Fluoruma City was built into a natural collection of tunnels under the central ridge of the Frostveil Mountains. What would be expected to be a dark and dreary place was actually full of bioluminescent fungi, only able to grow due to the stable climate and the echoing energy of creation still in the rocks. Farther north lied the old ruins of Logaria, a rival to the Nurian empire in ancient times, and the legendary friend of the seafaring Hisuians, in the time of Lord Kamado and Rei the Plate-bearer, when the Enemy of legend had been bound, and the world was at peace.
From then on was the path to Frostveil City. The city was quite small, with only four thousand permanent residents, but it still held the Grass-type Gym of Roria. The only way to even catch a glimpse of the sky was through a small hole in the cavern roof, which doubled as a transport for flying Pokémon.
Bronze and Tess walked through the welcoming gate, feet slightly squeaking on the muddy, fungal ground. A sweet smell wafted through the moist air, characteristic of the many Grass and Poison-type Pokémon that lived among the fungus. A group of weedwood buildings were situated on a hill to the leftmost side of the cavern, with more hotel complexes in the tunnels to the right, along with the Gym at the center.
Bronze turned to Tess. "Since I am pretty rested, you can go and get a hotel room for the night, and I'll challenge the Gym. Then you can fight later, after I get back."
"Sure," Tess said, "I guess I need to heal my Pokémon from that run-in with those Vileplume...anyway, goodbye!" Tess took off to the hotel section, while Bronze checked out the Gym lobby.
Bronze was looking at the large selection of memorabilia in the Gym entrance, when he heard someone mutter his name. Turning, Bronze saw a cloaked person gesturing to him from a shadowy corner of the room. On his guard, Bronze assumed that Petrel or anyone else would try to be more subtle about capturing him, or just spying on him. What this stranger was interested in him for, that was the mystery.
Bronze took a seat directly across from the stranger's bamboo table, and started peppering the stranger with questions. "First of all, who are you? Second, why do you care who I am, and how do you know my name? I have already had enough disguises and secrecy in this fight, and if you want to fight me, just say so!"
The robed figure chuckled. "Yeah, I really don't care about all the smoke and mirrors as well. I actually just wanted to give you something."
The figure pulled back his hood, revealing none other than Pokedex Holder Ruby.
Bronze jumped. "Ruby! What are you doing here? I thought you were keeping a eye out in Hoenn!"
Ruby whistled. "First, I would be in Hoenn, but apparently I just wasn't a big attractor of publicity, as Oak said, so that I could come here undetected. It did work, but seriously, I am glad to get that hood off. It totally crimped my style. Soooo, about that thing I was going to give you, here you go."
Ruby reached into his robes folds and passed a small ring with a translucent jade stone. Bronze noticed that Ruby was wearing one as well. "What is it?" Bronze asked.
"Really?" Ruby laughed. "You don't know? Well, I mean, you are pretty good at battles, but I really didn't-" Bronze gave Ruby a very sour look.
"Fine, keep your head on, it's just a Key Stone. For Mega Evolution? A few of our guys talked with that shopkeeper Gerald and he said you already got a Absolite. This little ring here just allows you to use it. If, that is, you ever find a Absol to fight with!" Bronze put on the ring, admiring how the light seemed to wave through it at bizarre angles casting shimmering waves all about his finger.
Ruby's eyes shot open wider, as if he had just remembered something.
"By the way, I need to see your Pokedex. One holder to another, you can trust me." Bronze snuck out the Pokedex and handed it to Ruby. Ruby got out his own Pokedex and used a small cable to connect the input and output slots from both devices together. Bronze's Pokedex actually shook, and with a beep, Ruby gave it back to Bronze.
"I just transferred the data from mine into yours, so you have more information to work with, and transmitted the info on yours into the Pokémon Associations network. The stuff on there is pretty interesting, considering that you have met several Legendary Pokémon. I also burnt out the linking system, so that Team Eclipse can't track you with Jake's stolen Pokedex at close range. Well, goodbye, new guy!" Ruby began to get up to leave.
"Wait!" Bronze shouted despite himself. "There is something about the Pokedex that doesn't make any sense to me!"
Ruby turned, and sat back down. "Do tell, do you mean about the device itself or something that it has said or done? Trust me, some pretty strange things happen with those things."
Bronze told him. "I noticed there is a Pokémon data slot that seems to not have any information at all." Ruby frowned. "Show me."
Bronze took out his Pokedex and found the rouge number. Upon tapping the slot, it simply showed a pitch black square with a glitched data table and no other description then 'undefined.' Ruby stared at the bizarre glitch. "I really can't say what it is, other then a missing entity error. When did this appear?"
Bronze knew exactly when. "Just after the Battle of Anthien City. After I went to Aredia, I saw that this...thing had appeared."
Ruby looked unusually pensive, but then the shadow of doubt passed.
"Well, I guess the Pokémon Association can deal with that error, now that they've got your data! So long, I really have to get back to Hoenn. Very important business!" Ruby winked, pulled his hood back up, and left the gym. Bronze was about to continue with the Gym challenge himself, but he noticed a small slip of paper on Ruby's chair. It read:
Enjoy your line-free Gym Battle. Try a Pokémon Contest sometime!
A greeter walked into the entrance. "The battle slots have just been changed! Contestant Thirteen, you are first!" Bronze knew that was him, and stepped up to go into the arena.
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Cypress was on top of his game. Ever since the terrible journey through the grave, he had absorbed so much energy that he felt at least three times more powerful then before. If only he had been able to experience this kind of strength when capturing the Lord of Decay...
Flying far above the continents, his divine guidance told him that his target was just in front of him. Peering through the rising sunlight, he could see a spiky ball of golden material, peacefully lying above the world. Any uninformed observer would believe that it was simply a odd shaped gold meteorite, but Cypress knew better. He was in for a fight, of course, but this was the only way to complete his hunch.
Cypress flew on the back of Salamance next to the orb of slumber. Cypress began to chant. "Lord of Desires, Being of Satisfaction, Prince of the Tongue, Great Jirachi, I command you to awaken from your fated thousand-year slumber and grant my wish. May I command the powers the air and the earth to aid me in making you bend to my will!"
Instead of awakening, the sleeping Jirachi shot brilliant beams of light out of the spikes of its cocoon. "Doom Desire..." Cypress muttered, eyes glowing. "You are capable of fighting while asleep. Of course, that particular move takes effect a bit after activation, so..." Cypress jumped into the cocoon just as great white beams of energy smashed into Salamance, sending it plummeting into the great sea far below.
Jirachi sent a electrical charge down its cocoon, but Cypress absorbed it with his new strength, and sent the energy back with a almighty blast of violet energy. Jirachi's cocoon shuddered, and dulled in color. Cypress smiled, and continued hitting it with bolts of energy.
The cocoon was now dull grey, signaling Jirachi's defeat. The demon moved in to whisper his wish, and then remembered that he needed to view the third eye.
Cypress shuddered with concentration as he viewed into the depths of the Wish Pokémon's very soul, searching for the third eye. Finally finding it, Cypress locked the image into his head, and yelled for all the sky to hear, "I WISH FOR YOU TO CREATE A NEW WORLD IN MY IMAGE!"
Cypress expected everything to break at once, but absolutely nothing happened. Viewing the entire world with despair, Cypress saw nothing change. Enraged, Cypress blasted the cocoon again and wished once more. Nothing.
Furious beyond human measure, Cypress howled and pounded the cocoon for hours. He had saved this as a last resort, but it had failed as well. Too many things were still unknown to him to attempt the last stage of the plan, and now he was at a dead end.
Finally getting control of his rage, Cypress meditated for answers.
And then, it came to him.
Jirachi was still asleep. The power to create a new world was far beyond it at the moment, and possibly even when awake. Looking into the third eye in such a obscure fashion was also bound to diminish the wishes power as well. However, it still could impart a little knowledge...
Cypress used all his power to peer into the image of the third eye, and silently thought his wish. There was a flash, and Cypress immediately knew it had worked. As the plans and advanced schematics rushed through his head, Cypress sent out another Salamance to fly away on. These Pokémon were truly disposable...tools to help him rebuild the world.
"I thank you, Jirachi, for your assistance. You will be remembered by me, in a land far different than this one. In there, I shall set myself on the great mount and sit on a throne in the temple of congregation! I will face the uttermost north and my kingdom will not be ravaged by the decays of time! I shall be like the Most High! None will assail me, for I will be the deliverer of all. Goodbye, Great Jirachi."
Cypress mounted the Salamance and flew of far into the distance, with the gray shell floating still in the sky.
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Bronze picked up the Pecha Berry and dumped into his sack. The puzzle for this Gym was to be able to identify a required berry, and deposit in a vase at a tree house all while fending off wild Pokémon.
"Electivire, Cross Chop!" Bronze yelled as Electivire smashed away a hostile Servine. Bronze scrambled up the treehouse ladder, and quickly dumped the berry into the vase. A small green light above it flashed, signaling the completion of the challenge.
Bronze did not know much about Gym Leader Arvin. His Pokémon were all Grass-types, but the entire Gym Battle was not open to spectators, unlike others. Arvin did prefer that no one could no his tactics before fighting him, and all participants had to sign a non-disclosure agreement, which Bronze had done.
Arvin stepped out of a small hatch in the wall of the treehouse and started clapping. The large, Kantoian man was surprised at how quickly Bronze had gathered the berries. "Good job, boy. Now, before you battle me, it is time for the second test." Bronze did not know that there was going to be some second trial.
"This is a game of the mind as much as the body, and I would like to see whether you are able to use it in a different way then you did with the berries. Now, prepare yourself." Arvin closed his eyes, and spoke the first challenge.
"If a liar says he is lying, is he telling the truth? Or is he lying? But that poses a contradiction. So, what is the answer?"
Bronze thought for a bit, and eventually settled on a neutral answer. "If he always lies, then he would never say that he is lying. So, the answer is that you are not in a conversation at all." Arvin opened his eyes. "Nicely phrased. I can accept that. Now, for the second question."
"If one travels back into time, and kills ones precursor, then what is the paradox?"
Bronze had heard this one before. "The answer is not that you are now dead, it is that how could you have killed them if you are dead? But, in that case, you are not dead." Arvin was impressed. "Very quick! Now, one more."
"Suppose a group of adventurers decide to sail across a dangerous sea. Along the way, hostile Pokémon tear a piece of the ship of every so often. However, the ship is can be patched by floating driftwood found along the route. At the end of the journey, all the pieces of the ship have been replaced. So, which is the actual ship? The one that set out? The one that ended the journey? If it is the first, then when did it become the second ship?"
Bronze was stumped. What was the point in which the ship actually became one ship or another? Or maybe it was just the same ship. Perhaps the answer could be...
"It is still the ship, but only in name. The identity of a continuous ship is not based in reality, but it still can be identified as such in some ones mind. The premise of a ship becoming another ship is illogical, as it simply is a boat that has had its pieces swapped over time." Arvin was smiling. "Your answer did not pose another paradox, which is remarkable. Since you have definitively have determined that you are quite a logical thinker, it is time to exercise your strength! Arbor Plati!"
The tree houses walls leveled down, and stretched out into a large wooden arena. Arvin eyed Bronze with high hopes. "Standard rules. But, we will only be using three Pokémon for this match, as I have far more then you. I think that this should be the standard for Gym Battles anyway. Breloom, go!"
Bronze sent out Charizard, and it flew above the arena, out of Brelooms reach. Charizard flew in, dodging the Brelooms skilled punches, and doused it in consuming fire. The Pokémon easily fainted, its type disadvantage being the death of it. Bronze smirked, and Arvin sent Leavanny. Charizard was going to blow it to oblivion, but then it started to shake.
Charizard, much to Bronze's confusion, started steaming, and flopped to the ground, wheezing. Bronze turned to Arvin. "What happened? Why is it losing stamina?"
Arvin chuckled. "Guess I got a bit lucky. My Breloms Effect Spore seems to have taken hold. My Pokémon go all over the world and bring back rare spores, including ones that cause negative status effects! It looks like your Charizard is now badly poisoned." Charizard steamed up a storm, and finally fainted.
Arvin was still gloating. "Even if you use a Revive on it, it still will be poisoned. Unless it has a berry, you won't be able to use your one item on Charizard in any meaningful way!" Bronze growled and sent out Electivire.
Leavanny sent a Razor Leaf attack at the giant Pokémon, but it blocked it with a minor energy field. It then sent a line of electricity from its back wires, which it maneuvered to form a cage of energy around Leavanny. Arvin realized what he was doing. "Thunder Shock!" Bronze smiled. "Right. Its the weakest Electric-type move, so that makes it the most maneuverable. I don't think your Leavanny is going to get out of this one easily."
Leavanny tried to make a pillar of vines to escape, but Electivire reached through the cage and yanked it out, shocking it nearly to fainting. As Electivire was about to give a final charge, Arvin yelled a final command. "Leavanny, Explosion!"
Leavanny blasted itself unconscious, and Electivire went flying, spurting bolts of electricity all around. With a thud, Electivire lay, fainted.
Bronze was definitely miffed. "Explosion? That is such a cheap move! How in the world did your Leavanny learn that?" Arvin kept a straight face. "I never said I would go easy on you, did I? Now, my Leavanny learned that move from a Gym Leader from Kanto, named Brock. He specializes in teaching Pokémon Explosion, even if it doesn't match their type. Now, what Pokémon are you going to use next?" Arvin sent out Tangrowth.
Bronze looked at his options. Magneton would be a more wise choice, as Onyx had a type disadvantage and did not know Bronze very well. Seeing the still-crackling bolts of electricity on the arena, Bronze sent out Magneton.
Tangrowth extended its arms to incredible lengths, wrapping around Magneton. The metal Pokémon sent out a charge, but the enemy Pokémon absorbed it. Magneton tried one last resort, and pushed with all its strength into a electrical field, arms still wrapped around it.
The Tangrowth let go due to the sudden shock. Not deterred, it began to reach again for Magneton.
But Magneton seemed to be absorbing the energy, and its glowed blinding white, its form seeming to charge and enlarge. Shooting out of the flash of light with incredible speed, the newly born Magnezone rammed into the Tangrowth and blasted its pent-up charge into the tendrils of the Pokémon, frying it and launching it far into the air before hitting the arena with a pronounced crunch. The fight was over.
Arvin called back his fainted Tangrowth and looked at the Magnezon with surprise. Bronze explained everything to him.
"My Magneton, well, Magnezone, had been looking for a strong electric field to evolve for sometime. Turns out, Electivires last pulses and the Glowfruits on the ceiling helped it evolve. You would have beaten me if Tangrowth hadn't been confused by the light!" Alvin smiled and gave Bronze his reward. "For your efforts, you may bear the Harvest Badge! Good luck on your League Journey." Bronze clipped the Apricorn-shaped badge onto his badge with the others.
Bronze and Arvin shook hands, and Bronze turned to leave the arena. "Wait," Bronze heard Arvin say. "I do know that you are a Pokedex Holder. You have already been told that you have a massive responsibility to treat your title wisely, and protect yourself and others from evil forces. Do you think you have fulfilled this duty, and will continue to do so?"
Bronze knew exactly what to say. "Sir, if I couldn't help others, then I would simply be a coward holding a glorified piece of technology. There are villains out in the world, not just in movies or stories. People who are willing to hurt anyone and anything to get there way. I think you know what I mean. I was in Anthien City for the attack. Goodbye, Arvin."
Bronze left the Gym, and went back to meet Tess to tell her that it was now her turn to fight.