Note: Actually uploading on time this weekend. Progress is coming along nicely for the next arc, so there's a chance that I won't have to take another hiatus for a while.

Reminder that I'll have a Q and A chapter between this arc and the next. Already have a couple from a very (very) eager Salamance. I will likely use it as a chance to clear up any plot confusions as well (there seems to be some around how this whole 'merging' dynamic works). I'll also be using it as an excuse to rant about where some of my ideas came from to ya'll.


Sinnoh chapter 4: Far Over the Chilly Coronet Cold!

"Another Mountain, huh?" Yellow felt the great monolith looming over them. If Mount Silver touched the sky, then she swore that Mount Coronet pierced through it, and reached the stars.

"Yep. Whatever's going on, the answers are in there." Ash said.

"Remember the good ole' times here, Dia?" Pearl said.

"You mean when reality started warping and we became all noodly Pearl?"

"Ya! And we saved the world to boot!"

Platinum stared up at the mountain intently. She remembered her pilgrimage to the mountain all those years ago. It was on that pilgrimage where she met Diamond and Pearl. While the rite of passage itself was a test of self - growth, she doubted it would have meant much if she never met her now best friends.

"We've been to Mount Coronet before too." Dawn said.

"You guys also have to face off against Dialga and Palkia too?" Platinum responded.

"Yep!"

"Alright everyone," Ash said, glaring into the small cavern that stood in front of them. "It's time to find out what's really going on."


Another dark cave… Yellow's thoughts drifted into darkness along with her immediate surroundings, though they were once again illuminated by Quilava and Pikachu. While a bit more pessimistic then she was used to, she couldn't really help it. Once again they were in a dark cave with no real indication of where to go. At least this time Red asked them to be there. Well… he asked Ash to go there. Sure she and Ash were traveling together, and there was likely a reason why he was doing so, but still. Why not her? Why couldn't he have reached out to her?

And this was the worst part. The invasive, intrusive thoughts that plagued her mind. It came in waves, and always in different forms. Sometimes it was fear, as she felt at Mount Silver, and at other times…

He says he loves you.

Sometimes it would show her a memory, not one that drowned in bleakness, but gave her a spark of hope. To remind her that he was out there somewhere, that he needed her to save him. But what if it was a hollow promise? A false hope her mind fed to her simply to keep her going? Maybe he was lost forever. Maybe those visions that Ash had were coincidental, or some sort of trap set for them by some evil force, or…

"Yellow!" Ash's voice broke through, but only after he grabbed her shoulder, stopping her from colliding directly into a cave wall.

"Huh? Oh?" Yellow hadn't even noticed that the group had stopped in front of a large block in the cave. A massive rock structure stood between themselves and the rest of the cave system.

"Senior Yellow!" Platinum rushed over. "Thank goodness you're okay."

"Thanks to Ash," Yellow said as he released his grip.

"You gotta be more careful in here," Ash scolded. Yellow wasn't sure what she thought about that, considering the man was 5 years her junior. He wasn't wrong however. She had to focus, navigating Coronet would be a far more difficult task then Mount Silver. She examined the room they were in. It was a slightly more open chamber, with vines running along the sides of the cave. Overall there was nothing of note, except for the fact that the wall blocking them was unnaturally smooth. If she had to make a guess, it was definitely artificial.

"We might have to smash through this thing," Yellow said, tapping the wall with her knuckle.

"Guess we should!" Diamond reached for a pokeball. "Go, Tru!"

Diamond released his Torterra, a large turtle-like pokémon. A massive tree on its back highlighted its immense size and prowess. Tru turned towards his trainer, his mouth opened expectedly.

"Right, here ya go bud." Diamond reached into his bag and pulled out a large sandwich, tossing it into Tru's mouth, the pokémon swallowing it whole in a single bite.

"Did you… have that the entire time?" Ash asked. He wasn't surprised that the boy had one on him, he just secretly wished he offered him one as well…

"I have more if you want!" Diamond replied, with two more sandwiches in his hand. Ash swore that they materialized from thin air.

"Yyeess…" Diamond tossed Ash the sandwich, who began eating it greedily.

"So… I wonder what happened to staying focused…" Dawn whispered to Yellow. Yellow shrugged, watching the boys devour their sandwiches in seconds.

"Dia! This is not time to stuff your face!" Pearl yelled. "Isn't that right Plat…" His words cut off as he noticed that Platinum was staring intently at the walls surrounding them. They hadn't even noticed that they were covered in odd carvings and paintings. It was difficult to decipher exactly what they were.

There's missing pieces to this… but I think I can…

"Alright Tru, use tackle right against the wall!"

Diamond's Torterra reared back and launched its massive body at the wall, colliding with a loud thud. The ensuing noise echoed around the cavern, and the trainers swore that the mountain itself would collapse at the immense force of the slam. Yet to the shock of everyone, the wall remained unharmed.

"What?! That did nothing!" Dawn exclaimed.

"Maybe we just need some more power!" Ash tossed a Pokeball at the wall. "Alright Tyranitar, use Giga Impact!"

Tyranitar launched out of his pokeball engulfed in a furious power. Like Torterra, it slammed against the wall with a power that the trainers swore could crack the foundation of the earth. Yet once again, the wall didn't budge. Not so much as a scratch was left on its indomitable surface.

"Gghhhrrr," Ash's irritation was increasing tenfold. There was something about this wall that was driving him insane. He rushed up to it with fury in his eyes.

"Pika?" Pikachu watched as Ash ran towards the wallface. He thought that his trainer would command him to attack the wall himself. He prepared himself until…

"Why won't you open?!" Ash yelled as he arched his neck back and slammed his head into the wall with a loud thud. The trainers watched as he tumbled down to the floor with a loud yelp.

"Pika!"

"Tyranitar!"

"Senior Ash!" The younger dexholders rushed up to him.

"Senior Ash, are you alright?!" Platinum asked, checking Ash's head for blood.

"I know ya probably got a strong head senior Ash, but…" Pearl helped him up to his feet. "I don't think that was a good idea…"

"Oh come on Pearl, he's just giving it his best shot," Diamond said.

Yellow simply stared in awe at what just transpired. Where did THAT come from? What was he thinking?!

"Oh Ash…" Dawn said, noting Yellow's confusion. "Sometimes he gets a bit too far in his head and then, well…"

"Right…" Yellow said, moving up to inspect him.

"I'm okay," Ash said, rubbing his forehead. "Guess that didn't work, huh?"

"Well… um… no…"

Ash stood up, looking at the door, his head clearer now, and aching slightly. The wall hadn't budged at all. Figures. He placed Tyranitar back in his pokeball. Diamond brought back Tru, as well.

"Pika-chuu?"

"Qui?"

"I'm alright Pikachu," Ash said with a chuckle. "Looks like we're not gonna break down that door." He patted Quilava on his head. The small pokémon purred softly.

"Maybe we should try one of the other tun…?" As Pearl leaned against a set of vines, he slipped into a small crevice in the wall, landing next to a small lever. It was made of pure stone, with swirled engravings carved into its smooth surface.

"Look! I think you found the handle!" Dawn exclaimed as Pearl sat himself back up.

"Kind of weird it was just in the corner…" Yellow noted.

"It's likely these vines weren't always here," Platinum observed. "We know that there was an ancient civilization in both our worlds."

"Well Pearl, let's not keep the others waiting," Diamond said as he ran up to the lever, placing a hand on it.

"Alright Diamond, on 3, 2, 1!" The duo pulled the lever with little resistance. With a loud thud it clicked into place, and then…

Nothing.

"Ah great! Nothing!" Pearl rushed up to the door, wanting to give it a piece of his mind himself.

"Well, we tried guys," Diamond said, standing next to Pearl. He was about to suggest turning around once again, and that's when the door began to glow.

"Look, the door!" Ash exclaimed.

"Oh I think we did somethin' good Dia!"

"You might be presuming a lot, Pearl." Diamond said.

"Think it'll open now?" Yellow asked.

Platinum took her attention off the door, looking at the side of the cave. The carvings on the wall were also glowing, illuminating illustrations of characters and locations that before were incomprehensible.

"Well, someone's gotta open it," Dawn rushed up to the door, placing a single hand on it. The door pulsed at the point of impact. She could feel her palm becoming slightly warmer.

"Careful senior Dawn…" Diamond warned as a loud crack could be heard from underneath the trainers. A faint "uh oh" was the last thing any of them heard before the entire floor crumbled underneath them, and the trainers went tumbling into a blackened abyss.


Cold.

For a moment, that was all Ash could feel. He then felt the hard ground, its cragged surface digging through his clothes and into his skin. He knew that the pain was coming, his mind taking a few seconds for it to register.

He was turned over on his back, glaring up into an illuminated cave. The beings closer to his face were instantly recognizable.

"Pikachu, Quilav…" He flinched as the stinging sensation crept in. It wasn't as bad as he thought, and he sat up.

"Pika!"

"Lava!"

"I'm alright guys," he said with a smirk, now realizing that Yellow and Platinum were kneeling next to him.

"Thank goodness you're up, senior Ash."

"Good, you guys are safe…" Ash looked around the 's when he noticed the bluish light illuminating… well everything. The walls were strange too. They didn't look like the slabs of mountain rock that he had just been in moments before. They were carved monoliths of rectangular rocks. Adorning them were ornate stone torches, their tips glowing a mysterious blue flame.

"Where are the others?" Ash asked.

"We… don't know," Yellow responded.

"We fell through some sort of tunnel system. They're probably in another part of the mountain…"

"I guess I should be asking where are we?" Ash said as he stood up. He pulled out Quilava's pokeball. "Guess we won't need your light for now buddy," He said as Quilava returned.

"Looks like a ruin of some kind…"

"That's obvious," Ash said. Even he knew that Coronet was full of mysterious ruins lost through time. He even fought some of team Galactic's goons in such ruins during his time in Sinnoh. But this was unlike any of the ancient locations that he unintentionally frequented on his travels. This place felt inconceivably more malevolent, yet at the same time, more alive.

"We can't stay here. We should keep moving, find a way out of these ruins," Yellow said, looking towards a winding corridor that led deeper into the mountain.

"Unless… what Senior Red wants you to find is here, in these ruins?" Platinum said.

"Maybe. Whatever we were sent here to find, it's not in this room," Ash concluded as he started his way through the tunnel, with Platinum and Yellow following close behind him.


"Dia?! We're so screwed!" Pearl paced around the small chamber, the blue flames driving him insane.

"We just took a bit of a fall. We're fine," Diamond said, rubbing the back of his head where he landed.

"Ya, we're gonna be okay!" Dawn said behind him, opting to stay on the floor a while longer as the stinging in her arm slowly dissipated. "We just need to find a way out of this place and find the others." She hopped up, glancing at the walls. Like the cave from earlier, she could see that there were carvings etched in them, though now they took up almost the entire wall.

"I wonder what that level upstairs was all about. I mean, why would it send us down here?"

"I mean, did it?" Dawn pondered. "Maybe it didn't, or at least originally wasn't meant to. These ruins are old. Who knows if anything is working properly."

"Well, we gotta get out of here," Pearl said as he walked towards the corridor next to them.

"Ya. We should go, senior Dawn." Diamond said as Dawn nodded. They made their way through the corridor.

The trio traversed through a number of corridors, all consisting of the same carved stone and indecipherable runic markings. At least the way was lit by the blue-flamed torches that were evenly spaced throughout.

"I wonder what's up with these lights?" Pearl asked. Dawn paused for a moment, looking closely at one of the lingering blue flames. It was slightly translucent, and she felt no warmth when she placed her hand next to it.

"Huh… what a weird flame…"

"Real spooky stuff," Diamond concurred.

"All the more reason to get out of here!" Pearl chimed.

Dawn touched the carved stone. It was surprisingly smooth, soft to the touch. The ornate carvings were nearly perfectly rounded. It was pristine, almost like whoever built this place had kept it maintained for who knows how long…

"Senior Dawn, we should probably keep moving," Diamond said.

"Yes, sorry." Dawn quickened her pace.

Dark…

The trainers froze. Another voice, the same as the child from just the other day, but much older, and a man. Like before the voice wormed its way into their heads.

"Guys…" Pearl turned around, seeing nothing conspicuous. Granted, it was impossible to determine which direction the voice was coming from.

Intruders… here…

There were more voices, the other sounding like a younger woman.

I can't see, I can't see…

Where is she..?! Where's my Lisa…

"Like the girl…" Diamond said, frantically looking around for the source.

"We should go…" Dawn said as they felt a presence watching them from above.

It was hanging over them. It resembled a man, grasping the ceiling on all four of his limbs. Just like the little girl, he was completely engulfed in the black substance, his mouth absent though his other features present, if concealed. From his right hand they could see the tendrils leading to another large being, also hanging off the ceiling. It was difficult to tell, but it looked like a Krookodile, a crocodile-like pokémon that sported a long mouth full of sharp teeth.

I can't see. Why can't I see…

"Sir, please…"

"Senior Dawn, I don't think we can reason with them," Pearl pleaded.

The man slinked down to the floor, alongside his Krookodile, who like the Murkrow, was missing its eyes. He stood still as Dawn stared into his eyes. Worn and weary, she could tell that this person was quite old.

Can't see! Can't see!

My girl… The other voice rang in their head as a slab of rock shifted next to them, opening up to reveal a hidden path. A woman crawled out of the crevice, as distorted as the old man who she now stood beside. The tendrils on her hand lead to the small, snake-like Ekans coiled around her neck.

My daughter?! Where is she!?

"RUN!" Diamond screamed as the trainers began to sprint down the corridor. From behind them the distorted trainers barreled towards them, clambering over and under each other and their own pokémon in a frenzy. From the brief moments the trainers dared to turn around they could see a tangled mess of blackened limbs rushing towards them. The distorted trainers rushed towards them at an uncanny speed, despite being each other's biggest obstacle. Diamond, Pearl and Dawn just barely kept pace, the voices blaring indecipherable screams straight into their heads.


Endless, endless corridors.

That's what it felt like to Ash anyway, though he could tell they were getting deeper into the mountain. At least he thought so. Maybe they weren't getting deeper necessarily, but he was definitely feeling worse the more they traveled through the winding passages, the blue flames serving as an ominous guide.

"So, what do you think Red sent you to find?" Platinum asked, more so to break the unnerving silence.

"I have… no clue really. Maybe there's another shard in here?" Ash responded.

"Maybe. I hope we don't have to crawl through more caves after this…" Yellow said.

"Ya. This place gives me the creeps…"

The trainers rounded the corner, moving into a large antechamber. The walls were now adorned with even more runic marks and archaic, indecipherable images, but stranger still were the torches, which now glowed with a purple flame. The trainers hardly noticed the changes, as their eyes were drawn to the center of the room.

There stood a massive… creature. At first it seemed to be an amorphous black blob, adorned in massive growths sticking out of its 'back' and spikes jutting from its side. That's until it stood up, revealing a set of stocky legs, a small tail, and a triangular, eyeless head. They could now identify the creature as a Torterra, or at least something that was once a Torterra.

"It's another one! Of those… things!" Platinum said as she tossed a pokeball, releasing her Froslass. From a glance the pokémon resembled a human in a dress, though up close its clam shaped head and fin-like arms revealed its odder nature.

From Torterra's back stirred… something. They noticed that there was something else there, next to its trademark tree. The figure leaped off the Torterra, landing right in front of it. It was a man, cloaked in the same black substance. He tilted his mouthless head towards the trainers. Ash swallowed as the mysterious person met his eyes.

You did this…

"Paul…"