Inspiration: "Legendary Pokémon war"
From the darkened skies came a torrent of rain. Brown eyes stared anxiously out towards the world from beyond the canopy.
"This is horrible," a voice behind him murmured.
Ruby didn't turn around, but he knew the sort of expression that was still etched into Sapphire's face. She was terrified, not for herself but for the entire world. Of course, she had every right to be.
"So, what's going on?" Ruby asked cautiously.
At last, he turned his head a bit to look at Sapphire. He watched as her gloved hands nervously played with the locks of brown hair draped over her shoulder. Next to her stood a solemn young man who appeared as if he had rushed out from an art studio. All Ruby knew about him was that his name was Wallace, and he was the Gym Leader of this city. He was doing a great job of being one at the moment, all sarcasm intended. His city was flooding, and he wasn't doing a single thing about it.
"It's Kyogre and Groudon," he replied.
Ruby raised an eyebrow. "What?"
Wallace sighed. He knew he would get this reaction. After all, neither Pokémon had stirred for eons. Wallace himself had thought for years that the two were mere myths, figments of the imaginations of the ancients. Yet all around him, there was proof, and these two children managed to get the talismans of the two gods from a pair of leaders of two of the most pathetic rings of crime in the world.
"Kyogre and Groudon," Wallace repeated slowly. "Kyogre is the god of oceans, and Groudon is the god of continents."
"Right," Ruby scoffed. "And you think these… gods are what caused all of this?"
"Who else could have?"
The question was punctuated with silence.
"Why?" Sapphire finally inquired.
In a way, Ruby was hoping she would, despite the fact that he thought all of this was ludicrous.
"The gods are at war," Wallace informed her earnestly. "They have been for eons. Have you heard the story?"
Both trainers shook their heads. At this, Wallace sighed.
"The story begins millions of years ago when this planet was still new," he began. "All creatures lived in harmony together. The water-dwelling creatures lived deep in the oceans, and the land-dwellers lived far inland. Neither knew that either of their worlds ended where another began.
"Then, one day, a water-dweller swam to the far reaches of the kingdom he lived in and found that it wasn't infinite. At the same time, a land-dweller made a similar journey and a similar discovery. Both creatures hurried back to the rest of their clan and told whoever would listen of their find.
"Neither clans were pleased. Both groups wanted their kingdoms to spread out across the globe with no ocean or no land occupying the same world. So, armies from the water attacked the land, and armies from the land attacked the water. Both sides prayed to their respective gods for help and the assaults continued.
"At last, their prayers were answered. The god of the oceans and the god of the land rose up from the depths of their domains, approached the boundary between them, and commenced a massive battle that would decide whose domain would dominate the planet.
"The attack continued for eighty days and eighty nights, with Kyogre's rain descending upon Groudon for the first forty days and Groudon's sun beating down upon Kyogre for the last forty. It seemed as if the battle would never end – as if there would be no winner. The dwellers of both domains began to grow terrified when they realized that their gods' powers would only increase with each blow from the opposing god. They prayed to a third god for help, but their hope was slowly dwindling.
"At last, on the eighty-first night, a shining star blazed to signal the coming of the god of the sky, Rayquaza. The sky god looked down upon the destruction and the chaos as tears fell from his eyes. The tears became two orbs – the Red Orb and the Blue Orb – whose auras calmed the gods of the domains below his. Then, Kyogre and Groudon retreated to the depths to sleep once more as Rayquaza ascended into the sky. The orbs, meanwhile, were entrusted to the purest of humans to watch over to prevent the gods from awakening."
Wallace paused to look at his captive audience of two. Even Ruby seemed fascinated with the tale.
"But then, as you've told me earlier, Team Magma stole the Blue Orb while Team Aqua took the Red Orb," he added. "Using both orbs with the sole purpose of their own advancement, both of the teams disturbed the gods from their slumber. I believe they have taken refuge in the Cave of Origin to finish the battle that was interrupted so long ago."
"So… how do we stop them?" Sapphire asked with a trembling voice.
Wallace closed his eyes. His silence grew under the incessant tapping of rain drops on the canopy near the entrance to the Cave of Origin.
"We need to find Rayquaza," he finally said. "Rayquaza stopped them once. I'm sure he could do it again."
Ruby shook his head. "Yeah, that's great, but where do we find Rayquaza?"
Wallace exhaled slowly. He waited patiently for an answer to come to mind.
"There is a part of the tale I have yet to tell you," he replied. "After the battle, Rayquaza supposedly returned to his home, a tower dedicated to the sky."
"Which is where?" Ruby queried impatiently.
The pause that followed told Ruby that Wallace didn't know. The young trainer was getting fed up with the Gym Leader's fairy tales. He wanted answers, right then and there.
"I need you to find it," Wallace told Ruby as he opened his blue eyes. "Sapphire will go with you."
"Why don't you find it, if you believe it exists?" Ruby snapped.
Wallace turned away to look at the rain collecting in the crater of Sootopolis.
"I need to protect the city," he told Ruby. "I don't know how I could, but I'll find a way."
Coward! Ruby mentally screamed. He wouldn't dare say it, though.
"What if we don't find it?" Sapphire asked.
Wallace turned to her with a strange look. It was then when both of the young trainers knew that they had no choice but to find it. If they failed… then the world would be doomed.
Something deep inside Ruby suddenly turned him into a believer.