Chapter 8:
This time, after I went to sleep, I was in the similar dream to the ones where I was first able to speak with Gardevoir. I then sensed her nearby and started to speak. "Gardevoir... is it true what my last dream said? That I knew everything about this world before I came?" I asked her.
"Yes, it is the truth. I have no idea why that is the case, but you knew the outcomes and the way that this world would work... honestly, that makes me somewhat relieved that your memories were mostly lost, since it may hurt the plan in place," Gardevoir said with a smile.
"Well, I know for a fact that, when all of my memories come back, I am never going to speak a word of it to anyone in the human world. It will be a secret that I'll carry with me to my grave," I said with a smile.
"That should help this world in the long run. Truth is, this world barely has any humans living in it, and the few that do live here... well, some are nice and some aren't as nice... I really wish that my human friend would've been nicer... but I couldn't let him get hurt by that curse... I just hope that, wherever he is, that Genji is doing okay as a Pokemon..." Gardevoir said with a small sigh.
"Genji... is he the human that is correlated to the disasters and the Ninetails curse?" I asked.
"Yes, he is... but I have no idea what became of him after that day... I'm sure you could learn more with your visit to Xatu tomorrow. For now, it looks like you're about to wake up... just know that, even though you can't see me, I'm always watching over you, okay Cher?" Gardevoir asked with a smile.
"Of course, Gardevoir," I smiled at her as the dream then ended and I opened up my eyes.
When I woke up this time, it was to the fact that I was actually freezing cold and I was directly underneath Roll's spherical stomach! I moved her off of me by getting up and Roll gasped as she rolled into the wall and groaned awake. "Ow... what was that for?" she asked.
"I woke up feeling like an ice cube because you were on top of me," I smiled, Roll gasping and blushing at that. "Uh... sorry about that," Roll said with a small giggle.
"It's fine, I just needed to get warm again... anyways, we should get ready to head off to the Hill of the Ancients today," I smiled at her.
"Okay, we can do that. And we can go on our own and we can talk about what that one dream you had was," Roll smiled.
"Of course," I smirked as I looked at our map. "According to the map, the Hill of the Ancients is at the summit of the Great Canyon to the south of us on the 13th floor. Let's get ready and then head out."
"After you, hon," Roll smirked, me giggling at her calling me that as I went to her and kissed her on the face with my mouth, Roll blushing all over her body at that and me smirking at her. "Is that... what love feels like?" she asked.
"Teeheehee, yeah, it is," I giggled at her happily. "Okay, let's get ready to head off to the Great Canyon," I smiled at her, Roll nodding with her entire body as we then went to the town to stock up on supplies as well as leave some more of our money in the bank for safe keeping. We were planning on saving up so we could buy some more powerful moves from Kecleon Wares and we had enough to buy at least 5 of them that intrigued us, but we also wanted to get one for our Magnemite friends, since they were our very first team members.
After stocking up, Roll and I then went down the trail to the Great Canyon, the trip being about an hour's worth to reach the place and we looked at the crevice in front of us with a smile, the sun beating down on my wool and making me a bit hot. "Oof, I wish that this wool could just come off sometimes..." I complained, Roll smirking at me.
"You know that it can come off naturally, right? Just roll around in the dirt and your wool will come off. It'll regrow by tomorrow morning, though," Roll said, me smiling at that as I did remember that fact.
"Okay then," I smiled as I then did as instructed and rolled all around in the dirt until all of my wool came off and I was left in the nude with my body being bare and blue, which made Roll blush when she saw it. "No comments about me being without my wool, okay? Let's just move on and I"ll explain my story," I said, Roll nodding as we then began our journey into the canyon and I started to explain. "See, the dream I had a few nights ago wasn't one where I spoke with Gardevoir... rather, it was an entire memory that played out from when I was a human," I smiled.
"Really? And what was the memory like?" Roll asked.
"It was awesome. I was the lead trapeze artist in a traveling circus group, meaning I could fly through the air on little wires like I were a flying type, despite not having wings or the ability to float," I smiled.
"Really? Sounds awesome!" Roll smiled.
"Yeah, and when I was assisting in setting up the circus one day, Gardevoir showed up and shocked me to no end... and the thing that most intrigued me about the memory was... well, for some odd reason, I knew nearly everything about this world and the inhabitants within it," I said, Roll pausing at that just before the 4th staircase.
"How?" she asked simply, but bluntly.
"It may seem hard to grasp... but my world knew about Pokemon because it was a series of video games. As in, Pokemon were fake in my world, not real at all. In fact, we had a different type of creature called animals that came in just as many unique shapes and sizes as Pokemon do," I smiled.
"I see... and you knew Gardevoir's appearance, so you must've been pretty shocked, huh?" Roll smiled.
"I was. And even more shocking was the fact that, for some reason, this specific adventure I've embarked on willingly, where I am turned into a Pokemon and have to save the world from natural disasters... was actually the entire basis for one of the games, right down to every Pokemon we've met so far and every important detail," I said, Roll gasping at that.
"Again... how?" she asked in shock.
"Honestly, I don't know... the memory just mentioned that's how I knew about it, but I can't recall anything about what will come up next or what may happen to the story with how we've progressed. I just know that something big is going to happen that will make all my memories flood back, but of what, I am uncertain..." I frowned.
"Well, it'd be best to keep those memories secret if you do get them back. Besides, it'd be no fun to learn how to do everything before they actually happened," Roll smirked.
"I couldn't agree more," I smiled at her as we then moved through the place some more and we only then started to recruit some different Pokemon. They included Tauros, Heracross, Murkrow, Dunsparce, and even a new face that Roll was surprised by because she'd never seen it before, but I knew who it was.
"Who's this?" she asked.
"That's Ambipom, the evolution of Aipom," I smiled.
"I thought Aipom couldn't evolve, though!" she gawked.
"Aipom can evolve and only if it learns the move Double Hit. It's pretty cool and unique, since it gives Ambipom much more power with two tails with gigantic fists rather than one," I smirked.
"Hehe! Right, my tails are exactly like nunchucks!" Ambipom smirked, obviously pretty hyper. We then made it to the summit soon after and we saw the Pokemon in question was staring into the sun in the distance, which made me wonder if he was in a trance or not.
"Excuse me, Mister Xatu? That is who you are, right?" I asked, the bird Pokemon not responding at all. "Hmm... must be in some kind of trance. Like the thousand-yard stare," I said with a smile.
"What's that?" Tauros asked.
"It's when someone has seen stuff that scars them and they just go off in a trance, staring into nothing and wondering when it'll end... it usually happens to people who have traumatic experiences, such as war or extreme feelings of loss," I explained. And after my explanation, Xatu made a sound.
"Hmm..." he said, me looking at him with a smile.
"Did you hear my little speech, Xatu? We'd like to speak with you, buddy," I smiled at him. Xatu then opened his wings and made a shout, which surprised Roll and Ambipom, but then he simply turned around to address us.
"Yes, I am Xatu, young ones... and I can already sense something unique inside of you... you are not a Mareep. You are a human, yes?" Xatu asked, me smirking at that as well as my new partners' surprise being clear as day.
"Yes, I am a human... but we didn't want to ask questions about that, because I'm remembering more and more by the day... instead, we want to know about the other human. The one from the Ninetails legend... I heard that his name was Genji. Is that true?" I asked, Xatu simply nodding at my statement and Roll looking at me in confusion.
"Yes, the human's name was Genji... how curious that you'd know a detail as secretive to the tale as that..." Xatu said.
"I heard it from a certain Pokemon that visits me in my sleep... the one who got the full brunt of the Ninetails curse, Gardevoir," I said... and I could've sworn that I heard a small gasp from nearby, but I looked behind me and saw nothing.
"Interesting... how do you know how to communicate with the spirit of Gardevoir?" Xatu asked.
"She came to my world, where Pokemon don't exist... and evaluated my heart. She chose me to try and save this world from destruction from the same curse that afflicts Genji, which is causing the natural disasters. But that goes into my next question... you can see the future, so can you tell us what the ultimate event is that threatens to destroy the world?" I asked.
"I have seen it in the sun countless times... a future I can never escape from... a gigantic meteor, one that, if it were to connect to the ground, it would obliterate all life on this planet... if that meteor can be destroyed beforehand, however, then we will finally be relieved of these horrid disasters we've had as of late... I trust that you can work to achieve that goal with the help of your friends, human female," Xatu said, me nodding at him.
"Just let me know whenever it's getting close to that time and me and Roll will be prepared to save the world from destruction," I smiled at him.
"Of course... until then, I suggest you leave and return back home... I foresee troubles in your future... unless you can learn to counter them," Xatu said, me nodding at that.
"And I'll just leave it at that, then. Farewell, Xatu," I said with a small smile as me and Roll then used our team badges and returned back to the entrance of the cave, where we then walked the whole way back home and we then sighed a breath of fresh air at how we had returned with some daylight left in the day. "What do you say we go do a couple jobs since we still have some daylight left, Roll?" I smirked at her.
"Sounds like a plan to me," she smirked as we then went to town... to see that three different Pokemon were conversing with each other. "What's going on, guys?" Roll asked them.
"Oh, you know that tale of the Ninetails Legend?" Bellsprout asked, me nodding at that.
"Yes, we have, actually. What about it?" I asked them.
"Well, we've heard it through the grapevine that the cause of these disasters as of late are because of that human being somewhere around this world in the form of a Pokemon. There's actually going to be a town meeting tomorrow about it," Lombre explained, me frowning at that, knowing that something had to be up.
"And who is the one holding the town meeting?" I asked.
"Sorry, but not even we know... we heard the story from Wiscash and he said he heard it from an unseen voice. Almost as if someone were speaking to him from the shadows," Snubble said with a frown... but then again, that was almost always his expression.
"I see... we'll be sure to be a part of that town meeting," Roll said. But I could tell that she was a bit worried. We then went to the Post Office and got some jobs from Silent Chasm, there being at least three of them. One was to rescue a Voltorb, one was to find a special topical cream that was sought by a Stantler, and finally, an escort mission to get a Goldeen to a Magikarp, who were apparently in love.
"Let's go on our way then," I smiled as we then went to complete the tasks... though the entire time, I could see that Roll wasn't really feeling up to it. Once we got back to the town, I noticed she looked a bit upset and that she barely touched her food for dinner. "Is something up, Roll? You've been acting funny since we learned of the town meeting."
Roll sighed and nodded her head. "Yeah... I'm worried about the one who made the meeting. No one knows who it is and I have a very bad feeling about what this meeting will be about... it sounds a whole lot like sabotage and I don't like it one bit," Roll said.
"I agree, I don't like it either, but we have to remember Xatu's warning. He said that he foresaw troubles in our future, but we could avoid them if we could find a way to counter them... I have a feeling that it's going to be something that happens in the town meeting that will cause these troubles to happen. And when it does, we'll need to be smart and thoughtful with our word choices, or else people might get hurt," I said, Roll sighing and nodding at that.
"Okay... that's a good plan. We have to keep our wits about us and be prepared for anything," Roll smiled, finally managing to scarf down the rest of her food afterwards. We then went to sleep again and, oddly, no dreams happened this time. The next morning, me and Roll woke up around 7 to a small bit of noise from the east. We knew exactly what it meant and went to the town meeting... and guess who the one in the center was?
"Gengar," I frowned with poison in my mouth.
"And so, I overheard a conversation with Xatu, the wisest Pokemon out there. And he said that the cause of the natural disasters was the human that was turned into a Pokemon by the Ninetails's curse!" Gengar spoke, the whole town looking like they were full of worry at that. "And that's not all. If things aren't dealt with soon, this whole planet is going to get destroyed, ending all life!" Gengar said, that sending nearly the entire town into a panic.
"I-I can't die! I'm too young!" Caterpie cried out, me finding it despicable that Gengar would be doing this to even the little tykes.
"However, there is one thing that he didn't mention, but I know for a fact would work," Gengar spoke, me wondering what his plan was as he got everyone's attention. "If the cause of the natural disasters is the human being turned into a Pokemon, all we'd have to do is eliminate that human, right?" Gengar asked with a wicked grin as he then looked over to me and Roll and I could sense it. He knew. He had overheard my conversation with Xatu!
Everyone then spoke amongst themselves and I then bravely stepped out in front of everyone, throwing caution to the wind. "You know, Gengar, you're a scummy asshole, causing a whole panic in this peaceful town with your talks of doomsday and killing someone just because you think it'd work. Where's your facts about if that plan would actually work or not?" I asked him with a frown, Gengar smirking at me with confidence before he noticed my glare. "Or maybe you have some kind of deep dark secret of your own?" I asked, Gengar immediately getting hesitant at that, him starting to sweat purple from his head.
"I-I don't know what you're talking about! I-I'm not the one that-" Gengar spoke before he then shut himself up, me only then noting that he was shaking. A lot. It then clicked in my head as to what his deal may have been.
"And Gengar... you have a regular name too, don't you? And it also starts with a G... hmm... what was that name again?" I asked, Gengar looking at me with anger and fear in his face.
"D-Don't you dare! I-I don't want to die!" Gengar exclaimed, him only then gasping and covering his mouth, the entire town immediately gasping at that. "I-I... I mean... uh..." Gengar was about to say before I simply looked at him with worry. He just spat out the thing that I'd feared he would.
"Genji..." I gawked, him gasping as the whole town looked at him angrily and we noticed we were completely surrounded... and by we, I meant Genji and me. It was then that Roll did something shocking. She used Powder Snow in the town against every single denizen, me gasping at that, but using that opportunity to grab hold of Genji and rush us out of the town and back to our place, Roll following close behind and all of us looking at each other with shock.
"Are you happy now? ARE YOU!?" Genji angrily asked me. "Now everyone knows! And now, because of my lies, they're going to think that killing me will solve the situation! B-But it won't!..." Genji said before he then started to burst into tears, me frowning at him. He was most likely trying to get the blame pinned on me, but considering Genji's reputation as opposed to mine, I had a feeling that would've actually backfired on him.
"Genji... I didn't mean to... but you shouldn't have been causing a panic in the town and plotting my downfall," I frowned at him.
"S-Stop calling me that! I don't want to be reminded of that day anymore! I just want to see her again... just once..." Gengar said, me knowing exactly what he meant.
"Gardevoir... you want to see Gardevoir again, don't you?" I asked him, Genji nodding at that... but then we had three different Pokemon appear from town that looked pretty calm and collected, but also looked ready for a fight.
"Stay back, Team IQ. Gengar was lying when he said killing the cursed human would stop the disasters," I said, the trio frowning and then Alakazam speaking.
"Run..." he said, Roll looking at him in confusion.
"What?" I asked.
"You three must run. Try to find some kind of truth to the story and to clear Genji's name. After that stunt you pulled in the Town Square, everyone's going to be after all three of you... we will tell them that the hunt will begin tomorrow, so you must gather up all your supplies you possibly can and escape as far as possible. Run until you can find out the truth," Alakazam said as he then went back to town with his two other followers before Charizard turned around at me with a small smile.
"Stay safe, kids. You're going to have to live up to your credibility to get out of this one," he said with a small smile and then a thumbs-up with one of his three fingers before he then went into town with the others and Genji simply sat on the ground with a sigh.
"Gengar... Genji... whatever you want to be called... do Ekans and Medicham know about your secret?" Roll asked them.
"They do... they are the only ones that do... they're still in the town... I'll need to use my Rollcall orb in order to get them over here... we leave here tonight, no matter what," Genji said with seriousness in his voice.
"Understood," I said as he used his Rollcall orb and, after the duo had been explained the situation to, they frowned and simply looked at me with worry.
"Why would you save him? After we did so much to hurt you guys?" Medicham asked.
"I couldn't let him be the cause of his own undoing. That doesn't sound like an honorable way to go out. Genji may be a part of Team Meanies, and you guys may have bullied us a bit in the past, but Rescue Teams have to stick up for each other from time to time," I said with seriousness.
"Alright... so we need to gather up our supplies... but where do we go to do that? The town's the only place with a Kangaskhan storage area, after all," Ekans frowned.
"Don't worry, we've been making our own little storage unit in the house," Roll said as we went to the house and we showed our little secret stashes. We had Reviver Seeds, Apples, Oran Berries, and of course, Max Elixers, about 6 of each.
"It seems you've been saving for a rainy day," Gengar said with a frown.
"We have been. We need to tell our different teams about our absence in the meantime. It'll be tough to get through this, but we have to get going the moment it hits dusk," I said.
"Agreed..." Gengar frowned. "And... just call me Genji, okay? Besides... you already know Gardevoir... maybe, if you dream again, you could tell her about me... and how I miss her a lot..." Gengar said with a sob.
"Genji... it's okay..." I smiled as I hugged him to my wooly body and he sniffled into the fluff around his face. We were going to be in for a very rough journey ahead, that much was for sure.