Chapter 43 – Recovery

It had been a little over a year since the attack by Team Galactic. Around the world, people were wondering if the reign of terror would ever end. Each region seemed to be facing issues these days. In Sinnoh however, a tentative peace was beginning to once more settle back into people's everyday lives.

Volkner stood with his arms crossed and leaning against the railing staring out at the azure waters along Sinnoh's east coast. Flint stood beside his old friend, appreciating the view. It had been some time since the Elite member had come this way, but considering Volkner's mental state, Flint decided a visit was worth the time.

"Ever since the attacks, trainers have been popping up like weeds. The more people who come here, the more I'm frustrated. I haven't had a solid match in over a year."

"Is that why you keep blacking out the cities power grid?" Flint asked with an easy grin. Volkner frowned at his friend's jib.

"I always set it back" Volkner mumbled. It was true, many of the city council had visited the gym to ask Volkner stop draining the power in Sunnyshore as it was hampering restoration efforts, even as much as Volkner's renovations and tools helped.

"You know there are a couple of trainers out there who could give you a battle. You could always come to the League too." Volkner had been considering challenging the league. Rumour was that Bertha was beginning to get a bit old and the terrorist attacks had taken their toll on the elder Elite Four member.

"Yeah maybe…" The two men were silent for a time before Volkner asked the follow up question. "Do any of you know where she went?" Flint looked around to make sure no one on this level of the lighthouse was listening to closely.

"No idea. Basically, as soon as Cynthia and Jill came out of that portal, Jill ran. I have no clue what happened in there, but even Cynthia wasn't right." Volkner shook his head. It was the question on everyone's lips. While the champion had been seen everywhere helping and putting things back together, word had gotten out that there had been another trainer at Spear Pillar, and she had gone into hiding.

Sun reflected off the young man's blonde hair. Lucas sat beside his friend simply staring out. This last year had been trying for both trainers. Lucas had devoted himself to helping Professor Rowan. There were massive restorative efforts the lab was helping with to bring the three lakes of the Sinnoh region back to health. It would still be years until they were even remotely close to being called healthy. It was nice to take a break however, to catch up with old friends, people who had been through the same catastrophe.

Barry on the other hand had continued his training. While he was mostly the same person, Barry's brush with death had left its mark. Lucas had noted that the normally fun and outgoing person he had meet over a year and a half ago was a little less loud, that smile didn't quite reach the ears as it had. Lucas suspected Jill's running had also hurt Barry. Neither of them had been able to help the young woman at Spear Pillar, and that haunted both of them. No one had heard from her or seen her in the year. Lucas knew Barry had hounded the Champion for an answer, but even Cynthia was tight lipped about Jill's whereabouts.

Wingull screamed along the shore, fighting over scraps of food left on the beaches. People wandered by the café going about their lives, and still hardly a word passed between the two men at the patio table. Finally, to be polite, Lucas asked Barry over his latte.

"How's the training going?" Barry smiled a bit at that.

"Let's just say, I knew my dad was strong, just didn't realize how strong." Lucas smiled. Palmer had taken a vested interest in his son's training once Barry had recovered. Because of this, Barry now had eight badges, but he still hadn't committed to challenging the league.

"How come you haven't left Sunnyshore yet then?" Lucas asked. Barry sighed.

"Honestly? I just always thought we'd challenge the league together." Lucas didn't have to ask who the blonde was talking about. The two lapsed into silence while the city around them went about life.

The summer along the ocean was a nice feeling. After the usually snowy city to the north, Sunnyshore was refreshing. Ports were booming as trade and restoration was moved around the region. But that wasn't what Jill was here for. A smile crossed her face as she saw her two friends sitting staring out at the ocean. But she was also nervous. It had been over a year since she had seen them. After everything that had happened, Jill need the time. She had cut herself off from the outside world, scared to even be outside. Considering how she had felt, she also felt awful for leaving her friends in their time of need too. It wasn't just her that had faced adversity in the Galactic attacks. The two young men had almost lost their lives, along with others who did die. Slowly, Jill made her way over to the table.

"Mind if I join?" she asked. Both men turned, their expressions going from relaxed to shock and enthusiasm.

"Jill!" they both shouted, shocking the other patrons beside them, a few who jumped and grumbled. The young woman only had eyes for her two friends who jumped up and were hugging her.

"I can't believe you're here!" Barry said shocked. Tears jumped into Jill's eyes, and she gave a small laugh as she wiped them away.

"I know…" They all sat down grinning at one another. Another coffee was brought by for Jill, who took a quiet sip while both Barry and Lucas stared at her.

"You both can stop examining me like I'm an experiment" Jill said with a smile.

"Just making sure you're real!" Barry replied with an easy laugh. Lucas chuckled too, noticing that it was the first time in a year that he had heard the blonde laugh.

"Where did you go?" Lucas finally asked Jill. The young woman stared down at her lap, not sure where to begin. She decided to start with an apology.

"I'm really sorry guys…" The rest caught in her throat. Tears came back, and began to fall in Jill's lap, as she couldn't bear to look at either man. Barry grabbed her hand so gently, Jill had to look up. He too had tears in his eyes.

"There's no reason to apologize. We're just glad you're okay." Lucas nodded along.

"Maybe you guys could go first? There's a lot I have to tell." Both men gave a small smile while Barry began.

"Well for starters, I'm probably the strongest trainer in the region now." That made both Jill and Lucas laugh. Even Barry had to smile. "It's true. I've spent the last year training around the region and with dad at the Battle Frontier."

"How is he doing?" Jill asked. She had hoped that Palmer was alright after the weird distortions at Spear Pillar.

"He's still kicking ass. I actually never realized how strong dad really was. I think he could take on Cynthia, but he says he doesn't want to."

"Well being a champion isn't easy" Lucas said.

"No, I know" Barry replied. "But I'd love to see that battle. In the meantime, I've got my eight badges so I'm going to have to take on the league without you now. Probably need to fine you for being so slow" Barry added with a wink at Jill. The young woman smiled and laid down a badge in front of Barry.

"You already beat Candice?" he said incredulously. Jill nodded.

"Yeah I challenged her a week ago. I didn't want anyone to know though 'cause I honestly wasn't sure I was ready." Lucas nodded along understanding. He hadn't battled anyone or anything for over a year now. "What about you Lucas?"

"I've been helping Professor Rowan with the lake restorations. There's a lot of work to be done to allow all the wild Pokemon to come back. It's going to take years before the areas are healthy again. But I'm thinking I'm going to do my dissertation on the rehab and what works and what doesn't." Both Barry and Jill said that was amazing. Lucas spent the next few minutes explaining how Sinnoh was working to restore the lakes. Finally, it was Jill's turn.

"So, what happened up there?" Barry asked in a low voice. Jill looked down again while she started talking.

"You both have to promise to keep this to yourselves. Only Cynthia really knows the whole story." Both men nodded. Taking a deep breath, Jill began to tell what had happened to her.

"It turns out, the legends are true. Well for the most part. Giratina was around well before humans were. It was angry, far beyond anything you could imagine. When Cyrus used the Red Chain to rip open the portals to different relms, Giratina flew into a rage and stopped him. But because of that, Giratina almost brought about what Cyrus was hoping for. The portal into Giratina's world, the Distortion World, it would have engulfed our world, destroying everything."

"How did you survive?" Lucas asked.

"I'm not one hundred percent, but I think the lake guardians. They were there, helped me and Cynthia find Giratina. And Cyrus."

"I hope he got what was coming" Barry said darkly. All anyone knew was that the Galactic leader was no longer a threat. What that meant however, was up for debate.

"After he lost, he committed suicide." Jill said this quietly, the image of Cyrus falling off the cliff still fresh in her mind. Lucas and Barry looked at one another but had nothing to say. "After we got out, it felt like everything had come apart." Jill thought back to a year ago.

"I went home for a little bit. I think mom was just happy I was alive, but it was too hard. People were trying to recover, saying I was a hero… I'm not. They couldn't understand, all those dead Pokemon, the cruelty I saw, the anger I felt. And then he just killed himself."

"That's not…" Jill cut Lucas off.

"I know it's not my fault." She shook her head and took a steadying breath. She had to make Lucas and Barry understand. Of all the people, they needed to understand, but she wasn't sure they would.

"I know. But Giratina was ready to destroy everything. And Cyrus… They were so close. But now Giratina is awake again. And I think that scares me most of all."

"Wait a second. Did you talk to it? This Giratina?" Jill nodded to answer Barry's question.

"It was the scariest thing I've ever done. You really can't imagine the rage it felt. And the power. It sent Cynthia's Garchomp flying without even trying. Anyways, I realized I couldn't take being around people anymore. I needed to get away. So, I went to Iron Island."

"Why there?" Barry asked.

"I figured it was secluded enough. I spent some time there with Riley before, and it really helped me and my team before so I thought it might be able to again." Jill's mind flashed back to her time on the island.

She arrived with Cynthia. The champion understood how Jill was feeling, but unlike the young woman, Cynthia had a region to attend to. She had assumed the burden of dealing with the press, hiding Jill away so the younger woman could heal, both mentally and physically. Riley had met the two women at the dock, taking Jill and her team up to the house. Jill felt hollowed out. Simply standing was almost too much, so she sat on the couch. Riley had said something about her Pokemon, but Jill was too far gone to remember what. Cynthia and he had spoke outside for some time before Riley returned.

Days turned into weeks. Weeks changed to months. And through it all, Riley helped Jill. Almost nightly at first Jill would awaken crying in Rileys arms after another nightmare. She could barely eat, could barely do anything. Even her Pokemon couldn't bring her joy as they too had to deal with their issues. Caladan and Icarium had tried to keep everyone together, but it was a losing battle as they weren't themselves either.

Urim had lost his glow. He wouldn't even take to the skies in his depression. A true reflection of his trainer's inner turmoil. Riley and his Pokemon had learned better than to chase down Epona. The fire type had chosen seclusion as her method of dealing with things, racing around the island in a burning ball. Chase was also volatile, shocking anything that came too close. Sphyrna was probably the worst however, as she had run to the mines. Riley and his team searched but could only find the traces of battles with wild Pokemon. The dragon was strong, that much was clear, but Riley still worried about her due to the fact that wild Pokemon were highly unpredictable and could seriously injure or even kill if provoked enough.

After a few months, Jill finally began to feel again. Caladan was the first to notice. He had been standing staring out to sea when his trainer came to his side.

"Cal, I'm so sorry." Both trainer and Pokemon were crying as Caladan shifted his massive head to her side. Jill wrapped her arms around her first Pokemon.

"There's nothing more you could have done" Caladan said after a time.

"That's just it. This world is so cruel sometimes. The injustice of what was done…" Jill trailed off.

"Maybe that's why we had to do what we did." Jill looked at the grass type confused. "Something Giratina said… You are not alone. I thought he meant us at first, but now I'm not so sure."

"What do you mean?" Jill asked.

"I don't know" Caladan replied honestly. There was just something nagging him that he couldn't place. "I just think we should talk to it again." Jill gave a dry chuckle at that.

"Not sure how we do that."

Seek and you shall find the ancient voice boomed through both minds. Jill whirled around, half expecting to see the legend before her. Caladan looked at his trainer, both somewhat confused, but for the first time in months, somewhat energized.

The following morning, Jill, Icarium and Caladan ventured down into the mines. Icarium had noticed the change in feelings between Jill and Cal, and was hoping that being around them would help get him out of the funk he had been feeling. The trio went deep into the mines, checking into various chambers before coming across one that felt different than other areas.

"Something's here" Icarium said as soon as they stepped foot into the chamber. Jill looked around, seeing nothing but highly reflective rock. And on one wall, a bright yellow triangle.

"Giratina?" Jill called out hesitantly. A breath of wind came across the three in the chamber, and suddenly Jill was standing before the legendary Pokemon itself. Though not back in the distortion world she noticed. And it looked somewhat different. It was Caladan who noticed this.

"You look different" the deep gravely voice said.

My actual form would disrupt this world, and so I am forced to take on a more corporal form. It was this form that your people called Giratina. My actual name is Korabas. The ancient voice seemed different than Jill remembered as well. Nervousness and trepidation made the young woman pause.

I sense turmoil in you and yours. I am partly to blame for this. To Jill, it sounded almost sad. That is not an emotion I am used to feeling. I have slept too long. This world comes to a point, and now it is the mortals who must guard the balance.

"I don't understand" Jill said.

I know.

"Can you help us?" Blood red eyes bored into brilliant green ones.

A knock on the door, and Bertha entered. Cynthia looked up from her computer to the Elite.

"You're not going?" the older woman asked. Cynthia glanced at the TV, which was showing a live feed from the Sunnyshore gym.

"She doesn't need me there. And besides, we need to get ready."

"I think she would appreciate it." Cynthia sighed. The champion was sure Bertha was right, but there were other things to take care of.

"Jill can handle herself."

"And what you both went through, Cynthia that leaves a mark." The two women stared at one another. Over the past year, Cynthia had set herself into her work, barely stopping for anything. Bertha knew that the champion was using it as a distraction. Cynthia may have believed she had failed, but the entire region saw her as a hero. It had taken some time for the Elite Four to break down the stubborn woman's walls. Cynthia finally smiled.

"You know how long it took for me to come to terms with what happened." Bertha nodded. "I spoke to Red and Arthur you know." That took the Elite by surprise.

"I didn't." Cynthia nodded, looking out of the window now.

"They both faced similar things. And they both secluded themselves from others for a time, the same way Jill has. True, it wasn't for as long as they both had duties to their regions, much the same way I do. But to come back takes courage. This should be her moment. Not mine." Bertha smiled as she realized what the Champion was doing.

Cynthia had come back from Spear Pillar a shell. Emotionally, mentally and physically exhausted, Bertha had helped the Champion regain her health. But after that, Cynthia had set herself to healing the region alongside the government. She had withheld most of the truth from the world about what had happened save to a select few individuals. And the truth was hard to believe. First and foremost, was that somehow, Jill had bonded to a legend. Not just any legend either, but one of the beasts from the very beginning of time. This marked her. So, Cynthia had turned to the people who were marked as Jill was. Arthur had been the champions first call. He had heard what had happened in Sinnoh and Cynthia could tell he was angry. He had come to the region only to leave when it could have used his help. But in regards to Jill, Arthur wasn't entirely sure what to say. The legends had their own minds and looked for something in trainers that Arthur couldn't quantify. Red said much the same when Cynthia reached out to him.

The other part was Team Galactic. Cynthia wasn't entirely convinced that Cyrus had died after leaving that cliff edge. But neither could she be sure that he survived. There was much they didn't know about the Distortion world as it was now being called. Cynthia had spent long hours with her grandmother and others discussing what she witnessed. The researchers and professors had also wanted to speak to Jill, but Cynthia forbade it. After all this time, Jill needed time to heal and come to terms with her new status.

Now however, it seemed that the other person responsible for stopping Cyrus was resurfacing. Jill was ready to take on the League again, and that meant that Cynthia and the Elite Four had a job to do. Especially since Jill wasn't the only one ready to challenge the league.

In the beginning there were two. My brother is of this realm, matter incarnate. I am his opposite, but one without the other would be an imbalance. This seems to be a principle of the universe. An action cannot act in isolation, but rather will have an effect elsewhere. This world is now coming to the point where the actions of some are upsetting the balance.

"Is that why the legends exist?" Jill asked. She was sitting while Giratina explained. She still couldn't grasp everything about this particular legend, but she understood enough to know that whatever was happening in the world needed help.

No, the legends came to exist as they were needed. When an aspect needed a champion, a legend came to bear.

"And you legends need people like Jill?" Icarium asked.

So, it would seem.

"What do we do?" Jill asked. Here finally was her purpose. There was something about speaking with Giratina that was putting things back together in her mind. Part of Jill wondered if Red and Arthur had this understanding.

I would imagine so. The two you think of, they are in play. I can feel their marks upon the world. However, it will take all of you to stop what is coming. As for how, I am not yet sure.

"You can read my mind but can't work out what we need to do?" Jill asked unsure.

I do not mean to see your thoughts. Of all legends, I have never bonded with a mortal. I am… unused to the feeling. My power is an anathema to this world thus the bonding is not what I was expecting. But my bond is to you, not others. I cannot discern the actions of all that now occupy this realm. For now, you must regain yourself, your team. It is time for you to leave your mark.

"It took time for me to regain trust in myself and for my team to trust me again." Jill was embarrassed to admit that, but these were her closest friends, people who wouldn't judge her.

"That's amazing Jill" Lucas said.

"Totally! You're a legendary trainer now! You shouldn't have a problem with the league now!" Barry said laughing. Jill gave a small laugh too.

"I won't be using Korabas against anyone."

"Wait who?" Barry asked.

"Korabas is Giratina's name. Or maybe that's just what it calls itself. Either way." Jill shrugged.

"Well that's still awesome. But you really took your time getting your team back" Barry said in a light tone. Jill gave him a quick jab in the arm.

"It wasn't that easy. Epona is the fastest Pokemon I have. She didn't want anyone coming close for a while. Icarium and Urim were easier, once I started to get my confidence back. Caladan was able to get Chase to come around, but Sphyrna… well let's just say I get why people say even caught dragons are wild Pokemon." Lucas nodded along, understanding the natures of the various members of Jill's team. "That's also the reason I didn't tell anyone I was challenging Candice. I was worried about that gym battle. After having spent so much time away or battling people who are trying to kill you…" Jill trailed off. Barry understood perfectly. His first training battles after the incident were harsh, to the point of brutal.

"Well I'm glad you're back Jill" Lucas finally said after a few moments of silence. The young woman smiled.

"Yeah but there's still one problem." Both Lucas and Jill looked at Barry confused. "You still only have seven badges!" Jill smiled.

"That's why I'm here."

A/N: Sorry this chapter took so long to produce. I'll be honest, I'm not sure what I think about it, so please by all means, give your feedback. Hopefully the emotions come through adequately.

On another side note, as we near the end of this adventure, my next one will take us to the Unova region. I am doing nuzlocke runs, but I'm also interested in using Pokemon that people would enjoy seeing fleshed out and written into the story. So if you have favourites from the next region, please let me know so I can begin team building.