Chapter 28 – The Night Before the Storm

Lentimas Town – Gym

We were grabbed and almost crushed by the arms of five Pokemon after only taking a few short steps inside the gym, a crushing hug Espeon and I put up with and greeted with kind warm words and smiles to my Pokemon after five years apart.

Totodile. Bayleef, Golurk, Gardevoir, and Lugia sat in a circle together after finally breaking free of that tight hug to catch up on some lost years. The training they had today was short and had to be continued tomorrow since they did arrive quite late. Espeon and I would be there to watch over there training tomorrow since the rest of Devon's team were coming in fast into the town meaning there wouldn't be any tasks for us to do, which was fine since I wanted to watch over the training with my Pokemon to see if they would be ready for the battle with Team Annihilation Reborn in the next coming days.

Sat between Espeon and Golurk with my black cloak wrapped around me, just covering the lower part of my mouth, I listened in to my friends as they talked about all they had been doing during the time they had spent inside the safe zone.

"It was boring mostly, but we had each other to get through it all." Totodile was the one who spoke first out of the seven of us. "They did let us outside for an hour every day, but that one hour always did go by so quickly."

"The food was the worst," Espeon spoke up. "It always felt so… artificial, that there was obviously something wrong with it. But thank goodness we can all get out of there and eat real food. How are your children holding up, you two?"

"They're doing well. All of them have all learnt their second moves." Totodile turned to Bayleef and smiled. "We think after all of this is over they'll be ready to go and leave soon to start a family of their own."

"Any idea so far on where they can get a good start?" Espeon asked.

Bayleef shook her head. "We did have one or two ideas on where we can send them on their way, but because of what has happened with this team around patrolling areas we will have to search again and that may take another year." She sighed. "I do not want to keep holding them back any longer."

"The battle will start tomorrow, and hopefully it won't last too long. The rest of the world will take time to get things back on track…" Totodile said, resting a paw on his mate's neck. "It will take time, but they will get out there and find a family of their own soon."

"Mr Zack." Golurk got my attention by lightly touching my shoulder carefully with its large stone hand. "While we were being transported from the safe zone in the truck, not only did your Pokemon come in the back of the truck, but another Pokemon had come with us on her own free will." Golurk pointed its large hand towards the gym door where a shiny female Dewott entered from. I stood up, eye widened as I realized it was Aqua, my mate. I ran over to her and stopped in front of her.

"Aqua?"

"Hello Zack, it's so good to see you again like this." She smiled, moving forward a little until we were inches apart.

"Why are you here?" I held her paws, looking at her worryingly. "This place is dangerous; you should be with Kairi and Light back at the safe zone."

"They'll be fine. I came on my own free will, your Pokemon, Espeon or your friends didn't ask me to come out here, so don't blame them. Out here I can do some good, remember? I practiced with Audino on how to treat wounds and ailments, I can treat the wounded." She said trying to tell me she would be safe. Until she pointed at her head reminding me of her ability. "I have foresight of the future; I am always warned of potential dangers. I won't be fighting, but I will be held back to treat Pokemon injured in battle, Devon's team doesn't have much on that department. If I sense any danger I'll get out of there with the injured and the team Devon has ordered to watch over me."

"Aqua…." I sighed, turning away from her. "I don't want to lose you too…"

"Kairi and Light are safe, I want to help you." She placed her paw on my shoulder. "And I don't want to lose you too. My visions will keep me safe. And I wanted to let you know about a vision I had the other day I didn't want to tell you over the phone." I turned to her and listened well as to what she was about to tell me. "You along with Espeon, Lisa and Brent enter Team Annihilation Reborn's main base alone, your Pokemon stay on the outside with Devon's team fighting the controlled soldiers and Pokemon. Inside that base you will not encounter Shiny Latias until you reach the rooftop… but I only see you there."

"What happens to them? Lisa, Brent, and Espeon, where are they after I reach the rooftop?"

"I don't know. But if they don't go with you inside that base… death, I sense death. I'm sorry I couldn't be of more help to you."

I nodded and moved in to hug Aqua. "Thank you, Aqua. It's so good to see you again." Aqua hugged back and kissed me before placing a paw on my shoulder.

"When does the battle start?" She asked.

"Tomorrow afternoon."

"You think we can spend time together until then?"

"Hmm… I am busy a little later today planning the attack with the others for tomorrow, but it shouldn't take too long so yeah, we can spend some time together."

I turned to see my Pokemon and Espeon still talking amongst each other and held Aqua's paw with mine and walked over to join them. Espeon had talked to the group about our travels, the small group we had faced called The Five and how there was one last member left, the leader of the group that was most likely inside Team Annihilation Reborn's hideout.

I turned to Aqua after we sat down and asked her about her visions for tomorrow

"I don't see anything yet. Nothing about you or Latias has shown up, but I will let you know when I do have another vision, anything to help you get through this battle alive." She held up one of The Savior Devices up to me and pointed with her finger at a button. "Devon's men told me to press this button to contact you should I have another vision of you or any of your friends in the battle tomorrow."

"Thanks, I feel a lot safer knowing I have you watching out for us."

Aqua smiled and held my paw. "Kairi and Light would want to see their dad face to face rather than see you through a monitor." I smiled back, a thought in my mind of me holding them in my arms, laughing and smiling. Ever since they had hatched from their eggs, I had only ever seen their faces and talked to them through a monitor, never holding them in my arms.

"I want to see them too, and when I do I want to give them my first ever hug." I chuckled, "Let's hope and pray I don't accidentally crush them while I hug them."

"Luckily I have my visions to prevent that; otherwise I'll have to get a crowbar to pry you off of them." She sighed, resting her head on my shoulder. "They don't know much about the outside world, but I'm glad you'll be there to help them walk outside into the open world."

"Midnight would like that too; it's something all of us can do together after all of this is over."

"Where do we go first? Someplace beautiful, maybe the beach? A beautiful field? Ooh, maybe an ice cream place?"

I thought about that, thinking where we could take our children to first, smiling as I shook my head. "I don't know. Maybe something small before we show them the rest of the world. We don't want to overwhelm them."

"I guess so… but at least we have a lot of time to do that to see the outside world." She yawned.

I looked down at her and slowly nodded. "Yeah…" I said, thinking of the future. "Two years of the outside world…" Aqua looked up at me, but didn't ask what I had meant by any of that and instead rested her head on my shoulder. I was happy she didn't ask if she did I don't know what I would tell her.

"Oh uh, Zack?" Lugia got my attention by waving its huge wing. "Aqua wasn't the only other Pokemon we brought along with us… we uh, found another Pokemon…"

"Oh great… it's the Dewott!" Espeon turned her head towards the open door of the gym to see it was none other than Dewott standing by the entrance. Aqua, Espeon and I stood up and walked over to Dewott, not knowing what to say to him or why he was here.

He was my first ever Pokemon I obtained from professor Juniper's lab when I first started out as a member of The Savior's when I was fourteen years old. We had been friends for a long time, but ever since Shiny Latias came into the scene and killed my mom back when I first became a Dewott, our friendship had drifted. Dewott didn't like the idea of us hunting down and perhaps killing Shiny Latias for what she did to my mom. A year later he started blaming us for Latias' capture and that none of this would happen if we never left.

Several feet apart we stopped. Me unsure what to say, and Espeon glaring nonstop at Dewott as her claws scratched the floor obviously angered that he was back. After a long silence, it was Dewott who spoke first. "Uh… hi?" He said first, scratching the back of his head.

"Well, well, look who is back after all these years; the idiot Dewott thinking he is better than every one of us." Espeon growled as she walked closer to Dewott. "What are you doing here?! Want to yell at us some more or start a fight? I'll mess you up before I let that happen you little bitch!"

"No wait…" he sighed, looking at me and said. "I have been doing a lot of thinking since that day, the day Latias was captured and taken by Shiny Latias. My only regret is that it has taken me this long to finally see that I was wrong. I shouldn't have said what I said to you all, especially you Zack when you wanted to avenge your mother's death… and when I said it was your fault Latias was taken. I was only thinking of the safety of my family. I'm sorry."

"What you said was hurtful." Espeon growled. "He had just come back after a year away to find out Latias was captured and you blame him for that. He spent five years searching for her nonstop. It's not like he wanted any of this to happen."

"I know, I really am sorry. If I could take it all back I would, but I can't and I just want to make things right." He turned his head and sighed deeply. "I returned to Nuvema Town to try and make amends, but then you and the others hadn't returned and I didn't know where to find you guys. But luckily Devon's team found me and so here I am. I want to help you in this battle to save Latias and stop Shiny Latias."

"What you said was… well it hurt a lot… but I forgive you. I uh, I'd be happy if you can help us in the battle tomorrow." I held out my paw for him to shake it. he looked at it for a short while before looking up at me and smiled before he shook it.

"Thank you Zack… I do want to make things better. I want things to be right."

I nodded. "But we shouldn't be fighting each other, right Espeon?" I turned to her to find her still glaring at Dewott. Dewott looked towards her and said.

"I'm sorry Espeon when we last argued… I was being stupid and I shouldn't have spoken to you like I did back then. You were right and I was wrong."

Espeon's glare slowly faded and her ears drooped. She looked at him and nodded. She let out a small sigh. "I'm sorry too, for throwing that rock at you back at the laboratory gardens. I guess we were both angry. Did you and your family travel far before finding us?" She asked, Dewott shook his head, turning back at the gym entrance to find his mate Meowstic and their daughters, an Oshawott and two Meowstic's standing and watching Dewott from the outside.

"Are your family hungry?" Aqua asked as she smiled at Dewott and Meowstic's daughters, gesturing for them to come inside. "We have a lot of really tasty berries, and it's very warm in here."

"Thank you." Meowstic smiled as she walked her children inside briefly before the three ran inside towards the center of the room where the berries where leaving Meowstic standing beside her mate. "Well, there they go."

"You want to talk to the others?" I asked Dewott, meaning that he should go talk to the others, hoping that he could make amends with them.

"Yeah, I wasn't as harsh as I was with them as I was with you and Espeon. But they deserve an apology for what I did…" Dewott, Espeon and I walked to the rest of the Pokemon and spoke to them, and with us it did take some time but in the end patched things up, welcoming him back to the team once more and catching up on lost time.

I was happy that Dewott had returned and made amends after all that had happened with us. I felt as though life was returning to the way it was before Shiny Latias came and destroyed what was close to a normal and peaceful life I once had. The more allies and friends we had helping out in this battle tomorrow improved our chances. I had hoped it would be enough for what was to come.

Reversal Mountain

On Reversal Mountain we stood almost at the highest peak to look down at the base below where not only our enemy resides but where Latias waited to be saved. Stood beside me to my right was Espeon and next to her was Brent, and standing to my left was Lisa looking down at the base.

"She's in there, right?" Brent asked me, I nodded my head never turning away from Team Annihilation Reborn's base down below the mountain.

"Right. But to get to her, first we have to get through Shiny Latias' army." I pointed at the soldiers patrolling the outside of the base just barely visible. The drone's hovering above the gates and patrols, the controlled Pokemon by the hundreds on one side of the base, and the tanks and mechas on another side all prepared for battle. "Then the final member of The Five; Vladimir Petrov."

"And finally Shiny Latias, our biggest threat." Espeon said, looking up at the top of the base towards the rooftops. "A forty floored building from the looks of it. Whatever floor she is on we have to be careful. The main base and the final phase of Shiny Latias' plan about to begin where all soldier's are coming here, they will be so many of them we'll have to be extra careful."

"Hey, uh Guys?" Brent said, all of us turned towards him as he nervously spoke. "Whatever happens today, I just want to say you guys have been really good- the best of friends. I'm saying I'm glad I met you guys. I could never ask for better friends."

"Where's this coming from?" Lisa asked.

"This is a dangerous thing we are about to do. When I was on a mission with my friends who had joined alongside with me in the Savior's years before us four met, I was the sole survivor..." Brent placed his hands on his hips and tried to look away. "I uh… I have suffered survivor's guilt for uh… I just don't want to lose you guys too. I uh …. You mean a lot…"

"Aw, Bent," Espeon grinned at Brent and patted his leg with her paw. "We love you too. We're all in this together fighting alongside one another in the battle tomorrow. We got each other's backs and we have a ton of support with us on this one, so you don't worry about a thing."

"We've been through a lot ever since, huh?" Lisa said as she took another look at Team Annihilation Reborn's base. "Whatever happens tomorrow in there, I want you guys to know you helped me get through a lot of things, that without you I might not be the person you see now, someone who had for a long time felt hopeless of her future. I was afraid of what others might say or do if they found out my brother was once a member of Team Annihilation, that they would hate me resent me. You guys have helped me get past that, and I have something to look forward to."

"Meeting you guys I only ever thought of hunting down my ex trainers murderer with nothing but revenge on my mind for the early part. I didn't know what I wanted to do after the murderer was dealt with, what I could do next." Espeon smiled at me and up at Lisa and Brent. "But you guys, being with you for our first year together, I just wanted to live my life as best as I could being with my friends. We stormed Infinite's castle in that last battle of his, let's storm Shiny Latias' base together!"

"Being a kid, I didn't have many friends. Latias was the first friend I ever had growing up. I wanted to be a member of The Savior's so I could help people and Pokemon… to become a hero I guess." I said that last part awkwardly, rarely telling others a true reason for joining The Savior's, a childhood dream I guess. "I joined and met so many people and Pokemon over the years, started a family with her and had two children with Aqua. Latias saved me, became my friend and helped me get where I am today, and I want to save her just like she did when we first met, she gave me a reason to keep on going."

Espeon stepped closer to me. "Tomorrow is the day we begin this battle, tomorrow is the day we'll end this battle for good."

"Latias is waiting for us. For too long Shiny Latias has imprisoned her in there. Let's save her and take her back home where she belongs." I closed my eye for a moment, thinking of her smiling face, hopeful I can see it once more. Lisa and Brent knelt down beside Espeon and me and the four of us hugged. "I'm happy you guys are with me."

We would return back to the foot of the mountain to join up with the others while we waited for our team to assemble, because very soon all of us would be heading into battle, not knowing what our fates would be. Would we come out of this victorious, Latias safe and Shiny Latias defeated once and for all? Or would Shiny Latias and Team Annihilation Reborn win this battle and the region would belong to them if not more?

I wanted more time to prepare ourselves, more time to know for sure we were ready for this, but Shiny Latias would begin her final phase of her plan, an all out search for me to bring me back to the base to have me be controlled by Shiny Latias and used as a weapon to help them take control of the region and more.

To be continued…

Trivia:

Dewott in the first draft was added very late in the story appearing after the final battle. And close to the end.