Welcome back readers! It's time to start the second arc of the Pokemon Ranger x Cyber Sleuth story and sequel (or prequal depending on how you want to look at it) of Cyber Ranger Guardian Story: Oracle War! Which as those of you who played Guardian Signs can no doubt tell is the multiplayer missions. Normally I play the game as I went along writing this but needless to say that won't be possible here. Truth be told I managed to beat a good chunk of the multiplayer missions by myself once upon a time, but then I hit a snag with the last level of the Dark Temple and needed a old acquaintance to help me brush off the rest. And I don't feel like grinding to the point where I can take all the temples on again on a new file just to be able to watch the cutsceens again, so I'm going to resort to videos on YouTube to refresh my memory on everything. But that being said let's get started!
Ben dropped down from a shining light in Cocona Plaza. Pichu followed close behind.
"Bi!" Celebi flew over to Ben and Pichu, flying in circles around them.
"Hello to you too Celebi." Ben laughed.
Ravio then ran over to them. "You're back!"
"Sup Ravio!" Ben waved.
The boy turned around. "Tanvir! Kira! Ben and Pichu are back!"
The brawly looking man and the silver haired girl ran over to them. "Hey guys!" Ben waved.
"We are glad you're back." Tanvir smiled. "We've been waiting, Ben."
"Sorry about that." Ben said with his hands on the back of his head. "Is everything alright here?"
"Pip!"
Piplup ran over to Pichu who bounced in delight to see him. "Pi!"
"Hi Piplup." Ben kneeled down and petted the Pokemon.
"So, you finished what you needed to do?" Ravio asked.
"Yup." Ben stood up then looked back at the light above them. "Say, doesn't that normally dissipate?"
Then unexpectedly Summer dropped down. Her Staraptor landed near her. Confused she looked around. "Huh? What is this place?"
Ben's eyes widened. "S-Summer?!"
The girl turned around. "Ben? What's going on?"
"Ben, who's this?" Kira asked.
"Summer, what are you doing here?!"
"We all saw you go into that portal and I followed you."
"We all?" Who else saw that?!"
"WAAAAAAAAAH!" Without warning, Takumi and Ami landed right on top of the Rangers.
"Owww…What was that?" Ami asked.
"I don't know." Her brother groaned.
Ravio stared at them. "Uh…hello?"
Takumi looked up at the boy. "Huh? Who are-
"YIKES!" Terriermon landed right on Takumi's head, and Palmon on Ami's.
"WHOOOOOOOOOOOOOA!"
"OW!"
"EEK!"
"AGH!"
"OOF!"
"GAH!"
One, by one, Arata, Nokia, Yuugo, Yuuko, Fei and all the other Digimon landed on them, in a messy pile. Groans and yelps of pain filled the plaza as they tried to get back on their feet.
"Jeez, that hurt." Arata mumbled.
"Oh, suck it up." Fei mumbled. "It's not that bad."
"You landed on top of us!" Nokia retorted. "Of course, you didn't get it that bad!"
"What is this place?" Yuuko asked. "It looks like the part of the village we were just in but…"
"What are you people doing here?" Tanvir asked.
"And just who are you?" Fei retorted.
Hagurumon scanned the area. "Location unknown. No recommended course of action available."
"D-did that Pokemon just talk?" Kira yelped.
"It's a Digimon." Nokia replied.
"Digimon?" Ravio asked. "Just who are you guys? And what's with the weird cloths?"
"Hey, I can say the same thing to you buster! That Ben's got a lot of explaining to do!"
"First we kinda need to find Ben." Takumi said.
"First you kinda need to GET OFF OF BEN!" the boy's voice yelled from under them.
"Huh?!" Everyone got up and saw poor Ben and Summer face down on the floor.
"Oh, Ben! Summer! What are you two lying around for?" Nokia asked.
"Once my bones knit, I swear I'll get you for this." Summer muttered.
Takumi and Ami helped the Rangers back up. "You okay?" Takumi asked.
"I've been better." Ben replied with his hands at his back.
"Ben, why did you bring all these people here?" Kira asked. "Wise Woman said-
"Hey, I didn't bring them on purpose! I don't even know why they're here!"
"Summer was worried." Ami explained. "You were acting strangely so she told us she was going to follow you. Then the rest of us decided to tag along."
"What?"
"Ben, what's going on?" Summer asked. "Where are we? And why is the legendary Celebi here?"
Kira sighed. "Well, no getting past it now. We're going to have to explain it to them."
"And I have a feeling there's a bit more you'll need to explain to us, Ben." Tanvir added as he gestured to Hagurumon.
"Right…" Ben rubbed his forehead. "Well guys, these are Ravio, Tanvir, Kira, Piplup, and Celebi. And this here is my Partner Summer, her Staraptor, Takumi, Terriermon, Ami, Palmon, Arata, Keramon, Nokia, Agumon, Gabumon…" Ben had to take another deep breath before continuing. "…Yuugo, his sister Yuuko, Hagurumon, Guilmon, Fei and FanBeemon. See, what happened is…"
Everyone remained quiet as Ben explained his past encounters with Celebi and his friends. He also explained the matter of the Temple Oracles.
"Okay, so to summarize..." Takumi said. "We're in Oblivia's past, and you agreed to help Ravio and his friends investigate these weird men in armor to find out what caused them to go nuts and return them and the Pokemon they control to normal."
"That's it in a nutshell. I'm sorry for not telling anyone."
"Well you oughta be!" Nokia scolded. "Sheash! You really are just like Takumi and Ami! Going around, getting yourself into trouble without telling anyone!"
Yuuko put a hand on her shoulder. "Actually, Nokia, I'd say Ben not telling us about this is very well justified."
"How so?" Guilmon asked.
"Affecting the time steam is incredibly dangerous. Even the slightest changes to history can drastically affect the time we came from. Our actions here can put millions-maybe trillions in jeopardy."
"Yuuko's right, Nokia." Ami said. "When you think about it, we're changing history just by standing here."
"Seriously? Does this mean I can use Celebi to make all those wrong answers on my history tests right?" Nokia asked.
"We're from another world, you moron." Arata scowled.
Ben sighed. "I was really hoping I wouldn't get anyone else involved in this."
Summer nudged him with a wink. "Sorry, but I'm your partner in case you've forgotten! So, I'm involved in whatever you are like it or not!"
Ben chuckled. "Thanks Summer."
"I guess we're all in on this now." Takumi said.
"Guys, are you sure this is a good idea?" Yuugo asked. "You heard Yuuko, this is extremely dangerous. What if our actions here wipe Rand, or somebody else we know from of existence?"
Nobody was smiling after hearing that. "I-is something like that possible?!" Nokia asked.
"I didn't think about that…" Summer said.
"But wait." Ben said. "The last three times Celebi brought me here, I came back and nothing bad happened."
"Celebi was the one to bring you here?" Yuuko asked, to which Ben nodded. "I see…then maybe…maybe this was meant to happen."
"So, you think we won't have anything to worry about?" FanBeemon asked.
"Maybe."
"Either way, we can't just look the other way when Pokemon are in danger." Summer said. "We have to help. It's our duty as Pokemon Rangers."
"Then I guess there's no turning back now." Ami said. "Let's get to the bottom of this."
"Before that…" Kira raised her hand. "Can you explain to us why your Pokemon can talk?"
"They aren't Pokemon." Ben said. "They're a species that came from another world. They're called Digimon."
"Another world?" Ravio asked.
"Right. Summer is my fellow Pokemon Ranger and childhood friend, but Takumi here and his friends came from another world. I meet them during my mission."
"And in their world, they have these "Digimon" instead of Pokemon?"
"Not exactly." Takumi said. "Terriermon and the others come from a completely different world from ours called the Digital World."
Tanvir scratched his head. "This is getting really confusing."
"Don't worry about it." Ben said. "Bottom line is they're my friends and they can be trusted."
"Good enough for me. Summer, everyone, I ask for your assistance in our dire hour of need."
"Of course!" Nokia heartedly replied. "We're not letting these bucketheads get away with abusing cute little Pokemon like Piplup here!"
Arata glanced at the wooden gate that was still barricaded as it was when Ben last arrived. "So, the temples they're hiding in are through there? How many of these oracles are we dealing with Tanvir?"
"Er…I cannot remember the exact number. But there are six different temples. Each one has what we call a Temple Captain who takes command of the other oracles inside their temple."
Fei cracked her knuckles. "Then let's go bust some metal heads."
"There is something you must know before you enter those temples." Tanvir said. "You need to listen carefully."
Kira nodded. "You need to go through the Red Warp Zone to the far end of a temple. But this WarpZone stays inactive until you meet a certain condition. When you go through the Red Warp Zone, you'll face those Pokemon that guard the temples."
"So, I take it we can't just go straight for the captains as convenient as that may be." Yuugo said.
Tanvir regretfully nodded. "Precisely. To get to the oracle in charge of each section, you will need to defeat certain Pokemon. Look for ones, that glow. As you defeat the oracles, we should be able to access more of the temple. Ben…We certainly didn't want to be a burden for you or your friends when it isn't even your time. But we beg you to help us. We need you. If you need to know more of our world, talk to the Wise Woman. She's our friend."
Kira smiled. "We have another friend here! Let me introduce her."
She led everyone to the far left of the plaza where a woman with brown hair in a long ponytail stood. "Nice to meet you. Which one of you was the one from the future?"
"Er, all of us." Ben replied.
"Really? I heard we were only receiving help from one person."
"Yeah…but they kinda followed me here."
"Who is this?" Ami asked.
"She's also our friend." Kira explained. "She knows a lot about Pokemon."
"My name is Neila. I've joined to help Tanvir and Kira. What I can do is call a Pokemon using its Heart Slate."
"Heart Slate?" Takumi asked. "Ben, what's she talking about?"
"Not a clue."
"Heart Slates are a sign of trust between you and a Pokemon." Nelia explained. "It's a gesture from Pokemon saying they want to become your partners. Wild Pokemon, as they bond with you may drop them. Talk to me if you find one!"
"I see. Thanks!" Ben smiled. "So, others can help us like Piplup."
"Okay then, now that that's sorted out, let's get going." Ami said. "Yuuko was right about it potentially being dangerous to linger here so the sooner we do this the better."
"The temple oracles are still just as confused. I'm counting on you." Tanvir said.
"Alright!" Ben clapped. "Let's clear up our barricade and move out!"
Everyone hurried over to the gate and started removing the stack of objects that were blocking the door. Once it was all clear, Kira opened the gate. Inside was a hall with multiple corridors. "Go to the first one on your left." Kira said. "That one is still active and will take you to the first area of the Forrest Temple."
"I'm getting video game vibes." Takumi said.
"What games?"
The boy sighed. "Never mind."
"Good luck!" Ravio waved.
"Leave it to us." Ben said. As his team stepped inside and went down the corridor, they saw a pedestal on top of a staircase where a glowing blue square stood.
"That must be the WarpZone Kira mentioned." Summer said. "Is everyone ready?"
"Just a second." Takumi said as he put on his Digivice. Everyone else got their own ready.
DIGIVOLUTION
"Terriermon Digivolve to…Gargomon!"
"Palmon Digivolve to…Sunflowmon!"
"Agumon Digivolve to…Greymon!"
"Gabumon Digivolve to…Garurumon!"
"Keramon Digivolve to…Kurisarimon!"
"Guilmon Digivolve to…Growlmon!"
"Hagurumon Digivolve to…Guardromon."
"FanBeemon Digivolve to…Gold Guardomon!"
"Just the Champion forms?" Ben asked. "Aren't you going to go all out?"
"Not just yet." Takumi replied. "Who knows what's in there? We can't burn out our Digimon too soon."
Summer looked at Fei's Digimon. "FanBeemon got a new Champion form?"
"That's right." Fei smirked. "Now enough chat. Let's roll!"
Ben was the first to step on the pad with Pichu and Piplup at his side. They glowed blue before they disappeared. "Wow! He really did just warp!" Nokia said.
Arata rolled his eyes. "It's almost like it's called a Warpzone or something. Imagine that."
"Let's keep it moving." Fei said as she followed Ben. One by one they entered the Warpzone. Everyone was now inside an ancient green structure with a green interior.
"So, this is the inside of one of these temples everyone's fussing about." Ben said looking around.
Summer spotted at something on the ground near them. "Hey, look at that." Everyone glanced at the golden square platform with the image of a face on it. "That looks like the pattern on the gate."
"It's the same shape as the WarpZone too…" Yuuko added. "Can we use it to proceed?"
"Let's find out." Takumi walked over to it. But nothing happened. "No dice."
"Wait, Kira told us something." Ami said. "Something about fulfilling certain requirements?"
"Right. And Tanvir said to look for Pokemon that glow."
"How about those three coming towards us?" Gargomon pointed at a Sunkern, a Aipom and a Pidgey coming towards them. All three looked angry and had a green aura around them.
"That must be them."
Arata looked at the Pidgey. "A Flying Type huh. Hey, guys, I'm going to try something out here."
"Now?" Nokia asked.
"Nema, Calumon and Tokomon and I did a little tampering with the Digivolution program." He held his Digivice towards Kurisarimon. A blue shell formed around the Digimon as if he were Digivolving normally.
"Kurisarimon Slide Evolution!" as the shell disappeared, he was in a different one of his champion forms. "Wizardmon!"
"Ta da! Now our Digimon can switch between their alternate evolutions in a flash! Saves them from expanding their energy by Digivolving again, and us some time!"
Takumi was amazed. "Cool!"
"Alright! Wizardmon, set your sights on the bird!"
"Thunder Cloud!" Wizardmon, shot a bolt with his staff that knocked out the Pidgey.
"Arial Ace!"
"Bubble! Thundershock!"
On the Rangers orders, Staraptor rammed his beak into the Sunkern, while Piplup sprayed bubbles at Aipom. Pichu then hit it with an electric bolt. Once all three on the ground Ben and Summer drew loops around them with their Stylers.
After they did, they heard a sound and looked behind them. The mysterious square glowed and became red.
"A red WarpZone…" Yuuko said. "According to Kira, that's our way forward."
"Alright. Let's go." Ben said. He led everyone through the WarpZone and in a flash, they were brought to a new area. A staircase in front of them lead to a wall with the image of the oracle helmet.
"A dead end?" Growlmon asked.
"Let's investigate." Ami said, walking in front of Ben. He followed her along with Summer and Arata.
As soon as the four of them reached the top, the eyes on the mark of the helmet flashed yellow and the floor under them rumbled.
"Whoa! Did we just trigger something?!" Ami panicked as she tried to keep her balance.
Takumi ran up the stairs, but just before he could reach the top, he slammed into a flash of green. An invisible barrier blocked him off from the Rangers, Ami and Arata as they floor they stood on rose up. The impact made Takumi stumble back down the stairs taking the others down with him.
When Ben and the others stopped ascending, they were face to face with a man in steel armor and a Drapion.
Ben glared at him. "You again."
"You were foolish to come here. As promised I will make you regret opposing us boy."
"This is one of those oracles you were talking about, Ben?" Summer asked.
"That's right."
"Intruders must perish. Begone!" He held his hands close in front of him and Drapion roared as it approached.
"Sounds like we're going to have to go all out." Ami looked at her gloved hand. "If Takumi could pull it off, so should I." Her eyes glowed green.
DIGIVOLUTION
She held her hand up and a green beam flew up and came down on Sunflowmon.
"Sunflowmon Digivolve to…Lilamon!" Ami's Digimon became a pink humanoid form with green hair, white flower shaped hands and feet and a large flower on her back.
"Wow! That new Ultimate form sure is pretty!" Summer said before she scanned it. "Lilamon. Ultamite Level Vaccine Digimon that resembles a flower loved by all called a lilac. Despite being pure and innocent it's leaves carry a form of toxin."
The oracle was baffled. "Inconceivable. A Pokemon that can talk and evolve at will?"
Lilamon turned back to him. "That's Digimon to you pal! And your days of manipulating innocent creatures are coming to an end! Gia Element!" Ami's Digimon shot at Drapion, but it jumped back before shooting a Sludge Bomb at Lilamon. The Digimon choked before falling.
"Lilamon!" Ami screamed as she saw her Digimon drop and Drapion's tail pincer came out and grabbed her by the midsection. The pinchers on its hands grabbed her arms, pulling them apart from each other.
"Tch. Wizardmon, we gotta help her! Try to get him from behind!"
"No, wait!"
By the time Ben said his warning, Arata's Digimon had already gotten behind Drapion. "Thunder- Drapion's tail released Lilamon's neck and twisted its body a full 180 degrees, facing Wizardmon with its hostage. "What?! How?!"
"Drapion can rotate their bodies a full 180 degrees." Ben said. "Getting behind him is pointless."
Arata scowled. "Of course. Because fighting a giant toxic spewing scorpion isn't enough."
Drapion's tail grabbed Liliamon's neck making her scream as she tried to free her hands.
"Come on…"
Wizardmon turned to his partner. "Arata. Perhaps there are new Digivolutions available for us that can be of use here."
Arata looked at his Digivice. "Maybe…I have no idea what will happen if I Digivolve you while you're Wizardmon though."
"Arata, we've got to do something!" Ami begged.
"Rgh…" The boy's eyes glowed blue. "Alright. Here goes!"
DIGIVOLUTION
"Wizardmon Digivolve to…Wisemon!" Arata's Digimon became taller with a red robe and a white hood and a yellow and red sphere floating around him hovering over a large opened book.
Ben scanned this one. "Wisemon. Ultimate Level Virus Type. It's book serves as a spiritual vessel of sorts and the Space-Time orbs it holds are able to play back any record of a space, preserving every event or object within the Digital World within time or space."
"So, this is your new Ultimate form." Arata said. He couldn't help but think back to another Wisemon he fought before.
"Truly ironic I suppose." Wisemon replied. "But there will be time to think about it later." He held out his hands and the spheres flew towards Drapion, only for them to fly right past it.
"Uh…I think your aim's a tad off." Summer muttered.
"No, it wasn't."
They turned around and flew right into the back of Drapion's head. It was startled by the impact and let Liliamon's neck go as its head hunched forward. Lilamon then kneed it in the face and made it let her arms go so she could back away. "Phew! Thanks boys! Okay, now to get serious! Lila Shower!"
"Pandora Dialogue." A Wisemon's floating spheres whirled around and formed a black ball that he shot at Drapion. Lilamon held her hands forward and pink light fired from them.
Ben and Summer started looping the Drapion with their Stylers and the attacks pushed it back. Furious it charged towards them, but a swarm of bubbles and bolts from Pichu and Piplup as they rode Staraptor, knocked it back.
As soon as the capture was complete, Drapion stopped. "What?! This cannot be! AAAAAAAAGH!" the oracle passed out on the floor.
"What just happened?!" Summer ran over to the man.
"Is he okay?" Ami asked.
"I think so. Looks like he just passed out."
RizeGreymon, MetalGreymon, and Rapidmon flew up to them with the others. "Hey, what happened?!" Takumi asked.
"Heh. You're late. We already beat the oracle." Arata replied.
"So that's why that barrier went down." Yuugo said as they looked at the downed man.
"Let's take him back to Kira and the others." Rapidmon said. "We can learn more about what's going on when he wakes up."
Suddenly two slabs appeared on the floor. "What are these?" Summer asked picking one up.
"Some kind of slate." Ben said as he picked up the other. "Slate…is this a Heart Slate?"
"Let's bring those back to Neila."
Ben put one of the oracle's arms around his shoulders. "Sounds like a plan. Takumi, give me a hand here."
"Right."
Back in Cocona Plaza Takumi and Ben dumped the oracle of the ground while Terriermon fetched Tanvir Kira and Ravio.
Tanvir's eyes were glued to the oracle. "Ben, that temple oracle on the ground…"
"He's just unconscious." The Ranger replied. "He's been like that ever since we beat his Drapion."
Tanvir walked over to the man and began to shake him. "You, are you okay?"
"His name is you?" Agumon asked.
"Ahh…"
"Come on, get up you freak!" Fei barked, as she kicked him.
"Oh!" The man leapt to his feet. "Where am I?"
"You're outside the temple now." Tanvir replied before Fei pushed past him and grabbed the oracle.
"Alright, chump start talkin'. Why are you goons causin' all this trouble?"
"Tanvir…And Kira!" the man looked around.
FanBeemon flew over to him. "Answer the question, shell head, or I sting ya!"
"AHHHHH! A TALKING BEEDRILL!"
"I'm a Digimon. And I will ask one more time. Why did you have that Drapion attack our friends?!"
The man was in shock. "Did I…make my Drapion attack…? How could you accuse me of such a horrible thing?!"
"Because you DID that horrible thing!" Terriermon replied.
"Don't play dumb with us you punk!" Arata demanded.
"I'm not! I seriously have no idea what you're talking about!"
"Hmmm…He doesn't seem to be lying." Tanvir said.
"Well that doesn't change that something clearly happened to you!" Ami said. "Can't you remember anything?"
"…I'm sorry. I really don't remember anything."
Kira sighed. "I guess he really doesn't remember anything that'll help us. Can you try to remember little by little?"
"Yes, I'll try…"
"So much for learning anything from him." Palmon sighed.
"Don't be so sure." Ami replied. "We now know these oracles themselves are being controlled just like their Pokemon and that they can be brought to their senses. That's a start."
Summer nodded. "She's right. For now, let's continue investigating the Forrest Temple."
"You'll continue to aid us?" Tanvir asked.
Ben smiled. "Of course! I made a promise, didn't I?"
Tanvir bowed. "Thank you for helping us even though you don't know us or our world very much."
Kira smiled. "Everyone, thank you!"
"By the way." Ben walked over to Neila. "Summer and I found these. Are they the Heart Slates you told us about?"
"That's right." Neila replied as she took them. She chanted and they started to glow blue. Then in a flash a Totodile and a Chikorita appeared in front of them.
"Wow! Those cute little critters just popped out!" Nokia said. "Now we've got more help!"
"It may be best to just take one Pokemon outside of Pichu and Staraptor with you guys." Arata said. "Traveling with too big a crowd will slow us down."
"Also…" Takumi added. "It looked like a barrier keeps more then, four people from confronting the oracles at once. So, we might want to keep things in parties of four."
Wise Woman walked over to them. "True. You should take two teams to the temple to strike at multiple sections with at the same time."
"Like forming a party in an RPG." Arata said.
"Er…yes, I suppose…"
"Okay. We'll do that." Summer nodded. "Looks like we've got one more mission in Oblivia."
Ben smiled. "Fine by me. Let's do this partner!"