Chapter 07 – Training in the Dark
Kanto Region – Saffron City – 3 Years Ago
I was travelling for two years, first around the Unova region searching endlessly for my friends and family, and now after some time I had begun to travel to the region of Kanto, not because of any new leads, but to train should I ever face Shiny Latias. Because of the distance and how far it was away from Unova I just wanted to be done with this training and immediately get back to finding my friends and family instead of wasting too much time.
Before I made my way over to where I was to train, I stayed at the Pokemon Center for the night in Saffron City, and once I was inside my room I spoke to my friends and family over the video phone were I was happily greeted by Aqua my mate, A shiny female Dewott wearing a pink ribbon atop her head she got from her mother when she was still an Oshawott. She was sitting in front of the camera on a chair with two young Oshawott's sitting on her lap, almost jumping for joy at the sight of me; my son and daughter Light and Kairi.
"Hi daddy!" Kairi waved at me as she was carried by her mother Aqua in front of the camera with Light trying to get closer to the recording equipment set up by The Savior's who are also in hiding helping us set up away for me and Aqua communicate whenever we wanted.
"Hi Kairi, hi Light, you two are growing up fast. Are you both looking after your mother?" I smiled as they nodded their little heads fast.
"Yeah!" They hugged Aqua before moving closer to the camera again. "Mommy let us have some of her ice cream the other day."
"Oh really, I can't believe your mother gave away her ice cream." I said with a slight chuckle as Aqua rolled her eyes.
"Hey, I'm not possessive of the ice cream, you know." Aqua sighed. "Anyone is free to have it; I don't own the ice cream here or anywhere."
"Are you going to send us more presents soon, daddy?" Kairi asked. "The box of cookies you brought us is all gone now."
"Get the cookies and cream ones, please dad. They're so cool!" Light said as he smiled.
"Of course, I'll see what I can bring back." I smiled. I didn't send them anything in person; it was done by item teleportation, a safe and with the safeguards around the hidden place Aqua and my friends are staying in untraceable. It was a one way device, so it was only me who could send them something. I sent them confectionary treats, cards, or sometimes games depending on where I was or what was in the area at the time. I would've liked to have sent them photos of all the places I have been to, but I didn't want to risk it. "I have some training I need to take care of, but once it's over I'll send you two something nice."
"Yay!" the two young Oshawott's cheered before the two started to hop off their mother and playfully chased each other around the room, providing Aqua and I some time to talk to one another.
"How is the search going? Any leads?" She asked, but my silence and glum expression was a good enough response. "Oh, I-I'm sorry, I shouldn't…"
"It's okay…" I shook my head. "I think that I am getting closer on my search. Finding one of my friends and family is going to take time, but if I do encounter Shiny Latias along the way I have to be prepared, and to do that I have travelled… here where I can find some time to learn more moves." I said, careful never to tell her where I was or give out any hints, and neither her whenever we spoke. The last thing we wanted was someone else to be listening in on our conversation and being hunted down.
"Well don't hurt yourself during training, or whenever you are out there facing those soldiers." She glanced down at my chest and arms to notice more scars I had received during the last battle with the soldiers near Nimbasa last week. "I wish you didn't have to be out there alone to do this. Isn't there someone who can help you out? Espeon, The Savior's from the other regions you are friends with?"
"I'll be fine, don't worry about me. Espeon is there with you guys to keep an eye out. Lisa and Brent are busy at the moment; they are helping me in their own way but away from here." I lied at the last part smiling all the way through it hoping it would set Aqua's mind at ease. Lisa and Brent, I wanted them to stay away from Unova as far as possible to avoid Team Annihilation Reborn from taking them too expanding upon the list of kidnapped friends and family. I've put them in the dark ever since, I didn't want them to be targeted by Shiny Latias.
"Zack, how are y-your um…" She glanced behind her shoulders; the two were still playing together on the other side of the room. "How are your injuries? Last time I checked they were still healing up from your last battle."
Aqua was one of a few I knew who had seen all the injuries I had since I started this search. She had been guiding me on how to apply my own bandages and potions to wounds since I had little trust while I was out here since the bounty over my head did turn average citizen into a money hungry maniac doing whatever they could to make some cash. One time while I was at a center a few months into the start of the five year search, immediately after treatment, a nurse did try and capture me using her own Pokemon to do so. After treatment, the Pokemon still feel a little fatigued and groggy under the effects of the medical items, so to her it looked like easy money and early retirement. I escaped, but it did leave me feeling cautious around anyone I was near or thought nearly everyone still doing their jobs; police officers patrolling a route, waiters, people handing out leaflets, businessmen, and so on would retire just to catch me. I have tried tearing them down, but as soon as I take them down, someone or something puts them back up without a trace.
I showed Aqua my arms, my latest injuries now fully healed over, but despite how fast a new injury healed or the amount of scars she saw on my body didn't change how worried she already was. She hated that I was out here, she wanted me to come home, but she knew I couldn't, not yet. She still supported me after all this time. I tried my best to keep her happy, to tell her in my own way that I would be safe out here and I was coming home someday. Seeing her face in these video calls always did bring a smile on my face, as with Light and Kairi's face, to hear their voices, their laughter, I wish I could hold in my arms as with those taken from me finally free from the fighting.
She held up her arm showing me her left wrist, pointing with the right. "Apply a potion right here. I noticed as soon as the video started your arm looked scratched up." I lifted mine up to see it was scratched up. Probably from walking through the thick vines before arriving here. I did as she instructed and gently applied the potion onto my wrist. The potions rather thin liquid soaking into the wound, healing it slowly soon to be as good as new. "Leave it be for an hour and you'll be alright."
"Where would I be without you? Thanks Aqua." I gave her a warm smile, touching the monitor with my right paw trying to reach out to her. Already two years into the search, two years away from them, the loneliness was slowly eating me up. Sometimes spending weeks without much interaction with others, just walking by through routes and settlements without uttering a word to anyone but myself.
"You're welcome Zack." She smiled as she held up her paw at the monitor. Then with a frown after glancing up at time, she reluctantly had to end the call. Talking using this connection was limited, five to 10 minutes each time. it was a way to reduce being found by an outside source. I don't know how but I was told by Lee at one point about the communications how they set up a wall or camouflage to hide this one, but at limited use per week for everyone within the safe zone. So the next time I would speak to Aqua, the children, or anyone would have to wait a while until I received a message on when I can call them again. Aqua turned around and called for Light and Kairi to come over. "Times up, huh? Time always flies so fast with these calls…"
"Yeah… talk to you soon Aqua." I wanted more time. This wasn't enough for me. The short time we do see each other and talk, it always ends faster than I wanted it to.
Light and Kairi jumped up onto their mothers lap and cheerfully waved. "Bye daddy! Bye!" I smiled at them, seeing their little faces always made me happy, looking forward to the next time I can see them.
"Bye, talk to you soon! I'll try and -" But as I was about to say more, the connection was cut. I hated that timer when it cut the connection like that. I groaned and sat back against the chair. Ten minutes wasn't enough, it was never enough. But I had to keep doing this until Shiny Latias and Team Annihilation Reborn were stopped. Bringing others into this would only get them hurt or killed. The soldiers and Shiny Latias didn't want to kill me, only capture me and bring me back to their base and turn me into a living weapon.
I didn't eat much last night, just vegetables and porridge with some herbal tea before sleeping a dreamless sleep that night, determined to wake up bright and early so I could start my training the next day.
I was told by Lee from The Savior's that a man within the Kanto region known as Master Ken would help me train so I could fight Team Annihilation Reborn. It was here I would learn the technique to help defeat Shiny Latias without her ability to control me from getting to me in a future battle. The only thing besides this guy named Ken helping me on learning how to defeat Shiny Latias was that he did have strong ties with The Savior's particularly the Unova branch. I had never heard of him before so I had no idea what to expect.
The temple was located a little north of Saffron City, a little bit out of the way but findable given the large structure one can clearly see from the main road. I followed the pebbled path to find myself at the temple, but surprised to find no one there to greet me, so I had to venture further inside to find the man myself. The temple seemed to be made out of wood with large red spires or something like that at the top. Walking further inside the garden I saw some sculptures of abstract shapes in different parts of the garden, most if not all I didn't understand.
I saw at the corner of my eye off the main path sitting on top a large rock beside the pond was an old man. He was wearing an orange robe, red outlines at the sleeves and a red sash around his waist. He had a long white beard almost at waist length but an inch or two away. His bald head seemed to have some kind of scar completely covering his scalp. Since there was no one else in the area I approached, wanting to know if this man was the one Lee had suggested I go and see to help me train.
"Excuse me, are you perhaps Master Ken? My name is Zack Raines; I was told I would find him here." The man didn't act or look at all surprised at me a Pokemon speaking the tongue of a human. I don't remember the last time a person reacted this way whenever I spoke to them as a Pokemon, they were always shocked, finding trouble to believe what they heard from a Pokemon, usually followed with questions on how is this possible, is this fake/a joke, why, and then I would answer leading into more questions to answer. But this man only looked down at me sat upon a rock, eyes unreadable.
"I am indeed Master Ken. "He suddenly spoke. "Mister Lee mentioned you would arrive. He has already informed me what you seek; to be taught how to fight your foe that is Shiny Latias. Shiny Latias is a fast opponent?"
"She is fast, sir." I responded, a cold breeze blew through my fur, I was finding myself getting nervous in his presence. I have had trainers before reaching me how to fight, how to survive out in the field both easy going laid back trainers, but this man, his eyes staring down at me as if trying to find my each and every one of my flaws, the way I stood, how I spoke to the man. I was careful how I spoke to the man, careful not to add things like 'yeah' and 'sure whatever' in the conversation. "Faster than any Pokemon I had fought before."
"In this world, not all Pokemon are invincible, all have weaknesses and Shiny Latias is one with a weakness, a way someone could use to fight against her, a way her ability to control those whoever look her in the eye useless. This technique, this way of fighting her will not be easy, it is a lengthily process but one I am willing on teaching you." He cleared his throat and began to stand up on the rock, his hands behind his back. "Your training begins now; are you ready?"
"I am ready, sir."
"Good. First things first; clean up this garden!" He said before handing me a plastic bag from behind the rock. I noticed the garden was indeed filthy, trash littered in all four corners of the garden, in the pond, and some caught within the sculptures. "After you have completed your task, we will begin step two."
He stepped off the rock and walked towards the temple door; opening it and leaving it wide open, leaving me alone to deal with the mess. With a short sigh I began to clean up the mess, trash blown inside the garden by the wind that blew the trash around causing me to chase after it every few minutes. I'm not sure how long it actually took me to clean up this garden, but I suppose running around chasing the blown away trash I did the most than picking up trash by trash into the plastic bag standing around. I didn't see the man from the door of the temple, but I could sense he was watching me, perhaps waiting for my work to finish up before the next step would begin. As I was finishing up, I caught a newspaper almost blown away by the breeze and accidentally read the headlines; 'Team Annihilation Reborn, who are they?' After seeing this, I felt somewhat frustrated and lacking patience. Doing this seemed like a waste of time, that I was only here to get the technique and go and hunt Shiny Latias down and save my friends. I heard the voices echo into my mind 'Torture him for the technique.' 'Do it and we can save them all!' But as soon as I heard the voices, they quickly went away after shrugging it off to get back to work, finding that this training will be over soon and I wouldn't be here long.
I thought step one was his way on getting things ready inside so I could begin with my real training. By the time he had finished inside I would be finished out here and be ready for the training indoors. But as soon as I finished and walked inside I was met to more cleaning up tasks by washing up the rooms and dirty windows, as well as washing the dishes and laundry. "What kind of training is this supposed to be?" I sighed, getting angrier at the stains I had to clean off but wouldn't for some reason. "I thought I would be here to train, not clean up some mans temple." I was frustrated at this a lot, finding no other reason than this being a sort of joke or prank of sorts to getting me to help this man clean the temple and I was here to waste time and nothing more. This seemed to be so as with every task I had completed that day, more tasks to clean this, paint that, trim the hedges and mend to the garden followed, and Master Ken would always watch like a Pidgeot with every task muttering something I cound't hear, shaking his head as if judging me.
'The old man mocks you.' The voices echoed inside my head again, this time staying longer than I would've liked. 'The old man doesn't believe you can ever save your friends that this journey is but a waste of time. Lee, the man you have worked alongside for years made you come all the way out here to help a miserable old man who claims to know how to defeat her, Shiny Latias. Do you really believe this man to know how we can stop her? Or is this all a sick joke Lee has made you come all the way out here and cleans someone's home? How pathetic, Latias all you love will die and the journey to save them all will be for naught. Remember the voices, the faces of Light, Kairi, and Aqua, Shiny Latias will find them very soon and she will kill them all, including all of your kidnapped friends leaving you to live a long life all alone in this world.' I always told myself to ignore the voices, to calm myself down should they arise. If the voices were heard too long, they would seem friendly to me, convince me to kill. I tried to convince myself Master Ken really did know how to defeat Shiny Latias, I just had to wait, I just had to be patient and calm. Breathe in and out; control my breathing, clear the mind. I kept on trying to tell myself that, this would all be over soon and the training would truly begin, I just had to be patient.
The next day followed by a porridge based breakfast suitable for Pokemon, I once more had to clean more areas of the temple I thought I had already cleaned up. The rooms were very similar to the last, dark wooden walls and floors with a small window in every room with a small amount of furniture in the last, but what I had to clean up varied in every room I had been in; laundry, a stain here and there I had to clean, and window I had to get spotless. This all boosted my suspicions that this so-called training was in fact a joke Lee sent me to have him help an old man clean up his home that it was wasting our time, something the voices over and over again tried to convince me that this was why I was here, to waste time and nothing more. There was no technique I could be taught here, nothing but wasting my time. I tried to ignore the voices, telling myself that I had to be patient, but the more cleaning up tasks I had to do, the more I was convinced I was simply wasting my time here.
I was out in the garden in the early afternoon after cleaning up the remaining parts of the temple moving on to the garden immediately after.
Master Ken stood there at the door still staring at me as I was continuing with my work on fixing the garden. I had to clean up around the pebble path since I and failed to fully clean around that area since small plastic pieces and bottle caps had been lodged in-between each stone. The work I'd say lasted ten minutes, although it could've been longer than that since I was finding this work easier than the others. It was mostly search, pick up trash and put it in the bag. It was until I found another piece of plastic lodged into the dirt underneath the pebble I was about to grab and pull it out and into the bag, but then my paw slipped and instead stabbed myself cutting into my palm.
I thought nothing of this other than to clean up the wound before continuing, but something inside me clicked all of a sudden, that I was on the brink of losing it. I could feel myself about to, the voices rising, all telling me the same thing over and over again. I knelt down and clutched my head, trying my hardest to concentrate, to slow down on my breathing.
'We must kill the old man; we are wasting valuable time here. Torture the man for the information we seek. A lie and this really was a sick joke and we will still kill him and then we will hunt her down!' The voices yelled louder in my head. I clutched my head trying to shut out the voices.
"Shut up!" I growled, finding myself scratching away into the side of my head. "I am not wasting my time here… I know it. I know I can find what I seek here. I just have to be patient… I can do this…!"
'You are a fool then!' The voices again argued with me. 'This old man is weak compared to the power you possess. He knows how we can defeat the Shiny Pokemon who has taken Latias, our friends and family. If we get it, this long journey will be soon over once we find and tear out her heart ending her evil reign over the region. This man is mortal, he isn't a Pokemon, we can KILL him easily, torture him for wasting our time! Every second gone by, everyday spent here and out there means the more your friends and Latias suffer, torturing them day in day out clinging on to the hopes someone anyone will save them.' The voices grew louder, harsher. 'How long can they last? Are they really strong enough to hold on long enough for someone to save them, for them not to give up on life? What if Shiny Latias finds Aqua and your children? Do you think they will be given a kinder treatment? Shiny Latias knowing how sadistic and cruel she is and would enjoy the screams, the cries begging for the pain to stop, to be saved. Take the secret from the old man, torture him for it, and make him suffer for wasting our valuable time!' I could feel the anger rise within me. I clenched both paws so tightly I tried to block out the thoughts begging for them to stop.
Master Ken stood up and approached me. "You have so much conflict within you. Mister Lee told me so, the voices you can hear all because of what Team Doom did to you; turned you into a Pokemon. A Pokemon with an ability to absorb the life energy of a Pokemon you defeat in battle, killing them thus making you stronger. All human into a Pokemon by the Doom serum creates a new kind of Pokemon, different color, new abilities the original cannot learn, and eyes glow upon the usage of their ability. The voices try to alter you, change you from the respected kind boy The Savior's once knew turning you into something you are not." He knelt down in front of me and looked me right in the eye. "Shiny Latias cannot be defeated if you cannot control the voices inside you, with my training you shall find a way to defeat Shiny Latias. From everything I know about her, about her ability, and your powers, I may have a way to help you defeat her. But first you must control them. How long it will take is entirely up to you. But nothing is stopping you from standing up and leaving right now. I can help you Zack, only if you will let me." He held out his hand, the voices remained, but feint this time. I did want this help, to block out the voices or perhaps control them, and also how to fight Shiny Latias. Could this man really know how I could fight Shiny Latias?
I looked up at him and grabbed his hand with my paw, and smiled gently. The voices were now silent as he spoke. "The training will begin; how to control the voices within you mind, and how to fight your foe. The speed of training is entirely up to you. I am not here to hurt you, to kill you, rob everything you know and love from you leaving you as a shell of your former self, I am here to help you, to guide you back on the path."
"Patience is what it will take for you to defeat your foe. Rushing into battle is a good way for one to throw away his life. I have known about the voices and wanted to see for myself." He and I walked back towards the temple. "It was a risky thing, I know, but I was bored out of my mind for weeks without company. I wanted some excitement in my life" Master Ken smiled.
"Heh, tell me about it." I chuckled as we walked towards the training room. I was starting to feel relaxed a little around him when before I was constantly nervous.
Training Room
The training room didn't have much inside other than a pair of swords, blades crossed attached to the back wall where Master Ken sat down in front, his back turned facing me with a bowl of what appeared to be marbles. The only thing I was told was to sit in the middle of the room with a headband and wait for further instructions. I was nervous, or perhaps excited on about to learn the technique on stopping Shiny Latias for good. With this technique taught to me, it will all be a matter of time before I find Shiny Latias, save my friends and family and my journey will finally be over, the fighting will one day be over for me. Master Ken was reading from a document for some time after I entered. Probably some training methods or something. He was reading it for some time until he placed the paper down in front of him and looked up.
"Shiny Latias is a dangerous foe as you already know. She is able to take down many foes all at once if they should ever look into her eyes, turning allies against one another, controlling one if not many to reveal all of their secrets, to do things they have no control of. But with this technique I will teach you how, Shiny Latias' ability cannot reach you." He pointed at the headband in front of me. "Wear this around your eyes so that you cannot see anything, the training has begun." I placed the headband over my eyes, adjusting them so that I couldn't see a single thing. Silence, more silence after that, I was beginning to wonder what I needed to do for the training to start, unsure whether or not I should say anything or simply stay put until Master Ken was ready. But then after some time I heard him speak up. "Listen; the room holds many sources of noise, the fire on the other side of the room, listen to the crackling of the burnt wood, listen to the winds outside this very temple." I heard the; the fire behind me the most, the wind outside the least. I didn't quite yet understand what this training was about, or what I needed to be doing, and then I heard the rattling of the marbles in front of me still in the same place as they were before placing the headband over my eye. "You can hear this. You know where the sound is coming from. Turn your head at the noise that you will hear."
The rattling stopped, and the next moment I heard one of the marbles being rolled onto the wooden floor slowly all the way towards the window to the left of me, so I turned my head visualizing where it was. Then it stopped by hitting the wall and all was silent. "Now in this exercise, you must try and grab hold of one bag of marbles with your paws I will throw at you without the use of any moves. I will explain everything at the end."
"So I just had to grab the bag of marbles being thrown at me, huh? How am I supposed to grab something I can't see?" I asked myself, not looking forward to having a bag of marbles being thrown across the room and hitting me. "Okay, just try my best at this and-" I jolted my head back when a bag of marbles hit me against my chest, then not too long after that another bag hit me in the same area of my chest as the last one, then another.
"Remember; concentrate." I tried, but I couldn't quite get it and yet I was hit with a bag of marbles after another bag of marbles in the chest one after the other with no pattern to them; one being thrown two seconds after the last, ten seconds, sometimes thirty. I didn't know what I was missing until I remembered back to the fireplace behind me; I listened and heard the firewood crack behind me, the wind howling outside to my left. I listened in more, and then I heard up front was the sound of a bag of marbles being picked up, marbles clanking inside the bag, I had heard all of that across the room, then the bag rustled a little louder then rattling a little getting closer and closer to me each second, then the bag hit me against my chest again.
I waited for the next bag to be thrown, this time waiting almost a minute, but it did help with the concentration, listening to other noises I hadn't picked up on before; to my right just outside the door it was rattling slightly due to the wind from the open window out in the corridor, and above I heard the wooden beams creak from the wind outside. I heard another bag of marbles being picked up and heard them being thrown, only this time instead of the bag hitting my chest I grabbed it with my paws. "This is the training you will understand." Master Ken said as I had heard him stand up. "So let us continue, try and figure the training out, what is this technique I am teaching you?"
Master Ken threw more bags at me, at first one bag again in no pattern to the throws. Then after that he threw multiple bags, a very few I had caught, some I batted away, to catch them too soon to do so, and the remainders hitting me again in the chest. It wasn't easy but with training I think I would get the hang of it in time. "Not sure why I had to be blindfold- " Then a sudden realization hit me, an understanding smile crept my face as I finally began to understand the meaning of the training.
I heard something move in front me, nut more marbles to be thrown at me, so I took off the headband to find Master Ken standing in front of me. "Shiny Latias cannot control you if you do not look at her eyes. To fight her by randomly deciding to fight without sight, without knowing where she is won't go well for you. With training, you can fight and perhaps defeat her without ever using sight. Listen to the sounds, use your ears and focus on your surroundings. In this training I will train you to fight without sight, but by using your hearing you can fight her, know where her moves are, how she attacks and movements." The training I was sent here for was to learn how to fight Shiny Latias without using my eye to see, but to use my ears and listen out for her. It may not have been a move I could learn, a weapon I could use against Shiny Latias, but it was something. Perhaps when I do fight Shiny Latias something I probably would've tried on doing, but instead of marbles being thrown at me I would've been hit by her moves.
I'd say training went well for a few good reasons; one being that I was really happy that with this training to use my hearing other than my sight to fight Shiny Latias, and second was that I was happy to at least get a good amount of training done all in one day. But the negative about all of that training I had done was all of the bags of marbles being thrown at me did hurt a lot.
For dinner Master Ken and I both had the same each; bowls of rice, porridge, and some stew of sorts with slices of plain toast. I think he had mentioned at the start of my training in the temple that food wasn't going to be luxurious or something like pizza and such, just simple food to have and go.
The room we were in was lit by a single candle in the middle of the table we were sat at. The window showing the moon with its light shinning down on us didn't illuminate the room all that much, so we just had to put up with it for the remainder of dinner. We sat in silence eating for a good majority of the dinner before I noticed Master Ken looking my way.
"How did you earn those scars if you do not mind me asking?" Master Ken asked as he set his bowl down on the table, either he was really curious or he was just making conversation. I glanced down at my arms before setting my own bowl down on the table.
"I have been in a lot of battles. Battles I have been in while searching for my friends and family." When I said, my left eye felt strangely to me like t was numb or pulsing in a way, as with my other scars. Weird.
"The amount of scars on you, covering your entire body almost, tell me about them."
To tell stories about how I received such a wound, a scar as a reminder to others about. I thought telling these kind of stories were I could just easily shrug off, giving details about how I ended up with the wound, sometimes going overboard with the battle saying I was fought against several legendaries at once surviving by retreating into the river. But all of the scars I ever got were reminders of why I was out here, the enemy who had taken my friends away. "Many of these scars were caused by other Pokemon wishing to defeat me in battle so their trainer could catch me, take me back to their leader, others were by human soldier's trying to weaken me with their weapons or any means of knocking me out to do the same. Some were by wild Pokemon after wandering into their territory, and a small rare few were by the harsh terrain I had gotten to know well during my two years in Unova." I held up my paw up to my left eye, running my fingertips at the three lined scars across my left eye. "The first scar I ever earned was by the leader of Team Annihilation Reborn. I don't remember the pain when she did this to me, but I do remember sight in my left eye still. Every time I look at myself in the mirror, my form, my scars…. I always think of them."
"They remind you of what you fight for, never to give up." He said before picking up the bowl. "But how many more will you endure before your journey sees an end? With the training almost at an end, your latest scar may perhaps be your last."
"It's not only the technique that will help, but I have to train with my moves if I want to defeat Shiny Latias and end the conflict."
"I was also told by mister Lee about your Espeon friend who helped teach you with what she calls the Dark Place, helping you with training with your Psychic moves from there without interfering with the outside. You can train with that during free time if that may help. One you have completed your training, you must focus on the other moves of yours until you know you are ready." Master Ken sighed. "Shiny Latias has many allies at her disposal all trained on stopping you. You must be focused whenever you are out there. But Shiny Latias as you already know has the people searching for you for money. Money can turn almost anyone into something they never thought possible. Something Shiny Latias no doubt wants them to react."
Yeah, I had seen my share of ordinary citizens going crazy on their attempts at catching me. I never knew a mall filled with people all could turn from one to a hundred like that at the sight of me. People happily talking and walking around but upon the sight of me they would all stop talking and doing whatever it was they were doing, as if like a scene from a horror film one minute the next running at me and using whatever they could to catch me.
"Yeah, you can say that again. No doubt Shiny Latias is finding all of this amusing." I glanced up window and at the moon. "I hope I can find them; my friends and my family. I hope they haven't done anything too bad to them… meaning I hope and pray by the time they are saved and away from them they can still live a happy life afterwards."
"After your journey has ended, after the fighting and your loved ones are back home, what then?" Master Ken asked, something I just shook my head.
A question I didn't know how to answer yet. Hopefully peace was what I wanted to say, but the words never came out only silence. I guess maybe I was worried about the future for me, if I could save my friends or not, what future would I have? Every time I thought of what the future could be, I always came up blank.
Training Room
For days now I had been training on using my hearing rather than sight, trying to locate the sound source of things dropped or moving, mostly marbles and other things that would make the smallest noise when dropped. I don't know if it was the room with a lot of echo at any sound made in here but I was able to locate each drop easily. I trained to locate where certain objects where dropped one after the other, call it the 'locate fifty to thirty items or less challenge while blindfolded' challenge with success leading to more and challenging tasks while being blindfolded still.
After a short break, Master Ken instructed me to keep the blindfold on to get used to the darkness and rely on sounds to navigate around the training room, finding where the water was to quench my thirst and cool off before resuming with the training. I found where the water was after Master Ken made noticeable sounds of water being poured into the cup and the scrapping of the cup against the table.
The training in the temple lasted for an entire week, one I had learnt so much within a week and hoped my training had paid off for when Shiny Latias and I would battle.
The training like the others ended followed by dinner in the later hours of the day, same dinner of vegetables, rice and porridge I had eaten every day since my time here, something I had gotten used to by then. But I couldn't stay for too long here, I needed to find my friends and family. I wasn't quite yet used to fighting blind relying only on sound, but I was slowly getting the hang of it and felt with more training I would get there.
"With this you can fight against Shiny Latias. A foe with the ability to control all whoever looks at her in the eyes cannot control one who does not look back at her." He said, his eyes changed to one of concern. "Are you disappointed with your training?"
I shook my head. "No. I have something I can use against Shiny Latias. Not a move, not a secret weapon I can press a button and all of a sudden Shiny Latias is history, I actually have something I can use against her, and with training I'll definitely continue after I leave here, I'll be ready for when I face her." I remembered back to at the start of the training, the voices trying to control me to kill Master Ken, controlling my whenever I was angry, every time trying to kill. "The voices, despite the methods of easing them, they'll never go. I'm afraid. I'm afraid after the fighting had ended, I'm afraid that one day if I ever get into an argument with friends, and family… the voices will awaken again. No matter how little or how big my anger is, the voices inside will always be there trying to force me to kill."
"That may be. You may have to live with them for the rest of your life. However leaving them untamed, ignored and the voices will awaken much more. You will have to find a way for you and the voices to live together if possible." He said before standing up. "Maybe you should think of the voices as if it were a fire ignited on firewood. The fire is growing, how you choose to handle it is up to you; let it grow and let it burn everything it touches, control it to be used in some way that benefits you, or extinguish the flame before it can burn everything it touches."
"I'm not sure these voices can be controlled. Calmed down at least, I'm afraid to try and find out if I can ever control them should I hear the voices fearing I'll lose control. Managing on controlling the voices, the situation that has made me enter my enraged state, I'm not sure how I'll be able to handle them both." I had hoped the voices could be controlled, eased so they wouldn't come alive whenever I was in some stupid argument or I had stubbed my toe. I hoped I would find a way to live with the voices if I could never get rid of them. After finally finding something I could use against Shiny Latias, with more training I could use it well against her and maybe just maybe I will win the battle.
My time in the Kanto region was at an end, I had what I came here for and decided in the morning I would leave but only a letter I wrote to Master Ken offering my thanks for letting me stay and train there for the past week. I was never good at goodbyes, so I just ended it with a 'Thanks for your time' and that was that. Not that I didn't appreciate all the help I had gotten there, I was more than grateful for it. After packing all of my stuff, placing the letter in the training room, I left quietly not wanting to cause a scene.
Master Ken unknowingly to me watched from his room window as I left in the early morning of a new day, a hopeful day that the training I had gained here would serve me well and to help defeat the evil that is Team Annihilation Reborn's rule over the region and its leader Shiny Latias. He glanced at a photo in his quarters, a photo of himself as a young boy no older than ten when he lived within the Unova region with his parents, and older brother Clark Stone, the leader of The Savior's Unova branch.
A parchment, seal broken from Lee all the way from the Unova region on the table Master Ken glanced over his shoulder at. In it Lee wrote to him asking if he could help me find a weakness to Shiny Latias, detailing her powers, my powers and our moves. It didn't take long for Master Ken to come up with something and immediately wrote back after reading about how I was there for his brother in his final moments alive, the fight that was coming my way. Master Ken was once a teacher for many members of The Savior's, mainly within the Kanto region, his home.
"Clark, you have raised an excellent pupil. I believe the Dewott will one day save his allies, perhaps our home region as we were once children. But when he faces his foe, will he be able to defeat her and her arm for good? I hope that he- no… I believe he will."
To be continued…
Trivia:
This chapter was originally one of five side stories set after the main story, but I felt as though this story had to be told in the main story.
AN: Alright, last chapter to be set in the past so the next chapter will be back in the present with Zack and Espeon arriving in Driftveil City to save his sister Yuri from Team Annihilation Reborn, it'll probably be up later next week so I hope you stick around and as always until next time.