Prologue (Part 2)

"Ebbs and Flows"

The sun was rising high into the sky, creating everything that the suns' rays touched blazing hot. Out off the coast of a mainland peninsula was a chain of tiny islands, about 5, so close to each other that all you needed was a little rowboat to reach each island and the peninsula. On the tiniest island of the 5 and the furthest away from the peninsula were 3 boys, kicking and splashing in the rolling waves that lapped against a hot, sandy beach. There was a picnic spread out on the sand with clothes lying around the picnic basket. A little wooden rowboat was tied down to the beach across from the other island.

"Hey, I'm hungry! Can we eat?" said the blonde haired boy who had his hair cut into a bowl shape that hid is glassy, green eyes. The boy with spiky, brown hair and liquid, sky-blue eyes nodded his head in agreement, "Yeah, I'm starving!" The 3 boys, all around 7 or 8 years old, swam out of the crystal clear, aqua water and onto the white-hot sand where they wrung out the swimming trunks they were wearing (The blonde boy had grass green swimming trunks with a forest green colored stripe going down each side of the legs, the brunette boy had cerulean blue trunks with light blue designs in the shape of coiled waves running across the top of the trunks and the bottom of the legs, and the red head had an orange pair with deep red zigzag patterns making an 'X' in the front and back of his swimming trunks) and sat down on the picnic sheet. They all grabbed a sandwich and soaked in the beautiful scenery while they munched on turkey and provolone. "So, how many berries have we collected so far?" said the third boy who had army, buzz-cut red hair that was spiky and unruly where his hairline started. The brunette boy reached for a bucket that was beside the picnic basket and peered inside. "The bucket is full Cheri, Tamato, Figy, and Razz berries!" he passed the bucket over to the blonde boy who exclaimed, "Wow! There are enough ingredients here to make some of that really spicy salsa Aja can make really good, y'know, Jude?" He asked the brunette boy. Jude nodded, and at once all three of the boys said together, "Mmm… salsa!" "Yep, sis sure can make some good salsa!" said the boy with blonde hair to Jude. "Hey, Zach, pass me another sandwich!" demanded the red head to Zach, who replied, "Sheesh, Dylan, you planning on leaving any left for us?" Zach asked as he watched Dylan engulf sandwich after sandwich. A light breeze started to pick up on the island, carrying a pack of Wingull across the mid-day sun. Wild Krabby and Corphish scuttled across the stifling sands and pods of Chinchou, Horsea, and Feebas swam through the crisp, aqua waters, while packs of Surskit, Oddish, and Kecleon roamed the tropical island forest.

"Y'know what, I'm surprised no one has built any buildings out on these islands. They're really beautiful!" Zach said as he watched the wild Pokémon on the island go about their business. Jude watched the tide go out.

"The islands are nice, but building houses and stuff would destroy habitats for Pokémon here. There's so many of them, and these islands make perfect homes for many types of Pokémon. Not to mention, destroying Pokémon's habitats would upset the Pokémon Spirit!" Jude explained. Dylan laughed hard, "HA! Don't tell me you actually believe in the Pokémon Spirit!" That's just a myth!"

"No way! The Pokémon Spirit is the creator of all Pokémon! She gives life and emotion to them!" Jude retaliated.

"Yeah, whatever," Dylan said in a smart-alecky way. Jude took a moment to scan through the sea until he saw, out in the distance, an island far away from them. The sky above that island was very dark, as if there were a thunderstorm hovering above only that island.

"In fact," Jude said to Zach and Dylan, "You see that island? It's called Secremyx Ring. Legend has it that the Pokémon Spirit locked herself there. That's where she creates balance between Pokémon."

"Yeah, yeah, Jude, we already know about Secremyx Ring, so don't bother telling the rest of the story!" Dylan snapped. Zach stared at the mysterious island that laid on the horizon, "Y'know, nobody had ever been to that island… and I can see why! It's always stormy over there, it gives me the creeps!" Dylan trailed into a deep thought before saying, "I bet you an island like that is bound to have all kinds of Pokémon and treasures and even berries!"

"Ya think? 'Cause Y'know, the ground probably wouldn't be fertile 'cause of that non-stop storm," said Zach. Dylan shook his head, "Nonsense! The ground would be so fertile because no one has ever stepped foot on it before! So fertile, that it would produce the yummiest berries good enough to bake into a pie! Berries like-"

"Like Oran berries!" interrupted Zach.

"Mmm… Oran berry pie!" they said together. Jude added, "Or Pecha berries!" and again they said in unison, "Mmm… Pecha berry pie!" They licked their lips at the thought of the small, blue Oran berry with a mix of flavors and the soft and tender Pecha berry juices flowing out of a warm piecrust.

"Actually," Dylan started, "I was thinking of an even more delicious berry then those two combined. I'm talking about finding some super rare Durin berries on that island!"

"YUMMY! SUPER RARE DURIN BERRY PIE!" they said in synch.

"Oh, I would kill for some Durin berry pie, Y'know?" an eager Zach admit with his mouth drooling at the thought of the sweet, moist, heavenly aroma of the luscious berry baked into a crumbly graham cracker crust sitting on a plate in front of him. Jude agreed, "I know what you mean! Durin berry pie is the best pie in the world!" Dylan stood up.

"Well then, I have a great idea! The only way we're going to get any Durin berries is by going to Secremyx Ring. So I say, let's take our rowboat and go to Secremyx Ring!" Dylan commanded. Zach and Jude stared at him.

"Are you NUTS! We can't go to Secremyx Ring! We'll get caught in the sea storm around the island and drown! That's how the Pokémon Spirit punishes those who disturb the balance of the world!" yelled Jude.

"Oh, would you stop with all the Pokémon Spirit superstition? And what do you mean, disturb the balance of the world?" Dylan asked, his tone becoming very cocky. Jude stuttered for a moment, then let out a huge sigh of defeat and confessed, "I don't know what it means. That's just what the folk in the town said when they told stories of the Pokémon Spirit."

"HA! You DON'T know! So that means nothing bad will happen, and nothing is stopping us from going to Secremyx Ring!" an enthused Dylan shouted. Jude crossed his arms and grumpily inquired, "How do you even know if there are any Durin berries on Secremyx Ring?" Dylan put is hands on his hips and slyly smiled, "'Cause, everything that was ever rare has always been found somewhere undiscovered! So there!" and he stuck his tongue out at Jude. Zach popped in the middle of the conversation and quietly mentioned, "I dunno, we never told Aja or Olivia we were going out to the islands today, and if we're not back when it gets dark they're gonna get really worried, and Y'know how our sisters are when they're worried!" Dylan was prepared and replied, "Of course we'll be back before nightfall! If we're not, then Olivia won't have time to bake our super scrumptious Durin berries into a pie!" Zach and Jude pondered on this before Dylan announced, "Well then, look," he reached for a camouflage army helmet that was lying on top of his clothing in the sand and put it on, "As leader of the group, I demand that we go to Secremyx Ring!"

"Since when have you been the leader!" Jude questioned, becoming infuriated. Dylan smirked.

"Since no one else said anything about it!" snapped the red head. Zach spoke up, "Well, leader or not, we're not gonna do what you say, Y'know?" Dylan bent down to pick up his clothes; a pair of camouflage Capri's with an orange drawstring and an orange shirt with dark green trim around the neck, sleeves and bottom of the shirt. Then he slipped on his sneakers that were different shades of green with orange shoelaces.

"If you don't go, I'll open all of Aja and Olivia's pokéballs and let their Pokémon run loose and blame it on you two!" Threaten Dylan, who left his brothers quite shocked at the threat he issued. Stunned, Jude stammered, "Y-you wouldn't!" and Zach chimed in, "Yeah! That's not fair, Y'know?"

"I will, unless you come to Secremyx Ring with me!" Dylan repeated, knowing he had them in his trap. Zach and Jude both gasped another sigh of defeat. Jude, quite reluctantly, concurred, "Fine, you win. But when the Pokémon Spirit comes and punishes you, don't come crying to me!" Zach and Jude grabbed their clothing off the sand and changed. Zach sported a black tank top underneath his light blue, short sleeve jacket that was very thin, a pair of khaki shorts, tan sandals with light blue and black etchings on them, and his khaki fishing hat. Jude's attire was a red shirt where the right sleeve was to his wrist and his left sleeve was to his shoulder with a yellow spiral in the middle of the shirt. His black denim cargo jeans were very baggy and came to his knees in a bell-bottom fashion, with a pair of red sneakers with a yellow tongue and laces. He also sported a pair of yellow, terrycloth wristbands with a red spiral, one on each wrist. With much haste, the boys ran over to their wooden rowboat, hopped in while it was on the sand, and then pushed it off shore with wooden oars inside the rowboat.

"It's time to set sail! Let's go!" said an enthusiastic Dylan, who was standing up at the nose of the rowboat looking out to sea.

"Hey, aren't you gonna help us row instead of standing there like the lazy bum you are?" Jude spat, becoming quite intolerant of Dylan's lack of teamwork. Dylan gave Jude a false smile and replied, "I would, dear brother, but you see it I do that, then no one could be your watchful eyes and tell you which way to go!"

"We know exactly which way we're going, we don't need your 'helpful eyes', Y'know?" Zach indicated. Dylan countered this statement with one of his own, "Remember, Aja and Olivia's pokéballs!" he taunted. With a scared expression on their faces, Zach and Jude immediately shut up. For what seemed like hours, they hrowed and rowed. The further away they sailed from the tiny island, the darker the sky got. The water was no longer aqua and clear, but misty and a deep shade of Navy blue. The wind became coarse, whipping and lashing at the boys' faces, stinging them with salty sea air. The only thing that filled the emptiness of the silence was the water ebbing against the boat, which seemed to be getting rougher and rougher as they progressed closer to Secremyx Ring. Zach was the first to break the silence, "It's getting, Y'know, really, really dark."

"Yeah, how much further 'till we reach Secremyx Ring?" asked a tired Jude, his arms beginning to feel as if they would fall off.

"Well, if you want the honest truth, we've still got a little ways to go. But Secremyx Ring doesn't look like a little speck anymore!" Dylan added optimistically. They kept rowing for a few moments until Zach took notice to something in the distance. Something was floating on the water. 'A boat?' he thought, but he changed his mind, 'No, a ship. A ship for working machinery!' He spoke up, "Look! Y'know, out there! There's a large ship!"

"That's weird, I've never seen a ship come this way before!" stated Jude.

"Yeah, I wonder what it's doing," Dylan added. They plucked the oars out of the rough waters that uncomfortably swayed the rowboat around and gazed at the machinery ship, wondering why it wasn't taking the usual route that most ships around the port in their peninsula took. Catching them off guard, a big wave with tremendous force hit their rowboat, rocking it back and forth with total control as they tried to gain back their control. Another wave hit them again, soaking the 3 boys and again rocking it so much that it almost tipped over. Wave after wave kept coming, each more powerful than the one before it. So many waves pounded at them that Dylan lost balance and fell on his butt in the boat. With enormous effort he slowly got back up, enduring each wave until it became to much for him and he fell back down on his butt again. Instead of trying to get back up, he grabbed a pair of oars from the side of the rowboat and helped his brother's row. The wave's continued to get rougher and rougher until the little rowboat couldn't handle it. The last hit came when the biggest wave yet formed. It hit them from underneath the boat, sending it and the boys with it flying into the air and landing in the rough water. All 3 of the boys fought the churning waters underneath of the surface to get air. With little strength left, they broke above the surface and filled their lungs with an icy gush of crisp, cold air. They took the opportunity to scream for help, trying to avoid the tumbling waves that fell one after another. They kept screaming, hoping someone, anyone, would rescue them. They became so tired that they could not keep dodging the waves and finally they were toppled back underwater. Their strength kept fading. They felt horribly weak. They floated beneath the surface, being carried around by the currents' pull and trying to savor every drop of air left in their lungs as they could. And as the drift carried them, they all thought the same thing, 'We can't keep this up much longer…"