Chapter 20: Steer the Storm
Roku's P.O.V.
National Park
Reia and I headed out from the Pokeathlon Dome and were going back to the park to meet up with Calem and Zuki.
"Hey, I never asked you this," I said to Reia. "But did you hear any kind of unusual noise while we were competing? Like explosions or what?"
"Come to think…I did hear something like that," Reia confirmed. "What do you think it could be?"
Just then, another explosion rang out. All four of us looked around for the source of the explosion.
"It sounded like it was coming from the park!" I said. "Calem and Zuki could be in trouble!"
"Then let's hurry!" Reia replied.
I nodded, and we ran to the entrance to the park.
Calem's P.O.V.
National Park
"Umbreon, use Faint Attack!"
Umbreon dashed out from the energy battle and disappeared. Charizard looked around frantically.
"Where'd he go?!" Charizard said in awe.
"Doesn't matter! We've got to hit him!" Calem said. "Use Heat Wave, and spread it out in all directions!"
Charizard roared and sent a massive wave of extreme heat out in all directions. Umbreon appeared above him, however, and was ordered to use Dark Pulse. Charizard was nailed in the back of the head with the beam of dark energy, and he hit the ground, his Mega Evolution powers dissipating as he went unconscious.
"Dammit…Come back, Charizard," Calem scoffed as he returned the dragon-like Pokémon back to his Poke Ball.
I can only choose one more Pokémon, Calem thought to himself. And it'll have to be able to do the job.
Calem pulled out his last Poke Ball and shouted, "Go, Lucario!" before lobbing it onto the field and revealing his final Pokémon.
"A smart choice, Calem," Zuki said. "However, you can't use its Mega Evolution. You might as well give up."
"Never," Calem growled. "My Lucario doesn't need Mega Evolution to defeat you!"
Lucario took a battle stance, saying, "I will not be defeated!"
"Bring it on!" Umbreon challenged.
"What the hell is going on?!"
Roku's P.O.V.
National Park
Reia and I ran into the National Park to find Calem and Zuki engaged in a fierce battle. It was Calem's Lucario versus Zuki's Umbreon whenever we walked in, and it looked like this was more than just a friendly sparring match. I had to step in and end it.
"What the hell is going on?!" I shouted, loud enough for everyone to hear. Calem and Zuki looked at us, as well as everyone in the small crowd that was gathered around them.
"Stand down, Roku!" Calem shouted. "Let us finish this battle!"
Lucario and Umbreon had run at each other and clashed head-on, jumping back as a result.
"Lucario, Aura Sphere!" Calem ordered.
"Umbreon, Faint Attack!" Zuki countered.
Umbreon's attack launched first, striking a direct hit, but it didn't do much damage. Lucario's attack, however, dealt incredible damage, and Umbreon was breathing heavily.
"Umbreon, Moonlight!" Zuki shouted desperately.
Luckily for Zuki, Mega Charizard Y's Drought ability was still in effect, and he healed himself to near perfection.
"We can't lose! Lucario, use Close Combat!" Calem shouted.
Lucario blasted off with amazing speed and began a massive combo chain on Umbreon, hitting him at least 10 times before slamming him with a vicious uppercut to the chin. Umbreon flew up and hit the ground hard, unconscious.
"No! Umbreon!" Zuki cried.
Lucario jumped back, breathing heavily. Close Combat had lowered his defenses as a result, and if Zuki managed to land one good hit, Lucario would be finished, and Calem would lose the battle. Personally, I was rooting for Zuki. I knew that she had been a Trainer longer than Calem, but Calem had mad skills. I knew it was going to be a close battle.
"C'mon, Zuki," Calem said. "I know you have that one final Pokémon up your sleeve. Send it out, and let's get to it."
Zuki was reluctant. I wasn't aware that Zuki still had one Pokémon left, but if she was hesitating to send it out, then it must be an extremely powerful Pokémon.
"Normally, I wouldn't," Zuki finally said. "But I don't intend to lose."
Zuki pulled one last Poke Ball from her kimono, giving it a good toss while she said two words that made both Reia and I flinch.
"Go, Lugia!"
Zareis' P.O.V.
Team Prime Base
The crowd down at the National Park wasn't the only one watching the battle. Zareis sat back in his executive-style leather chair, Danish in one hand, coffee in the other, with an entertained look on his face.
"Well, this is an interesting development," Zareis said as Zuki threw out the Pokémon known as the Beast of the Sea. "I had no idea that the Legend Keepers were in possession of Lugia. Imagine that."
"Whatcha want me to do, boss?" a voice said through his speakers.
"Stand down until I tell you to, Michael," Zareis said. "When I give you the order, snag it. Got it?"
"Got it. Standing by."
Roku's P.O.V.
National Park
I could not help but stand in awe. The majestic being known as Lugia was standing before me, as fearsome as the pictures I've seen of it through the Internet. Actually, it was even more intimidating than that. I pulled up my Pokedex and looked up Lugia's entry.
"Lugia, the Diving Pokémon," the Pokedex said. "Lugia is said to dwell at the bottom of the sea. Its wings are so powerful that one flap will cause a 40-day storm."
I looked up at Lugia once again, not believing that I was witnessing such a powerful Pokémon with my own eyes. Calem didn't stand a chance.
"Lugia, use Aeroblast!" Zuki shouted.
"Everyone, hold on to something!" I shouted, running to grab hold of one of the massive trees that surrounded the park.
Luckily, Lugia was smart enough to create a forcefield with its psychic powers before launching the finishing blow. Lucario was slammed up against the outer wall of the forcefield, taking massive damage from Lugia's windstorm. Once the attack ended, Lucario slid down the wall, unconscious.
Calem, however, was smiling. Once the forcefield dissipated, he returned Lucario to his Poke Ball and walked over to Zuki, holding out a hand.
"Great battle," he said. "It really softened my edge. Thanks for relieving my stress."
"No problem," Zuki said, shaking his hand.
I, on the other hand, was walking over to Lugia. It looked down at me and said, "Greetings, human."
"Uh…h-hi…" I said nervously.
What the hell were you thinking?! I thought to myself. Hi?! Who says that to a Legendary Pokémon?! Especially one such as Lugia?!
"You do realize I can read your thoughts, right?" Lugia pointed out.
Shit.
"Sorry, it's just that…" I said nervously. "I've never met a Legendary Pokémon of your caliber. It's kind of wigging me out, to be honest."
"I see…well, let it be known that you have nothing to fear," Lugia said, getting low so he could look me straight in the eyes. "Tell me, what is your name?"
"I'm Roku Kimura," I said. Then I looked at Luna, who was cowering behind me, and said, "And my frightened companion here is Luna."
"That's a very rare breed you have there, Roku," Lugia said. Then it froze. "Wait…you look familiar…"
Just then, a Poke Ball came whizzing out of the trees, exploding and trapping Lugia in its rays.
"Lugia!" I shouted.
The Poke Ball rematerialized near a Trainer with silver hair, though he was no older than me. He was wearing a blue leather trench coat with the collar popped, and he wore black jeans with black combat boots. On his head rested a pair of Go-Goggles, mainly used for traversing through areas with heavy weather.
"Hmph…and to think that this Pokémon is supposed to be overpowered…" the guy said as the Poke Ball clicked, signaling a complete capture. "What a disappointment."
"Hey! Who the hell do you think you are?!" I shouted.
"I'm the one you can't stop from taking this Pokémon," he said. "But I guess I can at least give you my name. I'm Michael, a Team Prime Admin."
"Grr…Arceus damn you…" I said. I dashed at him, fists balled. But Michael threw down a Smoke Ball, sending up a cloud of smoke. I tried to clear it away as fast as I could, but he was long gone by the time it cleared out.
"Dammit!" I shouted. I looked at Zuki, who was frozen with an "Oh, shit" look on her face.
"If they needed Lugia…then that means…" Zuki said silently. "Oh, shit…"
"Wait…you can't be talking about…" Calem said. A horrified look began to spread across his face.
"We have to inform Cedric of this."
"Inform Cedric of what?" I asked. "What are you talking about?!"
"Do you remember the Shadow Pokémon incident?" Zuki said.
Soon, a look of pure terror spread across my face. The Shadow Pokémon incident led to the creation of the ultimate Shadow Pokémon. A truly horrifying Pokémon known as XD001, or in other words, Shadow Lugia.
"If they use Shadow technology again, we're done for!" Zuki said, pulling out her P*DA.
"Wait, Zuki!" Calem said, grabbing her wrist. "If we send out a call now, it'll just cause widespread panic! Let's just wait until we get back to Ecruteak. We can tell him about it there."
Zuki looked at Calem, then said, "OK. I trust you."
Calem nodded and let go of her wrist.
"I think we all just need a good rest," I said. "We're all a little on-edge right now. A good night's sleep will fix that."
It was agreed that night that we would continue our journey tomorrow. Even if Team Prime managed to steal a Pokémon from our grasp, we didn't know their motives yet. I figured it would be best if we gathered a little more intel on them before just assuming that they're going to bring back XD001.
As I rest my head on the soft grass, these thoughts continued to race through my head. But as soon as Luna chose to rest beside me, as I felt her warmth, those thoughts left me, and I went into a deep sleep.
Reia's P.O.V.
National Park
Reia sat up and yawned loudly. She looked around and noticed that everyone else was still sleeping. She looked down at Lyra, who was laying on her waist and had woken up once Reia sat up. She yawned and stretched out.
"Morning, sleepyhead," Reia said caringly.
Lyra looked at her and said, "Morning."
Reia looked at Roku and Luna, who were laying close to each other, and thought she'd wake him up to get an early start to Ecruteak City.
"Hey, Roku," she said. "Wake up!"
No reply.
"Roku, wake up! We've got to get moving!" Reia said, giving him a firm shake. Still no reply.
"Great…good time to make contact with Celestrix," she said, irritated.
Roku's P.O.V.
National Park
I opened my eyes to find myself back in the dream world.
"Great…" I said to myself.
"Roku?"
I looked down. Luna was looking off into the distance.
Looks like she was able to join me in this one, I thought to myself.
"Where are we?" she said, looking up at me.
"We're in a dream, Luna," I said. "Celestrix must have brought us both here."
"For a very good reason," a familiar voice said.
The air in front of me rippled, and Celestrix shimmered into view.
"Good to see you, too," I said. "What do you need this time?"
"You make me sound like an unwanted family member," Celestrix said. "It's actually kind of hurtful…"
"Sorry, I guess I'm a little on-edge from a few events that happened last night," I said apologetically. "One of our Pokémon was stolen from us."
"Yes, Argyra," Celestrix said. "You know him as Lugia."
"Right," I said. "We think that Team Prime might be trying to bring back the Shadow Pokémon initiative."
"Oh, no…" Celestrix said nervously. "That means I'll have to reopen the Purification statues."
"Celestrix, you know something about this?" I asked.
"Yes…it was the result of tapping into our power for the first time," Celestrix explained. "Team Prime created an entirely separate branch known as 'Cipher' solely for the research on Shadow energy."
"Let me guess: Shihado's energy was used to rip Pokémon away from their Trainers?" I said.
"Correct," Celestrix confirmed. "And I used my energy to help the Trainers who wanted to help those poor Pokémon purify their hearts by creating Purification statues."
"So…what's our course of action, Celestrix?" I asked. "How can we stop them from recreating Shadow Pokémon?"
"This also has to do with our current objective to stop Team Prime from releasing Shihado," Celestrix said. "We must obtain the Pokémon of the Dark Covenant to prevent Zareis from completing his research."
"Great…more Pokémon to capture," I said.
"You must ask the human you call Calem to give you his Snag Machine," Celestrix instructed. "Only then will you be able to separate the Pokémon of the Dark Covenant from Team Prime."
"OK," I said. "Now let us go. I've got somewhere to go."
"Right," Celestrix said, somewhat disappointed. "Tell your mother I said hi."
With that, Celestrix vanished, and Luna and I slipped away from the dream.
Author's Note: Hahaha…FILLER CHAPTER! Sorry for lying so much, but I couldn't help myself. Shadow Pokémon are just so AWESOME! Besides, they're dark, in a way. Shihado could be the Shadow Pokémon of all Shadow Pokémon!
Anyway, right now I'm just bored. Not much to do anymore, but this next chapter WILL be the Bug Catching Contest, like I promised. So just bear with me.
And that concludes my 20th chapter! Someone bring out the party favors! Nah, just kidding.
Strato Abyss signing out.
