Chapter 20: Sootopolis
A/N: Thanks for putting up with me. I know. I suck (with timing). Anyhow, headway already made into the next chapter before I upload this one for the sake of getting on track. In my defense I didn't have my laptop pretty much a month, from mid-May to Mid-June. Ha. I know it's not much. I almost fell in some rapids then. fun stuff. Anyhow. Before I forget
UTOPIAN ANGEL. Thank you so much for your review! It's literally things like this that keep me writing and keep me going.!
Enjoy. Alfa19
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The plain lights and blank ceiling of a Pokemon center room met came into focus as I opened my eyes, slightly groggy. I could feel the blanket thrown over my legs, heavier and warmer than I expected from a Pokemon Center room. I sighed and smiled; the pervading warmth comfortable to my touch. I took a deep breath, a few strands of hair tickling my face and the scent of strawberries wafting through the air as I inhaled.
It took a few seconds before it clicked. Can you blame me? I'd just woken up. My eyes shot open as it hit me that my hair didn't reach anywhere near low enough to be touching my cheek. Nor did it smell like strawberries. I tilted my head just a bit to see the head of blonde hair nestled above my shoulder. The blanket was just as thin as I remembered it being, given the rooms were free. Blake's legs were thrown across mine as she lay against me, sleeping with one arm draped across my chest.
I lay still, staring at the roof, savoring the comfortable quiet of the moment. Blake stirred, slowly shifting her head up to look at me from where she lay.
"You're comfortable." She mumbled, laying her head against the pillow again.
"How did we get here again?" I asked, "I'm not complaining, it's just hard to believe."
"I'm going to say it happened after I fell on you." She replied, shifting.
"Hm."
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The previous night…
Blake untangled herself from on top of me, falling sideways onto the ground.
"Are you ok?" I sat up, reaching a hand out to help her.
"I'll be fine." She shrugged, getting to her feet. "We should probably get back in the air."
"We should…." I looked at the two dragons staring at us expectantly as we stopped for a minute. "Are we keeping with the swap…. Or…."
"Yeah, we should finish the lap I guess." Blake smiled, slowly walking towards Knight. "Arceus knows what our times look like."
"Alright." I meandered over to Salamence and patted it on the neck once, before climbing into its saddle again. "Let's go buddy. I guess we're going to get pretty familiar with each other soon. Up buddy."
Rising into the air, I took off behind Blake, taking it easy and finishing off the lap behind her comfortably. Winona was waiting for us at the exit of the course, arms crossed as she sat atop Altaria.
"What happened? You two were doing so well?" She asked, dismounting her Pokemon.
"Oh, a small crash. Kind of wound up on the ground." I explained, putting on hand behind my head and giving her a lopsided grin.
"Alright. Well, you two have picked up flying well enough, so your work here is done. You should probably head out for the night before I close up. It's about nine now." She suggested, turning towards the field. "I've got to wrap up."
"Thanks." I smiled, looking at Blake with a raised eyebrow before making for the lockers. Grabbing my bag, I ducked into the changing room to get back into normal pants and shoes, though I kept on the jacket from my flight suit, unzipped over my t shirt.
Stepping out, I noticed Blake had done the same, now suited in black jeans, a white tank top and her green and black Aerospace Hoenn Jacket. Silent agreement seemed to be the theme as we walked out together in quiet contentment, having recalled our Pokemon before we emerged into the starry night.
We continued on in silence in the general direction of the Pokemon center, ambling along the walkways in the treetops. A few moments passed before either of us broke the silence.
"Blake."
"Yes?"
"How long have I been an oblivious dumbass?"
"What?"
"I figured it might be better to ask how long I've been oblivious than how long you've wanted something like what happened earlier to happen."
"You had me at hello."
The sky above was a far cry from Route 119's cloudy mess. Stars, constellations and the occasional comet sparkled in the sky above us,
"Well, you weren't really oblivious. I wasn't sure before about whether or not that was what I wanted. I didn't really do anything for you to be oblivious too."
A few more moments of silence passed as they neared the Pokemon center.
"I don't know whether you wanted something to happen or not, but… what were you doing sending me and Victoria off that day in Mossdeep? Was it just random, or something else?" I stopped walking, turning towards the moon and standing in place.
"It was a mix of both. I actually had work to take care off on a deadline. The other thing was…. Clara suggested I do it when I talked to her. She told me I would figure out how I really felt after seeing you too go off for the day and hearing about it." Blake had stopped nearby, crossing her arms and bending forward ever so slightly.
"She was right. She always is. I couldn't really stand it. it was driving me mad all day. I made my mind up. Now here we are." She turned to face me one more time, looking me in the eyes. "I'm with you."
She paused, raising an eyebrow in a half question as she looked at me. I nodded slowly, transfixed by her gaze. Tiny flecks of brown broke the perfect green of her irises around the edges, creating the illusion that I was looking at a river of grass, a perfect green.
"Blake don't get me wrong, I couldn't be happier, but I'm can't stay in Hoenn. Right now, I've only got a bit more than two weeks before I start training with Steven, and then I'll head back. To Johto. I can't stay here. I can't give up my dream."
A single shooting star blinked across the sky above us, barely visible in the vast sky of stars above us. Then two, then a fourth.
"I'll come with you."
Almost immediately I turned again, from the sky to the girl in front of me. The sounds of the forest went silent, no children were laughing nearby, no planks rattling from people's footsteps. Everything was silent, drowned out by the slow thumping of my heart against my ribcage.
"I've chased my dream. I've worked on so many out of this world projects, and now, I want to chase a new one. I love exploring, it's part of why I do what I do. I'll see Johto properly this time. I'll go with you to the top."
"Are you sure?" My gaze hardened for a moment as I thought about everything that lay ahead. "It's a long road for me. A few more stops in Johto, a few in Kanto. The Silver League Conference. If I manage it, I'll join the Indigo Corps. Then there's the Frontier League Conference. The ultimate challenge."
"I'm sure. I'll have to stay here a bit longer, hep Clara and Steven figure the wedding out, probably until it's done. When's the Silver Conference?"
"May. I have to register by the end of March."
"The wedding will probably be in April, once Steven has overseen the Ever-Grande League conference. You could register, then come back and unwind for a bit before your own conference. Get in some last-minute training." Blake rattled off, crossing her arms again and staring at the moon.
"I think we can make it all work out." I turned back towards the Pokemon center, looking at Blake. "Coming?"
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"Blake."
"Hmm…."
"We didn't….?"
"No, you're just warm." She replied, her voice muffled by the pillow.
"Oh."
Rather than say anything, she slowly stretched and climbed off the bed, standing straight and peering out the window across the treetops.
"We should get going."
"Yeah?"
"Probably. What are you going to do now?"
"Head to Sootopolis. I'll train with Wallace a bit, get some more advice on training Samurott, and then I'll challenge him. Then… I guess I'll train until Steven's timing works out."
"I do have to get back to work on this project but call me at night. After you're done with Wallace, if you have some time, we'll go somewhere you'll like for training."
"Are you going to tell me where?" I asked, dragging myself out of bed and turning towards her.
"No, to be honest I'm debating a few places. I know the region pretty well. Maybe we'll even go to more than one." Blake smiled, reaching for her bag. Sunlight was streaming through the window, lighting up dust particles floating around her golden hair like a halo of electrons. "Talk to you later."
"See you."
With that Blake was out the door, leaving me lying in the narrow bed with a thin blanket messily spread across my body. I reached for the clock on the bedside table, turning it around and reading the glowing green digits on the surface of the otherwise non-descript black clock.
"Ten in the morning. That's got to be a record." I groaned and sat up, running a hand through my own hair and straightening my t-shirt. "Well, since I left home."
A wry grin formed on my face with that amendment as I dragged myself out of bed and got dressed slowly. Just over two weeks left. I gathered my belongings and stuffed them haphazardly into my bag, giving the room a cursory glance to make sure I hadn't forgotten anything. A few minutes later I was out of the Pokemon center, walking across Fortree's pathways, quiet at this hour with all the children at school.
My whole journey had been a whirlwind of activity, starting in Azalea Town with the Slowpoke Well and my first encounter with Team Rocket. It seemed so long ago. I had been so weak, yet so willing to run headfirst into trouble with them. I was the picture of naivety back in the day. Ilex Forest hadn't been that comfortable either, with the strange shrine in the center, and the Ariados nest I'd run into right before Typhlosion had evolved from Quilava.
A wry grin spread across my face as I stretched my arm over my back to a small mark from the injuries I'd sustained amidst that whole debacle. Right out of Ilex Forest I'd arrived in Goldenrod City, where my battle with cousin Archer had been cut short by the rampaging Tyranitar. The edges of my lips curled downwards as I recalled my visit to Archer. I could have sworn I'd talked to him recently, but I knew for a fact that I hadn't. The only people I wasn't around who I talked to at all were Steven and my family. I shook my head, still with the odd feeling, and kept walking forward.
Ecruteak City had been just as eventful with the Burnt Tower. Olivine had been fine the first time around, but the second time all hell had broken loose. Cianwood had been a veritable nightmare to get too, and of course along the entire journey I'd run into Team Rocket twice more, in the tower and in the Whirl Islands. Hoenn had been far less eventful given how far I'd traveled within the region, the only exception being the whole mess on the cycling road and my detour through New Mauville. Well. Less negatively eventful.
I reached for the first pokeball on my belt and released Typhlosion to walk next to me as I ambled along towards the Eastern edge of the town. With a quiet, happy growl, my first Pokemon joined me as we passed by a mostly deserted route, walking around the edge of a lake in a crater, towards the bridge crossing it.
"You know Typhlosion, we've almost made it. It's kind of surreal. When we started, we were in New Bark. We'd never done this before. Now we're here. We've fought seven gym leaders. You've evolved, twice. We've made new friends, and our little family has grown a bunch."
I looked over as Typhlosion growled in assent. It's sleek greenish navy coat of fur was brushed back, well groomed, but not enough to make someone think I took it to Pokemon salons. The volcanic pores around the back of its neckline were flaring slightly, just enough for the glow to be visible as Typhlosion walked by my side on all fours.
"We've almost made it to the Silver League. You know, if we'd done this without some of the help we've had, I'd be a bit doubtful about how far we'd make it in the conference, but now, I can believe we can reach the top."
Typhlosion stood on its hind legs, rising to its full height and growled, eyes locked straight ahead of us as its flames flared.
"What is it? No fire attacks near the floor unless necessary." I instructed, getting ready for whatever might be coming our way.
A low stretched out growl came out from between Typhlosion's teeth as it stepped forward, fangs bared. I tried to follow Typhlosion's fixed gaze, looking for whatever I was missing. All I could see were the straight lines of the wooden planks, a little messed up and uneven across the center. I frowned at the distorted patch of wood, my eyes roving up the rest of the bridge, where the wood remained straight across the center.
Typhlosion snarled and lunged forward, sending the scrambling distorted Pokemon running away, the planks clearly straight now that it was out of the way.
"Whatever that thing was, it's gone. Good work." I scratched Typhlosion behind the ear as my partner calmed down, getting back on all fours and moving around again. "Anyhow, I think we'll take to the air with Knight for the rest of this journey. We're heading to Sootopolis. It's a city made in a massive crater in the ocean. There's a ton of water in it. you probably won't like it, but we'll get some tips for Samurott from the gym leader there, Wallace, and then challenge him. After that, we're in Steven's hands."
I reached for the ultra-ball on my belt, the yellow decal replaced with fiery orange from my first visit to Kurt in Azalea Town. Without much fanfare I pressed the button on the front, a pale red beam dissolving Typhlosion and recalling it to its traveling home. I popped it back into place with a satisfying click and ran my hands along the smooth, cold metal that housed my team, picking off the second to last one and holding it in my hand. This time I aimed high in the sky, tossing the ball up into the air. Gleaming white alternated with sparkling gray twirling in the sunlight as it clicked open and a shining white light coalesced into the hulking form of Knight. I reached my hand into the air and snatched the ball up, double pressing the button again as the saddle appeared on Knight's back, the great dragon setting down on the bridge by me.
"Hey there buddy. Let's get up in the sky. I'm looking forward to it this time." I grinned, running and hand along Knight's smooth scales as the dragon bent low with a croon.
Reaching one hand up, I grabbed ahold and swung myself up into the saddle, securing myself in position.
"Sootopolis is supposed to be Southeast from here, so let's get up in the sky. I'll guide you when we get up there."
I pressed my hands into Knight's back, taking from our lessons just yesterday as the great dragon rose into the air. I eased Knight into it, guiding him to face the Southeast once we were high enough for me to judge by looking at the terrain below us.
"Alright. Let's do this." I grinned, my goggles allowing me to actually see even as Knight picked up speed, cutting across the Sky and the Hoennian landscape. The hilly, wooded landscape passed by quickly, a sprawling metropolis appearing under us. Countless ships docked in the harbor, not far from a flashy Pokemon contest hall, judging by the lights and the crowds of people. Off to my left, a large tower raised the skyline far above anything else in the area. "This must be Lilycove." I murmured to myself as we shot over the city, crossing over to the open seas of Hoenn
To my right, a low mountain loomed in the distance, shrouded in clouds and fog near the top. Even sealed in my flight suit, a shiver ran through my body, every muscle tingling as I looked at the mountain, with its deserted base, surrounded by water beyond the few feet of land around the edge.
"I suppose that's Mount Pyre." Watching the mountain slowly move in my view, I hesitated, trying to decide what to do. I reached for my back pocket, letting Knight fly straight for a few moments as I pulled out a coin, turning it in my fingers. The crest of the Ever-Grand League decorated one side of it, the head of Drake the other. Holding it lightly in between my fingers, I raised my hand and flipped it, reaching out in the air to catch it before the wind snatched it away.
Eyes wide open, I turned and stared as Knight slowed down, the coin plummeting towards the ocean before I could realize how stupid I'd been. Chiding myself, we fell into a dive headfirst, trying to accelerate faster than the coin. It was stupid. It was pointless. It was utterly useless, watching that coin drop into the water as we let up the dive. But it was exhilarating. It was insane. It was fun.
"Screw it, let's go to the mountain. But I swear to god if there's trainers there, we're not fighting them. We're just going to take a look around."
Knight crooned, turning in place and making for the strip of land surrounding the mountain with minimal guidance from me, roaming about the edges. A doorway in the base of the mountain caught my eye and I gently pressed into Knight's left shoulder, leaning to bank towards the entrance. Dull, greyish blades of grass loomed closer in my view, speckled with dew drops.
The air itself seemed heavier as we approached the ground. The eerie air of the cemetery mountain had set into Knight, the great beast far shyer, and quieter than ever before as we set down gently by the doorway into the mountain.
"Thanks Knight." I reached for my pokeballs, minimized and in the inseam belt of my jacket, withdrawing Knight. Straying for less than a second, I kept my hand on my belt, hesitant to remove it as I entered one of Hoenn's two great mountains. I imagine Mount Chimney has its own presence, the heat, the ash, the dense resilient forestry of its base and the bubbling magma of its crater.
Grey and white checkered tiles with nested repeating patterns decorated the floors, the walls a simple white with black squares fading outwards. A few simple graves were clustered in the far-right corner of the room, a staircase going into the wall taking up most of the left wall.
Taking a look around the empty room, I walked forward to the staircase with my head dipped. I stopped just before the entrance, staring into the sharp ascent shrouded in darkness with one hand still on my belt. Making up my mind, I reached into the seam and pulled out an ultra-ball, quietly pressing the button.
Inky darkness poured out of the pokeball, flowing into the small shadow cast behind me under the fluorescent lights. Specter grinned out of the floor, waggling his tongue at me before frowning at me. Even the ghost type Pokemon could feel the air around us. Nodding at Specter, I stepped forward into the staircase, climbing it slowly until we reached the next floor and emerged into a room similar to the ground floor.
The only difference was that a few people were standing around this floor, mostly around graves. One drifter was just standing by the next staircase up the mountain, hands in his pockets. Specter flitted around, slowing down around the tombstones, the ghost type looking almost sincere as it looked around. most people just ignored it. shaking my head, I made for the staircase, intending to head all the way up the mountain. I had almost crossed into the staircase when a snarky voice cut through the air.
"Hey punk. Where do you think you're going? I saw you; I saw your pokeballs, now we gotta fight."
I turned around with an eyebrow raised, staring at the speaker. Some scrawny late teen with black hair falling all over his pock marked face and a sneer plastered across his face.
"Why the hell do you think I have to fight you?" I asked, crossing my arms in a challenge over the open front of my jacket.
"Cause I freakin said so you little punk." The same nasal voice as before made me cringe internally, still staring at the guy as he moved over, only a few inches away from me.
"Buzz off. This is a cemetery. We have no business fighting here. You want a fight, go loiter around a route outside somewhere." Specter melted onto my back, grinning wildly at the stranger over my shoulder. "Now get lost. Punk."
The sharp teeth and blood red eyes of the Gengar on my shoulder seemed to get through to him as he wisely decided to move out of my way, his knees wavering for a moment.
"Jackass…" I headed up the staircase whispering under my breath as I continued through the floors, staying silent near the graves. At some point along the way I stepped out through a doorway in the wall, making my way up the outside of the mountain in the fog. I recalled Specter after a few minutes of trekking outside, opting to let Lucario out to walk by my side silently up the mountain. The aura Pokemon seemed to feel the area, walking quietly rather than leaping and bounding, occasionally turning to look at a grave.
Together we made our way up towards the stairs inset in the ground, a dense cloud of fog obscuring our view ahead. Taking a deep breath, I stepped into fog, taking comfort in the fact that Lucario wasn't concerned by our lack of visibility. I walked forward a few dozen feet, emerging on the other side of the fog bank on a kempt grass path, dewy from the fog. Mounds and graves lined the sides of the path, leading up to a larger grave at the end of the path, about a hundred feet down. I followed the path quietly with Lucario by my side, the Pokemon having remained silent the entire way. Even I was silent. I couldn't even hear my own footsteps.
Standing by the grave, engaged in a quiet conversation, were an old man and woman dressed in robes, pale red, and pale blue. I walked up quietly, walking up the large stone table behind them, similar to an angled information board out in the wild by lakes to tell the history of the place.
"Welcome to Mount Pyre child. What brings you here?" The woman turned to me with a contented smile, hands clasped inside her overly long sleeves.
"I came by to pay my respects." I replied, hesitating just a bit as the old man looked at me, wizened blue eyes peering into my soul. "To the mountain."
"You are wise young one. You have been through much to appreciate things like this." The woman smiled kindly, the wrinkles around her eyes deepening and she stepped forward. She reached forward, pressing one hand against my forehead as the world went quiet for a few moments.
Darkness covered my eyes, interspersed with flashes of silver and gold, images of crashing waves and whirlpools, ashen skies and burning buildings. I struggled as I was pulled under in a current, my vision darkening again and fading out.
With a gasp my eyes snapped open, staring at the old woman standing in front of me with her arms once more clasped in her sleeves, a wistful look in her eyes.
"Much you have been through, but yet there is much to come." She sighed. "Come sit a while and rest, while you are at peace." She gestured towards a few lawn chairs around a small table.
"How long was I out. What was that?" I asked, sitting down slowly as the old man turned his gaze back to me from the mountain.
"A few seconds at most. Glimpses of the future. Here. Have something to eat." The man pushed a plate of cookies and a glass of milk towards me.
I stared at the cookies, trying to not look incredulous as the old man settled into his seat again. Giving in to the idea that cookies and milk seemed to be this old couples preferred snack, I took a cookie and picked up the glass, speaking hesitantly.
"Was that… my future?" I held the glass tightly, a knot forming in my chest as I awaited my answer. The old woman was sipping from a cup, staring at the path I had come from. Tea? Coffee? Hot cocoa? Diet soda? I had no clue.
"Perhaps." She set down her cup, dabbing at her lips with a napkin. "As the keepers of Mount Pyre and all its secrets, we are blessed with the gift of sight. But sight itself is unclear. I cannot see through my own eyes what will come, nor even through my husbands. I can see through a mind I do not know, because then I am unable to interpret the future and change it. simply I may see it. This may be your future. Or this may be how you will interpret what is to come. More often than not it is the second. Even you cannot understand your own mind."
"So, this could be reality, or it could be a subconscious representation of something else?"
"Yes. Think of it not child. Be still. The future is yet to come. Rest a moment. Then be on your way." The old man raised a hand and stopped me from speaking again, continuing to look out to the distance. Minutes passed in silence, not a Pokemon flying nearby as I let the cold air atop the mountain soak in, perhaps the only cold place in Hoenn.
"Thank you." I spoke quietly as I rose, pushing in my chair and nodding to the old couple as I retreated down the path until I had once more exited through the fog bank. The odd trainer was stumbling around outside when I emerged, reaching for Knight's pokeball.
A quiet rumble was all that greeted me as the Dragonite reformed next to me, saddle and all as I readied myself to leave the mountain. The open air seemed inviting after our entire experience with the mountain.
"Let's go buddy." Knight took to the skies, following the same East of South East direction we'd been taking earlier, heading towards the open seas quickly and picking up speed as we rocketed out towards Sootopolis.
Hoenn's oceans are a sight to see, the color of the water changing from shining azures and sapphires to deep royal blues and sea greens across trenches and depths of the ocean. We dove low and followed down to the surface of the water. The occasional Wailmer and a few Luvdisc popped out from time to time, swimming alongside us as Knight flew low enough for his claws to cut the water.
A white stone mountain appeared in the distance, hazy in my view but clear in Knight's, if the uptick in pace was any indication. As we neared, it came into focus, not quite a mountain but a wall of white stone. I guided Knight higher into the air until the city inside the crater was visible. White houses with blue roofs and open staircases dotted the inside of the walls, all the way down to the lake's edge at the bottom. The small island in the center of the water was dominated by the gym.
White stone walls made up the sides of the gym just like the other buildings in the area, but a brown roof the hue of a teakwood tree marked it different from all the rest, pillars holding up the shade outside the gym door. Knight set down on the island, in front of the building, where a dozen young women were pushing and shoving outside the glass double doors, shouting and laughing.
"Umm…. Excuse me…. Could I get into the gym?" The whole herd off women turned back and stared at me like I had gone mad. "Please?"
"Umm. No." Some skinny blonde with a perm was staring at me with one hand on her hip. "Who do you think you are kid?"
"Oh, for Arceus's sake… I'm a trainer miss. I'm trying to challenge the gym." I crossed my arms, waiting to see what happened.
"Look twerp," a tall brunette, again with a perm, flicked her hair over one shoulder and scoffed at me "We've all been waiting to see Wallace since 6 am. Get in line." With one final gesture over her shoulder she turned back to the door, at the lead of the swarm.
I stared at the thriving mess of girls standing by the door and occasionally pounding on the glass. Pulling out my phone, I sent a few quick messages off, taking a picture of the throng of fangirls outside Wallace's gym. A few minutes passed as I stood there, having recalled Knight. Somehow, a huge lumbering Dragonite didn't even convince the girls to let me through.
A light breeze was blowing through the area, carrying the smell of seawater and orange trees around the shore. I turned around and cast a glance around the city from ground level. The area directly behind me was the only uninhabited space, the crater wall far too steep for any homes or paths. Maybe some fun rock climbing. A wide dark patch lined the wall, sinking deep into the ocean floor. That would be Sootopolis's underwater entrance, open to submarines and anyone on a Pokemon. Or just a Pokemon. It allowed for creatures that couldn't survive just on the lake's resources to flit in and out, like the occasional Gyarados, or (if it could fit?) a Wailord.
Breaking the constant shuffling of the crowd, the glass doors slid apart, revealing a stocky man in a green sports coat, and brown trousers pushing the crowd apart.
"Ladies please let's not trample Wallace." He tried to get them to part to no avail.
"WALLACE IS COMING!" One of the girls screamed in a high pitched, nasal voice
From behind the green jacketed guy came a slim, striding figure in a mint and white shirt, untucked over purple pants, a white cloak open on one side. The inside was mint, to match his eyes and the strands of hair falling artfully across his lightly tanned face from under the white beret atop his head.
The girls parted, still screaming as Wallace strode forward, like the ocean parting. The man himself, in all his glory, the master of the water type, the legendary Pokemon coordinator, reputedly the strongest gym leader in all of Hoenn.
"Ethan! Welcome to Sootopolis! Come! Let's talk. Is it too early for tea?" throwing his cloak open with a flourish and a full laugh, Wallace turned to green coat, who was standing in the doorway.
"No sir. It isn't too early for tea." The man in the green coat replied, ushering me forward and into the gym as Wallace turned to his fangirls, unclipping his cloak.
"Alas my dears, I have not time to lavish each of you with the attention you so truly deserve. Until next time." With a sweeping arm, he tossed the cloak high into the air, sending the drove scrambling madly to catch it as he entered the gym, the doors closing from the inside.
"Now then, let us sit and talk. Incidentally, what time is it Alfie?"
"It's one in the afternoon sir." Green-jacket-guy, or Alfie I suppose, replied, heading back to his desk by the door.
"Excellent! Perhaps luncheon is more in order than tea! Have something sent up to us, will you Alfie? We might close for the rest of the day later, and then you can take the day off early my friend."
"Yes sir."
"Wonderful!" Wallace clapped his hands together, making for the seven-step staircase ahead of us. "Follow me Ethan!"
He strode up the steps purposefully, and across a field of what seemed like ice, but seemed too sturdy to be ice. There seemed to be a metal floor of sorts underneath it, supporting our weight and the few gym trainers scattered across the multiple levels of platforms.
"For challengers, the metal safety net you see isn't around. their task is to step on every ice plate once and only once before reaching the stairs. Otherwise they remain closed as a slide down. there's quite some soft snow beneath us to catch a fall if you step on a panel twice." Wallace explained as we crossed the final platform to solid ground, a strip of cream-colored ground with small waterfalls and streams running uniformly on either side. A white rectangular platform with rounded edges rose up off the ground another three inches, with intricately carved white chairs and a table set atop it.
"Sit! Please!" Wallace himself went to a nearby mannequin and removed an extra cloak from it, only to set it on the back of his chair and remove his beret as we sat down at the table, opposite each other across its width.
A waiter appeared from a back door, bringing in a salad course, fresh and light without much heavy dressing, only a vinaigrette and some croutons to add to the rest of it.
"I do dearly enjoy luncheon in the gym. It's not nearly so much fun alone. I hope you enjoy it."
"It's wonderful. I appreciate it." I remarked, picking up my napkin.
"Fantastic! Let us discuss Steven's ideas sending you here. I mean the simple part is that you would challenge me, I do hope we can take this off the books though! I wouldn't mind stretching my legs a bit outside of my regulation team." Wallace grinned for a moment.
"Off the books is fine by me."
"I understand you have a water Pokemon with you. A Samurott?" Wallace asked, digging into the next course.
"Yes."
"Well Samurott is to be honest, one of the water types I have the least experience with. Perhaps it is the water type I have the least experience with. If there are techniques you need help with, or a general fine tuning of practice, we can work on that, but I don't see much else. We can skip ahead after that to the battle."
"Huh." I frowned momentarily, looking at my plate. "Well mostly just Hydro Pump and Ice Beam to be honest. Surf I suppose I need to get the Hidden Machine for."
"You would be right about Surf. So how about we put Samurott to work with one of my Pokemon, and we can kip on to our battle. I feel you might appreciate a visit to the Cave of Origins afterwards, if you have any interest in lore, legends, or mythology."
"That sounds good. I imagine Hoenn's mythology is quite rich." I responded with a raised eyebrow.
"Very. Would you like to battle indoors or outdoors?" Wallace pressed a small buzzer and waiters emerged from the hidden doors to clear away the dishes.
I stopped for a moment and considered my options. Outdoors meant either in the lake, or at sea, which gave Wallace's Pokemon a much greater playground. The tradeoff for us would be the limited space for Knight to fly inside.
"Inside."
"Smart choice. Hmm… Sealy!" Wallace tossed a pokeball into the water, releasing a hefty blue and cream Pokemon with flippers and a large white mustache above its lip on its round head.
"You'll be training a friend with Ice Beam today! Find Sel and get started on Hydro Pump too."
"Samurott! Go with Sealeo and train for a while!" I released Samurott into the water and the Unovan Pokemon set off swimming quickly, following Wallace's Pokemon.
"Alright. You see this last platform is a bit different. There is no fall risk here, merely that you are disqualified if you fail, because we replace this entire floor for a battle." Wallace threw his arms up with flair as the floor split in two, slowly retracting with a grinding rumble, the earth shaking beneath us as a massive pool was revealed, several white platforms surfacing at various spots in the pool.
"Impressive." I grinned, reaching for my belt. "Off the books…. So how are we doing this?"
"Five against five. In a show of good faith, I'll release all my Pokemon by my side if you do the same." Wallace smiled widely, striding over to the side of the water with fewer platforms.
"Alright." I released my entire team one by one, winding up with five Pokemon by my sides to match Wallace's.
Whipping out my phone, I tried to identify the five Pokemon by his side. The first was easy enough to identify. Hoenn's water starter stood by Wallace's sides, hands planted on the ground and back arched. Swampert, a ground and water type. His second Pokemon seemed to be the evolution of the one that had taken Samurott off to train. A quick scan identified it as a Walrein, an ice and water type Pokemon native to the caves north of Mossdeep. The third Pokemon to stand by his side was another recognizable one, an Empoleon, the Sinnoh region's starter Pokemon.
"I figured I could bring out a Johto Pokemon in your honor!" Wallace laughed as a Kingdra emerged from the water by his side, levitating an inch or two above the surface. "And now the centerpiece of my family! My oldest Pokemon! Behold!"
A glistening cream serpent emerged from the water slowly, pink hair like fins and antennae above its red eyes. As it rose out of the water, its body began to sparkle as the scales on its tail took on a veritable rainbow of hues, reds and blues standing out the most, but yellows, greens, pinks and oranges were visible as it shimmered in the lights, ending in four fins.
"Mia, my Milotic! Let us do battle!" Wallace proclaimed to the skies, throwing his arms in the air with a wild grin.
"Lucario!"
"Fango!" The Swampert leaped forward onto one of the few platforms on Wallace's side of the arena, perfectly steady.
'Perhaps it might be advantageous not to speak while we can trainer-partner.'
'Agreed. Let's go with Aura spheres to start up. I feel like grappling with Swampert up close will be tricky. Maybe Extreme Speed or Drain Punch.'
Wordlessly, Lucario shifted to the offensive with two rapid Aura Spheres, not wanting to let Swampert get ahead as the battle started. Sometimes aura telepathy is really useful. I couldn't reach out to Lucario if I tried, but if he reached out to me, he could forge and keep up a link. The water type simply dove into the pool, still visible underwater though, courtesy of the orange marks across its body.
'Fire into the water.' To my understanding, or at least Brendan's understanding, Swampert's vision underwater adjusted to swampy conditions, or deep dark areas. Brightening it up would affect the Pokémon's sensitive eyes.
Lucario picked up on my ideas, drawing from the images and stray thoughts instead of trying to understand just the words. Much faster than I could hope to communicate otherwise, Lucario flung four tiny but bright Aura Spheres into the water at various distances, each one bursting into light as it failed to find a target and making waves.
Fango pushed up under one of the platforms, hefting it into the air with a glowing fist and shaking its head angrily.
"Oh, quite sharp! Sharp indeed! Fango! Earthquake!"
'Jump!'
Lucario leaped into the air as massive waves rocked the pool, throwing the platforms into disarray, rising and falling all over on the waves. One of them even flipped upside down. coincidentally it was the one Lucario had been standing on.
'Extreme Speed if it comes out of the water. Follow with Drain Punch. Aura spheres to draw it out.'
A few rounds of light Aura Spheres drew the water type out of the water again, under a platform as it had been the last time. Lucario launched across the air, feet skipping across the water like stones, and slammed into Swampert in a flurry of physical attacks, finishing with a much slower glowing rust fist that tossed Swampert to Wallace's end of the pool.
"Hydro Pump!"
The water type picked itself up remarkably quick, firing off a high-pressured blast of water directly at Lucario. Before I could pick up on it, Lucario leaped above the blast, arm glowing a bright whiteish rust hue. It lasted a few seconds, almost suspended in the air as the water stream died down, Swampert right behind it, both fists glowing rust to match Lucario's. Blows met their targets as Lucario's Focus Punch slammed into Fango's solid gut and two Hammer Arms slammed Lucario down into the water below.
'Focus on getting up.' I shouted mentally.
Lucario surfaced as waves ran through the water, the platforms careening wildly once more. Finding a moment's balance on one, Lucario leaped back into the air to safety. One of the platforms tilted up again, Fango the Swampert emerging from under it with a glowing arm. A loud cry rang through the room as it hefted the platform into the air and hurtled it straight at Lucario. Too startled, and slowed to react, the platform slammed into the fighting type, carrying it to the energy barrier at the edge of the field, both falling. Lucario landed on another platform, slowly picking itself up as the platform toppled and fell into the water, surfacing a few moments later.
'Drain punch it and close combat the first chance you get, in that order, then Drain Punch again as needed.'
Lucario steadied itself, staring at the water as its red eyes picked out Fango in the water. Aura spheres rained into the water all across to break the surface and draw Swampert out. Countless failed, leaving the water turbulent, and Fango still somewhere underwater. Lucario zeroed in on something I had failed to see however, and plunged into the water with an extreme speed, shooting out again a second later, dragging Fango into the air. The Swampert had been hiding and avoiding the blinding flares underwater.
A glowing rust flurry of fists and legs struck Fango too many times to count. Lucario bounded back up off a platform, tossing the water type into the air again, quite slow and calm compared to the onslaught of Close Combat, and slamming a Drain Punch into it that threw Fango into the roof. The water type struck the ceiling, falling spread eagled into the water.
"Marvelous! Fango! Simply marvelous! Return! Get some rest my friend!" Wallace recalled the fallen Pokemon with a flourish, looking at me. "You've trained well my friend. You'll give Steven a good time tutoring you!"
"Now then… Let us see… Who to pick…? Who to pick…? Lennon!"
I tried not to snicker at the nickname as the massive Walrein slipped into the water, and then onto a platform, watching Lucario with its red eyes.
'Drain Punch? Close Combat. I feel like that thing moves faster than we're going to expect it too.'
I could feel Lucario's weariness through the link between the two of us as we played the long game, trying to wear out the tank of a Pokemon we were fighting.
Lucario leaped forward, taking on a blue blur around its form, mixed with a rust tint as Close Combat took over again, lending Lucario the speed and strength to unleash a flurry of attacks on Walrein in few seconds, knocking the water type into the pool below us.
"Blizzard!"
Blasts of cold air pushed Lucario into the air a few feet, surging waves freezing over and capturing their turmoil in a perfect portrait. All of it with Walrein underneath.
'Can you see it underneath the ice?'
'Mostly. The ice is thick… in places-'
Lucario bounded into the air once more, firing down with a much-weakened Aura Sphere as Walrein broke the surface of the frozen waves, sliding out with the failed attack and eyeing Lucario.
"Rollout!"
'Drain Punch!'
Lennon the Walrein hurtled across the ice, having picked up speed as Lucario ran straight on, aiming to bound over the ice type and slam into it with Drain Punch. The duo neared, the air temperature dropping with the shards of ice torn up by Lennon's charge sprinkled across the arena like crystalline snowflakes.
I didn't think it was possible to not go straight when using rollout. Apparently, Wallace figured out how, because Walrein veered left and up the curve of a wave, unrolling midair as it missed Lucario, the Drain Punch hastily redirected into its side.
"Earthquake!" As Lucario fell back to the ice with the siphoned energy, Walrein crashed into the ice, sending out a shockwave that flung Lucario back against the outer wall, and into the water.
Hastily, I scrambled for my pokeball and recalled Lucario as I felt the link cut.
"Good work Lucario." I surveyed my Pokemon, trying to decide how to play this. Putting Knight out would be suicide. Not only would we be vulnerable to an ice type Pokemon, but we would lose our match for Wallace's Kingdra.
"Typhlosion!"
"Hm…. Walrein! Water pulse!"
"Dodge and use Flame Charge!"
Typhlosion slipped around the wide blast of water, fresh and flaming as it charged Lennon, slamming into the sluggish Walrein's side and leaving sear marks across its hide.
"Brick Break! Flamethrower! No time."
Typhlosion obliged, slamming a brick break and a flamethrower into Walrein, sending the behemoth reeling as Typhlosion retreated.
"Earthquake!"
"Jump!" Typhlosion leaped into the air, reading my mind and firing off a well-aimed flamethrower at Walrein. Bright orange and white flames blistered across the surface off the ice, melting a line below them and assaulting Walrein. Perhaps one of the biggest things Typhlosion had picked up under the tutelage of Cassian Byrne had been to focus its attacks. The flames could very easily have bathed a much wider swath of the pool or radiated enough excess heat to melt much of the ice, but instead they were focused, all on their target.
"Focus Blast!"
"Surf!"
Ice cracked and a massive wave surged up, falling towards Typhlosion. Taking the lead, my partner wreathed itself in flames, drawing on a Flame charge while to dive headfirst through the wave, taking some damage, but not nearly as much as it could have.
Emerging on the other end thoroughly wet, the fire type charged up a Focus Blast almost as big as itself and fired it off towards Walrein, blasting the ice type into the side walls and letting it slump into the water.
"Well fought Lennon!" Wallace laughed, recalling his Pokemon and looking back at his team.
"You are fighting very well Ethan! Especially given you don't have much of an advantage against my team."
"I appreciate it. I'm enjoying the challenge."
"Wonderful! Rory!"
This time the Empoleon stepped forward, joining the fray as it slipped into the icy cold water comfortably. From what I could remember, Empoleon was a steel type. I narrowed my eyes, staring at the layout of Wallace's team. The screens were on behind us, and I could see exactly what had happened and who was left on the field. Wallace wasn't playing the long game.
"Well if that's what you want." I whispered to myself.
"Focus Burst!"
Typhlosion's ear twitched as it charged up a massive Focus blast, taking its time as Empoleon swam around between and under the chunks of ice all around the pool and the platforms. Taking aim, Typhlosion let it go straight at Empoleon, diving after the attack immediately with a cloak of flames surrounding it.
Empoleon dodged around the focus blast, almost lazily, only to get a flaming Typhlosion in the face. It flipped upside down, almost surprised that something would be so brazen as to charge it, before going back on the offensive.
"Don't let it go!" I called out as they went underwater.
Typhlosion bit Empoleon's flipper, grabbing ahold and raining Brick Break's on it as Empoleon swerved and tried to launch water attacks at Typhlosion. All of a sudden, a massive black cloud erupted in the water as Eruption flowed over the two Pokemon, burning Empoleon harshly before the water cooled the magma into solid rock, letting it sink to the bottom of the pool.
The entire pool was a mess, waves crashing every which way like in the Whirl Islands. A huge swell carried Typhlosion out of the water. I had to credit it. The drive it had picked up with Cassian was unmatched, the resilience it was showing making me proud to call it my partner. The second it was out of the water and in the air, never mind that it was flying backwards towards the edge boundary, a focus blast was charging in its maw, waiting for Empoleon to emerge.
The water type obliged, slicing through the waves and emerging with a Hydro Pump to fire. The attacks met head on midair, quite like a scene from a movie, or a conference battle. Greens and blues spraying with foam blast apart as the glowing rust colored orb smashed down their center and hit Empoleon in the beak, the streams of water wildly arcing and slamming into Typhlosion one by one as it fell to the water.
"Good work buddy." I whispered to my pokeball, recalling Typhlosion as Wallace recalled Empoleon.
"Wonderful! Simply wonderful!" He flung his cape around, grinning as he surveyed the battlefield, much of the ice having melted with the underwater tussle between the two Pokemon. A lot of heat would have been sucked out of Typhlosion's back and attacks, warming up the water.
"Regal!" With quiet strength, the Kingdra by his side floated from one of the small water pools to the larger battlefield, surveying the chaotic mess comprising the platforms which had been tossed about and the odd chunks of ice floating around in the water.
"Knight!"
"Sky versus Sea! Flying versus Water! Dragon versus Dragon!"
"Dragon Pulse then Thunderbolt the water."
Knight crooned and complied, firing an overcharged Dragon Pulse straight at Kingdra and setting to work on the thunderbolt. In a show of power, Kingdra refused to avoid the attack, instead parrying it with a weaker Dragon pulse and sending a shower of green lights and sparks all over the field.
"Never parry when you can dodge." I grinned as the light show masked the initial stages of the thunderbolt, not leaving Kingdra with time to get out of the water before the electric type attack struck, wreaking havoc across the battlefield and taking on Kingdra. The effect of the attack might have been lessened by the fact that Kingdra was a Dragon type as well as water, but it didn't make it negligible by any means.
"Dragon Pulse! Don't give it room to breathe!"
Knight stayed in the air, firing pulse after pulse at Kingdra, hitting on and off as the water type swam left and right, deeper and higher, trying to avoid the ruthless onslaught from a normally docile Pokemon.
"Regal! Ice Beam!"
"Match it!" I swore internally. Kingdra would be a very skilled user of Ice beam. Well to be fair, any of Wallace's Pokemon would be skilled at using ice beam. They were all water types, and if the gym décor was any indication, Wallace approved of the ice type. I could only be glad it wasn't Walrein firing this shot.
Two freezing ice beams met in the middle of the arena, Kingdra's thick and dense, Knight's a bit thinner, but equally as fast. Slowly the water type's attack pushed back against Knight's, inching closer to the flying type.
"Dragon Pulse!"
I would like to believe Wallace fell for the ruse that we were simply switching to a fresh attack to hold back the ice beam. I'm more inclined to believe he didn't as Knight dipped into a freefall, letting the ice beam fly over his chest as the pressure on it relented, before dipping back up and firing up a Dragon pulse, straight at Kingdra.
The attack landed, hitting the Dragon right on the snout before it could duck underwater and sending it careening backwards into the wall. Knight rocketed forward, slamming into Kingdra underwater with extreme speed and hauling it up into the air. Out of its element and fazed from the previous impact, Regal the Kingdra found itself a dozen feet in the air before Knight's tail slammed into it, glowing indigo with the power of a Dragon Tail, sending it careening into the water.
"Thunderbolt!" The room lit up again as another thunderbolt blasted into the water, striking Kingdra down even as an Ice Beam clipped Knight's leg, bringing the larger dragon floating gently to a platform as Wallace recalled Regal.
"Brava! You fight well Ethan Photon! But now I'm afraid the tables are about to turn! Mia!"
The Milotic slid into the pool, its entire body glistening, tail shimmering under the lights of the arena.
"Thunderbolt!"
"Dragon Pulse!"
Rather than leave the water and levitate, Milotic bore the brunt of the attack, firing back with a massive Dragon Pulse that slammed into Knight and sent it flying back.
"Blizzard!"
This time it wasn't underwater, Milotic rising above the surface of the water to flash freeze the entire arena. Knight cried out in pain as frost gathered on its wings and horns, along its toes, the cold so severe Knight's feet froze to the platform briefly. A quick blast of dragon fire sorted that out, but left Knight on edge.
"Thunderbolt again!"
"Ice beam!"
This time Milotic opted to dive in and out of the water in a blink, swimming a dozen feet to the left and emerging just in time to avoid a second round of frying, firing off a heavy ice beam at Knight. The attack hit the dragon type dead center, except it didn't stop. Mia pressed the beam on until Knight had frozen over from the front, half slumped over and ready to pass out.
"It's okay Knight, you fought well. Specter!" I beckoned for the Gengar to join the fray. Eager to get in the fight, it floated onto the battlefield. "Be careful! It took out Knight without trouble!"
Immediately the shade's smile inverted itself as it floated around, looking at the glistening scales of Milotic as it swam around underneath just underneath the surface of the water, as though it were playing at a lake.
"Thunderbolt and Shadow Claw!" Specter disappeared in a haze, appearing underwater in the shadow underneath Milotic and striking with its Shadow Claw raking across the underbelly of the water type.
"Mia Surf!" The entire pool was in chaos once more with Milotic's Waves sending Specter into underwater currents as the surface of the pool raged, waves slamming up against the shimmering gold energy barriers of the arena.
A look of consternation clouded Specter's face and the ghost type disappeared, noxious gasses slowly leaking out of the pool and into the air where it reformed, angrily unleashing a thunderbolt on the water below it. Milotic failed to leave the water this time, taking the attack and rearing its head as the Thunderbolt hit.
"Hydro Pump!"
Shaking off the effects of the electric attack, Milotic fired off a hydro pump, swinging its head all the while and trapping the fleeing Specter in its path.
"Hypnosis!"
Specter grinned and stretched its arms out as it engaged in one of its specialties, putting Milotic to sleep as the hypnotic rays permeated through the air from the Gengar.
"Thunderbolt now!"
Before Specter could react, a high-pressured Hydro pump slammed into it again, Milotic swaying its body hypnotically, quite like some Arbok tried to do.
"What the—"
"Sleep Talk is quite a marvelous technique is it not? Mia has trained to use that same subconscious cognizance to decide that Sleep Talk is the best course of action without my having said anything."
"Oh boy. Thunderbolt!"
Specter would only be able to take on more Hydro Pump. He wasn't the bulkiest or the most resilient of Pokemon, but he could give Milotic pain while he was around. Thunderbolt met the water as Hydro Pump hit the ghost type, causing it to disappear and return itself to its pokeball as Milotic twitched in the water, snapping awake after a moment.
"Let's end this. Scizor!" My last standing Pokemon came forward from my side, joining the battle with a quick nod towards me.
"Bullet Punch and Signal Beam!"
Scizor dove in, heading straight for the slowed down Milotic and slamming into it with glowing steel pincers, jumping back and unleashing Signal Beam immediately after.
"Hydro Pump!"
"X-Scissor!"
Of the two Pokemon on the battlefield, Scizor was by far faster. The bug type went in and struck with its attack before getting blasted all the way to the back of the field by the overpowered Hydro Pump, but it had the intended effect as Mia collapsed, finally to be recalled by Wallace.
"Bravo! Splendid really! You fought wonderfully!" He strode forward around the edge of the arena as the pool was covered by the ice floor once more, reaching out to shake my hand.
"Thank you. Mia is really something!"
"Ah yes! Mia is my pride and joy! All my Pokemon are, but Mia was my first Pokemon." Wallace sighed contentedly before looking at me with a wicked gleam in his eye. "I'll let you in on something. I suppose you picked up that I wasn't playing a very good game strategically."
"I did." I replied tersely, uncertain of where this would go as Scizor came to my side.
"Well when I said off the books, I brought out my Ace Trainer team. You see, it is rare, but not unusual for an Ace Trainer to accept a position as a Gym Leader. It is how some Gym Leaders move up the ranks into the Elite Four later in life. I'm sure Steven explained all this to you. This is my Third Rank Team. Mostly. Sel is missing. And Fango is feeling under the weather. But you get the idea. You fought remarkably well!"
I stopped in my tracks, shell shocked by the jump I'd made from my training with Cassian to my fight with Wallace. I stared at him, accepting his eager handshake.
"Thank you. I really didn't expect that one."
"I'd say in a full out fight you could take some Second Ranks. It will most certainly help you tackle the Silver Conference. If that is your goal?" Wallace arched an eyebrow and crossed his arms.
"Yes. Yes, it is."
"Just a heads up, you might want to read Lance's press release on the restructuring of the Indigo Conferences. It's all part of his plan to strengthen Indigo."
"Thanks for letting me know."
"Wonderful. Anyhow, shall we head to the Cave of Origin?" Wallace clapped his hands together. "Let's check on Sealy and Samurott shall we? They've probably found Sel as well!"
"Sel?"
"My Gyarados! She's somewhere in the pools in the lower levels, or possibly in the lake. Somewhere around here." Wallace grinned, walking down a doorway in the side of the room. I followed into what turned into a spiral staircase made of white marble, going down a while to a massive chamber the length of the gym made of pools and streams and waterfalls.
Swimming off in the distance near the biggest pool was a titanic Gyarados, diving in and out of the water. Every so often it would fire a high-pressure blast of water into a target pipe.
"That would be Sel. The water from all the attacks gets recovered and refunnelled into the pool."
Right nearby Samurott emerged, blasting water another open tube, Sealy close behind.
"Sealy! Why don't you show off what you've taught Samurott here!" Wallace called out, whistling to attract the Pokémon's attention
The Sealeo jumped out of the water with a loud noise, one I couldn't quite place, before nudging Samurott to get going. My newest Pokemon leapt out of the water, firing off an ice beam at a wall target, the beam well formed, the ice coalescing on the target and covering it in a thick layer of ice.
Without missing a beat, Samurott dove back into the water and resurfaced, firing off a pressurized Hydro Pump into one of the water receptacles. Compared to one of Wallace's Pokemon, it was weaker, but it would get better with practice.
"Awesome Samurott! Thank you Sel! And Sealy! Wallace!" I nodded to the gym leader, who simply smiled in return and turned back to me.
"Anyhow, let us go." Wallace led us to a staircase as I recalled Scizor and Samurott, waving to the Pokemon in the pool as I followed. We emerged near the entrance again, leaving the gym and emerging into the mid-afternoon sunshine.
Wallace reached for a pokeball and released a Pokemon, the white shining light spreading over a massive portion of the nearby lake, mostly underwater. As the light coalesced into the shape of a Pokemon, a swell rippled through the lake from the sheer volume of water displaced. Its back was true blue marked with off-white flecks in a linear pattern. The visible part of its underbelly leading up to its jaw a resplendent white. Its eyes were pure black, reflecting the light just a little bit as it cried out, attracting waves and smiles from the people around the city of Sootopolis.
"Meet André the Wailord! André, this is Ethan!"
"That, is impressive." I grinned, walking up to the water's edge and patting the massive Pokémon's flank, unsure of whether it could even feel me.
"Come on, all aboard!" Wallace stepped onto André's back quite calmly. Taking one last look at its black eyes, I stepped onto its back as well, stumbling slightly as André moved across the lake, quite swiftly for a Pokemon its size. Just a few moments later we reached the other side, stepping off as Wallace waited for a few children to pat the massive Wailord before recalling it. We had set down on the Eastern bank of the lake, right in front of the Pokemon center.
"I suppose we should both stop by here." I remarked dryly, stepping inside and approaching the counter.
"Yes, to be honest, we should have just used the station in the gym, but I suppose we were hasty to leave." Wallace grinned sheepishly.
"Hi, I'd like to check my Pokemon in." I smiled and unclipped my crew to hand them to the nurse.
"Of course. Wallace, quite uncommon to see you here." The nurse smiled widely, slotting the Pokemon into healing stations and turning back to us as the machines did their job.
"I figured I should get out of the gym more often."
"You have been cooped up in there a while Wallace. Fresh air is good." The nurse remanded him, handing us back our Pokemon. "Anyhow, have a good day, the both of you."
"Thank you, you too."
As we emerged from the Pokemon center doors, Wallace released André again, the giant Pokemon creating a small swell in the lake again. Once more we stepped upon its back and crossed to the other side of the lake, to the other side of the entire city of Sootopolis. Once we had disembarked, Wallace started off, André left to roam the lake and enjoy the water for a while as we crossed the city on foot.
Wallace led me through a narrow path between houses and up white stone staircases, on the open crater face, all the way around the length of the crater to the northern face what would have been directly behind the gym's main chamber where Wallace and I had lunched, and then had our massive "off the books" battle.
"Let's talk about where we're actually going. The Cave of Origin." Wallace's face seemed somewhat grim, but serene, as he spoke, heading towards the Cave's entrance. "Even the citizens of Sootopolis are not allowed inside the cave for the most part. It is a highly guarded and revered place, in Hoenn's history, culture and mythology."
"The Cave of Origin is said to be where life began on this earth. I'll be honestly critical of this, given we've explored the Ruins of Alph in Johto, and Spear Pillar in Sinnoh, I'm not sure what to believe. There is even the fabled Hall of Origin from where Arceus is said to watch over the Earth. We are uncertain. It has been said that the Cave is the birthplace of life in a different way. It is claimed to be the birthplace of Groudon and Kyogre, the legendary Pokemon of Hoenn. Land and Sea, Behemoth and Leviathan. Historians accept that we are uncertain where life actually began, but we can take life to have begun here since all land and sea were created by Groudon and Kyogre. We lend much credence to these theories. The power of the cave is… palpable… everywhere."
I stayed quiet as we reached the entrance to the cave. A few elders in dark navy robes stood by the entrance. A cube like frame emerging from the ground stood in front of the actual cave door, barred by an elder with a beard and mustache, and wizened eyes. Wallace nodded to the elder and he stepped aside, letting me walk under the frame. Thunder rumbled in the distance and I stopped to look up. Through the frame above me, and to the sides, dark clouds rumbled, the sky stormy and windy in every direction.
"Welcome, my friend, to the Cave of Origin."