Location: Road to Primeval Forest 3F
It's Irau writing again. Sorry about before. I just...yeah. Lyra was right. I was dealing with a lot. I'm glad she took over and finished the entry for me. We don't have a lot of time as it is, so her keeping up with my writing for me when I was outta sorts...that meant a lot. More than she could ever know.
And...in that situation when I realized Nuzleaf had been lying to me since the start, I should've realized how little that mattered now. I've known Lyra almost as long as Nuzleaf, and she has always remained honest and true. Even if it feels like I don't have family left in this world, I'll always have Lyra.
As for my travel journal, well...I've been writing in it every day. One could hardly call it Nuzleaf's anymore. He may have given it to me, but I've made it my own. Well over 160 entries, all written by me...save for the previous one.
Anyway, Lyra mentioned something about Nuzleaf glitching out when I brought up Eris. I wish I'd gotten a better look, because there was something familiar about that. Something tells me we woulda seen some dark energy radiating off his figure.
I don't know why I remembered that. Maybe...the others said something about me fighting Dark Matter before, so maybe that's something I remembered from that time. I'm not too sure. It made me think of something though. All that stuff Nuzleaf said...how much of it was him, and how much of it was Dark Matter? I ask because there were some parts of our interactions together that seemed genuine and good and wholesome. That doesn't sound like something Dark Matter would do on its own given how it's...ah, wait, I haven't covered that yet. Let me get those details squared away in this entry. I'm writing as we're traversing the Road to Primeval Forest because we've spent enough time loitering around the entrance.
So, Ampharos said Dark Matter is just a big bundle of hate, unhappiness, and pain. It comes from all the Pokémon in the world. Any negative feelings Pokémon have combines with it and attacks the Tree of Life. Since all living creatures feel negative feelings at some point Dark Matter will never fully go away, but something needs to be done or the world will be destroyed.
Back when Dark Matter first attacked the ancient Pokémon, a lone human fought alongside them. Celebi theorized it might've been me, but we can't confirm that due to my memories being erased (thanks, Yemer). The human fought on until the stars aligned and Dark Matter went dormant.
Celebi confirmed Mawile's theory that the ancient Pokémon knew Dark Matter would become active, so they prepared certain countermeasures such as the sealed spring on Revelation Mountain Summit, and the harmony scarves.
He said that the harmony scarves were made by an ancient Pokémon known as Mew. They were made using materials from the Tree of Life itself and were passed down through generations until they ended up with Lyra...somehow. Celebi confirmed they're the same as the ones used in the past. He was baffled by Lyra's ownership of the scarves and couldn't comprehend how she could've possibly gotten them. He started getting all up in her business and Lyra shot me a pleading glance.
Heh. Message received. I used my vine to pull Celebi some distance from her and told him to give her some air. She's a living being, not a specimen in a lab. He apologized for his thoughtlessness.
Celebi described Mew as a leader back when Pokémon first battled Dark Matter. Ampharos thought that the "spirit of an ancient Pokémon" Nuzleaf mentioned, the same who summoned me to this world, might've been Mew. Just a theory, of course.
If Mew did summon me from the human world, it could've been a clue that I was the human who fought Dark Matter in the ancient past. Only way to know for sure was through my memories, and Ampharos tried getting me to remember anything, anything at all. Even if it's small.
Hm...I told him about the dark power that could've been radiating off Nuzleaf after I namedropped Eris. I didn't see it myself, but something told me it might've been there. There was something there telling me something, and I didn't have any idea what. Maybe it was from my battle with Dark Matter? Even so, it couldn't really help us now.
Celebi said that regardless, the harmony scarves were made to battle Dark Matter. They were keys to its weakness. He said this battle would be Lyra's to fight, but didn't state why since he was cut off by Ampharos. Lyra said we didn't even know where the Tree of Life was, and Ampharos said it was on the island we're on. We were at the entrance of the Road to Primeval Forest, and within the forest is the Tree of Life.
And that...is everything that we went through before I started writing this entry and the previous one. I know, exposition-heavy. I'm still not sure what to make of all the info they dumped on us. I mean, the Nuzleaf stuff I've kinda worked through my system at this point, but...I just...I don't know.
I'd believe it if they said Lyra was summoned here by an ancient Pokémon spirit or if she'd fought Dark Matter in the past – that would explain why she could read the ancient Pokémon writing, or even where she got the harmony scarves. But...me? No, no. There had to be some kinda mistake. Hey, Ampharos and Jirachi said this whole human-turned-Pokémon thing happened all the time, right? Then that meant there was probably another human-turned-Pokémon who was actually summoned to this world for this purpose and it's not me.
But I mean...I don't know! That's the thing, Yemer erasing my memories totally screwed us over because I can't say for certain if I was brought here for that purpose or not! And until something comes back to me, if it does, I'll never know.
Regardless of what some ancient Pokémon wanted me to do or what I wanted to do, this was the role I had to fill now. Because others told me to. I had to play a part in Nuzleaf's schemes because some shit went down that I don't remember because one of his lackeys erased my memories.
...
Remember how this whole thing started? Remember how lighthearted and pleasant and SIMPLE it was? Oh look, I awoke in some random place in a random form with no memory of how I got there, but maybe I can make the most of my situation and make friends and memories while I'm here. I'm slowly recovering my memories that are a little concerning, but that's okay because I'm having a great time. I'll just plug along while I try to make sense of this world, my memories, and what I wanna do with myself!
Nope. Fuck you, Irau. Golden days of simplicity and childhood whimsy are out the damn window. Time for seriously grave and dire situations. Hope you had fun while it lasted.
See, my biggest gripe is that everyone expects me to fulfill some grandiose destiny or are trying to stop me. What if they're all fuckin' wrong though? What if everyone's putting the fate of the world on the wrong shoulders?
Of the two of us, Lyra is the heroic type! She's the one with the harmony scarves that allowed us to do wondrous things. She's the one who wanted to go on expeditions and save Pokémon in need while I wanted to do my own thing. Why the fuck am I the hero? Er...heroine? What if I was just meant to be a bystander? Or a casualty? What if I was meant to wander around the Voidlands for eternity while some other human-turned-Pokémon fulfilled this destiny instead? What made me different?
Lyra. Lyra is what makes me different.
I don't mean that in the pessimistic way. Realistically, yes, Lyra is the reason I joined the Expedition Society and met everyone and met Entei who would later find out about my human past and decide to risk everything to get us out of the Voidlands. Meeting Lyra and becoming her best friend set all that in motion, but that's not how she makes me different.
Lyra is small, vulnerable, innocent, and wholesome. The idea of this cruel, wicked world tearing her to pieces is unacceptable and fills me with such an intense burning desire to fight. If the world came down on me, I'd let it crush me into nothingness. If the world came down around Lyra, it'd have to contend with the absolute worst of my fury. And Lyra's not the only one I care about.
Serene Village. Citruse Village. Lively Town. Pancham, Shelmet, Deerling, Goomy, Carracosta, Farfetch'd, Watchog, Simipour, Audino, Kangaskhan, Hawlucha, Kecleon, Klefki, Cofagrigus, secretly alive Deposit Boxes, Steven the artistic flesh wall monster illusion, Mawile, Dedenne, Swirlix, Bunnelby, Buizel, Archen, Jirachi, Ampharos, Eris...I love them all. I feel that intense burning desire to fight and protect them too, but Lyra was the first person to ignite that within me. The first person to make me look at the darkness and flip it the bird (pun intended) instead of giving in.
However, saying that I love Lyra and many others doesn't warrant dropping the fate of the world on my shoulders. Deciding to stand against the darkness doesn't make me the heroine of prophecy or whatever. It just makes me an inspired willpower-fueled individual. If that was enough to make a hero, we'd be screwing Dark Matter over so much harder than we are.
...
But...regardless of what I was meant to be, I gotta be the heroine. Even if the fate of the world wasn't meant to rest on my shoulders, it's there now. I don't like it. I don't want it. I don't need it. But I have to accept it. What other choice do we have? This is the hand I was dealt, and I have to play it.
...
...
You know what? No.
I said back in entry #154 that we were gonna do things my way, and I meant it. I'm sick of this destiny and amnesiac shit deciding my fate for me, and I'm sick of feeling powerless in the face of things I don't understand. You want me to be the hero of your fucking realm? Fine. I'll be your hero. But like I said before, I'm gonna do things my way.
Just like I said before at Fire Island Volcano, there's a pattern to how these things play out. Eris said Nuzleaf is no stranger to using underhanded tactics to gain an advantage, and that little stunt he just pulled was all the proof I needed. However, Eris outsmarted him and gave us the upper hand. Therefore, I don't think we're in the clear just yet. Just as Eris knew his tactics all too well, he probably knows hers. Jirachi said she's been keeping them running in circles, but knowing her she's had to readjust and change her plans constantly to stay one step ahead. However, Eris isn't perfect. Just as Nuzleaf couldn't evade her forever, she can't evade him forever. He's gonna get the drop on her eventually if she keeps on like this.
It's time to shake things up.
I'm gonna pitch my idea to the others. This isn't a sort of, "Should we do it" sort of pitch, but rather a, "This is what I'm gonna do, join me if you want" sort of pitch.
Here goes.
Location: Road to Primeval Forest 3F
So, I was surprised when everyone was totally on board with my plan. Celebi was even impressed. He said my idea was outlandish and there was a huge probability it wouldn't work, but he agreed that there was a pattern to these things and it was likely we'd face an ambush if we approached things the way they'd planned. So, all they needed was for me to tell them what to do.
Honestly, the additional help wasn't expected. I was prepared to simply call in some flying-type help if they haven't been turned to stone yet, but with everyone offering to help...guess another change was necessary. Not that I mind. Another plan is forming in my head as we speak. A much more fun plan that would utilize the whole Mystery Dungeon and some of the wild Pokémon if we could calm them down enough to reason with.
First, we needed two spherical boulders that were large enough to draw attention, but small enough for one of our three psychic-types to move on their own. I'll also need Ampharos to use his communication device to get in touch with Eris.
Location: Road to Primeval Forest 9F
When they heard of what we were doing and who we were fighting, most of the wild Pokémon in the area were more than happy to help us out. Some acted as scouts and informed us of the battleground we had to work with. In the middle of the suspiciously dense forest area was a large open area with a dying red tree in the middle. Our best guess was that's the Tree of Life, and it's most assuredly where Nuzleaf and Yveltal plan to ambush us.
It took some time to set everything up and for Eris to get here, but with precise timing and excellent teamwork, we should be able to pull this off brilliantly. And what an advantage it'll give us!
Alright, enough writing. Let's have some fun!