Sinnoh Arc II: What Happens Next
They landed in Celestic and withdrew their Pokémon. "Nice and quiet place, isn't it?" Jacky asked as she looked around.
"Yes, very. But as we know... This town is in danger. Come on, let's go find Elesa and Skyla."
An older woman joined them on their way somewhere and stopped in wonder. "Oh, my goodness... I haven't seen youngsters like you in ages... Are you looking for something?",
"No, more like someone", Mari replied. "Do you know a woman named Elesa? She is a famous super model from-",
"Oh, you mean that lovely young lady with the black hair who came here not too long ago?",
"Yes, her."
The older lady pointed to the right. "If you go that way, you will find an entrance to some ruins. That's where you'll find her.",
"Thank you!" Mari nodded to her gratefully and took the instructed path.
"She must've meant this." Jacky pointed at an entrance that opened before them. "Hey... look at the drawings next to the entrance... They look so abstract...",
"They do. Hmm..." Mari took a closer look at them. "Three blue dots in a certain order, surrounded by what looks like... landscapes... Hey, that roughly reminds me of the location of Sinnoh's three lakes.",
"... that's right. Could've noticed that too..." Jacky looked at her friend. "Let's head inside and see what awaits us." She walked forward into the cave. Elesa was standing in front of the back wall of the ruin and had a chat with Skyla. When she heard them coming, she turned to them. "You're just in time", the super model said calmly, but her voice sounded uneasy. She pointed at more murals on the wall in front of her and the girls stepped closer. "I have made my research on this mural and asked around in town. Apparently, this artwork here is connected to the lake guardians.",
"The lake guardians..." Jacky crossed her arms. "You mean the three Pokémon that watch over the three lakes of Sinnoh?",
"Yes. Lake Verity, Lake Acuity and Lake Valor. According to several legends I was able to dig up... Arceus gave them the ability to calm Palkia, Dialga and Giratina whenever they ended up enraged.",
"...So they are... some sort of safety measure in case things get ugly?",
"You could view it as that." Elesa turned around to them. "However... as far as we know, Cyrus has captured the lake guardians and used their powers to create red chains, which hold total rule over Palkia and Dialga. If they were originally intended to calm them... then, he must've done something horrible to them.",
"I can follow so far..." Skyla crossed her arms. "He most likely corrupted those chains so that they would not control their rage, but instead fuel it. And all he needed to do was direct this rage at whatever he wants destroyed.",
"Exactly. I wonder about one thing, though..." Elesa sighed. "The lake guardians are rumored to have powers beyond our understanding. They were the ones who gave guidance to mankind by blessing them with willpower, emotion and wisdom. However, if someone were to disturb the peace they have created in their territory, they would act against them even before they reached the cave in the middle of the lake. They would erase their memory, rob their willpower or waver their emotions so any possible intruder with evil intend would be deterred immediately. So how did he get past that... How did he manage to capture them...",
"Who knows what kind of psycho games he played on them to get his dirty hands on them like that", Skyla said. "What matters is that their corrupted power is what holds Dialga and Palkia hostage. That means they could also remove those chains, can they?",
"In theory, yes." Elesa nodded. "But there is a catch... It was really hard to dig up, but... apparently, their power combined is enough to equal that of one of the major deities. We're up against both of them. That means, even if they were to get involved, their power would not suffice to stop them. On the contrary... they would end up overpowered, and cause the momentarily unstable time-space continuum to destabilize further. Maybe that is why they have not shown up yet. Police who stormed their HQ have freed the lake guardians, but they yet have to be seen again. I think this is also why they were left behind. Cyrus knows they're a major pain in his neck, but he kept them there to ensure he would be able to claim control of both deities. If they were freed afterwards was none of his concern from then on, because he knew they would not be able to do anything.",
"Okay... sounds logical..." Mari agreed. "But if he already knew all of this, why bother to come here? Does he really think something that can summon Arceus is hidden here?",
"I doubt he thinks that." Elesa shook her head. "I think he presumes the villagers of this town know more about the whole tale, not just that concerning the lake guardians. Now, he wants to terrify them into spilling the beans, since he now harnesses the power of two of their gods.",
"That sure counts as a quick persuation method..." Jacky thought. "He knows the villagers here might not share their deeper knowledge about what's going on. So he tries to force them by threatening to tear their whole village down...",
"If they even have that certain deeper knowledge", Elesa hinted. "There is no way we can know for sure. We have to keep investigating.",
"Do we have a clue on where to start?" Mari asked. Elesa tapped her chin. "...Well, maybe. Gardenia has received intel of a certain ancient structure located on an island between the Johto and the Sinnoh Region. On it lie the Sinnjoh Ruins.",
"The Sinnjoh Ruins?",
"Yes. Apparently, she has received this intel from Cynthia. Who, by the way, grew up in this town here as well. She said the ruin contains more information about the construction of the world. If that's right, we might be just a step ahead of Cyrus.",
"That's amazing!" Jacky grinned. "We have to get to the Sinnjoh Ruins first and find out what we need to know in order to make ours moves against him!",
"Indeed. That still doesn't resolve the problem at hand, though." Elesa reminded them.
"Riiiight... Cyrus is gonna descent upon us like doomsday.",
"If we can mislead him just long enough to gain the knowlede we need before him, then we might have a chance", Mari spoke up.
"What do you mean?" Jacky asked.
"Well, we could set him on a wrong trail to hold him up some.",
"Oooooh, so you want to give him fake info to give us a head start?",
"Yes." Mari nodded. "Of course, we have to let the villagers in on this. If he gains that supposedly trustworthy info from them, he might be likelier to take the bait. That will also turn him away from Celestic.",
"For some time, at least." Jacky reminded her. "If he finds out about the info being fake, he will surely come back and do only-god-knows-what to them.",
"... that's, uh... I didn't think about that, if... I'm being honest."
"Don't worry about that." A female voice said behind them. They turned around and Mari almost fainted upon seeing who entered the ruins. It was Cynthia herself. The champion of Sinnoh, in a majestic black coat. She was so shocked she wasn't able to say anything. "Hello, everyone. I see, you're very diligent in deducing.",
"Hello, Miss Cynthia", Skyla greeted her.
"What do you mean by... 'don't worry about that'?" Jacky asked her after a moment of stunned silence. Cynthia smiled. "My grandmother lives in this town. She's the eldest of the populace here. As the town's elder, her knowledge about the myths surrounding the god of our world and its diligent little helpers is quite vast. I am quite sure someone who has no idea about the depths of this would believe anything she has to say. I am sure she would gladly lie to him to get him off their backs.",
"But what happens if he comes back?",
"Well..." Cynthia closed her eyes. "I may be the champion of Sinnoh, but even I can't dream of taking on Pokémon as mighty as the rulers of space and time. So... if he does come back, I will have no other choice but to spill the truth about where he may find his next lead to avert any catastrophe to befall this town. In that case, I am counting on you to be faster in uncovering the secrets of Arceus.",
"So... you will help us with the plan?"
She nodded. "Yes. Go to the Sinnjoh Ruins and try to find some more pieces to the puzzle there. We will keep Cyrus off as long as we can.",
"That's great. Thanks, Cynthia... and good luck."
The champion waved it off. "We're all hoping to defend the Sinnoh Region here... We will have Cyrus investigate the Solaceon Ruins. There is... nothing of interest to be found there, really. It's just a waste of time. But since it's a place that was once dedicated to Dialga and Palkia... he might take the bait faster.",
"Okay." Jacky nodded. "We will head off then. We have no time to lose!"
Cynthia nodded. "I will hold the line here. Go.",
"I will assist you", Skyla decided. "In case there is any fighting breaking out, a gym leader to support you may never be a wrong idea.",
"Thank you." Cynthia nodded at Skyla. "Gardenia is here, too. Just like my friends from the Elite Four. If things go south, we at least have some fighting power to meet them with."