We hightailed it out of town and got back onto the highway, continuing to head South towards our destination. The moon was now slowly making its way down into the tree line, signaling dawn was coming soon. For as late as it was, I was surprisingly not tired or overly exhausted. That strange sense of determination kept me running, despite being physically strained.
Looking around at my Pokémon partners, it was clear there was a tension in the air, making it hard to speak. Was it the fact we were so close to our destination? Was it the fear of the unknown or what lay ahead? Or was it the suspicions of a fellow teammate? All I knew was that I didn't want to speak either; I was going to let someone else break the silence.
Just as the moon was completely out of view and the sky was getting brighter, we passed by a blue road sign that said, "Welcome to Pennsylvania, the Keystone State." We were finally across the border; I sighed a sigh of relief upon seeing it. Of course, I knew we still had about another day of travel ahead of us, but I was nonetheless happy to be over the first big part of the journey and this close to our goal.
As we passed by the sign, I heard Slowking's voice in my head.
Human, how are you holding up?
I'm okay, Slowking. I need to rest sometime soon, but we can go a little longer. Why are you talking to me with Telepathy?
I am just being cautious around Liepard.
Oh, come on. Zabu isn't going to do anything if you talk aloud.
I will not be sharing personal information around 'Zabu'.
Ugh, whatever. Is there something you wanted to tell me?
I figured since we have the time, you could ask me any questions you might possibly have. Knowing how close we are to the bridge, there will only be so many opportunities to do this going forwards.
…Okay, I've got a big one to ask. Could you finish the story about the Pokémon World from the other day for me? I'm still curious how it all ends. She hesitated for a moment before speaking up.
Sure, I do not see why not. This story is a long one, but we certainly have a lot of travel ahead of us… Now, where was I again? Oh, yes. So–
"Wait, Slowking," I suddenly spoke aloud. Zabu, Dusty and Sycamore all looked over at us suddenly, startled by my voice. Slowking flinched, obviously also caught off guard. "I was hoping you could, you know… Tell the story? Out loud?" I suddenly realized how rude I sounded, and I didn't actually mean to put her on the spot like that, but I found it kind of ridiculous the lengths she was going to keep our info private from Zabu. There was an awkward pause between all of us, but after a few seconds, Slowking added,
"...Well, I suppose. After all, the story should be common knowledge to everyone, right?" Slowking looked to all the other Pokémon who all nodded back in response (except for Zabu, of course). Whether they actually knew what story Slowking was talking about or not was still a mystery. "Okay then, this next part takes place right after the battle between the beasts of sun and moon, and the guardian deities of the Penta Islands."
"As time moved onwards, the Pokémon that had experienced the battle and their ancient civilization eventually withered away, along with all of those who worshiped the beast of the sun and the moon. They and the altar island were completely forgotten, lost once again to the fog."
"One day in the much nearer past however, a single Pokémon got curious after reading an old tale about a fifth island and traveled deep into the middle of the region. When the Pokémon found the island, he became intrigued by the mysterious stone altar stretching high into the sky. They climbed the stairs to the top and found two pedestals, both carrying a different flute. Footprint text on the ground described what had happened many years before. I believe it said… 'To open the portal to Ultra Space, only a trusted pair of a human and their Pokémon partner must play the Ballad of Dusklight at this location.'"
"The song was written underneath the note to whoever found it. More text on the altar also told the story of the battle between the guardian deities and the beast of the sun and moon."
"Unfortunately however, the Pokémon who approached the altar had a heart of greed and malice. Having thought he came upon a treasure trove, he stole the flutes for himself. If he could open the portal to Ultra Space, he could have all the so-called plunder to himself. However, the Pokémon did not have a chance to use the flutes right away, as the fourth calamity was upon us."
"The fourth calamity? What was that?" I asked, interrupting. Slowking paused, quickly searching through her head for the answer.
"The fourth calamity was the fourth time the Pokémon World as a whole was threatened. A being known as Dark Matter, who was made completely out of bad feelings supplied by Pokémon, sought to destroy our planet. Dark Matter's ultimate plan was to turn all Pokémon to stone and destroy the planet by sending it into the Sun. Using the power of the Tree of Life, a human and Mew saved the world just in time."
"So... That means there were three other times the Pokémon World was threatened?"
"...That is correct. The first time it was a meteorite, the second time was the stopping of time, and the third time was from a being known as the Bittercold... Of course, these events were separated by hundreds, if not thousands of years– well, except for the Ultra Beast invasion…" She sighed and shook her head. "Hard to believe we are already onto the fifth calamity…" All three Pokémon looked down after she said that, for very understandable reasons.
Five different world threatening events? Damn, a lot goes wrong in the Pokémon World, I thought then, readying for Slowking to continue the story.
"Directly after the fourth calamity, the Pokémon who stole the flutes continued to seek for a way to open the Ultra Space portal. When the news spread about the human who saved the world was searching all across the land to find their lost partner Mew, the Pokémon immediately saw his chance. Sailing across the land to meet them, they never for a second stopped to think about what they were doing."
"Seeing as the human and Mew had become well-known figures after saving the world, it was hard for him to get into their group of friends. But, being a sly and cunning Pokémon, he slowly made his way up to being one of their greatest allies. After a couple months of traveling with each other, the Pokémon who stole the flutes suggested that they all take a trip to the altar island to discover the secrets that lied there. Seeing as they'd not explored there before, the human and Mew agreed to go to the new land."
"When they all arrived on the island where the altar was, they immediately headed up to the apex of the shrine where they were supposed to play, unaware of the evil Pokémon's intentions. The human and Mew memorized the song quickly, before playing it aloud. As they finished, the ground suddenly began to shake, and a huge portal opened high up in the altar. And as soon as it opened, Solgaleo and Lunala came pouring out of the portal with terrible details."
"Hearing the portal opening, the guardian deities rushed in to see what was happening. Solgaleo and Lunala told the horrible tales of how Necrozma had escaped from his prison in Ultra Space and was presumably creating another army in secret to enact his revenge, as well as probable plans to use the Pokémon World's light to fix his broken body. However, before anyone could do anything, Necrozma himself appeared from the portal and took Lunala by surprise."
"Necrozma quickly defeated Lunala and merged their powers together to create his Dawn Wings form. Immediately after, Necrozma began to attack the deities, as well as Solgaleo. The human, Mew, and the group of exploring Pokémon tried to help, but in the end, they all were no match against the combined power of Lunala and Necrozma."
"Then, Necrozma walked over to the downed Solgaleo and merged their life force together as well. At that point, the Prismatic King had regained as much power as his former self before he was shattered; this was his Ultra Form. Now, after ages of constant torment, Necrozma finally had what he needed to take his reign back."
"The Prismatic King and his army of Ultra Beasts took over the Penta in less than a day. Some lucky Pokémon fled by sea to other continents, but all the others were abducted and sent back through the portal into Ultra Space. Although no Pokémon have ever returned from Ultra Space, it is believed that all those captured are forced to aid Necrozma's troops somehow. This was most likely the unfortunate fate of the human, Mew, and the greedy Pokémon."
"While the army did most of the dirty work, Necrozma absorbed as much light as possible to increase his power even more so. Nonetheless, the Prismatic King was not fully satisfied with just conquering the Penta Islands. And so, Necrozma headed off for the Grass Continent first, eager to take over the entire planet."
"The Pokémon who tried to fight were no match for the Prismatic King and his army. After they conquered the Grass Continent, Necrozma went on to capture the Air Continent… And in no time, Necrozma had captured all the continents and stolen their light except for the Water Continent. Almost every Pokémon was taken, some of those even being legendary Pokémon who tried to step in to help."
"Uxie, Dialga, Palkia, and I, along with a small rag-tag group of allies from the PGC, all fled from the Penta to the Water Continent. Stuck with no big ideas to play off of, we needed to come up with something quick. Luckily, someone suggested that with the help of Dialga and Palkia, we could use their portals to travel across space-time to gather up as many humans as possible to aid Solgaleo, Lunala, and the guardian deities in battle."
"Wait…" I butted in with another question. "If you're saying you had the power to go anywhere in space and time… Wouldn't you just stop this from ever happening in the first place? Like, stop the greedy Pokémon from stealing the flutes? It seems like that would be the easier way," I asked.
"Yes, that is a valid point– one that was brought up at our meeting, even. Yet, the events that were unfolding in Ultra Space would probably nonetheless flow over into our world at some point after, rendering this to be just a temporary fix. We all figured it would be… 'More safe' to defeat Necrozma once and for all while we could. Not to mention, some argued that just helping the deities and Solgaleo battle instead would draw less attention."
"Draw… Less attention?"
"Well, Dialga and Palkia are not the only ones who can make portals through time and space. Necrozma may only be able to travel between dimensions, but with his new help from Giratina, he has full watch over all of time and space, too. I would not be surprised if there is already some kind of guard at that exact moment to make sure the flutes are indeed stolen. Sending humans there first would most likely alert Necrozma to our plan."
"O-oh, okay. I see..." I said, my mind still trying to digest everything Slowking had told me so far.
"I can see you are a bit confused… It might be hard to grasp, but I must admit that there are an infinite number of universes, playing at different rates all around us. These dimensions may be similar in nature to your own, or widely different in comparison. So, for example, in our dimension, Pokémon live and roam freely across the planet while in your dimension, only humans live on the planet. Usually, we will find humans from our world to aid our cause, but when we are unable to do so, we can travel to other places in an emergency. Of course, yours and a few other dimensions have the stories of our world written out and told in the form of 'video games' or some other kind of media, which was done to find people like you." I suddenly realized that was why I recognized so many of the recounts in her stories.
"But like I said, this time around we could not travel through time in our world for a specific reason…" Taking a second to catch her breath, Slowking adjusted her satchel and stretched her shoulders out for a moment before continuing.
"With Necrozma's army closing in fast, we could not just sit around while the humans went back to try and stop the Prismatic King; we were vulnerable. The decision was made to open a portal to another dimension to give us more time to work on the plan… Everything was going well at first, and a majority of the survivors had already gone through, but we were naive to think Necrozma would not find us."
"We all barreled inside as fast as we could when the Prismatic King fired a single attack. It hit the portal, and disrupted the path it was going, sending us here. Since portals are not made to change destinations in a moment's notice, it also began corrupting things between the two worlds. The outcome was that your dimension was completely altered due to the abrupt change; I can only imagine what happened to the Pokémon World after. That is why animals turned to Pokémon, fruit turned to berries, et cetera. It also seems that Poké Balls and other technology somehow made their way into the equation, which I assume is probably from the process of dimension combination. And that is the full story; why we are here."
Once she finished, I didn't know how to respond. The tale of the Pokémon World's fall was terrible to hear. However, the story only made me want to save the world even more. I wanted to avenge all of those who had been defeated by Necrozma and bring the light back to the Pokémon World; Sycamore and Dusty looked surprisingly confident too. But, considering my injury, I knew I needed to take one step at a time.
"Wow, all of that is…"
"Again, I understand this is all hard to take in… But believe me, Necrozma will take over as many worlds as he pleases with boundless power and will not stop unless we put an end to him."
"And we'll do just that! Right guys?" I said with a grin. Sycamore and Dusty smiled too before placing their arms over their chest; even a smirk managed to form on Zabu's face. Slowking chuckled. "Thanks for finishing the story, Slowking," I added on a whim, just as a way to let her know I appreciated all her knowledge and help.
"My pleasure, human. Any other questions you would like to add?"
"Well…"
By mid-morning, Slowking had told me many interesting things. She started off by talking about the portal itself and what to expect. She said it would probably be small, rainbow hued, and almost look like a 'rip in space'. I was still confused, so I first asked about why there was only one back to the Pokémon World instead of many; assuming that when Pokémon appeared, each one had to arrive from a separate portal, right? Well, her answer was very philosophical and sounded almost like rocket science to me.
To summarize, because Necrozma attacked the portal when they all tried to escape their world originally, it created 'irregularities in time and space between dimensions', scattering the fleeing Pokémon all across Earth. So that meant that Pokémon did come from their own portals that first night, but they all closed right after. Also, Dialga and Palkia needed more time to recover before they could open anything, as they had sustained a lot of damage while escaping from the Pokémon World.
However, the portal on the bridge was a special case because it was unaltered and created long before Necrozma messed with the dimensions, but there were only a few left like it scattered across the Human World; the next closest ones were apparently on the West Coast and somewhere up in Canada.
Also, Slowking let me know that the Ultra Beasts could travel back to the Human World from Ultra Space using their own wormholes for some reason, but many of them were being dispatched to different parts across the globe instead of the Northeastern United States to help in other operations. She then hypothesized that the Ultra Beasts were closing the portal to the Pokémon World by attempting to open one of their own to Ultra Space in the same place and the two were canceling out, but she didn't have much evidence to back her claim up.
Once Slowking was done with her lengthy and overly complex explanation, I then questioned about the portal itself and why it was positioned in such a weird place. She, of course, then gave me its entire history. Turns out during the first calamity in the Pokémon World, the Pokémon did not have the help of Dialga or Palkia to open portals. So, the Pokémon Celebi had to travel through time and space with help from Jirachi, to which they ended up in my world. The portal back was then placed on top of a high mountain, to where no humans would ever look and accidentally stumble upon it. However, after choosing a human to help the Pokémon World, it was closed, but not completely, so they could use it again if needed.
Eventually, during the second calamity when Dialga and Palkia were readily available again, the Pokémon used a human from their world and did the same for the next two disasters. Again, this was because it was much easier and more quick to travel forward and backwards through time instead of through dimensions. As years and years separated all these events, the Human World went through many changes. The high mountains the portal was situated on were gradually eroded away, giving way to plenty of deep valleys. Slowking told me that the Pokémon were actually quite surprised when they reopened the portal and found it atop a large bridge over a valley.
After her whole spiel on portals, she finally told me more about herself and the PGC. Apparently, Uxie took care of Slowking at the lake she'd previously mentioned (which I now recognized to be Fogbound Lake) until she was old enough to learn about helping humans. Uxie then sent her to the PGC campus in the Penta Islands. Slowking was naturally smart and perceptive, giving her an edge in school. After graduating and becoming a certified member of the PGC, Slowking decided to stay back and teach at the PGC while she wasn't out in the field assisting humans.
As the years went by and Slowking evolved, she climbed the ranks in the school, until only recently becoming the Dean. Of course, Necrozma's invasion disrupted all this, so Slowking needed to take matters into her own hands. For some reason though, she wouldn't tell me about the skills or techniques she'd learned in school, saying that it was a, quote, 'trade secret'.
She also briefly spoke about the daily student life in the college. Those that passed the entrance tests learned everything from modern human languages and mannerisms to more simple things like what a Poké Ball is. The best even sometimes went into the field and practiced on real humans; how they got test subjects was still a guess for me.
Lastly, she ended by recalling that Sycamore was a student of hers in the close past. This surprised me at first, but as I realized how good he was at everything, it started to make sense. Slowking also figured Dusty had some sort of education because he seemed to understand my commands with ease, and that Zabu naturally knew what I was saying because she grew up with my family and I in the Human World.
Just before noon, we cut through Bradford via the highway, which ran right through the center. It was a surprisingly large town, almost big enough to be called a city. From the raised road, I spotted a big shopping center with a corresponding plaza in the distance and many small brick buildings wedged close together in the foreground, but of course all of it was abandoned like every other town we'd passed by.
As we neared an off ramp from the road, I suggested that we settle down and take a quick break before heading out again. We all unanimously agreed, so we ended up settling underneath the cover of a gas station on the side of the road below. As we arrived, Slowking stopped, took her pack off of her shoulder, and laid it on the ground.
"We must head out soon. It may not be safe here," she replied before opening the pack, grabbing some berries and her woven thatch canteen with clean water inside. Sycamore and Dusty hurriedly surrounded Slowking like usual, sipping up some water and grabbing a snack before heading off and conversing with each other.
Once they were both chowing down on their berries, Slowking slowly walked over to us, keeping her eyes on Zabu the whole time. Zabu stayed by my side, doing the same thing. Once she was in range, Slowking handed me two plump Oran berries and the canteen. "I am not giving Liepard anything. Do as you wish with the second berry and the water," she grumbled before turning around and heading back towards her satchel.
Man, she really doesn't trust Zabu, I thought to myself. Turning to Zabu, I sat down and placed the berry on the ground in front of her.
"Here you go, Zabu– eat up. Want some water?" Zabu looked up at me and shook her head no, refusing the berry. I was shocked by her statement. "Y-you don't want the berry? What about water?" She shook her head no again and looked away. "But why?" I watched as she and Slowking exchanged glances once more, their eyes never leaving each other's. "...You don't trust her either, do you?" Zabu nodded, not looking away. "Well, I'm sorry to say this, but you two are going to have to get used to each other. We've still got about a half a day of walking, and we need you to get acquainted as soon as possible." There was still no response, as the two of them continued their intense stare-off. "Come onnnnn, Slowking isn't so bad." Zabu rolled her eyes sassily before she finally turned away.
...What if no one accepts Zabu? Will they all fight among each other? Hopefully, everyone was just on edge being this close to the portal; I knew I was. I quickly ate my berry, drank my share of water, and stuck the other one in my right coat pocket for later, then headed over to convene with the Pokémon.
After packing everything up, Slowking gave us a rough estimate on how long it would take to get to Kinzua. She guessed we could make it there by dusk if we continued walking all day, so long as we didn't get caught up on anything. With silent nods, we began walking again, getting back on the empty highway and heading south towards our destination. Immediately, Slowking switched to telling Dusty and Sycamore details about the road ahead. With her no longer talking to me I felt kind of lonely and wished to be speaking with someone to get everything off my mind.
Why am I not more scared? Normally, I would be a nervous wreck from all this pressure... Wasn't I 'just a normal schoolkid', a couple days ago? Looking around, I was once again reminded that I was only where I was today because of my Pokémon. As cliché as it was getting, my Pokémon made me feel safe and comfortable. With them, I felt like I could conquer anything; even something as large as saving the Pokémon World felt somewhat small to me. Uxie's stark words from my dream during the night suddenly made their way back into my head, ruining the moment.
Noon came quickly as we continued to head South towards our destination. The streets of Bradford melted into the small town of Custer City, and then into the equally tiny village of Lewis Run. As we reached the outskirts, the true colors of Pennsylvania began to shine. The roads narrowed, and large groves of pine and oak trees adorned the edges, stretching for miles. The jagged, rocky landscape ran up and down around the roads, with mountains far off in the distance covered in a blue haze.
Sycamore practiced using his Telepathy on me during this time. It seemed that Slowking was also helping Sycamore with his skill during the walk. His voice became louder and there weren't as many awkward pauses between words. It seemed he was really picking up on his Telepathy fast, which was great to see; I was more proud of him than ever. Slowking was also teaching Sycamore how to use his new move during this time: Aura Sphere. I would glance over from time to time and see them practicing forming the blue orb of energy, before it faded away quickly. Sycamore looked a bit frustrated at times, so I figured it was a difficult process.
Slowking then touched in with Dusty, but only a little bit. I saw them making eye contact every once in a while, but I had no idea what they were talking about. It didn't seem Dusty was practicing his moves at all, so I assumed the two of them were just conversing with each other about questions or something. Later on in the walk when they were done talking, Dusty came up to me with a big grin on his face and something intertwined in his long tendril. Holding it up to me, I noticed it was a pretty blue and white wildflower with a long and slender green stalk. Or at least it would have been pretty if Dusty wasn't holding it. By now, it began to shrivel and turn an off-gray color. Zabu eyed the flower curiously, looking away once I glanced at her.
"Is this for me? Aw, thanks Dusty," I said, a smile erupting across my face. Although Dusty tried, it was the thought that counted. Grabbing it from him, he smiled even bigger and blushed.
"Gar!" he yelped, giving me another open mouth smile before running forward and convening with Sycamore and Slowking again. Putting the wilted flower in my pocket, I snickered and watched Dusty jump with joy. The good feeling almost immediately faded as I unconsciously reminded myself this was my last day with all of them.
Continuing to follow Slowking through the twists and turns, I became more and more tired. I needed another break again, but it was starting to get late. The sun was already beginning to dip towards the horizon, and I knew we didn't have much time to play with. So, I sucked it up the best I could and endured onwards, holding down the back of the pack.
Late in the afternoon, Slowking turned back to talking to me through Telepathy, now giving me somewhat basic survival tips, mostly useless information, and miscellaneous stories. Seeing as she was just killing time, I asked if she knew anything about Uxie's whereabouts, especially since we hadn't heard an official update in a while. Unfortunately, Slowking had no idea. She presumed that Uxie was close to or had already escaped Ultra Space based on her hastiness in the dream the night before. Slowking finished off by hoping that Uxie would be able to get to us in time for backup on the way to the portal; I sincerely hoped that too.
In between conversations, I continued to observe the differences in landscape between Pennsylvania and New York. As I did, I took deep breaths, just trying to enjoy the cool breeze and the wonderful smells of nature. It still really hadn't hit me that the end of our journey across the state was going to end soon; it just felt like a normal day on our trip, and I couldn't shake that feeling. However, the worst part was knowing that my time with my partners was dwindling away, and I couldn't do anything about it. I desperately wanted to just play and talk with them for the rest of the day, but I ultimately hesitated to do so because of our situation. Instead, I bounced around between just doing it and being polite, wasting even more of my precious time.
Once evening came, the tone became even more hushed. The usually social Dusty and Sycamore did not talk to each other, and instead gazed out quietly at the Pennsylvania scenery. Zabu constantly watched each of the Pokémon with close eyes, still constantly on edge. And Slowking did not stop us to talk or give us any information, other than occasionally checking on us with her Telepathy. I even opened my mouth to say something multiple times just to break the silence, but nothing came out. Everyone was too anxious to speak and mentally preparing for the trials that lay ahead that night.
As the sun dipped down to touch the top of the mountains, Slowking turned us off the roads, and we took a detour through a grassy field. Soon, we were on an unmarked gravel path heading deep into the woods. A dense tree cover surrounded both the sides of the path that made it hard to see through.
We are close, human. This is the back path to Kinzua State Park Bridge. The Park rangers are the only ones who can use this trail, so I do not think we will be bothered on our trip. Nonetheless, please keep your guard up, Slowking suddenly said to me via Telepathy.
Right, I will. There was a pause before Slowking talked again.
Human, I know I have been talking to you all day, but there is one last thing I want to say...
Uh, okay. Go ahead.
I have no doubt that the next couple hours will be beyond risky and uncertain. We will have to fight our way to that portal, guaranteed. Be prepared for the unprepared… And if you ever feel scared, trapped in a corner, or have your back against the wall, do not lose hope. Someone is rooting for you. You must save the Pokémon World, at all costs. No matter what happens, you must succeed.
I was surprised by Slowking's sudden emotional message, but I knew she meant well. Confidently nodding back, she cracked a slight smile before staring forwards again, as the walk continued.
The sun was just about to set behind the tree line by the time we reached a fork in the long winding trail. I was starting to feel more nervous, knowing the portal was so near to closing completely. I tried to stop the what-if questions from flowing into my head, but some made it through; these questions only worried me more.
Suddenly, Slowking suddenly stopped and looked around, confused. My train of thought stopped, and I realized something wasn't right. My heart started beating faster when we came to a complete halt. Fearing trouble was nearby, I muttered quietly,
"Wh-what's wrong?" Slowking pointed to the fork in the road.
"We're supposed to go to the right, but the road is blocked." Surely enough, I pushed through my Pokémon and noticed the path on the right was completely closed off by fallen rocks and trees. It cut through a small valley, and it looked hard to go around without climbing up steep rocks or through dense forest.
"Something's off about that…" I muttered.
"...I don't believe there's been any storms or natural disasters recently. Someone blocked the path on purpose." I turned to Slowking right as there was a terrible laugh from behind us; a familiar ghostly one which sent chills up my spine. It only took me a second to realize that Gengar was right on our heels.
"Run! Down to the other path, hurry! We will find another way around the blockage!" Slowking shouted, not needing any more evidence to tell what was happening. I suddenly kicked into motion and began sprinting down the other gravel path, my partners completely surrounding me. Although I couldn't hear much behind me, I didn't dare stop to look back. The pains of travel did their best to hinder me while we dashed away, but I continued to run as fast as possible, fully knowing the direness of the situation; my heart fluttered each step I took, and I could feel the sweat dripping off of my forehead.
"Slowking! Are you sure you know where you're going? Is there any other way?!" I chimed in between my heavy breathing. Just then, I heard the same wheezy laugh again, trailing right behind us.
"We must push forward! There is no time to go elsewhere!" Slowking yelled back, picking up the pace. I groaned and began to run faster, trying to catch up with her; she was using her psychic powers to levitate faster than she could run. As soon as I could, I began to worry about the panic in her voice. Just what was her plan? Did she know something about this place that I didn't? Was there actually another way out of this, or were we going to be caught? I finally felt the most scared and anxious I'd been all day, and I longed for this ordeal to be over already; but I could tell this was only the start.
Taking one last sharp left turn, the end of the trail came into view; about fifty yards ahead of us was a dead end. The path opened to a parking area which looked like it used to be the location of construction supplies. Tire tracks of big trucks lined the dirt and gravel road surface. At the far end was a steep slope that dropped off far into the forest below. Above the treeline, high mountains stood. The setting sun was halfway past the canopy, close to being completely shrouded behind the horizon. As it all came into view, I began to fear the worst.
"Slowking?! What's your plan?!" Slowking didn't respond and continued to head forward towards the end of the line.
It's going to be okay. She knows what to do. You've got your Pokémon to help. You're going to be okay, I told myself over and over in my head. But as the edge of the cliff drew nearer, it became harder to lie.
Slowking came to a screeching halt as we were about to run out of trail. The clearing was smaller than I thought, with two large piles of gravel stacked up at the sides near the front, and one disgusting looking port-a-potty near the cliff with the door slightly open.
"Wh-why are we stopping?!" She slowly turned around and looked visibly taken away. I turned around too and saw why she was in shock. Behind us, the Gengar crew and a large group of Ultra Beasts were heading down the trail. We were outnumbered about one to five. "We've got to head into the forest, now! I'm sure we can find a way through! Come on, before it's too–" I was cut off by a familiar voice.
"Cut the crap, stalker! You're not getting away this time!" The Ultra Beasts hastily surrounded us on all sides, except for the back nearest to the cliff. They knew we wouldn't jump, account of how steep the drop was. All kinds of Ultra Beasts were here to capture us, even more than the last ambush. There was double the amount of Buzzwole and Xurkitree from last time, and there was now an assortment of Kartana too; all of the beasts looked fierce and ready to tear us open. They stood still as the owner of the voice showed themselves.
From behind the two gravel piles, Eliza and her newly evolved Greninja emerged, both looking as intimidating as ever. Eliza's hair was untied, and she was back in her original red and black flannel tee; her red-blonde hair waved in the wind.
As they met in the front of the pack, I heard someone else coming down the path, and fast too. I looked behind them to see a white blur jump up into the air. The blur's shadow covered my view high above for a moment before landing right next to Eliza and Greninja, striking a pose. Pheromosa stood, an amorphous purple marking still on her face from Dusty's attack back in Hornell. I could tell it was ready to get its revenge.
"This is finally the end for you, stalker! You're outnumbered, so why don't you just give up and make this easier for us?" Eliza said with a devious smile. My Pokémon got into a battle pose and tensed their muscles, staring directly at Eliza. They all knew firsthand what she and her group of Ultra Beasts could do. And although Slowking too looked ready to battle, she seemed distraught as her eyes nervously darted around.
"No way that's going to happen, Eliza! I'll get to that portal and won't be stopped by you!" I said aloud, trying to be as threatening as possible. Eliza scoffed and crossed her arms.
"Ha! I'd like to see you try. This here's where I finally capture you and your group of Pokémon… And rightfully send all of you to Ultra Space!" My anger piqued and I gripped my hand into a fist. I should've known there was no way out of this other than to fight. I quickly turned to my Pokémon and got them into a small huddle formation.
"We've got to fight, it's the only way out of this… We need to either head back down the trail, or through the woods to the other side of the blockade… Everyone ready?" I whispered to all my Pokémon. Sycamore, Dusty, and Zabu all nodded. I turned to Slowking who still looked more worried than ever.
Don't worry, Slowking. We'll get out of this, I thought to her. She then stared at me in the eyes, took a deep breath, and opened them again, looking a little more calm. It wasn't like Slowking to lose her cool like this, so something was obviously really bothering her.
Stay with me for now. I will protect you the best I can, she added with an obviously fake sense of confidence. I nodded and turned back around to Eliza's taunting voice.
"Having a strategy talk, are we? Well, your time's up, stalker. Get ready because here we come! Ultra Beasts, attack!" I braced for impact as all the Ultra Beasts dashed in towards us.