=Chapter 19, Inheritance=
*Jacob to Arky*
*Hi Arky, we're in Mauville City now, after a grueling four days of walking we've finally reached the largest city in all of Hoenn. Karen and I spent most of the trip just trying to find something to pass the time; of course her way of passing the time involved battling me and my team. Thanks to our constant battles though, her two Poochyena both evolved into Mightyenas.*
*So that was a definite plus, although now that all three Mightyena's are together, Laura and Ivan have started fighting each other for the most sacred and honorable position of Top Mightyena. While me and Karen are considered the 'Alpha's' to them, they seem to want to prove to the other that they have the better trainer. We've managed to keep their fighting to a minimal though, Harold has kept Ivan in line whenever I don't hold him back, and Ziggles keeps Laura focused whenever Karen isn't paying.*
*If those two don't destroy each other by the end of the month, I'll consider it a miracle.*
*Speaking of evolution, one of your lessons you never taught me was that with evolution comes not only a bigger and stronger Pokemon, but they also come with bigger stomachs. I learned that lesson the hard way after Harold evolved. But then Kora evolved and after her Sara, Karen's Shrew and Ziggles, and the rest of our team soon followed afterwards. Coral by far is the largest member of my team, and at a lengthy twenty feet I figured she'd need a lot of food. Fortunately she's not as demanding as I believed. Still, between mine and Karen's teams, we have a lot of mouths and large stomachs to fill.*
*We arrived in Mauville City last night, having spent a long time walking at night along the route there, and we managed to get ourselves a room at the Pokemon Center here. Right now I'm getting my team checked up before we go to sign up for the Gym here.*
*Jessy called this morning and said she'd be by later today, how she moves so fast between Mauville and Slateport without taking Cycling Road I don't know.*
*In any case Arky, I know I shouldn't be complaining or worrying but, last night when Sara and I were sleeping I had a really strange dream. I figured I should tell you because I don't understand it and maybe you might, you seem to know almost everything and I really trust your knowledge.*
*Last night, I was dreaming that I was floating… I can't really explain it but it felt like I was floating. In front of me there was a tiny speck of light that seemed to be calling for me, it wasn't like a psychic message from Sara, it was more like… I don't know. It was like something was calling to me, trying to tell me to come to it, like it wanted something. I tried to go to the speck, but when I tried to go to it, the speck moved away, yet it continued calling to me.*
*I really wish I could talk to you Arky, because there are things I just really want to ask you about.*
(Jacob's PoV)
"Are you kidding me, be back in six hours maybe?" Karen shouted as she, Sara and Jacob read the sign hanging in the Mauville Gym's doors.
It was just an hour after they both had breakfast when they retrieved their Pokemon to go sign up and schedule their match for the Mauville Gym. However when they arrived at the Gym, they found that the doors were locked with the sign that they were not staring at in disbelief.
'Mauville Gym Closed, The Gym Leader will be back in (Six Hours) … maybe'
"What kind of Gym Leader goes and closes their gym for six hours and not tell anyone when their coming back!" Karen yelled, stomping her feet in anger. "I was so hyped to challenge this Leader after we heard they used Electric Type Pokemon, but what happens when we come here to schedule our match?"
"Yea, I wonder if Jessy knows why that is?" Jacob asked himself, realizing that they would have a long time to wait before they could even sign up for their match.
(Why does this sign have a 'maybe' on it, the last sign we saw didn't have that.) Sara asked Jacob curiously.
"I don't know Sara, maybe someone who lives here can explain." He said, turning to walk away with Karen still going full on rage behind him.
"I mean is it so hard to tell a secretary or somebody to stay behind and just say when the Gym Leader is coming back, or heck to still accept match scheduling! Come on what kind of world are we living in here, I mean we're respectable, honest, hardworking Pokemon Trainers who have been enduring the elements for the last few days. Is it too much to ask to be able to schedule our gym match when we finally arrive?"
"Yea I know Karen; it's a really sad world we live in." Jacob said with a smile, ignoring her complaints. "How about we go explore Mauville and just spend some time having fun for a change!"
"Alright fine." Karen relented almost too easily.
They left the outer ring of Mauville City and entered the open plaza where shopkeepers were starting to set up their temporary shops. According to Karen the Mauville City Plaza had once been more open and a social gathering place for Mauville's residents and travelers. Then someone got the bright idea to set up a temporary shop and sell souvenirs and trinkets or other items to passing by trainers. After that, others followed the example and now the Mauville Plaza had become the Mauville equivalent of Slateport's Open Market.
As they entered the plaza they saw many small stands selling trinkets and cheap jewelry as well as snacks, drinks, and other things. There were at least thirteen or fourteen different sales people and shops selling their various items to visitors and tourists.
"Alright let's go shopping Jacob!" Karen shouted excitedly, but was quickly pulled back by Jacob.
"Oh no you don't, you are not taking what little money we have and going shopping!" Jacob said. "First we sell these nuggets we got from the Trick House, and then we divide it equally so we can make sure we have what we need for necessities. After that we purchase the supplies we'll need to travel when we leave Mauville, and then we can go shopping for trinkets!"
"Oh come on I can be trusted with money!" Karen pouted as he moved through the shops to find someone who would buy their nuggets. "Jacoooob, come on let me sell my nugget and buy what we might need pleeease?"
Sara looked back at Karen before grinning at Jacob, shaking her head. "Sorry Karen, Sara says no so no."
(Hehehehe.) Sara giggled to him, thoroughly enjoying toying with Karen's desire to go on a shopping spree.
"We both know that the instant I let you spend our money we'll have nothing but snack food and junk food to eat!" Jacob said.
"You are such a goody two shoes you know that?" She said as they found a rare rock dealer who was more than happy to pay the ten thousand Pokedollars for the two nuggets.
While the dealer counted the money for Jacob an Officer Jenny, one of many sisters who all seem to have joined the family business of becoming police officers, and another officer entered the plaza and started looking around. After a few seconds of looking around they started walking around the various dealers and asked questions. This seemed to be routine for the dealers, because the only people who paid any attention were those being talked to and the various trainers who were new to Mauville.
After the rock dealer handed over the money for the nuggets, Officer Jenny made her way over to Jacob and Karen seeing the large wads of Pokedollars. "Evening kids, how's it going?" She asked with a smile, though her eyes were slightly suspicious.
"We're waiting for the Gym Leader to return so we can sign up for our match." Karen said.
"Is there anything we can help you with ma'am?" Jacob asked, slightly worried that maybe he and Karen did something wrong.
Sara sensed his worry and became nervous as well, only doubling his worry. (Sorry… I can't help it.) She said apologetically.
"Yea can answer some questions since you're new around here." Officer Jenny said. "Can you tell me where you got those two nuggets from kids, because that's an awful lot of money to be carrying around?"
"We got them from the Trick House on Route 110." Karen said instantly. "We beat that crazy Trick House's maze and as a prize we each got one nugget!"
Officer Jenny raised her eyebrows in surprise at this. "You beat that maze, well that explains where the nuggets came from, it's not often we have trainers who beat that maze their first attempt before coming here. Sorry for acting suspicious about you two, I'm just doing my job."
"It's alright officer, but why would we be suspicious?" Jacob said, breathing a sigh of relief.
"Well for starter's we've been having some Pokemon-napings lately, trainers have been stealing Pokemon from their trainers or owners right in front of them and it's gotten out of hand." She said, reaching into her pocket and pulling out a mugshot picture which featured only an image of a purple hand clutching a purple Pokeball. "I'm guessing you've heard of Team Snagem at this point in your journey right? You should have heard of them if you were in Rustboro City, because there were a couple of thefts involving Pokemon there, including a Salon Owner's Froslass."
"Oh yea, we know about them." Karen said with a nod.
"Well they've been spotted here and they've 'snagged' several Pokemon already, their most recent theft is a kid's Zigzagoon when they were going on their morning walk." Officer Jenny said with a sad sigh. "We've been trying to pin down where they could be hiding, but we've had no luck even with all of Mauville's security cameras. For some reason all of the cameras keep cutting out at the times these incidents occur, so we don't have any video feeds that we could use to find them. I've been going off of just second hand information and mug shots based on what people describe these Snagem Members look like. If we could just pin one of them down we could find the whole group and arrest them."
"That's terrible, is there anything we can do to help?" Karen asked.
Officer Jenny sighed and pointed at Sara. "Just don't travel alone and whatever you do keep your Pokemon safe." She said. "We're not sure how these Snagem Members are doing it, but they've been able to capture Pokemon that were already previously caught. The Pokeball Barriers aren't stopping or protecting the Pokemon either. Also, I know it's a long shot and you probably won't get the chance, but if you encounter one of these Snagem Members and somehow get the chance, try and get one of their Pokeballs and bring it to a friend of mine, she goes by her Trainer name Electra. She's volunteered to help engineer a new protective Pokeball Barrier to counter Team Snagem, but to understand how it works she needs one of them to examine before she can do that."
Jacob nodded and said that both he and Karen would do their best to keep an eye out for Snagem, and if they did get the ball said they'd bring it straight over to Electra. Officer Jenny gave them address for Electra's workshop and told them that she tends to be there whenever she's working on one of her projects. After that she left to resume her patrol.
"Jeez, what is with Snagem?" Karen said as they left the plaza to go shopping for food and medicine.
Their supply of potions and antidotes had gone bad, forcing them to safely dump the contents out when they reached Mauville City. Karen had simply wanted to toss the items away when they were walking along Route 110, but Jacob said no, and said they would wait until they reached Mauville City to find a place where they can safely dump the useless potions and antidote bottles away. Karen complained a little, but she realized it was useless to fight him when not only did he have the majority of their potions and antidotes on him, but also had the moral high ground behind him.
"I don't know Karen, but I'm really hoping for another chance to take on Snagem again after the last time we fought them." Jacob said with cold voice.
"Don't go picking a fight with a sleeping Snorlax Jacob!" Karen said warningly, but she too looked ready to take on Snagem the first chance they got. "You heard what Officer Jenny said, they are stealing Pokemon right in front of their trainer's faces! Don't forget Sara is still 'wild', so she doesn't even have Pokeball Barrier to protect her in the first place. Plus because she's always on your shoulder or walking besides you, she sticks out like a lightbulb. We need to be a lot more careful this time around."
"Yea I know." He said as he rubbed Sara's head gently.
They went to the Pokemart and after a series of stern looks, griping moans, and many dry tears, they purchased the food and medicine they would need during their future travels. They had a good three thousand Pokedollars to spare, so Jacob divided it between him and Karen evenly, and they separated to spend their money however they wanted.
(So what are we going to do now Jacob?) Sara asked as they browsed some of the stores in the outer ring of the city.
"I don't know, maybe we could buy our team some gifts for them." Jacob said. "You know, they have been working very hard these last few weeks, especially Harold, Ivan and Roran. Those three have been pushing themselves super hard."
(I think that would be a great idea!) Sara said happily. (What kind of gifts are you thinking of?)
"Hmmm…" Jacob said, giving some deep thought to his gift ideas.
As they continued to walk past shops, they passed by the gym once again, and the sign was still there. Ignoring it he instead headed toward a shop that was right next to the gym out of curiosity, since he had never been to Mauville and only knew that it was modeled after Lumiose City in Kalos.
The shop was absolutely tiny by comparison to the others around it, apparently it was a very rarely visited shop as it didn't even have an official name over it or any fancy decorations surrounding it's door to showcase what it was. Instead it had several Pieces of Paper taped to the door with crudely drawn out words, which was apparently the store's name.
'Electra's Stone's, we'll buy, sell and customize any stone (even boring rocks)!'
"Electra… isn't that the name of Officer Jenny's friend, the one who we were told to bring one of Snagem's balls to if we managed to get one?" Jacob asked Sara.
(Yea, that is her name!)
Jacob contemplated whether or not to pay a visit to Electra, seeing as they didn't have any Snagem Pokeballs for her.
(Are we going in there?) Sara asked as she looked at the store with him.
"Yea, let's check it out." Jacob said as he walked forward and entered the small store. "No reason not to, might as well just pop in and say we offered Officer Jenny some help with getting a Snagem Ball."
The inside was as dull as the outside had been, the small space of the store only allowed for three tables where tools and equipment to shape and break apart certain rocks and various rare stones stood. On a shelf lining one side of the room were several stones that were either finished or in progress. At the back of the store where a fourth table was, sat a hunched over woman in a lab coat and working furiously on an object he couldn't see. Next to her with wires wrapped around its mane was a Manectric. The only source of light was a lamp that was on the table and pointed outward the room.
"Uh hello?" Jacob asked as the lady, wondering how she was able to work in absolute darkness, seeing as the lights weren't on.
"One second, I'm almost done here!" She said, not even looking up from her work as she took a small hammer blindly with one hand, and put down a pair of tweezers with the other. "Just to skip introductions, my name is Professor Electra, this is my shop, and this is my friend Volt the Manectric, now give me another minute because this is quite important."
Guessing that it would only be polite to just wait, Jacob leaned up against one wall with Sara and simply watched the woman work. They watched her hammer away ever so delicately and meticulously with the hammer before once again reaching for the tweezers.
She continued to work on whatever it was for a good ten minutes before the door opened up again, and in walked Jessy Garnet. "Oh hey Jacob!" She said with a smile. "Fancy meeting you here, what are you doing here, shopping?"
"I was curious about what this place was, that's all." Jacob said, letting Sara down off his shoulder so she could walk around on her own for a while. "Why are you here, shopping?"
"Oh no, I'm not shopping, I'm picking up my order!" She said with a big grin.
"What order?" Jacob asked.
"Finally done!" The woman said as she happily. "Okay my friend, thanks again for lending me your electricity as always. I'll make it up to you with lunch okay?"
"Manectric…" It said with a nod as she removed the wires from around its mane, causing the lamp to turn off.
As she got up and stretched, she finally turned around so that she could look at her shop's two guests. "Well hello there, I don't think I know who you are boy but I believe I remember you little girl." She said with a grin. "So how can I help you today?"
"Hi there Electra, this is my friend Jacob Beryl." Jessy said with a nod. "We're both from Littleroot Town; you know the town I told you I came from? Earlier today you received a package from me with a request. I came by to see how my present from my dad came out."
"Oh yes now I remember, sorry I don't do well with faces!" She said with a chuckle. "You package was quite a treat let me tell you, it was an honor to work on it! In fact I just finished it, here!"
She turned around and wrapped the object that she was working on with a silk cloth, before walking with her Manectric to give Jessy it. Jessy squealed as she carefully took the silk cloth off and revealed a necklace, where the main piece was shaped like a V. Nestled at the base of the V was a small, tiny, multicolored marble that seemed to gleam in the shop. Glowing gently so as to be seen, Jacob could just see a faint image embedded into the marble that looked similar to a DNA strand.
"What is that?" Jacob asked as he and Sara looked at the beautiful piece.
"It's my Key Stone; I just inherited it from my father!" She said with a massive grin. "He says that since he's retired from being a trainer and isn't going to be battling as he used to, that I should be the one to have his Key Stone! He gave it to me a few days ago and I sent it here to Electra to have it customized for me!"
"What's a Key Stone?" Jacob asked, confused because he had never heard of it before.
Jessy however was busy fitting the necklace around her neck, once it was in place and she put a finger to touch the Key Stone to it the stone glowed brilliantly for a brief moment. The whole room was temporarily bathed in the dim multicolored light, before it died down instantly. "You should probably ask Electra Jacob, I only know the basics!" She said with a grin. "In any case thank you for working on my Key Stone, it's amazing at how you pulled it off!"
Electra only smiled and bowed her head in gratitude. "It was nothing short of an honor to be able to work on a Key Stone, the pleasure is all mine Jessy." She said. "I hope you and your Pokemon go far and show just how strong your bond is, and show just what you're capable of as a trainer!"
"Thank you, I'll see you probably in Lavaridge Town Jacob!" Jessy said with a grin before skipping out of the shop, still leaving Jacob's question unanswered.
As Jessy left, Jacob once again looked over at Electra who was still smiling at Jessy's exit. "Well Jacob if you want to learn about Key Stones just follow me." She said.
Jacob followed her to the back of the room where she had been working and once again pulled out the lamp's wires. "Sorry buddy, but I need to borrow your mane again." She said with a chuckle.
Her Manectric rolled his eyes and allowed her to wrap the wires around its mane, causing the lamp to turn on. Jacob lifted Sara back onto his shoulder so she could see what Electra was pulling out from under the table.
Lying on the table was a rather battered and dirty book, which featured two pictures of the same marble but in different sizes on its cover. She opened the book and showed the images of different marbles with labels such as 'Scizorite' or 'Aggronite'. "Key Stones are special stones that are extremely rare in our world Jacob, so rare in fact that it is almost impossible to find one." She said as she flipped through the pages every few minutes to show Jacob the images. "Key Stones are special stones, what they are and how they work is still a mystery even to this day, but what we do know about them is that they act as mediums between Humans and Pokemon, more specifically between a Pokemon Trainer and their Pokemon. The Key Stones are so rare in fact, that it's estimated that only half a percent of the planet's crust contains the element."
"Okay but why are you showing me these other stones, what are 'Gyaradosite' and 'Kangaskhanite'?" He asked, even more confused.
"Those are the second piece of the mystery that is Key Stones, they are called Mega Stones." She explained as she flipped to a page that showed a trainer and an Alakazam, each one holding a different stone. "You see, while there are less than a percent of Key Stones in proportion to the planet's crust, there are quite a few Mega Stones out there. You have to find special locations to harvest them, but once you have even one piece, any Pokemon can use them as long as they are the same species as the stone corresponds to. When Trainer and Pokemon have both a Key Stone and Mega Stone, the two can achieve something referred to as Mega Evolution!"
(Mega Evolution?) Sara asked.
"Mega Evolution, while it isn't fully understood how or why it happens, research indicates that energy seems to transfer between the two to allow it to occur." She said, answering Sara's question after Jacob repeated it. "Mega Evolution is a sort of, Super Mode of Evolution in which the Pokemon temporarily evolves beyond its fully evolved state to an even higher level. It becomes faster, more powerful, can absorb more damage, and everything else increases exponentially. It only occurs though in extreme moments when emotions and tensions are at their peak, such as during Pokemon Battles when the Trainer and Pokemon are focused. This Mega Evolution has been known to turn the tides of battle, because they give a Pokemon more power than it ever has!"
Jacob nodded in understanding, though one more question poked at him. "But why are the Key Stones so much smaller than the Mega Stones?"
"Yes that is a good question, and the answer has severable possibilities that are all interconnected." She said as she turned the page again, this time showing a list of Key Stone size comparisons, all of which were no larger than a marble. "Because of how few Key Stones there are, they each must be proportioned to a small size to prevent a catastrophe from occurring in the middle of a battle. In order to allow Mega Evolution to occur you see, energy is transferred somehow between the Trainer's own body and into the Pokemon's. This energy is quite a lot all things considered, and while you don't notice the effect instantly, it does become noticeable over time. That is why they are this small, because that is how much energy our Human bodies can allow to be transferred to our Pokemon to spark the Mega Evolution, if we transferred anymore we'd kill ourselves in the process."
"This is why they are so small, as you've noticed if you looked at your friend's Key Stone, it was miniscule. Pokemon are much more resilient, that is why their Mega Stones are bigger, even for small Pokemon. They don't need to transfer any energy to our bodies unless as a last resort. I have a theory, though it's still unproven, that the reason the first Pokemon to Mega Evolve, a Lucario, was because it was protecting it's trainer from an enemy that it could not defeat with its current power."
"One mystery that we still have yet to understand, but are constantly theorizing, is why Mega Evolution is only temporary." She said as she closed the book. "The scientific community debates constantly about why that is, but many suggest that the energy only lasts during the midst of battle because that is when tensions are at their peak. Others suggest that because the energy required to spark Mega Evolution is so much on our parts that it eventually fizzles out because it can't sustain itself for long. No matter what though, in order to even Mega Evolve, you need the four elements of one Key Stone, one Mega Stone, one Trainer, and the Pokemon that corresponds to the Mega Stone."
Jacob nodded, understanding what Mega Evolution was now, but still another question popped into his head. "You said that Key Stones are rare, but exactly how rare are they?"
"So rare that the only way to get them is to inherit one or find an unused one yourself." She said. "The way Key Stones work is based on DNA, once one is used heavily by a trainer it won't work for anyone besides that trainer. You can trade Mega Stones between similar Pokemon and they'll work the same, but if two trainers swap Key Stones they probably won't work at all, especially if they are used as heavily as many trainers who do have them do. That is why they are so sought after; a single Key Stone can become permanently attached to the DNA of whoever first uses it. It's not uncommon for a single Key Stone to pass through generations of a family because of their DNA."
"Wow… Mega Evolution." Jacob said to himself. "No wonder Jessy was so excited, whoever has a Key Stone could probably win the Pokemon League Challenge. Who could stop a whole team of Mega Evolved Pokemon?"
(It does sound like an unfair advantage to whoever has one of these Key Stones!) Sara said thoughtfully. (If only a few trainers have these Key Stones then they are the only ones who can use Mega Evolution.)
"Yea, it does sound unfair to everyone else." Jacob said.
"Well as powerful as it is, unfortunately because of the energy required to spark a single Mega Evolution, each Key Stone will only allow enough energy to be transferred to one Pokemon. If it's used repeatedly the wearer eventually runs out of stamina to the point of collapse. So some time is required before another Mega Evolution can be used. You may not feel the effects at first, but if you use Mega Evolution at least five times a day and more, you most definitely will. You don't want to use Mega Evolution for every battle you come across, it's best used for situations that require such power."
"Also since most trainers don't have a Key Stone, it's become an unspoken rule among those who do have them to not use them unless they absolutely must in most regular battles." Electra said as she closed the book.
"I wish we had one Sara." Jacob said to her.
(We would definitely have a huge advantage over other trainers, especially Snagem!) Sara said with an understanding nod. (But who would Mega Evolve, and how does it work? Does just having the stones give us the ability?)
"Yea how does Mega Evolution work?" Jacob asked Electra.
Electra however was removing the wires from her Manectric, and stretching and yawning as she stood up again. "I really wish I knew everything but, I only know so much Jacob, that's a topic for another time when I have a lot more free time to spare." She said as she scratched her Pokemon's mane. "Right now I'm really busy, I've got a lot of work here in Mauville City, and one of those is running this shop which is more like a hobby of mine. I need to get back to my second job, maintaining the electrical circuits and everything else that keeps the lights on in this city, not to mention the security cameras. If you want to learn more stop by here tomorrow when I've got more free time okay?"
Jacob nodded and left the shop with Electra, Sara and Volt. As she locked the door to the shop behind them Jacob remembered that he was supposed to let Electra know that Officer Jenny asked them for their help, but before he could tell her a second after the door locked she broke into a run with her Pokemon, heading down the street and out of sight.
=Returning Fear=
(Jacob's PoV, Ten hours later in the Pokemon Center)
-Kabooooooooooooom-
*It had to be a thunderstorm, why does it have to be a thunderstorm?* Jacob thought to himself as he struggled to sleep in the small bed the Pokemon Center had given him.
After Electra left him and Sara behind earlier, they had gone looking for Karen to see what she had spent all of her money on. They were surprised to find her in the new and improved Mauville Food Court, she had ordered a Village Sub Combo and was battling all the time he had spent with Electra and Jessy in the shop for her seat and order. She emerged victorious and kept her seat while a waiter brought her the food and herself to her seat.
The Mauville Food Court had two levels, the upper for residents and spectators, and the lower for trainers and Pokemon. A passing by waitress quickly explained the rules of the Mauville City Food Court Battle, any trainer who ordered food was given a seat, and any trainer who wanted to eat the specialties from the upper levels could challenge for those food orders and seats. It was a tradition they started when Mauville was redesigned.
Jacob decided to order himself a Sub Combo as well, and after a short battle with a trainer who wanted to steal his seat and food, emerged victorious as well as with a full stomach for himself and his team. After that they lounged in the spectator's level and talked about Mega Evolution for a bit. She was impressed that she had never heard of Mega Evolution, but she was more than eager to try it out herself. She declared that her next goal, besides winning eight gym badges and competing in the Pokemon League Championship, was to find her very own Key Stone.
Afterwards they wandered around, exploring the city and passing the time, hoping that the Gym Leader would return. When sundown came and it was clear that they wouldn't be able to schedule a match that day, they had no choice but to return to the Pokemon Center.
That was when a thunderstorm decided that Jacob had had a good enough day and decided to roll in, bringing with it a heavy downpour and of course, thunder to ruin his night.
-Kaboooooom-
Jacob shivered slightly as he tried turning over again to get comfortable in the small bed.
Unfortunately for all the good things Mauville City had to offer, the Pokemon Center's sleeping quarters were not one of them. The rooms were tiny to allow at least a hundred trainers to spend the night there, the only furniture being a small bed to sleep on and a single bathroom with multipurpose shower. He also had to have the unfortunate luck to have a room with a window, allowing an unobstructed view of the beautiful landscape outside.
*Why do I have to have the window room, of all the rooms why did it have to be one with a window!* He thought angrily as another flash of lighting signaled a very loud pang of thunder.
Sara was sound asleep, having fallen asleep in his arms almost instantly before the storm started. So deciding that he might as well try to make the best of the room, he got up and once again tried to close the curtains as much to keep the flashes out of the room. Unfortunately he failed miserably at the task as soon as another lightning flashed, causing him to jump slightly in fear.
He had not gotten over his fear of lighting, and he doubted he was going to this night. Seeing Arky's massive Thunder with his own eyes, so close to him, had only increased that fear. Try as they might, Jacob and Arky could not help him get over his fear of lighting.
"Just go away please Mr. Thunderstorm?" He asked hopefully.
The only response was another lightning bolt, this time much closer!
Jacob did his best to hide his squeak of fear, but it still sounded quite loudly in the small room.
(Jacob?) Sara asked him in his mind.
Jacob looked at the Kirlia as she looked at him with worried eyes. "I'm sorry Sara, did me making noise wake you up?"
(No, I sensed you were afraid.) She said with a shake of her head. (What's wrong Jacob, I haven't felt you this frightened since Snagem cornered us back near Rustboro.)
"I'm sorry I just… don't do well with thunder…" He said as another lightning strike caused him to jump because it was so much closer and louder this time.
(Are you frightened of the thunder Jacob?) She asked him, and he could tell that she wasn't poking fun at him but was genuinely worried. (It can't hurt us in here; you told us yourself, if we're in here the storm can't hurt us.)
"I know, but I still don't like thunder storms!" Jacob said, sitting on the bed next to her and shivering a little.
Sara was silent as she looked up at him with her amber eyes, before a smile crossed her face. (Release the others for a second Jacob!) She told him.
"Why, they're sound asleep." Jacob said. "I don't want to wake them up when they're all asleep."
(Just do it Jacob, please?) She asked sweetly, still smiling at him.
Jacob sighed and, giving her the benefit of the doubt and guessing she had something in mind, reached down to his bag and grabbed his team's Pokeballs from his belt. The first he released was Coral, next came Ivan, then Roran, and finally Harold. All of them stretched and yawned in their respective ways, before looking around the severely space limited room, curious about why Jacob had called them out.
Coral coiled herself several times so there was at least a little room, which was a good move because uncoiled she took up half the space of the room. Even so, despite her doing her best to provide as much room as possible, there wasn't a lot of walking room.
"Milotic?" Coral asked Jacob curiously.
"Sara asked me to release you all, ask her." Jacob said, looking at Sara as well.
"Kirlia!" Sara replied, speaking in Poketalk. "Kirlia… lia lia Kirl!"
She pointed at the storm outside. "Grovyle?" Harold asked.
"Arf!" Ivan replied.
"Kirlia!" Sara said with a smile. "Kirlia Kirl!"
"Swellow." Roran said with a nod.
"Grovyle."
"Milotic… tic Milo?"
They all continued to converse among themselves, leaving Jacob out of the loop, before they looked at each other one final time nodded in unison, apparently coming to some kind of agreement. Then Coral started uncoiling herself, using her powerful tail to push the bed to the side with Jacob and Sara still on it to provide some more room. Then she coiled up again, only not as tightly as before. "Milotic…" Coral said with a kind smile toward Jacob.
"Uh guys?" Jacob said, as another lightning struck which made him jump a little.
(Jacob, take the blanket and sleep with Coral!) Sara said with a smile. (We'll all sleep together so you don't have to be afraid of the lightning!)
"Wait, you mean… all of you?" Jacob asked in surprise.
They all nodded in agreement as Sara spoke up again. (Yea, you see we all know you would do anything to help us if we're frightened, so it's our turn to help you now that you're frightened!)
Jacob smiled and gave one small tear, before he nodded at them gratefully. He took the blanket from the bed and walked over to Cora before lying down and making himself comfortable on the ground next to her. Surprisingly her scales were much softer than he imagined, and they were very cool to the touch. After he made himself comfortable, as well as using a portion of her body as a pillow, she coiled the rest of her lower body around him and positioned her fan-like tail over his body to act as a colorful blanket.
After that Ivan laid down next to Coral, curled up, and proceeded to close his eyes for sleep. Harold laid down on the opposite side of Coral's body, and curled up as well, being careful with his leaf-blade like arms so he wouldn't hurt Coral, even though she couldn't be harmed easily by them unless he really wanted to hurt her. Roran roosted near the opposite side of Coral's head, close to where Jacob's feet were, and tucked his head under his wings for sleep. Finally Sara climbed under the blanket and Coral's tail to curl up in Jacob's arms, before Coral completed the scene by laying her head next to Jacob and giving him a gentle nuzzle with her cheek before closing her eyes to sleep.
Jacob was speechless, but he didn't need to say any words.
(Feel better now Jacob?) Sara asked as he started to drift off to sleep.
"Yea… I feel a lot better now." He whispered to her, petting her head a little in gratitude.
(Good night Jacob.)
"Good night everyone." He said, and they all grunted in response, before he visited sleep world.
Suddenly, the thunder storm didn't seem so impressive, now that his team was surrounding him.
=A Call for Reunion=
(Jacob…)
(… Jacob…)
(… Jacob… wake up Jacob...)
*Hnnng… what?*
Jacob slowly woke up, and was surprised to find himself in the middle of the Sanctuary, where he and Arky would have their lessons and where Arky lived. "What am I doing here?" He said.
(It's about time you woke up.) A voice said to him.
He looked behind him and saw Arceus or Arky for short, lying right behind him, looking like the symbol of royalty and nobility for all Pokemon.
(I've been sitting here waiting for you to go to sleep for quite a long time.) Arky said. (Do you know how hard it is to maintain this dream world in your mind for several hours, waiting for you to fall asleep so I can bring your consciousness in here?)
"I'm sorry Arky but… well there was this storm and…" Jacob said, trying to explain so Arky would understand why.
(It's okay Jacob, I know.) He replied with a gentle voice, but still no matter how gentle he sounded or acted he still had that intense look that made him appear angry or serious. (You still have trouble with lightning I see. Well there's nothing you can do about it, but I am glad that you now see that your Pokemon are there with you, for good times and bad, as well as the times when you are afraid. It makes me proud that I have taught you everything that I could.)
"Thanks Arky, but why did you bring me here?" He asked, noticing the very fluffy feeling of the Sanctuary around him, very unlike how he remembered it.
(To talk to you about your dream, I figured the best way to talk about it was to bring you into a dream.) He said.
"Yea… last night I had a strange dream." He said, recalling it now. "I was floating… and there was this speck of light that felt… familiar… or something."
Arky nodded and looked out at the Sanctuary, and there the very same speck of light appeared. (Anything else, try to concentrate on the speck of light, try and recall it as best you can, don't worry if you can't, your dream world will remember it.)
Jacob nodded and tried to remember everything about it, as he concentrated, the speck shifted ever slightly, and it was as though a shadow appeared next to it. The shadow looked almost like a human, in fact it was a human, or at last human shaped yet it was still just a blurry mass of shadow. Attached to its left arm, was the speck of light still.
"I didn't remember that during my dream…" Jacob said, still sitting next to Arky. "I can't get it any clearer, sorry Arky."
(Hmm… let me see if I can give your consciousness an extra boost… to help you out.) He said, and a second later, the shadowy figure became more recognizable.
The figure looked human, like a human female a foot taller than Jacob was. He couldn't see her face or what she was wearing because she was still just a shadow, but she assumed a battle stance as though she were battling. Then she raised the arm with the speck of light, and her other hand moved to touch the spark.
It almost looked like she was performing some kind of gesture.
(Interesting…) Arky said. (Is it possible that she's…)
"What is she doing?" Jacob asked.
(If I had to guess… I'd say that she was preparing to Mega Evolve a Pokemon.)
"Mega evolve, you mean with a Key Stone?" Jacob said.
(Yes… it's a hunch… but I have a feeling that there is a Key Stone very close by, and it's trying to get your attention.)
"My attention?"
(Yes… you know now thanks to that woman, about Key Stones and how they react to a trainer's DNA.) He said, looking down at Jacob now. (Well if a Key Stone is separated from its trainer for long enough, the DNA that it has grown used to will begin to lose cohesion, making it clean and allowing anyone to use it as their own. However, that takes a long time; depending on how much it was used it would take at least one week per Mega Evolution. You humans have discovered Key Stones in large quantities only recently, no more than about sixty or so years ago. You have had them long before sixty years ago, but you only have discovered them in larger numbers only recently in comparison. This stone must have either been used by the previous owner heavily, or very recently, because it's clearly trying to connect to you.)
"Connect to me?"
(Yes… as you know Key Stones need DNA to work, Human DNA, while Mega Stones require Pokemon DNA. This particular stone must have been used by a member of your family, else it would not be trying to reconnect to you in response to your DNA, and it must be very close by because its range to detect DNA is very small.)
"My family… but I don't have any family here in Hoenn, or Johto or any of the regions close by!" Jacob said. "My mother never told me who my father was… and she wasn't a trainer!"
(If that is the case, then it might be your father's, but I highly doubt that.) Arky said with a curious tone. (If he was still alive, he would not have parted with this Key Stone easily. It must have belonged to another then; perhaps your grandmother or grandfather, or another relative that was once here in Hoenn but now is deceased or left a long time ago. Either way, you have a mission now, should you want to take it.)
"What mission."
(You must find this Key Stone, if I am correct than this Key Stone is linked your DNA and is trying to reunite with you.) He said. (You must find this Key Stone Jacob, though it has its risks if heavily used, it is important and too great to allow another to have it. Who knows what they may do with such a stone!)
"Are you saying that I should find this Key Stone and keep it for myself?" Jacob asked his teacher. "Should I really be trusted with something like this, I mean what if it hurts my Pokemon!"
Arky bent down to look at Jacob on eye level. (I trust you, more than any other human, with this power.) He said sternly. (The very fact that you asked that because of your concern about your Pokemon, even though you know that they aren't affected as much by this ability, is proof that you are worthy of this power. So Jacob… do this for you if not for me… find that Key Stone… and you will take the first step to achieving a closer bond with your team than anything I could teach!)
Jacob looked at his teacher's eyes, knowing that Arky was only thinking of Jacob's best interests and turned to look at the woman who was still positioned as though she were Mega Evolving. "I will Arky!" He said, with a determined expression.