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Part 2: An Ocean of Days...

Home again, after Charla's story, was good. "I needed to rest my mind, anyway." Charla was outside, finishing another kill when Adrian's mother came out.
"Are you ready to be pokéballed?"
"Almost. *munch* Mmmm.... charrrr.... I'm ready." Adrian's mother never forced any of the pokémon into pokéballs without them knowing first. She called Charla back, more to preserve her than to really keep her. Adrian walked in, with a suit of scyther and a plated sheet.
"While we were out, she hunted some and saved the hides. I hope you can use this nidoking hide." He presented his mother with the plated sheet. He kept the scyther suit.
"Oh, thank you! I've been needing a good, tough sheet to cover the little cave in the back. Cannon wanted to use it for his sleep, but it needed a little drapery!" she smiled as she spoke.
"Speaking of Cannon...."
"He's in the cave right now, making sure it's completely clear for his use. Why don't you go over there; I'm sure he'll be happy to tell you his history!"
"You already told him?"
"Well, I had to tell him where Charla went; he needed her flame to clear out all the various things you might find in a cave, but he managed without it. Go to him." Adrian, anxious to here another tale, said he needed to regain his wits first; Charla's story put his mind on overdrive. He was tired, and needed to sleep on his bed. About twenty minutes after he put his head on his pillow, he slept, and dreamed....

He looked up and saw a black sea of nothingness, then a large boat with lanterns. He looked down and saw that he was on a raft, floating on something that wasn't water. As the ship came closer, he stood up and yelled, "HEY!" Someone on the ship heard him, and looked overboard.
"Who's there?" asked an old man.
"I am. My name is Adrian and I'm on a small raft. Can you please give me a lift to your ship?"
"Well I'll be!" he said as he turned toward someone on the ship, "There's someone overboard, guys. Let's try to save 'em!"
"Thank you so much!" Adrian yelled back. The ship seemed to come to him within a few seconds. It came close to him and slowed.
"Grab this!" the old man threw a rope down to Adrian. He grabbed the rope and was pulled aboard. "So, how did you survive those murky waters on a raft there, kid?"
"I didn't, it seemed as if I just popped there after I.... fell asleep."
"A dream is what yar having, kid. You survived murky waters. So, what are you gonna do now?"
"Wake up!" Adrian leaped from the boat into the black sea, and woke on his bed.

It was late at night. "What a weird dream... I wonder if Cannon is still out in that cave." He got to his feet and walked to the back door of the house. Cannon was too big to be in the house, only the cave would be big enough. He walked out and saw a light in the distance; it was from the cave. Adrian walked to it and saw that it was further and much larger than he remembered. In it, Cannon was sitting, being lit by a small fire. Adrian kept walking, and Cannon noticed.
"I knew you would come," he said as Adrian entered his cave. He was about ten feet tall and almost as much wide and around. "I have been waiting."
"Sorry to keep you waiting," Adrian said as he sat in front of the giant turtle pokémon, with the fire in between them. "I needed to rest."
"So, shall I begin? I don't do this very often, since I am not as good with words as Charla or some of the others."
"Yes, please begin."

"It started maybe fifteen hundred years ago, when I was born. I was a much larger birth, so my parents needed a commanding name for me. 'Cannon' was what they thought. I took that name with pride; I was Cannon. I... grew larger and faster than any squirtle ever had in our people's history. I towered over other squirtles early on. I did what I could to deserve that name. It was a symbol of power, so I trained myself to be the one with the most power. I came up with techniques that could destroy any wartortle or even a blastoise when I was a squirtle. One was an attack I called 'Water Cannon,' it was similar to 'Water Gun,' but I ducked my head in and blew out with enough force to rival a blastoise's 'Hydro Pump.' I kept training; forcing water at rocks hard enough for them to break apart within seconds. I also weight trained; lifting boulders over my head. Soon, I wasn't a squirtle; I was a wartortle. Now all of my attacks were stronger than a blastoise's. I even challenged my father and told him to be as rough as he possibly could. He opened with a hydro pump attack. I rolled to the side and blasted him with a more powerful water cannon. He shifted his weight to try and stand through it, but he was visibly shaken. He shot a more intensified hydro blast when I blew a water cannon. My blast hit his and charged right through it! He looked bewildered as he rolled out of the way, 'I'm being beaten by a wartortle!' I had created other attacks, but I didn't want to blow him out of the water. He submitted after I hydro blasted him. 'You have grown, and become powerful enough to defeat anyone. I was this land's best, but you have bested me early on. I am proud that my son has such strength and will, that you have trained from the land, while the others simply bask in it. You have the dedication no one else here has, so I know you are the best, and the name your mother thought of was the right choice for a name for you.' He came and patted me on the back. It had been over a hundred years of training on the land before I had challenged my father that time. No one else even thought of trying to challenge me after I defeated him. No one." He paused and stared at Adrian, who sat with his arms crossed and leaning on the rock wall. Cannon looked out at the moon that was just barely visible on its way to the horizon. He began again.
"No one, that is until about two hundred years later. I had become a blastoise then, and was the sharpest and fastest shooter anywhere. It took a human man to prove to me that I was not the best. His name was Kanin, and he almost equaled me, comparatively speaking, in muscle power. The two things he had more than me were endurance and mentality. He challenged me to a one on one match. I was surprised when he walked up to me and I had to look down at him to see his eyes. 'You're on!' I stated. He was one who could understand the language, and nodded to me. I led him to the beach side. A squirtle was the referee. We got situated and stood face to face, eye to eye. The squirtle stood between us, and then yelled 'GO!' He darted out of the way just as I opened with hydro cannon. Kanin saw my move and jumped clear of the blast. I stopped and lunged at him, spinning. I did not hit him. Instead, he charged and hit me with his palm. It knocked the wind out me! This guy was something else. I ducked my head in and unleashed a triple blast of water. He dodged again and hit my stomach with enough force to knock me over on my back. Needless to say, this battle went on for more than twenty minutes. He had completely blown me away when I hit him with a hydro blast and he stood through it! No one was that strong! I wouldn't submit. He came at me with a jump kick. I narrowly dodged it and he flew into the water. He almost touched it when he rebounded and shot with another. I turned and let him hit my shell. Instead, he bounced off my shell and did a leg sweep. I fell on my stomach and got up. The adrenaline had left me, and I collapsed. He had defeated me. All that were watching gasped. A human had beaten me. He walked up to me and sat next to my face on the sand. 'You fought well,' he said, 'You could have beaten me if you lasted another ten minutes, but I am not easily beaten. Why don't you come with me. It would let this place have its natural strongest, since you fought with unnatural strength. I would have never guessed you trained here, but you did, didn't you?' I told him that I did, to truly earn my name. He began to leave, and I left with him." He stopped and looked at Adrian through the fire. "That human led me to a small gym that was made just for pokémon training without people trainers. It took over a day of walking to get there. When I walked in, I saw a few other pokémon there, training. 'A blastoise named Cannon will join us in training,' he said to them. They looked up, and up to see my face. I looked around and saw free-weights, dumbbells, and weight suits. 'You can use any of the equipment you see. When you are done just put it back and do what you need to do. You can leave at any time you want, if you want. I will not force anything on you.' I looked at him with amazement; a human this trusting of pokémon? Someone like this just didn't exist back then, but there he was. I put on the heaviest weight suit and began to run track. If I was going to beat him, I needed to be quicker on my feet, since blastoise are normally slow. I ran eight laps on the track before I began to get tired. I needed to run faster and harder to really benefit from the weight. I ran as hard as I could for five laps straight. I don't think I broke fifteen miles an hour then. 'Look, that blastoise thinks he's a rapidash!' came from one of the others, training. It was a hitmonchan. I stopped dead in my tracks and glared at him. 'You say somethin' to me?' I half asked half yelled. He took my glare and said, 'Yeah, I did. How about a little match, eh tiny?' I told him to bring it on. I was a little tired from the running, but I wasn't about to let anyone make fun of me. There was a ring behind the gym. We took our places and the match started. He flew at me with a comet punch. I didn't feel his little taps on my shell. I blasted him with a triple hydro blast that sent him flying. He got up and charged at me with a lightning punch. This time I jumped out of the way, and slammed him! He was hurtin', but he wouldn't give up. He came at me with a giga punch that almost winded me. I retaliated with my own punch that sent him into la-la land. I saw that my last punch almost knocked the brains out of his head, so I picked him up and took him to the little medical facility inside the building. 'What's wrong?' asked the little almost pinkish haired nurse there. I told her what had happened and asked if I could help. 'This one's always getting into trouble,' she said, 'He doesn't know when he shouldn't fight. I guess that's his nature.' She told me to take him into a room that had lots of potions and things to help healing. She looked at his head and said, 'You gave him quite a wallop there.' She did what she could and told me to get him wet. 'Don't blow him away, just enough to drench him, he needs it.' I drenched him, and he shot up! 'What?! Where!?' were his first words. The nurse told him that he needed to stop challenging everyone so many times, because it wasn't good for his health. He looked at me and his face showed fright, 'You! You... you keep away! Go! You already did your damage!' He huddled over and began to sob. I think I beat him too hard, or it could have been that I showed kindness to his rude self. Kanin walked in and saw what was happening, and spoke to me, 'You beat him too hard. He's young and doesn't know a strong opponent when he sees one. Please, come with me; I have something that can help you reach your goal.' I walked with him to a shack out in the back. He went into the shack and came out a minute later. 'Here, take it. It's a special vitamin I was given when I started training. It was said that it increases the power of the mind to those whose mind is not as strong as their body. When I faced you, I knew you were the one this needed to go to. You can't be taught how to focus your mind without having hundreds of years of training; to undo what your original training did to you. I only have about thirty years of life left to still be able to fight. Age will undoubtedly beat me, so take this and you will have the power to defeat even me.' He handed me that pill. I looked at it and handed it back. I wanted to do everything the right way; I didn't want a quick fix. He smiled at me, 'Your training with me will begin in a week. You have passed this test of the sound mind. The others you see in that gym took the pill. They became no stronger because they were thirsty for power. You are different; I don't know quite yet, but you definitely have the will to be the best. Rest up and eat up; it will be a long week.' With that he crushed the pill in his hand with a quick motion, 'If you were wondering, the pill was just a little calcium. Not enough to help any but the smallest pokémon.' I rested that night inside the gym on a mat. I woke up and had, what the nurse called, an energy breakfast. It was scrambled eggs, mashed potatoes, corn, soft wheat-bread, and a large cup of enriched milk. 'I tailor all meals to the pokémon's size, type, and weight. Your meal is especially big!' Although I did not have a clue as to what was served at the time, I ate it all, and didn't have too eat until the next morning. 'We get the money for everything by entering various tournaments for cash. I enter as well; you may not know it but I am just as strong as my husband, Kanin.' I wanted to see how strong; so I asked her to give her strongest grip on my hand. She gave me a grip that nearly cracked it! She smiled when I winced, 'That wasn't my strongest!' A team this strong could defeat anyone, and anything."
"Hmm... I wonder how they became so strong. Even those that train all their lives aren't nearly strong enough to beat a blastoise grip, even a normal one."
"They were something else. A week passed by. It was time to train with Kanin."

"He began by giving me a modified weight suit. The weight was equal to mine and he HANDED it me! Anyway, I put it on and almost felt my knees buckle. 'We'll begin by walking. I'm sure you are aware of the weight. If you need to stop, just say so and I'll take the suit off you.' I took six wobbly steps when I almost fell. 'Okay, now I know just how strong your legs are. You need to train your legs in order to increase your speed. Here let me get a lighter suit for you.' I told him no. I was determined to show that this suit was not too much for me. I walked some more. My legs were adjusting quickly. I started doing laps on the track by the next day. My legs began to lengthen by the forth day. 'It is a sign that your body now knows what you are trying to accomplish. You have done well these past couple of days. Now take the suit off and let's see how fast you can run now.' I took the suit off and started running. I ran for twenty laps and didn't break a sweat. Then I tried running harder and harder. He said my top speed was about thirty miles an hour. I was amazed; that was the most progress I had made since I started. With his help, and years of time, I grew with strength and speed, able to lift six times my weight and run at a sixty mile an hour pace. I felt so light on my feet that I almost thought that I wasn't touching the ground."
"Do you still have all the strength?"
"Almost. I can still run fast and lift a lot of weight, but not quite as much as then."

"It was a year later when Kanin's wife had a child. Her name was Sandra. After a few years of growth, she was allowed in the gym. I was amazed at how fast she grew. I lay on my stomach and crawled to her when she was four years old. Her parents wondered when she would speak her first word after a long time of silence. She looked into my big face and said 'Cannon!' That was her first word. I was happy to see her grow and become strong. She had flaming orange eyes, and was tanned like her mother. She also had the strength of both her parents put together. She almost didn't seem human; she was wild, and preferred hunting in the forests near the gym. She ate all that she killed raw, and frequently asked me to hose the blood off her body. When the year came that Kanin died of old age, the gym had no pokémon, and his wife was succumbing to age. 'He wanted to tell you that we were going to give this gym away to be changed into a place where tournaments were held. He didn't know when age would defeat him, so he told me to tell you when he died. He asked you to dig the hole in the ground behind the gym for something. This is the reason; he wanted his most prized student to bury him.' So I made it so. I took his lifeless body and placed it into that giant hole I dug at his request a week earlier. I hosed the ground he lay on, when I heard a loud crash. Sandra was there when her mother died. Both had died there on their property. I placed her body next to his and slowly moved the earth over them. Sandra looked at me teary eyed, 'They're gone.' I told her that they still live, in our hearts and memories. Sandra was only twenty when they died. Contractors came and redid the whole place within weeks. It had turned into an arena with large rows of seats and a ring in the middle. They also added a training ground next to it, so anyone could come in and train. They had some marble left over and I asked for it. I was going to make a grave-marker."
"Hmmm..., they were really the greatest. Does the gym still exist?"
"Yes, it does. I made sure of that. His act of helping me reach my goal couldn't be given back, so I did what I could to keep that gym, and his memory, alive for those wanting to be the best. His daughter fell in love with one of the young men in construction. In my opinion, no one could have tamed this wild child, but he somehow captured her heart. He was a good man; never yelled at her; never told her what she could or couldn't do. He didn't even mind that I helped out at that gym. Lots of tournaments where held at the gym, now named the Kanin Gym. Everyone loved the facilities that it had. I made sure that everything was big and easily accessible. They soon had a boy named Neil. Many generations of this family lived at that gym. I also stayed there for many years; how many I am not quite certain. When I left to explore the world with the eldest son of the time's generation, I would never return. His name was Banon III, after his father and grandfather. I went everywhere with him. We made our way across an entire continent and explored where people never dared." He looked at Adrian again, then at the now rising sun. The fire had gone out hours ago. "Adrian, now it is time for sleep. I will continue later tonight. You should go back and sleep in your bed, since this will be mine."
"You are telling this just as well as Charla, ya know. I hope you have more to tell tonight."
"Do not worry; I still have quite a tale to tell."
"Sleep tight!" Adrian got up and walked back to the house. His mother was up drinking coffee and reading the newspaper.
"Oooo... it's gonna be a tough day at work today, I can just feel it!" She worked at the hospital in the next town in the morning. "Ahh.. nothing like coffee."
"Well, I hope your day isn't too hard."
"Oh, it always is... I just never talk about it."
"Well, I'm going to take a nap."
"Sweet dreams!" Adrian went to his room and plopped on the bed. Ollie, his pet meowth, was already sleeping on the bed when he was disturbed.
"Mmraaah.... mow.. meow." He never really did much; he was just there to be there. "Purrrr..."
"Silly kitty..." Adrian said as he rubbed the cat's back and belly. Within about ten minutes he fell asleep, with Ollie comfy on his stomach. Adrian dreamed....

He opened his eyes to see a vast plain with mountains and rolling hills. The sun was showing brightly. A figure stood out in the scene. It was a man that looked physically fit. "Who are you?" Adrian asked.
"I am Kanin. You listened and drew inspiration from Cannon's story. I told him that age would beat me. I was wrong; if anything it showed him that I never lost. He still thinks of me, everyday. You will soon be part of something that will change how everything is looked at. Listen to his stories well; they will sharpen your mind. I am aware that you already listened to Charla; she and everyone else will help you when the time comes. Adrian, you will need the guidance of stories to complete the task ahead."
"But what is this task?"
"You will learn, in time. Cannon and another will be there in the cave, anxious to tell you what happens next. You brought out his mind. No one in the line of families has ever had an interest in stories like you." With that, it faded, and Adrian woke.

It was night time already, and his mother was home. Ollie was still on his stomach. Adrian picked up the cat and took him out of his room. "You sleep too much." Adrian's mother greeted him and the cat as he set the cat on the couch. "Cannon's still out there, he still has a tale to tell,' he mumbled to himself. A quick cup of tangy orange juice shot the sleepiness right out of him. "I'll be at the cave, Mom."
"All right, honey!" He walked to the cave and saw another little fire set up to give light. When he got there, it wasn't a little fire, it was Charla's tail flame. He looked a little surprised, but walked in and sat down anyway. Charla smiled at Adrian when he came in. "He needs my help in this. I don't know how he was able to do what he did last night without me." Then she leaned next to Adrian and said, "He normally can't speak what he wants to, but I think it was some kinda fluke in his brain!" Cannon lightly slapped her side and they laughed. "Well, you always did bring out the worst in me!" Cannon said as he laughed.
"So..., will you continue the story?"
"Oh, oh, yeah. I will. This involves her a little bit," he said as he thumbed Charla.

"Banon had traveled a long time when he finally met a woman. Her name was Viki. She was traveling as well, but she had someone with her: Charla. Anyway, the two humans fell in love, and traveled on. We followed them to a small cabin that was close to a hospital when they had a child, Shaun."
"Woh, woh, hold it! They got married at a church in a remote region before they found the cabin. It's just as well he forgot because he slept through the whole thing! I just wish they had cameras back then, otherwise I'd show you a picture of how he looked when the flowers landed on his shell. He was so asleep that he never noticed them when he got up and they fell to the floor. So many woman went for the flowers that there was almost a fight for them! Oooh... it was quite a scene!"
"Ahem! Well, it was just as well that I forgot. Anyway, when they settled, we had time to become friends. We did a lot of things with their son; since he was around us all the time, he learned how to understand us. And then, something tragic happened.... You tell him."
"No, it's your story, so you tell him."
"No, you."
"No, you!"
"Will someone please continue?"
"Okay, The region they settled in had numerous cases of attacks by rhydon and rhyhorn. They never thought much of it since we were there. Then it happened. About forty rhydon and rhyhorn attacked! We had our hands full with five apiece while more attacked the house. I told Charla to go and save them; I could handle these guys. One by one they fell to my power. Charla, tell him what happened on your side.
"Okay, I flew to the cabin, only to find a horrible scene: Banon and Viki were defending their son with their selves.... You continue, I can't."
"I got there a little after Charla did, when I saw... that.... Banon jumped in front of a rhydon's horn drill, to defend his son.... Viki had already done the same a minute before. I was sent into a rage! I ran and squashed one rhydon flat, and knocked the brains out of another. Charla stood there, shaking, when she took action. She took Banon, Viki, and Shaun out of the building and flew them to the hospital. I was happily left to trash those honorless fools. I never got them wet; I just slaughtered them with my own bare hands. I first killed the two that had blood on there their horns, and then went to work on the others. Out of around thirty that attacked the house, I killed about twenty five, leaving just a few to carry a massage back to their leader. I tore the two bloody drills right out of their skulls and kept them. Then the rush of rage left me. The cabin was filled with so much blood that I had caused to spill and so many bodies that fell victim to my rage, I started digging a massive hole a few dozen yards from the cabin. I stayed and toiled to dig and to place each body and/or part in the grave. I had slaughtered so many! At first I thought it was only ten, until I counted the whole bodies. Such a loss I had created. I had killed so many. As I hosed the blood out of the little cabin, I wondered if I did the right thing; attacking and killing the attackers. It just didn't settle in my mind. I covered the grave and stomped it flat. I ran to the hospital as fast as I could and waited outside the building. It was too small for me to set foot in. A nurse walked outside when she saw me sit by the door. 'Hello, I'm Tiki. How can I help you?' I said that a man and a woman were submitted here with possibly fatal wounds. She didn't understand. She was about to say something when Charla and Shaun walked out and saw me."
"I told him that they had died on the hospital grounds. Shaun was too young for this to happen; he was just six years old. Banon told me to never surrender their son, and to give his thanks to Cannon for being the best traveling partner before he died. Viki died before she could say anything, but I could read her eyes before she went limp. Both of their wounds were too massive to be recovered from."
"So we were outside and we started to walk from hospital when and officer from the hospital came to us. 'I'm sorry, but this child must come with me.' I spoke to her, but she didn't understand. She walked over to the child and he ran behind me. He shouted, 'You not take me! He and she take me!' The cop wouldn't listen, so I told Charla to take the boy and fly. I would keep the cop distracted. You took him with you and you flew out of sight, at least out of human sight. I saw you in the sky and darted as fast as my legs could take me. You were flying pretty fast, but I caught up after seeing where you were heading. I just needed to avoid the police. I had to use my speed so that I didn't get in anymore trouble with the human law. It took a week of eluding them to finally see Charla and Shaun again."
"As you may already know, we took care of him. He was your ancestor of sixteen generations ago."
"Wow, that was quite a tale."
"Yes, I thought it was"
"Well, it's almost daytime. You should be going back. Tell Ollie that he needs to get out more!" Charla said, jokingly licking her chops and smiling.
"Well, I'm happy to hear anymore stories, if you'd like to tell them."
"Maybe later. I just thought I'd tell you the things I most remember from my life. I'll stay in here and think."
"And I'm gonna go hunt. Something tells me there's a plump nido' over the mountains! Should I take some back here for you Cannon?"
"Yeah, it's been a while since I've had blood in food; then again it's been too long since I last ate!"
"Well, I'll see you guys later," Adrian said as he walked back to the house. The sun was rising. And, of course, his mother was up drinking her cup of coffee and reading the newspaper. The coffee wasn't affecting her today like it normally does. She didn't notice Adrian walk in the door. He went to his room to nap. Ollie wasn't there, so he jumped on the bed and fell asleep within a few minutes. He dreamed....

A strange plane of existence was spread out before him. He watched night turn to day turn to night. He looked and saw two figures. A woman and a man. He saw the shadows of a charizard and blastoise, but the bodies weren't anywhere to be seen. The woman walked up to him.
"You have awakened Charla and Cannon's memory of us. You are the first to do so." Then the man walked forward.
"The pokémon of this world will be at war again, soon. I can feel it. Adrian, these are bad times that humans will be the cause of soon." Adrian turns around and sees the shadows of battling pokémon on the ground in front of him, slashing and biting, flaming and scorching. Then the shadows of humans firing guns and slashing with swords. The moon came up and the shadows intensified. The moon slowly change from white to crimson.
"No.... there is too much blood shed! There is too much fighting! There is.... too much....." He couldn't stop the emotion. "So, this is the fate... of humanity and pokémon!? Then I know my purpose; I know what I must do. Pokémon know the past better than we; this event happened once before, didn't it?!" The man and woman nodded.
"It happened in a place far from here. It only involved that continent and no one else. The next war will take the world," the woman said. Adrian's mind exploded.....
"This will not happen.... I will not let it!!" And Adrian woke, three days later.

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