Hey everyone! I hope you're all well!
I guess 2020 hasn't really turned out the way anyone expected, huh? Well, we can only hope that things will get better, and until then, take certain precautions, stay healthy and try to make the best of things. I'm sure we can get through this.
Well, maybe I can brighten your day a little with a new chapter of Reflecting Balance! That's right, Chapter 59 is ready!
It's been over eight years since I first posted the original version of the first chapter, and I'm really excited that we've gotten this far! We're getting close to the end, and I'm not sure how many chapters are left or how long it'll take to write them, but I will finish what I've started.
For now, here's Chapter 59! I hope you guys enjoy it!
Chapter 59: You haven't earned those 'treasures' of yours, you know?
It was nighttime in Fenix Town, and most of the Pokémon living there were currently fast asleep. Inside Kala's room in the rescue team HQ, Elina was sitting on the floor next to the sleeping Abra, seemingly having trouble sleeping. She knew that once Chiaki and his friends returned from Wyvern Island tomorrow, they would have the seventh Axis Tower crystal with them. And then…
She was distracted from her thoughts by Kala muttering something in her sleep. Kala shifted around a bit, before sleepily opening an eye.
"… You're awake?" Kala asked, looking over at Elina.
"Yes," Elina responded via telepathy. "What were you dreaming about just now?"
"Oh… Well, there was this forest, and some kind of building…" Kala explained, yawning. "And as I walked up to the building, there was this weird ghost that threatened to kill me unless I beat her in a battle… it was really weird."
"That does sound weird…" Elina responded, tilting her head slightly.
"But, enough about that," Kala said. "Why are you having trouble sleeping?"
"Well… I'll probably be leaving this town soon," Elina explained.
"Oh?" Kala responded, trying her best to stay awake.
"Yeah… Soon, there won't be a reason for me to stay here any longer," Elina telepathically replied, before sighing.
"… There won't be a reason for you to stay…?" Kala inquired.
Elina was quiet for a moment, as she contemplated whether or not to explain the full situation to Kala. There wasn't anyone around who could hear them right now, and it was doubtful that Kala would allow this information to fall into the wrong hands.
"She wouldn't accidentally blurt it out in her sleep, would she?" Elina thought to herself, before shaking her head. "No… I should have more faith in her than that."
When Elina had first asked Kala to teach her how to communicate via telepathy, Elina had been afraid that Kala would refuse. They hadn't even known each other that long, and Kala already had plenty of work to do with having to teleport rescue teams to mystery dungeons every day. Even so, Kala had only needed a little time to think things over before agreeing to help Elina.
While there seemed to be no progress at first, Kala continued to support and encourage Elina, and even let her spend the night sleeping over in her room at times.
"Kala has been so kind to me…" Elina thought to herself, affectionately glancing over at the Abra.
Kala had fallen asleep again while waiting for Elina to respond to her question. Elina watched her for a few moments, before reaching out and gently touching Kala's shoulder.
"Hmm? What?" Kala muttered as she opened her eyes again.
"Ah, Kala… You can keep a secret, right?" Elina asked telepathically.
"Uh… Yeah, sure," Kala responded, yawning.
Elina nodded her head, and closed her eyes as she telepathically explained her situation to Kala. Kala quietly listened to Elina's story, taking a few moments to go over this information in her head.
"Whoa…" Kala said. "Are you sure about that?"
"Positive," Elina responded, nodding her head.
"Huh…" Kala replied, blinking a few times.
"I will tell him the truth tomorrow, or maybe the day after that," Elina explained. "And then, we'll return to Axis Tower."
"But… how are you going to…" Kala responded, seeming unsure how to phrase her question.
"That's the part I haven't figured out yet," Elina replied, shaking her head. "I… I guess I didn't really want to think about it…"
"That's understandable…" Kala responded, placing her hand on Elina's hand. "He's your friend, after all."
"I… probably shouldn't think of him that way," Elina replied, looking away.
Kala tried to comfort Elina as the two of them just sat there for a while, until Elina eventually fell asleep. Since there wasn't anything else she could do at the moment, Kala decided it was best to get more sleep as well.
"… All right, we'll give you four of our Oran berries for two of your Reviver Seeds," Yukio said.
"Okay, we have a deal," Blitz responded, nodding his head.
A new day had begun, and the rescue teams that had spent the night on Wyvern Island were getting ready to continue their mission. The four rescue teams were taking the time to exchange some items, while the other dragon Pokémon were helping the Altaria pack up the cooking gear. Azure was doing some warm-up exercises to prepare herself for the battles that awaited inside the mystery dungeon of the Sky-High Mountains, while Chiaki and Liz watched her.
"Looks like she's already pretty fired up," Liz commented.
"Yep," Chiaki replied, chuckling. "Azure is always ready for another adventure."
"Yukio is sort of like that too," Liz said, glancing over at the Weavile for a moment. "He can be a bit impatient, though."
"How so?" Chiaki asked.
"Well, he likes to get work done and he likes to fight," Liz explained. "So, on slower missions, he can get a bit restless."
"Hey, Liz! We're done here!" Yukio shouted, waving at the Emolga to make sure he got her attention. "Get over here!"
"Oh, looks like it's almost time for us all to head out," Liz commented, smiling at Chiaki. "Good luck to you and your team!"
"Thanks!" Chiaki responded, smiling back at Liz. "Good luck to you too!"
Liz waved at Chiaki before running back to her teammates. Chiaki also ran over to his own teammates, who were taking another look at their current selection of items.
"Hmm, this looks good, right?" Blitz asked, looking over at his teammates.
"I think so," Sera replied, nodding her head.
"Is everyone good to go, then?" Indigo asked, looking around at the rescue teams.
The rescue team leaders each replied in affirmative, and the dragon Pokémon each went over to the teams they had accompanied yesterday. It was time for the four rescue teams present to make their way up the Sky-High Mountains so they could retrieve the stolen prizes for the annual Wyvern Island flying tournament, and more importantly, an Axis Tower crystal.
"All right, everyone!" Indigo said, grinning. "Let's do this!"
One by one, the four rescue teams entered the mystery dungeon.
Back in Gale Wing Village, Aeron was taking a look around. It had been over a month since he was last home, after all. Aside from the current situation with the stolen flying tournament prices, things were pretty much the way they usually were. He looked over at the Tropius shopkeeper, who was currently talking to a Togekiss. He decided to go talk to the two.
"Oh, hello there, Aeron!" the Tropius said, smiling at the Aerodactyl. "I haven't seen you in a while! Where have you been?"
"Ah, well…" Aeron responded, taking a moment to explain what had happened.
"Oh my!" the Tropius replied.
"Yeah," Aeron responded, glancing at his wing. "But I'm mostly fine now. That Audino and her crew are really amazing at what they do."
"I see!" the Tropius cheerfully replied. "I'm glad you were able to get help quickly!"
"So, the rescue team that found you are among the teams headed for the Sky-High Mountains, right?" the Togekiss asked.
"Yes, they are," Aeron responded, looking over at the Togekiss. "They're probably making their way through the mystery dungeon as we speak."
"Hmm, I do look forward to hearing all about it from Aria when they get back," the Togekiss replied, humming to herself.
"Yeah, I'd like to hear about their adventure too," Aeron said. "I'm sure Indigo at the very least will be eager to tell us how it went."
"Oh, most definitely," the Tropius responded, giggling a little.
Blitz and his teammates gradually made their way through the mystery dungeon, fighting off wild Pokémon along the way.
"You doing okay, Chiaki?" Azure asked. "Are the flying type Pokémon giving you a rough time?"
"I'm fine," Chiaki responded, sounding a bit winded. "Those Pidgeot sure were fast, though…"
"Agility is the worst," Sera grumbled, her fur looking rather disheveled.
"Yeah, that move is pretty annoying," Indigo commented. "Best to beat them before they can use it."
"Anyone need an Oran berry?" Blitz asked.
"Nah, I think we're good for now," Sera responded.
"We can take a break once we get to the halfway point," Indigo said, looking around. "We'll be there in a few more floors."
"… I don't know about you guys, but that felt like more than 'a few' floors," Sera commented as she and her teammates reached the halfway point, before noticing that they weren't the only team currently taking a break from the mission.
"Oh, hey there," Mirage said, waving to Blitz and his teammates.
"Oh, hi Mirage!" Chiaki responded, waving back.
"Good to see you're all doing well," Angeline said, looking over at Blitz and his teammates.
"What about the other teams?" Sera asked, while Azure helped fix up her disheveled fur. "Have you seen them?"
"I don't know about Sting's team," Mirage responded. "But Yukio's team did come by here earlier."
"They didn't stay long," Megara commented. "Yukio seemed to be in a bit of a hurry to get back out there."
"That sounds about right, based on what Liz told me," Chiaki said, tilting his head slightly. "I hope they're all okay."
"We should probably get back out there too," Mirage said, glancing over at the path leading into the next set of floors.
"Do we have to?" Cordyceps asked. "The mushroom would rather stay here."
"Rescue teams are prepared to finish any mission they take on, even if they are at a disadvantage, are they not?" Angeline asked, looking over at Cordyceps.
Cordyceps stared blankly at Angeline for a moment. Chiaki wondered if the Parasect was trying to think of a reply to what Angeline had said to him.
"We made it this far, didn't we?" Megara said, glancing over at Cordyceps.
"Just barely," Cordyceps responded, looking at his teammates. "You guys kept shielding the mushroom from attacks from those flying-type Pokémon."
"Well, yeah," Mirage replied, looking a bit confused. "I mean, we can handle those attacks better than you can."
"Exactly," Cordyceps responded. "The mushroom shouldn't have come along on this mission in the first place. The mushroom is only slowing you down."
"Cordy…" Mirage said, gently touching one of Cordyceps' claws.
"Perhaps the mushroom was never suited to be a rescue team member in the first place," Cordyceps said, looking away. "Lately, the mushroom has complained a lot about our missions…"
Mirage looked over at Blitz and his teammates for a moment, who seemed a bit unsure of what to do.
"Um… Do you want some time to yourselves?" Blitz asked, rubbing the rings on his forelegs together.
"Yeah, you guys go on ahead," Mirage said, nodding her head slightly. "We'll catch up later."
Blitz nodded his head, and signaled to his teammates to move on to the next part of the dungeon, with Indigo seeming eager to get back to exploring. Angeline watched the group leave, before walking over to a corner of the room to at least get some distance from Mirage and her teammates while they talked things out.
"Cordy, do you remember when we first met?" Mirage asked the Parasect. "It was thanks to your help that I was able to complete my first mission!"
"Of course, I remember," Cordyceps responded, staring at Mirage. "You took on a mission that was too difficult for you to handle on your own."
"Hey, I had just moved to Fenix Town," Mirage replied, crossing her arms. "I wanted to earn money to send to my family, and going after that outlaw seemed like a good idea at the time! Besides, I had no way of knowing that the outlaw would bring back-up!"
"Well, I helped you because you helped me first," Cordyceps commented. "It only seemed fair to the mushroom."
"Still, after that was all over, you could've just walked away," Mirage said, smirking. "But you didn't."
"… That is true," Cordyceps responded.
"Tell me, Cordy, why'd you accept my offer to team up back then?" Mirage asked. "I mean, at that point, I was still pretty much a stranger to you."
"Well… The mushroom doesn't know how to explain it," Cordyceps responded. "There was just something about you that left an impression."
"Something that left an impression, huh?" Mirage replied with a slight smile. "I guess I could say the same for you."
Mirage looked at her rescue team badge, the platinum colored half of it shining brightly.
"We've come a long way since then," Mirage commented.
"And we'll keep going even further!" Megara said, smiling. "Right, Cordy?"
"… Yes, we will," Cordyceps responded. "The mushroom knows it has complained a lot recently, but… I will try to get better at this."
"You're already doing fine," Mirage replied with a reassuring smile. "I know there are probably ways I could be a better rescue team leader too."
"All right, then let's all work to better ourselves together," Megara said, shrugging slightly.
"Sounds like a plan," Mirage responded.
The team looked up to see Angeline walk over with a smile on her face.
"Ah, I guess we kept you waiting, huh?" Mirage said, looking up at Angeline. "Sorry about that."
"It's fine," Angeline replied. "It seems you needed a moment to recover your morale."
"Well, I think we're good to go now," Megara said, standing up. "How about you, Cordy?"
"Yes, the mushroom is ready to keep going," Cordyceps responded.
"Good to hear," Angeline said, nodding her head. "Well, let's go, then."
"I wonder if Mirage and her teammates are doing okay?" Chiaki wondered as he and his teammates continued making their way through the floors.
"I'm sure they've got things sorted out," Azure responded.
Azure suddenly stopped walking for a moment as her ears twitched, with Frederick bumping his snout into her tail before he realized that she had stopped moving.
"Hmm… You guys hear that?" Azure asked, glancing around.
"Hear what?" Sera responded.
The rest of the group stopped for a moment while Azure tried to determine where the noise was coming from.
"I think… it's coming from over there," Azure said, pointing in the direction the sound was coming from.
The group cautiously made their way over to see what was going on, and soon saw that Sting and his teammates were fighting off a large number of wild Pokémon in one of the rooms.
"They must've walked into a Monster House," Blitz said, observing the situation.
"Well, what are we waiting for?" Azure asked. "Let's go help them out!"
Frosty was trying his best to take out some of the wild flying-type Pokémon with his Icicle Crash attack, but their increased speed from their Agility move made it even more difficult to hit them. Melody and Aria the Altaria were trying to shield Sting from attacks from flying-type Pokémon while pushing them back with a sound-based attack, boosting the strength of their attack by singing together.
As they joined the fight, Blitz made his fur shine to get the attention of the wild Pokémon. In the brief moment the wild Pokémon were distracted, Azure, Frederick and Indigo took the opportunity to attack. Sera used her Helping Hand to give her allies a power boost, while Chiaki waited for a chance to attack.
Working together, the two rescue teams and the dragon-type Pokémon assisting them were eventually able to take out all the Pokémon in the Monster House.
"Thanks for the help, guys," Frosty said, while picking up some of the items still laying around in the room.
"No problem!" Chiaki responded, smiling.
"Is everyone okay?" Sting asked, looking around.
The others all gave affirmative responses.
"All right, let's keep moving!" Indigo said. "We're almost at the top, now!"
Inside a certain cave on the Sky-High Mountains, a Braviary was keeping watch near the entrance. His eyes narrowed as he saw something in the distance.
"They're on their way…" the Braviary muttered.
"What's that?" the Yanmega asked, flitting around the stolen tournament prizes.
"Someone is headed here to steal our treasures," the Braviary responded, turning his head and glancing at the other three Pokémon in the cave.
"No! We can't let them do that!" the Charizard said, while hugging a medal close to his chest.
"We just have to chase them off, right?" the Hydreigon said.
"Yes…" the Braviary responded, nodding his head. "Get ready to fight, everyone."
Yukio and his team had already made it through the dungeon. Liz and Wilbur were happily snacking on some apples while having a friendly chat, while Yukio was impatiently looking around.
"The thieves are just up ahead, right?" Yukio said, tapping his foot impatiently. "Can't we just go challenge them?"
"Hey, I'm sure the other rescue teams will be here soon," Rosie responded, looking over at the dungeon's exit. "… Oh! Would you look at that!"
At that moment, both Sting and Blitz's rescue teams exited the dungeon.
"Ah, you guys finally showed up!" Yukio said, grinning. "What took you so long?"
"Hey, you can't expect everyone to be as fast as you," Sera commented.
"We would've been here sooner, but we had to deal with a Monster House," Indigo explained, shrugging slightly.
"Wait, what?" Yukio responded. "There was a Monster House, and I missed it?"
"Oh, Yukio, you're such a silly Weavile," Rosie said, chuckling a bit.
Shortly afterwards, Mirage and her team showed up as well.
"Ah, looks like we got here just in time," Mirage commented, as she and her teammates walked over to the other teams.
"Great! Everyone's here now!" Indigo said, grinning. "Now, let's discuss our strategy!"
"… I don't think we have time for that," Angeline said, looking up at the sky. "Look."
Looking up towards where Angeline was looking, Indigo saw the Charizard and the Hydreigon flying towards them. As the two began to fire their Flamethrower and Dragon Pulse attacks, Indigo was quick to react.
"Wilbur!" Indigo shouted.
"I'm on it!" Wilbur responded, quickly moving in front of the other Pokémon.
Forming a barrier in front of him, Wilbur flew up to shield the others from the attacks.
"All right, everyone," Indigo said, looking over at the others. "That barrier won't last long, so let's get moving. Angeline, Aria, you should get into the air too."
"Understood," Angeline responded, nodding her head.
"Ah, let me just drop off some things…" Aria replied, as she began searching through her fluffy feathers.
"The mushroom can look after your things while you fly," Cordyceps offered. "After all, the mushroom probably won't do much fighting in this battle anyways."
"Oh, thank you," Aria responded, as she pulled her cooking gear out from her feathers. "Ah, hold on… I got a few more things in here…"
Aria quickly pulled a tuning fork, a small screwdriver, a deck of playing cards, a small stone tablet with what appeared to be part of some sort of ancient prophecy carved onto it, some ear plugs, some medicine for treating sore throats and a book titled "The Power of the Seven Treasures".
"That's a lot of things," Cordyceps commented.
"Well, you never know what might come in handy, right?" Aria responded sheepishly.
Angeline was already in the air, flying around dodging attacks from the Charizard and Hydreigon. Aria quickly flapped her wings and flew up to help out Angeline. She took a deep breath and prepared to attack, but before she could attack, she had to quickly move out of the way when she spotted something green flying towards her at high speed. After narrowly avoiding the Yanmega's attempt to side-swipe her, Aria did a quick, mystical dance in the air to boost her own speed and attack power.
"Everyone's in the air now," Indigo said, looking at the three dragons. "I better do something too…"
Indigo took a few steps towards the cave, and motioned for the rescue teams to follow her.
"While Angeline, Aria and Wilbur keep them busy, let's go take back the prizes!" Indigo said.
Blitz and Yukio's teams followed Indigo as she headed towards the cave, while Sting and Mirage's rescue teams decided to stay outside in case Angeline, Aria and Wilbur needed their assistance.
After stepping inside the cave, it didn't take long before Indigo and the two rescue teams came across the last of the thieves.
"So… You've come to steal our treasures," the Braviary said, as he stepped forward.
Behind the Braviary, the rescue team members could see the stolen tournament prizes, as well as the Axis Tower crystal.
"There it is…" Chiaki whispered, pointing to the crystal.
"Ooh, pretty," Liz commented. "We should try and grab it when the bird isn't looking."
"If you want to take them, you better be prepared to fight," the Braviary said, glaring at Indigo and the rescue team Pokémon.
"You haven't earned those 'treasures' of yours, you know?" Indigo said, glaring back at the Braviary. "Only the fliers who have proven themselves in the tournament may receive those!"
The Braviary suddenly began to rapidly flap his wings, whipping up powerful winds. The rescue team Pokémon had to brace themselves from being knocked over by the strong winds, with some even nearly getting blown out of the cave. However, Indigo managed to get around it and rushed at the Braviary from the side, headbutting him before he could react.
"Nice hit!" Yukio said, before running towards the Braviary. "Now it's my turn!"
"Let's get him!" Azure shouted, rolling towards the Braviary at high speed.
The Braviary tried his best to recover from Indigo's attack and dodge Yukio's attempt to punch him with glowing, frost-coated claws and Azure trying to ram into him.
"Hmph… It seems I can't unleash my full power within this space," the Braviary muttered as he flew up to the cave ceiling to avoid their attacks. "This won't do at all…"
The Braviary suddenly flew towards the stolen goods and grabbed the Axis Tower crystal in his talons, before flying towards the exit of the cave. As he flew past them, Chiaki reacted quickly and tried to grab the crystal, only to be pulled along as the Braviary flew out through the exit.
"What the… Chiaki!" Liz exclaimed, running out after him.
Upon exiting the cave, the Braviary whipped up another powerful wind, this time to help him fly faster. However, Liz was able to use this to her advantage by gliding on the Braviary's tailwind, hoping to catch up to Chiaki.
"Chiaki! What are you doing?" Liz shouted.
"I won't let him get away with the crystal!" Chiaki shouted back, holding on to the crystal as tightly as he could.
"Hmm?" the Braviary said, glancing down to notice Chiaki clinging to the crystal held in his talons. "Hey! Get off!"
The Braviary tried to shake Chiaki off, but Chiaki managed to hold on. With the Braviary slowing down, Liz saw an opportunity to attack. She formed a ball of electricity and flung it at the Braviary, shocking him. Being hit by Liz's Electro Ball attack nearly caused the Braviary to drop the crystal, and Chiaki with it, but he managed to keep his grip on it.
"Ah! Chiaki!" Liz exclaimed.
"I'm okay!" Chiaki shouted, still holding on as tightly as he could.
Blitz and the others observed the situation from below, trying to figure out what to do.
"We have to do something!" Sera said.
"Yeah," Blitz responded, nodding his head. "But there's not that much we can do from here…"
"Looks like those fliers are pretty occupied too," Yukio commented, watching Angeline, Aria and Wilbur fight the other three thieves. "Otherwise, I'm sure one of them could help…"
"Seems they're trying to bring the fight closer to here so the non-flying Pokémon can help fight them," Indigo said. "But they're still too high up at the moment…"
"Uh, guys?" Frederick said. "That Braviary just flew outside with the crystal, and the other 'treasures' are still in there, unguarded, right?"
"Hmm? Yeah, that's right," Azure responded.
"In that case, I think I know of something we can do," Frederick replied, smiling.
Aria had noticed the trouble Chiaki was in, and was attempting to reach him. However, it was difficult to get anywhere with the Yanmega trying to attack whenever Aria took her eyes off of her. Angeline and Wilbur were also busy trying to deal with the other two. Wilbur formed a barrier in front of himself as the Hydreigon fired another Dragon Pulse at him, while Angeline was trying to lure the Charizard down to where the rescue teams were while also swiftly dodging his attacks.
Suddenly, the Charizard stopped trying to attack Angeline, as something else had grabbed his attention:
"Hey! Look what I've got!" Yukio shouted, waving a medal in the air.
"My treasure!" the Charizard exclaimed, which also got the attention of the Yanmega and Hydreigon, who looked down to see what was going on.
Indigo and the other rescue team members were also in the process of dragging the stolen tournament prizes out of the cave for the thieves to see. The Charizard began flying down to grab the medal, with the Hydreigon and Yanmega following behind.
The rescue teams prepared to fight as the thieves flew down towards them. Angeline and Wilbur also flew down to assist, while Aria headed up higher to help out Chiaki and Liz. At this point, the Braviary had also noticed what was going on, and momentarily seemed torn between going back to prevent the rescue teams from leaving with the treasure, or to keep flying. He glanced at the crystal still held in his talons, as well as Chiaki who was trying to get into a better position by trying to move over to the Braviary's talons.
"As long as I can keep them from taking this, it'll be fine," the Braviary muttered, before he began trying to shake Chiaki off again.
"Whoa!" Chiaki cried out, as he lost his grip on the crystal.
"Chiaki!" Liz called out, as Chiaki began to fall.
Luckily, Aria had managed to get close enough, flying below Chiaki and allowing him to land in her soft feathers.
"You okay?" Aria asked, looking at Chiaki.
"Mm… Yeah, I think so," Chiaki responded, letting out a sigh of relief.
"Nice catch!" Liz commented, gliding up next to Aria.
Aria and Liz followed the Braviary, determined to not let him get away with the crystal. Liz began to charge up another Electro Ball, while Aria prepared a Dragon Pulse attack. The Braviary managed to dodge both attacks, and attempted to use another Whirlwind attack to blow his pursuers away.
"Uwah!" Liz yelled as she found herself unable to resist the Whirlwind, being blown back.
"Liz!" Chiaki shouted, almost falling off of Aria's back as he reached out and grabbed Liz's paw.
"You two okay?" Aria asked, briefly glancing at the two as Chiaki helped Liz onto Aria's back.
"Yeah, we're fine," Chiaki responded.
Aria continued to try to catch up to the Braviary, who kept trying to push them further away so he could escape. The Braviary briefly glanced down at the others once more.
The Charizard was trying his best to dodge Azure's water attacks, but in doing so left himself open to attacks from some of the other rescue team Pokémon. The Hydreigon was for the most part focused on fighting Indigo, while the Yanmega at this point had fainted after Megara managed to get a lucky hit on her with her Flamethrower attack.
Aside from the fact that one of his teammates had been defeated, there was one other thing that had the Braviary concerned as he looked around.
"Where'd the Salamence go…?" the Braviary wondered out loud.
He quickly discovered the answer to his question, narrowly managing to move out of the way as Angeline flew towards him. Angeline did try to knock the crystal out of his talons with her tail as she flew past him, but the Braviary managed to keep it in his grip.
"Aw, so close," Aria commented, before shaking her head and looking up at the Braviary with a determined expression. "Well, let's take him down!"
With both Angeline and Aria flying at him from different directions, it was even harder for the Braviary to escape. Unable to keep his eyes on both Angeline and Aria at the same time as they flew around him, Liz waited until she had an opportunity to jump from Aria's back and glide onto the Braviary's back.
"How's this for a shocking twist!" Liz shouted, before gleefully zapping the Braviary with her electricity.
Being shocked by Liz's electric attack, the Braviary dropped the Axis Tower crystal, allowing Angeline to swoop down and catch it in her mouth.
"We did it!" Chiaki said, smiling.
The battle wasn't over yet, however. The Braviary flew after Angeline, determined to take the crystal back. He didn't even seem to notice that Liz was still holding on to his back, ready to zap him again once she had charged up enough electricity for another attack.
"Give me that!" the Braviary shrieked, flapping his wings to create sharp blades out of moving air.
Angeline could sense the incoming Air Slash attack, and managed to move out of the way quickly enough to dodge them. The Braviary began chasing after her, but quickly realized he wouldn't be fast enough to catch up to her.
"Hmph, you're pretty fast," the Braviary grumbled, glaring at Angeline. "You think you're such a great flier, don't you?"
His focus on Angeline, the Braviary didn't notice an incoming attack. Liz, however, did notice and quickly jumped off the Braviary's back and managed to glide out of the way just before Aria rammed into the Braviary.
"Nice hit!" Liz commented, gliding next to Aria and Chiaki.
"Let's finish this!" Chiaki said, grinning.
Liz flung another Electro Ball towards the Braviary, which he tried to avoid while still recovering from Aria's attack. However, Chiaki followed up with his Swift attack, the golden stars shot out from Chiaki's paw catching up Liz's Electro Ball and leading it right to their target. The Braviary let out another shriek as their combined attack hit him, before he lost consciousness and began to fall. Luckily for him, Angeline flew underneath him before he fell too far, catching him on her back and carrying him as she began flying back down to the others.
The other rescue teams and dragons had managed to knock out the other three thieves, and looked up as Angeline and Aria headed back down towards them.
"Another victory for us!" Azure said, grinning.
"They never stood a chance!" Yukio boasted.
"Good work, everyone!" Indigo said, looking quite satisfied. "You all fought well!"
"So, I guess now we just need to make sure the spell is broken," Sera commented, looking over at the thieves. "Do we wait for them to wake up on their own, or do we give them some Reviver Seeds?"
"Well, before that, how about we head back to the village?" Wilbur suggested.
In Gale Wing Village, Aeron had dozed off while relaxing in the sun. He was in the middle of a dream about flying through the skies while strange-colored clouds whispered indistinctly, when he was suddenly woken up by a familiar voice.
"Ooh! They're back!" the Togekiss exclaimed.
Aeron slowly opened his eyes, and soon saw that the rescue teams and the four dragon Pokémon accompanying them had returned to the village, bringing back the stolen tournament prizes, the thieves and the Axis Tower crystal with them.
"They did it!" Aeron said, before he and the Togekiss hurried over to greet them.
It seemed the four thieves were starting to regain consciousness, with Wilbur holding out some Oran berries to them as they slowly got up.
"My heads hurt…" the Hydreigon complained.
"Huh? This is the village!" the Yanmega exclaimed, looking around. "But weren't we in a different place before?"
"Right…" the Charizard said, blinking a few times. "We were… in the mountains, right?"
Upon noticing the tournament prizes laying on the grass, the Braviary remembered what had happened. There was a look of realization on the faces of all four of the thieves as they realized what they had done.
"Oh! Oh…" the Yanmega said, looking around at the others. "Um… Are we in trouble?"
"It wasn't our fault!" the Charizard exclaimed in a panic.
"Yeah! That weird Sigilyph made us do it!" the Hydreigon added.
"... But we only fell under his spell because we let our frustrations, envy and doubt get to us," the Braviary said, looking away in shame.
"… Right," the Charizard replied, sighing.
"We've taken part many times now, but we've never won anything!" the Yanmega said. "It's so frustrating!"
"I'd been practicing for the tournament, hoping I'd win something this year," the Hydreigon admitted, before shaking his main head. "But part of me didn't think it'd really happen… and at this point, I'm guessing none of us will be allowed to enter the tournament."
"You probably got that right," Indigo responded, nodding her head. "While we'll need some time to discuss your punishments, I think it's pretty safe to say that none of you four will be allowed to participate in this year's tournament."
The rescue teams watched as Indigo and the thieves spoke for a bit, before Indigo and Wilbur led the thieves away, bringing along the tournament prizes so they could be returned to where they needed to be for now.
"Maybe I should talk to them later," Angeline said as she watched them leave.
"Talk to them about what?" Azure asked.
"I've entered the tournament plenty of times myself, and it wasn't until last year's tournament that I finally won something," Angeline responded. "If they put anywhere near as much effort into practicing as I do, then I can certainly imagine their frustration when things don't go as they hoped."
"Really?" Aeron replied, looking over at Angeline.
"Of course," Angeline responded, nodding her head. "But I also know that the fliers who do win, the ones who make everything look so easy, they must've worked really hard too to get to that level. Keeping that in mind, I'm able to keep moving forward and work on improving my own skills."
"Well, you certainly caught my attention during the last few tournaments," Aeron said. "I could tell that you were a worthy opponent from the first time I saw you."
"Thanks, Aeron," Angeline responded, chuckling a bit. "I'm going to try to do even better this year."
"I'll be cheering you on, too!" Liz said, smiling at Angeline.
"Same here," Chiaki replied, holding onto the Axis Tower crystal. "I kind of wish I could watch the tournament."
"Yeah, that'd be cool," Azure commented. "We should totally come back here to watch a flying tournament someday. Right?"
Azure and Chiaki looked over at Blitz expectantly.
"Um… Sure," Blitz responded, nodding his head slightly.
"For now, I guess we should be getting back to Fenix Town," Mirage said. "It was nice working with you guys."
"Likewise," Angeline responded, smiling at the rescue team Pokémon.
"Maybe the next time you visit, I'll also be able to show you my true flying skills," Aeron said, flapping his wings.
"We'll look forward to it!" Sera responded, wagging her tail.
"You have a lovely voice, Melody," Aria said. "Let's meet up and sing together again sometime. Of course, next time you should hear Ciel sing too."
"I'd be up for that!" Melody responded, smiling at Aria and the Togekiss.
"It's a promise, then!" Aria replied, smiling back.
After saying their good-byes, the rescue teams used their badges to return home to Fenix Town, disappearing in flashes of golden light.
"They seemed nice," Ciel the Togekiss commented, before looking over at Aria. "So, how about you tell me all about your latest adventure?"
"Yes, of course," Aria responded, smiling at Ciel. "How about we head home first? That way I can drop off some of the extra supplies I brought along, and then I'll tell you everything."
"Oh, honey, I keep telling you that you need to stop bringing along more stuff than you need when going on these missions," Ciel said, sighing.
"Hey, you never know what might come in handy!" Aria responded, blushing slightly.
The two of them began heading home, while Aeron and Angeline decided to walk around the town for a bit, while Aeron asked Angeline to tell him more about how the mission went.
Elina watched from a hiding spot near Stella's house as the rescue teams who had returned from Wyvern Island went to drop off the seventh crystal. She made sure no one noticed her as the rescue teams left the house and went their own ways. She considered following Chiaki, when she overheard something:
"This is great!" Bow said, admiring the seven crystals. "Just one more, and we can bring them all back to Axis Tower!"
"Yes…" Stella responded, looking over one of the letters from Samara.
"Is something wrong?" Bow asked, looking over at her mother.
"No, it's nothing," Stella responded, shaking her head. "It's just that Erebos will likely interfere with any attempt to return the crystals, and so it might be time to put together a plan to finally capture him."
"A plan to capture him?" Bow replied, tilting her head. "Does that mean Samara has completed the spell to seal him away?"
"Yes, she has," Stella responded, smiling. "She and Malefica are going to head over here so we can work out a plan together. They may arrive tomorrow, or perhaps the day after that."
After listening for a bit, Elina decided to leave before either of them noticed her presence. It seemed like everything was coming together.
"Tomorrow, I'll tell Chiaki the truth," Elina thought to herself, steeling her resolve.
The next few days would surely be eventful, in one way or another.
End of Chapter 59