Bronze took his place at the back of the crowd, and listened to the robed man.

"Wait! Someone has poor eyesight! I can sense it. If you have poor eyesight, come up to me, and be healed."

A young girl of about ten years raised her hand. "I do, sir. The doctors say that I am going to go blind in a few years. Can you help me?"

The man stretched out his hand. "I, Ra, cast out the demons of blindness in the name of the supreme Spirit-Force! You are healed because of your faith."

The girl shrieked, and looked around in awe. "I can see everything! The ripples on the lake! The shingles on the roofs! Thank you, more than anything. How did you do it? What Pokémon did you help me with?"

Ra chuckled. "I do not use the creatures of the earth to give life or judgement, but rather the power bestowed upon me by the supreme representative of the Spirit-Force, Lord Cypress."

Bronze nearly exploded with rage. This was one of the sorcerers that he had heard about! Whatever this man was doing here, it couldn't be allowed.

Ra spoke again, in a much louder voice. "However, be warned, you of little faith! Your time is short. Those who believe in the Spirit-Force will have eternal life. But you? No, you shall go down into the depths. I judge you, and turn your drink to the blood of animals. For you have drunk the blood of Pokémon in your senseless battles, and now you shall receive blood to drink as you deserve!"

Bronze felt a change in the weight of his water bottle, and checked it. To his disgust, it was full of a red liquid, the stench overwhelming. Others in the crowd were also gasping in shock as their water was also turned to blood. Ra raised his arms to the heavens. "May the inhabitants of the earth receive the judgments due to them, as the Lord Cypress decreed! The Spirit-Force shall endure forever-"

The sorcerer's speech was interrupted by Bronze sending out Absol.

"HEAL BLOCK!" Bronze yelled.

Ra grunted, clutching at his chest through the robes. "Why have you done this? Come out! How dare you strike me?!"

Bronze glared, and the crowd parted as they saw who had used the attack. Ra leered at Bronze, and then smiled. "Young Master Bronze. I was instructed to find you as a secondary mission, just to keep a trustworthy eye on you for the Eclipse Lord. Seeing that this is done, how about we have a little discussion of values?"

Ra snapped his finger, and Absol flew back to its Poke Ball, with Bronze's other Poke Balls dislodging themselves and floating next to Ra.

"That was not a offer. Sit." Ra conjured two chairs, and the sorcerer sat down on the left, while Bronze sat on the right, the setting sun a backdrop in the cave mouth.

Tess also came running over from a old alleyway, and saw Bronze and Ra staring each other down. "Hey! You won! What are you doing with that guy?" Ra swiveled, and snapped his fingers. Tess tried to get words out, but she had been muted.

"I will spare you the same fate, as I wish to hear your little side of the debate. What evidence do you have that Lord Cypress is not truly God? Why do you reject the Spirit-Force in exchange for the poser Arceus? I truly wish to hear your deluded argument."

Bronze was prepared for this. The years of debate practice with his father would serve him well in this clash of the minds.

"It is typical for speakers to be a little less insolent about the beliefs of their opponent, but I see you have already violated that tradition. As follows, I have seen Cypress myself, and I could not imagine anyone less divine. In fact, the evil and deception coming from him firmly makes him a lair and murderer. Even though you worship him, he is nothing but a false god, as much as you are a false prophet. That is the truth, and I am glad that I am here to tell everyone what is actually real, as the first person to talk always sounds right until someone comes along and says something different."

Ra countered by attacking Bronze's premise. "The truth, you say? What is truth? Can you define it? Capture it? Make it a present for the people to gawk at? What truth are you speaking of? Mine? Yours? Another's? I tell you, what you perceive as reality is a reflected illusion of the Spirit-Force, with Lord Cypress as it's manifested form. In assuming that in fact 'evil' is what you sensed from Lord Cypress, you also cannot prove that evil exists, or is even just not another aspect of good, which cannot be defined as well. The illusion of objective reality can only be circumnavigated by believing in its nature, the fluid aspect of the Spirit-Force."

Bronze was not deterred. "With all respect, what are you talking about? Surely absolute morals exist! If the universe was a illusion, then why have we parted from the supreme 'Spirit-Force?' If we are a aspect of god, with Cypress as it's more full completion, then why have we forgotten that we are? When you healed that girl, that was a objectively good act, even though the source of your power is evil. Since morals exist, Cypress can be defined as evil. If the universe was actually a fully spiritual place, with us as parts of its grand nature, then such a place would feel right as day for us. The fact that the universe strikes us as a monstrous place means that this cannot be true."

Ra continued again. "Why do you speak with such shallow notions of what evil or good is? Since the universe is subjective based on perception, which I do not even think you will deny, the way morals or truth are viewed is different from culture to culture. Morals are a biological reaction, and truth is individually based. There is no good. There is no evil. Heaven is what we get by merging with the spirit force, and hell is rejecting it. We are all. It is all. And why have we forgotten our divine nature, you ask? The Spirit-Force, in its eternal benevolence, gave the ability for its own nature to fall from enlightenment, which it has. Only through it can we reach a higher plane, a new world."

Bronze was getting annoyed. "But, you know that some things are actually good, and actually bad. That's why when we do something wrong, we can feel it, despite what we want to believe. It just sounds like your making blanket statements about truth and morals, but how does that apply to Cypress? And when you said that Pokémon battles are bad, why? In your worldview, it is just a illusion of morality. It just isn't logically sound! Even if truth is totally subjective, your worldview can't apply to me, so that poses another contradiction!"

Ra laughed, although Bronze noticed some beads of sweat on his forehead. "Since everything is a illusion of the Spirit-Force, using it directly can allow you to speak cosmic truths free of distortion. What gives me my power? The Spirit-Force. What is the aspect of Lord Cypress's earthly form? The Spirit-Force. Through cosmic truth, which is still subjective to the illusion of a fallen mind, of course, we are allowed to make 'absolute' statements from the knowledge of the Spirit-Force. Seeing the world as black and white is such a ridiculous belief, unless it comes from the Spirit-Force, say, believers and unbelievers. You are only a boy, and I am far older, far wiser, and far more powerful!"

Bronze noticed that Ra's voice was now getting rather sinister edge to it. Bronze looked again, and he swore that scaly claws were wrapped around the sorcerer, although they disappeared after a instant. The crowd was also noticing this unpleasant change in Ra's personality, and Tess was suddenly unmuted with a 'oh!' His power was waning!

Ra continued speaking, although it seemed to have lost its magic, and gave way to the frantic ravings of a madman. "You fool! Simpleton! Unbeliever! Why can't you listen? Why do you fight?! Gahhhh!" Now, Ra stood up, and was starting to slur. "Perisshhh! Return to dussssttttt! How dare you rebuke me? I am the sunnnn! Fire take you all-"

Ra raised his hands, ready to afflict Bronze with a deadly curse. A voice rang out from somewhere, yelling; "Mismagius, Aura Block!"

The sorcerer screamed and writhed, unable to continue his curse. Bronze spun to see Captain B, ready for a fight.

Ra spat, and ran howling at B. Mismagius grabbed the lunatic, and threw him in the water. Instead of swimming, Ra sunk to the bottom of the port lake, bubbling.

Bronze sent out Steelix to get him, and the Iron Snake fished out a ruined heap of a man, robes waterlogged, arms flailing. He was also laughing maniacally, biting at the air, spouting nonsense. "Precious...master...don't go...I need you! ENAMORUS! No...no...dragon...black rash...DON'T LEAVE ME!"

Ra screamed, and purple smoke rose from his body, trailing in the air. Steelix dropped him, and the parents covered the children's eyes from the awful spectacle.

The fake prophet twitched, and gave a last sigh of; "He left me..." and lay still.

B came over and checked his pulse, and sighed. "He's gone. Everybody, leave!"

The crowd ran away as fast as they could, although Tess still watched in shock. Bronze didn't understand. "What killed him? Why did he lose control? He was doing pretty well in skirting my arguments!"

B shrugged. "Maybe it was the Aura Block. That is a move only supposed to be used on Pokémon, anyway. I do regret it, if it was that. But since he was going mad before I used the move, it could be something else."

A voice came from near the Gym. "Indeed, it was something else." Bronze and B turned to see a old man with a three-pronged hair style, leaning on a staff with a number of Mega Evolution stones on him. "What do you mean?" B asked.

"He was betrayed by the very thing that gave him power. His control is gone. Haven't you checked your water?" Bronze looked, and saw that his bottle was full of clean water once again.

"I am Gurkinn. But that is besides the point. You will find that the forces of evil often dispose of their servants once the usefulness of them comes to an end. He could not stand your rebukes, as he thought you were not a worthy foe of debate. You tried to prove him him wrong, and he was left by his own guide. Spirit-Force, my foot! If that is what you get for having faith in it..."

Tess also ran over to the group, and Gurkinn raised an eyebrow. "Interesting...you have a Z-Ring. But you have not mastered it, right?" Tess nodded, surprised that he knew.

"Heh...I can see such things. I will give you a Key Stone, and a Garchompite, and perhaps you will be a worthy Mega Evolution successor. Whether that will be is up to your own convictions."

Gurkinn gave Tess the promised items, and closed his eyes. "It is a relief to see those who are willing to fight the darkness in these evil times. Greater conflicts still await, that I am sure of. Young Master, perhaps you will become the very Champion of Roria that the world needs in these days. I would say it would be about time to make your way to Johto! Goodbye, Pokedex Holder."

Not wondering why this old man knew that he had a Pokedex, Bronze immediately ran with Tess back to a hotel.