If Raiden couldn't believe there was no more Treasure Town before, he surely did now.
Standing on the hill that housed Wigglytuff's Guild, the shinx could no longer see the bright buildings that had welcomed him every day. What used to be a big marketplace was now a giant crater in the ground, leaving no trace of what had been there before. Not even the trees and flowers had been spared. It was all ash. Everyone who had escaped the area on time was now hiding out within the guild. For now, they were as safe as they could be, housed in the lower levels of the base. The primal roars of Kyogre and Groudon could be heard, each of their blows lighting up the area each time they connected.
"Depressing, innit?" asked Skuntank as he approached.
Raiden turned back and sighed. "I'd been hoping it was all a bad nightmare…"
"Yeah? Well, lucky for you that you went and slept through it all," he scoffed in reply. "We had to live through it."
The shinx winced at his words. "I... I had no idea any of this would happen. I-" he stopped. What could he say? Would his apologies even ever be enough? Many Pokémon had lost their homes or died because of his actions. He let himself be fooled and everyone suffered because of him.
All of this happened because he was selfish. He had wanted to see Seraphina again and it turned him into a fool.
Seraphina…
Raiden fell and shoved his face into his paws. His heart ached and refused to stop. He lost Sera...then he was tricked into a nightmare...and during that, his friends tried to fight for him and they lost their homes because of it.
"Why…?" he sobbed. "Why does it have to be this way…?"
Skuntank grunted, turning back to the guild. "Is how it is, I suppose. I imagine all the folks inside will still want to fight, though. Come on, that Cresselia chick should be back by now…"
Raiden slowly raised his head, having been about to ask who Cresselia was, but the poison and dark type was already walking back into the guild. The shinx slowly rose back to his feet, staring out at the crater in the distance once more.
"I'm...so sorry…" he said to the air, glad it didn't respond this time around. He followed Skuntank back inside.
The lower levels of the guild consisted of residents he used to pass by in Treasure Town all the time, mixed with guild members helping around the place and beyond. Chimecho was busy tending to children and injured Pokémon with assistance from Croagunk and his weird concoctions. They also worked together to make sure everyone stayed fed. Diglett and his father, Dugtrio, were out, burrowing towards other areas on the continent to spread and gather information with the help of Skuntank's cronies, Zubat and Koffing. The father-son duo had helped with evacuating by creating some tunnels for faster escapes, allowing for more supplies to be saved. Wigglytuff was presumably "resting" in his room, according to Chatot, because he tried to protect Treasure Town against Groudon and was injured in the process.
Sunflora, Bidoof, Corphish, and Chatot were gathered and chatting about something as Raiden and Skuntank approached them. This scene alone would have looked mostly normal if it wasn't for the strange, glowing, and pink and blue being chatting with them. Its curved, blue body had a yellow underside, which reached up to the face and ended in a pointed snout. This made the pink eyes and the brighter pink tuft on its head stand out more. The sides of the head were adorned with yellow, crescent-shaped ornaments that reminded Raiden of the moon. Three pink rings were also attached to the body, one on each side that functioned like wings and a larger one that came off the back of the body. Just looking at this being made Raiden feel a little lighter as if hope had arrived in the wake of this nightmare. When they spotted him, they gave him what looked to be a smile, and he merely nodded back.
"Sh-She's so pretty, Chaw-haw," Skuntank said to himself. The shinx couldn't help but roll his eyes.
Sunflora was the second to notice Raiden's arrival and she meekly waved, causing Bidoof, Corphish, and Chatot to look as well. "Raiden!" she said, her voice struggling to remain chipper. "How are you?"
Raiden grimaced, "I've been better."
Chatot nodded and Bidoof frowned. "Golly...I know it's hard, but we just have to keep going, yup, yup!" said the latter.
Chatot nodded again as if to agree, but he opened one of his wings and gestured to the being floating by them. "Raiden, this is Cresselia," he explained. "The Guildmaster sent for her when we realised you weren't waking up. She did what she could to wake you up from your…" he hesitated, giving Raiden a look that he'd begun to recognise as pity. "...Nightmares."
He felt several sets of eyes watching him as Raiden stared at the floor. Before all this, he had ignored all the pity and sympathy he was getting. But now it just felt ridiculous. How could they still feel sorry for him? It didn't make sense to him at all. Chatot cleared his throat and continued, but Raiden heard none of it.
All he could think about was the endless cycle he'd been forced through.
"I'll never forget you."
"Who are you?"
A bitter laugh escaped his mouth, causing Chatot to stop again before he'd even noticed his laughter was audible. "E-Everything alright?" Chatot asked cautiously.
"It wasn't even her talking...but it's the truth, isn't it?" Raiden said, "She can claim she won't forget me, but in the end...you have no memories when you're gone, right? There's nothing left."
Sunflora squeaked and covered her face with her leaf-appendages. Bidoof started to tremble and Chatot didn't even know what to say.
"I saw the nightmares Darkrai had inflicted upon you," said a gentle, feminine voice. Raiden looked up to see that Cresselia had floated closer to him, and he noticed that one of her side ring-wings was dim and hung low. "I'm so sorry he did that to you, I should have known what he was up to sooner…this whole thing is my fault."
The idea of someone else blaming themselves for all this filled Raiden with anger. How did she not see that it was his fault and not hers? "No!" he cried, causing those nearby aside from Cresselia to jump. "You're not at fault! This is all happening because of me!"
"Rai…" Sunflora whimpered.
"But Rai...I'll never forget you."
And immediately Raiden's head snapped in her direction. "DON'T CALL ME THAT!" he bellowed. Every set of eyes was on him at this point. He could feel his whole body heaving as he felt his legs start to move towards the upper levels and soon the exit to the guild.
"R-Raiden!" he heard Sunflora call out to him. "Gosh, I-I'm so sorry!"
But he couldn't answer back. He didn't trust himself to. The shinx forced himself to leave, taking the ashen and not-totally-fresh air back into his lungs. Raiden didn't even care about the rain that started to pelt against his body, he just needed to get out.
Raiden only stopped briefly before breaking into a full run. He charged down the beaten path, jumping over some fallen trees and not caring about any mud that splashed onto his fur. He just needed space. He needed to be alone, to go somewhere and scream.
Flashes of memories kept playing in his mind. He couldn't forget Seraphina's smile, the way it had made his heart flutter and kept his wits in place. He even missed her stern looks, when she'd scold him for keeping his fur messy, when she'd pick on him for his table manners, and even when he was being reckless on missions. Then there were their adventures...making their way through the guild ranks, and Arceus, how delighted she was whenever they reached a new rank. They were the first to discover the secrets of Fogbound Lake and remember it, then the Desert Lake, and finally the Crystal Lake. They'd stopped Skuntank and his cronies' numerous times from causing trouble, saved the Azurill and Marill brothers, saved the world, even…How could he ever forget any of these? Every memory was a precious one to Raiden. Every time he closed his eyes, he'd see her. He'd see his partner and it would fill him with warmth and joy.
Each time his eyes opened again, it brought him only that much more pain, because he had to remember that she was gone.
Then something struck one of his paws-a branch he missed the jump of or merely a rock-and he tumbled, sending his whole world into a spin. When he came to a stop, it took him a moment to realise he could taste the sand this time. Grainy, bitter, and wet. Raiden did his best to spit and cough it out. He was at the beach-for real this time, except there was nothing peaceful about it now. The sand was dark and wet, with the tide being higher than normal. A few trees lining the beach had fallen, bothering the otherwise soft sand. The harsh rain made it hard to see, but a strike of lightning showed that even Sharpedo Bluff had been affected by all this, with the outline of its jaw missing from the rest of the rocky outcrop.
Raiden stared in disbelief at the sight of it. Even his old home was gone.
"This can't be!" he screamed over the wind and rain.
A roar drowned out his cry, and he finally spotted the ones responsible. Like two titans locked in an endless battle, Kyogre and Groudon were still very much at it. But even in the distance, Raiden could tell that something was wrong. Kyogre seemed to be massive, and instead of glowing red and blue, it was glowing red and yellow. It looked slightly different from what he'd seen in picture books, with the tail being larger and splitting into more parts than he remembered, and a strange, circular marking on its head.
Groudon towered over its counterpart, partly because it stood tall on top of a pillar of molten rock as it fired its attacks. But even then, it was like the primordial being of earth had nearly doubled in size. The lines cutting across the being were wider and fiercely glowing yellow, the spikes around its neck and underbelly were larger. Strange, curved markings were on Groudon's arms, and like Kyogre, the tail had stretched out, the spikes at the end now having more space between each other.
The shinx gawked at what he could see. The god of the seas roared, flew out of the ocean, and then charged a beam in its mouth-flying straight at its opponent. Groudon roared back and countered with a fiery, hot beam of its own. The two clashed, and the resulting shockwave tossed water everywhere, crashing into nearby cliffs and causing them to crumble under the pressure. The aftershock pushed Raiden back into the sand and sent him rolling. He yelled in surprise and forced himself to his feet in time to make out Kyogre trying to tackle Groudon into the ocean, but the land beast had caught it, and thus began yet another power struggle.
If they kept going like this, Raiden had no idea how bad the damage would get. He stepped into the heavy waves that threatened to drag him into the battle and the unknown. Yes, it was reckless, but he knew he had to try something. The shinx inhaled, dug his paws into the sand, and screamed with all his might:
"KYOGRE, GROUDON, STOP IT! CAN'T YOU SEE WHAT YOU'RE BOTH DOING?!"
He was answered with a giant wave that quickly washed over him. Before he could escape, he was dragged with it into the water. His world was spinning once again as he was pulled out and under the waves. There wasn't a Pokémon around that would help him-not that he could see any, as it was way too dark thanks to the weather and the battling giants. Bubbles escaped his mouth as he desperately tried to kick himself back up to the surface. Kick with his back legs, pull up with his front. Once his head broke free, Raiden coughed and took in big gulps of air as he kept himself afloat. A quick look around told him he'd already been pulled away from shore. At this rate, he'd be lost to the world.
"D-Damnit!" he gasped, begging his furious swim back to the beach. His small legs struggled to close any distance between him and the shore. A roar filled his ears, and he quickly took a deep breath as another wave crashed into him, sending spiraling further down into the darkness. Kick, pull, kick, pull. He had to make it back. For everyone. For Seraphina.
"You need to be strong on your own. You have to live!"
Kick, pull, kick, pull. Why was it that when he was at his closest to death, he was more determined to live? He could boil it down to instinct, but then why did Sera's last words come to him? He didn't get it. Kick, pull, kick, pull.
His head broke the surface again, and this time, a pink light was at the beach, which was now further away from him.
"Raiden?!" a desperate voice echoed in his mind. "Where are you?!"
He tried to call out in response, but all he got was a mouthful of water instead. Did Cresselia come to find him? He tried to wave his front paws in the air, forgetting he would be too dark and small to see. Another wave, bigger this time, crashed on top of him as if it was deliberate, and it pushed him down.
"Please! Let me know if you're out here!" her voice was becoming frantic now.
If she couldn't see or detect him, Raiden would have to make himself known. It was the only way he was going to stay alive.
He had to live.
Kick, pull, kick, pull. Raiden was trying harder now to reach the surface. He had one shot to make himself known. He had to live!
Desperation flooded through his body. His eyes stung from all the water and his ears felt funny. The fight to surface this time seemed to be harder than the last two. Every part of his body screamed in retaliation as it seemed like he was going against the ocean itself, something was trying to make sure he didn't survive. Then suddenly as the pressure came, it vanished. Raiden was propelled upwards as if he'd been hit by a hydro pump, so he used this to his advantage and quickly started charging electricity through his body. This was it. All or nothing.
The second Raiden felt the cold, stinging air touch his body, he gasped and released all the electricity he had stored in one, big discharge. It lit up the area around him, but he had no time to look as he fell back into the water, now too exhausted to keep swimming. His battle with the waves had taken more out of him than he thought…
As he sunk into the water once again his vision began to fade. That was it. All he could hope for now was that Cresselia could find him. The last thing he saw was a large, circular shadow pass over him.
"I'm coming!"
Warmth was the first thing Raiden felt when he came to, the sounds of a crackling fire accompanying it. The shinx groaned, forcing his eyes open once again. He had to stop waking up like this. He was back on the beach, now a considerable distance from the water. His fur felt damp but showed signs of getting dry. Raiden lifted his head to see Skuntank gently breathing some flames onto the fire to keep it steady and hot, while Cresselia was resting beside him. Some kind of rough shelter had been made, which was protecting them from the onslaught of rain.
Skuntank stared at the shinx with a look of caution on his face. "You're not gonna go back out there are you?"
"N-No…" Raiden replied weakly.
The poison and dark type grunted, sitting down near the resting duo. "Good...because I wasn't sure if I'd be able to stop you."
"What makes you say that?"
"You beat Dialga and saved the world, did you forget or something? There's no way I could beat you in a fight," then Skuntank smirked. "Not fairly, at least."
Raiden fell silent. It was strange to think that he had beaten Dialga. That felt like some other timeline or another life. He sighed. "I wasn't alone when I beat him," he said.
"And you never have been, Raiden," said a new voice. A dark blue and yellow fish Pokémon swam over in the air, and thanks to the light of the fire, the details could be made out a little clearer. He had a deep, blue body, with the pectoral and belly fins matching the colour. His large mouth was clear with the big, light blue lips he had, that currently made a big frown on his face that looked almost ridiculous on the fish. The rest of his body was two light blue dorsal fins, one on his back and the other at the end of his body, which somewhat resembled a tail, and a yellow underbelly. What completed the Pokémon was the long, yellow barbels that stemmed from his cheeks and the tell-tale yellow 'W' on his forehead. Raiden could easily identify this as a whiscash, but this one was larger than most that he'd seen. He and Sera could have easily ridden on his back, go on adventures together. It reminded him a lot of-
Raiden gasped, staring at the new arrival. He couldn't believe it. "R-Roger?" he asked tentatively. "Is...is that you? Last time I saw you, you were a Barb-"
"Barboach?" Roger smiled a little before frowning again. It nearly looked like his mouth was going to melt away. "Ah, yes, I can explain that later. But right now, are you okay? You scared me like that being in such dangerous waters! The ocean is no dungeon, you know."
The shinx sighed. "Yeah, I'm fine. I was trying to shout at Kyogre and Groudon and I uh...guess I got washed away?"
Skuntank lifted a paw to his face and groaned into it. "Geeze, Shinx, you're a crazy 'mon."
"I'm no expert on legendary Pokémon, but I don't think shouting at them is going to help anything," Roger said nervously, the tips of his barbels touched together in response. "I don't think they're in a state to just stop because someone asked them nicely."
"How do you know this fish, Shinx?" Skuntank asked, gesturing towards Roger with his head.
Raiden paused for a moment. "Oh, yeah! Sera and I recruited him on one of our adventures, but when it came to some of the world-saving stuff, there wasn't much time to bring him along. Skuntank, this is Roger. He...used to be a Barboach. When did you evolve?"
"Umm, a while back actually!" Roger said, now with a proud, toothy grin on his face. "The Guildmaster sent me on a secret training adventure with his friend Lapras, and he helped me become super big and strong for you!"
Raiden nodded, feeling quite impressed with the results. "Wow," he said in awe, "Congratulations! You must be super strong!"
Roger nodded quickly, his whole body flowing with the movement. "I am! Thanks to Lapras and Mr. Wigglytuff, I can protect you even better now!"
A scoff came from Skuntank, and he narrowed his eyes at the shinx. "If it weren't for him and Cresselia, you'd be a goner in the ocean by now."
It made him pause. He nearly died. The thought of it made Raiden's throat feel dry and his stomach clench. "I nearly…" he muttered in slow realisation.
"Yes, you did!" the poison-dark type growled with irritation before suddenly raising his voice. "Is that what you were trying to do?! Leave us will all this mess you helped cause?"
Raiden flinched as he stared down at the sand. He had no response to give, why should he? Skuntank was right after all. What right did he have, to skulk around and nearly drown while everyone was suffering? It wasn't right to just leave his messes to everyone else. He might have saved the world, but he put it in an arguably worse situation than before.
Roger glared at Skuntank, floating just a bit closer to him. "How dare you talk to him like that! He saved the whole world, and this is how you treat him?"
"Hmph."
The whiscash took this chance to continue, "You didn't exactly make Rai's guild life easy, either! With all your stupid tricks and shenanigans. Why I should blast you with my hydro pump for all you did!"
Skuntank stood up and glowered at Roger. "I dare you to try then, Whiscash. I ain't afraid of you!"
Raiden didn't even bother trying to stop them. He was too deep into his thoughts to care. He thought about what had been going on, everything he'd done since that day he lost Seraphina. He remembered all the looks his guildmates would give him when they didn't think he was paying attention. The pity, the sadness, the worry. Why did they still care, even now? He still had seen the same looks, the same pity one month later. The world was ending again, and they still had time to care for him? That felt ridiculous.
It was all ridiculous. The world needed him again, so why couldn't he-?
Right. His partner was gone, and so was his strength.
His rock.
His courage.
"Raiden," Cresselia's voice snapped him out of his thoughts. He looked up to see that Roger and Skuntank had both calmed back down, but neither was talking. Cresselia must have stopped him while he was lost in his mind. His gaze went back over to the lunar Pokémon and saw her sorrow-filled expression. "Are you alright? I'm so sorry that happened to you, I came as fast as I knew you needed help."
The shinx stood there for a moment before he sighed. "Please, stop apologising to me, Cresselia. I don't deserve your pity."
"I am giving you my sympathy," she insisted. "Raiden, let me apologise. Everything happening is my faul-"
"No, it isn't!" Raiden shouted. "Didn't you hear Darkrai in my dreams? 'Everything happening' is my fault because I let him put me to sleep!"
It was Roger's turn to stare at the sand, most likely at a loss for words. Skuntank didn't say anything either, having gone back to staring at the fire.
Cresselia didn't falter, her soft look stayed on her face. "No. Raiden, when you saved Temporal Tower, Darkrai's plan was already in effect. He prepared to track you down, and strike when you were alone. He wanted to kill all your hopes in his nightmares, so he would gain power from your sorrow and use that to fuel his conquest…"
"Well good job to him," Raiden said, feeling his eyes narrow at Cresselia. "Because he succeeded."
A sniffle came from the goddess, which made all eyes suddenly fall on her.
"Cresselia…?" Skuntank said with uncharacteristic concern.
She hung her head and her bent, dull crescent-wing flickered. "I wasn't strong enough to stop him. I-I had so many chances and I-" Cresselia choked out a sob. "Because of me, he was able to target Raiden. I wasn't strong enough to wake him up, and because of that, you all have suffered…"
The shinx was quiet. He wasn't sure what to say, as he wanted to carry the burden all by himself. It was his fault. Hearing Cresselia cry made his stomach do flips. Raiden wanted to do anything to stop her from crying, to deny her blame in any of this. But he couldn't. In a way, it was her fault that he lost his home. If only Cresselia had been strong enough. If only he hadn't been gullible. He growled. If only he hadn't fallen for Darkrai's tricks. If only he'd been strong enough to stop any of this from happening.
If Seraphina saw this, surely, she'd be disappointed in him.
Roger floated over and gently placed a big fin on her back. Cresselia seemed to stiffen but didn't reject the gesture. "Lady Cresselia, I mean no disrespect, but..." he addressed her with an air of formality. "It doesn't matter whose fault it was," then he glanced at Raiden. "None of you did any wrong."
Raiden felt his breath hitch as he prepared to protest, but Roger continued. "You both keep saying 'my fault, my fault!' but is it? You can throw all the protests you want at me, but the only one to blame for all of this is Darkrai! He's the one who caused all this. He's the one who made it happen, but I'm sure as hell not going to let him get away with it."
"'Bout time someone said it," muttered Skuntank.
It hit Raiden painfully. It was like he'd been hit by a thunder attack, a harsh bolt of truth from the clouds. He saw that it similarly reached Cresselia, as she was quickly recovering from her pity-party. To some degree, Raiden still felt that he was responsible. But his teammate was correct. It was Darkrai's fault! He caused all of it, from Seraphina's amnesia to blanketing the future and present in darkness.
Raiden was flooded with new emotions. He had a burning desire to take down the Pokémon behind all this. He had to do it. For Seraphina, for Grovyle and Celebi…all their hearts were with him. It was up to him to finish what they started.
He had to save the world they all fought so hard to restore.
The shinx stared at Cresselia, the two sharing a look so intense that he could've sworn it made Skuntank jealous. Roger had stirred something inside of them both.
"Sera's last wish was for me to make sure the world didn't fall to darkness again," Raiden said with renewed vigor. His heart ached just saying her name, but he had to put it aside for now. "I haven't exactly lived up to that yet, but I intend to start that now."
"Darkrai has bested me twice," Cresselia faltered, but she lifted her head and Roger drifted back. Slowly, her weakened form restored itself, her previously bent wing lifted, and glowed just as brilliantly as the rest of her. "But he will not get me a third time. Will you all help me defeat him and bring light back to this world?"
Raiden nodded. "I'm with you," he said. "Darkrai hasn't heard the last from me yet."
Roger beamed. "Of course, I'll help you! I intended to from the beginning!"
The three of them glanced at Skuntank, and he sighed. "Why do you want me on your crazy adventure?"
Cresselia tittered. "You came this far to help, haven't you? Please, come with us! The more the merrier!"
"He doesn't have to come," Roger said. "It's going to be super dangerous. He might not survive and-"
Skuntank got to his feet, suddenly energetic. "I-I'll come! Don't worry, Miss Cresselia, you can count on me!"
Raiden blinked. "Are you sure, Skuntank? It's not going to be easy…"
A small cloud of poison was snorted out of his nostrils, which caused the fire to flare up. Roger quickly blasted it with water, putting it out almost instantly. It made their surroundings dark once again, with only Cresselia's glow to illuminate the glare on Skuntank's face. It almost made him look intimidating. "I said I was going to help, alright? Don't make me regret it, Chicken."
Lightning lit up the sky, reminding the group of the titans still duking it out in the ocean. The rain wasn't letting up at all. Raiden didn't want to get soaked again, in fear he'd get sick and not be at his best to fight.
"We need to do something about those two," Roger said. "It's not right, seeing them fight."
"Agreed," Cresselia sounded a lot lighter now. "But right now, we should return to the guild and rest. We must prepare for tomorrow."
"What's happening tomorrow?" Raiden asked.
"If you'd been listening, Chicken, we have a plan to stop them."
"Stop calling me that!"
Skuntank ignored him.
"Right, I'll teleport us back to Raiden's room then," Cresselia announced. "Please close your eyes, everyone."
They did as they were told. Rai squeezed his eyes shut and quickly he found the sand vanishing under his paws. His heart lurched for a moment and fear started to creep in. It was a short moment, but it almost felt like he was in his nightmare again. Once he felt a familiar stone floor under him, he quickly forced his eyes open. Just like Cresselia had promised, they were back in his guild room. There was his bed made of straw, and then Seraphina's bed. He gulped when he realised it was going to remain empty from now on.
"Raiden, are you okay?" Roger asked.
"Huh? Erm, I'm okay."
Cresselia hummed and stared out into the hallway. "I must go. I make my way around the guild at night to make sure everyone has pleasant dreams. Goodnight, and I'll see you all tomorrow."
Raiden and Roger nodded as she left, floating out of Raiden's room and taking the light with her. Skuntank scoffed and started walking after her. "See you tomorrow," was all he said.
That left Rai and his teammate to themselves. The shinx sighed and stepped over to his straw bed, flopping onto it. "Man, I'm so exhausted," he said.
"Well, you did have a fight with the ocean." Rai could almost hear the forced grin in Roger's voice.
"I feel so stupid. If I had drowned, that would have been it…"
"It's best to not think about it. I can't be in Team Overload if there's no team to be on," the cheeriness dropped, and Roger finally showed the sadness he was holding back. "I don't think I could handle it if I lost you as well as Seraphina…"
"I'm sorry, Roger," Rai lowered his head in shame. He'd been so, so stupid lately. "I haven't been myself ever since she left, I didn't even once think about how you'd be feeling."
The whiscash sunk closer to the floor with a sigh. "I'm just glad you're okay. I can keep you safe, it's what she would have wanted."
The shinx nodded slightly. It was hard to admit he'd been incredibly foolish since his partner died, despite her final wishes. He had promised to stay alive, and what did he do? Nearly drowned, of course. The logical way to uphold that promise.
Then in a sudden moment, Raiden looked back up to see Roger was in his face, a large frown on the big whiscash. "Gah!" he yelled in surprise.
"Raiden, I need you to promise me something."
"Yeah, what?"
"I want you to never leave my side out there, okay? I need you to be safe…"
Lightning lit up the room briefly, followed by the loud sound of an explosion. Neither occupant flinched even remotely, a little thunder had never scared either of them. Roger's request was more chilling than the chaotic storm. This fight would be Raiden's biggest one yet, and this time, there was no Seraphina to have his back. What happened to Treasure Town was a grim reminder of what Darkrai was capable of, the image of the massive crater popping into his mind-what was to stop the spirit from doing it again? Any of them could die and there'd be no going back.
"Rai?" Roger said anxiously, "I need you to swear on it. We do this as a team, okay?"
The shinx nodded. There was no idea he could put Roger through the pain of losing another teammate. It just wouldn't be right. "I'm with you, Rog, we do this together. Just like old times."
The air seemed to shift-from tense to somber. A small smile made its way onto Roger's face. "For Seraphina?" he extended a whisker, reaching out to Raiden.
The new leader of Team Overload smiled in return, sticking out a front leg in return. Roger's whisker lightly curled around his leg and they shook. It was something she had taught them-a handshake. It still sounded funny. The memory made his eyes sting with tears.
"Rai," Seraphina chided, her tails flicking with irritation. "If we're going to be a team, you've got to be less reckless! I can't bail you out every time you get poisoned, you know."
"I know!" he replied, stretching the word out as a child would. "I know, but sometimes I can't help it. I just wanna get in there and fight, you get me?"
She stared at him incredulously, "I don't," she said, "I'd rather avoid wasting all our pecha berries every mission, they're going to get expensive!"
"Alright, okay!"
"I want you to shake on it."
"Sorry?"
Seraphina blinked and hummed. "You've never heard of a hand-er, paw shake, before?"
"No…?"
The vulpix sighed and strode over to him, when she stopped, she was almost a leg's length away. She lifted one of her front legs and stretched her digits out. "Now you do the same," then Raiden must have pulled a face because she chuckled. "Don't worry, this isn't a trick or something."
He mimicked her actions, spreading out his own paw. Then Seraphina awkwardly grabbed his paw with her own, and gently shook it. "This is what a handshake is...except it might have been a lot easier to do in my other body."
"This is so strange…" Rai said with a slight chuckle, moving his leg back to the ground when she let go. "Are there any other weird human things you remember?"
"I'll let you know when they come to me," she replied with an unwavering smile. "But you shook on it now, so be more careful!"
"Alright, alright! I will, I promise!" he laughed, causing his partner to do the same.
Raiden stared out the window, glaring at the world Darkrai had messed up. "Yeah, for Seraphina," he declared.
The next morning, Raiden, Roger, Cresselia, and Skuntank all stood before Chatot, who was just glad that the shinx was okay. Other residents of Treasure Town watched on, as well as other members of the guild. "I'm so glad that you're alright, Raiden," Chatot said. "When you ran off yesterday, we were all worried you weren't coming back…"
"Never mind that," Raiden replied. "What's the plan?"
The door to Wigglytuff's office opened, and the guild master himself walked out. Most occupants of the room gasped, and Raiden felt his own eyes widen. Several oran leaf bandages adorned his body, the most obvious one being wrapped around his stomach, others being around his left arm, and another around the middle of his right ear. Despite it all, Wigglytuff had his signature smile. "Raiden!" he said happily, "So good to see you awake. I trust you're ready to help us once again?"
"Wha…?" he'd heard about Wigglytuff being injured trying to fight off Groudon, but he didn't think he'd ever see their guild master in such a state.
Chatot flapped his wings and squawked something unintelligible before speaking. "G-Guildmaster! You should be resting!"
"How are you feeling?" Chimecho asked as she floated over to inspect Wigglytuff.
"Oh, I'm doing fine, don't worry!" he said cheerily, waving off their concerns. "What matters now is that we're ready to counter Darkrai. So, Raiden, are you ready?"
The shinx swallowed and nodded. "Yes, Sir," he said uneasily. "It'll be different fighting without Sera by my side...but I'll do what I can."
Wigglytuff nodded sympathetically, then Skuntank cleared his throat. "So... the plan? If we're doing this, I wanna get going before dark."
"Er, right," Chatot said. "So, we've been in contact with another continent lately because we believed they could help us with Kyogre and Groudon."
"How so?" Raiden asked.
Cresselia glanced over. "How familiar are you with the story of the meteorite that nearly destroyed part of the world thirty planet rotations ago?"
The more Raiden thought about it, the more it sounded familiar, but while he was told it was an event that happened before his time, he couldn't quite remember the details. "It's been a while since I've heard that story. What about it?"
"It's definitely no story," Wigglytuff stated. "Thirty cycles ago, a large meteorite was on course to crash into the air continent, but a brave duo, just like you and Seraphina, set out to track down Rayquaza and make him stop the meteorite."
"That actually happened?" Skuntank questioned.
"Sure did!" Roger said. "They say Rayquaza soared high into the air, met the meteorite in space, and destroyed it with a mighty hyper beam, haha! It must have been a sight to behold."
Bidoof approached the discussion nervously. "S-So, what does Rayquaza have to do with Kyogre and Groudon?"
Chatot cleared his throat and puffed his feathers with confidence as if he was waiting for this moment. "They say whenever Kyogre and Groudon fight, Rayquaza is the only one who can stop them!"
Raiden tilted his head in confusion. "So, we're going to the air continent to track down Rayquaza?"
"Yes, that's the plan," Cresselia said in confirmation. "We'll be seeking out the ones who found Rayquaza and saved the planet all those years ago. They might be getting on in age a little, but they've already agreed to help us."
"Once you track down Rayquaza and get him to help, he should have no problem calming the other two down," Chatot explained. "You should all get ready because the longer Kyogre and Groudon fight...the more I worry about what will happen if a stray move hits us."
"Y-You guys are welcome to any of the gear I have left with me…" said Kecleon
"Don't you worry! We'll be back in no time!" Roger declared. The whiscash swam over to the purple kecleon to take him up on his offer.
"Once we're ready, I'll teleport us," Cresselia said.
"Yeah, no worries," Raiden nodded and looked around the room. He still wasn't used to seeing so many Pokémon in the guild at once. Roger spoke to the remaining Kecleon brother, with Chansey, Duskull and Marowak adding to the conversation. Berries and coins were being traded around. The town may be gone, but the spirit was still there. "I hope one day we can rebuild Treasure Town…" he said to himself.
"Um, Raiden?" Sunflora approached him slowly, with the Marill and Azurill boys tailing her. "I'm really sorry about yesterday. I should have been more careful and-"
Raiden cut her off, smiling gently as he did. "Don't worry about it, okay? I'll be alright."
She nodded in response, then gestured to the brothers. "These two wanted to talk with you as well."
"H-Hi, Raiden!" Marill greeted, sounding a little anxious.
"Mister Raiden!" Azurill cheered. "I'm so happy you're awake!"
"Heh, me too. I'm glad to see you kids are okay," Rai said. "How's your Mom?"
"She's doing really well!" Azurill answered, bouncing happily. "Much better!"
"That's good. Are you okay, Marill?"
The water mouse flinched then sighed. "Th-Thank you for saving the world, Raiden! But…"
The shinx frowned. "But what?" he asked.
"I'm really sorry you have to save the world again...it's not fair."
This surprised Raiden. He didn't expect to hear this at all from a child, and he really couldn't disagree, either. It wasn't fair, but for some reason, he didn't mind so much. "It's okay, Marill. I'm fine. If you guys and everyone else here is safe, I don't care what I have to do."
"Please be safe, okay?"
The shinx nodded. "Don't worry Marill, I'll be back, and the world will be saved again before you know it."
Marill sniffled and ran up, doing his best to hug Rai. Azurill bounced over and hugged Rai's leg. "You can do it, Mister Raiden!"
Sunflora smiled softly, while Rai stared at the two brothers and felt his eyes tearing up. "Aw...you two are gonna make me cry…" he sniffled. He really appreciated it. Seeing the two brothers safe and sound made saving the world worth it.
He enjoyed the moment until Skuntank coughed and stuck his head into the conversation. "Can we get going? I'd like to give this Rayquaza a piece of my mind for not stepping in sooner," he said impatiently.
"Right, okay Skuntank, we can get going," Raiden sighed and then turned his attention back to the brothers, who were just now stepping back. "Be brave and look after your mother."
"We will!" they both said in unison. "Good luck!"
"Good luck Raiden, stay strong," Sunflora said, before leading the brothers away.
"Let's make this quick," said the dark and poison type as they both gathered by Roger and Cresselia. The former seemed to be done talking with the residents and now had a large bag hanging from him, the strap wrapped around his body. "I wanna be back for dinner."
"Dinner may have to wait," said Roger. "Saving the world is a serious business, you sure you can handle it?"
Skuntank scoffed. "Of course, I am. Cresselia asked for my help and I'm not going to say no."
Cresselia smiled at that and bowed her head. "Thank you for helping me."
"Thank us when it's over," Raiden said with a grimace.
"Thank you for everything, Raiden," Wigglytuff said, still smiling. "Please remember that we've all got your back."
"If you need anything, just let us know! Everyone else here will hold down the fort," Chatot added.
"What about the rest of us?" Skuntank narrowed his eyes in annoyance.
Wigglytuff beamed in response. "Good luck to all four of you! I'd like to send you off with our motto, shall we, everyone?"
"Yeah!" many voices around the room shouted.
Chatot's eyes lit up and he about the room, raising his wings. "A one...a two, and a one-two-three!"
Everyone a part of the guild, including Roger, and even most of the residents of Treasure Town rose their voices and spoke as one. It felt like a long time since Raiden had heard the morning cheers. Once again, tears threatened to spill out of his eyes.
"One: Don't shirk work!"
"Two: Runaway and pay!"
"Three: Smiles go for miles!"
Chatot beamed and cleared his throat. "Alright Pokémon, let's give a big cheer for Team Overload!"
"GOOD LUCK!"
"G-Guys...thank you so much!" Raiden sniffled as Roger patted his head with a fin.
"And now let's go," said Skuntank.
Not wanting to waste any more time, Cresselia lit up, as well as Raiden, Roger, and Skuntank. The shinx found himself weightless, and in a flash, the ground underneath him disappeared once again.
Once they reappeared, Cresselia swayed and started to drop. Roger acted quickly and dove under her, letting the moon goddess land on his back. "Thanks, Lady Cresselia, you can rest now," he said gently.
She lifted her head slightly and forced a chuckle "...Forgot how much a big teleport took out of me…"
"Is this the air continent?" Raiden asked.
"Indeed, it is," confirmed Cresselia. "We were expected...just hang on."
"You're the only one that needs to hang on," Skunktank told her. "If teleporting takes this much out of you, you should have done smaller jumps instead of a big one."
Roger did his best to make Cresselia comfortable as he watched Skuntank. "What? You got a crush on her or something?"
"I do not!" he glared at Roger, puffing his cheeks.
"Let's not fight," Raiden sighed. "We're here to find the old heroes and seek out Rayquaza." He broke away from the talking and took in his surroundings. They were on a neatly paved, sandy path, with short grass running alongside it and more trees than Raiden could probably count were standing tall past that. Their path split into three other options, with all of them leading into the unknown. The air felt fresher here, though that might have been due to the intense weather going on back home.
Directly opposite them was a dome-like structure, like that of Wigglytuff's Guild. Except instead of the large, pink head, this one was brown. The mouth of the head was the door, with the eyes being windows-a detail that always bothered Raiden. Big ears jutted out from the head where they'd normally be, and cream painted rocks were placed all around the base of the house, minus the door/mouth, to resemble the fur that would be seen on this type of Pokémon, which was most definitely an eevee. A little mailbox stood proudly in front of the house, except it was bright and yellow, with three, back tufts of wood sticking out from the back to resemble a tail-psyduck, maybe? And a small pond sat on the other side of the path from the door/mouth.
"What a bizarre looking home," Skuntank commented. "I'd prefer my plain-looking hut anyday."
"Hey!" cried a voice. "That's our home you're talking about!"
"Hello?" Raiden called. "I'm sorry, he's just a rude 'mon."
A golduck walked out of the eevee house and looked around. When his eyes fell upon Raiden and his group, his eyes widened, and he quickly jogged up to the four of them. "Oh, Arceus, sorry! I didn't realise you guys would be here so early!" he apologised.
Roger waved a dismissive fin, chuckling. "Sorry, were you still sleeping?"
The golduck nodded and rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. "Uh, yeah. One sec," he turned back to the house and called out. "Hey, Ella! They're here!"
"Ella…?" Raiden blinked in surprise. There were others who had these peculiar names?
"Oh no, more of 'em," grumbled Skuntank. Cresselia had long since fallen asleep on Roger's back, and nobody blamed her. She must have been exhausted.
The Pokémon named 'Ella' walked out of the house, and Raiden gasped. He'd never seen anything like her before. She was a quadruped, covered in pale-cream fur with pink feet, ears and tail. As Ella approached, Raiden took in her bright blue eyes, her tiny nose and the two pink and cream bows on her body. One bow sat at the base of her left ear, and the other on her neck, and coming from both bows were two, long ribbons that seemed longer than her body. All four were tipped light blue, with a darker blue stripe above, and then a pink stripe while the rest was cream coloured like her body. Raiden realised he was staring and tried to look at anything else besides Ella.
"S-Sorry!" he stammered. "I-I don't think I've seen your kind before…"
Roger and the golduck both snickered. "Don't worry," the latter said, "She has that first impression on everyone."
Even Skuntank blinked and stared at the ground.
Ella snorted and attempted to use a ribbon to hide her laughter. "I'm sorry," she spoke and her voice was gentle. In a way, it reminded Raiden of Seraphina, filling him with a sense of longing. "Apparently, Sylveon are known for attracting attention...but I do like this form a lot."
"Sylveon," Roger repeated. "Is that what you are?"
"Sure am!" Ella said. "Sylveon is another evolution of Eevee...you've heard of the fairy type, right?"
"Kinda?" Raiden answered. It wasn't exactly a prominent type on the grass continent where they lived, but apparently fairy type Pokémon showed up more in the other lands.
Golduck spoke up next, the gem on his forehead shining in the sun. "Yeah, so Sylveon is just a fairy type Eevee, pretty cool, huh?"
Roger and Raiden nodded in agreement, while Skuntank just scoffed. Then Ella gasped. "Oh, sorry! Where are our manners? I'm Ella, and this is Corsair," she pointed to the golduck using one of her ribbons. "Wigglytuff sent letters with a Drowzee our way, explaining the situation. I'm really sorry about what's going on…"
"You don't have to worry," Roger reassured her, adjusting Cresselia slightly on his back. "Once we get a hold of Rayquaza, we'll be out of your fur."
"So... why do you guys have them 'name' things like Shinx and Whiscash here? I thought they were the only ones," Skuntank asked.
Ella blinked, then her eyes widened. "Oh, nobody told you?"
"Told us what?"
Corsair piped up. "Ella used to be a creature called a 'human', they had this thing where they had names, so they didn't call each other 'Human', so after a while everyone here adopted the idea from me and Ella. She named me a little after we met."
Raiden paused, then it clicked as he barely registered the gasps from Roger and Skuntank. His stomach lurched and his breathing hitched. Human. Ella had been Human. There was no way, that had to be a coincidence, right? Seraphina was gone, but why was she still here? Why wasn't Ella gone? Did Ella not come from the future? So many questions filled his mind, making him feel confused, dizzy and sick. Another Human. Another Human...
"Rai?" Roger frowned at him, "Are you okay?"
"You don't look so good," Corsair commented.
Raiden heard Ella gasp. "Oh my gosh, I remember! Wigglytuff said the Shinx went by 'Raiden'-and he used to have a human partner!"
He couldn't tell which voice was what anymore, his body slumped and he felt himself go faint.