Acacia, Lickitung, and a Cool Pokémon Journey
Part 3
Colors swirled all around them in the vortex. It was enough to make a person sick. And that's exactly what they all did. Their vomit however just swirled around with them in the endless spectrum tunnel.

But after five more minutes, they fell out of the vortex and were falling towards solid granite!

"Aahh! Articuno go!" Acacia screamed, throwing Articuno's pokeball below them. Articuno formed and they landed on its back. Lickitung fainted from relief. Their vomit landed on the granite and served as an unhappy reminder of what could have become of them.

"Thanks Articuno! You saved our butts!" she praised it.

"Cuno! (Don't mention it!)"

"Well, that was just as unpleasant as the last time," Manny stated.

"You've done that before?" Acacia asked.

"Of course I have. When Ian zapped us, I was in that vortex for what seemed like forever before falling out of it and onto a thicket of ferns. I had Lickitung clean me up with its tongue, and then that Kabutops showed up and you came out of your pokeball. You know the rest," he explained to her. She listened and then looked below at their current surroundings. The granite they might have hit was part of what looked like a temple! She scanned out around it and there appeared to be an entire city, complete with people in
togas.

"Do you see all that Manny?" she said in total awe of the city.

"Yes, I do. What time period do you think we're in where people wear togas?" he wondered.

"Maybe ancient Greece or Rome," she said. No sooner had the words left her lips, the people noticed two kids and a Lickitung riding an Articuno above their heads. Every single one of them immediately bowed in submission.

"Why are they bowing to us?" Acacia said.

"I don't know. Maybe we should land and find out,"

"Lick? It? Ung? Licki? (Who? What? Where? When?)" Lickitung had just woken up. Articuno was landing in a spot where not too many people were in the way: at the top of the stairs of a temple. Acacia dismounted and walked towards one of the priests in the temple. He too was bowing.

"Excuse me, why is everyone in this city worshipping us?" she requested simply.

The priest rambled, "Oh mighty ones! You have the power to control the great Pokemon! We, the citizens of Pokemopolis honor you for this amazing feat!"

Manny came over and asked the priest, "So, you are worshipping us just because we're Pokemon trainers? Why is that so great," Acacia clamped his mouth shut.

"The people of Pokemopolis worship Pokemon and anyone who has a mastery over them. But whoever dismisses the honor is sacrificed to the volcano! So shut up!" Acacia whispered in his ear.

"How do you know that?" he whispered back.

"I've been reading a book my best friend gave me for my birthday. It has some stuff on Pokemopolis in it,"

Manny looked back at the priest, "Yes! This is a feat that has taken quite a while to get a hold on!"

"Show us some of your great powers over the Pokemon!" asked the priest eagerly. But someone stepped in front of him.

"That's enough Hotanee. Provoke them and they may destroy us all!" said the stranger. She looked as though she were some sort of ruler. She had blonde hair that was unnatural for this area and was quite tall.

"Oh, we would never do that. Honest!" said Acacia.

The woman turned to her and said gently, "I know that. I am Lola. Come with me. I have something to tell you," Acacia returned Articuno and they all walked with Lola.

"Lola. What a strange name for a Pokemopolotin," Manny thought out loud.

"Well, that's mainly because I'm not a Pokemopolotin. I was sent here by some freak and his Fearow about a year ago. I came from the future, same as you. I could tell you were from the same time I was by the way you were dressed, of course," Lola told him.

"Ian! That twerp!" cursed Acacia. So, she hadn't been the only victim of his strange 'hobbies.'

Lola took them to a lavish room in the temple that looked very much like an ancient luxury spa. She said, "Well, these are my chambers. What do you think?"

As they tried to find something to say, a Gengar, an Alakazam, and a Jigglypuff came over to them. But they all had strange markings on them.

"Oh! These are my Pokemon! Meet Poltergeist, Mafisto, and Cher!" Lola pointed to each one in turn.

"Why do they have all those markings on them?" asked Acacia.

"That's Pokemopolis policy. They think it makes the Pokemon special," she replied. Cher came up and snuggled Acacia's leg instantly. But Poltergeist and Mafisto didn't come. They didn't look very friendly.

"What's with your Gengar and Alakazam?" Manny asked.

"They don't like this place, each other, or anybody else but me. That's why they stay here most of the time. But enough about my Pokemon. We've got to get you ready for the festival!"

"Festival?" Manny and Acacia said at the same time.

"Yes, a festival in your and your Pokemon's honor," said Lola. She disappeared around a corner momentarily and came back with two togas, one for girls and one for boys. Both looked a lot fancier than those of the average Pokemopolotin on the street. Lola practically shoved them in their faces and left, saying something about getting a facial before the ceremony. Acacia looked around for separate places for them to change, but saw no such thing available. She sighed and pulled out her sleeping bag.

"Why are you pulling out your sleeping bag?" asked Manny.

"Well, it won't be very roomy, but I'm certainly not changing in front of you without some form of cover!" she snapped. Manny took out his own at this remark. They zipped themselves up inside and frantically tried to get their clothes off and get those annoying togas on. It took over three quarters of an hour but they finally made it out. Acacia looked at herself in one of Lola's mirrors.

"As soon as I get the static my hair picked up from the inside of that bag, I think I'll put my hair in a bun. What do you think?" she asked.

"Hey, you're asking the wrong guy about fashion. When it comes to dressing in style, I know zilch," he proclaimed. She shrugged and began on her hair. Cher climbed up on the table Acacia was sitting in front of and started helping. Poltergeist still refused to come over, but Mafisto made his way slowly and silently to Acacia's side. She never noticed and neither did Manny or Cher. This gave him an opening. He snatched one of Acacia's empty Pokeballs and brought it over to the impatient Gengar who was waiting
for him.

Poltergeist said in Gengar language, "Well, what took you so long you stupid Alakazam?"

"Hey, you try and steal a Pokeball and not get noticed!" Mafisto shot back.

"Gladly! Watch!" Poltergeist retorted. He teleported to Manny's bag when he wasn't watching it, took an empty Pokeball, and teleported back with it.

Mafisto glared at Poltergeist, "Show off,"

"Never mind that. We have to figure out how these things work and fast. The ceremony tonight may be our last chance of success!" said Poltergeist.

"Yes, I nearly forgot our reason for getting those Pokeballs," Mafisto said. He and Poltergeist disappeared into the shadows of the temple to begin their dark work.

Two hours later...

"This is great!" said Manny. He was chowing down on some roast Farfetch'd, which at the time were still in great abundance. They were outside in the town square and were at the head of a long table filled to the brim with Pokemopolotins. Lola sat between them. She stood up.

"Citizens of Pokemopolis! We are honored to have our first great Pokemon Possessors since I myself arrived. Let us toast to them and their descendants!" she announced. They all stood, raised their glasses, and then threw them to the floor, shattering them.

"I guess this is where Greece picked up the tradition," said Manny in Acacia's ear. She giggled at his comment. After the banquet, a bonfire was started up and dancing began. Acacia thought of Lickitung, who like all tame Pokemon, stayed in the spa. But the thought quickly flew away as the beat of the music got faster. It was a wonderful festival and Acacia was enjoying every second of it. Manny was to.

Meanwhile, Mafisto and Poltergeist were nearly finished their work.

"Mine's a lot fancier than yours. Plus it has a spoon lock!" bragged Mafisto. He was referring to the yellow and red splotched device in his hand. It was in a very bizarre shape and it had a spoon of matching colors to go with it.

"The simpler the better, and that's what mine is!" argued Poltergeist. He pointed to a device which consisted of three connecting
black spheres. The purpose of both these items was to make them huge so that they could destroy the city that held them prisoner for over a year, and to hold off Pokemon and humans that got in their way.

"Stop this foolishness and let's get on with it!" complained Mafisto.

"All right then. Get inside," said Poltergeist. The two Pokemon touched specific parts of the objects and were sucked inside, like a normal Pokeball does. Poltergeist then jumped back out of its dark device, only it was over twenty times larger and crashed through the roof as it did so. The Pokemopolotins below screamed at the sight of him. He guffawed with glee at the sight of their frightened faces. He reached down, put the spoon in Mafisto's dark device and out he came, exactly the same size. Lola screamed at them to stop, but they weren't about to listen to a puny human. They stepped out of the temple and began crushing buildings and wrecking
roadways.

"Aren't those your Pokemon?!" screamed Acacia at Lola.

"Not any more!" she screeched. Then she just stopped and just began crying. Manny and Acacia stopped too and bent down to her.

"Lola, what's the matter?" he asked.

She sniffled to herself, not listening to Manny, "How could they do this to me? I raised them from an Abra and a Gastly! I cared for them, I nurtured them, and I LOVED THEM! I don't understand it, I just don't understand it! I pray to the gods that Cher isn't like this!"

Mafisto and Poltergeist were still stomping around. But then, out of the blue, a Gengar foot planted itself on that of an Alakazam.

In Alakazam language, Mafisto shouted, "Ouch! What was that for you dope!"

"You shouldn't have been putting your foot there, big ears!"

"Big ears! Why I oughta!"

Mafisto sent out an enormous Pysbeam straight for Poltergeist. Poltergeist recoiled backwards, "So, you want to play rough do you? Take this!" Poltergeist gave a burst of nightshade at Mafisto's stomach. The fight went on like this for quite some time, destroying everything and everyone that got in their way. Acacia nearly got killed via giant nightshade attack.

"PUFF!!!!" thundered a voice from the temple. Acacia, Manny, and a now overflowing Lola looked up. No, farther up. Farther! There in front of them was a humongous Cher! She had been spying on Poltergeist and Mafisto and created her own device. Except this one was light instead of dark. And she was prepared to use it in a very different manner than that of her Pokemon counterparts. She began to sing into it.

"Oh great! Over three quarters of Pokemopolis is ruined and just as many of its citizens are dead! Perfect time for a concert!" said Manny. Acacia wasn't there at the time. She had gone to the spa to see if Lickitung and all their Pokeballs were all right. But Lola was still there and had something to say, even as she was dying due to a falling piece of building.

"Cher, sooth them. Make sure that, ugh, they never do this, ugh, again," And then she was gone. Cher continued to sing. Poltergeist and Mafisto were fast asleep. They were swept back into their devices and buried under the tons of rubble that was once Pokemopolis. The same happened to Cher. But Acacia, Manny, Lickitung, and all of their other Pokemon, were back in the vortex. The memory of that night would be etched in their minds forever more.