=Chapter 30, The Second of Six=
*Jacob to Arky*
*It's been a few months since me and Karen obtained the Heat Badge together, since then as you know, sorry if I keep writing my experiences to you each night, we've been traveling to Petalburg City. Along the way we've been training our teams heavily and I mean heavily.*
*I've been running my team through drills, attack and defense drills whenever we take a break from traveling to rest and eat. Sara's psychic powers don't need as much practicing, she just needs to focus her powers and she'll be able to handle herself in almost any situation. Harold's speed is improving as his pension for direct attacks. Ivan and Roran aren't being outdone either by those two, Ivan practicing his Thunder Fang and learning a new move, Snarl. Roran's speed is by far the strongest of my team, and with the aid of a fellow trainer, he learned to use Steel Wing. Kenna isn't one to battle, so all she did was watch us.*
*Hopefully after all of these training exercises we'll be able to win the fifth badge.*
*I know I'm probably over thinking this but, I just really don't want to let anything you've taught me go to waste.*
*In any case, we're resting close to Petalburg City near a stretch of woods close to the Petalburg Woods. Boy does this place bring memories to my team.*
*For some reason though, I can't help but get the feeling that we're being watched…*
(Jacob's PoV)
"Alright Harold, move in with Leaf Blade!" Jacob shouted.
"Grovyle!" Harold cried as he charged toward their opponent, a floating log.
They were practicing timing his attacks with his fast speed today, and Sara was lending them the use of her powers by levitating rocks, twigs and in this case log, to act as opponents or attacks. Sara had been using her powers for simulating a lot of fake adversaries for the rest of the team to face, and she'd been taking great pleasure in bopping some of their team on their heads. Coral, Roran, and Ivan had already exhausted themselves in earlier exercises and now it was Harold's turn.
Harold charged the log and swiped at it, but their pretend opponent, aka the log, avoided the attack by flying over them and tried to smack into him in a pretend counter attack. Harold nimbly dodged it and counter attacked with a vicious uppercut of his Leaf Blade, splitting the log in half.
With that, Harold relaxed his stance and Sara let the pieces of log fall to the ground.
"Nicely done Harold." Jacob said as the three of them admired how he sliced the log so cleanly. "That's the first time you've ever sliced through it cleanly before. I think that's all the training we can do for today, let's get eating!"
"You three finally finished?" Karen yelled as she tended to their cooking fire. "Why do you torture me Jacob, you know I can't cook!"
"Oh stop complaining, I only asked you to watch the fire Karen." Jacob said with a smile as he, Sara and Harold walked over to join her and the others for lunch.
(Though I think you should force her to cook just to torture her!) Sara said to him privately, causing them both to smile and laugh.
"Alright let's get to cooking." Jacob said as he started unpacking his bag for the food.
As he pulled out the ingredients his hands nudged the small box containing his Key Stone, causing him to pause momentarily. It had been a few months since last he saw that Mismagius, the girl with the mask and Blaziken. He was wondering when she would appear or contact him again, as she promised she would when he was 'ready'.
(Jacob?) Sara asked him curiously, causing him to snap back to reality.
"Yea, what's up Sara?" He asked as he resumed his task of preparing the food and separating what was for who.
(Are you worried about that girl reappearing?) She asked.
"Not really." He replied. "If she appears, she'll appear."
(But who is she, and why did she only appear before you and Harold?) She asked, her amber eyes filled with uncertainty and worry. (I couldn't sense that Mismagius, or that girl anywhere, and I would have sensed them the moment they appeared! Maybe not the Mismagius but surely I could have sensed the girl.)
"You can't sense everything Sara, if that's anything I've learned it's that there are some things we can't always prepare for."
Sara sighed mentally to him and nodded in understanding, preferring to watch him cook their meals with Coral and Kenna, rather than watch the wrestling match between Ziggles and Shrew with the other members of their team.
(Mismagius' PoV)
She watched them from the cover of the woods, as before, concealed and hidden from both the sight and senses of the Riolu and the Kirlia, eyes focused on the male trainer Jacob as he prepared the meals for his and the girl's teams. She watched him set aside the box containing the great power, the power she knew he could unlock if only he took the chance.
She eyed the Grovyle, the starter, closest to the trainer out of all of their Pokemon, and watched him as he not only observed the battle between Linoone and Breloom, but also kept his senses alert for danger. She smiled, pleased that he was taking advantage of the bond, the great bond that gave even greater power to a Pokemon and its trainer. The link was strong with them, but still not yet fulfilled and still not yet trained.
-Strong… yes… very strong… much improvement since then… yes indeed!- She said. –Could be better, yes… indeed could improve that bond!-
She continued to watch them prepare food, laze about, wrestle or amuse and entertain themselves for several minutes. –Should we do it now… no not now… too soon… too alert… wait for later, when eaten and lolled into security. Yes, do that!-
-Is he ready? Not sure, maybe, possibly, has four badges, must be ready. Yes!- She said to herself as time went on. –Good idea, do that, get him prepared, yes, second test! Good plan… good idea… make him ready!-
-Yes, test him… do that… make him ready… a good idea!-
(Jacob's PoV)
"Ah that is so much better…" Karen sighed as she finished her meal. "Jacob, you never fail to deliver when it comes to making dinner!"
"Well at least one of us has to, if we left it to you we'd be eating snack food!" Jacob said back to her.
"Hey, my team didn't mind the fast food I fed them!" Karen snapped back. "It's just… well your better at preparing food then me."
All of Karen's team, with exception to Lance all shook their heads in unison, making him laugh hysterically at the sight.
"Alright, whatever helps you sleep at night Karen…" He said with a laugh.
Just as he finished laughing, he glanced over Karen's shoulder and, for the briefest of moments, thought he saw two purple specks of light in the tree line. Then he blinked, and the specks were gone just like that.
"Huh… that's strange…" Jacob said.
"What's strange?" Karen asked as she drank from a soda can she procured.
"For a moment I thought I saw something in the trees." He said to her, returning his attention to their small camp.
"Well I wouldn't know…" Karen started saying, before she suddenly collapsed in front of them.
From around the camp came numerous thuds as bodies landed and fell to the floor, each of Jacob's and Karen's teams as well as Karen having fallen unconscious wherever they were. All except Jacob and Harold, who was suddenly on alert for danger as he looked around with his claws bared and eyes set.
"Harold, this happened last time that Mismagius appeared!" Jacob said, and Harold nodded as well, already searching for the Ghost type.
"Hehehehe." A voice chuckled, a distinctly feminine voice.
They turned around automatically, and there floating just outside of their small camp site, was the very same Mismagius from last time, giggling and smiling at them with glee.
"Hi there, hi there!" She said to them, waving at them from where she floated.
"Hello…" Jacob said, not exactly thrilled to see the Mismagius again.
Harold was watching the Mismagius, making sure to stay just out of range of its eyes so that it couldn't paralyze both Jacob and him at the same time.
"Hehehehehe…" Mismagius giggled again, turning to look at Harold now. "Not smart are you, not smart yes?"
"What do you mean not smart?" Jacob asked. "What do you want?"
"Follow me, yes?" She asked, now looking back at Jacob.
"I don't think I will this time." He said, guessing what was going on. "This is just another of your illusions isn't it? My friends aren't really asleep are they, Harold and I are the ones under your spell aren't we?"
"Clever, figured it out, yes maybe?" She said, sounding absolutely delighted at his response. "Still follow me, yes you will!"
"Grovyle!" Harold said, shaking his head and showing his claws.
"Yea, we aren't playing your games this time, we want answers this time!" Jacob said. "Who is that girl, what's your connection to her, why did you try and take my Keystone last time?"
"Is it real, is it not real, are you sure it's not real?" She asked, still giggling as though it were all one big joke to her. "Test it will you, see if your right?"
Suddenly she vanished, and reappeared just far enough that both Jacob and Harold were in her line of sight, and then her eyes glowed purple again, causing both Jacob and Harold to freeze up like before. Then she rushed forward, picked up the box containing the Keystone and held it up to show them.
"Test now right, is this real or fake?" She said gleefully. "Mine now!"
She took off with it, and after a second they were both released from the freezing effects of whatever she did. Jacob really didn't like this Mismagius now, and judging by the way Harold was eyeing the ghost, he didn't either. Still Jacob could not take the risk of losing the Keystone, even if this was an illusion, she was right.
There was no guarantee that this wasn't an illusion this time, and he wasn't willing to risk losing the Keystone to see if it was.
So with no choice, he and Harold chased after the Mismagius as she fled with the box into the nearby woods at the edge of the Petalburg Woods.
"Harold, I have a funny feeling that this Mismagius and that girl are connected somehow!" He said to his Grovyle as they followed after the ghost, not able to catch up to her but able to keep up with her.
"Grovyle…" Harold said as he easily kept pace with Jacob, taking smaller strides so he wouldn't outpace his trainer.
They followed the ghost as she continued to lead them deeper and deeper into the forest, floating this way and that way, taking as indirect a route as it could possibly take to whatever destination it had in mind. On and on she went, never flying out of sight but never slowing down enough to let them catch up to her, leading them down paths that he had never known to exist.
"I think we're going to learn something new today Harold, I think she's leading us to that girl again."
Harold nodded in understanding but still kept the same look that he wore when protecting him.
Then just as they passed by a small pond, the Mismagius took a sharp turn and vanished behind a large tree. They chased after her and emerged into a large clearing, exactly just like the last one she had led them to, and there sitting with her back turned to them was the same girl as last time, still wearing the same attire as before.
Harold and Jacob stopped as they entered and looked around for the Mismagius, but as before she was nowhere to be found.
"Hello there." Jacob said to the girl, looking over her shoulder to see she was staring at her six Pokeballs like before, and the box containing the Keystone.
After he spoke she stood up slowly, turned to face him and finally spoke to him. "Welcome back Trainer, I see you are stronger now than you were before." She said. "The proof is how you and your Grovyle stand before me. Before you two stood differently, unwilling to do battle even when it stared at you in the eyes, now you both stand prepared for battle, just how a trainer should stand in any situation, always prepared to do battle."
"Why is it that Mismagius keeps stealing my Keystone and leading us here to you?" Jacob asked, not interested in the lecture. "This is twice now that she's done that, I want to know why she keeps doing this!"
"I don't know why she keeps stealing a Keystone from you, but I do know that you still have no true claim to it while I still stand in your way." She said, taking one of her Pokeballs out. "There is no point in attempting to contest this claim, the Keystone will remain out of your possession until I see fit to test your claim to it. You cannot contest me for it now either, for in your current state and at your present level you and your Grovyle still do not have what it takes to defeat me and my starter even at our weakest."
She released her Blaziken and she once more assumed the same stance as before, pointing at Harold and Jacob with one solitary finger. "If you wish to contest it, you must continue to become stronger, which I will teach you to become if you accept my challenge." She said. "Or you can leave and return to your friends, and leave the Keystone with me until a more worthy trainer challenges me for it. What is your choice?"
Jacob looked over at Harold and saw the determination in his eyes, he was not liking how the girl was calling them weak. They both nodded in agreement, they had no choice if they wanted the Keystone back. "Fine, we'll accept." He said. "So what do we need to learn to do this time?"
The girl nodded and turned to her Blaziken, who nodded and proceeded to the nearest tree and smashed it into pieces, each a sizable chunk about as large as Harold. "As you have learned and experienced, the strength of the bond between Trainer and Pokemon gives each individual enormous power, power that rivals the greatest of legendaries under the correct conditions." She said while her Blaziken continued to break trees apart behind her. "This power can give them the ability to dodge attacks that would normally be ending in any battle. The faith in both Trainer and Pokemon is unsurpassed at this level, and at its peak when both are in trouble and each depends on the other to give that strength. However dodging your adversaries is not enough in most battles, as not only will they have the type advantage but also speed and defenses."
"If you ever come across such a foe, dodging alone will not be enough to attain victory. You must go on the attack, the rule remains the same in any battle, one cannot win on defense alone, and to win you must attack!" She said as her Blaziken piled all of the logs into a single spot. "Using the bond that connects Trainer and Pokemon, your Pokemon can attain a sense of clarity and focus that surpasses other Pokemon. Where most critical blows occur because of chance or because you're Pokemon performs a move that focuses that energy, the bond you two share will grant that clarity without the need for such moves or relying strictly on chance and luck to aid you."
She nodded to her Blaziken and after it smacked its hands together and bowed shortly to Harold, he and Jacob mirrored their actions. Then her Blaziken took two of the logs, put them several feet in front of them, and without any hesitation, smashed both of them one right after the other. Despite being punched, the force of both blows broke both logs easily and cleanly into equal halves.
"If you can use the power of this bond, you can slice through the logs as effortlessly as any other Pokemon can." The girl said calmly as her Blaziken positioned two more logs for Harold to slice through now. "Using this power you can deal greater damage when the time calls for it. It is far more reliable to use the power of your bond than to rely purely on luck, chance, and moves that expose you to danger."
She and her Blaziken backed up to allow Jacob and Harold to now try the logs.
This challenge wasn't as dangerous as the others, but it still was difficult. Harold could easily have sliced through the logs, but slice so cleanly that they broke into equal halves?
"Well Harold, try your best buddy." He said to his Grovyle, who nodded and walked up to both logs, took aim, and sliced at both in quick succession.
Unfortunately the logs did not slice cleanly, and instead of breaking into equal halves, shattered into splinters and pieces.
"You must use the bond that connects you both in order to achieve the power necessary to slice the logs cleanly." The girl said as her Blaziken put two more logs in front of him. "Trainer must give power to their Pokemon, just as Pokemon gives trainer their power! Concentrate on channeling that invisible energy that you possess, and have your Grovyle concentrate on using that power."
They both nodded and Jacob, trying to find that 'invisible energy' that she spoke of, concentrated as hard as he could.
(Harold's PoV)
While Jacob concentrated on gathering the power that Harold needed, he concentrated on understanding what it meant to channel it into his strikes.
He closed his eyes and gathered his strength, and tapped into the power of their bond, just as he did the last time he needed to rely on it. The power of their bond was definitely there, he could feel it somewhere at the back of his mind.
Then, from somewhere even deeper, he felt a new surge of strength flow into his limbs. It was as though there was some kind of blockage, preventing this new strength from entering his body, and then it suddenly burst forth and flowed into his limbs, and not only his limbs but also his mind. Suddenly his senses were just slightly sharper, nothing overly impressive but enough that he could see things just that differently.
As if he needed no other indication, he sliced the two logs without even aiming, letting his senses guide him and tell him what to strike.
He heard the logs slice cleanly and sharply, and when he opened his eyes he saw that he had indeed, sliced through them just as effortlessly as the Blaziken did. *Not bad… not bad at all!* He thought to himself, admiring how easily and naturally it had come to him.
(Jacob's PoV)
"Well done Harold!" Jacob said, seeing how easily his Grovyle had sliced the logs with no effort.
While the two looked at the logs, the girl had returned her Blaziken to its ball and clapped her hands together in slow applause. "Well done Trainer, you have strengthened the bond between you and your Grovyle, now you possess the knowledge to achieve even greater strength." She said to him. "Remember though, that while this gift gives great power it is also very noticeable. Use it when you must but do not abuse it to the point where you forge a bond simply to gain even more power. Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely."
Behind her two purple lights appeared, and just like before Jacob felt suddenly sleepy, and unable to stay awake, fell to the floor. "When you are ready to proceed, we will meet again."
(Arceus' PoV)
Arceus kept his eyes closed as he felt the latest written message to him from Jacob, his semi adopted student. This latest message was quite long, at least six pages full, and he could feel the worry in each word that Jacob had written. He chuckled as the last of the written words were sent to him, and he contemplated everything that had been said.
He had to admit, things were going well as far as his plan was concerned. Jacob was indirectly teaching everything he learned to other people, not nearly as quickly as he would have liked, but something like that would take time. To change the picture he wanted to see would take time, a great deal of time, years at the very least and maybe even decades if possible. Yet he was thoroughly impressed with how far Jacob had come in almost a whole year.
First Jacob had earned four badges total, not that he was as concerned with that, but it was quite remarkable nonetheless. Second the number of Pokemon's opinions that he had changed just by his personality and the way he views the world around him.
Suicune once thought all humans were hunters trying to collect her, yet Jacob restored her belief in Humans with his actions. The Pokemon traveling with him all had a great bond with him, not nearly as great as some but it still showed with how they battled for him. In particular three of his members showed this bond the strongest, Harold his Grovyle, Sara the Kirlia, and Coral his Milotic.
(He's trying really hard to live up to what I've taught him.) He commented as he sat there in the Sanctuary, having not moved at all since Jacob last saw him. (He needs to stop overthinking some things, and just learn everything he can about those he journeys with. Though I am glad that he has begun to take advantage of that special bond that he has formed with his team, though I wonder… how did he learn to take advantage of it.)
It was indeed strange, he figured maybe Jacob would eventually learn of how to take advantage of that bond, but how did he figure it out so quickly. In particular, how did he learn to use that bond to make Harold dodge moves and attacks as well as predict his opponent as easily and naturally as they did in their forth gym battle. Surely the two of them didn't learn how to do it overnight did they?
He thought back to the messages his student sent him, of the 'mysterious girl' and the Mismagius that continually appeared before them. Jacob had told him that she and her Blaziken were teaching them to take advantage of their bond now, and this above all made Arceus cautious.
He knew that other influences would appear and influence Jacob's decisions and perceptions, but he was not expecting this. (She does seem familiar, but I've never met her or seen her before.) Arceus said as he examined all that Jacob had told him of the girl. (I wonder though… if she's protecting the Keystone and preventing Jacob from claiming it as his own… why does she still only appear to him in illusions?)
He looked up into the night sky and once again, thought about Jacob, so close yet so far away. (It's so quiet here without you… Jacob.)