Corporeal Being and I fear a world where these three are going to be a lingering source of power and ambition. It is clear that two camps are forming in my laboratory, with Elezar, his crony and The Corporeal Being on one side and James on the other.
James. I would truly be lost if it weren't for him. He has been the greatest singular person I have ever had the privilege of knowing in my entire life. He is more than just a treasured friend to me. Though I fear that my time on this world is coming to an all too serious end, I wonder if I still have one last chance to show James how much he means to me. No more secrets. No more lies. James must know before the Crimson Moon rises...
Final Entry (Written by James Kingston): History is never kind to all. Some despots rise to power and are treated as heroes and conquerors. Most good men go throughout time, without ever being known. Some are hailed as the greatest, only later to be seen as fanatical monsters. Others are demonized and detested by the populace at large, until the truth is discovered. Balthazar Aced is one of those men. His only crime was living in a world that did not understand him. Or, perhaps it was that he never understood himself. A combination of the two is what I fear the truth to be, but history will only see my friend as a mad scientist. And for what? Because he was forced by society to be something or someone that he couldn't possibly be? It pains me to hear my children talk about a family friend from not too long ago as if he were some supervillain from their comic books and movies. And I know that my grandchildren will hear this tale told to them a thousand times by their parents, thinking this to be the absolute truth. That Balthazar was a mad scientist and that anyone who did not treat him as such was destined to become a mad despot, just like him. This is a lie. All of it is a lie. A convenient lie to shade the truth that my closest friend for all of my life was forced into living a life he could not find himself capable of living. One day, I pray that these journals are published for public record. Balthazar was a better man than I could ever hope to be. He, at least, was unwilling to live a lie. The account of my friend's death came with the destruction of his laboratory at the hands of this "Corporeal Being", who could never understand why we rejected logic because of our hearts.
Balthazar confided in me that he had introduced the "Corporeal Being" to the Crimson Stone we found in the hopes of trying to find a way to change not only himself, but perhaps even myself. I can only imagine what mental and emotional scars my friend was forced to endure all of his life. A world that does not try to understand the love he was trying to spread and the passion he had for all life. My only regret is that I was never able to satisfy his feelings in anyway. From as early as our youth, when we set off on our Pokémon Journeys all those many years ago, I have always loved Bonnie. She is everything I could have ever hoped for in a partner and wife. No matter how much I cared for him, I could not simply cast my life aside for Balthazar. Not when I have six children and eight grandchildren with more coming when Robert finally settles down.
But the Corporeal Being had betrayed us. The Being, whatever it truly was, sought to use the Crimson Fury to make all mankind and Pokémon slaughter one another. Had this happened, all of Arcana would have become ruin and death. Balthazar, seeing this has his responsibility, helped me to banish this Being from our region with he help of our Pokémon. But he sustained a critical wound from this seemingly all powerful being and knew that fate had decreed that he must take the fall for the destruction of our base at Mt. Heatmor and the destructive ambitions of The Corporeal Being would fall onto his shoulders. Despite my objections, he knew that Arcana would never understand that an "all powerful being" had tried to destroy the world with the furious power of The Crimson Moon. He ended his own life and perished along with most of our research. His lone request of me was to see that his son Elezar was not radicalized by his death. Though I have tried to uphold my end of the bargain, his son blames me for the death of his father. It didn't help that word had somehow spread throughout Arcana of Balthazar's alleged "Crimson Madness" and how I had to do the unthinkable and destroy my best friend, something Elezar took as fact, especially since he refused to listen to what I had to tell him. I have since refused to discuss the the story of Balthazar's death with anyone to this very day, not even my own children. I know their own beliefs will never be swayed by the truth. The truth that Balthazar Aced was punished by the world for being who he was in his time and would forever be punished by the world for what he wasn't after his death.
I intend for these Journals to pass along to someone that I can trust will understand the world without the rose-colored glasses of a Kingston. But if Elezar sees them, he will only see it as fabricated lies that I tried to pass along as his father's work. I know that he is assembling his own team and plotting something, but he has been deathly quiet for too long. And I can feel as if what he is plotting is my own demise. I don't fear death, but I do fear a world where Elezar is the one calling the shots. Therefore, while I would entrust this to Claude or Bonnie, they also wouldn't understand what Balthazar was and would try to have these books destroyed or worse. I cannot trust my children with this legacy of Balthazar either. They are indoctrinated, with my reluctant help, to think that we are infallible. Hope can only come from one of my Grandchildren. But I am unsure if it could be a child of one of my sons. Jeice, Doug, Byron and Junior cannot be trusted to teach their children the colored truth if you will. The world will always be black and white to them.
Erin, my daughter, and her two children are the only hope for this story to pass along. While I know Tori is just as passionate a dreamer as her mother and no doubt knows all too well that the Kingstons aren't as perfect as we seem to be to the rest of Arcana, she still has a bit of a firebrand in her, mostly coming from her father Big Mike. That leaves only little Michael. But to put all of the future's fate on his shoulders is unfair as well. Perhaps I should make it so that the contents of this chest are not to be opened until he reaches adulthood? But that would defeat the purpose of trusting my grandson with this information. I will have to ponder this decision as the time of my death draws closer as the candle flickers out in the bedroom.
Maybe someday, my Grandchildren will live in a world where people are not judged by who they love. I have hope for them. Even if my children still talk about my deeds as if I stopped some supervillain from amassing total power, I know my Grandchildren will carry on the thoughts to judge those as you wish to be treated. Until that day, I must live the lie to honor my dead friend's wishes for the love he had for me. And a Kingston's Honor is never to be challenged.