Chapter 131 Legendary Quest Begin
Ash slowly wakes up and he finds himself in front of the Grandview Station of the Reborn City.
Victoria: Ash! Are you okay?!
Serena: Thank goodness, you're alive...
Ash notices that Serena, Lillie, and Victoria are here.
Ash: Huh? What...I...
Lillie: We just found you passed out here... Do you have any idea how long it's been!? We thought you were gone forever!
Serena: Anna told us everything that happened- How you defeated Lin finally, and how the real Lin is still hiding out there somewhere in the New World.
Victoria: Listen, it's been crazy. A lot's been going on, but we're trying to work on it together. Meet up at the Nightclub in North Obsidia, okay? Arc's been ring-leading the efforts to deal with this, so I'm sure we can better explain everything there. I'll meet up with you later too, but for now I... (Frowns) Paperwork... There's always... so much... paperwork... I'll just tie up a few loose ends and be over when I can, okay? See you later at the Nightclub! (Leaves) Oh, and- I'm so glad you're back. Thank you...
After that Victoria leaves, and Ash is still frowning while punching the ground.
Ash: I still couldn't stop Lin...I couldn't fulfill my promise with Arceus to save his offspring...
Serena: Ash, it's not your fault. We are all angry that we couldn't stop her as well.
Lillie: But we can do this together. We have already come so far, everyone in Reborn and outside the region will help us. We will stop Lin once and for all.
Ash can only nod as it is the only possible choice, and he also shivers after remembering how he has almost been trapped in the New World that Lin was in. Then they all head to the Night Club, only to find that everyone is waiting for him.
Arc: And here he is! The man of the hour! Ash! Always knew you'd do it. There's no words enough to express our thanks, so instead the memories we make from here on out will have to do. With the Champion back in our back pocket, there's no fight we can't both pick and win. But there's a lot to explain. Why don't you come on over here?
Ash nods as he walks towards Arclight, and he starts to explain everything.
Arc: I'd ask where in the world you've been, but for better or worse, I've got a few guesses on the matter. Lemme cut straight to the chase- Meteor's out, but the chaos is still in. The good news is that any grunts that weren't turned in turned over a new leaf, and the admins... Well, ain't none of them left. Not even Lin, thanks to you. Anyone who still had ties in the higher ranks is on our side now. It's a total team KO if ever I've seen one.
Ash: I see, I'm glad that it is all over...
Arc: The bad news is that the damage is done. Their goal of opening the New World ultimately succeeded. Thanks to you, it didn't get so far as overwriting this one, but... To put it simply, they're starting to overlap. The unformed New World has been leaking into ours for quite some time now, causing this, that, and the other problem. For one thing, the energy from the New World has awoken new heights of potential in Pokémon everywhere. Where it was impossible to go above Level 100 before, Pokémon have been sighted growing to as high as Level 150 now. Double the worlds, double the power- or somethin'. An' there's one other... complication. You know how there's supposed to be some Pokémon out there that there's only one of in the world? Yeah, so... about that. Not... anymore.
Serena: What do you mean by that?
Arc: It seems like anything can appear or exist in the New World. Uh, so... What I'm trying to say here is that yesterday fourteen Genesect fell out of the New World and were running amok on Main Street. We already took care of them, so no need to worry about that, but- you get the point. All sorts of Pokémon have appeared in all sorts of places, but Legendaries in particular, given their big power, tend to create problems when they show up. For instance, the TV station was totally trashed after a Zapdos spawned inside it... Those few seconds of the recording before it cut out were pretty incredible though, can't lie. Lots of the other leaders are already away hunting them and putting out Legendary-related fires. If you're up to it, we can definitely use your help.
Ash: How is this happening?
Arc: My bad for springin' this on you right when you get back. After shit hit the fan, I decided I'd convert this place into a base of operations for dealing with these kinds of issues all over the city. By the old policy, only League Leaders and Champions would've been allowed in, but that was Ame's idea, and... Well, this works out better now anyway. There's a lot of cool stuff in this place that might be worth checking out too, so by all means, take your time! We've got an arena behind us that you can use to spar with the friendlies... The Battle Pavilion's on your left- free use for all trainers now. No end to the fights there, and you might see some familiar faces. And finally, I rigged one of the dance floors into a pseudo-map of the region over on the right. We're using that to mark down where reports of New World Anomalies come in- be it Legendaries or overlap points... So talk to the folks over there if you wanna help 'em out! Whatever you do, champ, it's good to have you back! Hit me up if you need anything!
Ash nods as he decides to talk with the others first, as they are delighted to see him back. The ones that are inside the Night Club are Julia, Eve, Lumi, Shelly, and Cal.
Julia: (Hugs Ash) Ash?! No! You can't be! You must be a shadow clone- or something! Please be a shadow clone? Cuz that would be ~awesome~!
Ash: I would be, but I'm the real deal.
Julia: Okay, but, on the realsie-O's, after you confronted Lin, we all totally thought you disappeared for good! And... morale was pretty low... And... I wasn't the captain of the cheer squad for nothing, you know! Sooooooo I mayyyyyy have told one or two teensy weensy little white lies about what happened to you... Just to cheer people up, you know? So if you get some strange reactions... Don't worry about it!
Lillie: For some reason, Ash should be worried about it...
Julia: Great to see you again; Definitely glad you're not a shadow clone, yep!
Lumi: (Also hugs Ash) I'm so glad you decided to rejoin us after all!
Eve: Your face looks spotless, by the way. Is this some new kind of plastic surgery, or did you use a different healing technique?
Ash: Is there supposed to be something on it?
Lumi: Eve, that's rude! He probably doesn't wanna talk about it!
Eve: Even so, if it is the latter- I'm willing to accept the social faux pas if there's any chance that whatever it was could help you...
Ash: I'm confused?
Eve: To clarify, we were told that in the final battle, a stray explosion left your face horribly disfigured... And so, although you were safe, you had chosen to live reclusively so that no one had to see the unfortunate aftermath.
Lumi: Which you never should have had to do in the first place! If people didn't accept you after what you did for them- no matter how you looked- then they're not worth your time, Ash! But we'll always be there for you no matter what!
Lillie: She's right, you know.
Eve: I am beginning to suspect I should have scrutinized the source of this information more in the first place (Looks at Ash) You were actually okay all along, weren't you?
Lumi: Huh?
Eve: No matter. You must've had your reasons for your absence. It's not our business to pry. Yours is a welcome return nonetheless.
Shelly: Ash, is it really you? You're back, safe and sound, truly?
Ash: Nice to see you again, Shelly. Do you miss me that much?
Shelly: Don't get me wrong- I'm relieved you're back... But to be honest, I'm also a little disappointed. I heard that you'd fallen into a Darkrai's nightmare and it wouldn't let you wake up! And- And I wanted, you know, since you had always been going around saving everyone... Um, I was thinking that, this time, maybe it would be nice if I could be your hero instead.
Serena: Darkrai? That was quite weird...
Shelly: I've been going on a lot of Legendary hunts, hoping I'd eventually run into that Darkrai-...But if you're back, I guess it's already dealt with. And that's what's most important- that you're here. I'm so glad you made it! Welcome back!
Cal: I was told that you had... turned into the moon? And, like, that's rough, buddy.
Ash: Okay...that was a weird joke...I wonder how many things Julia had told about me...
Cal: But if you're here, will the moon never shine again? ...No, I suppose that's a worthwhile trade for now. I support your choices, no matter what may happen.
Then they get to the counter, and they are surprised to see a person in front of them.
Cass: Oh, hey. You must be Ash, Serena, and Lillie. I've heard about you from some of the others. I assume you're here to help out with the influx of Legendaries? We can certainly use all the help we can get.
Ash: Sure. I'll help it out.
Cass: Granted, things have gotten a little more stable since the doors first opened, but... I'm really not looking forward to when a swarm of Kyogre flood the city. Adrienn already has enough to deal with. Anyway, let me tell you about what we've got here. I'm sure you've already noticed all the pretty colored tiles behind you. That thing is a map.
Ash notices the ground and he can see the whole map, but what surprises him is that Vanhanen Castle is glowing.
Cass: When we detect an Anomaly, that map will automatically be marked in the general area where it was detected. The map corresponds to the one on your Pokegear. Well... mostly. I don't know if you've noticed, but this region is really hard to lay out on a grid. That dark-ish tile near the top is supposed to represent Calcenon, Labradorra, and Route 3. We really did the best we could here. If you're unsure of exactly where to go, the staff around here can help point you in the right direction. It'd probably be best to check in with someone here before you investigate an anomaly, too. We don't really know what exactly to expect to find in advance- all we know is that there's something there. Checking in helps keep things organized here, and it means that we can send out a team for you in case you, uh, don't come back...It's best to be prepared.
Ash: Okay, so why is my father's castle glowing right now?
Cass: Anyway, you'll see that there's a flashing marker on the map behind you. That anomaly is located inside Vanhanen Castle. We don't know what happened, but Delia, Serra, Anna, and Noel are currently trapped inside.
Ash: My Mom and my siblings are there? Then I should go there immediately!
Cass: Great! Good luck out there. I'm Cass, by the way. I'll be here if you need anything.
Ash, Serena, and Lillie are not going to waste more time as they want to see his mother and the siblings and what they're doing there.
And here is a new chapter, as you can see, Ash gets back to Reborn with the help of Arceus, and now they are going to have the Post Game quests with the Legendary Pokemon. Their first location is the Vanhanen Castle, what will Ash and the others find there? I hope you like this chapter.
