Arc 4:
Enter; Kaz Yamora
-*MEANWHILE*-
*YAWN!* "Damn guys why did you let me sleep that long? ….. HUH!? OH MY GOSH WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED!? GUYS!? GUYS!? OH MY GOSH PLEASE WAKE UP OH MY GOSH! EVERYONE IS DEAD!" Said Rocket Grunt Kaz as he woke up from the longest and most fulfilling nap he had ever taken. Kaz was the grunt of the Rocket Grunts, always clumsy, not very well spoken, not the brightest and certainly nothing special in combat. Indeed he was one of the most disrespected Team Rocket members in history, he was the one the rest of the Rocket members would ridicule and torment. Kaz was most definitely an odd fellow and he was only about 18 years old as of now, around the same age as his deceased teammates. As much as he tried to be social and gain notoriety within his faction, he lived in constant failure. He was known to most as a disgrace among the disgraceful and would more than likely end up the butt of everyone's jokes. His failure was amusing to them which resulted in him being treated as a jester or the town fool. The sad part is that most of the time Kaz wouldn't even realize he was being made fun of, and when he did he would just brush it off like he didn't even mind being so disrespected among his peers.
"What do I do, oh man WHAT DO I DO!?" He yells frantic as he looks around and witnesses the mutilated corpses of his former teammates. He looked at the condition in which they had been slaughtered and immediately felt grateful to be alive. Kaz was always used to having terrible luck for he had been given a bogus hand in life to begin with. "Whoever did this must have overlooked me as I was sleeping! I can't believe I'm alive! HAHA! I'M ALIVE!" He cheered and danced around the corpses of the Rocket Grunts, completely disregarding the fact that the killer could still be lingering in the area.
"Now! Time to set off on my journey! I need to get to the nearest Team Rocket HQ Immediately to report what happened here!" Kaz packed everything he could find up as quickly as possible and got going, even searching the bodies of the Rocket Grunts for anything he could salvage. This mission he gave himself was more than just a mission to him, he thought of it more as an opportunity to prove himself for he knew this would finally show his superiors that he was not the worthless slacker they all thought of him as. The only pokemon partner at Kaz's disposal was Rattata, a weak and unintuitive partner and a mediocre pokemon all together. He was equipped with 6 pokeballs and 2 potions. Other than that his inventory consisted of survival equipment and the shock baton he was issued upon joining up with Team Rocket. His shock baton was his main method of combat as well as a scout knife he uses from his survival gear. Kaz wasn't very good in a fight, not being trained in hand to hand combat or with any form of weaponry. Because of this, he had to sneak and worm his way around his conflict his whole life, thus becoming a pretty elusive crook. Cowardly but effective.
As Kaz walked the dirt meadows of the pathless plains, the sun began to slowly rise. He looked at his map that was issued to his team when they were dispatched to guard the "Sector 66" Barrier. "Hmm.. Lets see, Beyond the pathless plains to the east is Siren City! That looks like it's the closest Team Rocket HQ to where I am now." He then did his best to map out his course of action, trying to see how long it would take him to make it there and if he had enough equipment to make the journey. *Kaz's thoughts* "Siren City.. I've never been there but i've heard plenty of stories about it from the other grunts, they say that's where the micro hydro powered water wheels are. Seems we took that city before the war began to seize control of the electricity regulation. That place is one of the main sources of power to all the electric powered cities in the world. No wonder it was one of our first targets.." He wondered to himself. "Siren City is east of here, but it looks like the east is inaccessible, unless i go through this mountainous place called Wyvern Pass.. If that's even possible. I suppose it's worth a try!"
Kaz presses onward, ignorant to the dangers that would await him if he tried to tread through Wyvern Pass. If he only knew more about the geographical history of the area, then he would probably rethink taking the shortcut to Siren City. However, Aiden was headed to Wyvern pass as well to complete the mission his master set him on. This only meant that Kaz and Aiden's paths were inevitably going to cross eventually. Kaz was hopeful in his journey to find whatever powerful being killed his teammates and prove he was more than just the fool they saw him as.
Let's just hope he's aware of the danger he's getting himself into. Along the way Kaz also passed by many corpses of people and pokemon who perished by the hand of something obviously powerful and violent, but eventually made it past the obstacles laid before him and began to see mountains in the distance beyond the miles and miles of pathless plains covered in dirt and blood. The pathless plains used to be lush and covered with green Meadows but ever since the war that took place thirteen years ago, the grass never grew back. "Ok! Finally I can see the mountains! That must mean I'm getting closer to Wyvern Pass! Alright!" He begins to jog lightly to speed up his journey, feeling excitement fill his heart. Closer and closer as he picks up his pace he realizes the sun is in the highest point in the sky and the heat is getting overwhelming. "Phew!" He stops running to catch his breath. "I should probably stop somewhere and refill my water supply huh?" He looks around the near ending of the plains and finds a creek opening at the edge of the mountainside beyond the trees.
"Ahh! There we go! Fresh mountain water is always the best on a hot day like today." He walks over to the stream and dips his cantine in the water, then he pours the water he collected through his filter device that came with his survival gear. "Ahh! Hell yes! Clean beautiful mountain water! This is gonna hit the spot!" He lays down a tarp and takes a breather while chugging his water. As he looks into the distance he sees how the land curves to the mountains. The end of the pathless plains had an extreme geological change as the dirt ended and the jagged mountain rock began.
Over the stream he had rested beside, he noticed it intertwined with a downward spiral on the other side which the mountain was on. It went into an almost straight down drop onto what appeared to be nothing but jagged pointy rocks that stretched around the mountains for miles. Walking through this would be impossible for Kaz, so he knew he needed to go around. He also saw in the far distance there was a bridge that stretched from the peak of the plains into the mountain region so far he couldn't see beyond the giant clouds that blanketed the mountains and made it completely impossible to see where the bridge led to. "Well that doesn't look promising but it's the only way through.. I'm going to have to take that bridge once I make it over these plains. I wonder what's on the other side.. Hopefully somewhere stable to walk, that bridge doesn't look very sturdy." Kaz was not excited to tread across this wooden planked bridge that stretched into somewhere he couldn't even get a visual on. He got up and packed the tarp into his bag and pressed onward towards the mouth of the bridge. As he made his way, he noticed something rustling around in the dirt not too far from where he was.
"Uh-oh… Somethings coming!" He says as he prepares for battle. "Go Rattata!" He summons his little Rattata in hopes of fending off whatever creature was before him. "EKKKAAAAANSSS!" Suddenly a snake like pokemon burst from the ground attacking Rattata instantly, damaging it only slightly. "It's… It's an Ekans!" Kaz says as he realizes what the creature is now. "Rattata use bite attack!" The Rattata lunges forward catching the Ekans and bites into its scaly flesh. "Ekkkkkaa!" The Ekans was not very strong, it went down with one move. "Alright! Here's my chance!" Kaz grabs a pokeball from his bag and throws it at the downed Ekans.
The Ekans stayed in Kaz's pokeball without a struggle as Kaz caught himself a new partner almost effortlessly which was rare for someone of his low skill level in pokemon capture. "YES! I knew I could do it! I knew it! I knew I wasn't a complete failure! Ekans! Your mine! HAHA!" Kaz couldn't even contain his excitement as he jumped up and down cheering for himself. He uses a potion on his newly caught Ekans and clips its pokeball to his belt officially adding it to his party. He continued to walk, finally ending up at the mouth of the bridge. "Huh!?" Kaz notices someone ahead, someone already crossing the bridge. "Who is that?" He says as he looks ahead trying to get a visual on who it was. "Huh!? That's a little kid! What the hell is he doing?!" Kaz says to himself. "Could he be the one who slaughtered my team? I really doubt that a child could be capable of that, but I can't help but to get an eerie feeling from this kid.." Little did Kaz know this child had something extraordinarily powerful following him, something cold and dark. Aiden had made it across the rickety old bridge and was now out of sight, so in order to catch up with him and confront him, Kaz began to hastily run across the bridge.
"Hey kid! Wait up!" He yelled as Aiden came into view again after passing through the smoky cloud that layered the mountain. "What the..?" Kaz said as he came to an abrupt stop in the middle of the bridge. He now saw Aiden standing in front of a giant waterfall that seemed to cover the bridge's pathway and fall over it and down about 200 feet underneath the bridge. Kaz looks down and realizes he is suspended up 200 feet in the air over pointy rocks and water standing on an old wooden bridge that was almost falling apart. *Gulp* Kaz gulps in fear as he clutches the ropes that held the bridge together.
"Hey kid!" Kaz tried yelling again, but to no avail nothing could be heard over the crashing water and the dangerous winds that shook the bridge back and forth. All he could see was Aiden standing in front of the waterfall facing it with no movement. Curious to what he was going to do next Kaz started walking cautiously along the rest of the bridge, trying to get a closer view of what was going on. "ARG! This wind is ridiculous!" Kaz said as he slowly made his way across the bridge. "WHAT THE HELL!" Kaz yells in confusion as he witnesses the waterfall being lifted quickly by an unknown force of some kind, then Aiden walks in through the water that's now accessible because of this said unknown force lifting it up for him. "No… No way! How in the hell did he do that!? There's no question about it now! That HAD to have been whoever slaughtered my team… No ordinary child can telepathically lift a powerful waterfall like that! I've never seen anything like that in my life! WHAT THE HELL JUST HAPPENED!?"
Kaz was now flooded with confusion as the waterfall drops down after Aiden successfully infiltrates the waterfall's hidden passageway. "How does that kid possess this power!? It's unreal!?" **- Roaring in the distance-** "ROAAAAAAAARRRRR!" "Oh man, what was that?" Kaz says as he looks around still in the middle of the unstable bridge. "ROOOOOAAAARRR!" *Echoes* Suddenly the bridge begins to shake more violently than before and the winds begin to blow with more intensity. "ROOOAAAARRR!" He hears it again but getting closer now as he grips onto the bridge's ropes and begins walking back faster and faster.
"OH MY GOD!" Kaz yells as he is now running across the bridge to get back to the pathless plains and on solid ground. As he looks back he can see what was chasing him, flying above the bridge. It was an angry horde of flying dragon type pokemon that came from the mountain and began attacking Kaz, seeing him as an intruder trying to infiltrate their home. "OH MY GOD! OH MY GOD! OH MY GOD!" Kaz yells in fear as he is now full on sprinting across the bridge, disregarding some of the planks falling out from under his feet. Suddenly, a dragon pulse attack from a Noivern nearly vaporizes him as he jumps from the bridge with all his might onto land.
"AHHHHHH!" He yells as his back is charred slightly, the pulse just barely missing him vitally. He rolls and gets up quickly continuing to sprint to safety. "OH MY GOD! OH MY GOD!" He runs as fast as he can and makes it back to the spot from earlier where he rested. He had made it there safe and sound. *Pant* *Pant* "Wha… What the hell!?" *Pant* *Pant* "That was definitely a close call.." He says out of breath as he lays flat on the ground hyperventilating. "Ok! *Pant* *Pant* New plan! I'm going as far as I can south until I can safely travel to the East. No more shortcuts! I'm just gonna follow the main path to Siren City. There's no way I'm gonna make it through Wyvern Pass.. It's goddamn impossible.." Kaz now realized the mistake he made by trying to cut through the mountains and quickly revised his plan. He also could now confirm almost that child was the culprit who brutalized his team. He didn't get a great look at him, he only memorized minor details. This likely would ensure that Kaz's journey to the mountains wasn't completely pointless. He knew what he had to do now and he wouldn't rest until he accomplished his mission. With Rattata and his newly caught Ekans by his side, as well as some lucrative newfound information, he presses onward to Siren City in hopes of capturing this monstrosity of a child and bring him to the mercy of Team Rocket.
-Arc 5- ; Secrets of Nature...Wyvern Pass; Dragon's Den; Clan of Ancient Dragons
"I see the bridge!", Aiden says out of breath and in relief. The mid-daytime air was emitting intense heat. Aiden had been running for a while now through the miles of pathless plains. "It's amazing how we have this much energy still, even after a morning of ruthless training right guys!?" Aiden says to his partners Eevee and Zubat, desperately trying to make it to the bridge, as they would finally be able to rest. Eevee ran beside Aiden, with a darting readiness to defend it's team at all costs; whilst Zubat flew above using it's supersonic sonar to sense any nearby danger. Aiden had put together a few decent strategies and tricks within the three of them. Together, they were a formidable team with confidence in each other's individual and combined understandings.
"Finally! We made it!" *Pant* *Pant* Aiden was exhausted and he knew for a fact his pokemon were as well. Zubat alerted Aiden of a nearby spot beside the river that surrounded the mountain's edge. "Zahhh! Zahh!" It called, "Lead the way Zubat!" Aiden says as he and Eevee begin to follow Zubat. They make it to the riverside checkpoint, Aiden puts down his tarp and they rest for the time being while doing some reconnaissance and observing the area's great geographical change. "Wow.. This place is seriously dangerous. I know Master Eldridge told me to cross the Dragon Bridge into Wyvern Pass, but I don't think that bridge will even hold if we try crossing it. Hmm.. I guess we'll see when we get up to it." Aiden says while trying to map out other courses of action, just in case the bridge was a no go.
"Well guys, are we all rested up and ready to go?" He asked his team. "Eeeevee!" "Zaahhhh!" They both replied with positivity in their voices. "All right! Let's do this then!" He says as they press on towards Dragon Bridge. While getting closer, all they can hear is loud and powerful rushing waters. With the monstrous waterfalls that fell from the mountain tops crashing below, the water fell into a curved ravine that dropped down easily over 200 feet. "Okay! This bridge looks really old and rickety! But if I return you guys to your pokeballs then it might be able to support my weight alone!" Aiden yells to his pokemon over the roaring of the waterfalls. He then grabs Eevee and Zubat's pokeballs from his belt and returns them promptly. "Plus, it'll be way safer this way for you guys.." He says as he clasps the pokeballs back onto his belt. He takes a deep breath and begins to walk across the old bridge with the utmost of caution. He tried holding his breath with every shaky step, while simultaneously trying not to look down. *Crack* *Crack* He stepped onto multiple planks that he cracked heavily while walking across them, holding onto the ropes that supported the sides of the bridge.
*Crack* *Crash!* "OH NO!" Aiden yells out as the plank beneath his foot cracked all the way through and fell out from under him. Aiden begins falling through the hole as he catches himself on one side of the ropes with one arm. "Ah! This is bad!" He says to himself while clutching onto the rope for his life. "Anzu! If there were ever a time to help! Now would be that time buddy! Come on Anzu, please help!" He yells out petrified while looking down the two hundred foot drop. Aiden hears no reply as he begins to question why he thought he could rely on Anzu in the first place. Aiden's grip begins loosening as fear of uncertainty washes over him, for if he lets go, he will surely perish a cruel, unforgiving death. "Rrrg! No! NO!" Aiden's grip runs out as he struggles to reach the rope with his other hand. "GASP! NOOOOOOO!" Aiden yells out as he lets go and begins to fall! *Swooooop!* *Swooooosh!* Suddenly, Anzu appears in an instant, catching Aiden by his under arms using his burning black cloak that formed itself into wings. He then flies Aiden back up onto the bridge exactly where he was when he fell, only one plank ahead. "Anzu?!" Aiden yells as Anzu disappears into the shade, just as quickly as he previously appeared.
His voice trails over, "I told you i'm not going to hold your hand through all of this, kid.. Next time you fall like that.. You're on your own." Aiden shudders as he looks down one more time, realizing that could have been his final moments in this realm. "Ok! I can do this! I just have to focus on the broken planks. It looks like everytime I take a step, I crack a plank. If the plank is already cracked, it's gonna fall through like that last one. Alright I know what I need to do, here we go." He says with confidence. He began to step on only the planks that looked like they had no cracks in them ensuring his safe passage across the remainder of the bridge.
He made it past the thick blanket of clouds that surrounded the mountains and saw where the bridge ended. Now with his new algorithm of stepping, he made it gracefully across the bridge's remaining terror. At Dragon Bridge's end, there crashes the mightiest of waterfalls effectively blocking the bridge's path. "Woah.. How am I gonna make it past this!?" Aiden says out loud, hoping Anzu could hear him. Then suddenly, Anzu appears beside Aiden and says, "I'll show you one of my Hidden Moves.. Stand back, kid." Anzu holds one arm out in front of himself with his palm facing the waterfall.
He then took a deep breath, and the waterfall began to lift up, granting Aiden passage through it's vast water body. "Woah! How did… You know what? I'm not even going to ask." Aiden says as he is widely impressed. They walked through the waterfall and entered a small opening to the mountainside that looked like a man-made cavern. The cavern was dark as the waterfall fell back down, though as it darkened Aiden could see bright neon green lighting from some mysterious looking cave rocks.
"Wow this place is amazing!" Aiden said as he looked around the cavern at all of the wondrous natural beauty. Anzu allowed Aiden to look around while he briefed him on what was next. "Beyond this entrance, is where the Ancient Dragon Clan resides, kid. It is said that this clan has been around for about as long as nature itself has existed. You are to seek out Lord Crowley Lightsworn, of the Ancient Dragon. He's the clans leader and one of their most respected elders, so in other words, what he says goes. Up ahead through this cave there will be a wide sturdy set of doors, these doors obviously will be locked down tight. However, the lock to these specific doors aren't any ordinary locks. I assume your master gave you some kind of key, did he not?"
Aiden thinks as he digs through his bag. "Hmm… Could it be this?" He asks as he pulls out the note Master Eldridge gave to him with the mysterious stone attached. "Hm?" Anzu immediately recognizes the stone and grabs it from the note. The stone was round and smooth with green, yellow and black coloration that matched the patterns in the cave that they stood in. They both walk up to the door and inspect it. Anzu then notices a small hole on the doors about the same size and shape of the stone. "Well kid, there's only one way to find out." He says to Aiden as he walks closer to the door and presses the small mysterious stone into the doors keyhole.
*Push* *Slide* *Push* *Slide* Then the doors both pushed in different directions and slid down into the ground below. "Yes! We did it Anzu! Huh!? Anzu?" Aiden says as he realized that Anzu had disappeared again. "Figures.." Aiden says as he shrugs and continues down the long cave path, lit up by the bright green rocks and fluorescent mushrooms that lined it's edges. He gets deeper into the cave and the smell of sweet flowers and fresh vegetation fill his nostrils, a pleasant yet confusing aroma fills the air. *Snifffff* "Ahh! That smell is so… gorgeous. It smells like a whole garden of lush flowers and greenery. But how is that even possible in such a dark and damp place?" Aiden wondered to himself. As he walks, nothing can be seen except for the dim green lighting and the distant darkness. He walked for about fifteen straight minutes until he came across a faint brightness at the end of the tunnel. "I think I see the entrance!" He said as he picked up his pace towards the end of the tunnel.
*Whoooosh….* *Disembodied whispers* The sudden rush of winds through the cave startles Aiden and stops him in his tracks, as a deep coldness shiveres down his spine. "Why, have, you, come?" Says an unnerving group of voices to Aiden. "Huh!? Who said that?! Anzu?! Please tell me that was you…" He says in hopes that Anzu would yet again come to his beckoning call. "WHY!? HAVE!? YOU!? COME!?" The voices said again with even more emphasis this time. Then out of nowhere the green fluorescent lighting went completely out and the whole cave went pitch black! "Woah!" Aiden yells, before his eyes manifested an entity, one that was different from Anzu, one that formed itself into a spinning mass of distorted faces and whirling darkness.
"RWRRAAAAAAAHHH! WHY!? HAVE!? YOU!? COME!?" The entity wails and screams with many different trailing voices with traces of pure hatred throughout it's bellowing. "Anzuuuuuuu!" Aiden yells as the wind rapidly vortexed throughout the cave tunnel. Aiden puts his hand in front of his face to try and block the wind and advance towards the entity. As he did that, in front of the whirling eerie entity formed an arm that looked exactly like Aiden's arm, posed in the exact same way as Aiden's.
Aiden took a couple more steps closer, then by the time he was almost face to face with the entity he realized that the entity had created a doppelganger of Aiden, a sort of "Shadow Aiden". "Wha.. What!? Is that… Me?" Aiden said in extreme confusion. Shadow Aiden moved exactly as Aiden did and copied everything he would do down to his pre determined coordinates. "Quit copying me!" Aiden said as he tried to move past Shadow Aiden, for he was now physically blocking Aiden's path into the Dragon's Den.
"Fine if you won't let me by, i'm just gonna have to go right through you!" Aiden says out of patients for the shadow before him. Aiden takes two daggers from his pouch and throws them with intense speed, but as anticipated, Shadow Aiden did the same, effectively canceling out each other's daggers upon impact. Then Aiden tried the same thing with explosive daggers, but again he was unsuccessful. "Rgg!" Aiden runs up to Shadow Aiden clashing daggers and blocking back to back attacks. "How do I beat you!?" He yells in frustration, still refusing to summon his pokemon out of worrying for their well being.
Aiden did not want to use his pokemon to fight a battle with an entity like this, he believed doing so would be cruel and unusual when there aren't any other pokemon involved in this battle. He also had always been taught to always try and subdue a spirit and never destroy them, to honor Cosmic return and all around balance. "This isn't happening… This is impossible… How do I fight myself?" Aiden wonders to himself as he stares into the blank silhouette of Shadow Aiden's face. Then abruptly, Shadow Aiden began to manifest even further.
Aiden watches as his shadow begins to undergo a nightmarish metamorphosis. Shadow Aiden Shakes with static-like movement, he also begins to grow and form a horrific mouth on it's blank face with rows and rows of sharp, rotten teeth. "WHY!? HAVE!? YOU!? COME!?" Shadow Aiden screeches with words like venom as he slowly moves closer to Aiden with static, eerie movement. Closer and closer, Shadow Aiden is now face to face with Aiden as he reaches his tentacle like shadow arms towards him. Aiden is completely frozen and paralyzed with fear. He only watches as the horrendous shadow gets closer and closer to him slowly.
*FLATLINING SOUND* *AIDEN IS NOW ENTERING A FLASHBACK*
"Lord Xaandar, we must pull the clan back, the casualties are becoming too great for us to sustain any further.. I'm sorry my liege… We have failed." Said Vetzoh, the advisor to Lord Xaandar Lightsworn, Alpha of the Dragon Clan. "I understand Vetzoh, no need for apologies. Pull the remaining members of our clan back, the monsters have won this battle." Only two months had passed since the fabled legendary pokemon Groudon God of Land and Kyogre God of Seas, returned to earth and waged war on humans for tormenting their domain.
Already the loss sustained in every village civilization was greater than anyone would have imagined. The Ancient Dragon Clan had many difficult decisions to make, for they were known around the world as warriors and guardians of pokemon and people. Many looked to the ancient clan for wisdom, guidance and protection. Others even worshipped the clan as revered "Gods amongst men'', as they were famed and favored by all surrounding villages. Lord Xaandar Lightsworn, a fearless and tenacious leader and alpha, had led the dragon guardians to many famous victories where the lives of many people and pokemon were spared thanks to them.
Though they weren't the only ones who were looked up to famously as heroes throughout Agoria. There was another faction known by the people as guardians and protectors of innocence, and they were at the time known as The Kingdom of Team Rocket. Led by Lord Xiro Nova, this kingdom was known for their vast armies and wickedly powerful members. In addition to protection, the kingdom also offered the Pokemon Warriors Academy. This was a school for any and all who would ever want to join to fight in protecting those who can't protect themselves by taming wild pokemon and training them to fight with you.
Needless to say, these two factions were extraordinarily loved and celebrated as the benefit for mankind provided by them was limitless. It was rumored at one point there were meetings between the two factions in which they discussed merging the two groups together. After all, both of the group's leaders were twin brothers. The two Lords and leaders of the supreme factions, Xiro and Xaandar walked similar but separate paths. They had nothing personally against each other until their father murdered their mother when they were only children.
When it happened on that tragic night, the two brothers witnessed the murder happen in their own home. In a split moment they had two different choices, run or stay and fight. Xaandar, who feared and complied with his father, wanted to run, however Xiro, who always rebelled and challenged his father's law, stayed to fight and defend his mother's honor. Xiro, at the age of 11 years old, battled and killed his father that night while his brother Xaandar watched as his father was slaughtered by his twin brother.
Xaandar didn't know how to feel about this, he was torn between morality and vengeance. In addition to his tormented and impressionable mind being tainted from this, he also grew jealousy fueled resentment towards his twin brother Xiro, for having witnessed his immense power while he defeated their father in fair combat. Since then, they would go on to do great things separately, with that one night burned into the back of their minds, eternally preventing them from ever fighting together side by side.
That is until now, Groudon and Kyogre mercilessly devastate the land and seas with no signs of stopping. The state the world is currently in is making both stubborn brothers finally begin to set aside their differences and come together in harmony to put these massive titans to rest once and for all. Together they fight to push back the opposition, eventually they triumph over the beasts and send the deities back to the dimension from which they came… This was the first time in history any human beings forced gods to their knees. History was truly made that day however the brothers would still not set aside their differences, fighting together only made their competitive natures and rivalry shine even brighter.
Still fueled from the battle with the deities, they then turned their blades on each other, engaging in full on combat. The pillar-like tower they stood atop felt the full intensity of their battle, but remained standing throughout the whole thing. Their factions watched in dismay as their leaders battled for what seemed like was no real reason at all, but still they watched. It went on for a while and neither one of them was making any headway. It's almost like neither of them had any intention of killing the other one, they only fought with the intention of dominance and nothing more.
Finally as their battle rages on, the sky cracks violently with thunder and lightning! The clouds open up and the rain begins to violently whip and twist with lightning. "GRAAAYYYYY!" A creature from the skies begins to descend onto the battle on top of this sky pillar. "Rayquaza, God of Skies…" Xiro says and the brothers back down and stop fighting. The god descends with the weather forming around its body. "RAYYYYYY!" It screeches as lightning strikes the center of the sky pillar in between the brothers causing both brothers to feel the god connecting with them trying to communicate and reach out.
Rayquaza was grateful to the brothers for having defeated Groudon and Kyogre and sending them back to their respectful dimensions. The god granted Xiro and Xaandar its blessings and a part of it's energies in the form of two small stones he bestowed onto them as a token of their valor and bravery. From this day forward, the two brothers never fought again, they were finally able to set aside their differences and join forces permanently. From this moment on history was made, marking the Clan of the Ancient Dragon and the Kingdom of Team Rocket, eternal allies.
Aiden comes to and Shadow Aiden is gone. The winds only subtly rolled through the tunnels. "These visions I'm having.. I think I'm starting to make a little sense of them.." He says to himself. "You got that right, kid." Anzu was leaning against the cave wall next to Aiden. "I can feel your connection with spirits strengthening, kid. That last spirit was one of vengeance and jealousy, I'm sure your vision revealed something useful to you, did it not?" He said to Aiden.
"Y.. Yeah, I saw a vision of two brothers. One was Lord Xiro Nova the other was the leader of the Dragon Clan at the time. I…. I never knew any of that about him. Lord Xiro has always been an inspiration to me. It was good to see into his past a little bit. I know when he locked the portal to Distortion World, he locked himself on the other side. Most people consider him a dead hero.. Someone who died for his people.. But I… I still feel him. I feel like his spirit lives on through all of those who still carry his ideals and morality. I feel Lord Xiro lives on through me! And everyone else who would protect those who cannot protect themselves! I vow, from this moment on, TO NEVER LOSE! THAT'S A PROMISE!" Aiden says with strength and determination in his words. "Heh" Anzu disappears again, his voice caring over, "That's a good attitude kid, keep that mentality fresh in your mind at all times, it'll bring you far kid, I know it will.."
Aiden feels confidence surging through his body as he walks into the dragons den. "Halt! How dare you trespass here!?" A voice booms from across the now opened ceiling cave. As Aiden steps into the dragon's den from the cavern tunnels he is met with a bright light from the sun as the inside of this mountainous fortress is a society that was surrounded and protected by miles and miles of sturdy mountain walls. This place was seriously huge as well as beautifully lush and simply utopian. "My name is Aiden Monarch of Hallow Town, I come in the name of Master Eldridge, The Liberator!" Aiden replied to the voice. *March* *March* *Swoop* *Swoop* Aiden is now swarmed with dragonic warriors that quickly rush over him, weapons drawn and ready to fight.
"Master Eldridge? How are we to believe the sage sent you here?" Said one of the warriors. "I have proof!" Aiden says as he reaches for Eldridge's note. "Here! A scroll from my Master himself! I seek Crowley Lightsworn of the Ancient Dragon." Quickly Aiden is knocked unconscious by one of the dragon warriors. He awakens a short time later in the presence of the Dragon Clan's Royal elders and family, including Crowley. "Awake? Good I have some questions for you, Aiden Monarch." Says Crowley of the Ancient Dragon with a cold unforgiving tone in his voice. "Who… Who are you?" Aiden replied, rubbing his sore head.
"I am Lord Crowley Lightsworn of the Ancient Dragon. Why have you so rudely barged into our sacred land unannounced?" He said to Aiden expecting a prompt response. "I… I traveled here from Hallow Town in hopes of an alignment sir! Master Eldridge has trained me extensively and he has tasked me to find the strongest factions who are willing to bring the fight to Team Rocket! And to put an indefinite end to their tyranny and the cold era!" Suddenly the clan members burst out wildly with laughter. "Foolish child! How could the likes of you convince anyone to start a war with Team Rocket? Are you mad?! These kinds of blasphemous ideals only lead to pain and death.." Said Crowley, "You expect me to put the lives of my clan in harm's way and in the hands of an inexperienced child?"
Aiden now felt as if he would fail his mission. "Leave my Dragon's Den at once! My advice to you child, is to turn around and head back to Hallow Town before you get yourself or anyone else killed! A fool like you could never conquer Team Rocket, even with our help. Now go, leave this place and do NOT come back." Crowley said to Aiden with a fierce tone in his voice. Aiden was not backing down, he didn't come all this way just to be sent back. "You're wrong Lord Crowley.. We aren't looking to start a war at all, The war has already been started. Team Rocket continues to devastate Agoria and the pain and suffering grows darker every day that goes by! Will you all seriously continue to sit idly by and do nothing while they turn our home into a desolate wasteland? I don't know this myself, but i've heard stories of countless times where your clan had turned the tide of world destruction in the past.. Why won't you help us? Everyone out there is suffering while you hide in your mountain and do nothing!"
Quickly Crowley cuts Aiden off, "How dare you!? You insolent fool of a child! You know nothing of our clan, now i'm willing to give you one more chance to walk out of here and go home. If you choose not to, you will be taken prisoner, this is your final warning, leave now.." He says to Aiden. Aiden quickly searches his thoughts for anything that will help him here. He then remembers what Anzu said earlier, Anzu: "Those dragon lovers won't be convinced of alignment without a battle, and a good one at that."
"I'm sorry my lord, I can't leave yet, I challenge you to a battle. If I win, your clan will join forces with us. If I lose, you can take me as your prisoner.." Aiden says to Lord Crowley with confidence. Suddenly all of the clan members but one began laughing wildly at Aiden, this one clan member was Drasna, mother of dragons. She was Lord Crowley's wife and mother to his two sons, she only looked up at Aiden with sadness in her eyes. "You arrogant child! You really think you can fare against me in combat? You certainly are tenacious, how about this, you will battle the weakest of my clan instead of me. This is my youngest son, Blythe Lightsworn. He is 16 years old and has only received basic training in the ways of the Ancient Dragon. Quite frankly, Blythe has been a disappointment to me, so now is his chance to prove to me that he isn't a complete failure living in his older brother's shadow. Blythe, show me what you've learned. Defeat this child and show him what it means to live beneath the shadow of the Ancient Dragon." Crowley says, giving his son confidence.
Blythe Lightsworn, the black sheep of the Ancient Dragon clan. He was a hot headed young boy who was constantly under pressure put on him by his father Crowley. His older brother Ephriam Lightsworn, was a prodigy of the dragon clan, his father's pride and joy. This left Blythe on the back burner his whole life as he struggled to impress his image obsessed father and keep up with his unbelievably talented older brother. "Yes father.." Blythe says as he steps up to face Aiden. "Now both combatants face each other! This will be a full contact battle and not a sparring match. Anything goes in this match so the first one of you to submit or die will lose… Now… Begin!" Lord Crowley says as Aiden and Blythe square up on the battlefield.
"So your name is Blythe? I'm Aiden, it's really nice to meet you." Aiden says as he unclips his pokeballs from his belt and summons Zubat and Eevee. "This is Eevee and Zubat, my pokemon partners and best pals!" Aiden says to Blythe as members of the dragon clan continue to laugh and ridicule the weak looking pokemon Aiden summoned. "Hahahaha! Well Aiden, I hope you know how to submit, because if not.. You're going to die here! Go Bagon! Axew!" Blythe says as he summons his two partners to the field. Aiden quickly arms himself with two daggers, for he knew this wouldn't be an easy battle.
"Let's go!" Blythe says as he runs up to Aiden, charging in full throttle. "Axew use dragon rage! Bagon you too!" His two dragons released attacks that rapidly shot fiery dragon energy at Aiden's pokemon, as he continued to charge in. "Zubat, use supersonic! Eevee quick attack!" Aiden says as he dodges Blythe, trying to strike Aiden head on. Zubat gets hit with dragon rage but isn't done yet! Eevee dodges the dragon rage and uses quick attack making contact with Axew, damaging it slightly. "Zubat one more time! Supersonic! Eevee swift attack!" Aiden says as he is blocking and striking locked in a hand to hand combat battle with Blythe. Zubats supersonic hits Bagon! Leaving it in a confusion. Then from there Eevee's swift attack hits both pokemon, damaging them severely.
"RRRG! Axew, use a poison jab attack now! Bagon! Huh? BAGON! NO!" Blythe says as Bagon runs into his path because of its confusion, tripping Blythe allowing Aiden to connect with a perfect hit to Blythes face, sending him flying back. Blythe quickly gets up and realizes that Bagon has fainted and is now unable to battle. "DAMN! Bagon return!" He brings it back to it's Pokeball. In all the commotion, Axews' poison jab connects heavily with Zubat causing it to faint as well. "Zubat return! You did a great job buddy." Aiden says to Zubat.
Now both Aiden and Blythe only have one pokemon left and have both taken damage. "Axew, dragon dance!" Blythe says as Axew raises it's attack and speed stats. Blythe stands back as Axew does so and begins to focus and concentrate on his own energies. "Huh? What's that?" Aiden says to Blythe as Blythe's arms and legs begin to faintly glow a golden glow. "Now i'll show you the hidden ability of the Ancient Dragon! HYAAAAA!" Blythe says as he charges up his energy enough to form gauntlet-like weapons around his arms and legs, effectively giving him some dangerous looking weapons. "This is the energy of the divine dragons! I'll show you first hand why my clan is famous for it's god-like powers! I'll summon the secrets of nature! HYAAAAAAHH!"
Blythe charges Aiden again this time his movement speed was enhanced, this made it harder for Aiden to dodge his attacks. "Wow! This power is crazy!" Aiden says, admiring his adversaries abilities. Aiden tries his best to dodge and counter, but is only met with a super hard impact hit from Blythe's dragon enhanced fist. "AHRRG!" Aiden was hit hard and flew back. "Eevee swift!" He says while he gets back up and throws an explosive blade at Blythe. *BOOM!* Blythe effortlessly counters the explosion with a backflip kick using his leg gauntlets, as he does this, Axew dashes with quicker movement speed towards Eevee and connects with another poison jab. "Eevee!" Aiden yells as he continues holding Blythe back throwing daggers and explosive blades.
Eevee hangs in there and gets up onto its feet. "All right boy! Now! Use double team!" Eevee quickly makes illusionary copies of itself, making itself even more elusive! Axew tries for another poison jab and misses! "Eevee one more time, use swift attack!" Aiden yells out to Eevee as it commences the attack. Axew is hit! Leaving it on its last legs. Blythe charges forward and front flip downward kicks, landing on Aiden smashing him into the ground. Eevee sees this happen and becomes worried for Aiden. "HAH! You'll never be better than my clan! You come in here unannounced and challenge my father to a battle, and THIS is all you've got!? HAHAHAHA!"
Blythe ridicules Aiden as he lifts him off of the ground by his collar, holding him up. "Submit now! Submit to Blythe of the Ancient Dragon!" Aiden struggles as Blythe gives him a chance to submit. "NO? SO YOU CHOOSE NOT TO SUBMIT!? STUPID KID! YOU'RE GONNA DIE HERE!" Blythe lifts his glowing fist cocking it back, giving him one last chance. *BIINNGG!* Suddenly, a piercing sound cuts through everything and fills the whole dragon den. "Huh!? What… What is that!?" Says Blythe as he turns around, only to see that Aiden's Eevee had begun evolving! "What!? Impossible!" Says Lord Crowley as he and the rest of the clan watch in awe.
"What!? It's evolving during battle?!" Said Blythe as he watched Eevee's evolution. "Eevee.. You're.. Evolving?" Aiden says as Blythe lets him go, distracted by the evolution. Aiden uses this opportunity to plant an explosive on Blythe's armor without him noticing. He light's it quickly then spin kicks Blythe with a devastating impact to his gut sending him flying back with the explosive igniting as he landed, giving him a second damaging blow. Aiden looks over at Eevee's evolution. Aiden's Eevee has evolved into Sylveon and learned the move dazzling gleam!
*Aiden's Thoughts* "Sylveon, the fairy type eon spirit! Fairy types are supposed to be super effective against dragon types! This is my only chance!" Blythe was damaged severely and was taking a while regaining his equilibrium. "Here we go Sylveon! Aim at both of them! Let's use dazzling gleam and finish this battle off!" Sylveon quickly charged its energy and took aim, "Sylveeeeeee..ONNNNNNN!" It unleashes it's dazzling gleam that lights up the whole dragon den with a blinding flash! *BOOOOOMM!* With an intense impact Blythe and Axew are hit, fainting Axew in the process and leaving Blythe too damaged to move.
"WE DID IT! GREAT JOB SYLVEON! YOU'RE THE BEST!" Aiden cheered as Sylveon ran into his arms in celebration. Aiden then looks over at Crowley, the rest of the clan's jaws were still dropped from witnessing the surprise victory delivered by this young boy who just waltzed in and defeated one of their own. Lord Crowley's face didn't look surprised, only disappointed. He gets up abruptly and walks towards the exit. "Hey! What about our deal? I won! Doesn't that mean…." Aiden gets cut off by Crowley's angry scowl, "That win means nothing! All that you proved to me was that I was wrong in assuming my son had any hope of not being the failure that I already knew he was! Now leave this dwelling! And never return!"
Aiden's face went from excited to disappointed quickly. "No! That isn't fair! We had a deal!" Aiden yelled as Crowley walked away and said, "Guards! Escort this boy off the premises and ensure that he never returns.. Now get out of my site.." The guards follow orders and escort him right back out to where he came in from. As they're walking one of the guards says, "Hey kid, I just want to say.. That was incredible! We all expected you to fail and you turned the whole battle around. Even with weaker pokemon and less experience you still came out on top. Say, did Master Eldridge really send you? I'm a huge fan of his!"
Abruptly he is cut off by the other guard who says, "Paz, that's enough! We are to make sure he leaves and then get back inside, we don't want to be out here for long, you know that! Now, get out of here kid." Aiden walks towards the bridge as the guards watch him walk away, making sure he actually leaves as instructed. "Best of luck to you kid! I'm rooting for you all the way! Oh, if you see the Master, tell him Paz says hello!" The guard Paz says as his voice fades while Aiden gets farther away. Back outside, Aiden is exhausted and feels as if the last thing he wants to do is cross this bridge again. "Phew, well.. I guess i'll use the same tactic as before except now there's even less planks for me to walk across so I need to be extra careful.. Ughhh, well here I go." He says to himself weakly.
Aiden takes one step, and begins to feel his exhaustion take over. Before he knows it, he is passing out! He is now falling unconscious down onto the bridge immediately breaking the planks he lands on. Aiden begins falling head first with his eyes closed, plummeting down the deep two hundred foot ravine. *Swoop* *Whoosh* Suddenly, Anzu scoops him up in a blink of an eye and flies him over the whole ravine back to safety. "An...zu…" Aiden says weakly as he slowly wakes up on his tarp beside a campfire. "You awake yet, kid?" Anzu says to Aiden as he opens his eyes.
"Anzu!" Aiden jumps up in excitement. "Woah take it easy kid. You took a significant amount of damage in that last battle. I already healed your pokemon and tended to your wounds. You did good, kid. You've earned a good rest. However it seems we've got a visitor in route, the kid you battled earlier is on his way here for some reason. I suggest you see what he wants." Said Anzu to Aiden. "What.. What do you mean he's on his way here?" Aiden said as he looked over to see Blythe walking up to him with a packed bag and fresh gear. Anzu of course, disappeared again.
"Hey! It's you again, Blythe! What's going on?" Aiden said to Blythe. "Hey.. um.. I just wanted to apologize for earlier, I wasn't really going to kill you, I just really wanted to impress my father.." Blythe said to Aiden. "Yeah, it seems like he's really hard on you huh?" Aiden replies to him. "Trust me, you don't even know.. But anyways, I've decided I want to come with you on your journey! I know I'm not as powerful as my father or brother, but I'll do anything I can to help your cause!" Blythe says to Aiden. Confused, Aiden says, "But what about your clan? It seems like a really closed up society over there huh?"
Aiden was trying his best not to offend Blythe with his words. "Well, I sort of snuck out and stole a ridiculous amount of gear and supplies for our journey… So i'd say we have about till morning until they send a search party to come looking for me, *Scoff* if they even care enough to find me that is. It seems as of lately all i've done is disappoint and dishonor them with everything I do.. But anyways! Forget them! I agree fully with what you were saying about Team Rocket and I want to make a change just like you do.. I've never met Master Eldridge personally but I heard stories of him and his heroic deeds, his accomplishments are truly inspiring to me and one day I aim to be a hero just like him!" Blythe said to Aiden.
"Well Blythe! Regardless of how we do it, we will complete our mission, that's a promise! We would be honored to have you join us, Sylveon, Zubat and I want to formally welcome you to the team!" Said Aiden to Blythe. Blythe and Aiden shake hands in excitement and settle down for the night, Blythe pulls out his inventory, showing Aiden the sheer amount of food and supplies. More excited than ever, Aiden, Blythe and their pokemon partners eat a nice filling meal and share stories, getting to know each other as new friends.
"Well this certainly is an interesting turn of events, the kid's got himself a team mate." Anzu says to himself as he stays hidden from Blythe for the moment. "I guess i'll eventually have to reveal myself to the dragon kid.. Who would have known, the old man was right, the kid actually got a member of that clan on his side." Anzu says to himself as he stays hidden, ready to assist and test the boy's abilities as needed. Aiden was overjoyed to have a traveling companion that wasn't a scary powerful spirit, though he was thankful to have Anzu around nonetheless. Things were looking up for Aiden as of now, however the road ahead would not be an easy one, their path was clear though they were unsure of the danger that lurked around every corner waiting to catch them off guard at any moment.
*The next morning*
"Lord Crowley! I'm so sorry to interrupt your morning meditation hour, but you must come quickly! Your son has disappeared from the Atrium!" Said Royal Guard Zaldin to Crowley. "What!? Which one? Blythe or Ephriam?" Crowley quickly replies, snapping out of his meditative state. "It's Blythe my lord, he's disappeared and it looks like he has taken a heavy cache of gear and supplies.. This doesn't look like a kidnapping my lord.. It seems Blythe has left the Dragon's Den willingly." Said Zaldin. "Yes, so it seems.." Said Crowley. "Shall I dispatch a search team for his retrieval my lord?" Zaldin says to Crowley.
"That won't be necessary Zaldin, I will send my most elite agent Ephriam to bring Blythe back. My disgraceful son has defied me for the last time! Ephriam, you are to find and retrieve your inferior younger brother by any means necessary. He will no doubt resist his capture, Blythe has long lost his way of the Ancient Dragon and must face the consequences of his defection and betrayal.. None who hold the secrets of nature shall reside anywhere but here in my Dragon's Den, I regret ever showing him our sacred art, now go Ephriam, fulfill your mission and do not return to me empty handed.." He said to Ephriam with a stern tone. "Yes, father.." Says Ephriam to Crowley as he quickly gathers a fair amount of gear and supplies, preparing for his mission to the outside.
Ephriam Lightsworn, a loyal and powerful member of the Dragon Clan. It is said that he learned how to use the secrets of nature ability at the age of six years old, he was the youngest member in all of the clan's history to unlock the power of the ancient dragon. He was a prodigy in all forms, being a multi-talented dragon warrior. However, because of his early development, his father left him without a real childhood. Ephriam endured harsh and almost inhumane forms of training throughout his whole lifetime. He suffered greatly but conquered every challenge and obstacle his father laid out before him with flying colors. His intellect matched his physical abilities almost perfectly as he continued to impress his father and every other member of their close nit society.
He did all of this to become the best of the best, he followed his father's ideals and orders without question. He believed that the Dragon Clan was better off being closed away from the rest of the world and to protect his people was his main priority. Currently, Ephriam is twenty one years old, only five years older than his younger brother Blythe. Ephriam and Blythe used to be best friends when they were younger, however the difference in their abilities would quickly cause a rift between the two brothers for Blythe would secretly envy Ephriam as well as long for the old days when things were much simpler and neither of them had the burden of training weighing down on their shoulders. Blythe always wanted to be great and surpass his older brother, but alas he would always feel the painfulness of hanging on Ephriam's coat tails.
Blythe also expressed these feelings to Ephriam on many different occasions, only making himself look weaker to his clan in conclusion. Ephriam felt pity for his younger brother but he did not hate him by any means. He always wanted to be there for Blythe as much as he could, though he quickly realized reaching out to his brother would be just as impossible as reaching out to his father. From then on, Ephriam engaged in an eternal rivalry with Blythe, one that would drive him to becoming the powerful warrior he always dreamed of being. The truth is, Ephriam always cared for his younger brother deeply, but could never get through to him with words. As Ephriam sets off on his quest to retrieve his brother he thinks deeply to himself. *Ephriam's thoughts* "Sigh.. You really messed up this time little brother.. My only hope is for father to have mercy on your soul when I bring you back home.."