Chapter 9: The Union Cave, Part Two
Roku's P.O.V.
Union Cave
"Whoa…"
"Amazing…I've never seen anything like it…"
Luna, Reia, Lyra, Zuki and I were absolutely starstruck as the Egg I'd been carrying for a while glowed brighter than Umbreon himself. I could see numerous cracks appearing in the shell, and it looked like it was under a lot of pressure.
"Everybody get down!" I shouted, hitting the dirt.
We all hit the ground as the Egg exploded, sending fragments flying everywhere. A few hit my back, and they burnt like fire.
As soon as the light died down, I was left looking at a blue canine-looking creature with a black mask-like marking on its face. I recognized the Pokémon immediately.
"That's a Riolu!" I said, getting to my feet. The Riolu opened its eyes and locked them with mine. I saw them glow faintly, then they lit up.
"It seems that Riolu has already taken a liking to you," Zuki said, smiling. "It must have found something in your aura that it liked."
"Hi there! I'm Riolu!" the Riolu spoke perfectly, despite only being a few minutes old.
"Hey, little guy," I answered, smiling. "My name is Roku. Looks like we'll be training together. Let's make this work, huh, bud?"
"Train?" Riolu said, cocking his head. "At what?"
"We're going to teach you how to battle with Pokémon," Luna said. "My name's Luna. I'll teach you everything I know."
"OK! Let's do this!" Riolu shouted confidently, jumping back and going into a battle stance.
"Well, you've already got the first part down: confidence," Luna said. "If you don't show confidence, your opponents are gonna walk all over you."
Luna stepped up and went into a battle stance. "Now let's see what you can do to back up your confidence. Hit me with your best shot."
Riolu nodded and dashed forward with amazing speed, nailing a direct punch in Luna's face and pushing her back slightly.
"Whoa, that was Quick Attack!" I said with glee. Riolu already had a useful offensive move to start off with.
"Great shot!" Luna commended him. "But now you're wide open. Time to see how well you can defend."
Luna dashed at Riolu with a Quick Attack of her own. Riolu's eyes gleamed slightly, and he dodged flawlessly right once Luna was about to land the hit.
"That was Foresight," Reia said. "He's not just about offense; he's got great reflexes, too."
Riolu landed and went into a defensive stance.
"Is that all you've got?!" he taunted.
"Ooh…cockiness is the worst thing you can show," Luna said. "Because things like this can happen!"
Riolu's eyes widened in fear as Luna fired off a Swift attack in his direction. He began to dodge, but the rays kept following him. In a desperate attempt to dodge, Riolu triggered Quick Attack and dashed off, the rays still following him and gaining fast.
"There's no dodging this move!" Luna shouted. "You might as well give up!"
Riolu then got a plan. He stopped and held his arms up in defense.
BOOM!
A massive black cloud of smoke plumed up from where the attack slammed into Riolu. I feared for the worst during that time, until I saw something that made my jaw drop.
Riolu was still standing there, his arms up, breathing heavily.
"What the hell?!" Luna shouted in disbelief. "How are you still standing?!"
"I'm the Pokémon that takes a licking and keeps on ticking!" Riolu shouted. He then launched forward and scored another direct hit on Luna with Quick Attack, this time knocking her back.
"Riolu must have Endure," Zuki chimed in. "That's a very useful move."
"Man! He's a resourceful little shit!" Luna cursed. She dashed at Riolu and missed again due to his Foresight, and he scored yet another Quick Attack on her. It didn't deal as much damage as the hits before, so that meant Riolu was starting to lose his focus.
Time to end this! She thought to herself.
Luna launched one last Swift attack, ready to secure victory. But Riolu had other plans.
"I'm not going down just yet!" he shouted. He put his hands up again, but he didn't stiffen up like he should've.
"Ah, crap," Riolu said sheepishly before the rays slammed into him.
Aria's P.O.V.
Team Prime HQ
"So…not only has Jay failed me, but you as well, Aria…" The boss whirled around and locked eyes with Aria. "That's so disappointing. And I even trained you myself."
"I'm sorry, sir…I didn't expect the Kimono Girl to be that strong," Aria excused. "We had beaten her before; I thought I could win again."
"And don't you remember that it took all three of you to take her out?" the boss reminded her. "And then she sent your asses packing once she and Raikou joined forces."
"Grr…don't remind me…" she said silently.
"I'm going to remind you because you made a mistake that you always make!" The boss shouted. "You underestimate the Legend Keepers!"
"What do you expect me to do?!" Aria shot back. "Treat them as equals?! I thought we were supposed to destroy them, not ally with them!"
The boss pulled out the remaining two Poke Balls. "I ask you to give them a taste of their own medicine. Choose one."
Aria was hesitant. The boss usually wasn't this generous, and gifts like these usually came with a price. She eventually decided to take one of the boss's offers, because he also didn't like it when he offered something and was refused.
"Ah, so you choose Yveltal," the boss said evilly. "Wonderful. It suits you."
Aria looked at the ball and felt a massive power wash over her. She knew that in the Kalos region, Yveltal had a hand in the creation of the ultimate weapon that wiped out the region over 3,000 years ago. As the God of Destruction, Yveltal was one of the most powerful Legendary Pokémon in the world.
"Thank you, boss," Aria said. "I will use it well."
"I'll hold you to that promise," the boss said.
Aria bowed slightly and left the boss's office.
"Hehehe…" the boss laughed. "It's all going according to plan, Darkrai. Soon, the Forbidden Pokémon will be released from the sub-space rift that he was trapped in, and this world will be ours."
Darkrai emerged from the shadows. "But Gordon does not possess one of the Pokémon of the Dark Covenant. We need all four Trainers to complete the ritual."
"Exactly. I've already sent Gordon to the Slowpoke Well to stir up some trouble. If my calculations are correct, either Zuki or that kid she's traveling with will defeat him. Then he'll come back, begging for mercy, and he'll gain possession of the last Pokémon needed to complete the Dark Covenant."
The boss and Darkrai laughed cruelly. Their plans were finally being launched.
Their world conquest had begun.
Roku's P.O.V.
Route 33
"Yes! Finally!"
Once I saw light coming from an opening in the wall, I didn't stop running until I reached that light and broke out into the outside world.
"I'm out!" I said, taking in the rain that was falling that night. "I can't believe I'm out!"
The girls, however, (excluding Luna) were scurrying to get to Azalea Town as quick as possible to prevent their clothes from getting all wet.
"Heh…What's the matter, ladies?" I laughed. "Afraid of a little water?"
"Yeah, you didn't pay $50,000 for this outfit!" Reia shouted.
"My sisters would kill me if this kimono got ruined!" Zuki shouted.
"Heh…sissies," I said, running with them.
Surprisingly, the rain was only on that part of the road. Once we reached the city limits, the rain cut off.
"Huh…that's a little odd…" I said, confused. "The rain just stops off here."
"Yeah, we've never figured out why," Zuki said. "Some people seem to think it's because of the Slowpoke that hang around in the well."
"Slowpoke?" I said, holding back a laugh. Slowpoke were by far the stupidest Pokémon I'd ever seen. The Pokedex said something about Slowpoke not being able to notice if something's been biting it for at least a day.
"Yeah, I remember reading something about that," Reia chimed in. "Records show that a Slowpoke's yawn has the ability to summon rain. A Slowpoke ended a drought that way over 1,000 years ago."
"Heh, I'll believe that when I see it," I said, laughing. Just then, a Slowpoke that was laying there yawned loudly. I started to see thunderclouds form up overhead.
'You jinxed it, you asshole," Reia scoffed, hurrying to the Pokémon Center. I shrugged my shoulders and followed her.
Latias' P.O.V.
New Bark Town
After a nice rest, Latias was raring to go again. However, night had fallen, and she didn't want to head out at this time. So she contented herself with laying there in her den.
"Hey," said a voice behind her. Latias whirled around and powered up her Dragon Breath.
"Whoa, whoa, hold on, Latias!" Professor Elm shouted. "It's me!"
Latias calmed herself and crossed her arms, telling him that she was angry for sneaking up on her like that.
"Sorry, I forgot that you got attacked at night," the professor apologized. "I wanted to check on you and see how you were doing."
Professor Elm had brought his laptop so he and Latias could communicate. She took it from his arms and typed away.
I'm OK, but it still doesn't feel the same without Roku here.
"Yeah, I miss him, too," the professor said. "But he was going to leave someday. I could tell."
Yeah, but he only left because of me. If I hadn't left, he would still be here.
"It's not your fault, Latias," Professor Elm said reassuringly. "You had no choice. You felt like there was no other choice."
Latias hung her head. She knew that it was because of her that Roku got caught up in all this mess. She typed another message.
Can you try to contact him again?
"Because it's you, I'll try again," the professor said, pulling up Roku's number.
Roku's P.O.V.
Azalea Town Pokémon Center
I sat there, waiting to get my Pokémon back from Nurse Joy, when my P*DA lit up with a call from Professor Elm. I answered it, pulling up a small hologram of the professor.
"Professor Elm!" I said. "What's up?"
"I have someone here who would like to speak to you." The professor's face left the range, and was replaced by an auburn-haired girl that almost made my heart stop.
"Latias! Is it really you?!" I said excitedly.
"Hello, Roku," Latias said. "It's been a while, hasn't it?"
"Heh, yeah…" I said, a tear rolling down my cheek. "Are you OK? You're not hurt, are you?"
"Nah, I'm fine," Latias replied. "The Legend Keepers insisted on keeping me locked up in the HQ, but that wasn't flying with me." Her expression turned to one of sadness. "I didn't know that you would come looking for me."
"I had to find out why you left without saying goodbye," I said, the tears getting thicker. "I was really worried about you. I thought you were really hurt."
"I'm sorry, Roku," Latias said, her voice choking up slightly. "If it weren't for me, then you would've never gotten involved in all this…"
"Don't be," I replied. "If you'll meet me back in Ecruteak, then we can be involved in this together."
"What do you mean by that?" she asked, confused.
"I'm joining the Legend Keepers," I said. "I'm doing it to protect the Legendary Pokémon, as well as the world. But, most of all, I'm doing it for you."
"Roku…Are you sure?" Latias said. "Being a Legend Keeper can be dangerous. You could die from it."
"If I'm gonna go down, then I'm gonna go out guns blazing, with the friends that I hold dear," I said, a confident tone in my voice. "I'm ready to accept that fate, if it ever comes down to it."
"Good!"
I whirled around to find Reia and Zuki looking at me. Reia had changed into a small blue parka that cut off above her belly button and a pair of skinny jeans with a black pair of high tops. Zuki had changed out of her kimono and was now wearing a black dress with crescent patterns covering the skirt. Her hair was also down, which was long, deep black, and flowing.
"So, you're ready to accept the responsibilities of a Legend Keeper?" Reia asked me.
"Who's she?" Latias asked.
"That's Reia Sakura, a Legend Keeper I met shortly after leaving New Bark Town," I explained.
"Nice to meet you, Reia," Latias said formally. "I'm Latias."
"Latias?!" Zuki and Reia shouted at the same time.
Right then, my P*DA was taken over by the two, Reia wanting to meet another Legendary Pokémon, and Zuki wondering why Latias wasn't at the HQ. I eventually got them off my wrist, and I introduced Latias to Luna, who was confused.
"I thought Latias was a Pokémon," Luna said, confused. "But that looks like a normal human to me."
"That's because I can assume a human form to prevent people from seeing me for who I really am," Latias explained. "I can even camouflage myself entirely to render myself completely invisible to curious eyes."
"Wow, that's handy," Luna said.
I held back a laugh. "Seriously? That's all you have to say?"
"What else do you expect me to say?" Luna said.
"Well, I figured that you'd say something like 'Wow, that's cool!' instead of 'Wow, that's handy," I replied. "That just sounded dull."
"Well, when it gets right down to it, is really is rather handy," Latias said. "I took out three dragon riders on a stealth assault in midair."
"Wow, no kidding?" I said, impressed.
"Yep! Nailed 'em out of the air with a couple of Dragon Breaths and finished the last one with a Mist Ball to the face," Latias bragged. "It was no big deal, really…"
Latias and I stayed up the entire night, talking. Eventually, I got tired, and I had to say a painful goodbye.
"I'll see you in Ecruteak, OK?" I said.
"Yeah. I'll be there," Latias said.
I nodded and said goodbye, closing the link.
Author's Note: Roku and Latias finally see each other again after that fateful night, and now they have locked in a time where they will see each other face-to-face. Kind of sets the mood, doesn't it? Or is that just me?
Anyway, I guess I'll just throw out some random crap, since I've got nothing better to do than waste time. So, here's a retarded riddle for you: If you're going down a river and the wheels fall off of your canoe, how many pancakes does it take to shingle your doghouse?
Answer: 12, because fish don't like ice cream.
There. There's something to make you think: Man, this guy's weird. But don't let it stop you from reading my work.
That's it for this installment. Strato Abyss signing out.
