Hey guys! Whew, it's been quite a while, hasn't it? I am so glad to finally have a new chapter done!
So, it's been a little over four years since I posted the original version of the first chapter. Time sure flies, huh? I wonder how long it'll be before I eventually manage to finish this. I'm also working on some other writing projects of mine, so maybe I'll have something else for you guys soon.
I have some ideas for the next two chapters, which I guess this chapter has helped me figure out and set up. Hopefully it won't take me as long to get another chapter done, but we'll see. The next chapter will be rather different from the usual stuff. I hope I can write it well.
On another note, I've been playing Super Mystery Dungeon, and I'm rather amused by how many characters in it remind me of characters from this fanfic here.
But for now, here's chapter 48! I hope you're all enjoying the story so far, and that you'll enjoy this chapter!
Chapter 48: I wonder what returning home will be like…
The sunset was giving the evening sky a red hue, as a young Shinx accompanied by a Luxio made her way over to a nearby field. She peeked out from some bushes, quietly observing the field. Parts of the field were visibly distorted, flickering and sparking. The grass near those spots appeared to have wilted, and it didn't look like anyone else was in the area. The Luxio limped his way over to the young Shinx, and looked out on the field. The Luxio gave a displeased snarl upon seeing the current state of the field, while the young Shinx merely looked concerned.
"Doesn't seem like any Zebstrika have been here in a while…" Lita commented, looking over at a distorted section of the ground. "Not that I would want to come here either in these conditions…"
"And yet the fact that we eat them never seemed to deter them," Charge said, tilting his head slightly. "Is the grass here just really tasty, or something?"
"I wouldn't know," Lita responded, smiling and shaking her head. "I've never tried it."
"Why would you?" Charge replied, giving Lita a look. "Anyways… Let's just head back."
"Okay," Lita responded, nodding her head.
"You lead the way," Charge said.
The two began making their way back to their territory within the Lightning Plateau, Lita taking it slow to make sure that Charge could keep up.
"Is this the only one this is happening to?" Charge asked, looking over at Lita.
"As far as I know, yes," Lita responded, nodding her head. "My mom hasn't said anything about any of our other regular hunting spots being affected by this yet…"
"Well, it's only a matter of time, isn't it?" Charge replied, sighing. "But I guess we won't starve just yet…"
"Don't worry, I'm sure somebody will get those crystals back and return them to Axis Tower soon!" Lita responded, smiling up at Charge. "And then everything will go back to normal, and the Zebstrika will return to that area!"
"Well, let's hope you're right," Charge replied, glancing around.
"The rescue teams in Fenix Town are working really hard!" Lita said, still smiling.
"Yeah, yeah… I know," Charge responded, nodding his head. "So, your older brother… he's with a rescue team, isn't he?"
"Uh, yes," Lita replied, nodding her head. "I already told you that."
"Right," Charge responded, looking away. "Um… How is he doing?"
"I'm not sure," Lita replied, shaking her head. "I hope he's doing okay, though."
"Hmm… Well, Fenix Town sounds like a pretty cool place," Charge responded, looking at Lita. "Although, I doubt I'd be okay with just living off of berries and fruit all the time."
"Me neither," Lita replied, smiling. "Blitz seems to have gotten used to it, though."
The two electric-type Pokémon kept walking, making small-talk as the sun went down. By the time they reached the cave where Lita and her mother lived, it was already dark.
"All right, we're here," Charge said, looking towards the cave. "Bye for now, I guess."
"Bye-bye!" Lita responded, smiling up at Charge.
Lita waited until Charge was no longer within her eyeshot, before heading inside where her mother was waiting for her.
"Ah, there you are," Leandra said, walking up to greet her daughter. "How was your day?"
"It was okay," Lita responded, looking up at her mother.
"Good to hear!" Leandra replied, smiling. "Oh, by the way, some of us are making plans for the next hunting trip away from the plateau."
"Already?" Lita asked, tilting her head slightly. "Is it because of the distortions?"
"Don't worry about that, Lita," Leandra responded, patting Lita on the head with her paw.
"I'm not worried," Lita replied, shaking her head. "But I'm right, aren't I? Have more hunting spots near our territory been affected?"
Lita knew how things usually worked. There were a few hunting spots close to Lightning Plateau, but occasionally they would send a team to an area further away from their territory to hunt. The reasons for this could vary, but it usually had something to do with something affecting the population of wild Pokémon in the usual hunting spots.
"Our pride has been able to survive worse things than this," Leandra said, grinning. "So, whatever happens, we'll be able to handle it!"
"You didn't answer my question," Lita responded, pouting. "If I'm going to be the leader of this pride someday, shouldn't I know what's going on around here?"
"Hmm? You want to become the next leader of the pride?" Leandra inquired, looking a bit surprised.
"Well, why not?" Lita responded, looking up at her mother. "I'm sure I could be a good leader."
"Being the leader of the Luxray pride is a lot of responsibility," Leandra said.
"I know that," Lita responded, nodding her head. "But I'm willing to learn everything I need to know!"
Leandra blinked a few times, before smiling warmly at her daughter.
"You're serious about this, aren't you?" Leandra said, affectionately nuzzling Lita. "My little princess…"
Lita smiled and rubbed her forehead against her mother's forehead. Since it was getting late, she decided to stop pushing the subject about the current state of the areas around Lightning Plateau for now. Besides, she figured that if the situation had changed drastically in some way, she would've already have found out about it.
Chiaki was lying awake in bed again, staring at a wall. For some reason, he just couldn't seem to fall asleep. He hoped this wasn't going to be a recurring problem. How was he supposed to have enough energy to deal with rescue team missions if he couldn't sleep at night? Suddenly, he felt a paw tap on his shoulder. Chiaki turned over so that he was facing Blitz, who had apparently noticed that he was having trouble sleeping.
"Is something wrong?" Blitz whispered, his golden eyes shining in the dark.
"It's nothing…" Chiaki responded, staring up at the ceiling.
"Are you sure?" Blitz asked, still looking at Chiaki.
Chiaki didn't answer, continuing to stare up at the ceiling.
"You know you can talk to us if something is bothering you, right?" Blitz said, tilting his head slightly. "Come on, talk to me."
"Well… I guess there is something I wanted to talk about…" Chiaki responded, looking over at Blitz.
"Go on, I'm listening," Blitz replied.
Chiaki gave Blitz a brief explanation of what he thought he had figured out about where he originally came from and the visions he kept having of the Meridian Forest.
"I see," Blitz responded, nodding his head slightly. "So, you think you used to live in the Axis Tower?"
"Yeah, I'm pretty sure," Chiaki replied.
"I suppose that makes sense…" Blitz responded, holding a paw to his chin. "Wild Mienfoo supposedly live in the areas around Axis Tower and Meridian Forest, and I believe there was a Mienshao among the guards from the tower…"
"So, at least that's one more mystery solved," Chiaki commented, smiling.
"But I don't understand… why can't Elina take you back home?" Blitz wondered, sitting up in his bed.
"I'm wondering the same thing," Chiaki responded, shrugging slightly. "But, there's no real point in worrying about that now, is there?"
"I don't know…" Blitz replied, shaking his head. "Something doesn't seem right here…"
"Are you saying you don't trust Elina?" Chiaki asked, looking away.
"I didn't say that," Blitz responded.
"... Blitz, I… I know there's somewhere else I need to be," Chiaki said, sighing. "But… I also want to stay with you, Sera and everyone else here in Fenix Town…"
"I see," Blitz responded, nodding his head slightly. "I understand that you feel conflicted…"
"… Do you ever miss your old home?" Chiaki asked, looking over at Blitz. "Do you… ever think about going back there?"
"I… have thought about it," Blitz said, rubbing his forelegs together. "But things are… complicated, you know?"
"Yeah… You had all these expectations to deal with…" Chiaki responded, remembering what Hercules had told him and Sera. "I can't really imagine how difficult it must've been for you…"
"It was awful…" Blitz whispered, staring at a wall. "I don't ever want to go back to that…"
Chiaki wasn't sure how to answer, but just reached out and touched Blitz's paw. The two were quiet for a few moments, before Blitz spoke up again.
"If I can really do it, then I want to find my own destiny," Blitz said, looking down at his own paws. "Somehow, I think it might be possible if you're all by my side…"
"… I'll do what I can to help," Chiaki responded, giving a small smile. "But I… I don't know how much longer I will be able to stay here in Fenix Town…"
"... We're glad to have you around," Blitz replied, smiling back at Chiaki. "It'll be sad to see you go whenever you have to return home. It's been nice having a roommate."
"I like living here," Chiaki responded, his smile widening a little. "Your house is really nice, and I'm glad you let me stay here."
"I understand if you have to go back to your old home, though," Blitz said.
"There's still a lot I don't know about myself," Chiaki said, yawning. "I wonder what returning home will be like…"
"Well, I guess for now, we'd better get some sleep," Blitz responded, lying back down on his bed. "Think you'll be able to sleep now?"
"I'll try…" Chiaki replied, nodding his head slightly. "Good night, Blitz."
"Good night," Blitz responded, closing his eyes.
Chiaki took a deep breath and closed his eyes, hoping to finally get some sleep. Tomorrow would be another day of missions, another day he could spend time with his friends.
Another day had begun, and Sera was having breakfast with her family as usual. Even her parents, Summer and Olivier, were present this morning. While some of the siblings had questioned whether it was okay for their parents to be late for work, Summer and Olivier had assured them that it would be fine. The siblings were glad to be able to spend this time with them, though. After finishing her breakfast, Sera prepared to head out to meet with Blitz and Chiaki.
"You seem happy," Flare commented, smiling at Sera.
"Yeah, I suppose I'm feeling pretty great," Sera responded, smiling back.
"That's good," Flare replied, nodding his head slightly. "Well, do your best out there!"
"Thanks, I will!" Sera responded, grinning. "See you later!"
Once outside, Sera quickly made her way to the town plaza.
"Hmm… Where are they?" Sera muttered to herself, looking around for her friends. "Maybe they're not here yet…"
A few other rescue teams were going about their usual business, getting ready for another day of work. Mirage had just finished buying some items at the shop, and was on her way to the bank to deposit the remainder of the money she had with her at the moment. Regina once again needed a particular item that she had been storing at the item warehouse for a mission, and was waiting for Lionel to bring it to her. Sting and his teammates were waiting for Regina to finish her errand, so they could deposit an item they'd just gotten from a treasure box that Bijou had opened for them.
A few other Pokémon were just standing around, talking about recent events and such.
"Good morning, Sera!" Azure called out, as she and Frederick walked up to her.
"Oh, hey you guys!" Sera responded, smiling.
"Aren't Blitz and Chiaki here yet?" Frederick asked, sniffing the air.
"Hold on, I think I hear them…" Azure said, her ears twitching slightly. "Yeah, they're right there!"
Sera turned around and looked over in the direction Azure was pointing, and saw Blitz and Chiaki heading towards them.
"Ah, you're right!" Sera responded, waving to Blitz and Chiaki. "Hi Blitz! Hi Chiaki!"
"Hi Sera!" Chiaki shouted, waving back at Sera.
"Good morning, everyone," Blitz said, smiling at Sera and the others.
"All right, everyone's here!" Azure commented, grinning. "Let's go check out some missions!"
The group headed up to the rescue team HQ, and went to look up at the recently pinned up missions on the bulletin boards. Looking through the requests from various Pokémon, they eventually managed to pick out a few.
"Since I went on the last mission, I guess this one's yours, Frederick!" Azure said, smiling.
"Oh, is that okay?" Frederick asked.
"Sure!" Azure responded, nodding. "Besides, that mystery dungeon supposedly has a lot of grass types in it… Not a type good match-up for me, you know?"
"Ah, okay," Frederick replied, nodding his head.
"So, don't worry about me!" Azure said, winking. "There'll be more adventures, and since we're a team of five, we've got to share!"
"Chiaki or I could stay behind on some missions too," Sera added. "That way, both of you could go on a mission."
"True," Blitz commented, nodding his head. "Depending on the situation, there could be times where it'd be best for me to stay behind, having one of you act as leader for the mission."
"And if we get even more members, we'd have even more options!" Chiaki added, smiling cheerfully.
"Are we just going to stand here and talk all day, or are you guys going to go help these Pokémon?" Azure asked, smirking.
"Right, we should probably get started," Blitz responded.
The team went inside Kala's room. Kala was asleep, snuggling her worn pillow as usual. Blitz noticed that a list of some sort had been pinned up next to the large map.
"Hmm? What's that?" Chiaki asked, also noticing the list.
"Let me see…" Blitz responded, walking up to take a closer look. "… Looks like a list of mystery dungeons that are currently closed off due to distortions."
"Eh?" Azure replied, frowning.
Azure, Sera and Chiaki walked up to look at the list, while Frederick decided to try to wake Kala.
"Hmm… It's not too many mystery dungeons…" Chiaki commented.
"Still, distortions are continuing to spread, so that list is only going to get longer!" Azure said, pouting. "The stars better tell Stella where those remaining crystals are soon!"
"Why'd you take daddy's comb…?" Kala muttered in her sleep, as Frederick kept nudging her arm. "You don't even have a mustache…"
"Huh? I didn't do anything…" Frederick said, tilting his head slightly.
"Mm…?" Kala groaned, opening an eye slightly. "Oh, it's you guys."
"Hi Kala!" Chiaki said, cheerfully waving at the Abra.
"Yeah, good to see you too…" Kala responded, yawning and stretching her arms. "So, where do you want to go?"
Meanwhile, a Luxray was slowly, but surely making his way towards Lightning Plateau. He occasionally paused, stopping to take a breath. Then glanced around, spotting a few distortions in the fabric of space. He shook his head, and continued his walk. He had to get back home, and take responsibility for his actions. He wasn't sure how he would make things up to the other Luxray, but if he could at least do something to help out in these strange times, that'd be a start. He stopped and took another deep breath, looking at the path ahead of him. If he continued at this pace, he probably wouldn't reach his destination until the evening. On the plus time, it gave him time to think about what to say to the others once he arrived, but he knew words wouldn't be enough. He continued to walk, trying to mentally prepare himself for what awaited him…
Blitz led his teammates through a mystery dungeon located in a jungle, picking up any extra items they could carry along the way. As they reached the first of the floors on their list of missions, they began looking for the Pokémon they needed to rescue. Frederick attempted to pick up the scent of the one they needed to rescue, but the sweet scent being spread by some of the grass types on the floor was throwing him off. They continued to move through the labyrinth-like place, and after a while, Blitz finally spotted the Pokémon they had been asked to find.
A somewhat distressed looking Teddiursa was stuck next to a wild Pokémon resembling a large mass of blue vines with long arms. The Tangrowth had wrapped one of its long arms around the little light brown bear Pokémon, holding it close while it slept.
"Oh, someone finally came," the Teddiursa whispered, smiling sheepishly. "As you can probably see, I could use a little help here…"
Blitz and his teammates tried not to make too much noise as they moved closer.
"How'd you end up like this?" Sera asked, tilting her head slightly.
"I, uh… I'm not entirely sure myself," the Teddiursa responded, glancing at the Tangrowth to make sure it was still fast asleep. "Any chance you can get me out of this without waking this guy?"
"Hmm… Hold still..." Blitz said, picking up the rescue team badge. "I'll just move this over to you, and…"
The Teddiursa moved slightly, reaching for the rescue team badge. However, before her paw could touch the badge, a blue vine suddenly shot out from the Tangrowth's body and knocked the badge out of Blitz's paw.
"Ah…!" the Teddiursa cried, as the now-awake Tangrowth got up on its gray, stumpy legs. Two eyes were barely visible somewhere in the mass of blue vines, glaring at the four rescue team members.
"Well… That didn't go so well…" Sera commented.
"So, we have to fight it now?" Frederick asked, getting into a fighting stance.
"Be careful not to hit the Teddiursa!" Chiaki said.
"Y-Yeah! Don't hit me!" the Teddiursa responded, trying to wiggle out of the grass type's grip.
The Tangrowth swung its free arm like a whip, trying to strike Blitz. Blitz quickly jumped out of the way, barely avoiding the Tangrowth's attack.
"I suppose I could use my fire or ice fang attacks to make that Tangrowth release the Teddiursa…" Blitz mused, before glancing over at Chiaki. "Or…"
"… Oh! Of course!" Chiaki exclaimed, before rushing forward and striking the Tangrowth with a Fake Out attack. "Take this!"
The Tangrowth made angry plant noises as it flinched from Chiaki's attack, losing its grip on the Teddiursa.
"You okay?" Sera asked, running up to check on the Teddiursa as she landed on the grass.
"Um… Yeah, I think so…" the Teddiursa responded, getting back on her feet. "Whew…"
"Look out!" Chiaki called out, giving Sera just enough time to dodge out of the way of another strike from the Tangrowth's long arms.
"I'll, uh… just wait for you guys over there…" the Teddiursa said, backing away slowly, before turning around and running out of the room.
Frederick followed the sound of the vines rustling from the Tangrowth's movements, and fired off a few balls of purple fire at the large grass type. The Tangrowth made a disgruntled noise, before releasing a cloud of green dust. Blitz held his breath, and covered his nose with his paw in order to avoid the effects of the sleep powder.
"Don't worry, guys! I know we can do it!" Sera shouted, using her Helping Hand move to power up her teammates' attacks.
"Thanks, Sera!" Chiaki said, firing a stream of golden stars from his glowing paw at the Tangrowth.
The Tangrowth tried to block the star-shaped rays of light with one of its arms, leaving an opening for Blitz to attack. Blitz considered his options for a moment, before going for an electrified tackle. The attack didn't seem to have much of an effect, but he still managed to inflict a little bit of damage on the Tangrowth.
"Hmm… Not quite what I was hoping for…" Blitz muttered, before moving out of the way of another vine whip attack. "I suppose it'd be okay to use my fire or ice fang attacks here, but…"
"It's time to finish this!" Chiaki shouted, running towards the Tangrowth.
The Tangrowth put both arms in front of itself to try to block Chiaki's path, only for the Mienfoo to jump right over them. Before the Tangrowth had the chance to react, Chiaki managed to deliver a powerful kick to the Tangrowth's body, knocking it out. Chiaki gave a startled yell as he went flying backwards from the impact, before falling down onto the ground.
"Chiaki! Are you okay?" Sera asked, running up to him.
"Ow… I guess I need to practice that attack a bit more…" Chiaki said, smiling sheepishly as he looked around at his teammates. "Ah, don't worry! I'm fine!"
"Are you sure?" Sera asked.
"Yeah, I'm okay!" Chiaki responded, getting back on to his feet. "Guess we'd better go catch up to that Teddiursa, huh?"
"Yes, let's go," Blitz replied, nodding his head.
Blitz picked up the rescue team badge that had been dropped when the Tangrowth attacked, and placed it back on the bag before heading off in the direction the Teddiursa ran off in, hoping that she hadn't managed to get herself into more trouble while they had been busy.
While the others were busy with their missions, Azure spent the day helping out at the café. There weren't that many customers this particular day, but there was still plenty to do while she waited for her teammates to return. When her friends returned, she happily ran up to greet them and began asking about the missions they had been on. The five of them sat down at one of the tables, and talked about how the missions went.
"Sounds like you guys had a great adventure!" Azure commented, grinning.
"Yeah, but we used up most of our heal seeds…" Blitz responded, sighing. "Luckily, we don't actually end up needing them all that often, but still…"
"Don't worry about it, Blitz!" Chiaki said, smiling. "I'm sure we'll have a decent supply of heal seeds built up again in no time!"
"… You're probably right," Blitz responded, nodding his head slightly.
"Hey, what time is it?" Sera asked, glancing at the nearest window. "I think I should head home now…"
"Ah, right," Azure responded, looking out through the same window. "Time sure flies when you're having fun…"
"I guess we should get going too," Blitz said, looking over at Chiaki.
"Hmm… I think I'll stay a little longer," Frederick said. "Good bye for now, though."
"Yeah, see you guys tomorrow!" Azure said, smiling.
"Bye-bye!" Chiaki said, waving to Azure and Frederick.
Blitz and Chiaki decided to accompany Sera on her way home. Sera seemed to appreciate their company, gazing warmly at Blitz as they walked side by side. It didn't take long before they reached Sera's family's house.
"Good night, you two," Sera said, smiling at Blitz and Chiaki.
"Good night, Sera," Blitz responded, smiling back at Sera.
"See you tomorrow!" Chiaki said, also smiling.
Sera hurried inside, while Blitz and Chiaki lingered outside for a few moments before turning to begin making their way back to their own house.
"Hey, Blitz?" Chiaki said, looking over at Blitz.
"What is it?" Blitz asked, glancing over at Chiaki.
"Um… Never mind," Chiaki responded, shaking his head.
"Hmm…?" Blitz replied, tilting his head slightly. "Was there something you wanted to talk about?"
"Ah… It can wait," Chiaki responded, looking away.
"Remember, you can talk to me or the others if there's something on your mind," Blitz said, looking at Chiaki.
"I know," Chiaki responded, smiling at Blitz.
"So, if there's something you want to talk about, let me know," Blitz replied, smiling back.
"I will, don't worry," Chiaki responded, nodding his head.
The two returned home, getting ready to get some sleep. In Fenix Town, the rest of the night would be an uneventful one. But perhaps elsewhere, something major had happened…
End of Chapter 48